Last year I had a friend reach out asking about how to cleanse the new house her family was moving into before they brought their stuff in there.

Based on the Clear Your Space with Smoke and Sound Lesson in my Free Spirit Guidebook, I created a simple ritual for her.

After being in our homes for so long over the last year I thought you might like to take advantage of the warmer weather and cleanse your space too.

How To Cleanse Your Home With Smoke

• Make or purchase an herb bundle, like mugwort or juniper. (I do mention sage in my book but it has been brought to my attention that white sage is being overused so please do some research before buying and using – more on this below) 
• Clearing and cleansing your space with smoke is an empowering way to rid your space of negative or stagnant energy. Think of it as energy that is not serving you or is no longer serving you.
• In your case, this would be old energy from the previous owners.
• While you are clearing, you can imagine that the negative or stagnant energy is being transmuted into neutral energy or clear space.
• Create an intention for this work.
  • “Help me clear this space from old, stagnant energy.”
  • “With my intention and this smoke, I clear this space of any negative energy.”  
  • “As I move around this house with this smoke, I clear out old energy.”
  • Or use all 3!
• Always be very careful with lit embers and ashes. You might like to use an incense holder, seashell, or similar object to catch ashes. Be mindful to put out your smoke after you are done clearing or allow it to burn out with supervision.
• Allow the smoke to go into areas under chairs, under your bed, in corners, nooks and crannies, and so on. 
• Feel free to play music, especially if you are new to this. Just make it fun.
• After, protect and bless the space by imagining white light filling the space or a bubble or angels around the space or spritzing with rosewater or placing crystals around. You might like to have a special room spray or candle to use for a while.
• This would be a beautiful time to set an intention for your home or prayer. Something like:
  • “May this house be filled with love and light. A beautiful, safe place for our family to grow and flourish.”
  • “May God, Angels, Universe, protect this house and fill it with love. We look forward to filling it with joy and comfort every day.”
  • “This house is now ready to be filled with the light and love of our family. We look forward to creating many happy memories here.”
  • Again, a combo of all 3 works too.
• Have fun with this! Doing rituals like this really helps you feel the marking of a transition in your life when you are moving or shifting into a new chapter. The smoke from the herb bundle is a part of the ritual but your energy and intention are what will really shift the energy.
• Don’t like smoke? You can do this whole thing with sounds like chimes or bells.
  

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

If you want some added support, consider working with me one-on-one or dive into my Free Spirit Guidebook to help you create fun, positive shifts on a regular basis!

Resources about White Sage:

I had a local Indigenous artist reach out to me about mentioning sage in my book. She told me about how the act of smudging with white sage is a sacred act for many Indigenous communities. We ended up having a very informative conversation over Instagram about cultural appropriation and how I can be a better ally. I want to share some of the resources she shared with me along with some others I found doing my own research.

Sage, Smudging, and New Age Spirituality

Alternatives to White Sage

Cleansing Without Sage

The Ethics of Burning Sage, Explained

The inspiration for the Clearing Your Space with Smoke and Sound Lesson in my book came from the fact that smoke cleansing has been a practice in many cultures for centuries including my Celtic heritage. When I have cleared myself and my spaces with smoke it has been so healing for me and I want to share it with others.

I try to be very intentional and respectful with my work and am always open to learning more and moving forward in the right direction. I will be making some edits in the second edition of my Free Spirit Guidebook and am grateful for the way I was called in about how I might be harming Indigenous communities with my work. I encourage you to do your own research and, if you do love sage, please consider garden sage or buying from ethically sourced businesses. If you would like to make your own, check out this article: Herbal Allies for Energy Clearing.

This is also on my blog: THE PROBLEM WITH USING WHITE SAGE