I have found this to be very effective. This rite appears in both Six Ways and Changeling. This is the Changeling version but they both work.
I say: If you can't commit to it for 21 days, do it for 7. It always takes a bit to start 'catching' imo, so doing it just once is not a very good experiment. 7 days, and you should get one that works/flows, where you can work up the ‘ritual mood’.
Notes on language:
Set-up
Ground & Centre
--
Speak
As you speak these words, let yourself feel them deep in your gut, deep in your blood, deep in your bones. You are what you say you are; you have done what you have said you would do.
I forgive myself my failures, no matter their nature, each and every one of them, past, present, and future.
(Repeat 3 times, with a slow breath in between)
I call back all of my power. All that I gave away, all that I discarded or lost. All that was taken from me, all that I abandoned for any reason, at any time. I call it all back, past, present and future.
(x3, slow breath in between)
Here and now, ever and always, as an avatar of the Ineffable, I bless myself. I give thanks to the powers that aid and guard me. I thank them for their help, their protection, and their infinite blessings, past, present and future.
(x3, slow breath in between)
--
After each segment:
(I originally wrote this out for a non-occultist so it's more handhold-y than most of you need, but the Practice section is clean)
Reclaiming Rite: Theory
Aidan Wachter says: Repeat daily for 21 days, then reflect whether it has helped in any way. If it has, you could choose to continue, or just keep it in your back pocket.I say: If you can't commit to it for 21 days, do it for 7. It always takes a bit to start 'catching' imo, so doing it just once is not a very good experiment. 7 days, and you should get one that works/flows, where you can work up the ‘ritual mood’.
Notes on language:
- Wachter says everyone always wants to amend a section (usually they want to cut out the self-forgiveness). He says: Don’t do this. They’re all key segments that are in there for a reason.
- In the third paragraph, it says “as an avatar of the Ineffable, I bless myself”
I’ve left Wachter’s language as-is, although I don’t really connect with this phrase personally. “the Ineffable” is his word for God/Source/Divinity etc etc.
Taking pantheism as a given, the logic is this: Divinity is in everything – all matter is inherently divine. You are made of matter, so this includes you. Therefore, being divine, you have the authority to give blessings. It’s like, “by the power invested in me as an avatar of the Ineffable, I now pronounce myself blessed.”
You could replace it with anything that means roughly the same thing, scaling up or down depending on your comfort level – “as an aspect of the divine”, “as a being made of divine matter”, “as part of God”, or even just “as God”. Or any other synonyms you like.
- Repetition of “past, present and future” – Wachter has a thing about the Norns, the three weavers of fate. Past, present and future is a respectful acknowledgement of the three of them. Time being apparently an illusion, and us actually being in idk a web rather than a linear path from past to present, he thinks you leave power and parts of yourself and guilt in past memories and in worries of the future, and so saying ‘past, present and future’ is casting the intentions in all directions in time, to untangle and smooth (you don’t change the past, but you can change the effect the past has on the pattern of your life)
- “Repeat three times” – say it three times in total. Not four.
- My speculation: So Aidan Wachter calls what he does “dirt sorcery”. It’s something like animistic chaos magic, with a pretty relaxed, grounded vibe. However, I’ve realised that it’s actually modelled on trad ceremonial magic more closely than it seems at first. And I am pretty sure the part of Ceremonial Magic this is replacing is Confession. Medieval/Solomonic magicians always went to Mass and Confession before rituals, and I reckon he’s tried to deconstruct what that would have done for Christian magicians back in the day - eg getting rid of shame, sense of external support, being blessed - and rebuilt it from ground up to achieve the same effect. But this is just a theory I have.
Set-up
- Bowl of water (optional: with some flower petals or perfume sprayed onto surface), pretty bowl if you have one.
- Candle
- Mirror or photo of yourself (not optional, must have mirror or photo, can be on phone tho)
- Optional: Incense
Ground & Centre
- 3 breaths - big sighs. Release tension and relax muscles with each breath.
- If standing - dig toes into ground and feel rooted
If sitting - feel contact with earth and how it supports you, how steady and solid it is
--
Speak
As you speak these words, let yourself feel them deep in your gut, deep in your blood, deep in your bones. You are what you say you are; you have done what you have said you would do.
I forgive myself my failures, no matter their nature, each and every one of them, past, present, and future.
(Repeat 3 times, with a slow breath in between)
I call back all of my power. All that I gave away, all that I discarded or lost. All that was taken from me, all that I abandoned for any reason, at any time. I call it all back, past, present and future.
(x3, slow breath in between)
Here and now, ever and always, as an avatar of the Ineffable, I bless myself. I give thanks to the powers that aid and guard me. I thank them for their help, their protection, and their infinite blessings, past, present and future.
(x3, slow breath in between)
--
After each segment:
- Pass your hand through the incense, feel the warmth of the flame.
- Anoint yourself with the water:
- forehead
- crown of the head
- nape of the neck
- throat
- heart
Post automatically merged:
(I originally wrote this out for a non-occultist so it's more handhold-y than most of you need, but the Practice section is clean)
