To Leave the Path Behind
This rite may be used to part ways with a specific tradition or path in favor of another, or to step away from witchcraft altogether. It breaks spiritual and energetic ties and marks your departure clearly to the spirits and powers you have worked with.
Gather:
A candle
A bowl of saltwater
A sharp blade or pair of scissors
A piece of cord, thread, or cloth
A handful of graveyard dirt or ashes
A personal item tied to your practice (to be buried, burned, or left behind)
A written renunciation, if desired
Go to a place of power for your practice (such as a crossroads, a graveyard gate, the edge of a forest etc.,). If indoors, you can work before an open window or door, in a doorway, in front of a mirror, or create a threshold by making a crossmark on the floor with ash or chalk.
Draw a circle in the dirt with your blade, your foot, or your finger. Stand outside it. Light the candle/Witch Light and place it at the circleβs edge. Say:
By the spirits of road and root,
By those who walked before in soot,
By the whispering wind and silent grave,
Witness now the ties unmade.
Hold the cord, thread, or cloth in both hands and say:
Once bound, now severed,
Once sworn, now untethered.
No oath, no claim, no lingering thread,
I walk away; this path is dead.
Cut the cord with the blade and drop the pieces into the saltwater. Let them sink.
Take up the graveyard dirt or ashes and speak:
What was given, I return,
What was taken, now shall burn.
No tie remains, no claim is owed,
I leave the path, the gate is closed.
Scatter the dirt to the wind, or lay it at the threshold.
Take the personal item and say:
No spirit calls, no fire remains,
No whispered pact, no hidden names.
The road behind is shut and barredβ
The witch departs, the door closed hard.
Leave the item behind, or burn it with care.
Snuff the candle with your fingers or a pinch of dirt and say:
No longer shall I walk this way,
No longer shall my name be spoken.
The pact is gone, the thread is cut,
The path is closed, the circle broken.
Leave in silence. Do not return to this place for a full cycle of the moon. During this time, avoid all former tools, symbols, or magical practices. If needed, take a cleansing bath with salt and rosemary. If spirits stir or dreams call to you during this transition period, do not answer.
