By: Aria de Lima

The use of crystals is something that many of us find beneficial. Some of us keep tumbled crystals in our pockets, others wear them as jewelry. While we love the way our crystals take care of us and make us feel, it is important that we take care of them as well. Clearing your crystals is key in ensuring that they are able to continue doing what they do to make you feel good. Think of it like a water filter. The filter itself is the crystal and the energy passing through is the water. When using the crystal, your energy is being filtered through. Negative energy gets caught in the crystal while positive and healing energy is cycled through and returned to the body. Like a filter, if the crystal becomes too full, the crystal will ultimately stop working all together and possibly even break. This now means there is no filter to catch the negative energy when the crystal is in use. Essentially what I am trying to tell you is to make sure you are emptying your crystal filters. It really doesn’t take that much time at all and the small amount of effort you put in will make a big difference on the impact your crystals have on you. Here are three easy ways to cleanse your crystals.

Moonlight/Sunlight: Place your crystals in direct moonlight or sunlight. They only need to be out for a little while, 10 to 20 minutes max. Place them on the windowsill or even give them some fresh air and leave them outside. You can put them directly outside on their own or you can place them in a bowl or plate to keep them together. Almost all containers are fine but try to avoid plastic. While it is safe to leave them outside overnight, be sure to only keep them in the sunlight for a short period of time as the sun may cause them to fade.

Incense: Light some of your favourite incense and run your crystals through the smoke. Hold the crystal in your hand and move it through the smoke while focusing on pulling all the negative energy out of the crystal and visualizing it being cleared out. This process can last anywhere from one to two minutes for each crystal. Keep a window or door slightly open to allow the smoke to carry any negative energy out of your space.

Open flame: Hold your crystals over an open flame. Be careful to maintain a safe distance between your hand and the candle. Similarly to using incense, focus on the removal of negative energy. Avoid blowing out the flame as to not transfer your energy into the candle for the next time you use it. Instead, let the candle burn out completely on its own, fan out the flame, or use a candle snuffer.