There’s no pain quite like betrayal. Whether it comes from a romantic partner, a close friend, a family member, or a trusted colleague, the sting of betrayal can shake your foundation and leave emotional scars that linger far longer than the moment itself. Why? Because betrayal comes from those we once trusted—those we believed were safe.

But here’s the truth: betrayal doesn’t have to define your future. If you’re willing to do the inner work, you can transform the hurt into something meaningful—and reclaim your power in the process. In this guide, spiritual mentor and author of The Rainbow Tablets, Sia-Lanu Estrella, shares five transformative tools for healing betrayal. From emotional release techniques to rituals that reconnect you with your true self, these practices are designed to support deep soul healing and help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and wholeness.

Whether you’re navigating the fallout of infidelity, a broken friendship, or a deep wound within your family, these practices will help you shift from survival mode into sacred self-restoration. Let’s dive into the healing process—and discover how to alchemise betrayal into gold.

Why does betrayal hurt so much?

Betrayal cuts so deep because you only feel betrayed by someone you trusted. You believed in their integrity and intentions towards you. So, the behavior comes as a complete shock. It’s like an earthquake against your foundations of safety. And it can trigger your fight or flight response.

Left unhealed, this response can become toxic coping mechanisms that damage your future happiness. This could include putting walls around your heart, setting out to get revenge, or toxic positivity and spiritual bypassing. None of these will serve your highest good.

Yet, with the right tools, you can alchemise the hurt and rise like the phoenix from the ashes.

5 Powerful Tools to Alchemise the Hurt

Allow yourself to process the emotion

You are an incredible cosmic being. But you are also having a human experience. Betrayal hurts, and that can’t be bypassed. Give yourself permission to feel heartbroken. But do it from a place of processing the pain rather than being swallowed by it.

It’s important to move the emotion out of the body. The most common way is through tears. No doubt, there will be some time of just wanting to lie on the couch. And because the situation is such a shock to your nervous system, it’s common to experience fatigue, headaches or back pain. But if you stay in that for too long, the energy becomes stagnant.

When an impala escapes being chased by a predator, what’s the first thing it does? It shakes off the fight or flight response. Yet, as humans, we tend to store it. This can cause depression, lack of motivation and even illness. 

Each day, bring in movement. This could be a walk in nature, gentle yoga, stretching or flow dance. If the emotion shifts to anger, you could try boxing at the gym, jogging or even jumping up and down and shaking it out of the body. You can also use your voice to release. And breathe deeply. Trauma can cause shallow breathing, so even just deepening the breath brings healing.

Develop a nourishing toolkit

After the initial shock, the instinct can be to push the hurt aside and “move on”. But sweeping it under the rug will just hinder you from manifesting the relationships and life you desire. That’s why it’s important to draw on tools and practices that keep you in your true essence.

The most powerful is your morning practice. This will clear your energy field and align you to the highest possibilities in the day ahead. The 10-minute Rainbow Pyramid Sovereignty Practice is great for this. If you have more time, you might want to add journalling, yoga, time on the beach, or something equally nourishing.

Ceremony will deepen your connection with yourself, Mother Earth and the universe. One beautiful personal practice is cacao ceremony. This heart-opening plant teacher is amazing for healing and expansion. See how to prepare your cacao ceremony here.

Sometimes residual pain might get triggered throughout the day. This could be as simple as hearing a particular song or passing a significant place. It helps to have soothing and uplifting essential oils or sprays in your bag. This will help you clear your energy and come back to your heart.

Be disciplined with your thoughts

Getting stuck in an endless cycle of going over the events will drive you crazy. Usually, you are left with two versions of the person. There’s the one you trusted, and the one who betrayed you. The person you knew “never would have done that”. But they did. And trying to understand how they could have treated you so badly will not serve you.

When you encounter betrayal, it won’t make sense. Their behaviour was not about you, it was about them. Trying to come to grips with it from the mind will only prolong the pain. Part of healing betrayal means accepting that it happened. The mind cannot help you with this. It has to come from the heart. All of the previous tools will assist with this, as will being disciplined with your thoughts.

If your mind starts heading down the rabbit warren, catch yourself and cut off that train of thought. It can help to use a visual. You might want to place the thought into a bubble filled with the violet flame and send it to the sun, knowing it is transmuted. Then replace the thought with something positive that you feel deeply. For example, “I release this fully and reclaim my highest, most loving, joyful and abundant timeline.”

Invest in yourself

When you’ve been betrayed, the aftermath often syphons and depletes your energy. Take back your power by engaging with something uplifting for yourself. It could be gifting yourself a healing program or retreat, getting fit, or learning a language. Choose something that lights up your heart. And keep feeding your soul. Read books and listen to podcasts that feel expansive. Re-awaken your magic. The Rainbow Tablets: Journey back to wholeness is great for this.

Investing in yourself shifts your focus from the past, back to the present and all that you are creating for the future. This is a wonderful way to maintain your sovereignty and consciously manifest your highest timeline.

Alchemise it and find the gold

To truly alchemise betrayal, it helps to arrive at forgiveness. This is not about the other person. It’s about you. It’s about letting go so this experience doesn’t keep weighing you down.

When processing betrayal, there can be a lot of blame. A large portion might be aimed at the person who betrayed you. But you might also slip into self-blame. Why did you not see the signs? How did you let this happen? First and foremost, be gentle with yourself. You are learning and growing. Look for the lesson in the experience. It’s not about “toughening up” or putting walls around your heart. Rather, it’s about seeing the opportunity for growth. This is the gold. It’s how you alchemise the pain into something that elevates you.

When it comes to forgiving the person who betrayed you, this does not mean you condone their actions. Rather, it is about dissolving the energetic ties with them, so they no longer have power over you. And you don’t have to tell a person you’ve forgiven them. If they are out of your life, leave it be. Forgiveness is about you moving on.

If you’re stuck on this, it helps to step back and take a higher perspective. You don’t know what experiences they endured to make them that way. Remember, this is not about you. Or, if you do know their past and feel bad for them, remember that they still made that choice. Nothing “just happens”. People choose. It is not your job to fix that person.

Your only role is to honour yourself. Reaching a point of forgiveness will set you free. Then you can move forward, taking the gold with you. Your love for yourself has to be bigger than anything that took place. Because you deserve that! So, re-focus on creating your most magical, joyful and abundant life. And if you’re ready to step into the next level of your cosmic gifts, you can dive into The Rainbow Tablets books here.