As summer ebbs away, and fall flows towards us, we release the things we were holding onto, and make room for new opportunities. October is a special month. The Equinox marks the beginning of the rest of the year: three months to hunker down, focus on what you want to create, make and do, and start to see the results.

Maybe it’s the Virgo in me, but I like to do a so-called “spring” cleaning at the start of every season. Your home, after all, is the place where you spend the majority of your time: it’s where you create and dream. It makes sense to spend a day getting your home ready for the next few months.

Start by cleaning your home in the conventional sense: vacuum, dust, clean your mirrors, and do a couple of loads of laundry. Once you’ve cleared all the muck, emptied your garbage bins, and cleaned out your fridge, it’s time to move onto cleaning in a more metaphysical way. Here are some of my favourite ways to do that!

“I release the past with ease and trust in the process of life.” — Louise Hay

DECORATE YOUR ALTAR
This is the perfect time to give your altar a super-clean, as well as a bit of a makeover. When you do this, it allows you to refocus on your dreams. Take everything off your altar, clean it up, and then be selective about what you put back. Choose candles which reflect your hopes and desires, burn some fresh incense, and place your favourite crystals just so. As we get closer to Dia De Los Muertos (November 1st to 2nd), it’s also a beautiful time to put out photos or mementos of those who have passed.

OPEN THE WINDOWS
It may be getting colder, but keeping the windows open — as well as turning on a fan or two — is a great way to keep the energy in your house nice and buoyant. Fresh air is refreshing and cleansing, and it gets the energy moving. If the air in your home is stagnant, that will affect how you feel.

GET A SALT LAMP
When Tiffany was in town, she introduced me to my new favourite store: HomeGoods. In the lighting aisle, she glanced at me and asked, “Do you have a salt lamp?” As soon as I said no, she thrust one into my arms. I’ve been using it every day since, and I absolutely love it. You can buy salt lamps on Amazon for under $20, and they’re wonderful. They purify the air, emit negative ions, and naturally clear the air of allergens, so they’re great for people with asthma or allergies. I’m obsessed with mine, plus, the glow is so soft and relaxing!

BRING NATURE INDOORS
Few things will make you feel as good as walking into a house full of fresh flowers! They really brighten up a space, and if your budget can swing it, a fresh bunch of blooms every week is a fantastic gift to yourself. If arranging flowers isn’t your strongest area, Real Simple has got your back. Alternatively, you could buy some plants and station them all around your home. They increase the vibration of a space, and look beautiful, too.

USE A SPACE-CLEARING SPRAY
You can easily make your own (all you need is a selection of essential oils and a bottle of vodka!), or if you’d prefer, you can buy one. The Australian Bush Flower Essences Space Clearing Mist is super-potent, and it contains angelsword, boab, fringed violet, lichen, red lily, calendula, echinacea, chamomile, aloe, arnica, sandalwood, cedarwood, eucalyptus and lavender. Meow! Bad vibes begone!

LIGHT CANDLES
As soon as I wake up in the morning, I light the candles on my altar, meditate, and then start working. The simple act of lighting a match and sparking a candle reminds me of my intentions for the day, and sets an atmosphere of happiness and calm. You can use any kind of candle you like, from devotional to Diptyque, but I recommend choosing a candle in a colour (or scent) that reminds you of your intentions. If you want to stick with the cleansing theme, this clearing candle made by Magic Hour is beautiful as well as effective, and poured around a citrine crystal.

PUT DOWN THE SEAT!
Men are notorious for leaving the toilet seat up, but in Feng Shui it’s believed that if you don’t close the lid of the loo as well, you’re flushing away all the good energy. The same concept applies to dripping or leaky taps: always make sure they’re fixed or turned off, because a dripping faucet signifies financial drain, or that your money is literally running out!

VISUALISE YOUR HOME FILLED WITH LIGHT
Ideally, we would all live in light, bright, beautiful spaces with huge windows, but this is unfortunately not reality. While you may not have sunshine streaming into your home, you can easily fill your home with divine white light by simply visualising it. It’s easy: see your home filling up with a bright white light, expanding and filling every corner, every dark space. When your home is saturated with this divine light, it will provide energetic healing for everything and everyone who enters. Another beautiful option is to literally bring more light into your home by hanging rainbow makers or prisms in your windows. They cast beautiful rainbows on the wall, floor, ceiling… Such a treat.

CHANGE UP YOUR ART
When you look at the photos, paintings and objects hung on your wall, ask yourself: does this make me feel good or bad? Is it enhancing my energy or draining it? Surround yourself with positive artwork, and be ruthless!

CLEAN YOUR FRONT DOOR
If your front door is looking grubby or missing its number, do something about it! For easy house-witchery, make sure your entrance-way is clean and clear. Wipe down your door, including the number, the bell, and the door-handle. This isn’t just about being hygienic (although, of course, it’s a nice bonus!): when your door is clean and clear, love, money, and other good things will be able to find their way to you.

MAKE NOISE!
In ritual, sound — whether it be chanting, the ringing of bells, or the beating of drums — is used to clear and change the energy of a space. You can do this in your home, too, by clapping your hands. All you need to do is walk around the house, clap, and listen to how it sounds. If a clap sounds heavy or flat, the energy in that area is stagnant and stuck, but if it sounds crisp and clear, this indicates that the energy is flowing well. In the area where a clap sounds heavy, stay in that spot a little longer, and keep clapping until the sound becomes clear. You can do the same thing with bells, singing bowls, drums, or even a tambourine, if the mood strikes!

SAGE, BABY, SAGE
Burning sage in your home is a fantastic way to clear out stale energy. You can buy sage sticks all over the place, but I recommend using Etsy and supporting an independent business owner! Another great option is to burn Palo Santo, which smells amazing. (I’m a little in love with this Palo Santo burner, too.)

TAKE A SALT BATH
Your house might be clean, but that doesn’t mean much if you’re frazzled on the inside! One of my favourite ways to relax and change my energy is to have an Epsom salt bath. You absorb the salt through your skin, increasing your levels of magnesium (which calms you down, increases your energy, reduces irritability, and even aids concentration and sleep). It’s marvellous stuff. I buy huge bags of lavender Epsom salts and pour ample amounts into the tub every week, and it really helps make me feel happy again. P.S. If you don’t have a tub, I love these tips for turning your shower into a sanctuary.

I hope these tips help you to transform your home into an enchanting and wonderful place.

Magical blessings,

Title image by Tommaso Nervegna. Altar photo from the studio space of Ax + Apple. Crystals and roses photo from Erin Fetherston’s Tribeca loft. Window photo by Theo Gosselin. Bell image from Ironaworks. Bathtub photo by Ciara Richardson.