For Relief Of Pain



Materials

  • sacred grove or place with water
  • a piece of soft cloth
  • Earth offering
  • Circle casting items
  • stone
  • paper bag
  • salt

Go to a place by a body of water. I personally prefer wooded areas. If you have an affinity for blasted, volcanic landscapes, hot springs are a good choice. What you are looking for is a "sacred grove" type atmosphere; someplace where you feel the Presence and the Power of the Divine. In this place, find a stone that comfortably fills your hand. In the place of the stone leave an offering and thank the Earth for Her gift.

When you return home, wash the stone in water to which you have added a pinch of salt. Dry the stone and let it rest on a soft cloth. Wash yourself and put on clean clothes.

Cast a Circle. It is not necessary to have altar, implements, etc., only a simple Circle is required. A ring of salt, colored cord, ring of stones, or visualization is sufficient for these purposes, although there is no bar to a full-fledged rite with all the bells, whistles, drums, and candles at your disposal. Far be it from me to tell anyone Who or What to worship, but you may invoke the Deities of your choice or those in your pantheon appropriate to healing and dealing with the matter at hand. The direction you face is, however, important, and is dependant on the type of pain you are dealing with.

For physical pain, pain of the body (which is of an Earthly nature or substance) face North. If this ritual is done as part of a purification or as part of a larger cycle of ritual it should take place early in the cycle and you should face East (East being the direction of Air, which rules words, song, and a lot of cultural aspects. Also, East is the direction of new beginnings). If your pain is caused by an injustice, face South (matters of justice are under the jurisdiction of Fire and cleansing flame). If you are in grief or in pain from a loss, face West (which is the direction of endings and of Water and tears). Certain kinds of pain may arise from a number of causes. For instance, if you lose a friend to illness and death you may wish to face Northwest. Or you may switch orientation during the ritual, or try to determine which Elemental category rules your pain most strongly.

When the Circle is cast and you are Oriented, hold the stone in your hands. Rub it. Feel it. Warm it with your own heat. Cry over it if you feel so inclined. Wails and moans are also very therapeutic at this point, but avoid screaming if you are in an area where the neighbors might become alarmed and call 911. Send your pain from your center down through your arms and through your hands into the stone.

When you have sent as much pain as possible into the stone, place it in a paper bag with a pinch of salt and fold the top securely so it will not open. Go to a body of water (this can be the same grove as where you got the stone, or a different place. For volcanic types lava flows will also work, as will deep (and I mean deep) crevices in the earth.) Wherever the rock is disposed of, it must be deep whether still or moving. Throw the bag and the stone within it into the deep, saying:

Sink down deep, down deep, down deep.
Stay down there where the dark things dwell
You are gone from me, gone from me, gone from me,
And the great good Goddess hold you under.

Wash your hands in the water (note: do not do this in a lava flow! Bring water with you!) while saying:

Let the Goddess wash away
All that troubles me this day.

Thus ends this ritual.

Note #1

For those of you who don't already know, or know it under a different name, an "Earth Offering" is something left in return for what you take from the Earth. This could be almost anything of value to you - a ring, a necklace, a few coins, fudge brownies (Fudge brownies?! Yes, I know someone who leave fudge brownies under the theory that women have a chocolate fetish because the Goddess has one). It doesn't have to be diamonds and rubies - you're just taking an ordinary rock, for goodness sake! - but the idea is that you don't take without giving.

Note #2

While I said "Goddess" in the verse, if you prefer a "God" of healing, just substitute. Ditto for actually naming the Deity of your choice.

Note #3

If more than one person participates, still use only one stone, but all must either go to choose it, or give their Earthgift to the one who finds the stone, so she or he can leave it behind.

Note #4

In the Circle, the stone should be passed from one to another, around the Circle and not across it. Ideally, all should go to drown the stone, but those who can't should wash their hands and recite the second verse before leaving the gathering.

Note #5

Recently, someone brought to my attention the problem of someone who couldn't go to choose a stone due to illness. In this case it is perfectly acceptable for another to find an appropriate stone and to "drown" it afterwards, whether the assistant participates in the rest of the ritual or not.

Note #6

If you substitute the word "fear" for pain, this ritual will also relive that emotion as well.

Note #7

DO NOT HANG ONTO THE ROCK! You want to get RID of your pain, not make it a keepsake. For some reason, some people seem reluctant to finish out the ritual, with the result that all the nasty stuff you put into the rock starts to slowly ooze out of it and mess your life up again. Please follow the instructions on safe disposal, no matter how pretty your rock looks on a windowsill or how useful it is as a paperweight.

Because this ritual is intended to be useful for a wide audience it is, by necessity, very general in some respects. By all means, modify it to be more in accord with your own belief system.

I welcome any and all comments in regards to this ritual, including modifications, case histories of the use of it, and even (polite) disagreement. Contact me at broomstick@aol.com If what I get seems interesting enough, I might publish a collection of it at a later date.

Blessed Be, Broomstick

Copyright And Other Stuff: While the text of this ritual was written by myself under the name of Chameleon, the actual ritual is the result of experimentation and contributions by many individuals as well research into many similar spells. In other words, the form is mine, but not the original idea which seems to be "out there" in many forms. At this time I grant everyone the right to freely copy this text and use this ritual WITH the two following conditions:

  1. This disclaimer be copied with it.
  2. No money is to exchange hands for this ritual. You can give it away, but not sell it, even to recover the cost of copying it.