I’m often asked if there’s a meaning behind losing or breaking a crystal.

On a past group call for one of my courses, a student shared that she had lost the same crystal three times, and was wondering if there was any deeper meaning behind it.

It’s definitely possible!

a green moldavite tektite lain upon a green leaf

I remember doing a crystal healing layout on myself years ago where I placed a piece of moldavite on my 3rd eye chakra. As I turned over to shut off the alarm at the end of my session, the moldavite fell off. First I searched on the bed beside me, then under the pillow. Nothing. I stripped the bed. Nothing. I pulled the bed away from the wall and checked underneath, including behind the sideboards. Nothing.

We moved a year later, and before we left the empty apartment, I searched for it one more time. Nothing.

True story!

I also remember the time when I first started working at a busy spiritual bookshop in NYC. I was wearing a lot of jet (a protective crystal for empaths), and I hadn’t learned how to shield my energy yet. Pieces of it would keep falling off me throughout the day, either cracking or breaking as they hit the floor, and I had a pretty good feeling as to why…

There can be many possible reasons or meanings behind lost or broken crystals. Sometimes it’s just an unfortunate circumstance - things get lost, accidents happen. But the Universe can work in mysterious ways, and messages or miracles can be hidden behind the circumstances…

Here’s a few possible interpretations, honor your own intuition or what resonates for you in a heart-based way (as opposed to fear-based):

Lost Crystals

There’s a lack of resonance, and as such you’re subconsciously misplacing or rejecting the crystal because it’s not what you need at this time. It could also be that the crystal’s frequency is so disharmonious with your own energy, or anathema to your spirit, that it’s repelled from you.
There’s a healing or divine message that you need to receive. In this case, it helps to know the properties or energy of your crystals. For example: you keep losing rose quartz. Rose quartz is a crystal of love, self-love, acceptance, compassion, friendship, genuineness, kindness, and relationships. It could be a sign that you have heart-healing work to do on yourself, or that a relationship is ending, or a friend is being disloyal.
If it’s a crystal that has protective properties, it could be that you have a parasitic energy attachment that needs to be cleared, or that you’re on the receiving end of some bad psychic attack energy.
If it’s a favorite crystal, it could be a lesson in mindfulness. Rather like the dreams you can have where you lose or misplace something that’s important, this could be a sign to pay greater attention to that which most matters to you, or what you should be prioritizing at this time. Again, the crystal’s properties can point to clues as to what this might be.
You no longer needed it. It was meant for you on your path for only a certain amount of time, and now that it’s served its purpose, it’s moved on. This has certainly happened to me. I had been wearing a favored piece of citrine daily as I worked deeply through part of my healing process. When I lost it one day, I knew deep down it was because I’d finally healed what I needed to, and could move on.
It evolved into 5D. I remember reading in Katrina Raphael’s crystal trilogy books about how crystals can transmute or evolve to higher dimensions of energy, where they are no longer physicalized, and can also manifest back into the physical. We can also work with them so deeply and with such resonance that they become pure light, and fuse with your aura. I know of a few crystals that were once in my personal keeping that I can now feel in my aura, years after they went “missing”.
Someone else needed it, and the crystal found their way to them through you. This doesn’t always count so much as lost, sometimes it can also explain why a crystal comes into our keeping, maybe only for a short time, and then we feel a strong urge or calling to gift it to someone else.
It’s just not for you at this time. Sometimes we’re just not ready for a crystal’s medicine, yet, and as a result we lose or misplace it. Crystal energy can be overwhelming, throw us out of balance, or cause traumatic memories to surface that we’re not ready to handle. If you keep losing a crystal, it just may not be what you need at this time.

Broken Crystals

Krista holding a celestite cluster in her palm

It needs to be cleared. This is usually the #1 reason why a crystal will fall and break, or cracks and breaks while you’re wearing it. The crystal becomes saturated or overwhelmed by the energy its absorbed from you through negative transference.
You’ve been hit with strong psychic attack or negative energy. Crystals have been known to literally take a “hit” for their keepers, cracking or breaking in the process. Note that this can also happen from your own energy (see above).
It absorbed too much heat or moisture from your body while you wearing it. Crystals that are categorized as a level 4 or lower on the Mohs scale of hardness tend to be fragile can can be damaged by water or dramatic changes in temperature.
It was damaged by another crystal. I remember a client telling me that he had damaged a piece of celestite he owned by carrying it in his pocket with a harder piece of quartz. Again, as above, soft or fragile crystals can be damaged and broken easily and need to be worn or handled with care.
It’s out of resonance with your energy system. Just as with lost crystals, crystals can also crack or break if there’s a repelling effect between your energy and their own.
It’s reached the end of its lifespan. Nothing lasts forever, so they say. In some cases, it may just be that your crystal has run its full rock cycle in this formation, and its ready to returned to the earth.

What to do with a broken crystal?

The advice I generally give is this: If you still feel a vibe from its pieces, you can elect to still work with it.

If not, return it to the earth by burying it in soil, leaving it on a rock pile, in the forest, or releasing it to a body of water. Note: if the crystal is toxic, burying it in the earth is considered to be the best option.

Some people ask if they can glue it back together. I can understand this, especially if you feel bonded to the crystal or it has a deep significance to you. I tried that once in my early days of working with crystals, but its energy flow never felt right to me afterwards so I ended up burying it in the earth, anyway. As such I don’t recommend it, but it’s up to you in terms of what feels right.

Whichever option you end up choosing, please do it with reverence, gratitude, and respect. Crystals are energy beings that can be millions of years old. Honor them as they honored you. 🙏🏻