clearing and cleansing crystals

WHY DO I NEED TO CLEANSE MY CRYSTALS AND JEWELLERY?

We understand that cleaning can be a pain, but as the saying goes, “Clean space, clean mind.” Just as cleaning a cluttered room brightens your outlook, purifying your healing crystals lightens their energy, and ensures that they are vibrating their healing properties at the highest potential. When you learn how to recharge crystals on a daily basis, it can enhance their healing properties and strengthen their ability to support your intention. 

The reason that crystals are so effective in energy work, is the same reason that cleansing them is essential—crystals pick up energy. Cleansing your crystals resets their energy, so that every time you work with them, you are starting from an energetically clean slate. If you never clean your crystals, they will continue to store energy until they are no longer useful conduits. A towel can wipe a mess clean, but if you never wash the towel, it will begin to add to the mess; crystals are similar. For a crystal to purify your energy, you have to first return the gesture, and cleanse its energy.

HOW DO I GO ABOUT CLEANSING MY CRYSTALS, BRACELETS AND NECKLACES?

If you’re wondering how to charge crystals, we’ve outlined a few ways that have worked for us over the years. The trick to the effectiveness is making crystal cleansing and recharging part of your daily routine. Here are a few different ways that you can set about purifying the energy of your crystals:

·  Moonlight Spa: Let your crystals bathe outside in light of the sun or moon for at least 4 hours. Who’s spirit isn’t uplifted by a little rest and relaxation in nature?

·  Couple Your Crystal With Selenite or Quartz: Act as a crystal matchmaker and pair your crystal with either a selenite or quartz crystal! Both of these crystals have the rare ability to charge and purify other crystals, without ever losing any of their own energy. Lay your crystal on a piece of quartz or selenite for six hours. After a date with these eligible stones, your crystal will be in high-vibe heaven.

·  Smoke It Out: Not only will burning Sage and Palo Santo make your home smell great, they’ll have your crystals feeling great, too. Immerse your crystal with the sacred smoke until your piece becomes energetically still. When lighting sage, hold it under an Abalone Shell, which will catch the ashes and also serve as a bowl for all your cleansing tools. The shell also has a row of small holes, which are perfect for holding a wafting feather or incense sticks.

·  Return to Nature: We could all use the energetic reset that comes with a return to nature. To give your crystal that revitalizing pleasure, place it on the soil or hang your crystal jewellery on the branches of a healthy houseplant for 24 hours.

SO NOW I’VE CLEANSED MY CRYSTALS AND JEWELLERY. WHAT NOW?

In the same way that you need a sense of direction in order to be most productive, so does your crystal. Giving your crystal a job allows you to set your intention for the work you’ll do together. It’s okay to get specific! For the crystal to help you manifest your intentions into realities, you have to be clear when programming your crystal what your exact intention is. Whether you’re activating crystal jewellery or a raw crystal stone, the process of activating your crystal remains the same. Sit quietly, holding the stones in both of your hands. Breathe in the highest white light and then visualize your intention for the jewellery. The stones are listening. After programming the crystals with your intention, your crystal is now activated. If you’re cleansing and activating crystal jewellery, for the best results, wear them for 10-21 days straight after setting your intention (it’s okay to take them off at night.)

If you’re wondering how to charge crystals, there are many ways to connect with their energy. Because crystal healing is a personal journey, we recommend choosing a method that resonates with you at this particular moment in time. Crystals have a steady rhythm that falls in line with the healing energy of the earth, which is why they make the perfect companions for any spiritual journey.

A healing layout can help clear and activate your chakras or energy centres while also helping you achieve a state of deep relaxation. 

One of our favourite healing practices is a full moon ceremony, which works best outside under the moonlight. The moon has a powerful healing energy that can also recharge crystals and activate their properties.

Depending on the hardness, crystals can also be used in the bathtub to energize the water with its healing frequencies. Set the mood with candles and a few drops of essential oils and feel the crystal energy infusing every cell in your body with new, cleansing energy. Some of our favourite crystals for bathing are soothing and calming Amethyst and Rose Quartz for opening the third eye and heart chakras.

Another useful healing layout that we recommend for stress relief is Apophyllite placed above the head near the crown chakra, which will help to absorb stress and realign your energy. Black crystals like Black Tourmaline and Obsidian are also helpful for releasing negative energy, especially when placed over the root chakra. Their protective energy can also help you feel grounded and secure.

HOW LONG SHOULD I WORK WITH MY CRYSTALS?

When you first get your crystal, you have to solidify your bond. Like with any relationship, it takes time for your energies to sync. You want to make sure that you are reaffirming your own devotion to your intentions by continuing to re-establish them with your crystal. This strengthens your connection with your crystal, so that you are both vibrating your resolutions at the highest frequency.

I’VE HAD MY CRYSTAL FOR 2 DAYS. WHY ISN’T IT WORKING?

Does a diet work in two days? Does a fitness regimen work in two days? Like any new program, it takes time and consistency to get results. Working with crystals is no different. The magic is not the crystal; it’s you. It’s not doing the work; you’re doing the work It’s an ally on your journey. A tool to help you get to where you want to go.

The key to harnessing the full potential of crystal healing is having the courage and faith to believe in the effectiveness of gemstones when used in combination with various types of meditation. Thoughts can be very powerful, especially when working with crystal energy, which amplifies everything around it.

The important thing is to be patient with your crystal healing practice. Every day, you can go a little deeper with your crystals, and the many small achievements day after day will eventually lead to reaching your personal goals and making real changes you can notice. Remember to recharge and cleanse your crystals on a regular basis, which will magnify your intentions and enhance their healing properties even more.

Holding your Smudge Stick (sage bundled alone or with other herbs) in your power hand, place one end over a continuous flame. You may use a candle or gas stove for this purpose. It will take a while for your smudge stick to light completely; hold it over the flame until the entire tip of the stick is smouldering like the end of a cigar. Then extinguish the flame to let the sage smoulder gently.

You may hold your smudge stick in your hand, making sweeping movements to keep the stick lit, or you may place the stick in a clay, stone, or metal bowl. Abalone shells are often used for this purpose. Should you choose to carry your smudge stick in a vessel, you must fan the smouldering tip to keep it lit. Feathered fans are employed for this purpose, or you may use your power hand. Whether brandishing your smudge stick like a wand or carrying it in a vessel, you may find it helpful to blow on the tip to keep it lit. Do recall that you are waving a burning thing about the house; be mindful of falling ash or embers if you are not using a vessel: they will fall, they may flame!

When your smudge stick is ready, you may say a prayer of blessing, or other such affirmation, and begin to walk around the room (or rooms) widdershins (counter-clockwise). You may smudge one room only, but it is advisable to smudge the entire living space, lest you chase the negativity from room to room instead of away entirely. When walking around your space, make sure the smoke touches every single opening, every single corner. Ring your threshold, every corner in the room, under the bed, in your closet, around your windows – do not forget your drains, faucets, heating vents, radiator plugs, cable inlets, stove vent, phone jacks. Ring your furniture; smudge under the table, and behind the bookcase. You may direct the smoke with your breath to reach hidden areas. Be thorough, and take your time. Pay attention to the way the smoke drifts: does it linger in some places and run from others? Does it pool, or rise? Are there disturbances or even images in the smoke? Paying a sharp third eye to detail may tell you much.

When you have made the full circuit around your space, return to your starting point, and re-affirm your blessing or prayer. If you have not used the entire stick, you may retain the remainder for future use. To extinguish the stick, you will need a vessel; any vessel that cannot burn will do. Grind the smouldering tip against the vessel gently but firmly, until all embers are gone. This may take time; make sure your smudge stick is completely extinguished before disregarding it. When it is totally unlit, do thank it for the work it has done for you, remembering that it was once a living thing. You will feel a marked difference in your living space: a sense of calm, positivity, and sanctity. Once you have cleansed your space by smudging, you may then bless it with a prayer, anointing oil, sacred water, Palo Santo, or House Blessing incense. Remember, kind viewer: there is a difference between cleansing and blessing. Cleansing banishes negative energy; Blessing invokes benevolent or divine energy.

You may smudge yourself the same way you smudge your space: let the smoke drift over every part of your body, lingering over chakras, pulse points, meridians, or lines or energy. If you have a physical manifestation of a mental state (a pain in the neck, for instance) describe a small circle with the smudge stick over this area, and pay it special attention. You may choose to pray or chant a mantra while doing this.