Some sessions announce themselves before they begin.

I had been preparing for this one all week, talking with my tutor about what had happened, studying cord-cutting, learning the use of sound to open and close portals, working with Hekate in my own practice to be ready for what might come. I wasn’t certain it would happen in session 3. I told myself I was ready for a normal session if that’s what was needed.

Then Maya knocked on my door, and there was a bird clinging to the door.

An Omen

Maya looked up at the bird, then at me, and said: “Uhm… there’s a bird just hanging onto your door.”

We both knew it was a sign. I welcomed them both in, Maya and the presence that had been walking alongside her since session 2.

Maya told me, quietly, that today was the sixth anniversary of her stepfather’s death.

Consent, on Both Sides

Before we began, I spoke with Maya about the cord-cutting I had been preparing for, what it would involve, how it would be done, and what it was intended to accomplish. I made clear that both she and her stepfather’s spirit would need to consent or the energy could get wonky. She agreed without hesitation.

His consent took a little longer. I sensed hesitation from him. Fear, not of punishment, but of losing her. I told him, and I told her, that the process would happen organically and that it might not happen today. There was no rush. I told him he was not going to be punished. That the fear he was carrying was the thing binding him, not his love for her.

The Session

We moved through the opening steps, grounding, intention, energy assessment, resonance. Her solar plexus was overactive, heart depleted, throat overactive. The same constellation as before. The body holding its familiar pattern, waiting for release.

During the releasing work, the heat came again and with it, his voice, urgent and clear: “Ok, ok, do it. I am ready. She needs more time with you, and I now see how I am not helping her. I’m ready. Do it.”

I stopped playing. I looked at Maya and said: “Your stepfather is here. He says he’s ready for the cord-cutting. Are you ready?”

She nodded.

I took my consecrated Hekate athame from the altar and, with clear intention, cut the cords I had seen in session 2, one connected to her solar plexus, one extending across both shoulders, where she had been carrying so much pain. I moved with care, never close to her physical body. When it was done, the heat left me. He took a seat quietly at the far edge of the room.

Opening the Portal

After the cord-cutting, I followed my intuition through nourishing intervals and two triads that felt chosen rather than chosen by me. The affirmations that came with them seemed to be speaking to both souls at once.

When the moment felt right, I played the combination that opens a portal, holding the intention for Hekate to guard it, for it to serve the highest good of both Maya and her stepfather.

The portal appeared in my inner vision as deep blue, like the night sky. He approached it, then stopped. He turned to me and said: “I am afraid. Not because of what’s waiting for me on the other side but because I feel if I leave her, I won’t be able to see her again.”

I asked Hekate to show him what it looks like to be a healed, empowered guardian for the ones he loves, what that relationship could become once he was free. She showed him. The energy shifted. The deep blue of the portal moved through pink and gold. I felt goosebumps.

He stepped through with confidence.

After the Crossing

I moved into the nourishing and grounding intervals, holding space for both of them. At one point, I heard him from the other side: “Woooow, this is so kool, you go girl!” Pure joy. Pure relief.

I closed the portal when the time felt right, and brought the session to a gentle close.

What Maya Experienced

When Maya opened her eyes, she told me she had physically felt where the cords were, and that when I cut them, she felt a cool, light wind moving not just across her body but through it.

The athame is a tool of the air element. I found that quietly perfect.

She said she felt content. At peace. The pain in her shoulders was gone. The stomach pain from her digestive issues had also dissipated.

What This Session Taught Me

Spirit attachments are not always malevolent. Sometimes they are simply love that doesn’t know how to let go, grief that hasn’t found its way through, or shame that convinced someone they weren’t worthy of rest. The healing in this session was for both of them. And sound, the vibration of crystal bowls, the breath, the intention woven through the music, created the conditions for that healing to happen.

I brought this case study into Hekate’s presence, deeply grateful for her witness.

Continue reading: Part 4 — Integration and New Beginnings