Working with Crystals

I'm very aware that in a lot of the archangel readings, and also in the 'angel a day' thread, I have talked a lot about using crystals for healing, to attract certain energies into your life, and to work with angels. I thought I would post up some general guidelines for working with crystals safely and give you guys a bit of understanding of what I believe about crystals. If anyone wants to ask anymore questions about crystals, or wants to know anything about the properties of your favourite crystals, please feel free and I will do my best! I'm not all-knowing but I did qualify as a crystal healing therapy practitioner. If you don't want to read the whole post (don't worry, I understand) you can ask me any specific questions or tell me about your crystal experiences below.

Why work with crystals?
I believe that crystals, as every part of nature, vibrate to their own frequency and have a living energy about them, and I believe that their properties which are contained within their energy signature can be used for healing or self-development purposes. My understanding over time and from my own experience has shown me that crystals also act as 'amplifiers' for the healing light of our own love, not only projecting it outwards with a gentle force towards the subject of our healing (or to wherever healing needs to go in our own energy field) but teaching us the art of unconditional love. Crystals have very different properties, and some crystals have an abundance of them.

Choosing crystals
I think it would be fair to say that you don't choose crystals, crystals choose you. Someone may have recommended a particular crystal to you to use, or one may catch your eye in a shop. It may shine a bit brighter, have intriguing colours or patterns, 'feel' good to you in its energy, or seem to be speaking to you. Trust your intuition, because every time I have been adopted by a crystal and didn't know why, the reason has been revealed eventually. Some of the most popular crystals to begin your journey have very desirable properties. These include rose quartz (relationship issues, self-love, alleviation of pain and trauma, especially dental pain and after childbirth); amethyst (protection, spiritual development, healer of insomnia and disturbing dreams, alleviation of headache); citrine (joy, boosting energy, attracting abundance and cash flow) and angelite/anhydrite (a first point of contact with angelic vibrations).

What are your favourite crystals, if you're a crystal person? I would love to know. My two absolute favourites are lepidolite and chrysoprase. Lepidolite is amazing for combatting insomnia and promoting lucid dreaming or astral travel in sleep, and for raising your vibrations and opening your third eye, I have used it extensively, I love its energy. And chrysoprase to me is the stone of unconditional love, taking apart your heart centre and putting it back together again, with new knowledge and boundless love - this stone is literally close to my heart! I wouldn't recommend using either of these as your first crystal as they have very powerful energies and if you happen to be sensitive to crystal energies, you may be overwhelmed.

Looking after crystals
If you decide to acquire any crystals, understand that you are their "earth keeper" and are responsible for keeping their energies vibrant and clean. It's important to dedicate all your crystals to the highest good, as you don't know what has happened to the crystals before they were in your care. It's also important to cleanse them regularly, and particularly before and after using them in any way, as they can absorb negative energy and transfer this to you. Most crystals can be cleansed with water, although soft crystals like angelite and selenite can't as they would wear away. Alternatives are smoke, such as from incense sticks, which you can smudge the crystals with; fire, I usually do this by placing 4 tea light candles in a square around any crystals needing cleansing; or sound, which could be beautiful music, a bell such as a Mayan bell or Indian bell, or nature sounds either on a CD or in your garden. To keep their energies particularly vibrant and "ready to play", you can also charge your crystals. I use sunlight in summer, moonlight on a full moon or thunderstorms in colder weather. I usually lie out all my crystals on the windowsill to absorb these energies.

Working with crystals safely
These are ways I would recommend as safe to work with crystals with no training or knowledge of your own, although if you're interested in crystals and are attracted to them anyway, it would probably be interesting to you to read some of the literature and begin to practice more complex methods as your knowledge grows. Carrying a crystal is always safe. Where you carry it depends on the crystal and your own intuition. It could be your purse, particularly if you want them to attract abundance to you such as tiger's eye or citrine. It could be in your pocket so you can hold it in your hand, particularly if you're using it for strength or comfort, such as rose quartz or aventurine. Or it could be worn as jewellery, particularly if you want to integrate a particular crystal energy, or use it for protection of your energy field such as amethyst or pyrite. Placing them around your house to attract certain energies is also safe. I always have amethyst by the computer to deflect harmful emissions, and I might put rose quartz or fluorite out if there have been tensions at home, and I might sometimes put a stone I'm working with by or even under my bed, but don't have too many or too strong crystals near to your bed because they will cause disrupted sleep with all that energy! You can also attune to a crystal by holding it in your receiving hand (the opposite to your writing hand) building up the length of time incrementally up to no longer than about 40 minutes, which would be a full meditation with the stone. This is great for assimilating its energy and you might have some interesting experiences to share if using this method!

How do crystals help us work with angels?
I believe crystals work well to help us attune with angels because they cause shifts in our energy field to raise our vibration higher and higher, and the more spiritually attuned we are, the easier it is for the angels (who are in a much higher vibrational state) to communicate and be with us. There are also some crystals known as "angel stones" who hold the property of angelic guidance and wisdom, such as blue lace agate, angelite, celestite, selenite and danburite. Some crystals also help attune to particular archangels, as I am explaining in the 'angel a day' thread as I go along. This is because, as I explained I believe crystals carry their own energy signature, and some of them correspond to the energy signature of an archangel; as we tune to the crystal's energy signature, we make ourselves very accessible to that archangel. That's how I believe it works, anyway.

I'd love to hear about your favourite crystals, crystal experiences or questions! If you work with crystals, you tend to find your own ways of working too, and intuitively know whether it's safe. Before I even read anything or found out anything from others, I used to have a piece of amethyst that I would hold to my head whenever I had a headache, and then found later that amethyst is well known amongst healers and believers to have this property of relieving headaches!