How to cleanse crystals

Crystals; whether you believe that they act on an energetic level to send natural vibrations out into the world, use them to help soothe your mind and body or simply see them as something pretty to brighten up your home – it’s thought that you should cleanse them regularly. But how, and why? Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about how to cleanse crystals…

But first… why do I need to cleanse my crystals?

When used for healing purposes, crystals are thought to absorb and purify negative energy that you might be working to release.

So, if we’re working off the basis that healing crystals act as ‘energetic sponges’; it’s important to cleanse your crystals regularly to help disperse whatever undesirable energy might be lingering within them. In turn, this is thought to revitalize their capacity for healing.

Cleansing crystals with water

One of the easiest and most popular ways to cleanse your crystals is with running water. This can be in the ocean, in a stream, under rainfall or simply under your tap at home.

As you hold your crystal in the water, imagine a ray of white light around the stone and ask it to release all negativity and recharge itself with powerful and positive energy.

However, not all crystals are suitable to be submerged in water. These include:

• Fluorite
• Black Tourmaline
• Aquamarine
• Turquoise
• Pyrite
• Ruby
• Moonstone
• Lapis Lazuli
• Flourite
• Amazonite
• Talc
• Calcite
• Angelite
• Malachite
• Selenite
• Celestine
• Amber
• Imperial Topaz
• Red Coral
• Fire Opal
• Moonstone
• Opal
• Azurite
• Kyanite
• Kunzite
• Pyrite

Luckily, there are a number of other different ways to cleanse your crystals that work just as well. Let’s take a look at them…

Giving your crystals a moon bath

It’s thought that nature provides with some of the most powerful sources of cleansing energy; one of which is the light of the full moon. There are a number of full moon rituals that you can perform during this lunar phase, one of which is giving your crystals a cleansing moon bath.

Simply set them out on the earth, (ideally directly on the grass or soil in your garden or near to your home) under the light of the full moon and leave them overnight to bask in her glow.

If you don’t have a garden or are too worried about them going missing to place them outside, a windowsill, will work – even better if you have a plant pot to put them in to ‘ground’ them into the earth.

The next day, allow them to continue to charge for a few hours in morning sunlight – just don’t forget about them. Some crystals, such as Amethyst, Citrine and Rose Quartz can fade in direct sunlight, so don’t leave them out for too long!

How to cleanse crystals with incense

It’s thought that smoke from incense works to change the energy structure around a person, place or object, and is said to be a great way to break through lower vibrational energies, helping to purify negative thinking and disperse stressful emotions.

Because of this, incense smoke is a great way to purify and cleanse your crystals without water or relying on a specific time in the lunar cycle.

How to actually do it…

You can use any type of incense to cleanse your crystals, simply burn it as you usually would and hold your crystals, one at a time, in the smoke that’s being released.

Allow your stones to pass through the smoke for around 30 seconds-1 minute, rotating them to ensure they’ve been completely engulfed.

Whilst any type of incense will work, some of the most popular incense to use for crystal cleansing include:

• White Sage
• Sandalwood
• Amber
• Dragon’s Blood
• Nag Champa
• Patchuli

How to cleanse crystals with sage

In the same way that smoke from incense is though to break through lower vibrational energies, the smoke from sacred herbs such as sage is also thought to disperse bad vibes and negative energy that may be held within object such as crystals.

Simply burn your sage however you usually would, (this may be as loose herbs or in a smudge stick) and hold your crystals, one at a time, in the smoke that’s being released, rotating them for around

Cleansing crystals with Selenite

Considered to be the queen of crystal cleansers, Selenite is thought to be a powerful crystal that not only works to magnify the natural energy of stones, but also works to purify them. As well as being one of the easiest and mess-free ways to cleanse your crystals, using selenite is a great choice for more porous or metallic-based stones that cannot be submerged in water.

How to actually do it…

Place your crystal on top of, or touching, selenite for a minimum of 24 hours to give it enough time to absorb energy from the crystals around it and cleanse itself.