Burn It with Fire: a Ritual Purge

Can I just say, it feels really good to call myself a witch.

For so many years, I have been hanging out with at least a few toes in the “Broom Closet.” This video captures the very first time I refer to myself as a witch in any public forum ever, and it felt SO GOOD. Why? Because I’m finally being open about who I am and the spirituality that sustains me day to day. It’s a huge part of me, and I’m just recognizing that now. Wow.

You know what else has be going through my head for the pat few weeks?

Burn everything you own and move to the Northwest. That’s right. Just burn it. Burn it all with fire.

Now… this sounds pretty drastic and irrational, but really, let’s think about this for a moment. In fact, let’s even engage the rational mind, shall we? How rational is it to stay where you are, miserable to the core, piled in stuff from twenty years ago that you neither use nor view in any way for 5 to 10 years at a time, and every time you move to a new dwelling, you schlep all this stuff with you. Literally, it’s just an analogue backup for my memory…memories I might not even want to identify with anymore.

How in the name of Gaia is that rational? It’s not. It’s about as rational as American Politics, Patriarchy, Capitalism, and breakfast cereal with crunchy marshmallows.

I choose not to ignore these big feelings. I don’t up and rush into things, of course. I take a breath, I do a tarot reading, I reflect, I pray, I meditate over it. I phone an intuitive friend and get her perspective. I call my mom (even though I know the first thing she’ll tell me is to calm down and think about it).

But ultimately, when we get the urge to destroy it all, there’s a good chance it’s time to deep clean whatever it is that aggravating you. It could be things, it could be friends, it could be a few extra pounds.

As I move through this Ritual Purge, I challenge you to ask yourself, what is holding me back from the next level of growth? You can’t take it all with you where you’re going. If you don’t clear out some space, you can’t receive anything new, because there’s no room for it.

Follow me on Instagram  and tell me your thoughts.  Do you participate in ritual cleaning during sabbaths or solstices?  What is the next level you want to take yourself to, and what’s holding you back?

Do you have the courage to watch it burn? I’ll be testing my mettle on that soon enough.

Peace, Beloveds. -Sage