Crystals might be more than just a TikTok trend
The pandemic has brought with it many ways to cope. One of them is the resurgence of crystal healing, spirituality and witchcraft.
Google searches for the term “crystals for protection and healing” spiked during the most eventful months of 2020 and have been growing steadily since. In theory, each type of crystal is attributed healing properties, many of which perfectly cater to pandemic-related worries.
Clear quartz is a universal healer, moonstone brings personal growth and obsidian offers protection. They’re all used in meditation, mindfulness and yoga with the intention of absorbing negative energy. Ritual and placement matter, and crystals also need to be cleansed regularly to remove the stored negativity.
This might also explain why crystal jewellery sales have skyrocketed during the pandemic. Moldavite and hematite are some of such trending gemstones. Moldavite is considered to aid Earth’s healing and spiritual awakening. Similarly, hematite rings are worn until they absorb too much negative energy, after which they simply break.
Is this trend completely new?
Well, not really. Historically the interest in spirituality and the metaphysical resurges when things on Earth are really tense. Crystals and spiritual practices offer a way to feel in control of your life, they seem to bring answers when everything else is uncertain.
Astrologer and New York Times best-selling author Chani Nicholas likens this phenomenon to the astrology pop culture wave of the 1970s, when society was similarly in turmoil. The 1960s and 70s saw strong cultural shifts, and that is when the New Age of alternative healing was formed. People started using crystals for their aesthetic qualities and supposed healing benefits.
Though crystal healing and astrology never disappeared from the cultural zeitgeist, millennials and Gen Z have given it a new life. In response to the question “Why are millennials so into astrology?” all seems to point towards one thing: the younger generations face record levels of stress. Financial stress, climate doom and now the pandemic, which has disrupted everything.
Spirituality as healing
Cas is one such example. He is what the internet has dubbed a “quaranteenager”. When lockdown began he had just started high school. He has spent the better part of this year in his room, trying to keep up with online classes and planning for college.
He says the return of trendy crystals and witchy paraphernalia reminds him of his childhood, when he first started believing in magic. Nowadays he uses crystals to meditate and ground himself. “I’ll sit on the carpet and place them in a circle around me. Sometimes my cat sits with me. We meditate together. I started all this thinking it could help with my mental health.”
“I became calmer and I could control my emotions better. When I got into card reading it also really helped with my paranoia. It would show me other points of view on a situation. And that made me think more about my choices.”
For Cas and many others, these practices are about healing, self-expression and connecting back to nature. Healing generational trauma and healing the earth are both spiritual, long term projects that Millenials and Gen Z have no choice but to take on.
Spirituality as rebellion
The last year has radicalized many young people and brought disillusionment in our governments. But it also brought forward much needed awareness to racial injustice and countless communities faced to immigrate, flee adversity and renounce their cultural heritage.
It is important to note that the majority of modern healing practices come from ancient beliefs, Hinduism, Latin American and Afro-Carribean cultures. White sage burning and smudging belong to North American native tribes. Reiki has its origins in Japan. Vedic crystal rituals are common practice in modern India. Yoga and chakra cleansing have long been appropriated for Western profits, and now the spiritual community is advocating for some to be considered closed practices.
For many, crystal healing and alternative medicine are a way of connecting to their heritage and a form of resistance.
The latest trend in mindfulness might be part of a larger movement. Of reclaiming traditions and cultural identity, connection to nature and to humanity as a whole, instead of hyper-individualism and being alienated from our surroundings.
Photo by Monika Sojčáková via Unsplash
What a fascinating piece! I love that you investigated the trend of crystals yourself by using Google Trends, and that you made the point early on that many actually found new ways to cope, despite or maybe exactly because so many other coping mechanisms were taken away from us. I know nothing about crystals so having some of these explained was fascinating, and I like how you put it into a wider cultural, political context. Overall a great piece!
Hi Ana, I really enjoyed reading your piece. I’m very sceptical about all things spiritual, but your feature illustrated how and why concepts such as crystal healing have gained a new following in these troubled times. It is fluently written and contains a good blend of primary and secondary research. Well done!
This is such a good piece that is informative and it just goes to show how many people do believe/associate crystals with positive mental well-being and we have all needed a lot of that this past year. There is a good amount of research throughout this piece and it does not come across as overbearing! Well done!!
Great piece and I learnt a lot about the ‘crystal community’ that I didn’t already know! Love how the piece is structured, really informative with amazing research and all the links of what you mention is really helpful if I want to go on to read more from other authors. I like how you also mentioned the historical context of this type of spirituality and its roots.