Salt the corners, smudge the air, and ______ the pool
May 21, 2023 8:04 PM Subscribe
There are plenty of tips out there for using a pool for spiritual cleansings but I'm having trouble finding anything about cleansing the pool itself. Does anyone know of rituals for helping a swimming pool back to a more spiritually neutral state?
If the ritual involves the water taking away bad luck the usual method in my culture (which doesn't use a pool, tbf. Bath max.) is to then drain the water entirely.
posted by cendawanita at 10:18 PM on May 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by cendawanita at 10:18 PM on May 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Well, if you want to cleanse a swimming pool of non-spiritual grottiness, as I understand it the only real solution is to drain all the water, clean and (if necessary) disinfect the hard surfaces appropriately, and start fresh with clean water. This is obviously an expensive proposition, but that's what I'd do. Just substitute whatever cleansing ritual you prefer for the cleaning and disinfecting.
If that sounds like a lot of work, you could consider the tried and true public-pool solution of dumping a ton of chlorine in it.
I feel like ritually something with salt would feel good, but it might throw off the chemical balance of the pool, so I don't recommend that if you don't know what you're doing.
posted by potrzebie at 10:26 PM on May 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
If that sounds like a lot of work, you could consider the tried and true public-pool solution of dumping a ton of chlorine in it.
I feel like ritually something with salt would feel good, but it might throw off the chemical balance of the pool, so I don't recommend that if you don't know what you're doing.
posted by potrzebie at 10:26 PM on May 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Meditate on a crystal, and place it in the water in the center of the pool.
Celestite might be nice! Just use a solid piece not a geode since Celestite geode is soft and could crumble in water.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:54 AM on May 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Celestite might be nice! Just use a solid piece not a geode since Celestite geode is soft and could crumble in water.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:54 AM on May 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Water is considered a source of purification in ritual terms - and its most pure form for that respect is sea water. If you are near the coast then collect a bottle of sea water, add it to the pool and say "Sacred water and magic for me, my thanks to the spirits of the sea" to consecrate it. If you are not near the coast then salt could be added to the same effect.
The full moon is also considered as purifying - to take advantage of it you place a silver object in the pool and then leave it for the night before, the night of and the night after a fool moon. Remove the silver in the morning of each day and add it the following night until the end of the sequence.
posted by rongorongo at 1:09 AM on May 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
The full moon is also considered as purifying - to take advantage of it you place a silver object in the pool and then leave it for the night before, the night of and the night after a fool moon. Remove the silver in the morning of each day and add it the following night until the end of the sequence.
posted by rongorongo at 1:09 AM on May 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
Since replacing the sand in my pool's filter with zeolite, I have found that running it continuously for 24 hours leaves the water completely free of negative spiritual energy. If a large party has been cleansed in it you might want to follow up by backwashing the filter and then running it for an additional 24 hours.
posted by flabdablet at 2:29 AM on May 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 2:29 AM on May 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
I would take a long branch with leaves on it & stir the water or use the branch to draw/write sacred symbols/words on the surface of the water.
posted by belladonna at 7:32 AM on May 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by belladonna at 7:32 AM on May 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
We appointed Sharky the protector of the pool (though he was our tablet dispenser rather than thermometer - same shark though, and you can also find him at Lowes and probably Leslie's), and in fact we have moved out of that house and are traveling full-time but we brought Sharky's top piece to protect* our van.
We always said hello and goodbye to Sharky when we used the pool, or even when we passed him. He's very much a part of our team.
I had not seen the "succulent" version also available on that page before, and it looks really cool for a pool guardian.
*I am assuming that leaving a giant plastic grinning shark head on our dashboard is as much a mundane protector as metaphysical, because as a thief I would get a strong feeling of "you know what, there's got to be a camera in there, and someone made an effort" and move on.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:53 AM on May 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
We always said hello and goodbye to Sharky when we used the pool, or even when we passed him. He's very much a part of our team.
I had not seen the "succulent" version also available on that page before, and it looks really cool for a pool guardian.
*I am assuming that leaving a giant plastic grinning shark head on our dashboard is as much a mundane protector as metaphysical, because as a thief I would get a strong feeling of "you know what, there's got to be a camera in there, and someone made an effort" and move on.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:53 AM on May 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
I am going to go with a previous poster that thoroughly cleaning the pool, after draining, and then add in fresh water. After that, you could do whatever other offerings or blessings feel right to you. I think the key thing in any kind of spiritual cleansing is that the more effort it takes, the better, and the more the sense that it is really clean comes into play, the better.
The way I view it is that if I am having people over, and I put out some glasses on the table, if I have dried those glasses with a slightly grimy dish towel, my guests won't have any idea I have done that (probably), but I would know and it would have a significance to me that I have not really done my best for those guests. So, in a thorough cleansing, you are in a sense, creating that image in your mind that you have really purified the space, and that will carry over.
posted by nanook at 9:01 AM on May 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
The way I view it is that if I am having people over, and I put out some glasses on the table, if I have dried those glasses with a slightly grimy dish towel, my guests won't have any idea I have done that (probably), but I would know and it would have a significance to me that I have not really done my best for those guests. So, in a thorough cleansing, you are in a sense, creating that image in your mind that you have really purified the space, and that will carry over.
posted by nanook at 9:01 AM on May 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Salting the water is traditional where I come from if it is fresh water.
If the water in your pool is brine or you don't want to use salt, I would submerge something using both hands coming together under water with a container of something powdered and symbolic that will dissolve. Powdered mint or sage or saffron could work. You might not want to do that if it will make the water dirty or mess up the pool's filter.
Failing that lemon sachets - cut them up and put them into a piece of cloth which you tie shut with ribbon. You can also put flower petals in the sachet. The cloth will keep it from leaving particles in your water and can be retrieved after the ceremony is over, possibly the next morning. You can put a practice sachet into a sink full of water to test to make sure that nothing that will be bad for the pool will leak out.
You could also submerge appropriate stones such as agate. A large bright one dropped into each corner could work. Pick gemstones you can see to retrieve and which are meaningful to you.
I also like the idea of stirring the water with a green bough - but shower the bough with water first before you cut it, to clean it and get any loose leaves or insects to fall off. You don't want to find you caterpillars and their cocoons in the water.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:24 PM on May 22, 2023
If the water in your pool is brine or you don't want to use salt, I would submerge something using both hands coming together under water with a container of something powdered and symbolic that will dissolve. Powdered mint or sage or saffron could work. You might not want to do that if it will make the water dirty or mess up the pool's filter.
Failing that lemon sachets - cut them up and put them into a piece of cloth which you tie shut with ribbon. You can also put flower petals in the sachet. The cloth will keep it from leaving particles in your water and can be retrieved after the ceremony is over, possibly the next morning. You can put a practice sachet into a sink full of water to test to make sure that nothing that will be bad for the pool will leak out.
You could also submerge appropriate stones such as agate. A large bright one dropped into each corner could work. Pick gemstones you can see to retrieve and which are meaningful to you.
I also like the idea of stirring the water with a green bough - but shower the bough with water first before you cut it, to clean it and get any loose leaves or insects to fall off. You don't want to find you caterpillars and their cocoons in the water.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:24 PM on May 22, 2023
Response by poster: Followup:
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. This is what ended up feeling right.
Also a dash of salt in the corners.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 4:04 PM on June 22, 2023
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. This is what ended up feeling right.
Also a dash of salt in the corners.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 4:04 PM on June 22, 2023
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Float herbs or plants associated with cleansing or banishing in the pool for a certain amount of time.
If it won’t mess up the chemistry, add a cup of salt to the water.
Have a religious leader come and bless the pool.
posted by corey flood at 10:00 PM on May 21, 2023 [3 favorites]