The following is an excerpt from my book The Spiritual Feminist, published by Moon Books, an imprint of Collective Ink, previously known as John Hunt Publishing. This book is available at Amazon in both print and kindle. Be prepared to get well aquainted with the Goddess and her many faces from cultures all over the world, through the maiden, the mother, and the crone, up close and personal. You’ll also join me on our journey of womanhood, through all its stages and phases. We’re all in this together, as the saying goes, creating a world-wide sisterhood.
Shitala
Her Story:
Shitala is the Hindu goddess of disease, attributed with the creation of small pox, among other insidious maladies. Ironically, it is Shitala you call upon to cure illness, to cleanse the body of disease. What a paradox this goddess is! She despises filth and dirt. When invoking Shitala, you must physically cleanse your home or sacred space, and you must have a ritual cleansing bath before beginning. To disregard these actions would mean an unsuccessful invocation.
Healing Candle Spells
For physical maladies, go with the Element of Earth, the color green and all the other correspondences that are connected to this element and this type of magick. (You’ll find correspondences for the elements, as well as other information to help you craft your magick and cast your spells, at the end of this book.)
But there’s so much more to it, and there are so many ways to be ill, or other reasons people need healing:
For mental illness, you will call upon the element of Air, and your candle color will be yellow. For a victim of physical violence, or sexual abuse, you’ll use the energies combined of Earth (green for physical healing), Air (yellow for mental healing), and Water (blue for spiritual healing). For someone who is terminally ill, you will call upon Spirit, and your candle will be white. It will ease their passing and light the path for their journey to the other side. It will invoke their spirit guide, who will take them by the hand, helping them travel safely as they cross over.
Household Blessing
The tools…
white candles; sage, or a cleansing incense like sandalwood, and a bowl or holder for this; bells, if you fancy them; a broom, for symbolism and to “sweep” away negative energy from each room; a bowl of salted water to asperge (sprinkle) each room, as well as every nook and cranny.
The method…
I start from the bottom and go up, so begin in the basement, if there is one, or the lowest floor. Basically, you’ll go from room to room, cleansing it of negative energy, moving it out and “sweeping” it along until you push it right out of the house with the last room or space you clear.
Enter a room, demand the negative energy and ghosties (or other spirits) leave. Walk clockwise around the room with the salted water first, dipping your fingers in it and sprinkling the space as you go. Then do the same with the incense, smudging the rooms, making sure that you include any closet space or cubbies. Energy lurks in these spaces, you know. That’s why children, who are more in-tune with it, are often afraid of these little dark closets and corners. For a final flourish, and to make your point to the spirits or other entities trying to take over this space, use the broom to symbolically “sweep” the negative energy right out the door. Sweep from east to west in large whooshes. The broom doesn’t even need to touch the floor. After all, you’re literally sweeping a space, not the floor itself. Make sure, as you do this, that you are ordering the spirits to leave, that you are reclaiming this space, and that you are in charge. Put some emotion into it!
As a side-note, don’t be alarmed if you feel a rush of goosebumps up your legs as you’re doing this. It’s nothing scary, and it’s nothing that will harm you. It’s just the energy that you’re moving; you can often feel it. (Yes, peoples, it’s an actual “Real” thing.)
Embracing the Goddess:
Call upon Shitala for the most obvious of reasons: to banish physical illnesses and maladies. Be respectful, be wary, be sure that you appease her with ritual cleansings. Remember that this goddess not only cures illness, she creates it.
Shitala’s Correspondences:
Herbs: columbine, lemon balm, myrrh,
thyme, lilac
Color: blue, silver
Planet: Moon
Day: Monday
Element: Water
Feminine Face: Crone
The Spiritual Feminist
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