As much as I love the excitement of the holidays, the cool weather, and being able to see more of my family and friends I have to admit, I find the holidays pretty draining. There’s the stress of orchestrating social engagements, trying to make sure that family events don’t wind up a disaster, and the inevitable moments of feeling ostracized or belittled because a relative doesn’t think my craft, my identity, or my political beliefs are valid.
I accept these things as a necessary part of throwing so many festivities into such a short period of time but afterward, I typically find myself feeling a little run down. These moments, social situations, and people can be incredibly draining, they sap your energy and steal your personal power leaving you feeling less than stellar. When this happens to me, I’ve found that one of the fastest ways to recover is to reclaim this lost power and energy, to call it back to me and remove the hold that moment in time held over me.
This recovery ritual allows you to identify all of those moments, people and situations that sapped your energy and power and reclaim them. This is done without anger or ill intent, it’s simply a way of looking at the past few weeks or months and reclaim the energy that is rightfully yours. Giving them your anger is still giving them power over you so try to reach a place of neutrality as you do this (it may take several tries to reach this place, if that’s where you’re at it’s ok! You may need to reclaim your energy from that situation several times before you feel you’ve truly finished).
While this ritual is designed for the holiday season it can be used anytime you need it, after vacations, when school ends, after a breakup, you could even leave a version of this ritual on your altar all the time so that you can come home every day and reclaim any energy you lost throughout the day.
A Ritual To Reclaim Your Personal Power
You Will Need:
- Two bowls
- Two or three candles
- a collection of items (pebbles, small crystals, beads, acorns, etc)
- Incense
- Paper and pen (optional)
Set up your workspace with candles to your left and right and, if you have a third, directly in front of you toward the back of your workspace. Place the two bowls in line in front of you (one close to you, one further away) and fill the furthest bowl with your items. These items will represent your energy as you work to return it to you, make sure you have lots of these items on hand so you don’t run out!
Light your candles and incense and take a moment to relax and find stillness. This is a space of comfort, renewal, and safety. Take the time to really feel this healing energy.
If you like, you can take a moment now to write down all of the moments that you want to reclaim your energy from. Don’t be afraid to simply go with your gut though. Your body and mind know where your energy has gone and when you start to reach out and pull it back to you you’ll likely remember many places where it’s hiding that you might not have thought of initially.
When you’re ready to begin, reach into the bowl furthest from you and draw out one of the items. Name the situation, person or moment that you’re reclaiming your energy from as you do so, for example, “I reclaim my power from _________” or “_________ I am taking my energy back from you”.
Drop the item in the bowl closest to you and feel that energy rushing back to you. repeat until you run out of items, you run out of moments, or you find yourself fatigued and want to take a break.
After the spell is over there’s no need to separate the items, you’ve reclaimed the energy so it’s no longer tied to the items and you can simply place them all back in the furthest bowl.
This spell can be repeated as often and as regularly as you like, it’s an excellent form of magical self-care and can help you to take stock of your life through ritual acknowledgment and stillness. Often, I find that journaling after this ritual is a lovely way to close it and helps me to sort through any emotions that may have been stirred up during the spell.
If you find yourself stuck on a particular moment or person and you simply cannot reclaim your energy from it, this may not be the spell for you! This ritual is designed to help with small moments, a harsh word from a friend, a bad review from a boss, a moment in traffic that frustrated you, etc. If you’ve sustained abuse, are in an ongoing argument, or are still being hurt by a situation this spell may not be enough and I encourage you to seek other solutions both magical and mundane if it’s not working for you.
And please remember, this is a spell of self-care. If at any point during the ritual you find yourself becoming upset, getting stuck on unpleasant thoughts, or angry, please stop and give yourself time to calm down. The basis of this spell is empowerment and reclaiming your strength, if it’s not serving that purpose, if it doesn’t feel empowering, or if it makes you feel more powerless then it is absolutely ok to stop. Your wellbeing is the point of this spell, please listen to your feelings and do what is best for you.
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Updated on August 20, 2023 by Avery Hart
Great ritual to clear that bad juju that comes with all these holiday get togethers and life in general. Thank you. 🖤
Thank you for the kind words, Maria!
Thank you for sharing this, I really need this right now.
I’m so glad I could bring this ritual to you when you needed it, Lise! I hope it brings you the healing and peace you need.