Hello, Dearest Reader,
December went by fast! It is hard to believe that we celebrated Christmas and are on the precipice of a New Year! This is the time of year that I do a lot of intensive house cleaning for the literal benefit of cleanliness, the psychological benefit of having a house that is more or less in order, and for the peace of mind that I am starting the New Year off on the right foot.
I would recommend starting in the center of your home and cleaning in an outward direction. I generally start with the common living areas (living room, kitchen, and dining room), getting those places clean and organized. I then branch off into cleaning the bathrooms. I got to the common living areas today and will progressively get to the remaining areas. It is even on my to do list to clean and organize my witchy room which is also my daughter's art room (called the "Girl Cave" by my husband). I plan on taking some of the leftover boxes from Christmas to pack away things that I do not need, and will consider donating items that may help others in need of them. While cleaning, consider using sage or palo santo.
If you are cleansing a small space or area, I would recommend palo santo or sage although if you are cleansing a bigger area, consider sticking with sage because it produces smoke for much longer than palo santo from my experience. After cleaning the room, this would be a spiritual cleanse. Go in a counterclockwise direction with the windows open. By doing this, it gets rid of a lot of negative energetics ourselves and others have brought into our home. By even briefly having the windows open, the negative energetics that can bind to a space have a means of exit. Remember basic fire safety rules, of course!
For years now, I burn a Yule log. No matter what someone's faith is, the symbolism of a Yule log is a fun and symbolic thing that can be done to help usher in a New Year!
This is my Yule log which my hubby helped me create! Basically, we took a log from outside that we use for our fire pit. You don't have to get fancy! Use what you have on hand. Tim drilled three holes into the log. I cleansed the log and candles (including the materials used to decorate my candles) with sage. The candles were made with intention.
I selected red, white, and green candles. The red candle is symbolic of love and passion, the white for a clean slate and new start, and green for prosperity and abundance. I added layers of meaning to these candles with the use of glitter (I love using glitter!). I used red, pink, and white glitter for the red candle: This ushers in love and new friendships. I used gold glitter for the white candle to welcome in positive experiences and growth for the new year (with gold, think wealth and luxury). For the green candle, I used a dark and light green glitter for contrast to welcome abundance both financially and in a personal sense of growth. I also inscribed using a sharpened branch (which feel free to use anything with a sharp point) to specifically focus these energies toward specific things. I made black salt by combining the ashes left over from burning incense with white salt and added an element of welcoming abundance by adding in cinnamon! Of course, like with anything, we are making our intent known although it is up to us to manifest what we want in life! Up until New Years Eve, I will burn candles in my log to essentially create layers of meaning. On New Years Eve, my husband and I burn the log in our fire pit as we talk about what we hope to accomplish in the New Year!
This is also the time that I burn any Tarot journals from the year. Unlike others, I have no desire to read about my past reflections regarding various obstacles and hardships. Burning these journals is symbolic of letting go which creates room for more positive experiences in our lives. If we spend too much time clinging to the negative, that is time and energy that we are investing in the negative instead of growing and embracing the positive. That, and we generally draw the energy that we put out there. If we approach something with a positive attitude, looking for glimmers (the good things), we will probably have a much better day versus if we are looking or expecting something negative. With a negative viewpoint, we mentally make our minds up that we will have a bad day and will basically manifest what we think. The mind is a powerful thing.
On a separate note, I saw Nosferatu in the theater. Yes, I would recommend someone to go and see it. However, despite some similarities, Dracula from Bram Stoker remains my favorite Dracula movie. I totally get that Dracula was inspired by Nosferatu from way back in the day. However, Dracula was more of a love story than what Nosferatu is (no spoilers -- you need to watch the movie!).
I hope you have a good week!
Sincerely,
The Crow Lady