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5/25/25: Cut the Karma: Cord Cutting

           

Materials you'll need:

• One black candle

• One white candle

• Twine

• Matches

• Votives (Candle holders)

• Toothpick or tool to carve names

 

Instructions:

Calm the mind. 

Cleanse the space.

Make it sacred.

Set your intentions.

Carve the names.

Light the candles.

Cut the cords.

Close the practice.

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The Purpose of Cord Cutting:

 

If we are energetically attached to people, places or things that are draining us or don’t serve our soul, it is necessary to cut cords so we can move on fully and move forward with our lives without carrying that past baggage.

 

How to Identify if You Need to Cut Cords:

 

If you keep going back and forth in your mind about a person, place, or thing, and whether to leave, you need to cut cords and leave. Anytime something feels like confusion, the answer is no. Soul resonance feels like peace. It feels easy and effortless. The back and forth confusion and mental brain fog comes in when our soul says no, but our mind tries to think it’s way out of that decision from fear of change. The confusion is a result of our heart saying no and our head not wanting to take no for an answer. This also comes from an energetic cord attached to you causing mental fog and lack of clarity. Cutting cords, I find, can give me almost immediate clarity. 

The longer you’re involved in someone or something, the deeper the energetic bond will be and it might take a few rounds of cord cutting to let go completely. It depends how much energy you’ve invested.

Cord cutting can be great for a relationship you’ve outgrown or workplace that takes you for granted. If you feel confused or drained after interacting with someone or something and find the confusion or stagnation lingering, I would recommend a cord cutting ritual.

Make it Sacred:

Treat this cord cutting as a sacred ritual. Make it sacred. Make it personal, because it is. Your energy is sacred and if someone or something has been pulling at it, it’s now your turn to take time to reclaim your power and sovereignty. Reclaim the energy that’s been stolen from you and embody your own essence again. You’ll need about an hour. I recommend getting in a calm state of mind and making sure you’re well-rested and ready. This is not something to be rushed. Make time for yourself and this process. Light your favorite incense. Play your favorite music. Wear cozy clothes. Drink hot cocoa. Do whatever to make sure you feel safe in your body first and embody your own essence and then create a safe space around you for this practice.

 

Instructions:

Once you’ve taken time to make sure you feel calm and secure, take time to cleanse yourself and your space. I would start by decluttering your space. Vacuum, dust. Show yourself and your space some respect by cleaning it. Once you feel your space is physically cleansed, you can work on energetically cleansing. Take a shower. Light palo santo or local cleansing herbs. If you can’t light incense in your place or you’re not into that, light a candle with your favorite fragrance or use some sage spray or cleansing spray from a local spiritual shop, whatever feels best for you. 

Authenticity is the strongest frequency and only you know what resonates with you, so if you’re not into incense but you love a vanilla yankee candle, have at it. You could also steam herbs for fragrance. I would recommend looking into different herbs that are specifically good for cleansing and protection though.

OKAY, now that you’ve cleansed the space, now we can call in some spirit guides, angels, or ancestors to help you in this process if you want to. There’s power in numbers, so you might as well get some angelic support. 

Next, you’re going to want to set your intention, whether in your mind, written down, or out loud. You can say, think, or write something like, “I, (insert name here), intend to fully cut energetic cords with (person, place or thing) so I can move forward with my life)” or whatever you want to say. The more personalized and unique you can make this, the better. This is simply a guide.

After we’ve done all the energetic prepping, it’s time to start the ritual. 

Carve your name on the white candle.

Carve the name of the person, place, or thing you wish you detach from on the black candle.

Set the candles in their holders or light the bottom of them so the wax is soft and melty, and stick it to a non-flammable surface. (It will make a mess, so use a plate or something you can get rid of afterwards or something you can scrape the wax off of)

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Tie twine around one candle and the other, connecting the cords together.

Light ‘em up.

Sit back and observe.

Watch whose cord lights up first. Watch how the flame interacts with the twine and finds its way to the other candle. 

How much space did you leave between candles? 

How taught is the twine?

How angry is the flame?

Did it break off into multiple flames?

Is it lingering? 

Does the flame go in and out and back again?

Does one candle have waxy sludge on it? (This is generally indicative that the person, place, or thing has toxic or dark energy attached to it)

 

Be patient with the process and see the whole ritual through. Notice if any emotions come up through this. Allow them to flow through you in the form of tears, screams, laughter, whatever. Trust your body, but let the energy go. Whatever you feel the flames are telling you is true. Trust your intuition. No one else knows but you.

Close the practice.

Once both candles have burned out and the ritual is complete, close the practice. Say thank you or offer gratitude for yourself for taking the time to end this cycle, close this chapter, and cut these cords. Clean up the mess. Throw that ish out. Maybe take another shower or salt bath to cleanse any residual energy off of you. I’m personally too impatient for baths, so I prefer buying epsom salt and using it as a salt scrub in the shower. Salt is cleansing both energetically and physically.

Congratulations. The ritual is complete.

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