How to Choose a Crystal

In the beginning stages of your healing work, crystal encyclopedias and reference lists are indispensable tools that can help you determine which crystals to use in your practice.

 

However, crystal healing is an intuitive art, and the true mark of a healer is her ability to know – intuitively! – which crystals to use for any given situation.

This is not a skill that you need to work hard on, because the truth is that you already know which crystals to use in your healing practice. The trick, then, is being able to clearly distinguish your inner guidance from your ego.

Any time you feel paralyzed by indecision in regards to choosing a crystal, or if you feel like your choice doesn’t “make sense”, you can bet that your ego has stepped in and is getting in your way.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a logical way to go about choosing a crystal. Indeed, you can choose a crystal based on which chakra you want to focus on (choosing corresponding colours), or you could pick a crystal based on it’s ability to target certain symptoms.

The problem with relying on the logical method of crystal selection is that crystal healing doesn’t always make sense! For example, it would make perfect sense from a logical standpoint to use a pink or green stone to balance your heart chakra; but what happens if you feel drawn to working with black tourmaline instead? Are you “wrong”?

In this example, you could rationalize the day away going on about why black would be more suited to balancing your heart chakra – perhaps you need more protection or grounding, or you need help dissipating negative energy. Whatever it is, it’s important to go with what FEELS right for you, even if it doesn’t make sense in the end.

When we work with energy, we’re working with the subtle body – the part of ourselves that we FEEL or KNOW from within. To be a successful energy healer, you have to allow yourself to shift from your mind to your heart.

All forms of energy healing are primarily experiential – that is, they need to be experienced in order to be verified. What’s more, each of our individual experiences will be extremely subjective, so there can never be a one-size-fits-all truth or definition.

It’s important to remember that whoever wrote the crystal encyclopedia or reference list is writing from his or her own personal experience with crystals, at that particular time in their life. Everybody relates to crystals differently, and therefore, the best way to work with crystals is to rely on your intuition.

If you already have a crystal collection, you can begin simply by asking them (out loud or intuitively), “Which one of you wants to work with me in solving this issue?”, or something to that effect. You WILL feel called to one or more stones, and don’t question your intuition.

You might recognize the “call of the crystals” by any of the following ways:

• Feeling heat or tingling in your palm when you put your hand over the crystal, or when holding it in your palm
• Feeling your eyes being drawn to a particular crystal; sometimes their colour seems to stand out more or they will seem to “shine” more
• Hearing or seeing the actual name of the crystal in your mind
• Feeling a strong urge to pick it up!

When you rely on your intuition, you can be confident that the crystal you chose will be the right one. We can always make mistakes when solving problems with our mind, if only because we are limited by the facts that we know, and we can’t know everything! But your Higher Self – your intuitive guidance – DOES know everything, at least in regards to what can help you right now.

Plus, when you use intuitive guidance, there’s no need for you to have memorized a gajillion crystal properties! Again, crystal properties are based on the author’s perspective, and while there are many commonalities (and I would never deny their usefulness), the only person you really should be listening to is YOU.

So there you have it, Crystal Lovers. You already know what crystal to use in any given situation! You just simply have to allow yourself to receive your own intuitive guidance, and be open to hearing the crystals’ call.

Crystals WANT to help us. It is part of their divine purpose to connect with those of us whom they can assist in bringing forth more love and light into the world. Trust yourself, and trust the crystals!

Much love,