If It’s Broken…Don’t Fix It

Please forgive my adaptation of the familiar saying ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’. In this case, I refer specifically to broken crystals. It may feel sad when a beautiful crystal breaks, in any way – whether a chip, a crack or into many pieces. However, Cerridwen has shown me how to work with these wonderful little wounded healers and how, if you believe in them, their power can be increased through their brokenness, rather than reduced. 

I have always loved crystals, even before I fully knew what they were and what they can do. I loved the colours, the shapes, the beauty. I remember having a beautiful blue agate pyramid as a little girl, and dropping it by accident onto a stone floor – it cracked badly and soon after broke into pieces. My mum said it was ruined and threw it away. I knew no better. Now, I wish I still had the pieces (but I hope that wherever they are, they are still working magic!).  

Not long after starting my Cerridwen training, I found my first ever crystal dragon. A beautiful tiger’s eye carving, he was fierce and magnificent. I couldn’t wait to start working with him. I took him out with me one day to go to a local stone circle, to spend some time there soaking in the energies. I wrapped him up very carefully (the fate of my pyramid still resonates all these years later!) and popped him into a little compartment at the front of my rucksack to keep him safe. When I arrived, I got out of the car and my rucksack slipped out and landed on its front – yes, right on top of the ‘safe’ compartment where my dragon was travelling! I heard a small but significant – and sickening – crack; and my fears were confirmed as I unpacked my lovely dragon. One of his horns had chipped right off. 

I was so cross at my own carelessness – but I had come to the stone circle to connect with Cerridwen and introduce my dragon to Her, and that is what I did. I said Cerridwen’s prayer and sat down to talk with Her, holding the dragon and his broken horn in my hands. I apologised for my carelessness and offered to gift the broken horn back to the ground. But She told me to do something different instead. 

“Do you remember how your heart responded to my call, child? You have told me so many times how thankful you are that I understand your humanity, your frailty, what you see as your weaknesses. The times when your emotions get the better of you, when you feel far less than perfect. You know that I understand all of this because I have felt it too. I have felt broken and I am with you when you feel broken. 

“Give the dragon his horn back, repair it as best you can and every time you work with him, see the crack and remember the power that can rise out of brokenness. We do not need to be perfection. You can do great work with broken things.”

When I got home, I glued the dragon’s little horn back on. Ever since then, I have felt Cerridwen nudging me to work with broken crystals – I have not been told to repair any more since the dragon, but rather to work with them as they are and to feel into the power and energy that they bring in that broken state.  

I now seem to have something of a knack for attracting broken crystals – whether it’s the pieces I pick up physically in a shop and find there’s a wee crack, or others found online where the seller will message back apologetically to advise that it is broken or cracked. This only makes that crystal even more attractive to me!  I am often gifted broken or cracked crystals, too. I call them all my ‘rescue crystals’ and I am incredibly glad that they have found their way to me.   

Despite great care with my crystals at home (that early pyramid-drop incident still haunts me!) I do find that some have a tendency to chip or break – and they always make it known when it happens. The little broken piece is invariably sitting right next to whichever stone has decided it’s having a break! I have come to learn that this is Cerridwen highlighting a particular crystal energy that she wants me to work with for a while – and inevitably within a short period of time, a situation or a request will come up which requires exactly that particular type of crystal healing energy. 

Part of that work is to gift the broken piece of crystal to Cerridwen. I have a little ceramic pot (cauldron-shaped) on my altar which holds all of these crystalline gifts to Her. It is part of the contract, part of the work. It directly connects Her to my work with each of the broken crystals and the situations where they are bringing healing energy and power. 

There is a lot of information and opinion to be found online about broken crystals. Some sources will tell you to avoid them altogether – that they are energetically flawed and that their healing properties are weakened.  My personal experience, though, is exactly the opposite.  

My broken dragons, for example, feel immensely powerful and I love to work with them (I have four ‘rescue dragons’ now, including the original tiger’s eye who started off my journey with broken crystals). They bring an incredible compassion to all workings and are wonderful distance healers. I feel that because they have suffered injury, neglect, disregard and more, they are determined to help heal all of this using their understanding of those challenging circumstances to bring even more power and energy into the mix. Just like Cerridwen does for us…

I find that if I focus on the broken part of a crystal with acceptance and love, then the healing properties and energy become even more intense – as if the crystal’s true core is now exposed and able to shine in its full power.  By looking at it in this way, it becomes even more exquisite and special to me – even if it does not fit society’s view of perfection. I have a wonderful rose quartz freeform with a chip at the top – its lines are no longer perfectly flowing but the compassion that flows from that raw, real part of the crystal is beyond words. A little labradorite merkaba star that I rescued on the point of being binned is an incredible personal companion to help with dreams and night-time distance healing work, with the energy flowing from that point particularly potent and crackling. 

Some people believe that if a crystal breaks, it does so because it has taken an energetic hit or attack, possibly on your behalf. Others believe that it means it has done its work and should now be retired – that it has no power left to give. I believe that either scenario can be the case, but that you should connect and listen to your crystal and come to your own conclusions together. 

Of all the broken crystals I have and work with, there is only one where these scenarios apply. It is a shungite plate, which sat on my work desk daily until one day I went to pick it up as I cleared up after work, and it shattered into three pieces. Shungite is a powerful protector against negative influences and energies – given the challenges I was facing at that particular time I do believe that my poor little shungite had given above and beyond to help me cope. 

However, as I connected with it to thank it for its work and sacrifice, it was clear that I was to hold onto the three pieces for a future purpose rather than retire them altogether. Their need for rest was very strong, but not a permanent retiral; just a period of recuperation and the purposes for the three broken pieces would be revealed in time. The three shungite pieces have been resting in a full moon singing bowl ever since and, as I picked them up for a photograph for this article, I can feel that their energy is most definitely restored and flowing through their rough exposed innards. I am sure that they will let me know what their next task is when they are fully ready!  

While I love any activity with crystals, I am particularly grateful when Cerridwen brings me another broken crystal and sets me to work. There is always an incredible, exquisite, delicate beauty to be found in brokenness, and I appreciate so very much the deepening of connection with Her that also comes through, from both the crystal healer itself and the people or situations it is destined to support. 

It is a privilege to receive that kind of trust, particularly in the darker, fragile times of life. It is humbling to remember that Cerridwen holds me in my own brokenness; that flaws may be visible and ever-present but do not wholly define me or others. It is a reminder that whether working with crystals or not, it is important for me to remember to extend the same kind of love to people that Cerridwen gives to me – to seek to understand and accept others in their frailty and humanity and to be mindful of the challenges and difficult emotions that they too have to deal with. That every single one of us has at least one little crack or chip somewhere, some raw place exposed – and if we look at that place with compassion and love there is wonderful power and energy to be found. 

 

Aileen initiated as a Priestess of Cerridwen in October 2022, by the shores of Lake Bala. She lives on the wild west coast of Argyll in Scotland. You can find her on Instagram at @crone_in_training or on Facebook at @Sounds Fyne