Years ago, I was stranded on the West Coast when Hurricane Irene shut down all the travel to New York City, where I lived at the time. As if that weren’t complicated enough…
While I was trying to figure out how to get home, my house sitter let me know she’d lost my apartment keys, and my cats had been without food or water for days….
And while I was trying to figure out how to get help for my cats, I found out that a former friend had written an absolutely scathing blog post about me.
I was scared, angry, and hurt. I mentioned all of this to my traveling companion, who patted my hand and said, “You really need to let this go.”
It wasn’t helpful.
Let go of what? Simply decide I wasn’t hurt by what I read? Pretend I wasn’t worried about my stranded cats? How, or what, was I supposed to “Let Go”?
“Let go” is a favorite piece of advice among spiritual people, including Witches! A New Moon, which we’re experiencing today, is a common time for Witches to encourage “letting go.”
“It’s the New Moon! Bless, release, and let go!” “Let go of what no longer serves you!” “Banish and let go of what’s holding you back!”
But what does any of that mean?
“Letting go” is typically undefined. Therefore, many Witches feel they’re doing something wrong if they struggle to “let go.” Sometimes, “letting go” an impossible task to do in one pass, e.g., “Letting go” of resentment from a divorce could take years; “letting go” of childhood abuse could take a lifetime. It can also be very victim-blamey, telling someone who recently experienced hurt that they “need” to “let go,” when they might could use some time to process their feelings and navigate their healing journey.
The good news: As Witches, we can each individually decide what it means to “let go.”
Here are a few potential meanings:
“Letting go” does not have to mean:
- Pretending a hurtful experience didn’t happen.
- Pushing away feelings of worry about a potential outcome.
- Choosing to blame ourselves for painful experiences, instead of blaming others.
Instead, letting go might look like:
- Acknowledging a hurtful experience happened, but choosing not to use it to define our personal story.
- Recognize our worries or anxieties, but also recognizing we cannot control all outcomes.
- Understanding we may have had a role to play in our own painful experiences, but we do not cause everything that happens to us.
Letting go is a good thing. Holding onto hurt or trying to exert control over the uncontrollable is a drain. But before trying to “let go,” it’s best to define what letting go might mean for you, personally.
If you’re interested in exploring what letting go might mean in your own journey and how to incorporate New Moon energies to support it, I’ll be hosting a live, virtual gathering on Thursday, Feb. 15 for paid members of The Cauldron Calling to explore this topic and offer tools and resources for utilizing it. Want to be there? Click here to join! <3
