Cleansing Home & Hearth Protection

House Cleansing, Blessing and Spiritual Protection Step-by-Step Tutorials

Just as homes need to be physically cleaned, they also need to be spiritually cleaned. We call this a house cleansing. A house cleansing is necessary in addition to a house blessing and spiritual protection of your home. This serves to remove negative spirits and energy that’s collected in your home over the past years/months/days. Learn how to perform a house cleansing, house blessing, and to spiritually protect your home from invasion.

Importance of Cleansing and Blessing Your Home

Negative energy is particularly powerful in a home where trauma took place, domestic abuse, drug/alcohol abuse, suicide or homicide, severe mental illness, unexpected death and/or long-term illness. A house cleansing removes negative energy. While a house blessing brings in positive energy and spiritual protection prevents from further spiritual intrusion.

Old homes should be cleansed and blessed before moving in.
Every home, old or new, needs a house cleansing and blessing regularly.

When To Do A House Cleansing

In addition to performing a house cleansing and house blessing when moving into a new home, you should also do it when a new person moves into the home. This new person will bring new energies into your house and until the energy stabilizes it’s a good idea to do a house cleansing. If there’s a tragedy in the house, do a house cleansing. If you’re experiencing paranormal activity, perform a house cleansing. I recommend performing a routine house cleansing once a month on the waning or new moon, as well. If you’ve also noticed a string of bad luck, illness, or discord, CLEANSE your home!

How to Perform a House Cleansing

A personal favorite of mine is to do a good ol’ fashioned smoke-cleansing. Smoke-cleansing, to put it simply, is a tradition of lighting bundles of herbs and using the smoke to spiritually cleanse an area or person from negative energy. Different herbs are used for this ritual including sage, cedar, rosemary, lavender, rose, and juniper. If you can’t get your hands on an herb bundle, make your own. The point is to let the smoke fill each room with its purifying powers. If you are using incense or an herb bundle, here are the steps to do a house cleansing:

  1. Open a few windows throughout your house or the back door. DON’T SKIP THIS STEP. It allows the energy to escape…it has to go somewhere!
  2. Start at your front door with lit incense or bundle in hand. Allow the smoke to fill the room and say, “I cleanse this home with smoke. All negativity must go away, only positive energy can stay.”
  3. Move in a counter-clockwise direction from room to room in your home. Allow the smoke to fill the air in each room while repeating the cleansing prayer above. (Take the incense/bundle in one hand and move it in a circular motion counterclockwise while speaking the words.)
  4. Be sure to get the corners of the room really well, as well as closets, cabinets, pantries, shower stalls, etc.
  5. Once you’ve cleansed each room with the smoke, extinguish the incense or bundle and say out loud, “so mote it be” or “amen” or “and it will be done”.

Listen to our podcast on Cleansing & Charging Here:

Other Ways to Cleanse Your Home (Without Smoke)

There’s literally dozens of ways to effectively cleanse your home from negative energy. And plenty that don’t involve burning herbs or smoke. If you can’t handle the smoke or can’t burn herbs for whatever reason, try one of the following instead:

  • Make a simmering potpourri (also called a simmer pot) on the stove
  • Use the cooled remnants from the simmer pot to spray around the house
  • Play high-vibrational music around the house (Celtic flutes, Tibetan bowls, etc.)
  • Bang on pots and pans (this is especially helpful to scare negative spirits away and shake up old stagnant energy)
  • Ring bells
  • Light a white candle and go from room to room, lighting up your space with divine white light energy
  • Any kind of cleansing herb spray works wonders
  • Asperging: dip a sprig of rosemary or other fresh herb into blessed or moon water then sprinkle around your space
  • Open the blinds – let in the sunlight!
  • Open the windows and let in some fresh air on a cool, breezy day

PROECTION Spell Kit: SHIELD the Home from Negative Energy

$35.55

SHIELD the Home Protection Spell Kit for deflection and warding of Negative Energy entering and affecting the household. Includes a beautiful set of handmade witch’s bells, cedar tip herb bundle, herbal protective oil, herbal infused salt, 4 small raw crystals, and instruction card.

I make my own smoke-cleansing bundles out of homegrown rosemary.

Perform An Effective House Blessing

House blessings are a common practice among various faiths. That being said, you don’t have to be of a particular faith to bless your home effectively. A house blessing acts to dedicate your home to positive energy, peace and harmony AND/OR to a specific spirit, deity, or ancestor. You are proclaiming to the spirit world that your home is under the care and supervision of a particular deity or Universal energy by performing a house blessing. The one thing you’ll need is a bit of olive oil or holy water. Performing an effective house blessing is the second step in the process after a thorough house cleansing.

Here’s how to perform a house blessing (a.k.a. consecration or sealing):

  1. Put your oil or holy water into a small bowl or container of your choice.
  2. Start in the front of your house and dip your pointer finger into the oil or water.
  3. Draw a protective symbol on the door-frame (i.e. a cross, rune, Star of David, etc.) While you’re drawing the symbol, say “Bless this home in the name of _____. (God, the Divine, the Universe, Spirit, Jesus, ancestors, etc.)
  4. Continue to repeat the process for every door, window, fireplace, and vent in your house, walking in a clockwise fashion from room to room until you’ve drawn your symbol on every entry in the house.
  5. End the house blessing with an “Amen” or “So be it”, etc.
Dreamcatchers serve as spiritual protection in that they catch bad dreams and prevent nightmares.
Dreamcatchers protect from nightmares

Spiritual House Protection (Use With House Cleansing & Blessings)

When the house cleansing and blessing are complete, there’s one more step to protect your home and family from negative energy and spiritual intrusion. Depending on your faith, how you want to spiritually protect your home is ultimately up to you. Here are a few options to consider:

  • hang meaningful religious symbols on the walls and doors
  • feng shui
  • say a prayer every night to ask for protection
  • visualize a circle or bubble of impenetrable white light around your home (do this every night or at least once a week)
  • decorate with stones & crystals for protection/cleansing: tourmaline, obsidian, turquoise, tiger’s eye, selenite, onyx, etc.
  • physically draw a circle around your home with protective powders, salt, red brick dust, pepper, or rosemary and envision drawing a barrier around your home
  • hang pictures of deities, spirit guides, angels, or ancestors
  • wind chimes, bells, horseshoes, witch balls, mirrors, etc. to frighten away negative entities
  • cleansing and protective simmering potpourris (also called simmer pots), save the remnants and spray around the house
  • hang a small muslin bag or sachet filled with cinnamon or other protective herbs on your front and back doors
  • place statues of gargoyles, lions, and protective animals at the gate or front door
  • Pets are a great source of positive energy. Some will even protect you or take on your negative energy (cats and dogs particularly).

Plants With Protective Properties

In addition to the spiritual protection methods above, consider planting trees and bushes with protective qualities around your property. Our favorites include bushes with thorns: bougainvillea, roses, barberry, blackberry, cactus, Holly, hawthorn, locust honey, etc. There are also herbs with protective qualities like rosemary, aloe, bay, bean, cumin, mint, mullein, purslane, sage, snapdragon, etc.

Warding Your Property and Home

What is a ward, exactly? A ward is an object that works to ward off or scare away negative spirits and energy. Wards are placed around the property, typically in the four corners. Once they’re laid down once, you can refresh them once every three months. Wards can be stones with protective properties, statues of angels, gods or protective animals, or protective symbols drawn onto rocks or other non-biodegradable objects. If you choose to use biodegradable objects, you’ll want to lay brand new wards once every three months. I typically lay my wards and refresh my wards as a part of my cleansing and blessing rituals. As you’re laying your wards, visualize an impenetrable barrier encircling your home and property. Spirits will frequently be frightened off by the barrier and not even attempt to cross it. Learn more about wards here.

How to Do a House Cleansing, Blessing and How to Spiritually Protect Your Home

More on Creating a Magical Home:

35 Comments

  1. Erica Cacchiotti

    July 31, 2022 at 2:32 am

    Thank you for sharing. Blessings

  2. Moving For the New Year – Adventures of A Mage In Miami

    December 27, 2021 at 2:19 pm

    […] was my weeklong dedication ceremony. Now there is a big difference between blessing a house and dedicating it to the Gods. When you bless a house, how long it stays blessed depends on you. […]

  3. Margaret

    July 25, 2021 at 9:04 pm

    Every time there is an argument in my house, something paranormal happens. Unfortunately, I’m the only person who knows it is not the cats making something fall. I cleanse it and bless it whenever I’m alone, but because I’m the only witch, negative energy is going to keep coming. They don’t know that they are making bad spirits come, so it is gonna keep happening. What can I do to make it stop? I am not going to reveal myself…

    1. Meg

      September 29, 2021 at 1:56 pm

      You will have to keep up with cleansing and blessing on a regular basis, whether or not there is activity. Have you tried shielding the home? There is so much you can find on the internet these days. Something I have done for years is what I call a veil. There is probably a real word for it, but that is what I call it. It is all done with intention, thoughts, no props or supplies needed. I imagine a pure white light washing over the doorways and windows of my home and at the borders of my property. Then I imagine the white light changing until it becomes a brilliant golden yellow light. Then I focus my intentions that only positive can pass this veil. Only persons and beings with positive intentions and good will may cross. All negativity is washed away as they pass through this veil of light to enter upon the property. Only positive shall remain. Any less or lower shall be made uncomfortable until they feel overwhelmingly compelled to leave. I am sometimes surprised at how well this works or who it works upon. It must be maintained. It is not a one-time-for-always thing. It is done after I cleanse, bless, protect the home and property. Not before and not in place of. Give it a try, it may work for you, it may not, but you’ve nothing to lose and nothing to buy to do it.

    2. Emily Reid

      October 21, 2021 at 1:29 am

      Thank you for this! We are considering moving into a home where there was a suicide.

  4. Rosa

    March 23, 2021 at 6:57 am

    If i can’t do the smudging cuz if health problems can i still do the blessing of my home

    1. Margaret

      August 2, 2021 at 2:47 am

      You can do other methods to cleanse your home. Studying is probably the most common, but if you can’t, do a different method.

    2. Meg

      September 29, 2021 at 1:44 pm

      Option 1 – You can make sage water, or rosemary water, or cinnamon water, etc. There are numerous recipes on the internet of how to do this. Basically, you simmer the protective herb of choice, let cool, strain the solids out, be sure to squeeze or press the water out of them, pour the water into a spray or spritzer bottle, use this in place of smudging. Bury the herbs on your property or place in the bottom of a plant pot.
      Option 2 – You can powder the herbs and sprinkle them around the room and in the corners, window sills, doorway, just as you would smudge with smoke.
      Option 3 – Use Holy Water and spritz or mix it in with the herb water, in place of smoke from smudging.
      Note: Intentions are Everything. Without focusing your intent fully on the process and the outcome you wish to manifest, ingredients and going through the steps are meaningless.
      In my beginnings, I had nothing, no ingredients, no ‘props’, just me and my will. I walked through my little apartment reciting the Lord’s Prayer in every room, opening doors, drawers, every corner, closet, nook and cranny as I walked through. Between each reciting I said – unwanted energies & entities Be Gone! – and slapped my palms together in a loud clap. I did this every week for months. It helped tremendously. A few years later I found my first book and learned how to do things more traditionally. Then memories of teachings from my paternal Grandmother when I was barely past being a toddler came back, ‘Grandma’s Secrets’ she would say. She also instilled in me – Intentions are everything. If you can think it, you can make it be. Beware your thoughts child, for thoughts become things. Pure thoughts, just thoughts, bring justice. Ill thoughts bring harm to those who think them. Soil brings life and all life returns to the soil. Soften your focus and you will see that which is unseen. Fear not child, fear nothing, face your fears and you shall walk through fire unscathed. Forget not the ways of old.
      Many words I knew not the meanings of, but I would walk around the ranch speaking her words to myself as I played.

  5. Michelle

    December 3, 2020 at 11:04 am

    Do you need to cleanse the crawl space under a home?

  6. Jessica

    October 11, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    I have recently had my daughter and her boyfriend and my three grandchildren living with me and my husband. After they moved out the air felt purer, lighter. I am afraid that its my fault the house becomes a dark place. I take medication for bi-polar, but when my other persona sneaks out she wreaks havoc upon my life. She hates me and tried to destroy all of my relationships, including my marriage. I feel like she is a real personality even though my doctor says it’s normal for me to feel that way. I have tried blessing the house myself, there aren’t many people in my area who will. I feel like I’m the Devil and I’m trying to bless my house. It’s not working. So much arguing and tension. I love my husband, but the other hates him. My therapist said it’s ok to be of two minds about some things. I don’t feel like it’s ok. I used to see ghosts and experience paranormal happenings. It’s starting up again. Shadows, noises, thumps, slamming doors. My dog even has started exhibiting odd behavior. Am I causing all of this mess? I was told a long time ago by a medium that I had the potential to be a psychic but I blocked it out as I grew up. It’s upsetting my husband. I don’t know what to do. Sometimes I can feel the darkness lurking in my home. I think that’s why my daughter got the babies and left. I think she could feel it too.

    1. Sara

      February 4, 2021 at 10:27 pm

      The entity has gained entry by permissions given unwittingly by you or a family member. You need to revoke all permission you have unknowingly given, just verbally and mentally say that no one or thing other than…..you and your family… Can stay in this house and it must leave now. Order it to leave in the name sake of… I. e Jesus Christ etc . Work out what attracted the entity as it could happen again…. is there an empath or young child in your home or has there been sickness or trauma. After you revoke permissions do a house cleanse, blessing and protection. Hope this helps

    2. Meg

      September 29, 2021 at 2:00 pm

      Sara is so correct.
      In addition to her recommendations you may wish to ground and balance yourself on a daily basis, more frequent if needed on your bad days.

  7. Maude

    August 7, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    Hi, my daughter has some form of a entity in her bedroom, I’ve cleansed and blessed the home and there is a lot arguing in the home, and now the thing is making itself known more and more everyday and now in the daytime, I am worried for her and my grand daughter, she it could possible be a Poltergeist, what other steps should i take to rid this thing from my daughter’s home?

    1. admin

      August 7, 2020 at 11:25 pm

      It sounds like it’s feeding off of the negativity there. Unfortunately, no matter how much you cleanse, it doesn’t purify the minds and moods of the people present. It could very well be attached to someone in the house.

    2. Ana

      September 2, 2020 at 12:45 pm

      I agree with others too in that this form is feeding itself off the negative energy in the house and no matter how much cleansing they do it ill not go away. This happened to my parents, when they would get into arguments things would break in their house or move the next day. They have to work on themselves first. I hope this helps, sending positive energy your way and your family

    3. Anonymous

      November 8, 2020 at 4:45 am

      Hi, try cleansing with sea salt. It always help me whenever there’s negative energy in my house. You can put salt in every corner of her house. What I usually do was I opened windows and spread salt around my house, under the furniture inside the closet and anywhere I can think of but I focused in every corner and the place I felt the negative energies. While I’m doing this I chant, “negative energy go away, in salt’s present you cannot stay. Bane be gone away as well, I banish you in this salty spell”. Then, after cleaning the house I put salt in a container and put it in every corner of my house. Also, intentions is the most important upon doing the cleansing. Hope this help, good luck!

      1. Meg

        September 29, 2021 at 2:11 pm

        I agree whole heartedly with the others. You may want to try a witches bottle to protect the innocents effected by this. Get a small jar, draw a likeness of the person you wish to protect on a piece of paper and glue it to the inside of the jar facing outward. Fill it with nails, pins, broken glass, anything sharp & piercing you can find. Then fill it with sour liquids like lemon and lime juice, not sauce, cayenne pepper, hot peppers, anything sour and biting to the taste. There is a lot on the internet about this for ingredients, most of which are probably in the kitchen already. Recite protection for the individual and bury it outside on the property. If they live in an apartment, bury at a crossroads away from the residence. You’ll need a separate bottle for each person you wish to protect this way.
        Note: this is just in addition to, it’s a band-aid per se. Until the people of age make the necessary changes from the inside out, the problems will continue, it will follow them no matter where the live, it will effect others, even the innocents, and may only escalate.

  8. Joy

    March 14, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    Hi! I want to perform a house cleansing, but I’m a student who’s currently living in shared housing. This means I cannot access my housemates’ rooms to perform a full, thorough cleansing. Would I still be able to make it work for just my own space/room? I understand I won’t be as effective but I was wondering if it would still be worth a try.

    1. admin

      March 15, 2020 at 2:55 pm

      Joy – YES, cleanse your own space! It will be effective for that space and for you.

    2. Maria Montes Jimenez

      May 21, 2020 at 10:26 pm

      I live with my friend and her parents (they’re Christian and I’m a witch but they dont know) and I cleanse my room almost every month. Sometimes if they’re gone for the weekend I can get the whole house. I try to use oils and candles though as incense leaves a smoky smell.

      1. Gloria

        June 22, 2020 at 11:07 pm

        I want to do a cleansing on our home cause my mom is seeing so many unnatural things in her room.. it’s scary just hearing her say what she sees.. which is not normal.. she sees human bodies with heads of animals.. what can I do..

        1. Kristen

          August 27, 2021 at 4:28 am

          Is she clairvoyant? And not know it?
          So many of these posts seem to come from an unknown fearful space. Try listening to frequency 432 music. The sand test was awesome to watch. 432 brought unity design with sand and most of the music played on the radio is set at 440 hertz frequency which caused the sand to shift into separation design. I think it would be acceptable to play “calming and good energizing” music in a home with other people and this music has the added benefit of helping others to subconsciously work on their on themselves. I set the intention that this suggestion helps whoever reads this. I send you peace, protection and love.

  9. How To Cleanse Your Space Without Sage Smoke: 5 Alternatives

    December 21, 2019 at 7:47 pm

    […] House Cleansing, Blessing & Spiritual Protection Tutorial […]

    1. Mary

      March 30, 2020 at 2:54 am

      Hi this is very informative my mother told me I need to bless my house at 12 am is that true.

      1. admin

        March 31, 2020 at 11:35 am

        I’ve never done that. But it’s up to you.

  10. Witch's Home: Witchy Bedroom Decor Ideas

    December 21, 2019 at 7:45 pm

    […] House Cleansing, Blessing and Protection […]

  11. Anonymous

    October 19, 2019 at 3:09 pm

    Love this and your site. Thank you so much! Y’all are very WISE!!,!

    1. Anonymous

      May 4, 2021 at 10:12 am

      Lisa . I have recently lost my boyfriend he died at my house, so did my dad and my mom. I found them all(within the last ten years) I feel my home is cursed, orI am. Im going to do a cleansing. My daughter when she was a teenager carved a devil’s symbol both on her body and on the wall of her room. There is mental illness in my family. I am going to sell the house, both my daughter and I feel negative energy here. Many bad memories at my home. My daughter was very troubled as a young lady, she won’t live in the home. I’m so glad that this site exists, I felt like Im the only one, I feel like I’m cursed, but I realize it is the house, when I’m not at home I’m happier, my late bf noticed that as soon as I leave the house I’m much happier and when I’m here my mood is different. Anyone else feel like that?

  12. Brenda Walker-Reiner

    June 22, 2019 at 1:27 pm

    I recently became wheelchair bound and am unable to get upstairs or down to the basement. My question: Is there any possible way to do the cleansing from the main floor of my home for the rest of house? I am in desperate need to perform a cleansing. (For my first time) TOO MUCH NEGATIVITY HERE. Hence my newfound 4 wheeled friend. Plus other issues, prior to wheelchair, throughout a 25 year span that involved police and other horrific incidents’.

    1. admin

      June 22, 2019 at 9:28 pm

      Brenda – You can try, but my suggestion is to have someone else do it for you. To perform a thorough cleansing ALL parts of the house should be included.

    2. Alice

      September 24, 2019 at 12:43 am

      I personally feel that visualization and intention are extremely powerful. I feel that you could get the same effect with a very strong meditation. Visualize every inch of the home that you cannot access.

      1. Isabel

        July 13, 2020 at 2:19 pm

        What time of the day should I cleanse & bless my house? Does it matter?

        1. Margaret

          July 25, 2021 at 9:09 pm

          I like using moon magic over the sun. But it is up to you. Although if you are going to use the moon I recommend at night/before going to bed during a waning moon. You can use my suggestion, but it is completely up to you. It does not matter, although I feel that performing it during the waning moon is best as said before.

      2. Anonymous

        September 29, 2021 at 2:20 pm

        Brenda – I agree with both Alice and Admin. You should have someone come in if you are able to. Until that happens, use your intentions. In visualizing the home, the rooms and spaces you can not go to physically, picture the room and all that is in it, every nook and cranny being flooded with a brilliant white cleansing light that permeates every space, as the white light fills every space of the home, from below the foundation to above the roof, imagine the color changing from a brilliant cleansing white to a bright golden yellow color. Fill the space with positive energy, high vibrations of love and light filling every spec of the home from the inside out. Do this weekly until you get help.

      3. Meg

        September 29, 2021 at 2:22 pm

        And fill it with cleansing brilliant white light, then change it to a healing and loving golden yellow, from below the foundation to above the roof, permeating from the inside out. Do this weekly until you get someone to go through the home physically for you.

Leave a Reply