There are many of you that are embarking on your spiritual journey. Discovering crystals and meditation. This page is a little self help section to make sure what you do is of highest vibrations with love and light.
Crystals work via energy transfer. As long as we work with intent we can use their energy and the properties they hold to change our lives for the better.
All crystals do need to be charged and cleansed. There are many ways to do this however for cleansing I recommend smudging. This is done by using sacred smoke such as sage, palo santo and other cleansing herbs. For charging there is water, sunlight, earth, salt, music etc but my favourite is to leave them in the new/full moon. This is because it is one of the ways that is suitable for all crystals, where as other ways can damage some of them.
When finding crystals we have to be honest here, there are more fakes now then have ever been in the past. So how do you know if a crystal is fake?
Firstly the price. If you buy a crystal that seems too good to be true then it probably is. You have to remember that most crystals are from mother earth. They take time and effort to mine. Sometimes it can be one person but other times it can be multiple. It is then cleaned thoroughly. Usually in a type of acid. Its scrubbed of earth and mud and checked for parasites and insects. It is then cut using specific tools. Some pieces are smoothed out, polished and cut into shapes/towers/points/spheres. This usually takes many people. It is then that it is sold. So when you are buying a tower or sphere for £3, £7 or depending on the crystal even £12 please take into consideration how much the wholesale was. If the wholesale was cheap enough that these pieces can be sold at this price then usually it is unethically mined or fake.
You have to remember these countries you are buying from. Some of them have slavery and trafficing. Please be mindful! The other thing is lack of knowledge. Some sellers do not know what they are selling!
The other option is its affordable because its glass, plastic or other man made materials. So many crystals are easy to fake. So how do you tell?
1. Place the crystal between your teeth. Does it feel smooth or grainy? If it feels grainy then thats a sign its a crystal.
2. Is there any obvious holes with more colouring around it. This could be a sign of needle dye insertion.
3. In your quartz are there air bubbles? If there are then this was lab made. Dont confuse this with water bubbles or internal chips which are in natural quartz.
4. Where did you buy them from? Know your source. Ebay, Amazon, Etsy and even now Instagram are all commonly known for selling fakes. You may not always be able to prevent this however ask your seller questions about how or where it was mined including country of origin. Please note some crystals that are unethically mined are being sold so cheaply that they are selling fast and running out of that type of crystal and mines have to be closed. This ruins it for those who ethically mine and also is disrespectful to mother nature! My how we take things for granted.
5. Lastly do your research by reliable sources. Books etc. Remember google is not a reliable source. Anyone can make a website and it be on google. Some crystals that are more common are being sold misleadingly as others. Below are some examples.
AMBER
Amber can be pricey. A cheaper version is Copal. Copal is a tree resin often used and sold as Amber. Place your Amber/Copal in a cup of salt water. If it sinks its likely to be a type of plastic. Both sink in fresh water but due to the higher density of salt water, it will sink. Amber and Copal do come with insect inclusions often. However I have known this to be pressed into fake resins and plastics so this would not be an indication of a fake.
MOONSTONE
There are many sellers who sell the man made crystal Opalite. Moonstone although it can look similar to Opal it is a feld spar crystal and not an Opal or Opalite. Opal and Opalite are also different. Opals are natural and are rarer than Opalite making it more of a pricey crystal. Some Opals are in the top 10 most expensive crystals! Opalite is cheaper as its man made. This is ok though as still holds alot of energy but yes Moonstone is NOT Opalite!
SELENITE
Selenite is one of the cheapest crystals there is. However what we dont go into details about is its not actually Selenite. Its actually Satin Spar. Its a gypsum that is a part of the Selenite family. Almost like a sibling. It has the same properties as Selenite however real Selenite's properties are enhanced. Its very rare to find Selenite. And it is alot more pricier than Satin Spar. You can tell the difference due to Selenite being see through and clear. Satin Spar is very fibreous meaning it gives it a white cloudy sheen. Both work well however if you want Selenite expect to pay more than £12 for a wand. Optical Quartz is another.
STRAWBERRY QUARTZ
Strawberry Quartz seems to be the new in thing. Whilst its a great crystal to work with it is easy to fake. Real Strawberry Quartz isnt expensive but is more than £4 for a tower! Even a mini one! It is a red quartz usually in deep red with gold specs. These specs are actually iron oxides. It is also sometimes called red fire quartz. Alot of strawberry quartz being sold are dyed and made of resin. Resin is known to have properties also however is ALOT cheaper than real strawberry quartz. FYI there is no such thing as Blueberry Quartz 🙈
CITRINE
My biggest bug bare! The one that infuriates me the most! Citrine! Citrine is most commonly sold in a bright yellowy golden orangey colour. This is actually heat treated. The clusters especially are heat treated Amethyst. But this is ok. Because they found that when heat treated not only did it make the colour more beautiful and intense it actually seemed to bring people the properties of Citrine. Especially during colour therapies. Natural Citrine is expensive. There is congo Citrine which looks similar to Tangerine Quartz and is usually sold as smaller points/tips. Then the natural Citrine most commonly found is a white wine colour. This Citrine is pricey. If you paid a small price or anything under £25 for a small tower you are probably actually holding a poor quality Smokey Quartz which is commonly found or a Lemon Quartz which is cheaper but less commonly known or in demand. I have seen so much Natural Citrine being sold ridiculously cheap and it is clearly a lemon quartz or smokey.
It saddens me that the crystal love is growing but people are taking advantage of it or using it just to make easy money on instagram and etsy (It isnt easy money for the miners!).
Some sellers are uneducated and see some 'wholesalers' around the world on instagram who will sell anyone anything. Especially India and China.
Madagascar have had to close many mines.
These are just a few but there are so many more. Moldavite is the newest fake! Moldavite IS expensive!
Do your research guys and embrace the energy of Mother Earth.