diff --git a/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher.go b/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher.go
index d92c21f..dea92f9 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher.go
@@ -59,10 +59,16 @@ func processDir(ctx context.Context, cfg Config, date string) []error {
 			return nil
 		}
 
-		// Skip processed/ and failed/ subdirectories entirely.
+		// Skip processed/, failed/, and rejected/ subdirectories entirely.
+		// rejected/ (hyperguild#81, brain_reject) holds notes a human already
+		// looked at and declined — walking into it would run the extraction
+		// pipeline over a note and publish it to the wiki, the exact opposite
+		// of the human's decision. The whole reason RejectNote moves a note
+		// there instead of leaving it in raw/ was to keep it out of every
+		// path that treats raw/ as "awaiting processing" — this is that path.
 		if d.IsDir() {
 			name := d.Name()
-			if name == "processed" || name == "failed" {
+			if name == "processed" || name == "failed" || name == "rejected" {
 				return filepath.SkipDir
 			}
 			return nil
diff --git a/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher_test.go b/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher_test.go
index fe99be1..7581194 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher_test.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/watcher/watcher_test.go
@@ -176,15 +176,20 @@ func TestDeriveSource(t *testing.T) {
 func TestProcessDir_SkipsSubdirs(t *testing.T) {
 	brainDir := setupBrainDir(t)
 
-	// Create processed/ and failed/ subdirs with files inside.
-	for _, sub := range []string{"processed/2026-04-22", "failed"} {
+	// Create processed/, failed/, and rejected/ subdirs with files inside.
+	for _, sub := range []string{"processed/2026-04-22", "failed", "rejected"} {
 		require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(brainDir, "raw", sub), 0o755))
 	}
 
 	processedFile := filepath.Join(brainDir, "raw", "processed", "2026-04-22", "old-file.md")
 	failedFile := filepath.Join(brainDir, "raw", "failed", "broken-file.md")
+	// hyperguild#81/#133: a human already declined this note via brain_reject.
+	// If the watcher walks into rejected/, it re-ingests and publishes it to
+	// the wiki — the exact opposite of the human's decision.
+	rejectedFile := filepath.Join(brainDir, "raw", "rejected", "declined-file.md")
 	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(processedFile, []byte("old"), 0o644))
 	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(failedFile, []byte("broken"), 0o644))
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(rejectedFile, []byte("---\nrejected_at: 2026-09-23T00:00:00Z\n---\ndeclined"), 0o644))
 
 	// Also place a valid file in raw/ root that should be processed.
 	validFile := filepath.Join(brainDir, "raw", "valid.md")
@@ -223,11 +228,13 @@ func TestProcessDir_SkipsSubdirs(t *testing.T) {
 	// Complete should have been called exactly once (for valid.md, not for files in subdirs).
 	assert.Len(t, processedSources, 1, "only the file in raw/ root should be processed")
 
-	// Files in processed/ and failed/ must remain untouched.
+	// Files in processed/, failed/, and rejected/ must remain untouched.
 	_, err := os.Stat(processedFile)
 	assert.NoError(t, err, "processed subdir file should be untouched")
 	_, err = os.Stat(failedFile)
 	assert.NoError(t, err, "failed subdir file should be untouched")
+	_, err = os.Stat(rejectedFile)
+	assert.NoError(t, err, "rejected subdir file should be untouched, never re-ingested")
 }
 
 // TestProcessDir_SkipsTunnelCandidateFiles guards against hyperguild#88: