A Beginner's Guide to Choosing Healing Crystals

Crystals and gemstones have been used for spiritual and healing purposes for thousands of years across many cultures. Using crystals in alternative medicine, meditation, and personal development has recently seen a significant resurgence. With so many different types of crystals to choose from, it can be overwhelming for beginners to know where to start while choosing natural healing crystals and gemstones. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of selecting the right healing crystals for your specific needs and intentions.

Understanding Crystal Healing

Crystal healing, also known as lithotherapy, utilizes crystals and stones to facilitate physical, emotional, mental and spiritual healing. Crystals can help to amplify, absorb, focus and direct energy throughout the body to activate our natural healing abilities. Each crystal has its own unique metaphysical properties that interact with our body's energy field to bring about different benefits. For example, some crystals are calming and soothing, while others enhance energy and vitality. Choosing suitable crystals can facilitate healing on all levels.

How Crystals Work

Crystals form in a highly structured way that allows them to hold and transmit energy. When we interact with crystals, their unique molecular makeup and vibrational frequencies interact with the body's electromagnetic field to create balance, harmony and healing effects. Science has begun to confirm that crystals have measurable energetic and biochemical properties. However, much of how crystals work remains mystical and continues to be explored. Crystals can absorb, focus, direct, and diffuse energy to facilitate healing.

Choosing Your Intention

The first step in picking crystals is to set your intention. Crystals work as conduits to help direct energy towards a specific purpose or goal. Take some time to clarify what you want to accomplish by working with them. Are you looking to boost your creativity? Invite more abundance into your life? Release negative emotions? Alleviate stress and anxiety? Promote overall physical healing? Setting a clear intention will help guide you in selecting suitable crystals.

Cleansing and Programming Your Crystals

Before using your crystals, you’ll want to cleanse and program them. Cleansing removes any accumulated negative energy so their own unique properties can shine through. There are different methods of cleansing, including soaking them in salt water, burning sage or palo santo, placing them in sunlight or moonlight, or passing them through the smoke of incense.


After cleansing, you’ll want to program your crystals with your specific intention. You can hold your crystal in your hands, take some deep breaths, and visualize your goal manifesting through the crystal. Speak your intention aloud or repeat it mentally. Programming aligns the crystal’s energies to your desired outcome. Whenever you use your crystal, remember to restate your intention to amplify its effects. With intention set and crystal cleansed, you’re ready to make your selection.

Choosing Crystals by Color

One way to choose a crystal is by its colour, which is associated with specific properties. Here’s a guide to crystal colours and their metaphysical effects:

Red Crystals: Boost energy, strength, vitality, passion, confidence, and willpower. Crystals – red jasper, garnet, ruby.

Orange Crystals: Enhance creativity, fertility, sexuality, and joy. Crystals – carnelian, sunstone, orange calcite.

Yellow Crystals: Promote mental clarity, intellect, optimism, and confidence. Crystals – citrine, yellow calcite, amber.

Green Crystals: Facilitate growth, balance, harmony, prosperity, and healing. Crystals – jade, emerald, malachite, aventurine.

Blue Crystals: Calming, soothing, intuition, communication. Crystals – blue lace agate, sodalite, lapis lazuli.

Purple Crystals: Intuition, wisdom, spiritual connection. Crystals – amethyst, lepidolite, sugilite.

Pink Crystals: Self-love, kindness, tenderness, romance. Crystals – rose quartz, kunzite, morganite.

Black Crystals: Grounding, protection, resilience. Crystals – onyx, tourmaline, obsidian.

White Crystals: Clarity, purification, spirituality, balance. Crystals – clear quartz, moonstone, selenite.

Choosing Crystals by Chakra

Another method is choosing crystals based on the chakra you want to heal or balance. The seven chakras are the energy centres running up the body, each associated with specific functions.



Root Chakra: Grounding, security, survival. Crystals - hematite, red jasper, black tourmaline

Sacral Chakra: Pleasure, creativity, relationships. Crystals - carnelian, orange calcite, tiger’s eye

Solar Plexus Chakra: Willpower, self-esteem, mental clarity. Crystals - citrine, amber, yellow jasper

Heart Chakra: Love, compassion, emotional healing. Crystals - rose quartz, green aventurine, jade

Throat Chakra: Communication, truth, integrity. Crystals - blue lace agate, turquoise, sodalite

Third Eye Chakra: Intuition, wisdom, imagination. Crystals - amethyst, lapis lazuli, sapphire

Crown Chakra: Spirituality, connection to source. Crystals - clear quartz, selenite, amethyst

Choosing a corresponding crystal can help activate and align that energy centre if you feel blocked or deficient in a particular chakra. For overall balance, you may select crystals across the spectrum of chakras.

Choosing Crystals by Metaphysical Properties

In addition to colour and chakra association, you’ll want to choose crystals based on their specific Natural healing stone properties. Refer to a crystal reference guide or encyclopedia to find stones possessing the metaphysical attributes you want to harness. For instance, if you're seeking to enhance communication, choose blue lace agate. For relaxation and stress relief, opt for amethyst. Citrine boosts optimism and confidence.

There are countless crystals offering unique benefits - far too many to list, but some examples include:

Rose quartz: Emotional healing, self-love, relationships

Obsidian: Protection, stress relief, removing negativity

Jasper: Grounding, stability, comfort

Moonstone: Intuition, feminine energy, pineal gland

Turquoise: Wisdom, luck, mental clarity

Carnelian: Creativity, fertility, passion

Clear quartz: Power, amplification, clarity

Fluorite: Mental focus, decision-making, harmony

Take time reading about different crystal properties to discern which call out to you most. You’ll know which crystals are right for your intentions based on what metaphysical attributes resonate with your needs.

Recommended Beginner Crystals

For those just getting started with crystals, here are some of the top stones recommended for beginners:

Clear Quartz: The “master healer crystal”, used to amplify energies of other stones. Promotes clarity of mind.

Rose Quartz: The “love crystal”, promotes unconditional love, emotional healing, tenderness, and understanding.

Amethyst: A calming and purifying stone that alleviates stress, anxiety, and negative emotions. Enhances spirituality.

Black Tourmaline: Strong protective stone that repels negative energy while promoting inner strength and resilience.

Citrine: The “abundance crystal” - carries the solar plexus energy of confidence, vitality, prosperity, and creativity.

Selenite: Said to charge and cleanse other crystals. Evokes mental clarity, psychic awareness, and spiritual light.

Obsidian: Protective and grounding, providing a shield against negativity while promoting emotional healing.



Green Aventurine: Considered the "stone of opportunity", attracting luck, prosperity, and positive new chances.

Fluorite: Promotes spiritual evolution, intuition, clarity and brain power while dispelling negative energy.

Carnelian: Motivating and stimulating, enhancing creativity, sexuality, passion, and stimulating the lower three chakras.

These versatile starter crystals offer a well-rounded toolkit for crystal healing beginners.

Crystal Form: Tumbled, Raw or Tower

Crystals come in various shapes and sizes. Small tumbled stones are ideal for holding, carrying in a pouch, or placing in a grid. They emanate their energy in all directions. Raw, natural points direct energy through the tip, making them ideal for acupuncture or massage. Large crystal clusters radiate energy outward, infusing a space with their vibrations. Obelisks and towers draw energy up through the body. Use your intention to determine what form will work best for you.

Crystal Size and Quality

Size doesn't necessarily indicate a crystal's potency. Both large and small stones can be effective. However, bigger terminated points and geodes typically cost more. In terms of quality, opt for the most clear, flawless specimens within your budget. Note that most commercially sold crystals are not ethically sourced from small mines, so shop intentionally from reputable crystal suppliers or trustable Online Crystal Shop that emphasize fair trade. For extra assurance, intuitively choose the specific stones calling out to you.

Trust Your Intuition

When browsing crystals, don’t overthink it. The most powerful talismans choose you! Tune into your innate discernment and let yourself be drawn to the right stones. Pick them up and see how they resonate. Notice the colours, shapes and textures you are most attracted to. A crystal may literally speak to you, transmitting its purpose like an inner voice or feeling. Let your intuition guide you to your ideal crystals.

Activate and Program Your Crystals

Once selected, be sure to activate, cleanse and program your crystals with your intention. Keep them close by in a pouch, display them atop an altar or nightstand, or create grids around your living space. Speak to your crystal, meditate with them, and repeat positive affirmations to manifest desired outcomes. Stay open to signs and synchronicities. Most of all - believe in the power of your crystals and let their innate wisdom help guide you to health, prosperity and awakening.

In Summary:

Choose crystals based on colour, chakra, and metaphysical properties aligned to your goals

• Select quality stones, ideally ethically sourced from fair trade suppliers
• Let yourself be drawn to crystals that most speak to you
• Cleanse, activate and program crystals to amplify their power
• Keep crystals close and repeat intentions and affirmations when using them
• Remain open to the inner wisdom crystals can offer you

The world of crystals is vast, and this guide only scratches the surface. Your intuition will grow as you work with your crystals, and your collection will naturally expand. Crystals become trusted allies and friends, helping us to access higher vibrations and sacred inner knowledge. Allow these amazing mineral buddies to guide you on a path of growth, healing and spiritual evolution. With the right crystals by your side, you'll be amazed by the personal breakthroughs and magical manifestations that unfold in your life.