The word crystal comes from the Greek word ‘Krystallos’, which means frozen light.
With their distinctive pattern, shape and composition, beautiful tones and flickers of sparkle in certain lights, there is something compellingly fascinating about crystals. From draping them around our neck to enhance an outfit to putting them pride of place on the mantle piece for all to see, or using them as a potent aid for crystal healing and meditation, these divine precious stones have a multitude of uses.
If you are keen to start utilising the unique powers of crystals but are unsure where to start take a look at the following guide to crystals for beginners.
The Different Type of Crystals
There are essentially seven different types of crystals. They are classified according to their shape, which are cubic, trigonal, hexagonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, triclinic and monoclinic. The atoms of a mineral form the geometric shapes that make up the crystals. Minerals are defined by their chemicals that make them up and the way in which they crystallise.
When crystals are categorised by their physical/chemical properties there are four types of this precious stone: Covalent crystals, which has real chemical covalent between all of the atoms in the precious stone. Metallic crystals refer to gemstones that are made up of individual metal atoms that sit on lattice sites while outer electrons flow freely around the lattice. Ionic crystals are where the individual atoms are held together by electrostatic forces. Molecular crystals are held together by a chemical bond. These types of gemstones tend to be soft and have lower melting points.
The Different Uses of Crystals
When we think of crystals, beautiful jewellery such as stunning crystal pendants and exquisite crystal beads immediately spring to mind.
As well as buying ready made pieces of crystal jewellery to compliment and enhance an outfit for a special occasion, incorporating crystals into your jewellery can be a lot of fun.
With their stunning natural tones and striking patterns, agate beads are the perfect accessory to make your own unique and vibrant crystal beads. Agate
is one of the most attractive crystals that comes in a wide range of colours, from pale blue to black and white stripes.
Crystals & Feng Shui
Crystals are by no means just for wearing and are used as sacred objects in a number of healing activities.
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese process that examines how people are affected by the environment in which they live. In Feng Shui, crystals are used to help create good energy in a home.
For example, rose quartz crystal is used in Feng Shui to attract romance and love or to help heal a broken heart. Citrine crystals help heal those with low self-esteem while black tourmaline has strong protective energies.
Crystals & Meditation
Meditating with crystals brings a whole new dimension to this ancient healing practice. You will need to choose what type of crystal you want to meditate with.
It is believed that if you choose a crystal with patterns or fault lines in it, you will ‘lose yourself’ within the crystal whilst meditating. For anyone interested in spirituality and crystals, meditation utilises both.
Using crystal balls can be a great way to radiate the energy of crystals in all directions while meditating. For example, beautiful calcite crystal balls are considered particularly spiritual and uplifting and have unique physical healing powers.