So, you just brought home a new crystal — and you want to get to know it, you want to know how to connect with it.

What’s the best way of going about doing that?

Here’s a step-by-step guide to start off your crystal relationship right!

When I bring home a new crystal I usually like to retune it (what many call “cleanse”) just to make sure it’s not bringing any extra baggage along with it. Know what I mean?

You can read more about how I like to do that here.

Then, the next thing I do is a crystal meditation with the specimen. I take at least 5-15 minutes to sit quietly with that crystal and see what kind of insights or messages I get from it — so I’ll know how that crystal will work best personally with me.

This is how I feel I get to know my crystals best. Once I have that info, then I determine if I want to take it deeper and really forge a close bond with this crystal. (I end up doing that with only about 6-10 crystals in my entire collection at the most. People are often surprised to hear that I don’t do that with my entire collection).

Then with those crystals that I have that really close relationship with… I’ll begin incorporating that crystal into my daily morning crystal meditations for a month or so as well as working closely with it for other personal self-help or ceremonial rituals when they come up for me (which isn’t too often, because I’m really practical and pretty lazy).

Other Methods on How to Connect with a New Crystal

I was curious to see if my method was kind of universal or totally out there, so I asked my good friend and fellow crystal-lover, Maia Toll, author of The Illustrated Crystallary, how she gets to know a new crystal.

If you follow me on Instagram you know I go on and on about what a beautiful and insightful crystal book she’s alchemized for us! After you read her stuff and if you know me and my scientific bent at all…. you’ll totally get WHY I vibe with her so much~!

I’m gonna let Maia take over from here in her own words while she shares with you the method she perfected while writing The Illustrated Crystallary:

I used a four-step method — five if you include writing and sharing what I learned — to study each new crystal I added to the book.

This process worked so well for me, that it’s still what I use to get to know a new crystal:

1. Cleanse
2. Intuit
3. Research
4. Integrate

Cleanse

First, I give a new crystal a good cleansing. This might include running water, sunlight, or a smoke bath depending on the stone. I’ve even been known to ring bells over a new crystal to break up stale vibrations! But smoke is often my go-to — I’m trained as an herbalist so always have dried herb options in the cupboard. The great thing about using smoke is I don’t have to worry about whether the stone can handle water (selenite can’t) or if its color will fade in the sun (like fluorite).

Clear quartz is my exception: I will pretty much always cleanse clear quartz with both running water and sunshine. I’m lucky enough to live on a creek, so I can submerge the quartz for a few hours then leave it to dry on a sunny rock. But if you don’t have access to natural running water, take your quartz into the shower with you! Picture the shower giving both you and your quartz an energetic rinse and sending any energies which aren’t useful down the drain.

If a crystal feels really icky, and I’ve had a few of those, I bury it.

A few days in the earth is ideal for neutralizing and transmuting any negative energy.

Intuit

After a new crystal is cleansed, I sit with it. This always starts with the crystal loosely clasped in my hand but, as I feel into it, I may end up with it pressed against my third eye or held to my heart. It’s always curious to me what I intuitively want to do with a crystal and I consider this part of learning about a new stone. Pay attention to these impulses and note them down.

This next part is where it gets a little tricky: I listen to the crystal. Bear with me for a second because I’m not necessarily saying you should listen to your crystal!

Our bodies are constantly receiving information from the outside world. Some of this information comes through the usual channels: all five senses are constantly scanning and taking in information from the world around us.

 

But we also take in information that lies beyond the realm of the usual senses. Most people don’t even realize that they’re receiving electrical, magnetic, and barometric information (as well as all sorts of other stuff science may not even have names for yet). All this additional info gets sent to the brain and, it’s my belief, that as the brain sorts this added information we get what we call intuitive hits: incoming information for which we can’t identify the source. Our brain kindly translates this info into a usable form.

So, for me, I will hear things. But other people see things: they get a flash of color, or see a scene, or go into a state which feels like a daydream. Still, others will just suddenly know something and they can’t say exactly where the surety comes from, but they know. Some people will feel things in their body like their heart will ache if they are touching something which soothes heartbreak.

I listen to my crystals because, especially with the stones, that’s how my intuition speaks to me. Think about how your intuition speaks to you and then use it to learn a bit more about your new crystal.

So step 1 is cleanse, step 2 is intuit, and for step 3, I research.

Research

I’ll do an online search and scan for recurring keywords, then specifically look up myths, stories, and folktales and give those a read. While still on the internet, I look up geological and scientific information. Geological information, like which part of the earth’s crust a crystal formed in, is particularly important in Chinese medicine: if a mineral is formed in the deeper layers of the earth, then it will potentiate the deepest layers of our bodies and souls.

Additionally, there’s a wealth of metaphoric information to be gleaned from how a crystal was formed: a stone compacted by pressure will feel quite different than one that was created as a lava melt cooled. Understanding the mineral mash-up that has created the crystal can also help me understand its properties: for instance, a mineral with lithium is most likely calming like lepidolite. My final research step is to consult my favorite books; I check out how the crystal is used in both a modern sense and in traditional Chinese medicine.

Integrate

This brings me to step 4, the most important step: integration.

At this stage, I have a number of puzzle pieces and it’s time to put them together. So once again I sit with the crystal, rearranging the mental puzzle pieces as I hold the crystal in my hands. My goal at this point is to see what feels true to me. And the way I do this is both easy and a bit esoteric: as I sit holding the crystal, I sort through all the impressions I’ve gotten and I see which make the crystal in my hands feel alive.

Another way of saying this is: I see which bits of the information I’ve collected help me to forge a connection with the crystal. When the crystal and I are in sync, I’ll find the words that let me share what I’ve discovered. The crystal oracles in The Illustrated Crystallary were all written this way. (Hibiscus note: she’s talking about the 36 oracle cards included in an envelope bound in the back of the book! How cool is that?)

So the four steps are:

1. Cleanse
2. Intuit
3. Research
4. Integrate

And, then, you’re ready for step 5 (if you want!): share.

OK, back to me, Hibiscus here. ♥

See what I mean about why I love her approach so much? I hope these ideas we’ve given you help you get started with a new-to-you crystal! Let me know if any of this is similar to what you do or if you have something different that you’d like to share with our Crystal Family in the comments below.

And if you want to check out Maia’s book The Illustrated Crystallary (AND the BONUS oracle cards that come with it!), you can get an author-signed copy from Maia herself here or get the best price on Amazon here.

So many Crystal Blessings to you!