How to Cleanse Crystals Using 8 Different Methods

Crystals can improve your life by altering your energy, mind, and habits. Like batteries, however, crystals have finite power and become depleted of energy over time. This makes charging and cleansing your crystals at least once a month essential to ensure they function at their best.

Many crystals draw in and hold on to negative energy, so they need to be cleansed and charged with new, positive energy. If your crystal has not been cleansed or charged in a while, it can cause harmful changes in your life, as it will merge its negative energy with your auric field.

Let’s look at eight different methods to consider when cleansing your crystals.

How to Cleanse Crystals with Incense sticks

Incense sticks containing sage, palo santo, frankincense, lavender, and myrrh are great for cleaning your crystals. If you practice fire safety, this is a wonderful method to consider when cleansing fragile crystals with Mohs hardness below five.

• Place your incense stick in a secure, heatproof incense holder.
• Place your crystal next to the incense holder. 
• Ensure that you have open windows or doors to prevent excessive smoke inhalation. Avoid using this method if you have asthma or upper respiratory disease.
• Have a small bowl with sand ready to douse your incense when needed. 
• Light the incense stick with a candle, match stick, or lighter. 
• You can wave the smoke over the crystal with your hand or feather, or you can let the incense stick burn entirely, allowing the smoke to come in contact with the crystal. 
• Try to burn the entire incense stick, but if you are in a hurry, ensure that the smoke touches the crystal for at least a minute.
• When done, douse the incense stick in a sand bowl so no more flames or embers are burning.

Incense works best when cleansing jewelry containing crystals or small to medium-sized pieces.

How to Cleanse Crystals with Selenite

Selenite is a self-cleansing crystal that you can use to cleanse and charge other crystals. A piece of Selenite in your crystal kit adds another option to your crystal cleansing rituals. This method works well for fragile crystals with a Moh hardness below six but is a method that works for all crystals.

Read this comprehensive article if you want more information on cleansing crystals with Selenite.

• When cleansing your crystals, you can use a Selenite stick or wand, a Selenite slab or bowl, or a Selenite tower. 
• Place your crystal on a Selenite slab, in a Selenite bowl, or touching a Selenite stick, wand, or tower. You can use the Selenite to charge your crystals indoors for up to 24 hours or place the crystals outside in the sun for 30 minutes.
• The Selenite will automatically cleanse your crystal by transferring and removing the negative energy in your crystal when it touches it.
• If you leave your Selenite and crystal outside in the sun, ensure it is not raining, as Selenite is brittle and can break easily.

When using Selenite, always ensure that your Selenite crystal is larger than the crystal you wish to cleanse.

How to Cleanse Crystals with Sage

Sage has many energetic and physical cleansing and healing properties. Burning sage or using sage oil is a well-known method to cleanse many types of crystals of all Mohs hardness. 

Sage smoke does not harm crystals, so this method works well for all types of crystals, especially fragile or brittle ones.

Avoid using this method if you suffer from upper respiratory disease, or asthma, as excessive smoke inhalation can harm your health. And always ensure you practice fire safety by keeping doors and windows open and having a bowl with sand ready to extinguish a fire.

• Take a bundle of sage and place it in a ceramic or heatproof bowl or plate. 
• Light one end of the sage bundle then blows the flame out, allowing the smoke to touch your crystal. Do not blow too hard and ensure the sage bundle is still smoking and burning.
• Wave the smoke emitting from the lit sage bundle toward your crystal with your hand or a feather. Ensure that the smoke fully touches and covers the crystal. 
• Allow the sage to burn for at least 5 minutes, or you can let the entire sage bundle burn through. 
• When done, extinguish the embers by throwing sand over the sage.
• You can also place water-safe crystals in a bowl of water with three drops of sage oil for 2 hours to cleanse it with both sage and water.

This method works well for all small to medium-sized crystals. The larger the crystal, the more sage you will need to burn to achieve a thorough cleansing.

How to Cleanse Crystals with Salt

Salt is a crystal itself. Just like Selenite, you can use it to cleanse other crystals. This method works well for crystals with a Moh hardness above seven that do not have adverse reactions to chemicals.

To ensure that your crystal is safe to bury in salt, read this article that lists crystals that can and cannot go in salt.

• Fill a bowl with sea salt then bury your crystal in it.
• Ensure that the crystal is fully buried in the salt and not visible. 
• Leave the crystal buried in the salt for at least 24 hours.
• Sea sand also works well to cleanse your crystals, as it contains salt, as well. To use sea sand, wrap your crystal in a cloth then bury it in a hole on the beach for 24 hours.

Burying small to medium-sized crystals in salt works well, and burying larger crystals in beach sand will help it achieve the cleansing it needs.

How to Cleanse Crystals with Water

Water cleanses and washes away impurities and negative energy in everything. Using water to cleanse crystals with a Moh hardness of seven and above is highly effective.

Before using this method, ensure your crystal is safe to go in the water. 

• Fill a bowl with water then place your crystal in it for up to 24 hours.
• Use natural, untreated water to ensure no chemicals damage your crystals. 
• You can also hold your crystal under a tap of running water for 30 seconds for a quick cleanse.
• Another option is to place your crystal in a small stream or next to a waterfall for 2 hours.

Using water works well to cleanse small, medium, and large-sized crystals. When cleansing crystals with water, ensure that the water fully covers the crystal.

How to Cleanse Crystals with Palo Santo

Burning ethically sourced palo santo cleanse the body, mind, and crystals! Cleansing crystals with palo santo is a quick, easy, and effective way to cleanse fragile crystals and crystal jewelry, but you can use this method for all crystals.

Avoid this method if you suffer from upper respiratory disease or asthma, and always follow fire safety when burning palo santo by ensuring there are open windows and doors for air ventilation and a bowl of sand to kill a fire. 

• Hold a palo santo stick, and light one end with a candle, lighter, or matchstick. 
• Blow the smoke toward your crystal with your breath or wave it toward the crystal with your hand or feather.
• Ensure the smoke fully covers the crystal. Let the smoke burn around your crystal for 5 minutes to achieve an effective cleanse. 
• When done, kill the burning tip of the palo santo stick in a bowl of sand.

This method works well for small and medium-sized crystals. Larger-sized crystals will need more palo santo smoke, requiring you to burn the palo santo stick for up to an hour to be cleansed effectively.

How to Cleanse Crystals with Moon Water

The Sun and Moon emit light you can use to cleanse your crystals. Combining moonlight and water to cleanse your crystals is one of the most effective ways to achieve a deep cleansing in crystals with a Mohs hardness above 7.

• Fill a bowl with natural, untreated water then place your crystal in it. 
• Place the bowl on a windowsill, patio, or balcony where it can soak up the moonlight. 
• Leave the crystal in the bowl of water overnight.

This method works well for small and medium-sized crystals. You can place larger crystals directly in the moonlight instead of in a water bowl. 

How to Cleanse Crystals with Himalayan Salt

Just like sea salt, you can use Himalayan salt to cleanse crystals. Himalayan salt is also a crystal with spiritual properties and works well to cleanse Root and Solar Plexus stones to help bring additional grounding, confidence, and abundance to you. 

Before trying this method, ensure that your crystal is safe to go in salt.

• You can bury your crystal in a bowl of Himalayan salt for up to 24 hours for a powerful cleanse.
• Alternatively, place your crystal next to a switched-on Himalayan salt lamp for 2 hours.
• You can also dilute half a cup of Himalayan salt in a water bowl and place your crystal in it for 2 hours.

You can cleanse small to medium-sized crystals by burying them in Himalayan salt or placing it in a bowl of Himalayan salt water. You can cleanse larger pieces by using a Himalayan salt lamp.