When you stand on the threshold of making a public commitment to your partner , there may be some aspects of your past , which you would prefer not to take forward with you into your new relationship

The Burning Bowl is a symbolic way of letting go and leaving behind whatever it may be you no longer wish to retain :

Fear of the unknown or the known
guilt over things done or not done
people or places
thoughts or actions

You can do this by writing down on pieces of paper , anything you wish to leave behind you from that moment on

At a certain point in your ceremony , the celebrant will put the paper in the bowl and set fire to it
The ashes are then dispersed to the four winds