Crystals and minerals all share a correspondence to the element of earth, they are literal fragments of it, and so, many of them have the ability to cleanse by way of absorbing and grounding excess energy and vibrations.
Metals, which are just refined minerals, are also all correspondent to the element of earth, and so will hold power and correspondence of their own.
There is much information about individual crystals and their metaphysical properties on the internet and in books, along with pictures to help identify them. Some crystals will be listed here below.
If you’re in pinch, the easiest way to categorize crystals for spiritual or magick purposes is to look at its color and know the color correspondence of the chakras, planets, or whatever energy you are working with. Even if you don’t know what stone you have, you can still find a place for it in your practice.
For example, any black stone will serve to connect to the powers of Saturn, and therefore any of the correspondences of Saturn can be given to the stone such as binding, banishing, absorbing, protecting, etc.
Here are some of my favorite (and in my opinion fairly common) crystals and their correspondences:
Clear Quartz: Beginners Best Bet (I love a good alliteration) this is a crystal that comprises all of the colors, it promotes unity and clarity, can be used to filter out and cleanse vibrations or magnify and amplify with its correspondence to purity, cleanliness and source.
Black Tourlamine: This is a good second for anyone’s collection. The Black Tourlamine will bring balance and stability especially adding it as a counterpart to the clear quartz. Just like the two pillars of duality, Boaz & Jachin, you will be able to create a flow that works like the two opposing terminals of a battery. Black is correspondent to the planet Saturn and can be used to bind, causing situations to slow down. This one can also help us remember to set our boundaries, while absorbing and neutralizing incoming energies, and so on.
Amethyst: A very common crystal, its color corresponds to the Moon, bringing you connection to your intuition and your subconscious side. Many know that working with the moon can be so powerful and versatile that some have set up a practice that doesn’t require the other planetary energies to manifest their wishes. Another good option for a persons first choice!
Citrine: Citrine is varying shades of yellow or gold, giving it that radiant correspondence to the Sun. The sun is correspondent of our identity, our ego, the conscious side of the mind, success, radiance, etc.
I find it ironic that despite being the energetic opposite of the moon, citrine and amethyst are actually the same mineral, except citrine gets its different color from being heated at higher temperatures. Yes, the color itself can make that much of a difference. Remember this next time you do candle magick, candles are all composed of the same stuff, but are given different colors, and that’s enough to trigger a subconscious reaction.
Color Magick is how you can identify and harness the power of any crystal, even if its name or origin is unknown to you. Some planets can wear different colors for different spells and this should be considered for the crystal too. Venus, for example, can be used for money magick and prosperity with the color green (Malachite & Bloodstone), and can also be associated with the color pink (Rose Quartz) for magick aimed at friendships and self love.
Pick a stone that resonates well with the type of spell or spiritual operation.