The Myers Briggs personality test is a wonderful way to learn more about yourself. If you’ve never heard of it, Myers Briggs is a personality typology that shows you how you perceive the world and make decisions based on your answers to a self-reported test. 

It shows you how your thinking processes impact your life and can help you understand how you prefer to communicate and interact with others. 

My favorite thing about personality tests is that they give you a really simple way to find a crystal that will help you in your life. It’s a great jumping-off point for people that are new to their crystal journeys. And even if you’ve been working with crystals for a long time, these types of tests and profiles can give you a deeper understanding of ourselves and how that relates to the crystal world.

Let’s do a quick lesson on Myers Briggs! The test looks at 4 dimensions of your personality:

• Where do you focus your attention? — Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)

• How do you take in information? — Sensing (S) or iNtuition (N)

• How do you make decisions? — Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)

• How do you interact with the world? — Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

These four elements come together to help you understand how you interact with others. There are 16 possible combinations and today we are going to dig into the 4 Guardian Temperaments of Myers Briggs—ESTJ, ISTJ, ESFJ, and ISFJ. 

The Guardians

The four types that make up the Guardians—ESTJ, ISTJ, ESFJ, and ISFJ—share some core characteristics, which is why they have been grouped together. 

Guardians are very traditional and dutiful. They are cautious, focused, and humble in all that they do. They pride themselves on being dependable hard workers and will bend over backward to help others. 

Guardians make up approximately 40 to 45 percent of the population and their down-to-earth and practical nature makes them loyal friends, stable leaders, and loving parents.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the four guardian types and the two crystals that are best suited for them.

ESTJ

Often referred to as the Supervisors, ESTJs are very social and community-minded—they are often involved in their school, industry, church, or civic group. They are extremely generous with their time and often volunteer with a variety of clubs and organizations. ESTJ are born leaders—their authoritative personalities coupled with their appreciation for esteem and respect mean they are comfortable in leadership positions. 

Green Aventurine 

ESTJs are experienced and confident leaders. They are great at giving orders and thrive in structured settings. Working with Green Aventurine can help them in their role as leaders. This beautiful green crystal can help make you more decisive, confident, and courageous all coming from a heart-centered space. Aventurine is a wonderful crystal for anyone that wants to improve their leadership skills. It also has an amazing, calming energy that helps bring positivity into your life.  

Moss Agate 

As a leader, ESTJ can be a bit forceful—they love to enforce rules and ensure people toe the party line. Because of this, they are often seen as somewhat callous and inflexible. Working with a crystal that amplifies compassion is a great way for ESTJs to become more well-rounded leaders. That’s why I love Moss Agate for ESTJs. This crystal brings grounding energy which translates into tolerance and patience in those who work with it. 

ISTJs can benefit nicely by connecting with calming crystals such as Blue Lace Agate and Rose Quartz.

ISTJ

Quiet and introspective, ISTJs are reliable and straightforward. They pride themselves on making sure that rules are followed, laws are not broken, and the status quo is upheld. They pay very close attention to the details—they take their time with their work and are extremely dependable. They do not cut corners and don’t believe in shortcuts. Instead, they work with due diligence and hold others to the same standards. Throughout their lives, ISTJs are guided by their desire to do what is right.

Blue Lace Agate 

Living so strictly to the letter of the law, ISTJs are often quick to judge. When someone else does something wrong—or simply not in line with their idea of “right”—ISTJs are quick to confront them. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but it's important to approach those conversations with gentleness and understanding. Blue Lace Agate is the perfect companion for ISTJs as it helps you develop your patience and tolerance and brings calming energy with it. 

Rose Quartz 

Much like ISTJs can be hard on others, they are exceptionally hard on themselves. They demand perfection from themselves and when they miss that mark, they take it to heart. Working with the universal love crystal, Rose Quartz, ISTJs can start to find compassion for themselves—even when they make mistakes. Rose Quartz also promotes self-love, another area in which ISTJs can use a bit of support!

The ESFJ’s outgoing and supportive traits line up perfectly with the energies found in Orange Calcite and Petrified Wood.

ESFJ

The most social and outgoing of all the Guardians, ESFJs are all about caring for those around them. Which explains why they are often referred to as the Providers. Wherever life takes them, ESFJs are also giving their time and energy to serve others and ensure that events and social happenings are a success. They love to collaborate and find their greatest joy in caring and providing for others. Much like the other Guardian types, they have a strict set of rules and laws they follow and they expect others to follow them as well. 

Orange Calcite

The ever-social ESFJ is an outgoing person who is constantly throwing their hat in the ring to help with everything and anything they can. They bring positive energy to every room they are in. Orange Calcite is the perfect crystal to help keep ESFJ bright and bubbly. It is a burst of positivity and uplifting energy that can help ESFJs make it through their busy schedules with a smile on their face and joy in their hearts. 

Petrified Wood 

ESFJs are nurturers, through and through. I mean they’re called the Guardians after all! But when you give as much as they do, it’s easy to get burnt out from all the giving. That’s why Petrified Wood is an amazing companion for ESFJs—it has beautiful, nurturing energy that you can tap into. It’s an exceptionally grounding stone that brings a profound love of Mother Earth. It’s this connection to Mother Earth that instills this caring, nurturing energy within Petrified Wood.

ISFJs can benefit from focusing on and loving themselves as they do for others by using Clear Quartz and Rhodochrosite.

ISFJ

Always looking out for those they love, ISFJs aka Protectors are always concerned about the safety of the people they care about—from their families and friends to their peers and coworkers. They are extremely loyal and have a deep sense of responsibility to those in their life. Because of this they often sacrifice themselves to help others—they are never #1 or even #2 or #3 on their own priority lists. ISFJs tie themselves to their ability to be dependable, dedicated, and respectful.

Clear Quartz 

Attention to detail is extremely important to ISFJs—it is normal for them to base their identities on the fact that they are thorough and dependable when given an intricate task to complete. To help keep their mind on the task at hand, ISFJs would benefit from working with Clear Quartz. One of the most recognizable and powerful crystals in the mineral universe, Clear Quartz can help ISFJs keep focused on whatever challenge they have set themselves. It will help them concentrate on the details so they can let their logical brilliance take center stage.

Rhodochrosite

The security of the people they love is very important to ISFJs—they will give themselves so fully to a task that they often forget about their own needs. While this is a very admirable trait, it’s also important for ISFJs to take a beat and give back to themselves. That is why Rhodochrosite is a great crystal for ISFJs—it is a crystal all about love that can help you put yourself first. Because loving and caring for yourself is just as important as loving and caring for the people around you.

I’ll be covering the rest of the Myers Briggs Personalities in the coming months so keep an eye on this space! And if you’re an Artisan Temperament—ESTP, ISTP, ESFP, or ISFP—you can find your crystal recommendations here. 

Keep Shining, Crystal Lovers!