Ecology-magick-recycling items-Goodwill , Part Two

You all probably know, from the Green Living movement, and your own alertness, the general advantages to buying second hand- less packaging to clog up landfills, less resources used for making a new thing, more of your own resources conserved (some of my trouble is then that since it is cheaper, I just buy more things, especially books, always books..).  Some of my own thoughts also center on the fact that I think this can be/is the way a friendly, gracious, abundant Universe (insert the God or Gods of your choice here), answers some of our needs and wants, even some of the ‘frivolous’ ones. 

     Part of my personal abundance practice centers on thrift store shopping.  I do gratitude work at night, along with prayers, and energy for people who have requested it (usually also with candle lighting).  I got it from “the Secret”, and find it pleasant and soothing to do.  I thank the Universe for everything I’m grateful for, people, things, situations, and then move on to things that were especially good on a particular day.  I like to do it in the manner of only praising what was good, and kind of ignoring the not so good parts ( kind of like if a beloved aunt had bought you a beautiful sweater;  you would gush on about the style, and the beautiful colors, Not how it was a bit scratchy).  I believe this is a way of telling the Universe what you especially like in the work it has done for you, essentially requesting more things in the same theme as the things you praise. When I gather up things to go to Goodwill, I also think what was good about the thing.  When I get to Goodwill, I envision it as an exchange of energy, and silently think of things I am hoping to find (cause you can’t go to a thrift store without going in, that’s just crazy).  I keep a vague running list.  I believe it makes things you are interested in show up more often, by actually just asking for them, instead of hoping for the best, and then getting frustrated from not finding them, and giving up the plan (Thrift shopping can be VERY successful, but you have to play the Long Game, and plan ahead of a need).  So, I give an offering to the Universe, and it gives me one back.  Like in other forms of friendship exchange, the exchange is not always equal at each particular time, but is more than equal overall.  I find the return time on most of my requests is the same as for other forms of magick, between a week to a month, on average.

     I get a lot of my knick-knacks, candleholders, altar tools, and magickal tools the second-hand way also.  Anything that can be physically cleaned can, in my opinion, be spiritually cleaned. It can be made shiny-clean, good as new, using common magickal household products, stating my intention aloud to clean the item, and sending its past away. I mix salt with the laundry for the laundrable and also visualize spiritual dirt being washed clean and spun down the drain.  I wash other physical things in the sink, with vinegar or salt, Dr. Bronners, and/or lavender oil.  Paper goods, such as cards, I gently wipe with a small amount of vinegar, (be Careful, this can go awry), and then sprinkle them with salt, or sit them in a window sill with sunlight, or put crystals on them, or wave them through incense or sage (sandalwood is my personal multi-use favorite).  Other things that people do are set things in moonlight, bury them in earth, run energy through them, pray over them.

      I can buy things for full price, from box stores, and have bags, hangars, tags, wrappers, plastic, that it is now my ethical responsibility to do something with.  My new things come with a bigger price than just the price.  I can buy things 2^nd hand, and all I have is the item itself, if I tell the seller to keep the bag.  The only thing I have to do is clean it.  With the money I save buying 2^nd hand, I can buy things made by artisans, or donate money to causes I believe in, or probably, because it’s me, I can buy more books.  Clothes could be slightly out of fashion, but that’s never been really much of a threat for me.  That’s really only the downside I can see. 

     Older things that survive into 2^nd hand hood are guaranteed to be a little sturdier.  They won’t look brand-new, which I consider a bonus.  Clothes are charmingly broken in all ready, so no scratchy collars, stiff jeans, and rough parts inside shoes. If you buy behind the cutting edge of technology, the tools still work, but the price drops EXPONENTIALLY. 

     So there you have it.  This is My theory on Magick, the Universe and Everything.  So go forth, give stuff away, ask for what you want, buy stuff 2^nd Hand, and be not afraid!