Top 10 Crystals for Novice

Madrigal

I've recently become interested in crystals, less for their therapeutic qualities which the cynic in me finds dubious and more for their beauty. That said I'm intrigued by the connections between the physical properties of a crystal and its effects on the body, basically the relationship between the earth-fire of the earth and the earth of the body. So far I've got these crystals...

A few quartz crystals, one largish point and a smaller stone
Polished & Tumbled Tiger's Eye
Polished and Tumbled Jade
Various Amber stones, some rough, some polished
Large rough chunk of Citrine
Medium rough chunk of Amethyst
Rose Quartz triangulated pyramid (I think there's a specific name for these)
Polished and Tumbled Rhodonite
Polished and Tumbled Lapis
Tumbled Emerald

I was thinking of adding moonstone, carnelian and I'd like to gather a few more. Any suggestions for a novice would be much appreciated. Right now I've got them on my altar in various spots but I don't connect with them beyond their visual aesthetic and the feel they inspire in me based on the shape, striations, color etc.
 

Onion Budgie

That's a good selection you've got there already!

I'd suggest Red Jasper (healing), and Hematite (grounding), and also Tourmalinated Quartz (protecting).
 

Padma

I would add kyanite (black or blue), black tourmaline, garnet, selenium and a double terminated quartz point (for cleansing and charging your other crystals) and smoky topaz. :) celestite is very nice as well, resonates well with the crown chakra, and calms and soothes. Only caveat with selenite is you cannot get it wet (made of salt, basically) and celestite cannot endure sunlight. (amethyst fades in sun as well, as does citrine).

Others to consider would be all the calcites (orange, blue, green etc) and Labradorite.

Just my personal view! I use crystals a lot for mediation and cleansing/healing. There is a great book by Robert Simmons and Naisa Ashian called The Book of Stones (Amazon has it) and it is quite comprehensive. Also, this site is quite helpful, they have collected information from several authors.

http://www.crystalvaults.com/guides-crystals/

Even if your interest is purely aesthetic, these stones are nice additions to a collection, and it is good to know the basics of what they are purported to do, IMO. Hope this helps! :love:
 

Madrigal

That's a good selection you've got there already!

I'd suggest Red Jasper (healing), and Hematite (grounding), and also Tourmalinated Quartz (protecting).

Thanks. The Red Jasper is particularly compelling.

I would add kyanite (black or blue), black tourmaline, garnet, selenium and a double terminated quartz point (for cleansing and charging your other crystals) and smoky topaz. :) celestite is very nice as well, resonates well with the crown chakra, and calms and soothes. Only caveat with selenite is you cannot get it wet (made of salt, basically) and celestite cannot endure sunlight. (amethyst fades in sun as well, as does citrine).

Others to consider would be all the calcites (orange, blue, green etc) and Labradorite.

Just my personal view! I use crystals a lot for mediation and cleansing/healing. There is a great book by Robert Simmons and Naisa Ashian called The Book of Stones (Amazon has it) and it is quite comprehensive. Also, this site is quite helpful, they have collected information from several authors.

http://www.crystalvaults.com/guides-crystals/

Even if your interest is purely aesthetic, these stones are nice additions to a collection, and it is good to know the basics of what they are purported to do, IMO. Hope this helps! :love:

Thanks for the tip about sunlight fading certain crystals. Now I know what happened to my son's amethyst geode :rolleyes:

Could you explain what you mean by 'cleansing and charging other crystals'? And when you say you use them for cleansing/healing do you mean you place them on your body and pray/meditate/breathe into that place? My skeptical self is curious if you notice any differences. I guess I put them in the same category as homeopathy in which there are just too many variables and interferences for such subtle energy to work. Just MHO but obviously I want to be convinced otherwise or I wouldn't be posting here lol.
 

Aster Breo

One thing I think that's very important to keep in mind is that, regardless of what the various crystal books say, different stones affect different people differently. For example, many people, including me, find nuummite to be grounding, but it's so "buzzy" to my daughter that she finds it physically painful to touch it. Some people find malachite calming, but it just feels slimy to me.

So, the books and other people's recommendations are good places to start, but don't be surprised if you discover personal differences.

Similarly, different specimens of the same kind of stone can affect people differently. As can whether the stone is raw, tumbled, faceted, or cabbed. And stones you pick up outside can be just as -- or more -- effective as stones you buy.

I strongly recommend just exploring the mineral world for yourself and finding out what works for you.

One other thing: The stones sold in new age/metaphysical stores are almost always greatly overpriced. If you can, shop at real rock stores. You'll get better prices and better info. And be careful buying online. There's A LOT of scamming, mislabeling, and other shady practices in the online sale of stones.

For example, several years ago, the company that published The Book of Stones (Heaven and Earth? I think?), which has beautiful photos, was selling something they called azeztulite. They claimed it was a super special, extremely rare stone, and they had a story that actually involved aliens. (Seriously. You can Google it.) And, of course, they sold it for absurd prices.

It was garden variety white quartz, which is one of the the most common stones on the planet. You can find it almost anywhere. I think they might still be selling it, but I haven't checked lately.

So, do your homework before you buy.

This is not to say that stones don't have energies, and that some of those energies aren't perceptible by or useful to people. I believe they do have their own energies and that I can feel some of them. Despite my undergrad degree in geology. ;-)

Just do your own explorations, and don't get sucked into the scams. :)
 

Aster Breo

Oh, and one other thing: you often see the advice to cleanse stones in salt or salt water. But salt can damage some stones, sometimes severely. (And has already been mentioned, water can damage some stones. As can sunlight -- though that usually takes a long time, far more than a day or two.)

So do your homework on that, too!
 

Padma

Thanks for the tip about sunlight fading certain crystals. Now I know what happened to my son's amethyst geode :rolleyes:

Could you explain what you mean by 'cleansing and charging other crystals'? And when you say you use them for cleansing/healing do you mean you place them on your body and pray/meditate/breathe into that place?

Selenite clears and cleans out accumulated energies, and the double terminated quartz recharges them - look at crystals as being somewhat like computers and cell phones - if you don't program them, and charge them (with your intentions) they don't work as well. Also, the cleansing acts as upgrades to your PC might :D

I don't meditate with them very often, or place loosely o the body, though I hear that works very well. I wear them in jewelry mostly, and I use them to treat moods that I am having that day, or bodily afflictions (mild ones, not requiring a doctor's care) However, I do have a huge crystal plate full of loose stones, and I believe they contribute to a healthy home environment. I have used my celestite to meditate with, as I have a very large one, and good celestite jewelry is hard to find, due to the softness of the stone.

I have used my selenite wand to heal certain things like bruising. (It worked!) And certain pocket stones are good to have regarding what trials you encounter...I once used a huge piece of hematite to great effect, during my divorce proceedings. What seemed stacked against me, due to the judge in question, fell to my favour - I credit the lump of hematite for that (invulnerability). And I have used black tourmaline to help cure a bad over-exercise stress injury in the hips of another person. It *can* work.

In regard to Azeztulite - while I do love Robert Simmon's crystal book, I did think Azeztulite was - a bit of a scam, a bit of a reach, even for me :( I couldn't believe in it. Maybe it is true, but I am not convinced...and yet, their book is very thorough in every other way.

(To all reading this, please note, if you have a medical condition, have it treated by doctors first. Crystals are more of a sympathetic friend to Western meds. They can help, but are not a replacement for medical advice or treatment.)

Aster Breo, good point about cleansing. Myself, I use a ring of sea salt around them to cleanse all my stones, including the selenite. Moonlight works a treat as well, and so does burying them in earth for a few days. :)
 

Padma

I forgot to say - trust your intuition, and let the crystals choose you :) that's usually how it happens, in my experience! ;)
 

Madrigal

Similarly, different specimens of the same kind of stone can affect people differently. As can whether the stone is raw, tumbled, faceted, or cabbed. And stones you pick up outside can be just as -- or more -- effective as stones you buy.

I strongly recommend just exploring the mineral world for yourself and finding out what works for you.

Love the highlighted, thanks for that reminder. And also to explore the mineral world for myself. That resonates with me in a far more visceral way than going with standard interpretations of the stones' energies.

I forgot to say - trust your intuition, and let the crystals choose you :) that's usually how it happens, in my experience! ;)

Good point. Kind of like a Tarot deck ;) And thanks for the sharing your experience with your stones. Jewelry, now there's something concrete I can relate to in the stone world. :joke: