Pagan, Shinto & Spiritual Book Reviews July 2016

David Salisbury, A Mystic Guide to Cleansing & Clearing

(Moon Books, release date Sep 30, 2016)

The idea of cleansing and purification is central to Shinto, so I was interested in reading about this concept from a western Pagan perspective. David Salisbury’s A Mystic Guide to Cleansing & Clearing is the first I’ve come across that specialises in this topic.

This little book is more or less a collection of practical ideas for how to spiritually cleanse yourself and your surroundings. Although Shinto doesn’t get a mention, almost every other purification-related practice in Paganism is covered, including making and using besoms, smudging, ritual bathing, asperging, chakra alignment… you name it. There’s also a section on how to maintain one’s house both physically and spiritually cleansed, which brings in ideas from Western folklore and Feng Shui (I personally wish the latter had been expanded on a little more).

For me, the most interesting section was on removing curses and hexes. Not only because Salisbury lists a wide range of different techniques for protecting and ridding one’s self from curses, but also because Salisbury’s interpretation of what curses are is interesting. He writes that curses are very often caused unintentionally, simply by people harbouring negative energy towards someone with whom they don’t get on. I’ve not heard this idea before and found it intriguing.

For such a slim volume, I thought that A Mystic Guide to Cleansing & Clearing did have a tendency to run off-topic at times. There are sections on familiars and Hekate’s Deipnon, for example, which although rather interesting could have been pared down or removed entirely as their connection to the main theme of cleansing seemed tenuous. I would have preferred to maybe see a little more exploration as to the very concept of “cleanliness” itself and what it actually means, as well as a look at purification rituals from other world traditions.

But overall, this is a very usable and readable introduction to cleansing, and well suited to those looking for a range of “DIY” ideas for boosting their own spiritual purification and well-being. With plenty of easy instructions and recipes for cleansing rituals and concoctions, it is a thoroughly practical guide to this field of magic.

Product images from Amazon.