Self-cleansing crystals and favorite crystal-clearing methods?

electrocutions

Hi everyone, I'm new to AT and a beginner in the crystal scene. I initially bought some crystals to clear my Tarot decks, but upon consulting a few sources, I ran into the topic of self-cleansing crystals. I wanted to just reach out to see if anyone has advice or knowledge/resources on self-cleansing crystals, whether it's a verifiable thing, and how I can use them to cleanse other crystals of energy build-up.

First, do all crystals need to be cleansed? I keep on hearing about the importance of cleansing crystals, but I found it surprising to hear about crystals that don't need cleansing at all. Is this true?

If this is true, what are your favorite self-cleansing crystals?

Also, for other crystals, what are your favorite ways to clear them of energies? How do you know when a crystal needs cleansing?

My collection so far consists of 1 large fluorite wand and 1 small amethyst wand, and I have a little chunk of citrine, but I'm hoping to build up my collection in due time. That said, any recommendations of crystal must-haves would be greatly appreciated! Looking forward to hearing from everyone! :)
 

Beancrew49

Welcome to the crystal community. I can feel your excitement but that is quite a lot to discuss in one post!

The only crystal I can think of that is "self cleansing" is black Tourmaline. It's not that it self cleans but more that it is able to take a portion of the negative energy that it absorbs and transmute it into positive energy. It still needs to be cleansed periodically however, though not as often as most other crystals.

There are some crystals that don't take on outside energy. Blue Kyanite and Citrine come to mind. While technically these don't need to be cleansed, I like to take the better-safe-than-sorry approach and cleanse them from time to time, though nowhere nearly as often as my other crystals.

As far as how often you should cleanse them, that depends on how you work with them. If you're deep into crystal healing and are using them daily to transmute energy, then you should cleanse them everyday. If you just have it sitting in your area, then much less often. It's hard to give a number because we are all around varying degrees of negativity and so our crystals work for each of us differently.

If you can feel crystal energy, you will know when they start to feel "dirty". They just won't have that intensity to them. If you can't feel crystal energy, I would say about once a week is a good rule of thumb, though that is just a general number (for the reasons I stated) that will at least get you started.

There are many ways to cleanse a crystal, though it is your intent that is actually doing the cleansing. You can sage or palo santo scrub them. You can place them in a bowl of sea salt and rosemary. You can wash them in a natural body of water. You can use the wind. You can bury them. You can use your own energy and intent through meditation. You might find that each crystal prefers a different method, but do whatever feels right to you.

Lastly, this is an invaluable crystal resource and should be able to go more in depth into the crystal world:
http://www.healing-crystals-for-you.com/

I hope that helps. Have fun!
 

electrocutions

Welcome to the crystal community. I can feel your excitement but that is quite a lot to discuss in one post!

The only crystal I can think of that is "self cleansing" is black Tourmaline. It's not that it self cleans but more that it is able to take a portion of the negative energy that it absorbs and transmute it into positive energy. It still needs to be cleansed periodically however, though not as often as most other crystals.

There are some crystals that don't take on outside energy. Blue Kyanite and Citrine come to mind. While technically these don't need to be cleansed, I like to take the better-safe-than-sorry approach and cleanse them from time to time, though nowhere nearly as often as my other crystals.

As far as how often you should cleanse them, that depends on how you work with them. If you're deep into crystal healing and are using them daily to transmute energy, then you should cleanse them everyday. If you just have it sitting in your area, then much less often. It's hard to give a number because we are all around varying degrees of negativity and so our crystals work for each of us differently.

If you can feel crystal energy, you will know when they start to feel "dirty". They just won't have that intensity to them. If you can't feel crystal energy, I would say about once a week is a good rule of thumb, though that is just a general number (for the reasons I stated) that will at least get you started.

There are many ways to cleanse a crystal, though it is your intent that is actually doing the cleansing. You can sage or palo santo scrub them. You can place them in a bowl of sea salt and rosemary. You can wash them in a natural body of water. You can use the wind. You can bury them. You can use your own energy and intent through meditation. You might find that each crystal prefers a different method, but do whatever feels right to you.

Lastly, this is an invaluable crystal resource and should be able to go more in depth into the crystal world:
http://www.healing-crystals-for-you.com/

I hope that helps. Have fun!

Thank you so much for this lovely response! :) I admit, I did get quite eager and it was a pretty huge question, but I've learned a lot based on what you've mentioned. I really appreciate your thorough answer!

I will definitely look at learning more about what crystals are more protective and transformative than others in terms of energy. It was great hearing about the nuances between those that can protect themselves from outside influence, and those that can transmute, so I'll have to look out for that.

I'm also thankful to hear about intention being a central part of cleansing. At some point, I struggled with understanding how I can maintain my crystals' energies, that I began searching for other alternatives for cleansing. It seems that all crystals are responsive to energy, so cleansing them, even when they seemingly don't need it, seems like a good and healthy practice to go about it.

Many thanks, and I will definitely reference the link that you've left!
 

EmpyreanKnight

I've read that selenite is self-cleansing and when large enough may even be used to cleanse other crystals. Some sources say they should still be cleansed tho. I often use sage or incense, but ymmv.
 

electrocutions

I've read that selenite is self-cleansing and when large enough may even be used to cleanse other crystals. Some sources say they should still be cleansed tho. I often use sage or incense, but ymmv.

EmpyreanKnight! Hello hello! :) A friend of mine absolutely loves selenite. I've heard that it's a delicate crystal that breaks easily, but according to some sources, its energy is supposed to be purer and stronger than other crystals due to its association with the heavens. I'm hoping to save up to buy a wand or cluster some time soon.

As for incense, what type of incense do you use and what is your favorite? Sage seems like the go-to, and I love its scent, but I've been looking into alternative smudges or ways to purify a space without lighting something (the dorms I'd lived in had pretty sensitive smoke detectors and I was terrified about setting them off--not the best mentality to be in when smudging a space). A friend of mine uses Palo Santo, and I've read about sage sprays, but I'm not sure if getting certain crystals wet will be good for them.
 

EmpyreanKnight

EmpyreanKnight! Hello hello! :) A friend of mine absolutely loves selenite. I've heard that it's a delicate crystal that breaks easily, but according to some sources, its energy is supposed to be purer and stronger than other crystals due to its association with the heavens. I'm hoping to save up to buy a wand or cluster some time soon.

As for incense, what type of incense do you use and what is your favorite? Sage seems like the go-to, and I love its scent, but I've been looking into alternative smudges or ways to purify a space without lighting something (the dorms I'd lived in had pretty sensitive smoke detectors and I was terrified about setting them off--not the best mentality to be in when smudging a space). A friend of mine uses Palo Santo, and I've read about sage sprays, but I'm not sure if getting certain crystals wet will be good for them.

Hi electrocutions! Yup selenite is very useful, but with a Mohs hardness of 2 (with 1 being soft as talc and 10 being diamond-hard), it can be quite fragile so handle it with care. I'm sure you have heard of various crystal cleansing techniques, but selenite is one of those crystals that you are not allowed to submerge in water. Do that and it would get dull - it may even dissolve. Some even recommend against exposing it to water in any way.

Incense smoke is often thin, so if someone smoking a cigarette won't trip off your fire alarm you'd be safe. Some people heavily dislike the smell of incense tho, so if you have roommates you may want to ask for permission first. Palo santo is great, altho I prefer lavender, sandalwood, and nag champa. Like with perfumes - it's a personal thing really. What I love you might find atrocious so have fun exploring. :)

If you truly do not wish to light anything up in order to cleanse your space, I've heard people swear that aural cleansing (through singing bowls, Tibetan bells, tuning forks, etc) can be just as effective. Some even posit that it's much more effective in cleansing crystals because it realigns their molecules. One of these days I'm going to buy myself a singing bowl, but it's been suggested that you physically handle any piece you wish to buy before you purchase it so that its quality, sound, etc would be to your liking. You may also be able to get a free tutorial from that too.

Hope that helped. :)
 

electrocutions

Hi electrocutions! Yup selenite is very useful, but with a Mohs hardness of 2 (with 1 being soft as talc and 10 being diamond-hard), it can be quite fragile so handle it with care. I'm sure you have heard of various crystal cleansing techniques, but selenite is one of those crystals that you are not allowed to submerge in water. Do that and it would get dull - it may even dissolve. Some even recommend against exposing it to water in any way.

Incense smoke is often thin, so if someone smoking a cigarette won't trip off your fire alarm you'd be safe. Some people heavily dislike the smell of incense tho, so if you have roommates you may want to ask for permission first. Palo santo is great, altho I prefer lavender, sandalwood, and nag champa. Like with perfumes - it's a personal thing really. What I love you might find atrocious so have fun exploring. :)

If you truly do not wish to light anything up in order to cleanse your space, I've heard people swear that aural cleansing (through singing bowls, Tibetan bells, tuning forks, etc) can be just as effective. Some even posit that it's much more effective in cleansing crystals because it realigns their molecules. One of these days I'm going to buy myself a singing bowl, but it's been suggested that you physically handle any piece you wish to buy before you purchase it so that its quality, sound, etc would be to your liking. You may also be able to get a free tutorial from that too.

Hope that helped. :)

Thank you so much again! You are so knowledgeable, EmpyreanKnight. Very thankful for the information you gave regarding selenite. I'm guessing that it's similar to Himalayan Salt in a way, since it can dissolve/is porous? I was thinking of getting a selenite lamp once, so the light in the lamp would perpetually serve to cleanse it, but still hoping to get a wand or a chunk one of these days.

Also, thank you for the scent recommendations! Sandalwood has such a gorgeous, musky smell. Will definitely take the time to explore scents! :)

As for the singing bowl, I'd never thought about using one for cleansing crystals until now! :D What a wonderful insight; I really appreciate you telling me about it. I remember using a singing bowl for meditation way back before, but have yet to get one that is portable enough to take with me, and whose frequency resonates well and deep in various acoustic spaces. Many thanks again for all the advice!