If you find yourself using your crystals, you should also consider cleaning them! You need to do this to avoid the energy of the crystal getting dull or for the crystals to have picked up “dissonant” energy along the way.

If you have crystals on display in different parts of your house, or maybe have a crystal grid left in place for long periods of time. The crystals will pick up energy from the surrounding space and need to be cleansed and recharged every now and then.

And if you, like me, are using your crystals in connection with sessions with other people, or you are simply just handling your crystals a lot, your crystals will need regular cleansing.

How to Care for Your Crystals.

Now cleansing crystals doesn’t have to be done all the time, or to be an elaborate process (unless you like it to be). How you go about cleansing them is very much a matter of personal preference and the specific needs of the crystal in question.

Here are some easy tips on how you can recharge and cleanse your crystals.

Use Sound to Cleanse Crystals.

You can use a singing bowl to cleanse your crystals, by either placing the crystals in the bottom of the bowl or holding the bowl above the crystals.
Any sound-healing instrument like a singing bowl, a gong, tingshaws, or tuning forks can effectively cleanse and recharge crystals.

Using sound, you can cleanse multiple crystals at the same time. If you’re placing the crystals inside a singing bowl, try not to let the crystals touch and make sure they don’t restrict the vibrations of the bowl.

If you’re using a tuning fork, you might want to cleanse the crystals one by one, as the sound and vibrations from a tuning fork are more directional.

Using sound, you can keep striking several times, while listening for the sound to become light and clear, indicating that the cleansing and recharging is done.

Use Other Crystals to Cleanse Crystals.

There are several crystals that can be used to cleanse and recharge crystals. You can do this in various ways like placing the crystals together, using the larger cleansing crystal as a base for smaller ones, or creating a crystal grid with the cleansing crystals.

Crystals commonly used to cleanse other crystals are:

1. Clear Quartz – this crystal is known for being a master healer and can cleanse and amplify the energy of other crystals.
2. Selenite – is a powerful cleansing crystal, selenite can help clear negative energies and is often used to recharge other crystals.
3. Amethyst – this crystal is effective in clearing and balancing the energy of other crystals.
4. Citrine – is known for its ability to transmute negative energy, but citrine can also cleanse other crystals.
5. Carnelian – is often used to cleanse and recharge other crystals due to its stabilizing energy.

Use Smoke to Cleanse Crystals.

You can cleanse crystals by smudging them. Hold them in the smoke from an incense stick, or a smudge bundle of herbs (like sage) for a few moments. Make sure all angles of the crystal are exposed to the smoke.

Use Water to Cleanse Crystals.

Water can be used to cleanse some crystals, but not all. You need to be sure that the crystals are robust, not layered, fragile, soluble, or have tiny crystals on a matrix, and that
they can withstand water. Holding them under running water and then placing them in the sun or moonlight to let them recharge is a simple and easy way to cleanse crystals.

Use Reiki to Cleanse Crystals.

If you are attuned to Reiki, you can use this energy healing technique to cleanse and charge your crystals, in much the same way you would working with other people.

Use Sunlight or Moonlight to Cleanse Crystals.

You can use both sunlight and moonlight to cleanse crystals. Placing your crystal in direct sunlight, you need to be mindful of the fact that some crystals can fade or become damaged if exposed to prolonged exposure to sunlight.
Leaving crystals under the moonlight, especially during a full moon, is a very gentle yet powerful way to cleanse crystals, and opposed to sunlight, you can leave any type of crystal in the bright moonlight to be cleansed.

Use Salt to Cleanse Crystals.

You can place your crystals in a bowl of sea salt or Himalayan salt to cleanse them, but be mindful that you’re not doing this with crystals that are softer or more porous as this can damage them.

Use Earth to Cleanse Crystals.

You can bury your crystals in the ground. This technique allows the crystals to connect with the Earth’s natural energies. This is very useful when wanting to cleanse and balance the crystals. A note of caution here. Be sure to mark the spot where you bury them to be able to retrieve them again later!

How to Recharge Crystals.

In connection with cleansing your crystals, you will also want to recharge them. Luckily all the ways to cleanse crystals mentioned here will also recharge them.

However, there are some additional ways to specifically recharge crystals. These will not necessarily cleanse them at the same time but are focused on energizing energy. You can tailor the recharging process to your personal preference or the specific type of crystal that you are working with. Combining one or more of these methods can also significantly enhance the recharging process.

Use Crystal Clusters or Geodes.

By placing the crystals on or inside larger clusters or geodes (especially clear quartz or amethyst) you can effectively recharge them.

Use Crystal Grids.

You can create a crystal grid with the specific intention of using it to recharge a crystal. Place multiple cleaning and recharging crystals along the outer edges of the grid, and the crystal you want to recharge in the center.

Use Your Breath.

You can hold the crystal and breathe on it with the focused intention of recharging it. Visualize filling the crystal with vibrant energy on each exhale.

Use Meditation.

Hold the crystal during meditation in the palm of your hand. Set an intention to recharge the crystal, and visualize it being filled with light and energy as it recharges.

Use Flower Petals or Herbs.

You can surround your crystals with fresh flower petals or energizing herbs to recharge them using the natural energy of nature.

Use Affirmations.

You can hold the crystal in the palm of your hand, and state affirmations to direct energy into the crystal to recharge it.

Notes on Crystal Grids and Cleansing.

If you use your crystals to create grids. Be sure to always clean your crystals before creating the grid.

If you’re leaving the grid in place for longer periods of time, you might want to do a cleansing session every now and then. Otherwise, the crystals in the grid will lose their strength over time, and rather than be beneficial, they will slowly run out of energy, This happens especially if they have been working with negative energies.

How often you want to cleanse the crystals in the grid depends on the intensity of the energy they have absorbed or radiated. Protective and clearing grids need cleansing more frequently to keep working, but grids created to attract positive aspects like abundance and love will need less cleansing.

There are no fixed rules for this, and you will have to use your intuition and gut feeling. You can try to place your hand, palm down, over the grid, and feel the energy and if it still feels bright and active.

If you’ve created a cleansing and recharging essence, you can spray the crystals with this weekly or whenever you feel the energy needs recharging.
(you can also use this essence to cleanse the space where the grid has been stored after it has been removed.)

Be sure to always clean crystals that have been sitting in a grid, no matter the time period, after dismantling the grid.