The 12 Days of the Southern Sully A Gateway Ritual for Ancestral Healing and Renewal

“This night was more than a ritual. It was a threshold a space between endings and beginnings, shadow and light.”

🕯️ 1. Setting the Stage

Before the ritual, the air was heavy — the kind of density that signals transformation. I could feel the cycles of the past pressing close, whispering that something big was coming.

It wasn’t planned. It was felt.

The exact moment I knew I had to do this ritual, it was as though my bones hummed with recognition.

The cosmic timing confirmed it:

🌑 A New Moon, merging with the upcoming Autumn Equinox,

☀️ The Sun opposite Saturn, testing boundaries and endurance,

🌕 The Moon conjunct the South Node, releasing old karma and lineage patterns.

Everything about that sky said: It’s time to weave a new beginning from the ashes of what has been.

🌒 2. The Call – Meeting Hekate, Leto, and the Ancestors

For years, Hekate has walked with me torchbearer, guide, and keeper of crossroads.

This time, she did not arrive alone.

Through dream and smoke, a new presence emerged: Leto not replacing Hekate, but walking beside her. The still mother of twilight, the quiet before birth.

Together they represented duality the wild flame and the calm night, the voice that calls and the silence that holds.

Then came the ancestors through symbols, through dreams, through the breath between candle flickers. Their whisper was clear:

“We are here, child.”

🕯️ 3. Preparing the Ritual

My altar became a compass each direction honored, every placement intentional.

Left (West): Hekate- her statue and black candle, a sentinel flame. Right (East): Leto – sun and moon plaque, white candle of stillness. Center: A declaration and offering a bone, seed, and cedar.

Around it all: Crystals and feathers, cedar and rosemary, patchouli and incense smoke the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water in perfect conversation.

This was the moment I stepped into the gateway between cycles.

🌑 4. The 12 Days of the Southern Sully

(September 21 – October 3)

The Southern Sully was not something I created it created itself through dream, synchronicity, and divine rhythm.

A 12-day rite born of the Equinox, carrying the pulse of ancestral healing, transformation, and balance.

🌾 Day 1–2 (9/21–9/24): The Bear Dream

Ancestral healing and protection. The Bear came first guardian of lineage, keeper of deep rest and grounding.

The dream felt like stepping through a threshold, guided by unseen kin.

💫 Day 3 (9/24): Numbers 333 + 444

Alignment of mind, body, and spirit. Foundation and protection. The ancestors’ presence became unmistakable I was being carried, not walking alone.

🌬️ Day 4 (9/26): Card of Elements

Air, Fire, Earth, Water a full elemental activation. The Compass clicked into place, each direction alive. My guardians gave me the full framework.

🔥 Day 5 (9/26): 555 Appears — Transformation

Expansion, courage, evolution. The flame rose within. This was the day I wrote Hollerbone Witch Rising the Phoenix moment, rebirth through creative fire.

🌕 Day 6–7 (9/27–9/28): Stillness + Spark

A sacred pause.

Then came creation: Between Smoke & Shadow my new digital hearth.

A place to speak without shrinking, to honor both the mystery and the fire.

🌸 Day 8 (9/29): The Skunk

A messenger of boundaries and self-respect. Her medicine reminded me that gentleness and power can coexist. Authenticity is its own protection.

🌊 Day 9 (9/30): 999 – Completion & Renewal

Culmination energy. I wrote Reflection: Smoke, Shadow, and the Voices Rising.

It marked both an ending and a preparation for what’s next.

🌔 Day 10–12 (10/1–10/3): Synchronicity & Wholeness

The final days shimmered quietly — repeating numbers, subtle signs, everything humming in rhythm.

Integration over revelation.

Smoke and Shadow stood beside me. The Bear, Crane, Turtle, and Alligator formed their compass once more.

On October 3rd, I sealed the gateway.

🔮 5. What the Southern Sully Has Been About

Each thread had its lesson:

🐻 Bear – Ancestral Healing

🐾 Smoke & Shadow – Threshold Guardianship

🔥 555 – Transformation

🌕 999 – Completion

🦨 Skunk – Visibility & Boundaries

This became a rite of passage a literal initiation preparing me for the Compass rotation to come. I didn’t just dream it; I walked it.

🕯️ 6. Closing the Gateway (October 3rd)

Theme: Closure and Preparation

Light incense. Whisper:

“The 12 days of Southern Sully are complete. I step forward in balance, with the Four at my back and my guardians beside me.”

Pull one card and ask:

“What compass is calling me next?”

Then close with the Phoenix Affirmation:

I walk steady, with Shadow and Smoke beside me, and the Four at my back.

🌒 7. The Southern Sully as an Annual Rite

From this year forward, the Southern Sully will be my annual Autumn Equinox ritual, running from roughly September 22 to October 3 each year.

Core Pillars

The Bear Dream / Ancestors — Healing, protection, deep rest.

The Guardians (Smoke & Shadow) — Companions at the crossroads.

The Four Animal Spirits (Compass) — Crane (East/Air), Turtle (North/Earth), Bear (West/Water), Alligator (South/Fire).

Numbers as Omens — 333, 444, 555, 999 — track signs and milestones.

Creative Anchor — Something new is always birthed during the cycle (this year: Vol. 3 + Between Smoke & Shadow).

🌙 8. The Reflection

As I close this cycle, I ask myself:

“What do I carry forward from the Southern Sully?”

My answer: Wholeness. Presence. Renewal.

This was not about endings it was about integration.

When I walk into the next compass rotation, I do so knowing this:

Southern Sully closes, and I walk steady, with my guardians and ancestors beside me.

“Another strand on the loom, another light for the path.”