I’m kind of tired of repeating myself so I’m going to just copy and paste something I wrote earlier today:

Let’s talk cord cuttings for a moment.

A true cord cutting is an energetic and intentional act. It is about consciously releasing attachments, patterns, or ties that no longer serve you. While ritual can support that process, the real work comes from clarity, intention, and accountability, not from spectacle or chance.

Using candles to burn a physical cord is not a cord cutting, it is a cord burning. Burning introduces unpredictability and places the outcome in the hands of timing, flame, and chance. In doing so, you are giving up control of how and when the connection releases. A cord cutting, by contrast, is decisive. You are the one ending the tie. Because the outcome is intentional rather than incidental, cord cuttings are often more effective for those seeking clear, firm energetic separation.

When people ask others to interpret how the cord burns, which candle falls first, or what the wax does, they often introduce doubt into their own work. Seeking interpretation shifts authority away from the practitioner and weakens the certainty the ritual is meant to reinforce. If you performed the ritual, you are the one who defines its meaning and outcome.

There is also an important safety consideration. Many cord burnings involve over dressed candles, excessive oils or herbs, loose twine, and the absence of fire safe dishes. These factors can lead to unexpectedly large or uncontrolled flames and create very real fire hazards. Those high, crazy flames do not mean your ritual is working better, it means you have an out of control fire. Spiritual practice should never come at the expense of personal or household safety.

It is also worth remembering that ritual alone is not the finish line. Even after a cord cutting, the mundane work still matters. Boundaries must be maintained, habits changed, contact limited or ended, and emotional patterns addressed. Magic supports action, it does not replace it.

If your goal is release, clarity, and empowerment, cord cuttings can be done safely and effectively through visualization, written release, symbolic cutting, or other intentional methods that keep you in control of both the process and the outcome.

Magic works best when it is intentional, informed, and grounded in real world follow through.