What were my first crystals? I’m sharing how I got into crystal healing and the unusual crystals I began my journey with. Plus, the crystals I recommend today if you’re starting…
Crystal Shopping In The 90s Was Fun
When I first got into the metaphysical properties of crystals there was no internet. The world was a different place in the early 90’s. People only bought their crystals from bricks and mortar shops and there weren’t many places that sold crystals.
Most of the time these were not ‘Crystal Shops’ but places that sold other spiritual and metaphysical items. Back then, some people called them “Hippie Shops”.
They were generally small and cluttered with incense, books, candles, jewellery, alternative clothes, tarot, psychedelic posters and essential oils. Wafts of incense, tinking windchimes, new age music – it was an experience. The magic shop from The Craft movie was a pretty accurate depiction of the vibe.
My First Crystals Were A Bit Unusual…
I lived in a small seaside town and a shop similar to this had opened up. Near the entrance, I saw a small basket with a small selection of tumbled stones inside. They were in little packets with an info card. If I recall correctly, they were called ‘Aroma Rocks‘. Each crystal had a light frosted dry coating that contained natural essential oil.
The oil was related to the crystal’s properties. The idea was that you could rub the crystal to release and inhale the aromatherapy scent. However, over time this would rub off and you would just be left with the crystal. The packets came with a card explaining a few key benefits of the stone and the oil.
I never saw these crystals for sale again anywhere else. But I found this item listed on eBay that could be the same company. The packaging is different now and they are using a blend of essential oils:
So I bought a couple and I was hooked. I went back for a few more the next day on my way home from school… and again until I had all six or seven stones. I can still remember the scent of lavender and a lemon crystal.
Eventually, I just washed the crystals to remove the coating as I was more into the crystal properties. It was much more discreet to just carry a tumbled stone in my pocket.
My First Crystals Were…
I’m afraid I no longer have these original crystals to show you. I gave them all to a friend in the early 2000’s. That might be a story for another time. But I think I can remember most of them:
Amethyst
Clear Quartz
Snowflake Obsidian
Red Jasper
Tiger’s Eye
Botswana Agate
My Growing Crystal Collection
So they were my introduction. Later on, I was able to buy crystals from bigger towns and the city with my friends at art college. These places had bigger selections and my collection grew fast. I can remember the colour and shape of some of these stones quite vividly.
Some of my other early crystals included Smoky Quartz, Moss Agate, Blue Tiger’s Eye, Green Jade, Amber, Moonstone, Amazonite, Bloodstone, Turquoise and Leopard Skin Jasper…
I Still Have These Crystals
The only tumbled stones I still have from that era are the Amazonite tumble (see photo above) and Leopard Skin Jasper which is featured on the banner of this website (and my pic below). They are still two of my favourite crystals in my collection.
Notice how these stones look a lot different from minerals in today’s market. Over time the countries and mines change. Just my opinion but the quality was way higher back then and these stones were not expensive.
What Crystals Do I Recommend For Beginners Now?
There are a few crystals that I recommend to beginners new to crystal healing. I have put them in a YouTube video where I explain about their benefits and show you examples to help you ideantify them.
If you haven’t already seen it yet, you can watch it below. If you’ve seen it, I recently posted a follow-up video PART 2 HERE. It contains more crystals that I think everyone should have.
Can you remember your first crystal or the first crystals you had? I would love to hear from you in the comments below (PLEASE keep any questions you have concise and stick to this blog post topic if you want a response).
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With gratitude,
Ethan
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Memories! Boodle-am near Leeds Uni, another Aroma Rocks but in the 60’s, velvet bell-bottomed trousers, Afghan coats (smelly), incense etc. My first crystals I bought were Amethyst, Howlite & Clear Quartz for insomnia. My favourites now are turquoise, larimar, blue lace agate, moss agate, ocean jasper, carnelian, labradorite, I could go on, my collection is now fairly extensive it is very compulsive.
Thanks for sharing this
I can’t remember exactly which I purchased first but my first 3 crystals were labradorite, amazonite and moonstone (I think!)
I remember those crystals! My mom wouldn’t let me buy them because of the essential oils. (She now has a diffuser running 24/7, but that’s another story.)
My first crystals were all amethyst. It happened to be both my birthstone and my favorite color; my birthday parties in grade school were all held at the local mine. (Mining for amethyst in February in PA – I had some very good friends.)
I also had an enormous collection of arrowheads retrieved from the field in front of our home when the farmer plowed it every spring before planting his crops (I think many were clear quartz and smokey quartz based on memory of colors and how sharp they still were in the late 80s; together with a big box of tiny fossils in limestone from camping trips.
Regrettably, all of my “rocks” had to go when we made a cross country move in 96. They weighed too much, and so did most of my books.
I got back my largest amethyst find a few years ago when my grandma passed. I had no idea she had been using it as a door stop for the past 30 years!
Amethyst is still my #1 crystal. She captured my heart so early in life, I have to believe it was a continuation from past lives working with them.
Great story! I would love to hear more about your personal journey going forward, as you feel comfortable sharing of course.
That’s so cool you got to go to an Amethyst mine for your birthday.
My very first crystals were actually found instead of bought, when I was only five or six years old. I kept finding little bits of Amethyst in gravel! My first purchased crystal was a raw Rose Quartz about the present-day size of my fist (so no more than 4″). I still have it, but many of the ones I subsequently bought (Clear Quartz wasn’t far behind) have left home. They do say, if a crystal leaves you, it’s making space in your life for something better… but that doesn’t stop me from missing them.
These days I have a wide variety of crystals, everything from the abundant (Quartz) to the really quite rare (Alexandrite) to the “Oh my days that’s rare” (Rainbow Tourmaline). I’ve been blessed to have such great sources over the years. Unfortunately my nearest crystal shop (which I did mention in “Where to buy crystals) is closing in about a month for lack of trade. I can’t afford to keep it running by myself, much as I’d love to, and owing to… multifaceted… circumstances I’m almost the only in-person customer the place now has.
Happily the business is already partly online, and will be going completely online when the physical shop closes.
Amatista! cristal quarz, rose quarz, hematite
in my contry Uruguay is very rich in amatista y agatas
Amethyst is such a wonderful crystal. It does everything from Angelic connections, to protection (my Shangaan Smoky Amethyst, an Elestial Sceptre, and my Brandberg Amethyst Sceptre, are both really good at that), to helping me sleep, to knocking out late-night headaches, to – in the case of one very special Amethyst wand I have which came from the Himalayas, probably close to Everest – helping with distance work and meditation. Absolutely, yes, Uruguay is well known in the crystal community for its beautiful deposits of Amethyst. I understand it’s possible to obtain really, really deep purple Amethyst from there, so deep it’s almost black. I should really get some.
Agate is a remarkable crystal too. It vibrates at a lower, slower level than most of the cryptocrystalline Quartzes, which might explain why it always feels so earthy and comforting. My personal favourites are the Earth coloured Agates; I have a half Geode of Brown Banded Agate which was left to me by my beloved Grandfather and is a prize of mine; it’s a real beauty, with lovely concentric bands, the kind of Agate you unfortunately used to see sliced to make drinks coasters. It still has a lot of Grandad’s personal energy stored in it, which can be enough to make me get quite emotional. He passed more than 35 years ago now, but that energy is still very strong, and the Geode and the other crystals he left me are all that I have left of him, except some of his DNA. I also quite recently obtained a Black Banded Agate tumblestone with one band that’s obviously druzy in structure.
You’re blessed, Natalia, to live somewhere you can pick up these crystals. Where I live there’s lots of Granite, but where there used to be Amethyst, it’s all mined out, and finding other Granite-based minerals is really difficult, especially for the less physically able. I would absolutely love to go down a mine and find a crystal for myself, but I doubt I would be allowed.
Love and Light.