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The Universe Supports Effort, Not Entitlement!
I frequently do candle work in my spiritual practice. However, in my experience this kind of ritual only works if the practitioner is already in a raised vibration and in healthy alignment with the eternal laws of the Universe.
This is true even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the Great Conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn at the end of 2020 which ushered in a new wave of karmic responsibility.
Sadly, some practitioners I’ve encountered on my professional path do candle-lighting and other metaphysical rituals as if they’re an easy ‘magic wand’ that will absolve them of any and all personal accountability.
Not so! We cannot simply kneel down and light a prosperity or romance candle to quickly erase all our financial problems or relationship issues. What is required for such a metaphysical practice to be successful is realizing that God, Source, Spirit, the Divine loves and supports us infinitely in our efforts, not our passive entitlement.
Spirit is constantly striving to bring us to a better place of peace, joy, and abundance, but not without our proactive participation. This requires releasing a great deal of karmic debt, trauma, and self-important entitlement.
The humble spiritual warrior knows that beating one’s chest and recognizing your human frailty and imperfection is much more powerful, than being a pious and pompous ‘know-it-all’ who expects the best things in life to simply show up on their doorstep.
What are you choosing to do post-pandemic? Are you genuinely committed to a daily discipline of working on yourself? Or you will flurry like a confused flounder in the stale ocean waters of the withering Piscean age?
Cleansing Rituals Are A Vital Spiritual Practice
Energy cleansing should be a key component in our regular spiritual practice. To achieve and maintain a state of higher consciousness and enhanced spiritual awareness, we must constantly aim to purify and rebalance ourselves mind, body and soul.
Purification rituals are traditionally practiced in many world religions and various spiritual traditions embrace tangible cleansing rituals as a way of communing with and manifesting the Divine energy. Water-based rituals of purification are practiced, for example, in the Baháʼí faith, Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous American religion, traditional African spirituality, Islam, Judaism, Mandaeism, Neopaganism, Shinto, Western esotericism, and Wicca.
It is no accident that animals also clean themselves regularly by grooming their fur or feathers. Nature instinctively understands that ‘cleanliness is next to godliness.’ Mother Nature also cleanses herself throughout the year with changes in the weather and the succession of the seasons.
I’ve never been much or a ritual or ceremony person myself, but I have come to embrace the need for a regular energy cleansing routine as I have grown in my own spiritual and psychic awareness.
For many years now, one of my go-to rituals is a simple spiritual cleansing bath with Epsom salt. I find it is a wonderful practice to realign my energy flow and restore inner peace and harmony. Nothing beats a proper ‘soul detox’ every few days.
Another practice I’ve adopted of late is chakra candle work. I often use these scented candles to jumpstart a client’s cleansing process, or cleanse and rebalance my own energy. The candle for each chakra is infused with its own combination of essential oils. The heart chakra candle is my personal favorite. It’s laced with sandalwood, jasmine, and rose essential oils and really packs a punch!
Using The Four Elements In Your Spiritual Practice
Our ancestors worked with the elements in their metaphysical and spiritual practices. The four classic elements are found in many wisdom traditions, while some also employ additional elements such as metal, wood, and spirit.
The four primary elements can be a meaningful resource in one’s personal practice. It is powerful in prayer, meditation, manifesting rituals, energy healing, divination, psychic protection, and self-care. For example, I use all four elements in my New Moon and Full Moon ceremonies. Depending on what I am working on, I also create specific rituals throughout the year focusing on one metaphysical attribute of a particular element and call upon that energy to assist me in my own life.
Air Energy
The element of air represents consciousness, intuition, understanding, and the mind. I call upon this element when I am attempting to figure out something complex or when I need to make a decision about something important.
To work with this element, I light an incense stick. Since the movement of air is not something visible, the smoke from an incense stick is a symbolic way to represent it. I then focus on the smoke and use an invocation to call upon the element of air.
I call upon the element of air to provide me clarity and understanding.
I invoke the element of air to elevate my consciousness above this fear
People often assume that intuition is the innate ability to know absolutely everything, especially about the future. However, authentic intuition is about knowing what we need to know regarding a specific situation. The element of air can awaken what we need to know without providing too many spoilers along the way.
Receiving Spiritual Guidance From Your Ancestors
The ancient tradition of ancestor worship is a powerful, yet often misunderstood spiritual practice. It is typically viewed as a form of idolatry, mainly because of the inaccurate use of the term ‘worship.’
In truth most cultures practicing such rites do not refer to it as ‘ancestor worship.’ The more appropriate terms to use is ‘ancestor reverence’ or ‘ancestor veneration,’ because it is about living descendants paying respect to and seeking the guidance of their loved ones in spirit.
It is a common practice among indigenous people and an integral component of most shamanic traditions. It is not the same as the worship of gods or deities.
In fact, as a spiritual practice it is not much different from looking at old pictures of departed loved ones and rememembering them fondly. We might even tell them how we miss them or share our problems with them. Some of us have even asked them to help us find solutions to problems, or pull a few strings on our behalf from the Other Side.
Although I cannot say I have any special reverence for my ancestors, I do respect them for all the trials and tribulations they experienced while they were in this life. In my ancestral lineage there were courageous prisoner-of-war experiences, the conquering of grievous setbacks and material harships, and even suicides, to mention but a few. Several of my predecessors had truly unique, and even exceptional life stories that still dwell in my cellular memories.
The ancestral technique I use in my spiritual practice is similar to that of the Yoruba people of West Africa. My greatest connection is with my father, and he is the one I communicate with daily in the Yoruba fashion. You can create an altar or sacred space in your home for this purpose.
The Transformative Power Of The Moon
Does your energy change for better or worse when there is a Full Moon? Every person has some notion of what a Full Moon means to them.
When the Moon is full, it has an energy pull and charging capability that is unlike the new or quarter moons. During a Full Moon, I usually find it difficult to sleep – no matter how hard I try. The energetic pull is powerful. This is when my mind is most active.
A Full Moon is in fact the best time to open yourself to receive healing or spirit messages, to recharge your energy, or set intentions for manifestation to transform your life for the better. Crystals can also be put out under the Full Moon to charge them up and bring new life to them.
The Full Moon is a time to breathe in the good, release what does not serve you, and allow the Moon’s energy to take lighten your worries and lessen your burdens. A simple clearing ceremony becomes ‘super-charged’ under a Full Moon. Write down what does not serve you: your hurts, your disappointments, your anger and so on. Then burn this list outside, under the Full Moon, while asking the Universe, Source, God, Spirit, the Divine to cleanse the energy from your being.
I live close to a lake and when the Moon is full, no matter what time of year, it reflects off the lake in its various hues and colors. I always take a walk to the lake to allow this energy to feed my soul. It uplifts my spirit and makes me smile. Gazing at the beauty of the Full Moon brings new energy to you if you do it properly.
The next time there is a Full Moon, venture outdoors, look up and contemplate her beauty and power. Ask yourself, how do you feel standing there under the Full Moon? Ask yourself what you want to accomplish or change in your life? You need not do anything further. The manifesting and healing powers of the Moon will carry your intentions forward.
Ritual In A Modern Spiritual Lifestyle
Rituals, rites and ceremonies are the oldest forms of spiritual practice and essential aspects of all religions and belief systems. A ritual is a meaningful or symbolic action or series of actions that has a standardized format or sequence and can therefore be repeated in exactly the same way by individuals, groups or even communities.
The metaphysical energy generated when we focus our intent using symbols, tokens and metaphoric activities during a ritual that has special meaning for us personally can be highly transformative! Whether you practice ritual in a group or solo, it can supercharge your manifesting ability and aid in any mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual healing processes you may be going through.
When some people hear the word ‘ritual,’ they tend to imagine darkened, smoke-filled rooms with mysterious people in long robes, chanting strange refrains perhaps, all choreographed with everyone knowing their roles. I’m sure there are people who practice rituals in this way and elements like incense and chanting can indeed be party of a rite or ceremony. But a ritual can also be more simply crafted in a way to fit into a modern lifestyle and everyday spiritual practice.
In my own practice, I created a little ‘altar’ for myself. A small sacred space where I have placed a few candles, some incense, crystals, feathers and a few other symbolic tokens which hold special meaning for me. I also added a picture of my mother and a statue of an angel given to me when my grandpa passed away. In this way I created a sacred space that has deep meaning for me personally and brings me into a spiritual mindset.
You don’t need to have a lot of room for this in your home. So, you can even create a small sacred space for yourself on the corner of a dresser or table top. As my practice has evolved, I now find that any spare surface or quiet corner in the places where I have lived can become a nook for little spiritual treasures that I find during my adventures. Once you start creating a sacred space, the Universe will send you little gifts to help you along.
Cleansing Unwanted Spirit Energies In Your Home
Benevolent spirit energies are everywhere. Whether it be a loved one who has crossed over, or your spirit guides and angels. Spirit is simply around in every moment of our daily lives. However, there are also earthbound spirits who have passed, but not yet crossed over. They have unfinished business in this world, or they have difficulty leaving the people and physical spaces that they had a connection to in this life.
These restless, earthbound spirit energies can wreak havoc in our homes and families. When I was a child, I had horrible nightmares. While we only lived on the main floor in my childhood home, I was fine. However, after my father had built the upper level of the house and I was moved into my pretty, girly bedroom, the nightmares began.
I never felt comfortable or secure in my new bedroom. Also, whenever I had to go into the basement, I would have to run down and back up, because of the ominous, icy cold feeling I would experience through my entire body. The rest of the house however was never an issue.
I later inherited this house, after both my parents had passed. I did not really want to own it, because even as an adult that same feeling in the upstairs and the basement was still haunting me, while the main floor felt warm and comforting. I refused to go there alone at night, and rarely alone even in the daytime. It was confusing and frustrating to say the least.
Then I learned how to sage and energy cleanse a home properly. My method involves white sage and a small white candle. I go into each room of a house, starting at the furthest room from the door and smudge each corner of the room. I slowly cleanse each corner and ask all unwelcome spirit entities present to follow the light of the candle as we progress through the house, room by room, towards the outside door.