Has your house been a bit grumpy lately?
You probably know the feeling. You walk through the front door and something is just… off. A house that usually feels warm and welcoming suddenly feels heavy. A particular room feels unsettled. An argument seems to hang around long after everyone has made up.
Houses have moods.
In many magical and folk traditions, a house is more than a collection of walls and furniture. It has a spirit of its own, shaped by the land it stands on, the people who have lived there and everything that has happened within it.
People have been finding ways to clear their homes of unwanted influences for a very long time. Homes have been swept, washed, filled with the smoke of aromatic plants, sprinkled with water and cleared with the sound of bells.
Different traditions have their own methods, but beneath many of them is the same enduring idea: places hold something of what happens within them. And from time to time, they need to be cleared.
Perhaps there’s been illness or an argument. You’ve moved into a new home. Too many people have been through the house. Or the place simply feels stale.
This ritual uses three very ordinary things: cleaning, smoke and fresh air to give the house a proper reset.
You’ll need
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Incense or dried herbs suitable for burning
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A fireproof dish
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A bell, if you have one
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A broom
The ritual
First, open a door or window. This gives the smoke somewhere to go and, magically speaking, gives everything you’re clearing a way out with it.
Then clean.
You don’t need to scrub the entire house, but put things away, sweep the floors and get rid of anything that has been sitting around waiting to leave.
Once that’s done, light your incense or herbs and begin at the point furthest from your open door or window. Work your way through the house towards it, allowing the smoke to reach corners, doorways and places where the air tends to sit.
If you don’t want to use smoke, use sound instead. Ring a bell, play a singing bowl, clap your hands or use another clear, sharp sound as you move through the rooms.
There's no need for an elaborate incantation (though those are fun and impactful too). Just tell the house what you're doing, or what you want it to do.
This house is cleared of anything that does not belong here.
We're releasing yucky energy and freshening up the vibes.
Anything that's making this place feel weird can leave now, thanks.
Continue until you reach the open door or window.
Then sweep towards it.
This part is wonderfully practical. Whatever has been hanging around is not merely being asked to leave. You're showing it the way out.
Once you’re finished, close the window, put the broom away and let some life back into the house.
Put music on. Make dinner. Light a candle, or some essential oils you love.
A cleared house should feel lived in again.
A stone for the work: Selenite
Selenite is one of the stones most commonly associated with energetic cleansing and purification, making it a natural companion for clearing the home.
Carry a piece with you as you move through the rooms, or place Selenite somewhere in the house afterwards to help keep the space feeling clear. Doorways and windowsills are particularly good places for it, the points where energy, people and the outside world move in and out of the home.
One practical note: Selenite is a soft mineral and doesn’t like water, so keep it dry when you’re cleaning around it.
And if you find yourself becoming particularly interested in the idea that your home might have a personality of its own, that’s another piece of magic altogether.