5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
or Psalm 141:1–2:
1 Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
SWEEPING THE BODY
The body and spirit are just like the home: it gets cluttered from time to time with general negativity, and “bad wind” can get caught in the spirit from arguing and family feuds, stress, worrisome thoughts, witchcraft, and so on. Sweeping the body agitates these, much like brushing your teeth agitates the bacteria in your mouth. When done on a regular basis, it changes the environment and makes it inhospitable for these spiritual germs. Sweeping can also act in not only a purgative manner, but a protective one as well by removing haint attachments, tricks, and crossings. It chases them away.
Sweeping the body for cleansing should be done weekly. Sweeping doesn't have the same precautions as a cleansing bath, because you're essentially dusting your spirit, and if done regularly, a simple dusting will help in most cases.
Egg Sweeping
One of the first examples of sweeping I ever heard of or saw was done with an egg by Papaw Trivett. He would use an egg to take out illness and even a fever; with the latter, the egg was sometimes hard-boiled by the time he finished.
Through a large influx of Latinx populations into Appalachia between 1950 and 1990, there has been an interchange in recipes and remedies for health and wellness, both physically and spiritually. This likely also contributed to the strong beliefs behind the use of common Catholic saints here, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Jude, both patrons of the poor and those in dire situations.
In Mexico, an egg cleansing is one of many methods known altogether as a limpia, which literally means “cleaning” or “cleansing.” The egg acts like a vacuum, sucking up everything bad from the body and spirit such as disease, heartbreak, grief, fear, curses, and so on. I never learned where Papaw had learned of using the egg, but he did own his own contracting company and employed a lot of Mexican folks, so I suspect he may have heard of it from one of them. Aside from this, there are plenty of records showing that eggs have been used in magico-medical means for healing a variety of things, whether it was taking an egg laid on Good Friday and rubbing it on a boil for a cure, placing the white of an egg on sore eyes, or laying an egg on the chest or beneath the Adam's apple to prevent vomiting. These remedies hold a spiritual element still, one that is uniquely Appalachian, at least going back a few generations.
EGG CLEANSING
You will need:
White taper candle
3 eggs at room temperature (preferably local and/or organic)
“Holy” water (creek or spring) over which Psalm 23 has been prayed three times daily for seven days (see page 66)
A clear glass of spring water (not tap water)
Egg cleansings are generally performed on other people, but they may be done solo as well. If you are performing the cleansing on someone else, have the person lay down on the floor, or on a bed or couch. Light your candle while praying Psalm 86:
1 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
Wash the egg in the holy water and let it cool to room temperature. Once the egg is ready, hold it in your dominant hand about 6 inches above the person. Begin by passing the egg in a cross pattern over the head, chest, and feet. To make the cross, start at the top position of the envisioned cross and go down, then go up, to the right, then to the left. This is blessing and preparing the person for the cleansing. While making each cross, I often pray:
Three crosses I make and I beg they do help us, two for the thieves and one for Christ Jesus.
Once the crosses are made, pass the egg slowly from head to toe three or seven times while praying the Lord's Prayer (see page 86). This is done for the front, sides, and back of the person, passing three times over each. If you're doing this on yourself, try to cover as much area as you can with passing. Always go from head to toe, never back and forth. Some folks like to pass the egg in counterclockwise circles while going from head to toe.
Once done, crack the egg into the glass of spring water and place the eggshell on a plate. Make the sign of the cross over the glass in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and let the yolk sit for about thirty minutes. The resulting formations will show if more cleansing is needed and what or who was the cause.
