Personal Rituals for Renewal

Since the time of the ancients in the Mediterranean and in Mesopotamia, salts from the sea combined with soothing oils have been used to purify the body by way of gentle ritual rubs. From Bathsheba to Cleopatra, these natural salts have been used to smooth the skin and enhance circulation, which is vital to overall body health as the skin is the single largest organ. Salts from the Dead Sea have long been a popular export and are readily available at most health food stores. You can make your own salts, however, and not only control the quality and customize the scent, but save money, too. The definitive benefits that is far and above cost saving is that you can imbue the concoction with your intention, which is absolutely imperative when you are performing rites of self-healing. Cook up your own “kitchen cupboard cure."

Shekinah’s Salts

Shekinah translates as “She who dwells within” and is the Hebrew name for the female aspect of God. Legend has it that she co-created the world side by side with Yahweh, the god of Israel. The simple recipe for salts calls up the scents and primal memories of what the Edenic paradise must have been like. A real plus to this recipe is that you can change the essential oils to suit your needs and mood.

The ingredients for the recipe are as follows:

3 cups Epsom salts

1⁄2 cup sweet almond oil

1 tablespoon glycerin

4 drops ylang-ylang essential oil

1 drop jasmine essential oil

1 drop clary sage essential oil

Mix well and store in a colored and well-capped glass bottle. You can use these special Shekinah salts in your ritual rub. Prepare for what I call the body glow session by lighting citrus and rose-scented candles. Step out of your clothes and hold the salts in the palms of your hands and pray aloud:

Shekinah, your wisdom helps me reflect your image.
My body is a temple to you.
Here I worship today with heart and hands,
Body and soul.
I call on you for healing.
Shekinah, bring me breath and life.
Ancient One, I thank you
With heart and hands,
Body and soul.

Use these salts with a damp, clean washcloth or a new sponge and gently scrub your body during a waning moon at midnight. Rinse with warm water. (Women with sensitive skin should avoid this salt rub. Instead, blend the essential oils into a quarter cup of almond oil and massage the blend into your skin with the damp washcloth or sponge; then rinse. Use the salt scrub only on your body, never on your face.)