Magical Alphabet: C is for Cleansing

Cleansing is a word you hear a lot in magical groups, but want exactly does it mean?

Well from time to time you may feel a negative energy in a place, or that something isn't quite sitting well with ritual tools, or that your tarot deck feels heavy and clumpy. These are signs that there is cleansing work to be done. If you use magical energy in your life, over time you become a lot more aware of it, and it will soon become apparent that if energy is... well... sticky! A part of the energy you call in for each spell, ritual or reading, will remain. This is why you get such an apparent atmosphere at certain historic site, which is the good side of this. The bad side is that if you use a tool or place a lot, for lots of different types of ritual, the energies can start to get a little confused with one another. Cleansing is the practice of removing the affects of that energy. A lot of people view it as totally removing the energy all together, but I feel leaving it there in a sort of “dormant state” adds a power to the place or object.

There are a lot of different ways to cleanse, and it can involve some very elaborate ritual work, but other methods are very simple.

Bells – The sound of ringing bells is a good way to cleanse and clear any space.

Citrine – This crystal is said to not only clear negative energies, but is also thought to be “self-cleansing”. I keep tumble stones of citrine in the bags where my tarot decks are kept for this reason.

Incense – Burning Sage, Frankincense or Copal (to name but a few) will cleanse a space, objects and tools can also be passed through the smoke.

Moonlight – People often leave objects and tools that need cleansing out in direct light from a full moon.

Salt – Burying objects in salt (natural sea salt) will cleanse them.