Often someone asks me version of the same questions: “Should I cleanse my house with sage?” and “I’ve been seeing things out of the corner of my eye, should I banish them?” Those might seem disjointed but they almost always occur together, and my answer is almost always: maybe..but probably not for the reason you think – or how. Let’s talk about it.

The White Sage Question (and the Closed-Practice Debate)

Whenever “cleansing” is mentioned in witchy or spiritual spaces, most people picture a sage smudge stick. The next thought is often, “Am I even allowed to use this?”

If that’s the only question you came for, here’s the short answer: Yes, but with discernment. If an urgent permission slip or warning sign is what you need then here goes. White sage has become a lightning rod in modern spiritual discourse. Some claim it’s a “closed practice,” others insist it’s universal, and most are simply repeating what they’ve heard without understanding the roots or ramifications.

Here’s my stance as an Occultist:

  • Burning herbs to shift energy is not unique to any one culture.
  • Many traditions eg. European, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, have long histories of smoke-cleansing.
  • What is closed is claiming ownership of another culture’s specific rituals, prayers, or cosmology. That is not the same to a blanket statement of not practicing them altogether.

In my opinion, like any other plant, using sage as a plant ally is NOT inherently disrespectful. There are definitely plants that have been considered ‘more sacred’ to different cultures over the years, but NOT belonging solely to them. Using sage while pretending to be a Native American medicine person is disrespectful. Using sage as a Non-Native American medicine person whilst trying to understand their practice because you are being called to it – is a path with a few clauses but so narrow of a segment representing the people who will have this question that we aren’t even going there! I’d be more concerned with offending that plant spirit than being seen to disrespect any culture, personally.

The plant itself is not the issue. The intention, context, and integrity of the practitioner are. Here’s the twist: most people don’t actually need sage at all. And most people think of “cleansing” as banishment, not communion – forgetting that sacred smoke can be an ally, a messenger, and a gift…and more often than not, that is the part you’ll want to know about!

What Actually Happens During a Cleansing (Occult Perspective)

A cleansing isn’t about “getting rid of bad vibes.” It’s an energetic reassertion of sovereignty. It you energetically reclaim a space and assert your sovereignty and Divine Authority, it essentially cleanses itself.

When you need/want to be more proactive on this – you may choose to you cleanse a space (make sure it’s the right step first though, read on). In doing so you are:

  • Recalibrating the astral imprint of the room
  • Re-establishing your authority as the dominant consciousness
  • Disrupting stagnant or unintentional energetic patterns
  • Signalling to any subtle beings: “This is my domain; let’s reset the terms.”

It’s not about fear – it’s about clarity, order, and will. And here’s the part most people miss: cleansing doesn’t just remove things; it communicates with them. That scary, unwelcoming presence isn’t going to magically disappear because it’s allergic to a particular scent, in fact you might just piss it off. It will however, walk itself out the door, only if you know how to use your divine authority…but what if it’s actually here to help too and your fear of the unknown misinterpreted the signal to mean bad? Here’s an occult truth few will be ready for: not many people (“serious” practitioners included), have created enough energetic waves with astral dimensions of the “ones you really need to worry about” to even take notice, or waste their energy for little return. This includes the most “evil” archetypal energy/beings.

Which brings us to something else I am commonly asked about in the same instance: the beings you glimpse in the corners of your vision. Particularly after you have started having a more proactive role on your healing work, inner journey, and connection to your higher self (which is more conducive to naturally starting the thin the veil a little) you may notice more subtler energies than you would if you were ‘just doing the mundane things’.

The reality is there are multiple levels of consciousness or dimensions overlaid over the physical manifest reality, than most people can comprehend. The brain, as a processor of these amazing biological systems, actively filters more of reality out than you realise. What is unsettling to some is these ‘beings’ are always there, or at least always accessible – you’re just now tuning into them. Let’s move on to some of the most common visual encounters people will tend to have.

Those Animal-Shaped Shadows You’re Seeing

If you’re seeing animal-like beings in your peripheral vision and they don’t feel threatening, that’s not a haunting  and it’s often not a malevolent being lurking into the corner, waiting for it’s chance to pounce. That’s a contact point.

The exact shape/container eg. animal can be because it’s either less threatening, it’s ‘simpler software’ than a humans (more on that another time, more relevant to shape shifters), or because it’s a closer visual manifestation of their energetic signature or ray of consciousness. It could be just to make initiating contact with you easier by assuming a shape you recognise – we’ll do a deep dive into this in my energetic constructs course (intakes opening soon).

Most of the time you will notice these ‘initial contact points’ in an environment you are the most comfortable with (and therefore have less energetic and psychic walls up), which for most people is their home. These beings often fall into one of three categories:

  • Land spirits
  • House spirits
  • Yours spiritual guidance team
  • Ancestral or familiar-adjacent presences

They appear subtly because that’s how they prefer to be perceived, at first. If you try to look directly at them, they often vanish. That’s because your forward-facing eyes are “hunter’s eyes” – evolutionarily predatory – and many subtle beings interpret that gaze as aggression. Often you’ll find if you have become aware of a shape/form presence (normally not totally solid visually, a bit more wispy and smoke like), if you then try and look directly at them with forward facing eyes, they will “disappear”. Try it, you may only see them for a split second.

Trying to cleanse them away is like slamming the door on someone who came to offer help. From a Witch’s perspective, that’s a missed opportunity, extremely rude and, personally even if something came wanting to do harm, I’d be investigating the hell outta that, and demanding answers (which works, when done right) – but that’s not a path for everyone, solo anyone.

What people miss is these beings can become protectors, teachers, allies, messengers, and mirrors for your own intuitive development but only if you approach them with sovereignty, not fear, and respectful curiosity. Have faith in your own divine authority, but remain humble enough to know your conscious self or personality (see The Architecture of the Deep Self) doesn’t know everything.

Smoke as Offering, Not Banishing

Instead of burning sage to “get rid of them,” consider this: sacred smoke can be a gift.

I use it in ritual this way all the time. Before any invocation or evocation, I offer sacred smoke (Palo Santo, incense, or herbs chosen for their correspondences) as a minimum, as a gesture of respect. I light it through the messenger of the fire elemental, the main ritual candle I’ve already dedicated and called the elemental with, into my space.

It’s my way of saying: “I see you. I acknowledge you. Let’s chat (eg. investigate, talk terms, establish a relationship).”

Offerings can include:

  • A pinch of herbs or resin burned with intention on charcoal
  • A candle lit in their honour, infused with your energy and intention  (spent time with it first, holding it and trying to ‘push’ your intentions into it and who you are reaching out to)
  • A bowl of water, perfect for noticing ripples and subtle movements, or for scrying indirectly too and another way of looking indirectly at ‘them’ without you “hunters eyes”
  • A few drops of oil applied to yourself or the candle you burn for them,  perhaps you do so in the ‘location’ you sense them
  • A spoken invitation for peaceful coexistence
  • A handwritten note or sigil of welcome
  • A ceremonial cutting of hair (with caution and clear purpose, not recommended for all entities or those inexperienced with red magick this type of sacrificial offering)

This is how witches build alliances – not by defaulting to banishment, but by discerning what is actually present and giving it the respect it deserves, while maintaining divine authority and sovereignty.

Alternatives to Sage (and Why They Work)

1. Bells: Clearing and Activation

A bell doesn’t banish; it awakens. It stirs the subtle layers of a space, calling everything into attention. They can be used to cleanse but like most cleansing you are actually trying to disperse stagnant and stuck energy. It activates the spirit of the room, the herbs, the land, and the practitioner. That’s why witches use bells when working with plants – it’s a gentle summons, not a dismissal.

2. Sound Bathing: Instruments & Singing Bowls

A singing bowl creates a resonant field that reorganises energy. It doesn’t push anything out; it harmonises the space so that anything incompatible naturally drifts away (bells do this too, just with a lot more doing and here-ness of the practitioner). Note: Digital recordings lack the physical vibration, they don’t carry the same presence.

3. Your Own Voice

Chanting, humming, or speaking with intention is one of the oldest forms of space-setting. Your voice carries your will more directly than any tool. Your hum has a unique frequency that aligns with your own system – a living vibration of sovereignty. There’s so much to the power of your voice that we’ll delve into that deeper on another post.

4. Physical Tidying

Never underestimate the occult power of cleaning your house. Order is a magickal act. Stagnant energy accumulates in stagnant spaces like piles of clothes, dusty corners, sealed rooms. Even the most pragmatic person can feel the difference between a room that breathes it’s own natural currents, it’s fresh compared to being smacked in the face with that ‘yuck’ feeling of a dense space. Fresh air is a spell in itself.

The Heart of It: Sovereignty Over Fear

If you’re seeing beings that don’t feel harmful, don’t assume they’re a problem. Assume they’re an invitation.

You are the sovereign consciousness of your space. You don’t need to chase anything out unless it violates your boundaries…even then, often it’s YOUR boundaries that need reaffirming, not the space that needs cleansing. Remember, King Solomon still ‘worked with demons’, but he commanded them, from his own Divine Authority – you need to learn to do the same. From this place of power, you will have the control. I do not say this in a religious context, I say this as a practising Occultist with around 3 decades of experience, trial and error to cement this fact into my magickal toolkit, and I’ve seen it work for others, time and time again!

Be discerning. Trust your gut.  It is true some beings that don’t mean you well will often try to impersonate loved ones (both embodied or not) and that includes pets but they will feel different, something will just feel off. You may successfully establish contact (and a lot faster that ‘glimpses you see in peripherals’ because these beings want you to engage with them, they want your attention  – and as fast as possible) but besides the ‘off feeling’ there is normally a sense of urgency. They need you to ‘act fast’ before you have a chance to think and tap into your discernment. True allies are patient. They wait for you to notice them in your own time. That’s my biggest Witchy tip on feeling the difference.

Generally, curious and benevolent beings reveal themselves gradually – often more vividly after ritual, meditation, or plant medicine, when your awareness is tuned to the liminal. They are often interdimensional, subtle, and almost always responsive to respect.

Observe. Communicate. Offer. Learn. This is the path of the witch – not reaction, but discernment.

Closing Thought

Cleansing isn’t about erasing the unseen. It’s about choosing what you are in relationship with. Yes, cleansing has its place and it’s part of spiritual hygiene. But there are many ways beyond a stick of sage, often more effective and more relational.

Sometimes the spirits you’re tempted to banish are the very ones who came to help you grow. The key is discernment and sovereignty.

When you’re ready to take that further, I’m here.

Blessed Be xo