How to Cast a Banishing Spell
This spell was created for Samhain (Halloween), a special time when we connect with our ancestors. Many believe that, at this time of year, our ancestors can hear us and communicate with us more clearly than at any other time.
Halloween, or holy evening, has a long history in Europe, and similar days of ancestor veneration take place in late summer to mid-autumn throughout the world.
Traditionally, this was not only an occasion to pray for the repose of the souls of departed ancestors, but to ask for their help, wisdom, and advice in oure daily affairs.
Even if you don't believe that life, in some form, continues after death, it can strengthen you to remember favorite ancestors, meditate on them, and think how they would advise you when it comes to challenges that you're facing now.
This banishing spell isn’t just for Samhain, though. My ancestors speak to me all the time, and they’re always here for me. (And yours are always there for you, too.) You can use this spell anytime you feel that you’re carrying painful mental states and emotions with you — and you want to let them go.
Samhain is the perfect time to do banishing work, and to break attachments that you no longer want or need.
As we honor and make offerings to our ancestors, we can also ask them to take away long-standing, stubborn “curses” that dim our light.
These include self-cursing (repeated bad or negative thoughts we have about ourselves) or curses from others (that is, the process of internalizing and believing harmful comments from others and negative beliefs that others have about us).
Often, people carry these "curses" throughout their lives. If you are ready to release these thought forms, try this on October 31 (or on any new moon . . . or anytime).
What is a banishing spell and what can it do?
A banishing spell is a magical working that is done to make something (or someone) leave our lives.
I use banishing spells only after I have (or my client has) already tried, many times, to change a difficult life situation or personality trait on your own. You may want to try a banishing spell to:
break up with someone
stop an addictive behavior
get a difficult employee or colleague to quit or be transferred
create distance between you and a family member who is negatively affecting you
help rid yourself of a chronic emotional state, such as anxiety, while you’re also seeking the appropriate medical care
A banishing spell ramps up the effects of practical, real-world solutions you’re also using to solve the problem. It brings in the spiritual, magical element to provide guidance on whether you’re on the right path or whether there are other solutions to the problem that you haven’t tried.
And sometimes . . . a banishing spell just mysterously removes the problem for you.
Banishing spells can be especially important when you’ve been trying to manifest something positive in your life — sometimes for years — without a positive result. There may be something standing in your way. If so, let’s banish it.
Banishing work comes before attraction work
Banishing is a cleansing work. We banish before doing attraction and manifesting work for the same reason we clean a house before moving into it. If we don’t first clear out the dust, dirt, and grime, the things we want to bring into our lives are tarnished by the dirty atmosphere and become dragged down into it before ever having a chance to shine.
What you’ll need for this spell
Your favorite art materials that will burn quickly and safely (you’ll be creating a collage, sigil, or petition paper to burn)
Outdoor fire or flame-safe cauldron or metal container (to light outdoors or light safely in your kitchen sink)
Your favorite method of divination (cards, pendulum, charms, bones, cowrie shells, coins . . . magic 8 ball)
An image of the 9 of Swords from a Rider-Waite-Smith-based deck (or the actual card)
30 minutes (or more, if you wish)
How to cast a banishing spell
Here’s one easy way to cast a banishing spell, but, as with all witchcraft, spells are highly personal, and there are hundreds of ways to do this.
As you follow the steps below, it’s important that your banishing spell harm no one (even if you think someone deserves to be punished).
The objective of this spell is only to remove the pain of tormenting emotions, relationships, or situations from your life. The purpose of a banishing spell is not to exact retribution or to hurt another person the way they have hurt you. It is only to heal yourself emotionally or to rid yourself of a difficult situation.
For example, if you want a problematic co-worker to quit, visualize the person leaving for an even better job. If you want emotional freedom from a bad love relationship, ask your ancestors for the strength to leave the relationship or to change your heart so that you no longer have any interest in that person.
Often, you may need to banish thoughts from your mind. For example:
If someone has treated you unfairly (a client refuses to pay you, a landlord refuses to refund your security deposit, your husband cheats on you . . .) and you have already done everything possible to resolve the situation legally, a banishing spell will free your mind and emotions from continued ruminating about the unfairness and you can ask your gods, ancestors, or the universe to deal with the person in the way that is most fitting.
In this way, we no longer take on the burden of judging the person or the situation, and leave that up to the universe.
Step 1: 9 of Swords Visualization
Find an image of the 9 of Swords card from any Rider Waite Smith-based tarot deck. (It’s the image of a person sitting up in bed and crying.)
Sit in a quiet place and feel yourself represented by the person on the card.
What keeps you awake at night? What scares you the most? Is there something from the past that haunts you over and over? What are the cycling thoughts that you just haven’t been able to let go of?
Maybe it’s one traumatic event. Maybe it’s how someone has treated you over a lifetime. Maybe you feel you’ve never been seen for who you really are (or who you want to be).
Keep looking at the 9 of Swords and feel what this card wants to tell you.
What makes you feel less than? What can you let go of today so that it never has the level of power over you that it currently has?
If you don’t feel anything when looking at this card, the ritual is complete. You have nothing to banish from your life at this time.
But, maybe you have uncovered something. If so, please go to Step 2.
Step 2: Create Something to Burn
Create a banishing board, a sigil, a drawing, or other image that represents the aspects of your life that you want to release or be free from. Let your subconscious speak in this process.
First think about how you like to communicate with the inner you. Do you prefer colorful images, black-and-white designs, or words? Take a few minutes to create a visual representation of the person, thing, or situation that you want to banish.
If you respond to colorful images, try creating a banishing board. It’s like a vision board in reverse. A vision board shows words and images of things you want to attract into your life. A banishing board depicts feelings, beliefs, people, or situations that you are ready to release from your life.
If you like icons and simple graphic shapes, create a sigil. A sigil is a symbol (or group of symbols) that represents the person, thing, or situation that you want to banish. The only thing that matters is that you know what your symbols mean.
Your sigil will probably make no sense to anyone else. It will have meaning only to you. Grab a piece of paper (small is best, since it’s easiest to burn) and draw an image of what you want to see happen.
If you respond most strongly to words, write a petition paper. Just grab a small piece of paper and write down the outcome that you want your banishing spell to give you.
For example: “I want to be free from thoughts of ____________.” “I want no longer to care what my ex is doing or whom he’s with.” “I want ________ to stop criticizing me at work and go away.”
Keep your banishing image small, if you plan to burn it in a tiny cauldron. It can be larger if you have access to a firepit or bonfire.
Step 3: Meditate With Your Banishing Image
Are there any things depicted on your banishing board or image that you realize you really want to keep in your life? Is there anything that you aren’t ready to let go of?
Make any changes you need to make so that you feel right about the banishing you’re about to do.
Now feel into how your life would change if you were free of the people, situations, memories, or entanglements that you are banishing in this ritual.
If it feels good to be free of these things, you are ready to release.
Step 4: Call in Your Ancestors and Light Your Fire
Take some time to explain to your ancestors (or spirit guides, or divine beings) the pain you’ve been feeling and the situations (or people) that you want to banish from your life.
Ask them if they believe that releasing these aspects of your life is the right thing to do. You may hear a message from them right away, or you can use your favorite divination system (the one you most reliably use when connecting with ancestors or deities).
If your ancestors or guides agree with you, ask them to take away your pain, sorrow, fear, and trauma.
Ask them to take it all back with them as they go back to the world of spirit tonight.
Tell them that you need distance from the pain so you can heal before trying to make sense of any of these memories or situations that you can’t seem to get free of.
If you feel their agreement, it’s time to burn your banishing image. Once it is fully burned to ash dispose of it in any way that makes sense to you.
Flush it down the toilet, walk to a crossroads and blow the ash away from you, throw the remains into running water . . . whatever feels right to you.
Step 5: Shake it All Out
While still near your fire, shake out your arms and legs, your head, your torso – and if your spirit leads you into some wild dancing movements, let it happen. You’re physically releasing what might be decades of pain and energetic “curses” that you’ve carried within you.
Allow yourself to get it all out, as completely as you can. You’ll know when you’re done.
After the Ritual: Next Steps
As you probably know, deep-seated pain usually doesn’t evaporate overnight, but, with your banishing spell, the process has begun.
If you completed all five steps of this process, that means that you did connect with your ancestors, deities, or guides in this process and that they agreed to assist you in the banishing process.
Whenever you feel that you’re being pulled back into the feelings or situations you’ve banished, go into witnessing mode and notice that you’re being triggered. Just say to yourself: “Grrrrrr. Here it is again. Interesting. I don’t like this feeling. Let me go get my team.”
Slow your breathing. Inhale . . . exhale . . . and reconnect with the divine beings that agreed to help you. Let them know what is happening. This can be as easy as calling to them, “Oh no, it’s happening again. Help!”
How to know if it’s working
If you feel less out of control and more like your true self, it’s working. If you feel a weakening of the influences that you’ve banished, it’s working.
Magical work is called “a working” for a reason. If you keep working it and have confidence in your spirit team, emotional freedom will be yours.
Want a little help with this?
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