Magical Almanac: Practical Magic for Everyday Living - Lauryn Heineman 2018
After the Ritual: The Remnants by Autumn Damiana
Air Magic
The ritual or casting of the spell has concluded. You have returned the remaining energy to the earth, passed around the cakes and ale, taken down the circle, put away your altar tools, and done whatever else you need to do to wrap things up. So now what? Regular practitioners know the value and necessity of “keeping house” on the altar or in the sacred space area, which usually involves a periodic cleaning and inventory of the items there. What is being used? What is no longer needed? What do I do with all this leftover stuff?
This last question has been particularly frustrating for me, because there is no definitive answer. Whatever the working, there are almost always materials remaining afterward. Most existing rituals and spells explain what is needed and how to use each component, but there is not enough information that explains what to do with these same components when the ritual or spell has concluded. These include candles, incense, salt, herbs, crystals, containers, pictures and drawings, offerings, and so on. Some get completely used up, and some are dedicated to a purpose—for example, coins or bills kept in a wallet to attract wealth, which are then spent or donated after the spell has manifested. But then there are some materials that are simply residual and have no place or function—and they hang around on the altar and need to be dealt with.
If you are a member of a tradition that has a method for handling these leftovers, then by all means, go with that. I personally don’t think that there is a right or a wrong way of doing this. If you are a solitary or your coven, circle, or group is also uncertain about what to do with these odds and ends, then you have many options. However . . .
• Salt, herbs, and spices should always be disposed of. They have spent their magic on your working and must be discarded.
• Wine, beer, mead, juice, and so on, that has been poured for the ritual and is used in a ritual setting but is not consumed should also be disposed of, as should any water (unless it is being charged or blessed for later use).
• Libations and food offerings (for the Gods, the elements, the spirits of the land, Mother Earth, etc.) need to be given to them as is their due.
• Seasonal and holiday items should be taken away in a timely manner. Clear or cleanse what you are keeping (vases, statues, tableware, etc.) and dispose of everything else (flowers, food, decorations, etc.) according to the directions below.
Now, when trying to determine what to do with other remnants, you need to ask yourself three questions:
1. Is part of the working dependent upon what I do with the materials?
2. What is the ethical or environmental way to disperse or dispose of materials?
3. Am I comfortable with reusing or repurposing materials?
Leftovers Directly Tied to the Working
Most rituals and spells that have such stipulations will explain how the components used need to be handled. For example, a “witch bottle” made for protection is most commonly buried on the spellcaster’s property to serve as an instrument of protection or security. The same can be true for luck, love, and health charms, though sometimes these need to be put under your pillow or kept on your person. If there are no such instructions, then how you handle the leftovers really depends on what your goal is or what you are trying to accomplish. It also depends on your mindset, magically speaking. In some traditions, there are those who believe that everything used in a ritual or spell has residual energy that should be used only for that working. Reuse and disposal of these materials is seen as both taboo and counterproductive. Hoodoo and older (sometimes hereditary) Witchcraft are two such practices in which this is the case. In these traditions, you “seal a spell” or “fix a spell in place” using your spell materials according to these general rules:
• Bury them in your yard, place them in your house, or keep them on your person if you want to keep something close to you.
• Put them near to or buried under your front door if you want to attract something.
• Burn them if you want to destroy something.
• Throw them into a body of moving water if you want something to flow away from you.
• Throw or place them to the east to make something begin or gain in strength.
• Throw or place them to the west to make something end or wane in strength.
• Bury, leave, or scatter them in a cemetery, at a crossroads, or somewhere far out in nature if you want to rid yourself of something really negative or end something permanently.
Dispersal and Disposal
Dispersal of ritual materials refers to spreading them out in some way (strewing herbs, for example). Sometimes the dispersal is part of the ritual itself, as previously discussed. Disposal, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds like: getting rid of something or throwing it away.
Traditional dispersal or disposal of ritual or spell ingredients works with the power of the elements. You can bury them in the earth, toss them into a body of moving water, burn them in a fire, or scatter them to the winds. These are the tried-and-true methods that work fine if you live in a rural area or are lucky enough to have a large piece of property. In this case, it’s probably okay to bury candle stumps in the ground, throw something into a lake or pond (depending on what it is, of course), or find a country crossroads where you can leave your materials. Other practitioners are not as fortunate and need to be both more mindful and more creative when dispersing and disposing of their ritual remnants.
I don’t always adhere to the traditional dispersal and disposal methods. As I see it, there are too many impractical and sometimes unethical methods being used, depending on what you are disposing of. For example, it is an intuitive idea to bury salt or scatter it on the ground, given that salt is both a representation of the earth element and a natural substance. However, too much salt concentrated in one place will kill plants living there and prevent new ones from growing. In reality, it is much safer to wash the salt away in a river, in a stream, or even down the drain. It will be diluted and won’t harm the soil or natural flora. The same is true for libations. Most liquids like liquor or juice will be readily absorbed into the ground, but it might be better to also wash them away with water, since they can attract insects like ants, wasps, and cockroaches.
Food offerings require special consideration. I think it’s okay to leave a bit of food now and again in a remote environment for insects and animals to eat, but not in populated areas, where many people already feed the wildlife. Human food, whether processed or not, is not a part of these animals’ natural diets, and feeding them can actually disrupt their instinctual habits of foraging for their own food and can make them dependent on handouts. In addition, it can also make wild animals lose their fear of humans, which results in more roadkill and more of these animals apt to become common pests, like opossums and raccoons. You can offer up food to the Divine just as easily by burying the food or putting it into a compost pile. The important idea is to be aware of what you are doing to the environment when you are dispersing or disposing of anything. If it goes outside, structure your spell or ritual ingredients accordingly—use biodegradable materials and evaluate what can potentially happen to them once they are out of your hands.
As modern Witches, whether we live in rural areas, suburban ones, or more high-density environments, there are new alternatives to how we can disperse or dispose of ritual leftovers. I don’t think it is wrong, for instance, to place something in the garbage that would traditionally be buried in the ground. What matters here is the intent behind it. Some would say that to “throw something away” like this is disrespectful, but since the garbage ultimately goes to a landfill or is incinerated, is it? I personally like to differentiate between the garbage can (landfill) and the yard waste can (compost). I put ritual herbs, natural cording or strings (like cotton or raffia), incense, matchsticks, and other biodegradable ritual materials in the yard waste can—it seems a more dignified way to “bury” the items. But the garbage can will work just as well.
The same is true of anything you would like to be carried away by water. It depends on what you are disposing of—would it be acceptable to put it in local ponds, rivers, lakes, or the ocean? If the answer is yes, then you can pour the materials down the sink, shower drain, or toilet because these are also streams of water. This can be a great way to get rid of small amounts of herbs, bits of food, incense ash, and various liquids but again, if this feels disrespectful or somehow wrong to you, then don’t do it. On the other hand, if you really want to banish or get rid of some nasty energy, then flushing it down the toilet might work! Make sure to practice common sense when disposing of anything through your plumbing. Use your garbage disposal in your sink and cut things into tiny pieces if you plan to flush them down the toilet. And never dump anything in the drain (including the garbage disposal) or the toilet that might clog the pipes, such as wax, oil, sticky or doughy pieces of food, or any plant matter that is stringy or fibrous. Very few ritual leftovers are ideal for water disposal, so be selective with this method.
Burning materials can be both easier and more difficult, depending on your circumstances. If you have a wood-burning fireplace or wood stove, a fire pit, or a burn pile (like for leaves), then you are in luck. Burning an item is one of the most complete ways to dispose of it and offers a feeling of finality, although some people like to burn things so that the smoke from the fire carries the energy toward the heavens. Small items, like photos or pieces of paper, can be burned in a cast-iron cauldron, but be cautious. Make sure your cauldron is sitting on a fireproof surface and is not near anything flammable. Do not burn anything in your cauldron while indoors, and when you use it for burning outside, I recommend that you keep a fire extinguisher on hand just in case.
Air disposal is simple, but it only works for very small, very light items that are biodegradable—the kind that can be whisked away by the wind, like ashes. If you opt for this method, you can either wait for a blustery day or a storm approaching, or you can find a safe high point (a mountain peak, the top of a tall building, or even your roof) and toss your materials off to be taken away by the air currents. Alternately, you can let the element of air take your leftovers via a car or boat ride, but keep in mind that you might get pulled over for littering if anyone sees you throwing things out the window!
And let’s not forget recycling. When you are done with that spell jar or those tea candles, you may want to simply recycle the glass and the metal candle cup. Recycling is in many ways just like disposal, but in an environmentally responsible way. If there is anything that you are prepared to let go of on your altar, see if you can recycle it. Most glass, metal, and many plastics can be recycled in an ordinary recycling bin. Fabric, such as an old altar cloth, doesn’t even need to be in good condition if you can find a textile recycling center because the fibers can be repurposed. Also, in many cases, if you ask around, you can find another Witch, magical practitioner, coven, or group that will be happy to take something off of your hands that you no longer need or want if it’s still usable. As a last resort, you can magically clear or cleanse these items and donate them to a local charity or thrift store, where someone else can buy and enjoy them.
How to Reuse and Repurpose Leftovers
This can be a touchy topic, as I mentioned earlier, because not everyone believes that it is a good idea to reuse or repurpose ritual supplies. However, I think that it is environmentally and ethically responsible to try. Again, clearing and cleansing works with the power of the elements. Use smudging or incense, leave items in the rays of the Sun or the Moon, bury them in the ground or in a pot of soil, purify them in rainwater or in a magical bath, hang them out in the air or to catch the winds, or clear them using salt, herbs, cleansing crystals, sound, or any combination of these methods. Here are some other guidelines:
Crystals and Stones: Just like altar tools, I see no reason that a crystal or stone can’t be cleared or cleansed of energy when you want to use it again, because the residual energy can be broken down. If it continues to feel “weird” after a cleansing, then you should probably discard it.
Candles: If you use a candle as the focal point of your spell, then it is not advisable to reuse it. Maybe you should relight the candle periodically and meditate on its purpose to help guide the spell on its way. A candle that has simply been used for illumination, to represent a god/goddess, or burned during ritual because of its color can be reused. Candle stubs can also be repurposed: melt them in a double-boiler with other stubs, strain out the wicks and debris, and pour them into a new candle. I believe that the element of fire melting the wax will purify it and leave it free of previous energies.
Incense: I always reuse commercial incense, because I see it as “new” every time it is extinguished and relit. Incense blends that are prepared for a specific working, however, are a different story. Usually these are herbal or spice blends that are burned on charcoal, and they should be disposed of when the working has concluded. The charcoal, on the other hand, can be reused.
Containers: These include bags, bottles, boxes, and jars. You have to use your discretion when dealing with these. If they have anything connecting them to a particular ritual, such as symbols or sigils, they cannot be used again. Even a plain container, while potentially reusable, may acquire energy, and you might rather dispose of it. The key to deciding what to do with these is to ask yourself how attached you are to the container. If it is a simple drawstring bag or cardboard box that you can part with, then do so. But special containers, such as decorative bottles, keepsake boxes, and apothecary jars, can be cleared or cleansed to be reused again.
Ephemera: Materials that are “ephemeral” (short-lived) include drawings, photos, printouts, any kind of paper, and so on. These are items that by definition will degrade or disintegrate over time. I am in favor of disposing of these once they have been used in a ritual or spell. So, if you are using a favorite photo or keepsake, simply take a picture or make a copy of it to use in your ritual. You can dispose of that afterward and keep the original safe.
Finally, keep in mind that some items will retain weird or negative vibes no matter how you clear or cleanse them. Remember to go with your gut. If it tells you that you should part with something, then do so . . . but if not, then see if you can reuse or repurpose it.