Eight Steps to Create Sacred Space

Bring sacredness to your home, ritual area, business and workplace.

(Revised 17 March 2007)

By Ishilta.

Learning the art and science of creating sacred space is essential to any spiritual aspirant or practitioner of magick. It allows one to create a space in which one feels safe, peaceful and secure, thereby making a place more conducive for spiritual and religious workings. It brings us in perfect alignment with the universe and acts as a powerful healing tool capable of transforming our lives for the better.

A blend of art and science, creating sacred space requires knowledge and skill, which can be perfected over time, guided by intuitive insight and wisdom. The ancient Chinese are known on this field for their science of “feng shui”. There are many different space-clearing techniques in circulation so use your intuition and experience to discern which works best for you.

What I am about to share with you in this article are basic space clearing techniques I have had adapted and refined based from the works of Karen Kingston and Master Choa Kok Sui together with some practices drawn from the Hindu and Tibetan traditions. Works best for personal use in home, business, office, and ritual area.

Step 1: Preparation
Any successful ending requires an ample amount of preparation. This stage comprises of four equally important phases: assessing the place, making a checklist, designing the ritual and planning.

Assess the place – Go around the place and observe the surroundings. Use all your god-given senses to assess the environment. Pay attention to the insights that come as the place might be communicating with you. Look around and try to figure out what needs to be done.

Make a Checklist – Tablecloth, candles, rock salt, incense and incense holder, matches, self-igniting charcoal, fresh flowers (offerings to the earth spirits), charged or consecrated water, bell or any good quality sound instrument.

Design the Ritual – Go through the space clearing procedure several times to become familiar with it. If you wish to incorporate mantras or prayers, have them ready as well.

Set a timetable – This is the final phase of the preparation stage. Set a timetable of activities for the entire space-clearing program. Let’s say day 1 will be devoted for clearing clutter and day 2 for the ceremony proper. Pick a day and time when you can best perform the ceremony completely undisturbed. Do not attempt space clearing ceremony if you are tired, physically and/or emotionally sick, bleeding, menstruating, pregnant or fearful.

Step 2: Clearing Clutter
According to Karen Kingston, there are several types of clutter. But for convenience’s sake, let us narrow down its classification into two: physical and the non-physical clutter. Physical clutter refers to tangible objects that clutter our living environment. These are things that no longer serve you purpose and could come in the form of broken equipment, trash, old and unused items or simply things with unhealthy emotions and memories attached to it. Non-physical clutters, on the other hand, are things which seem to clutter our inner space. These may take the form of repressed emotions, negative thought patterns, and unhealthy attachments and relationships.

The first step to clearing clutter is to identify it. Most of us will try to find excuses (unconsciously and consciously) in order to save the most of it. We must understand that by letting go of our clutter we create room for new energy to fill our space. The best way to begin the work, in my case, is to perform installment clean-ups starting with a drawer or closet.

Cleaning a place not only offers therapeutic benefits (psychologically), it uplifts the energy of a space as well. In feng shui, broken items should be repaired or thrown away at once. Recycling is good, but for the purpose of clearing clutter, it is strongly advised that you dispose of it either by giving away or sending them to the garbage can. Objects which had served religious or spiritual functions may be properly disposed of by burning and/or burying them. And one more thing, clearing clutter is not the same as hiding clutter!

Your inbox and hard disk count too. Delete unnecessary files and messages and begin reorganizing your documents. Health-wise, drink plenty of water and take herbal cleansing tonics to cleanse your internal system. Tie up loose ends and start clearing the pathways of communication between you and the people you have unresolved issues with. If the latter is hard to accomplish at the moment, write letters to the concerned individuals instead and burn the letters ritually.

Step 3: The Ceremony
After clearing your clutter and days of preparation, you are now ready to proceed to the next phase of space clearing, the ceremony. Set-up a temporary altar and arrange the offerings dedicated to the guardian spirits of the place consisting of rice, fresh flower heads, candle (at the middle) and incense. Place each offering at every major part of the place. In case you are space clearing the entire house, an offering goes for each room such as the kitchen, toilet, bedroom, living room, and dining area.

Remove all metal accessories and jewelries and begin by taking a ritual bath. Afterwards, center yourself and sensitize the psychic centers. Take deep long breathes all through out the process. Call on beings of light and spiritual guides for aid and protection. Mentally (or verbally) announce your intentions of purifying the space. Walk around and take time to sense the energy. Afterwards, when you feel it’s the right time, proceed to the purification ritual described in the next step.

Step 4: Purification
There are several ways of purification, as there are many possible tools/agents you can use for purification. I believe that the best way to optimize the effects of a certain purification technique is to use it in conjunction with others. Remember to open a door or window all through out the purification process and wash your hands with soap and water after.

Salt – Salt is known for its purifying and neutralizing properties. The best type of salt to be used for this purpose is unrefined rock salt. Dissolve an amount of salt in consecrated water and sprinkle it (or spray) around the place. Another way to purify with salt is to scatter grains of salt on corners and thresholds and leave it for 24 hours at the most.

Water – Since ancient times, water is hailed for its cleansing qualities. The best type of water to be used is natural spring water especially those acquired from sacred sites. Consecrate water by vibrating a suitable mantra such as OM AH HUM while visualizing electric violet light energizing it. You may also add a pinch of rock salt or a few drops of herb essence to enhance its efficacy.

Incense – One way to utilize the purifying power of plants is through burning incense. I personally prefer granular incense recipe to commercial sticks due to purity and naturalness (with the exception of some brands like the Agarbatti incense sticks available at the Museum shop). I recommend cinnamon bark, sandalwood, sage and church incense.

Fire – Lighting candles in every room during space clearing ceremony has purifying effects in itself. As you light each candle, invoke the presence of beings of light to aid you in your space clearing activity.

Sound – The quickest and far the easiest way to space clear is through the use of sound. Clap several times in narrow spaces and corners as well as inside cabinets and below the bed. Sound instruments such as bells are often employed to clear space. But since good quality bells designed particularly for space clearing may not come in handy either in terms of price or availability, a good tuning fork instead will do the trick.

Purification by intention, love & light – The greatest force in the universe is love. By radiating vibrations of love and brilliant white light, low-vibration stuck energy will be refined. Electric violet light (violet bulb or visualization) can also be used for deep cleansing works, as low-level entities cannot withstand this particular frequency.

Natural Crystals – Crystals can be programmed to transmute negative energy. Just don’t forget to regularly cleanse and reprogram your crystal for optimum effects. Master Choa Kok Sui’s psychic vacuum cleaner comprises of programmed quartz, green aventurine and black tourmaline soaked in a bowl of salt water.

Cactus – In his book, Psychic Self-Defense, Master Choa Kok Sui described the use of the cactus plant in this respect. The pointed thorns surrounding the plant are capable of disintegrating psychic debris. Simply ask the plant what you wish it to do and leave it in a room for 24 hours maximum. Don’t forget to thank the plant spirit and take it outside the house after use. But like crystals, this method should be done at least a day prior to the ceremony proper.

Step 5: Shielding
After you have purified the place, the next thing to do is create a mental protective barrier around it so as to contain the refined energy. Blue light has stabilizing properties in pranic healing and can be employed here for the same purpose. Stand in the center and visualize the entire place encapsulated in a bubble of electric blue light. Vibrating sacred names like those of Enochian and Kabbalah on each wall (or direction) several times has an added bonus.

Step 6: Dedicating the Space
Now that the space has been emptied of old stuck energy, it is time to fill it with new intention to prevent displaced energy from returning. In the energetic realms, like energies attract and opposite energies repel. Fill the new space with positive feelings and intentions so you will attract the same in your life.

Toning music, Chinese harmony balls, delicate-sounding wind chimes and mantra CDs can be played coupled with the right intentions (of course) to help set the new atmosphere of the place. To dedicate the space, mentally and verbally announce aloud (with great conviction) what you want the space to be and what specific things you want to manifest in your life. You may also want to invite spiritual helpers and beings of light to help bring positive energy into the space.

Step 7: Anchoring the Energy
Stones and minerals are good anchors of energy in a place, much like their mundane functions as paperweights. First, cleanse the stone with any of the purification method in Step 4. Next, instruct the stone to hold the energy and place it in the corners. In the case of ritual area, sacred objects serve as natural anchors for the energy. There are several natural objects out there that act as good energy condensers. Experiment!

Step 8: Maintenance of Sacred Space
I usually perform major space clearing to mark an important transition in my life (beginnings and endings), every time I want to create a change, after a not-so- good event took place or every month whenever possible. Refresh the atmosphere by going through the basic steps briefly at least once a week or accordingly to the place’s needs (some places build stuck-up energy faster than others). As a rule of thumb, keep your place as tidy and as organized at all times. Prayer or meditation areas usually take a longer time before the need to perform another major space clearing ceremony due to high level vibrations invoked/released during a spiritual activity.


About the Author: ISHILTA is a seeker of various spiritual traditions and is particularly drawn to Tibetan Buddhism and Balinese Hinduism. He is a student of Bardon hermetics and a reiki & pranic healing practitioner. His main practice centers on healing, tantra, sacred space and sacred timing. Being a Buddhist-Wiccan, he seeks tools and ways to empower and benefit all sentient beings. He is finishing his degree in BS Geography at UP Diliman and currently works as chief editor and site manager of Manggagaway.

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