Doing my bit for the planet, one crystal at a time

By Louisa Chisholm-Kelly

Crystals are a magpies dream. I can't walk past a shop selling crystals without the magpie in my brain telling me to touch them, covet them, coo like a pigeon at them. I love crystal jewellery, I wear it all the time, even when I'm just at home in my pyjamas. I have a very large jewellery collection and an even larger crystal collection. Truly loads of them, I’ve been collecting for over 40 years. They are in every little bowl, and on every shelf in my house, seemingly multiplying in the dark or behind my back. Some of them I don't even remember buying, others bring back beautiful memories of finding and falling in love with them. Moments where their energy fizzed in my hand and sent great vibes around my body.

Over the years my obsession has also been enabled by friends and family. Many a time my mum would get me to hold out my hand and close my eyes as she gifted me a shiny something that she felt I just needed. My husband has gifted me some stunning jewellery over our years together. Even my wonderful Sardinian Uncle enabled my childhood obsession by bringing me a wonderful gift of a very full box of mineral samples, some of which remain my favourite pieces today.

It's safe to say my obsession is huge.

I made a deal with myself a few years ago to stop buying new crystals. Instead, I rescue crystals from charity shops, online second hand apps, car boot sales and auctions. My obsession has shifted to the joy found in rescuing something that deserves love and care. There are so many unloved pretties out there, and they are surprisingly easy to find. These searches have led me to finding some holy grail pieces. From large quartz points, to a stunning crystal ball found at a house clearance auction, and jewellery that would be wholly unobtainable to my small finances if I hadn't discovered it in a quiet countryside antiques center.

Quickly my deal with myself shifted and expanded to include many other things, and now I make a point of hunting for a secondhand version of most things before I will buy it new. When I do buy a new item, I try to support small businesses and smaller creatives.

I'm skint. Everyone is skint. The planet is in a poor state, we need to reuse, recycle, and conserve resources wherever possible, yet unfortunately there is a strange stigma associated with secondhand crystals that also extends to secondhand magical supplies. It comes from a misconception that magical tools need to be "fresh". While magical tools do need to be cleansed, that doesn't preclude them from being secondhand. As magical practitioners we spend most of our time cleansing things, sometimes it feels like all I do is cleanse spaces and things. Before, after, because it has sat unused for a while, because it has an ongoing job to protect my house and needs a courtesy bath, because it got a bit dusty, because I'm moving it from one shelf to another in my spring clean... 101 different reasons. It is no different to cleanse an item of the leftover energies from its previous custodian, than it is to cleanse it of the energies from its previous magical workings.

Secondhand is good for the planet, and it's good for your pocket. Plus, it gives you access to things that are no longer made. Books and cards that are out of print for example. If you are worried about crystal identification, tools like Google Lens and various websites and books are super helpful. Most crystals are relatively easy to identify, the rarer ones can be difficult, but it doesn't stop you from using something that just feels right energetically. Colour and energy is more important than a name or a label.

When it comes to cleansing, if you aren't as confident or you want it to be extra extra clean, don't be afraid to use multiple techniques. Just make sure the types of cleanses you choose are safe for the item you're cleansing. Not all crystals like sunshine, and paper or clay definitely doesn't like water! 

Here's a non-exhaustive list of cleansing techniques for you to explore;

Water - run your water safe item under a tap, sit it in a river (don't let it float away!), or soak in a bowl of water. 

Moon light - set your item out in the moonlight. This can be the full moon, the dark moon, or for a full moon cycle if needed.

Sun light - set your item out in direct sunlight. Make sure it won't fade, crack or melt though!

Smoke - waft smoke from a burning bundle of herbs and/or plant materials around your item. You can also set them near a bonfire.

Candle light - leave your item within the light of a burning candle. The candle colour and/or the scent can enhance the cleansing properties.

Salt - Bury your item in a bowl of salt (make sure it won't damage your item), or set your item within a ring of salt. Doing this on coloured paper/fabric can enhance the cleansing properties.

Earth - as with the salt cleansing, you can use earth. This is exceptionally grounding.

Air - hold or safely secure your item outside and let the wind blow away old energies. This works especially well for fabrics on a washing line.

Fire - very carefully, and only with a fire safe item, run your item through a flame.

Reiki or other hands-on healing techniques - fill the item with energy or white light.

Breath - blow on your item, while imagining your own energy blowing out and replacing the previous energies.

Do you have any more cleansing techniques you'd like to share with us? We'd love to hear them.

I hope this helps to give you the confidence to explore the secondhand options out there, and that it saves you some money while doing a little something for our planet. When all of us did the little somethings regularly, they add up to a pretty big something.