Break a Bad Habit Ritual Guide
Use this guide to conduct your own ritual to break your bad habits!
WHAT YOU NEED:
A habit symbol
For example, a cigarette for smoking addiction or junk food for carb addiction
A place to bury something or a pot with dirt in it
A shovel or trowel
A black cloth (can be an old towel or cut shirt, I use black cloth dinner napkins)
A large stone
A chisel or an old knife (you can use the trowel for this, too)
WHEN TO PERFORM THIS RITUAL:
The night before the new moon
When the moon is in Scorpio
STEP 1: Gathering Materials and Intention
To start off, you should have all of your materials gathered. Everything should be set up so there is minimal distraction because this ritual takes longer than other rituals I have guides for on this website.
Now, comes honing your intention. I have a full blog post that goes into the importance of intention here.
Intentions are generally made up of three parts: (1) What you want, (2) Why you need it, and (3) A pathway of action. So, your intention should be something like: “[Your name] will stop smoking because I want to be healthier and I will do this by refusing to purchase cigarettes.”
Your intention should and will be different. Just make sure it is specified to your particular needs and then move onto Step 2.
STEP 2: Carving Your Intention
First, write out your intention so that you are sure it makes sense. Read it out loud so you get the cadence correct.
Now, with your chisel in hand, take your stone and carve your intention into it. If you cannot find one large enough, write the first letter of every word. This will still cause energy to be infused into the stone. Also, do not worry about how it looks. Odds are, it will look like chicken scratch when you are through. Trust me, mine does, too.
STEP 3: Wrapping
Take your symbol in your hand—for this example I will be sticking with smoking throughout because I think that is something a lot of people struggle with. So, take your cigarette and wrap it inside your black cloth.
Through the cloth, feel the outline of your totem. Feel the energy loosen itself from you and enter the cloth, and subsequently your totem. Hold it for a moment. Feel this be your goodbye to this bad habit. You may be overcome with bittersweet emotion. Habits do help us through tough times, so it is completely understandable.
Accept how you are feeling in the moment and be ready to move onto step 4.
STEP 4: The Burial
This can be as ceremonious as you need it to be. If you are a minimalist Witch like myself, all you need is to dig a hole. Some Witches like to say a creed before they commence. This is all up to you.
So, once you know where you are going to bury your totem (whether it is in the ground or inside a flower pot), start digging. Dig a nice 1-2 foot hole (30-60 cm). Then, drop your totem in. Now, all you have to do is cover it up!
This symbolizes the death of your bad habit. By burying it, you are subconsciously associating your habit with being dead. Therefore, you are less likely to engage with it again.
Also, you can perform this ritual as many times as need be. Sometimes it can take a few tries to get it to stick.
STEP 5: Gratitude
Say a quick gratitude to whatever or whoever you would like to be thankful. Do not skip this part. Do not follow the path of least resistance. Make sure to give thanks to something when you do.
If you need, I have another blog post on the Perfect Way to End a Ritual.
If this ritual was done to try and treat an addiction, gratitude has been shown to make it even more successful. Again, this step is NECESSARY. So many skip it. Don’t be one of those people.
Love + Blessings
Laci
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