what happened ?

[Adrienne]

This morning I washed off 2 of my crystal clusters,just with water, no soap , amethyst and citrine .

When they dried, I noticed they had lost their sparkle ?
What happened ? any idea ?

Adrienne

[Dx121]

Blessings Adrienne <3

Good questions.

If you don't mind my asking a few questions of my own, see if we can pinpoint any possible answers.

How dirty were they before you gave them a water bath?
Do you know what kind of junk got onto them? Regular house dust? Smoke? Outside pollutants?
Where have the been before you gave them a wash today? Sitting on a window cil? In sand? In soil? In salt?
Have you tried giving the surface of them a gentle rubbing with a towel or soft bristle toothbrush? To make sure there's no extra stuff adhereing to the surface.
edit : Another idea is, if you do go back to give them a secondary rinsing, use water from a different location. Maybe bottled water, something filtered and clean. See if that makes a difference at all.

Then again, there's always the other side of things. It's not often I've heard of a crystal losing it's physical surface shine. Usually it's more along the lines of color changes, or in some rare instances, the crystal has grown a bit.
Of course, I know from experience that an enviroment and individuals living within, the energy of it all can and does tend to affect our stone and crystalline companion.
I got a couple of amethyst clusters a couple years back from a museum gift shop. Lovely pieces that directly told me from day 1 they were to be part of a crystal grid set throughout the entire house. I set them where they wanted to be then just forgot about them for a couple years. When I actually looked at the pieces next, the, what use to be much more brilliant shades of purple and lavender, had drastically faded. And not just for one piece, but for almost all of them.
They'd been set in different places in the house (exactally where they directed me that they wanted to be at). In the fridge, in a corner of the living room, under a bed, in a closet, on a window cil, on top of a shelf, etc.

So, who knows? Perhaps your enviroment has affected their energy and that, in turn, has affected their physical forms?

Then again, depending on just who you got your clusters from, there may have been some sort of protective coating or something on the crystals themself, to make them more shiney and glowy for potential customers. (Wild guess with that one, but it wouldn't be the first time I've heard of it having happened.)

I suppose that, if all else fails, give them a gentle run under the water again, then gently towel dry the crystal points, even rub a little bit to make sure there's nothing still sticking to their surface that you can't remove.

My apologies if this really hasn't been helpful at all. This is what I could think of that might've been the culprits, but not a 100% guarantee of 'Yes! *THIS* is exactally what the problem is and here's what ya do to fix it!'.

[Adrienne]

Blessings to you too Dx121,

Of course you are welcome to ask questions.

They weren't really dirty, I have had them for several years and never washed them. Seeing as I am reconnecting with my crystal I thought it would be a good idea to cleanse all of them, starting with the clusters.
just basic house dust. On my desk, in the middle of a room.

Good idea on the toothbrush with all those nooks and crannies, thanks !
And the bottled water too, will try that.

no apologies necessary I found your suggestions very helpful, thank you for your reply ! I will let you know how it goes.

[AlexDF]

hi met a nice and interesting French guy 2 years ago he said don't put them in water for that reason .

he was how ever talking about celestine which we had found there in the mountains

thats where find it among rocks and such ;-)

[Dx121]

^_^ Hello again, Adrienne.

Hm... basic house dust. Some of my mom's teacups and porcelian figures have gotten dust on them and, boy, can that stuff really cake itself on. Certain types can really get gunky and cling like no one's business to whatever smooth surface they drop onto.

Best of luck in removing any remaining dust <3

As for them energy-wise, from what I've heard from other people (and my own experience with my clear quartz and amethyst clusters), geodes and clusters don't tend to need their energy cleansed. They do that all on their own. Like self-sustaining little batteries. And that other stones and crystals can be placed on top of the cluster points in order to charge or help to recharge their energy.
(But, hey, better to be safe than sorry, right? ^_~)

You're welcome for the toothbrush suggestion. I've found using that to be really helpful more than a few times. (I always worry about accidentally harming any of my stone or crystal companions, so I always handle them gently, lol despite them constantly reassuring me that they're tough and can easily handle getting moved a bit roughly. I can't help it that I worry! ^_^U)

Wonderful <3 I'm glad to hear it was helpful. (I always worry about if I am or not, especially if it's on a subject or question where the answer isn't completely clear.)

I shall await ze news of the post-brushing cleaning of your two clusters.

Originally Posted by AlexDF

hi met a nice and interesting French guy 2 years ago he said don't put them in water for that reason .

he was how ever talking about celestine which we had found there in the mountains

thats where find it among rocks and such ;-)

Yeah. There are some stones and crystals that are a massive NO-NO when it comes to being placed in water because they will dissolve away to nothing.
Though... sometimes, a crystal will come to you and directly ask for that to happen so they can leave. The first two kyanite and selenite pieces I ever had, right from the first moment they arrived in my mailbox, before I even opened the box, that was the feeling I kept getting from them.
I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but the feeling persisted. I ended up placing them both in a cup of water and resting it in some sunlight, and I felt peace from them. I waited a couple of hours, then asked to see if they wanted to come out, but the feeling was still there. To let them stay in the water.
It was sad to watch them dissolve away, but I know from personal experience to listen when a stone or crystal is letting you know what it wants. And more than a few have come into my care simply to be allowed to finally be rid of their physical form and move on.

But... yeah. Good rule of thumb, especially if you're not sensitive to stones and crystals to begin with and know how to 'listen' to them, look them up online. See what the 'do not' list is for taking care of them, then do your best to stick to it. That way your new stone and / or crystal companion will have a longer, happier time win your care. <3

[Adrienne]

re - house dust, lol ..... there aren't layers of it, I do dust on a regular basis

re- energy-wise, good to know !

oh yes, I am always gentle with my crystals.

You shouldn't worry about replying, people are happy to have replies and if something isn't clear, you or they can always ask for clarification.

And have confidence in what you believe in.... if someone doesn't agree with you, or has other beliefs, oh well, LOL !
It will happen like that sometimes, don't worry about it

Yes, I have heard of a few stones/ crystals that one doesn't get wet !

I am still waiting for my crystals to speak to me

[Dx121]

lol Thank goodness that you do dust. That stuff can pile up so fast if you're not paying attention. ^_^U (especially since my Mom and I live in a house where we use a wood burning stove every winter.)

I know I shouldn't worry about that, but I just like to be as correct as possible when providing information when I can. Both for my sake (no one likes to be incorrect, you know? Not a fun feeling), and the other person's (because I feel like if I give someone information on a topic I know little about, I could easily be wrong and that makes me feel like, however unintentionally it may be, that I'm giving them false information. Not something I want to do when my only intent is to help offer clarity).

Originally Posted by Adrienne

I am still waiting for my crystals to speak to me [/i]

Heh, surprisingly, not that difficult to do. It's like a 3 step program, I guess.
Step 1, make the time to sit down in a qiuet, calming, relaxing space where you know you won't be bothered / distracted.
Step 2, hold the stone or crystal in your hand / hands, and allow your mind to quiet down and clear from all of the regular, every day chatter. (took me a while to learn how to do that)
Step 3, allow yourself to be open and 'listen'. (This seems to be the most difficult step.) Don't try and have a strong desire that the stone or crystal is "suppose" to be somewhere just because that's where you're use to it being at. Set your own thoughts and feelings aside.

All you've got to do is focus on the stone or crystal in your hand, directly ask it something. Like, for starters, ask it 'where does it want to be?'
The answer comes very quick (lol my 'problem' most of the time with spiritual sources is that I can barely tend to get halfway through asking my question in my mind before BAM! REPLY!! and I'm like '... thanks... ^_^U but i barely got a change to ask it!'), and it can come in any one of a variety of ways. From a feeling of wanting to be somewhere (like the sudden remembering of how it feels when you're taking a shower i.e. to be in running water), to one or two words that comes to mind (dirt, salt, sunlight, window ledge, etc.), to a random image that just happens to pop into your mind (such as a particular patch of soil out in a flower bed, or a window cil that gets plenty of light).
And there you have it.
Mainly just relax, focus, and allow yourself to 'listen'. Our stone and crystalline companions (usually) have no problems letting us know what they want. ^_~ The key is listening to it.

To be honest, makes me wish someone had told me about that in my early days. I lol really had NO guide at all when I was first starting out.

But, here's hoping all of your stone and crystal encounters will be pleasant ones <3

[Adrienne]

Guess what ?

My clusters have their shine back !
I took your suggestion Dx about rinsing them in different water, in a different location and that did it !

Thanks much and my clusters thank you too !

[Dx121]

AH! <3 That's absolutely fantastic to hear <3 I'm so happy for you, and lol no doubt your two crystal companions are feeling a lot better with this new level of clean.

You're very welcome. Thank you so much for your time, and I'm glad I was able to help out. ^_^

[Adrienne]

You are so welcome !