Pet Peeve: "Cut And Clear"

I have been itching to write about this for quite some time. All over the internet hoodoo community, people are obsessed with various types of lemon-based lines of products called "Cut And Clear", taken from a certain marketer's original name for their line. The formulas all follow the same basic concept: using lemon as a spiritual cleanser. There's nothing wrong with that part, lemon is fantastic for cleaning up all kinds of messes. The part that I have a problem with is that people are being taught you can "cut" with this formula.

Let me say it loud and clear: IN CONJURE, CLEANSING IS CLEANSING AND CUTTING IS CUTTING. You might be about to argue with me that the "cutting" part is just a figure of speech, like when you "cut" or sever ties with someone. This is not so in conjure, where the concept of "cutting" is becoming erased because it's not something marketers can make an oil/sachet/powder/incense/bath out of and sell for a huge profit. In conjure, we literally use sharp objects (knives, axes, hatchets, scissors) to CUT away illness, pain, evil attachments, etc. If someone is sick in bed, you would place the sharp object under the bed to cut away the sickness. If a woman is in labor, you would place the sharp object under the delivery bed to cut her labor pains. To cut someone out of your life, you would literally cut all around you with a knife, praying to cut the ties between the two of you.

AFTER you have done your cutting, you can use all the lemony cleansing products your heart desires. The combination of cutting--totally breaking the hold of something--and then cleansing it away is incredibly effective. If you want to cleanse only, that's fine, but don't let others confuse and erase a very important conjure practice by calling cleansing "cutting".