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Cleansing
From time to time, the negativity around us permeates our aura and we need to cleanse our spirit to rid ourselves of the negativity. This negativity can permeate our spiritual beings as well as our houses, our crystals, and our tools, so quite often, we need to cleanse these items before we can cleanse ourselves.
How do you know if you need to do a spiritual cleanse?
- You spend a lot of time on negative news stories – this can cause depression, stress, and anxiety
- You are depressed, stress, or anxious without spending time on the news.
- You feel sluggish and disconnected from your energy
- You focus on the negative aspect of most events and situations
- You have headaches
- You avoid anything spiritual
When this happens, the best way to remove this negativity from your life is to cleanse your aura and spirit. However, we use our crystals, tools, and of course, our spaces to cleanse ourselves, so we must cleanse them first.
We have several choices for cleansing these items, and some of them overlap with ways we can cleanse our spirits, so we can cleanse multiple items and begin the cleansing of ourselves at the same time.
Smudging
The most well-known way we use to cleanse these items, and ourselves, is with smudging. Smudging is the burning of herbs to cleanse something, and Native Americans have used this practice for centuries.
Smudging is considered a closed practice, and you shouldn’t use sage unless it’s ethically sourced. But you shouldn’t smudge, you should call it cleansing instead.
Burning these cleansing herbs can clear the negativity from objects outside ourselves and help begin our personal cleansing. This frees us to cleanse the rest of the negativity from our spiritual selves.
Herbs for Smudging:
- Sage
- (As I said earlier, white sage is in short supply due to over-harvesting and is closely tied to Native American smudge rituals which means it can be seen as cultural appropriation. Common sage, however, is readily available and acceptable to use and cleanses, purifies, and protects.)
- Palo Santo
- Palo Santo clears negative energy, purifies the object you’re cleansing, and creates a feeling of peace. You can use Palo Santo alone, or in combination with other herbs
- Sweet Grass
- Sweetgrass releases negativity and brings protection and positive energy. This allows you to release your fears and create more positivity in your life.
- Lavender
- Lavender alleviates stress and anxiety and helps you relax by creating a peaceful atmosphere. You can use lavender alone, or with other herbs to boost your cleansing power.
How To Smudge
The process of smudging is simple. Light your smudge stick or herbs in a fireproof container; then take a feather, your hand, or a piece of paper, and wave the smoke around the room, or house for space clearing, or over the object you wish to cleanse.
You can also hold the crystal or tool you’re cleansing over the smoke to cleanse it. You will choose your herb for smudging based on your intentions and what you need most in the moment.
Moon and Sun Cleansing
You can also cleanse your crystals and tools by setting them out under the moon or starts and letting the energy of the universe cleanse them. Whether you use the moon, or the sun will depend on your intentions and what you hope to accomplish.
When you cleanse your crystals by moonlight, you will want to do this on the full moon, and you can set your crystals in a window that catches the moonlight, or on a nice night you can set your crystals outside. The light and healing power of the moon washes away the negative energy.
Cleansing with the sun is performed in the same way and has the same effect on your crystals. Choosing between the two depends on whether you identify more with the sun or the moon.
Selenite Cleansing
You can also cleanse your crystals by placing them in a selenite bowl or placing them on or near your selenite if you don’t have a bowl. The positive energy of the selenite will chase the negativity from your other crystals while they are near it or on it.
These methods will work for cleansing all your tools, and once you have clean tools and crystals, you can begin the deeper process of cleansing yourself.
Cleansing Oils
You can also create oil blends to help you cleanse your tools, crystals, and yourself. Several combinations can create positive energy and replace the negative energy with lightness and freedom from the negativity in your spirit. (I get mine here.)
Oils for Cleansing
- Amber
- Amber oil eases the mind, lowers stress and anxiety, and promotes increased cognition. It can also help reduce pain and strengthen the immune system
- Bergamot
- Bergamot helps you relax and uplifts the spirit to boost your mood. It also boosts the immune system and can cleanse the skin when use with a carrier oil such as coconut or almond oil.
- Clove
- Clove promotes healing and drives away negative energy, and its antimicrobial properties can counteract many types of bacteria. You can also use clove oil for purification of energy, easing the pain of toothache, and can even help stomach disorders.
- Lavender
Cleansing Stones
The stones you choose, like your oils and herbs will reflect your intentions, and you will choose based on those stones that resonate with you. Always take care in choosing your stones since the wrong stone can disrupt your cleansing practice.
Stones for Cleansing
- Amethyst
- Amethyst dissolves negative energy and transforms it into positive, and its natural soothing property eases anger and anxiety, sadness, and grief. It increases your psychic energies and cleanses the spirit of negativity
- Selenite
- Selenite requires no manual cleaning and can help you cleanse other crystals. Selenite promotes peace and harmony and removes negative energy.
- Labradorite
- Labradorite can help increase your insight into your inner consciousness and helps you discover your true purpose. This stone helps boost creativity and imagination and calms the mind.
- Malachite
- Malachite helps you see past the negativity you have collected so you can focus and grow. It also helps guard your heart and helps you let go of the past, so you can build anew.
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Amethyst Quartz -
Selenite -
Labradorite -
Malachite
Spirit Cleansing
You have several options for cleansing the spirit, but the most popular is a ritual or cleansing bath. You will need to prepare yourself psychically and physically.
Psychic Preparation
Getting prepared can be difficult because we need to identify the negativity, and where it came from, so we can get rid of it. Quite often, that is difficult because there are so many possibilities.
Are you getting it by watching too much negative news, or are you going through a loss of some sort, either through the death of someone close to you, or through the end of a relationship? Are you surrounded by negative people daily, or even occasionally, or do you have problems with family members, or co-workers?
To discover your specific source, or sources, of negativity, spend some time quietly meditating, or just thinking about the possibilities for where your negative energy arises. Sometimes, just sitting quietly without going into full meditation can give you the insight you need.
Once you have determined the source or sources for your issues, write them down on a piece of paper. Before you get in your cleansing bath, light the paper on fire and place it in the fireproof container you use for smudging, or any fireproof container that you have cleansed.
As you do this you can say something to the effect of “I release the negativity that weighs me down and blocks my creativity.” You will naturally adjust that to suit your own needs since the negativity and blocks are always specific to the person.
No one way or mantra will work for everyone, and yours will reflect not only your need to release negativity, but also who you are, and what you want to create in your life. As with most rituals, your cleansing ritual will reflect who you are, not who someone else says you should be.
Physical Preparation
This is the easy part because it’s a matter of gathering your stones, herbs, candles, and any other objects that resonate with you that you have cleansed. Once you have done that, take a shower, making sure to use whatever type of scrub sponge you need to exfoliate your entire body and clean off the daily toxins we can’t help but gather from the negative energy around us.
Place your stones around your tub, and place 2 – 3 drops of your oil in the bath. Light your candles; white is best for cleansing, but you can use black as well since it absorbs the negative energy.
You are now physically and psychically ready for your cleansing ritual bath. Ease yourself into the water and relax for 20 to thirty minutes while you focus on releasing the negativity and welcoming positive energy.
If you can safely do so, meditate during this time; however, when you’re in water and have candles burning around you, I recommend you not go into deep trance for safety reasons.
What should you do after a cleansing bath?
When you finish your ritual cleansing bath, air dry to let the negative energies flow away from you, and your skin take in the positive energy you have created in the space. Sit peacefully for a bit if you can so the positive energies can settle into your spirit.
Cleansing frees us from the negative energy around us, and we need to cleanse our spirit selves on a regular basis. For some people, once a month or so is enough, but others, may need to take a cleansing bath twice a month, or even once a week; however, taking cleansing baths more than once a week is not recommended since it could drain your natural energy.
This type of spiritual cleansing can help us raise our energy vibrations and prepare to make new choices to change our perspective and our lives. The sense of relief this freedom from negativity allows us to bring more positive energy into our lives and avoid some of the negativity around us.