Cleansing, Blessing and Protection exercises.
Most societies make use of simple and not so simple blessing and cleansing rituals, from the bushman to the Pope, the need for ritual to aid the feeling of security is common. Whether the effects are mental or spiritual does not really matter; it is the feeling of comfort or confidence that the ritual may bring that is important. While some of these exercises and ideas may be useful, it is important to create exercises for yourself from your own understanding of the nature of things and your cultural inheritance since this will have greater meaning for you and it is you that will be using them.
We will start with some objects; drum, rattle, broom, feather duster or feather, kitchen knife, bowl, wineglass, crystal. Any or all of these objects can be used in ritual and have a variety of applications.
The drum can be a hundred pound bodhrun or a big biscuit tin played with a hand or wooden spoon or a fine curved bone; it all serves to create sound that you have made releasing energy that you have created. Energy or sound creates movement in an environment; you just have to feel the walls with the music up loud from the party next door. Back to the drum; the sound it makes can break up negativity in a room.
This is not just a nice thought but a fact. Sound can cleanse an atmosphere and change your state of mind to being calmer if the beat is relaxed and slow. So if your home feels depressed or just a bit stale go round and bang a drum! perhaps imagining you are a shaman or in a marching band with the sound shaking loose all the old stuff. The rattle is used in a similar fashion but has a gentle effect; in fact any instrument can be used .
The good old house or yard broom is very useful for cleansing away negativity or just plain old dirt and isn't just restricted to witches. Many cultures and religions have used them in ritual including Christianity. Just sweep away, you don't even have to be touching the floor, just imagine all the old rubbish being picked up and brushed out the door / window or into the bin. I personally have a doll's broom that I sometimes use for this purpose.
A feather can be used in a similar fashion to create movement of the air in a room and is particularly useful in conjunction with incense. Any thing that you find pleasant is okay, try and make sure you remember all the nooks and crannies. On the subject of smell, a brass or china bowl filled with water that perhaps has a few drops of essential oil in it, frankincense, geranium or lavender are all easily found and good space clearing oils. Alternativily just plain rocksalt will help absorb bad vibes (really sixties eh) and just remember to empty periodically. Perhaps use an oilburner to similar effect or fill the bowl with sand or earth and use it to stand incense in.
Crystals or stones can be used to similar effect for rooms or people but please remember to cleanse them regularly with running water and salt; if both not available, just one of these will do. I will give you a small table of the more popular stones and their uses:
STONE Colour Uses
Quartz White/clear All purpose, all healing, amplify, meditation, direct energy, focus, cleansing
Rose Quartz Pink Heart , emotions, love including self-love, headaches, forgiveness, emotional pain, acceptance, joy, oneness
Citrine Quartz Yellow Stimulant , meditation , psychic and sexual work, will
Smoky Quartz Black Depression, emotional pain, clears auras, bad habits, drug and alcohol, grounding, sleep problems.
Amethyst Violet Calm, grounding , sleep problems, balancing, stress, spiritual cleanser, transformation
Diamond White Strength, trust, fidelity, wealth, relationships, courage, break through barriers.
Sapphire Indigo/blue Perception, introspection, peace, enlightenment, relationships, clarity, joy.
Lapis Blue Strength, difficulty in communicating, incest, cheering, lost love, cooling, balance.
Ruby Red Depression, exhaustion, sexuality, warmth, fertility.
Garnet Red Happiness, power, birth, life passages, patience, persistence.
Carnelian Orange Mental ability, menstrual problems, purification.
Amber Yellow Negativity, calming, pain, energy, stress, protection.
Emerald Green Peace, aura balancing, old age.
This is a short general list which can easily be added to using common sense or some easily available books. The use of gems is so common although until recently many of their traditional uses had slipped from folk memory.
Now for a simple set of exercises to cleanse your space. Set aside half an hour or so by yourself or with close friends / relatives and think about what feeling you want to change in your room / home. When you have that idea in your mind go round making some noise, simply concentrating on the feeling you want is enough.
Then go round with incense or a feather; use the feather to fan the incense. Perhaps while you walk around somebody could sweep in front of you, then perhaps you could take a candle or 1it torch to bring light and some water to sprinkle around the rooms.
While you are doing these things try to imagine some divine or pure light coming through you and the objects you are using, clearing away all unwanted feelings or vibes. When you have done this, give a big thank-you to yourself and any divine forces you may have asked for help and then eat and drink something nice, followed by doing something you enjoy.
When wanting to cleanse an object that is new or secondhand; perhaps you associate it with somebody you are no longer on good terms with, just relax, take that object and cleanse it with sound, incense, light (candle, moonlight, sunlight) water, salt / earth or crystals and then say that this object belongs to you.
You may wish to place your initials on it in pen or just a little water drawn on with your finger and as you are doing these things see the person getting further and further away from the object and from you. In some countries, people breathe onto or use their spital to mark their belongings.
The mention of breathing brings me onto self protection cleansing and blessing , since it is the use of your breathing that is the simplest form of instant ritual, taking no equipment apart from your lungs and just a little imagination. When you breathe out, waste is taken away from your body and when you breathe in, oxygen is taken in, which is like energy. By using this simplified example of the breathing process we can use it to visualise breathing out negativity and breathing in energy.
So basically you see yourself breathing in pure energy and take that around your body and back out with all the things that you want to get rid of; remembering to just breathe naturally with your abdomen.
To do this just lay on the floor or bed and rest your hand on your tummy and breathe. Just feel your tummy rise and fall naturally; adjust your breathing slightly till you feel this happening.
Another thing that is important during any of the exercises is to allow a little of that positive energy you are generating to go out of your feet into the ground, otherwise you could end up feeling very light-headed. Now in situations where you feel uncomfortable, breathe in some of that energy and breathe out that energy and imagine it surrounding you like a bubble that is impossible to burst or if you prefer a massive bullet-proof wall.
Many people use the idea of a mirror that reflects back the other person’s negativity or a comforting blanket that keeps you warm and cozy protecting you from another's icy presence.
People will often call on some divine assistance when they feel unhappy or frightened and this is fine. Visualise the divine being between you and the problem but usually you are enough to cope in any situation. Please don't make your self-protection ritual too complicated, as some people become dependent on these exercises when they are in difficult situations and become alarmed because some minor detail is not followed.
The details are rarely important, only your intention matters. If you can cleanse a object or a person then you can bless it, no special knowledge or training is needed, just the idea and the wish to follow that idea. Love is the greatest source of blessing material and that is all you need to bless yourself, a friend, a place or an object.
A little trial: Get a simple crystal and hold it in your hand and think of your love and affection for that friend and give them that crystal. It will seem to sparkle much brighter than when you first got it (remember to cleanse it before you bless it with your love).
DIY holy water
Breathe gently and deeply, bringing energy down through your body into the ground, drawing clean, pure energy from the Earth and the Sky. Bring that energy up through your body and down through your arms.
Pick up a small bowl containing a small amount of natural salt. In your mind, see the salt as a small friendly creature who you know is your friend and is happy, with a big smile. When this image is clear, pick up a small bowl of water (pure spring preferred), and imagine another creature, perhaps fish-like, who again is your friend and is eager to play with the salt-creature. Then mix the two, saying something along the lines of “Spirits of water and salt I ask your help in cleansing and protecting ---------\” whatever you are planning to do.
Universal balancing act It is common practice to place in the four points of the compass symbols of the old four elements of Fire, Earth, Water and Air, with Spirit being placed at the centre These are used like representations of different qualities of emotion, action, behaviour etc.
Which belong to what, and where they go in relation to the compass varies from culture to culture but they do seem to make a difference when some sort of representation of them is made in a room or space. Lots and lots of pages have been written over}
the years on this subject so I will not get into mentioning the differences or their meanings but will leave you to work your own ideas out about the Elements.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE GROUNDED BEFORE OR AFTER ANY SORT OF SPIRITUAL EXERCISE IS UNDERTAKEN. THINK TREE ROOTS! Suggested reading
Diane Stein The Women's Spirituality Book Llewellyn
Scott Cunningham Encyclopedia of Crystal,Gem & Metal Magic Llewellyn
Denise Linn Sacred Space Rider Publishing
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