#cord-cutting

We cut cords when we don’t wish to completely remove a person from our emotional lives, but bring a temporary end to the connection’s place in our lives. It also halts the transfer of energy from one person to another, such as a psychic attack or hyperfocus. Should the two parties decide to reconcile or work on their connection at a later date, cord-cutting allows for that to be done again.

Cord extraction, meanwhile? Is when you not only need that person out of your life, but the risks associated with remaining connected even in spirit are too great. This can be life-altering when the connection repeatedly drains, demoralizes, and causes disruption. Cord extraction is a powerful tool for removing connections with others that are characterized by abuse or other toxicity that cannot be repaired, or when you’re certain that you never want to be or maintain feelings for this person ever again. It is also a necessary element of dealing with spiritual/energy vampires: because they are unable to draw upon a well of their own power, they will always unconsciously look for ways to have access to yours. Though they may succeed at creating a new connection (say, through hostile conflict), it will take them quite a bit of effort by comparison.

It's a common assumption that if a cord is cut, there’s nothing feeding it, so it’ll just die off - kind of like a vine cut from its source. Not so: if the connection is cut but missed, that’s still feeding what remains - and someone is more than likely to try, unconsciously or otherwise, to restore what was cut. Without extraction, that reconnection attempt is more likely. This is a very undesirable outcome for someone dealing with an emotional parasite or abusive person.

As for herbs useful in this work: in my experience and practice, herbs used for expulsion or exorcism are useful for extraction. Black walnut and tobacco, for example, are excellent herbs for extraction - but are advertised often as good for cord-cutting. Garlic is a great support herb for this work, as well. As always, taking more time to research all properties of the material that you’re using is critical for success and post-process well-being.

A note of caution: if engaging in cord extraction, again, you must direct focus on healing that space as part of your process, as well as repairing whatever damage was done to your energetic body (calendula is a good herb to use for this). Thinking back to surgery or gardening. You don’t want that energy to return with ease, and not energetically sealing the extraction site is basically leaving an open door.