Hey PRIDE,
Tell me, how long has it been since you were last in your own home for such an extended amount of time? And sorry to say, it took a global pandemic to bring us back to our spaces of truth.
How are you doing so far? If you’re reading this, you dear heart have survived 2020! And that alone calls for great celebration.
The unceremonious, worldwide Lockdown due to Covid_19, in 2020 found us like unexpected visitors back in our homes. Our walls looked on with complete shock and amazement to see us home and with no immediate signs of getting back to our busy lives any time soon.
And as we fumbled through the year that was, some days more successfully so than others, it soon became very clear to all that we needed to make peace with where we now found ourselves.
So let’s do things differently this year and perhaps re-introduce ourselves to our homes and of course establish some better house rules – since we most likely face another year at home.
This is the longest we’ve been here and I assure you, there is going to be a major shift and re-awakening behind these doors.
Our House Rules:
- All are e-Welcome
- We are responsible for the energy we bring into our home (leave your troubles at the door)
- LOVE lives here
- No shoes in the house (cleanliness is next to godliness)
- Play nice
- Laughter and good giggles are always welcome
- Bring a plant or two when you come back in from the outdoors
- What happens in this house, stays in this house
- Keep it REAL
If the door is open, do come in (well ONLINE that is)…
Note from the occupants of this home:
This felt like a good time to officially e-invite you into our home, just a lioness and her cub living our authentic lives here in Johannesburg, South Africa.
So come on in and let’s share our story. Me, an interior designer doing all I can creatively to make our house feel more like home and sharing my designer tips along the way. And my tween, doing his best to enjoy it all.
We hope you like it here, and most importantly we hope you stay.
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HOME Clearing:
But first, as we bring in the New Year, let’s align the energy of our homes with a small energy clearing ceremony using natural plant materials to burn up and release the fragrance smoke into all corners of our home through an ancient practice called smudging.
A way to cleanse the space and invite positive energy by burning our sacred scents into the air. 
Energy Clearing ceremony
Clearing the old, making space for the new…
You will need:
- Abalone shell
- White sage smudge stick
- Palo Santo stick
- Large feather
- White candle
- Frankincense (in incense form)
- Incense stick holder
- Lighter/matches
Preparation:
Ensure home has had a good and proper January clean and all clutter has been rid of
Open all windows and doors to allow for free flowing fresh air to enter your home
Choose your place from which you would like to prepare yourself for the clearing ceremony
Protect surface with either a cloth or a tray
Lay all above items on protected surface
A little trick is to add some sea sand (or normal sand) into your shell to capture the burnt singe from the smudge and wood stick.
Wash hands before performing clearing
Light candle
Light incense stick and place in suitable holder
Light smudge stick until front portion is up in smoke (gently blow out fire but keep smoke singing)
Place stick on sand filled shell
Light Palo Santo stick up and gently blow out fire but keep smoke singing)
Place stick on sand filled shell
Say a prayer stating your clear intension for the home clearing
Pick up shell with smudge stick and Palo Santo in one hand
Pick up feather in other hand then slowly walk around our home and blow smoke all around
Before clearing my home, I like to clear my energy first and take the smudge stick and move it around my body, followed by the Palo Santo Stick in a similar motion
I also prefer to start the clearing ceremony at the entrance of our home and place my tray of items on my entrance console
From there, once I am cleansed and ready, I move to the far end of the home and work from there, entering each room as I proceed till I return again to my entrance hall to end my prayer and clearing.
Ps. keep your lighter or matches with you in case the smoke ends and you need to light up again
Use the large feather to help blow the smoke into each room and tricky out of reach areas and corners
And as I walk, I repeat the prayer I started the ceremony with and pray over each room.
If my son is in our home during the home clearing, I also pray over him and move the smoke around him.
Even in my shoe and clothes cupboard, no room, cupboard and areas behind curtains remains untouched
Once complete, I return to my starting point, close off with a prayer of gratitude and either leave the smudge stick and Palo Santo to burn off till complete (if there is still any left). Or save for another use during the year.
The full energy clearing ceremony is something that I partake in at the beginning of each year.
But if I feel we need a top up during the rest of the year, I’ll either light a candle for a few hours, burn an incense stick or a Palo Santo stick and leave it in a safe place in the house to burn till complete.
Once you have completed your ceremony, please ensure candle is burn out, smudge stick and Palo Santo stick have also stopped burning up and can be safely stored away for your next use.
Tidy up and pack away items used for clearing ceremony and continue with your day.
(Ps. I do like to have the TV and all other disturbances off during this time so my focus and attention is on the ceremony).
May the NEW energy in your home, align with your true and purest spirit…
Have a blessed month,
Nthabi Taukobong
Clearing Prayer
Divine SPIRIT,
Cleanse this home of all stagnant, negative and unwanted energy.
Send it out into this loving Universe, for it to be reborn into positive white light.
Fill this blessed home with love, light and positive healing energy.
May this smoke carry our prayers up into the heavens above.
And so it is…
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What’s in the box…
Frankincense:
Frankincense is believed to be the ‘Perfume of God’…
Throughout Ancient religions and cultures of the world, the magnificent incense of the resin found from this magical tree, was gathered and burnt up as an offering in ceremonies to connect with the divine spirits. Burn an incense stick when in need of uplifting prayer.
Palo Santo:
This sacred, fragrant wood comes from the mystical Bursera graveolens tree and is used to cleanse people and spaces of negative energy. Burn this holy wood to help release stagnant and negative energy in a home and bring in purity and balance once again.
White sage:
White sage has a sweet, hypnotic scent that is enchanting to any space. Burning sage (or smudging) has long been used to connect to the spiritual realm or enhance intuition. It is used to achieve a healing state and dispel negative energy in your space and on yourself. Cleansing yourself and your space with a smudge stick, helps establish a positive environment for meditation or other rituals.
White candle:
White represents truth, unity, harmony and wholeness of spirit. The white candle is the highest spirituality and the highest level of consciousness to protect, purify and heal your space. White contains all colours and is linked with the moon, burn when wanting to connect to your divine source of pure energy.
Rose quartz crystal:
Rose quartz is the stone of universal love. It restores trust and harmony in relationships and in a space, encouraging unconditional love. Rose quartz purifies and opens the heart at all levels to promote love, self-love, friendship, deep inner healing and feelings of peace. Use this stone to complete your energy clearing ritual.
Feather:
Since ancient times, feathers have been associated with freedom, transcendence and communicating with the spiritual realm. Through the sweeping motion of blowing the smoke from the incense, sage or stick much like a bird in flight, it is believed that the energy of the bird connects us to the aura of the spiritual realm that is Mother Earth. Using the feather, spread the smoke around yourself first, then all over the areas and spaces that you are clearing.
Abalone shell:
Including an abalone shell in your smudging rituals means you are incorporating all four of the earth’s elements: the shell represents water, the smoke represents air, the unlit herbs or stick represent earth and once they’re lit they represent fire. By incorporating the elements into your smudging ritual, you’re inviting Mother Earth to be the focus of your ceremony. It is here, in the space created by Her, that transformations and manifestations have room to occur.
Incense holder:
Use an incense holder or any suitable container to hold a burning incense stick safely and comfortably while you perform your clearing ritual. Do not leave any burning item unattended.
Please Note:
Before you light up, remember to open all doors and windows so that the unwanted energy you are clearing, may have a clear pathway of exit.
When to light up in your home/office/chosen space:
- When you need a fresh start
- The space feels stuffy and uncomfortable
- Heavy sense of negative, stagnant energy
- Experiencing difficulty sleeping
- Traumatic experience has occurred in that space
- There has been a death or illness
- There has been an argument
- There are communication difficulties
