A Ritual Recipe inspired by The High Priestess
🕯️ This ritual is part of the Shadow Debt Series. To read the full introduction and story behind the series, click here.
✦ Purpose
To confront the unspoken truths within. This ritual is for those who have kept something buried—an impulse they regret, a truth they denied, a boundary they ignored—and are now living with the consequences. It’s not about punishment. It’s about sacred accountability, the kind that leads to wisdom, not shame.
🍽️ Servings
- 1 soul in reflection
- Best served solo
- Optional: share your insights with a therapist, guide, or trusted journal
⏳ Prep Time
- 10 minutes (set space, gather materials, ground your breath)
🔥 Ritual Time (Cook Time)
- ~30 minutes for core practice
- Optional integration journaling: 10–15 minutes more
🕰️ Total Time
- About 40–50 minutes of inward reflection and emotional presence
📈 Difficulty Level
Medium to Deep: This ritual asks for emotional honesty. It may stir discomfort but leads to empowerment.
🧂 Ingredients (Symbolic Tools)
- 🕯️ 1 blue, indigo, or silver candle (intuition & stillness)
- 🧣 A veil, scarf, or hoodie (to create sacred inner space)
- 🪞 A mirror (truth reflector)
- 💧 A bowl of still water (emotional witness)
- ✍️ Journal and pen (truth-teller)
- 🃏 Optional: High Priestess card or a symbol of mystery (moonstone, key, closed book)
📋 Instructions / Ritual Steps
1. Prepare Your Space
Dim the lights. Light your candle. Drape your veil or hood. Sit in silence for 3 minutes, letting your body settle and your mind soften.
2. Mirror Gaze
Gently gaze into your eyes in the mirror. Ask silently:
- “What have I been unwilling to name?”
- “What truth have I swallowed to keep the peace?”
- “What part of me still waits to be witnessed?”
Stay here for 2–3 minutes. Breathe through any resistance.
3. Journal the Debt
Begin writing freely. Use prompts like:
- “The cost of my silence was…”
- “What I knew, but avoided…”
- “What I now see clearly is…”
Let your pen move. Don’t correct. Let the shadow come forward. You may cry. You may want to stop. Stay with yourself.
4. Water as Witness
Touch the bowl of water. Gaze into it as a second mirror. Whisper:
- “I see what was hidden. I no longer turn away.”
Dip your fingers in the water and touch your third eye or heart.
5. A Promise in the Dark
Ask yourself:
- “What quiet vow can I make to myself now?”
- “What small truth can I honor, starting today?”
Write it down on a separate slip of paper. Keep it somewhere private or burn it, if the release feels more powerful.
6. Close
Blow out the candle. Fold the scarf gently. Sit quietly for a minute. Thank yourself for staying.
- “The debt has been acknowledged. The healing begins.”
💡 Notes & Tips
- ✦ Best under a waning moon, or when you feel emotionally heavy
- ✦ Avoid rushing—this ritual works best when unhurried
- ✦ Combine with shadow journaling or a digital detox for added clarity
🧴 Substitutions
- No candle? Use soft lighting or focus on breath as your flame.
- No veil? Use a hoodie or blanket to feel inward.
- No mirror? Use a phone selfie camera (on airplane mode) or water reflection.
📦 Storage / Reuse
- Revisit weekly or monthly during emotionally intense seasons
- Save your written vow to reflect later—or create a ritual “box” for accumulated truths
- Affirmation can be reused as a phone wallpaper or journaling header
🍷 Pair With
- Companion card: The Moon (for deeper subconscious unraveling)
- Meditation: Mirror visualization or Stillness body scan
- Playlist: Ambient, slow instrumentals, or ocean sounds
- Food/snack: Chamomile tea, dark chocolate, or something you’d eat alone in silence
🧠 Energetic Nutritional Info
- Clarity: ★★★★☆
- Emotional Grounding: ★★★★★
- Comfort: ★★☆☆☆
- Truth Activation: ★★★★★
📚 Source / Inspiration
- Tarot Archetype: The High Priestess
- Theme: Shadow Debt — unspoken truths, emotional cost of avoidance
- Personal Thread: Inspired by a year of financial and emotional consequences, this ritual emerged from the desire to face inner truth with softness and strength
🎯 Yield / Intended Outcome
- Quiet emotional release
- Clearer self-awareness
- A first step toward rebuilding trust with yourself