I really, really need some advice.

[Lindsey]

I moved into this apt. in April. I feel there is a spirit here. There are several reasons I feel this way. One of them being the way my kitty is acting (I've had her nine years and I really know her behavior and I can't describe it in an email). I'd be very grateful if anyone who knows about these types of situations would please, please give me some ideas regarding the best course of action to take.Moving isn't really an option.

I don't get that the sense it's a negative entity but it definitely is wanting to make itself known. Is there some kind of process I can do to move it along? Please feel free to post or pm me. I'm feeling a little desperate. I know you guys won't think I'm crazy so that's why I'm comfortable posting here.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

[OneGrassRoot]

1. Hi, Lindsey...

I don't have any advice but I'm sure others here will either post and/or PM you; there is a lot of wisdom here, including about situations such as yours.

I just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you and your kitty, and hope it's resolved soon, for the best of all concerned.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

:hi:

[Lindsey]

3. Thank you so much OneGrassRoot...

I agree, there is a lot of wisdom here. You are so sweet for thinking of me and my precious one (my kitty).:hi:

[MorningGlow]

2. Talk to him/her

Seriously. All you have to do is sit quietly and open yourself to communication. Send the spirit a message--whatever you want to know--ask who s/he was in life, why s/he's there, etc. And get a feel for whether the spirit would be troublesome to you or not.

If, after talking with the spirit, you feel that it would be best that if s/he moves along, you can help. (But note some choose to stay.)

If the spirit is willing to move along, go into a meditative state and contact the spirit. You'll probably want to put a protective bubble of light around yourself, just in case the spirit is less than friendly. When you feel that s/he is there, envision a tunnel of white light and tell the spirit to go toward the light. You will know when s/he's gone.

If the spirit does not want to move along but you want him/her to, try anyway. If the spirit refuses and gets belligerent, you may have to banish him/her. That takes more strength of will on your part, but it's entirely do-able. And you'll have to sage your place.

Coexisting is another option. We have the ghost of a former housekeeper in our house and she's quite benign, aside from letting the cats out onto the sleeping porch and turning the upstairs hall light on and off occasionally, but she used to be more demonstrative. She was, let's be honest, cranky, probably because her beloved house that she took such pride in (even if she was "just" an employee) was slowly being destroyed by idiot owners and then terrible, destructive renters. It took a while for her to realize that we were good people who were working on bringing the house back to its former glory (or as close to it as we can get). Then she settled down. However, she also was a Prohibitionist, and she kept breaking our wine glasses until I asked her not to. So it's always possible to communicate and coexist with entities.

On edit: If you don't feel comfortable doing any of this yourself, it's easy to look up some ghost hunters/mediums in your area who can do it for you. :hi:

On edit 2: A great book about this is When Ghosts Speak, by Mary Ann Winkowski. She's been a "ghost whisperer" since she was a child and is the consultant for the TV show Ghost Whisperer. It's a very entertaining but informative book.

[Lindsey]

4. You ALWAYS have wonderful advice MorningGlow. I guess

I'm been a little afraid to make contact deep. I know I need to protect myself before I try to. I'm fine with coexisting if the spirit would be be benign but right now the spirit is really wanting to let me know it's here, which I do. I've talked to it out loud a few times saying things like, "I realize you're here and that's okay but I must live in harmony." I've also said things like "you can move on" and other things that are too cliche to even admit....

If I sage, would you mind either sharing with me what to do or letting me know a good site where I can go to get the information?

[MorningGlow]

5. You're most welcome, Lindsey

I understand it can be worrisome to choose to commune with a spirit. Our social conditioning is very deep rooted (too many scary movies, in other words! ;) )

Yes, lots of spirits want to make their presence known, that's for sure, and sometimes they don't realize that they're freaking us out! :D

If the spirit is bothering you--that is, putting you out of your peace and making you feel uncomfortable in your own home, then perhaps it is time for him/her to go. There's nothing wrong with inviting spirits to leave, but sometimes you have to help them (showing them the direction to go with the tunnel of light). Again, if you don't feel comfortable doing that yourself, I'm sure someone would be happy to do it for you, and possibly for no fee. When I was a member of the "ghostbusters" group in my coven, we considered it a service and wouldn't dream of charging people for clearing their house, so you might want to approach a local coven for help.

Saging is always good for cleaning a house no matter what, but you'd have to send the spirit on before saging to truly have a clean place--saging in and of itself doesn't necessarily remove a spirit, if said spirit is...well...stubborn!

To sage, just get a sage bundle at a local New Age store (or even a natural-foods store--I've seen them there)--it can be just sage, or sage and sweetgrass, or sage and lavender--whatever feels right to you--and some sea salt. When I was part of the coven cleaning crew, we used sage, sea salt, powdered iron, and a candle, but if you're doing it yourself you won't have that many hands, so just go with the sage and sea salt.

Since you're in an apartment, I'll assume you only have one floor, but if you're in a multi-story place, start at the bottommost floor of your apartment. Start at the door or window that faces east, and sprinkle sea salt across the windowsill/threshold. As a witch, I then make a banishing pentagram with the sage smoke and say that I banish all incorrect energies, then make an invoking pentagram and say that I draw in only correct energies for the good of all and the free will of all. If that doesn't resonate with you, that's fine--all you have to do is smudge the area.

Then, holding the sage bundle up so the smoke drifts as far as it can, move around the perimeter to the next window or door in a clockwise direction (deosil) and do the same thing. Try not to turn backward/counterclockwise (widdershins) for any reason, even in place. If you do, just turn clockwise three times to undo it and move on. Move through your rooms, saging as you go and salting (exterior) doors and windows, until you've walked the perimeter of your whole place. Then stand in the middle with your sage bundle and envision all incorrect energies spiraling up through the roof, to be dispersed by the Universe. You might also want to hang a small sage bundle (or sage and lavender) or other protective herb by your front door to ensure all negative energies stay out.

If you can get away with it, you might also want to walk around the perimeter of your property outside with your sage bundle.

Those are the basics; if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! :hi:

[Lindsey]

6. Thank you MoringGlow - I know I can always depend on you n/t

[MorningGlow]

7. ...

:hug: