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A Clearing Ritual—Making Space Sacred:
After writing the blog on smudging, we felt it was important to give newcomers an introduction to the smudging process . This is a basic, but effective process that can be adapted to your setting, intention, and personal tastes.
Click Here to go back to Smudging Blog.
Before you smudge: You can skip down to the smudging section if you just want to do a quick clearing of a space, but to deeply cleanse a space physically & energetically, follow all the steps. How involved your efforts are is up to you but dedicating some time to each part will give you better results.
- Clean: Energetically clearing a space begins with setting your intention, and one of the best ways to activate your intention is to physically clean a space first. By clearing clutter, taking out the garbage, dusting, and rearranging, you infuse the space with your intention to clear and clean it.
- Beautify: Invoking beauty by adding small touches, such as candles, flowers, decorative clothes or accessories, or playing or singing beautiful music raises the tone of a space. Beauty is an energetic quality in which there is alignment with divine order. When we beautify, we use the archetype of beauty and order to invoke the energetic Sacred.
- Set Intention: Create a well-defined intention to hold in focus while you walk through the space smudging. This can be a concept, an image, or can be spoken as a mantra or song. Keep it simple and positive. Even though you want to clean, don’t approach the process with negative attitudes toward what you want to clear—because then your animosity will be the defining energy, and thus toxify the space even as you clear it. Creating mantras that focus on clearing, bringing order, or infusing what you want in the space is best: “Clean and Fresh,” “Awaken beauty and vitality,” or a similar phrase in which you invoke a personal or spiritual icon are good examples of healing intentions.
- Smudging: Physically, smudging is simply a process of spreading the medicinal smoke throughout a space. This can be done by moving the burning stick or by wafting the smoke with a large feather or other fanning object. However, for ritual, it is important to set an intention of clearing and rejuvenating the space, as well. The combination of act and intention create a powerful ritual in which we engage the space multi-dimensionally.
It is always a good idea to smudge yourself first, both for cleansing and to make yourself less likely to absorb the heavy energy you are trying to clear. Then choose a starting point and walk in a generally clockwise direction as you go through the house. I like to start at a doorway, work my way through, then open the door and “whisk out” any last remnants of heavy energy as I finish my circuit. You may decide to spend more time in some spaces. Half of the task in ritual is creating imagery that helps us to move energy—and for me, sweeping the last bits out helps me feel a sense of completion about the clearing process. I also visualize the heavy energy as fertilizing the cosmos as I clear it. - Gratitude: After smudging, I like to walk through the space with gratitude, which adds another tonal shift. Personally, I typically make an offering during this time, either spritzing medicinal perfume waters (i.e. Florida water), ringing bells, or with a song or a mantra of gratitude.
- Now enjoy your space. It should feel lighter and more supportive for whatever activity you have prepared the space—even normal living. If this is just a general cleaning, then now is a good time to meditate, have a cup of tea, or visit with a friend or loved one in your sweet space.
Click Here to go back to Smudging Blog. Or….To learn more about creating personal rituals, click here to go to the book Tending the Soul with Healing Ritual.
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