Incense and Scents

A smoke-free version

To cleanse and bless a place with the air, without lighting anything.

You need

A small bell, a card with a spiral drawn on it or an empty bowl

Time

Ten minutes

1. Choose the object that will stand for the air.
2. Carry it in your hand through each room.
3. In each one, ring the bell, or raise the card or the bowl to chest height.
4. Say there whatever blessing you want for that place.
5. If you want a scent, use an air freshener made for that, following its directions, and only if the people you live with agree.

A personal cleansing with the air

To gather your attention and set down what weighs on you today.

You need

A card with coffee beans and sugar drawn on it

Time

Three minutes

1. Sit or stand, whichever is comfortable.
2. Take the card and trace a line with it in the air, a hand's width from your body, from left to right.
3. Repeat the line two more times.
4. For your back, imagine the same gesture without twisting around.
5. Bring your attention to the center of your body and notice your breathing.
6. Say the words.

“May my attention gather again. May what weighs on me today find a place, and may I go on with more clarity.”

Accompanying another person's cleansing

To accompany someone who asks you to, with respect for their space.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Do this only if the person wants to take part.
2. Ask how they would be comfortable sitting or standing, and whether they are fine with you making gestures from a distance. There is no need to touch them.
3. Imagine a violet light around them.
4. Follow their outline with your hand in the air, first in front and then behind.
5. Say the words. If they like, the person says a prayer of their own.
6. Thank them for their trust.
7. Let them tell you what they felt, without suggesting anything.

“I am here with you, with respect. May you feel your own space and recognize the support you need.”

The violet flame decree

To let go of a resentment or a guilt and ready yourself to act differently.

When

Seven days in a row, at the same time of day.

Time

Five minutes

1. Sit with your back comfortable and close your eyes.
2. Name what you want to transform: a resentment, a fear, a guilt.
3. Imagine a violet light rising from your feet and wrapping around you completely.
4. Say the words three times, in a firm voice. If you want more, nine.
5. Imagine that what you named dissolves in that light and turns clear.
6. Repeat for seven days in a row, at the same time of day.
7. On the last day, choose an act of repair: an apology, a debt to settle, a habit to change.

“I am the violet flame that transforms what is no longer mine to carry. What was heavy turns to light. I am free to do what is right.”

The scents of the week

To dedicate each day to its planet, with the plants that go with it.

You need

Seven cards and a pencil · A stick of incense or myrrh, if you want smoke

When

Every morning, or on the day you choose.

Time

Two minutes

1. On each card, write a day of the week, its planet and its plants, as the table gives them.
2. In the morning, take the day's card and read it aloud.
3. Decide which of that planet's subjects you will give the day to.
4. If you want smoke, light the stick in its holder next to the card, with a window open.
5. Leave the card in sight until night.
6. Before you go to sleep, put out whatever is left of the stick and put the card away with the others.

Care: Air out the room and never leave incense burning unattended.

Smoke-cleansing the house

To cleanse the house with smoke and give thanks for what you have received.

You need

An incense stick or cone, of frankincense or of myrrh · A deep dish of sand · Matches

When

On August 1, as is done in the Andes, or at the start of a month.

Time

Twenty minutes

1. Tidy and clean the house.
2. Open the windows and the front door.
3. Stand the stick in the sand in the dish and light it. Blow on the tip so that only the ember is left.
4. Start at the back of the house and say aloud what you are thankful for and what you ask for.
5. Carry the dish through each room, slowly, until you reach the front door.
6. At the door, say the words.
7. Leave the dish on a steady surface until the stick has burned down.
8. When the ashes are cold, scatter them on the soil of a potted plant.

“Thank you for all this house has received. May the smoke carry off what is not needed, and may what is good for us stay.”

Care: Air out the house, and never leave incense burning unattended or near curtains.

Calling on the four elements

To bring the four forces together in harmony and find your place among them.

You need

A drawing of a bonfire · A glass of water · An artificial feather or a drawing of the wind · A stone or a closed jar of soil

Time

Five minutes

1. Set the four signs in front of you, in any order you like.
2. Look at each one for a moment.
3. Say the words, touching each sign as you name it.
4. If you pray with the angels, add the second prayer.
5. Stay silent for a minute.
6. Gather up the signs and water a plant with the water from the glass.

“Fire, remind me of the will that can build. Water, remind me of the capacity to feel and to make room. Air, remind me of clear speaking and of listening. Earth, remind me to care for what holds us up. May these four symbolic presences come together in harmony, and may I find my place among them.”

“Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Anael, be with me as images of protection, communication, care and love.”