Crystals: The Truth About Their Unexpected Cost
Crystals are beautiful, mystical gifts from the plutonic depths of the earth’s crust.
I don’t need to tell you that crystals are super popular amongst witches and Pagans.
You already know.
And it’s pretty unsurprising.
They’re colourful, sparkly and give people the warm fuzzies.
However, there’s an unsavoury side to the crystal industry.
Some of you will already be pretty familiar with the unethical mining practices around crystals.
It’s definitely important to continue to highlight these issues for newer practitioners.
So… here I am wittering on.
Enjoy!
There’s been a significant boom in the consumption of crystals in the last few decades.
Post pandemic Google searches for crystals grew more than 5000%.
Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold.
Let’s take a look.
Child Labour and Exploitation
Vintage Mineral Drawing
While crystals are lauded by Gooped up New Agers as the panacea for every ailment.
The mining practices involved with extracting crystals are anything but “high vibe”.
While crystal mining occurs all over the world. Many crystal mines are located in developing countries such as Myanmar, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sadly, these places are linked to human rights violations and often use unregulated labour practices.
The Guardian asked, ‘are crystals the new blood diamonds?’
Several articles I looked at, interviewed people who had lost family members to mine collapses.
Child labour is also rampant.
The European Parliament estimates that a around 11,000 children work in Madagascan mica mines.
According to National Geographic, while crystal mining can boost local economies. In many cases it feeds exploitation and armed conflicts.
Which brings us to…
The Taliban
When the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021, they were also able to take command of huge lithium deposits.
Not only that.
The Taliban reportedly make around $20 million dollars a year from illegally tapping lapis mines in Afghanistan.
While Afghanistan isn’t the only place one can find lapis lazuli.
It’s almost impossible to identify the source of the crystal at the point of purchase.
Are Crystals Unsustainable?
Woman Gazes into a Crystal Ball by T.R Skelton
In a world that’s basically on fire, issues of sustainability are pretty bloody important.
Quite simply, crystals are a non-renewable resource.
Some types of crystals take millions of years to form. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for a long arse time.
While crystals are mined with less invasive methods than metal mining, miners must still strip away local flora to access the deposits.
It’s not difficult to see how this destruction is very harmful to biodiversity.
In fact, crystal mining is also associated with water contamination, soil erosion, and deforestation.
That’s quite the rap sheet.
As Pagans and witchy types it’s important not to shy away from these hard truths.
Everything we buy has a cost and an impact on the planet.
Do Crystals Even Work?
There’s more inane bullshit written about crystals than anything else in the witchy, Pagan community.
Let’s look at the (very) limited scientific research done on the subject of crystals.
In 2001, professor Christopher French at the University of London conducted a double-blind experiment using 80 volunteers to test the ‘power’ of crystals.
The group was split into two.
One group was given a quartz crystal and the other was given a piece of glass that they were told was a crystal.
Both groups were given the same booklet that described ten sensations they might experience when holding the crystal.
These included, tingling, a sense of heightened focus etc.
Out of 80 participants, only six didn’t report feeling any of the suggested sensations.
Those who used the fake glass crystals reported the same sensations as those using real quartz.
This led Dr Richard Wiseman from the University of Hertfordshire, to conclude that the power lies not in the crystals, but in the mind.
This is only one study, but it does highlight an important question.
Do we really need crystals?
Do Crystals Have a Place in witchcraft and Paganism?
Antique lithographe (1900)
Ultimately, this a question only you can answer.
What you choose to do with your money is your business. I’m certainly not here to make judgements.
Except being judgemental feels so good…
LOL.
But seriously, no judgement.
Here are a few ways to navigate this.
How to Ethically Consume Crystals
Only buy ethically sourced crystals.
Only buy crystals from second hand shops.
Only buy man-made crystals such as: bismuth, goldstone and opalite.
Use bog-standard rocks from the great outdoors instead.
Feel free to share this article, or one of the ones I’ve linked, with like-minded people. It’s incredibly important that we stay informed on subjects like this!