Cleansing
There are numerous ways to cleanse crystals. Some methods are very elaborate while others are quite simple. Anytime you purchase or find stones, take the time to cleanse them properly. Stones carry the vibrations of the people who handled them prior to you. You definitely want to remove these before you start trying to influence them with your magick.
A recommended method for a good “deep cleaning” is to place the crystals outside in the direct sunlight. Although a window sill may work, the glass blocks the sun’s rays and will not be as effective. When using this method, be sure to bring them inside by nightfall. The length of time you will have to leave them outside will vary from stone to stone. A few hours may be long enough for one, while another may require a few days or even an entire week. Another method, although not as accessible to most people is to use the running water of a creek or river. With this method you place your stones in a mesh bag and anchor or tie it off. Leave it overnight. By morning your stones should be clean. Lastly, a more easily accessible method for most would be utilizing our Mother Earth. With this method bury your stones in the ground for one week. If they do not feel as though they are ready for use, bury them for another week. How will you know when your stones are ready for magical use? Place the stone in your receptive hand. If the vibration feels regular; the cleansing has been a success.
A few crystals never need cleansing ~ they are self cleaning such as Citrine and Kyanite for example. Clear Quartz and Carnelian can be used to cleanse other stones. This is especially useful on brittle, porous stones that cannot be cleansed with sea salt or may fade in sunlight. When Carnelian is placed in a bag of tumbled stones, there is no need ever to clean these stones by another method again. A crystal that is smaller than a quartz crystal cluster can be placed on the cluster over night for cleansing. These stones (Carnelian and Clear Quartz) do still need to be cleansed themselves. You can also smudge crystals by passing them through the light of a candle. And lastly, sea salt is very useful for cleansing crystals.
Charging
Hold it in your projective hand and state your intention. What do you hope to achieve? The power will flow throughout your body and out through your projective (dominant) hand and into the stone. This empowers your stone. That’s all there is to it.
