Clean Sweep: Banishing Everything You Don't Need to Make Room for What You Want

by Denny Sargent

As a culture we are driven to acquire, amass, get, use, devour, taste, and try. And of course it is never enough. Until we figure out that enough is enough, we will never lead a fulfilling life. Unless we let go of possessions, attitudes, emotions, old lovers, or old ideas, we'll never be able to make true changes in our lives. We are very good at taking, consuming, hoarding, devouring, overworking, and inputting more and more and more . . . but we have forgotten how to let go, how to eliminate. We need to remember the basic concept of releasing and renewing that is imprinted in every cell of our bodies. We need to relearn what our ancestors how to banish. "Banishing," Denny Sargent writes, "is the identification and naming of people, things, forces, feelings, thoughts, or ideas that are negative or harmful in one's life and, through the strength of will and positive power, i.e. love, taking command over these negatives and tossing them OUT!" Sargent, an eclectic ritualist, interweaves his personal testimonial with the theory of banishing harmful factors from our physical environment and from our bodies, our hearts and emotional lives, our minds, and our spirits--through the elements of air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. In the second part of the book he provides more than 100 banishing exercises and rituals based on traditional practices performed throughout time and around the world.

Genres: Self Help

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Aion 131 (Denny Sargent), writer, teacher and practicing Ecclectic Ritualist, was first introduced to Mythology & Magick in the suburbs and center of New York City where he grew up. He has since his early teens been accepted as a member of a number of initiatory groups including Pagan Way (and various other Pagan groups), Welsh Traditional Wicca, The GSS, the Typhonian OTO, QBLH, Order of Chaos, Cult of Tara and the Adinath and Uttara Kaula Lineages of Tantrika. He is one of the founding members of the Horus/Maat Lodge and various other arcane cults too hideous to mention.

In 1979 he received his BA in Education from Oneonta college, New York. During this time he was one of the founding editors of Mandragore, a journal of magick and ecclectic ritualism published in New York City.

Denny has spent ove r30 years as a ceramic artist and sigil artist, having many one-man and group shows of his ceramic work. His ceramic work is currently on display in Seattle. His Sigils have appeared in a wide variety of esoteric magazines and journals. In 1981 he was awarded an MA in Ancient History from Western Washington University where he also taught History for three years. His research has included the magickal/religious traditions of Egypt, Sumeria, Greece, Rome, China, India, Europe and Pacific Northwest Indians (Kwakiutl). In the early 1980’s he helped found, write and edit Aeon and Kalika, journals that were concerned with contemporary ritual practice and creative mythology.

Informally, he has taught seminars on The History and Use of the I Ching, Natal Hexagrams, Tantrika, Jungian Mandala Symbolism, Ceramic art, Comparative Mythology, Cross-Cultural Communications and, most recently, on Shinto and it’s Festivals. He has written for many different Pagan and magickal magazines and currently writes a regular column in Pan Gaia magazine on magickal religions about the world. He was and still is a committed member of a number of Green organizations and is politically dedicated towards environmental goals. In 1984, after working for three years at a ski area in the Cascade Mountains.

Denny taught and lived and wrote for four years in Japan from 1989-93. In Japan he had an ecological textbook published called Heal the Earth!, (Dawn Press, Nara, 1991) and he was also a journalist for Eye Ai Magazine, City Life News, Via Magazine, Tokyo Today, The Japan International Journal, and The Japan Times Weekly. He wrote regular columns on festivals and travel for The Tokyo Weekender, Mini-World and the Asahi Evening News. In Tokyo he began doing technical writing and software text-writing for the Tec Tek Company, as well. Denny has engaged in extensive traveling and on-site research in Australia, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Hawaii, Mexico, Thailand and America. A book resulted from all of this: Global Ritualism, Myth & Magick Around the World

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The Law of Letting Go

"Everyone wants to get rid of something -- bad luck, emotional pain, illness, weight, guilt, clutter, dependency, bad habits, an old lover, the blues ... the list goes on. We need to relearn what our ancestors knew -- how to banish."
~~back cover

I just couldn't get into this book, which is odd because I believe in the philosophy it's based on.

[Jeanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting.

[Ashlie Emberlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was supposed to be read as homework for my psychic consultation class. When it was assigned I didn't think I would like it but I'm extremely surprised that I do. It is a need based book. What I mean by that is that you really don't need to read the entire book in one sitting. You just need to read the banishing methods when you need them because there are a lot and it got too lengthy to read in one sitting. Other than that it was very informative and precise without too much fluff.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish it, but will keep it as a reference.