What to do with your crystal

Brandberg quartz with three enhydro water bubbles and smoky quartz and amethyst-pointed phantom

Once programmed, there are numerous ways of working with your crystal. You can carry your stone with you, sleep with it, meditate with it, journey with it, to name but a few.


When I first meet a new stone, I may carry it around, handling it frequently to establish a good connection.


As you work with your stone, you need to stay sensitive to the stone’s preferences and needs. Some stones need plenty of light to help them work with you, especially the clear ones. They are not as effective when kept in a pocket or under clothes. Some require direct contact with the skin, and others contain toxic elements of which you need to be aware. Some need to be in your company for a long time because they operate slowly, and some will affect you within seconds!  Some are very strong and you may not be able to work with them at certain times, and some may seem to be having no effects whatsoever. 


Because the effects vary from person to person and from stone to stone, safe and common sense experimentation is the key.


From time to time, cleanse the negative vibrations from the stone you are working with.   Frequent cleansing will not do your stone any harm.  Some crystals can be cleansed permanently and some stones never need to be cleansed at all. All this can take years of learning and experience.


The programme you have set in the stone will require re-energising from time to time, and you will need to be sensitive to know when to do this, or you can ask with a pendulum. 


If a stone seems not to be working, you can replace it with a different stone that provides similar benefits, or place clear quartz or rhodisite with your crystal to amplify its energy. It also pays to reconsider if your diagnosed need was accurate and clear in the first place, maybe something else needs to be changed first about yourself.  

Green tourmaline with white core on matrix

Think of working with crystals in terms of working with a consciousness, rather than an object.  Communicate with the crystal-being by talking to it as you work with the stone. The crystal-being is ‘anchored’ in the stone, thus allowing the being to connect to the physical realm, but it is also independent of the stone. This means you can sometimes communicate with the crystal-being even when the stone is not physically with you. You can thus call on its intervention for healing or help wherever you are and whatever you are doing. 


There are elements of working with crystals that need particular care.  If you are working with points and wands that can be used as psychic cutting tools, be careful where you are pointing them and what you are thinking about at the time.  You may be cutting through your own or someone else’s auric field and causing damage without being aware of this. Working with such tools is for the more advanced practitioner.


Also, laying stones on the body is not always a great idea if you are not sure what you are doing. If you have ever held a crystal (such as a moldavite or boji stone, for instance) that has given you an instant ‘buzz’ or light-headed reaction, you will know how powerful some stones can be. Laying such a stone on a chakra or energy point on the body, without knowing why you are placing it there, may have a similar strong effect on the psychic energy of the body without your being aware. This may cause a ‘burn’ or ‘tear’ which is not intended. This is not the case with many crystals, but working with body grids is also a specialist area for the experienced practitioner.


It helps to develop your psychic sight/senses before practicing these kinds of crystal work. That way, you can ‘see’ what you are doing. Do not fear placing crystals on your skin as a rule, by wearing them as pendants or meditating with them, but a grid of crystals laid over the body is a lot of crystal energy!  If you are concerned about it, use a pendulum to determine what you are doing.

Large sceptre quartz head with 'necklace' of points

Using a Pendulum

To use a pendulum, hold the pendulum on a shortish line, about 5 inches or so from fingers to pendulum. Ask the pendulum to show you a ‘yes’ motion.  Without moving your hand, the pendulum should now start swinging.  It may go up and down, from side to side, or in a circle, clockwise or opposite. Ask it to show you a ‘no’ motion, and watch the pendulum change direction without any movement of your hand. When asking a question, be clear and precise, and obviously ask ‘yes-no’ questions. If you get an unclear response, then the question is wrong or unclear or the answer cannot be given at the time.        

Making a Shamanic Journey with a crystal

To make a Crystal Journey, journey holding your selected stone, and make your intention to meet the crystal-being connected to the stone.  Now travel in your usual way, or refer to the section on 'Shamanic Practice', and go to one of the three ‘worlds’. When you get there, follow your instincts or your spirit or animal guides until you meet the crystal entity. The journey may lead you to understand some important information from the crystal being.  You may ask what healing the stone has for you, what message the crystal-being can give you, how to continue to work with the stone, for example.  Always say "thank you" before you travel home again. 

This can also be done for yourself or another by making a blind selection of a stone from a bag of stones, and then making a journey to learn the message of healing that would be beneficial at that time.  

Large and small Staurolite