This is a two part question series on cleaning crystals.
Part A: How to cleanse crystals
Why should we clean crystals:
When gems, crystals, or rocks of any type are in the earth, they are exposed to earth energies including magnetic energy fields and electric energy fields. These energies come in a variety of ways including the inner workings of our planet, energy grids surrounding our planet, and from energies from the broader Universe, of which our planet Earth is a very active member.
Your gems, crystals, jewelry, pendulums, basically anything around you, or on you, can attract positive and negative energy and hold that energy unless the object is cleansed.
Crystals that you work with or keep with you often should be cleansed more regularly than the ones that may simply be sitting on your desk or in a box. However, it is nice to give all of your sparkly friends a nice energetic tune-up every now and then. Use your intuition on how often your crystals need a little extra care
SUNLIGHT: Many crystals love to sun bath, especially ones that are red, orange or yellow (like Carnelian and Sunstone). You can put them out in the sun for a few hours for a cleansing and recharge. However, be careful of which ones you place out in the sun. There are some crystals that will fade in sunlight or change color. Typically these are the pigmented crystals, see through crystals that have color, like Amethyst or Fluorite. If you are not sure if a crystal will fade or not, then be safe and keep them out of the sun
SOUND: Everything has a vibration, especially sound. Since we are helping to set a crystal's vibrations back to its original state, it makes sense that sound can help us with that. Crystal or Tibetan singing bowls work perfectly. Have your crystals near the bowl as you play it. You can run a tuning fork over your crystals, use a bell, tingshas (Tibetan cymbals), or drums.
SAGE AND INCENSE: Sage is another wonderful energy cleanser. You simply run your crystals through the smoke or waft the smoke over your crystals. This method also cleanses any of the areas around your house. If you do not have a stick of sage available incense works as well.
MOONLIGHT - Full Moon: The strong full moon energy actually lasts for 3 days, so it's ok if you miss the actual day of a full moon. You can catch those moonlight rays on the day before, day of, and day after a full moon. Yes, your crystals will still get the energy even if it is cloudy or raining. However, if it is going to rain make sure that none of your crystals are listed in the "avoid water" listing below.
Avoid Water: The following is a list of some of the more common crystals that should completely avoid water. Water can either damage the crystal or cause the crystal to disintegrate and dissolve. This list is not exhaustive, but it will give you a good start.
Desert Rose, Halite, Himalayan Salt (Salt Lamps), Malachite, Selenite.
Part B: How to Clean Crystals Fresh From the Mine coming soon!