“But… do you think these gemstones have, like, magical powers? I mean, do you worship them?” She asked me, trepidation stamped on her forehead like a crown.

This is a question I get a lot: How can gemstones and crystals have healing properties? Typically those asking assume that anyone who subscribes to the theory of crystal healing must be associated with the dark arts.

And while being the Severus Snape of Gemstones would be a pretty sick tagline, gemstone healing is not magic. It’s science.

Gemstones and crystals, like anything else in the universe, are made up of matter. Matter has energy. When scientists split open the atom and saw a whole mess of other particles inside, the view from the electron microscope was not stagnant. It was moving. The smallest particles known to man were positively vibrating with energy. We are all made up of billions of energy particles, coming apart and joining together faster than the human eye can see. We ARE energy, constantly vibrating and in flux. (Though we may not always feel that way after a fourteen hour workday.) But here’s where it gets cool: Each organ in our constantly humming body vibrates at a different frequency.

Did I lose you? Consider sound therapy. Certain pitches and frequencies resonate more with us, and affect us in different ways. For example, studies have shown that we tend to trust those who speak with deep, resonant voices. The pitch and timbre inspire us to lend gravitas to the speaker. Dubious? Consider if Janice from Friends was running for President. Could you picture that voice discussing foreign policy with any semblance of stoicism? It’s unlikely. Ever heard the term A 440 used in music class? This is the frequency at which the note we call “A” vibrates. Every note vibrates at a different frequency. Because of this, we feel each frequency at a different part in our bodies. When we harness this, it is called sound therapy, or sound healing. Sound healing can trigger certain organs, just by tuning into the frequency that organ emits. This can be accomplished through weighted tuning forks, singing bowls tuned to energetic frequency of certain chakras, or tables wired to emit pitches that will resonate within the affected part of the body.

Just as certain notes resonate with certain realms within our body, gemstones and crystals do the same. Their energetic frequency can be measured to see which part of our body most resonates with it. For example, Citrine, one of the cardinal Fire stones, resonates strongly with the solar plexus. This is where we store and process attributes such as will power, leadership, creativity, and sexuality. Because of this, we know that holding a Citrine gemstone will help enhance these qualities within us by giving out the frequency that resonates with that area.

After speaking back and forth for twenty minutes about the science behind crystal healing, the woman nodded dubiously.

“I can understand that,” she said. “But it still scares me.”

And that’s okay. There will always be those who are dubious of the concept of crystal or gemstone healing. My job as a therapeutic gemstone jewelry designer is not to force conversion, but to engage conversation.

Because whether or not you believe that hunk of Amethyst is going to shield you from negative energy, or that Carnelian will bring your courage, Aquamarine will soothe, or Black Tourmaline will squelch your anxiety, the real question may be: does it add value to your life?

You may not know why a stone resonates with you. It may be the color, the shape, or the fond memories you have of your mother stroking your hair wearing a garnet ring. For one reason or another, it resonates with you.

And that, my friends, is really all that matters in the end.