Space Clearing Rituals with Crystal Bowls

The beginning of the New Year is a perfect time to do a space clearing ritual. It is a wonderful way to bring closure to all that went on last year and to clear the space for new beginnings.

Clearing space energetically is a good habit and one that can help you move on in all facets of your life with more ease. A powerful way to set the stage for an auspicious new year is to clear out the old and start with fresh new energy in your home. So often we let life just happen to us. Performing a space clearing is a way to energetically embrace and call in what you want to take place this next year.

The most important aspect of any cleansing ritual is to restore balance, whether energetically or in the more mundane physical sense.  Chi is all about balance – learning how to maintain harmony internally and externally.

All ancient cultures acknowledged that everything in the universe was made up of life-source energy and that it accumulated over time and needed to be cleared. Space clearings were done regularly in many cultures, and were considered just as important as physically cleaning an interior space. These space clearing rituals always included sound and elements from nature.

WHEN SPACE CLEANSING IS IMPORTANT

As in all cleansing rituals, the first step is to clear out any old chi. In the tradition of “chi” it is thought that buildings which are long standing hold a great deal of energy and history. The type of energy depends on what the building is used for and how long it has stood and even what materials with which the building is constructed. For instance a library, a school and an old home will all have very different “chi” or energy.

People often cleanse themselves and their space after difficult events, when communication problems seem to be arising, when they are feeling down or depressed, during times of meditation or other rituals. Smudging is also excellent to practice prior to a gathering or ritual or as people arrive and before commencing a ritual or celebration. This leads to open minds and hearts and the eradication of any lingering negativity.

Fresh air must be brought into the home, as well as plants and flowers, candles and some form of purifying water. By bringing the four elements into the home and the sense of a fresh, clean beginning, you will raise everyone’s spirits and incorporate balance and harmony into the home again.

INTRO TO RITUAL

Here is one space clearing technique that includes elements from all ancient cultures. I love that this connects us to our ancestors and acknowledges our own connection to mother earth, invoking the guidance from those who lived with the rhythms of the earth and still have much to teach us.

Setting Up an Altar or Sacred Space: 

Use a beautiful cloth and or lovely tray to set your altar items on.  Use what you have on hand if you like.

To get started, choose at least one item from each of the 5 categories:

1. Sound instruments: Bells of any kind, Tibetan singing bowls, rattles,  chimes, rain sticks, clap sticks, drums, gongs or harmony balls, or even a pan and a spoon. Your own voice is also just fine. If you don’t have an instrument with you, then clapping will work.

     -the idea is that the sound waves break up the stagnant chi

2. Something from the earth: Smoke from sage, pine needles, incense, salt, essential oils (my personal favorite). Holly was used by the ancient Celts as a symbol of death and rebirth during the winter solstice and was burned ritually to symbolize the letting go of the old and bringing in of the new.

3. Holy water: You can make your own by taking purified water, putting it in a bowl, adding your prayers and a crystal, and letting it sit overnight in the elements. Or, if it is meaningful for you, you can ask to take some holy water from your neighborhood Catholic church.

4. Fire: Candles are the best source (tip – use votives not tapers, no risk of falling over)

5. Nature: I float flowers in a bowl of water,  add a drop of holy water or essential oil and put one in each room (you can add stones, rice, a crystal, etc.).

PREPARATION:

Aas we mentioned —The precursor to this ritual is to thoroughly clean and de-clutter your space. The de-cluttering alone is one of the most powerful ways you can energetically make room for new things to come in the new year.

NOTE:  Don’t stress about perfection; just START somewhere! Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I just take out the trash in a room to instantly shift energy! It all helps.

You also may want to take a shower that morning and make sure to take another one that evening. If you can’t do that, at least wash your hands thoroughly before and after. Then open the windows to let the old energies out (I know some of you live in freezing temperatures but try to at least open them while doing the main part of the clearing).

RITUAL STEPS

1. Create an ”altar“ in every room, OR I use one altar (silver tray) and move it to each room. If you are doing the whole house, begin at the main entrance and finish there.

2. Call in your guides. These are the personal guides, angels, deities that have meaning to you. Ask for assistance and protection in clearing out the old energies and bringing in the new intentions.

3. Ground yourself. You can do this by closing your eyes and visualizing huge roots going down into the earth from your feet or a grounding cord from your first chakra to the center of the earth.

4. Set your intention. Be clear about what it is you intend, for example: “I now let go of old stagnant energy from my home and life and invite in new opportunities and new beginnings.”

Connect to your intuition and add more of the specifics of what you want to let go of and invite in.  What would you like your clearing to accomplish?  The more precise  you are (eg, new beginnings, prosperity, clarity, relationship harmony)  the better.

If you have a home with multiple rooms, consider your intention in each space. Focus on rest in the bedroom, productivity in the office, nourishment in the kitchen and fellowship and relaxation in the living room and so on.

5. Smudge the space with incense or sage allowing the smoke to absorb the negative energy.

6. Use your sound instrument to do a deep cleanse. Once your altars are set in every room, start at the front door and walk around the home counter-clockwise. Clapping or singing or clanging your instrument, moving up and down the walls, (TOP TO BOTTOM and ground) with the intention to clear out all of the past energies. Repeat in any room that feels particularly stagnant or where sadness, discord, accidents or anything else might have been focused in the past year.

7. Uplift and smooth the energy with sound healing. Now that you have loosened the stuck energies, smooth the energy using an instrument that is soothing, such as a Tibetan Bowl, harmony balls, rain sticks, hand-held chimes, bells, vocal chanting, or crystal bowls (my personal favorite).

I stand in the middle of each room and as I am smoothing the energies I intend with gratitude all of the new things that I want to bring into my life and welcome them into my home for the new year.

8. Complete. Go back to the front door, thank your guides and release them. Then hold the vision clearly throughout the day. You can also do a smaller smudging with white sage, incense or essential oils every day, doing a mini-space clearing and renewing your intentions.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  empty the water from the bowls off your own property rather than pouring it down the sink!

How to Use Crystal Bowls for Space Clearing

Crystal Singing Bowls are ideal for use in the home or office to clear negative energy and bring in positive chi,  as crystals are widely used in Feng Shui cures.

in her book Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui author Karen Kingston notes that crystals “symbolically bring more positive life force into your home. Crystals focus, activate and lift energy…”

Crystal Singing bowls can be seen to encompass both Yin and Yang energies, and also contain several of the qualities of the Five Elements. The bowls are rounded in a pleasing way, and as bowls, they are receptacles for Yin energy, but when they are played, their sound and vibrations can bring forth the energetic Yang forces that help cleanse and purify any space. They are made of crystal, which is traditionally seen as Earth energy, but through their color, appearance and use can also invoke Water or Metal. They are truly multi-purpose tools for all occasions!!

The large Classic Frosted® bowls contain great Earth energy and are excellent for maintaining the beautiful atmosphere of harmony in a room, and when rung frequently, tend to add a sense of stability and grounding to the chi in the home, without generating stagnant energy.  The deep resonance fills every part of the space and is very purifying.  The white color also draws in Metal energy that is energizing and invigorating. White also represents purity and new beginnings.  For instance,  you could place a large classic frosted crystal bowl in an area which needs some stability but also could use a regular source of energetic chi. If it is placed near a source of light, the bowl can bring a beautiful radiance to any room, and the effect will only be enhanced through regular toning!

The Ultra Light Frosted® bowls also enhance Metal energies, but bring even more energetic, pure Yang chi because their tones are much higher than the classic frosted bowls.  Since they are smaller and lighter than the classic frosted bowls, they are suitable for working with energy in many different rooms and can be ideal for space clearing and purification. Metal energy is good for enhancing the Wealth areas of the home or office, and is also good for communication, leadership, and organization.

Tara Crystal suggests: “To do a space clearing, first stand in the center of the room and tone the bowl by striking it firmly yet gently with the mallet. Raise the level of vibration by moving the mallet firmly around the rim of the bowl (hold the mallet at an angle for best results)  until you have a strong resonant tone to begin working with. Be careful not to play the bowl too loudly as they can shatter from the vibration.

When you have a good tone started, you can begin by spiraling outward from the center of the room, directing the sound into all areas of the space, especially corners of the walls, ceilings, and dark areas or alcoves where chi can get “stuck”. Sound the bowl at regular intervals to keep the tone resonating.

An added advantage of the crystal singing bowls, is that unlike ordinary containers or bowls which may be used for Feng Shui purposes, the crystal singing bowls are tuned to specific harmonic frequencies that can be used with intention to help enhance specific qualities.

For instance, you could place a clear crystal bowl tuned to the F note for the Heart chakra in the Relationship area of your home to help open yourself to love and to create a feeling of harmony in your relationship with a loved one. Then while toning the bowl, you could enhance the energy vibrations of that area by focusing your intention on your relationship. There are so many possible combinations and uses that it would be impossible to list them all!

My Favorite Crystal Bowls for Space Clearing:

• Citrine: A member of the quartz family, Citrine combines a joyful, cohesive golden yellow energy of pure quartz frequencies that align root and solar plexus chakras. Citrine dissipates and transmutes negative energies while purifying and balancing auric fields. A legendary “merchant’s stone,” Citrine helps expand and maintain wealth. One of my favorite “first bowls”, Citrine Alchemy bowl is a catalyst for excellent communication, mental acuity and new beginnings.  Citrine enhances optimism, balance, initiative and personal power.

• Charcoal: Move into uncharted spiritual and physical dimensions with the pure crystal charcoal bowl alchemy, a grounding tool for today’s rapidly accelerating and expansive energies. Charcoal bowls are the ultimate sound portal for clarity, personal vision and release of physical, emotional, and spiritual toxins. Highly prized in ancient Egypt as early as 1550 BC, and for centuries in Japan, bamboo and other charcoals are often used in physical and spiritual healing because of their ability to absorb toxins and impurities. Quartz crystal with charcoal creates neutralizing positive ions in a waveform that “makes everyday life better.” An anecdote for poisons in the body and environment, charcoal can help uplift and remove negative states of being. The Charcoal Bowl can help dissipate confusion and achieve balance. As one moves through life’s crossroads this crystalline-infused energy offers guidance for problems or situations that are arising. With intention, this bowl can be a helping agent for removing negativity, bringing about hope, unconditional love, nurturing, grounding, appreciation of the feminine and nature. Charcoal assists in evoking  mystic visions, spiritual and romantic love, tenderness, kindness, sensitivity and psychic abilities.

• Azeztulite:  Azeztulite is said to be among the highest vibrations in the Mineral Kingdom. Attuning to it can activate the third eye and crown chakras, as well as chakras above the head in the etheric body. As a special conduit for this energy, the clearing of disease in its many forms is permitted, allowing for an ease in the experience of being in the world, but not being of it.  Azeztulite is a celestial connector of the “I AM” energy. The frequency of spiritual light above and below us is linked, and the resulting energy sphere is highlighted in the third dimension for heightened consciousness and understanding. This powerful alchemy changes our cellular energy, allowing our awareness to properly expand and illuminate.  Merkaba ascension is fostered as one more easily tunes in to the pulses of the universe, activating the bridges for dimensional travel.  Azeztulite is considered to be the primary stone of the Great Central Sun, and can create many changes both personally and globally as we move into the Age of Awareness. Achieving this universal higher-state frequency is greatly accelerated with this potent crystal alchemy, as one more easily recognizes and claims their universe citizenship.