By Rich Stone

It is exciting to adventure into a sage-smoked spiritual healing store littered with glimmering crystals and homeopathic therapy. If you talk to the people who collect these, they genuinely believe in ancient mineral properties. It seems like magic--even almost impossible for regular items to possess energies. Or is it? Like a favorite tee shirt or a sentimental necklace, some items seem to have an energy or an aura that they feel almost real. Is it even possible for a crystal to help relieve anxiety or bring good fortune? Apart from being fabulous accessories, what's driving people to collect these vibrant artifacts?  Perhaps the increasingly virtual world is causing people to look towards the physical to guide spirituality and meditation. Some would say a small purchase at a local spiritual healing store can be a tool for something that has been lost. To some, this may sound like nonsense. It is true that people have been misled by many “spiritual” leaders. Could there be something ancient and healing about these pretty rocks? 

Crystals have been enjoyed in many ancient civilizations often concerning healing or spirituality.

What sets crystals apart as being millions of years old, and can their atomic structure really collect energies? Their origin and color define the types of energy they have and how they can help heal and cleanse your spiritual energy. Their popularity has doubled in the last decade and is described as an awakening. Successful celebrities such as Adele or the Kardashians openly talk about their value. On TikTok, healing crystals have over 100 million views. Generally, creative people tend to gravitate towards them and their connection to the spiritual realm. Artists, designers, musicians look to these to get as intune to the wavelengths of this dimension. Spending time meditating and using the energies is believed to increase their effectiveness. They direct and store energy that brings confidence and strength or absorb negative energies. The idea is that these crystals help you navigate the many negative forces of this world and bring a little good luck. To find the right crystal it is important to use intuition; believing in the properties allows for them to work. Crystals are sold, traded, and cherished all over the world in stores, street vendors, and online. You can learn about the types and qualities of crystals from collectors, stores, or reference a vast amount of information online. 

To learn more I talked to a local musician that has collected and studied crystals for years.

While wearing a white jade crystal bracelet, Chad explained that, “crystals work as long as they are within a close distance to your body; wearing jewelry or carrying them can bring positivity and protection with you.” He wears this bracelet for good luck and suggested that, “most crystals have the trait of calming or de-stressing such as the characteristics of amethyst and quartz,” which would help with anxiety. The crystals have the best results when “the person has a connection and a belief in the crystals.” He uses them while performing music and “for meditation and manifestation, which is the most underutilized human ability”. A beautiful thing about these crystals is you can “share them with your friends; gifting a crystal expresses support and positive intentions”. 

Science typically doesn't explain spiritual theories or endorse any of the metaphysical as there is no accepted evidence of these crystals' efficacy - however, this doesn't mean they can't help people. There are many things we still don't completely understand. What we do understand is that believing in something can bring positivity, no matter how cliche that sounds. The placebo effect is real and widely unexplained. Believing a cool stone will give you confidence and protecting you from negativity may just make your day a little better. They can help to achieve our goals or remind us of what we are working towards. They are beautiful pieces of jewelry or fun gifts to spread love and positivity. Spending your money on bucketloads of rocks is not a strategy to solve your problems--it's suppression. However, using them to grow as a person and spread positive energy, could mean the crystals are essentially working. Through these tools used in meditation and manifestation, their purpose is to help with the uncontrollable in a more subtle way.