A rare house cleansing

From time to time people ask me to do a house cleansing for them. Last week a friend called and asked me to do a cleansing at her friend's home. I always ask first what they want and/or expect me to do and why they want it. That way I can adapt the things I do in a way that feels right to them too. It's their home after all!

This was a family of 4 (mum, dad and 2 sons). They had a feeling there was something or someone in their home. Not frightening or scary, but they all had experienced some encounters. Our mutual friend had the same thing and after I cleansed her home it was over, so they asked me to help. I don't want too many details beforehand, so I can enter with an open mind.

This time I made a mix of white sage and palo santo for the smudging. While preparing the incense I explained what stuff I had brought and why. We started in the attic and made our way down. In the room next to the bathroom I felt the energy of an elderly woman roaming about and suddenly I got dizzy. In the bathroom her energy was stronger. I saw a glimpse of her in the mirror. She said sorry for the things she did to get the attention of the people living there. She gave me images of her touching the arm of the eldest son and opening cabinet doors. When I told the family this, they looked at each other and said that was exactly what had been happening. They knew it was an old woman because the younger son had seen her in the mirror too. The old lady once again said sorry. I felt her energy moving away, heard a sigh and saw something in the corner of my eye. The mother and one of her sons saw it too and they gasped in surprise. The former inhabitant was an older woman and she was found dead in the bathroom...

When I walked into the shed in the garden I felt happy at once. The energy was active and positive. It belonged to an older man (the husband of the old lady??). The shed was clearly his place and he spent a lot of time there. The mother of the family said they still used some of his stuff, his gardening tools and such. He told me they had to take care of his things and then I felt and saw his energy move away. So did the mother! Later on she remembered another strange thing that had happened in the shed.

Afterwards we talked about everything that had happened. It had been very special to them, but to me too! I often experience things while cleansing a house, but rarely as distinct and concrete as this time. I'm very thankful for this wonderful experience!

Breast cancer meme???

I have to get something off my chest... This week I got overloaded with requests to put a tiny heart ♥ on my Facebook wall. I am instructed to only send it to my female friends. The purpose: breast cancer awareness. We've seen earlier editions with posting the colour of your bra and other nonsense. I don't participate. Why not, you ask? Welll...

• First and foremost: breast cancer doesn't only affect women. Men can get it too! Read about it here. So why exclude men?


• Men have friends and relatives with breast cancer too, so if you want to raise awareness I ask you again: why exclude men?


• Awareness? Really? I can't see how that works. Everyone already knows it exists and that it's horrible. How can an annoying 'game' like this help? It doesn't give information, it doesn't educate people about breast cancer. 


• Have you ever thought how people with breast cancer look at it? I know people who have or had breast cancer (and knew some who died of it...) and most of them are against it, for different reasons. A survivor wrote this great post about it on her blog.

So... if you really want to help... Check yourself regularly. Donate to (or volunteer in) a cancer organisation. Raise money for cancer research. Support family and friends that are affected. Raise awareness by giving good information, share articles with substance. Or write one yourself like this woman did.
Thank you.

Walter / Charon

Walter 1927-2012

In the late nineties I started using the internet, on an old computer with dial-up connection and a piggy-bank next to it to put money in every time I made a connection. :) Anyway, one of the first words I put in a search engine was 'heks', the Dutch word for witch. It had been a lonely path up until then, but that was about to change! I found the WhiteshadoW-forum, the first and at that time only significant forum about witchcraft / paganism in The Netherlands (and Belgium). I plucked up courage and posted an introduction.

One of the first people to welcome me was Walter, nickname Charon (the ferryman across the Styx). We both became very regular posters and got to know each other on the forum and by e-mail. He was old (70+) and had a lot of experience, in life and several religions. His life story reads like a novel and he had so many interesting stories to tell... We met each other a few times on forum meetings. In witchcraft we have the term 'crone' for an old and wise woman. I don't know whether there's a similar male term, but Walter would be one!

Over the years Walter and I have always stayed in contact in one way or another. On forums, by mail, social media, etc. He couldn't come to meetings anymore because of his health and the distance (he lived near Antwerp). Three years ago Ron and I were planning a vacation in Lier, not too far from Antwerp. I asked Walter whether he would like it if we paid him and Fatima a visit. He happily accepted and we had a lovely afternoon together. Walter and Fatima were excellent hosts and made us feel very welcome. Fatima spoiled us with delicious food and Walter with more great stories! Unfortunately we had forgotten our camera, such a pity...

Walter with his book

Years before, Walter had started to write down his 'memoires', stories about his life. I had proofread the first edition of his autobiography in 2005, but due to circumstances it lasted several years before it finally became a real book. Not too long after our visit I got an e-mail and within a few days I received the book "Van Monnik tot Heks". I can definitely recommend it to Dutch readers. Walter himself wrote this about it: "I wanted to be a monk but I became a witch. Incomprehensible! And now I have written down every step I took. As a child I never could have imagened the life I lived and if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't know how. I have had a beautiful life, seventy five years full of experiences. Times have changed, but I've enjoyed every bit of the path taken because everything I have discovered had its own fascinating beauty. I have met people who made my life difficult and people I loved. They were all with me. When I was young I heard a voice, actually a song written by a Carthusian monk:
Somewhere a voice is calling, calling to me 
Somewhere a heart is dreaming, dreaming of me.
Those words, that's my life, the search for that great desire. "

Last week, May 27, Walter passed away to go to the Summerland. We knew it was coming, but it was a shock nevertheless. Reactions flooded the forums and social media. Walter knew so many people and even more knew him. Yesterday he was buried in private (just family and close friends). Because lots of others wanted to do something for him too, a wonderful friend adapted a ritual Walter had written for this purpose. So yesterday evening all around The Netherlands and Belgium people performed this ritual for Walter, and for Fatima. At that time I was at a full moon ceremony, but I spoke about him (roughly what I'm writing above) and we commemorated him in a special way. It felt good and somehow I felt the energy of all the people doing the ritual for Walter.

Rest in peace, my friend...