You don’t have to be a pagan to burn stuff.
This blog follows on from my recent blog about Paganism and Wellbeing.
https://www.philgowler.co.uk/uncategorized/wellbeing-and-paganism/
Have you ever set fire to things so that you can wave them goodbye?
Maybe it’s your old school books or school uniform. Perhaps it’s your training records for your job at that company you hated and hope that you will never see again.
It could be your ex-partners photos, or their clothes, or their prized stamp collection, fishing gear, shoe collection and so on.
I remember the bra-burners of the 60’s and 70’s. So perhaps it could be something that symbolises past restrictions or unwelcome acts.
Maybe it’s something that you have deliberately created to burn, perhaps a list of medical diagnoses and labels that you don’t want hanging around your neck that are giving you permission to fail, or telling you that you can’t do things.
In the old days, pagans knew how to clear the mind and get rid of the shackles of the past. They had rituals, communal activities, and the local wise women/men to help them. They would happily burn symbolic emblems of their problems and fears, or cast them over cliffs, or maybe into a fast flowing river, or even into a deep lake.
Our minds love symbolism. Our unconscious mind can and does accept symbolism as if it is real. You don’t have to believe that your act is actually destroying something you want to get rid of, your mind gets the message and it will work anyway. So you can move on.
So next time you have a barbecue, how about a pre-barbecue therapeutic burning event?
PS. Kids- don’t burn down the school, that’s not allowed. A small model of your old school would work just as well!