By Penelope Quest

Placing charged crystals in a grid formation magnifies their power in a similar way to many people treating one person with Reiki: the energy increases exponentially. There are a number of ways in which you can create crystal grids, but all have a central crystal and a number of crystals surrounding it.

Clear quartz crystals normally have one end where the facets end in a point, so these are the one I usually use. Placing hte points facing towards the centre concentrates the energy in the centre of the grid, whilst placing the points facing outwards allows the energy to dissipate over a wide area. Sometimes it is possible to obtain crystals at both end so they would transmit energy in both directions.

Crystal grids create a powerful space for healing. They can be any size you want, but the most useful size is up to a diameter of 30 cm (12in) for indoor use. You can create a small crystal grid almost anywhere, but it is best to keep it out of sight or out of reach of other people once it has been set up, because its energy will dissipate if disturbed.

The crystals can be placed on a cloth, a board or tray if you want them to be portable, or on a high window ledge or shelf if they can stay in the same place for a long time. To permeate or protect a sizeable area with Reiki you can create a large grid by placing crystal in the corners of a room or in each corner of your home, or buried in the ground at each corner of your garden, for example. However, just because the grid is large does not mean the crystals have to be. For most purposes, crystals about 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) in length are fine.

Before setting up the grid I would always cleanse the area first, physically and energetically, and it is important to do this regularly. To allow the grid to become dusty would be disrespectful of the healing properties of both the crystals and the Reiki.

Once a crystal grid has been set up it can be left where it is for a long time, providing you remember to clean and cleanse the the area and the crystals regularly and re-empower the grid with Reiki when you place the crystals back in place.

The main way to use a crystal grid is to place under the central crystal something that represents what you want the healing to go to for example, a photograph or piece of paper with a name on it. It will then receive continuous Reiki; although you will need to 'top up' the Reiki regularly. You can use the grids to empower affirmations; to send distant healing to an individual or situation or to send Reiki to a future or past event.

This is an edited extract from Penelope Quest's Reiki for Life. ISBN 0-7499-2234-6 and costs £12.99