Learn the Crystals

Which stones the crystals course covers

The course holds the fifteen stones of the almanac’s crystal shelf, in one set:

• Quartz family and friends: clear quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, citrine, amethyst, green aventurine, carnelian, tiger’s eye.
• The dark and protective: black tourmaline, obsidian.
• The light-play stones: labradorite, moonstone, selenite.
• The deep colours: lapis lazuli, malachite.

Each flashcard has four fields: the stone’s essence in a line, what tradition says, how people work with it today, and care. The card links to the stone’s full page if you want the history in more detail.

How to learn the fifteen stones in one evening

1. First pass (15 minutes): flip every card and read only the essence line. Don’t try to remember yet.
2. Second pass (20 minutes): read tradition and care. For each stone, say one sentence out loud: “Amethyst — calm for a racing mind; keep it out of strong sun.”
3. Test: ten stones from the fifteen, six options each. Questions alternate between “what is this stone known for?” and the reverse — a reputation, and you pick the stone.
4. Next day: take the test once more. A stone counts as known when you tick “I know this one” or answer it correctly at least twice, more often right than wrong. Progress stays in your browser.

The short recall the next day does more than an extra hour tonight — that is how memory works for nearly everyone.

Care notes are the part worth memorising

Reputations are pleasant to know, but care notes protect real objects on your shelf. A few that surprise beginners:

• Selenite is very soft and dislikes water — dust it with a dry cloth. See the selenite page.
• Malachite: no soaking, no acids, no DIY grinding and no “crystal water”.
• Rose quartz, amethyst, citrine and smoky quartz can fade in long direct sun.
• Lapis lazuli is porous: no long soaks and keep perfume off it.
• Obsidian is natural glass — it chips, and fresh edges cut.

A good exercise: sort your own stones (if you have any) into “water fine”, “brief rinse only” and “dry cloth only”, using the cards.

Tradition, not treatment

The course teaches what people have believed about stones and how they use them as small rituals of attention. None of it is medicine, and a stone never replaces a doctor, sleep hygiene or professional help. If you want to take the ritual side further, pair a stone with the gentle rituals shelf — one stone, one intention, a few quiet minutes.

A small way to make it stick: choose a stone of the week and put it where your eye lands every day — the desk, the bathroom shelf. Each time you notice it, recall its essence in one line.