Your Thrift Store Mirror Isn’t Going to Kill You. Cleansing Secondhand Finds
As I have become more verbal about things I witness in the magical community, thank you Lilith, I felt compelled to write on purchasing magical tools at thrift stores. I have seen TikToks, YouTube videos, and infographics all telling scary stories about items bought secondhand.
The occult community is growing at a rapid rate, which is incredible. There is so much to be spiritually gained from practicing magic. Sadly, part of our modern mindset is geared towards consumerism… and companies know this. When every magical item or tool is a quick car ride or a button press away, we tend to accumulate a lot of things fast. In all honesty… I’m a collector myself, my altar spaces are not sparse. I use a lot of tools. But, given a respect for Mother Earth and her inhabitants is part of my personal craft, I knew I needed to be mindful about my purchases.
Buying things new is very taxing on the environment, and labour practices with big brands are questionable at best. Knowing this I set ground rules for myself.
One- Any new magical tools must be purchased from a small business.
Two- I’m allowed to buy new books and decks.
Three- Everything else, I always try to buy secondhand first.
Rule three is where my ire for the whole ‘your thrift store mirror is going to kill you’ comes into play. Yes, secondhand items definitely carry energetic imprints. Yes, they need to be handled differently than new items. But as a practitioner who has 95% secondhand magical tools, I can fairly boldly say… this can be done safely. I would also like to add, new items carry energetic imprints too. I’m far more spooked by new, unethically created items, ones where human and animal rights were violated in the process of making them (casually sips tea).
Ok… now that my Mars and Venus Aquarius placements have stated their humanitarian piece… and my Capricorn Sun got judgmental… I’m going to go over how I select and cleanse my thrifty finds.
INTENTION SETTING
This is my favorite part! Before I leave I go into a deep meditation. I focus on either what a specific spirit needs, or what magical tool I need to find. This isn’t elaborate, I might light incense and focus on my intention. Whenever I have done this, I have found something fascinating.
CARRYING
When it comes to thrift store items I prefer to keep them completely covered until I am ready to energetically cleanse them. Grocery bags will do, but I prefer using fabric bags. Fabrics have their own magical properties. I go with silk as it insulates magic and energy. This way whatever the item has picked up will remain contained.
WASHING
If my item can get wet. I first wash it with soap and water. I use enough friction to remove any lingering debris. I then fill a pot with water and place a drop of peppermint oil in. I place the pot on the stove and once the pot reaches a boil I use the steam to further cleanse the item, all the while I focus on my intention to clear the energy. I personally feel peppermint is very clean and aggressive when it comes to removing old energy.
SMOKE CLEARING
Smoke clearing is optional. I will smoke clear if I cannot immerse an item in water. When this is the case, I will burn an incense stick with the intention of clearing away any old energy. The other example of when I smoke clear is when the item is an offering to a spirit. The reason being, whenever I work with spirits I always give incense offerings. I will use the smoke from the incense to further dedicate the item to the intended spirit. You may also ask the spirit to place their energy into the tool and clear any residual energy.
Last but not least. When purchasing thrift items, USE YOUR INTUITION! If anything is giving you a sketchy vibe, even if it is beautiful… don’t purchase it.
And that is It! The steps are fairly quick and straightforward, go forth and thrift.
