Crystals: Can You Actually Benefit From Them?
collage by Maryam Elsharkawy
Human fascination with crystals has existed for centuries. There are origins of utilizing crystals for healing that tie back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, India, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. In 1609, Anselmus de Boot, the court physician to Rudolf II of Germany, stated that gemstones garnered energy through the presence of good or bad angels. In the early part of the 19th century, numerous experiments were conducted to demonstrate stones' effects on subjects who stated they were clairvoyant. One of these cases resulted in a subject's claim that they were able to feel emotional and physical changes through the stones, as well as smells and tastes.
With all of this being said, it is safe to say that crystals are not a recent fad that has been exploited throughout mediums such as TikTok. Instead, crystals have caught the eye of human beings to a large extent. The interest has increased to the point where the plausibility of crystals' power has been consistently pondered over.
Through social media and other platforms, spirituality has a vessel into the mainstream. We have seen a resurgence in Eastern philosophy, astrology, and many more components of different viewpoints that may not have hit the Western world otherwise. With all of these becoming mainstream, crystals have also appeared as a topic of discussion regarding spirituality, almost to an extent where it seems like a recent interest, even though this is quite the contrary.
In general, the fascination with crystals has always originated because of the concept that the energy surrounding us is the energy we allow in ourselves. Energy is all around us -- It consumes the space that encircles our daily life. Crystals intend to promote good energy flow, by attracting what one desires, and disposing of negative energy for physical and emotional benefits.
Some individuals believe that crystals contain properties that can transmit specific energetic frequencies, such as healing abilities for the mind, body, and soul. For others, the act of purchasing crystals, and allowing oneself to believe that each crystal contains an energetic property, can already help alter one's perceptions, even if they are skeptics. This is because it is highly proven that one's reality is the makeup of the mind.
From my own experiences, my journey with crystals started as a skeptic, and I still lie in an area where I could see the opposition to any of crystals’ proposed properties. However, I have found the intention of crystals and purchasing crystals to be one that has had an effect positively on me. It's a fundamental notion to understand that one's external world affects the internal. In spirituality, there tends to be a message that we are the universe experiencing itself from one specific perspective. This means that we have to dig deeper into the depths of ourselves to be free. In some cases, spiritual teachers advise us not to garner any external value from objects such as crystals. The reality of the situation is that it is difficult to obtain this salvation in an environment that promotes the opposite. Crystals allow you to be surrounded by intentions of transmitting love, robust mental health, and prosperity. For many, including myself, the external world does contribute to an internal sense of peace.
I began my interest in crystals from watching tarot readings online. I found it fascinating that the crystal and the message of the cards would align accurately to an element in my life. In
many tarot readings, you will see crystals placed on top of the tarot cards. These serve as indicators for what the person picking the card desires in life, will desire, or already has depending on the reading. Common crystals on the cards include rose quartz and obsidian.
The rose quartz crystal, which one may imagine from the name, is a crystal that restores trust and harmony in relationships and attracts love into one's life. If an individual wears a rose quartz necklace, they put an item with a positive intention on their body. Thus, this will program one's mind to be focusing on attracting the desire of love into their life, whether that be love from others or self-love. It's a common principle that you attract, what you think. If you are looking for love, the confidence that one will obtain it by holding onto rose quartz is one that increases the chances of one obtaining it.
Another common crystal mentioned was obsidian. Obsidian is believed to assist in blocking out external negativity. When one carries obsidian or wears the crystal, they may look at the world's negative aspects differently. In life, most events and the effect the event has on the psyche are through the power one gives that incident. As stated prior, that power is given through one's thoughts. You have to believe that you attract positivity. Even though adversary, there are lessons to be learned.
Furthermore, crystals have caught the intention of human beings for centuries. The beautiful aesthetic of crystals are eye-pleasing, but the benefits can be substantially filled with more substance. Even to a skeptic, purchasing a crystal with the intention of a desired state in life is already taking a step to surround yourself with positive, forward-thinking actions.
Crystals provide us an external visual that we are all human beings with desires that can be manifested into fruition. You just have to let yourself believe.