How to Use Reiki to Clear and Program Crystals

When you receive a crystal, it comes to you imprinted with energetic impressions of the people who had it before and the environments it was in. Before you begin working with it for personal advancement and healing, the stone needs to be cleared of these impressions.

After it has been cleared, you then can program the crystal with your intentions. This could be a very specific intention or a more open-ended direction for healing, raising the energy of a room or to bring a sense of calm to the environment or any other number of intentions.

There are many ways to do this including cleaning the crystal with salt water and using visualization. Reiki is also an excellent way to clear crystals of negative energy or any other impressions and to program it with universal healing energy. Learn a simple technique here for combining Reiki with crystal therapy.

Before doing any work with crystals, I like to ground and center myself so that I'm as clear a channel as I can be. I may smudge myself and the room with sage or incense before I begin, but that isn't essential. A sample grounding and centering meditation is as follows:

Stand with your feet about hip width apart but relaxed and hands at your sides. Take a few deep breaths. Visualize a bright white light in your solar plexus center (just above your navel). Imagine rays of light extending out from this light down into the center of the earth and wrapping around its core.

It can be helpful to visualize a big beautiful crystal at the core. Draw energy up from the core back into your solar plexus and see the light enveloping you completely.

Now visualize a similar bright orb of light above your head at your crown chakra. Imagine rays of light extending to the universal life force where the Reiki energy originates. Draw light from this source down back to your crown chakra and then enveloping your physical and spiritual bodies and mingling with the earth's energy.

Now it's time for clearing the crystal. Sit in front of your crystal and hold your hands over it. Trace and state the empowerment symbol Cho Ku Rei.* Thank your Reiki guides and whomever else you like to honor in Reiki sessions.

State your intention of clearing the crystal of its current impressions. Trace the Cho Ku Rei symbol again and then the Sei He Ki. Continue to hold your hands over the crystal and let the energy flow until you sense the clearing process is done. You may like to have a candle burning to mentally send the old impressions into the flame to be consumed.

Hold the crystal in your hands and state your current programming intentions into it. If this stone is to be used for healing sessions, you may sense more Reiki energy flowing into it. End this technique according to your own usual method of ending a Reiki session.

*Note, if you prefer not to use the symbols but just let the energy flow while stating your intention, that's perfectly fine.

I've heard the argument that programming a stone is somehow arrogant and selfish and smacks of old attitudes of mankind's dominion over the natural world. I think this judgment is a bit harsh. I don't believe we can program the crystal to do harm, though it can be programmed for protection and if harm to another is necessary to keep ourselves safe, then that may come to pass.

But I've always tried to sense what the overall purpose is of the crystal before programming it. I think most people who work with crystals take this into consideration. I think the word 'programming' simply has a negative connotation to it for some people. If this concept really bothers you, then follow your intuition. First clear the crystal of past impressions and then listen in meditation to what it tells you it wants to do or not do as the case may be.

As you know, Reiki is an incredibly gentle and loving healing ray. You can't hurt the stone, yourself or those you'll be doing crystal therapy on with this technique. What I've presented is just a guideline.

Experiment with your own way of doing things and add your personality to this practice. Your Reiki guides and the crystal will help steer you in the right direction.