Why, take advantage of these Waning Gibbous Moon energies,
and do some Spring Cleaning! Magickal Style. After all, the Waning Moon is the time to release unwanted energies, objects and habits, that we no longer have use for. It seems rather natural to me, that cleaning a home, falls under that category.
Now, I am sure that most of us have been doing the pre-requisite yearly Spring Cleaning Ritual. You know, airing out the stuffy Winter air, clearing the clutter and the cobwebs, to make way for the warmer months to come.
After all of that mundane house cleaning and freshening has taken place; we Witchy Types know that there is still more work to be done. (There always is! :) Just as we clean and perfume our physical body, and then attend to our aura; we must do the same for our home. After all, it is our temple. If we are to perform our daily tasks, love and nourish our selves, family and friends within these walls; we might as well attend to the essence and vibes herein.
So, I have gathered a couple little tips that I have used myself over the years. There are many more, of course, but I figured I will hold some back for future articles!
The first thing, as always, is to handle the physical cleansing and clearing of the home. Anything you would normally do, handle in your way.However, there are a few little tips and additions you can do to make these acts more magickal. Women from the beginning of time have used many of these methods, to the point that some of them have lost their original magickal purposes, and have just become part of daily household life.
Many of our common, natural cleansers, also have magickal purposes; such as lemon, vinegar, ammonia,baking soda, salt and rubbing alcohol.
(Just think of how often you have used or seen these ingredients used in magickal formulas.) If you want to clean your home in an Earth friendly AND magickal way, make up your cleanser with these various ingredients, and then say a blessing over them as you shake or stir the mixture. You can also add certain herbs, spices and flowers to your cleansers as desired. Things like Vanilla, Orange, Lime or
Grapefruit Juice, or even teas made from Lavender, Basil,
Rosemary, Jasmine, Rose,Pine, or other fragrant or favorite
Herbs can all be added to your mixture; for purposes of smell, and/or the properties that you need in your home. As you spray and use them, be sure to visualize their additional magickal purposes as being activated in your space. (If you really want to get nutty with it, you could store the bottle with some specific cleansing gemstones, or soak them in the rinse water (before it is used!).
I would love to give you specific measurements of what to use. But, like my art, my cooking and my spell casting, I am decidedly a non-measurer. (Except for baking!) I usually use the one part this to three parts that method. Add a smidge of this...and well, you get the picture!
Or, if you use ready made cleansers; try to get ones with scents that correspond to your desired purposes. They have everything from Pine Sol to Blueberry scented dishsoap. (At the Dollar Store no less!) You can take a moment to bless these also. (I know that this probably seems like sacrilege to some purist Witches; but am a modern woman, and if I am going to be using the item on my home anyway, I see no harm in blessing it, or imbuing it with special powers. I have used both, the natural and man made cleansers with good results. I assure you that it works just as well, AND that I have not been struck by lightning or had any of my Witchy Powers taken away for using such non-natural items in my home or my magick!) Oh.......wait.......No, I'm fine! (J/K!) :)
Now, for the actual cleaning. This can all be done before you clean the vibrations of the room, or done all at once. If you do it before, you have less physical work to do and can concentrate on the magickal cleansing and blessing of the home. If it is done together; you have the added power of the actual act of removing the grime, to add to the magickal working. Either of these is fine. (However, be sure to bless your washes before, if you are going to do the work separately. )
~You first want to open all of your doors and windows, (if possible); or at the very least open your front and back door or window.
~I like to do a smudge with incense or sage, just to get things going; and bless everything with the Element Of Air. Sometimes I create a chant for this, sometimes I do it all in my mind. Music appropriate to this task is also nice.
~Then, clean each room in a clockwise fashion. I gather everything that I will need into that room, before I start. When doing a Magickal House Cleanse, I don't like to go back and forth from the room. If there are items that need to be returned elsewhere, I just put them in a box to handle when I am finished.
~Starting at the front door, and working clockwise, clean everything in the room, in your normal fashion; keeping in mind as you go, that you are cleaning more than just the physical space. (Then work clockwise around the house from that room.)
~As I dust, I like to visualize myself cleaning the aura of the space, just like flicking away the negative energy from my own aura does. Again, if you have a special chant to use, great, but not absolutely necessary.
~I clean and replace, or rearrange each item in the room. Beat your cushions and rugs. (You can do this all outside, before you start the actual cleanse, or just put them in a pile by the door to be done when you have finished.) I also flip the mattresses and change the bedding, towels, etc.
~I also like to use this time to change the room around if I want to. There is nothing better for the energy of the room that to rearrange your furniture. (That alone can work wonders!) If you like, you can consult a Feng Shui site or book. Or just use your intuition.
~When you sweep, dip the tip of the broom into Bay Rum or another Alcohol and sweep everything into the center of the room. Even sweep the walls and ceiling in this manner.
~When it comes time to vacuum, you can use a charged herbal powder to sprinkle on the carpet, crushed flowers in the vacuum bag, and/or bless the store's ready made version.
~When it comes time to wash your floors, you can make a charged floor wash in the same manner as the cleansers and sprays. Be sure to throw your dirty water out your back door, (or outside your front door if you must). Visualize yourself being rid of nasty energy and negativity.
~If you like to put salt in your corners, or pennies under your rugs, etc., now is the time to replace them, or turn them, etc. Also remove and later replace any household Talismans that need to be refreshed or recharged.
~After you have handled, arranged, cleansed, smudged, and washed each item in it's own way, you are then done.
~I like to sit in the cleansed room and meditate for a moment on the purpose of that room, who or what it houses and protects, etc. I visualize happy, loving times taking place there. It is nice to have fresh flowers on hand for this project, to place in each room after the work is done.
~I also like to light a small white charged tea light in a prominent place in each room. This further clears away the energies and replaces them with peaceful positive ones.
~I can guarantee, that any efforts that you make, including and beyond your regular household cleaning routine, will be well worth it; and will serve your home, and its inhabitants well.
