Casting off fear

When I was 6 years old, at my grandmother's insistence, we went together with my mom to "casting off fear" at the local witch doctor's. Grandma claimed that this process was excellent for getting rid of the nightmares that kept me from sleeping - they involved monochromatic depictions of geometric shapes that would rapidly expand and shrink accompanied by the screams of an unknown woman... Even then, I was skeptical, and not only did I not believe in God, but this also seemed like a waste of time and magic to me. The process involved being covered in red fabric while the witch doctor poured molten lead into a pot of water symbolically held above your head. As the scorching lead fell into the cold water, it would form eerie black shapes accompanied by loud sounds. Then you had to run out into the fresh air and take a breath. Based on the shapes formed, the witch doctor would assess the cause of the nightmares and their severity. The red fabric would be thrown over the roof, and the lead