If you have just brought a crystal home, cleansing it is the first thing most people do. It is a simple habit: you are clearing off whatever the stone has picked up on its way to you, and setting it back to a quiet, neutral starting point before you work with it. This guide covers six ways to cleanse and charge your crystals, which method suits which stone, and the few crystals you should keep well away from water and sunlight.
None of it needs to be complicated or expensive. A windowsill and a bit of intention will do.
Why cleanse a crystal at all?
A crystal passes through a lot of hands before it reaches your shelf. It is mined, sorted, packed, shipped, unpacked and handled. The traditional view is that a stone holds a trace of all of that, and that cleansing gives you a clean slate to work from.
There is a practical side too. Cleansing is the moment you actually sit down with a new piece and pay attention to it. You notice the inclusions, the weight, the way it catches the light. That is half the point.
How often should you do it?
There is no rule, but a reasonable rhythm is:
- When it is new. Always cleanse a crystal when it first arrives.
- After heavy use. If you have been carrying a stone through a difficult few weeks, refresh it.
- Once a month. Many people use the full moon as a reminder, simply because it is easy to remember.
- When it feels dull. Trust yourself on this one. If a piece feels flat in your hand, cleanse it.
Six ways to cleanse your crystals
1. Moonlight
The gentlest method, and safe for every stone in your collection. Put your crystals on a windowsill or outside overnight, ideally on or near the full moon, and bring them in the next morning. Moonlight will not fade colour or damage soft minerals, which is exactly why it is the method to fall back on when you are unsure.
If you like the lunar side of this, our Moon collection gathers the pieces associated with lunar work.
2. Selenite and charging plates
Selenite is the classic self cleansing stone: the tradition is that it does not need cleansing itself, so it can be used to clear everything else. Rest smaller pieces on a selenite plate or lay a selenite wand across them and leave them overnight.
Engraved wooden and stone charging plates do the same job and look far better on a shelf. A 10cm lotus mandala plate is the right size for tumbles and jewellery, while a 18cm sacred geometry plate will take a full set. There is also a moon cycles bar plate if you want to keep a row of stones on a bookshelf or window ledge. Browse the full range in Selenite and Charging Plates.
3. Smoke
Passing a crystal through fragrant smoke is one of the oldest cleansing methods there is. Light your bundle, let the flame die back to an ember, and move the stone through the smoke for a few seconds while you set your intention. Open a window: the smoke wants somewhere to go.
A sage smudge stick variety set lets you try a few different herbs before committing, and the white sage and palo santo bundle covers both of the traditional favourites. If you would rather burn cones or sticks, a tree of life incense holder catches the ash properly. Everything is in Incense, Smudge and Cleansing.
If smoke is not an option where you live, a cleanse wax melt gives you the scent and the ritual without setting off a smoke alarm.
4. Sound
Sound cleansing suits people who find the smoke methods fussy. Place your crystals on a cloth, strike or rim a singing bowl nearby, and let the tone run out completely before you strike it again. Three rounds is plenty. The idea is that the vibration passes through everything in the room, so you can cleanse a whole collection at once without touching a single stone.
A Green Tara singing bowl set comes with the cushion and striker you need to get started, and there is a wider choice of bowls and gongs in Singing Bowls and Gongs.
5. Earth
Returning a stone to the ground is the deepest reset of the six, and the slowest. Wrap the crystal in natural cloth, bury it in a pot of soil or a quiet corner of the garden, and leave it for anything from a day to a full lunar cycle. Mark the spot. People lose more crystals this way than they will admit.
Earth is best kept for pieces that feel genuinely heavy going, or for a stone that has been through something with you.
6. Breath and intention
The method that costs nothing. Hold the crystal in your cupped hands, take a slow breath in, and breathe out across the stone while holding a clear intention that it is clear and ready. Repeat three times.
It sounds too simple to work, and it is the method most experienced people fall back on day to day, because it can be done anywhere and takes about twenty seconds.
The crystals to be careful with
This is the part worth reading twice, because two of the popular cleansing methods will genuinely damage certain stones.
Never soak these in water
- Selenite is a form of gypsum. It is soft and it will dissolve, going cloudy and crumbly at the edges.
- Halite is rock salt. It disappears.
- Malachite is a copper carbonate and reacts badly to water and acid.
- Pyrite and other iron rich stones will rust.
- Angelite, celestite and lepidolite are all soft enough to be marked by a soak.
A quick rule: if a stone is soft enough to scratch with a coin, or it has a fibrous, silky or flaky look, keep it dry.
Keep these out of strong sunlight
Sunlight is a perfectly good charging method, but ultraviolet light fades colour permanently in several common crystals. Amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, fluorite, kunzite and aquamarine will all lose their colour if you leave them on a sunny windowsill for weeks. An hour of early morning sun is fine. A summer of afternoon sun is not.
When in doubt, use moonlight. It never damages anything.
Cleansing and charging are not the same thing
Cleansing clears a stone. Charging fills it back up and points it at something. Most people do them in that order, in one sitting.
To charge a crystal, hold it, get clear on the one thing you want it to support, and say it plainly, out loud or in your head. Not a shopping list. One intention, in the present tense, in your own words. Then put the stone somewhere you will actually see it: a pocket, a desk, a bedside table.
If it helps to work with a stone chosen for a specific purpose, our collections are sorted that way: Energy Cleansing, Protection, Calm and the rest.
Common questions
Can I cleanse crystals in tap water?
You can, for hard stones like clear quartz, agate and jasper, using cool water and a soft cloth. But given how many stones react badly to a soak, and how well the other five methods work, water is the one we would reach for last.
Does a crystal need cleansing before I give it as a gift?
It is a lovely thing to do. Cleanse it, charge it with a wish for the person receiving it, and say so on the card.
How long does cleansing take?
Anywhere from twenty seconds with breath to a full lunar cycle buried in the garden. Overnight on a selenite plate is the sensible middle ground for most people.
Can other people handle my crystals?
Of course. Let them. Cleanse afterwards if you would rather, but a stone nobody is allowed to touch is not much of a stone.
Where to start
If you are building a cleansing kit from nothing, three things will cover you for years: a charging plate, a smudge bundle or some incense, and one crystal you actually like holding. Everything else is refinement.
Have a look through Crystals and Stones for the stones themselves, and Points, Towers and Obelisks if you are after a centrepiece for the shelf. Every crystal we sell is chosen by hand, and a good many are one of a kind, so the piece in the photograph is the piece that arrives.
Crystals are for wellbeing and enjoyment. Nothing here is medical advice, and no crystal is a substitute for seeing your GP.
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