Clearing
(and Cleansing)
This chapter focuses on magically clearing both life and home of negativity and strife. All too often we are subject to the turmoil generated by other people’s negativity. We may not be able to cast them out of our lives but we can do the next best thing—cast out their negativity and replace it with calm, relaxing, clear energy.
Before we get to the magical means of removing negativity, let’s go over energy’s basic nature, both positive and negative, and how it is transformed. It is said that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it only changes form. This is understood in both the scientific and spiritual communities. Magically speaking, we have the ability to summon, focus, “program,” project, and/or banish (send away) energy, but no one has the ability to destroy it. Energy is timeless and eternal.
Since we can program or color energy, either purposely with our intent or accidentally through strong blasts of emotion, we have the ability to extract that “coloring” from the energy, though we cannot (nor should we want to) destroy the energy itself. This is how we remove negativity—we consciously focus our intent to transform the energy in the area from negative to positive. This action, in actuality, extracts the negative color of the energy and replaces it with positivity through the projection of our will. This is the basic truth behind any method of energy work; the energy itself is a constant, the intent it carries is all that has changed. Thus, I use the term “negativity” as opposed to “negative energy,” since we aren’t removing the energy entirely, only the negative programming it carries.
Don’t get me wrong—we can send the energy itself away if we choose to, but I personally feel it is far more responsible in most cases to strip it of its vibe/coloring/ charge/intent/program (so many words that mean the same thing), and reprogram it rather than cast it away as is—filled with negativity only to land somewhere else and create turmoil wherever it winds up. Remember: for the good of all and with harm to none!
There are several different methods to magically clear a space of negativity that you can perform using ingredients from a supermarket. You can sprinkle powders, use floor washes, anoint with magical oils, burn candles, and even make magical charms that will absorb the negativity from the energy. We will examine all of these methods. First I will give the recipes, and then I will follow with the spells. Note: All these clearing and cleansing spells are best performed during the time of the waning moon.
Brews
There are many things we can brew together in order to cleanse and drive away negativity; some can be drunk, but others cannot. I will definitely note which is which. Brews created with the intention of drinking them are known as potions and will be listed as such in this book. The first magical brew I will present is the famous Four Thieves’ Vinegar, whose origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages. This vinegar is used for a variety of purposes from driving away illness to banishing (or even cursing) other people. There are many recipe variations; some including inedible ingredients such as wormwood, but this is my favorite recipe. Best of all, it contains only easily found and edible ingredients.
Four Thieves’ Vinegar
Dice the garlic and add it and the herbs into your vinegar. Warm it in a pot (ideally, a glass or enamel pot; no cast iron) according to the basic directions given at the beginning of section 3, and then cool and bottle for four days, keeping it in a cool, dark place. On the fourth day, strain the herbs and garlic out of the liquid, and rebottle the liquid for use. Since it is vinegar-based, it should keep for ages. This vinegar is not meant to be in food, but since it is made with only edible ingredients, it could be used in cooking, though I couldn’t comment on the taste or any recipe ideas. It could be added in minute amounts to foods as an illness banisher, if you wish to do so. I was told that if you swap out the black pepper and cayenne pepper with herbs such as rosemary and parsley, it would be good to use in a vinaigrette on salads, which I am going to try.
Four Thieves’ Vinegar Spells
To use Four Thieves’ Vinegar to clear your home of negativity, you can place a small bowl of the vinegar in each room of your home overnight to absorb that negativity. I warn you though, your whole house will smell gross that night and for a while afterward. This ritual is not recommended unless you have a lot of negativity to remove. Also, given the fact that you may be the only magically-minded person in a home shared with others, this ritual may be totally unworkable.
You can also use Four Thieves’ Vinegar as a floor wash to rid your home of any “astral buildup” or negativity. To do this, simply add a cup of the vinegar to a bucket of wash water and mop or scrub your floors with intent. This is a good way to cleanse your kitchen.
A much less overt, drastic, difficult, and/or stinky technique for ridding your home of negativity using Four Thieves’ Vinegar involves a bit of subtle candle magic. Take a white candle and a black candle and anoint them with the vinegar. If you can only find white candles at the store it’s okay. Light the candles, preferably in the center of the home or say, as dinner candles on the table. Try to leave the candles lit for an hour or more, if possible. This will burn away negativity and cleanse your home. You can repeat this process once a month if desired, preferably during the waning moon.
Here’s a classic method for removing a negative person (an enemy) from your life. This must only be done with careful consideration of magical ethics, and this spell should be cast with the intent of “according to free will and for the good of all.” This spell permanently removes someone from your life and makes them leave.
Take a square of fresh new paper and black ink. Write the name of the intended target in the middle of the paper and fold it, making the folds away from you so the person’s name is covered and cannot be seen. Charge this paper with your intent for the person to leave your life forever, according to free will and for the good of all. Place the paper in a bottle filled with the vinegar. Seal the bottle and throw it in a moving body of water, such as a river or stream. It is done.
A bit of an alternative would be to soak the paper in the vinegar, allow it to dry for a day, and burn it in the light of a black candle, setting it in a heatproof dish to burn to ash. Then, flush the ashes along with the remaining vinegar down the toilet while screaming in your mind:
Leave now, leave me be;
Vile wretch, be gone from me!
By free will, for good of all,
Away from me you shall now fall!
Another useful brew would be a magical cleansing brew, which has multiple uses. Sprinkle it around the home to remove any negative vibrations, cleanse magical tools, or even drink it to cleanse yourself of negativity.
Cleansing Brew
In a small pot, pour the water and simmer the herbs over low heat for a few minutes until you have extracted the herbs’ essence into the water. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. If you intend on making this an edible cleansing potion, you would be much better off making basic, real lemonade with real lemons and sugar to your taste, and then adding the liquid brewed from the water and herbs into the lemonade. Adding the sprig of rosemary directly into the pitcher of lemonade would be ideal. Whatever you decide to do, charge the brew or potion for the intention of cleansing and use as desired.
Cleansing Brew Spells
As stated earlier, a good technique for using the Cleansing Brew is to sprinkle it around your home to cleanse it. This can be done using the sprig of rosemary as an aspergillum to sprinkle drops of the brew in the corners of each room of your home. You could also use this brew as a floor wash as stated earlier with the Four Thieves’ Vinegar recipe. Simply add a cup of the brew to your wash water and scrub or mop the floor with the intent of cleansing held in your mind.
A great method of cleansing your body of negativity is to add the brew to your bath water and take a nice, relaxing, cleansing bath. It is best to fill the bath with only warm (not hot) water and also add a handful of salt to the tub. Once the tub is full, pour in the entire amount of the brew and step into the bath. Relax in the bath for as long as you desire, and when you are ready to get out, pull the plug and let the water completely drain out while you are still in the tub. Feel all the negativity being pulled out of your aura and sucked down the drain. Afterward, you can quickly shower off any residual energy or brew and dry off.
In order to cleanse magical tools, amulets, or any item in need of psychic cleansing of unknown energies, you can simply rub, dip, or wash them with the brew. Just first be sure that the item in question won’t be ruined by the brew’s ingredients.
Oils
The beauty of using magical oils to cleanse or for any purpose is in their ability to impart within their user the deep power of their intention while being subtle all the while. We can just dab a bit on our wrists, third eye, and the back of our necks (wiping off any excess) and we are magically infused throughout our day without having to carry around bulky crystals, charm bags, or odd-looking jewelry (not that I am opposed to jewelry). Even if you decide to wear your usual cologne or perfume, you can always dab on a bit of oil and its magic will still work for you and not be diluted by the other scents. This is because the energy will remain the same even if the scent is overpowered by something else. Using magical oils in cleansing is a very simple and versatile method of removing any negativity from yourself or most environments or objects. There are several ways to use oils to cleanse. The following recipe is a very strong purification/unhexing/cleansing blend that should be used in any of the cleansing spells when you feel really bogged down with negativity or when you feel you may have been the victim of an actual curse (which is exceedingly rare), or even the unintentional blast of negativity we are subject to from others’ greed, envy, or anger.
Super Cleansing Oil
Prepare this in the usual manner but be careful: these ingredients are strong and spicy! As for the onion skins, just use the outer skin of the onion so as to avoid the strong onion smell while still preserving the cleansing energy.
Regular Cleansing Oil
This recipe is gentler and can be used for general day-to-day cleansing to keep yourself energized and free of negativity. This oil would also be good for daily use if you are like me and suffer from/are gifted with psi-empathy; it keeps the residue of other people’s emotional energy from building up in your psyche and causing needless stress.
Prepare this in the usual way, and use it in your regular cleansings. If need be, you may substitute vegetable oil for the olive oil, but know that the olive oil is included here to lend its peaceful and blessing qualities. Try to include it if at all possible.
Cleansing Oil Spells
A wonderful spell to cast in order to cleanse a home of negativity is to take a white taper candle, anoint it with cleansing oil (regular if it’s a general cleansing, super if the need is great) from the middle of the candle out toward the ends, and secure the candle in a sturdy holder. Visualize your intent: see your home bright and free of any darkness. Next, go to the central room in your home (not necessarily the architectural center, but wherever you feel the “heart” of the home is), and light the candle. Now, working in a clockwise direction throughout the building, go from room to room and circle (clockwise!) each room with the candle while visualizing its flame burning away any negative power out of the room’s energy. While you are encircling each room, say the following chant to focus your intent:
Darkness break and burn away,
Candle’s flame, cleanse this space.
I bless my home and self this day,
Filled with light; gloom erased!
When you have finished encircling each room, go back to the central room and set the candle in a safe place (if possible, if not then extinguish with a candle snuffer or spoon) and allow it to burn out on its own. Once it is fully spent, bury the remains of the candle and wash the candle holder. Repeat as desired, though a monthly cleanse is ideal.
A method of cleansing an object is to first physically cleanse it by whatever method is appropriate and then anoint it with the cleansing oil (if it is safe to do so) while visualizing the object being filled with white light that casts out and dissolves any negative energy contained in the object. Afterward, it is good to gently breathe on the object to infuse it with your own personal energy. This helps repel negativity while simultaneously reconnecting you to the object.
A prime method for cleansing a person of negativity using oil is to anoint them with the cleansing oil on the wrists, third eye, and back of the neck and have them do a grounding meditation such as visualizing all negativity being pulled out of them and taken into the earth to be recycled, leaving them filled only with positivity.
Powders
Magical powders are a good method to cleanse the energy outside of your home and property of negative vibes. It is a good idea to first cleanse before you put up any protections such as shields or wards (see chapter 10 for more information) so that you are not trapping any negativity within the boundary that you create through shielding. To make any kind of powder, you will need to get some cornstarch, and a mortar and pestle or sturdy bowl and the back of a spoon.
Cleansing Powder
Charge each of the herbs with the intent of cleansing and pour each one into the mortar or bowl and then grind them into a powder. Once they are powdered and blended together add the cornstarch and stir. Corn is protective and the starch makes the powder a more uniform texture.
Powder Spells
The easiest (and most obvious) way to use the cleansing powder is to sprinkle it all around the outside of your home and yard in a big circle to cast out any negative buildup in the vicinity. A method of cleansing the inside of your home is one that should be used with caution, depending on what type of floor coverings you have. If you wish, you can sprinkle the powder indoors all around your home and then vacuum it up with the intent that it is removing any negative buildup your home may contain. This method might stain your carpeting, however, so use with caution.
There is a way to use the powder for the cleansing of self. You can transform the powder into a cleansing charm by placing a tablespoon of the powder into a black or white magic bag and tying it shut. Keep the bag with you wherever you go for the entire waning moon phase. If you do not have any black or white fabric handy, you can tie the powder in coffee filters, but it is best not to keep these on your person, as they are fragile and could break. Make several and put one in your car, under your bed, amongst your clothing, wherever you’d like.
Foods
Since food is the fuel the helps your body run, all natural plant-based foods such as grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds have a certain amount of cleansing ability. The more processed these foods become, the less cleansing ability they contain. Having said that, there are several food items that can be used to facilitate cleansing of the body, mind and spirit when eaten alone or when used as ingredients in larger meals.
Onions have a particularly strong cleansing ability, and it is believed that whether eaten or rubbed on the body, they have the ability to absorb illness and negativity. Lemons are another strong cleansing food. As previously stated, a properly charged lemonade (again, made by hand from real lemons, not a mix) can be used as an inner cleansing potion. There are several ingredients that, although they do not constitute a meal in and of themselves, will provide a very important boost to meals designed to bring about an inner cleansing from negativity. Such ingredients include parsley, peppermint, rosemary, anise, bay, fennel, horseradish, and potatoes, though the latter food is used more for healing. If you are asking a faery or ancestors for their assistance in cleansing you, then you can add some dairy products to your recipe. Milk, cream, and butter have always been offerings to the Otherworld. Indeed, butter is a symbol of magic and transformation since it has to be transformed from a liquid (cream) to a solid (butter). It has been used for centuries in magic and ritual.
You could make rosemary mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and add milk or cream, some real butter, and charge it for cleansing to make a very potent but modern dish that will feed your body with cleansing energy. You could pair this with lean meat if you wish, but try to avoid red meat as its energy is not conducive to cleansing. If you make gravy for the mashed potatoes, make a mushroom gravy the old fashioned way with real mushrooms; charge it separately also for cleansing. If you wish to add a salad to your cleansing meal (or just make a salad instead) use lettuce, onion, and tomato. Pair it with a lemon vinaigrette dressing.
As you can see, there are a lot of items that may be used to facilitate clearing and cleansing of the body, mind, spirit, and environment of negativity that are very readily available and blessedly inexpensive. In fact, most people have one or two of these items already in their home; all that needs to be done is to properly charge and combine the items and you’re ready to go! Depending on what your specific clearing or cleansing goal is, it is wise to make use of as many methods as you feel necessary and are available to you to achieve your goal. For example, let’s say you feel tired and bogged down by other people’s pessimism and you wish to dissolve it away. If you desire a spiritual cleansing of negativity, you can use Four Thieves’ Vinegar in your bath water, anoint yourself with cleansing oils, and eat cleansing foods and drink cleansing beverages every day for a week or even an entire waning moon phase if need be. This multi-tiered approach will ensure that you receive a strong and thorough dissolution of that negative psychic grunge, leaving you energized and whole once more. Granted, combining several techniques for one goal is not always feasible, desirable, and indeed not even usually necessary. But if you feel that you need as strong a cleansing as possible, the “use everything” approach is a good way to make sure all points are covered and there are no loose ends.
Shopping List
Here’s a short list of the ingredients used in the spells in this chapter for cleansing.
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❏Anise seed |
❏ Cream |
❏ Onion |
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❏ Apple cider vinegar |
❏ Cumin |
❏ Parsley |
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❏ Bay leaves |
❏ Fennel |
❏ Peppermint |
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❏ Basil |
❏ Garlic |
❏ Potatoes |
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❏ Black pepper |
❏ Horseradish |
❏ Rosemary |
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❏ Butter |
❏ Lemon |
❏ Sage |
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❏ Candles (white and black) |
❏ Lettuce |
❏ Thyme |
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❏ Cayenne pepper |
❏ Milk |
❏ Tomato |
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❏ Chili pepper (dried) |
❏ Mushrooms (any edible variety) |
❏ Turmeric |
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❏ Cornstarch |
❏ Olive oil |
❏ Vegetable oil |