For thousands of years, humans have been using crystals to heal their minds, bodies, and spirits. In recent years, these ancient practices have seen a resurgence, touted by crystal practitioners, celebrities, and probably a few of your friends. If you’ve wondered about the power crystals might have in your life, here are a few stones used to promote self-love. While they each carry their own specific energies and molecular compositions, they each hold the power to enhance connection and transformation.
- Garnet: self-esteem Garnet is a fiery stone that is connected to passion and inspiration. As a stone of self-love, it galvanizes the holder to embrace their strengths and harness their intuition. It promotes confidence, dispelling lingering feelings of self-doubt and allowing you to step into your power and agency. Its connection to the element of fire means that it will push you to act. If you struggle with self-esteem and the confidence to make moves, this stone will give you the boost you need to leap into action.
- Opal: imagination The energetic properties of opal are as mystical and multifaceted as its kaleidoscopic appearance suggests. Believed by some to have the power of invisibility, holders of the stone may have protection from danger. It is also known for heightening intuition, spurring creativity, and deepening imagination. If you’re in an emotional or professional rut, opal will help you see things from a new angle and consider unexplored possibilities.
- Rose quartz: unconditional love Rose quartz is one of the most powerful and popular stones of self-love. Its soft pink color promotes peace just by looking at it, but its healing properties go far beyond appearance. Its combination of love and emotional healing makes it ideal for repairing your relationship with yourself. It helps you accept your flaws and negative emotions and hold them without judgment. It will teach you to love yourself unconditionally by recognizing that self-love can only be achieved when you love all of yourself, not just the parts you are proud of.
- Abalone shell: protection Abalone is a type of mollusk that clings to rocks in the ocean. Its shell is shimmery, like a pearl, but with all the colors of the rainbow. Due to its role in the natural world, it is known as a “bio-crystal”–a crystal made by a living organism rather than lifeless minerals. Similar to its function in the natural world, it is noted for its protective properties. Abalone is especially powerful for those who are going through emotional struggles because it also promotes balance. Balance and protection will help you reset and withstand the pressures of the outside world.
- Bloodstone: confidence Bloodstone is striking. Moss green with deep spots of red, it is believed to symbolize life and death, vitality and strength. For those who wish to build confidence and purpose, this stone is a powerful option. It is connected to the earth, meaning that it will ground your spirit and show you reality, but give you the strength to respond with power and courage. If you’ve been ignoring a harsh truth in your life, bloodstone will give you the resolve to not only face it but conquer it as well.
- Amethyst: wisdom The word “amethyst” comes from “amesthystos,” the Greek word for “sober.” It has been used since ancient times to promote sober judgment and freedom from addiction. If you feel that you’ve lost your inner compass and are spiraling through thoughts you can’t control, amethyst can help you find your way again. By giving you the gift of intuition, amethyst reminds you that even in the most uncertain times, you know what you need and how to take care of yourself.
More crystals for self-love
- Ruby: passion Many people associate the fiery ruby with romantic love, but its effects are wide-ranging. The color of blood, it is said to have a similar invigorating and life-giving quality. The holder of this stone is granted a rush of vitality and power that informs their heart and mind, promoting self-care, resolution, and the rekindling of passions of every kind. If you are waiting for the right moment to talk to your crush or apply for the job you always wanted, now is the time.
- Labradorite: psychic intuition One look at this mesmerizing stone and you will feel the weight of its magical powers. While it may not be well known, it is one of the most mystical and healing crystals in existence. Its hypnotic appearance is reminiscent of a condensed galaxy, hinting at the multitudes it contains. If you are in search of revelations, whether spiritual, emotional, or interpersonal, labradorite will lend you the sight of a mystic and protect you from evil energies. Its connection to the Third Eye chakra (or “energy center”) will reopen essential channels of intuition. If you feel cut off from yourself, this stone will help you reconnect with the metaphysical, the voice from within that holds more wisdom than your conscious self.
- Onyx: cleansing Onyx is a striking stone, so inky black in its appearance that you can see yourself reflected from its shiny surface. Like other stones of this color, it is noted for its protective qualities. It is said that onyx has the power to absorb negative energies into its bottomless depths, soaking up evil like a sponge absorbs water. If you’ve been feeling weighed down by darkness, this dark stone may alleviate your burden and bring light to your heart and mind. Onyx is an excellent stone to have in your home even during good times to keep evil spirits and negative energy at bay.
- Emerald: openness As its clear green color would suggest, emerald represents the light and possibility of the springtime, a moment when the world is reawakening from the darkness of winter and seeing the world with fresh, youthful eyes. Associated with sight, this stone will help you see your world with rekindled optimism and consider long-held conundrums about your place in the world with grace and acceptance. Emerald is connected to the heart chakra, pulling your consciousness back to love–for yourself, and for those around you.
- Jade: luck Jade has been used across cultures since ancient times to promote good luck and abundance. Often associated with Chinese medicine, it was also an integral part of tribal rituals in New Zealand, North America, and Eastern Europe. Its opaque, cool green appearance brings calm, healing, and reassurance. Wearing this stone can bring good fortune to the wearer and promote powerful, instructive dreams.
- Turquoise: communication Turquoise is connected to the throat chakra. Because of this, it carries powerful communication properties, allowing you to speak buried truths and resolve inner and outer conflict. It can also deepen spiritual connection as you will find yourself with a more direct channel to the metaphysical world. Deep, complex questions will reveal themselves to you, and you’ll discover the power to work through them rather than drown in self-doubt.
