Negative-Be-Gone!

The new moon will soon be upon us with the coming of Imbolg and, not to mention, the Chinese New Year. This year will be the year of the Rabbit (and I will make a post about that another day).
The Chinese new year and the Lunar new year are actually one and the same, for in China and most East Asian countries, the calendar year traditionally moved with the agricultural cycle.
In fact, if you can find a calendar in an Asian grocery store or in a predominantly Chinese area, you will notice that the days are marked with two numbers, the regular calendar day and also the lunar calendar day.

Seeing as Imbolg, Chinese New Year, and the new moon all signify a time for new beginnings and a clean slate, it is the perfect time to prepare for the coming festival and holiday by doing some mental "spring cleaning". With that in mind, I would like to share a little ritual I do a day or two before each new moon so that I can face the coming lunar month (which most of us witches go by) free from all the negative thoughts and actions that were bugging me over the course of the past 28 days.

It's a simple ritual to do, with minimal preparation and clean up...which is so nice.

The items you will need are as follows:

1 candle. Preferably a tea light, or a votive. Something that stands on its own and will drip as it melts. Any color is perfectly fine. If you use a tealight be sure to take it out of its metal or plastic container so the wax can spread as the candle burns.

1 cauldron or heat-safe bowl. There will be fire, so be cautious.

1 piece of paper and a pen. You are going to need to write a few things down.

A lighter or some matches, and a little bit of oil. Vegetable oil will do nicely.

Let's begin.

First get your cauldron or heat-safe bowl. Use your fingers and rub oil over the inside of the bowl, and make sure it a well coated. Not dripping, but slippery. This is to prevent the candle wax from sticking to the surface. Next create your sacred space in whatever way you choose. I usually do a simple spritz of my homemade smudge spray and say a blessing.

Now get your paper and pen and begin to write down all the things you can think of that annoyed, angered, upset or frustrated you this past month. You can write words, sentences, even a whole letter. Don't feel limited. The reason you are doing this is to vent and get it all out, so don't hold back. Write it down and let it out. Just don't forget to breathe. There's no need to rush, and if you feel you've forgotten something, don't worry. If you've forgotten it, it's already banished *wink*.

When you feel that you've gotten it all out of your system, rip up the entire piece of paper into small pieces so that the whole amount of paper fits in the bottom of your container nicely. You could even use scissors and cut it up into little bits. This is also a nice way to get out the last of your annoyed/angry/frustrated energy, so rip it good!

Now take all the little bits and put them in the container, and get your candle. Here comes the magick.
Take the candle and while you hold it say:

As new moon comes
The old moon goes.
So shall be my anger,
So shall be my woes.

All will be well
When the candle is done.
By the Goddess and God,
An' it harm none.

So mote it be.

Repeat this three times, or until you are satisfied.

Now place your candle in the container and light it.
Let it burn out completely.
When the candle has cooled, take it out of the container. You will notice it comes out easily because all the little bits of paper have stuck to the wax. The oil helped also.

Take the now-solidified wax and paper bits, and dispose of it as you like. The garbage is fine.

You're all done! Have a very blessed new moon and February, and don't forget to repeat this again with the next new moon!