Children and Crystals

Did you love hunting for rocks as a kid? Many children are naturally drawn to stones and develop their own little collection. They love to look at a crystal’s shine, feel its texture, and imagine where it came from. Lean into it!

Sharing your love of crystals with your kids is a fun, educational activity that is perfect for curious children—and it can also help them through their growing pains!

How to Use Crystals with Kids

There are so many ways to use crystals with children. We recommend introducing kids to tumbled stones to help protect them from sharp and jagged edges.

Here are some of our favorite crystal activities for kids:

• Go rock hunting outside! You can check out your backyard, a forest, or a stream. Depending on where you live, you may find a crystal like a Fairy Stone.
• Take your children to a crystal shop. Let them explore and see which stones they are naturally drawn to! Then, you can help them choose an appropriate tumbled stone or even a crystal bracelet.
• Have your child connect with crystals through sensory games. Have them look at a crystal and tell you everything they see, and then let them hold it and express what they feel. Is it shiny? Dull? Hot? Cold? Smooth? Rough? You may even notice that your child picks up on the crystal’s vibrations!
• When your child is feeling upset, you can do a simple crystal meditation with them. Have them hold a tumbled stone, close their eyes, and focus on their breathing until they calm down.
• Place a crystal in your child’s room to help ground, cleanse, and balance the space.
• Do crystal crafts together! (Check out our February issue and our Crystal Crafts for the Summer Solstice article in this issue for ideas.)
• Teach your child how to program a crystal with an intent. Let them hold the stone and whisper an affirmation to it like, “I am confident” or “I am strong.” That way, whenever they need some encouragement, they can come straight to that crystal!
• Practice breathing exercises with a crystal. Have your child lay down and place a tumbled stone on their tummy. As they take slow, deep breaths, they can watch the crystal rise and fall.
• Do a mini-lesson on how crystals are formed. You can even look up the specifics of your child’s favorite stones!

The Best Crystals for Children

Simply put, the best crystal for your kids is the one that they are drawn to! However, we have found that children tend to resonate well with the following stones:

• Agate for courage and self-acceptance
• Amethyst for calm and sweet dreams
• Black Tourmaline for protection
• Clear Quartz for awareness and critical thinking
• Fairy Stone for luck and love of nature
• Green Aventurine for positivity and adaptability
• Moonstone for emotional balance
• Rose Quartz for joy and self-love
• Pink Opal for strong family bonds
• Sodalite for focus and learning

A lifelong love of crystals starts early, and your kids can gain wisdom and assistance from their crystal practice for the rest of their lives!

The Fool’s Journey: Crystals and the Tarot

From The Sandman to Morrowind to Charmed, tarot cards have always been a point of fascination in pop culture. The cards themselves are usually intricately designed, with beautiful art and deep symbolism, and the promise of learning more about the future (or yourself) is enticing.

But did you know that tarot and crystals are deeply connected?

What is Tarot?

Tarot has its roots in the late fourteenth century, when card games were becoming a popular pastime for the French and Italian elite. The earliest tarot decks only contained the four suits, or Minor Arcana: wands, pentacles (coins), cups, and swords. Over time, artists started adding “trump cards” with images of the noble families who had commissioned the decks, which became the ancestors of the Major Arcana.

After the invention of the printing press in 1440, tarot cards no longer had to be painstakingly created by hand; they could be mass-produced. As such, the game’s popularity expanded. During this time period, the world’s oldest 78 card tarot deck was created, the Sola-Busca deck. The Sola-Busca includes the Fool, 21 trump cards (Major Arcana), and 56 Minor Arcana cards, just like modern tarot decks.

Records of tarot cards being used for divination date back to the late 1500s, and by the 18^th century, tarot card meanings were becoming standardized. Antoine Court de Gebelin, a Freemason, published a complete analysis of the symbolism in the tarot, with an emphasis on Ancient Egyptian art, in 1781. Ten years later, Jean-Baptiste Alliette produced the first tarot deck designed specifically for divination.

Throughout the nineteenth century, the role of the tarot as a divination tool expanded, taking on a lot of symbolism from hermetic mysticism and the Kabbalah. Tarot continued developing, and in 1909, modern tarot was codified by publication of the Rider-Waite deck. If you think of a stereotypical tarot card, the Rider-Waite deck is likely what comes to mind.

The Rider-Waite tarot deck features artwork by Pamela Colman Smith with spiritual input from Arthur Waite. The pair drew heavily on the Sola-Busca deck and Kabbalah for inspriation. Smith also made the bold decision to incorporate human figures into every card, not just the Major Arcana and court cards.

Now, many modern artists have reinterpreted the standard Tarot deck into every style imaginable, including Tarot decks inspired by pop culture properties like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Labyrinth. There are also oracle decks available, which are divination decks meant to be used similarly to tarot but whose cards and symbolism are created entirely by the artist.

When you are looking for a tarot deck, we recommend browsing your local metaphysical shop and seeing which deck calls to you. You may be fascinated by the artwork, or you may simply feel drawn to it. Go with your gut!

How to Read Tarot with Crystals

When you are ready to read, crystals are your best friends! Step one is to clear your tarot deck. Just like crystals, tarot cards can hold energy, and it is a good idea to cleanse and charge them regularly—especially when you first bring a deck home, since you don’t know what energies it has absorbed on its journey to you.

Place a crystal like Selenite, Black Tourmaline, or Kyanite on top of your deck to clear it, or you can even cleanse a deck by placing it in the center of a crystal grid.

You may also want to use a crystal to open your Third Eye Chakra before you begin reading. You can meditate with an Amethyst or Lapis Lazuli stone in the center of your forehead, or you can wear these crystals as jewelry while you read. Placing divine communication crystals like Angelite, Celestite, Auralite 23, and Clear Quartz in your reading area will help amplify the card’s energy and improve your interpretations.

Now that you have your crystals, it’s time to actually read! Whether you are reading for yourself or someone else, you want to come up with a strong query for the cards to answer. If you are using a pre-determined spread, the spread will give you the queries, but if you don’t have a spread, you will have to craft your own.

Because the symbolism in tarot is so nuanced, simple “yes” or “no” questions don’t usually work as well. Tarot is best for answering broader issues like, “How can I improve my relationship with my loved ones?” or “Why am I struggling to achieve this goal?”

With your query in mind, shuffle the cards and prepare to pull them. Your intuition will come into play. You can pull a card from the top of your deck when you feel “ready,” or you can lay out the cards in front of you, hover your hands over them, and select ones that draw your attention with a sensation (such as a temperature change or tingling). You may even notice that cards jump out as you shuffle, demanding your attention!

With 78 cards to learn, tarot may seem initially intimidating. But don’t worry! Most decks come with a guidebook, and there are also plenty of free online resources like Biddy Tarot.

However, you don’t have to feel trapped by a card’s traditional meanings. Tarot is all about opening your Third Eye Chakra and accessing your intuition! Pay attention to where a card appears in a spread, how it relates to the other cards you’ve pulled, and which elements of the card’s artwork stands out to you.

For example, let’s take the very first card in the tarot, the Fool (using a classic Rider-Waite deck). The Fool generally symbolizes beginnings, innocence, and optimism. However, if your eyes keep focusing on the cliff, that may suggest that a new opportunity is dangerous, or if you are drawn to the dog, that may relate to a helpful companion who will assist the querant on their journey.

If you feel particularly drawn to a card during a reading, you may consider placing that card on a bookshelf or meditation altar with a crystal as a reminder for you to embody its energy.

Easy Tarot Spreads

When you’re first starting to use tarot, pulling one card every morning as general advice is helpful. It gives you a chance to reflect on your day ahead and practice tarot meanings.

Linear three card spreads are extremely versatile and useful for beginners and experienced readers alike, such as:

• Past, Present, Future
• Situation, Obstacle, Advice
• You, Your Path, Your Potential
• Mind, Body, Spirit

Even though they are simple, these spreads can give some powerful insight!

Our Favorite Tarot Crystals

When reading tarot, we recommend using crystals that resonate strongly with the Third Eye Chakra (for intuition), Crown Chakra (for divine connection), and/or Throat Chakra (for communication). Many crystals also correspond directly to Major Arcana cards, which you can keep in mind while working with the tarot.

To improve your readings and connect with specific archetypes in the tarot, try:

• Kyanite for spiritual alignment (The Fool)
• Clear Quartz for an expanded mind (The Magician)
• Lapis Lazuli for access to intuition (The High Priestess)
• Rose Quartz for loving energy (The Empress)
• Black Tourmaline for protection and grounding (The Emperor)
• Sodalite for spiritual guidance (The Hierophant)
• Ametrine for decision-making (The Lovers)
• Tiger’s Eye for the motivation to act on insights (The Chariot)
• Malachite for empowerment (Strength)
• Smoky Quartz for introspection (The Hermit)
• Amethyst for clear interpretation and divine connection (The Wheel of Fortune)
• Jade for balance (Justice)
• Labradorite for innovative perspectives (The Hanged Man)
• Black Obsidian for embracing transformation (Death)
• Bronzite for cooperation and harmony (Temperance)
• Onyx for facing the shadow shelf (The Devil)
• Hematite for releasing limiting beliefs and toxic people (The Tower)
• Rhodochrosite for hope and renewal (The Star)
• Selenite for accessing divine mysteries (The Moon)
• Citrine for confidence and creativity (The Sun)
• Fluorite for clarity (Judgement)
• Celestite for wholeness and fulfillment (The World)

What will your tarot cards reveal to you? Grab a deck and a crystal and start reading!

Happy Father’s Day: Crystals and the Divine Masculine

In March, we celebrated International Women’s Day by exploring the divine feminine energy within each of us, and with Father’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to discover the other side of the coin: the divine masculine.

What is the Divine Masculine?

If the divine feminine is about stillness and “being,” the divine masculine is about action and “doing.” The divine masculine has been embodied by various deities across cultures, including Zeus, Osiris, Shiva, and the Abrahamic God, and in feng shui, it is represented by yang energy.

The divine masculine resonates strongly with the Sun. It reflects the Sun’s motivation, confidence, and generosity. Many people also associate the divine masculine with structure, protection, and standing up for what is right.

The divine masculine asks you to consider your goals and how to achieve them. It also calls you to expand your perspective. Instead of just helping yourself, how can you improve your relationships with your loved ones and make the world a better place?

The divine masculine represents your inner warrior. When you connect with your divine masculine energy, you are a strong advocate for yourself and others. Sometimes, that can mean setting a boundary or disagreeing with a person in authority, but when you are doing the right thing, it’s okay to upset toxic people. That’s their problem; not yours.

Remember, divine masculinity has nothing to with sex or gender. We all have access to the divine masculine, and our goal is to always find the balance between divine masculine and divine feminine energy in our lives.

How to Connect with Divine Masculine Energy

If you have been letting people take advantage of you, you feel unmotivated, or you are lacking self-confidence, it’s time to invite more divine masculine energy into your life.

You can connect with divine masculine energy by:

• Standing up for yourself and others
• Setting healthy boundaries with the people in your life
• Doing a self-confidence ritual
• Engaging in fun, energizing physical activity
• Sunbathing
• Taking a trip
• Trying something new
• Attending a protest
• Doing a puzzle
• Organizing your home and donating any unwanted/unnecessary items
• Creating a plan for achieving your goals

Our Favorite Divine Masculine Crystals

Since the divine masculine is so closely associated with the Sun, Sunstone is a great choice to connect with divine masculine energy. It will help empower you with the confidence and motivation to explore new things and stand up for others.

If there is a particular aspect of the divine masculine that you want to incorporate into your life, you may want to try:

• Citrine for confidence
• Carnelian for action
• Garnet for risk-taking
• Amethyst for setting boundaries
• Hematite for bringing structure to your life
• Tiger’s Eye for connecting with your inner warrior
• Amazonite for standing up for what’s right

This summer, make time for action, justice, and adventure in your life by tapping into your divine masculine energy!

Crystal Crafts for the Summer Solstice

On June 21^st, it will officially be summer! What better way to celebrate the season than with a few crafts specifically designed to correspond with summer’s abundant, creative energy?

We have some easy DIYs for beginners, as well as a few options that will take a little more time and dedication, but every craft is achievable!

How to Make Crystal Bottle Stoppers

No matter what your beverage of choice is for the summertime, these gorgeous crystal bottle stoppers will turn any occasion into a true celebration!

You will need:

• Cork bottle stoppers
• A strong glue like E6000
• Your crystal of choice (We recommend Orange Calcite for joy, Garnet for strong friendships, or Amethyst to encourage drinking in moderation. No matter which stone you use, make sure it isn’t too large or heavy, or it will fall off the cork.)

This craft is super simple! It only has two steps:

• 1.Follow the directions on your glue to glue the crystal to the top of the cork bottle stopper. Be sure to press firmly. Since strong crafting glues like E6000 tend to have fumes, you may also want to open a window while crafting.
• 2.Let the bottle stopper dry. The exact length of time will depend on your glue; it could be anywhere from an hour to overnight. You may wish to lean the bottle stopper against a book to help keep it upright.

Once your glue is dry, you’re ready to sip and celebrate!

How to Make a Crystal Mirror

Summer corresponds strongly to beauty and self-love, and a crystal mirror is the perfect way to boost your confidence!

You will need:

• A mirror
• A strong glue like E6000
• A large quantity of small to medium crystals (We recommend Rose Quartz for self-love, Citrine for confidence, or Aquamarine to eliminate negative self-talk.)

To create your crystal mirror:

• 1.Lay out the larger crystals around the edge of the mirror in a pattern you like, avoiding gaps.
• 2.Glue the larger crystals to the mirror.
• 3.Fill in the pattern by gluing smaller crystals around the inside edge (tweezers may help).
• 4.Allow the glue to dry.

Then, display your mirror wherever you’d like, and enjoy the boost you get every time you look into it!

How to Make a Crystal Planter

Easy-to-care-for air plants meet crystals for a stunning and extremely functional addition to your home décor, and they are an ideal way to bring summer’s lush green hues inside all year long!

You will need:

• An air plant (also known as tillandsia)
• Floral adhesive
• Your water-safe crystal of choice (We recommend Moss Agate to aid with plant health, Jasper for nurturing, or Clear Quartz to amplify vibrations.)

To make your crystal planter:

• 1.Identify a concave spot on your crystal where you want to attach the air plant. We recommend clusters or raw crystals instead of tumbled crystals because they will have more natural nooks and crannies where the air plant can nestle.
• 2.Put floral adhesive on the bottom of your air plant, place the plant on the crystal, and apply gentle pressure until the glue dries. Floral adhesive is quick-drying, waterproof, and gentle, so it won’t hurt your plant or your crystal!
• 3.Once the glue is dry, place your crystal planter in an area where it can receive indirect sunlight (direct sunlight can burn their leaves!).

Air plants don’t need soil, but they do need to be watered. That’s why we recommend a water-safe crystal! Most air plants benefit from being submerged in water for half an hour once a week, but some may only need a quick dunk. Check the care instructions for your specific air plant when you buy it.

How to Make a Crystal Suncatcher Mobile

The Summer Solstice celebrates the Sun reaching its full potency, so crystal suncatchers just make sense! This craft highlights the warmth and beauty of the sun’s rays, as well as the crystals’ innate power and shine.

You will need:

• Jewelry pliers/wire cutters
• 18-gauge gold or brass craft wire
• A 6-inch gold or brass hoop
• Fishing line
• A strong glue
• Scissors
• Something to balance your hoop on, like a drying rack
• 5 to 10 small/medium sun-safe crystals of choice (We recommend Labradorite for inspiration and the gorgeous way it catches light, but you can also choose Black Obsidian for protection, Carnelian for energy, or Jade for abundance. Feel free to play around with different crystal combinations!)

To make your crystal suncatcher:

• 1.Wrap your crystals with wire, finishing them off with a small loop at the top and using your jewelry pliers to trim the edges.
• 2.Lay your hoop down somewhere that will allow you to see how each crystal hangs as you tie it, like a drying rack.
• 3.Measure out your fishing line and tie each crystal to the hoop. Play around with different lengths and arrangements until you are happy with them.
• 4.Slide the crystals around until they are evenly spaced out.
• 5.Once you are happy with your crystal arrangement, place a tab of glue on top of each piece of fishing line to keep the crystal in place. Let dry.
• 6.Trim the ends of the fishing line.
• 7.Cut three straight pieces of wire. Stretch each piece of wire across the hoop and wrap it around the hoop at each end. All three pieces should intersect in the middle.
• 8.Wrap a piece of fishing line around the wire’s intersection point and hang! To get the mobile balanced, slide the pieces of wire around until the suncatcher hangs evenly.

Display your suncatcher somewhere where it can catch the sunlight, and feel free to swap out the stones as you’d like. The crafting process doesn’t damage the crystals, so you can rotate out different sun-safe crystals as your décor and spiritual intentions change.

How to Make a Crystal Crown

This craft is the most involved on one our list, but it is definitely achievable, and it looks fantastic! Crystal crowns are empowering and the perfect way to celebrate the Summer Solstice in style.

You will need:

• Jewelry pliers/wire cutters
• 22-gauge craft wire
• Your pre-drilled crystals of choice (we recommend Amethyst to resonate with the Crown Chakra, Clear Quartz to raise your overall vibrations, or Rose Quartz to promote beauty and love)

To make your crystal crown:

• 1.Measure out the craft wire so that it wraps around your head twice.
• 2.Arrange your crystals by size, from largest to smallest.
• 3.Take the largest crystal and thread it onto the wire, placing it in the center.
• 4.Wrap each end of the wire around the center crystal so that it is held securely in place.
• 5.Repeat this process with crystals of descending size on either side, placing the larger crystals closer to the center and smaller crystals toward the outer edges.
• 6.Once you are happy with the look of your crown, wrap the crown around your head until it feels nice and snug, and then clip off any extra wire.
• 7.Bend the ends of the wire to create a hook and eye, allowing the crown to remain on your head.

This crystal crown makes the perfect accessory for weddings, music festivals, magic rituals, or any occasion when you want to feel empowered and aligned.

And remember, summer is all about creativity and celebration, so get crafting this season!

Wedding Season Survival Guide

June has been associated with marriage for centuries; the Ancient Romans named the month after Juno, the goddess of marriage and women. With June’s warm, sunny summer weather, it’s no surprise that this ancient connection has endured!

For many of us, that means we have at least one wedding (if not more!) to attend in this month. While weddings are joyous occasions, they also require a lot of planning, travel, and money. And where there’s planning, travel, and money, there’s stress.

Never fear! My Dream Crystals has put together some crystal recommendations to help everyone survive and thrive during wedding season.

Crystals for the Happy Couple

For the happy couple, we start with two crystals that have long been recognized as marriage stones: Emerald and Aquamarine. Emerald is often called the “stone of successful love” because its balancing energies promote empathy, compromise, and patience. It is also an attractive stone, allowing couples to start off their new life with a little extra luck.

Aquamarine promotes loving communication, allowing a couple to always be open and honest with each other, while still speaking from a place of kindness. Aquamarine is also an empowering crystal, and it will give new partners the courage to face anything together.

Finally, to help the couple build a healthy, long-lasting partnership, Garnet is a great option. Garnet is a stone of love, loyalty, and passion. It will remind new spouses that they can achieve all of their dreams if they work together, and it ensures that time only strengthens their bond.

Crystals for the Bridal Party

The bridal party’s number one job is to support the happy couple. Rose Quartz will help bridesmaids and groomsmen tap into their kindest, most loving selves, and it also encourages harmony among the entire group.

Complement Rose Quartz’s gentle energy with grounded Hematite. This crystal can help the bridal party make sure everything gets done so that the couple doesn’t have to stress on their special day. However, if there are turbulent emotions, Howlite’scalming vibrations can help the maid of honor or best man calm down a stressed-out bride or groom.

Crystals for Wedding Guests

If guests are traveling to attend the wedding, Jade will be their best friend. This crystal protects travelers against curveballs and attracts good luck; it will keep guests from missing their connection, losing their luggage, or running out of gas miles from the nearest rest stop.

Once the guests are at the wedding, Orange Calcite will help get the party going! This crystal radiates infinite positivity, and it infuses any space with happiness and fun. If you’re worried about over-indulging, over, reach for Amethyst. This balancing stone will gently remind you not to have that extra shot so that you can make it to the wedding breakfast tomorrow morning.

With these crystals, everyone can fully enjoy the celebration and start a marriage off in style!