Everyday we are surrounded by energy which highly influences our mood and well-being, especially for empaths like myself, who are extra sensitive to energies. Have you ever walked into a room and felt the tension? That’s the energy we’re referring to.

Negative energies emit from your surroundings, from people, your environments, to even our own mind. In other words, negative energy is inevitable and can be unavoidable. So it is important to protect your energetic bubble to avoid negative energy from penetrating your aura and in turn leaving you feeling drained. This is where crystal work can be used as a shield by absorbing and neutralizing the negativity.

Overtime a crystal will become overloaded with inharmonious energies which impacts the effectiveness of their healing energy. Just as it is important for you to recharge to keep from draining yourself, it is equally important to recharge and cleanse your crystals. Cleansing is also important upon receiving or buying crystals because it has already started to absorb negative energy.

To ensure your crystal is at it's optimal state of energy you can do the following to cleanse and recharge your crystal:

Sage or Incense:

Sage has been used for centuries as a spiritual ritual to cleanse a person or a space to promote healing. This technique also can be used to carry away any low vibrational energy and bring the crystal to a place of balance.

Choose an incense of your choice or white sage. Light up your smoke stick and allow it to burn until it creates a thick smoke, once that has happened, hold your crystal(s) in the line of smoke and use your intentions to feel the energy clearing, allow this to take place for 30 seconds to a minute.

A mantra you can say while doing this: “ I command the absorbed negativity to be released from this crystal”

Crystals best cleansed with sage or incense: all crystals.

Fresh Water:

To remove the negative energy submerge your crystal under running water for approximately one minute and dry once complete. If you can, find a stream of water out in nature, like a river. It allows the crystal to reconnect with earths natural elements and If you’re unable to do this, running tap water will work too.

Salt Water:

If you're lucky enough to be near the ocean, fetch a bowl of saltwater directly from the source! Otherwise, with a bowl of water, mix in a tablespoon of natural sea salt or Himalayan pink salt. Make sure the crystal is completely submerged and soak for about 1/2 hour. You can also add some dried lavender to enhance the bath's cleansing effect. Immediatly after, rinse off your crystal and dry.

Crystals best cleansed with water: Agate, Obsidian, Rose Quartz, Jasper, Clear Quartz, Amethyst, Aventurine, Tigers Eye, Citrine, Carnelian

Full moon & Natural light:

The full moon is the easiest method to cleanse and recharge your crystals and my favorite way! Once the lunar cycle has reached the full moon and is at its brightest, place your crystals outside or in your Windowsill to align with the moon. The crystals can be left out overnight to soak up the moons gentle energy and put back to their home base in the morning and they will be restored to their natural/brightest state.

Crystals best cleansed in moonlight: all crystal

Some crystals can be left out in the sunlight to recharge also! Exposing crystals to the suns powerful rays will help them burn off old energy while refilling their energy. You will only want to leave them out for 2-3 hours as after that it can cause damage.

Crystals best cleansed in sunlight: Lapis Lazuli, Black Obsidian, Jade, Labradorite, Howlite, Moonstone, Carnelian

Visualization:

You can use the technique of visualization to cleanse your healing crystals, our thoughts are powerful. This requires mental focus, you will want to be in a quiet space and comfortable, similar to the practice of meditation. Hold onto your crystal and close your eyes, clear your mind and visualize an aura of radiant cleansing light washing over the crystal, transforming the negativity stored inside the crystal into positive . Do this until you intuitively feel that your crystal is cleansed. Remember, it’s important to maintain your focus.

Crystals best cleansed with visualization: all of them

How often should you cleanse your crystals? It is recommended to cleanse your crystals at least once a month.

Which technique speaks to you? Let us know in the comments below.