Dear WHKeith,
Thank you for that post, and for the others that have posted on this topic up until now. If I can add my two cents, there seems to be a divide on this thread between the scientifically-minded and those who have used crystals and believe in their properties without scientific proof. As it was mentioned, who's right? Nobody! Both are. Let me add to that:
On one side, it's true that the healing properties of crystals has not been scientifically documented as of yet. I haven't seen any scientific papers showing empirical evidence demonstrating that amethyst cures people of hangovers, or that hematite is a good stress reliever. In this sense, I see it fit that those of you who prefer to base their beliefs in science would categorize crystals as "psychological aids".
On the other side, however, science does not offer any means of measuring energy, and hence, cannot offer empirical evidence of energy healing methods or tools. Until this is done, we are left with a matter of faith. You believe it or you don't, based on your experiences. But we're still left with cases of people using a specific crystal to heal a specific ailment either in themselves or on other people or animals. What do we do with those cases?
In my opinion, describing crystals as mere "psychological aids" is unjust. For the reasons mentioned above, there are quite a few things that science cannot explain, and to dismiss anything that cannot be scientifically proven at this time is a great fault. We are now discovering alternative methods of healing, such as Reiki and sound/color therapy, all of which deal with energy, and there are quite a few positive results in favor of these therapies, but the placebo effect theory is not applicable.
It was noted in your thread, WHKeith, that Amethyst was believed to prevent drunkenness and the dreaded hangover. While I haven't really tried this one out for myself (what a fun scientific experiment this sounds like! Any volunteers?
), it may very well be valid--the vibrational "signature" of Amethyst may produce the results we're looking for. All this talk about vibrational healing makes me think of my friend who's studying to be a homeopath. As you may or may not know, the scientific community has been up in arms about the validity of homeopathy as a valid form of treatment, since the remedy itself is so diluted there are only trace amounts of the actual remedy. I asked my friend how homeopathy works, and he said, in a nutshell, that what's left is the vibration of that medicine. I can see how THAT would make the scientific community go nuts! I believe Dr. Masaru Emoto's work with water crystals is a breaking point in scientifically demonstrating this.
One last thing: I can't help but notice how homeopathy has wonderful results with children and pets who cannot be affected by the placebo effect. This same friend of mine doesn't know much about crystals, but when he knows he'll be drinking, he'll take the nux vomica homeopathic medicine and he's fine. What I'm getting to is, I've used serpentine a number of times for muscle aches, and have also used it on pets, and all were relieved on muscle pain. I've also used Reiki on a horse that couldn't stand on her front legs and she could after two days of Reiki treatment. Science has a long way to go before it can explain energy healing, and I'm looking forward to that day. Until then, I think we need to keep a rational focus but still give credit to these methods of healing that have yet to be proven.
