Cleansing and Caring for Crystals: Should Crystals be kept in the Sun?
Cleansing by sunlight is quick, easy and makes your crystals sparkle! However, how long should your crystals be kept under the sun?
Especially if you live near the equator, the sunlight is especially strong and may cause your crystals to fade or to get dehydrated and break.
Your crystals came from within the earth, not exposed to sunlight. They may react to the strong UV rays of the sun.
Generally, crystals that are semi-transparent fade in the sun. This is because of their chemical structure. Additionally, when placed at a 90 degree angle to the sunlight, these semi-transparent crystals may get overheated and shatter. Crystals that are composed primarily of water may get dehydrated and upon losing its water content, turn brittle.
Crystals which are quartz based such as the different forms of Quartz (Amethyst, Rose Quartz, etc.), Chalcedony and Aventurine should stay out of the sun. A quick 5 minute charge under the sun is fine but no daily sun-bathing for these!
By 'under the sun', here we mean under direct sunlight. Popping them on a windowsill before a closed window is fine as there is a barrier between the UV rays and the crystals.
Aventurine, Aquamarine, Beryl, Kunzite, Celestite, Citrine, Sapphires, Fluorite, Rose Quartz, Amethyst and Smoky Quartz should not be kept in the sun for a prolonged period of time.
Celestite can crack if exposed to direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time. They may also turn whitish in color, so try to keep your Celestites in the sun for a maximum of 15 minutes. This is because sunlight breaks the bonds in the crystal lattice structure of Celestite, making it both whitish and brittle.
Members of the Quartz Family such as Smoky Quartz, Citrine, Spirit Quartz, Amethyst fade under sunlight due to the iron which gives it its color. This also applies to Prasiolite, Ametrine and Super Seven which contain Amethyst.
Aquamarine may fade to white instead of blue if exposed to sunlight for too long
Aventurine (Red, Green, etc.) may fade in color
Calcite such as Blue Calcite, Orange Calcite may fade in the sun.
Chrysoprase which is green chalcedony can fade in the sun and without its water content, gets brittle. You can try to rehydrate your Chrysoprase by patting it with a damp cotton wool.
Fluorite is also not sun-proof and tends to get extremely hot as it absorbs the sun's heat. It is composed of Fluorspar which reacts under sunlight.
Kunzite will fade to white when kept in the sun.
Opal may lose its color in the sun as its water content is 21%.
While we have just listed crystals which fade in the sun, there are in fact a handful which turn darker in the sun. These include Sodalite/Hackmanite, Barite.
Crystals which are sun safe include black and white crystals which do not have much color pigment and hence can't fade. Examples include Black Tourmaline, Black Onyx, Black Obsidian, Gold Sheen Obsidian, Jet and Howlite. Opaque crystals such as Jaspers are also generally safe under the sun.
Sunstone and Moonstone can also be kept under the sun and Moonstone can be balanced with masculine-feminine energy when charged in the sun.
As a general rule, orange stones are sun-safe.
Jade, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite and Labradorite can also be kept under the sun.
If your crystal is not sun-safe, you can cleanse through many other ways such as Water, Sound, Soil, burning Sage or Palo Santo or using cleansing wands made of cleansing crystals such as Selenite or Kyanite. However, when using Water to cleanse, be careful to ensure that the crystals are water safe - meaning that they do not dissolve in water.
Crystals can change color under the sun for various reasons, and sometimes it could be due to other chemicals present in the crystal. At Glace Crystals, we source for high quality genuine Crystals which are not dyed or altered by man. This ensures that your Crystals remain natural and energetic.
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