Day 30 - Great Release Program 2025 by Silver RavenWolf

Day 30

Theme:   See the Unseen.

Reward:  20 Stars.

It's true.  Guests entering your living space bring more than just casseroles and coats. They arrive with moods, worries, old stories, jealousy, grief, pain, ravenous secrets, fears, medical and financial woes, and hidden desires. Some people show up like sunlight and good perfume, while others are more like a suitcase that's about to burst. Your spidee-sense picks up on the bent posture, too-loud laughter, and too-broad smile; but, you are too busy playing host/hostess that you just keep on motoring.  That bad smell?  Heartbreak.  It clings to them like damp, scratchy, stinky wool. They don't mean to share, but it follows them, like Pig-Pen's dust cloud—except it's worry, grief, and debt, shaking loose from their coats, words, and sighs. Negative energy is sticky.  It settles on curtains, sinks into couch cushions, and hangs in the hallway air where everyone walks back and forth. It's gooey, too, like almost-dried soda you didn't notice. Later, when you walk through the same room, your mood catches, your thoughts get stuck, and your patience feels thin.

After the visit ends, you wash the dishes, run the vacuum, and put the chairs back where they belong. You tell yourself the house is back to normal, but there's still a quiet hum in the air, like an appliance you can't turn off. A day or two later, you might feel irritable for no clear reason. You may also notice that small objects go missing or are found in odd places -- like your keys in the fridge or the TV remote under a couch cushion. Pet behavior changes.  They may seem restless or reluctant to enter certain rooms. Plants may droop or require more water than usual. You might find an unexpected bill in the mail that sends your emotions tanking as your mind scrabbles to figure how you are going to handle this.  Honestly?  Your space just absorbed too much negative energy, and your mind is still processing. That's why picking up after guests isn't about being a clean-freak—it's just good energy practice.

Most of the time, you don’t notice any real problems during the event because you’re busy smiling, juggling tasks, maybe cooking (family dinners) and cleaning up the obvious mess.  On occasion, you are given a heads-up by another guest, who privately shares the emotional debacle they’ve stumbled upon.  They are sharing because they need to dump the garbage heap that just fell on their own head. Wipe.  Shake.  Share.  This is normal.

The effects of negative energy shows up later, often in unexpected ways.  Like feeling irritable, sleeping poorly, having small accidents, getting surprise bills, or starting arguments over nothing. It’s not a disaster, just a common pattern when the atmosphere feels heavy and you’re stretched thin. So treat it like washing your hands. Clearing the air and sharpening your awareness is the best way to make your home feel like yours again, and avoid problems that may snowball.  Here are some easy to put into action the day after holiday celebrations.  I begin with splashing myself with Florida Water and wafting sacred smoke over my body, then use the following techniques:

Open a window for a few minutes and let the house take its first deep breath. As the air shifts, imagine the old energy lifting like dust caught in sunlight, and say softly, fresh air in, stale energy out, this home returns to itself.

Send sound through the rooms like a living current. Ring a bell, clap in the corners, or play music that feels bright and clean. Picture the notes pushing into the hidden pockets of stillness, loosening what clings, waking the walls, reminding the space of its true song.

Sweep with purpose, not just for crumbs, but for what gathered unseen. Start at the back of the home and move toward the front door, as if you are guiding anything heavy to the exit. With each stroke, say, “I sweep away all negativity and discord.  I clear the path.  I embrace balance and peace.” I usually follow with sacred smoke, such as sage and sweetgrass that I’ve grown in my own garden.

Salt and Water – add essential oils if you like, or drop in raw herbs (that’s what I do). Wipe the thresholds and door handles slowly, as though you’re drawing a quiet boundary that holds. As you wipe, speak it clearly, only blessing may remain, all else must go, and imagine the doorway brightening, guarded, and sealed.

Then bring the spirit back into the practical, because that is where stability lives. Sit down with your calendar and bills -- not with fear or anxiety, but with peace in your heart.  Say, “I meet my life with clear eyes.  I choose order. I choose steadiness.  I am guided and supported by (and add your deity, angelic influences, ancestors, etc.)

When you leave the driveway, do it like a small ritual of safe passage. Place one hand briefly on the steering wheel, breathe once, and say, “Clarity before me, protection around me, good sense within me.  I travel in peace -- I return in peace.”

Many experienced practitioners ward the house before a party – particularly the driveway (if you have one) and all doors and thresholds, which can help to minimize the amount of negativity that manages to wander in.  But, life can get so very busy and even the most prepared and experienced host can forget to refresh protective magicks.  It happens.  Shake it off and follow through with the after-cleansing techniques, regardless of whether you have done your wards or not. When you are responsible for others – better to be safe than sorry.

I’ve done a serious amount of entertaining in my lifetime -- the kind that teaches you quickly what works and what falls apart under pressure. I’ve hosted huge celebrations where the house swelled with food, laughter, and personalities.  I held circle every week for years, steady as a heartbeat.  I’ve run camping functions and many a Grand Coven, where you learn to plan for weather, nerves, and the unexpected.  From leading ritual events both large and small, weddings, funerals, wiccanings and the in-between --  I’ve seen just about everything, the joy, the tears, the surprise arguments that flare up over nothing, the guest who arrives carrying heartbreak like a storm cloud, the diabetic who collapses because they were having such a good time they forgot about their insulin (or ignored it), the allergic reaction to a surprise bee sting in the autumn twilight where the recipient blew up like a giant floating character in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the late-night cleanup that feels like a second job, and the quiet after everyone leaves when a space needs to be brought back into balance. That experience is why I’m practical about this.  I love the magic, but I’m also enamored with the simple fixes that keep people safe, keep the energy clean, and keep your home feeling like a refuge when the last car pulls away.

Magickal Moment

Madame SeesAll calls this The Afterglow Cleanse, the part of the season where the magic either settles sweetly into your walls, or it starts to feel sticky and loud. She rings the magick gong to summon all good spirits in the house, including the Ten Little Boogers.  They trot in carrying their “serious faces,” which last for approximately seven seconds.  PopPop hands them cleaning cloths and feather dusters, and suddenly, they act like it is an elite spy mission. Madame SeesAll glides through the castle, her two poisonous toads perched on her hat and broom like grumpy little bodyguards, pointing out where energy got snagged not only from this past week’s parties, but family events throughout the year. The corner where someone fell, the doorway where a fight started, the spot on the rug where the candle tipped, the hallway where bad news landed, and she says it plainly, “We cleanse what happened.  We bless and call for healing.  We fortify our home.”

Main Release

Cleanse your home after company. If you haven’t had company, that’s fine – you have lived here all year (or someone has) which merits this type of attention, too.  Start with the obvious, kitchen surfaces, bathroom touch-points, entryway clutter, floors where everyone tracked the world inside. Then choose one “accident zone” from the last year (or that last party), a spill, a fall, a broken item, a sickness corner, spilled candle wax splattered when guests sang with gusto and waving hands, or a spot that still makes your body tense when you look at it but you have no idea why. I use a HUGE rattle to break up the negativity in these spaces, then follow with a physical clean.  Next, choose at least one simple energetic cleanse that also seals in the sweet, a ringing bell, a pass of safe aromatic smoke with a window cracked, a pinch of salt dissolved in water wiped across the area, or a candle lit nearby while you say, “This space is cleared.  This space is calm.  This space is safe.” If that zone needs repair, a nail, a patch, a replacement, make the repair part of the cleansing, because protection is not only mystical – it is practical.

15 Minute Quick Task

Do a quick sweep of the “touch trail,” door handles, light switches, faucet handles, remote controls, fridge handle, the spots everyone taps without thinking. Wipe, rinse, and reset.

Booger Boost

The Boogers present you with the highly prestigious Order of the Fresh Start, awarded for restoring peace to a space that has held a lot. They declare you officially “Unsmudged and Unbothered,” and RattleBones clicks approvingly in the background, because even he likes a clean finish.

Weekly Check-in

We are in the final stretch now, so protect your energy like it is a candle in a windy hallway. Choose what truly matters for tomorrow, choose what can wait until January, and remember that “good enough and done” is a spell, not a failure.

Astro Snapshot, December 30, 2025

The Moon is in 2^nd Qtr Taurus, excellent for practical progress and sensible follow-through. Mercury squares Saturn very early, which can feel like a reality check, but it is also perfect for clean decisions, clear boundaries, and finishing what you started. Mercury’s quincunx to Uranus hits the next morning, so keep your plans flexible and your expectations human, adjust instead of forcing. And with Mercury square Neptune on January 1, think of the next two days as “Label things, confirm things, and double-check things”, especially anything involving schedules, rides, and money.

Astro Snapshot for Party or Family Gathering New Year’s Eve (31 December 2025)

If you are hosting on the eve of the 31st, The Moon moves into Gemini that morning, which makes people chatty, curious, and a little more scattered in a fun way if you give it a container. Keep the party simple and clearly structured.  One main snack table, one main drink station, obvious trash and recycling, and a visible “quiet corner” for anyone who needs a breather. As you roll into January 1, Mercury square Neptune can blur signals and inflate assumptions, so avoid complicated plans.  Keep directions and timing written down, and do not play telephone with sensitive topics. This is a night for lightness, warmth, and good music, not for solving family history or making big promises. I’ll give you New Year’s Day astro-hosting with tomorrow’s post.

Here’s a full-home reset that’s strong, simple, and safe if you need it. It’s built for those “this place has been through it” moments, accidents, blow-up arguments, loss, damage, fear, and unexpected short or long-term guests.

Ritual of Return and Balance

What you need:  Salt, a bowl of water, a white candle, a small dish for the salt, a broom, and sound such as a bell, clapping, or music. Optional: Rosemary, bay, orange peel, or a clean essential oil you tolerate, one drop only, diluted.

Set the boundary

Open one window, even a crack. Stand at the front door with the candle unlit and say, “This home is mine to bless.  This home is mine to protect.  Only what serves my well-being may remain.”  Place the candle in the main room.

Make Holy Water

In the bowl of water add a pinch of salt. Stir clockwise three times and say, “Salt of earth, water of life, take what is heavy, leave only light.” Sprinkle in the four corners of every room.

Clear with sound

Start in the room where the accident or argument happened (or where a guest has spent a great deal of time).  If you are unsure where to begin – choose the central most room of your living area. Ring the bell or clap firmly into the corners, then around the room’s edges. Imagine the sound shaking loose old static. Say, “I clear the air, I break the spell, what happened here is done, farewell.  I break the echo, I end the charge, what happened here is done, discharged.”

Sweep it out

With the broom, sweep from the back of the home toward the front door. You’re not sweeping dirt, you’re sweeping “after-energy.” Move steadily, room to room, and as you go say, “Out of these rooms, out of these halls, out through this door, I clear it all, no harm, no hold, no shadow stalls.”  When you reach the front door, sweep the last line straight out.

Some practitioners use a “catcher” for heavy energy – a Devil’s Trap Rag Ball.  I’ve used a tennis ball wrapped in muslin that’s been lightly misted or soaked, then fully dried, in Florida Water, or in a simple rosemary or hyssop infusion. The cloth becomes a kind of energetic lint roller.  Sweep the ball slowly through each room, especially corners, behind doors, under tables, and along the path guests traveled.  Imagine the ball gathering whatever doesn’t belong, worries, arguments, stale emotion, that sticky after-vibration that clings to curtains and cushions. If you don’t have a tennis ball, you can make your own by bundling clean cloth and a pinch of herbs into a tight ball and securing it with rubber bands, then “broom-batting” it gently through the space.  Kids often love this part because it turns cleansing into a game, each child with a little broom guiding the ball along like a magical puck, laughter included, which is cleansing in its own right. When you’re finished, you sweep the bundle firmly toward and out the back door (because the symbolism matters).  Escort the mess out of your sanctuary, back into the raw elements where it belongs.  Afterward, the tradition is to break the catcher apart and dispose of it away from the home, because you don’t want to keep what you just collected. If using a wrapped rag ball (no inner tennis ball), some people it as a final release. If you treated the bundle with Florida Water or other alcohol-based cologne, the mass can be flammable and unpredictable, so be very careful if this is your choice and use a burn-safe cauldron.  Note:  Some practitioners use a ball of red yarn; however, burning is inadvisable since many brands of yarn contain toxic chemicals due to additives.  If using yarn, best to unravel and place in trash receptacle off your property.

Seal the impact point

Go back to the main trouble spot. Dip your fingers in the salt water and lightly mark a small equal-armed cross, pentacle, or simple circle on the threshold of that room and on the floor right where the energy feels “stuck.” Say, “Clear, calm, safe.”

If there was damage, add one practical act here, tighten a screw, replace a bulb, patch a scuff, straighten the rug. Even one small repair tells the house, we are back in charge.

Bring Balance Back In

Light the candle. Hold your hands near it, not in it, and say, “I call back balance. I call back peace. I call back steady breath and quiet sleep.  May this home be protected, harmonious, and safe. So be it”.

Sit for one minute and breathe slowly. Let your shoulders drop. Let the room feel you settle mentally and physically.

Close and protect

Take the remaining salt water and wipe the front door handle and the inner threshold. Close the window. Blow out the candle and imagine the glow of love staying in the walls.

Aftercare, simple but powerful

For the next three days, do one tiny “maintenance” act in the impacted area, a quick wipe, a tidy, a fresh glass of water placed and removed, a moment of gratitude. Trauma in a space fades faster when you replace it with repeated calm.

Today’s Reward

Take a cleansing shower or bath like it is a reset button.  Wash from crown to soles and imagine the year’s static sliding off. Then light one candle in your cleanest room and sit for two quiet minutes -- no fixing, no planning, just letting the peace land. You earned your 20 Stars, and you earned a home that feels like it is on your side.

When You Are Busy Doing Everything Else – Cheesy Cabbage and Beef Skillet

Cheesy Cabbage & Beef Skillet

Time: 25–30 min

Serves: 4 (with 4 cups of cooked rice on the side)

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1 large onion, sliced or diced

• ½ head cabbage, sliced the way you like it (about 5–6 cups)

• 1–2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar is classic) – I used Kraft Mexican Blend

• Salt, pepper – I use McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning for extra kick

• 1 tsp of Italian Seasoning Herb Blend (oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil, savory, sage, rosemary) – during the summer months, I use the herbs from my garden/winter months, I use a dried blend

• 1 tablespoon Worchester Sauce

• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic or two garlic cloves (to your taste)

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Steps

1. Brown beef: In a large skillet/pot, cook ground beef over medium-high. Break it up. When mostly browned, add onion. Cook 5–7 min until onion is soft. Drain excess grease.

2. Cook cabbage: Add cabbage + ¼ cup water, cover 5 minutes to steam. (see my note.)

3. Season & soften: Uncover, stir, and cook another 5–8 minutes until cabbage is tender (leave it a bit firm if you like texture). Season with salt/pepper (and any optional spices).

4. Cheese it: Lower heat. Sprinkle cheese over top, cover 2–3 minutes until melted.

   
   

Serve with: rice, noodles, or even just in a bowl.  I normally use rice.

Note:  For an extra punch, I add 1 cup of water (not the ¼ cup) and a package of dried onion soup, and let the cabbage cook in this mixture.  Then drain the excess water – this adds an extra boost of flavor.

Peace with the Gods

Peace with Nature

Peace Within

Silver