Smudging a Home

As it was the new moon - perfect for banishing negativity, or so my wiccan friends tell me, we decided to perform the smudging of my friend's home.

She was feeling a lot of negativity in her home and felt she needed a cleansing.

It's the first time I have ever done a smudging at any house other than my own.

I had discussed it with colleagues and friends, outlining the basic steps, but I've never been asked to perform this ritual for anyone. So I reviewed some of my old smudging notes, spoke to my sister and consulted a few sources/resources and put together a "formal" ritual for my friend.

If I could have found cedar, I would have used that, as I prefer the smell, but most of what we get out here in Ottawa is sage and sage combinations. I decided to begin by smudging the participants first, outside . I then asked for the Goddess' blessing and protection, and dabbed each of us with some Frankincense oil.

As we entered the house, Isabell filled me in on any rooms or areas that gave her the creeps. She told me the basement was the area she felt the worse 'vibes' in.

We began cleansing the top floor. We didn't use the smudging sticks at this point. Instead I demanded that any negative energy leave and called in light & love. I began to "push" the negative energy out the window. We did this room by room. As we finished the top floor, Isabell's dog Jimmy, dropped a stuffed bunny at my feet. I knew that the rabbit is often a manifestation of the Goddess so I took this as an important sign. Jimmy took that stuffed bunny and followed me into every room of the house. I paid particular attention to the basement. This house is over 80 years old...it's been there a loooong time. At one point, Jimmy dropped the stuffed bunny and started to paw at a particular spot on the basement floor. That spot was definitely colder then anywhere else. I took a mental note of it for when I returned there with the smudging stick.

Having asked all the negativity to leave, we went outside, including, Jimmy and his stuffed bunny which we all now referred to as "the Goddess Bunny." I stood on the front step and asked the Goddess to protect Isabell's home. I continued to request this as we walked around the perimeter of the house creating a salt circle.

Now we felt we were ready to begin smudging the house.

Following the same path as the first time we went through the house, I smudged every corner, every window frame. I opened all the windows to allow for a good flow of energy during this cleansing. Every doorway was also smudged. Isabell was the last one to add her own touch to the ritual. She had some water she'd brought back from the Chalice Well in Glastonbury. This water is said to be blessed by the ancient Priestesses of Avalon . She flicked this water into each room. Everyone was asked to visualize every room in the house filling with white light and love, and of course, Jimmy was there with us every step of the way, with the Goddess Bunny.

We ended our ritual in the basement. I smudged the spot Jimmy had pawed at. I had to relight the smudge stick several times before I could get this area cleansed. I touched every basement wall I could get to and made sure I told the house that the disruption which was shaking it's foundations was not an attempt to bring it down, but construction work in the street out front and that this house was bought in love and was cherished by it's new owners.

I thanked the Goddess for her assistance, and we were done.

By Amy Eyman-LeBlanc