Based on your zodiac sign, Moon sign and chosen life theme (love, protection, prosperity, healing, intuition, grounding) three ideal crystals are recommended for you. Each crystal receives: a description of energy properties, mineralogical characteristics, methods of use (wearing, meditation, placement in space), cleansing and charging, and a specific affirmation. The analysis also explains the mutual synergy of the recommended crystals.
Where it comes from
Stones have been worn for protection and status since prehistory — lapis lazuli travelled thousands of kilometres from Afghan mines to Egyptian tombs. Ancient lapidaries, the medieval texts cataloguing stones and their virtues, were standard reference works; the one attributed to Marbodus of Rennes in the eleventh century circulated across Europe for centuries. The modern practice, which pairs stones with chakras and emotional states, was assembled in the 1970s and 1980s within the New Age movement and draws on those older catalogues selectively.
How the method works
Selection works from the property assigned to the stone and the state you are working with. Amethyst is used for calm and for sleep, rose quartz for grief and for self-regard, clear quartz as a general-purpose stone, black tourmaline and obsidian for boundaries, citrine for confidence and work, labradorite for transition. Placement follows the chakra mapping, with the stone rested on or near the relevant centre. The practices around them — cleansing under water, leaving them in moonlight, setting an intention — are part of the tradition as it is currently practised.
What a reading covers
A reading gives the stones matched to what you are working with, what each is traditionally used for, where to place or carry them, and how they are cleansed and cared for in the practice.
Common questions
- Do crystals have measurable effects?
- Controlled studies find the reported effects occur equally with imitation stones, which points to expectation rather than the mineral. The practice is best understood as a focus for attention.
- Does the stone need to be expensive?
- No. In the practice, size and price are not treated as relevant. Most of the commonly used stones are inexpensive.
- Are any unsafe?
- Some are. Malachite, cinnabar and a number of others contain compounds that should not be put in water or handled as powder. Dry handling of polished stones is the safe default.