If you’re curious about how to use crystals in your ritual baths, there are a few things you need to know.

Crystals In Different Forms

Many witches think the only way to use crystals in a ritual bath is to place the actual stone in the water with you while you’re bathing. This is only one way to use crystals for your magical soaks. You can make a crystal elixir beforehand and add that water to your bath to get the same benefits of having an actual stone in the bath with you. Another way is to uses a gemstone powder such as gold colloidal or pearl powder. One of the simplest ways to use crystals during your bath is to place them in your bathroom or position them along the side of the bathtub.

How To Prep Your Crystals

Clean off any dirt or dust from your crystal before you use it in your ritual bath. Check it for cracks. If it is cracked in any way, don’t use it in the water of your bath. I recommend using tumbled (polished) stones rather than raw (rough) stones in water because they’re easier to inspect for damage and it’s less likely that bits of the crystal will break off a tumbled stone. Raw stones or stones with any kind of cracks are better off placed on the side of your tub rather than submerged in the water.

How To Choose Crystals For Your Ritual Bath

Hold the crystal in your left hand and notice how its energy interacts with your own energy. Crystals consistently vibrate at high frequencies due to their internal structure and various crystal lattice patterns. That high vibration will affect your energy, and since your energy is likely to change from day to day, it’s important to check in with yourself while holding the crystal before using it in your bath. A crystal that feels perfectly energizing one day can make you make you anxious another day. You might also find that a crystal that you didn’t really notice energetically before might feel incredibly soothing.

A good way to select a crystal for your bath is to sit in front of your crystal collection and hold your hand out, sensing which crystal’s energy you’ll need on a particular day. Whichever one you’re drawn to, that’s the one you should work with that day.

Some witches like to ask the crystal if it would like to be used in a ritual. To do this, close your eyes and hold the crystal in your hand. Ask the crystal aloud or in your head something like, “Would you like to co-create magic with me today?” Wait for an answer. Usually, it comes in the form of a thought that flickers through your mind, an image, or a feeling. If you’re sensing the crystal is answering “yes”, use it in your magic that day. If you’re sensing a “no”, put the crystal back and select a different one. Then repeat the process over.

Determine If The Crystal Is Water-Safe

This is the MOST important step before you use any crystal in a ritual bath. Not all crystals are safe to place in water. Some crystals can make the water that they soak in toxic. Other crystal will fade, flake, or even disintegrate when placed in water.

Here’s a list of crystals that are safe to use in water:

• Clear Quartz
• Smoky Quartz
• Amethyst
• Rose Quartz
• Citrine
• Carnelian

Quartz crystals are generally safe to place in water. Crystals with names that end in “ite” are usually not safe for water. When in doubt, do some research, or use that crystal on the edge of the tub instead.

Crystal expert Hibiscus Moon created an excellent list of stones that should not be used in water because they contain sulfur, aluminum, or other materials not safe for ritual bath use. This list is not complete, and some crystals go by multiple names. Just because a crystal isn’t on this list doesn’t mean it’s safe for water.

A Warning On Dyed Crystals

If you’ve ever placed a crystal in a jar of water to make an elixir and noticed a change in water color, you probably have a crystal that has been dyed. If you notice a crystal change the color of your bath water, get out immediately, and take a shower to clean your body of any dye that may have gotten on you. If this happens, do not use that crystal in the bath again. The dye may be harmful to your body.

Artificial crystals are widely available for purchase at many stores and online retailers. These crystals are sometimes hard to spot, but you can usually tell an artificial crystal if it’s being sold significantly cheaper than other places, it looks too clear, too vibrant, or “too perfect”.

You can sometimes use artificial crystals in your ritual bath and in your magical practice. These stones still contain the same crystal lattice pattern of their natural counterparts, so it will still carry a high vibration. However, if a crystal contains dye keep in mind that it might not be the kind of crystal you thought it was. Your citrine can actually be some random stone dyed yellow. Smoky quartz can be imitated by dying a piece of clear quartz black. You’ll need to ask the seller if a crystal contains dye before you buy it.

Regardless, never use a dyed crystal in water.

Adding Crystals To Your Bath

You might be tempted to just plop your crystal right into the bathwater, but don’t do that. Crystals are sensitive to hot or cold temperatures and may crack or break in half if you expose them to hot or cold water too quickly. If you’re using crystals in your bath water, you’ll need to warm them up gradually. Carefully place your crystals on the bottom of the tub and begin running lukewarm water. Once your crystals are totally submerged, you can begin increasing the water temperature. Make sure you keep an eye on them though. They could still crack even if you do everything right.

If your crystal does crack, get out of the tub and drain the water. You can still use that crystal in your witchcraft practice or on the side of your tub for a ritual bath, but do not place that crystal in water anymore. It could cause further damage to the crystal.

How Many Crystals To Use

If you’ve never used crystals in your bath before, I recommend starting with just one. You don’t know how the crystal will make you feel, and you don’t want to finish your ritual soak feeling light-headed or dizzy from too much energy. Using one crystal at a time is also a good way to figure out what your favorite ritual bath crystals are.

Once you get comfortable using crystals in your bath water, you can experiment with adding several pieces of the same kind of crystal to your soak or combining the energies of different crystals. If numbers hold meaning to you, add a certain number of crystals to your bath.

Crystal Energies For Ritual Baths

Clear quartz is a great crystal to pair with other crystals because it will amplify the energy of any other crystal.

A smoky quartz will absorb and banish unwanted energy.

Rose quartz will help with self-love bath rituals and improve any relationships in your life.

Amethyst strengthens your connection to your intuition, higher power, or spirit guides. It can also help you release any bad habits.

Citrine will help you manifest different intentions, call in abundance, or bring you success.

Carnelian increases determination and motivation. It also heightens creativity and draws in “true love” or a spiritual soul mate.

Post-Bath Crystal Care

After a bath, take your crystals out and rinse them off. Dry them thoroughly with a towel. Then place them in a container of sea salt for at least an hour to energetically cleanse them.

The Ultimate Manifesting Ritual Bath

What You’ll Need:

• 3 small pieces of clear quartz
• 1 citrine crystal
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups of milk
• ½ cup of honey

Place your crystals in your bathtub and begin filling the tub with water (gradually turning up the heat). Pour in the milk and honey once the tub is about ⅓ of the way full.

“Write” your intention or draw a symbol that represents the thing you’d like to manifest on the surface of the water with the bay leaf. Place the bay leaf in the water when you’re done writing.

Get into the bath and spend twenty minutes visualizing yourself after you’ve manifested your desire.

To complete your ritual bath, remove, rinse, and dry your crystals. Drain the tub and wipe it down.

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Updated on August 20, 2023 by Avery Hart