January 7th, 2012

Sometimes, life is good, and sometimes life sucks. That's just how it is. Life moves in cycles of happiness and sadness, but that doesn't mean that when the tough parts come along that you can't do anything about them. In honor of a dear friend and sister, here are some ideas for reducing negativity in the home.

• Give the whole place (or your room, if the whole house isn't feasible) a good cleaning. Just getting all that junk off the floor can immediately lift the spirits of everyone in the house, as general dirty and messiness attracts negative energy like flies to honey.
  
• If you're allowed, take any of pine, cedar, or juniper and burn them, getting the smoke to enter every room. If you're like me, and can't burn things, mix salt and water, and use some of the above plant(s) to sprinkle the salt water.
• Get one of those ice trays, or even a few cups or small bowls if you don't have the trays, fill it/them with water, and place in the freezer. Visualize all the negativity being frozen like the water. Once frozen, collect the ice and dispose of it off your property (don't worry: putting the ice on your neighbor's lawn won't transfer the negative energy to them).
  
• Make a mini pouch and fill it with cleansing herbs such as cloves. Then waft it throughout the house. When I used this method, I used fabric with a snowflake on it to further "freeze" the negativity, but one could also use white, as it is commonly associated with purification.
• Go classic: waft a sage smudge stick through the house.
• Say the following: "Water protects the embryo, ancestor love of long ago. Tides and rivers dance and flow, enchant this place, let magic grow. Revive! Bring change! I make it so." Optional: Carve the zodiac symbol of Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio on a candle, and put in in a dish with an inch or so of water in it. Light, and say the incantation.
• To get rid of "bad vibes" after being in or near an argument, light a stick of incense and take a shower. Afterwards, pass the incense around you three times. Then, as soon as possible, get all the clothes you were wearing at the time washed to further get rid of the negativity.
  
• If you are in a situation where you feel you may need protection, find a smooth dark-colored stone. Sit outside, and sprinkle a small salt circle around where you are sitting. Hold the stone and envision rings of protection circle the stone like the planet of protection, Saturn. Then, when you need protection, hold the stone, and, if it helps, re-visualize.