So you have a shiny new friend and you are wondering what to do with it. Well, one of the first things that I used to recommend to all people is to cleanse the new crystal or gemstone that you have so its clean and shiny when you play with it.

Used to?

Through my continuous work with the mineral kingdom I’ve discovered that no crystal or gemstone or mineral needs to be cleansed or cleared. All of the minerals are little pockets of unconditional love, and nothing negative can live in unconditional love just as no virus can live in an alkaline environment. What this means is that each crystal contains the vibration of unconditional love and is always transmuting any energy lower than that which it encounters. Consistently. It never stops.

However when the mineral gets an overload of energy to transmute they do tend to break. So if you are doing a lot of work with a particular crystal (wearing it each day, using it daily, etc.) I recommend you take the time to cleanse it so your crystal stays in one piece! They tend to do their best work when they are feeling shiny, clean and loved, just like us. Remember, the mineral that your  holding contains a consciousness that is very different from ours. The mineral still enjoys being treated like the sacred being it is, just as we do.

This means that when we take the time to cleanse or clear our mineral we are doing a service to that mineral and helping it do its job more effectively and faster. We are showing the love and gratitude we have for the mineral giving its service here. The way minerals have described being left out under the moonlight is like a human going for a day at the spa. They feel loved, pampered, joyful, and ready to be of service again with a renewed zest.

And that leads us to the first and most common way to clear minerals: By the light of the full moon.

The light of the full moon contains a particular energy that has been harnesssed for centuries by all sorts of mystics, alchemists, witches, yogis, and pretty much anyone who is in tune with natural cycles. The moon’s energy controls most of life on the planet, from the tides, to the cycles of each woman on the planet. The full moon is known as the time to release all that binds us and all that no longer serves us. Crystals are commonly left outside on the night of the full moon in a ritual type way so that the light can clear them. Minerals can also be left on a window’s ledge if you don’t trust the raccoons and crows. 🙂

By moonlight is the way to give your minerals the VIP treatment.

The second common way to clear minerals is with cold water. 

This is the process of washing the mineral under running cold water. Water has a cleansing effect and with the intention to release any energies that are not serving from the crystal most people find this to be an effective way of clearing a crystal. This method can be a bit dangerous if you don’t know about the crystal you are washing as there are minerals that will dissolve in water. You do not want to put selenite nor halite in water. For a full list of highly soluble minerals click here. For common somewhat soluble minerals click here.

This method is a good quick method that I’ve commonly used between crystal healing sessions.

Another common way to clear minerals is energetically. 

This is one of my personal favourite ways because it is easy, simple, and doesn’t require anything so it is ideal while travelling. For this one you hold the mineral in your hand and close your eyes. Imagine white light cleaning and clearing the crystal, travelling from Source into the middle of the mineral expanding outward. Continue to imagine this until you feel or know that the mineral is clean. For me I will see wolves running from the crystal. When there are no more wolves I know the mineral is clean. What happens for you may be different and is just as true.

This method may take some practice but comes in handy when travelling or when there is a lack of time to cleanse the minerals. The exercise can be expanded to include several minerals at once.

There is a method of leaving your minerals in the sun. This is a good way to clear minerals but there are some minerals that will actually loose their colour or shine with this method including amethyst, rose quartz, flourite, aquamarine, kunzite, smokey quartz, hiddenite, and spudumene. If you’ve done this already you may be able to bring out the colour again by rubbing a small amount of mineral oil into the mineral.

The fifth way I will mention here to cleanse your minerals is to smudge them. 

This is an easy way of taking whatever your preferred smudge method is, and smudging the minerals you want clean. As per most methods it is up to you and your intuitive feelings to know when your minerals are clean. This is a subtle feeling or knowing, or just simply guessing when your first learning to listen and trust your intuition, that will tell you the mineral is clean.

You can’t “over-clean” a  mineral, nor can you “not clean it enough”. This is an additional step you can take to help the mineral be of more service to you. Even a little help is better than nothing.

These methods are the ones that I feel are easiest and most effective ways of clearing crystals. There are many more ways that you can cleanse your minerals that are much more ritual based including the use of herbs, burying the crystals, and using other minerals to cleanse minerals that you could research.

Keep in mind that there are three minerals that it is said never need to be cleansed. They are kyanite, citrine and selenite. These minerals can be placed touching other minerals and will clear them overnight.

Bonus Methods: Rice and Sea Salt. 

Placing the minerals in a bowl with rice or sea salt will clear minerals but in a different way than the ways mentioned above. Rice has a neutralizing effect. The mineral will feel more “in-balance” and often cleaner after sitting in rice (preferably submerged) for a few hours. With sea salt the crystals definitely feel clear after a few hours. The sea salt absorbs quickly any negative energy and rebalances, while often charging the mineral as well. I do not recommend eating the rice or salt afterwards as I’ve noticed that the rice often will change colour.

Happy Clearing!