Crystals are powerful conductors of energy, and this energy will affect our emotions and well-being. Because our crystal companions are exposed to lots of energies throughout our daily living (and not all of it is positive), it’s important to know how, and when, to cleanse our crystals!

When to cleanse your crystals
When you first receive them
If you’ve been wearing them (or carrying them) frequently
If you’ve used them in personal healing sessions, or with others
If they’ve been sitting in the same place in your home, or office, for a while

There are many ways to cleanse your crystals. Some of these are very popular in the new age community, and include energetic tools and methods, while other ways are just common sense, like soap and water.

Soap and water
I like this for when I first get a crystal and bring it home (or receive it in the mail). And, I will admit my reasoning for this is that one day while I was browsing for crystals I saw someone picking their nose, and then pick up a crystal to look at it.

I first get a bowl and fill with water and a tiny bit of a gentle soap. I put my crystal into the water, and wash gently with my fingers. I then rinse it in fresh cool water.

Note: I lay a washcloth on the bottom of my sink, AND I put the plug in so I don’t have to worry about dropping my crystal and it chipping or going down the drain.

Sage & Feather
Sometimes when I’m using crystals with clients I’ll want to do an energetic cleanse between sessions. My favorite way to do this is by passing the crystal through some smoke from my sage bundle, then give it a light energetic brushing with a feather. As I generally smudge my room between clients, there really isn’t any extra effort to cleanse my crystals too.

Frankincense Incense
Frankincense is known for its power to drive off negative forces. And, since I love how it smells, I burn it frequently in my home. If I feel some of my crystals need an energetic cleansing, I’ll pass them through the smoke from the incense.

Intention
Our own intention is also a very powerful method for clearing not only our crystals, but our entire home as well. Simply set your intention to clear any residual energies, and then see (with your imagination - third eye) a white light clearing all unnecessary energies, and transforming them into a brighter light.

Sunlight/Moonlight
Allowing your crystals to sit for a certain amount of time in either sunlight or moonlight can bring an element of ritual and magic to your life.

I tend to associate sunlight cleansing/charging with stones that are related to energy and expansion, like jasper, agate, clear quartz, obsidian, onyx, etc. NOTE about sunlight - it can FADE your crystals! Sunlight cleansing should be minimal!

I tend to associate moonlight cleansing/charging with stones that are related to inner work and the dreamtime, like moonstone, prehnite, rose quartz, the calcites, the chalcydonys, labradorite, etc.

Moonlight cleansing can be a lot of fun because you can also choose the energetic phase of the moon. For example, you may want to increase your intuition, so you could lay your moonstone out in the light of the moon the three days leading up to the full moon. 

You may want to release a painful relationship, so you may choose to lay out your mangano calcite or rose quartz on the three days following the full moon.

Whatever the phase of the moon, just remember to set your intention.

Salt water cleanse
I only mention this because it’s a very popular method for cleansing crystals because salt is wonderful at removing negative energies. However, this is one of my least favorite methods for cleansing a crystal simply because salt water can be very harsh with certain crystals. Some methods suggest letting your crystals soak overnight in salt water, and others recommend just letting your crystals sit in a bed of salt overnight. If you are attracted to using salt or salt water, be sure to research possible interactions with your crystals (for instance, selenite, ulexite, and opals should not ever be allowed to soak overnight).

When it comes to clearing our crystals, creativity and gentleness go a long way. Remember, our crystals are companions on our life’s journey, and deserve our care, tenderness, and gratitude.