Cleansing Magick FAQs

Generally speaking, cleansing is a technique in magickal practices rather than a dedicated sub-section of magick. The term cleansing is often used in Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism, and magickal communities to refer to clearing away negative energy or even to simply neutralize any energies in or attached to a space, object, or person.

We conduct cleansing primarily in preparation for setting new intentions, such as creating a more positive atmosphere to bring in prosperity or charging a protective amulet. Cleansing is most often applied to people, spaces, & objects. But magickal cleansing can go even further, such as cleansing auras, ancestral lines, and emotional states.

Although cleansing isn't typically its own category of magick, there's no reason we can't treat it as such! Cleansing magick, then, is magick devoted to the clearing and cleaning of various physical and spiritual aspects to remove negative, stale, or old energies and intentions, generally in preparation for additional magickal works.

As mentioned at the top of this page, the home cleansing page already lists the most common techniques for space cleansings which are easily adaptable to any magickal cleansings. Smoke cleansing, water, salt, sprays, spoken words, music, and crystals are the general go-to. Other methods include involving the Elements or other spiritual allies.

When I first learned how to cleanse in Witchcraft, the resources I used focused on visualization skills. For me, the most powerful method of magickal cleansing will always involve visualizing the negative or old energy within the "target" (space, object, etc.) needing cleansed.

A typical visualization is to see the energy as dirty--like dark smudges on a window. Through continued visualization and intention, you then see the "target" as becoming physically cleaned of the "dirty" energy.

Ideally, you'll want to combine different methods with your visualization.

When we're talking about cleaning--just as it sounds--we're generally referring to the physical cleaning that you'll want to start with before beginning cleansing. Just as the changing and directing of energies in magick creates impacts on the physical world, changes made to the physical world impact the energetic or spiritual.

The most effective cleansing requires physical cleaning first mostly to help the energy move more freely (less for any residual negative energy to get stuck to). Just the mere act of physical cleaning can help remove trapped negative energy. It's not just dust-bunnies and cookie-crumbs getting stuck under the couch!

If you intend to follow up with a cleansing immediately after, there isn't much need for magickal cleaning. However, if you're trying to multi-purpose your cleaning beyond the physical in a single swoop, there's ways to do so.

Most of which involve the use of herbs or essential oils. The best herbs are those specific to cleansing, banishing negativity, and raising vibrations (which helps to force out lower vibration energies). The main facet of these techniques are intention.

Before you begin cleaning, get yourself prepared mentally and emotionally (grounding and centering, etc.) just as you would before ritual or spellcasting. As you clean, you'll use your visualization skills to help you direct your intention into the physical actions of cleaning.

Although not specific to Wicca alone, here's a handful of ideas to up your house cleaning:

• Create a floor sweep using dried herbs. This involves sprinkling the dried herbs around prior to sweeping (sort of like the carpet powder you use before vacuuming).

• Create your own carpet powder to use prior to vacuuming (best if you let the powder sit a bit).

• Add herbs and/or essential oils to your mop water.

• Have a cleansing incense mixture burning in the space while you're cleaning.

• Play uplifting music or sing/chant while you clean.

• Create your own laundry detergents, dish soaps, window wash, and other cleaning supplies while adding in essential oils appropriate for cleansing away negative energies in addition to the physical grime and germs.

As mentioned in the methods section above, there's a variety of ways to do a cleanse. With Witchcraft being as broad as it is and Wiccan traditions varying in their specifics, there isn't a one-size-fits-all how-to for cleansing in Wicca and Witchcraft.

If we're going more general and mainstream, perhaps the best cleansing for Wicca involves Elemental Cleansing. For a simple example, I'll use cleansing an object.

Like in the method section above, you'll visualize the negative energy or energy you are trying to remove/clear away as smudges or dirt on, within, and surrounding the object. Using each of the Elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, you'll see the undesired energy cleansed away:

• Earth - Visualize the object wrapped in grass and dirt. It becomes tighter and tighter before releasing. As the earth dissolves away from the object, the negative energy is cleaned away.

• Air - Visualize a strong wind whooshing around the object. The wind tears the negative energy off the object and travels far away to be neutralized elsewhere.

• Fire - Visualize the object suddenly burst into flames. The flames continue, using the negative energy as fuel. As the negative energy burns away the fire fades away. Once the fire is quenched, the object is cleansed.

• Water - Visualize water washing over and through the object until it is submerged in a ball of water. The negative energy is then absorbed into the water and the water parts just as it had appeared, taking the negative energy with it.

This method, of course, isn't limited to simply visualizing. If the object in question can be submerged in actual water, left out on a windy day, buried in the ground or a bowl of sand/salt, or passed through flames, there's no reason not to. However, some objects are destroyed by or risk damage using these methods. And if what you're trying to cleanse is a room or a person, the use of visualization is especially useful. I highly suggest working on your visual skills for cleansing purposes for this exact reason!

As mentioned in the sections above, cleansing spells for the home vary widely. Since we're talking basic ritual/spell, here's a simple formula you can use to craft your own house cleansing spell:

1. Put on some music you associate with either cleaning or uplifting energy as you physically clean every room of the house.

2. Get into your magickal mindset/consciousness. If you desire to cast a circle, now is the time. Be sure to extend the boundaries out to encompass the whole of the house you're working in.

3. Using an incense or dried herb of choice, go room-to-room to smoke cleanse the areas. (Alternatively, you can use an herbal spray made for this purpose.) As you do so, hold onto your intention of the space becoming energetically cleaner, brighter, and peaceful. Visualize the negativity energy dissolving away throughout each room, including in the corners, between, under, and behind the objects and furniture in the rooms, etc. This is also a good time to use a chant or prayer to voice this intention.

4. Charge your chosen crystals, stones, or other symbols or objects for each room in the house. The intention set here should be for these magickal objects to serve as the energetic equivalent of air purifiers, absorbing and filtering out negativity. (If this is a repeat, then take the objects you previously used and cleanse them individually prior to recharging them.)

5. After placing your objects in each room, now is a good time to go around room-to-room either with a blessing incense mixture and spray or a charged candle. Again, this is a good time for chants and prayers for your intention. You're now filling the space with the positive and desired energies and vibrations you seek (basically, making it so there's no room for the negativity to come back in).

6. End as you typically would for any ritual and spellcasting.

Whether you're cleansing a whole building or just a small space within one, the concepts are pretty much the same. For a room, you can apply any house cleansing spell and make any minor adjustments necessary.

For example, if your house cleansing spell involves taking a candle room-to-room, you can obviously just skip that step for a single room cleansing spell.

No (I'm a stickler for you crafting your own), but... A Wiccan cleansing spell would follow the same basic formula above. It's generally in the cleansing spell words that would make it Wiccan versus any other path (or lack thereof).

For example, the words you might use in Druid-style magick will differ versus that of a Christian Witch's, which will likely differ from that you might find in Haitian Vodou.

To craft your Wicca-specific spell, you'll want to incorporate words and objects you use in Wicca.

Perhaps after physically cleaning, you take your besom around to spiritually sweep out the negative energies. Instead of calling on Angels and Saints, you invoke the Goddess and God and/or the Elements. Make use of your athame when charging objects to serve as energy filters.

As for some example Wicca-centered words, see the section below.

Sure! You may want to incorporate some of the words from the Prayers and Chants into your ritual. Or, here's example Wicca-flavored prayer and chant you can incorporate into your cleansing magick:

Example Wicca Cleansing Prayer

"Oh Great Mother Goddess, Oh Horned God,

By the light of the Moon and the fires of the Sun,

Reveal all that is negative and unwanted here.

May all that harms us now be bound,

Freeing us from all we do fear.

We cleanse this space and let it be found

All that brings merriment and fun.

Blessed be."

Example Wicca Cleansing Chant

"Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit,

Sweep through this place and clear it.

Cleanse this space of all that harms,

That those within are forearms."

By all means, feel free to change up any of the wording used here.

So been there! We get so wrapped up in making sure our homes and spaces are cleansed, we tend to forget that negative energy can build up in other places, such as objects we carry (smartphone drama, anybody?) or our own auras.

Sometimes we can't tell exactly where the negativity is emanating from and we just feel so overwhelmed and bogged down we just need something powerful and quick.

So I'm going to share with you one such spell that I created on the spot years ago when I was going through that exact issue.

• Go room-to-room, telling any demons, negativity, etc. to get the [expletive] out and go back where they came from. They have no power over us.

• Call on Goddesses, Gods, Archangels, angels, spirit guides, animal guides, Ancestors, Mighty Dead, etc.

• Pray to those you've called on to aid you. Speak from the heart, explaining how you're feeling, what you need, and how they can best help you.

• Imagine your house (or whatever space you're in, if more applicable) flooding with water. The waters become turbulent up to tsunamis. The water fills the house completely, covering every object, person, nook and cranny.

• Feel and visualize the waters receding. As it does, it leaves everything and everyone completely cleansed of the negativity. The waters run back to the earth to be cleaned.

• Now that the negative energy has quickly been removed, you must fill the space with positive energy:

  1. Create a 3-color ball of energy (green for healing, pink for love, white for protection).

  2. Rip part of the ball, throw in the center the room, and see it expand to fill the space.

  3. Lock in the energy with a Pentagram.

  4. Repeat ripping off parts of the ball, expanding, and locking the energy in each room.

• Go outside with the leftover energy and allow it to disperse, filling the neighborhood, then the city/town. Ask that neighbors, friends, loved ones be blessed and protected.

• Thank those spirits and allies who aided you and lent their energy to this working.

Intention. Always intention first. Next to that, I'd place visualization and energy work skills.

I love this question!

My mind flashes between scenes of Disney characters cheating on their chores and someone lazing about on their couch suddenly zapped with an uncontrollable urge to clean both quickly and methodically. The answer to either, of course, is no.

Depending on which you mean, a better answer is different:

• If you're looking for spells to help you with getting the cleaning done, you may want to do some money magick to help raise the funds for hiring someone. Or (more mundanely), just reach out to your friends, family, community, etc. for help.

• If you're trying to get the energy or motivation to do the cleaning yourself, you might want spells more along the lines of building confidence, esteem, willpower, etc.

• Additionally, if you have physical or other limitations, healing magick might be more what you need. Or, again, reaching out for help up to and including hiring professionals to assist.

When it comes to the more mundane things in life that we either simply don't want to or physically can't do, the magickal answer might not be the one that you wish it would be. Whatever it is you're trying to clean, if cleansing magick isn't what's called for, trying thinking outside the box.

There's always a solution to any dilemma. We just have to figure it out. Maybe an inspiration spell would be a better starting point!