Rite of Letting Go
by Raven Kaldera
When a loved one passes on and you cannot seem to forget them, you must remember that your obsessing, after a time, may be holding them here and not letting them properly move on. To ask Hela to take this bond of love and pain from both of you, you need the following items:
-A black candle.
-A white candle.
-The name of the person to whom you are bound, written on a tiny piece of paper.
-A bit of thistledown – we suggest that you collect it in the summer and keep it in a plastic bag until it might be needed.
-A tiny feather from a bird.
-A single hair from your head.
On the dark of the Moon, kneel in a darkened and empty room, in the dust on the floor. Set up your two candles and light the black one. Imagine the one to whom you are bound, vibrant and living as they once were when you stood beside them. Speak the words:
Hela of the beautiful face,
Hair like liquid midnight,
Hair like flaxen spun,
Eye of misty silver,
Hand of gentle touch,
You held out your hand to __name___,
And he (she) walked away with you
To your realm of peace,
And peace is what I ask.
Take the tiny piece of paper, and say,
By such small things am I bound.
I give you a name spoken in love as your offering;
Give me my own name back in return.
Break these bonds and set us both free.
Then burn the paper to ash in the candle flame. Take the bit of thistledown, and say,
By such small things am I bound.
I give you the lightness I felt when we were together as your offering;
Give me lightness when I think of him(her) in return.
Break these bonds and set us both free.
Burn the thistledown in the candle flame. Take the tiny feather, and say,
By such small things am I bound.
I give you the wings of my joy in him (her) as your offering;
Give me joy in solitude in return.
Break these bonds and set us both free.
Burn the little feather in the candle flame. Take the single hair and say,
By such small things am I bound.
I give you my own past as your offering;
Give me back my future in return.
Break these bonds and set us both free.
Burn the hair in the candle flame. Then light the white candle and say:
Hela of the Skeletal Hand,
The grinning ivory skull,
The scent of rotting flesh,
The jeweled track of carrion beetles,
The hollow darkness instead of eye,
The click of bony fingers,
You hold out your hand to me
That I might come to accept Death.
Care for him (her) in your realm of peace,
Cut this bond from my heart,
And let me heal and walk away.
Blow out the black candle. Sit and stare at the white candle for a time, visualizing your loved one walking away with Hela, not looking back, intent on wherever they are going. Watch them walk away into the distance until they disappear. Then blow out the white candle, sit in the darkness a while longer, and then get up and go back to your life. It would be best if you could sleep, but if you cannot, go be with people and let them distract you. When you rise in the morning, it will be done.
