Spiritual Bathing
Regularly cleansing your aura and your personal energy is an essential act. Whether or not you know it, you encounter various people and environment, all of which have their own energy vibrations. Not all these frequencies are high and positive; because your energy field is constantly taking in and putting out vibrations, some of the vibrations (including your own thoughts, as well as external influences) are low and will bring you down if left unchecked.
While our energy body is constantly readjusting itself to bring our energy back into harmony, the negative energies can linger and build up over time.
A monthly Spiritual Bath is an easy and very relaxing way to cleanse your aura of negative energy.
A Spiritual Bath is a great ritual to tie in body and spirit. When you immerse yourself in a ritual bath, you are participating in an initiation to open yourself up to spirit.
Ritual bathing cleanses you from physical grime and negative spiritual grime, thus purifying both your body and your aura. It is a signal that you are willing to listen to your Higher Self and begin to trust something outside of your rational mind. It indicates that you are open to asking the universe to transform what you believe needs to be changed in yourself.
Other important notes before getting started: this first bath is to be used only once a month, as it is very strong. It’s recommended to try it on a Friday close to a full moon for best results.
Energy therapist Lidia Frederico also advises, “Do NOT prepare or have the bath around 6am, 12 noon, 6pm, 12 midnight – this includes half an hour before & afterwards (so NOT between 5.30-6.30 or 11.30-12.30 both am & pm)!”
Lunar phases may also be taken into consideration following the common motif of working to draw good things to you during the period from the New Moon to the Full Moon and working to remove things from your life during the period from the Full Moon to the New.
Once you have decided on the right time for your ritual, I recommend that you gather whatever you will need. Clean towels, clean clothes, clean shoes or socks are all highly recommended. If you are going to bed after your sacred bath, then clean sheets and a lovely scent in your bedroom might be added to your list. If you are going to recite specific words during your sacred bath, then have a copy of those words at the ready.
Candles, essential oils or incense, music, and whatever other ceremonial items you may wish to have present can all play a role in your bathing experience. You might even want to have a special drink or delightful treat on hand as you bathe – it is traditional to end ceremonies with some kind of feast after all!
You will also want a small cup or bowl, the purpose of which will be explained below.
Take some time to think about why you are creating a bathing ceremony, to begin with. What outer change am I looking for? What inner changes are required to support that outer change? A Spiritual Bath gives you a much more direct relationship with the entire process. The same is true of the blessings, petitions, prayers, affirmations, mantras, or words of power that you intend to use. Your stated goal, the external change you are hoping to achieve, will go a long way in helping you determine the best way to make your prayer and bless yourself. If in doubt, you can always go with a general blessing like this Blessing of the Body.
As I have been taught, the final part of the sacred bath is the most important. Once you have finished bathing you may wish to anoint yourself with an oil or lotion and/or dust yourself with powder.
Some traditions place a great emphasis on allowing yourself to air dry. Other traditions such as Currendera encourage wrapping up in a special towel or blanket. Choose what makes sense and feels in best alignment with your stated purpose. The next step is the most critical: before draining the tub or stepping out of the shower you will want to collect some of the water with which you have bathed. This water now carries your imprint, your essence, and as such it has become a magical material. Like all such materials, it must be disposed of with respect and purpose.
So, if your desire is to draw blessing and abundance then pour out the water at the base of a large and healthy tree facing east.
If your desire to remove affliction pour the water out at a four-way crossroads while facing west — and when you turn to go home, go in a different direction than the one you came, and never, step back over the place where you have poured out the water.
Although the steps to sacred bathing may sound time-consuming and exhausting at first, this really is one of the most simple and straightforward rituals acts you can perform. It is also a kind thing to do for yourself and your precious body – be careful, you may soon find that every bath you take becomes a sacred bath. Before taking the Spiritual Bath, clean the tub carefully. Take a shower before taking the ritual bath. Wash yourself thoroughly.