A Story Of Invasive Spirits

I sat down on the couch in the living room, talking to a client that we’ve worked with for a while now. It was her house that we sat in talking as her son played on the computer close by. He doesn’t speak much in general, and today is no exception. As we talk, I point my senses in the direction of why I’m there.

Her son’s room.

She had been having a rough couple of months, so life was already in upheaval. So, when her son stopped sleeping in his room, it didn’t much help. She tried to let him sleep there as she moved to his bed to get a little sleep herself. That didn’t last long, though. She woke up in a cold sweat, disorientated and afraid. She tried to finish the night on the couch. This pattern continued for a month or so. Her son would take over her room, refusing to sleep in his room. As I said, he doesn’t talk too much, so he could only share so much about why. She would be forced to stick to the couch. She tried her son’s room a few times, but it always ended up the same.

She wasn’t sure what was happening, she just knew that something was wrong. She gave it a little time to see if it would fix itself, but it didn’t. With life stress and health issues happening in both the lives of her and her son, mixed up sleeping arrangements didn’t make it to the top of the list of important things. Eventually, though, enough was enough.

Being the strong, self sufficient woman that she is, it took her awhile to mention it to us. It took even longer for her to let me stop by and see if I could do something about it. There was a chance that I might not be able to do anything, or the problem might not be something related to spirit work. I was free and in the area that day, though, so there was no harm in me trying.

I get the hesitation. She mentioned a few times “You probably think I’m crazy.” When entering a clearing situation, it is true that I have to be aware that sometimes it isn’t the space at all. Sometimes, it’s the people. Sometimes, it’s a personal issue, or a chemical imbalance in the brain. In this case, though, I wasn’t too worried. As I said, we had worked with this woman before. She certainly has a healthy skepticism and a no bullshit attitude that I really appreciate. Going into this situation, I was pretty sure that whatever the problem was, it wasn’t in her head.

As I sat there on the couch talking to her, I could feel the energy of the room. Something was definitely off. I wasn’t getting much more of an impression. Maybe there was something conscious there? Or perhaps it was just psychic gunk that had accumulated there. It didn’t much matter from that point. This was something in the realm that I work in and there was a possibility that I could help.

I broke out a candle and my smudge stick. I made a joke about how the neighbors would smell the herb blend and think that she was smoking pot as I gathered a bowl of water and salt. When I started to mutter over the salt and water while drawing signs in the air, she gave me a little bit of an odd look, but she let me do my thing. I appreciated that. It was the first time that I had done an energetic room cleaning in front of someone who wasn’t Josh. The flame of the candle was a little extra energy as I blessed, mixed, and consecrated the salt and water. Starting in her bedroom, I began to sprinkle the mixture in the six directions as I prayed a clearing prayer.

I use this often in our studio space and it works pretty well there. This was also the first time I had used this in a space that wasn’t mine. I could feel the minor psychic dirt release and dissipate as I went from room to room. The last room was her son’s.

I could feel the energy change as I entered the room. Whatever was there seemed to be comfortable there. My best guess is that it was a parasitic energy feeding on the health issues or the energy that arose from the rough hand they had been dealt as a family recently. Whether is was a person at one time or not, I don’t know. Whatever it was, it was something outside of them. It was not something that was in the heads of the son and mother. It was separate from them.

I continued my water sprinkling. I actually went through the room and the adjoining bathroom twice. The water starts clearing right away, but it takes a bit for it to fully do what it does. That always makes me a little jumpy. I then walked back to the kitchen where the candle and smudge stick waited for me. It was one of my homemade smudges, using Sweetfern, Cedar, and Mugwort harvested from the surrounding area. I use it in my work all the time. I took the candle with me as I circled around the inside of each room and then offered smoke East, South, West, North, Above, and Below. Once I had reached the son’s room, I could feel the water was doing its job. The smudge helps it and sort of seals it. I like how they work together.

Doing this sort of work can be difficult. I have to rely on my energetic senses and trust my intuition, Spirits, and my tools. As I left the house, I had a list of backup plans I could try if there was still an issue, as well as other folks that I could contact if it ended up being something that I couldn’t handle. My inner skeptic is always ready, it seems, to jump on the self doubt bandwagon. I also didn’t want to let this single mother down. I find that people get impatient quickly when you don’t have immediate answers.

The next morning, though, I got the text I was looking for.

Her son had spent the night in his room.

And, so far, he has been easily sleeping there for the past month.

I want to remind everyone that our Open House for our new space is this Saturday. Josh will be offering 20 minute readings. I’ll be handling the trick or treaters that will be about town for the Gathering of the Jack O’Lanterns event (there’s jack o’lanterns on the rocks in the river, a zombie walk, and a lot of community activities). I will also be manning our new metaphysical apothecary and store. There is an herb selection, stones and crystals, incense charcoal, pendulums, beeswax candles, Josh’s concrete creations, and more! If you can’t make it to our Open House, I will be holding store hours every Friday from 10 am to 5 pm.

Another exciting thing happening is my teacher Adhi Two Owls will be in the area in mid-November. She will be offering a workshop in connecting via shamanic work, as well as a presentation on what a shaman does. We are looking forward to hosting these events, and we will be sharing more information on Facebook as plans are solidified.

I hope October is treating you well, and you are looking forward to Halloween. I know I am.

Until next time

-The Green Mountain Mage