Releasing The Past

New Moon ~ New Year

You know what’s not a witchcraft tradition? New year’s resolutions.

New Year’s resolutions imply improvement, betterment, growth, all things that go hand in hand with witchcraft. I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling it this year. Can we just take a break from all the better, brighter, new and improved versions of ourselves that we think will somehow manifest a better world? Stick a fork in me I’m done.

Besides, the witch’s new year begins at Samhain, when we take those first steps into the darkest season of the wheel.

The time from Samhain to Imbolc marks the darkest quarter on the wheel’s turning,

Are we instructed at that time to make all sorts of new resolutions for a bigger and better year ahead? No, we are not. We are to spend the dark time looking back, contemplating what transpired in our practice. Which of our chosen paths led to satisfaction and which took us to places not intended? Where might we have done things differently? Where might we do things just the same, regardless of the outcome? In this way we learn our own true nature, and where our power lies.

We might celebrate the return of the light at Yule, but we are yet enveloped in the greater dark. Imbolc is the time of promise for new growth to come. Right now, we still have weeks remaining to hold pause, while considering our options and opportunities going forward.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. So maybe it’s time for us to take an out with the old and in with a new approach to reaching a desired end. But who even knows what new approach?

I think it’s out with the old, time to put things on hold. Take a step back, a long view of the lay of the land.

In numerology, the year 2025 is reduced to the number 9. Nine is the ending of a full cycle, a time to look back at what has been learned and how to apply the lessons.

Image Source: Wikipedia

In tarot, nine corresponds to The Hermit, which makes sense as it marks the end of the Fool’s journey of discovery and the beginning of the inner journey. In traditional imagery the Hermit holds the lamp of knowledge, lighting the way for others. Yet, he appears to be high atop a mountain, far removed from the people and circumstances below; they may or may not look up from their scurrying and conquering to see the light. As for the hermit, he has removed himself, and is just watching, assessing as it were, where things are going from here and how it all pertains to his own journey.

That pretty much sums up my intention for this next year—wait and see.

What’s A Witch To Do?

In the Goddess mythology, the God has just been born at Yule. The Goddess spends winter in the underworld, in the dark with her infant. Think about that time of infancy in human life, a time when mother and child are cocooned in their own little world. Such bright potential shining in the twinkling eyes and inscrutable countenance of the newborn. Mother gazes down at her babe, wondering what will be. Also in the mythology, she has bid farewell to the Maiden, and now dons the mantle of Mother, holding forth the light of knowledge to share with her child as she raises him up.

I see these dark months in the wheel of the year, as a time of transition and releasing, much more than a time for making resolutions. It is a time of unpacking from the last journey, determining what to leave behind and what to carry forward, and resting before entering the unknown that lies ahead. It is a time for cleaning the slate, for being curious and open to what might come next, and a time of uncertainty in what the future will bring.

This certainly describes, for me, what’s happening at large. And this energy directly corresponds to tonight’s dark/new moon as well. We have an opportune time for a big releasing ritual.

After all, we must release what does not serve our purpose to make room for the new energy we want to invite to the table.

Releasing is on a lot of witch’s minds. Many of us are feeling burned by 2024. All over the interwebs I’m seeing the desire to kick the entire past year to the curb. This is an overreaction, and as they say, it’s not wise to throw the baby out with the bath water.

For Auld Lang Syne

The popular poem written by Robert Byrnes and later put to music is often sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. The title and first line of the chorus translate from Gaelic to mean for the sake of old times. It is an honorarium—a fond remembrance of good times that have been.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

(chorus)
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

This remembrance is how you should begin your releasing.

This evening, as the light in the sky gives over to darkness, take a quiet moment to recall your fond remembrances of the year. You might make yourself a cup of something warm to drink, light a candle and write in your journal about the good times this past year and how they relate (or not) to your craft and your future.

After some time reflecting on these, then think about what you wish to release, about what you can release—remembering that there is much we have no control over.

Mind over Matter

Is that which you desire to release purely energetic or is it physical matter?

You might think if you wish to release clutter, let go of any possessions, lose weight or even remove a person from your life, that you are releasing physical matter. Letting go of certain emotions, actions or habits, would then be releasing energies.

Not so. It’s all energy. It’s always all energy.

If you want to clear clutter, ask yourself how the clutter originates. Do you have more things than space allows or are you just unmotivated to put things away? In one case, the energy is your desire to have more. In the other, your disinterest in doing the work is the underlying energy.

Do you wish to quit smoking, drinking or some other unwanted habit? What you’re really aiming for is to release the energy (the craving) that binds you to these addictions.

Do a little detective work to uncover the energies that drive you.

Be Specific

Do you want to end a bad relationship, or do you wish to release only troublesome aspects of a relationship you value? Do you want to leave an unsatisfactory, soul sucking job, or simply eliminate aspects of a job you’d otherwise be happy with? You might want to be rid of a co-worker or a boss. If that’s unlikely, you could instead release the “bad” energy between you, specifically the ways in which you contribute to it.

The Releasing

When you’ve noted what you wish to release - jot down what you’ll replace the undesirable with, because the universe will fill the void if you don’t.

Are you releasing anger? Perhaps replace it with patience, a willingness to understand, or simply disengagement. If you wish to be rid of cravings, what energy is strong enough to thwart the cravings? You don’t have to be literal—you could conjure the energy of a fire breathing dragon to scorch your cravings whenever they arise.

The energy you release, and more so what you intend to replace it with, will be the foundation of your practice for the coming year—call it making resolutions if you must.

By journaling out what you wish to release, and the energy to best fill the void left behind, you’ve set an intention and put it in writing. For the ritual, you only need simple lists (not all the details).

For the ritual you will need ~

• Your list of the energies that no longer serve your purpose

• Your list of the energies you want to call in

• A white and a black candle (tea light or votive size works well for this)

• A fireproof surface such as a plate

• Salt