Sunlight is a popular and seemingly easy-to-use method to cleanse and charge crystals. And while there are many sun safe crystals, some stones fade in the sunlight!
So, let’s take a look at the crystals that benefit from being charged in the sun and how to safely use this charging method, so your stones stay in tip-top shape (and don’t wake you up at night)…
How to Charge Crystals in Sunlight (Safely)
As the term suggests, sun safe crystals can indeed sit outside in direct sunlight to get an extra dose of that bright energy. However, please be careful with this charging method!
Just because you can place a mineral in the sun doesn’t mean it won’t take surface damage over time. And that’s why I prefer a gentler method of cleansing and charging with the sun that works with all but the most sun-sensitive stones.
Leave your crystals for up to 1 hour in a place with indirect sunlight. A good place would be outside on a windowsill, balcony, or garden in the shade, where the stones can charge through the indirect sunlight being reflected from surrounding surfaces.
We’re not talking about a dark shadowy place here, but e.g., your windowsill close to the wall where the sunlight is reflected by the glass and the shadow doesn’t get quite so dark.
I prefer this method because sunlight is so very harsh!
But you can safely use your own judgment here. If you live in a place with a cold winter, putting crystals directly in the weak winter sun is just fine. When the sun is very strong in summer, you need to be more circumspect though.
In certain situations, I do like to charge sun safe crystals in direct sunlight, though! But I only leave them outside for up to 15 minutes. This is a very quick way to cleanse and charge a new crystal that you want to use for activating energy work.
The Ins and Outs of Placing Crystals in the Sun
I find sunlight to be a great method for charging crystals that I want to use for motivation, creativity, and other activating goals. For crystals that are very energetic and that should energize you!
The sun is bright and powerful, and that’s the kind of sparkling energy we need for certain things.
Fortunately, orange stones – which are connected to the solar plexus chakra and perfect for this type of activating work – are generally considered to be sun safe crystals!
That being said, I wouldn’t want to charge calming crystals in sunlight. Any stones that I want to be soothing, relaxing, and helping with sleep benefit more from other charging methods. E.g., moonlight is a much better choice here.
The energies should align with the purpose!
So, healing crystal work that should activate and empower you to reach a goal can benefit from crystals charged in the sun. But if you want to calm yourself down and relieve stress, keep the stones for this type of work out of the sun!
Charging Crystals in Sun vs Moon Light
Yes, charging crystals in the sun vs moonlight are two inherently different methods to cleanse and energize your crystals.
When choosing which method to use, consider the type of crystal you are working with and your personal intentions. If you are looking for a more powerful cleansing, sun charging may be the best option. However, if you are seeking a more gentle method or are working with delicate stones, moonlight charging may be a better choice.
Moonstone is an interesting case because it has two different types of energy. One type of moonstone energy is very gentle and soothing, while the other is quite powerful. You can decide on the charging methods based on what you use the moonstone for. Or you can experiment with both sun and moonlight charging to see which method works best for you.
Black crystals are also a special case because they are sun safe, but they are grounding and shielding. Personally, I find their purpose a bit at odds with sun energy. But when you feel that your black crystal needs a particularly powerful cleaning, e.g., after you had to deal with very toxic people, a little time in the sun can quickly cleanse away all that negative energy.
What does the Sun do to Crystals?
The most common danger of cleansing crystals with sunlight is that the stones lose their color or become brittle. However, in some cases, crystals have even overheated and started a fire.
Translucent crystals, e.g. from the quartz family, are less suitable for being charged in the sun than opaque stones. But definitely don’t place any healing stone on or close to flammable materials in the sun, especially when they have a magnifying glass effect!
Healing crystal users don’t quite agree on the effect that any type of damage, e.g., brittleness from sunlight, has on our stones. Does the stone’s energy stay the same even if it’s broken or the color changed? The fact is, if you leave a photo-sensitive crystal out in the sun for too long, things happen inside the stone.
The color changes because of structural damage to the stone because of metals inside the stone reacting to the UV light. So, the color of a crystal changing means the stone’s material has changed.
On the one hand, many stones have similar healing properties, so it seems unlikely that a little damage would turn a stone’s properties on its head. And generally speaking, healing crystals are very forgiving and willing to adjust a lot to our intentions. In that sense, some damage shouldn’t have a big effect on what the crystal does.
On the other hand, stones that are damaged by the sun are chemically changed and do not have the same physical properties that they originally had. In that sense, you don’t have the exact same stone with the exact same properties that you had before it was damaged.
I believe that we should take it seriously when a crystal is changed, especially when it’s not just superficial damage but a change in color that goes deep into the stone and is the visible symptom of a structural change inside the crystal. You can sit and meditate with it to get a feeling for how the stone changed, how you can connect with it now, and how it makes you feel.
I also believe in crystals as a form of “externalized” self-care. The crystals we choose are an extension of us and of what we wish for ourselves, be that to be less anxious, to be more creative, or to find love or financial success. And since the crystals are a symbol of our own wishes for ourselves, we should treat them with the love and respect that we all deserve ourselves!
So, please be very, very careful with sunlight! Don’t take chances on damaging your precious gemstones!
A List of Sun Safe Crystals
The general consensus is that orange crystals as well as very dark stones are fine to charge in the sun. Opaque stones are less likely to fade over time or to get brittle than translucent stones.
So, which crystals can you charge in the sun?
- Amber
- Black Obsidian
- Black Onyx
- Black Tourmaline
- Carnelian
- Green Aventurine
- Howlite
- Jade
- Labradorite
- Lapis Lazuli
- Malachite
- Moonstone
- Morganite
- Moss Agate and other Agate family stones
- Orange Calcite
- Red Jasper
- Sunstone
- Tourmaline
A List of Crystals that fade in Sunlight
If you have a transparent crystal and feel that for its specific purpose, charging it in the sun would be particularly powerful, you can do that. But only for 5 minutes at most and in the shade!
However, you will find many blue crystals and other stones with calming, soothing properties on the list below. And charging them in the gentle moonlight is much more in tune with their preferred purpose than charging them in the harsher sunlight.
Transparent stones don’t deal well with sunlight and pose a possible fire hazard on top of that!
Crystals that fade in sunlight and/or get brittle:
- Amethyst
- Ametrine
- Apatite
- Aquamarine
- Blue Calcite
- Celestite
- Chrysoprase
- Citrine
- Clear Quartz
- Fluorite
- Kunzite
- Opal
- Rose Quartz
- Sapphire
- Spirit Quartz
- Smoky Quartz
- Topaz
- Turquoise
- Unakite
Which of the most popular Healing Crystals are sun safe?
Let’s look at a few of the most often-used stones:
Is clear quartz sun safe?
No, clear quartz is not sun safe. Of course, there are no colors that could fade, but the stone can quickly become brittle and break. If you want to use clear quartz as the centerpiece in a very activating, energizing crystal grid, you can place it for 5 minutes in indirect sunlight (in the shade).
Is rose quartz sun safe?
No, rose quartz is not sun safe. The beautiful pink color will fade in sunlight, and it will become brittle over time. If you’re wondering how long can rose quartz be in the sun because you have specific work planned, then I’d say you can safely charge it in indirect sunlight for up to 5 minutes. But not frequently.
Can amethyst go in the sun?
No, amethyst should not be in the sun as it will fade. It’s calming, balancing energies match better with moonlight or selenite charging.
Can you charge tiger’s eye in the sun?
Yes! Tiger’s eye is sun safe and can be charged with the strong, empowering energy of the sun. It’s a method that matches well with this stone, but I still wouldn’t leave it out for more than an hour. And I recommend indirect sunlight over placing it directly in the sun on days when the sun is very strong, and there’s no cloud to be seen.
Can you charge selenite in the sun?
Yes and no. Selenite is self-cleansing, but if you want to use an additional method, you can cleanse and charge it in the sun for a short period of time and not frequently.
Is sodalite sun safe?
No, sodalite is not sun safe. The colors will fade in sunlight, and this calming stone is better charged in the moonlight!
Can I cleanse my petrified wood in the sun?
Petrified wood is sun safe, but its calming energies benefit more from other charging methods. If you want to use petrified wood as a crystal for transformation, 15 minutes in the sun before beginning your work can help to jumpstart your energy, though!
What to do with your Sun Safe Crystals…
As you can see, charging crystals in sunlight is not the most fail-safe form of cleansing and charging your stones!
As you know, with great power comes great responsibility 😉 And our sun is very powerful indeed!
While there are specific times when it’s fantastic to place sun safe crystals in the sunlight, I don’t recommend it as your go-to charging method.
Not all stones appreciate the sun’s energies, and many will do better with other charging methods. And even if you are working with sun safe crystals, they still won’t appreciate being left out in direct sunlight for hours every week!
So, finding a good place with indirect sunlight is a great addition to your healing crystal toolkit, but use this powerful method sparingly!
If you want to know more about other charging methods, check out my guide on water safe crystals and my general guide on (safe) methods of charging and cleansing your crystals.