We Really Need To Stop Pretending It’s All ‘Just Semantics’

I usually like Oak Witch (@theoakwitch)'s videos on youtube because they’re typically well thought out and well researched but I won’t lie. I’m kind of annoyed by her video on cleansing. Specifically her definitions of Cleansing vs Purifying, and her statement- paraphrased- that “it’s more an argument of semantics”.

I do think she got "Banishing" and its analogy correct, for what it's worth. Though I'm sure someone will still have a bone to pick with me "picking on their fave" or something.

There’s such a common mentality and assertion in Pagan spaces that terminology essentially means nothing, and that we can just make up the meanings as we go; that we can decide that long established terms mean different things based on our own traditions and whims, because nothing really has “an established definition”. But things do, actually, and we can’t- at least to an extent.

Words are always coined or initially adopted by communities with specific meanings in mind for a reason. And language changes and adapts over time, yes- but that adaptation and change still follows certain linguistic rules in its shift, even if we’re not aware of them ... This very often means you can’t just randomly decide on a whim one day that a term which has meant something for decades (or even centuries) within a community suddenly means the opposite and everyone must take it at face value and listen to you and accept it.

And in that regard, Cleansing and Purifying are two very different concepts.

⥤ To cleanse is to remove the equivalent of spiritual and metaphysical dirt. The “yuck” of sorts which accumulates while simply existing in, and moving through, life; this “yuck” or “dirt” sticks to us and bogs us down. It makes us feel bad spiritually and metaphysically, and can make it difficult to connect to the Spirits / Divine or practice our craft, and so on. Thus, to make us feel better and increase our ability, it needs to be “cleansed” or removed.

Cleansing is similar to actually physically cleaning your house in a sense, then, if you were to put it into an analogy. They both serve the same purpose, actually- just on different levels (one physical, and one metaphysical) which compliment one another ... That much Oak Witch did at least get correct. But where they fail is that Cleansing versus Purifying is not just “doing a regular pickup versus a deep clean”; you can make it as simple or as ritualistic as you want, you can do a light cleanse or a deep cleanse, but a Cleansing is still a Cleansing unless you intentionally add additional elements.

⥤ Purification, on the other hand, is a different act entirely. It’s the ritual / ceremonial act of removing any spiritual or metaphysical taint- the definition of which ultimately differs according to your tradition and what they consider such taints; it could be the “stain” of any moral or ethical transgressions you’ve committed according to their doctrine ... It could be something deeper than that ... Or, yes, it could be as simple as that “dirt” we were speaking about in regards to Cleansing. But regardless of what you’re removing? Its purpose isn’t just to “clean” ... It’s to remove all that which makes something unfit to be in the presence of the Spirits / Divine- or unfit to be used in rituals associated with them.

In other words, Purification makes something spiritually pure and befitting of the Spirits / Divine in some regard. It is less related to cleansing than it is related to the act of Consecration- though all three frequently go hand in hand (more on that later) ... Meaning the correct equivalency isn’t something like cleaning your house. It would be something more like participating in the Jewish Mikvah ritual- though there is no real perfect 1:1 analogy in Paganism and related tradition (Ritual baths, however are often the most common types of Purification rituals across most traditions and so are a decent analogy in general).

The focus on Space in her video is also a bit weird- although that’s a fairly common thing these days. But it’s not just a Space thing. Cleansing, Purification, Banishment, and even Consecration are also a Body thing, and an Item thing; anything can be cleansed / purified / consecrated / have something banished from it (and she does eventually go on to mention People and Items, but it’s still largely focused on Spatial cleansing) ... In fact, most things should be cleansed, actually- though cleansing everything constantly isn’t as necessary as it’s made out to be.

Frankly cleansing all the time can actively stunt your ability to connect to the world, items, spaces, etc, around you, and their natural energies, over time- especially if you’re always doing deep cleansings like is often recommended. So it’s something you shouldn’t just “do whenever you feel like it”. It’s something you should actively learn how to utilize properly, and understand when the proper time to utilize even is to begin with. You should also understand when “light” vs “deep” are even necessary-because you don’t always need a Deep Cleanse, either.

All of them- cleansing, purification, banishing, and consecration- are, really. This is a part of our “foundations” of learning for a reason.

You can do one after another, mind you. You can also combine the processes and do them at the same time, too. And this is ultimately where the misconception that they’re the same thing and can be used interchangeably likely comes from, I think. Because most of the Elder practices used to use a tripartite process wherein things like tools or spaces where Cleansed, then Purified, and then Consecrated in the names of the Divine- or combined them into a single action- as part of preparing before ritual ... But they’re still not the same thing at all; one is not just “a deeper version of the other”.

It is not “an argument of semantics”. And we really must start acknowledging that our terminology as a broader community is not as interchangeable as we constantly insist it is; that it does have dedicated meaning and usage that distinguishes it.