Stones · 4 min · 17 October 2026
Crystals for Beginners: What the Old Books Say
Crystal meanings were not invented by one book. They grew over two thousand years: from Roman encyclopaedias, medieval stone books, a priest's breastplate in the Bible and, in 1913, a famous book by a New York gem expert. Many of the meanings you read online today are much younger, from the crystal books of the 1980s.
Crystal meanings were not invented by one book. They grew over two thousand years: from Roman encyclopaedias, medieval stone books, a priest's breastplate in the Bible and, in 1913, a famous book by a New York gem expert. Many of the meanings you read online today are much younger, from the crystal books of the 1980s. Knowing which is which is the best way to start.
Pliny and the stones of Rome
Around 77 AD the Roman writer Pliny the Elder finished his Natural History. Its last book is about gems: where they are found, how they are cut, what people said about them. Pliny reports that amethyst takes its name from the Greek amethystos, "not drunk", because it was believed to keep the wearer sober. He thought clear quartz was ice that had frozen so hard it would never melt. Much of what we still say about stones begins here, as a story told in the first century.
The medieval stone books
In the Middle Ages, monks and scholars copied these stories into books called lapidaries. The most read was the Liber lapidum of Marbode, a bishop in Rennes in the 11th century, a poem about sixty stones. Lapidaries described a stone's colour, where it came from and what it was believed to do. They were read for centuries, and they are why stones still carry meanings at all.
Twelve stones on a breastplate
The Book of Exodus describes the breastplate of the high priest: twelve stones in four rows, one for each tribe of Israel. Later writers, among them the historian Josephus in the 1st century and Saint Jerome around 400, linked the twelve stones with the twelve months and the twelve signs. From this grew the custom of a stone for each month. In 1912 American jewellers agreed on a fixed list of birthstones, and that list, slightly changed, is still used today.
Kunz, 1913: The Curious Lore of Precious Stones
George Frederick Kunz was the gem expert of Tiffany & Co. in New York. A pink stone, kunzite, is named after him. In 1913 he published The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, more than four hundred pages on amulets, talismans, birthstones, crystal balls and stones in religion. Kunz collected the old beliefs from every culture he could find, and he told them as what they were: lore. The book is now free to read, and it is still the best place to start if you want to know where a meaning really comes from.
What is old and what is new
Many meanings are ancient. Others are young, even if they sound old:
- Amethyst: the name "not drunk" is ancient. Calm and intuition are modern meanings.
- Clear quartz: the Greek name krystallos, ice, is ancient. "Master stone" is modern.
- Aventurine: named after a Venetian glass made a ventura, by chance. Its meaning as a stone of luck grew from the name.
- Selenite: named after Selene, the Greek moon. Most of its modern meanings come from the 1980s.
- Rose quartz: known today as the stone of affection. That meaning is modern; old love stories about it are not documented.
We tell you both, because the story is the beautiful part.
How to start with stones
- Choose one stone, not a set. The one you keep picking up is the right one.
- Learn its story: its name, where it comes from, what people have said about it.
- Give it a place: on your altar, on the windowsill, in your coat pocket.
- Use it in a ritual: hold it while you set your intention, then put it beside the candle.
- Add a second stone only when the first one feels like yours.
Care
- Selenite is soft gypsum and dissolves in water. Keep it dry and dust it with a soft brush.
- Tumbled stones can be rinsed in lukewarm water and dried with a cloth.
- Store stones apart, so harder ones do not scratch softer ones.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best crystals for beginners?
Start with one you like the look of. Amethyst, aventurine and clear quartz are easy to find, robust and full of history.
Where do crystal meanings come from?
From Roman writers like Pliny, medieval stone books, the twelve stones of the biblical breastplate and collectors like George F. Kunz. Many popular meanings are modern, from the 1980s.
Who wrote The Curious Lore of Precious Stones?
George Frederick Kunz, the gem expert of Tiffany & Co., in 1913. The book is free to read online today.
Do crystals have powers?
We tell you what people have believed about stones for two thousand years. We do not promise any effect. What a stone gives you is a story and something to hold.
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