Crystal Grids
Grids for Space Clearing and Meditation
Essentially, gridding involves placing crystals around an area to clear, protect, charge, or bring in specific energies. This can be an area as wide as a property, or as small as your meditation cushion. In the case of clients, gridding usually infers arranging crystals around the client, not directly touching the body, although some practitioners will cross the body in layouts. Specific crystals are used for certain purposes, but virtually any crystal can be used in gridding, and you can include a mixture of crystals in your grid.
Always cleanse the crystals before you begin, and programme them if you wish. Programming is a good idea if they are staying in place for a long period of time, or if there is a very specific reason you are using them, for example setting up a protection grid. As with all healing, remember to work ethically, and never grid a property belonging to someone else without their permission. If you are using a public space for healing work, you can grid the area while you are using it, as long as you remove the crystals when you leave.
The most common way to grid an area or room involves placing a small clear quartz point in each corner. If the terminations are pointing towards the corners this will protect the room; if they are pointing inwards they will charge and raise the energy of the room. The latter is particularly nice if you are using the room for meditation, but be careful of the size of the crystals used, as in this case size does matter, and too much energy can make everyone feel jumpy. If in doubt, experiment. Selenite or satin spar gypsum can also be used in this way. The terminations can also be used to create a clockwise or anticlockwise circle. As a general rule, clockwise will enhance, amplify and raise energy, while anticlockwise will diminish or ground it.
Gridding can be used in larger areas to protect or clarify property or help to prevent vandalism, and crystals can even be placed in the foundations of a new building. One local healing centre has rose quartz laid in the foundations of the building, and its energy is always lovely. For protection, black tourmaline (schorl) is a good one to include, but I always add rose quartz, so the intention includes love and compassion.
The effect can be amplified by “activating” the circle. Use your control crystal or a wand to do this, or alternatively channel white light from your right hand, directing whichever you choose in a clockwise direction, while visualising a line of light connecting the crystals in the grid. Unless you are planning to leave the crystals in place for an extended period, be sure to deactivate the circle at the end, repeating the first step, but this time in an anti-clockwise direction, visualising the circle of light disappearing as you do so, and then remove the crystals.
Crystals can be placed around the bed, with one on the floor by each leg (the bed’s legs – not yours). Rose quartz is good for nurturing in general, and especially good if you have a recently broken heart or are just in need of some TLC. Amethyst can help you sleep. Some of the green crystals, such as green tourmaline, malachite, chrysoprase, chrysocolla, green smithsonite or moss agate, can help to boost the immune system if you are ill. Again, experiment, and don’t be afraid to try crystals in combination. Clear quartz, phenikite and selenite gympsum are not recommended for the bedroom, as they might keep you awake, although it must be added that some people find selenite quite soothing.
In Meditation
Another aspect of gridding involves meditating in a stone circle for a period of time. This is not to suggest you plan a trip to Stonehenge, but simply surround yourself with small crystals. Choose crystals that represent what you would like to bring into your meditation, and use any number from three upwards. All crystals can be used in this way. Rose quartz is very gentle and loving, prehnite and “new jade” are detoxifying, honey calcite can aid meditation by grounding spiritual energy, blue kyanite can deepen the meditative state, and black tourmaline can help you feel protected, and can also help you to move on when you’re feeling “stuck”. This is just a basic guide and a few suggestions. It is useful to combine crystals as well. As mentioned above, if you use crystals with terminations (such as clear quartz or amethyst points), the points can be aimed in different directions to varying effects. In addition to pointing them away from you, towards you, clockwise or anti-clockwise around you, you can also place them in patterns, such as a spiral or Star of David. As with the larger grids, placing the crystals with their terminations going in a clockwise direction will amplify and raise the energy, while an anticlockwise direction will diminish or ground the energy. The latter can be useful if you are feeling overwhelmed or wish to calm down. Experimentation is key – you will not understand how it feels until you experience it for yourself. Try out different stones, and see how they work in combination. Smaller crystals are preferable, but this is by no means a rule. Many small crystals can be purchased for very little, so expense shouldn’t hinder you. The important thing is awareness. If it feels uncomfortable, unless you are convinced that the discomfort will achieve what you want, simply stop. Discomfort can be essential when trying to shift a blockage, but it can also indicate that you are pushing yourself beyond what is necessary.
Crystal Grids In Healing Sessions
Most, although not all, schools of crystal healing advocate the use of layouts or circles, placing clear quartz points around the body to protect the client, and contain and amplify healing energy. The layouts can be very simple or incredibly complex, and some healers can be quite pedantic about the order in which they place the crystals, and the direction they are pointing for different types of healing or meditation.
I was once told that the top of the client’s head should be pointing magnetic north, and all crystals must be placed with the terminations pointing upwards in the same direction. Each set of crystals had to be placed and removed in a specific order, which was a cause of confusion amongst the students. In my own experience, I have not been aware of a difference in the efficacy of the healing, when the client’s head is not pointing magnetic north, and placing the crystals with all terminations upwards has never felt right to me. Instead, I point the terminations inwards, towards the client’s body. Having said this, the facilitator mentioned has been a successful crystal healer for many years. Once again, I emphasise the importance of finding your own way of working – your own truth, and trust your intuition and the importance of intention.
Some of the crystal healing books published in the 1980s-90s advocate the use of complex layouts with a number of large crystals. To me, these are of their time, and while very appropriate then, currently many clients would find that number of crystals overwhelming, and approach can be much simpler.
More recently another well-known crystal healer has published a book demonstrating layouts both on and off the body, involving a number of substantial crystals in complicated patterns. I was horrified to see 34 large pieces of satin spar selenite around the body in one grid, 10 of those directly around the head, and what appear to be 46 of the same in a Star of David in another.
When I am demonstrating gridding in a course or workshop situation, I use 4 pieces of selenite, which are around 8” long and 1” wide, in the corners of a room that is approximately 15’ x 17’, meaning that the crystals are quite a distance from each of the students. I was guided to use selenite, as it is so powerful that even the most insensitive of students will feel the difference, although they are not always immediately aware of it. Using this simple grid in a typical workshop, students will experience headaches, pressure around the top of their heads, and sometimes queasiness. In one case, a seated workshop student lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor. I have not read the case study notes from the book mentioned above, and the author may have incredible results from this method of working, but with such powerful crystals, I would be extremely reluctant to place so many of them on or around the clients, and especially so close to the client’s head.
In both cases, there is also a matter of finance. Twenty or thirty years ago, good-sized quartz points were abundant and inexpensive. Since that time, mines have closed down or been mined out, prices have risen, and the technique has become a much more expensive prospect. Satin spar selenite is not an expensive mineral, but sheer size and number for the layouts mentioned above will set you back a few hundred pounds.
My personal method is much simpler. Generally, I use smaller crystals, and the primary grid around the client is a triad layout, although I have a few others I call on from time to time. My treatment table is extra-wide (30” as opposed to the standard 28”), which not only allows space for crystals to be placed around the body, but also comfortably accommodates larger clients. I use external layouts with most clients, but not all. They are especially helpful if the client is finding it difficult to integrate changes or fluctuations in the energy around them (especially the new energies that appear to be coming in at the time of writing), or if the client has a serious physical illness, is in need of protection or amplification of the energy of the session, or is finding it difficult to accept healing on some level.
You can place a crystal layout at the beginning of a treatment, but I recommend waiting until you have scanned the client and ascertained what is needed. They may be relatively well, sensitive, and open to healing, therefore not in need of a layout at all. You can even wait until after you have cleared the Chakras and done a balance, and then place the layout before the main part of the healing session.
Triad Layout
This is the single most popular external layout. You will need three clear quartz points. I do place the crystals in a specific order, but I stress that I don’t believe the world will come to an end or the healing will fail if you happen to place them differently. I keep a triad of silver quartz points, each around 2-3” long, as well as a bowl full of other points of varying sizes, which I can dip into at need. The silver quartz Triad consists of one point that, to me, represents male energy, another representing female energy, and one that I consider to be the master crystal of the group, representing spirit. I stress that this how I feel the energy of the individual crystals, and has nothing to do with the male or female spiral formation in mineralogy. I also stress that this is my personal way of working. Not everyone will find it necessary to have such specific crystals for their layouts, and any three in any order will do, although I would recommend programming and dedicating the crystals you use for this purpose.
I start with the ‘master’ crystal, placing it at the top of the client’s head, under the pillow, pointing downwards. I then place the ‘male’ crystal to the right of the client’s right leg, and the ‘female’ crystal to left of the client’s left leg (no particular order), both pointing inwards towards the client, and slightly upwards towards the centre of their body. Make sure the client is aware that you have placed crystals near their legs. Otherwise, they may move suddenly and send a crystal flying off the treatment table. Using your control crystal, activate the circle with a clockwise motion, starting at the Crown, visualising a line of white light joining one crystal to the next, until the body is enclosed in a circle (or oblong) of white light. If you are not using a control crystal, channel energy in the usual way, and use your right hand to activate the layout. At the end of the treatment, do the reverse, sketching the circle anti-clockwise, again starting at the Crown, this time visualising the disappearance of the line of white light. Remove the crystals. Again, I usually start with the Crown, but it is not necessary to do it in a specific order.
Small Triads of no more than 6” diameter, using crystals of 1-2” in length can also be placed directly on the body to enhance and strengthen healing of specific areas, and to treat physical trauma, infection and inflammation. A triad on its own can stimulate healing, or one or more other crystals can be placed in the centre of the triad to enhance their properties; for example, a piece of blue kyanite if there has been tendon or ligament damage to the area, or calcite when a bone has been broken.
Star of David
This is another popular external layout, and is much more powerful than the Triad. You will need six clear quartz points for this layout.
The symbol of the Star of David (or Seal of Solomon) consists of two triangles, one pointing upwards, and the other pointing down. The triangle pointing upwards represents masculine energy, the element fire, and the Sun, the downwards-pointing triangle is symbolic of feminine energy, water and the Moon. Together, they form a powerful symbol of balance (a Hebrew Yin and Yang), and protection.
Starting with the male triangle, place on crystal at the client’s head, beneath the pillow, pointing downwards. The other two points should be placed approximately to either side of the hips, pointing upwards and slightly in towards the heart. The female triangle should have two crystals at shoulder level, pointing towards the body and slightly down, with the final point being placed slightly below and between the feet, pointing upwards. Activate each triangle separately, before activating the layout as a circle around the body. At the end of the treatment, deactivate the circle, then each triangle if you wish, before removing the crystals, usually from the head down.
I have learned other, more complicated layouts, but in practice these two have been all I’ve needed. As you progress, you may feel moved to experiment with other grid patterns, whether your own or from another book.