Cord Cutting a Ritual for Letting Go

What are you holding onto right now that you’re afraid to let go of? Is it a career that you thought was your life’s calling, something hurtful someone said to you, a relationship gone south, or your lack of control over a situation?

If you haven’t already been faced with one of these “letting go” hurdles, it’s likely you will at some point. The need to let go comes in all shapes and sizes throughout life and might be some of the hardest tasks you’ll face.

Why is it important to let go?

Holding on can take up a lot of unnecessary headspaces, leaving you anywhere but in the present moment. When you’re afraid to let go, it’s usually your ego that’s in control, and no one wants that! Refusing to let go means you’re also refusing to trust that you’ll be taken care of and that the universe does have a plan for you.

This week I’m breaking out my favorite ways to help you let go of whatever it is that’s holding you back from your highest potential. These rituals can be done on separate days or all together as one big ritual, your choice! Let’s get started.

Step 1: Burn Baby, Burn

Time to get out your candles and cauldron. The first step is to recognize what it is that you’re trying to let go of and become willing to work on it. A burning ritual can help make this decision more concrete for you.

You’ll need:

• Black and white candle. The white candle is for protective loving light and black candle is to help absorb negative energy, but any candle will work if you don’t have these colors available. Click here to learn more about candle magick.

• Pen and paper

• Cauldron or other fireproof vessels

• Optional: Frankincense EO or incense. Frankincense will help you center yourself and let go. I like using Plant Guru’s Meditation blend.

The best moon phase to perform this ritual is during a waning moon. Set aside some quiet time, and center yourself with as many deep breaths as you need to feel calm and present.

To get started, light both of your candles and incense, if you’re using it. Write what you need to let go of on a piece of paper. Light the paper with the flame of each candle and place it in your fireproof vessel. Watch and breathe as your paper burns, allow any feelings you have to come to the surface. This is also a great time to call upon any angels, deities, or energy you’d like to invite in to help you through this process.

When you feel like this part of the ritual is complete, thank any spiritual energies that you invited in and blow out your candles. You can leave this setup and the ashes of your burned paper out as long as you’d like as a reminder.

Step 2: Cord-Cutting Ceremony

This is my personal favorite ritual for letting go. I discovered it from The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky and is the suggested ritual when you receive the Lilith Goddess card.

You’ll need:

• String. Must be strong enough to be worn for a long period of time.

• Scissors

• Candles, incense, EO (optional and can be the same as above)

This ceremony should also be performed during a waning moon. it blends well into the first ritual and I recommend performing them in tandem, though they do not have to be. If you do start this ceremony separately from the above one, be sure to set aside time to quiet your mind and center yourself.

To begin this ritual, start by deciding where your cord should be tied on your body. You’ll want to tie the string somewhere that connects with what you’re letting go of. If what you’re letting go of has something to do with work and you use your hands you might decide to tie it around your wrist, if you’re walking away from something you could tie it around your ankle, if it has something to do with your creative center you could tie it around your belly.

As you tie your cord on your body say out loud what the cord represents and what it is you’re trying to let go of. Wear this cord for the rest of the moon cycle, or longer if you feel it is necessary, as a reminder of your commitment to let go. When you feel that you are ready to let go and cut the cord, prepare a quiet space to do so. Thank yourself for your commitment and willingness to be more present and let go.

Step 3: Visualize & Verbalize

During this process, you may find that your desire to hold on becomes even stronger. It’s normal and is usually your ego screaming at you to stay in control! Here are some tools to use to keep your ego in check through this process.

Voice and movement are powerful tools to reinforce your commitment to let go. Here are my favorite supportive tools to use:

• Woodchopper yoga pose with a loud “HA” exhale

• Lion’s pose

• Allow time to shake it out, dance it out, and/or yell it out

• Wear a reminder of your commitment to let go.

• Create a vision board of what your life would look like if you did let go, and place it somewhere you’ll see it regularly.

• Create a mantra about what you’re letting go of. Write it down somewhere and place it where you’ll see it regularly.

• Journal. Write out all of your fears associated with what you’re letting go of. I find that if I write out my fears and look at them, many of them are pretty silly and things I don’t have any control over in the first place.

• Above all, be gentle with yourself!

Letting go can be hard but I hope my offerings give you the tools you need to move forward in your healing journey. Sending you strength and peace through your process of letting go!

3 Powerful Crystal Healing Techniques

Looking for some summer-friendly healing uses for your crystal collection? If you’re like me and have designated crystals for your purse, car, bed, and altar you’ll love these three healing techniques so you can put all of your favorite gemstones to work.
Even if your crystal collection is small, some of these techniques only require one stone, so you’ll find something in here for you.

Summertime is a perfect time to dive into these techniques! Grab your favorite crystals, a fellow goddess, a blanket, and find a park to soak up good vibes from your crystals and Gaia.

Body Crystal Grid

Having some discontent in your gut, or a busy mind? This technique is perfect for working on specific parts of your body. Similar to creating a crystal grid on your altar that has a specific purpose, you can create a crystal grid with stones specifically for an area of your body.

Once you’ve chosen your desired stones and purpose for a body grid, have your goddess friend place them on your body in a place that coordinates with their purpose.

You can follow the same steps for creating a crystal grid on your body or on your altar, to learn more about creating a crystal grid check out this post I shared last year by clicking here.

A serious side note: I love my crystals but won’t let them substitute for necessary medical needs! Body crystal grids are the perfect additional support to medical care, but shouldn’t substitute expert medical advice. Please, love yourself, and be sure to see a trained professional of your choosing for serious ailments.

Chakra Balancing on the Body or in Your Bed

Feeling like you need an energetic overhaul? This is the place to start and my personal favorite use of crystals. Here are a couple of uses for restoring and balancing the energy of your chakras with crystals:

Suggested Stones for Chakra Balancing with Crystals

• Root: garnet or red jasper

• Sacral: carnelian or tiger eye

• Solar Plexus: citrine or yellow jasper

• Heart: green aventurine or rose quartz

• Throat: sodalite or turquoise

• Third Eye: amethyst or labradorite

• Crown: quartz or rainbow moonstone

Chakra Crystal Alignment on Your Body

Place the stone for each chakra in its coordinating location on the body. Starting at the top of your head, imagine the color for each chakra lighting up around the stone. Spend 3-5 breaths on each chakra as you imagine the colored light around them glowing.

This is also a great time to scan the chakras to see if any of your chakras are especially deficient and need any extra attention. If you come across a chakra that feels deficient you can create a special body crystal grid just for that chakra or wear a stone or amulet to remind you to bring energy to that specific chakra.

Chakra Crystal Alignment in Your Bed

Looking for a more passive way to bring balance to your chakras? I love the simplicity of this tool. Place one of the stones listed above for each chakra in its coordinating location in between your mattress and box spring. As you sleep let the stones work their magic and wake up restored and balanced!

Wearing a Programmed Crystal

This healing crystal technique is perfect for long-term goals or deeply rooted shifts you’re working on. Wearing a programmed crystal will give you a moment-to-moment reminder of the shifts you’re trying to make, and the energy of the crystal will help you maintain your goals.

I like to use point crystal necklaces for this purpose. I like them for programming because of their size, it’s just right for holding it in your hand when you want to soak up some good vibes from your programmed point crystal. I’ve been wearing a grounding green jasper with the programmed message to stay rooted and calm.

The point crystal in this picture is of an amethyst and would be perfect for programming anything that has to do with your third eye or honing psychic abilities.

To program a crystal follow these steps:

1. Cleanse your crystal (read more about cleansing and charging your crystals here)

2. Clear your mind.

3. Hold your crystal in your dominant hand or in both of your hands.

4. Mentally and verbally repeat your goal or intention into the crystal.

5. Do this until you feel the stone is programmed with your intention.

There’s more than one way to program a crystal, so if you’d like to change these steps, do it!

I hope you found some healing ideas you’re excited to try out! These techniques are the perfect excuse to grab your favorite soul sister and get out for a picnic with a side of crystal healing.

Protection Rituals for Travel

Getting away on an adventure is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but as much as we love it, traveling can be anxiety-inducing too. Setting intentions with rituals, symbolism, and crystals can be a powerful way to ground yourself before travel and offer a layer of protection.

There are so many uncontrollable situations when it comes to traveling, especially if you’re visiting a new place. I’ve got a list of rituals to offer peace and protection during any summertime travels you may have coming up! Read on to learn 4 protective tools for traveling.

Invoke Green Tara

Tara is an adored Buddhist Goddess that is portrayed in many colors, 21 to be exact, each with their own qualities. Green Tara, one of the more well-known of the 21, is your go-to Goddess for protection. She will help shield you from negative energy and soothe your fears and anxiety.

Invoke Green Tara’s protective energy by inviting her into your meditation, carrying around a card or image of her, or repeating her mantra, “Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha,” (Ah-um Tah-ray Too-tah-ray Too-ray So-hah).

Protective Crystal & Stones

There is a multitude of protective gemstones, but some are better for traveling. Here’s my list of favorite crystals to keep in my bag, on my rearview mirror, on my finger, or around my neck while traveling.

Tiger Eye

This stone has long been used as one of the most powerful stones for protection and warding off evil. My favorite part about this stone is that it can bring confidence and a sense of security when going through anxiety-provoking situations. Tiger eye is perfect for wearing to act as a protective shield during travel.

vYellow Jasper

This stone is specifically helpful for traveling, mentally and physically. It is protective like tiger eye, but it also connects with your solar plexus chakra. The solar plexus chakra often becomes drained during travel, and yellow jasper is ideal for keeping the energy of your solar plexus balanced and energized. Place yellow jasper on your solar plexus chakra (in between your belly button and heart center) to balance and restore your will and power center.

Smoky Quartz

This is your stone for grounding and protecting any valuables as you travel. Put a piece of smoky quartz in your suitcase or purse to help guard them. Between flying and projecting fears about the unknowns during travel it’s easy to throw your root chakra out of balance. If you’re feeling detached from Mother Earth place a couple of smoky quartz pieces in each hand pointing down and take several deep breaths to restore your root chakra.

Wear a Protective Hamsa Hand Amulet

If you prefer to keep your crystals in your luggage or purse wearing a Hamsa Hand is beautiful and powerful alternative. The Hamsa Hand is perfect for traveling because it is said to see all things and ward off evil for the wearer. Beyond protection, the Hamsa Hand is also good for bringing good fortune, blessings, and strength.

The Hamsa Hand has roots in many cultures so its meaning will vary from person to person. Some believe that each of the fingers represents an element, the combination of these elements is said to change the flow of energy within the body and offer healing.

Whatever your beliefs are about this symbol, they all come back to protection!

Protection Magic Charm Bag

Charm bags are one of the easiest magical tools and great for travel because they’re small, powerful, and easy to create. I travel often and like to tuck away a protective charm bag somewhere in my luggage. During my most recent trip back home, I drew a Hamsa Hand on my charm bag for an extra layer of protection and it made it look extra fun!

To create your magic charm bag, put any combination of the following ingredients into your choice of bag color. As you place the items in the charm bag imagine a white shielding light enveloping you and your luggage. This is a perfect time to invoke Green Tara too! Place your charm bag in a suitcase, on your rearview mirror, or in your purse as you travel.

• Bag color: black, blue, or yellow

• Stones: Any of the stones listed above!

• Earth: Pointed shell, black and white feather, pine, acorns, cinnamon

• Amulet or Symbol: Hamsa Hand, Eye of Horus

Now you have all the tools you need to travel with confidence that you’re protected mind, body and spirit. Wishing you a summer full of new and magical experiences!

5 Simple Steps to Get Started with Shadow Work

Intimidated by starting shadow work? Most of us have spent a lifetime hearing phrases like “be positive” and “look on the bright side,” so it’s no surprise that you might be a little freaked out about shadow work. While these sentiments are always shared in love, they can also cause us to repress trauma, difficult emotions, and thoughts we'd prefer to keep to ourselves. This constant repression will usually backfire, causing your fears and judgments to erupt out onto others later.

It’s no wonder most of us are hesitant to jump into shadow work. We’ve been told our whole lives to ignore it.

There are three fundamental steps to doing shadow work: to identify your shadow aspects, allow space for you to process them, and, finally, integrate them. By integrating your shadow side, you become whole.

As with all deep work, sometimes a qualified professional is needed. If you feel you need help from a therapist, psychiatrist, doctor, healer, or even a friend, I encourage you to do so. Facing the parts of ourselves often ignored can be difficult, especially if you've faced particularly traumatic events in your life.

I invite you to approach these offerings as ancillary allies to a shadow work practice. Here are four simple steps to help you get started with shadow work.

1. Practice Mindfulness

I mentioned in my last post that much of shadow work is becoming aware of how you’re projecting your shadow onto others and being triggered. Imagine your triggers as little notes from your shadow self.

The most effective way to bring more awareness into your daily life and catch those projections and triggers is through mindfulness. I’m not saying you need to commit to 30 minutes of silent meditation a day; a simple 5 minutes can really go a long way. If you need some pointers on how to start meditating, check out this earlier blog post on 8 quick tips to “be here now.”

2. Connect with Goddesses Associated with Shadow Work

There are Goddesses worldwide across cultures who correspond with the parts of life we're often told to keep to ourselves or ignore. Each Goddess below offers unique wisdom concerning shadow work. There are many more Goddesses and Gods to connect with

Kali

Kali is the wild and intense-looking Hindu Goddess of time, death, destruction, and rebirth. She is often shown with skulls around her neck and one in her hand. Morbid as it may seem, these skulls actually represent the death of the ego. Even though the image of Kali may be jarring or even scary, she is the personification of shadow and can help you get in touch with darker aspects of your ego that you may be avoiding.

Lillith

The Goddess Lilith has roots in several cultures and religions including ancient Sumeria and Christianity. She's referred to as both a demon and a seductive sex Goddess. Lilith is in touch with her sexuality which has caused men to fear her. She represents equality between men and women. Connect with Lilith to explore any sexual shadows you may have hidden.

Hecate

Hecate is a Greek Goddess of witchcraft and magic, she's closely related to ghosts and death. Hecate is often shown standing at a fork in the road as a reminder to examine our motives clearly before making a decision. She offers protection and wisdom. Hecate is perfect to work with if you're going through transitions. Ask for her guidance to shed light on the shadow side of changes you are going through.

Once you’ve found a goddess or god that you connect with, place a card, picture, or statue of her on your altar or in a place you’ll see it regularly to offer inspiration while meditating or journaling.

One of my favorite ways to connect with the goddesses is through The Goddess Oracle card deck. It doesn’t shy away from the dark goddesses, and my readings are always so powerful when they show up!

3. Create an Altar Space to Explore your Shadow Side

Altars are powerful healing tools. Much like a sacred container, your altar can hold space and energy for difficult emotions, traumas, and experiences. An altar can be as small or large as you'd like. It serves as a physical representation of what you're working on or working through. Small objects, tarot or oracle cards, crystals, herbs, pictures, or journal entries, etc., could all be parts of an altar. Learn more about creating an altar here.

To implement an altar for shadow work, start by selecting some representative items of what you're working through. It could be as simple as a black candle and a piece of rose quartz. Use the altar space to meditate at, call upon some of the Goddesses mentioned above, cry, yell, journal, process. When you're done, leave the energy you created at your altar space. You can go about your day knowing your feelings are safe at your altar, ready to be revisited when you're ready. The altar space will also serve as a reminder of your commitment to integrating your shadow.

4. Work with Supportive Crystals

Several crystals can be used for helping you with shadow work, but these are my favorites. Here are my top 3 picks for crystals to recruit for starting shadow work:

Snowflake Obsidian

This grounding stone is my top pick for shadow work. It can help open the door to your shadow side by bringing emotions, patterns, and fears to the surface. Black obsidian is also good for shadow work, but the balancing flecks of white in the snowflake version soften and balance its energy nicely.

Blue Kyanite

This stone is the softer, subtle version of snowflake obsidian. If you’re looking for a very gentle introduction to shadow work, kyanite is your stone, or you can just add it to your shadow work crystal collection! Kyanite comes with a host of other benefits but is helpful for recalling old memories and working through obstacles.

Rose Quartz

Shadow work will most likely bring up strong emotions for you. It’s important to bring in some soothing self-love energy while diving into shadow work, and rose quartz is the mother of loving vibes!This quote really says it all.

“If darkness is the absence of Love, then the most effective tonic to use in healing internal shadow is self-love. The more love we flow into our deepest wounds and darkest emotions, the quicker we are able to clear and raise our vibration.” - Jennifer Diamond

Place your shadow work crystal on your altar or in a place you’ll see them regularly. Another good alternative is to wear these stones for a beautiful and powerful reminder of your intention to do shadow work.

5. Draw, Paint, Write & Journal

You may find that tapping into your shadow side is more difficult than you thought. If you find yourself stuck in positivity mode, grab a pen or paintbrush and spend some time journaling and creating. Allow yourself time to create and/or journal without any outcomes in mind and let your subconscious flow. You might be surprised what naturally comes up when you commit yourself to some no expectation creative time.

This is the perfect time to keep some snowflake obsidian or kyanite nearby to help bring your darker side to the surface.

I also created an infographic for those who like visuals, and I added more ways to process shadow work.

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A post shared by Cassie Uhl (@cassieuhl)

Shadow work is not a one-and-done kind of deal. This is work that will happen over a lifetime. Every time you uncover and process one thing, you'll usually find there's more underneath. It's part of the process of being a whole human.

What is Shadow Work & Why You Need It

When was the last time you had an all-consuming work week that resulted in snapping at someone you love? You don’t mean to, you don’t want to, but it just comes out. I’ve certainly been there too.

Just one week, or even less sometimes, of repression can result in some pretty gnarly backlash.

Now, imagine what years of repressing part of your soul might cause. Let’s go one step further. Imagine what the repression of an entire society of souls might look like.

You probably don’t have to spend much time imagining this because it seems to be playing out right in front of our eyes.

I don’t mean to scare you off and promise you that this isn’t a doom and gloom rant! This is a topic that has some stigma attached to it, but it also desperately needs to be talked about.

Shadow work is something that has been calling to me since the passing of my grandma and my dad in 2015. After experiencing this loss, I went into a dark place that I’d never experienced or even knew was possible for me to visit. I was scared of myself. I was scared of what others thought of me. I was scared I’d never come back.

Through therapy and soul searching of my own, I slowly came back to the light, but not as the same person. I was reborn with integration and understanding of the darkness that lives within me, that is a part of me.

Since this experience, I’ve been drawn to explore shadow work more deeply. Before I dive into some methods for exploring shadow work let me give you a brief overview of what it is and why we so desperately need it right now.

What is Shadow Work?

Shadow work is the conscious effort of exploring the dark feelings, often ignored, that bring up shame, embarrassment, and fear in you. Many of these shadow feelings are not on the surface and reside in the subconscious.

The practice of exploring the shadow side of our nature can be found in religions and rituals all over the world, and more recently by psychiatrist Carl Jung.

Here’s another explanation of what the shadow self is:

“...the Shadow Self is an archetype that forms part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, instincts, impulses, weaknesses, desires, perversions and embarrassing fears.”- Mateo Sol

Why is Shadow Work Important?

In order to become a whole and fully healed person, you must integrate the dark and the light.

The more you suppress shadow the more it will come seeping out in destructive and self-sabotaging ways, oftentimes when you least expect it. When you acknowledge shadow and give it space to be, you may find that you’re more patient, kind, and accepting of yourself and others.

All worldly change must start within first. Taking a closer look at your own dark side can further the progression of our society taking a look within as well. Think of shadow work as a way to lift the veils and expose our earthly troubles. In order to heal, individually and as a species, we must acknowledge the dark.

Getting Started With Shadow Work?

You might be wondering how to identify parts of your shadow side. If these attributes tend to reside in the subconscious how can you become aware of them? You know the phrase, “you spot it you got it”? Most of us walk around projecting our shadow sides onto others, constantly judging and condemning others, for things that secretly reside deep within us.

Next step, cultivate mindfulness.

Now that you understand that your gut feelings of anger and judgment are your own shadows being reflected back to you it’s a matter of being aware of when they come up.

Keeping a journal or a list on your phone can be a great way of keeping track of instances, people, and events that send you down the judgment rabbit hole.

Side note, exploring shadow is heavy work. Though you can certainly work on it alone, it may bring up things that are hard to work through on your own. If you really want to dig deep, I encourage you to recruit guidance from a therapist or healer as well.

Next week I’ll share some rituals and tools for diving deeper into exploring your shadow side.

3 Healing Uses of Copper

The powers of copper-where do I even start?! You might be thinking, “Ya sure, copper is great-it helps power my house, my phone, my washer and dryer…” but did you know that copper is used for healing bodily maladies and facilitating spiritual healing, too?! You might know that it conducts electricity, but this element will also warm your insides!

Where does copper come from?

The largest copper mine is located in Chile, the United States is the second runner-up, which is where we source all of our copper from here at Zenned Out. While copper is not considered a renewable resource, it is reusable, and 100% recyclable (all of our scrap copper is recycled!). Maybe this is why copper is referred to as “man’s eternal metal.”

What is it good for?

Copper is a building block for bones and tendons, is necessary for iron absorption, and also plays a role in melanin production and reducing free radicals.

Here's an interesting fact- copper is antimicrobial. So, hospitals coat their doorknobs in copper to prevent contamination! Aside from its germ-fighting superpowers here are a few more uses for copper:

• Wound Healing

• Arthritis/joint pain

• Anemia

• Blood Circulation

• Energy Blockage

• Conducts Spiritual Energy

• Helps the body make red blood cells

• Necessary for iron absorption

How can you use it?

Even though there’s more copper in your smartphone than any other metal, I'm not about to suggest that you harness the power of copper through that! However, I do have some fun and interesting ways for you to access the opulence of this element!

Most of us will get enough copper from eating a balanced diet. Also, keep in mind that copper is a heavy metal so don’t go overboard! Fortunately, these copper uses have bonuses beyond getting more copper in your system.

Copper Mug

Did you know that ancient civilizations stored their water in copper containers? It wasn’t just because they looked nice! Choose a copper mug or bottle to keep your water in overnight to enjoy coppers alkalizing benefits. Don't forget, copper is naturally antimicrobial so your drinking water will remain super fresh!

Many filtered waters have been stripped of their natural minerals, but keeping your water in a copper cup or vessel will help restore natural copper minerals that have been filtered out and also make the water more alkaline.

Copper Jewelry

Luckily for you, much of your Zenned Out swag will fall into this category! Copper jewelry allows for slow and steady absorption of copper into your skin. Some claim that wearing copper helps with arthritis and circulation.

What if your skin turns green? Well, oddly enough this is a sign of your body's acidity. Copper reacts to acidic environments and will create a green tint on your skin. This could be a sign of too much red meat or junk food in your diet…or even a warning that you could be getting sick! I love to wear copper for this specific purpose, if my copper is causing more green discoloration than usual it’s a good reminder for me to add some more fruits and veggies to my diet.

Copper Pyramid

There’s more to copper than absorption and being antimicrobial, copper is also a beloved spiritual tool as well. You may not be able to visit the pyramids of Giza, but you can easily bring the benefits of a copper pyramid into your favorite sacred space.

Grab a smaller copper pyramid to clear and cleanse your crystals, essential oils, and well pretty much anything you can fit inside of it!

You can find some affordable and handmade copper pyramids on Etsy. 

Copper is a great conductor of energy so copper pyramids are also perfect for meditation and balancing the chakras. Large copper pyramids can be pretty expensive, but you can use a smaller copper pyramid for the same purpose by placing it on your head during meditation or over a chakra for the same energetic benefits.

Copper has a cornucopia healing of uses and it’s beautiful, what could be better? I hope you’re inspired to rock some copper jewelry and enjoy some of the other perks copper has to offer.