When it comes to crystal healing, if you’re looking for scientific evidence you will be searching for some time. But that’s not to say that crystals don’t have a positive effect on body, mind and soul.

There is something to be said for the power of the placebo effect, that it can, in some cases, be as powerful as the real thing. And then there is Einstein, who once said “everything is energy and that's all there is to it”. What if certain crystals have energies that can have a positive effect on us, but the science isn’t there yet? In 1880, the Curie brothers Jacques and Pierre discovered that putting pressure on crystals created electrical potential, known today as the piezoelectric effect. This discovery paved the way for crystals being used in modern-day technologies such as iPhones and computers. Pierre, who married fellow world-famous physicist Marie Curie, had a fascination for the spiritual, once writing to his fiancé to note, “I must admit that those spiritual phenomena intensely interest me. I think in them are questions that deal with physics.”

Whatever you believe, you can’t deny that crystals are having a moment. From rose quartz water bottles to jade rollers, crystals have permeated the wellness world and they are here to stay. To find out more, we called on crystal whisperer and psychic Emma Lucy Knowles to reveal more about the obsession with crystals. “To strip it right back, crystals are used to assist in the flow of energy - we are made of energy, life is energy and it’s about harnessing a good flow and working out what might stagnate,” says Knowles. “We work with crystals to draw out the ‘negative’ and ‘heighten’ the positive. I liken them to a lens, each crystal cheerleading a variety of properties such as love, protection or abundance.

“It’s safe to say that they’re not so popular in the scientific sector,” Knowles tells Rituals. “But that doesn’t dilute the validity for me. Their place throughout time and history says enough. But of course, it must be said, that they shouldn’t be used in place of medicine, but they can work alongside it beautifully when needed.”

Keep reading, as Knowles answers all our questions about crystals and how to use them.

Rituals: Could you share a little history about crystals – when and where in the world did people start using crystals and why?

Emma Lucy Knowles: There’s no definitive pin point of where, why and when we started using these beauties. What we do know, through research of ancient [civilisations] is that crystals have been used for centuries all the way back to the early days of humanity. They’ve been used as talismans for protection or love in many varying ways and in healing, prominently in ancient Greece, Egypt and China.

Rituals: How does someone who has never used crystals before start?

When starting I would say this - keep it simple… we can tend to over complicate the natural pull and draw that we can experience when first stepping into the crystal realm and that’s truly where the magic happens.

You may like to research what you feel you need, but in all honesty what you think you need is probably quite different to what your energy is saying you in fact do, and you’ll hear this said a lot but ‘go for what you are drawn to’. Remember, each crystal is omitting a pulse, a frequency, a vibe, just like you - and when you cross paths or vibes with a crystal that is good for you right here, right now, you will be ‘drawn to it’ by the way it looks, or it the way it feels - so go with that!

Always follow your own practice… what feels right to you? Go beyond what worked for your friend, or what you read worked. How we experience all these things is so unique to us individually, so never dial back the brilliance of your unique vibe and feelings.

Rituals: Any advice on which crystals to start with?

Best Crystal for Love: Rose quartz is the crystal of unconditional love. I believe all energy is love and so it’s such an important energy wave to ride. Rose quartz acts as a compass of the heart, guiding you lovingly to where it feels you need to be in order to grow and expand into your purest potential, when your ego or your mind is screaming and stressing you into a potential misdirection. Never fear when your loving friend is here. Allow her to work with you, when you wish to feel the love of life within your heart and bones, when you want romantic love to come knocking and when you will for compassion and compromise in perhaps a seemingly overwhelming state of events.

Best Crystal for Clarity: Fluorite is a wonderful noise reducer and organisational influencer! Born in many colours (green, blue, purple, yellow and brown) seek this crystal when looking to heighten mental clarity and dial down loud outside influences and chitter chatter. Fluorite promotes the sharpening of your strongest tools in your set – enhancing your learning, self-confidence, organisation and general structure of everyday life – one to keep in your office top drawer, wherever that may be.

Best Crystal for Confidence: Tiger’s Eye is the keeper of confidence – displaying itself in a beautiful brown and yellow (also found in pink, blue and red) this stealthy stone frees blocked creativity and really helps you get yourself and your mind down to work. Use when feeling scattered and when you want to feel super committed to the task at hand, then watch those plates spin with precision. Use tiger’s eye to give you confidence and passion in those creative brainstorms, or in those conversations about your future allow it to help you untie your tongue and get creative in your communication.

Best Crystal for Authenticity: Labradorite is the perfect reflector of self – this stella piece energises you as it delves into your heart and soul. It works hard in raising all the goodness from within, to raise your self-esteem and allow you to embrace your attractive glow and to live, be and work form your authentic place of self. Labradorite is the master of removal and dispelling – be it the removal of unwanted energies from the aura or your inner being. It can also heighten your energetic makeup and innate qualities to the most attractive of levels, and dispelling myths about your looks and features that you hold in a low regard. Hold hands with Labradorite to help you hold hands with yourself – it will show you your beauty in the truest of formations and encourage you to hold yourself warmly, lovingly and honesty when looking back at your reflection in the mirror and shining that back out then into the world. Powerful, to say the least!

Best Crystal for Happiness: Citrine! This sunshine yellow crystal is the skeleton key to abundance and this doesn’t just mean in bringing in the big bucks…it’s the flow of all success, be it in financial, professional or personal areas. Much like the sun burning through grey clouds, citrine burns off negativity – it’s a great piece for the home to disperse the lingering hangover of an argument, to enrich your purse, and for nourishing you right at the core of your very being - tapping into the abundance of your own vibrations of joy, happiness and luck.

Rituals: Okay, once we have chosen our crystals, how do we use them?

Emma Lucy Knowles: There is lots you can do! Most importantly, play with them and work out what they mean to you, befriend them.

Crystals are powerful whether you are holding them or using them in your home, or at work. What’s most effective is setting them or programming them with an intention… what do you want it to do, to help you do or promote?

Crystals want to work so get them to it…otherwise they're not going to be as effective, that’s when people are most likely to say ‘oh well, they look nice but I don’t really feel them doing anything’. It’s all personal preference when carrying them, I am a huge fan of skin-on-skin contact and that’s where I find them most effective. Sometimes (most of the time) I wear mine in my bra, or I’ve got them in my pockets and if not, I’m wearing them as jewellery. My personal belief, as I said, is that you need to play with them, to communicate with them, and to create a practice that works for you.

At home, I use them throughout the house. Get clever with it, strip it back - what do you want more of at home and what room resonates most with that feeling? The crystal will amplify it!

I also take rose and clear quartz crystals and place them by pictures of my loved ones to promote that vibration in their direction to send and share the love!

Rituals: How do you take care of your crystals?

Emma Lucy Knowles: Much like a sponge, your crystals soak up remanence of your emotions or day and you cannot beat the moon when she is full for cleansing, resetting and charging your crystals. For those stones that are not soluble, I would run them through or bathe them in cold water before laying them out in the moonlight or on your window sill during a full moon. When a full moon feels too far away – you can either wash them or nest them in sand or natural salts.