Salt baths can feel regenerative and refreshing, and one of my favorites is a Purification Bath. This is great for anyone who feels like they pick up other people’s energy, emotions, or wants to release some tension from their body.
I like making this into a bit of a ritual, and if you’re making these salts for someone you care about, you can copy part of this blog post or write down what you think is relevant to them. The idea is to customize this for yourself and do what feels most comfortable for you.
According to The Hearth Witch’s Compendium: Magical and Natural Living for Every Day by Anna Franklin, these are the herbs and plants that can be used for cleansing and purification:
Cleansing
Angelica - Basil - Bay - Benzoin - Bistort - Broom - Camphor - Caraway - Comfrey - Frankincense - Geranium - Grapefruit - Hyssop - Lavender - Lemon - Marjoram - Nicotiana - Peppermint - Pine - Rosemary - Sage - Snowdrop - Soapwort - Tansy - Thyme - Vervain
Purification
Alkanet - Angelica - Asafoetida - Avens - Benzoin - Black Pepper - Birch - Bloodroot - Broom - White Camphor - Cassia - Cedarwood - German Chamomile - Roman Chamomile - Cinnamon - Cinquefoil - Cleavers - Clove - Coconut - Copal - Cumin - Eucalyptus - Fennel - Frankincense - Grapefruit - Hyssop - Lavandin - Lavender - Lemon - Lemongrass - Lemon Verbena - Lime - Myrrh - Nicotiana - Olive - Peppermint - Pine - Primrose - Rosemary - Rue - Sage - Sandalwood - Soapwort - St. John’s Wort - Tea Tree - Thyme - Vervain - Yarrow
There are many different combinations you could make with ingredients you likely already have at home. If you don’t have access to the dried herbs, you can always purchase Chamomile or Peppermint tea and place a couple bags in your bathtub, or cut it open to work with the loose herbs.
Ingredients such as Basil, Bay, Caraway, Clove, Cumin, Fennel, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme may already be in your spice collection, and you can add them to your bath salts. If there are certain ingredients that stand out to you, you can always look up organic herbal providers online, such as Mountain Rose Herbs or individual distributors on Etsy.
Whatever ingredients you do use, keep in mind that your body is meant to soak in them, so don’t use anything that could give you a negative reaction. If you’re pregnant, check with your doctor first before using herbs and spices on your body.
How to Make Your Own Purification Bath Salts
Combine all of the chunky (in other words, nothing that’s already a fine powder) ingredients in a spice grinder, blender, or food processor. You’re also welcome to grind and chop these ingredients by hand.
Bay
Cinnamon
Coconut
Fennel
Lavender
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Epsom Salt
Once the ingredients are close to a fine powder, combine with the Epsom Salt. You can keep the bath salts loose if you’re ok with small floating herbs in your bath. Otherwise, place all of the ingredients in a muslin bag (you should be able to find one at your local grocery store). When the time comes, you can place the whole bag in your bath. Let the herbs steep and the salts disintegrate.
When You Take a Purification Bath
Since there is special significance to this bath, you can perform a small ritual as part of the experience. First off, visualize your aura and how far it spreads out. Imagine bringing it in to within one foot of your body, or into the level of your skin. Doing this will make sure your energy field isn’t picking up anyone else’s energy, making it easier to cleanse and purify your body and energy field.
If it’s in your practice to use a rattle, use your rattle all over your body. The idea is to shake loose any stuck energy and anything you want to cleanse, purify, or remove.
Cleanse your energy field using the method that speaks most to you. If this is using Florida Water or Holy Water, you can use those before or after the bath. If you use smoke, burn a stick of incense, palo santo, or sage all over your body. While you’re doing this, make sure you cover your entire body: the palms of your hands, the crooks of your elbows, your armpits, between your legs, the backs of your knees, your lower back, the bottoms of your feet. If you have particular trouble areas around your body, you can spend some extra time clearing them. Be careful and make sure you don’t burn yourself or get the burning areas too close to your body. The idea here is to smudge yourself, not set yourself on fire.
Before you add the salts to your bath water, you can place crystals in the water that can add potency. Anything that absorbs negative energy or brings in love can be helpful. For example, you can use Rose Quartz for love. Black Tourmaline is also good to use in this instance, however, it must be a tumbled piece or the crystal will start to disintegrate. Other crystals you can use are Onyx, Obsidian, Shungite, Amethyst, Howlite, Jasper, and Blue Lace Agate.
In their raw form, some crystals will dissolve in water, so make sure it’s a substance that can be in water. Leave the crystals in the water and take them out before you add the salt.
Prepare your bath, and when there’s a good amount of hot water, pour the bath salts in or place the muslin bag into the water. Stir the salts clockwise with your hand until they disintegrate. I generally put the salt in early on, when there’s a couple inches of water.
What you do in the tub is up to you! You can listen to sounds that are soothing or reassuring to you, or play a meditation. Typically with bath salts you want to spend at least 15 minutes in the water.
If you want to do a visualization, you can also imagine the ingredients in the water making their way into your body. Imagine them as gold or white light working its way into your skin cells, or other organs in your body, clearing away anything you no longer want or need, and being pulled into the water.
When you’re done and the bathtub has completely drained, you can rinse off yourself and your tub to make sure everything is washed away.
RELATED BLOG POSTS
Purification and Protection Sugar Scrub