Wherever we go, we leave behind parts of ourselves.  Some of these parts can be used by others to influence us magically or through the Collective Consciousness/Unconscious, depending on which you believe.  Also, if we do this sort of work, the things we save from others have an energy that can affect us.

So it is highly important for all involved in mystical work, even if it is as simple as healing, to know how to detach from our old personal effects, and how to properly dispose of those that we have kept and no longer have use for.  You may also have to help a client or patient who is being influenced using personal effects that they have left in the wrong hands.

Changing the Blood

To neutralize the influence of personal effects that you have left behind, you will need to “change your blood”.  That is essentially to make yourself not the you that you were before.  Technically, within the 3 dimensions, because of the 4th dimension, we are not the same as we were, but through our memory, we remain anchored to who we were and carry that identity with us.  What has to happen in order to change the blood is to lift that anchor from where it was, and resettle it to where you are now.

You are correct if you imagine that this is not an easy or pleasant or truly safe process.  In order to do this you must, in a way, die and be reborn.  This is not something one can do often, and even doing it once can have grave consequences.  It should be done only if it is necessary.  The best way to not have to do this is to not leave your personal effects around in the first place.  “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

If you just need to cut ties with a former lover, and the dangers are specific to that, then you may want to take the less traumatic option and cleanse your seed.  You don’t necessarily need to change your blood to break connection if the only things you left there were due to lovemaking.  Do divination to see whether or not your left-behind personal effects would be covered.

The details of this, depending on your tradition, may vary from person to person according to their head Orisha, main deity or element, or path.  So I’ll keep it somewhat general, and you can work out the specifics for yourself.

Ceremony to Change the Blood

For this, you will need to go through Eshu, the Gatekeeper, and Obatala, the one who shapes us in the womb, the Egungun who you’ll be visiting somewhat along the way, and your head Orisha and Ori.  The rebirth itself will be done with Dada, who will also pass you through the various phases of life you have been through so that you can retain your basic identity despite becoming detached enough from your past self to shift your Ori.

There is very little formality involved in this.  You will need an assistant though.  I recommend a Shaman/ess who has been to the Ancestors and undergone death and rebirth themselves before.  Settle your affairs just in case something goes wrong.

Open the gate with Eshu, call Obatala to reshape you, say goodbye to your Ori as it is, greet the Egungun asking that they allow you to return, and call Dada to birth you at the end.  Then drink the poison, or do the activity that leads you to a death-like state.

Options for Temporarily Dying:

• Drink alcohol until you pass out.  I recommend real, naturally infused Absinthe or a similar concoction.
• Just below fatal concentrations of herbs that are easy to control the dosage of.  You can find that information for yourself, but it is best to gather live herbs from your area because the Ndoki in them are going to be in sync with your body and/or ancestry.
• Dancing, sweating, or “crazing” to the point of exhaustion.
• Exposing yourself to cold or heat to the point of falling into a deep sleep/losing consciousness.
• Having pain inflicted on you until you disassociate from your body.
• Fasting to the point of disassociation from the body.

Mind you, all of these things are very dangerous.  Do not do them unmindfully.  Be prepared, and make sure there is a way to save you in case of an emergency.

Once you have taken the poison or started the activity, your assistant should be on the deathwatch.  They should behave as if they are watching you die and can do nothing about it.  They are there to accept the inevitable and to help you accept it and be on your way to the Ancestors.

If you are a warrior, they must not cry or weep.  You may even want to choose the pain option, wherein they will fight and symbolically “kill” you so that you die with honor.  Some of the blood that you shed in the process should be poured into the Earth, and you may want to lay there until some bugs or other scavengers come for you.

Then, when you “die” (this will be when you lose consciousness and then have a moment of forgetting to breathe or not breathing but not holding your breath on purpose) depending on your path and/or tradition, you are interred.  If you prefer burial, you should be covered in a burial cloth or buried in the ground just with your face out.  At least a little dirt should be sprinkled on you.  If you prefer a sort of burial at sea, you should be submerged or have water poured on you.  If you prefer cremation, then some of your hair and some of your flesh should be burned.  Bonus if you can handle passing some part of your flesh through fire enough to at least blister.

Then your assistant should grieve for you.  They can symbolically go through the phases of grief.  At this point, they are allowed to cry for your loss even if you are a warrior.  Alternatively, they can guide you to the Ancestors, if your tradition has that.  At this time, they can also ask questions of or send their regards to the Ancestors, and your body may speak for them.

Then you have some moments of silence.  It is good if your assistant just sits and meditates, but it is also good if they do some mundane activity as if they have accepted that you are gone and are moving on with life.

But then, it is time for your rebirth.  This can be done in a way that you are born simply from the Earth, or you can have your mother or someone you regard as a spiritual mother be symbolically pregnant with you.  It is nice of during this time, you are put in a tub of salt water, and she talks to you of how she looks forward to your being born.

This phase may take awhile, as you will be unconscious.  Your assistant should stay within eye-shot to make sure you are breathing at least a little.  If you have a mother there though, she should be touching you at all times.  You are in her “womb”.

When you awaken, you are reborn, and this should be celebrated like a birth as much as possible.  The Orishas should be thanked, and you should be given milk or something milk-like and sweet to drink.  If you chose this, your mother and your assistant should take care of you for the day, and make sure all your needs are met.  If not, stay close to the Earth, and your assistant will take care of you.  Things should be done to make sure you are feeling good and happy as possible.

 …and from now on, be more careful about your things.

Getting Rid of Personal Effects

The things in our environment influence us.  If you are low on space, and have to keep things close by, especially when you are sleeping, you know the importance of protections and barriers, but these are not always working at 100%.  Shifts, ebbs, and flows in energy can wear “holes” or make “cracks” that naughty little energies can wiggle through, and these sometimes turn into gaping portals where all sorts of inconvenience pours out.

Keeping old, forgotten things is a mistake many witches and mystics make.  Then something happens to remind us that we need to take care of these things.  So here’s what you do…

Eshu is in charge of the trash bin, so these things can be deposited there.  When you do though, first give Eshu some candies or sugar, and tell him that you have some things you want to be rid of so that they will have no influence in your life anymore.  Add that you also don’t want them or any energy they may have absorbed from you or your surroundings to influence anything else.  Ask that they be completely and utterly neutralized.  Thank him before you close the trash bin.

You can also bury things at a crossroads or corner, take them to a dumpster, or a place between two buildings or trees.

If they were kept in a container, these should be wiped down with Florida water or a similar purifier, and smoked with tobacco or sage with intention.

It is my experience that when you set about this task, stuff happens.  Sometimes things take on a stronger energy than we anticipated, and some things will form a Ndoki who does not want to leave.  Be ready for this, especially with old personal effects of ex lovers.  Some part of them did want to be with you at least for a time, and this energy may have concentrated itself in their body fluids.

Excuse my frankness here.  If your head is not Oya, and you have used condoms or underwear of exes, wear rubber gloves or use tissue or tweezers that can be passed through fire to handle them.  You know you got one of the more clingy Ndoki in a condom if it was left open to dry out more than a few months, but it is still wet and not smelling bad.  That should also be a warning sign that this person is still thinking of you.

After you’ve touched all these things, you should cleanse yourself too.  Stubborn things may want to stick to you when you touch them, and you’ll be wearing their energy if you don’t.  I recommend a trip to the sea to clean, but you can also take a Yemaya bath.

Personal effects are a big deal, and should be handled with care.  When you leave them or gift them to others, it is an act of trust.  When others leave them or gift them to you, make sure they are respected and stored properly.  Be mindful and be careful.  Ashe.