Let us start with breaking it down for you with an analogy. Crystals are like sponges, so they are capable of soaking up all kinds of energy - good and bad. If you don't clean them, all that negative content is just hanging around, messing with their vibe. If you do not want any interference in your crystals’ energy and further in your energy, then you should clear your crystals. Cleaning your crystals is like hitting the reset button. When they are clean, they will do their job properly and they will fulfill their purpose.
Here are a few ways to clean your crystals:
1. Aqua cleaning
Water is all pervasive. Being like water means being adaptable in all situations. Water cleaning is perhaps the most commonly used method to clean crystals. You can wash your crystals under running water or put them in a container filled with water.
There can be some variations of this technique which include using warm or cool water. Or mixing some salt in the water to clean the crystals better and work on their energy. Make sure you use the warm/cool water according to the requirement of the crystal.
Often people keep their crystals submerged in either saltwater or normal water to clean them.
2. Light cleaning
Depending on the kind of crystal, you can set them outside in the sun during the day or beneath the moonlight at night. This simultaneously cleans and recharges your crystals. Using the light of sun/moon is a mild yet effective method.
Moonlight is more relaxing and intuitive when it comes to purifying stones like black obsidian, lapis lazuli, rainbow moonstone etc, but sunlight is more invigorating when it comes to coluorful stones like citrine or carnelian. Your crystals should be exposed for a few hours to a complete day or night cycle, but don't leave them out too long since extended exposure can cause some stones to lose their colour over time due to damage from sun’s rays.
3. Saging
Another efficient method for energetic crystal cleaning is smudging or saging. To accomplish this, fire up a bundle of palo santo or sage wood until smoke rises from it. For a duration of 30 to 60 seconds, hold your crystal in the smoke and concentrate on making good thoughts for purification.
The crystal is revitalized and prepared to take in new energy vibrations when the smoke from sage or palo santo removes any negative energy that may have been associated to it.
4. Selenite
Selenite is a very special crystal and particularly famous for being a cleaning crystal. Its energy is such that it can cleanse other crystals as well. That is why it also comes in forms of plates, bowls, etc. Using selenite to charge your crystals is very easy. Just put your crystal(s) on the plate and initiate the cleaning process through setting some intention with it (also called affirmation).
This method particularly works better after your crystals have been cleaned with water.
Additional methods:
- Crystals are also believed to react to sounds. Hence, you can use instruments like tuning forks, singing bowl, sound drums or bells to clean your crystals.
- You can smaller stones to extract the negativity away from your crystals. Just keep your crystal surrounded by some smaller crystals or beads. Place them on a selenite plate to have a more intense effect.
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Putting your stones/crystals in soil/dirt can also get rid of the bad vibes from the crystal. Depends upon the type of crystal.
Some extra tips and advice to keep your crystals clean:
- Set a frequency at which you will clean your crystals. This will help in building a stronger bond between you and your crystals.
- Distribute the incidences of the techniques fairly according to the requirement and type of your crystals. Not all crystals are same. And different techniques will give different effects on your crystals.
- Try to stick to the schedule. Treat your crystals with emotions and do not miss your appointments with them.
- Do not underestimate the power of setting intentions with your crystals. Over the time, as you keep cleaning your crystals, you will get used to harnessing their energy in a specific way. Note how it affects you and evolve with it.
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