Once you have you’re place the first thing you’re going to want to do is clean it. I’m not talking incense clean, not yet. You’ll want to get out a rag and a bottle of cleaner and get to work. I know most of us don’t like using harsh chemicals, there are alternatives. My favorite is to take the rind (skin) of an orange or other citrus fruit and boil it in water. I believe the ratio is 1:1 (one orange to one quart water). Boil for about a half hour getting all the juice out of the orange. Let it cool then strain it into a spray bottle. Let this sit over night then give it a shake and you’re ready to go. You can use this on everything from wood floors to counter tops and it leaves your house smelling wonderful. For something a little stronger try a citrus essence. You can buy these where ever essence oils are sold. Your best bet would be to try a health food store. Make sure they are pure otherwise they may contain oils that could stain. A true essental oil should not feel greasy, just wet.
The second step in cleaning your home would be to get rid of negative energies. You may wish to draw a circle and work within it. I normally don’t since I am moving energies around anyway. My normal protection from the negative energy is a simple personal circle or shield. I usually start by pulling out my ritual broom and getting at those dark corners. I’ll sweep everything into a designated area of the house or out the front door. Out the door sends the energy directly back to the earth, if you are going to pile it in the center of the house make sure you get rid of it or you’ll be very sorry. The broom is, of course, a symbol of air, but you can use what feels comfortable for you. For fire I usually use incense, I don’t really have a favorite but Janet Thompson suggests jasmine in Magical Hearth but Cunningham suggests eucalyptus, lemon, orange, and rosemary. Again, walk through the space not forgetting any corners or closets. When sprinkling water I find using it easiest to use something to sprinkle with, a small branch of a fur tree works best. If you find that you don’t want to sprinkle soil throughout your freshly cleaned home I suggest using a stone. Quartz works best but Cunningham states the salt is also very good for purification.
When we were discussing what this summer’s lessons should be about Sabine mentioned a concern for ghosts in her new home. I’d like to state that ghosts aren’t neccesarily bad. My parents large 5 bedroom farm house has two ghostly residents that I adore. Granted, both of them are related to me but they are still a comfort to have. Our older ghost is actually my grandmother, my father’s mother, who died when my father was 6. My father was raised in this house and my grandmother had seven children here. She stayed around to make sure they were all okay. Now she’s here because she is welcomed, loved, and has no place else to go. Our second spector has been veiwed by many visitors, especially my more psychic and magically inclinded friends. She is a young girl, about 3 years old, with blond hair who haunts our guest room. She is my cousin who was killed along with her mother and older sisiter in a car accident not to far from here on her way home. I guess she didn’t know where else to go so she came to her favorite place. I’ve had several friends who’ve come up to me after sleeping in the room and asking me where we were hiding the little blond during the day. One friend found out recently that if she really likes you she’ll cuddle up and sleep with you.
These are harmless spirits, granted Kelly, my cousin, can be a little nerve wracking for if you are unwarned. These are the types of spirits that make a home feel lived in. I have noticed when I enter newly built homes that they feel empty though they may be filled with funiture, it is because they have no spirit to dwell within them. If you are concerned about the spirits living in your home simply draw a protective circle, raise energy that will push away the unwanted, and send it out saying that kind and good spirits are welcome but mean and cruel spirits are asked to return to where they came from.
If you are moving into a new house or the space you are moving into feels empty you can call spirits to it in the same maner we have just asked spirits to leave. Instead of sending out an energy to push away send out an energy to draw in. Make sure to state that you only want kind and friendly spirits, malevolence is not welcome. If you are building your own home or helping a contractor put crystals in the eves as they are building. I suggest one in each corner because they will not only draw spirits but help to repel negativity. If you are building on a spot that once had a home take a piece of the original house and place it within the walls or fit it into your decorating. This will let the spirits who lived in the old house know that they are still welcome, make sure you tell them this as well.
If you find that your spirts, although nice enough, are causing some mischief, set ground rules. I work in an old hotel that is haunted by dozens of ghosts. My office is an old guest room and is haunted by a michievious man who enjoys hiding my paperwork. One day after several important papers had come up missing I set some ground rules. I told him that I understood that this was his way of communicating with me and I enjoyed having him around but this was important paperwork and if he didn’t return things when I asked him he would have to leave. I took a short walk, came back, and found all my papers on my desk. My papers still turn up missing but I simply state clearly that I need them returned, take a quick stroll, and there they are.
In my small library I found only a couple of books with spells specifically for home. Scott Cunningham's Earth, Air, Fire, & Water and Pauline Campalelli's Rites of Passage had the most and best spells. There are books written specifically for a magickal home such as Janet Thompson's Magical Hearth. So there are books out there if you want more information.
Sand Trap
Items Needed: glass jar, two different colors of sand, a spoon (to
measure), two bowls (to store)
Fill the jar half way up with one type of sand (Sand #1), empty into a bowl and repeat with the second type
of sand (Sand #2). Charge each sand individually running your fingers through it visualizing it crackling with protective energy. When charged, take one spoon full of sand #1 and pour it into the jar saying:
Trap of sand,
Trap the ill.
Trap the bane,
And evil will.
Repeat with sand #2 and continue back and forth until jar is full. Place in plants outside, bury it in the earth, place in potted plant, or set on windowsill.
Protective Chimes
Items Needed: wind chimes
Place chimes on a flat surface. Wave projective hand over them while saying:
Wind chimes;
Spell rhymes;
Spell chimes;
Wind rhymes.
Air primes
Spell chimes;
Nine times nine.
Hold the chimes in front of your face and blow on them imagining their sound driving away negativity and
unwanted guests. For best results repeat every nine days.
The Stone Jar
Place the bowl/pot in front of you. Take a stone and visualize it full of protective energies saying:
Stone from the mountain,
Stone from the well;
Stone from the desert,
Charge my spell.
Place the stone into the pot saying:
Into the pot
I place this stone
To guard my hearth, my house, my home.
Do this for each stone. When the jar is full place it in somewhere in your home uncovered and say:
Pot of stones,
Guard this place;
Send all ill far apace!
Send it back
`neath the ground;
Bury it;
It is bound!
To Keep Ill From Property
Items Needed: four small lodestones, a pot & soil (pot & soil for apartment dwellers only)
Hold the stones in you hand. Starting at the front door, move clockwise around the home through each
room saying:
Potent stone that draws at will,
Take away the bane and ill.
Continue until you have made a complete circuit. Bury the stones in the front yard or in the pot, place the
pot on the front step. The lodestones should continue to draw the negative energy out of the house. Make
sure that the pot stays outside you do not want the negativity drawn in.
Hold the magnet in your projective hand and visualize it drawing positive energies to your home. When charged hang above your door. (Cunningham)
To Rid Your House of an Unwanted Guest
Items Needed: yarrow stem, small piece of paper, pen or pencil
On the paper write your intention making sure that there is no malice!! Something like: "May unwanted guests feel the need to leave," should be okay but you may want to think of your own. Wrap the paper around the yarrow stem and place near the exit to your home and guests will wish to leave. (Thompson)
To Bring Peace to Your Home
(Otherwise entitled "Cure for the Battling Roomies")
Items Needed: jasmine incense
Scent all areas of your home, including corners. Bury a stick of incense at each corner of your home to
protect and bring peace. (Thompson)
