Alchemy Ritual for Personal Empowerment and Transformation

“And, when you can’t go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward.” – Paul Coehlo

Winter can be an overwhelming season, with the absence of the sun comes changes to our circadian rhythms, serotonin and melatonin levels, and subsequently our moods. We can also cycle through periods of “internal” winters. Like the trees standing bare and uncovered at the whim of a cold and dark winter, we too must remain standing through seasons of loss or darkness, before we bloom again into feelings of abundance. Into a tree covered in the most beautiful flowers. Without a doubt there will be moments where our personal winters feel much too cold, and we fear our leaves may never grow back. But as we see every spring, the leaves do grow back, the season changes, and we find ourselves once again back in the warmth of the sun.

When it feels like we’ve been at the bottom of the valley for too long, the only thing left to do is lift a tired gaze back towards the direction of resurgence and growth. Nothing about that is easy, but there is also nothing about it which is impossible. In one way or another throughout your life, you have proven to yourself that you are indeed much stronger than you think, a fact that has not changed. Spring welcomes all of us the opportunity to bloom again, into something not only more beautiful, but more resilient. It is an opportunity to welcome new life in the form of opportunities for new relationships, new habits for our bodies and health journeys, and new versions of ourselves, a much needed overhaul for many of us. This is where this personal empowerment and transformation spell comes into play.

Personal Empowerment & Transformation Spell

This is not only a spell for manifesting abundance and renewal with spring, but for coming to terms with what we’ve been through in our winter, and choosing to move forward even when it doesn’t feel like the easiest thing to do. To embrace the responsibility of living a better life for yourself and others as a blessing and not a curse. To become your own alchemist, transforming the lead you have into gold through work and achievement you can feel proud of.

This personal empowerment and transformation spell is best performed on a Saturday, ruled by Saturn, to infuse our spell with direction, strength, and the grounded ambition to move forward; or a Tuesday, ruled by Mars, to infuse our spell with the primal bodily passion, ambition, and power that teems in our muscles to move forward. Perform this personal empowerment spell on or around a full moon, when the lunar energy is strongest in the sky, or a new moon, when we have a full lunar cycle ahead of us to implement this work.

What you will need:

• A black candle, a white candle, and a melty pastel spring colored candle of your choosing like a pink, green, orange, or yellow. (One you can carve into like a chime or tapered candle.)
• A lighter.
• Two pieces of paper and a pen for writing and carving into your candle.
• A fire safe bowl. (Spoiler alert, we will be lighting one of these bad boys on fire.)
• Salt, or a wand, crystal, or knife for creating a formation: a sacred space.
• Optional but recommended: Incense to enhance your spell, like frankincense or pine, and an oil to enhance your spell, like frankincense, pine, or eucalyptus oil.
• Optional: Sage for cleansing prior to the spell or a clearing object of your choosing.

Before you begin your spell:

1. Take a shower or wash your hands.
2. Clean and clear aside a special place where you won’t be disturbed, or if you happen to have a fireplace or outdoor fire pit, doing your spell by the fire would be a lovely addition.
3. Gather all your supplies and place them together inside the soon-to-be circle where you plan to create your sacred space formation and conduct your spell. Have your spell handy to read/reference.
4. Light your incense if you’re using it and place it with your other items.
5. Sage the area where you will do your spell (or if you’re not using sage— visualize a cleansing white light covering you from your head to your toes and your entire surrounding space).
6. Draw your formation: using your salt, or a wand/crystal/knife pointed with a firm hand, begin while facing east and in a clockwise manner draw a big circle around you and all your supplies. Once your circle is drawn, bring your palms from planted on the ground up towards the sky and say aloud “Sacred Circle I’ve just comprised, love and healing may the energy rise.” Now that you’ve created your sacred circle, it’s best to try not to leave it until you complete your spell.
7. Say a prayer and ask your higher power—or if you’re comfortable call on your spirit guides, guardian angels, and any deities you resonate with—to join you, protect you, hear you, and guide you through your spell, to remind you what makes you special and clarify your divine purpose. Meditate in this moment and feel your circle infuse with this divine all-knowing presence.

Conducting your spell:

1. Take your first sheet of paper and write at the top of it, This is where I feel stuck. Allow yourself to free write—write without stopping to think, letting any thought you have, even if the thought is “I don’t know what to write,” spill onto the page—on this prompt until you’ve filled the page. Do not pick up your pen from the paper. Just let every thought in your head onto the paper until its filled, letting any emotions that come up pour out with your writing.
2. Now take your second piece of paper. Stop to take a few deep breaths and center yourself. Ground into the love and divine guidance you infused this circle with when you started. Write at the top, “5 Goals *Your Name* is working towards that fill *Your Name* with joy,” and number the paper 1-5. Allow yourself to fill in 5 tangible goals that you want to work towards cultivating. Maybe it’s starting an exercise routine, cutting out processed foods and sugar, finally finding a therapist, journaling more, starting that book or podcast you’ve been thinking about, making dinner plans once a week, or getting back into dating or a sexual life. If you feel called, use the back of this paper to free write on your best possible self before filling in those 5 goals.
3. You’re going to be placing your candles in a triangle because we want this spell to encompass our body, mind, and spirit. Place the black candle to your left, white to your right, and your spring candle front and center. Using your carving tool, carve the word “transformation” into your black candle, if you have an essential oil, coat your candle with it, place it in its holder, and light it. Now take your white candle and carve the words “*Your Name* is exuberant” (abounding in vitality, extremely joyful and vigorous) coat your candle in oil, place it in its holder, and light it. Now taking your spring colored candle, carve the words “Today is a new day” into your candle, coat it in oil, and light it.
4. Taking the first piece of paper about where you feel stuck, fold it up, and using the flame from your black candle, light the corner on fire and let it completely burn in your fire safe bowl (or your fire-pit or fireplace.) As you watch the paper burn, allow yourself to release these things and let go, and know that the universe is supporting you in removing and overcoming these obstacles.

Affirmation to be read aloud before you recite your spell:

With this personal empowerment and transformation spell, I jump into the new support system around me that renews my mind to the truth of my own power and potential.

I allow a new chapter in my book to start on this day, and I allow courage, gratitude, and grace to join me in writing it. I open my mind to the seeds of change and personal transformation that stir within me and propel my muscles to move forward.

I feel the strength and perseverance that bubbles up inside me as I envision and embody myself as a goddess, warrior, and achiever of great success, joy, and fulfillment. I know that personal transformation is not always easy, but my journey is one coated in a sweet liquid fulfillment that glazes me with each stride I take towards my goals and fills me with the ambition to keep moving forward.

As my drive and excitement increases I notice the increase in excitement of the people around me and I attract new support, relationships, and opportunities that inspire me to continue moving forward into growth.

Spell to be read aloud three times:

Like a spring seedling ready to grow,

The successful outcomes of my goals I already know.

With winter gone and my hibernation now over,

My willpower and exuberance grow in me a four-leafed clover.

Conclude your personal empowerment spell by saying “Amen” or “and so it is”. Close your sacred space by standing again and raising your hands, then pushing down from the sky all the way to the ground, say “Thank you for this energy, goodbye.” Blow out your candles, and save them to light on any day where you feel your motivation is waning so that you can infuse the day with the energy you cultivated in this moment. Put your sheet of goals somewhere you can reference them later for renewed purpose. If you used a fire safe bowl, take the ashes and bury them outside in the earth. Know that you now have a very powerful and enchanted path in front of you to support your personal empowerment and transformation in attaining the personal goals you set for yourself, but it is up to you to take the first step.