The more you come to learn about crystals the more you will be able to make them of benefit to you in your everyday life. Knowing which crystal to use for optimal benefit, and how to look after those crystals so that they work to the very best of their abilities is important. General care, dedicating crystals to a specific purpose and knowing how to program them for best effect will soon become second nature to those that practice with them regularly.
It is important to make the time available to treat your crystals with the respect they deserve, remembering that some have been thousands if not millions of years in the making. Many crystal practitioners will set aside an entire day to cleanse and meditate with their crystals, heightening their levels of attunement with each stone. It is important to remember that all crystals not only transmit energy, they also have the ability to absorb it too. The less often that they are cleansed the more negative energy they will store and the less effective they will be when it comes to using them in any kind of practice, whether personal meditation healing, or crystal magic. There are, however, a few crystals that do have self-cleansing properties such as citrine, and crystals such as clear quartz can be utilised to cleanse more delicate crystals such as selenite, though the majority will require regular care.
Caring for Your Crystals
Not all crystals are the same. Try and cleanse some in water and you will discover that they will fall apart, for example selenite, which is a layered crystal. The water gets between the layers of the crystal and forces them apart. Clustered crystals are also liable to lose their structure. These crystals are friable and should be cleaned by another method. The tumbled stones that are readily available in many retail outlets have been polished by hours of being tumbled together in a fine milled grit and are quite strong and less likely to be damaged by the cleansing process. However, single non-tumbled crystals can be easily damaged, crystals such as wands/natural points should be stored separately from stones which have been through the tumbling process.
The way that crystals are stored when not in use is also important, by wrapping them in a velvet or silk cloth will prevent them from absorbing outside energies as well as protecting them from damage. Any crystals that you purchase, as well as any that are passed on you you from someone else, either in the form of simples stones or jewellery should always be cleansed upon receipt, as there is no way to tell what kind of energies they have been exposed to which could hamper or affect the way that you work with them, or the way that you will feel should you wear them.
Cleansing Your Crystals
Crystals that are non-clustered or friable can be cleansed using water. For some this is a simple case of running them under a tap, others prefer to immerse their crystals in running water such as a stream or alternatively use the salt water of the sea. Whichever way you chose, it is not simply a case of letting them get wet! Throughout the cleansing process it is important that you maintain the intent of the exercise in your mind, you are performing the cleansing process to remove all traces of negative energy from the stones, allowing the crystal to become re-energised once more. To recharge the crystal for use, again it is a matter of personal choice, some prefer to use the light of the sun, while others the light of the moon. A few hours exposed in either should be enough to recharge the crystal once more.
Clustered or friable crystals can be cleansed using rock salt or sea salt, placed (covered in salt) in a bowl overnight. However, it is important that all traces of the salt be removed in the morning using a soft brush, as any remaining salt crystals could prove damaging should the stone you are cleansing become damp. Alternatively, there are a certain crystals that can be used to cleanse these delicate stones. Selenite for example can be used to cleanse a bag of tumble stones. A large clustered crystal can be placed on a Selenite Charging Plate and left overnight. Smudge Sticks are also an effective cleansing method, as is passing the crystal through a candle flame. Some practitioners will even go so far to as bury their crystals in their garden, allowing the earth to absorb all the negativity and recharge them with energy from the earth itself. Alternatively, there is the white light visualisation method which not only cleanses and purifies but also recharges the crystal for use.
