13 Magical Herbs for Cleansing

When you're ready to clear away negative or unhelpful energy, call on these 13 magical herbs for cleansing. They'll help you release what no longer serves you and make space for what does.

Cleansing is an important step to any witchcraft spell or ritual, and it can also be the whole spell in and of itself. As witches, we need to be aware of the energy around us, so frequent energy cleansing may become part of your regular routine. If you want to learn more about general witchcraft spells for cleansing, I've written a post about this. Here, we'll focus specifically on herbs you can use in your cleansing practice.

13 Herbs for Spiritual Cleansing

Remember that we use the term herb very loosely in the witchcraft community. Below you'll see everything from trees to common kitchen herbs and spices. Some of these herbs you may use in the form of their essential oil. Sometimes you may be working with branches, leaves, roots, or even powders. Know that all forms contain the energy of the plant. Use what works best for you. Also know that this is not an exhaustive list, just some herbs to get you started.

Also be sure to double check what is safe for you to consume, inhale, or put in your skin. Even common kitchen herbs can sometimes interfere with certain conditions, so just make sure you're being safe before you put something on or in your body.

• Angelica - Use this to call in protection and purification from your guardian angels.
• Basil - In addition to bringing prosperity and success, it can also be used for purification.
• Birch - A broom or besom made from birch twigs can be used to energetically cleanse the home.
• Cedar - Used for purification as well as protection, prosperity, and harmony.
• Cinnamon - A multipurpose herb, you can call on it for purification as well as success, vitality, and love.
• Clove - A powerful healing herb, it can also be used in purification.
• Eucalyptus - known for it's healing and purification properties.
• Lavender - A calming and peaceful herb that help to cleanse stressful energy after a conflict.
• Mint - Another powerful herb with many uses, this can be used in purification as well as calling in abundance and resilience.
• Parsley - In addition to purification, this herb can be used for power, strength, and prosperity.
• Pine - Known for purification and cleansing, it's especially good for clearing the mind.
• Poplar - Used for purification and exorcism.
• Sage - Probably the best known cleansing herb, it can also call in wisdom. Be sure your sage is grown sustainably and sold ethically.

How to use your herbs

Just as we can work with these herbs in various forms, we can also use them in a variety of ways to cleanse ourselves and our spaces. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Smoke cleansing - Burning sage is probably one of the most common cleansing methods. You can buy or create an herb bundle with any of the herbs above and burn that. My preferred method is to make a loose incense blend by grind dry herbs in my mortar and pestle. I can them burn those on a charcoal disc.
• Cleansing tea - Craft your own herbal infusion to create a cleansing tea. Be sure that the herbs you are using are safe to be ingested and are sold for that purpose. For example, some dried lavender not grown for consumption may contain a lot of pesticides. Just double check.
• Create a spell jar or charm bag - Add some of these herbs along with other materials for cleansing to a jar or bag for a transportable cleansing spell.
• Make a floor wash or cleaning spray - Add these herbs to water to use in cleaning. This cleanses both physically and energetically. Use moon water or other charged water for added power.
• Create a cleansing room spray - Use herbs and essential oils to create a room or body spray. This is great for places where smoke isn't safe or allowed. It's also awesome for a time or place where you don't want to explain your practice to other people but you also need to cleanse the energy. A cleansing spray is perfect for the workplace.
• Tend to plants - Keep some of these herbs in pots around your house or plant them in your garden. You could even plant a tree with cleansing properties to keep that energy on your property for years to come.

Cleansing Recipes for Kitchen Witches

Kitchen witchcraft allows us to bring the energy of cleansing herbs right into our bodies. When we cook and eat these herbs, we are infusing our homes and ourselves with this purifying energy. Plus, it's just delicious. Here are a few recipes that you could call on for a bit of energetic cleansing.

• Garlic & Herb Focaccia Bread - contains plenty of parsley
• Smoked Cheddar & Sage Biscuits
• Mint Brownies
• Lemon Garlic Pasta - contains parsley, but lemons have cleansing energy as well
• Lavender Cake
• Strawberry Lemon Basil Infused Water
• Chocolate Cinnamon Cake
• Mint Limeade
• Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Hint of Cinnamon Chocolate Cake
• Spiced Flourless Chocolate Cake - with cinnamon and clove
• Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella Salad - with a fresh basil viniagrette
• Mini Chocolate Cinnamon Croissants

I hope you find some unique ways to use these 13 magical herbs for cleansing. Get in touch on Instagram or leave a comment below to share your spells or ask a question.

Source

• The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander