Crystals are said to contain metaphysical properties that can align your chakras and heal your body in ways you could never imagine. Curious? Consider this an introduction to quartz’s many rumored properties.

Quartz History

Stone quartz is considered one of the most powerful healing crystals and is also one of the most commonly known. Quartz contains all the colors of the spectrum when held to the light.

The Greeks first documented the existence of quartz during ancient times, in 300-325 BCE. They named it “kristallos”, meaning “ice cold”. The Romans believed that quartz was ice that never melted, and they would use the stone to keep themselves cool during warm weather, wearing rings made of the stone. The Egyptians buried their dead with quartz, as they believed the stone helped guide the deceased safely into the afterlife. Pharaohs carried cylinders filled with quartz to balance their Ba and Ka (spiritual) energies. In 1505, German physician Ulrich Rülein referred to the crystal as “querz” in a publication, and so began its proliferation in other records.

Quartz Forms

Quartz comes in two different forms: macrocrystalline quartz and cryptocrystalline quartz (or microcrystalline quartz). Macrocrystalline quart is made of visible crystals or grains, such as in smoky quartz, rose quartz, and quartz grains in sandstone. Cryptocrystalline quartz is comprised of a dense and compact accumulation of microscopic quartz crystals and crystallites, such as in flint, agate, and radiolarite chert.

The Gist of Healing Crystals

The healing benefits of crystals, including quartz, come down to the stones’ unique composition. Because of the way they are structured, crystals like quartz respond to the input of all kinds of energies surrounding them, causing the crystals to oscillate and emit specific vibratory frequencies. The crystal matrix is balanced and orderly, so the energy it gives off stays consistent – when dissonant energy is put into the crystal, that energy becomes balanced and harmonic.

Crystal enthusiasts say that this balancing of energies is why crystals are healing to the body and its chakra: crystals take what is “off” and bring it back into harmony. Of course, none of the healing benefits of quartz and other crystals are scientifically proven. That’s the clincher. Even so, it hasn’t put the crystal industry out of business, if the recent shenanigans of Spencer Pratt are anything to judge by.

And, indeed, there’s something to be said of ancient traditional practices. If healing crystals have withstood centuries, there must be something there.

Quartz Benefits

If you ask an experienced crystal collector and/or crystology practitioner, you’ll likely be suggested to purchase clear quartz as your first stone. The silicon and oxygen-containing crystal is considered a “master healer” that can be used to treat just about any condition. It’s the go-to crystal.

Clear quartz is said to balance and revitalize the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual planes as well as to cleanse the organs and soul, enhance psychic abilities, aid in concentration, boost memory, and stimulate the immune system.

How to Use Quartz

There are many ways to employ quartz into your everyday life. Here are four basic ways to start:

1. Keep a quartz crystal with you 

Wear quartz in a pouch around your neck or as part of your jewelry. You could also keep the crystal in your pocket.

2. Sleep with quartz at night

Hold a quartz crystal in your hand while you sleep or tuck it under your pillow.

3. Target a chakra

Clear quartz connects you to the spiritual aspects of life, so placing the crystal on your head (standing up) or forehead (lying down), near your pineal gland, best activates and opens your crown chakra.

How to Care for Quartz

To benefit from quartz, it is important to keep the stone clean. In fact, many take the cleansing of crystals as seriously as they do their application.

Here’s how to clean your quartz crystals:

1. Wash them thoroughly under faucet water.

2. Lay them out just after sunset, somewhere where they will get direct moonlight.

3. Let the crystals stay out just through sunrise. It is important they receive sun, but not too much.

4. Charge crystals with your intentions. As you transfer your crystals to their usual resting place, imagine your intentions or even say them out loud. Charge them with whatever emotion you hope to cultivate in your life, such as love, forgiveness, awareness, health, and so on.

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Energy Muse founders, Heather Askinosie and Timmi Jandro, talk the transformative power of healing crystals and forthcoming book “Crystal Muse, Everyday Rituals to Tune into the Real You.”

Empowerment, inspiration, and hope — there are few things more important than surrounding yourself with positive feelings such as these. Energy Muse, the internationally known purveyor of handmade crystal healing jewelry understands how important it is to make good energy a priority. Whether you’re attempting to recover from a problem, ward off negativity, or balance, protect, and enhance your energy, Energy Muse offers a solution for all of that and more. I recently caught up with Askinosie and Jandro to uncover why they’re so passionate about their business and what makes the time-honored art of healing crystals such a crucial element to actualizing one’s true potential.

Feng Shui Paved the Way

The Energy Muse story began roughly three decades ago when Askinosie was selling luxury real estate in Southern California and a client asked her to locate a home for him with “good feng shui.” This intriguing request set Askinosie down the path to immersing herself in the world of healing crystals. After happening upon a crystal store she said, “I began to live a double life, selling real estate by day and spending the nights with the crystals in this store. The more time I spent with them, the more I knew I could no longer go back to my life as a real estate agent.”

It was then that she took a huge leap of faith by using all of the money she had saved selling properties to travel the world. Throughout her journey, Askinosie said she was able to “study with indigenous healers, shamans, and medicine people who all bestowed their wisdom to me by word of mouth.” Being a self-professed skeptic, once back home, she wanted to test her knowledge and see the results of the healing crystals for herself. Askinosie handmade ten necklaces using her knowledge and doled them out to ten of her friends, one of whom was Jandro, a dear friend she calls her business partner today.

The “Prosperity” necklaces were a success. Friend after friend returned with some sort of good news — from a job offer to a business connection, prosperity really did abound, and it didn’t overlook Askinosie or Jandro.

Jandro’s background in the garment industry, where she says she “had the experience of learning all facets of a business,” turned out to be the the yin to Askinosie’s yang. After such positive feedback about the necklaces, Jandro said, “I worked on getting a small production team together, and we literally started selling product out of the trunks of our cars in Manhattan Beach.” And from there, the rest is history. According to Jandro, “Word spread to Hollywood A-listers about this prosperity-bringing necklace. We were ushered into Hollywood parties to sell our ‘energy beads.’ It’s like we were doing energy deals with the most influential people and successful people and giving them a competitive edge.”

Healing Energy for Everyone

Healing crystals and their benefits are not just privy to Hollywood’s elite. Energy Muse caters to people of all ages, professions, genders, and knowledge levels, skeptics and non-skeptics alike. Askinosie says, “Sometimes, it’s hard to get your head around the world of energy, and the things we cannot see. Crystals encompass the invisible world of energy and give you something tangible to feel and hold in your hands.”

According to Collective Evolution, quantum physics theorizes “what we perceive as our physical material world, is really not physical or material at all, in fact, it is far from it.” Throughout history, numerous scientists have argued that you and I are not solid at all, but are actually comprised of one hundred percent energy, further substantiating the positives of utilizing healing crystals.

When asked for recommendations for some of the more common issues afflicting people today, like anxiety, stress, and lack of inspiration or motivation, Askinosie recommended shungite for anxiety, selenite for stress, and angel phantom quartz for motivation and inspiration, while Jandro swears by blue lace agate for calming nerves and wears it every day. Askinosie also wants to remind everyone that crystals are not just a passing fad. Although the practice has caught on more recently in the mainstream, she likes to think of it as a “global movement that is starting to gain momentum as people become re-attuned to connecting with the energy of the Earth.”

Where to Begin

If you’re new to healing crystals like me, then getting started might seem intimidating. Fortunately, Energy Muse has excellent recommendations on the site. You can shop by chakra, intention, or gemstone, and may also pre-order the pair’s book, “Crystal Muse, Everyday Rituals to Tune into the Real You,” due out in October. Jandro assured me that even newcomers will be able to navigate it with confidence and says, “We’ve done the work for you, giving you the formulas that have worked best for us. There’s a chapter for love, wealth, meditation, pregnancy, spirituality and much, much more. The rituals are structured like recipes, with crystals as the main ingredient.”

While the book may offer practical rituals that can be done in eleven minutes or less, Askinosie reminds us that there’s no quick fix.

“Everything takes time and consistency. Keep it simple and don’t give your power away. The magic is not the crystal, it’s you,” she says. “It’s not doing the work, you are. It’s simply an ally on your journey. A tool to help you get where you want to go. If you think that just purchasing a rock is going to change your life, you’ll be disappointed. The only person that’s going to change your life is you. The crystal is the tool to ignite that change.”

images courtesy of Energy Muse

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People have long used healing crystals for holistic health. Since the dawn of time, civilizations have believed that healing crystals possessed the ability to transmit their own healing energy into humans. Today, crystal enthusiasts drape their necks, ears, and wrists in crystals or clutch them during meditation. They even place them throughout their homes to alter the energy of the home.

Here are some healing crystals and stones with powerful energy that you’ll want to have around your home or on your person for extra support.

8 Powerful and Beautiful Healing Crystals that Promote Energetic and Holistic Health

1. Turquoise

Turquoise is known as the master healer, some even refer to it as the energetic bridge between heaven and Earth. It also has protective qualities for the body.

2. Bloodstone

Bloodstone is a healing crystal that’s known for its ability to purify the blood as the name signifies. It also provides energy and helps you to overcome laziness and lethargy. Bloodstones are charged with energy.

3. Bastnasite

Bastnasite is a crystal that’s known for helping you manifest your dreams. While at the same time it grounds you and provides you with a connection to the Earth. Basically, it helps you to reach for the stars while you’re still planted firmly on Earth.

4. Bixbite

Bixbite is a rare stone found in Utah that’s known for its ability to release stress. It also improves your self esteem and makes you feel more energized.

5. Carnelian Stones

Carnelian stones stimulate the reproductive organs of the body. They also inspire courage, confidence, and creativity. The stones focus energy on the organs of the lower body like the liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and kidneys.

6. Elephant Skin Jasper

This is a stone that can be used during meditation to promote your higher self. It assists your third eye in seeing energetically and helps you find enlightenment.

7. Lava Stones

Lava stones are the product of a volcano–they contain the powerful energy created in an eruption. They can reduce depression and improve vitality.

8. Rose Quartz

This is one of the most powerful crystals representing feminine  energy. It promotes loving at a deeper, more emotional level.

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