Spiritual Cleaning

The process of performing a spiritual cleansing is a deeply moving ritual that begins at dawn and ends only when the last doorway is salted and the last lintel is anointed. I explain the full job here and encourage everyone to do it as described. If you can not do it all, then do as much as you can every day until the work is complete.

Start by reading this page. Then read also the following pages:

• Recipes
• Spiritual Bathing Guide

What You Will Need:

• Spiritual Bath or Cleaner (Chinese Floor wash is preferred)
• Peace Water, if there have been arguments in the home (shake well before using)
• Incense (Frankincense and Myrrh are preferred, but sandalwood sticks are fine and often easier to buy)
• White candles (Kosher candles are preferable, but white tea lights are fine. A plain white glass encased vigil candle can also be used.)
• Kosher Salt (Regular salt is acceptable if that's all you have)
• Anointing Oil (A hoodoo oil such as Van Van, House Blessing, Uncrossing, or Fiery Wall of Protection is preferred, but Olive Oil is good as well, otherwise any non-animal cooking oil is acceptable)
• Floor/Carpet Sprinkle (Van Van or House Blessing sachet powders are preferred; other popular types include grains of paradise seeds, and Run Devil Run sachet powder.)
• Bath Herbs or Bath Crystals (13 Herb Bath, Van Van Bath Crystals, Basil Herb, Love Herbs Mix, and/or Peaceful Home Herbs Mix are all good; you may mix them if you wish).
• A broom (new, preferably)
• A mop (new, preferably) and bucket
• A Duster (new, preferably)
• A vacuum if you have carpets
• White cleaning rags (new, preferably)
• A spray bottle (new, preferably)

How Do You Begin?

• Gather your ingredients together the night before.
• De-clutter your house before you start.
• Gather all the laundry into a laundry room, or wash the laundry before you start.
• You begin just before dawn (sun-rise).
• You perform this work without speaking.

Getting Started:

Next Step:

• Prepare your wash water in a bucket, as directed on my recipe guide. Use what is left of your bath water with this.
• Put some of the wash water into the spray bottle
• Make up the Floor/Carpet Sprinkle

• Psalm 3 - Against demons, headache, migraine or backache
  
• Psalm 23 - For abundance, good luck, and success
  
• Psalm 37 - Protection from enemies and gossipers
  
• Psalm 53 - Protection from those who do evil.
  
• Psalm 91 - Protection from danger in the neighborhood.
  
• Psalm 133 - Recited over Peace Water, if you are using it.
  

Wash each room in the following manner:

• Light a white candle dressed with your anointing oil in the room. Light your incense. You may light one candle and some incense and leave it in each room, or carry them both along with you from room to room. If you suspect your house of having evil spirits, do not bring the candle or the incense along, leave it burning in the room.
• Anoint your duster with the wash in the spray bottle, or simply put a little olive oil on your palms and lightly anoint the duster. Dust every surface of the room, specifically the ceiling corners of each room. Don't forget the ceiling fans and light fixtures.
• Again, working top to bottom, and front to back. Lightly spray down the curtains, fabric furniture, and bed covers. Ideally all the beds have been stripped from the night before, and the bed cloths are washed and ready to be made up, or will be washed later and added clean to the beds. In this case, spray down the mattress.
• Using your wash water, clean the window sills and the base boards. If you have difficulties getting down on your knees to wash the base boards, use your duster along them.
• Open all your cabinet doors and drawers. I like to knock three times on them before I open them. Leave them open.
• If the floor is wood or tile, you will now wash the floor from back to front.
• If the floor is carpet, or you have area rugs, sprinkle the Floor/Carpet sprinkle on it back to front, recite your Psalm fully while praying, and then vacuum the sprinkle up.
• Take your white cloth dressed with anointing oil and step backwards out of the room, then reach up and wipe down the door way of room, especially the lintel.

For a Large Job:

If you need to make fresh wash water or expect to need more then one bucket of scrub water, do one of the following processes.

• Throw EACH of the buckets outside to the east and make a new bucket up.
• Carry a cup of the dirty wash water forward into the next bucket of wash water.
• After making up the first bucket with your spiritual cleanser, use only a cup from it in each cleaning bucket. Augment that bucket with more Chinese floor wash, Pine Sol, Ajax or Lysol cleaner and throw outside to the east when done. This is my preferred method when I am washing the whole house, as I like to make herbal infusions as part of my cleaning.

This is the most important step:

Final wash on the front door; Wash the front door from the inside out, paying special attention to the lintel and stoop. Sweep your porch completely. Dispose of the last bit of wash water outside to the east.

Washing inward to bless the house:

• Use one of the drawing or blessing washes from my recipe guide, or simply wipe down your door frame again with the white cloth and anointing oil.
• Go from room to room:
  • If you feel that you need extra protection, put a pinch of kosher salt and/or or a small pea-size bit of camphor in the corner of each room and in the center, under the bed/area rug or a small bowl or jar as close to the center of the room as possible.
  • Put a dab of anointing or luck-drawing oil in any or all of the following places, as relevant to your needs or situation:
    • The corner of each door
    • The corner of each window sill
    • The lintel of every door frame
    • Closets -- do not overlook your closets!
    • Stairs
    • Handrails
    • Open all cabinet doors and drawers

How often to spiritually clean the home:

Although the above series of steps sounds like a HUGE undertaking, you will be glad to know that unless you are under severe spiritual attack, such a house-wide deep cleansing need only be conducted once a year, the same way that many folks perform an "annual Spring cleaning." In fact, your regular annual Spiritual cleaning can become the same as your annual Spring cleaning.

Do not feel that you must purchase all new tools for the cleaning if you cannot afford them. Brooms and cloths do wear out over time, however, so your annual Spiritual cleaning is a good time to replace them.

After the big house-wide cleansing, all you need to do to keep things nice in the home is toadd a little of the spiritual cleansing products, such as Chinese Wash or Peace Water, to your regular household cleaning supplies and say a simple prayer as you do so. You may renew the anointing oils in the various rooms at least once a year -- or whenever you feel the need to do so.

Miss Leah Rivera
Black Cat Root Shack
02/24/13

(With thanks to Lara Rivera for permission to adapt her text of 02/13/09.)

WHAT IS HOODOO?

Hoodoo is a form of predominantly African-American folk magic, unlike Voodoo, which is an African religion. Hoodoo, also known as conjure, rootwork, and tricking, is a down home, old-style form of folk-magic practice that developed in Southern states like Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Missouri from the joining of a number of separate cultures and magical paths. Hoodoo primarily consists of African and Native American herbalism and sorcery, into which has been incorporated elements of wisdom and spell-casting from Scottish, Irish, English, Jewish, and European traditions of witchcraft, granny-magic, shamanism, kitchen-witchery, enchantment, and occult grimoires. Regional synonyms for hoodoo include conjuration, conjure, witchcraft, or rootwork.

If you would like to know more more about hoodoo, its theory, practices, and forms, search Lucky Mojo or Black Cat Root Shack in your favorite internet search engine.