What Spirituality Uses Crystals?
You can’t look into modern spirituality without hearing of the amazing power of crystals. This can be a mysterious, but intriguing practice because of their beauty.
Many people already collect crystals just because of their aesthetic worth. You probably have at least a few crystals in your home already. For example, crystals are often used as the filler material for vases.
But what spiritual paths use crystals today? In general, crystals are frequently used in new age practices, neopaganism, and traditional Eastern religions.
Now let’s dive into the details about crystals origins and if you should use them in your spiritual practice too.
The Spiritual Meaning of Crystals
Crystals are natural materials that have spent a long time on Earth absorbing the surrounding energy. They’re solid structures made of stable, regular molecules arranged in a perfect grid-like pattern.
This organized form means that all the time they spent being influenced by the vibrations of energy around them has led the crystals to echo those vibrations back into the world. They’re powerful natural batteries.
Crystals also vary in type and we can use their aesthetic properties to help identify their different effects. Citrine, for example, contains the power of the sun while fluorite can help you focus. Researching crystals and selecting those of interest to you can improve the quality of your life.
The colors of crystals are not just visual decorations. Light is also energy, and crystals absorb white light and reflect certain colors depending on their type. This reflection of light can influence our chakras, so understanding colors can also help us select the best crystals for chakra health.
Unlike crystals, we humans aren’t perfectly organized structures. Our bodies have a lot of internal disorder and chaos. Because of that, we can be easily influenced by the negative energies surrounding us and not maintain a stable internal order.
But while crystals experienced a slow burn in their absorption of energy, we absorb things relatively quickly. This means we can use crystals to our spiritual advantage as a tool to absorb the energy they vibrate out to improve our mind, body, and soul.
Crystal Uses in Spirituality
Using crystals is one of the easiest spiritual practices you can do. All that’s necessary is that you set an intention aligned to the correspondence of the crystal and then be mindful of its effect on your life.
Selenite, for example, gives mental clarity. You can set it on your desk while you study a difficult subject. The more crystals you use, the stronger the effect, but you wouldn’t want to overdo it. Too much internal order would rob you of your free will!
Another common practice is to wear crystals on a necklace or carry them around. Many crystals can be bought in small sizes and placed in a pocket or bag. Think of it a bit like a lucky charm.
You could take a small rose quartz stone with you on a date or wear it during a wedding. Rose quartz is associated with love, and it’s not uncommon to find it cut into the shape of a heart.
Never underestimate the power of crystals. Their stable reserves of energy can be a protective force when going into a difficult situation or performing potentially dangerous rituals where you invoke spirits or where you can be influenced by them, such as divination or channeling.
A final option is to make crystal arrangements. A traditional way to do this is on an altar or someplace important in your home or garden. You could make certain crystals permanent fixtures too. Carnelian placed in a frequently trafficked area of your home, like the living room or kitchen, can make the room a happier place to be.
Some crystal users will go to sleep with crystals arranged on or around their bodies. This would also be an excellent way to amplify any meditative practice and you can purchase a full set of chakra crystals at an affordable price to help you with this.
Where Crystal Spirituality Came From
Most of the information you’ll read about crystals for spiritual use is from modern and contemporary practices, so not all rituals and correspondences are traditional. This is especially true for neopagan rituals or those who like to blend different spiritual paths.
The spiritual use of crystals has been found in traditional religions, most often from the East. In Hinduism, crystals correspond to planets and were used in conjunction with astrology. Diamonds, for example, are associated with the planet Venus and thus love. Crystals are also featured heavily in Buddhism. Amethyst is used in prayer beads and is thus considered powerful for intuition and religious devotion.
Because Western paganism was predominately oral, we don’t have a lot of information about crystal uses, though magical jewelry was common. We also know that the Ancient Greeks used crushed hematite and rubbed it on their soldiers for battle to make them stronger.
However, most ideas on the spiritual uses of crystals are from Eastern practices and modern interpretations, though the dominant source is Hinduism and other Indian practices. Some meaning is likely lost in translation or mistakes have been made, so you may find it beneficial to research historical spiritual uses of crystals if you prefer following more established traditions.
Final Thoughts
Should you use crystals in your own spiritual practice? It’s up to you. Not every religious path incorporates crystals as much as new age, neopaganism, and traditional Eastern religions. There have also been some concerns raised about the sustainability and morality of their use because of exploitative and environmentally damaging mining practices.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to use crystals. They’re powerful, so you can buy just a few and still enjoy their effects. Consider your own needs and research the best crystals for personal use. If cared for properly, your crystals can last the rest of your life!
One Comment