Crystals are objects of great beauty; from the deep midnight blue of lapis lazuli to the soft peachy-pink tones of rose quartz, from the inky black of tourmaline to the ice-clear of quartz. Cool to the touch, a tumbled stone soon warms in your hand. Worn as a ring, crystal flashes in the sunlight. A crystal ball echoes generations of mystery… and whispers of promise for the future.

But is a crystal anything more than an object of beauty? Does a rose quartz usher in friendship and love? Does tourmaline have a protective energy that can banish nightmares when placed around your bed? How much is the actual property of the crystal and how much is an idea we may have projected onto it? Is there an energy inherent in the stone? Or have we overlaid a material object with meaning that really only exists in our mind? And does it really matter either way?

I am blessed to have a collection of crystal balls. How I talk about them really depends on who I’m talk to. My electrician, who teases me about being a witch, has a far greater depth of understanding of energy than most. He asks about the crystal balls and I tell him the truth – that I believe they bring a gentle, peaceful energy into my home and keep my space clear of lower energies. My Catholic neighbour, who thinks that witches are the servants of the devil, asks about the crystal balls. I answer honestly – that they are objects of great beauty. He looks mildly disappointed, but also relieved that I am no making outlandish claims about healing and showing the future. Something a witch often learns the hard way is to know your audience! It can prevent unnecessary stress and disagreements, after all it is what we have in common that is important.

All material things are overlaid with meanings we ascribe to them, however animist ideology asserts that all things have a living soul so this way of seeing would indicate that a crystal is a conscious being. Many witches see things this way as we acknowledge the sanctity of all things and a belief in a higher power that energises and animates the material world. This way of seeing brings a respect for and inspires an awe for the material world and everything in it. Buddhist philosophy teaches that the material world or samsara is a world of illusion or maya, and Christianity seems to place the material world as something that is governed by the devil. Our views on the material world may differ… however we all live in it. Does a crystal embody a form of consciousness? You decide.

Sometimes crystals break; they are dropped on the floor and shatter or are chipped. Some have fissures in them that crack. What does this mean? To me it tells me that crystals are part of the material world and so are subject to impermanence as all material things are. They will arise and fall away, form over great tracts of time and perhaps shatter in a moment. Is this somehow wrong or bad? No. It is just the nature of material things, there is a cycle of life, death and rebirth.

Crystals need to be handled very gently when broken, perhaps use heavy gardening gloves on your hands when picking up the pieces or sweep them up. Return them to the earth. Be mindful of how and where you do this. If you can’t go to a secluded natural place to bury your broken crystal deeply, then perhaps put the pieces into the top of a pot plant depending on their size. If you bury them in your garden please dig deeply.

Think about the breaking of the crystal. Was it thrown or dropped in a violent way or was it an accident? Was it pushed off the altar by your cat? Contemplate the fragility and brevity of a life span. If crystals are light manifest, as some believe, perhaps when a crystal breaks or is broken its light emanates back into the universe and dissolves back into universal love. And that abusive partner you have been wanting to leave… when they break your most cherished crystal it’s definately time to go. Things break, and things end. Completion of a cycle is always followed by the beginning of a new cycle. Let it go. That crystal could have been you.

Transformation involves the ending of the ‘old’, removing what no longer serves and allowing the ‘new’ to enter. Perhaps you do not need the energy that that crystal brings any more. Life, death and eventual rebirth. Seek the deeper message for yourself. Only you can truly read the meaning of any given situation you are in. A naughty cat pushing a crystal off an altar may be a sign that you need to move on from that energetic signature, from a situation, lifestyle or environment. Perhaps a chipped crystal could be seen as perfectly imperfect? Although in feng shui broken objects carry bad frequency and need to be either repaired or replaced.

Using crystals to help facilitate healing can work on many levels. In a very deep way, the only person that can heal you is you although healing may be facilitated by others or by healing tools. Once when my life was imploding (it happens) I was crying uncontrollably, but I had the insight to hold a clear quartz crystal in either hand. The sobbing reached a crescendo and then started to ease, like a storm passing. Perhaps just the act of holding the crystals encouraged me to acknowledge my strength and to start to look for solutions. It was a pivotal moment for me where magic became something I practised rather than something I read about. I ‘took matters in to my own hands’ and left my home, my job and my partner in time. As the tears stopped, the crystal energy seemed to soothe and energise my whole being. I realised how grateful I really was, even though everything was upside down and I needed to make some substantial changes. I realised ‘it’s all in my hands’ and that I had the courage to make the changes that needed to be made. Afterwards, I held the two crystals under running tap water until they felt clear and then I took a shower and slept.

When I buy a new crystal I usually wash it in soapy water, unless it is a water soluble stone like selenite. Sometimes I use a glass cleaning solution. I let it air dry and then light some sage or Palo Santo and pass the crystal through the smoke.

I’m not sure that placing a crystal on a cancer is going to heal it. Many and varied factors formed the disease, and many and varied factors will be needed to heal it. Perhaps surgery and chemotherapy or radiation therapy is needed; these things are very personal choices. However, placing a crystal on the site of a tumour and visualising light pouring through the crystal and dissolving the disease is not going to do any harm is it? It may not be a cure but it may bring peace and so clarity. It may help to reframe thoughts into a more useful mindset than one of fear. Cancer has been known to miraculously disappear, as happened to Anita Moorjani. But most do not. Some people choose surgery, and others choose not. A small tumbled stone to hold in one hand may bring comfort. ‘Mind over matter’, also known as The Placebo Effect, is a very powerful force.

Meaning is a very interesting subject. So is hope. Are crystals simple objects of natural beauty? Are they powerful tools of transformation? You decide. I personally see no downside to crystal energy; it is clean and green. For me, crystals are gifts from the earth to be with us for a time… we may pass them on or they may break. What we read into them is a very personal thing, there is no right or wrong. The truth is many and varied, just like the crystals themselves.

”With our thoughts we make the world.” – Buddha.