• Cleanse crystals when you first get them to remove random, built up energies.
• Crystals used regularly should be cleansed regularly– once a month.
• Cleansing helps crystals return to their natural state– they work their best when they’re nicely cleansed and charged.• Crystals should be cleansed more often that charged. It’s more important to cleanse them of built up energy than to just keep recharging them.
• A few crystals never need cleansing, such as Kyanite & Citrine.
Methods
•Sunlight: Many crystals love sun bathing for a few hours.
• Others fade: both Rose & Smokey Quartz, Amethyst, Celestite, Citrine, Topaz, Kunzite, Fluorite, Turquoise, Aquamarine, to name a few. Opal will dry out.
•Water: Visualize negative & stale energies leave your crystal as you place it under cool, running water.
•Crystals with iron, such as Hematite, Magnetite & Obsidians (like Tektite) will rust in water. Halite, Desert Rose, Pink Salt, Selenite, & Malachite (again, to name a few) will dissolve. Crystals with a MOH hardness of 5 or less shouldn’t be put in water.
**This is a general guide with basic examples, so please research your crystals to see if they can be safely put in water or under sunlight etc.**•Bury it: bury it in a pot, or in the ground. Only crystals with a MOH hardness of 6 can withstand this–due to moisture & potential rain. Do research & be cautious. Keep in mind that crystals with crevices may trap dirt, whereas tumbles stones should stay cleaner.
•Salt: Crystals with a MOH hardness of 7+ can generally be placed in salt water. Crystals can be placed in salt alone. Exercise caution & do research! Salt cleansing is very effective, but can ruin many crystals!
Safest Methods
•Flower petals: Any petals work. Flowers have healing properties, and can transfer those. Rose & Lavender promote relaxation & healing. (safest to use petals that aren’t fresh/moist, though it shouldn’t affect crystals)
•Brown rice: Safer alternative to salt; don’t reuse same rice, use once.
•Other crystals: Place your crystal on top of Amethyst, in a bag/bowl with tumbled Carnelian, or surround it with Quartz.
•Full moon light: Extremely safe method; suitable for countless crystals. Best to let them soak in light from moonrise– set.
•Sound: Use a bell, singing bowl, or chimes. If you don’t have these, you can find plenty on YouTube. Here’s a 10 hour long Tibetan singing bowl video.
•Smoke/Incense cleansing: Sage, Basil, Rosemary, Lavender, Birch Cedar, Juniper, Peppermint, Vervain, Frankincense & Myrrh are some of many options. Respect cultures– don’t smudge! White Sage is facing endangerment, and Palo Santo is also at risk.Avoid White Sage & Palo Santo, because they are sacred plants for Indigenous cultures.
•Alternatives to smoke/incense cleansing if you cannot/do not want to use something smoky *not necessarily “safe methods”*