Regular cleansing is an essential step in taking care of your crystals in order to get maximum benefits of their healing properties and rid them of any unwanted excess energy.
Crystal cleansing is not just a standard practice but a ritual that involves care and intention to do in a proper manner with knowledge so as to not harm the precious stone in any way.
Crystals are a powerhouse of energy and tend to absorb and store energies from their surrounding space because of this it’s very important to cleanse crystals not just to remove physical dust and grime but also any psychic debris and unwanted energy clinging to the crystal.
In this article, we will understand how to cleanse crystal rocks using different methods.
Why cleanse your crystals?
Crystals vibrate at high frequency. Because of their electromagnetic properties, dust may be drawn to crystals which alter their natural healing abilities.
Caring for your crystals involves regular cleansing and charging of your stone. Healing crystals and crystal jewelry especially need regular cleansing since they absorb a lot of your energy. Too much accumulation of this uncleared energy can lead to breakage and cracks in the crystal.
There are different ways of cleansing crystals. Some methods work better for some crystals and not all cleansing methods are safe for all crystals.
Below are some frequently asked questions related to cleansing your precious stones and methods to cleanse them.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Water?
Water is nature’s best cleanser hence cleansing with water is the most popular and easiest of cleansing techniques. The easiest way to cleanse your stone is to just hold it under running tap water for a minute and then pat dry it with a soft napkin.
You can also submerge water-safe crystals in water and add Himalayan salt to them and leave them in the moonlight.
In order to keep your crystals clean and spiritually aligned, make sure you periodically cleanse them with water.
All crystals from the Quartz family such as Smokey Quartz, Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz, Citrine, Amethyst are safe to cleanse in water.
Stones that end with ‘ite’ are generally not water suitable like Selenite, Hematite, Calcite, Fluorite, Malachite, Celestite, Labradorite, Azurite, Angelite, Lepidolite.
How to cleanse crystal rocks in Saltwater?
There are a few ways to cleanse your crystals with salt, but the most popular method is to place the stones in a bowl of saltwater. Allow them to rest for 10-20 mins or an hour without disturbance, and then rinse the stones off with warm water.
Remember some stones are not safe in saltwater hence for these crystals it’s best to keep the dry stones in Himalayan salt or sea salt chunks or granules and then wash them in normal water.
Salt cleansing is very effective and specially recommend for crystals that are grounding and protective against negative energy such as Black Tourmaline, Obsidian
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Incense?
Cleansing with incense or Smudging is a very ancient practice of burning dried herbs for cleansing and purifying the space.
Incense and its fragrant smoke have been used for centuries to purify spaces and also is a popular medium of cleansing healing stones before performing rituals.
There are many crystal cleansing routines that can be done with incense. You can use a Smudge bundle or incense sticks and cones to do the cleansing.
Steps to perform the cleansing ritual with incense
- Light one end of your smudge stick or cone, till it catches fire, and let it burn for a few seconds. Extinguish the flame and gently blow on the lit end to fan the embers till dense smoke starts coming out.
- Spread the smoke over and around your crystals and the surrounding space using a large feather or just your fingers.
- As the smoke rises into the air imagine it taking all negative energy away with it. Then imagine the smoke cleansing any excess or energy from the crystals and blessing them with positive healing energy.
- You can say smudging ritual prayer or chant affirmations.
- Leave the incense near your stones for a while to continue to burn out on its own.
Some of the popular incense used for crystal cleansing are:
- White Sage
- Palo Santo
- Frankincense
- Sandalwood
- Cedar
- Patchouli
All crystals are suitable for cleansing with incense.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Palo Santo?
Palo Santo is known as “Holy Wood” and has been used by shamans for centuries for deep healing and clearing energy.
Palo Santo is used in many different cultures to cleanse crystals. It is important to have a clear & positive intention of focusing on clearing out any unwanted negative energy when using the smoke from Palo Santo for cleansing.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Sage
White sage is the traditional sacred plant used for smudging. It is associated with purity and healing. Sage stick/sage bundle is used for meditation, cleansing, and purification.
Burning sage also has antimicrobial properties which help keep infectious bacteria and viruses away.
It is common practice to cleanse crystals with sage before any ritual or crystal healing ceremony.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Sunlight?
The process of cleansing crystal with sunlight is done for charging crystal, to activate and re energize it before performing a specific ritual with the crystal or setting it in a grid.
Steps to perform the cleansing in sunlight
- First, cleanse the crystal to be kept in sunlight
- Place the crystal in a holder made of glass or crystal. The crystal holder and crystal should be in direct sunlight for up to 12 hours.
- Say aloud your intention or a small prayer for the sun to give its bright healing energy to the crystal.
- Once done the stone should be again cleaned with clear water.
- You can now use the re-energized crystal for your purpose.
Fragile crystals such as Agate, Citrine must not be kept in sunlight for very long since they tend to fade in color.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Moonlight?
The moonlight is known as a powerful source of energy to cleanse and charge crystals. The calming balancing energy of the moon restores healthy energy to the gemstone and removes any unwanted energy.
Steps to perform the cleansing in moonlight
- Place the crystals you want to cleanse in a crystal or glass bowl
- Fill the bowl with drinking water and steep the stones in it
- leave it out overnight preferably during a full moon.
Moonlight cleansing works wonderfully for crystals that have gentle loving energy such as Rose Quartz, Lapis Lazuli, Agate, Aventurine, Amethyst.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Starlight?
This is probably the least used method but still very powerful. We know already that certain planets and planetary combinations have a huge impact on humans and bring changes. Similarly, stars and constellations have an impact on crystals and their energies too.
Steps to do cleansing with Starlight
- In order to cleanse crystals with starlight, you can pick a night when the stars are shining brightly in the night sky
- Say a small prayer asking for the stars to bestow their blessing and energies to cleanse the crystals.
- Place crystals out under the stars for a couple of hours or overnight.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Sound?
Certain Music is known to produce a healing effect on our mind and space around and is used in meditations and other healing rituals. Singing bowls are popularly used to dispel low negative vibrations and cleanse the space.
You can use the high vibrational energy of singing bowls, drum beats, gongs, tuning forks, tingsha bells, ceremonial rattles to cleanse your stones.
A common way to cleanse and purify high vibration crystals is to use healing sound. Sound waves work by vibrating the crystal’s surface and dislodging trapped dirt and grime. By holding a crystal near the speaker, one can send sound waves through the stone. This causes the crystal to lose negative energy.
All crystals are suitable for cleansing with sound
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Singing Bowl
Singing bowls have been used since ancient times for therapy, healing, and meditation and are popularly used to dispel low negative vibrations and cleanse the space.
The pure and gentle vibrations created by tibetan singing bowl or crystal singing bowl can also help remove the stubborn energy that may become settled in your crystal.
Steps to do cleansing with singing bowls
- Start by keeping the crystals you want to cleanse on a clean cloth or a surface.
- Start by gently striking the singing bowl with a wooden mallet to let it emit a ringing sound.
- keep circling the rim of the singing bowl with the mallet in a clockwise direction to cause it to “sing”. This process will help perpetuate the ringing sound.
- Continue to move the mallet around the bowl for 5-10 minutes until you feel that the cleansing process is complete.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Selenite or Quartz Crystal
Selenite and Quartz crystal are very high vibrational stones hence are said to be self-cleansing. They are also popularly used to cleanse and charge other lower vibration crystals.
Steps to do cleansing with Selenite or Clear Quartz
- You can arrange the smaller crystals you want to cleanse over a Selenite or solar quartz stone base. The base realigns and balances the energy of the top crystals.
- You can use a selenite wand or clear quartz wand to cleanse and charge your crystals before setting them for a purpose. Wands can also be used to activate grids just move the wand over each stone in the grid lightly tapping each stone while speaking your intention and directing the crystal towards the purpose of the grid setting.
Selenite works best to cleanse and charge strong grounding crystals that cant be cleansed with water such as Hematite, Malachite
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Intention?
Intention is simply the power of the mind to influence events. While you clean crystals, you can use your intention to visualize the cleansing happening.
Steps to do cleansing with intention
- Find a quiet place and sit with the crystal in your hands.
- Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to clear your mind.
- Visualize a bright, radiant light surrounding your crystal and passing through it.
- Visualise this light cleansing all impurities and unwanted stored energy in the stone and transmuting it to positive healing energy.
- In the end visualize that your crystal has been thoroughly cleansed.
Intention cleansing works best when done in combination with other cleansing methods on all crystals.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Rice
Cleansing with rice is suitable for all types of crystals and is believed to be beneficial for soft and protective crystals.
Steps to do cleansing with Rice
- Bury your stone in a bowl of brown rice.
- Leave it there for approximately 24 hours.
- Dispose of the rice after cleansing.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Nature?
Nature cleansing can be done by burying the crystal in soil. Burying in soil is said to restore the stone to its original natural energy and healing property.
Steps to do cleansing with Nature
- Look for a clean place to bury your crystal.
- Bury your crystal in the moist soil just a few inches deep.
- Leave your crystal buried overnight or a few days for best results.
Those crystals that are used for grounding ceremonies are especially benefited by this method of cleansing by absorbing the strong grounding and balancing energy of the earth.
How to cleanse crystal rocks with Reiki?
Reiki healing energy is safe for all and can be given to your crystal too. Hold your palms over the stone and direct reiki energy to uplift the energy of the crystal and cleanse it. Reiki cleansing method is especially used for chakra stones before they are used in chakra healing.
When to cleanse your crystals?
You will know that a crystal needs cleansing when it loses its sparkle, brightness, color, or feels dull when holding in hand. Most crystal enthusiasts recommend cleansing crystals during the full moon as crystals have a very close connection to the moon and are greatly benefited by the full moon energies.
You can cleanse your crystals as often as you feel like.
Conclusion
Who doesn’t need a bit of love?. Crystals too need love and care just like your near and dear ones. Treat them as you would dear friends, in other words, nurture and respect them. Regular cleansing not only removes dust and restores crystal to its original clarity but it also makes the crystal feel loved, hence strengthening your bond with the crystal to make it work more positively for you.
Like many people, I began to search for answers to the deep questions of life, and the meaning of existence.
I sought out answers to “Who am I,” “Why am I here,” and “What was I sent to do?” The answer I found, and continue to find, can be summed up in 2 words: LOVE and LIGHT.
There is love in everything and everyone, and each of us is here to share that love with the world.
I am a spiritual healer and intuitive who has been using my healing gifts to help others.