yeah this is like all UPG but it works good for me, take what you will and leave the rest behind.
if your response to this is "but most people never ever have to deal with unwanted spirit problems so you're probably wrong if you think it's a spirit! do shadow work and touch grass!" please let me invite you to just not interact with this post at all.
Don't cleanse. Like please don't, why do people do this??
"I am confident an unwanted spirit is in my home and I cleansed but nothing happened."
Okay, an unwanted guest is in your home and you did a bit of vacuuming and washing the dishes, so why are they still there??
Why WOULDN'T they be there?! It's nicer now??? It's better for them to stay?!?!?!
"I want to break up with my boyfriend so I did his laundry but he's still texting me :/"
Cleansing =/= banishing and cleansing should be saved for cleaning up after an unwanted spirit after they are banished, which again, is not accomplished by cleansing.
Stop raising wards that trap the spirit inside.
"I cleansed and put up a protection but that only made the problem worse!"
Yes you did a wash up and locked the spirit inside with you, of course it's pissed off. It's trapped.
If you feel the need for immediate protection when dealing with a spirit problem, craft an amulet that serves as a personal protection for you. NOT one that seals off the entrances to your home.
Once the spirit problem is taken care of and you are confident its presence has been removed, feel free to raise up those wards sky high.
Also, if you are heavy-handed with the warding, spirits can sometimes just get trapped inside regardless. Learn how to temporarily "switch off" wards when you need to so things can leave.
Put your fucking foot down and tell the spirit to leave.
This will solve a surprising number of unwanted spirit problems. Not all of them, and come on, please stop telling people they never need to learn actual banishing skills just because telling spirits to leave works most of the time.
But you gotta do it. And I mean you don't have to be an asshole about it. You don't have to jump right into screaming in the spirit's general direction and threatening all such harm on it.
And there's plenty of good reasons to start with this step, especially if you want to be a spirit worker, but that's neither here nor there. Just tell them to leave.
Go to an area where you think the spirit is, or go where its private and speak with the intent that the spirit will hear you.
(You may also sign or write; would generally not recommend doing this operation entirely mentally)
"Hey, Dude. I know you're here, and I want you to know that you must leave. It is no longer an option for you to stay. I request that you leave immediately, and I request that you do not come back to this place. Leave now and we part ways in peace."
Do not go belly up and beg the spirit. It benefits you to behave with authority and dignity.
DO NOT try to "soften the blow" by twisting your words into something that is no longer a demand that the spirit depart. "Hey, if it's okay with you, I'm hoping you'll leave soon, or as soon as you're able... I don't feel comfortable with you here, and I'd prefer if you went." Great, now the spirit knows how you feel. So what?
Banish the spirit (or human, or whatever).
Presumably we're at this step because the prior step ("bro, seriously just leave and never come back") did not work.
Obtain correspondences heavily associated with banishing, use them to enchant a candle, burn the candle.
Can't use a candle? Try a simmer pot.
No fire at all, including incense? Try a floor wash (test carpets to ensure there will not be staining).
Can't burn things or clean the house? Try a sigil you visualize being imprinted on all the walls of your home.
Can't visualize? Consecrate something to represent the spirit, drop it in a jar of water along with banishing correspondences, swirl it around like a whirlpool, chant about the spirit being washed away.
No waterproof containers? Consecrate something to represent the spirit, stand on the edge of your property, throw it off the edge of the property.
You get my drift -- do magic. Do magic. Do magic that banishes. Use magic specifically to banish. Not to cleanse the vibrations or whatever. Specifically magic intended to yeet a spirit.
At this point, do not try to ignore the problem or keep talking it out. Do not just try to meditate or whatever. Do magic. Do magic that banishes.
Here's a banishing spell if you need it:
Basil, cloves, red pepper
Draw the planetary seal of mars and the planetary square on a piece of paper, ideally in red. Dress a candle in oil (*burning your house down is an effective way to banish a spirit but perhaps too heavy-handed; dress with care) and include either one or three dried, powdered herbal correspondences to it.
Dedicate the candle to Mars. ("Planet Mars, someone on the internet told me you'd help me if I asked - I'm asking now. I give this candle to you. It belongs to you now.")
Put the candle near the paper.
Evoke Mars. ("Planet Mars, where your symbol exists so you exist. Where your planetary square exists, so do you exist. The space has been made welcoming to you through the presence of these Martian correspondences.") The martian correspondences are the basil/cloves/peppers, btw ("I ask you to bring your attention now to me. I ask you to dwell fully in this space.")
Read the Orphic hymn to Ares if you'd like a little extra elbow grease behind your evocation.
Petition Mars. ("So please get rid of this spirit, it seriously sucks so bad.")
Offer payment. ("In exchange for this help I know you will provide, I give you this candle and also this [small offering].")
Seal the deal. No, you do not need to be able to receive psychic confirmation from a planet or whatever, but do not proceed if you feel any gut-level bad feelings or suddenly get a ton of anxiety. If that happens, be like, "Mars, buddy, never mind - I get a bad feeling about this, so I'm noping out. Thanks for listening while you did. Leave in peace."
But if you feel fine about moving ahead, just be like, "now I give you Mars this offering, and I light your candle, with full and total assuredness that this spirit will be permanently banished from my space, my life, and my home."
[Light the candle, give the offering]
The spirit should be gone before you put up wards
Residual ickyness can make you feel the spirit is still nearby even if its been banished
Cleanse your space and see if the symptoms of the spirit return.
If symptoms return, the spirit has not been banished.
Ya got haunted because ya didn't have a fence up to stop random cows from wandering into the garden of your life and trampling all your hard work. Put up the wards.
Oh, but maybe the banishment didn't work, in which case:
I mean yeah, maybe try at least a few more types of magical banishing, call in a priest even. But!
Not every spirit can be banished. That's just the long and short of it.
As humans we have the capacity to intertwine our lives, intentionally or otherwise, with forces that cannot be immediately removed from our presence.
Like if the grand spirit of a forest hates all humans and you build a house in the forest, you're not going to be able to banish the forest from the forest, you feel me?
Sometimes, banishing isn't the solution.
As rare as it is, it happens. Make personal protections, use mirror or other illusory wards to hide from its attention, make reparations if possible, avoid attracting attention, and get on with your life.
