Colour is the quickest way to get a feel for a stone, and it maps neatly onto the chakra system. When you are not sure where to start, choosing by colour is a perfectly good instinct.
Colours and their meanings
- Red and black. Grounding, protection and strength. Garnet, black tourmaline, hematite. Linked with the root chakra.
- Orange. Creativity, warmth and vitality. Carnelian, orange calcite. Linked with the sacral chakra.
- Yellow and gold. Confidence, abundance and personal power. Citrine, pyrite, tiger eye. Linked with the solar plexus.
- Green and pink. Love, growth and the heart. Rose quartz, green aventurine, jade, emerald. Linked with the heart chakra.
- Blue. Truth, calm and clear expression. Sodalite, lapis lazuli, aquamarine. Linked with the throat chakra.
- Indigo and violet. Intuition, insight and spiritual connection. Amethyst, labradorite. Linked with the third eye and crown.
- White and clear. Clarity, cleansing and amplification. Clear quartz, selenite, moonstone. Linked with the crown chakra.
A guide, not a rule
Reading crystals by colour is a traditional shorthand, not a strict rule. Let it guide a first choice, then follow whichever stone genuinely draws you in.