| One of the greatest parts about practicing Wicca is | | | | "By the powers of fire and air, I cleanse you of |
| that it empowers its practitioners to bestow | | | | negativity and make you safe for these rites" |
| blessings upon others, themselves and their | | | | Once all participants are cleansed in this manner, the |
| surroundings. What exactly does this mean? Well, | | | | person leading the house cleaning will move from |
| just as chapel priest or minister can say a prayer on | | | | room to room with the incense, wafting the smoke |
| behalf of one of their congregation in order to bring | | | | into all the nooks and crannies. As they are doing this, |
| about a sense of well being and security, a witch can | | | | the witch will recite a chant such as; |
| do much the same. However, witches do not believe | | | | "By the powers of fire and air, I cleanse this space, |
| that they need a liaison between them and the | | | | and banish all negativity from this home |
| Divine. Therefore they are capable of tapping into | | | | Once this is complete, the witch will then move from |
| this divine energy and directing its positive influence | | | | room to room with a diffuser of holy water (often |
| to their home, family and friends. | | | | with a small amount of salt dissolved into it), sprinkling |
| As an example of one of these types of blessings, | | | | it in all parts of every room. The chant for this part |
| this article will divulge the process a witch may take | | | | of the process may go something like; |
| in order to perform a simple house blessing, to | | | | "By the powers of water and earth, I consecrate this |
| bestow the home with a sense of well being and | | | | space, and invite the energies of prosperity, health |
| harmony. | | | | and harmony into this home" |
| Step One, The Mundane Piece | | | | At this point, it is common for a witch to take up a |
| The first part of cleansing or blessing any place, be it | | | | musical instrument of some kind. It may be a drum, |
| the home, office or even your garage, is to physically | | | | bell, sing bowl, or even a tuning fork. They will move |
| clean the place. Anybody who knows even a little | | | | from room to room sounding their instrument, |
| about Feng Shui will tell you that clutter and mess are | | | | envisioning the noise from the instrument breaking up |
| very disruptive to the flow of energy in your home. | | | | any blocks of negative energy in the home. A chant |
| In addition to blocking the flow of positive energy in | | | | may or may not be a part of this step, as the noise |
| your environment, clutter actually adds negativity to | | | | and visualizations are the key part of this step. |
| your space. | | | | Once the house is cleansed in this manner, the witch |
| That being said, the first step to a good house | | | | may conduct a more extensive ritual to invite |
| blessing is to have a clean house! | | | | harmonious energies into the home in order to |
| Step Two, The Materials | | | | maintain the positive energy flow they have |
| The types of materials used in a spiritual blessing will | | | | established. It really depends on how comfortable the |
| vary from person to person, depending on their | | | | inhabitants of the home are with such a ritual. |
| tradition and personal tastes. Yet, there are some | | | | This is just one of the many different kinds of |
| very commonly used tools that most witches are | | | | blessings out there that witches can freely bestow |
| very familiar with. They are: | | | | upon others. It is very common for blessing of this |
| # A purifying incense, such as Sage or Frankincense | | | | type to take place, and it has a very positive impact |
| # Holy Water | | | | on those who experience it. Granted, this is a |
| # A musical object such as a bell, drum or singing | | | | bare-bones account of what a house cleansing and |
| bowl | | | | blessing entails. |
| # A Broom | | | | In addition to a house blessing, Wiccans out there |
| # Empowered white candles | | | | perform blessings for a variety of reasons. The |
| Step Three, The Blessing | | | | possibilities are vast. Some examples of the different |
| When the witch and all other participants are ready | | | | kinds of blessing are |
| to begin, the witch will cast a ritual circle (a simple | | | | # A Healing ritual for a friend who has fallen ill |
| ceremony for protection) that encompasses that | | | | # A ritual of protection before a long road trip or |
| whole home. As part of this ceremony, the witch will | | | | flight |
| use the frankincense or smudge-stick to cleanse and | | | | # Bestowing protective magic on a loved one who is |
| bless the participants in the house blessing. While | | | | in the armed forces |
| doing this, the witch may chant something similar to | | | | # Performing a blessing for newly weds for long and |
| this: | | | | happy marriage The list can go on and on... |