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How To Choose a Crystal

by Charli Lundholm

EarthGallery.com

Choosing a crystal is a very personal process. And it is a very intuitive process as well. Looking through certain books on crystals and minerals can be a good starting point. Any of the books by Melody we recommend highly. “Love is in the Earth” is a wealth of information. “Crystalline Communion” is also a good source. Katrina Raphael’s books are good too. And the book “The Crystal Bible” seems to be pretty popular right now.

If you find yourself in a crystal store or at a crystal fair, you may find yourself surrounded by numerous crystal choices. How do you choose just the right stone? The first, and best, thing you can do is to allow your body and your inner knowing to guide you to the perfect stone. Just walk around and see what you are attracted to. If you are looking on the internet, you can use the same process. Look through the various pages of crystals and minerals and see what catches your eye. Usually what you are drawn to is what you need. Then you need to trust what your intuition is telling you, and sometimes that is the hardest part. But trust yourself, you know what you need.

But what if your intuition is attracted to a stone, but your eyes find it less than appealing? Your body may be drawn to the particular mineral that stone is made of. Perhaps there is another piece of that same mineral that you will like better. For example, say you find yourself attracted to citrine (yellow/golden quartz) but you aren’t 100% happy with the particular stone you first picked up. It may be too big, too small, out of your price range or maybe you just don’t like the way it looks. You can look for other crystals that are citrine. Or maybe citrine in a different form, like a tumbled stone would be more appealing. Perhaps a pyramid shape, or a sphere would work. Sometimes our bodies need a particular mineral (like citrine) in whatever form, so looking through different forms of the same mineral is OK. And sometimes we are called to work with one particular stone or crystal, no matter what. You just can’t seem to take your eyes off it. Or you can’t put it down. Then you need to trust that is the stone for you.

Choosing a Stone to Help With a Particular Problem

Stones can help us with certain aspects of our lives. People have used green stones to help attract financial prosperity. Citrine is known as the merchant stone and is kept in many cash registers to help with abundance. Black tourmalines have been used for protection, or to keep nightmares away from children, while obsidian can be very grounding. Fluorite is known as the genius stone and is used by many students. Amethyst is used by many who want to open up to their spirituality, as well has being used historically as an aid to overcoming addictions. For just about any aspect of your life that you want to heal, or enhance, there is probably a stone that can help. What if you are looking for a stone to help with a physical ailment? Here are some basic guidelines to help you choose a crystal or mineral to help with a particular health issue. Of course, I have to add our disclaimer. This information is being offered to help you choose crystals. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or heal and it is not meant to replace proper medical care and advice.

There are certain stones that correlate with each of the seven major chakras. The chakras are energy vortexes that bring energy into and out of our physical bodies. Each chakra governs a specific part of the body, including the organs and tissues that are in that area. There are also emotional aspects associated with each chakra. Please see our chakra chart at the end of this article or on our "Chakras & Healing" page. If a chakra is blocked, or out of balance, energy can’t freely flow into that part of the body. Disharmony can occur. Our bodies need the proper flow of universal energies to obtain and maintain perfect health. So what can cause a block in a chakra? It can be many things, but many times it has an emotional origin.

For example, someone experiences a hard breakup of a relationship. All the various emotions that they are feeling can affect various charkas. Anger can affect the 3rd (or solar plexus) chakra, closing it down or gumming it up. This chakra is near the naval and supports the digestive organs, the liver, spleen and pancreas. That person may start to experience some digestive symptoms as a result of the energy not being able to freely flow through the area and nourish it. “Heartaches” can be quite real. Sadness over the loss of the relationship can clog the heart chakra. Feelings of “I should have seen it coming…” or “How could I not have known this was going on…” can affect the 6th chakra, which is about our inner knowing and intuition. It is located at the forehead.

Chakras can also be blocked from old emotional traumas. These can leave the person with chronic blockages of the charkas, which can lead to health issues. Sometimes chakra imbalances can have a physical cause, like a trauma, accident or surgery.

Stones have been used to help restore balance and harmony to the chakras. If a chakra is closed down, certain stones can help open it and help restore the energy flow. You will still need to find the reason for the imbalance if you want to release the blockages permanently. But it is important to support the physical body while working on releasing any emotional issues.

One of the easiest ways to choose a crystal, mineral or stone to help with a particular chakra is to get a stone that is the color of the chakra that is associated with the organ, or area of the body you are working on. Say you are experiencing lung problems, perhaps respiratory infections. (Again, I am not diagnosing or treating here!) Emotionally, the lungs are associated with grief. So you can look at things that you may be grieving about, whether it is recent or very old. You can start the process to release those emotions of grief, while utilizing crystals or stones to help restore energy, balance and harmony to the chakra and it’s associated organs. The lungs are associated with the 4th chakra (also known as the heart chakra). Its color is green or pink. So you could choose a green or pink stone to help support the 4th chakra. Rose quartz, pink tourmaline and rhodochrosite are all good pink 4th chakra stones. Green aventurine, emerald or green jasper are beneficial green 4th chakra stones. There are other stones that are pink or green, this is just a very small example. Please see our article “How to Use Crystals” for information on how to use your crystals.

There may be times when you think you should be getting a pink or green stone to help the 4th chakra, yet you keep getting drawn to another stone, like apache tears, for example. That’s OK. Go with what your body and intuition is telling you. In this case, apache tears are used for grief, so perhaps they would be the perfect stone and that is why you are attracted to it. It is just what you need at that time. We are all individuals and our needs won’t always fit under the “rules”. Different books or advice can be very helpful, but always listen to yourself. TRUST your inner knowing! You know what you need!

Chakra Information

#1. At the base of the spine.

 Color is red. It's about physical vitality, grounding, fight-or-flight responses. Governs the reproductive organs in men and organs of elimination. Examples of stones: Red garnets, red jasper and rubies.

#2. In the pelvic region.

 Color is orange. It's about sexuality and creativity. It governs the reproductive organs in women and the organs of elimination. Example of stones: Carnelian and orange calcite.

#3. Around the naval area.

 Color is yellow. It's about personal will and personal power. We store stress, anger and fear in this area. (Just look at how many antacids are in use). It also governs the digestive organs, liver, kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas, and spleen. Example of stones: Citrine, yellow jasper and yellow topaz.

#4. At the heart.

 Color is green or pink. It's all about love. It's about unconditional love for oneself and others. It's a very important chakra to have open and balanced. Governs the heart and lungs. Example of stones: Rose quartz, rhodochrosite and pink tourmaline.

#5. At the throat.

 Color is sky blue. It's all about communication.  Speaking your truths and true feelings. Governs the throat and thyroid. Example of stones: Blue lace agate, aquamarine and blue topaz (the natural blue topaz).

#6. At the forehead, or the third eye.

 Color is indigo blue. It's all about intuition.  Inner knowledge. Inner truths. Governs the brain, eyes, nose, ears and sinuses. Example of stones: Lapis, sodalite and azurite.

#7. At the top of the head, at the crown.

 Color is purple, or violet.  It's all bout spirituality. Opening to universal energy and knowledge. It governs the brain and sinuses as well as the central channel. Example of stones: Amethyst, sugilite and ametrine.

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