Wax Pouring
A Traditional Folk Healing Art
by Diane Schitka

“Strakh Vylyvaty” is a traditional folk ritual brought to Canada by Ukrainian settlers from their home country of Ukraine. In English, it means “pouring out the fear” and it is also called the Ukrainian Wax Pouring Ceremony.

The wax ceremony is a type of folk medicine where the healer called “Baba Povytukha” (old woman) pours pure melted bee’s wax into a pot of cold water and then interprets the shapes formed in the wax.
These shapes may form into whatever the person is afraid of. It is a type of divining for the source of fears.

These fears could be causing the person to experience illnesses in their daily life. It was thought that once these fears are poured out of the person, they are gone for good, so the person can go on living without them.

The wax ceremony is a blend of magic, religion, symbols, and faith. It was very important to the Ukrainian settlers at the time of immigration to the New World, for it was a method to reduce stress and anxiety in the patient. This was a time when the resources of modern medicine were hard for them to come by due to financial difficulties and the lack of knowing the English language.

These folk healers kept their healing art a strict secret and were reluctant to share their prayers and rituals. Their services were not usually advertised and in their small communities it went by word of mouth as to who did what healings. If they received money for their services, it was donated to their local church. The Christian churches did not tolerate this practice of wax pouring and saw the folk healer as a witch, engaging in magic. So, the practice was kept secret in the Ukrainian community.

Basically, the patient comes to the healer and sits in a chair facing East. There are three pourings done on different parts of the body. The number three is a holy number that symbolizes the Holy Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A bowl of fresh cold water (in the old days the water had to be drawn from a well before dawn) is held closely to the patient’s body and hot pure melted bee’s wax is poured into the water while the healer is praying for the fear to be released from the patient into the wax and cleansed by the water. The wax cools in the water and is then turned over so any shapes formed in the wax can be interpreted by the healer and sometimes the patient can recognize the shapes, too. This process is repeated two more times and interpretations are done for each pouring. The prayers are repeated for each pouring done by the healer, asking for Divine help to rid the patient of their fears. A knife is also used during the pouring to symbolize the cutting of the fear out of the person. After the ceremony, the water is usually poured outside under a tree where no other person can walk and mistakenly pick this fear up into themselves. But, before this is done, the patient’s face, hands, and feet are washed to make sure the fear doesn’t return into them again.

The bee’s wax is usually reheated and can be reused over and over. Pure bee’s wax is used because bees are wise and talk to God.

It is important that we, who are descendents of these brave Ukrainian settlers, uphold the traditions so they will be kept for future generations, and understand the rich culture from which we came.

If you want to experience this ceremony for yourself, please send an email to ladydidivine@hotmail.com or search for me on Facebook, my page is called “Divine Essence” and has a profile picture of a candle over a bowl of water.

Diane Schitka embraces her talent through Traditional Ukrainian Wax Pouring from her home in Wakaw, SK. She is a registered dental assistant in the Saskatoon Health Region. Through her Divine Essence practice, she also is able to speak to the dead, as well as being able to bring healing messages for clients from their loved ones from the other side. She is also able to connect to other spiritual beings (angels) and can communicate with them through angel card readings. To book an appointment, email her at ladydidivine@hotmail.com. Also, see the display ad on page 17 of the 21.4 November/December issue of the WHOLifE Journal.