Can Moldavite Go In Salt? (Yes, But...)

Yes, moldavite can go in salt. However, it is salt water that we recommend against.

Let us explain.

Why Can Moldavite Go In Salt?

There is generally no trouble at all if you want to place your moldavite in, underneath, on top of dry salt of any kind.

Moldavite is harder then salt (moldavite is a 5-7 on the Moh’s scale vs salt which is a 2-3).

Thus, being mixed in with salt, or even having other stones pressing down on the moldavite shouldn’t cause physical damage to the moldavite.

However.

The trouble with moldavite and salt begins when water and salt are mixed together.

When you put moldavite in water, the water molecules (too small to see) infultrate the pits and cracks in the stone that are also too small for us to see.

The water carries the components of salt with it.

If the salt gets into the fissures and cracks of the crystal, the salt (along with the water) can encourage fissures and cracks to develop and widen.

After all, when the water evaporates out, the salt stays behind.

The result of salt combined with water is that the stone can break or fracture more easily, the surface of the stone loses its beauty/shine, and the stone may even develop yellowing.

Light will refract and bounce off of the surface of the stone differently, as it is bouncing off of a changed surface, as well as the leftover/left behind salt.

We understand that it is fairly common for crystals practitioners to hear or learn that you should “cleanse” or “activate” your stone by soaking it in salt water (or seawater).

People can do what they want with their crystals.

It’s a free country!

But we like our stones they way they are, and so we choose not to soak our stones or crystals in a salt water bath (or take them swimming in salt water).

In general, it is a good idea to think twice before soaking your crystals.

Another thing a lot of practitioners don’t consider is that their beloved stone is not what they think it is.

Sometimes people who fall in love with a stone believe it to be one thing, while the stone is actually another.

For example, people often confuse malachite with moldavite.

Malachite contains copper, which also happens to be toxic to humans, and reacts with water to create a toxic gas.

While other materials aren’t as dramatic, they also might not do well in a water bath.

Some materials dissolve in water, and in some cases, salt water speeds up the process.

Other materials react lightly with the water.

Not enough for toxic gas, but enough to damage the surface of the beautiful stone.

Even if you’ve had the stone identified by someone you trust, most stones contain a little bit of this and though, despite being “mostly” one substance.

You can’t be 100% sure your stone is what you think it is, as stones are rarely 100% of anything.

Alternatives To A Salt Water Bath

There are many ways to clean/cleanse/activate/recharge moldavite that do not involve soaking in saltwater.

It is a fairly common practice to rest moldavite on top of salt, or other cleansing crystals like selenite, quartz, and carnelian, to accomplish a similar purpose.

You can even try putting your crystal on a bed of Himalayan salt, though in our opinion regular salt is as effective.

It is also fairly common (and reportedly effective) to do any of the following:

lay the stone in the moonlight overnight outdoors
lay the stone in the sunlight (briefly and not during the hours of 10am-3pm, as too much direct sun can cause the stone to fade)
put the stone outside on a cloudy day for a few hours (time of day matters less because sunlight is not direct)
bury the stone in soil
smudging with dried sage
breath work
visualization and meditation

In the end, you have to settle on a method or practice that works best for you and feels right for you.

If something doesn’t feel right, or doesn’t seem to be working, try another method.

Experiment and learn, and eventually things will start to feel right and make sense.