“Here Lies the Ashes of my Past” Ritual
This ritual as designed for me and one of my close fellow-witch friends. Moving on from the past can be hard, especially if you are clinging to mementos you have collected from it. This is intended to prompt you further on your journey after reaching a turning point when you feel you are ready to release your past. It took me a few years to get here. But I am glad it happened, no matter how long it took. I am finally able to see things so much clearer and optimistically. I hope this will also help those of you who struggle with similar issues.
What You’ll Need:
- Papers that hold some significance to your past (I am using poems I wrote during the time I am putting to rest. Diary entries, copies of Facebook posts, pictures, etc are all great)
- Any mementos that cannot be burned but can still be placed in the fire and then the urn)
- An “urn” (a jar, bottle, decorative vase, etc. will work. I suggest leaving your urn in sight, to remind yourself that the past is real, it existed. But it us dead, and the ashes prove it)
- Matches/lighter
- Candle (optional. You can use the lighter or matches without the candle)
- Outdoor space (do this ritual outside)
- Something to burn the papers in safely (grate, firepit, etc)
- Salt (for protection from your past, and to nullify its ability to grow back)
- Dried flower petals, herbs, etc (to represent the recognition of your past)
Place all of your materials outside. Place any mementos from your past that are not flammable in the container you are using to collect the ashes. Make sure these mementos will not cause any explosions, bursts of flame, etc. Fire safety is important!
If you’re using a candle, light that now. Begin burning the papers, and drop them into the container quickly after you light them. Before you light each piece, use this short chant:
I lay you to rest, spirit of my past.
Haunt me no more, end my peace’s fast.
Visualize the memories you have from the past, connected to each item, burning up in your mind. Let them be bathed in flame and eaten up by the cleansing heat of fire and death.
As the papers burn, watch the fire. How does the ash left behind feel to look at? Knowing that nothing remains in your life from this time, physically at least, observe the mementos being consumed.
Once the fires go out, let the ashes cool for at least half an hour, more if they are still not cool to the touch. Sweep them up once it is safe to do so, and place them in your urn. Do the same with the inflammable mementos.
Add salt, to nullify the past and its ability to grow. Salt hinders plant life, and likewise, it will protect you from these memories resurfacing as harshly.
Place the herbs and flowers of your choice into the urn, and close it in some way. Energetically and/or physically. It is sealed, and with it, so is the door to your past. You may feel empty afterwards, or scared to let go. But that’s okay. Releasing your grip on something you have held for so long is more than difficult. Know that you are stronger than you believe, and this ritual alone is one of the biggest affirmations you can speak to yourself and to the universe.
Here lies the ashes of your past.
