Cutting Cords

We live in a sometimes dangerous and often challenging world. If you are drawn to magic, it is likely that you are a sensitive soul – perhaps an empath or an intuitive. You know that there is something more – you believe it or you have witnessed it – and you want to explore the mysteries of what this might be.

But as you become more magical, you also become more aware and more aware. Even the most sensitive of souls, once immersed in magical workings and the mystic arts, find their sensibilities and intuition heightened. This often leads to what I call a “raw nerve” feeling that you are exposed to too much – too much danger, too much conflict, too much negative energy from others. On one hand, you always have been vulnerable - that’s the price of being a sensitive human being living on Earth. On the other hand, you are more aware of it and you may even invoke or invite in energy through your work if you don’t know how to protect yourself.

This blog is about protection. How we do it, why we do it, and what are the most practical ways to accomplish it.

There are many different rites of protection that people will choose based upon their particular magic or meditational practice. Just like with any hexing spells, I would caution you to use protection spells sparingly and for the right reasons. Don’t use them to push the world away. Use them to encourage the best of the world to share your life with and to weed out anything toxic and unhealthy.

We start by understanding what it is we want protection for. Is it an unhealthy person or even a dangerous person influencing us, or people we love? Is it our own addictions and bad behaviors? Is it a particular sensitivity to energies that feel wrong? Because depending on how much protection you need, you may choose certain spells and rituals that are more effective for you.

Then, ask yourself: what or whom can protect me from this? What do you believe in? Do you believe in God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, the Buddha, Allah, Gaia, the archangels, your spirit guides, your ancestors? What do you want to invoke to aid in your protection?

Once you know these two answers – what you seek protection from, and whom you are seeking aid and support from - you can begin to craft a spell of protection that meets your needs.

I’ve talked about using black volcanic salt around doorways and windows. That’s simply a personal preference rooted in the fact that as a single woman, I don’t always feel completely secure in my home environment. But I use Earth Energy with the salt so that by doing that ritual, I feel MORE at home in the world and my own little space.

Today I want to focus on a few rites of protection that will help you feel more empowered in your world. The first is that of Cutting Cords.

Cutting Cords is the act of separating yourself from energies and people that you are currently connected to. It’s not an easy snip of the scissors – this is a situation in which you will have a lot of emotions and a lot of history – but when you recognize that family or friends or employers and other are significantly unhealthy for you to be around, that’s when you may choose to use the rite of Cutting Cords to permanently end that relationship. You can also cut cords with your own bad habits and addictions, by the way, it’s not just for people.

Another reason why you may choose this particular ritual is if you have been the victim of crime or abuse. It can be an effective way to separate yourself from the incident and empower yourself as a survivor, one who has moved past what happened even if you still remember it and even if you still must deal with the implications of it.

How to Cut Cords: You can etherically remove any cord that you sense connecting you to people, situations, and behaviors that are unhealthy for you. It helps to call in an invoking spirit – the Divine Source, or your personal angels or even ancestors. White candles are great at invoking higher spirits and guides and creating purity around your intention.

People have vibration and energy. Sometimes the people you are connected with just have the wrong energy for you, the kind that bristles your own and makes you feel unproductive or unhealthy. It’s okay to release them by cutting cords. It does not always mean that you end your relationship with them, sometimes it’s just separating from the unhealthy parts.

Take a white ribbon as one example – a wide banded one. Write down the name of the person or situation or behavior that you wish to separate from. Grab a pair of scissors and invoke the name of whomever you feel can best aid in your efforts – God or your spirit guide or your late grandfather or an historical figure that experienced something similar. Ask for their guidance and their support and cut the cord.

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is one of the best known rites of protection in magic. It is used in the Western Mystery Tradition and others, to rid the magician of any unwanted energies, and to begin and end most ritual acts. But it is much more than that. It is how the magician or magi identifies themselves to their Higher Divine Genius and to the Divine Source and it enlightens (that refinement of the senses) their abilities.

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP) begins with the Qabalistic Cross. You then draw the pentagram (the five sided star) in each of the four directions: East South West North followed each by a thrusting motion (mimicking the piercing of the veil) and the intonation of one of the secret names of God (YHVH to the East, ADONAI to the South, EH HE EI to the West, AGLA to the North). Once you have completed all four pentagrams and directions, you then call in the four archangels associated with each: Rafael (East) Gabriel (West) Michael (South) and Auriel (North). As you do so, you imagine a figure clad in the colors of each archangel (Yellow and Purple/Rafael, Blue and Orange/Gabriel, Red and Green/Michael, and Citrine, Olive, Russet and Black/Auriel) and as you intone their holy names, you imagine each of them holding up the Tarot symbol they are associated with. Rafael holds a sword which he raises and cuts through the air. Gabriel holds a cup or a seashell which he raises to his crown as it fills with water. Michael holds a wand and as he lifts it, the top of wand becomes lit with flame. And Auriel holds a Pentacle and flower petals fly around him.

We then stand facing East and say “For about me flames the Pentagram and in the column shines the Six Rayed Star”

We end the LBRP with again the Qabalistic Cross. Many of our rituals will be available here for viewing.

We draw the Pentagrams and they are the ones who do the Banishing. We see them glowing in bright white light as we trace them with our finger. As you become more accustomed to this ritual, you may use a crystal point instead of your finger throughout.

 Anytime you feel like you need to call in the archangels, you may choose to use LBRP in your practice. Again, it is intended as the beginning and the ending of any formal ritual practice so you actually would do it twice. You could also do LBRP at the beginning of your ritual work and just the Qabalistic cross at the end.

Banishing Rituals such as LBRP are not about cutting ties with people in your life or even your own bad behaviors. They are to keep negative energies from tampering with your own energy and light work. You don’t banish family (although you might wish to) you banish dark entities, unseen entities, and anything that detracts from the light.

Other banishing rituals including freezing, where you either write the name or word associated with negative energy, place it in a bag, pour water in and put it in your freezer. That effectively stills that person. It does not bring harm to them. Freezing rituals and similar rites are less powerful than LBRP or other banishing rituals. They are intended for people and specifically for words. They silence anyone speaking harm to you, to themselves and to others. The only time it is acceptable to do magic on someone else without their permission is to protect them from harming themselves and others. Freezing is one such method.

Other rituals of protection include smudging (cleansing the air energetically), salt (purifying and detoxifying), using sigils and symbols (draw one that feels especially empowering to you and place it where you can see it during any acts that ask for negative energy to be released), candle work (make a wish of protection as you light a candle, invoke the divine name you wish to assist you, and let the candle burn – in a safe place of course like a bowl of water – until the candle is naturally extinguished). White candles are again divine symbols of grace, but black candles represent the darkness. You can burn a white candle to call in an angel or ancestor, but you can also use a black candle to draw into it the negative and toxic energies of those you wish to protect yourself from.

People still place garlic wreaths in their home for protection, and new homeowners will bless their houses with offerings of bread and honey and saltwater. These are all simple protection spells. You decide what works best for you.

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