Phone, Keys, Rose Quartz

In recent years, as I’ve stepped into my thirties, I’ve been trying to take better care of my physical and mental health. Of course, this includes a list of obvious healthy habits that we all know by heart, which tends to grow in proportion to our age, such as regular physical activity and a healthy diet, not to mention other aspects. However, I’ve noticed that I’m increasingly drawn to certain alternative practices as I age. For example, I successfully combat insomnia, my constant companion since my teenage years, with meditation. Or, to be more honest, I realize that when I regularly practice meditation, I fall asleep faster. Although there is plenty of research on the beneficial effects of meditation, conventional medicine still does not recognize it as a valid therapy method, just as it does not acknowledge other alternative practices for improving well-being and health.

For about a year or two, I’ve had the feeling that the flourishing wellness scene has been flooded with crystals. Those very crystals that were so popular in the ’80s and ’90s are experiencing a true mainstream renaissance in the past year or two. Not only do I see them on all my social media, they dangle from necklaces, are an indispensable decorative element of zen interiors, and are even found in drugstores as facial massage rollers. I can’t help but wonder—why now? Why are crystals more popular than ever before? Have we really discovered something new and astonishing? Or is it just another revival trend, packaged in an attractive Instagram aesthetic that happens to be quite prestigious and profitable?

Where Science Meets Alternative

But before we dive into exploring data and philosophy, we must first clarify a few basic concepts. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a crystal is a solid material whose components (such as atoms, molecules, ions) are arranged in a highly ordered, repeating microscopic structure that forms a crystal lattice extending in all directions. To summarize, each of its “cells” is a geometric body that forms a regular internal structure. Based on the shape, or constants of these structures, they are further divided into cubic, tetragonal, hexagonal, etc. Crystals also have another interesting property called piezoelectricity, meaning that some crystals become electrically polarized when subjected to pressure. In other words, they have the ability to produce energy when compressed or pressed.

Well, you have to admit that this sounds quite intriguing. Hence the belief that crystals emit and absorb energies. Or to summarize Judith Hall in her book The Little Book of Crystals, “they have a stable and unchanging energy pattern, each with a unique frequency and energy field or resonance,” which gives them special properties. The author further states that consequently, “they act like tuning forks and help bring harmony to the very unstable energy field of the human body.”

Judith Hall and many others are actually crystal therapists. Crystal therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative healing method that uses crystals and other stones. Proponents of this technique believe that crystals serve as healing conduits, allowing positive healing energy to flow into the body while negative energy that causes illness flows out. Marjan Turnšek, who has been involved in crystal therapy, radionics, and vibrational healing for 20 years, summarizes similarly: “Crystal therapy uses the vibrational properties of various crystals—frequencies—to heal the body, soul, and spirit. The healing powers of crystals originate from their composition.”

The fascination with crystals is almost as old as our civilization. Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher, was convinced that pieces of colorless quartz (lightning stone) were pieces of ice from the purest water, and thus named them kristallos, which means solid ice in ancient Greek. They were studied by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), a German abbess, monastic leader, mystic, and writer. Nikola Tesla, who among other things researched vibrations and frequencies of crystals, said, “In a crystal lies the pure evidence of the existence of a living principle; although we cannot understand the life of a crystal—it is nonetheless a living being.”

Healing Properties or Fashion Accessories?

This fascination has persisted to this day. On TikTok, there are 3.6 million posts under the hashtag #crystals, and on Instagram, almost 28 million. Other statistics are not lagging behind at all. According to recently published data by Future Market Insights (FMI), the market for precious stones was valued at $32.4 billion in 2023 and is likely to reach $56 billion by 2033. At this point, it should be emphasized that this also includes crystal silicon, which is used for industrial purposes in sectors such as communications (microchip manufacturing), optics, electronics, metallurgy, chemical industry, etc. Lastly, silicon crystal (c-Si) is named after Silicon Valley.

Of course, no trend is a real trend until celebrities jump on the bandwagon. Adele carries crystals with her before performances to help her overcome stage fright and anxiety. Proud owner of an enviable collection, Bella Hadid gifted a piece of quartz – lightning stone to an enthusiastic Drew Barrymore during her appearance on the show. Victoria Beckham not only uses them at home and in her office to “energetically cleanse” the space, but she even included them in her pre-fall 2018 collection as little magical fashion accessories. The queen of crystals is undoubtedly model Miranda Kerr. She carries them in her bra, packs them in her suitcase when heading to the hospital to prepare for childbirth, and as the founder of Kora Organics, she even swears that every product in the line is purified and harmonized with the energy of rose quartz.

Mojca Zove, who runs the brand Your Soul Time, a successful business in Ljubljana, confirmed something similar to me. Their original business, established at the height of the pandemic in December 2020, quickly evolved from an online store selling palo santo incense or sacred wood into an online and physical store where their best-selling and sought-after products are precisely crystals. As she explained to me, during one lockdown, she was looking for incense that would help her with meditation. Realizing there were no providers in our area, she turned her personal inquiry for herself and friends into a business. Crystals were just the next logical step. And like many businesses that flourished during the pandemic, she attributes this to the fact that “people, during the pandemic, locked within four walls, turned inward amidst all the pressures and anxieties and began to care for their mental health. In this process, they started seeking something that would help calm their thoughts and ground them.” She also believes that their popularity has been influenced by the fact that we, as a society, have become more accepting of such practices. While once such shops and traders communicated about crystals in a very “spiritual” and mystical way, today the narrative is quite different, and rarely does anyone condemn the use of crystals for achieving positive effects.

This beautifully aligns with the bloom of the wellness industry. Many customers that Mojca encounters in her shop are entrepreneurs or businesses, such as reiki healers, massage studios, and even beauty salons.

However, like with any trend, crystals also carry their dark side. The very sourcing of crystals is often associated with unsustainable and unethical practices. Crystals are a non-renewable resource, and often mining is done with explosives without regard for the environment and surrounding communities. An even more pressing fact, similar to the diamond trade, is that the crystal industry is quite closely linked to black market mines in less developed countries, where slavery is often present and children are used as labor. As end-users, we can combat this by inquiring about the origins and methods of obtaining crystals. “When we decided to launch our business, it was essential to offer only ethically sourced crystals,” Mojca tells me. “We collaborate with suppliers worldwide, and before we start cooperating, we research potential suppliers to ensure their legitimacy and always strive to contact the source, meaning the specific miners.”

So which of these beauties are the most sought after? Besides rose quartz, which is the obvious must-have crystal because it is said to promote self-love and femininity, among the most sought-after are those that help with calming and relaxation (jade, amethyst, selenite, moonstone…) and protection from negative energy (obsidian, hematite, tiger’s eye, labradorite…). Even if you don’t believe in their healing properties, you have to admit that some look truly magical, powerful, and precious.

As in all aspects of life, people are different, and I believe that here too, some of us are more or less susceptible to certain phenomena, influences, and beliefs. Some sleep poorly during a full moon, while others faithfully read their horoscopes. What I believe is the “power of the mind,” if I may put it that way. I believe that when we are convinced of something, we are capable of achieving a lot. Similar to the placebo effect, if we unyieldingly believe in something and it is our truth, the evidence for or against simply falls away. You yourself have certainly experienced feeling positive or negative physical reactions in certain places or around certain people; I have as well. Is it just a general sense of liking and sympathizing, or do certain energies that we cannot see, touch, or explain truly influence us? I don’t know. What I do know is that if people believe something helps them, then it certainly does help them. Therefore, I believe that if you believe, then crystals undoubtedly have positive and healing properties.