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Cleansing after practicing magick

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
I haven't seen *some* of these specific questions asked here, so I thought I would bring them up:

1. Do you cleanse your house after practicing magick/craft?

2. Are there people who choose not to cleanse their house afterwards, and what are the results?

3. If you have a particularly successful day of practicing magick, and the results are positive - are there times you may choose to skip the clean-up?
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
Other than putting materials away, what's to clean?

(I ask genuinely, I'm unsure here.)
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
Other than putting materials away, what's to clean?

(I ask genuinely, I'm unsure here.)

Well, I was just speaking in terms of the idea of there possibly being spiritual residue, or inviting spirits in due to one's practices.

Cleansing can include anything from spells to cleanse, to literally doing things like saying prayers and sprinkling water. It depends on the person.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
I haven't seen *some* of these specific questions asked here, so I thought I would bring them up:

1. Do you cleanse your house after practicing magick/craft?

2. Are there people who choose not to cleanse their house afterwards, and what are the results?

3. If you have a particularly successful day of practicing magick, and the results are positive - are there times you may choose to skip the clean-up?
I personally have been lighting a white candle to cleanse the negative energies in the area before a ritual. I've never needed to after.

It's all a personal choice based on your own research, everything in witchcraft, if you ask me. It also depends on what you're working with, different things require different procedures imo.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I personally have been lighting a white candle to cleanse the negative energies in the area before a ritual. I've never needed to after.

It's all a personal choice based on your own research, everything in witchcraft, if you ask me. It also depends on what you're working with, different things require different procedures imo.

I've heard of cleansing or taking protective measures before, but I think this is the first I've heard of doing so after. Yeah, I guess it would depend on what you're working with.

But, like you say, there's a lot of personal choice involved(and that's a good thing).
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
I've heard of cleansing or taking protective measures before, but I think this is the first I've heard of doing so after. Yeah, I guess it would depend on what you're working with.

But, like you say, there's a lot of personal choice involved(and that's a good thing).

Sounds like I could be doing things a bit uniquely, then. But my approach to magick could be a bit unique, too.

My reasoning behind it was just if you're practicing with energy, you run the risk of leaving behind magick residue. And I thought that areas where magick had been practiced, had a higher likelihood of opening up portals if left unattended.

But I also recently read an article, like tonight, where one person was talking about having a "magic environment" as being a good thing.

In any case, I think I'll see what others have to say, ie await more replies to see what others do and think.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
Sounds like I could be doing things a bit uniquely, then. But my approach to magick could be a bit unique, too.

My reasoning behind it was just if you're practicing with energy, you run the risk of leaving behind magick residue. And I thought that areas where magick had been practiced, had a higher likelihood of opening up portals if left unattended.

But I also recently read an article, like tonight, where one person was talking about having a "magic environment" as being a good thing.

In any case, I think I'll see what others have to say, ie await more replies to see what others do and think.

That makes good sense to me. I can see the benefit, especially if you're working with unstable energies in a room with other purposes.

What did the article mean by 'magic environment'?
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Sounds like I could be doing things a bit uniquely, then. But my approach to magick could be a bit unique, too.

My reasoning behind it was just if you're practicing with energy, you run the risk of leaving behind magick residue. And I thought that areas where magick had been practiced, had a higher likelihood of opening up portals if left unattended.

But I also recently read an article, like tonight, where one person was talking about having a "magic environment" as being a good thing.

In any case, I think I'll see what others have to say, ie await more replies to see what others do and think.
When I first bought candles, the store lady had told me that 'the eclipse makes The Portal wide open and you can invite "unwanted guests" in if you do not have this certain crystal' - I did end up buying it, but looking back I think it was her coaxing me into spending more money. I use the crystal still, but I'd feel comfortable without it. I have developed a different mental image of what's going on when invoking Presences than what she suggested, and the 'unwanted guests' thing did not make sense in my mental idea.

If you are afraid that magical energy can remain in the location and cause bad things to happen, I think it is wise to cleanse if that is what makes you comfortable.
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
That makes good sense to me. I can see the benefit, especially if you're working with unstable energies in a room with other purposes.

What did the article mean by 'magic environment'?

I'll see if I can find the article.

I posted a different article above, which was pretty interesting (to me), and that I trust a little bit more. It talked about cleansing things, and also talked about how in some cases, you may not want to cleanse wands, etc.
 

Viker

Häxan
Generally, if everything is done properly to start out there is not much to clean after a working. Part of any ritual includes cleansing preparations and care taken through the entire process. If there would be any concern one could try an after cleansing. It couldn't hurt, if they have concern.

I've known a few who rush into ritual haphazardly. Never a good idea.
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
But I also recently read an article, like tonight, where one person was talking about having a "magic environment" as being a good thing.

I checked my browsing history, @JustGeorge , and it was more than one article, but it seems I misunderstood what the articles said. I was thinking they meant "fill your house with magick residue", but actually, they were saying "If you get a new house, you should cleanse it, then use magick, scents, and spices to try and infuse a little positive energy into it."

Here's one of the three articles, it just tells a bit about a book someone has and the description, I haven't read the book:

 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Do you cleanse your house after practicing magick/craft?

Nope, never even considered it. The only time I do a "cleansing" of my entire house is when I need to banish unwanted energies or as part of a usual "cleansing" thing at the appropriate time of year (MidWinter, in my tradition).

For clarity, I'm putting "cleansing" in quotes because the meaning of it in my tradition seems distinct enough from the OP's drift that it seems necessary. I'm aware that in other traditions, cleansing is seen as some sort of standard practice. The term "cleansing" gets applied to anything from generic (but ritually-intentioned) house cleaning to dedication rites and preparation of sacred spaces, among other things. In my tradition it's a specific subtype of restoration whereby unwanted influences are removed to restore the original state of something.

For an animist, this means there are fairly significant ethical considerations. Doing cleansing on another person is potentially a violation of their nature and agency, so cleansing is typically only done on oneself. Occasionally, it may be done with persons one has a meaningful relationship with, like Spirits of the Home. Then, doing a clean every so often (literally and/or metaphysically) is a show of devotion and respect.
Non-animists will not share this perspective on the art of cleansing, though, so ignore as pertains to your worldview.


Are there people who choose not to cleanse their house afterwards, and what are the results?

Me, I guess? Couldn't tell you the results as I have no basis for comparison, but it's never been a problem.
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
This thread has been interesting so far. Things I have gleaned from it:

1. If I'm understanding correctly, it seems that by the books, careful practice of magick leaves little residue.

2. It seems that cleansing after magick isn't nearly as common as I thought it was. It's possible that I may have just gotten into a habit of cleansing after magick after doing it one time or another, then found it useful, and assumed that others might do the same.
 

rocala

Well-Known Member
Hi @Snow White, knowing little of magic and having no strong opinions on it I have enjoyed reading this post. I have read enough in the past to see magic as an attempt to change one or more forms of energy into others in order to achieve a desired result.

In the conventional world we do this all the time, just flick a light switch for example. However this is rarely a 100% straight swap. You may light up your room but the light bulb will get hot. The heat is a side effect or "residue" of your action.

So it is not unreasonable to assume that magic would be any different IMO. Even if it is not always essential it strikes me as good practice, better to be safe.
 

Sedim Haba

Outa here... bye-bye!
I haven't seen *some* of these specific questions asked here, so I thought I would bring them up:

1. Do you cleanse your house after practicing magick/craft?

2. Are there people who choose not to cleanse their house afterwards, and what are the results?

3. If you have a particularly successful day of practicing magick, and the results are positive - are there times you may choose to skip the clean-up?

Funny, I was just thinking about this...

I've only made a few circles in my life, for various reasons and purposes some might not
really be considered Magick per se, but procedures like... Scrying? Astral projection attempts?

In any case, I'm super paranoid and cleanse (in a few ways) both before and after.
Must have worked, no unwanted attention from unwanted 'guests'.

To do otherwise seems foolish.
 

Guitar's Cry

Disciple of Pan
I haven't seen *some* of these specific questions asked here, so I thought I would bring them up:

1. Do you cleanse your house after practicing magick/craft?

2. Are there people who choose not to cleanse their house afterwards, and what are the results?

3. If you have a particularly successful day of practicing magick, and the results are positive - are there times you may choose to skip the clean-up?

My practice tends towards the psychological effects of ritual and spellwork, so I close these by reversing what I do to open them as a way of providing a mental framework for the action.

For instance, I tend to open a ritual by drawing my athame from its sheath, consecrating it, and drawing a circle around the area with it. I will end it by removing the circle, grounding the athame, and sheathing it.
 
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