Your Go-To Crystal Guide: Cleansing and Charging Edition

If you are reading this right now, we’re going to take a wild guess and say you either own a crystal or are interested in owning crystals in the near future. Whether you are new to this celestial world or a chakra connoisseur, caring for your beloved stones is important if you want to get the most out of them.

The most popular and effective ways of pampering your crystals include cleansing and charging. Cleansing and charging your crystals are a great way to reset and revamp its energetic software. With this said, you may be asking yourself… “What on earth does this mean, and why is this important?” No worries, The Edge is here to help.

Cleansing

Before you purchased your new crystals, they likely had contact with many other people, and whether it was in-store or had a previous owner thus, they absorbed those energies. Therefore, any negative energy the stone soaked in can still be attached due to previous encounters, which does not help its new owner (you). The act of cleansing (sometimes known as clearing) allows the crystal to reset to its original energetic state and clears the destructive energies, making it ready to work with you and raise your vibration.

Continue reading to find out the best ways to cleanse your crystals.

Incense

Incense is our favorite way to cleanse our crystals. The aroma can put you in a meditative state, which is perfect for crystal work. It is believed that the smoke alters the crystals’ energetic structure, which breaks down any low energies that were absorbed. In addition to cleansing crystals, incense can cleanse you and your space. It is crucial that as you sit there cleansing your stones, you focus on visualizing the negative energy leaving and the original energy healing.

There are an endless amount of scents you can choose from. Some of our favorites at The Edge are Yamuna’s Vanilla, Copal, and Amber Incense Sticks and Prasad’s Celestial Sandalwood Incense Sticks. However, when selecting your new favorite smell, keep in mind that you should not purchase nor use white sage if you are non-Native. It is a closed sacred practice for some indigenous cultures, and it is imperative to respect their culture. Keep your eyes peeled for large corporations such as Urban Outfitters and Anthropology calling white sage ‘smudge sticks’ and avoid shopping at big businesses for your spiritual needs.

Tibetan Singing Bowls

Did you know that sound can actually cleanse crystals? It’s true! Different frequencies have different effects on energy. For example, our brains and bodies go between waves, including Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, due to different frequencies surrounding us. Singing bowls transform our Alpha or Beta waves (tense, non-attentive), into a Theta wave state, allowing us to be more zen. This goes for crystals as well; It shifts their vibration from low to high while releasing unwanted energy.

Singing bowls originated in Tibet and are a part of ancient Buddhist practices. Traditionally, these bowls are handmade with metals with high copper levels, allowing the bowl to radiate a high-pitched melodic hum. Tibetan Sound Bowls are a quick and effective way to cleanse your stones as you can do multiple at once, and you can spend as little or as much time as your heart desires working with them.

Saltwater

As most people know, saltwater is a natural healer. It cleans and promotes healing through osmosis. Saltwater is also perceived to be a great energy neutralizer, especially for negative residue in crystals. If you live by the ocean, this is perfect for you, but it’s also easy to do at home!

You are gonna want to place your crystals in a glass bowl filled with water; your choice if it is rain, fresh or running tap. Make sure they are completely submerged before pouring about a tablespoon of salt in the bowl, preferably sea salt or Himalayan. Leave them in there for as long as you feel is necessary; listen to your intuition for this part. Once you take them out, be sure to pat them dry gently, and now their energy is all clean!

Disclaimer: Before you place your crystals in water, do research to make sure they are water safe. A good rule of thumb is if they end in ‘ite’ they aren’t alright in water.

Charging

If you feel that your crystals have lost their 'oomph,' then you may want to charge them. It is not as necessary as cleansing is, but it’s definitely beneficial if your stones need a little pep in their step. Long story short, charging allows the stone to refuel and reground itself with the earth's force, thus giving it the 'oomph' it has lost and had been longing for.

Continue reading to find out the best ways to charge your crystals.

Selenite

Would you believe us if we told you that you could use crystals to charge other crystals? Selenite or ‘Selenite Plates’ are an extremely popular and effective way to charge your crystals. This is mainly because selenite is one of the highest vibrational crystals, making it one of the most powerful. In fact, it is one of the only crystals that does not have to be cleansed. In order to use selenite’s charging abilities, place your crystals on top or in a close radius to your selenite plate whenever you feel your stones need a pick me up.

The Moon

The moon is a powerful tool that you can use to charge your crystals, especially if you have a specific intention set for what you want your crystal to do. Different moon phases do different things for your stones, for example, the Full Moon is good for releasing, and the New Moon is good for new beginnings. Each moon phase’s energy amplifies the intentions you instill into your crystal. To do this, all you have to do is place your crystals either on a windowsill or outside and have them soak in the moonlight overnight. Then, when you grab them the following day, your crystals will be ready to work with you.

Pro tip: Always make sure that when you purchase crystals and your spiritual items, they are ethically sourced and authentic.

If you decide to try out cleansing and charging your crystals, tag us @theedgemag to be featured on our Instagram!