Reframing Energy Clearing to Claim Energetic Accountability
You know how this story goes: light up your herb of choice or grab your selenite, wave it around, and PRESTO, the energy is clear. While this narrative is standard in many spiritual and magical spaces, it lacks the nuance and know-how to really do much and can even be harmful.
So, what is energy clearing?
It's a vague phrase that means different things to people based on their practice and ancestry, so it's hard to define concisely. Many folks think of energy clearing as a technique to remove unwanted energy.
You know how this story goes: light up your herb of choice or grab your selenite, wave it around, and PRESTO, the energy is clear. While this narrative is standard in many spiritual and magical spaces, it lacks the nuance and know-how to do much and can even be harmful.
Like so much floating around in spiritual, wellness, and magical spaces, the art of energy clearing has suffered tremendously at the hands of capitalism and other harmful systems.
By commodifying such a sacred practice, we've also lost its magic and subtlety.
It's not hard to look around now and see that this plane is undergoing massive transformations. Yes, it's intense right now, but this is precisely why I want you to be aware of your energetic field and fully in your power.
Instead of stopping at "I need to clear my energy," let's mine down deeper to discover what's underneath—a call to take accountability for your energy and find the gold hidden within you.
So, What is Energy Clearing?
First, it's important to note that energy clearing varies culturally and from practice to practice. If what I share doesn't resonate with your practice, that's okay. As always, come with an open mind, take what you like, and leave the rest!
Energy clearing is a vague phrase that means different things to people based on their practice and ancestry, so it's hard to define concisely. Many folks think of energy clearing as a technique to remove unwanted energy.
I prefer the phrase energy tending or maintenance because energy clearing is nuanced and usually needs to go beyond removing energy.
Does Energy Clearing Work?
The art and practice of energy clearing is absolutely a real and powerful practice. However, the need for energy clearing is often misidentified and misused. Why?
Not every uncomfortable feeling can or should be removed from your energetic field.
Of course, this isn't always the case, but it points to the truth that the cause of our discomfort is often nuanced, layered, and personal.
Think of a time when you experienced a difficult situation only to discover it was exactly what needed to happen because it clarified something, opened a new pathway, or provided a valuable lesson.
Oftentimes, what you feel inclined to clear away is an invitation to pause and go deeper, especially if it’s a sensation you find yourself wanting to clear away regularly.
Here’s the reframe: most energetic tending is energy balancing, not clearing.
The good news: real, powerful, and transformative ways to shift, balance, transmute, and clear your energy do exist.
They're not all quick fixes, and some require training or permission, but there are many things you can do to take your energetic well-being into your own hands today.
Let's get into this.
Energy Clearing vs. Balancing
In most cases, it's not a person, place, or situation causing harm to your energy; it's your response or reaction to them.
Clearing your energy or cutting cords from your field will usually do little to nothing. A more pressing and helpful approach is addressing the imbalances in your energetic field caused by your response to other people and situations.
This doesn't mean that bad actors and harmful systems don't exist. They 100% exist and cause harm on all levels, but trying to clear them away will be a constant game of whack-a-mole.
What I'm inviting in here is energetic accountability rather than an energetic blame game.
Next time you think, "So-and-so's vibes were off, so I need to clear it away." What would it feel like to approach it like this, "Wow. I had a response to so-and-so's energy. Let me investigate that."
Maybe after investigating a response to another person, you discover a wound within yourself that doesn’t require energy clearing but requires the soothing aid of water, or the grounding safety of earth to bring you back into a place of balance. (side note: eternal perfect balance isn’t the goal either, it’s the awareness of when you’re off balance and knowing how to come back.)
This approach requires accountability, time, possibly outside support, boundaries, and honest introspection.
When you focus on taking accountability for your energy, you get to identify the parts of you that need tending, better understand your energy, and work with it in ways that allow you to claim your personal power, and not the gross power over kind, but power with.
When you prioritize being aware of your energy and balancing it, it keeps you in your power.
Any good magician or healer knows that facing their shadows is necessary for healing or transformation to occur. Attempting to clear away every uncomfortable feeling won't work and skips over potential gold within you.
When to Use Energy Clearing
You might be wondering if energy clearing has a place. It does, and it's a practice I utilize with myself and others.
Energy clearing works wonders for residual energy, the energy you pick up in busy places, or maybe an old house with a lot of sticky energy hanging around. It can also work for entity removals and exorcisms, but these are very involved practices requiring training and/or permission.
Energy clearing won't help with the habitual personal, ancestral, and societal patterns that may have deep grooves in your energetic field or the soul lessons you might need to walk through.
Keep reading to understand more about the 4 key energy maintenance concepts I lean on in my energy maintenance practice with myself and clients.
4 Key Energy Maintenance Concepts
The good news is that countless energy maintenance methods and techniques are available, and you don't have to do it alone. Maybe the tips I share here will be enough to get you started. Or, you decide to take my Reframing Energy Clearing class here or work with me or someone else one-on-one.
An energy worker or healer can bring light to these things and begin the energetic balancing process. However, experiencing long-lasting energy healing will require honest introspection, which can take time, and sometimes, multi-pronged support (this is why I stopped offering single energy work sessions). To receive lasting results from energy work (outside of the rare Mary Magdalene, Buddha, and Jesus situations) requires an in-depth and honest process.
I approach the practice of energy maintenance through the lens of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), which provides common ground for many practices and is the lens from which I work.
Here are four key concepts to help you understand the basics of performing regular energy tending.
Assess what types of energies are present, e.g., residual, collective, personal, ancestral, etc.
Identify how each energy present best corresponds with an element (earth, air, fire, water)
Determine what approach is needed, e.g., clearing, balancing, transmuting, protecting, etc.
Build or utilize reciprocal and ethical relationships with practices to carry out the needed approach(es)
Energy Clearing is One of Many Tools
Considering these four key energy maintenance concepts, it makes sense that a simple wave of a selenite wand might not always do the trick when tending to your energy body. (Side note: this is 100% not a dig at selenite. Selenite is AMAZING, especially regarding energy work, but there are helpful steps that can make working with it more reciprocal and effective.)
The next time you reach for the herbal wand or crystal for a quick energy cleanse, pause, take a breath, and see if anything else wants your attention or if a different approach would better support you.
You deserve better than playing the energetic blame games. It's time to take full accountability for your energy, and I want to see you fully in your power.
Thank you for being here! If you enjoyed this post, share it with someone else who might enjoy it, or get in touch and let me know your thoughts. Join the Reframing Energy Clearing class here, and I’d love to see you in the Craft Your Own Magic Membership, where you’ll find monthly classes and much more.
Deep care,
Cassie
Aries New Moon: Claiming Your Power
The Aries new moon initiates us into springtime. As the earth begins to wake up, the cardinal fire sign associated with this new moon can infuse you with passion and focus that can anchor you into your deepest creative desires.
In essence, Aries energy is about your power and how you’re wielding it.
In a world where power is often violently distorted and misused, it’s only natural that you may feel a sense of trepidation about utilizing yours. This new moon is a place to explore that, too.
New Moon in Aquarius Visioning Ritual
Welcome to this new moon in Aquarius. A fixed air sign, Aquarius encourages radical, innovative, and authentic ways of being. This energy, paired with the new moon, invites you to explore how your most radical and authentic self wants to be honored now.
Looking at the moon’s phases holistically adds even more insight to this lunation. In the previous new moon of Capricorn, you were asked to get curious about creating structure and stability. A question to consider with the last new moon in mind is, “What does authentic expression look and feel like when moving from a place of stability?” Click to read the full post.
Welcome to this new moon in Aquarius. A fixed air sign, Aquarius encourages radical, innovative, and authentic ways of being. This energy, paired with the new moon, invites you to explore how your most radical and authentic self wants to be honored now.
Looking at the moon’s phases holistically adds even more insight to this lunation. In the previous new moon of Capricorn, you were asked to get curious about creating structure and stability. A question to consider with the last new moon in mind is, “What does authentic expression look and feel like when moving from a place of stability?”
Themes for the Aquarius New Moon
Themes: Radical thinking, innovation, authenticity, not settling, curiosity, and visioning new ways of being.
Element: Air
Modality: Fixed
Quote: “The exercise of imagination is dangerous to those who profit from the way things are because it has the power to show that the way things are is not permanent, not universal, not necessary.” -Ursula K. Le Guin
Learn more about the essence of Aquarius here.
Aquarius New Moon Visioning Ritual
The quote from Ursula K. Le Guin perfectly encapsulates the necessity of your imagination. The intention of this ritual is to encourage imaginative and innovative visioning for yourself, your family, your community, and the world to help yourself and others remember the infinite possibilities available to us all.
This is a very open-ended ritual to help you access a state of visioning. The ideal time to perform this ritual is the day before the new moon, on the new moon, or the day after the new moon.
As with any ritual, take what you like, leave what you don’t, and modify what you want to change. This is your ritual.
You’ll need:
25-60 minutes of quiet and uninterrupted time
Paper and pen
Drumming recording or music that helps you relax
Optional: herbal smoke or incense (mugwort, vervain, and lavender are great options for this ritual)
Optional: purple candle (any color will work if purple is unavailable)
Optional: a crystal that helps you feel connected to your third eye or ability to vision (amethyst, fluorite, howlite, charoite, or quartz are great options)
Steps:
Gather your materials and prepare yourself, your space, and your music. Preparing yourself and your space might involve energetically cleansing yourself and your space and casting a circle.
Determine an intention and short phrase for your new moon visioning. This could be something like, “I imagine new worlds rooted in collective care and well-being.”, “I imagine a life rooted in authenticity, creativity, joy, and care.”, or “I envision a community focused on abundance, joy, and equality.”
If you’re working with a candle, herbs, or crystals, arrange them in a way that feels good to you. If you’re unsure, ask the crystals and herbs where they want to go or how they want to be a part of your ritual. An example might be placing your candle on your altar dressed with any herbs you’re working with and the crystal in your hand.
If working with a candle, light your candle and state your intention. Ensure your candle is in a fire-proof dish in a safe space.
Turn on your steady drumbeat music and begin to settle in. Learn more about the science of drumming and reaching altered states of consciousness here. It is also fine if you prefer a different kind of relaxing music.
Sit or lie down and ground yourself. This might look like imagining roots growing from the base of your spine to connect with the earth or doing a round of box breath.
State your intention again, close your eyes, and allow the drumbeat or music to wash over you.
Focus on your third eye, perhaps even imagine it expanding or opening as you begin to vision based on your intention. Allow your mind to imagine and visualize a life, community, or world based on your intention.
Vision for as long as you like anywhere from 20-60 minutes is ideal.
When you feel ready to come to a close, slowly come back to your body by rolling to one side or placing your hands on your body. Open your eyes slowly and look around the room. I also like to have some tea and a snack ready to help me ground back into my body.
With your journal, write or draw anything that came to you in your visioning time. Consider placing a note or a drawing on your altar or sacred space for the moon cycle as a reminder to move towards this vision.
Express gratitude to any guides, plants, and crystals who assisted you in this visioning process. Release your circle if you cast one.
Bring Your Vision into Your Life and the World
It can be helpful to schedule some processing time after your visioning. As the moon moves farther into the waxing phase, consider taking some time to reflect on your visioning. Here are some questions to consider as you reflect.
What parts of your Aquarius new moon visioning that stood out to you the most?
What parts seemed unrealistic or even impossible?
What parts excited you the most?
How might you begin taking action toward some of these visions?
After the new moon in Aquarius comes the full moon in Leo. The fiery and playful energy of a full moon in Leo can help you act on your visions, even the ones that might seem far-fetched.
May this new moon in Aquarius grant you the imagination to explore what authentic expression means to you and how it might better your community and the world. Blessed be.
Why We Vigil & The Oak and Holly King
Vigil means to stay awake and keep watch in the dark. In a season dominated by darkness, the vigil invites presence. While often touted as a passive, restful season, being awake to what’s going on in the dark requires awareness; it’s also where you’ll find the richest compost.
Rituals to Embody the Harvest Season
Let's go beyond "grateful" decor or compulsory gratitude lists this harvest season, shall we? In a world infiltrated with attention economics, it can feel difficult or even unsafe to savor the fruits of your labor, but the truth is, we really need to (I’ll share why later.) Whether it’s your garden or a new endeavor, each harvest season grants you a sacred pause to evaluate what needs to go into the compost and what you want to harvest. But, with harvest comes responsibility. If the harvest goes untended or forgotten, it will undoubtedly rot.
Vervain and Slow Magic
Do you ever rush your magical practice or push for a result? Urgency, production, and instant gratification are common themes in the overculture, so naturally, they can find their way into your magical practice. These themes have certainly shown up in my practice!
Here’s a little story about how Vervain taught me the importance of slowing down to different timelines to co-create potent magic.
Hoary Vervain (Verbana Stricta). Copyright Cassie Uhl 2024
Do you ever rush your magical practice or push for a result? Urgency, production, and instant gratification are common themes in the overculture, so naturally, they can find their way into your magical practice. These themes have certainly shown up in my practice!
Here’s a little story about how Vervain taught me the importance of slowing down to different timelines to co-create potent magic.
Listen here or click below. Transcript coming soon.
Awen in the essence /|\. Copyright Cassie Uhl 2024. Find the essence here.