Upper Cauldron Info on vows, pledges and curses
This conversation happened during the Upper Cauldron training last night. Click for the replay.
A vow, curse, or pledge is a binding statement of intent that carries energetic, psychological, and sometimes spiritual weight. These can be made consciously or unconsciously in this lifetime or past ones, and they often profoundly shape behaviours, beliefs, and experiences.
Here are the steps to break an ancestral, current or part-life curse/vow/pledge. These can also be described as limiting beliefs you can’t seem to overcome. Watch the replay of last night’s training for me chatting on this subject.
STEP ONE
Journey to the Origin (Undoing the Root Cause)
Wherever a vow, curse, or pledge was made, it must be met at the moment it was created.
Set your intention: “I ask to be shown the exact moment in space and time that the vow/pledge/curse was set”
Enter a journey or meditation led by your Guides, remembering to open sacred space.
The intention for this journey: Ask to return to the past life, the ancestral moment or in your present life where this vow was created. Be open, you do not need to know in your brain where this is – your heart will know. Don’t be attached to knowledge here.
In the journey, stand beside your past self/your ancestor/s – witnessing the moment. Witnessing doesn’t need to happen with the eyes – open all your senses.
Speak directly to them:
Acknowledge the suffering.
Tell them what they could not see: EG That loss is not failure. That being human means letting go & that they did their best.
Help them rewrite the vow:
Instead of “I will never let anyone down again”, shift it to:
“I will give my best, but I will not carry burdens that are not mine.”
“I honour and forgive my past self/ancestor, and I release this vow.”
Watch what happens to the vow – it may dissolve, transform, or require further work.
Allow your Guides to lead through the rest of the experience.
Return in gratitude, closing space and writing what you’d like to remember cognitively about this experience.
STEP 2
Physically Dismantle the Curse/Vow/Pledge (Breaking the Structure in the Present)
Journey with your Guide and ask to be given a representation of the curse/vow/pledge. We’ll use a gate as an example.
The gate is the present manifestation of this ancestral/past-life contract.
💡 A Ritual to Break the Gate:
- Create a physical representation of the gate. This could be:
- Drawing it on paper.
- Building a small wooden frame.
- Using actual metal objects.
- Call in your Guardian Guide.
- State your intention aloud:
- “This gate has served its time. I release it.”
- Destroy it physically:
- Burn the paper.
- Smash the wooden frame.
- Bury the pieces.
- Scatter the remains – Let the elements (earth, fire, water, air) dissolve it completely.
This is symbolic but necessary. Your body and spirit need to witness the breaking of the structure.
STEP 3
Replace the Old Pledge with a New One (Shamanic Recommitment to the Self)
The mind seeks a new foundation once a pledge is broken. If you do not consciously choose a new belief, old patterns will try to rebuild the gate.
Journey with your Guides and ask for a new Pledge then with that pledge:
🌿 New Pledge Ceremony {nightly for 9 nights}
- Sit in front of a candle.
- Speak aloud:
- “I release the vow that has bound me.”
- “I step forward in my own power, free of past burdens.”
- “I commit to my joy, balance, and truth.”
- Speak your new pledge out loud 9 times. Really allow yourself to FEEL the words in your body.
- At the end of the 9 nights, create a sacred object that symbolizes your new pledge, for example, a stone, a piece of jewellery, or a feather.
- Carry it as a reminder of your freedom.
What Comes Next?
Breaking an ancient vow does not erase the emotional residue overnight. You may feel:
- Lighter but raw. Your energy body has shifted—old fears may briefly intensify before they dissolve.
- Space opening up. The part of you that was locked behind the gate will begin surfacing.
- A test. Life will offer opportunities to prove that you are no longer bound.
Be mindful:
- When someone asks too much of you, will you default to over-responsibility?
- When you feel guilt, will you pause before reacting?
- When the old fear rises, can you say, “That’s the past, not the present”?
🤩 Feel free to ask clarifying questions 😍