:sacred_flame: WITCH CHALLENGE - Purify & Cleanse

Merry meet!

Thank you once again to all those who joined in for the previous Witchy Challenge - Who’s Your Deity? :offering_bowl:

After exploring the many divine influences honored by the coven, it’s time to welcome the Lunar New Year, the month of purification, and the pagan holiday Imbolc :fire:

The theme for this week’s challenge is inspired by these current events and is…

Purify & Cleanse

:broom: :fire: Cleansing & Purification :bubbles: :white_candle:

February is named after the ancient Roman god Februus - a deity of the Roman pantheon associated with death and purification. The Februalia Festival held in His honor is a time of cleansing. It later also became associated with the Goddess Hestia (Vesta) - a Goddess of the hearth, home, and fire :fire:

The Lunar New Year marks a time of change - like a snake shedding its skin, we are leaving one period behind and transitioning into something new :snake:

And finally, Imbolc is a pagan holiday that marks the midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It signals a shift in the seasons and heralds the start of preparations for the coming spring. Both Imbolc and Ostara are popular times for “spring cleaning” - removing the stale energies of past seasons to prepare for future growth :seedling:

Whichever occasions you honor in your practice, join your coven for some cleansing and purification. There are some suggested methods and spells below, but feel free to use your personal favorites if you have some!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

This challenge is about cleansing and purification - how you choose to take on this theme is up to you.

So are you ready? Because it’s…

CHALLENGE TIME!

:bell:

Water-Spiritual-bath
From Spells8: Cleanse Your Energy with a Spiritual Bath



Cleansing in the Craft :broom:

This challenge is all about how you cleanse and purify - as always, feel free to explore the theme in a way that aligns with you and your unique practice.

Still not sure where to begin? To help you get started, here are a few suggested spells and other ways in which a witch might approach this challenge.

Please make sure you are logged into your Spells8 Account so you can view all of the resources shared!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Methods & Spellwork :bubbles:

Ways-to-Cleanse-Negative-Energy-360x240
7 Simple Ways to Cleanse Negativity

Wicca-Cleansing-Chant-Imbolc-360x240
Spring Cleansing Chant: Imbolc Blessings

House-Spirit-Karma-Cleansing-Spell
Pure Light: House and Spirit Cleansing Spell

Lavender-Tea-Spell-Meditation-360x240
Lavender Tea Purifying Potion

Coconut-Water-Bath-Benefits-and-Ritual-360x240
Coconut Water Bath: Cleansing Ritual

Salt-Protection-Spell-Ritual-360x240
Home Cleanse Spell with Salt

how-to-cleanse-obsidian-spells8-360x240
Cleansing Crystals: How to Purify Obsidian

Smoke-Cleansing-Explained-360x240
How to Cleanse with Smoke

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Sacred Cleansing Flame :fire:

One of the key symbols of the Februalia is fire for cleansing, purification, and removing negativity. Consider honoring a deity of fire (such as Hestia or Brigid - both associated with the season) or using flame in your spiritual cleansing. As always, remember fire magick safety!

Fire-Invocation-Pagan-Chant-Prayer-360x240
Fire Elemental Invocation Chant

Hestia-Wiccan-Devotional-Prayer-360x240
Hearth Goddess Hestia’s Home Blessing Prayer

Prayer-to-Brigid-Thumb
Imbolc Pledges to Brigid

Burn-Away-Past-Spell-Easy-Fire-360x240
Burn Away the Past: Fire Spell for a Fresh Start

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It’s Okay to Be Creative! :sparkles:

The suggestions above are just a few ideas to help kickstart your creativity. If you feel called to explore the challenge theme in another way, you are welcome to do so.


From Spells8: Radiant Renewal Elixir: Cleanse and Purify Your Body



How to Join the Challenge :trophy:

In order for your entry to be counted, all you have to do is write/share about your experience and label it as your challenge entry. There is a lot of chatting here (which is awesome- chatting and discussion are very welcome!) so please clearly write that it is your entry so I know to count it! :pray:

Where Do I Share My Entry? :thinking:

Click here to learn where to share your challenge entry

You are welcome to post it right here- just click “reply” :repeat: to this post and write your experience in the text box that pops up!

Alternatively, you could create a new post in the forum (this is good for when you have a lot to share and/or would like to discuss aspects of your entry not related to the current theme)

Note : If you do choose to create a new thread, please add the “challenge-entry” tag and/or add a hyperlink back to this post so that it can be easily found- thank you! :bowing_woman:

Click here for a note for our lovely lurkers

Everyone is welcome to join the challenge. For those who would like the challenge prizes, please know that you will need to share your experience if you want to receive a prize and a public shout-out.

Don’t feel comfortable sharing? No fear! For lurkers and those who are shy, it is absolutely okay to follow along with the challenge on the sidelines. At the end of the day, these challenges are here to help you help yourself by expanding and enhancing your personal magickal practice. I hope they can be helpful for you!


Deadline :spiral_calendar:

:exclamation: This challenge will close in 13 DAYS :exclamation:

To join in, please share your experience by:

Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00 AM EDT (Eastern US Time)
2025-02-11T12:00:00Z

(Note that the time zone is ET- if you don’t see your time displayed above, you can use this time zone calculator to check for your time zone!)


Prizes :gift:

For their efforts, all participants will receive a special shout-out and a small prize! :gift:

Acknowledgments will be given in a Props and Presents Post that will appear in the forums the day the challenge closes.

After the challenge closes, you are still very welcome to post but please be aware that no additional prizes will be given. This discussion will remain open for about a week after the challenge finishes.


From Spells8: Shower Cleanser Spell for Success

A warm reminder that the challenges are designed to be very open- everyone is encouraged to participate in a way that honors and reflects their unique practice :open_book:

If you have any doubts about if something is acceptable to post or say, please double-check with the Forum FAQ and/or reach out to your friendly Moderator Team.

And for those new to challenges- welcome! :heart: Know that the goal of these activities is to help you further diversify and strengthen your abilities and to bring together the Spells8 forum family to inspire and support one another in creative ways :hugs:

Spell-Bath-to-remove-negativity
From Spells8: ‘Cleanse & Protect’: A Pre-Spell Spiritual Bath

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Out with the old and in with the new,
By incense or flame or witch’s brew
Although the future remains to be seen
When it arrives, we’ll be sparkly and clean!

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Blessed Be! :sacred_flame: :sparkles:

18 Likes

Hmmm :thinking: I will have to put my thinking cap on for this one. Nothing jumps up mind, yet.

But always up for a new challenge!

14 Likes

This should be a fun challenge! Need to decide which way I want to go with this one. So many ideas!

11 Likes

Challenge Entry

I thought I’d tackle this from a different angle.

Purify and Cleanse your home from spirits.

First, the credit to this method is to my aunty, she’s a psychic medium so has lived with spirits all her life. Some spirits can be lived with, others not, so how do we decide.

Ask - does it drain your energy.
Does it frighten you.
Is it destructive.

Any of the above and it probably needs to go but how? Should we be aggressive, well yes you can bang pots around your house, hit the walls and yell at it to get it out if you want, but - alot of spirits are just trying to get your attention, they don’t want to be in your house any more than you don’t want them there either :laughing:. Often spirits get angry because noone is listening! :rage: So how can we gently cleanse them out. :green_heart:

Here’s my aunty’s method:

First: Cleanse the house with crystals in the four corners of each room particularly rooms where you feel extra nervous or cold.

Second Do research on the history of the house, any previous owners and anyone who may have passed away in the house. Then pray for them to move on. Visualise them and send them all the love you can, you can also say:
To the love and the light be gone.

This sometimes takes more than one try and may need to be gently repeated over a couple of months. If it’s an old house it may have a few troubled spirits. :ghost:

You may even try to talk to them using a variety of methods and then help to cleanse them home. :house_with_garden:

Once they’ve left, cleanse your home room by room with a bell, ringing it loudly. :bell: Make sure you open your windows in each room, give a little hand knock on all the walls too just to make sure.

You should feel a sense of stillness and quiet once they’ve left, you may even miss them but don’t worry - as witches we have a beacon lit up on our heads, and more lovely spirits will come to visit soon. :partying_face:

Skal :beers:

17 Likes

I was just having a conversation with a friend the other day about cleansing and purifying techniques for homes. What a synchronicity! My friend’s friend (neither of whom are witches) was asking her if she knew any methods for purifying her house. My friend then came to me to ask for help :laughing: and this is the perfect time to put together a list of methods I use to do just that! :clap:

13 Likes

Trigger Warning-Self Harm

I wish I new the history of my house. My house was moved to this property in the 80’s from Houston. I purchased the house in 1993. My dad said from the way it’s built, it was originally a shot gun house from the 1940’s. It had a hallway leading all the way through the house from the front to the back. A previous owner removed the hallway and extended the rooms and put the entrance on what would have been the side of the house back then. I would have never thought about it being a shotgun house until my dad said that.

A few years after I purchased the house, I was going to repaint my bedroom. The paint was peeling from what seemed like (and probably is) decades of paint. When I started pealing the old layers of paint, I noticed there were reddish brown stains and thought, that looks like blood. Then I realized it probably was and it stopped me dead in my tracks. I stopped pealing the paint. It would make sense to move the house to a different area instead of trying to sell a house with a bad history, right? To this day, I have not peeled all of the paint away or repainted my bedroom.

10 Likes

First, what’s a shotgun house? I interpret that as like a hitmans house or is it suicide but probably wrong :person_shrugging:

Also like woah :scream: any feelings on the house?

11 Likes

Here’s an article about shotgun houses that explains it–

10 Likes

Thanks @jayne for sharing the article to help @tracyS understand what a shotgun house is.

@tracyS I think that something bad happened in the bedroom. There were some things going on in the house years ago, but the house is peaceful now. Who knows, maybe this summer I will get the nerve to scrape and repaint the bedroom.

9 Likes

They’re lovely houses :grin:

9 Likes

Mine doesn’t look like that anymore. It’s fatter now. :rofl:

9 Likes

challenge entry
Ok im embracing my creative zen side for this one :laughing:
Recently got into a zen paint by numbers app that i absolutely love and its a great way to unwind i got two almost completed onnmy trip home after work and after a say id been overwhekmed and overstimulated and pushed to bursting into tears half way through day …i needed to unwind…

So anyways for this challenge i thought id vring tech and art into cleansing by doing a few pictures that related to cleansing. I love the colours and how much attention to detail the artist that created this put in.got to say i enjoyed painting or colouring by numbers for these.

Lavender for cleansing


Cleaning for a cleanse

Fire ( flame) for cleansing ( safetly )

Candles to cleanse

Insense and candles to cleanse

Water for cleansing

Cooking with cleansing ingredients in kitchen magic

Sunlight for cleansing

11 Likes

These are beautiful!

Good luck! You got this! If anything comes up, you have the ability to handle it. Bless the victim and the house while you work.

What color(s) would you like to paint your room? Focus on the good of the future to counter the ik of the past for now.

Thank you. I learned something today.

10 Likes

I’m not sure yet. I’m also not sure I want to peel that paint off that wall! :rofl:

11 Likes

Would it help to start at a different spot to see if the one you found is the worst of the mess? I’m the type to get the worst done first, but not everyone agrees. Remember that by putting it off, you’re living with it longer.

Peroxide may help reduce the coloring. See if it bubbles upon contact. If not, it’s something else.

Remember to wear a mask and gloves when working as a form of self defense.

10 Likes

It may not be what I think it is (self exiting), but it would be in the right place if someone were lying down on my side of the bed and did that. That is what has freaked me out about it all these years. Sometimes it’s better not to know. I’m not ready to move out of my house just yet!

10 Likes

If it helps, you can think of the process of removing the paint and repainting part of tending to your house spirit. It’s not good in the moment, especially if it turns out to be blood, but it might be exactly what your house spirit needs :blush: :heart:

10 Likes

Wow thanks Megan, I never though of that. That puts things in a new perspective!

10 Likes

You’re welcome! :blush: I’m glad it could help you!

10 Likes

CHALLENGE ENTRY:

FIRST; I spent the 29th and 30th deep cleaning my house. I started a simmer pot of cleansing with pine needles for abundance, (its also a natural insect deterant) lemon to cleanse, cinnamon to bring in the fire, apples for spirituality, and roses for love. I opened the windows and walked thru the house with my singing bowl and did a sound clearing. It felt more appropriate to me to bring in spring. I set an intention for February to get rid of at least 3 things daily that I dont need, want, or use. I’m really leaning into minimalist lifestyle this year. I would love to be living in a tiny house/campervan by next year.

SECOND; I created a milk bath to honor the season and Brigid. I’ll leave the recipe

BRIDGID’S MILK & HONEY BATH
2 cups milk (I use oat milk)
4 T Honey
2 T Cocnut Oil
5 Drops of Jasmine or Gardenia
essential oil
Lavendar & Rosemary to your liking
Put in warm bath and enjoy
Use some candles put on some music and visualize your life being purified and nourished.

THIRD: I created my seasonal altar that I will use thru to Summer Solstice. ( I had cleared and cleansed my altar during the cleaning process ) I made a separate working to honor Imbolc using candals I had charged in the sunrise of Winter Solstice. Some Marigold and other dried flowers left from summer, Bay leaves, crystals, a pine sprig from Yule, dried lemon and pomegranate, various seeds, and sea salt. I dressed the candle with a mixture of seaonal herbs. Set my cauldron tea cup by it and made a Besom of things I found outside the last couple days. Then I lit the candles and read a poem that i wrote in the last couple days.

FOURTH: I made myself some pancakes for dinner with apples, cinnamon, and poppy seeds. Warmed and made some spiced milk. (Again I used oat milk cuz I’m lactose intolerant) and set a small offering of the milk in the tea cup, and an offering of the pancakes for the Fairies that come with the spring which I will put outside in my fairy garden the following day.

And that was it. A whole day of just mindfully honoring Bridgid and the season in every small task I chose to do. I love being able to bring magick to the everyday mundane tasks. I’m not one for huge elaborate ceremony or rituals. Just created beauty and that energy to surround me in my home. I spend a lot of time at home so I surround myself with magick whenever possible.
Happy Imbolc
Enjoy your February all
Blessed Be :candle:

15 Likes