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When first working with a crystal, it is a good idea to begin by clearing it. The goal is to remove any energy that might hamper its vibrations.  It's important to experiment and see which clearing methods feel best for you and your crystals. You may also find that certain methods work wonderfully time and time again, while others work best on certain occasions.

A Summary of the Different Methods:

If you are not up for reading, the below video offers a quick summary of the most common methods used for clearing your crystals:

Some of the most common methods for clearing which we will dive into for this article:

  • Moonlight and Sunlight
  • Smudging
  • Water
  • Soil
  • Reiki
  • Other crystals (geodes, clusters, selenite) and pendulums
  • Sound

Common methods for Clearing Your Crystals:

Moonlight and Sunlight:

The easiest way to clean a crystal is to place it in moonlight on a windowsill. If the temperature is warm you can place it on the ground, on a porch or deck (cold temperatures can crack and break many crystals). If you lay it on the ground, marking the area will insure that you don’t lose it.  If you find that it is cloudy and you cannot see the moon or it is too cold, you can place your crystals on a windowsill. Just because we cannot see the moon, does not mean that the lunar energy will not clear or charge your crystals.

Another method that you may like to try is clearing your crystals with sunlight. This method works particularly well for warmer colored crystals (red, orange and yellow crystals) but do not leave them in the sun for very long periods of time as the sun can and will fade them very quickly.

Soil:

Burying a crystal in a potted plant is a convenient way to purify a stone. If the crystal is not that dirty, just placing it above ground will do. If the crystal needs heavy duty cleaning, bury it in the dirt. If your crystal can be damaged by water, do not use this technique because the crystal will receive water each time you water your plant. This is a great method of charging your crystal/s, especially if you feel that the crystal is particular "tired" and like its batteries need a serious recharge.

Smudging:


White Sage Smudge Sticks Palo SantoIncense

Another method of clearing stones is to pass them through the smoke of a Sage StickPalo Alto stick, or incense. Light any of these in a heat-proof container and, as smoke is produced, hold the crystals approximately 6 to 12 inches above the source and let the smoke surround the crystals (be sure to keep your hand far enough from the heat so you don’t get burned). Do this for a few minutes or until the crystal feels energetically clean.

Water:

Running a crystal through cool water is a favorite method due to the convenience.  You can let cool water run over a crystal to clean it. It may take as little as a few seconds to 10 minutes. Be sure to dry the crystal thoroughly after using this method. There needs to be caution taken with this method, because many crystals can be harmed by water and you can take a look at this article for a list of those crystals. SeleniteCalcite, and Rock Salt are a few of the crystals that can be damaged by water. Always check your crystal’s sensitivity to water before doing this.  

Using Other Crystals for Clearing:

Geodescathedrals, and clusters may also be used to get rid of unwanted energies in a crystal. First make sure that the cluster you are using is clean itself and then place the crystal on it. I prefer Clear Quartz Clusters for most crystals. The cluster must be bigger than the crystal it is cleaning. Leave the stone being cleaned on top of the cluster for a day or two.

Many people also like to use Selenite to clear their crystals. Simply place your crystal on a Selenite rod or Charging plate and leave them overnight, or however long you intuitively feel your crystals need.

Pendulums:

Metal Alloy Pendulums

Pendulums are a convenient way to release psychic energy from stones. Hold a pendulum that has been cleaned above your crystal and the crystal will rotate either counter- clockwise, up and down, or left to right based on what your pendulum designates a “no” sign. When it is done cleaning, it will then go in the opposite direction and will infuse the crystal with positive energy.  

Sound:

Using sound can clear minerals of negative energy quickly and it's a method that many people fall in love with. A tuning forksinging bowl or singing pyramid can clean crystals by gently using vibrations. We will shortly explain how to use each of these below.

Singing BowlsTuning ForkCrystal Singing Pyramid

  • To clear your crystal using a tuning fork, simply hold the crystal in your hand and ding the other crystal in your other hand. Slowly move the tuning fork in a counterclockwise direction around the stone. Move the tuning fork around the crystal until it stops vibrating. This may be done twice more if the crystal needs more cleaning.
  • If you are using a singing bowl, gather your crystals near your bowl, then simply tap your singing bowl and guide the mallet around your singing bowl. Do not use excessive force while guiding your mallet or tapping it against the bowl.
  • To use a crystal singing pyramid, you can simply tap each side gently and enjoy its sweet vibrations.

Sound can also come from musical instruments like a piano. If you'd like to use this method, Healing Crystals has a short video on their YouTube that you can use for clearing your crystal/s with a piano. channel that explain how to do this. They also have another video that explains more about this method. Simply, you place the crystals in front of the computer speakers and the tones from the video will clean the crystals.

Reiki:

Reiki can be used to wipe away unwanted energies from crystals. If you are a Reiki 1 practitioner, you can hold the crystal in your hand and ask the Reiki energy to release any energies not needed from the crystals and transmute it into positive vibrations. If you are level 2 or above, place the Cho Ku Rei symbol into the crystals 3x and see/feel it going into the stone. Imagine the CKR erasing all the negative energy away. If you are not a Reiki practitioner, but would like to see how this feels, this Reiki Video on YouTube, will clean the crystals for you using Reiki.

Intention:

Intention is the handiest method to clean a crystal. Just hold it in your hand and imagine all negativity being washed away by your intention.  Visualizing white light works well for many people as well. Hold the crystal in your hand and see/feel a white ray coming from your hand into the stone. For some people it will be easier to imagine it coming from the Third Eye Chakra. Do this for a few minutes or until the crystal feels energetically lighter or cleaner.

Other Methods:

Here are some of the not so well-known methods for clearing your crystals like rose petals, salt, rice and lightning storms:

  • Rose Quartz can be cleaned with Rose petals. Gather newly blossomed Rose petals in a container and lay your crystal on top of the petals. Some crystals may need to be covered in the petals to become fully cleansed.

  • Some crystals love being washed in lightning storms. To do this, place the crystals in a bowl and place the container outside on the ground before an oncoming storm (never go out in a storm to do this). The water and lightning hitting the ground will send out vibrations to the bowls that will clean the crystals.  Before doing this, make sure that the crystals will not be damaged by water and that they will not be disturbed while being outside.  If the storm has very strong winds, do not use this method. The winds can blow the container and rocks all over the place and will cause a lot of damage.

  • Burying crystals in salt is a good option for many crystals. Place the stone in a bowl and cover it with sea salt. If sea salt is not available, you can use table salt or Epsom salt. Make sure that your crystal is dry before doing this.  Leave the crystal in the salt for at least 20 minutes. If the crystal has absorbed much negative energy, leave it in the salt for a day or two.  After using the salt, throw it out; do not reuse it.

  • Rice is terrific for cleaning many minerals. Bury your crystal in a bowl of rice for a day or two.  After retrieving the stone, discard the rice and do not use it.
     

Finally, if you try everything above and the crystal does not seem to be responding, please feel free to contact one of our Healing Crystals Experts so that we can offer you more specific advice.

References:

  • Original Article written by Lourdes Lebron
  • Brown, Denise Whichello. Beginner's Guide to Crystals. New York: Sterling Pub., 2003. Print
  • Kurus, Mary. “Cleansing Negative Energies from Your Gems, Crystals, Jewelry and Pendulums.” The Home of Vibrational Healing, 2002. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.
  • Lilly, Simon. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Crystal Healing: A Step-by-step Guide to Using Crystals for Health and Healing. London: Element, 2011. Print.
  • Loren. "Cleansing Crystals - Cleansing Techniques”.  PixieCrystals.com, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.
  • Melody. Love Is in the Earth: A Kaleidoscope of Crystals: Update: The Reference Book Describing the Metaphysical Properties of the Mineral Kingdom. Wheat Ridge, CO.: Earth-Love Pub. House, 1995. Print.
  • Taylor, Ken, and Joules Taylor. Crystal Energy for Your Home: Creating Harmony in Every Home. New York: Sterling Pub., 2006. Print.

 



Posted on November 18, 2013

  You have an awesome, and very informative website. Thank you sharing your knowledge on how the clean our crystals.  (Submitted by: Elizabeth on July 29, 2020)
Reply
  Thank you so much for this information. It is the most informative website I have found so far. Thank you for all the time and energy you put into producing such a nice web page full of beautiful pictures and very helpful information. It is especially helpful for someone like me, as I am new to using stones and crystals. Namaste  (Submitted by: Brody on January 30, 2019)
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  I love this article. It taught me how to cleanse my crystals. I work with them every day and need them to be cleansed regularly. I put them in moonlight, use the reiki video and also use sage incense. Thank you very much!  (Submitted by: Kimberly J. Karwacki on July 26, 2018)
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