Alchemy crystal singing bowls are quartz crystal bowls that have been fused with gemstones, minerals and precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum. That fusion changes the sound. Where a plain crystal bowl gives you a clear, pure tone, an alchemy bowl gives you something layered and shimmering that you feel in your chest as much as hear with your ears. They are the bowls I play in every sound meditation at Mirosuna, and they are the reason people so often tell me afterwards that they have never felt that calm.
How alchemy bowls differ from other singing bowls
There are three families of singing bowl. Tibetan bowls are metal, with a warm, quiet hum. Crystal bowls are made from almost pure quartz and produce a loud, clean, sustained note. Alchemy bowls start with that same quartz and then blend in other materials during manufacture. Some are coloured by the minerals inside them, some stay frosted white, and none of them are painted. Every colour and pattern you see is the material itself.
Because of the way they are made, no two alchemy bowls are the same. That also makes them the most expensive of the three types. Crystal Tones in the United States holds the patent on the process, so genuine alchemy bowls only come from them and their distributors. If you are weighing up which type suits you, I have written a fuller comparison in how to choose a singing bowl.
How they work on the body
When you sit in a sound meditation, the bowls do two things at once. The first is simple: a sustained, beautiful sound gives the mind something to rest on, so the usual chatter quietens without effort. The second is physical. Sound is vibration, and the body is mostly water, so the vibration of a bowl played near you is felt as much as heard.
Brainwave activity shifts during deep relaxation, from the alert beta state we spend most of the day in towards alpha and theta, the slower rhythms associated with meditation and the edge of sleep. Sound meditation is one of the gentlest ways I know to make that transition, because you do not have to do anything except lie down and listen. If you would like the more technical explanation, I have laid it out in the science behind sound healing.
Crystal bowl teacher Ashana describes alchemy bowls as helping us entrain to higher, more refined frequencies, sometimes within moments of the first note. That matches what I see in the room. The energy changes the instant the first bowl sounds.
The seven bowls I play at Mirosuna
Choosing a set of alchemy bowls is not quick. It took me six months to settle on Mirosuna's set of seven, because I wanted a specific sound profile and a specific purpose for each bowl. Here is what I ended up with and why.
Apophyllite with Pink Aura Gold: love and purification
Apophyllite helps us shed negativity, while the pink aura gold carries the energy of unconditional, courageous love. This is the bowl that reminds us to let the heart lead the mind.
Apophyllite: clear vision
A bowl of light. Its tone is bright and lustrous, and it is there to cut through the fog and show you the next step clearly. Apophyllite is traditionally associated with dispelling discouragement.
Selenite Ocean Gold: communication and clearing blockages
Selenite is often described as a sonic wand. Its sound can be directed with intention at specific areas or used to clear stuck energy and unhealthy attachments. Combined with the water and gold elements in this bowl, it encourages loving, honest communication.
Andara: detoxification and transmutation
The Andara bowl is the one I reach for when the room needs to let something go. Its role in the set is release: helping the body and mind shed what they no longer need so that something lighter can take its place.
Mother of Platinum: emotional support
This bowl carries the energy of Venus and the nurturing quality of water. Microscopic bubbles in the quartz give it a pearly, porous surface and a soft pastel tone. It is the bowl that holds you while you work through whatever you have brought into the room.
Azeztulite Crone Goddess: awareness and expansion
Azeztulite is said to hold one of the highest vibrations of any mineral, and the Crone Goddess alchemy adds the grounded wisdom of nature. Together they open the upper energy centres and expand awareness.
I chose the Mother of Platinum and Azeztulite Crone Goddess bowls deliberately to play together. Their notes are close enough that when they sound at once they create a binaural beat, which helps balance the two halves of the brain and lets you drop further into meditation.
Moldavite Platinum: divine feminine and ascension
Most of us spend our days in yang mode, always doing. Platinum holds the yin, the being rather than doing, and reminds us to rest into intuition and creativity. Moldavite, a dark green tektite formed by a meteorite impact, is traditionally seen as a bridge to higher consciousness. This bowl closes the set and, for me, closes the session.
Using an alchemy bowl at home
You do not need a set of seven to bring this into your own practice. A single bowl played for a few minutes each day can change the feel of a room. Find a quiet spot, sit or lie down, and rest the bowl on a cushion or in your palm. Strike the rim gently with the mallet, then draw the mallet slowly around the outside edge to sustain the tone. Breathe, and let the sound do the work. Notice where you feel it in your body. When choosing a bowl for home, listen to it first if you possibly can. The right bowl is the one you do not want to stop playing.
Come and hear them
There are no words that quite describe what these seven bowls sound like together. Every time I play them, the moment the first vibration starts I feel the calm land, and I watch it land on everyone else in the room too. I would love for you to experience it. You can join a sound meditation at our South Melbourne studio, read about what people take away from it in the benefits of sound meditation, or, if the bowls have already got hold of you, learn to play them for others through our Singing Bowl Practitioner Training.
Love,
Sally Kellett
Founder of Mirosuna