Grave-Bloom — Rite of Return & Renewal

To let what has ended feed what will begin; to turn grief into soil and rise green again.

Opening

The soil is black with memory. Every root drinks what’s left behind—grief, love, promises that never kept their shape. The wind moves through the stones and sighs your name back at you. You know this weight; it lives behind the ribs where old things rot in silence.

You strike the match. The flame trembles against the damp, a bloom of marrow-light inside the dark. Rose coils through sandalwood—sweet and mournful—vanilla clings like a ghost of comfort. The scent stirs the air until the night itself seems to breathe again.

Grave-Bloom is for what refuses to stay buried—sorrows that have turned to roots, tenderness that aches to rise. You feed the ground with what’s finished so that something clean can grow. In the hush between breaths, decay becomes devotion; the rot begins to flower.

Name Your Working

At the top of your journal page, write one truth you’re ready to re-root:

• “I lay ____ to rest; let it feed what returns.”
• “I choose renewal in the shape of _____.”
• “The love/grief I carry becomes nourishment for _____.”

When to Work

Any evening when the heart is heavy and soft. Strong beneath the Waning Moon (release) and during the first nights after rain. Low ambient sound (night insects, soft strings) welcomes gentleness.

What You’ll Use

• Grave-Bloom Candle (4 oz beeswax tin)
• A small bowl of soil (or a dish to symbolize soil)
• Journal + pen
• Optional: a single fallen petal or leaf (remembrance)

Allies & How They Work with the Candle

Create Your Renewal Sigil

1. Write your focus sentence from Name Your Working.
2. Cross out repeating letters; combine what remains into a single living mark.
3. Draw it on a slip or trace it above the flame, then rest it near the bowl of soil. This is your seed-mark.

The Working (10–16 min)

Let the language carry you; follow the steps as written.

1. Set the Garden: Place the bowl of soil beside the candle. Three breaths. On the third, whisper your name like a seed.
2. Light: Ignite the wick. Gaze softly at the flame’s edge; let shoulders drop.
3. Attend to Allies: Red Rose — “Soothe.” Dandelion — “Begin again.” Chrysanthemum — “Hold hope.” Aventurine — “Rise green.”
4. Name the Compost: Speak or write one line: “I lay ____ to rest; let it feed what returns.”
5. Plant the Mark: Press your sigil slip lightly under the bowl (or under the tin). Touch soil with two fingers and exhale down into it.
6. Invite the Bloom: Hold the fallen petal/leaf (or palm over heart). Say once: “I rise green again.”
7. Close: Snuff the wick. Journal two lines: What nourishes me now? • What needs water (attention) this week?

Choose Your Path

• Grief to Garden (9–12 min): Write a short goodbye to what ended. Tear it into small pieces (or fold once) and rest it beneath the soil bowl. Light; breathe; snuff; water a living plant the next day in honor of the shift.
• Bloom a Choice (7–10 min): Write the choice you’ve avoided. Draw your sigil beside it. Light; read it once. When the flame steadies, circle one tiny next step. Snuff; schedule that step for tomorrow morning.
• Devotion Return (5–7 min): Place a red rose petal beside the tin. Light. Hand over heart, say: “I am tender and I keep going.” Snuff; press the petal in your journal as a witness.

Integration Practices

• Carry a small aventurine for seven days; touch it when you notice fresh courage.
• Each evening: one line — “Today I watered _____.”
• Add a tiny dot of soil to the inside back cover of your journal as a reminder to keep growing.

Closing the Garden

1. Snuff the candle; keep the softness intact.
2. Slide the sigil slip into your journal or under the lid.
3. Return the soil outside (or keep the bowl as your renewal dish and refresh weekly).
4. Wash hands; say: “What fed me stays; what drained me goes.” Step briefly into fresh air.

Journal & Reflection

• Where do you feel “green” returning?
• Which ally felt most present and how?
• What simple practice will you water this week?

Affirmation: I bloom from what was buried.

Signs of Completion

Easier breath, softened edges, a small appetite for change, or a sudden desire to tidy and tend. If heaviness returns, repeat “Name the Compost” and press the mark again.

“What the dark reveals, the light remembers.”

© Serendipitous Wicks LLC • Shadow Collection Vol. I