Now that you’ve chosen your crystal, using the suggestions we covered yesterday, you’ll first need to cleanse it before we start work.
Here are some tips on the care and cleansing of your crystals:
Crystals absorb energy, just as they project it. When you first receive a crystal, or if you have been working with it for some time, you may need to cleanse it of unwanted vibrations from people or situations with which it has come into contact.
A simple way to cleanse a crystal is to hold it in your hand, say a prayer or dedication and then blow gently on the crystal, imagining that your breath is white light which will blow away all negative vibrations within that crystal.
You may also visualize a cascade of pure white light flowing into and around your stone, cleaning it and transmuting any negativity into light.
Crystals may be placed on a bed of rock salt in a wooden, glass or pottery container, and left in a quiet place.
They can be smudged with smoke from fragrant timbers and herbs, or with the smoke from incense. The fragrant smoke clears the energy of people, places and objects.
This is a technique often used by Native American Indians and Australian Aborigines. To smudge a stone, just waft the smoke onto and around the crystal. You might want to do yourself too, at the same time!
As with any cleansing process your intent that the crystal be cleansed and that any negativity be transformed into light is of the highest importance.
Other gentle ways to clean stones includes placing them in sunlight, in a garden or beneath a healthy potplant, placing them outside in moonlight or showers of rain, and washing them under running water. Streams, rivers and the sea are ideal for this. There are some stones that do not like water, including malachite and selenite. Use your intuition, and be gentle with delicate stones.
Some stones may need to be left in nature for a long time if they have absorbed a great deal of energy on your behalf. (The stones above are from a crystal grid I made last year. If you look closely you might see a fairy!)
In some instances crystals may even break, indicating that they have served their purpose and are no longer needed in your life. Burying certain stones or partially covering them with earth often helps stones to ‘ground’ and return to their true essence more quickly. Hard working crystals often develop rainbows around their internal fractures, which is symbolic of release, healing and joy. From difficult times something of great beauty and value can often come.
A simple introduction to your crystal:
Now, to begin your relationship with your chosen stone, listen to this simple eight minute guided meditation as you hold your stone in your hands:
Nicole Cody’s Working with Crystals- Day 1 Meditation
I hope you come to enjoy working with crystals as much as I do. They are a magical gift, and a very beautiful, healing and joyful part of my life. ♥
