8 Surefire Ways to Cleanse Your Crystals and Stones

So, you just got your hands on some new healing crystals and stones (good grab!).

These may be new to you, but they have a rich history before you, and they have passed through many hands to get to you. That's a lot of gathered energy you don't want to interact with when you're just starting your relationship with them.

It's essential to cleanse your crystals and stones soon after bringing them home, so you clear all the old energy and only create space for both your and your crystal's energies.

Making good first impressions with each other is important, so you can hopefully make this relationship a long-term one.

And just like you need to regularly charge your phone, tablet, or laptop, stones and crystals work best when you regularly cleanse and charge them – about every 30 days.

Let's look at a few ways you can cleanse and charge your healing crystals and stones.

1. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Natural Water

Water counteracts the negative energy stored in your stones and crystals and sends it back to Mother Earth. It physically cleans them as well and washes away all that dust they collected as they sat gorgeously in your display.

Rinse each crystal and stone separately. Placing them under natural rainfall is best but can also be placed under your sink faucet or given a bath in a bowl.

Allow your stones and crystals to soak or bathe for about a minute and imagine each becoming clean and returning to its natural state.

As a note, not all healing crystals and stones can be cleansed with water. Crystals and stones that are soft or brittle will become damaged or dissolve. Do your research to determine if a water cleanse is best.

Estimated time: 1 minute

Use this method for: hard healing crystals and stones, such as Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz, or Amethyst

Don't use this method for: soft or brittle healing crystals and stones, such as Selenite

2. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Salt Water

A saltwater bath is one of the most common ways to cleanse your healing crystals and stones. Throughout history, salt has been used to absorb unwanted energy and eliminate negative energy.

Place your stones and crystals into bowls, pour salt water over them making sure they're completely submerged, and let them bathe for up to 48 hours. Fresh saltwater from the ocean is best, but you can make it at home by mixing one tablespoon of any type of salt and adding it to the water.

As a note, not all healing crystals and stones can be cleansed with saltwater. Crystals and stones that are soft, porous, or contain trace metals should be cleansed using another method. Do your research to determine what way is best.

Estimated time: up to 48 hours

Use this method for: hard crystals and stones, such as Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz, or Amethyst

Don't use this method for: soft, porous, or contain trace metals, such as Pyrite, Malachite, or Selenite

3. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Smoke

Using bundles of herbs such as Sage or Palo Santo (a smudge stick) to cleanse your crystals and stones is an easy way to clear stagnant or negative energy. 

Light the end of your smudge stick. When the smoke gets thick, cleanse each stone or crystal separately by running them through the smoke for 30 seconds, allowing the smoke to envelop them.

If your healing crystals and stones need another round of cleansing, run them through the smoke again for 30 more seconds.

Lay your smudge stick in a fireproof bowl near your freshly cleansed crystals and stones so that it can continue to cleanse until it burns out.

This method will also simultaneously cleanse your home.

Estimated time: 30 seconds

Use this method for: all healing crystals and stones

4. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Full Moon and Sun Baths

Harnessing the full moon's energy is a great method for cleansing your crystals and stones, as this is the most powerful of the lunar phases. The moon's feminine energy helps with spiritual and emotional healing.

Place them on the ground or in a natural and safe space (away from animals and other passersby) and let them bathe in the moonlight overnight – or for a few hours at least. The connection to Mother Earth adds a deeper level of cleansing to your crystals and stones.

Be mindful and check the weather beforehand for rain, mist, or even morning dew to ensure you don't damage your stones and crystals that can't get wet.

For your healing crystals and stones that can't get wet, you can still charge them inside by placing them by a door or window. The moon's energy will still be as effective.

The moon’s energy will also be as effective when it’s cloudy or raining.

Leave your stones and crystals outside for a few hours after sunrise so that they can soak in both the moonlight and sunlight. But, you can also give your crystals a sunbath any day.

The sun's masculine energy helps with programming your intentions into your crystals and stones.

Be mindful as some crystals will get damaged if left in the sun for too long. For example, if left in the sun for too long, Amethyst will turn into heat-treated Citrine.

Estimated time: 

  • Moonlight: a few hours to overnight
  • Sunlight: a few hours after sunrise to all day

Use this method for:

  • Moonlight: all healing crystals and stones*
  • Sunlight: all healing crystals and stones**

*Crystals and stones that can't get wet should be left inside to have their full moon baths, such as Fluorite, Calcite, and Chlorite. 

**Crystals and stones that will get damaged from too much sun should be brought in after a few hours, such as Amethyst and Rose Quartz.

5. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Mother Earth

There's nothing like Mother Earth's grounding energy to draw out unwanted energies from your stones and crystals.

Pick a spot in your yard and bury them in the ground for a full day. Your soil might be damp, so don't bury ones that can't get wet because you might damage them.

Estimated time: 24 hours

Use this method for: hard healing crystals and stones, such as Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz, or Amethyst

Don't use this method for: soft, brittle, or porous healing crystals and stones, such as Malachite, Selenite, and Pyrite.

6. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Sound

Sound sends energetic vibrations into the environment. Those vibrations ripple through each crystal and stone, breaking up stagnant and unwanted energy and allowing them to become aligned and return to their natural state.

You can do this by using a bell, a tuning fork, chanting, or singing bowls for about 5 – 10 minutes.

This method is perfect for all you collectors with lots of large pieces that can't easily be moved.

Estimated time: 5 – 10 minutes

Use this method for: all healing crystals and stones

7. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Selenite

There are some crystals and stones that can cleanse other stones and crystals.

Selenite and Clear Quartz are powerfully cleansing as they remove negative energies and purify the nearby crystals and stones.

Use Selenite wands to wave around each crystal and stone to cleanse them. Do this for 30 seconds.

You can also place them on Selenite or Clear Quartz slabs to cleanse your healing crystals and stones. Do this for 4 or more hours.

Estimated time: 30 seconds, 4 or more hours

Use this method for: all healing crystals and stones

8. Cleansing Your Healing Crystals and Stones With Meditation

Find a quiet space and get into a comfortable position. Spend a few moments focusing on your breath. Take some time to ground and center your energy.

Pick up your first healing crystal or stone and cradle it in your hands. Imagine a beautiful, radiant white light filling up your hands and blanketing your crystal or stone. See and feel this light grow brighter as the negative energy is erased.

Hold this visualization until you intuitively feel a shift in the crystal or stone's energy. Repeat this meditation until all of them have been cleansed.

Estimated time: about 1 minute

Use this method for: all healing crystals and stones

Charging Your Healing Crystals and Stones 

Now that you've cleansed your healing crystals and stones, it's time to charge them with your intentions.

Charging them with your intentions helps them stay focused.

Take a moment to connect with your crystals and stones and then settle into a meditative state while holding them. Focus on the specific intention you want to infuse them with and visualize them absorbing this intention energetically.

Closing the Ritual

After you've cleansed and charged your crystals and stones, a wonderful way to end the ritual is to say thank you.

Thank Mother Earth for all the blessings she gives us. Thank your healing crystals and stones for all the work they do.

This final step of gratitude seals in their healing vibrations.

Common Questions

How often should I cleanse and charge my healing crystals and stones?

The more often you use your stones and crystals, the more energy they acquire. A good practice to get into is to cleanse and charge them about every 30 days. But if one feels incredibly heavy or dull sooner than 30 days, go ahead and cleanse it. You don't have to wait a certain amount of time before you complete this ritual again.

What's the best method to cleanse and charge my healing crystals and stones?

Try each of these methods we've included above and see how your healing crystals and stones feel. Are they more energized after a particular one? Or perhaps you received an intuitive message about which method works best with one or all of them?

You'll also uncover the method that resonates with you the more often you complete your cleansing and charging rituals with your healing stones and crystals.

How do I know when my healing crystals and stones Are cleansed and charged?

When touched or held, your healing crystals and stones will feel physically and energetically lighter.

What should I do with my healing crystals and stones after they've been cleansed and charged?

Keep your stones and crystals in mindful places that align with the intentions you programmed them with – near windows or plants to soak up more natural healing energy or around your home or office.

Wrapping Up

Taking care of your healing crystals and stones will strengthen your relationship with them and will make the relationship last.

And they will, in turn, care for you.

You can cleanse your stones and crystals by natural water, saltwater, using a smudge stick, a full moon bath, a sun bath, Mother Earth, sound, Selenite or Clear Quartz, and meditation. 

Charging your healing crystals and stones with your intentions is just as important as cleansing them. Charge them after they’ve been cleansed.

Make it a habit to cleanse and charge them regularly, so they're at their absolute best energetically. And always thank them for the hard work they do.

What's your favorite way to cleanse and charge your healing crystals and stones? Do you have any other questions about cleansing and charging? Tell us in the comments section. We'd love to hear from you!

Becca Benevento is a guest blogger and lifestyle writer. 

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