The Ultimate Guide to Crystals & Stones: A Practical Path to Personal Power, Self-Development, and Healing - Uma Silbey 2016

Charging Quartz Crystals
Basics of Quartz Crystal Energy Work

To charge a crystal is to enliven it, to increase its power, or to endow it with specific energetic qualities. There are many methods to increase the power of the crystal, enliven it, or to charge it with energy. Place the crystals in the sunlight. Running water will charge up a crystal, so we can hold them in the ocean waves, under waterfalls, or rest them in the beds of running streams. Even cold running water from the tap can charge them slightly, as well as rushing wind.

Finally, if our focus is clear and strong, our own intention can charge our crystal as well. Basically, anything that enlivens or energizes us will also energize our crystal.

Not only can we charge our crystals to increase their power, we can also deliberately charge them with certain types of influences that will allow the stored energy to be used later in the work that we might want to do. This deliberate charging is called programming. For example, we can bury our crystal for a length of time in the earth if we are intending to use our crystal to help us gain the strength, grounding, and nurturing of the earth’s energy. We can charge it with sound, breath, or color. We can take our quartz crystal to the beach and bury it partially in the sand so that it will receive the energetic qualities of the sand, the energy of the ocean, wind, and the sun above. Or, we can leave our crystal outside overnight to be charged with the feminine moon energy, the stars, and the soft darkness of the night.

The basic rule of thumb is to first determine what energies we would like to use in our work, and then charge up our crystals accordingly. Charging a crystal is similar to programing a crystal. One way to understand the difference is that charging brings it power, and programming determines in what form that power manifests. Last but not least, it is usually a good idea to charge up each crystal with only one type of energy so that when we do use it, the energy is not muddied with other influences other than those that we intend to use. For example, if we want to work with golden solar energy, we won’t be able to do that as easily if we have also let the crystal sit outside all night in the moonlight. When we are through using one particular type of charging or another, we can simply clear the crystal.