By Jeanette Settembre

The cost of salt lamps, saging, essential oils and crystals are priceless for those seeking positive energy in the New Year

Every new year Cindy Scully cleanses her home to rid it of bad vibes and what she calls “stagnant energy.” She opens all of her windows, sprays her favorite essential oils and does a deep cleaning with sage.

“The house feels lighter and airy; it just felt like beautiful energy,” Scully, 48, tells Moneyish.

She’s spent about $300 per month on cleansing products like sage, salt lamps and essential oils for her home on Long Island ever since she moved there in 2016. Her house was previously abandoned and in dilapidated condition after it was foreclosed on. When Scully renovated it, she paid $250 to do a saging, hoping to invite only positive energy into her home.

“After it [the construction] was done and completed, I still felt like the home needed an energy that belonged to me, and the people who were going to come through it,” Scully says. “I have what I consider a happy home. People who come here feel like it’s zen … I really attribute that to having it saged to get rid of the old energy and bringing in the blessings for everyone who walks through my door.”

Scully also works with an energy healer and even bought a beloved lamp carved out of Himalayan salt which is believed to have various health benefits like cleaning the air, boosting mood and aiding with sleep. Scully, who works in sales at a packaging company, says the hundreds she spends per month pays for itself -- she’s says she’s ended bad relationships, gained new accounts at work and has seen much success and happiness as a result.

She’s not alone: Individuals around the country are spending hundreds of dollars on spiritual cleansing products like sage, crystals, salt lamps and oil diffusers to welcome positive energy into 2019, and leave the bad karma behind.

Osi Mizrahi, a New York-based holistic coach, says she’s noticed cleansing rituals like saging have gone more mainstream particularly with the booming self-care movement. Indeed, with the increased obsession for all things wellness, the complementary alternative medicine market -- which includes healing energy products -- is expected to generate $196.87 billion in revenue by 2025, according to a 2017 report by Grandview Research. What’s more, approximately two thirds of the population in most of world have reported using alternative or a complementary form of medicine like crystals, according to the same report. And the search term “energy healing” has seen a 39% growth in the past year, according to Google Trends.

“The process of cleansing rituals started in ancient Indigenous cultures to set up an intention and to clear the air of negative energy and promote healing. Ayurveda [a type of alternative medicine] started 5,000 years ago as a home practice in India,” says Mizrahi.

And they’re a growing trend today: Mizrahi says she’s noticed cleansing rituals like saging have gone more mainstream particularly with the booming self-care movement. “Back in the day unless you were a yogi and you practiced and meditation or healing, saging your life was bogus. I have more clients that want to do healing work now than ever. I’ve noticed that everyone is starving for meditation. I started teaching in Equinox in New York City this year. People are so receptive to it because life has completely shifted; it’s extremely intense.”

Rituals like saging or “smudging” dried white sage originated as a ceremony performed by members of America’s Indigenous communities using certain herbs to purify and heal people and places. Now retailers, fitness studios and clothing stores sell them to promote “good vibes.” Amazon has a section called Positive Energy selling products like $17 energy bracelets; chakra candles for $13; and amethyst stones said to provide protection for $12. Free People sells clear quartz crystals for $119 said to promote clarity and “maintain a balanced spirit and embrace vibrations of mind purification, focus, positivity and patience.” Etsy’s box of “healing crystals” is a more affordable $28, while Nordstrom has a “Good Vibes Kit” that includes a sage smudge stick and a quartz crystal for $15 said to “help you drive away negative energy and restore a renewed sense of wellness and balance into your sacred space.”

Marci Baron, 48, a New York-based energy healing therapist, has a penchant for crystals. She says she’s spent up to $300 or more on her technicolor collection of more than 50. Her favorite is a rose quartz, because she says it has such “a soothing energy.”

“When you work with the energy of crystals, it can raise your vibrational frequency; each one has different healing properties,” Baron says, adding that she likes to spray essential oils in her home. “I also like sprays with essential oils. If you want a calming effect you’d use lavender in a spray; if you want an energizing effect you’d use a citrus like lemon or orange to feel energized.”

Baron says the cleansing rituals she practices have had a positive effect on her overall well-being. “I’ve grown career wise, I’ve grown in my personal life as far as my personal relationships; I’ve grown in my own acceptance and appreciation of myself and my self love and self worth,” she said.

She acknowledges the naysayers who might be opposed to her spiritual beliefs, explaining: “It’s for people who are open to it. If it’s not something you’re open to or you believe in, than it’s not for you.”