Using Bells In Your Practice.
In this post I wanted to give you an option for using bells. But it's not apart of Hoodoo but can be used in your spiritual practice.
Experienced spiritual workers and magic practitioners often keep musical instruments on their altars. These could be anything from drums to singing bowls, rattles, these specific instrument that you can find all over, in all sorts of religions and magical paths: Bells like rattles are used to cleanse, protect, drive away the bad, and more. Now there are all types of religions uses them. There used with other instruments like a rattles. In Vodou we use them both.
This bell is from UrbanGurviMamaShop on etsy
Cleansing A Space Before Ritual Work:
Bright, clear tones help remove negative or stagnant energies from an area. Before you perform a spell or ritual, ring a bell while declaring your space cleared. If you wish, you can incorporate sound cleansing into a broader cleansing practice I use a rattle it traditional, but you can add smoke cleansing with incense, or burning a cleansing candle.
The clear, healing tone of a bell can have a few different effects. The bell's vibrations can help banish unwanted spirits and/or negative energies, with prayer (don't forget that) it can call in positively, desired energetic influences, and/or simply clear stagnant energy in any space throughout one’s home. Sound affects energy on a physical level—because sound is energy—and so the bell is both a physical and a symbolic tool in any practice.
How To Use To Cleanse: Ring it at least four times in each room, preferably with the doors and windows open and while burning cleansing incense. If you are not able to burn things where you live, then a bell can be a great solution for energy cleansing without smoke or fire.
Driving Away Evil: Evil spirits are said to hate -- or at least be annoyed by -- the sound of a bell just like they hate the sound of a rattle. This may go back as far as to the belief that spirits. (the malevolent ones) hate iron.
(This is actually true) When bells were made of iron, ringing them would drive evil out of an area. In other traditions, any kind of loud sound was believed to chase away dark forces. Simply ringing a bell loudly is enough to drive some bad spirits away, but don't get it wrong as I mentioned in a previous post this won't rid you if demonic or bad spirits or high level dark energies by it self prayer is important.
You can also use other tools like blessed candles dressed in holy oil, a room spray, or floor wash (see post on that) alongside with a bell or a preferred instrument. Give your floors a good wash from the back of your home to the front with the floor wash, you can use a spray in each room of your home, you can add a blessed can light. As you do these things pray, say a prayer while ringing your bell while declaring that all bad spirits and or energies must leave. You can also call a ordained person to do the prayer then you can go back with a bell and incense to rid the remanding energies.
Attracting Good Energies: Sounds of an instrument like a bells have a reputation for attracting helpful, benevolent spirits and energies. You can hang also hang them up like wind chimes, add colorful beads to to represent a particular spirit. There are so many ways to incorporate a bell into your practice.
Invoking Spirits: Bells often used in spiritual work. They can be helpful for all kinds of spirits, including calling them. Like your spirit guides, your ansestors, saints, deities etc can be called with a bell to aid you in your work. In these situations, a bell serve three purposes: Their sound tells spirits when it is time to arrive and depart, marks the beginning and end of specific phases of a ritual, and ensures that you are getting helpful spirits, not bad ones.
In the case of ritual work a bell is used durning repeating a chant or a prayer or to request and call upon a spirit, followed by a few rings of a bell. Even if you are not following a specific, format, you can simply use your bell when it makes sense to you. You don't need a large bell for this -- a small one will do just fine.
Protection: Since: bells are so good at driving off evil, they can also keep it away if you use them preventatively. You can also use a bell while calling on angelic protection. For instance you can choose a Saint Michael for protection take you bell, and ring it while reciting a prayer to Saint Michael for protection.
Opening And Closing Of A Ritual: Rituals are usually structured in very specific ways. The atmosphere of the ritual is designed to be a kind of container for spiritual energy. The vibrations opens the way, It puts you in another state of consciousness for your spiritual work. Ringing bells is a good way to mark the beginning of a ritual, as well as send energy on its way at the end. You can do this with any kind of bell. All you need to do is set aside a few seconds during your rituals to ring it and say a prayer call on your guides for protection. Then start your ritual whether it's calling a saint, deity or ansestors. So if you do not have a bell in your home, it is a great spiritual tool to investing in.
