There are many ways to cleanse and charge your crystals and you may find that you have a preferred method. We are often asked how to cleanse and charge crystals and there are a myriad of ways. Most of these methods use natural cleansing energy from natural elements that the earth provides to us. Cleansing and charging are not necessarily interchangeable but often cleansing methods will charge the stones with energy as well.
Moonlight - By far the most popular way to cleanse crystals is by moonlight. Most people like to leave their crystals out overnight, often during a full moon, to cleanse their crystals and charge them with the moon's amazing energy. You need not leave them out all night if you are not able to (crows and ravens love shiny things left out at night), you can leave them in moonlight for just a few hours. Be careful with water soluable crystals as well as they may dissolve if there is moisture in the air and settles on them. Water soluable crystals usually have names that end in "ite" such as Selenite. Moonlight cleansing and charging is especially useful for crystals with a feminine energy and affinity for the moon such as moonstone.
Sunlight - Sunlight is great for cleansing and charging crystals as well. Warm and masculine stones do especially well charged in moonlight. Stones such as Sunstone and Tiger Eye have a special affinity for the sun. I would recommend charging in the sun sparingly as the sun can overheat or fade some crystals and damage them. I recommend short periods of 15-30 minutes depending on how hot it is outside. Crystals can be placed on the cool earth in the sun to prevent overheating. I like to use flowerpots that have been kept in the shade. Teh sun can also fade some crystals. Be very cautious with the colored quartz varieties such as Amethyst and Rose Quartz, as they are very prone to fading.
Earth - Our crystals originally come from the earth, so it is very natural for crystals to love to go "home" for a while and interact with the earth that they came from. This tends to be more cleansing for the crystals then charging but does impart some of the earths energy and the energy of the microcrystals in the sand or dirt that they sit on. You can either bury your crytals for a few hours in flower pots (I like to use containers so that I don't loose by crystals) or place them sitting directly on the earth. This can be done overnight or just for a few hours. Grounding crystals and those with an affinity for earth energy such as the agates and jasper's especially love being cleansed and charged in the earth.
Water - Crystals can also be charged in the water. A lovely bubbling brook or stream would be best for this but is not completely necessary. You can use a fountain, or even just a glass container full of water. In a pinch, you can let the sink run over them. Hold your crystals or place them in an organza bag and let the water run over them for a few minutes. Be careful not to leave crystals sitting in natural bodies of water as they may wash away. Important: Do not use this method for water soluable crystals.
Other crystals - There are a few crystals that are naturally self cleansing and also cleanse other crystals. The most noteable are Selenite, Citrine and Kyanite. Other crystals can be placed on top of or touching a self cleansing crystal to be cleansed and charged. Many people use Selenite Logs for this purpose since crystals can be placed on them easily.
Smudging - Most of us are very familiar with cleansing a home or area by burning sage and crystals can be cleansed the very same way. You can pass the crystals through the smoke that comes off ofasge while it is burning. Many people prefer this method because it is quick and easy and you can cleanse your home at the same time.
Orgones - Placing your crystals on an orgone device can also cleanse and charge them. Orgones remove negative energy and transmute it into positive energy, thereby cleansing the crystals that are touching it and charging them with positive energy. Many orgone charging plates are created specifically for this purpose.
Intention - You can also cleanse and charge/program your crystal with your own energy and intention. Hold the crystals in your dominant hand (the one you write with) and imagine a cleansing energy or white light emitting from your hand into the crystal and clearning it of any negative enrgy that may have accumulated. If you feel so inclined, you can also verbalize your intention. Then send your crystal some loving energy. You can then charge your crystal while still holding it. Imagine what you would like the crystal to assist you with or do for you. Imagine that intention going through your body and into your hand that is holding the crystal. Then send that energy from your hand into the crystal.
Sound - Crystals have a natural vibration, and so does sound. When our crystals tuning gets a little out of whack, sound can help to retune the crystals vibrations. You can really use any sound, as long at it is loud enough to generate a decent vibration. Many people prefer singing bowls, drums or gongs, but any sound will do, as long at it is loud and not unpleasant.
We hope that this information is helpful to you in your crystal journey.
Namaste and blessings.