Clean that stuff!! The Pros and Cons of buying used jewelry

Ah, the joys of bringing lovely vintage jewelry into the house. Saturday past, I got a small lot and found a really sweet pair of earrings. I couldn't tell if they were gold, or just gold plate and the best way for me to test is to wear them and see if my body reacts to them. So i put them through a good physical clean (dropped them in the ultrasonic and then buffed them with a cloth and put them on). Then I forgot about them. The rest of the jewelry I perused through and left in the bin on the table (my table is a disaster as you can see from the photo above). Forward to sometime around 2 am Sunday and my husband gently tries to wake me up as I was screaming. That was some nightmare. A dog-like being was chasing me and knocked me down, all the while biting me from behind, and a rat was attached to my chest with his claws. I have never had a dream like that before. Totally weird. The adrenaline rush was unbelievable. Took quite a while to calm me down. I realized that it was not normal and did not seem like 'my' dream and I remembered that I had put on the earrings. I took them off and put them on my altar. With a mental note to energetically cleanse all that stuff in the morning.

Every lot I have brought in, I ensure I run through a smoke cleanse (usually a lovely little blend of rosemary, cedar and sage - sometimes lavender). I forgot on this little lot. Those of you reading who are of a magickal bent will understand. Sometimes, I still wonder if I am 'a bit out there', until stuff like this happens. Sometimes its very subtle - you are on edge or a bit cranky with no known reason, you've got the 'heebie jeebies' and don't know why, or just the house feels heavy... People have known for millennia that energy gets heavy and that there are various ways to lift it. I mean, really why are those crazy chemical filled air fresheners around? Its not just for smell (although that is part of it). Smoke is particularly cleansing. It's my cleanse of choice although a good salt bath works really well too!

So yesterday, I had another lot to bring in and I decided to open up the large 'smudge' stick that I was given for Yule. Its a whole other post, but I try not to use the word smudge as it is cultural appropriation, and I am trying to give respect. It was a gift though and I do not want it to go to waste. So it now sits on the table where I sort my jewelry and I run each piece through the smoke. I have an ultrasonic cleaner for those pieces that need a physical clean (and can safely be put in). For me, I consider it lesson learned. That Ultrasonic clean, just did the physical side, maybe it messed it up, who knows. But I will not forget now to run all the jewelry though a little energetic cleanse!

And now you know, all the jewelry I sell is cleansed. Does it mean you should bring it home and just wear it? I suppose you could, but I would recommend giving any items you bring in to your home, a cleanse like this to give it a little energetic reset!