Labradorite's blue flash lives inside the stone, so cleansing it is about what it has collected, not how it looks. In crystal tradition it is the shield stone: it takes on what it keeps off you, so it needs a reset now and then. The safest ways to cleanse labradorite are moonlight, sound, a selenite or clear quartz bed, a little smoke, and your own breath. A quick rinse in cool water and a soft cloth is fine for a polished piece. Skip salt water, long soaks, hot windowsills and ultrasonic cleaners.
On this page: can it get wet? · 5 ways to cleanse it · how to charge it · how often · what it is believed to do · the aura ritual · choosing a piece · FAQ
💎 Can labradorite get wet?
Yes, briefly. Labradorite is a feldspar, the same mineral family as moonstone. It sits at 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale: hard enough for a rinse, soft enough to scratch. The thing to respect is its cleavage. It splits cleanly in two directions, which is why gem labs say to avoid rough handling. A knock on a hard sink does more harm than water ever will.
So the water rule is simple. Hold a polished piece under cool running water for half a minute, rub it with your thumb, and dry it with a soft cloth. Warm water with a drop of dish soap is the only cleaner a feldspar needs. Rough or raw pieces, and anything set in silver, are happier with a damp cloth.
Now the nevers. No salt water or salt baths. Dry salt is grit that works into cleavage edges, and a salt-water soak leaves the same crystals behind as it dries. No long soaks. A rinse is a rinse, not an overnight bath. No ultrasonic or steam cleaners, and no hot windowsills or sudden hot-to-cold changes. The gemmological care note for moonstone, labradorite's feldspar cousin, is blunt: high heat or a sudden temperature change can crack the stone. Our Crystal Care Checker gives the water and sun answer for every stone in the shop.
🌙 5 ways to cleanse labradorite
Every method below is safe for the stone. Pick the one that fits your evening. Which cleanse tonight? Worn daily → sound. No moon in sight → the selenite bed. Away from home → breath. Brand new → moonlight.
1. Moonlight
Set the stone on a windowsill where the moon actually falls and leave it overnight. Any phase works. Crystal keepers favour the full moon for a big reset and the new moon for a fresh start. Bring it in before the sun heats the glass. Soft morning light is fine; a hot afternoon window is not.
New to moon charging? Start with our beginner's guide to charging crystals in moonlight, and which stones can go under the moon.
2. Sound
Strike a singing bowl, a bell or a tuning fork and hold the labradorite in the ring until it fades. Sound cleansers say the vibration shakes loose whatever the stone has been carrying. Three strikes is plenty. Our guide to cleansing crystals with a singing bowl shows the striking and the rimming, and a red chakra singing bowl comes with its cushion and striker.
3. A selenite or clear quartz bed
Lay the labradorite on a selenite plate, beside a selenite tower, or on a clear quartz cluster for a night. In crystal practice these are the stones that never need cleansing themselves, so they hold the reset for everything else. One care note: selenite is gypsum, soft and water soluble, so keep it dry. Our selenite bowls versus plates guide helps you choose the shape.
4. Smoke
Pass the stone through the smoke of rosemary, bay, a white sage stick or palo santo three times, with a window open. White sage and palo santo carry ceremonial meaning for the Indigenous peoples of the lands they grow in, so buy from sellers who name their source and use them with respect. Rosemary from the garden does the same job. Our guide to smudging crystals with sage covers the bowl, the flame and the ash.
5. Breath and intention
No tools needed. Hold the labradorite in both hands, breathe in for four counts, and blow slowly across the stone as you breathe out. Say, out loud or not, what you want it cleared of. Three breaths. It works in a hotel room or on the bus, which is why so many wearers keep it as their travel cleanse.
🕯️ For every other stone you own, the shop's cleanse and charge your crystals guide is the hub.
✨ How to charge labradorite
Cleansing empties the stone; charging fills it with the job you want it to do. In crystal tradition, labradorite charges best in moonlight, so the same windowsill night does both. A clear quartz cluster works too: rest the labradorite among the points for a day, and practitioners say the quartz lends its clear, amplifying charge.
The quickest charge is your own. Hold the cleansed stone against your chest, close your eyes, and give it one sentence: keep my energy mine today, or help me trust what I already know. Hold the sentence for three slow breaths. The new moon is the traditional night for a fresh intention, the full moon for a strong one.
How often should you cleanse labradorite?
Crystal keepers use a simple rhythm that follows how hard the stone is working.
- When it is new. Cleanse it the day it comes home, before the first use. It has passed through many hands.
- After a heavy day. A hospital visit, a hard conversation, a crowded mall. Reset it that night.
- Weekly if you wear it daily. A bracelet or pendant worn every day gets a Sunday-night moon or a minute of sound.
- Monthly otherwise. A shelf piece or a desk stone is fine with the full moon once a month.
The tell, in the tradition, is feel rather than looks. The flash lives inside the stone, so it does not wear off. But if the stone feels heavy in the hand, it is asking for a reset.
Between cleanses, store it in a soft pouch rather than loose with harder stones such as quartz, which can scratch it.
🔮 What labradorite is believed to do
Labradorite is the shield stone. In crystal practice it is worn to keep your own energy your own: a quiet boundary against soaking up the mood of a room. It is also the stone of intuition and transformation, kept close when life is turning over and you want to trust your own knowing. That is why it is the classic aura stone, and why it gets cleansed more than most.
The flash is why it feels magical. Gemologists call it labradorescence: light enters the stone, bounces off thin internal layers, and comes back as blue, green, gold or violet. The stone is named for Labrador in Canada, where it was found near Nain in 1770, and it has been the official mineral of Newfoundland and Labrador since 1975.
Two shop names come up a lot. Blue labradorite is simply the classic blue-flash material; the rainbow-flashing stones from Finland are sold as spectrolite. Black labradorite is a trade name, not a mineral name. Sometimes it means labradorite with a very dark base. Just as often it is larvikite, a dark Norwegian rock with a silver-blue shimmer, sold as black moonstone and even as plain labradorite. Both are loved as grounding, protective stones. We label ours honestly, so our larvikite worry heart is sold as larvikite (the listing spells it "Larvakite").
For the full story of the stone, its chakras and how to spot a fake, read labradorite meaning, properties, uses and care.
🧿 How to use labradorite for aura cleansing
This is the ritual the stone is known for, and it takes five minutes. Use a piece you have cleansed within the week: a pendant, a palm-sized freeform or a bracelet.
- Settle. Sit or stand with both feet on the floor. Hold the labradorite in your writing hand and take three slow breaths.
- Sweep. Start at the crown of your head and move the stone slowly down, a hand's width from the body: face, throat, shoulders, chest, belly, hips, legs, feet. Picture it collecting anything grey or heavy as it goes.
- Seal. Rest the stone against the centre of your chest. Picture its flash spreading out until it wraps the whole of you. Say one sentence: I am clear, and my energy is my own.
- Close. Hold for three breaths, then set the stone down. Cleanse it again before its next sweep.
Morning version. Do the sweep by a window before you leave the house, and make the sentence about the day ahead: nothing today sticks to me that is not mine. Evening version. Go slower over the shoulders, chest and belly, where the day tends to sit, then leave the stone on the bedside table. Picture roots running from your feet into the earth as you lie down, taking the last of it away.
☀️ Scent makes the ritual feel like a ritual. Use a few drops of lavender or frankincense in a diffuser, or a roller diluted per our dilution guide. Never put neat oil on your skin, never swallow it, and keep bottles from children and pets. Our guide to oils for aura cleansing pairs a scent with each mood.
Want to see your aura first, or build a fuller routine? The aura hub on seven ways to strengthen your aura has the rest.
💎 Choosing a piece
For the sweep, you want something that sits easily in one hand. For daily shielding, wear it. For a windowsill charge, a point or freeform stands on its own. We have no tumbled labradorite in stock this month, so the chip bracelet is the cheapest way to hold the real stone.
Live shop prices, September 2026. They move a little over time.
| Piece | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Chip bracelet | NZ$7.99 | Daily wear, the cheapest real labradorite |
| Carded labradorite pendant | NZ$14.99 | A first pendant, or a gift |
| Round bead bracelet, four sizes (pictured above) | From NZ$20 (by bead size) | More flash on the wrist |
| Labradorite moon pendant | NZ$27 | The moon-cleanse crowd |
| Cord-wrapped stone necklace | NZ$30 | A stone over the heart for the sweep |
| Delicate 925 silver ring | NZ$50 | Everyday shielding, small and quiet |
| Labradorite point | NZ$85 | A windowsill charger that stands up |
| One-off freeforms, from | NZ$95 | The palm-sized sweep stone, each one photographed |
Care is the same for every piece: a cool rinse or a damp cloth, dried straight away, and no salt, soaks, steam or hot glass. Everything posts NZ-wide from our Auckland shop, free over NZ$99, or come and hold the stones at Rivendell, Shop 62, Westfield Manukau. More boundary stones live in the protection crystals collection.
One flash of blue on the wrist, cleansed every Sunday night. ✨
See the labradorite bead braceletFrequently asked questions about cleansing labradorite
How do you cleanse labradorite?
Leave it in moonlight overnight, hold it in the ring of a singing bowl, rest it on selenite or clear quartz, pass it through smoke, or blow three slow breaths across it with an intention. For dust and skin oils, a quick cool rinse and a soft cloth is all a polished piece needs.
Can labradorite go in water?
Briefly, yes. Labradorite is a feldspar at 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, so half a minute under cool running water is fine. Dry it straight away. Skip long soaks, and use a damp cloth for rough pieces and silver settings.
Can labradorite go in salt?
No. Salt is gritty, and labradorite splits along two cleavage directions, so worked-in grit is the last thing it needs. Warm soapy water is the only cleaner gemmologists recommend for moonstone, labradorite's feldspar cousin. Moonlight, sound and selenite do the salt's job without the scratches.
Can labradorite be in the sun?
A little soft morning light is fine. Keep it out of hot windows and away from sudden heat-to-cold changes, which can crack a feldspar. Moonlight gives the same reset with none of the heat, which is why the tradition prefers it for this stone.
How do you charge labradorite?
Leave it under the moon overnight, rest it on a clear quartz cluster for a day, or hold it to your chest and give it one sentence of intention for three breaths. The new moon is for fresh starts, the full moon for a strong charge.
How often should I cleanse labradorite?
The day it comes home, after any heavy day, weekly if you wear it every day, and monthly if it lives on a shelf. If it feels heavy in the hand, cleanse it sooner.
Can I cleanse labradorite with other crystals?
Yes. A selenite plate or a clear quartz cluster is the classic bed: rest the labradorite on it overnight and both stones stay dry. Keep it off amethyst points and other quartz edges, which can scratch it.
Does labradorite protect your aura?
In crystal tradition, yes. Labradorite is the shield stone, worn to keep your own energy your own and to stop a crowded room from sticking to you. Wearers describe walking out of busy places lighter than they walked in. Cleanse it weekly and do the five-minute sweep above.
Sources
- International Gem Society: Labradorite (feldspar, Mohs 6 to 6.5, two-direction cleavage, labradorescence, spectrolite) and IGS: Gypsum (selenite).
- GIA: Moonstone care and cleaning (feldspar-family care: warm soapy water only, no ultrasonic or steam, heat and sudden temperature change).
- Geology.com: Labradorite (cleavage angles, the 1770 discovery near Nain, the cause of the flash).
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: provincial symbols (labradorite, provincial mineral since 1975).
- Central Michigan University GemRocks: Larvikite (the Norwegian rock and its trade names).
- Healthify NZ: Essential oils (dilute, never swallow, keep from children and pets).