WARNING: Placing certain crystals or stones in water can make the water toxic for consumption while other stones may be damaged by water. Some stones are light sensitive and it is not avisable to place them in directly sunlight. Consult with a qualified Crystal Healer if you are unsure.

Discharging

Crystals become statically charged when they come into direct contact with the body. The most extreme example is Amber, which may become quite hot in a few minutes.

Static charge can be discharged again under running water.
Placing the stones in the midday sun for a few hours is another way to discharge them.
Healing stones can also be placed in a bowl of hematite. Hematite does not need any cleansing or clearing of its own.

Cleansing

Any information a crystal received will remain stored even after the stone has been discharged. In order to completely wipe stored information, a more intense action is required.

Some crystals* can be placed in coarse sea salt. Salt needs more careful handling. Direct contact with salt may produce chemical reactions with some crystals, making the stone lose its polished finish or change colour. I recommend laying the crystal in a small glass dish that is embedded in a larger glass dish full of salt. The energy cleansing process is still maintained, but the stone itself is not affected.
Another method is to place stones on an Amethyst druse. The high iron atoms and the energy of concentration of quarts give Amethyst a powerful, fiery radiation. Healing crystals “irradiated” in this way are stripped of information they have stored. Leave the healing stone on the druse for 24 hours or less, depending on the how long the stone was in use for. Leaving healing stones on the druse for longer will not cause any harm to the stone.
Placing healing crystals in a bowl of uncooked brown rice is also an effective way of removing stored information from crystals.
Healing stones can also be placed in a bowl of hematite and citrine chips. Hematite and citrine do not need any cleansing or clearing of its own.
Reiki practitioners can use a technique called Jakikiri Jôka Hô to cleanse crystals, minerals and gemstones.
Laying stones in salt water or sea water, burying healing stones in soil or cleansing it in fire are definitely to be avoided, as many crystals will be severely damaged by this: Salt water penetrate pores and cracks and make the stone cloudy, some secondary minerals will be attacked by acids in the soil and transformed and fire will obviously tend to disperse too efficiently!

Charging

The intensity of radiation from a crystal is connected with the absorbed energy, so its healing effect can be increased and fortified through targeted charging. The most gentle method consist of laying the stone in sunlight at sunrise and sunset. The time during which we can dare to look almost into the sun without damage to our eyes is when the sun possesses a charging quality.

Stones may be charged immediately before using it for a treatment, by holding it in your hand or near a radiator. This too will intensify the effect. In most cases charging is not necessary as the stone will be charged, warmed up and stimulated by body contact.

Care

Physical cleansing should be restricted to eliminating dust from mineral groups and mineral druses. Use a fine paintbrush for the purpose. If you are cleansing a druse with water, only use mineral-poor water. Never use abrasive household cleaning agents on crystals. Some of them are almost impervious to such substances, while others are extremely sensitive.

Storage

It is very natural to want to display beautiful stones so you can see them most of the time. However, if you do not want regular dusting to become your main hobby, I recommend keeping them in a lockable display cabinet. I would not recommend the windowsill, with exception to agate sections and other light-insensitive crystals such as rock crystal (quartz), hematite, jasper, lapis lazuli, tiger’s eye and black tourmaline. Many stones will lose their colour in direct sunlight, like amethyst, kunzite, rose quartz, etc.