Introduction to Cleansing
Cleansing is the act of magically cleaning a space. You’re going to want to do this before warding, and doing it regularly can also be useful for general upkeep. You could think of it like taking a magic shower, or cleaning your house. There are a number of methods, but making sure you use intent with them is, as always, extremely important in making sure it works. Cleansing is a form of accomplishing two goals. Casting out negative energy and bringing in positive energy. Inviting positive energy to replace or overwhelm the negative can work, as can removing the negative energy in order to allow for all that remains to be positive. There are ups and downs to both. One that invites the positive might miss some of the negative and one that repels the negative might not have enough energy to leave it in balance. Combining two might solve this or adjusting a technique to do both is useful. Most of those listed below have elements of both removal and invitation. These techniques can be combined and worked until you find something that works for you.
This technique involves physically cleaning a space. Wiping down windows to bring in sunlight is one example of a way you could do this. I personally add lemon juice and white vinegar to my mop water in order to infuse it with the associations of cleansing and water. As you clean, put your intent and energy into the action to not only clean the floors, window, or what have you, but to clean the space of negativity and anything unwanted.(edited)
Burning incense and or herbs and moving it around an area is a good way to cleanse a space. You’re going to want to go around counter-clockwise because you are removing the negative energy from a space. Lavender and frankincense are what I use, but something similar could also work for you. As you walk and burn it, let the smoke fill the space and cleanse where it goes. A few times I have put the incense in the intake vent for the air conditioner allowing the vents to help circulate the smoke to areas I might have missed. Modern problems require modern solutions. Let your intent flow around. I usually open a window afterward to allow the smoke to air out. This should also let fresh air in.
Using "smudge sticks" is similar to burning herbs, but usually involves special sticks. These are usually herbs wrapped in string in order to bind them together. You might recognize this practice from sage sticks as this is one of the most popularly seen versions (don't use white sage, see note below). A bowl of sand tends to be something you need as you will want something to put the stick out in afterwards. You would also want a candle to keep the stick lit. Contrary to burning incense, in using "smudge sticks" you want to go in the other direction and cleanse yourself first and move clockwise. You will also want to open a window to allow fresh air into the space. You are bringing in good intentions as the herb itself is removing them. Watching the smoke interact with certain objects is also sometimes said to be able to tell us different things. According to some traditions you’re going to want to return the charred remains to the earth.
(Note: the related Smudging where the smudge sticks get their name from has lots of nuance on this related to Native American culture. This is not to be appropriated. This is from our research, and borrows ideas in order to help use the "smudge sticks" properly based on others, but Smudging specifically is part of a culture that we do not belong to and while we didn't want to not mention that it is a practice, we are not qualified to teach you. White Sage is also subject to poaching that threatens the species and should only be sourced carefully.)
Spoken invocations for cleansing:
As with other spoken invocations, what you say doesn’t matter as much as how you say. Some use poetry or verse, but theoretically you can shout “begone thot!” at the space to command out negative energy, or affirm that the energy in the area is clean.
Certain crystals can be used for cleansing and removing negative energy. Some of them help cleanse, but others just absorb negativity and can break once they’re used up. Walking around with them to absorb the negativity can remove it, but then you might want to cleanse them also, not unlike how you might cleanse yourself after you cleanse the space.
As with many forms of magic, it is possible to perform this without using components. Visualizing bright light flowing through yourself or the space you wish to cleanse can help remove the negative energy from it. This is not as advised if you aren’t very practiced with working with energy, but just for use on yourself if you feel like you want to meditate and remove some negativity, and if you don’t have anything with you, this can be very useful.
Above text was submitted by Gem, a staff member at the School of Roses discord. All work has been posted with the permission of the original author.
