A beginners guide to crystal healing

Healing crystals are part of an ancient practice that has been around for centuries, but with celebrities, like Victoria Beckham, speaking publicly about their benefits, crystal healing has resurged in popularity.

There’s a lot of aspects to consider when it comes to trying crystal healing for the first time, like which crystal you should use and how you use them in the first place. Emma Lucy Knowles, author of The Power of Crystal Healing is an expert in this area, so we asked for her top tips for anyone keen to get involved with crystals.

What are healing crystals?

Crystals are used to assist in the flow of energy; we are made of energy, life is energy and it's about harnessing a good flowand working out what might stagnate. We work with crystals to draw out the ‘negative’ energy and ‘heighten’ the positive energy. I liken crystals to a lens, with each one cheerleading a variety of properties for promotion, such as love, protection, abundance. They can then be used to align and filter that property into the energy centres (known as chakras) along the body.

How do you use crystals?

There’s lots of ways you can use them. Whether you’re holding them or using them in your home, at work, or in a personal or public space, what's most effective is setting your crystals with an intention, for example what do you want it to help you do or promote.

Crystals want to work and if they don’t they’re not going to be as effective and that’s when people most likely say ‘oh well they looked nice but I don’t really feel them doing anything’. It's personal preference, but I’m a big fan of skin on skin, so most of the time I wear mine in my bra, or I keep them in my pockets.

Pick the crystal you are ‘drawn to’ rather than overanalyse. Start with one or two stones, try not to overwhelm your energies at the start. Let the crystal draw you in and then read up on it. Let yourself be blown away with how relevant the crystal you have intuitively picked for yourself is!

I have crystals everywhere and I have been using them most of my life – so I pick what intuitively I'm drawn to that day. I set my intention, ‘what do I need for today’ and then I reset my eyes, my mind and let myself be led to what’s needed. That can be the biggest piece in the room, or it can be a piece hidden away.

Choosing your healing crystal

Each crystal has its own vibe but my belief is that different crystals work in different ways for different people. Crystals truly account for the individual and that’s why we should seek to spend time with them and explore what they have in store for us. My advice would be to read the crystals’ descriptions and lean into which crystal name calls to you…that’s the crystal vibe for you!

Rose Quartz and Amethyst Selenite would be part of my go-to staple kit, promoting love, spiritual and creative lifting and universal guidance - these are great crystals when you are starting out. Beyond that, always go with your gut.

Crystals for confidence in who and where you are and a sense of protection

• Tiger’s eye

• Jet

• Smokey quartz

• Black tourmaline

Crystals for calm and soothing irritation or imbalance

• Amethyst

• Howlite

• Aquamarine

Crystals for surrender to peace, love, harmony in life and in self

• Rose quartz

• Pink tourmaline

• Caribbean calcite

Crystals to energise

• Orange calcite

• Clear quartz

• Peridot

• Carnelian

Crystals to destress and revitalise

• Aventurine

• Jet

• Bloodstone.

How to care for healing crystals

Like a sponge, your crystals soak up the remnants of your emotion or day and you cannot beat the moon when she is full for cleansing and charging your crystals.

For stones that are not soluble, I would run them through or bathe them in cold water before laying them out in the moonlight or on your windowsill during a full moon. When a full moon feels too far away – you can either wash them through or nest them in sand or natural salts.