Crystals can be a lovely support for helping us get grounded and stay grounded throughout the day. Sometimes, having that ongoing support can make a difference as we navigate our daily lives.
Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, dealing with scattered energy, or simply looking for more balance, the right crystal can serve as not only a healing tool, but a touchstone that reminds you to slow down, reconnect with your physical body, and return to the present moment.
Being grounded doesn’t come naturally to everyone. I should know. I was one of the more spaced-out people in my late teens.
Learning to ground myself became priority number one when I entered the world of energy healing. My teacher assigned it as homework, and that homework continued for about two years before things started to improve. But, in full disclosure, grounding became a daily practice that I continued for decades to come. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
In this guide, I’ll share some of my favourite crystals for grounding, what I’ve learned about their different energetic qualities, a few tips for choosing crystals that feel right for you, how to cleanse them, and how to use them for grounding. These are crystals I’ve worked with myself and know best, although there are plenty of others with grounding qualities.
Grounding Crystals
If you enjoy working with crystals, there are plenty of options to explore. Each stone has its own qualities, and what works well for one person may not be the best choice for another.
For those of you who are energetically sensitive, sometimes you may really feel the energy of a stone when you start to work with it. This is because the frequency that the stone carries is different from what’s in your aura.
This can relate to the stone having energetic qualities that you may need to develop within yourself. You might notice that as you work with or wear a crystal, over time you don’t notice the same energy or effect. This is because your own energy body is changing; specifically, it starts to match the energy of the crystal. When that happens, we don’t tend to register the energy in the same way.
Red Gemstones
This has been my go-to for years, but there are a few things to be aware of. Red stones will ground you - but they’ll also amplify everything, for better or worse. So if you’re generally in a good place psychologically, these grounding stones can be good to work with. But if you’re dealing with a lot of stress, agitation, etc., I wouldn’t work with red stones. They’ll take those emotions and amplify them like you wouldn’t believe.
Disclaimer: For anyone who is pregnant, dealing with high blood pressure, or dealing with abnormal cells in the body, please avoid charged, consecrated crystals entirely. They can aggravate these conditions and make things worse.
I love red stones because they really activate the Root Chakra. This means they can help you get things done without having copious amounts of coffee. I tend to feel energized, strong, and productive when working with, or wearing them. Some red(ish) stones to work with include:
Garnet
Garnet is a great stone to work with when you need to feel grounded and connected to your body and the Earth. If you’re trying to strengthen your lower chakras, this is the stone for you. The red light energizes the lower chakras, supporting their functions, and has an overall strengthening effect on the entire energy body. This can help you feel stronger, more vital and energized.
Wearing garnet can enhance courage and help you take action, overcome avoidance and stop putting things off. It causes the Root or 1st chakra to spin faster, allowing the chakra to take in more energy from the environment. In turn, this can help you get things done. It’s a great stone to work with when you need to be strong and resilient.
Garnet is also a great stone for sovereignty. It can help you distinguish what’s yours from what isn’t, bringing you into closer contact with what you want for yourself and your life. In that way, I also consider garnet to be a protective stone, though it works differently from many of the more traditionally protective stones. It doesn’t provide an energetic shield like other crystals can, but it helps you cut through the chaos of energy that might be around or within you.
Ruby
Ruby can have very strong energy, so proceed with caution! In my experience, I find the red energy of ruby to be too strong for most people. Remember, every crystal has an aura or energy body, but when you cleanse and energize them, that energy body expands manifold and becomes much more powerful.
Personally, I tend to avoid rubies. They're a lot of heavy red energy, taking what garnet can do to a whole other level. With red energy, less is more.
Red Jasper
Energetically, red jasper is the “weaker” of the three, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s very strengthening for the Root and Crown chakras. I think it’s a good option when you want some red energy but don’t want it to be overwhelming. If you’re looking for the “less is more” option, this is a good choice.
Red Jasper provides grounding energy and has the stabilising effect of the other red stones, helping to increase vitality and create a steadier, more grounded energy. Because its energy is gentler, it can help you build a stronger energetic foundation, which in turn can support the opening of the upper chakras.
Sometimes we think of the chakras as separate from each other, when in fact they're all interconnected. What happens to one has a domino effect on the others.
While I think this stone is great for increasing vitality and providing a sense of stability, I wouldn’t recommend it for helping to manifest your goals or ideas. In addition, in my experience, it doesn’t seem to have the same qualities as garnet or ruby when it comes to courage, sovereignty and taking action.
Carnelian
This is a personal favourite. I consider Carnelian to be a powerful stone of transformation. With its deep orange colour, it produces more of a red-orange light energetically. The whole energy body benefits, which can be very good for one’s healing, health, and vitality. It has a grounding effect, benefiting not only the Root Chakra (THE center for getting grounded energetically speaking), but it also has a very powerful healing effect on the Sacral (2nd or Sex) Chakra as well.
If you’re a creative who is looking to get more grounded, this could be an excellent stone for you. If you’re looking for transformation in life, Carnelian can help support you. Carnelian also helps us to be more courageous, bolder in action and helps us step out of our comfort zone. It too can increase our vitality.
Carnelian is known as a stone of artists, writers, performers, etc. This largely has to do with how it interacts with the Sacral Chakra. In addition, whatever happens to this chakra affects the Throat Chakra. So as the Sacral chakra strengthens, heals and transforms, more energy naturally starts to flow up to the Throat Chakra, lending itself to expression of that creativity in all its forms. It's these two chakras that need to be supported for all creative endeavors.
Other Grounding Crystals Worth Mentioning
Red gemstones aren't the only crystals that help with grounding; black stones are quite popular as well.
However, they tend to get energetically dirty fast. Most black or smoky stones act as a vacuum, continuously ‘sucking up’ negative energy within the energy body and the environment. While this can be a good thing at times, it also means they need regular cleansing. If you don’t clean these stones regularly, they can break or crack. Furthermore, if you’re wearing them as jewelry, once they get ‘full,’ they will hold a lot of negative energy over the area where they are worn. If you’re drawn to black stones, here are some suggestions:
Black Tourmaline: This is a powerful stone for deeply purifying negative or harmful energy. At the same time, it is deeply grounding and has a strengthening effect on the root chakra.
Smoky Quartz: Similar to Black Tourmaline, Smoky Quartz is another popular grounding stone. It is excellent at absorbing negative energies. However, I don’t find that this stone transmutes energy as some sources claim. Like the other stones on this list, it needs to be cleaned frequently.
Obsidian: Along the same lines, Obsidian is deeply grounding, stabilizing, and purifying. Black Obsidian is also a great divination tool; it is wonderful for shadow work and can really help bring order to chaotic energies.
Aside from grounding, the one thing all these black and smoky crystals have in common is that they are also protective, again they don’t produce a shield on the aura they simply 'vacuum' up negative or harmful energy.
How to Choose a Crystal for Grounding
To choose a crystal, pay attention to what your body is drawn to. That’s always your best bet. By feeling what you are naturally drawn to, you are tapping into the intelligence within you—and it always knows best.
If that’s not available to you, then read through the list, do your own research into the other energetic qualities it has, and see what makes the most sense for you.
The quality of the stone can make a difference. If you want to get technical about it, having a high-grade stone cut into facets is going to be very powerful to wear and work with. But at the same time, I’ve worked with tumbled stones in my pocket and had good success with them as well. I have all sorts of stones around my house, and regardless of ‘grade,’ I love them all.
All last winter, I carried three sunstones in my pocket to support all things related to the Sun. (Side note: where I live permanently adopted Daylight Saving Time, and now the Sun will come up at 10:30 a.m. this winter. LA—you may see me again soon, lol.)
These sunstones weren’t the highest grade of stone, but they provided me with the perfect energetic support to navigate the dark days. Then, come mid-spring, I didn’t feel like I needed them anymore—which is another thing to “listen” for: your body will tell you when it doesn’t need that kind of energy anymore.
Cleansing Your Crystals
Before you cleanse your crystals, it’s a good idea to check whether the stone is suitable for water and salt. Not every crystal should be put in water, and some can dissolve, become damaged, or have their surface affected.
As a rule of thumb, you should always clean your crystals when you first get them, especially if they’re from a store, be it online or in person. At this point, that crystal has crossed paths with many people and environments. For our work here we want a nice clean slate, so it’s important to cleanse any negative or incorrect energies off the stone. If you’re working with, carrying, or wearing your stone every day try to clean it once a week if you can. Once it’s consecrated you’ll never have to do that again, but you will need to cleanse it from time to time.
If your stone isn’t suitable for water or salt, here are some basic cleansing options that are generally good choices:
Incense: Sandalwood, frankincense, or you can smudge it with sage.
Sunlight: This is a nice option. Sunlight can cleanse the stone and recharge it. Just don’t leave it there for long periods of time—some stones will fade in sunlight if left out for days. (You can look that up for your particular stone.)
Salt or rice: Putting the stone in a bowl of dry salt or rice is another option.
Om Mantra: if you can find an Om audio that you like, you can place your stones in front of the speakers and let them bathe in the energy of the Om mantra. If you want to make this a little more efficient, you can form the intent that the energy of the Om mantra is cleansing your crystals of any and all negative, incorrect, and harmful energy. Depending on your background, you can also use Amen and Amin as well.
I can’t confirm how cleansing or charging putting them out in moonlight is. I’ve been meaning to experiment with this for ages. When I do, I’ll circle back and let you know!
How to recharge your stone:
Place it on a sunny windowsill.
Hold the stone up and ask that it be charged. Essentially, you’re doing this through prayer. You can use whatever words you like. The important thing is to hold it up, ask for it to be charged (or consecrated), give thanks, and then ask that the energy be stabilized or “fixed.”
When recharging your stone, you don’t need to program it with anything specific. Charging it naturally strengthens the natural properties and energy of the stone. These are just some basic suggestions; that’s not to say other things won’t work.
Your stone does have an aura of energy. Cleansing it and charging it increases the aura of the stone, which makes it a little more powerful.
How to Use Crystals for Grounding
Once your crystals are cleansed and energized, you don't need an elaborate ritual to work with them. Here are a few ways to incorporate them into your routine:
Carry a stone: Keep the crystal in your pocket to receive its energetic qualities and use as a touchstone to remind you of what you are working towards, or cultivating in life.
Wear a bracelet and/or ring: This is my personal favourite, also it's the easiest way to get the energy circulating through your energy body and chakras. For red and orange stones I would focus on bracelets and/or rings. Avoid wearing pendants or necklaces with these stones. Once the crystals are charged, they could affect your Heart. The energy can be overwhelming in this area. Rings and bracelets are safe ‘entry points’ for their energy. Please note, I am speaking specifically about charged crystals. If you are not cleansing and charging your crystals - don’t worry about it.
Create a sacred space: Place your favourite crystals on an altar or sacred space. This can be nice if you spend regular time in this spot.
The key thing to remember is that if you want to benefit from a crystal’s energy, you’ll want to keep it close to you. While it’s lovely to have stones in a sacred space, they won’t be doing much for your day-to-day routine if you rarely spend time there. Instead, think about placing crystals where you naturally spend a lot of time, such as your office or living room.
I would avoid placing these charged crystals in your bedroom, though. You want your bedroom to be a place where you can unwind and rest, and some crystals can feel a little too stimulating for that space.
That said, there was a time in my life, long, long ago, when I used to sleep with crystals under my pillow. It may not have been the best recipe for a restful night’s sleep, but it certainly made for some interesting dreams!
So, do as you will! But if you have trouble sleeping, start experiencing insomnia, find your mind is unusually busy, or your body feels restless, you know what to do. Remove the charged crystals from your bedroom.
My Personal Story With Grounding
If you didn’t catch it at the beginning, it took me a few years to practice being grounded. During that time, I did work with crystals for support, but I also worked to heal my lower chakras and did the same exercise I suggested in the Root Chakra post.
Getting grounded helped me go to business school, build this business, and run it full-time for the last 19 years. It helped me become a more grounded healer and create stability in all areas of my life. Plus, much, much more.
I share all these intimate details because I want to stress the importance of grounding - especially in this world of spirituality and healing, where sometimes it’s not all that common. Yet if we do have a spiritual practice, getting grounded can help bring that practice into the real world.
If you’ve been working on grounding but still feel like something is keeping you from feeling fully present, stable, or connected, this may be something worth exploring more deeply. Energy healing can help identify and work with energetic imbalances that may be contributing to what you’re experiencing.
You can learn more about my Energy Healing sessions here.
