How To Cleanse Crystals: Fascinating Techniques You Need To Know
You’ve just bought a beautiful new crystal, but you’re not sure how to cleanse crystals so they retain their positive energy. It may be holding onto excess energy from people or places it has previously come into contact with. In order for your crystals to work effectively, you should cleanse them before use.
You can cleanse your crystals in many ways, ranging from visualization to using the earth’s natural resources. The method you choose is entirely up to you!
In the rest of this article, I will delve deeper into the methods you can use to cleanse your crystals and why it is so important to do so.
Please note that I make every effort to ensure this information is correct and accurate through my own experiences and referencing sources throughout AND at the bottom of this article.
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Table of Contents
What Does Cleaning Crystals Mean?
Crystals travel a long distance before they reach you. From the distributor, through transportation, to the store you bought it from, crystals are exposed to many different people and places.
During their journey, crystals can pick up various energies, including negative ones. This can harm the crystal’s vibrations and frequencies and make them ineffective for their original purpose.
When you cleanse your crystal, you are essentially resetting it, so no negative energy is attached to it. This wipes all the bad energy clean and restores the crystal to its original frequency.
Why Should You Cleanse Your Crystals?
When your crystal’s energies are not aligned correctly, it can negatively affect any spiritual intentions or purposes for which you plan to use it. Any lingering negative energy can affect any potential positive uses of the crystals.
Crystals naturally help to absorb negative energy from you. This negative energy builds up, and eventually, your crystal is ineffective.
The only way to return your crystals to their natural state is by cleansing and recharging them. If you don’t do this, your crystals will stop having their intended effect.
Remember crystals are just stones. While they have lovely energy, they won’t set boundaries for you or have that chat with your partner for you. They can help encourage and empower you, but they don’t solve every problem.
Amanda – The Peculiar Brunette
When Should You Cleanse Your Crystals?
It would be best if you cleaned your crystals when you first bought them and before using them. Cleanse them when you get home so they are clear of negative energy.
Remember, your crystals also pick up your energy. Over time, this energy will build up until your crystal cannot absorb anymore. Because of this, you should also perform a regular cleansing on all the crystals you own.
How Often to Cleanse Your Crystals
Every month is a good guide for how often you should cleanse your crystals. If you use them quite frequently, you can choose to cleanse them more often, but at least every month is a good starting point.
I regularly clean my crystals by placing them in the moonlight during a monthly full moon ritual.
Remember to use your intuition! If you feel your crystals are heavier or less effective than they should be, go ahead and cleanse them. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
How Do I Know When My Stone is Cleansed?
It isn’t easy to know precisely when your crystal should be cleansed, so it’s best to do it regularly. However, sometimes, your intuition will pick up on a bit of heaviness in the stone. In this case, you should cleanse it right away.
The only way to know your crystal is cleansed is to do it properly. You can do this quickly and effectively in many ways, which we’ll get into shortly.
How to Charge Crystals
Charging your crystals goes hand in hand with cleansing them. When you cleanse them of negative energy, you naturally restore them to their original high vibrations.
After cleansing, your crystals will be recharged and ready to go. Their vibrations will gradually begin to waver as they absorb surrounding negative energy, thus lowering their charge.
You can cleanse and recharge your crystals for an unlimited amount of time.
Many crystals behave like butter in that they are hard at low temperatures but soft at higher temperatures. They are called solids at all temperatures below their melting point.
Britannica – crystal physics
How to Cleanse Crystals with Incense, Smoke, or Sage
Incense and sage are both great for deep cleansing and recharging your crystals. Using them to cleanse your crystals is simple and easy.
You’ll need to light the incense or sage and wave the smoke over your crystals. Give the smoke a chance to envelop the crystal. You can use your hand to move the smoke toward your crystals or pick them up and move them through the smoke as it floats through the air.
You should cleanse the crystal for at least one minute, but you can go longer if you feel it’s necessary.
Focus on your intent and visualize the crystal being thoroughly cleansed. If you’re comfortable, feel free to express your intention of cleansing. You can say something like, I cleanse all the negative energy from my crystal and return it to its natural state.
Incense great for cleansing crystals includes:
- Sandalwood
- Palo santo
- Rosemary
- Myrrh
- Lavender
- Sage
- Cedar
- Patchouli
If you’re looking for some Native American creators to purchase sage or palo santo from, check out Sheyenne from Whispering Winds Etsy Shop for a vast selection of cleansing sticks and incense.
If smoke cleansing isn’t your thing, check out Rachelle, a Navajo woman who owns Sage Lady Trading Co. on Etsy. She has a lovely selection of smokeless cleansing sprays!
How to Cleanse Crystals with Selenite
Selenite is known to have amazing healing and cleansing properties. This makes it an excellent crystal to use for cleansing your other crystals simply by placing them next to each other.
Since its healing properties are so excellent, it’s believed that selenite can soak up the negative energy from your other crystals by setting them on top of or near them. It’s best to leave your crystals on your selenite for a day or two to ensure they are appropriately cleansed. Shungite and hematite are also excellent cleansing crystals.
It’s a common belief that certain crystals like selenite don’t need to be cleansed. Melody’s book Love Is in the Earth made this idea famous. The list started with just kyanite and citrine but has grown to over 30 crystals, including selenite and hematite. As a result, there’s been some confusion about which crystals do and don’t require cleansing.
It’s not often that I consider something to be black-or-white, but I make an exception when it comes to cleansing crystals. Either all crystals need to be cleansed, or no crystals need to be cleansed; however, the truth is that both are true depending on how you look at the situation…
…Rocks and minerals can clear their energy on their own, but they frequently do this on the scale of geological time – a pace that is much slower than our lifetime. Thus virtually any stone can be said to never need cleansing or clearing, provided that we are patient enough.
Pearson, Nicholas – Crystal Basics The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 200 Gemstones
How to Cleanse Crystals with Sound
Using sounds to cleanse your crystals works excellently because they can simultaneously cleanse a large collection. Certain high-frequency sounds can naturally restore your crystals’ positive vibrations and frequencies and neutralize any negative energy.
You can use singing bowls, bells, tuning forks, wind chimes, chanting, calming music, your voice, or whatever instrument you find most compelling. You need to make sure the sound is loud enough to reach your crystals so they are entirely immersed. Do this until you feel your crystals have had enough time to be healed.
How to Cleanse Crystals with Sunlight
Cleansing your crystals in sunlight works excellent for cleansing and recharging your crystals to full capacity, but this method should be used with caution.
Leaving your crystals in the sun for too long can wear on their surface and lead to discoloration, especially for colorful crystals like amethyst, fluorite, aquamarine, rose quartz, citrine, etc. I’d recommend avoiding semi-opaque crystals.
You can use the sun at any time of the day as long as the crystal directly interacts with the sun’s rays. If you’re able to, place your crystals directly on the earth’s surface. Leave your crystals outside for no longer than fifteen minutes.
How to Cleanse Crystals with Salt
Salt is a very pure and cleansing natural product from the earth. It makes it the perfect instrument for soaking the negative energy out of your crystal.
Take a bowl of salt and place your crystal on top, or bury it so it’s completely covered. Let the crystals sit for at least an hour or two, but ideally overnight. Don’t forget to dispose of and replace your salt regularly.
Use non-iodized natural salts like sea salt, rock salt, pink Himalayan salt, or kosher salt for the strongest impact. To avoid harming fragile stones, place a thin, natural fiber fabric around your crystal before placing it in salt.
Be mindful that salt can cause irreversible damage to some stones. It is a [desiccant], so be extra careful with minerals that have a high water content, such as opals.
Soft stones are easily scratched by salt too, so always check the hardness of your crystals before immersing them in salt. Avoid using salt to cleanse minerals with a hardiness less than 4 or 5 on the Mohs scale.
Pearson, Nicholas – Crystal Basics The Energetic, Healing, and Spiritual Power of 200 Gemstones
How to Cleanse Crystals with the Full Moon
The moon’s light works the same with crystals as it does with creating Moon Water! However, it doesn’t fade the color of vibrant crystals.
You can place your crystals outside or simply on your windowsill to soak up the energy and light of the moonlight. Remember to thank the moon and show your gratitude for its lovely energy.
You should also check the weather before leaving your stones out so that they are not damaged. This is especially true for soft and porous stones that don’t do well in water.
How to Cleanse Crystals with Water or Rain
Water is one of the most purifying natural resources on this earth. This makes it an excellent choice for cleansing crystals and recharging them.
You can use any water you choose, including moon, rain, lake, river, or simply water from your faucet. You only need to leave your crystals in water for about one minute to be cleansed and recharged. Many spiritual practitioners prefer placing crystals in running water for optimal cleansing.
However, keep in mind not all crystals do well in water! Avoid using this method with softer stones such as selenite, chrysotile, and sandstone. Water can cause damage to these crystals that would be irreparable.
ALWAYS RESEARCH YOUR CRYSTAL THOROUGHLY BEFORE PLACING IT IN WATER!
How to Cleanse Crystals with Candles
The light from a candle is very warm and uplifting. It will aid in raising the vibrations of your crystals and return them to their natural state. The flickering flame will soak up the negative energy, leaving your crystals recharged and ready to go.
Simply leave your crystals beside the candlelight or hold them over the flame (but not too close). Do this for a few minutes or until your crystal feels healed and rejuvenated. This works well when practicing candle magic.
How To Cleanse Crystals in the Earth
Using the soil from the earth to cleanse your crystals works incredibly well for stones with grounding and protection-based abilities. This method works well for those working with the magic element Earth.
There are a couple of ways to cleanse crystals in the earth. One of the best methods is burying your crystals in the dirt where you can quickly locate them. Let the earth’s energy soak up the negativity from the crystals and leave them purified. You can also place crystals on top of the dirt in your indoor potted plants if you don’t have access to the outside ground.
Another option is sprinkling fresh dirt over your crystals and allowing them to soak up the negative energy. However, this might be a bit messier.
I don’t recommend using earth for porous stones because these are difficult to clean, especially when they can’t be exposed to water.
How to Cleanse Crystals with Visualization
Visualization is a unique but simple method of cleansing your crystals. It is also considered one of the most effective and safest methods for your crystals!
When using visualization, you should have a quiet and calm environment. Take a few moments to get centered and connect to your higher self.
Holding your crystal, begin to imagine a white light surrounding it. Direct your energy into this light and visualize it taking over the crystal and destroying any negative energy within it. Feel free to recite any affirmations of your choosing or ask for help from angels, spirit guides, the universe, deities, or whoever you are spiritually connected to.
There’s no set time limit for visualization, although you should do it for at least one minute per crystal. You should stop when it feels right and your crystal feels completely restored.
How To Program Your Crystals
While you cleanse your crystals, it’s a good idea to program them by setting specific intentions for the crystals to fulfill.
There are a few ways you can program your crystals. First, you can hold your crystal while meditating and envision the stone fulfilling its purpose. If you want a stone to protect you, visualize it projecting a protective energy field around you.
You can also place your crystals on specific chakras you want them to target. For example, you may place amethyst on your third eye chakra to help it connect you to a higher source and clear any blockages in that chakra.
Another great way to program your crystals is by speaking aloud about what you want them to do. You can do this while cleansing them or during a spiritual ritual. Ask it for what you want, either out loud or in your head. The frequency of the crystal will pick up on these vibrations and absorb them.
Remember to thank your crystals for their help. Embracing gratitude will further align you and your crystals to your higher goals.
Crystals are a fantastic tool to use on your spiritual journey. However, they need to be correctly cleansed and recharged to ensure they are the most effective. This ensures your crystals will be at their best to help with healing, grounding, and higher spiritual fulfillment.
I hope you found this article about how to cleanse crystals helpful! Lots of love to you, and remember, as always…
