When you use crystals as part of your daily practice, you must understand how to clear, cleanse, and charge them. Taking care of your crystals is a bit like taking care of a pet. Your pet can look after themselves, and they offer you great comfort. However, there are times when you must step up and be the parent.
The tips listed below are not intended to be completed all at the same time. Think of clearing, cleansing, and charging your crystals as an ongoing process. A little discernment is required so that you use the proper technique at the right time.
Why Cleanse Your Crystals?
Your crystals absorb energy every day, and they impart their energy to you. During this process, they are left open to additional energies in your vicinity. Because you cannot see these energies, it is difficult to know if they are pure.
Even if they are, those energies may not benefit you. Crystals can become overloaded, or their original intentions could be skewed by mixed messages from other sources.
Additionally, stones used for healing will absorb negative energy or suffer from a constant redirection of energy. Remember, even if you are not actively focused on your crystals, they are experiencing the energy in your environment.
You’re having a good day and a client comes into your office to yell at you — your crystal has the same experience you do. You witness a car accident — the crystals in the car experience all the negative energy and anguish from the accident.
When Should You Cleanse Your Crystals?
In short, cleanse your crystals so that they return to their original state. Otherwise, energy builds up that fundamentally alters the function of each crystal. Most practitioners believe you should cleanse your stones around once a month, but you might cleanse them once a week if you live in an active environment.
Make Your Intentions Known
Cleansing your stone is only half of the process. Make sure that you speak your intentions into the crystal when it is clear. Take your crystals outside and allow them to experience nature, or create what is known as an “activation grid.” An activation grid includes multiple energetic stones that completely surround the crystal in question so that it can absorb their positive energy.
With that said, use these tips to cleanse your crystals. Choose the techniques you think will be most effective, and then we will discuss the change in character each crystal should experience.
Nine Ways to Cleanse Your Crystals
Cool, Running Water
Allow your stones to rest under cool, running water for around a minute. If you have a natural stream near your home, go there for a cleansing ritual. If not, tap water is alright. Keep the stone covered in water, but try to avoid this technique if the stone is soft, excessively porous, or brittle.
Salt Water
Salt water has been considered a cleansing agent from the ancient Chinese dynasties to the Ancient Greeks. Additionally, practitioners of Feng Shui make a salt water cure to protect their homes as the stars change alignment every year.
A common recipe for salt water includes:
- 3 ½ teaspoons of salt
- 4 ¼ cups of water
If you live near the ocean, collect natural seawater instead.
Unlike fresh water, salt water cleansing can take up to two days to complete. Leave the stone submerged in the water, testing its energy and weight every few hours until you have an idea of how long cleansing takes.
Hard stones can remain in salt water for days at a time, but soft or porous stones do not cope well in salt water.
Rice
Keep your crystals in a bag or container of rice for around 24 hours. However, you should not eat this rice. Throw it out as soon as you are done because it has absorbed all the energy from your crystals — and you don’t want to consume all that negative energy. You should also only use that container for cleansing. You do not want to store other food items in the same vessel.
In the Windowsill
Leave your stones in the windowsill to absorb the light of the moon. Allowing them to absorb natural light offers a complete cleansing, but you should not allow the stone to rest in sunlight because that could tarnish the surface.
If possible, keep your stones on the ground or in the out-of-doors. However, do not leave them in locations with heavy foot traffic as they will be disturbed by the energy of everyone/everything passing through the area. (Yes, even aggressive animals can impart their energy on your stones.)
One exception to this rule is amethyst. You can charge amethyst in sunlight for around eight hours. Also, please be careful to keep your stones out of bad weather situations such as heavy rain, high winds, ice storm, or snowfall.
Sage Your Stones
Saging your stones is a process that you may not be comfortable completing on your own. Reach out to a Native American practitioner who can help sage your crystals if you feel you cannot complete this process on your own. (Some people may feel uncomfortable because it is as if you are appropriating Native culture. Only continue with smudging if you feel safe doing so.)
If you plan to sage your stones, you need a bowl or pit to contain the flames, matches, and a loose bundle of sage. We recommend that you only sage outdoors for your safety.
Light the sage while it sits in the pit or bowl, hold your stone and move it through the smoke. For each stone, you can sage for around a minute before it is completely clear.
Ring the Bell
Using sound to cleanse your stones can become an exciting and meaningful ritual. Ring a tuning fork that intones the same vibrations as your stones. If you are not sure of the frequency of your stones, you may want to consult with a music therapist or research the pitch of each stone. You can buy a tuning fork of the same pitch and gently ring it for cleansing.
You can also ring a bell during cleansing, use a singing bowl, or create a chant that speaks your intentions to each crystal. No matter your methodology, choose a ceremony that brings you peace.
Geodes - Stone Clusters
If you have a massive geode, you can place your crystals inside it for cleansing. Leave them in there for a day so that the larger stone can absorb all that negative energy.
Conversely, you could place several smaller stones in a bowl and set the stone to be cleansed on top. The only tricky part of this method is that you must be certain all the other stones involved are cleansed. This may make the process too complicated, or you might cleanse these stones first — allowing you to cleanse them again and repeat the process.
The Breath Technique
The breath technique uses your personal energy to cleanse each crystal. Hold the stone in your hand and speak new intentions into existence. Inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and bring the stone to your nose.
Exhale onto the stone for four seconds, and complete the process as many times as you please.
Energy Transfer
Sit with your stones, meditate, center yourself, and focus on your personal energy. Hold the stone in your hands and visualize your energy transferring to the stone, almost as if the stone is bathed in white light. Hold this gaze with positive intention for around 60 seconds.
How Do You Know the Stone is Cleansed?
When your stones feel heavy to the touch, they are likely in need of cleansing. Therefore, they should feel lighter to the touch when the cleansing is complete. Any heaviness that accompanied the stone should have been left to the wind. If you do not feel a change, you should attempt to cleanse the stone again.
If cleansing does not work, you may need to let the stone go or pass it on to a practitioner who is better equipped to control the crystal’s energy.
When your stones are clear, they should be stored in a silken pouch or bag. Allowing them to sit in sunlight or even under your house lights is simply too much for your crystals to bear.
Care For Yourself With Clean and Clear Crystals
When you take great care of your crystals, you are caring for your own well-being. These crystals spend most of their time with you, in your home, or providing you with guidance. They need help, too, and it is easy for you to cleanse them when they are exhausted from the task at hand.
Remember, if you ever feel “off”, it might be time for a cleansing.