Get to know your rose quartz from your cape amethyst and find out just why so many people think crystal healing rocks. Illustration by Vincent S
Perhaps one of the better-known alternative therapies out there, crystal healing has been used around the world for centuries. Even on the high street, evidence of this craze can be found in abundance – from jewellery to promote various moods (calm, energy) to our enduring fascination with zodiacal birth stones.
So how does this amazing remedy work, you ask? As ever, it’s all down to the twin pillars of alternative medicine: healing vibrations and energy centres. Crystal aficionados praise the treatment for its ability to realign chakras and our wellbeing as a whole (rather than conventional medicine, which treats only one area or symptom at a time). Each crystal is thought to have a different electromagnetic charge (the result of the geometric make-up of the atoms within the crystal), and it is this ‘charge’ that can be used to address various issues.
The procedure itself is straightforward enough – a patient will be induced into a deep state of relaxation (always a nice thing) by a crystal therapist, after which various stones will be selected based on the state of their aura (auras, too, play a large part). These will be arranged in a pattern along the patient’s body. The result? Overall feelings of wellbeing, with the occasional report of a temporary intensity of symptoms – all part of the process of release and nothing to worry about.
Of course, there’s a celebrity following, too – Angelina Jolie has supposedly invested heavily in crystals (though apparently Brad remains a sceptic), and the Beckhams went crystal gaga during their time in Los Angeles (pink quartz and black tourmaline, in case you were wondering). And who doesn’t remember Spencer Pratt in that episode of The Hills? What more is there to say? The way forward is crystal clear.
A version of this story appeared in the Autumn 2016 issue of Baku magazine.
