#using crystals

Using Crystals: Use them for Meditating, grounding, cleanse them,  spellwork, carry it for good luck or other intentions, spell jars, scrying, charge something with the crystal’s energy, charge it with your energy and intention, and use it for spell oils (make sure it’s safe to use, some crystals are toxic when exposed to liquid)   

Storing Crystals: You can place them on your altar, carry them on your person, put them in your car, if they’re jewelry you can wear them (duh), charge them with your intention and put them under your pillow, and place them in different places around your house. 

Buying Crystals: Crystals can be found online and at Witchcraft shops. I’ve gotten all of mine off of eBay. If you buy them at auction, and they go for a low bid, the seller may not send them. That’s happened to me a few times. 

If you have an interest in or are striving for something, like psychic abilities or prosperity; you can research crystals that correspond to. 

Part 1: The Basics

Welcome to your crystal journey! Working with crystals can enhance and improve your life, and it is my hope to guide you on this wonderful journey. There is a long history of crystal use over thousands of years. In the Bible there are over 200 references to crystals and how they were used including the twelve stones on the breastplate of the High Priest Aaron. Ancient Egyptians used Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot and other crystals in their jewelry and other adornments. Roman soldiers were known to carry Tigers Eye to encourage bravery in battle.

How to Select Your Crystals

The extensive rainbow of various crystals sometimes makes it overwhelming to decide which crystals you need in your life. When choosing crystals, the best thing to do is allow your intuition to guide you. Start your search by looking at crystals online or visit a crystal store and see which ones attract your attention.

Signs you have found the crystal you need in your life:

you can’t take your eyes off of one crystal

you can’t put a crystal down once you touch it

you look at the same type of crystals every time you browse

You will probably find that the stones you are drawn to will change over time as your needs change.

If you are having trouble deciding, try Rose Quartz, Clear Quartz, Citrine, Amethyst, Tigers Eye, Sodalite and Howlite and check out this blog post detailing each of these starter crystals.

There is no wrong answer when combining crystals to work with. If it works for you, it’s right. Your spiritual journey is your own, you will require a unique combination of crystals that you are drawn to at various times. Enjoy experimenting and see what feels the best for you. You may consider keeping a journal to keep track of how different combinations of crystals effect your day. 

Things to make note of:

spikes and dips in energy levels

feelings of discomfort, anxiety, lightheadedness or nausea

If any of these occurs, try using the crystal for only small intervals of time while you adjust to the energy, or remove it all together and try it again at a later date. You may also consider a more gentle crystal of similar energy.

How to Care For Your Crystals

The overall energy of a crystal weaken or become “tired” as they are used. Crystals also pick up negative energies from the environment around them. You will need to periodically clear the energy of the crystals. When clearing your crystals hold the intention that you are removing negativity and restoring the crystal’s energy. Try any of the following methods:

Smoke Cleansing - passing crystals through smoke of burning incense, like Sage, Sweetgrass or Palo Santo

Burying - bury them overnight in sea salt or brown rice

Water - hold them under running water

Sound - use a tuning fork or certain music. 

Make sure that your chosen method will not damage your crystal. For example water and abrasive methods should not be used on softer, more fragile crystals, like Calcite.

Clear your crystals energy regularly, and restore their energetic potential through charging them periodically. Here are some techniques to recharge your crystals:

Burying - bury them in the soil of a garden (Rhodonite and Rose Quartz)

Use other crystals - place them on top of a crystal cluster

Celestial Light - place them in a beam of sunlight or moonlight (Carnelian, Sunstone and Citrine in the sunlight; Moonstone and Amethyst in the moonlight)

Be careful because softer or fragile crystals shouldn’t be buried and some crystals, like Amethyst, can fade in the Sun. If your crystals become physically dirty on the outside, you can clean most crystals with lukewarm water and a mild soap, using a soft toothbrush for any crevices. Again, be careful with fragile and soft crystals to avoid damage! If a crystal becomes exhausted or has completed its task, sometimes they will break or can even disappear for a while, so it’s important to give your crystals a rest occasionally.

This is a three part series. Stay tuned for more Beginner’s Guides.

▹ ▹ ▹ Continue growing with and learning about your crystals and share your experiences on the Mumbles and Things Facebook page.

Every zodiac sign has wonderful gifts associated with it, but there are also challenges that you might face, especially if the sun is currently in the your sun sign. Stones work to encourage your gifts and help you face your challenges.

The sun is currently in Libra (from September 23rd - October 22nd). If your sun sign is not Libra, these stones are still useful. The zodiac energy of each sign surrounds all of us based on the time of the year. The energies of Libra are at work now.

Libra is a very calm, very peaceful and very balanced sign. Libra is all about looking for balance in all areas of your life. The symbol for Libra is the scales, weighing out choices and deciding what is right and wrong. Libras can be described as diplomats, they want everyone to be happy and are able to find options that are good for the greatest number. Libras are one of the most charming and likable signs, it's almost impossible not to like a Libra. They are full of positive energy and while Libra is a wonderfully happy sign, they struggle with making decisions, they simply cannot choose. A Libra feels that whatever choice they make could be wrong or that the other choice might be hurt or offended. 

LIBRA: Sept 23 - Oct 22

SYMBOL: Scales

PLANET: Venus

ELEMENT: Air

NUMBER: 7

CRYSTALS FOR LIBRA ENERGY

When the sun is in libra we all experience the energy of Libra. The crystals in this list work with these energies, so even if you aren’t a Libra sun sign you can benefit from them.

1. AMETRINE

Ametrine is great for balancing which is great for helping you to balance your options. It also encourages you to go with you gut and trust your intuition. Once, you've made your choice, it works to soothe you and help you feel like it was the right one.

2. APATITE

Apatite encourages clarity, which is wonderful for the indecisive Libra energy. Apatite can connect you with spiritual guides in times when you need a little extra help with a decision. It also supports self expression so that the peaceful, calming and joyful energies of Libra can shine through you.

3. BLOODSTONE

Bloodstone is mostly used for grounding. Any grounding stone is useful when working with the airy energy of Libra.

4. CITRINE

Citrine is the stone of abundance. It can be used to balance your emotions, which is just as important as balancing life decisions.

5. JADE

Jade (both nephrite and jadeite) can be used to help you feel stable in your decisions.

6. MAHOGANY OBSIDIAN

Mahogany Obsidian will support you in any decision. it is another grounding stone to help the floaty Libra energy return to earth.

7. MOONSTONE

Moonstone is another stone that supports your intuition. It can also give you inspiration when you aren't sure what choices you face.

8. MORGANITE

Morganite helps you feel divine love and supports you in knowing that this love will not leave you no matter what choice you make. You can use Morganite to communicate with angels and ask for their guidance. Morganite is also a stone which encourages the joyful Libra energy to express itself.

9. PINK TOURMALINE

Pink Tourmaline provides support for all decisions and choices you make so you can feel confident in them. It is another stone that gives you inspiration in a time you might not know what your options are.

BONUS CRYSTALS

Blue crystals are really nice for Libra energy because blue is a calming and peaceful color.

10. BLUE LACE AGATE

Blue Lace Agate can keep you calm and stable in the face of chaos. We live in a chaotic world and this is a great challenge for the balancing energy of Libra. Blue Lace Agate also encourages communication where it might be a challenging to express yourself.

11. LAPIS LAZULI

Lapis Lazuli helps you to speak up when it is challenging to do so. It will support you trust your intuition, to know your mind and to speak your mind. Lapis Lazuli is another stone for self expression and inner power.

12. BLUE TOURMALINE

Blue Tourmaline is all about honesty and compassion, which a Libra wants above all when making a decision. Blue Tourmaline provides increased intuition and also has a touch of fire, which helps this air sign to flow.

13. OPAL

Opal also guides you to trust your intuition and abandon any fear. It, like Lapis Lazuli has a little fire, which encourages your personal power.

14. TIGERS EYE

Any Tigers Eye can be used with Libra energy but Blue Tigers Eye is especially useful. It helps you to be more aggressive: to make a choice and stick to it and to help you feel confident and comfortable with that decision.

15. SAPPHIRE

Sapphire brings you a sense of light, joy and peace. It will surround you with tranquility and help you to know your own wisdom.

We'll be looking at the energy of Scorpio (October 23rd - November 21st) next so check back to see what crystals can be used for this mysterious sign.

What is a Channeling Crystal?

A channeling crystal has a large 7-sided face in the center front of the crystal where the largest slope is and a triangular face located on the opposite side. The "7" of the larger face of this kind of crystal makes it excellent for wisdom and the "3" always represents movement which makes it helpful for verbalization and communication of inner truths one is seeking.

Therefore, this type of crystal is helpful when trying to unlock your own inner wisdom to connect to higher realms in the metaphysical and spiritual worlds and to move that wisdom forward or through. These are readily found types of crystals and are perfect for helping those that wish to develope their psychic abilities and for healers who wish to seek out answers to those they are working with and for when what is ailing this person is elusive.

It should be noted that this type of crystal is helpful only to the individual who is holding it while working with it. You may ask your own guides for information about someone else and then "channel" that information to the individual.

QUESTION:  How do you pick the right stones for the things you want to do?

MY ANSWER:  Generally you start with a knowledge of stones, either from experience or reading,  about which types of stones are used for a particular goal. You can use my Crystal Uses page or Site Search to help with discovering what kinds of stones are traditionally used if you want.

From that selection of stones, then eliminate stones you don’t care for. It is not critical that you like a stone to work with it, but when you have a choice between a type you like and one you don’t,  it often works about better to use the kind you l ike.

From there you can go to choosing particular types of stones from those you feel okay about. You can get assisting choosing through meditation, asking for Divine guidance, using a pendulum, or intuition.

To choose each particular stone, using intuition, or simply feeling for the proper stone’s energy by holding your receptive hand over each one, will help you find the ones with the best energy for your particular task.

If you don’t find any crystal that seem right for what you want to do, there are a few of ways you can work with that. One is to ask the advice of someone you trust. Another is to look at the problem from a new perspective. Stones usually used for tiredness may not be the best if the tiredness comes from a heart problem, yet something for a heart problem could be, for instance. As always, you can also ask the Divine for assistance.

In all cases, I find it helpful to ask for the best stones for the highest good of all concerned.