Our bodies contain seven energy centres, known as Chakras, that govern energy flow and the interaction of our physical and spiritual bodies. These Chakras run through your body along a horizontal line, from the top of your head to the base of your spine.
Colour influences nearly all aspects of our lives, affecting our thoughts, bodies and emotions - we feel 'blue', or become 'white as a sheet', and dress in different coloured clothes according to our moods. Playrooms painted in certain colours can greatly affect children's behaviour patterns, while public buildings, schools and universities are often decorated with colour and its effects on the mind. Many natural therapies use colour as well, based on the belief that each colour's frequency matches or even 'improves' the vibration of carious organs, emotions, sounds, thoughts, objects, or activities. Likewise, crystals have vibrations of a certain wavelength.
The Chakra system brings all these aspects together within the body, where each Chakra corresponds to a colour of the rainbow. Each Chakra is stimulated by subtle energy vibrations - the same ones that resonate within crystals. When you feel ill, depressed or out of sorts, it is often because energy flow through your body has become disrupted or blocked - out of tune with your spiritual self. Crystals can be used a tuning forks, to realign your body's vibrations. You can do this by stimulating the seven Chakras in turn, or all of them at once.
Apart from Chakra colours, two more colours worth mentioning for colour healing are white and gold. White is a colour used in many cultures to represent purity. It is associated with perfection and truth and reflects peace and comfort. When working with crystals, clear quartz crystals represent white. White light incorporates every other colour and similarly, clear crystals are believed to be able to resonate with all vibrations, strengthening and balancing everything they come into contact with.
Finally, gold is considered the colour of divine energy and unconditional love, and it is thought to represent all energies, acting for the good of all. Gold is also associated with the perfect merging of body, mind and spirit.
Keep your Crystals Close
Placing a crystal close to your Chakras will help to balance the energy vibrations between the gem and your body. You can do this by placing your crystal directly on top of your Chakra while you lie down.
You can also hold your crystal beside the Chakra, or wear it on a piece of jewellery that sits close to the Chakra. Wearing coloured crystals in jewellery helps to keep your chakras stimulated throughout the day.
Chakra Combinations
Crystals are only one way to stimulate your Chakras. Other stimulants include scent, colour, sound and your senses, which you can combine with your crystal to give you even more benefits.
Crystals and Aromatherapy
Enhance your crystals with aromatherapy. Rub aromatherapy oil onto your crystal before you place it onto your Chakra, or dab the diluted oil directly onto your skin at the Chakra point. Then spend a few minutes in quiet meditation while the crystal and scent work their magic.
Chakra Stimulation
The colour of a crystal is the key to its healing qualities. Each colour of stone works best on a specific Chakra to clear energy blockages and increase your vitality and wellbeing.
Purple/White - Crown Chakra
White stones stimulate the Crown Chakra to increase your general sense of wellbeing. They also improve self-esteem and communication and dispel mental anguish or depression.
The Crown Chakra should not have too much direct stimulus, so place your crystal under your pillow while you sleep at night.
Spirituality
Associated with: search for attainment of the meaning of life
Health Use
Dispels confusion, egoism and depression. Strengthens everything it comes into contact with.
- Selenite aligns and stabilises energy flow through the body, removes blockages and improves flexibility
- Herkimer diamond harmonises body, mind and spirit, letting us 'be' rather then 'do'.
- Amethyst tunes us into the vibrations of the divine or spiritual side of any issue.
- Sugilite aligns the body with the mind to attain perfect health and fine-tuning.
Indigo/Violet - Third Eye Chakra
Indigo or violet stones stimulate the Third Eye Chakra, easing pain, agitation and stress. This also boosts our concentration and mental awareness.
Lie still for a few minutes while gently rubbing a polished crystal in small, slow clockwise spirals on the centre of your forehead.
Intuition
Associated with: mental activity and emotions, intellect.
Health Use
Calms an clears the mind.
- Sapphire inspires devotion, imagination, faith and peace.
- Sodalite aids sleep, logical and rational thoughts, widens outlook.
- Azurite develops psychic abilities and intuition.
Blue - Throat Chakra
Blue crystals stimulate your Throat Chakra to ease ear, nose and throat conditions. They also help with glandular problems, teeth and gum diseases and conditions affecting the alimentary canal.
Lie with a blue crystal at your throat or wear a blue stone in a pendant to impart its stimulating energies.
Communication
Associated with: self-expression, knowledge and teaching, protection, sea and sky.
Health Use
Creates a protective energy.
- Aquamarine calms when communicating with large audiences, helps learning.
- Turquoise encourages self-learning via meditation, aids creativity and expression.
- Celestine helps absorb and simplify complex ideas and assists in dream recall.
Green/Pink - Heart Chakra
Pink and green crystals balance the Heart Chakra, easing heart and chest conditions. They also treat more emotional problems such as stress, anger and depression. Lie down and place your crystal over your heart. Feel your heartbeat mirrored as the stone stimulates your Chakra.
Love
Associate with: joy, nurturing, relationships, trust.
Health Use
lowers stress, releases anxiety, helps breathing.
- Jade is thought to protect, attract good luck and encourage forgiveness.
- Emerald stabilises emotions.
- Aventurine soothes grief and protects the heart.
Yellow - Solar Plexus Chakra
Yellow crystals (which include turquoise due to its yellow veins) stimulate your Stomach, or Solar Plexus. This helps with digestion and eases food allergies, liver problems and muscle cramps.
Place a crystal on your Solar Plexus, then lie still and calm your mind as the energy soothes and heals.
Digestion
Associated with: personal power, balance and self-esteem.
Health Use:
Helps the digestive system and the muscles.
- Amber, citrine
- Yellow topaz soothes nerves and calms the mind.
- Tigers eye helps mental clarity and is believed to attract good luck.
Orange - Sacral Chakra
Orange crystals stimulate the sex organs Chakra, which governs the womb and sacrum (base of the spine). They can help to increase energy, improve lactation, dispel inhibitions and repression and ease kidney trouble.
Orange stones are perfect for wearing in a naval piercing, if you have one.
Reproduction
Associated with: wisdom, ambition and creativity, interest in new things.
Health Use
Strengthens immune system and helps infertility and impotence.
- Carnelian stimulates initiative, lifts spirits, dispels apathy and sorrow.
- Topaz clears the system and channels energy.
Red/Black - Root Chakra
Stimulate your Root Chakra with crystals of earthy colours such as brick reds, blacks and browns. These can improve fertility and sex drive, ease menstrual problems, blood disorders, frigidity and inhibition and increase courage.
Different shades correspond to different aspects - orange-red means more sexual passion, dark red usually points to anger, but pink-red represents a strong love.
Survival
Associated with: passion for life, strong feelings like anger, self-confidence, willpower, courage, pride and success.
Health Use
for lethargy, fear, lack of confidence.
- Agate inspires courage, dispels fear and improves self-esteem.
- Garnet promotes self-esteem, boosts determination, attracts love.
- Bloodstone strengthens the will for action and idealism.
- Jasper invokes caring and unconditional love.
Chakra Jewellery
Keep all seven of your Chakras balanced by wearing a crystal to stimulate each one on a bracelet or necklace.
The crystals should be arranged in a rainbow of colour from the red of the base Chakra to the white/purple of the Crown Chakra