Sometimes Smudging Isn't Enough
I get this question a lot from clients: "I had my house smudged, and the spirit came back. What do I do now?" Well, the problem is that your house was cleansed incorrectly." Smudging, the use of burning sage to cleanse a space, is only half the process. The effects of Smudging are only temporary.
I like to refer to Smudging as an "Initial Knock Down" tactic. When done correctly, Smudging will push the spirit out of a home, but only temporarily. If the malevolent spirit has a strong enough attachment to the house, it may have the ability to return after the effects of Smudging has dissipated. After the house is cleansed, further steps are needed to prevent the spirit from reentering your home.
One thing you could do is to place protective crystals in your window seals and above your doors. The best crystals to use are Black Tourmaline, Rose Quartz, Blood Stone, Black Onyx, Amethyst, and Emerald. These crystals will dissolve negative energy and promote a more positive atmosphere. It may also be a good idea to keep one of these stones next to your bed and the beds of your loved ones.
Another method is spreading salt across your doors and windows. In many cultures, salt is a talisman used for warding off unwelcome spirits. By spreading salt across your doors and windows, you are creating a protective barrier. You can also pour salt in the corners of your rooms and let it sit for a few days, then vacuum it up. Salt tends to bind with negative energy, thus neutralizing it. Placing a salt lamp in a room can also help promote a more positive atmosphere.
In the Hoodoo and Voodoo religions, brick dust is a common way to protect against negative energy and evil spirits. By spreading brick dust across the doorways of your home, nothing that wants to cause harm can enter. Also, scrubbing your porches with brick dust is a way of breaking curses and hexes.
For Christians, placing crosses, holy water, and other blessed items around your home can protect you from evil spirits, but I have found this to be a problem when dealing with older earthbound spirits. Sometimes you may be dealing with an evil spirit that does not recognize the Christian religion. Even though Christian icons may protect you personally, they may not do anything to rid your home of the negative energy in which evil spirits tend to thrive. In these cases, it's best to perform a house blessing, followed by one of the techniques mentioned above.
Regardless of which method you choose, the point is smudging isn't enough. And depending on how strong the malevolent spirit's attachment is to your home, several different methods may have to be used to keep your home cleansed. The best advice I can give to someone facing this kind of situation is to keep a positive attitude. Remember, malevolent spirits thrive on negativity, fear, and emotion. Often in these repeating cases, I find that if the client continues to fear the spirit and unintentionally invites the malevolent spirit back into their home.
