Crystal Care
Cleansing your crystals
Carefully pass the stone through the smoke of a white sage smudge stick or incense several times until you intuitively feel it has been cleared. Sage is a very effective cleanser, neutralizing negative energy and transmuting it into positive energy. This method is an ancient tradition that utilizes the energy of fire (albeit smoldering) combined with the sacred scent of the smudge or incense.
Produce a tone using a bell, chime, singing bowl, or tuning fork. A pure tone will reset a stone’s vibration to one that cannot hold negative energy. This method is awesome because it allows you to cleanse all of your crystals at once. Just place all of them in the room where you’ll have a sound ceremony and you can enjoy a healing sound bath together with your crystals.
Rinse the stone in moving water. The water will wash away negative energy and return it to the Earth where it can be neutralized. This can be done by holding the stone in a river or brook for several minutes, holding it under the sink faucet for several minutes, or leaving it out in the rain for several hours.
Caution: Make sure you know which crystals can be placed in water.
Carefully pass your stone through the flame of a candle several times until you intuitively feel it has been cleared. The fire will burn away any negative energy.
The most common method of cleansing stones is with water and sea salt. You can do this by placing the stone in a mesh bag and rinsing it in the ocean for several minutes, or by soaking the stone for several hours in a glass of water with a pinch of sea salt.
Caution: Salt may damage the finish on some stones
Bury the stone in the ground for one full day, placing a marker over it so you can find it later, or bury the stone in a pot of ground soil. (Do not use potting soil as it has been treated.) The soil will absorb negative energy, disperse it, and transmute it into positive energy.
Hold the stone to your heart while inhaling. Then bring the stone to your mouth and exhale your breath onto it. Repeat several times, always keeping in mind your intention of cleansing the stone of all negative energies. Your breath (the Breath of Life), combined with your intention, is a powerful enough force to cleanse a stone of negative energy. Your intuition will tell you when the cleansing is complete.
Amethyst and Citrine geodes or clusters can be used to cleanse crystals. Place your crystals in/on the geode/cluster for a few hours and they will emerge completely energized. Alternatively, Selenite, Kyanite or Apopphilite have natural cleansing properties.
If you are a Reiki Master, simply holding your crystal and giving it Reiki can cleanse it.
Charging your crystals
Place a stone in bright sunlight, either outside or on a windowsill for at least an hour. Leaving your bracelet in the sun’s rays can be very energizing, as well as energetically clearing. You can use this method to both clear and charge your crystals simultaneously.
An alternative to the sunlight cleansing method is to place the stone on a moonlit windowsill for at least one night under a full moon, or longer if the moon is not full. Leaving your stone in the moonlight overnight can cleanse and charge the stone with the moon’s gentle energy.
Allow your crystals to reform their connection with the earth by burying them in soil overnight. However, do not worry if you don’t have a garden, because an indoor plant with soil can be just as powerful.
Programming your crystals
- Start by cleansing your crystal with whichever method you prefer.
- Sit down with the crystal at your personal altar or in a place that you’re not likely to be disturbed. Clear your mind of unrelated thoughts.
- Hold the crystal in both hands as you gaze into it.
- Start breathing with slow, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling forcefully through your mouth.
- Now start to focus on your intention. As you inhale, see a visual image of what you want and imagine how it feels to have it. With each exhale, send your desires into the crystal.
- Repeat step 5 until it feels as though the vibrations have sunk into the crystal or until you can clearly visualize your intention.
- Have a clear intent; know what you want to program the bracelet to do. Visualization and emotion are they keys to manifestation!
- This method is one fluid and focused action; read the instructions first, and then practice after.
Once you can clearly visualize that which you desire, your intention is then programmed into the crystal. This vibration or energy pattern will be stored there until you replace it with a new intention.
Programming your crystal only needs to be done once per intention. If you want to focus the stone on a different one of its healing properties, you can deprogram it and then repeat the programming steps for the new intention.
Crystals that shouldn't be exposed to sunlight
The crystals that shouldn’t be exposed to sunlight include:
- Rose Quartz
- Amethyst
- Citrine
- Fluorite
- Opal
- Aquamarine
- Smoky Quartz
- Clear Quartz
These crystals shouldn’t be in the sun because it fades their beautiful colors. Clear Quartz is the exception here, however, it shouldn’t be exposed to sunlight either because it can cause it to become brittle.
Crystals that shouldn't be exposed to water
The crystals that can become damaged if placed in water include:
- Selenite
- Lepidolite
- Fluorite
- Amber
- Larimar
- Lapis Lazuli
- Hematite
- Obsidian
- Opal
- Rhodonite
- Sodalite
- Apatite
- Chrysocolla
- Kyanite
These stones are all a 5 and under on the Mohs scale, making them too brittle to be placed in water. It can make them crack or dissolve.
Crystals that shouldn't be exposed to salt water
The crystals that can become damaged if placed in salt water include:
- Amber
- Turquoise
- Imperial Topaz
- Red Coral
- Fire Opal
- Moonstone
- Opal
- Selenite
- Red Coral
- All Calcites including Blue Calcite, Green Calcite, Orange Calcite
- Angelite
- Azurite
- Kyanite
- Kunzite
- Malachite
- or any raw or rough stone.
Any stone with hardness under 7 on the Mohs Scale should not be cleaned in salt water. If you are not sure of the hardness of the stone use another method of cleaning.
With these stones, use incense or moonlight for cleansing.
Salt is corrosive and highly abrasive on stones and cannot be used with the most fragile stones, as they risk becoming opaque, whitish and dull.
Crystals that are very fragile
The crystals that require extra care include:
- Opal
- Selenite
- Fluorite
- Turquoise
- Kyanite
- Azurite
- Celestite
- Amber
- Any Crystal Point
These crystals are quite soft and are therefore very fragile. They should be handled with care.
Aditional crystal care tips
Sun and water aren’t the only elements that we should be mindful of when we’re exercising crystal care. Here are a couple other crystal care tips to keep in mind:
- Separate soft from hard crystals, so that the softer crystals don’t get scratched by the harder crystals.
- Place hard crystals on soft surfaces so that they can keep their clear and shiny surface for a long time.