Changes in your Crystal - What does it mean?

Have you ever noticed changes in your favourite crystal? Perhaps you pick it up after months of not touching it and notice a change in colour, or pattern within the crystal. And then you start questioning yourself if its an actual change, if it's something you never noticed before....are you imagining it?!

Chances are, it's not your imagination..

Changes in crystals can happen for a few reasons, and they can be subtle or drastic, depending upon the source of the change.

There are many crystals that can change when exposed to direct sunlight, which will cause the crystal to fade. This is a simple explanation and if you do have a citrine or amethyst that has suddenly lost its colour, it's possible that you have it in a spot where it gets regular exposure to sunlight. Many people believe that placing crystals in the sun will charge and cleanse them, and this is correct. However this should only be done for brief amounts of time, and only for certain types of crystals.

For example, charging your crystal in the sun infuses it with vibrant, energetic, masculine energy suitable for root, sacral, and solar plexus chakra stones. So it is appropriate for stones like carnelian, sunstone, tiger's eye, jasper, malachite, and obsidian. But should be avoided for stone that are connected to feminine energies, third eye and crown chakra stones, these should be charged under the Moon: celestite, selenite, amethyst, lapis lazuli, quartz crystal, aquamarine, and ametrine.

If your unsure whether or not to charge your crystal in the sun, I would suggest avoiding it. But a good rule of thumb is any crystal that is translucent or semi-transparent will fade in sunlight.

A common way in which a crystal changes is by turning black, or darkening. This can also be seen as the occurrence of black spots or specks within the crystal where there was none before. When this occurs, it is a sign that the crystal is overworked, or absorbing too much negative energy. Some people will notice a drastic change in their crystals like this if the crystal is being used by someone suffering from dis-ease, is exposed to a highly toxic (energetically as well as physically) environment or situation, and is not cleansed and cleaned properl