CMD on Nostr: So I got extremely upset with a new-ish friend and as a result I performed a cord ...
So I got extremely upset with a new-ish friend and as a result I performed a cord cutting ritual.
For those unacquainted: it's a (typically wiccan) practice where you take a pair of candles - each representing you and your friend - and tie a string connecting the two - representing your friendship - and you light the candles. The candles burn until they hit the string (which should be tied about halfway down the candles) and then you let the candles burn all the way down, clean up the dregs, and then throw them away.
I felt...minimal amounts of magic from this. There wasn't much there, and I don't think that this had any actual magical effect. However, what I *did* notice was that the set of actions had a profound *psychological* effect on me, and I understood the emotional purpose of the ritual.
First, I bought...overly long candles, mainly because that's what the store had. It took an hour and a half for them to burn down. I spent a very long time looking at those candles, and it made me reflect on our friendship. I realized very fast that if I brought to mind anything that made me regret letting the candle flame hit the string, I'd probably just stop the ritual.
I spent an hour or so thinking about our friendship. I couldn't think of why I'd want to preserve the friendship. The flame hit the string, and the string took on a lot of the wax that had been dripping down the candles...there was a great flame, and I watched a representation of our friendship go up in smoke.
It felt good.
The extra heat caused the candles to burn down much faster, and I considered why I'd let this happen and how I'd prevent myself from making such shitty friends ever again. As the candles burned down, I brought myself back to reality, scooped up all of the stuff associated with the ritual, and threw it away into the trash can...and then took the trash out.
A literal throwing away of the remnants of a friendship which had been literally burned down.
Essentially, I spent about an hour asking myself why I would want to have such a friend, 5 minutes watching a fire tell me "you don't," and then about a half an hour figuring out why I let this happen and how I'd make sure to never bring such a person into my life again.
The candles and string definitely tell you a story. I'm told you can look at the resulting wax and see more story...but I don't really buy that. It's an interesting thing to do, and I absolutely see the value in doing this, but it is less magical and more emotional. It really makes you sit down and think "woah I fucked up by being friends with this piece of shit" and it makes you reflect on the errors that led you to be friends with that piece of shit.
For those unacquainted: it's a (typically wiccan) practice where you take a pair of candles - each representing you and your friend - and tie a string connecting the two - representing your friendship - and you light the candles. The candles burn until they hit the string (which should be tied about halfway down the candles) and then you let the candles burn all the way down, clean up the dregs, and then throw them away.
I felt...minimal amounts of magic from this. There wasn't much there, and I don't think that this had any actual magical effect. However, what I *did* notice was that the set of actions had a profound *psychological* effect on me, and I understood the emotional purpose of the ritual.
First, I bought...overly long candles, mainly because that's what the store had. It took an hour and a half for them to burn down. I spent a very long time looking at those candles, and it made me reflect on our friendship. I realized very fast that if I brought to mind anything that made me regret letting the candle flame hit the string, I'd probably just stop the ritual.
I spent an hour or so thinking about our friendship. I couldn't think of why I'd want to preserve the friendship. The flame hit the string, and the string took on a lot of the wax that had been dripping down the candles...there was a great flame, and I watched a representation of our friendship go up in smoke.
It felt good.
The extra heat caused the candles to burn down much faster, and I considered why I'd let this happen and how I'd prevent myself from making such shitty friends ever again. As the candles burned down, I brought myself back to reality, scooped up all of the stuff associated with the ritual, and threw it away into the trash can...and then took the trash out.
A literal throwing away of the remnants of a friendship which had been literally burned down.
Essentially, I spent about an hour asking myself why I would want to have such a friend, 5 minutes watching a fire tell me "you don't," and then about a half an hour figuring out why I let this happen and how I'd make sure to never bring such a person into my life again.
The candles and string definitely tell you a story. I'm told you can look at the resulting wax and see more story...but I don't really buy that. It's an interesting thing to do, and I absolutely see the value in doing this, but it is less magical and more emotional. It really makes you sit down and think "woah I fucked up by being friends with this piece of shit" and it makes you reflect on the errors that led you to be friends with that piece of shit.