What to Do When You Have an Unwelcome Spirit in Your Home

We are always asked what to do when people have an unwanted guest in Spirit form in their home, so I thought I'd write a little article on some of the steps you can take to get the Spirits to leave you alone.

Firstly, I'd just like to say that most of the time ghosts are quite friendly and just want to get your attention. It could be Great-Aunt Margaret or Nanna who keeps knocking your little trinkets over on the dresser or perhaps watching over you or the kids as they sleep. Pay attention to how these incidents make you feel, do you feel calm and protected? This usually means your visitor is a relative, spirit guide or just a friendly Casper. 

Scene from Casper, the 1995 movie

A lot of the time activity doesn't necessarily mean you have an actual ghost in the home either, do you have teenagers at home? Have you had a rough period of time where everyone is agitated and arguing more than usual? Negative energy can manifest into something a bit more from our energies and emotions if they are able to build up enough to do so.

Now, in saying all of that, yes absolutely we have Spirits visiting us and yes, some may not be so pleasant to have hanging around. These are the ones which need to move on and out of your home. (As well as the negative energy build ups of course).

There are some very easy things you can do yourself without needing a medium, paranormal investigation team or other professional within this field to come in and help and we always recommend trying them first. I'll go through some of these steps here...

1. Asking the Spirit to Leave

I know, it sounds too simple. But in some cases this really is all you need to do! Tell the Spirit it is making you feel uncomfortable and that it's no longer welcome in your home and has to leave. If you feel you need to be forceful do so, tell it to f@#k off if you need to - we have done many times. Keep your focus on what you want to happen, tell it to leave, yell at it to leave and mean it. (Just like Elise Rainier does in the Insidious Movies)

2. Burning Candles

Contrary to popular belief and misconception thanks greatly to Hollywood movies, black candles actually absorb negativity not attract it. Burning black candles can often help remove negative energies. You may also like to say a prayer, chant or call upon your Spirit Guides for help as part of a ritual with your candle to get your Spiritual Guest to leave.

3. Water

Another ridiculously simple method to help is placing a glass of water out overnight. If bubbles are present in the morning the water has absorbed negative energy. Empty this water outside away from your gardens and not down your sink as you are metaphorically releasing the energy absorbed out and don't want it to stay in the house pipes or hurt any plants etc. Repeat this daily until no more bubbles appear.

4. Onions

Similar to the Water method, you can peel and cut an onion in half or quarters and place it on a dish in the most effected room. Leave the onion overnight or for the day then wearing gloves, take it outside and bury it or throw it into the wheelie bins. Some people prefer to burn it. Again you can use as many onions in how ever many rooms you need to and repeat if you like or feel the need to do so. 

5. Smudging with White Sage, Palo Santo or other Sacred Herbs

Smudging is probably the most popular way to rid a place of negativity, Spirits and energies. White Sage is most commonly used either bundled into a smudge stick or as loose leaf incense. Palo Santo (also known as Holy Wood) is also popular or you can use dried herbs with cleansing and purification properties such as Eucalyptus, Rosemary and Lavender. Blends are also available for smudging and clearing and fairly easily to obtain. If you can't burn incense or smudge sticks for whatever reason (living in a small unit, caravan, asthma, flatmates etc.) White Sage Smudge Sprays can be used instead. Just be sure your smudge spray contains the right essential oils as there are some on the market I have seen which actually have oils in them which will make the activity stronger (or appear that way). White Sage or Palo Santo are obviously the best choices.

6. Salt

Salt is wonderful for cleansing, you can absorb and reduce negative energy by simply placing little dishes of salt around your home for a couple of days then replacing the salt. I personally like to add some herbs to my salt dishes when I use them, particularly Rosemary, White Sage and Elder Berries. You may also like to add a Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz or other crystal either on the dish or beside it. Just take care as some crystals may become damaged from the salt.

7. Crystals

Crystals are amazing to work with and there are a few which are absolutely wonderful for helping to reduce, absorb and even alter the energies in a home. Selenite, Agate, Bronzite and so many others should be placed in the home to help. Crystals such as Jet and Bronzite can be carried in our pocket for protection as well. There are just so many to choose from!

8. Bay Leaves

Bay leaves are so underrated, they are truly magickal leaves (and wonderful in cooking too!). Place Bay Leaves around your home, inside cupboards, wardrobes, behind picture frames, under the bed and even attach to your mirrors. They are more powerful than many people give them credit for and I always recommend using them when ridding your home of negativity. 

9. Cleaning Your House

I know, I know, I hate housework too. But in all honesty, activity does appear to be stronger in a messier house. Over the years in our investigations and House Clearings we quickly noticed that the messier houses were often more active than the cleaner ones. Aside from mess, you can also incorporate the use of spiritual cleaning into your housework by doing simple things like adding essential oils and vinegar to your water to wash windows. Grinding herbs into a powder to sprinkle over your carpet before vacuuming is also helpful. Metaphorical cleaning using a Besom (witches broom) is also a great practice!

Now if you do happen to have a rather persistent, obnoxious or aggressive Spiritual Entity present in your home these methods may not (most likely will not) work so well. If any of these methods make activity worse (after trying 2 or 3 times) or you have unexpected strange results etc. I strongly suggest getting someone in to help you.

If this is the case I recommend seeking advice and help from a reputable medium, paranormal investigation team, or other professional with experience in dealing with negative entities and successfully moving them on. 

If you happen to be religious, a Priest or Clergyman may be more suitable for you and your home depending on what you feel more comfortable with.

There are so many different types of energies, Spirits, Elementals and so on and no matter who you end up choosing to help you, they need to know what they are dealing with and how to properly help you and often help the Spirit too.

Be wary of anyone who charges a fortune, claims you are cursed and can "cure you for a nice sum of money" or who you don't feel is genuine. Unfortunately in our particular line of work there are many frauds and scammers out there who will happily take your hard earned money and make things much worse for you. Always trust your instincts ;) 

I hope this helps in some way for those who are having some energetic issues, feel free to share and link back to us and of course if you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear them.

Blessings,

Lyllith Xx

I sell a range of clearing products including my own Smudge Spray and a rather potent herbal incense blend which you can find here - https://lyllithsemporium.com.au/collections/smudging-cleansing-products

Image Credits: Character Elise from the Insidious movies; Black Candles found on Pinterest; Water, Onions and Salt found via Google (some time ago); Smudge Spray - ours; Bay leaves - honestly no idea have had this image for years!; the stunning Besoms "Aker Dantzaria" aka Victoria Francés. 

Smudging ~ An Easy Guide

Smudging is an ancient ritual carried out by all different religious faiths and backgrounds. Some may use different herbs and say specific prayers but when it comes down to it, the ritual is performed for the same reasons, similar ways and produces the same outcomes.

So what is "smudging"? basically put, smudging is the burning of sacred herbs to remove stale, negative and unwanted energies from the home or from a person.

Smudging is based on a combination of spiritual, medicinal, herbal and cultural teachings from the past, modern day smudging rituals can be anything from fancy ceremonies with traditional prayers or simply lighting a smudge stick with the intention to clear out unwanted energies from your home, from an object, to cleanse your crystals or even yourself.

The easiest way to smudge your home, is to use a smudge stick or piece of Palo Santo wood. Some people prefer to burn loose white sage, or a blend of herbs chosen for their cleansing properties such as Lavender, Frankincense, Sweetgrass or Eucalyptus.

 

Smudging your home doesn't need to be a big fancy ritual with incantations or prayers and in this article we discus the basics of smudging and some easy ways you can do this yourself at home. 

Firstly, you will need a smudge stick, or some palo santo. We sell these in our online store, but you should also be able to find some at your local Health Food store or crystal shop if you can't wait for one of ours to arrive in the mail ;)

You'll also need something to sit the stick in afterwards, or a heat proof dish with some sand to extinguish the smudge after you're finished. Some people prefer to allow their smudge to burn out on it's own - we do this in our home, but extinguish if we are performing a House Clearing etc. for a client.

So, let's get down to it....

As with all spiritual work, Intention is the most important tool you have. Be clear on your intentions to clear out unwanted, stale or negative energy before you even start, this helps your intention set and grow as you perform the ritual.

Starting at your front door, light your smudge stick at the "loose or leafy" end. If you're using a Palo Santo chip, it doesn't matter which end you decide to light. To light your sage smudge stick, light as you would an incense stick, allowing it to catch alight before gently blowing on the end to create little embers which smoulder releasing the beautiful smoke.

Firstly, you want to "smudge yourself". This is quite simply waving the smudge stick all around yourself allowing the smoke to cleanse your body. Once you feel ready (you'll feel lighter and clearer) begin to make your way around the home.

Now, some people will tell you that you need to move in a certain direction, generally I tend to move to my left and work clockwise around the home and each room, but Dean tends to go in the opposite direction. We don't feel that there is a right or wrong way to do this so go with whichever direction you feel is right for you at the time, use your own intuition.

As you move around, enter each room you pass and allow the smoke to pass through everything you can, inside cupboards, under and behind furniture and over any objects which you feel drawn to give an extra smudge. 

Keep moving around the house in the same direction until you come back to the front door.

If you feel the need to go around a second time, do so. Otherwise smudge the front door and either place your smudge stick in a fireproof container outside the front entrance or extinguish it.

I like to talk to my smudge sticks, and to the smoke (when doing a smudge at home), I tell it to clear out any energies which aren't welcome, to move out stale energy and allow fresh energy to take it's place. You can say any prayers or words you feel appropriate or be silent it's up to you. 

There are many different ceremonies and traditional prayers for smudging, however the point of this article is to let you know how easy it can be to clear your home of "bad energy" in the easiest and simplest way. 

Smudging is a wonderful practice which we should all do whenever the house feels stale, stagnant or "heavy" and is, in my opinion, essential after arguments or bad days - we all have those!

Blessings! Lyllith Xx

[Images found on the Internet, unfortunately I couldn't find the original sources.]