ASK A WITCH- Moving On

We’ve all felt stuck, attached to something that has already passed us by. Life, and afterlife, are best when fresh and moving, but stagnation happens to the best of us. Remember to let go so that you can grow, and ask for help if you don’t know how to on your own.

Hi Way Witch,

I'm hoping to get your advice re: clearing/cleaning/blessing some paintings we received last week in the mail. The paintings were painted by my husband’s brother who committed suicide 10 years ago. We have many of his pieces around the house and they all feel fine. The new pieces that came to us have either been on display at their grandma's apartment (she passed away in July) or in storage for 10 years (I think those are the pieces that need help.) They might've been pieces his widow had framed for his memorial exhibit and then put into storage. I got a weird feeling about one so I smudged them all, but then I started feeling intense grief and burst into tears. I've moved the ones that I felt were weird over to the garage, but I still feel uncomfortable in the room they had been in. I've turned on a fan and light in that room and placed a small bowl of salt water. What else do you think we should do?

Thanks

Painful Paintings

Dear Paintings

You’ve taken good steps through smudging (an indigenous practice of burning sage/other plants and using the smoke to clear energy), moving the air with the fan and placing salt water (for absorption). I would have offered similar advice initially. Since those actions have proven more or less ineffective, we’ll have to dig deeper.

My first intuition is that either his spirit or his grandma's spirit are connected somehow to the paintings and you are feeling such intense emotions because they are reaching out for help in passing on. I think you are right in feeling that they were used for his memorial; they could be holding the energetic grief of that event and you're picking up on it.

I suggest that you build an altar in the room with the paintings to bring some honoring to the spirits and/or energies, and invite them to release and be free. The moon is waning so it's a good time for that kind of magic. The moon will be new on December 18th. You could set up the altar from now until then and on the new moon do a ceremony to signify the end of that vigil, creating a new beginning for the spirits/energies and also the paintings and your home (be specific and intentional, guiding them back into light, connection and freedom and away from suffering and prolonged grief/stagnation). As always, the specifics of the ceremony and ritual are not as important as the feeling and intent behind them, so create something that is significant and moving to you. Start by opening sacred and protected space, and go from there. Personally I like to incorporate the elements into my magic, so I incorporate a candle, a bowl of water, special stones, and smoke into rituals.

If that doesn't help you may need to find your local witch/energy healer/shaman to do death rites for the spirit(s) to help them move on, or, if they persist, perform extractions. You can honor the departed and still not wish to have them hanging out in your space. In truth, I believe that the best way to honor them is to assist them in moving along.

Good luck!

Hi,

I’m devastated and need help. My wife has fallen in love with someone else and wants a divorce. Can you give me a love spell to make her fall in love with me again? Broken Heart

Dear Heart

I’m sorry that you are in pain, and I wish that I could offer you some assistance. The truth is, the only love spells I offer are for people who are trying to find love, because it falls in line with my principals. I strictly don't work any magic that could interfere with anyone's free will, and that would include a love spell to make someone come back to you.

The difference between the two spells is that one calls an unknown lover to you with the understanding that they are also looking for you, versus trying to change a specific person’s decisions. You may be able to find another witch or sorcerer who is willing to craft this particular kind of spell for you, but I encourage you to reconsider. Working such magic is dangerous and comes with unknowable consequences. When we meddle in powerful forces, we are mingling our destinies with mysterious variables, and we may set events into motion that will bring great suffering.

I know you are deeply troubled right now and feel that you would do anything to alleviate your pain, but there is no shortcut through sorrow. The best advice I can offer you is to lean into the grief so that you may grow and learn from it, and attempt to release your attachment to your wife. With so many people and such limited time, the best thing you can do is let someone who doesn’t love you go, to make room for someone who will.

I wish you luck and hope that you find some peace with this situation one day.