A Real Witch’s 5 Tips for Using Witchcraft to Give Your Home an Energy-Clearing Makeover
With every new season, most of us get the decluttering bug. We start to clean out our closets and throw out the dead plants and sticky notes that no longer stick from our desks. But have you thought of clearing out stagnant energy in your home by adding some spiritual cleansing to the mix?
As a practicing Witch and Sensitive, I find energy takes pride of place in my mystical toolbox, along with tarot cards, alphabetized essential oils, and a massive collection of Herb jars. Going back to our middle school science class for a moment, energy is everywhere—from the device you’re looking at right now to the floor beneath you. It’s also that indescribable feeling you get when you walk into your home and are greeted with a heavy, weird vibe that renders you incapable of relaxing and getting comfortable on the sofa.
Our homes are collectors of energy in the same way that they accumulate hoards of stuff. So if you want to add more good vibes into your space and reduce feelings of stuffiness, energy clearing is a good place to start. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach—I alternate between different methods and do it whenever I notice any change in energy (mainly if I’ve had a lot of visitors or any major life events). Here are a few ways to up-level your spring-cleaning and boost positive energy in your home.
1. Clearing
No getting around it: It’s imperative to physically clean your space. Declutter, dust, mop, vacuum....CLEAN! I recommend charging your cleaning supplies by holding them, meditating with them, visualizing on the past year and any challenges or set-backs you may have had, and then scrubbing them out of your life. With that in mind, I always put the best of intentions into my vacuum cleaner and dusting wand before tasking them with tackling any grime and filth. You can implement the use of floor washes that have been blended with herbal infusions and come pre-charged with the intention of Abundance and High-Vibe Energy. You can find the one I use here
After that, it is time to smudge—which can be done in more ways than many realize.
While clearing, you should have a mantra like, ‘I replace any negative energy in this space with my highest and best energy.’ Finish by setting an intention for clear communication and abundance.
The most common herb that people burn is sage, but there are many other ways to energetically clear a space. Cedar or mugwort can be just as effective, as can burning Palo Santo, ringing bells, clapping your hands, dancing or using a sage spray, which you can make yourself or purchase. While clearing, verbalize your mantra while holding a feeling of peace and joy in your core. I like to imagine the energy I push out of myself as a bright light, filling every corner of my home and dispelling dark heavy ick.
2. Manifesting
Manifestation can be accomplished in countless ways! Use your imagination and create a Wish Box, a Witches Bottle or something as simple as a small plate tucked away somewhere that holds your special items in line with your intent. I set up an altar for our house keys as a way to manifest good vibes and happiness for the year to come. For clarity, Merriam-Webster defines an altar as “a usually raised structure or place on which sacrifices are offered or incense is burned in worship,” or “a table…which serves as a center of worship or ritual.”
Our altar includes a beautiful antique cast iron barn hook nailed to the entry area, on which I have placed my specially charged items: a hanging utility knife (to cut negative energy from any items or people as they enter our home), a brightly colored, beaded lanyard my mother gave me that maintains high vibes and love, and a tiny mandala that balances the energies of people and items as they move forward from the entrance into our home.
Every year, part of my spring cleaning is charging our keys: While holding your house keys, visualize the key opening a door to abundance, fulfillment, love, ease or any other blessings you can imagine.
3. Comfort
I also perform a “Warm and Loving Welcome” ritual, the purpose of which is to manifest and facilitate comfort. It requires two orange candles, comfy clothes, and cookie dough. Yes, cookie dough! Realtors use this cozy-aroma hack to cultivate a hygge atmosphere for an open house, and it works the same way here. Put on some Jazz music or any music that fills you with peace and comfort, slip into your comfiest house clothes, light your candles in your newly cleaned space and BAKE!
But what if you’re not into baking or simply don’t feel put at ease by the sweet scent of cookies in the oven? Throw some orange slices, cinnamon sticks and vanilla extract in a pot of water and boil until the steam carries a delicious scent throughout your space.
4. Balance
To create balance in your home, you can cast a spell for a successful year ahead, which requires a representation of each element—Earth, fire, air, water. Use two of each element to represent each person living in the space. As each element is represented in equal balance, so too are your energies equal in the space. I suggest using two candles for fire, seashells for water, crystals for Earth, and incense for air.
Sit down with your partner, children or housemates and go over what you liked and loathed about the past year. What are you leaving behind and what are you hoping to bring in? This can be bonding as well as helpful in setting boundaries, laying out intentions for the year ahead and giving your partnership structure and open communication.
5. Protection
All that’s left is to claim you space. Simply announce out loud that the space belongs to you, and that any negative or threatening energies have no power in your space. For an added touch of security, I suggests getting a crystal for protection, like black tourmaline or obsidian, or hang a Witches Ball for Protection.
Salt is another super-easy, but super-sacred and effective protection tool. Create a salt circle around the outside of your building, or leave a few grains in each corner of your home.
Can learning how to cast a spell on your home improve your year ahead?
One hundred percent. Stripped down, these intention-setting exercises and rituals are a vibrant means of running through the necessary motions that accompany setting clear intentions for your future.
Also, it begs explanation that the reason magic actually works is courtesy of the energy the practitioner puts into it. Set your intentions and take it seriously. Remember the actions you performed when you see your space; revisit your clear intentions when you glimpse your altar; call back the scent of comfort you created when you’re in your kitchen! These actions will make you feel accountable and in control of your life and space. This is just another way of practicing what I call practical magic.
As a practicing Witch and Sensitive, I find energy takes pride of place in my mystical toolbox, along with tarot cards, alphabetized essential oils, and a massive collection of Herb jars. Going back to our middle school science class for a moment, energy is everywhere—from the device you’re looking at right now to the floor beneath you. It’s also that indescribable feeling you get when you walk into your home and are greeted with a heavy, weird vibe that renders you incapable of relaxing and getting comfortable on the sofa.
Our homes are collectors of energy in the same way that they accumulate hoards of stuff. So if you want to add more good vibes into your space and reduce feelings of stuffiness, energy clearing is a good place to start. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach—I alternate between different methods and do it whenever I notice any change in energy (mainly if I’ve had a lot of visitors or any major life events). Here are a few ways to up-level your spring-cleaning and boost positive energy in your home.
1. Clearing
No getting around it: It’s imperative to physically clean your space. Declutter, dust, mop, vacuum....CLEAN! I recommend charging your cleaning supplies by holding them, meditating with them, visualizing on the past year and any challenges or set-backs you may have had, and then scrubbing them out of your life. With that in mind, I always put the best of intentions into my vacuum cleaner and dusting wand before tasking them with tackling any grime and filth. You can implement the use of floor washes that have been blended with herbal infusions and come pre-charged with the intention of Abundance and High-Vibe Energy. You can find the one I use here
After that, it is time to smudge—which can be done in more ways than many realize.
While clearing, you should have a mantra like, ‘I replace any negative energy in this space with my highest and best energy.’ Finish by setting an intention for clear communication and abundance.
The most common herb that people burn is sage, but there are many other ways to energetically clear a space. Cedar or mugwort can be just as effective, as can burning Palo Santo, ringing bells, clapping your hands, dancing or using a sage spray, which you can make yourself or purchase. While clearing, verbalize your mantra while holding a feeling of peace and joy in your core. I like to imagine the energy I push out of myself as a bright light, filling every corner of my home and dispelling dark heavy ick.
2. Manifesting
Manifestation can be accomplished in countless ways! Use your imagination and create a Wish Box, a Witches Bottle or something as simple as a small plate tucked away somewhere that holds your special items in line with your intent. I set up an altar for our house keys as a way to manifest good vibes and happiness for the year to come. For clarity, Merriam-Webster defines an altar as “a usually raised structure or place on which sacrifices are offered or incense is burned in worship,” or “a table…which serves as a center of worship or ritual.”
Our altar includes a beautiful antique cast iron barn hook nailed to the entry area, on which I have placed my specially charged items: a hanging utility knife (to cut negative energy from any items or people as they enter our home), a brightly colored, beaded lanyard my mother gave me that maintains high vibes and love, and a tiny mandala that balances the energies of people and items as they move forward from the entrance into our home.
Every year, part of my spring cleaning is charging our keys: While holding your house keys, visualize the key opening a door to abundance, fulfillment, love, ease or any other blessings you can imagine.
3. Comfort
I also perform a “Warm and Loving Welcome” ritual, the purpose of which is to manifest and facilitate comfort. It requires two orange candles, comfy clothes, and cookie dough. Yes, cookie dough! Realtors use this cozy-aroma hack to cultivate a hygge atmosphere for an open house, and it works the same way here. Put on some Jazz music or any music that fills you with peace and comfort, slip into your comfiest house clothes, light your candles in your newly cleaned space and BAKE!
But what if you’re not into baking or simply don’t feel put at ease by the sweet scent of cookies in the oven? Throw some orange slices, cinnamon sticks and vanilla extract in a pot of water and boil until the steam carries a delicious scent throughout your space.
4. Balance
To create balance in your home, you can cast a spell for a successful year ahead, which requires a representation of each element—Earth, fire, air, water. Use two of each element to represent each person living in the space. As each element is represented in equal balance, so too are your energies equal in the space. I suggest using two candles for fire, seashells for water, crystals for Earth, and incense for air.
Sit down with your partner, children or housemates and go over what you liked and loathed about the past year. What are you leaving behind and what are you hoping to bring in? This can be bonding as well as helpful in setting boundaries, laying out intentions for the year ahead and giving your partnership structure and open communication.
5. Protection
All that’s left is to claim you space. Simply announce out loud that the space belongs to you, and that any negative or threatening energies have no power in your space. For an added touch of security, I suggests getting a crystal for protection, like black tourmaline or obsidian, or hang a Witches Ball for Protection.
Salt is another super-easy, but super-sacred and effective protection tool. Create a salt circle around the outside of your building, or leave a few grains in each corner of your home.
Can learning how to cast a spell on your home improve your year ahead?
One hundred percent. Stripped down, these intention-setting exercises and rituals are a vibrant means of running through the necessary motions that accompany setting clear intentions for your future.
Also, it begs explanation that the reason magic actually works is courtesy of the energy the practitioner puts into it. Set your intentions and take it seriously. Remember the actions you performed when you see your space; revisit your clear intentions when you glimpse your altar; call back the scent of comfort you created when you’re in your kitchen! These actions will make you feel accountable and in control of your life and space. This is just another way of practicing what I call practical magic.