Rite for Parting Ways

Maintaining a healthy balance in your friendships is essential. Occasionally, a friendship takes on an unhealthy aspect and there is no choice but to leave it behind. Ideally you will perform this rite after you have discussed it with this person. It will be mutually healing if it takes place with both parties present. But as often as not, you will perform it alone. You will need a black candle for protection, a gray candle to help you keep a low profile, and frankincense incense. You will also need a sharp knife and a length of cord three feet long. Light the incense, and holding your right hand aloft, say:

    May the place this night

    be consecrated before the spirits of earth,

    air, fire, and water,

    For we gather here to perform a peaceful

    parting of the ways.

    You and your former friend each light a candle.

    (former friend’s name) and (your name)

    stand here today to let love and no rancor fill their hearts 

    as they move separately through life.

    Blessings to all and blessed be.

If you are so fortunate as to have the other person present, he or she repeats the above verse. Each of you takes the knife in turn and cuts the cord, representing the ties that bind you together as friends. If you are performing this ritual alone, get a photo of the other person and place it in the area where you are crafting your spell.

This is one of the more difficult rituals to perform but invaluable nevertheless. I have noticed that when one person exits my life, especially for good and valid reasons, somebody new and wonderful comes in

The Vision Quest

While the term “vision quest” comes from Native American teachings, it is really the passage of the personal journey. No matter what your spiritual orientation is, for true personal development, it is essential to do the inner work. You must explore yourself deeply and discover what is important to you, sense where you need to go, and set your spiritual goals. At the end of the day and at the end of your life, it will not matter how many houses or cars you have; what really matters is what kind of person you were and how you treated others. Was the work of your life soul work? Did you express yourself creatively? Did you take care of your family? Did you help others?

Look inside; face these questions. Can you answer them satisfactorily? By doing so you will be able to determine and change the future course of events. A vision quest is an essential step in a life well lived, a life full of soul work, a life hard but ultimately joyful.

This ritual, performed in keeping with the Native American tradition, is a rite of passage requiring courage and fortitude. At the end, you will most certainly know who you are! Going into the wilderness by yourself with no food, water, or other creature comforts to do nothing but pray certainly forces you to face your inner self. The purpose of the vision quest is to receive a vision. Not everyone succeeds. Some people are too frightened, hungry, and cold to continue. Others experience an altered reality or deep visions due to sensory deprivation and the extreme physicality of the vision quest. 

Witch Hazel Wisdom

Witch hazel is an excellent and inexpensive astringent and antiseptic to always keep on hand. Topical uses for witch hazel include cleaning cuts, reducing skin inflammations and abrasions, sunburns, insect bites, bruising, poison oak and ivy, diaper rash, eczema, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids.

Preparations of witch hazel from the pharmacy generally contain isopropyl alcohol, so make sure you only use it externally, as it is poisonous to ingest. Make cold compresses with witch hazel for painful hemorrhoids, varicose veins, or other skin inflammation and bruises. Take a witch hazel tincture, add fifteen drops to a small bowl of warm water, immerse a clean soft washcloth in the solution, and leave it soaking for five minutes. Wring out the washcloth and lay it on the affected area.

As an astringent, witch hazel works well for drying sores, diaper rash, and poison oak and ivy. Use witch hazel tincture (five drops to eight ounces water) if you want to avoid the isopropyl alcohol.

The Herbalist’s Astrological Almanac—Plant Healing Wisdom

Plants carry potent energy you can use to amplify your magical workings. Use the signs of the sun, moon, and stars to your advantage and, over time, you will come to know which ones are most effective for you. Make sure to use your own astrological chart in working with these herbs. Here is a guide to the astrological associations of plants you may grow in your kitchen garden or keep dried in your pantry:

• Aries, ruled by Mars: carnation, cedar, clove, cumin, fennel, juniper, peppermint, and pine
• Taurus, ruled by Venus: apple, daisy, lilac, magnolia, oak moss, orchid, plumeria, rose, thyme, tonka bean, vanilla, and violet
• Gemini, ruled by Mercury: almond, bergamot, mint, clover, dill, lavender, lemongrass, lily, and parsley
• Cancer, ruled by the moon: eucalyptus, gardenia, jasmine, lemon, lotus, rose, myrrh, and sandalwood
• Leo, ruled by the Sun: acacia, cinnamon, heliotrope, nutmeg, orange, and rosemary
• Virgo, ruled by Mercury: almond, cypress, bergamot, mint, mace, moss, thyme, and patchouli
• Libra, ruled by Venus: catnip, marjoram, mugwort, spearmint, sweet pea, thyme, and vanilla
• Scorpio, ruled by Pluto: allspice, basil, cumin, galangal, and ginger
• Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter: anise, cedarwood, sassafras, star anise, and honeysuckle
• Capricorn, ruled by Saturn: lemon thyme, mimosa, vervain, and vetiver
• Aquarius, ruled by Uranus: gum, citron, cypress, lavender, spearmint, and pine
• Pisces, ruled by Neptune: clover, orris, neroli, sarsaparilla, and sweet pea

For the ingredients above not found in your kitchen or garden, try your local health food market, herbalist, or metaphysical store; for those that are really hard to find, consider looking at these types of mail-order outlets online.