Everything to Know About Crystal Cleansing

Crystals have been a popular form of alternative healing since the dawn of time. They work by channelling positive energy and allowing it to flow into the body. By doing this, crystals push aside negative energy and toxicity while cleansing the body of energetic impurities. This can be beneficial for mental health and balancing emotions, amongst other things. Cleansing and charging crystals is an effective way to keep your crystals working effectively.

Why Cleanse Crystals?

As healing crystals work by absorbing energies around them, they often need to be cleansed too. Think of it like this... when overwhelmed or overworked, as humans, we tend to experience feelings of burnout. This hinders our ability to perform. We may feel exhausted, unmotivated or even careless. But, more often than not, a warm bath or a trip away helps to alleviate this mental debris. 

In a similar fashion, crystals can become overloaded with energy too. There are many influences that can impact a crystal’s healing energy and effectiveness. Whether it’s the environment it’s stored in, the people who handle them or even the influence of people passing by, any negativity can be absorbed. 

Ridding a crystal of negative energy with crystal cleansing methods is a great way to ensure your crystals can perform at their best. You can help your crystals and stones to recharge, cleanse and purify using a variety of techniques. The benefit? Regularly removing energy imbalances helps your stones to perform and assists them to aid you on your healing journey. 

Crystal Cleansing Methods

There are many ways you can restore a crystal to its natural energetic state. While not all of them work for everyone, it’s recommended to try a few to see what you prefer best. 

All cleansing techniques involve using elements of nature. This includes earth, wind, fire, air and space. As such, the most popular cleansing techniques include water, moonlight, soil and smoke. More specific crystal cleansing techniques include:

• Running water
• Sea salt 
• Sage, Incense and/or Palo Santo
• Breathwork / Visualisation
• Moonlight and/or natural light 
• Grounding using soil
• Sound cleansing

Below we’ll introduce you to some of the most common clearing methods. A technique can be chosen based on what you feel the crystal needs. It’s also important to take into account other considerations such as water safety and exposure to sunlight.  

1. Cleansing with Running Water 

Running water can help to neutralise negativity stored within your stone. Submerging your crystal underwater helps it to reconnect with nature and the Earth it came from. For this reason, a stream or river can be the most effective method of cleansing your crystals using water. If you’re unable to do this, running tap water will work too. 

Whatever your water source, ensure that your stone is completely submerged. Hold it underneath the running water for approximately one minute, and pat dry when complete.

If you’re psychically in tune with your crystals, you may also ask the Universe to remove any negativity stored within the crystal. Mentally visualise it washing away with the water, and your stone being purified in the process.

Water Safety 

Note* Use this method for water-safe crystals only! Water safe crystals include hard stones such as quartz - rose quartz, clear quartz and smokey quartz. Amethyst, citrine, obsidian, aventurine and calcite are also water safe.

Crystals that aren’t water-safe include selenite, lepidolite and fluorite. Please do your research on this (blog coming soon) or reach out to us. We can advise on the best cleansing method for your stone and whether or not it is water safe.

2. Cleanse with a Sea Salt Bath 

Sea salt and water can help to cleanse your crystal of unwanted energies. Again, this method is not preferred for brittle crystals that aren’t water-safe. It’s also best not to soak crystals with holes, geodes or caves as they can get damaged. 

If you're near the ocean, consider collecting a bowl of fresh saltwater. Otherwise, mix a tablespoon of natural sea salt or Himalayan pink salt into a bowl of water. Submerge your stone and allow it to soak for a couple of hours or overnight. You may also wish to add some dried sage or lavender to enhance the bath's cleansing effect. When complete, rinse off your crystal and pat dry.

3. Cleansing Crystals with Sage, Incense or Palo Santo

The smoke from sage, incense or palo santo can be used as a way to energetically cleanse a crystal. This is called smudging. Smudging is a Native American tradition that uses the smoke from burning dried plants (white sage) to cleanse and purify an object. It’s thought to bring the crystals to a place of balance.

How to Smoke Cleanse Your Crystals

First, choose your preferred smoke - this can be the incense of your choice, white sage or palo santo. Light the end of your smoke stick with a match or lighter. Allow it to burn so that it releases a thick smoke and then transfer it into your non-dominant hand. 

Using your dominant hand, hold your crystal and wave it through the smoke. Allow the smoke to envelop the stone for 30 seconds to a minute and focus on rotating the stone so that it makes contact with all edges.

4. Cleansing Crystals with Breath Work / Visualisation

Breath Work is a healing practice that uses conscious breathing and visualisation to cleanse natural healing crystals. You’ll need to focus on this one, so get comfortable and sit down in a quiet room. Hold your crystal and close your eyes. Begin breathing deeply, in through the nose and out through your mouth. 

Visualise your breath travelling through the crystal with the intention of cleansing and re-energising it. Picture a ray of cleansing light washing over the crystal, washing away any negativity trapped inside the crystal. Do this until you intuitively feel that your crystal is re-charged and re-energised.

5. Cleansing Stones Using Moonlight and/or Natural Light 

Using moonlight to cleanse crystals is one of the easiest methods of cleansing, and it’s safe for all crystals. Simply wait until the lunar cycle reaches full moon, and place your crystals outside so that they can align with the moon's gentle energy. This will also work if you place your stones on a windowsill, as the moon’s energy will flow through your windows. 

Leave your crystals to bask in the moonlight overnight, and then bring them back inside in the morning. This will give them time to soak up some of the lunation's refreshing energy and restore them to their natural state.

If you’re unable to charge your stones in the full moon, you can allow your crystals to bask in natural sunlight. It’s best to only leave them in sunlight for a few hours to recharge them. 

Note* Some crystals, when left too long can get brittle or fade. Avoid placing amethyst, fluorite or quartz in the sun for long periods of time. For a full list of crystals that are and aren’t okay in the sun, visit this page.

6. Bury Your Crystals for Grounding 

It’s possible to cleanse your crystals by burying them in the soil and reconnecting them with Mother Nature. This technique helps to ground them, and adds a dose of supercharged, Earthy energy.

Burying crystals connects your stones with the Earth for a natural cleansing. You may opt to use the soil of a house plant, or bury them in your backyard. If you choose to bury them in your garden or yard, please mark where you’ve placed them so your crystals don’t get lost. 

For your backyard, we recommended filling a jar with soil and burying your crystal within this jar. Then, bury this jar and cover it with soil. This will make it easier to find. 

If you’re placing your crystal within a house plant, simply dig a small hole and bury it. You can keep it buried for as long as a week, depending on how much re-generation you believe your crystal needs.

7. Cleansing Crystals with Sound 

Sound cleansing crystals is quite a simple method that is extremely effective. It’s believed that the gentle vibrations created by sound can clear negative energy quickly and effectively. 

Sound frequencies help to penetrate the structure of the crystals causing metaphysical debris to become ‘unstuck.’ This aids in restoring the harmony of the crystal. If you have a large collection of crystals, using sound is a great method to cleanse them all at once with minimal labour. 

You can create a cleansing sound in a number of ways. The most popular is the use of a Tibetan or Quartz Singing Bowl. If you don’t have one, you can opt to play a recording of the sound, though this may be a little less effective. You may also choose to use a bell, chime or even your favourite music. 

While creating the sound of your choice, actively visualise your crystals releasing old energies on the sound waves. Once you can visualise this, you will intuitively know once your crystals are cleansed and recharged.

8. Cleansing Crystals with Other Crystals 

Some crystals are known for their ability to cleanse other crystals, particular Selenite or Clear Quartz crystals. There are a couple of ways to do this, depending on what stones you have. 

If you own a selenite wand or rod, you can wave it over and around your other crystals. The purifying energy of selenite will help to cleanse and recharge your crystals. If you own a selenite bowl, simply place the stones you wish to cleanse in the bowl and leave them to recharge.

If you have pieces of clear quartz, you can place other crystals on top or nearby it. Alternatively, you can place smaller stones inside or nearby a clear quartz geode to reinvigorate its energetic field.

Crystal Cleansing FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions About Cleansing Crystals

What Does Crystal Cleansing Mean?

When crystals are used for healing, they absorb or redirect the negative energies you are working to release. Cleansing your crystals removes energy impurities and helps to restore your stone to its original state. 

Why is Cleansing Important?

The purpose of cleansing your crystals is to have them return to their natural, earthly state. Cleansing your crystals resets its’ energy back to the vibrational frequency it had at the time it formed.

Why Should I Cleanse My Crystals?

Crystals often travel long distances, from source to seller, before a purchase is made. Each transition exposes the stone to energies that may be misaligned with your own.

How Often Do I Need to Cleanse My Crystals?

There is no right answer to how frequently you need to cleanse your stones. It depends on how often you use them and what you use them for. If you regularly use them on an energetic level, you should cleanse them as soon as you feel their energy is off. This is decided intuitively.

If you keep your stones on display, you may consider cleansing your gemstones anytime somebody else touches them. This will help to clear their energetic fingerprint and keep your crystals aligned with your own energy frequency.

What Is the Difference Between Cleaning and Cleansing My Crystals?

Cleaning your crystals physically removes dirt, dust and grime that gathers over time. Cleansing your crystals is metaphysical. It refers to the removal of impurities and bad energies that cannot be seen.

What If I Don’t Cleanse My Crystals?

The relationship you have with your crystals is mutual. They will only work for you if you place effort into taking care of them. If you feel like your crystal’s energy is off, it might be a good idea to purify and recharge it.

Shop Natural Healing Crystals at Elysian Crystal Co

If you have any questions about how to restore your crystal’s energy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. 

Whether you’re after a stone to cleanse your other crystal beauties, or are looking for something else entirely, be sure to check out Elysian Crystal Co’s online crystal shop.