Ritual: Cleansing Salt/Herb Shower Scrub
Those who follow me on Twitter may recall a thread I posted a few weeks ago about messages that were channeling me to work through my impostor syndrome. Writing and sharing ritual is a first tentative step in that direction and it challenges two things that I get very anxious talking about - providing rituals or spellwork ideas for folks, and my disabled identity. Whenever I think about writing up a ritual to share I always doubt whether it is good enough, if it is “too basic”, and I tell myself there are probably hundreds like it already posted online or in books so what value is this adding? And when it comes to disability for years I’ve grappled with the internal ableism of not feeling “really disabled” and like claiming that term is somehow wrong, even though I do have physical limitations due to my arm and mobility issues when I’m experiencing a flare up (not to mention the mental health aspect when my depression/anxiety are severe.)
So this simple ritual is my first step on facing these feelings. I’m a pretty tall guy and it’s been a long time since I’ve lived anywhere with a tub I can actually use for a proper ritual bath. A workaround I’ve found is to create ritual scrubs instead. I also realized this might be useful for folks with disabilities that prohibit them from having or using a bathtub and instead need to bathe standing or seated in a shower. I hope you find it useful!
What you will need:
A small bowl you can comfortably hold in one hand and/or place on a flat surface in or near where you shower
Salt
Dried rose petals*
Dried lavender*
Frankincense (either loose or in a cone/stick incense form)**
*Feel free to substitute any herbs you associate with purification, protection, and peace. Or feel free to skip the herbs entirely if you prefer.
**Again, feel free to use any incense you associate with purification, protection, and peace. I use frankincense for a number of things involving purification and protection, and I closely associate it with the main spirit I work with. Additionally, pharmacologists have found evidence that the aroma of frankincense might help regulate things like anxiety and depression and as someone who struggles with them both this is something I want to intentionally bring into this ritual.
The first thing I do is mix the salt and dried herbs in a bowl. You’ll be placing this bowl on your alter and I usually use the same bowl I will take into the shower. If your altar space is tight you can use a smaller bowl, or if you have certain ritual bowls/containers you use for your altar feel free to use those instead.
Once placed on the altar I burn some frankincense incense and make sure to waft some of the smoke over the salt/herb mix. If your altar is dedicated to any particular deity or deities, spirit(s) or ancestor(s) you can invite them to provide their energy or blessing to this process if you choose. The intent is to charge this salt/herb mix for use in purification, protection, and peace. I usually make this mix a couple of hours before I shower, leaving at least enough time for the incense to completely burn down, but assuming you don’t have critters that might get into it you could leave it overnight if you so choose.
If you are using a different bowl than the one you used to charge the salt/herb mix remember to transfer it before showering. I have a shelf in the back of my shower that I can place the bowl on without it getting wet so that is what I use, but make sure the bowl is somewhere accessible to you that will remain relatively dry. I recommend doing your normal shower business first and leaving the ritual scrub for the end.
Once you are ready either hold the bowl in one hand or have it placed somewhere you can safely reach. Take a handful of the salt/herb mix and begin rubbing it on your skin in places you 1) feel it is necessary and 2) feel safe doing so. You might find you only feel you need to rub this mixture across your chest, or across your shoulders and neck, or your legs, or it might be your whole body.
Focus on the grit of the salt helping to scrub away any negative energy, attachments, or other spiritual crud. I find it helpful to envision this as a general “energetic rust” that has built up through my normal day-to-day. Occasionally I might feel like there is a larger buildup that requires more of my attention.
As the salt helps to scrape away the negativity imagine the positive, protective energies of the herbs infusing this newly cleaned surface. If you chose not to use herbs you might imagine a bright light shining out from these areas you’ve rubbed clean.
Continue this process until you’ve used all of the salt/herb mix in the bowl. When you are complete I recommend a final rinse in the shower. I often imagine the water as providing a final “seal” for the protection and peace I’ve just infused into my personal energetic body.
