A spell for heartbreak

for heartbreak of all kinds

I can’t remember who taught me this exercise, but I love it. I do it whenever I feel heartbroken, whether it’s about the heartbreak of the world, friendship, death, the past, the future. That sharp pain in the heart. That feeling like your heart might whither or die.

You picture the object of your heartbreak off in the distance. Take a little time to feel how far or near they need to be. It could be across the room, down the street, across a field with a river between you, out on the horizon. Take as much of a breath as feels right to you, reach out your hands, cupped to receive. Say this to the object of your heartbreak “I am taking back the pieces of my heart that I entrusted to you.”

Imagine these pieces leaving them and coming into your hands. Take another breath in whatever way feels right to you and bring your hands to your heart. Rest your hands on your heart and imagine the pieces coming back into you, making your heart more whole. Warming, soothing, mending.