Shungite is typically black but can range to a deep bronze color. It’s opaque, but can have a shiny quality, making it look lustrous and metallic. The highest quality, or “elite shungite,” is made up of at least 90% carbon, shiny in appearance, and recovered manually as opposed to through industrial mining. “Regular shungite” in industrially mined, matte black, and 30 to 50% carbon. And according to Ashley Leavy, founder and educational director of the Love and Light School of Crystal Therapy, shungite can help you better integrate cosmic wisdom and karmic lessons, as “its high vibration helps to bring your spiritual body down into the physical plane.” “Shungite encourages you to learn more, to do more, and to push onward toward the next spiritual breakthrough,” she says. “It’s also associated with great cosmic mysteries and is said to bring light during times of darkness or uncertainty.” Leavy suggests using a visualization technique to cleanse, by holding the crystal in your hands and breathing deeply. “Visualize universal, healing light filling the stone until all negativity has been dissolved. See the light expand until it surrounds the stone and fills your hands. Intend that all negativity be removed from the stone and dissolved,” she says. “When you intuitively feel that the stone has been cleared, you may stop the visualization.” You could also try using your own breath, with Leavy noting, “To clear a stone using your breath, you must first clear your mind of any outside thoughts. Then, hold the crystal in one hand and breathe out forcefully while quickly waving your other hand over the crystal.” Some crystals can be cleansed with water, particularly naturally flowing water like a stream. But because some crystals can be damaged by water and/or salt, Frazier says she likes to place her stones in a singing bowl and ring it, or use palo santo smoke to smudge them clean. If you’re in need of some grounding or want to tap into your spiritual wisdom, shungite could be a great option to help you do that. While “elite” shungite is more rare, regular shungite stills holds those properties and benefits, and either will make a great addition to your collection.
