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Saging the White House
Everybody has an opinion about spiritual cleansing
I was joking when I posted the question. Here’s what I said:
“Ministers: how much holy oil does it take to clean out and keep clear a White House? Asking for a friend. I guess a dab’ll do? A spray bottle for the perimeter? Buckets?”
The answers rolled in all weekend. But here’s the backstory. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden moved into the White House over the last two days. I’m happy for them. According to news reports, White House staff are also happy to have “life” and “energy” again in the big house and on the estate. But when I hear people say things like “energy” I can’t help but wonder how the spiritual among us (or them) actually — for real — prepped that house for new owners and especially for new grandchildren.
These are things I think about often. Energy. I come from a family of ministers and deacons and deaconesses. My grandfather’s name adorns the cornerstone of my family church in Chicago. My mother- and-father-in-love are elders in their church and many of my aunts and uncles either run churches or founded them. Other family members are more spiritual or work with religions older than traditional Christianity. All that to say, I’m not quite a PK, but I’m like a PK cousin. Spiritualist adjacent.
So when I asked my family and friends what ideas did they have about prepping the White House for new occupants, the answers went on for days. Literally. I thought that a little sage — or maybe a lot of sage — some palo santo, a prayer or two, and some holy oil might be enough to cleanse things out. After all, that’s tradition. When I moved into my first apartment, my mother swept out each corner, prayed over the windows and doors, and had the church mothers speak protection into my dwelling. She then threw that broom away. I hoped that whoever cleaned the WH for Biden threw out the used vacuum cleaners, mops, and brooms.
A girlfriend reminded me that some of the old-school WH staff probably already took care of that and maybe some older ones were consulted for their expertise on switching out energies between presidents. Someone probably sprinkled salt on the floor, another preacher said, and swept it out. They are used to shaking the dust off, she said.
