Burn Ritual

Today, as I write this, the moon is in it’s last quarter, and I read a post from @SpiritDaughter, whom I am not only following, but also doing a year long study of the moon cycles with.

I loved what she said, (and I paraphrase a bit here…)

Harness last quarter moon energy

“Last quarters are a potent time to let go of energies you need to release before the new moon.”

She also shared this…. “the moon is still in Leo, and we can harness that fire of Leo to burn away fears, blocks and self doubt that we may be holding. Those things that prevent us from showing up fully for ourselves.”

The last quarter moon in Leo…

“This is a powerful moon for a burning ritual.”

So, here was the process…..

Write down anything you are leaving behind this lunar cycle - habits, behaviours, old beliefs etc.

If you are like me, figuring out what this might mean exactly can feel daunting, or even overwhelming - “where do I even begin?”

I find using one of my messenger decks a great place to start me on my path and give me some direction for my flitting thoughts.

Sit in stillness for a few minutes just breathing and asking what your spirit wants to highlight for you today to contemplate. When you are ready, shuffle and cut the deck, being open to what comes up without judgement. (you can also spread the deck out in front of you to pick)

When you are ready pull your cards and lay them in front of you. I like to do three, but you can just pull one as well.

My picks today were

Cougar - Leadership /Rabbit- Fears /Hummingbird - Joy

I took some time, journaling about all 3, and then decided to head to the forest for a walk with my dogs and let it percolate, before creating my burn item.

Things became more clear to me in the forest, and I felt drawn to collect things to include in my burn ritual. Peeling bark is one of my favourite items to use, because if can be used to write on, and it is a great fire starter too.

When I got back to the house, I sat down with a paper and began to write.

I started with a heart in centre with “Joy” written there, and then began to just expand. How can I experience more joy? Well, I needed to release some things to allow my heart to open. Old beliefs about myself, others, Life, Resentments, Fears… I just let it start to flow, and then added colours and connections. It became a process of creating. It became a process of sitting with all my fears, beliefs, and resentments with curiosity. Only when I was done, did I realize that I had made all those things concrete through the process of creating, and all those etherial thoughts were now real, and I could have something real in the physical world to burn away to ash, and in doing so, allow those energies to transform within me as well.

I chose to further embellish the gift of the burn with more found items in nature, to create a thing of beauty out of my fears, resentments and outdated beliefs that were no longer true, and realized that already through this process, I was beginning to feel more joy in my heart.

As I took to the circle of trees to burn my bundle and my release creation, I had a smile upon my face, and as I lit my bundle I said my releases outloud, and felt a little lighter as I watched it burn and away and transform into ash to become food for the forest in Spring.

So through this ceremony work, I realized that Rabbit energy made me look at my fears, and where they stem from. Hummingbird energy made me look at ways I create Joy and making space for more, and Cougar made me think of sharing the process as a way of leading others down a path that was helpful for me, and if you choose to follow, perhaps it will be effective for you too.

I hope you enjoy creating your own journey of a Burn Ritual, and let go of any notions of “Doing it Right”. Let it flow and be whatever it wants to be, without judging what you are creating, and just let it be a process of letting go of whatever comes up. You can create a safe burn in the snow outside if you have a place to do so, in a fireplace, or even just in a metal bowl or urn. (open a window slightly if doing this inside to let out the smoke out into the universe)

You have the ability to transform any energy & become who you always have wanted to be. Let this energy of this quarter moon in Leo be that catalyst to help you through it