release what no longer serves you

The intention of this ritual is to energetically cleanse your space and body of dense, stagnate, and/or negative energy.

1. CLEANSE YOURSELF WITH SCENT / SOUND / BREATH

I like to burn a bit of rosemary and wave it around my body, willing any dense and frenetic energy to disperse. Scent has a powerful way of calling us into our magical mindset. You don’t have to burn anything to accomplish the same effect. I like to spritz rose water for a quick and powerful shift in consciousness.

You can also use sound to move the energy. Bells are commonly used to shoo away negativity. And, the Japanese use clapping to break apart dense energies.

But, you don’t need any tools to energetically cleanse yourself. Mindful breathing can do the trick. As you breathe in, welcome a purified energy into your body. As you exhale, release impurities. I like to visualize negativity leaving my body and dispersing with the exhale.

2. GROUND AND CENTER

Draw your attention to your body. Notice how the ground supports you and holds you. Notice your feet, take off your shoes off, and feel how they anchor you to the ground. Take a few breaths here, bringing your consciousness into the present moment.

3. LIGHT A CANDLE & STATE YOUR INTENTION

Say aloud, “I am here to cleanse myself & this space.” You don’t have to get specific at this point. You are simply letting the Universe and your psyche know what kind of ritual you are performing.

4. CALL UPON POWERS: Ask for Magical Support

As you call in your Spiritual Support Team, ask them to come for the purpose of your intention. Call upon the Waning Moon and her power medicine of releasing and banishing. Call in the elements and the directions, and feel the love and support within the interconnectedness of all beings. Ask for the presence of any and all guides, deities, angels, ascended masters, ancestors… Visualize their presence. Perhaps they form a protective circle around you, or sit in circle with you. Know that you are worthy of their help.

5. REFLECTION: WHAT NEEDS TO BE CLEANSED?

Use the following questions to help you gain clarity on what you want to release. Use the Cleansing Tarot Spread to help you gain further clarity on what needs unblocking.

If you knew you would succeed, what would you do?
What barriers prevent your success?
 What can you release? 
What does not serve you and needs to go?
What cords can you cut?

6. cast YOUR INTENTION

Review your reflections. What is it that you want banish from your home/body/relationships/mind. What no longer serves you?

Spoken words have power. As you speak your intention, you give it life. You cast it out into the network of energy that exists in the spaces between all beings. Be clear. Command this into exist. Be firm.

Say, “All energies, strings, vibrations associated with _____, I herby renounce and revoke across all space, time, dimensions, and realities. I release any negative, dense, or unhelpful energies related to ______. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

7. PHYSICALLY CLEAN SOMETHING

There is a reason witches are associated with brooms. (1) We know the power of housework to shift our mindset. When you clean your physical environment, you tidy up your headspace. (2) Cleaning is a form of “sympathetic magic.” Which is to say, we use physical objects to represent what is happening on an energetic level. When I was remodeling my bathroom, and scrubbing away grout on the tiles, I visualized scraping away anger and anxiety. Here are some ideas of what you can clean:

Clean a room in your house.
Take a spa moment: bathe, cleanse, trim, scrub…
Tidy your altar(s): dust, wipe, smudge, rearrange…
Do the dishes / laundry.
Weed the garden.

8. Energetically cleanse your space

Similar to cleansing yourself, here are a few techniques to energetically cleanse your environment. As you apply the method(s) of your choice, repeat your intention from step 6. You can simplify it into a short phrase that is easy to repeat.

Smoke: rosemary, cedar, Frankincense, sweetgrass, palo santo, white sage,
Bowls of salt in the corners: Salt absorbs the energy. Let them sit for a bit. Remove and dispose carefully.
Bells / Clapping
Broom / Breath / Feathers

9. Call in a positive energy to fill the void

After removing something, be sure to fill the void. Otherwise, you leave a vulnerable space open for any energy to fill. Be clear about what you want to bring into your life. What is the opposite of what you released? When in doubt call in love, joy, purpose, and/or power.

Light the Spell Candle. 
Say, “I call _____________ into this space.”
You can relight this candle in the future and repeat this intention. You may want to write it down so you remember.

10. BUILD ENERGY AND SEND IT OUT

Dance, sing, or simply visualize your intention gathering into a crescendo of energy. Throw your hands into the air and push it out the Universe. Imagine your intention vibrating the energetic bonds that connect all consciousness. Trust that the Universe is supporting you.

11. CLOSE THE RITUAL

Thank all the spirits who supported you! Send a wave of gratitude toward your Spiritual Support Team.

Snuff your candle* and energetically close your magical moment.

Say, “This cleansing ritual is complete.”

*If you can safely do so, leave your special candle to burn until it’s end. Otherwise, relight it every time you return to this space until it burns to its end.