Editor’s Note: Gene Jackson was indicted in August 2020 on charges of rape and gross sexual imposition by a Hamilton County grand jury. If you believe you were victimized by Jackson, please contact Blue Ash police Detective Jeff Lewis at 513-745-8555.
It was an old man at an Oklahoma City biker bar over three decades ago that first introduced Gene Jackson to the world of healing crystals. A recent motorcycle accident, in which he crashed going 65 miles per hour into the back of a pick-up truck, had left Jackson with his mouth wired shut and in a cast from his right wrist to his shoulder.
Having just served eight years in the Marine Corps, Jackson says he wanted to leave his “bad boy motorcycle” lifestyle behind. Jackson recalls the man gifting him with a crystal about two inches in length, claiming that it would help with the healing process.
“I said, ‘whatever works,’ and put it in my pocket,” he says.
The following day, he met a woman at the same bar who had been beaten by her boyfriend; her jaw, like Jackson’s, was wired shut.
“My heart went out to her,” he says. “I reached my hand in my pocket, I pulled the crystal out, put my hand and the crystal to her face, and took her pain away instantly. Freaked her out; freaked me out. And that started my adventure.”
After that first encounter, Jackson says it was a friend gifting him with a bag of clear quartz that turned him completely on to crystals — which can be worn as jewelry, kept on a person or even nearby, such as on a bedside table. For those who practice with crystals, like Jackson, it’s thought that the act of holding crystals or placing them on the body can promote physical, emotional and spiritual healing by taking in positive energy that, in turn, flows through one’s body and flushes out the negative.
“I started realizing that I love the crystals and was loving the energies of crystals and I was doing intuitive things with the crystals, so I tried to turn people on to them,” Jackson says.
That eventually morphed into The Crystal Guy, Jackson’s home business in Blue Ash where he sells crystals and teaches classes on what they can be used for and techniques on how to implement them into your life. He’s also a certified instructor for Melody Crystal Healing, a type of holistic therapy that involves the practice of laying gems and stones on parts of the body over chakra points. (Chakras are thought to be energy centers in the body that are connected to various organs and glands.)
Jackson isn’t alone in his love for the phenomenon. Take a scroll through the crystal hashtag on Instagram and you’ll encounter over 11 million posts, many of which exalt the minerals’ purported benefits. Celebrities like Adele and Naomi Campbell have sung their praises. And in the past month alone, both The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times have published articles analyzing the resurgence of crystals, citing the rise of interest in alternative medicine and the growing number of Americans who have turned away from traditional religion and toward more secular spiritual practices as reasons for their increased popularity.
Locally, another voice in the crystal community is Francine Haydon, who works at Enchanted Moments, a metaphysical shop in Milford.
She says different crystals can have different effects and they can be used based on their color. Dark stones, such as black tourmaline, black onyx, smoky quartz and obsidian can be used for cleansing. Light pink stones like rose quartz are said to represent love and compassion. Yellow and orange stones, like citrine, are associated with a boost of creativity or confidence.
Other stones, according to Haydon, can be used to help with specific diseases and disorders. She says lepidolite, a light purple and pink stone, can be used to help those with anxiety disorders. And turquoise can be used when someone needs to speak their truth or is having difficulty communicating.
Haydon says there have always been symbols — such as the Christian cross — upon which people attach their beliefs. She attributes the increasing popularity of crystals to their beauty and abundance.
“I think people are getting more and more aware of their psychic senses,” Haydon says. “Everybody’s born with physical senses. They’re taught to use a physical sense — they’re not taught to use your psychic senses. So, people are questioning.”
Jackson echoes that sentiment. When working with crystals, he says, they’re working with the “emotional body” of a person. In doing so, he notes that those who practice with crystals start healing themselves on a spiritual level.
Zoe Codd, who owns a holistic wellness Esty shop and is Cincinnati-based, has been using crystals since high school. She says tapping into the crystals’ energies has been a learning process.
“The more you grow, the more you’re able to get in touch with your metaphysical being,” Codd says. “I feel like, the more I grew, the more I was studying and getting in touch with my aura and my energy fields.”
According to Codd, you can’t just hold a crystal to harness its properties; you have to be able to focus your mind and tap into its abilities.
“There’s energy all around us that we don’t see, but it’s tactile. I’m touching it right now,” Codd says. “If you focus your mind well enough, you are able to get to a space where you can start to feel it.”
With the internet, it’s easy for people to learn about crystals and educate themselves on how they work, Haydon says. She also notes that smaller crystals can be found cheaply for $1-$2.
Even though crystals have become more popular in recent years, Jackson sees the resurgence as a positive thing in every aspect.
“Crystals are really powerful to be shared with people,” Jackson says. “When you share the crystals with people to do things — to help peoples’ energy fields or support a friend … there are all kinds of ways where you can use the crystals to share with each other and help each other feel better.”
While crystals may not be for everyone, Jackson’s advice is to trust what feels right.
“I always say that if a person has a different belief system than mine, ‘That’s not my reality in this moment,’” Jackson says. “I’m not saying I will never believe that way, but I’m saying in this moment, that doesn’t feel right. But this feels right over here.”
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 7, 2019.