đđŽCleansing and Consecrating your ImagesđŽđ
This post is for those involved in brujeria/hoodoo/espiritismo/African american Spiritualism/Africana traditions and/or even secular Black or Latine witches who are looking for ways to consecrate their images, statues, talismans, vessels, spirit dolls, etc for their spirit guides, Saints, whathaveyou.
Please do not steal the tips from this post if youâre not a part of these ancestral practices. Like deadass if youâre not of Afro descent or Latine this isnât for you idc. This is specifically the way I was taught and how Iâve seen other rootworkers and practitioners do it, too.
Consecration is basically the act of ritualistically dedicating an image, space, or object to a divine religious purpose or a deity, essentially making it sacred.
In practices like Espiritismo and Spiritualism, a statue or image without consecration is just that: a plaster statue, a cotton or plastic doll, whatever. It is an image.
In the case of religious items like statues, spirit dolls, or any other vessel meant for spirits, we consecrate these so that our spirits have a home, a nice place to live, and a place to manifest so they can help us. Sort of like a portal, if you will.
In our traditions, we pamper and spoil these dolls, statues, etc with offerings, clothing, liquids, colognes and candles. How exactly varies from spirit to spirit. Certain spirits have things they like: like Santa Muerte is known to love tequila and roses, Saint Expedite loves his pound cake (and in my case, cinnamon)âŚ.it really depends on the spirit.
HOWEVER, it really doesnât have to be an eleborate ritual if you donât want to. You donât have to sit on your ass for 2 moon cycles in a chalk circle with a bundle of burning herbs in your mouth and glowing eyes forcing yourself into some kind of fucking divine trance when Pluto is in retrograde to do it, and donât let anyone tell you otherwise.
Listen to your gut. If you donât think you cleansed it for long enough, then keep going. You think it needs to stay longer in the bath to fully be clean? You go fam. You think a spiritual bath is enough and donât wanna smoke cleanse? You do you. I personally feel like itâs more important to go with your gut and listen to what the spirit wants and tells you other then following a strict guideline. The only important things are cleansing, charging, blessing, and awakening, which you can do in a variety of ways.
(This is also just how I was taught to do it lmao Iâm just a conjuring bruja and spiritualist and this is how I was taught, u still got to go research the specifics of the spirit ur consecrating for yourself fam, this is meant to be more of a general guide, but if u want details on herbs and stuff u gotta find that out on ur own. ultimately the most important thing in consecration is cleansing, then charging, then blessing/evoking the spirit)
đCleansing the Vesselđ
The first thing you want to do when youâre consecrating anything to these spirits is clean it both energetically and physically.
Imo this is really important: stray spirits like to attach themselves to things, and in general things/objects like to soak up energy from their surroundings, not all of it being good.
Also tbh I feel like itâs a courtesy thing: if Iâm trying to gift you this home, hell yeah Imma clean that shit before you move in! Nobody wants to live in a dirty house! We donât need none of that nastiness still sticking around. If this is going to be the body which our spirits live and manifest through, it needs to be a clean one.
So these are some basic common cleansing ingredients you can use in the bath:
đŻđŚFiltered or Holy Water
đŻđŚFlorida Water or another cologne of your choosing
đŻđŚCleansing herbs like basil, bay, rue, lemon, etc.
đŻđŚA homemade or botanica bought cleansing or blessing oil
You can also (I do both) smoke cleanse the statue with whatever incense and herbs you prefer, such as basil, rosemary, sage, etc.
You can bury the statue in salt, much like youâd do with crystals.
You can leave them outside over night, letting the energy of the sunlight bathe and clean the vessel.
Itâs really a matter of what works best for you and what you can do in the moment.
I prefer giving my dolls a cleansing bath because itâs the easiest tbh, and I keep a white candle lit while I do it. I mix filtered water, holy water, Florida water, salt and bay leaves, pray over it, and wash the doll with my hands (which I usually prewash with Florida water separately) or a rag, STARTING FROM THE TOP OF THE HEAD, and work my way down. I wash it as if it was a baby tbh, because thatâs kind of what it is to me.
You wanna make sure your brushing down and âoffâ of the statue, and sometimes Iâll even use the wet bay leaves to like âbrush offâ the negative energy from the item. Make sure you get ALL of it, and then when I feel ready I dispose the liquid later.
I also like to âsmoke outâ my statues/dolls/images with tobacco, aka I blow tobacco smoke over the statues throughout the ritual
(Whatever you use to cleanse the statue, make sure youâre disposing it in a proper way, whether it be in running water or a drain or whatever, you just wanna make sure youâre not leaving the negative energy you just cleansed off the statue in your house or on you)
We also like to fill images and vessels with sacred herbs and roots associated or requested by the spirit as well!
Sometimes you can get statues (like some Santisima Muerte statues from Mexico) already filled with herbs and roots. A lot of times, you gotta do it yourself. (Sidenote: Iâve seen others do it and this is what I personally do and how I was taught but you donât have to. I hear this is more of a Caribbean thing to do but donât quote me on that)
An easy way to do this is to make a cloth bag that youâll either be stuffing inside the statue or doll or tying to it. If you put the herbs inside the statue, close it with wax or fabric and glue or something.
What you put in the bag is going to vary greatly from one spirit to the other. Obviously not all spirits, Saints, Gods, etc. have the same tastes: so youâre really going to have to do your research, ask an Elder or ask the spirit itself.
đBirth/Awakening/Blessingđ
After youâve physically washed and spiritually cleansed the image/doll/vessel and filled it (if u wanted to), youâre ready to start invoking/evoking (whatever the dumbass word is) the spirit into the vessel. I personally call it âwaking upâ but w.e
How exactly you do this or which herbs or colognes to use is also going to depend on what Saint, God, Spirit, etc. you are invoking
The way I was taught and the way I do it: I give the vessel a âbaptismâ, I pray over it, I call onto the spirit to enter the vessel, give it time, and âbreathe lifeâ into it.
Things you will usually need
đŻđŚAnother bowl to mix everything in, large enough to submerge the vessel if youâre gonna submerge it
đŻđŚTobacco (or weed alternatively! Make sure ur spirit is OK with that tho)
đŻđŚ Filtered and/or Holy Water
đŻđŚ Florida Water or another cologne
đŻđŚ Candles of the appropriate color
đŻđŚ Herbs of the appropriate correspondence for the spirit (example: for the last spirit I invoked I used rose petals, tobacco, Florida water, copal, cinnamon, and more because theyâre all associated with the Saint I was working with)
đŻđŚ Oils of the appropriate correspondence for the spirit (I used rose oil for example the last time I did this)
đŻđŚ A handkerchief or towel to dry the vessel
đŻđŚ The appropriate prayers (you can EASILY find prewritten prayers for MAD Saints and spirits online if you Google it, examples being Saints like St Expedite, Santisima Muerte, etc)
Mix all of your ingredients together to make a nice spiritual bath for your spirit. Light a few a candles along with incense as well.
Immerse the image fully in the liquid, the same way youâd baptise someone. This is when you do your prayers, and you ask the spirit to enter the image. Take all the time that you need. But you essentially want to ask and give permission to the spirit to enter the vessel. Repeat your prayer until you feel the entity enter the vessel or a change happen.
I also personally like to breathe tobacco smoke on my statues to likeâŚ..give it life idk thatâs how I was always taught but u ainât gotta do it, Iâm sure not all Saints like tobacco lmaooo u do u boo. I honestly feel like breathing life into the vessel helps but u do u.
Let the candles burn through.
To finish the ritual, show the spirit around the place! Show them where they are welcomed, show them their new home! Welcome them home! Talk to them as if theyâre alive, because they are. Place your image/statue/vessel on the altar, and let the spirit know this is now itâs home, it is welcomed here, and promise to keep itâs sacred space clean and to feed it with offerings.
Simple basic examples of offerings u can give:
And whatever the hell they ask u for tbh
Thatâs all there is to it: cleanse it physically and spiritually, charge it if you want, baptise/bless and give it permission to enter the vessel and intercede in your life. After that, you fulfill your promise and take care of them, and they will take care of you.
After that, build your relationship! Pray to them, talk to them, give them offerings, ask for their blessings, let the spirit bless your oils or baths, etc. Listen to your intuition. Double check with divination methods like candle reading and tarot cards. Keep giving them light/candles, keep them happy, they will do their best for you.
đPLEASE do your research on the spirit, saint, etc that you want to work with before full on bringing them into your home and life
đPLEASE do not try to evoke spirits like the Orisha, the Lwa, etc. this way. There is no if ands or buts about it: you will FUCK your own spiritual shit up, that is something you need an actual priest to do for you. You and other outsiders donât know the taboos or the proper way to evoke the Orisha or Lwa and this guide is MOST DEFINITELY not for that. This is more of a general SPIRITIST way to consecrate: this has nothing to do with Santeria, Haitian Vodou, Palo, NADA. DO NOT try to apply this guide to make your own representations of Eleggua, Pomba Gira, Oshun, Papa Legba etc.
đPlease ASK IF THEY EVEN WANT TO WORK WITH YOU FIRST!!! IF THEY SAY NO THEN ITâS NO. Donât just jump into consecrating stuff!!
đIf you KNOW youâre someone who is forgetful or gets into severe periods of depression where you canât take care of yourself (like me), try your best to at least apologize and talk to the spirit (youâd be surprised how understanding they can be) and just try your best. But communication honestly is key. And tbh if you just really know itâs going to be an issue, I would personally stay away from spirits who are like really hot and quick to anger or retaliate.
đDonât just start asking for shit immediately if you havenât taken the time to actually build a relationship first, most times theyâre just going to ignore you but there are some spirits who will retaliate if you keep and keep being disrespectful and demand shit without even offering a relationship or giving gifts
đPlease do not start dedicating altar spaces, images, etc if youâre not actually committed to taking care of that spirit or youâre not 100% sure this is truly what you want: some spirits or saints might be understanding, a lot will not be okay with it and take offense, and you really donât want those spiritual hands.
đDonât make promises you canât keep!!
đPLEASE do your research on spirits and saints, you donât want to accidentally offend or piss someone off because you accidentally committed a taboo
đThis could totally be a superstitious thing but I NEVER let anyone look at any of my statues or spirit dolls when theyâre ânewbornsâ aka freshly conjured or evoked; I just personally feel like it fucks with my spiritâs energy, especially because you donât know whoâs a hating ass person that could start sending bad vibes towards the spirit and start hindering it. I wait until itâs been a while, theyâve been fed a few times, i know/feel theyâve gotten stronger, etc before I let anyone see them or touch them. You donât have to do this, but thatâs just how I personally work.
đThis could also depend on the person but I was always taught to NOT LET PEOPLE TOUCH THE HERB BAG. DO NOT TELL PEOPLE WHAT EXACTLY YOU USED TO FILL YOUR IMAGE WITH. This can easily be used against you if someone has bad intentions.
đDO NOT fucking invoke a spirit into a vessel and then just pretty much go back to ignoring it/not take care of it. Itâs one thing if itâs truly a matter of illness, being busy, things out of your control: they will usually understand, especially if you communicate and apologize. But you donât know how many people bring entities into their home only to neglect them and then STILL ask for shit, and thatâs how you start getting yourself into spiritual trouble.
đDonât leave your offerings to rot, donât leave trash on their space, donât leave dirt and dust in their space. Clean it. Make sure youâre maintaining everything nice for them.
đIf youâre really not comfortable doing it yourself, then do the safe smartest thing and go find a botanica, a priest, an espiritista, aka basically an elder who can do it for you (and donât be surprised or rude if they charge you, otherwise do it yourself)
đYour offerings donât have to be elaborate, especially if you donât got it like that. But if you do got it, be prepared that some spirits might ask you for more (which is totally fair)
đI know Im probably repeating myself a thousand times but Please do your own research
đDid I say do some research? Because you need to and should.
đDO YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH
LMAO I HOPE I HELPED SOMEWHAT?? But consecration is so simple, this is just a rough guideline but you yourself can decide specifically how you do it, just tailor it to you and the spirit ur working with!!!!! It really varies from person to person too
Hereâs a video from Janel Longoria on how she consecrated her Santisima Muerte Statue
A short podcast from a Rootworker explaining how she consecrates items
A video in Spanish on how to consecrate San Simon
