Spring Cleaning with Magic

A free post from BlissBlog.org

Feb 25, 2024

I know it’s early, but I’m an eternal optimist. (Or as my grandsons would say, “Optimus”.) We’re more than halfway through February. There are fewer than 4 weeks until Ostara, the Vernal Equinox! That’s spring, so spring cleaning can begin, and for me it starts with the annual DECLUTTERING.

Decluttering 101

I am doing a major purge this year. All those clothes I’ve had for years, the ones on the hangers I push aside while muttering that I have nothing to wear, will be donated. All the running shoes with with the soles worn on one side–going! All the crap in my drawers that I push aside looking for the stuff I will actually pull out and use–going.

The act of re-homing our clutter, opens up space in our homes. It creates a vacuum that will pull in new things–things that match our now vibe. And since our point of attraction is constantly evolving higher and higher, better and better, things that match our current vibe are way better than things that matched our old, outdated vibe of years gone by.

I love Marie Kondo’s notion of picking each item up, to see if it inspires joy. I agree with that to an extent. My kitchen broom doesn’t inspire joy, but I need it, so I’m not throwing it out. Although, if I ever find a broom that does inspire joy (one that actually flies, be still my heart!) I’ll toss the old one in a New York minute. So not everything I keep has to inspire joy, it just has to be something I use regularly and prefer not to be without. I might, however, keep a list of the non-joy-inducing-but-still-essential items I find, and then later, make a project of finding replacements that are more joyful.

I could probably find a really joy-inspiring, non-flying broom made for actual house-sweeping if I tried, right? Yep, just found one with a 1 minute Google search. Look at that. Leopard print and all.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/designer-collection-handle-dustpan-leopard/dp/b007jl5846?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=maggieshaye&linkCode=ur2&linkId=88187691703bf1dea9b404fb259ebed8&camp=1789&creative=9325">Leopard Print Broomstick</a>

So maybe Marie is right, and everything should inspire joy. But as I said, keep the essentials and consider upgrading them to joy-making replacements in the coming year. I think I’m actually going to upgrade my sweeping-broom.

Dust and Cobwebs

After the decluttering, the cleaning begins, first, with the dry stuff. Dust and cobwebs, and, around here, a couple of dogs’ worth of stray hairs. I sweep and vacuum it all up and dump it outside where the winds can carry it away and the birds can use it to build their nests. Dog hair nests make for warm, cozy hatchlings, you know.

The old spiderwebs, I keep in a cute little jar. These are magical items used by some use in binding spells, or healing spells, and for me, they are talismans for storytellers. We weave a web of words, just as grandmother spider weaves a web of spider-silk. And like her, we really want our readers to get stuck in them for the duration. (I never interfere with an outdoor spiderweb, and I try not to bother the inside ones until it’s fairly clear the spider has abandoned them, or, you know, if company is coming.)

The Washdown

And yes, eventually, the spring cleaning must involve water and soap. I love water. I think it’s the greatest substance on earth. Having read Dr. Emoto’s work, The Secret of Water, I understand water to have consciousness, memory, and life. It is a living, breathing being. And it responds powerfully to the emotions of people.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Messages-Water-Masaru-Emoto-ebook/dp/B004V3WPUA/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ztB3OGW6YxuSdwCs7uZeA2T4tNB1BEAkqpkILbrbF8AKS8R4n1dUC1qijeTCZxtUF4oxMFRPfohGGaeJDwWPF10j1ozIqau0LxPII2MBXXU2sI6_Ry7VbG3284skiY2QWPT0wUfdTCeGsHgh0bXrw626ipp7w5QXm_44plweWAqKiHDb1HZEeYUH9YiXXcZXII_NdrcIHmhzdx1cQQ9y8KSsbpDDt_-m60bCqPNBJ0c.D439YB-TyILGK9NjYWXzJrH2eOJTZSKhyWty5C0bEE0&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+secret+of+water&qid=1708781536&sr=8-2&_encoding=UTF8&tag=maggieshaye&linkCode=ur2&linkId=d98d4b974f80b493f9d9ec1a3652d524&camp=1789&creative=9325">The Hidden Messages in Water</a>

I’m fortunate that my water comes from a deep well in my back yard, with no chlorine or fluoride added. We filter it with our own system that takes out the sulphur taste, but I feel like it removes too many minerals. It’s very good, very alive water. It’s not contained, it flows from the well into the house, and back through the drains and septic system into the ground again.

When I fill my bucket with cleaning water from the taps, I bless and praise it the whole time it’s running. Next I add the soap, as natural a product as I can find, and, this is important, I don’t use more than the recommended amount on the label. There’s a reason those amounts are there. Next, I add a little bit of essential oil, sage is my current favorite. Peppermint works well, too, and both carry the energy of cleansing, purification, and abundance.

Finally, I move my hands clockwise over the cleaning water, and sing or chant a little blessing to it.

Imbued with light and scent and love
Bubbling from below and raining from above
Dirt replaced with loving care
By clean, sweet, freshness everywhere!
Water, water, living friend,
Within and without, flow without end

Notice how we don’t focus on getting rid of anything. We focus on what we are creating, not banishing. We fill the space with clean rather than trying to empty it of dirty. It’s subtle, but it magnifies the effectiveness.

Cleaning in motion

As I sweep, or dust, or wash each room, I do so in a clockwise motion. Clockwise, (deosil, pronounced “djes-il” in magical circles) is the direction of creating, while counterclockwise (widdershins) is the direction of un-creating. Since Law of Attraction says attention to anything creates more of it and holds it to you, we are always focused on what we want, rather than on what we don’t. So we clean clockwise, the direction of creation, and we focus on filling our space with sweet smells, gleaming surfaces, fresh air, pure light, and we create those things.

The creation of cleanliness overwrites dirt and dust. The emptying of clutter creates space for the fresh and the new. Filling the place with light, dispels darkness. Positive energy drives negative energy out as naturally as the opposing ends of a magnet push away from each other.

Ritual Cleaning

After the the physical cleaning is done, I generally cap it off with a ritual cleansing of the house. I carry representations of each of the four elements, around the house in a clockwise direction; a smoking censer for air, with incense of sage, rosemary, sweetgrasses; a white candle, alight, for fire; asperge with blessed water, shaking it into every corner with your fingertips or a sprig of pine; scatter blessed salt, just very lightly, a few grains as you go.

I do this three times; once indoors, room to room, upstairs and down, basement and attic, once outdoors, around the outer walls of my house; ones more further out, tracing the boundaries of my property line. (It’s only 5 acres. If there’s more, just doo the part you consider your yard, and do a fourth round, tracing the outermost boundary line.

The energy of the old year is gone, but its remnants linger. We move those remnants on their way by replacing them with the fresh, clean new energy of the brand new year, and the even newer season just ahead.

Spring! Can you believe it’s so close?

Ritualizing the way we welcome the annual season of renewal brings us into alignment with its energy.

May every part of you feel reborn as spring whispers into our experience once again. The Crone gives way to the Maiden. And the wheel turns.

Until next time…