Clearing what the winter left behind

“By ‘magic’ we understand words and acts performed by human beings, which are believed to bring about changes in the empirical world or to produce knowledge of hidden things in a supernatural way.” - Jacqueline Borsje.

February is often when the weight shows up. The rush of January is gone, the days are still short, and whatever you carried through winter can start to press more heavily on the body and the mind. This is usually when people try to push through, when what’s actually needed is a cleansing, a clearing out.

In Irish folk practice, cleansing was never about purity or perfection. It was about restoring function. Clearing stale water. Shifting what had settled too long. Making room so life could move again. It was ordinary work, done because things go wrong when nothing is cleared for too long.

This simple Sunday spell is for that kind of clearing. Not dramatic. Not total. Just enough to let you breathe properly again.

You’ll need a small bowl or mug and clean water. That’s all.Pour the water into the bowl and place it in front of you. Take a moment to notice how you feel without trying to fix it. Tired, heavy, distracted, sharp edged, all of it counts. There’s no need to analyse it further.

Place your hands around the bowl and say:

What has no place with me now, be gone.

What is finished, be finished.

What is mine to carry, stay with me.

Beir Bua. (pronounced bare BOO-ah)

Sit quietly for a few breaths. Then take the water and pour it away outside if you can, onto bare earth if possible or into a plant pot outside. If that isn’t available, the sink will do. The act matters more than the location.

That’s the work.

If this kind of grounded practice speaks to you, you’ll find more of it, along with the thinking and ethics behind it, on the Living Irish Witchcraft Podcast.

Slán go fóill

Lora

PS

If nothing big or obvious happens after this, that doesn’t mean it failed. Clearing often shows itself later as better sleep, steadier mood, or fewer sharp reactions. Watch for the quiet changes.