Many people ask me what kind of crystal they should get for their crystal collection when they are first starting out. It always surprises me and I’m never sure what to say because where I operate from now is that each mineral is so individualized to give a generic list seems almost impossible.

The more I thought about it though, the more that I realized that I do have minerals in my collection that I view as a must-have in order for a personal crystal collection to be complete. Many of them are just so versatile that to be without would be foolish, in my opinion!

Here’s the list for those of you new to the crystal realms!

1. Citrine ~ works with the solar plexus

This is one of the minerals I probably use the most. Its one of the few minerals that all humans agree doesn’t need cleansing or clearing ever, and it will cleanse/clear your other minerals. It has a focus on abundance, clarity and harnessing your inner power as it works with the solar plexus. It cleanses and purifies the spaces that its in as well. I’ve kept a small piece of citrine in my wallet for years to help clear the energy in my life around finances.

I have a piece on my alter that I regularly use to clear my crystals. The particular piece I use was gifted to me to be used in clearing of spaces ceremony, and it has attended every single house clearing I have done since. It is invaluable to me, travelling in bags with other minerals clearing them as we move to our next destination. In meditations it has brought healing and clearing to my solar plexus.

This mineral isn’t the fastest working mineral. Effects can be amplified with herkimer or quartz, or by placing it in a grid. Otherwise this mineral works slow and steady. Its persistent and determined with a steady pace, and will raise your frequency to be the same.

I recently decided I was going to work more with citrine on an abundance level. In the Liquid Oracle Crystal book (that comes with the cards) there is an exercise I’ve just prepared for: Take one orange candle and place it above the citrine card (in a candle holder). In between place a piece of paper with what you desire written on it. Burn the candle and meditate on what you want for 7 minutes each day for 21 days. What you want will either have manifested or you will know why not.

I’ll let you know how it goes when I try it!

2. Amethyst ~ works with the third eye

A multi-dimensional purple stone that clears spaces. Amethyst is one of the great transmutation stones and has been found in several different variations over the last fifty years or so. Any of the variations from auralite to super seven are great and powerful. Amethyst is a great mineral to have around because of its transmutation properties: it clears spaces, and helps keep everything at a rather high frequency.

It also works with the third eye, the intuitive center. Meditation with a piece of amethyst at your third eye will activate and open the chakra, if it isn’t already. Meditating simply holding the mineral in your hands and visualizing your energy filtering through the amethyst is an effective meditation of changing, healing, shifting your auric field. If your third eye is overactive meditating with amethyst will bring it into balance.

I have clusters, tumbled, and raw pieces of amethyst and its variations that litter my room and crystal collection. They are invaluable to me, and I usually rotate between the different ones which travel with me.

3. Rose Quartz ~ works with the heart

This one is a must have, especially for our Western Culture. This is a mineral that helps us to learn to love ourselves. When meditating with this mineral one can feel the pure love it emanates. It heals us by allowing us to receive love from ourselves and from others. It softly and gently leads us to a place where we can take care of ourselves first, and understanding that it’s okay to be selfish sometimes if that means you are taking care of yourself.

I worked with a big rose quartz ball for two years that was gifted to me. This past summer I gifted it to a wonderful woman. Rosie and I slept together almost every night during the period we were working with each other. I began a practice of asking myself when making decisions: Is this an act of self-love?

I learned to be okay releasing that which wasn’t serving me, which was challenging at times due to my own neurosis. I learned to recognize and be okay with the neurosis that I carry, seeing that it isn’t me. And the neurosis when expressed by others aren’t them either. It became easier to see the soul of others and myself. It became easier to not identify with my feelings.

And during that two years I really got to know myself well. And accept most of me.

Rose quartz is such a gentle, loving presence that subtly works on your energetic fields you will hardly feel it. If you do it will feel like you’ve fallen into a soft love cloud.

4. Selenite ~ works with the aura & all chakras

This is a soft white mineral who’s energy is equally as soft. It is a self clearing mineral as well, and I’ve worked with it in various forms, but mostly wands. This is an epic aura cleanser, and balancer of the energies in your chakras. It is the mineral to grab for healing work if you are unsure which one to use because its so versatile.

I’ve used this mineral to extract and reduce pain, to clear the aura, to clear the chakras, in dream work, to open up my intuition and to faciliate communication with my guides. I keep a selenite wand beside my bed always to clear the dream space to allow me to have good dreams, similar to a dream catcher.

5. A grounding mineral ~ works with the root/sacral depending on mineral

I couldn’t decide what to make the fifth mineral. There are so many amazing ones, so I tried to imagine that I had a back of these four minerals, what would make it feel complete? A mineral for grounding! But which one? That depends on the person’s frequencies!

This last mineral I would say would need to be one of the following: Hematite, Black Obsidian, Black Tourmaline or Carnelian. All of these minerals can be used for grounding from a different frequency and a different way. It’s up to you to use the one that is most effective for you.

Some minerals I find too heavy for me and get headaches, slow and a lack of clarity. Other minerals don’t seem to affect me, while some minerals are just perfect for me, like carnelian.

So if I were to give you or sell you a bag of minerals as a starter set to the mineral kingdom that’s what I would put in the bag, with whichever grounding crystal you would prefer. This gives you ample minerals to explore and get you used to their energies and the way they work without overwhelming you. The minerals are powerful and versatile but gentle, so its a beautiful introduction to the mineral kingdom in my opinion.