A powerful stone with many benefits, black onyx is also known as black agate or simply onyx. Usually created from three colors – white, black, and gray – it represents everything we know.
It’s the lightness of the daytime, the darkness of the nighttime, and an equal mix of everything in between.
For that reason, it’s a great anchor crystal, bringing you back down to earth and grounding you. Crystals can be powerful metaphysical objects when prepared and used in the right ways.
When it comes to black onyx, a powerful, high-protection crystal, the preparation is equally as important as manifesting, meditation, or using them in other ways.
This includes things like cleansing and charging.
Can I Cleanse Black Onyx Crystals?
Yes, you can cleanse black onyx crystals – and you should!
Cleansing crystals allows you to remove all negative energies that the crystal may have absorbed.
Imagine all the hands the crystal has touched throughout the process. With every touch, the crystal will soak up a little more stress, anxiety, and negativity.
Cleansing it will get rid of all the bad energy, leaving you to use the good metaphysical properties to their full potential.
It is important to charge your crystals at the following times/points:
- When you first get the crystal (either online or in-store);
- When you have finished with the crystal’s purpose;
- Every two to four weeks when not in use;
- When the crystal feels heavier or hotter/colder than usual;
- When you ‘feel’ like the crystal needs to be cleansed.
I believe you should read all the possible side effects of using Black Onyx.
Can I Charge Black Onyx Crystals?
Yes, black onyx crystals can be charged.
Charging is just as important as cleansing when it comes to crystals. Think of your crystal as a battery-operated item.
Every now and then, you’ll need to remove the batteries and replace them with new ones or charge them up. If you don’t, the item won’t operate as it should.
The crystal needs recharging (the batteries charged/replaced) to allow it to emanate vibrational energy. If you don’t charge it, it won’t work to its full potential… or even at all.
How to Cleanse Black Onyx: 4 Safe Ways
One of the best ways to cleanse any crystal is under a full or new moon (depending on your intentions), but if you can’t wait for the next one to roll around, there are plenty of other ways in which you can prepare and cleanse black onyx.
1) Bury in Earth
Black onyx is linked to the Earth element, so you can bury it in Earth to reset its vibrational power.
You don’t need to go in the garden and bury the crystal in the ground (although that’s a great way to cleanse and recharge black onyx at the same time).
You can grab a bowl, dig up some earth from the garden and pour it into the bowl, then bury the crystal in the earth-filled bowl.
The crystal should be completely buried, without any part visible.
Leave it there overnight, or for as long as you can, and the negativity will be lost into the earth.
The crystal will be free of bad intentions and evil energies, leaving it ready to absorb the positive vibrational energies from Gaia herself.
2) Water Cleansing
This is one of the easiest ways to cleanse crystals of negativity, but not all crystals are water safe. Thankfully, black onyx is.
Do you have access to a lake, river, pond, natural spring, etc.?
Fresh water from Mother Earth herself is the best cleanser known to man, but you can use tap or bottled water if fresh alternatives aren’t available.
You may also have cleanliness concerns with ‘wild’ water. It’s fine to use ‘clean’ water instead.
Cleansing your black onyx crystal is as simple as rinsing it under water.
If the stone is particularly grubby, which can happen with well-handed specimens, you can use a Q-Tip, cotton wool, or a soft/baby toothbrush.
Avoid using cleaning products, particularly chemical-packed and potentially toxic ones.
These chemicals can interact with the makeup of the crystal or stone, causing it to become discolored, cracked, or even completely broken.
Learn how to cleanse and charge Opalite crystals.
3) Moon Water Cleansing
You can collect and ‘store’ the cleansing powers of the moon in water, which you can then cleanse your black onyx crystal in.
Find out when the next full or new moons are, then use a transparent glass bottle full of water to harness their powers.
You’ll need to put the bottle under the moon, either in the yard or garden, or on a windowsill.
Leave it there overnight, or for a minimum of two or three hours. Once it has captured the power of the moon, you can use it to cleanse your crystals in the same way as water cleansing.
Also learn some easy ways to cleanse and charge your Pyrite.
4) Selenite Cleansing
Selenite is a white crystal that can cleanse other crystals because it has such strong energy.
You’ll often find bowls or other vessels created from selenite, in which you can put other crystals to cleanse them.
The larger the selenite object you have, the quicker the cleansing process.
There’s more of it to touch black onyx (for example), so lots of surface area in which the energies can be transferred.
You can also create a circle of selenite crystals, putting black onyx in the center and leaving it overnight.
When you wake up in the morning, the circle of selenite will have thoroughly cleansed all negativity and absorbed bad energies from the centerpiece.
Learn how to cleanse and charge Green Calcite.
How to Charge Black Onyx: 5 Powerful Ways
Some methods of cleansing also offer charging properties at the same time. Burying your black onyx in the earth will both cleanse and recharge simultaneously.
Leaving crystals out overnight to soak up the powers of a full or new moon will also do both jobs at once.
If you’re looking for a more thorough or separate way to charge black onyx, these methods will also work:
1) Solar Charging
Not all crystals are safe to leave in the sun for long periods of time, but black onyx is sun safe.
Place it on a windowsill, a spot in your house where the sun hits, or directly outside in the sun for as long as possible.
Spiritualists recommend a minimum of five or six hours, up to twelve hours or more. It will, obviously, depend on how much sun you get where you live.
If you’re not using your black onyx stone for the time being, charge it up in stages, using a few hours of sunshine each day.
Two hours per day, for three days is just as recharging as six hours straight on one day.
2) Sage Smudging
Sage is great for getting rid of evil spirits, negative energies, and unwanted intentions.
When moving into a new home, it’s recommended to light a smudge stick and then walk around every room of your home, letting the smoke cleanse each area before moving on to the next.
Sage can also be used to cleanse crystals, including black onyx.
The process is simple and takes around one to two minutes per healing crystal. You simply need to light the smudge stick, let it burn for a couple of seconds, and then hold the stone [safely] in the smoke.
As it wafts and rolls around the crystal in your hand, the smoke will cleanse every part of your crystal, and recharge it at the same time.
All negativity and residual energy will be removed, leaving you free to program your crystal and use it for its metaphysical properties.
3) Manifestation and Visualization
Some people prefer a physical process, such as cleaning with water, to cleanse their crystals.
It is possible to visualize and manifest a recharge of black onyx and other crystals in your collection, though.
Alongside moon charging, a less physical visualization of power is a great method for when you don’t know a lot about the crystal.
It doesn’t use water or sunlight/bright light, nor does it use salt or earth. It’s a safe way to recharge healing crystals of all types.
The process of manifestation and visualization is simple:
- Find a quiet place in which you can meditate, clear your mind, and prepare;
- You are going to want to picture the crystal charging up in your mind, whatever that might look like for you. Really will the power into the crystal, with everything you have;
- Visualize your black onyx filling up and up and up, slowly but surely, until it’s completely full and ready for you to use.
4) Rain Charging
As previously mentioned, black onyx is water safe.
You can leave it out in the rain to charge for several hours without worrying, and it’s a great alternative to burying it out in the backyard.
It also means that those rainy days aren’t a total wash-out.
All water-safe crystals can be charged and cleansed in rain. It’s as simple as popping them on the ground outside during a shower.
Leave them out there for as long as you can, or for as long as it rains.
5) Salt Bath
Do you have a tub of rock salt in your kitchen cupboard somewhere?
If there’s enough salt to completely bury your black onyx crystal, you can use the cleansing properties of salt to clean away negativity and recharge the metaphysical powers.
- Cleanse it first: Using moon water, moonlight, or your preferred other cleansing method.
- Get a small bowl or tub: Preferably one reserved for salt bathing your crystals and nothing else;
- Fill it with salt: Push your crystal gently into it, with nothing left visible above the salt.
Leave your crystal to bathe in salt for as long as you can, with six to twelve hours recommended.
Also learn some easy ways to cleanse and charge your Fluorite.
How Often Should I Cleanse and Charge my Black Onyx?
As with all crystals, black onyx should be cleansed:
- As soon as you get it;
- After every use;
- Every two to four weeks when not in use.
It’ll absorb negative energies even when you’re not paying attention to it. Black onyx will also feel different in your hands when it needs cleansing.
You might not be able to describe the change, but it’ll feel different in some way – heavier, colder, hotter, palpable vibrations, and more.
It’s a good idea to keep track of the full and new moons. When they come around, you can charge up the crystals you use the most, or even all of them.
Some people like to charge straight after cleansing, but others only charge before they intend to use them.
This will likely be something personal to you, and you’ll have a little routine of your own.
Do you use Amethyst? Learn here how to cleanse and charge that powerful crystal!
Final Words
If you want to make sure your black onyx is working properly you need to cleanse it and charge it regularly. As you’ve seen in this article, there are many ways to do it.
Chose one that adapts better to your daily schedule, or just make sure to always have selenite around you — it’s definitely worth the investment.
Let your intuition tell you when it’s time to cleanse your crystals. Who better to know when your crystals aren’t working properly than yourself?
