Your Guide To Choosing The Right Crystal Color For You

Using crystals for their spiritual and healing properties is a fun way to connect with the earth’s energy. But it can be daunting to figure out the spiritual meaning of crystals when there are so many to choose from, especially if you're relatively new to the crystal healing game. It’s true that every crystal has its own unique properties and healing vibrations — and every crystal’s color can give you hints as to that crystal’s meaning. Choosing crystals based on their color can help you support whatever intentions you have for working with crystals.

Because every color in crystal healing has its own associations, a purple crystal’s meaning will be totally different than a pink crystal’s meaning. The color symbolism of crystals generally correlates with that of other esoteric practices, such as color magic or the traditional eastern system of the chakras. In these practices, different colors relate to different aspects of your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

“Each lightwave and subsequent color tone has a different frequency it naturally emits light from,” Mariah K. Lyons, a crystal healer and founder of crystal footwear brand ASTARA, tells Bustle. “Some are slower and denser lightwaves, and some are quick and faster lightwaves and frequencies. The frequency of the color will then correspond to the same energetic tone of the energetic centers of the body, known as chakras.”

Chakras, or energetic centers in the body, also correspond with a specific color — so the hue of your crystal babies does play a role in its overall utility. According to Lyons, aligning the tint of your gemstone with its analogous chakra color can help supercharge your intentions. “Each chakra corresponds to a different color frequency, so crystals that resonate within that color frequency will help to balance and harmonize that particular energetic center,” explains Lyons.

You don't need to be an expert in any spiritual study in order to make your own educated guess about a crystal color meaning. You can often make accurate connections based on the color’s general associations. For example, red is often associated with passion or strong emotions (think of idioms like “red hot” or "seeing red"), so it makes sense that red crystal meanings are intense and action-oriented. Having an awareness of crystal color meanings can be especially helpful if you're just beginning to dabble in crystal healing — it helps to strengthen your own intuition when it comes to connecting with crystal energy.

While judging a crystal's energy based on color alone won’t give you as much nuanced information as doing research or working with the stone yourself, it can still point you in the right direction as far as how to use crystals most effectively. The more acquainted you get with what each pigment represents, your crystal journey becomes less about knowing every intricate detail and more about leaning into the energetic power of the crystal.

Let's take a journey through the crystalline rainbow together and discover the crystal color meanings that’ll help you choose the right stone for your needs.

White & Clear Crystal Meaning: Purity & Peace

White/clear crystal examples: Clear quartz, selenite, apophyllite, white chalcedony, and moonstone.

Use For: Cleansing your space, amplifying intentions, and attracting clarity.

White or clear crystals are all about cleansing and purifying. Take clear quartz, for example, which is beloved for its ability to amplify the energy of other crystals, or selenite, which is considered cleansing for any space. “White crystals are great for getting clear on your intentions and also helps to amplify your energetic field to stay in alignment with goals,” explains Lyons.

Crystals of the white/clear variety are usually easy to connect with, even for crystal novices, and they're great for promoting peace and serenity. They’re great tools to use during meditation or any sort of energy-clearing work.

Red Crystal Meaning: Action & Power

Red crystal examples: Red jasper, ruby, vanadinite, garnet, and rubellite.

Use For: Taking initiative, following your passions, and personal transformation.

Meet the Red Bull energy drink of the crystal world. Red crystals get us feeling pumped up, energized, and passionate about taking action on things, and their energy is high-intensity and raw. “The color red can be great for transforming one situation to another — for example, getting fired from a job and transforming the energy into action to start a new career or work that is more aligned. You can also take the initiative to start new projects, get organized, or create strong, healthy boundaries,” says Lyons.

If you need a swift crystalline kick in the butt to help you take charge of a situation, opt for a red-colored stone to help get you motivated.

Pink Crystal Meaning: Love & Compassion

Pink crystal examples: Rose quartz, rhodochrosite, pink tourmaline, rhodonite, and pink opal.

Use For: Connecting with love, healing, attracting romance, and cultivating self-compassion.

Pink crystal meanings capture the feeling of a warm hug for your heart. Gentle, compassion-promoting, and emotionally healing, pink stones are great for bringing more love and kindness into your life. If you want to mend a broken heart, leaning into the power of pink is a great place to start. “Pink helps to heal traumas and energy blockages of the heart around relationships and deepening self-love,” says Lyons.

Ready to let the love in? You can meditate with or carry a pink crystal when dealing with any matter that concerns forgiveness, romance, self-love, or love for others.

Orange Crystal Meaning: Creativity & Change

Orange crystal examples: Sunstone, carnelian, orange calcite, sunset aura quartz, and amber.

Use For: Making art, exploring your sensuality, and seeking pleasure.

Orange crystals are associated with anything related to creativity, enthusiasm, and sexuality. They can bring us all sorts of stimulating inspiration — whether it’s for an art project or in the bedroom. Orange crystals are also helpful when it comes to catalyzing and supporting major changes in your life. “Orange hues is about getting your creative juices flowing and opening yourself up to play, pleasure, and the enjoyment of the creative process,” Lyons explains.

If you're looking to go out on a whim with a life change and need an energy boost to get you through some swift decision-making, orange crystals are your best bet.

Yellow Crystal Meaning: Willpower & Optimism

Yellow crystal examples: Citrine, golden onyx, honey calcite, yellow jasper, and sulfur quartz.

Use For: Boosting your confidence, staying focused, and raising ambition.

Yellow crystals are sunny, bright, optimistic, and all about expressing your truest self. They're great for bringing positive energy to any new endeavor and supporting us in being authentic. Yellow crystals are also helpful in strengthening our belief in our personal power, so work with them anytime you need a feel-good confidence boost. Need help following through on a big project? Lyons advises following the color yellow. “This color supports in actively showing up for a goal, dream, or new habit,” explains Lyons. “[Yellow] helps you feel determined and optimistic about achieving your vision.”

Green Crystal Meaning: Abundance & Growth

Green crystal examples: Malachite, jade, peridot, moss agate, and green aventurine.

Use For: Attracting luck, manifesting prosperity, and fostering personal growth.

Green is the color of plants, but it’s also the color of money. So it’s fitting that green crystals are often used for manifesting abundance, wealth, and fortune, as well as to support your growth (whether that means growing a business or just growing spiritually). Whether you’re in the business of attracting extra dough or want to connect with mother nature, Lyons says the color green is great for “tuning into the natural state of abundance of nature that is our ultimate essence of being. It’s also used to help you understand the natural cycles of nature as being reflective of your life in that growth happens is phases and being at peace with where one is along their journey.”

Blue Crystal Meaning: Clarity & Communication

Blue crystal examples: Lapis lazuli, aquamarine, blue lace agate, larimar, and azurite.

Use For: Sharpening communication skills, getting clear on your needs, and gaining clarity around you.

Like the ocean and the sky, blue crystals can be soothing and calming — but they're also extraordinarily powerful. Blue crystal meanings represent clear communication and the honest expression of our ideas. They bring clarity and strength when it comes to speaking our truth and helps us stay cool, calm, and collected as we share what’s on our minds. Struggling to find the words? “Blue hues can be used to help you communicate your ideas and emotions clearly and is great for presentations and when speaking one's truth,” Lyons explains.

Purple Crystal Meaning: Spirituality & Intuition

Purple crystal examples: Amethyst, lepidolite, spirit quartz, charoite, and sugilite.

Use For: Connecting with your spiritual self and leaning into your intuition.

Purple crystal meanings are all about spiritual energy. These stones help us connect with our mystical sides by strengthening our intuition and higher sense of self. They can also be wonderful tools for tapping into the divine realm of dreams to gain creative inspiration or spiritual guidance. Use purple crystals if you’re trying to get deep into a meditative state. “This color represents strengthening and enhancing your intuition, supporting with focus, and beginning or deepening one's meditation practice,” says Lyons.

Black Crystal Meaning: Negativity Banishers

Black crystal examples: Obsidian, black tourmaline, shungite, jet, and black kyanite.

Use For: Grounding, protecting your space, and warding off negativity.

There's no crystal color more protective and negativity-banishing than a dark-colored or black crystal. Black stones help to dispel our fears and promote a sense of physical and emotional safety. According to Lyons, black stones are a good way to “stay grounded in the body and protect yourself from dense, unwanted energy.” Because these stones are often used as a sort of “shield” against negative vibes, if you need some heavy-duty spiritual protection or are dealing with stressful situations, opt for a black crystal.