Let the new moon wipe it away.

I’ve been taking inventory. Thinking of stuff I want to change (well, mostly get rid of) with next week’s new moon.

I have times where I feel like I’m wearing memories like a lead apron. Protective in some ways, perhaps, but ultimately smothering, uncomfortable, and heavy. We don’t yet have ways to erase them, à la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but man do I wish we did.

Sometimes, it almost feels like physically they have hooks in me. Nasty, twisting wires that seem to pull on my limbs, as if some invisible hand were trying to turn me into a marionette. It’s times like this that I can really see the tremendous value in cord cutting.

To that end, here’s a simple ritual for cutting unwanted connections and starting this moon cycle with a clean slate. I’ve written in the past about cord cutting to sever toxic familial ties, but this is a much more general practice that serves just as well as a kind of energy cleanse.

The Tools

• A dull knife or knife-shaped object. I have a bone ceremonial knife, but a butter knife, rubber knife, or even a knife shape cut from cardboard will work. The important thing is that it does not have a sharp or serrated edge.
• A candle. I typically use unaltered beeswax candles (hey, if it’s good enough for the bees, it’s good enough for me), but you can choose whatever wax or color feels correct to you. I’d suggest white (as a neutral color), black (as a neutralizing color), or red (as a strengthening color), myself.

That’s it!

The Process

Like I said, this is a very simple ritual.

Take a moment to take an inventory of yourself. Feel your physical body. If you can’t relax, that’s okay. Feel where tension, pressure, or “stuck” feelings seem to reside. Feel where you store stress.

Now consider your energetic body or aura. Feel out any inconsistencies. Are there any energetic cords or tethers?

Take the representation of the knife. Hold it an inch or so above your skin, parallel. Pass it over your entire body, as if you were shaving your aura. Picture this knife paring away whatever unwanted connections you may have.

As you do this, tell these connections goodbye. Affirm that your dealings with them are complete — they are severed from you and you are no longer connected. Continue this until you feel like you’ve removed all of the unwanted energies or tethers that you can.

Next, wipe the knife on the candle. Whatever energetic residue remains, just wipe it off on the wax. If the candle is in glass, wipe the knife off over the wick portion. Dust your hands off over it, too, for good measure. Anything that’s left that you don’t want, send it into the wax and wick.

Now, light the candle. Picture that energetic residue burning up like dust. There is nothing more for you to worry about, nothing more for you to do. The connections are cut, the slate is clean. You are free.

Allow the candle to burn completely if you wish, or snuff it. When you discard it, you can do so far from your home if you wish. It doesn’t require any special ceremony, as its job is finished — it has burned away the remains of the energy and connections that you don’t want. The less acknowledgement you give these things, the better.

If you use a cardboard representation of a knife, you can even burn that and scatter the ashes, too. Otherwise, just clean and cleanse your knife very well.

If you have any shielding or restorative meditative practices, now is a good time to do them. Removing these unwanted connections frees up energetic space, and it’s a good idea to either protect that space or have something good in mind to fill it up with.

Here’s hoping for a happy, refreshed moon cycle for everyone!