Crystal Craze

by Zoey Rainey, People Editor

Some people swear by them, some do not believe they have any use, but no one can deny that the use of crystals and spirituality has become increasingly popular amongst youth over the past year. There are many reasons for their increasing popularity, such as social media, spiritual causes, and celebrity influence.

Some celebrities who have been open about their use of crystals are: Adele Adkins, Spencer Pratt, Victoria Beckham, and many more, “I collect crystals and place them around my home and office to create positive energy,” Beckham said. But crystals have existed as a form of medicine for thousands of years dating back to ancient Sumerians and Egyptians. Crystals are believed to help promote good energy, help users relax, rid the body of negative energy, and bring physical and emotional benefits. The use of crystals comes from ancient Buddhist and Hindu beliefs and has been simplified in recent years and is known as spirituality. They are based on the fact that everything is made of energy and different forms of matter and rays of light vibrate at different vibrational frequencies. Each crystal has different frequencies depending on its matter size, thickness, and color and they can be used to raise your own frequencies. Crystals are also popularly used for healing, whether it be physical or emotional. This goes hand in hand with chakras; a chakra is an energy wheel within everyone. Ancient Hinduism and Buddhism believed that everyone has many different chakras, but the seven main ones are like all throughout the center of your body (see graphic below). Senior, , shares his passion for crystals and all that they can be used for, “I use them for many different things. I wear them sometimes for protection because I’m very prone to energy, so when I meet someone you can kind of just tell that it was like a negative encounter or it was something that you kind of never want to experience again, and a lot of times I’ll hold on to that and just kind of like think about that a lot and a lot. And so having crystals on me it all goes to the crystal because it absorbs that energy instead of me,” Social media has had a major influence on trends, and Tik Tok has especially made crystals and spirituality a trend amongst youth, “I think that TikTok has definitely played a big role in them becoming so popular. I think that since there is sort of a new trend of 70s/hippy vibes, spirituality has become more of a popular topic to talk about. I think that crystals and meditation and manifesting are all kind of a part of that,” Senior Abby Lewis said. Some also believe that this new uprising of crystals and spirituality is thanks to the Age of Aquarius, an astrological period of change,

“The last time we experienced this was the hippie revolution, back in the 60s and 70s. These “hippie” topics are on the rise again. A lot more people are getting into yoga and different ideas of life. That’s what I think it is,” Perez said. As this ancient practice continues to gain popularity amongst media and youth it leaves many with the question of “is spirituality real, or worth getting into?” and to this Perez said, “Spirituality is just whatever you make of it and at the end of the day, you don’t need crystals. You don’t need any of it because you have everything within you and it’s more just about using these tools to figure out more about yourself.”

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