Doubt, if you must, the energy inherent in crystals. But Sandra Miller, owner of Mystic Modes in Red Bank, will remind you that radios once ran on the power of crystalline minerals.
"A lot of stones have electromagnetic energy," she says. "You can touch a certain stone and feel a certain vibration."
Lately, those vibrations have energized Chattanooga's population of New Age business ventures, with a trio of relative newcomers banking on the positive energy a little competition can bring. The wave started in December 2017 with the opening of Stardust Spiritual Shoppe on Highway 58. Then followed The Laughing Buddah in Hixson in April 2018 and Ritual + Remedy in Red Bank that June.
Miller says Mystic Modes opened in September of 2005, originally as a spa offering facials and massages.
"We decided we needed to be a more healing type of place," she says of the business's expansion into the metaphysical.
Massages and facials are still available, but now the focus is on the array of candles, incense, oils, herbs and crystals used for "spiritual enhancement."
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Getting startedCrystal quartz is popular with beginners. EnergyMuse.com describes it as “the most versatile stone because it magnifies the vibrations of stones that surround it.”“It’s a power generator,” agrees Mystic Modes owner Sandra Miller.Miller’s second recommendation for crystal novices would be rose quartz, also with a “very high vibration.”“It’s the love stone,” she says. “It encourages love of other people and it encourages self-love.“The third one we always recommend is usually one of the darker stones, like the onyx or black tourmaline,” Miller continues. “Those help ground you and center you, and also help to repel negativity.”
"We use them as tools for manifestation to help people help themselves," says Miller, "whether you want something calming or to help you focus or you need grounding or protection; that sort of thing."
Justin Davis, co-owner of Ritual + Remedy, says he and his wife, co-owner Lisa Davis, were longtime collectors of crystals before expanding the hobby into a business interest.
"We really wanted to share that with everyone in the community," he says. "We wanted to be part of the spiritual community in town and give people a local place to get those goods." Ritual + Remedy's inventory includes crystals, minerals, petrified wood, tarot cards, candles and statues.
The Davises are happy to offer education to newcomers, he adds, but most customers come in knowing what they're looking for.
"They're seeking out something specific," Davis says.
As often happens with a particular stone, "a lot of people connect with it first visually," he says. "My wife says, 'You don't choose the stone; the stone chooses you.'"
Miller sees the same dynamic in her store.
"A lot of people will walk in and say, 'I'm being called to get one.' It's kind of a phenomenon. If there's a stone that's meant for you, the stone seems to be calling your name. You will walk over to it or your eyes will come to rest on it. You'll pick it up and play with it. There's a lot of vibrational pull and intuition you feel towards it."
At The Laughing Buddah, owner Mary Jo Thrun carries raw and processed crystals, along with incense, sage, figurines and jewelry made from rocks.
The space is divided into three rooms: the Rock Room, where the majority of inventory is located; the Learning Room, which can be used by groups for educational events; and the Healing Room, where people may come for reiki, a form of alternative healing developed in Japan. Thrun, a former nurse, says the practice is similar to the laying on of hands in the Christian tradition.
Crystals of all shapes and sizes are available at Mystic Modes.Thrun says she's an enthusiastic member of the Tennessee Valley Rock and Mineral Club, which meets monthly to visit mines and collect geodes. That helps her connect with customers for whom rocks are only about geology, she says.
She's mindful of the strong religious convictions in the Bible Belt that make some wary of metaphysical uses for what they simply see as rocks. In alternative medicine, the term "crystals" is used to describe the minerals (usually quartz) or fossilized resins that are believed to have healing properties.
"I love crystals for their beauty," Thrun says. "But I personally do feel that crystals do have some kind of healing potential to them, that each one works in some different area or life problem that we encounter."
There's little scientific proof of the healing power of crystals, though at least one study has concluded the placebo effect may be at work. Believers swear by their properties to heal or manifest change.
"Albert Einstein said everything in life is vibration, and just like sound waves, your thoughts match the vibrations of everything that manifests in your life," explains EnergyMuse.com. "Therefore, if you think crystals have healing potential, the positive vibes of the stones will amplify those thoughts."