To Say Goodbye to the Household Spirits when Moving

This rite is intended to thank and release the spirits of a home when you are preparing to leave it permanently. Perform this rite on your last full day in the house or just before you leave. You will need: a candle, a bowl of milk or honeyed bread (or another simple offering), a small dish of salt, a bit of iron, and a small item that has lived in the house with you.

Choose a central place—preferably the kitchen, hearth, or threshold—where the home feels most “alive” to you. Clean the area beforehand and open a window or door slightly to allow energy to flow. Light the candle and place the offering beside it. Say:

Spirits kind, both old and near,
You who watched and lingered here—
By hearth, by beam, by bed and door,
I lived with you, and but nevermore:

we part in peace, with thanks and grace,
For all you lent this dwelling place.

Touch the iron to the floor or wall and continue:

You warmed the nights, you guarded sleep,
You wandered halls, both low and steep.
You held the silence, took the storms,
Stood by through sorrow and through warmth.

For all you gave, for all you kept,
For unseen steps where silence crept,
I offer thanks, and give you leave—
It’s time for me, and mine, to grieve.

Pause and speak directly to the spirits in your own words—name memories, speak of your time in the home, and say whatever parting words feel necessary. When ready, say:

The bond between us now shall fade,
The charm dissolved, the vow unmade.
I go with peace, I go with care,
This house is free, and I am fair.

No call I make, no tie remains—
You may abide, or walk your lanes.
But I, who lived and worked within,
Now shut the gate, and turn again.

Blow out the candle. Sprinkle a pinch of salt at the threshold of each outer door (or just the main one) and say:

From wall to wall, from floor to eave,
With salt and spirit, now I leave.
No harm I take, no harm I give—
By will, by word, I part and live.

Leave the offering and the small token of your time in the house near the hearth, in the garden, or under a tree. If that is not possible (particularly if you are leaving the home and will not be returning to collect it), dispose of it respectfully at the edge of your new home's land or in running water. If possible, do not take the iron item with you either. Bury it in the yard, tuck it in a wall, or leave it in a hidden place in the house as a final marker of the bond’s release.