We get a lot of questions about crystal therapy and how to work with crystals, so today’s post is a Q&A with crystal expert Karen Ryan where she answers some of the ones we hear the most often.
Q: I am looking for an online school that teaches crystal therapy for animals, but am having a hard time finding any. Can you recommend some?
I recommend Lynn McKenzie (http://www.animalenergy.com/products.html) who does online courses and has a course offering for using crystals with animals. There are many more instructors providing related healing courses like Raindrop (http://lightwingcenter.org) but maybe not online like Lynn does. Lynn gave a course from my home before she moved to Sedona. She’s a fine teacher and well connected. I can also recommend Animal Healers (http://www.animalhealers.com/).
Q: Are there crystal animal healing certification programs? Do you need a certification to practice?
Yes, there are certificate programs offering crystal healing for animals. You can search for a local healer offering a hands-on course so you can get some guided experience. Also check out the home study courses offering, two of which are ‘Crystal Healing for Animals’, Lynn McKenzie’s home course on animal communication and crystals: http://www.animalenergy.com/products.html and Alli Dahlhaus’ home study course “Crystal Healing for Animals”. There is also a section on animal crystal healing in my book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crystals”. There are some tips and a list of crystals to use with animals for healing different ailments.
There is a consortium of healing schools under an organization in England called the Affiliation of Crystal Healing Organizations (ACHO) who provide a standard curriculum for crystal healing. Each teaching school may also offer instruction for animal crystal healing. I think it is important to learn your way around animals and to remember that crystal healing is an intuitive process and to seek training in developing your clairsentience as well as getting instructions on using crystals for healing.
A certificate is not needed for crystal animal healing in the U.S or Canada. There may be some licensing at local levels if you were treating people, however. Be mindful that any holistic practise, either human or animal may be under some level of bureaucratic jurisdiction and if you are not sure, consult with a person with good legal knowledge.
Q: How do crystals heal?
Crystals help to regulate an erratic energy signal. They are natural oscillators, taking a signal and refining it (no wonder they were used in radio sets during WWII). When we hold a crystal near an organ or other organic material, the vibrational level of that organ improves, meaning the signal becomes regulated and harmonious with the rest of the organism. The health of the organ is restored with repeated 
exposure to crystal resonance.
Some crystals have specific abilities for healing. For instance, there are specific crystals that seem to resonate better to restore health to certain organs or disease conditions. Carnelian for instance works very well with various skin conditions. Amethyst works well for headache and arthritic conditions as well as thyroid disorders. Crystals even work well to work on emotional states such as Rose Quartz for love and happiness. Some crystals, such as Selenite, are also used as bridges to higher consciousness. I think animals appreciate the psycho-spiritual aspects as much as humans.
Q: Does anybody know how many types of healing crystals there are?
There are over 4,000 recognized minerals. Each crystal will have been identified with a particular crystalline structure. There are seven different crystalline structures recognized and all crystals are classified according to these structures: cubic, trigonal, hexagonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, triclinic, and the monoclinic. Now I wonder how many have yet to be discovered!
Obsidian
Q: Is it possible to do crystal healing wrong?
This is a good question. Here are some things to consider. Some people and animals are very sensitive to subtle energy and are not able to tolerate extended healing time with the crystals or their intensity. Reduce the time of exposure to the crystals if the animal has discomfort. There can be feelings of light-headedness while healing with crystals, even for animals so using crystals such as black granite, black onyx or obsidian or garnet under the feet or at the base chakra will provide better grounding and less spacey feelings.
Use smaller crystals or fewer crystals to reduce the likelihood that too many crystals are causing energy distortions that make them feel uncomfortable. Some people and animals are not able to process any rapid energy changes and energy releases that may initiate a healing crisis. Go slowly and be sensitive to the shifts in energy that happen when using crystals. So, it is not really that you would be doing something wrong if you monitor what’s going on and check in on how the healing is going. Respond accordingly and trust that the crystals are doing the work that’s needed.
Q: Can crystals in a velvet bag be used in crystal healing, or does the velvet block the energy?
Velvet is traditionally made from silk. Silk is considered to be an organic substance and has negative ionic properties that would not cause an interference with the vibrational essence of the crystal. However, it should be remembered that crystal energy can permeate most substances. We wear crystals outside our bodies yet we feel their healing effects at many levels including physically and emotionally. So if your velvet is made from a synthetic fabric, it may dampened the field somewhat but you will still receive the healing benefits of the crystal.
Q: How & where do you store your healing crystals?
For crystals used for healing the Third Eye, I recommend keeping them separate from each other, wrapped gently in cotton batten. They can be stored together in a special box to help preserve their vibrational integrity. For all other crystals, I suggest storing them together. Here’s why. These crystals have been used for healing. Each one has a different vibrational rate and I believe that each can recall the healing they performed. Keeping them together allows them to share energy information and to help create the perfect healing matrix. Like a hologram, when you take a piece out, the piece is still connected to the matrix. As the piece is the same as the whole, you get a more powerful unified crystal healing.
Q. Please can you advise how, and how often, I should clean my crystals. Also can they all be cleaned together or do they have to be cleaned separately?
In normal daily wearing of crystals, a light short 7 hour salt bath every 2 weeks or so is fine. Get a plastic bowl large enough to hold your crystal(s). Glass is fine but it is a hard surface and you could chip your crystals easily if not careful. Fill the bowl with room temperature water to cover the crystals by about 1 inch. It would be best to have spring water which is “alive” with nutrients that crystals like. Then, for each crystal, add 1 level tablespoon of sea salt as a rough guideline. The “perfect” cleansing solution is a 30% solution of sea salt and spring water. If you have genuine sea water, use that of course.
You can put all your crystals together. The unwanted energies are releasing into the salt-water solution that cancels negative energies and as long as you don’t touch the solution, you won’t pick up what’s being released. If you want to try an experiment, stick your hand into the cleansing bath after you removed the crystals and you will see how yucky it feels. Rinse your hand well afterwards or dip it into another clean salt solution. Personally, I prefer to separate crystals that I use for the delicate Third Eye. These are specialized crystals for opening psychic awareness that need to be cleansed properly so they don’t pick up any heavier vibrations from crystals that have been used for releasing unwanted physical energy such as pain or emotional energy such as anger. For more information on cleansing, please read my book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crystals
Tourmaline
Q: What crystals are good for dogs with neurological problems?
I have used green tourmaline with good effect. The crystal can be placed on or taped to the area where the issue is. If systemic, hold or place near the brain for 5-10 minutes several times a day. You may start seeing results in a few days.
Q. Can you suggest any crystals that might help recovery after an operation?
Depending on the nature of the operation, use Jade, Amber or Rose Quartz to settle the feelings of your body being invaded, calming the emotions and helping in recovery. To clear the energy of shock to the body, hold Selenite or Amethyst on each hand, under the feet and / or at the top of the head. Wherever the surgical cuts were made, use a Rose Quartz to soothe the inflammation in the area. Carnelian help repair tissues, so hold a piece above the incision for a few minutes several times a day to speed healing.
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