Month: April 2011

Smudging as an Air Ritual

Smudging as an Air Ritual
 
Smudging is an easy Air ritual designed to purify, provide balance, cleanse, or sanctify a sacred space. You can smudge a room, a piece of furniture, or even yourself.
 
Let’s say that you inherit a bookcase from your in-laws. You need the extra room, but you want to eliminate their essence. A smudging ritual can purify the bookcase and bring some harmony back to your living space.

There are any number of smudging herbs, but some are more traditional than others. These three are most closely related to the Element of Air:

Sage–There are several different kinds of sage, and all types work for smudging, but perhaps the king of sage is white broadleaf sage. It is the most aromatic and is excellent not only for smudging to cleanse and purify, but also for meditation.


Sweetgrass–As its name suggests, sweetgrass produces a sweet, light fragrance when burned. Believed to attract only positive spirits, it is excellent for cleansing a sacred space.
 
Lavender–Most useful for attracting peace, happiness, and restful sleep, lavender imparts a lovely aromatic, refreshing scent when burned.
 
Smudging can be accomplished by using a smudge stick or by burning loose herbs in a smudge pot or a firebowl. First dry the herbs by hanging them upside down in a still room, a pantry, or some other dry room where they won’t be disturbed. They will need to dry for several weeks.

If you want to use a smudge stick, cut your dried herbs into 5- or 6-inch lengths, bundle them together , and bind them tightly with red thread, which represents the Fire Element. Use a candle to light the bundle because you will want to hold it in the flame long enough to get the stick really smoking. The combination of Fire and Air purifies the space or object and disperses negative energy. Use a feather or your hand to fan the smoke into the corners of the room you’re purifying. Smudging is the equivalent of spritual spring cleansing. You might find that the house feels cleaner and brighter, even though you haven’t dusted or vacuumed.
 
Sweetgrass is often braided into a small rope to be used in smudging. Tie off the ends with red thread. Although you can find sweetgrass growing wild in some prairie places, it’s rare; you might have to grow your own.

RE-THINKING THE WATCHTOWERS

RE-THINKING THE WATCHTOWERS
or
13 Reasons Air should be in the North
by Mike Nichols
copyright 1989 by Mike Nichols

Introduction

It all started 20 years ago. I was 16 years old then, and a recent initiate to
the religion of Wicca. Like most neophytes, I was eager to begin work on my Book
of Shadows, the traditional manuscript liturgical book kept by most practicing
Witches. I copied down rituals, spells, recipes, poems, and tables of
correspondences from every source I could lay hands on. Those generally fell
into two broad categories: published works, such as the many books available on
Witchcraft and magic; and unpublished works, mainly other Witches’ Books of
Shadows.

Twenty years ago, most of us were “traditional” enough to copy everything by
hand. (Today, photocopying and even computer modem transfers are becoming de
rigueur.) Always, we were admonished to copy “every dot and comma”, making an
exact transcription of the original, since any variation in the ceremony might
cause major problems for the magician. Seldom, if ever, did anyone pause to
consider where these rituals came from in the first place, or who composed them.
Most of us, alas, did not know and did not care. It was enough just to follow
the rubrics and do the rituals as prescribed.

But something brought me to an abrupt halt in my copying frenzy. I had dutifully
copied rituals from different sources, and suddenly realized they contained
conflicting elements. I found myself comparing the two versions, wondering which
one was “right”, “correct”, “authentic”, “original”, “older”, etc. This gave
rise to the more general questions about where a ritual came from in the first
place. Who created it? Was it created by one person or many? Was it ever
altered in transmission? If so, was it by accident or intent? Do we know? Is
there ever any way to find out? How did a particular ritual get into a Coven’s
Book of Shadows? From another, older, Book of Shadows? Or from a published
source? If so, where did the author of the published work get it?

I had barely scratched the surface, and yet I could already see that the
questions being raised were very complex. (Now, all these years later, I am
more convinced than ever of the daunting complexity of Neo-Pagan liturgical
history. And I am equally convinced of the great importance of this topic for a
thorough understanding of modern Witchcraft. It may well be a mare’s nest, but
imagine the value it will have to future Craft historians. And you are
unconditionally guaranteed to see me fly into a passionate tirade whenever I’m
confronted with such banal over-simplifications as “Crowley is the REAL author
of the Third Degree initiation,” or “Everyone KNOWS Gardner INVENTED modern
Witchcraft.”)

Conflicting Traditions

The first time I noticed conflicting ritual elements was when I was invited as a
guest to attend another Coven’s Esbat celebration. When the time came to “invoke
the Watchtowers” (a ritual salutation to the four directions), I was amazed to
learn that this group associated the element of Earth with the North. My own
Coven equated North with Air. How odd, I thought. Where’d they get that? The
High Priestess told me it had been copied out of a number of published sources.
Further, she said she had never seen it listed any other way. I raced home and
began tearing books from my own library shelves. And sure enough! Practically
every book I consulted gave the following associations as standard: North =
Earth, East = Air, South = Fire, West = Water.

Then where the heck did I get the idea that Air belonged in the North? After
much thought, I remembered having copied my own elemental/directional
associations from another Witch’s Book of Shadows, her Book representing (so she
claimed) an old Welsh tradition. Perhaps I’d copied it down wrong? A quick
long-distance phone call put my mind at ease on that score. (When I asked her
where she’d gotten it, she said she THOUGHT it was from an even older Book of
Shadows, but she wasn’t certain.)

By now, I felt miffed that my own tradition seemed to be at variance with most
published sources. Still, my own rituals didn’t seem to be adversely affected.
Nor were those of my fellow Coven members, all of whom put Air in the North.
Further, over the years I had amassed lots of associations and correspondences
that seemed to REQUIRE Air to be in the North. The very thought of Air in the
East offended both my sense of reason and my gut-level mythic sensibilities.
There are good REASONS to place Air in the North. And the whole mythological
superstructure would collapse if Air were in the East, instead. If this is so,
then why do most published sources place Earth in the North and Air in the East?

 

Ritual Tampering

Suddenly, I felt sure I knew the reason! Somewhere along the line, someone had
deliberately tampered with the information! Such tampering is a long and
venerable practice within certain branches of magic. In Western culture, it is
most typically seen among Hermetic, Cabalistic and “ceremonial” magic lodges.
It is common among such groups that, when publishing their rituals for public
consumption, they will publish versions that are INCOMPLETE and/or deliberately
ALTERED in some way from the authentic practice. This prevents someone who is
NOT a member of the group from simply buying a book, and performing the rituals,
without benefit of formal training. It is only when you are initiated into the
lodge that you will be given the COMPLETE and/or CORRECTED versions of their
rituals. This is how such groups guard their secrets. (And it is a telling
postscript that many scholars now believe modern Witchcraft to have “borrowed”
its directional/elemental correspondences from ceremonial magic sources! What a
laugh if this was Crowley’s last best joke on his friend Gerald Gardner!)

I remember the first time I became aware of such deliberate ritual tampering. A
friend of mine had been making a study of the so-called “planetary squares”,
talismans that look like magic squares consisting of a grid of numbers in some
cryptic order. There are seven such squares — one for each of the “old”
planets. While making this study, he began coloring the grids (more for his own
pleasure than anything else), making colorful mini-mosaics, using first two
colors, then three, then four, and on up to the total number of squares in the
grid. Six of the planetary squares yielded pleasing patterns of color. Then
there was the Sun square! Against all expectation, the colors were a random
jumble, with no patterns emerging. Thus, he began his quest for the CORRECTED
Sun square. And I became convinced of the reality of ritual tampering.

 

The Watchtowers

All that remains, then, is for me to assemble all the arguments in favor of the
Air-in-the-North model, which I have now come to believe is the CORRECTED system
of correspondences. The remainder of this article will be devoted to those
arguments, each with its own name and number:
1. AIRTS: This is perhaps the strongest argument. In Celtic countries, the four
elemental /directional associations are referred to as the “four airts”. And it
is a known fact that this tradition associates Air with North. While it is true
that some writers, familiar with ceremonial magic (like William Sharp and Doreen
Valiente), have given “tampered” versions of the airts, it is a telling point
that folklorists working directly with native oral traditions (like Alexander
Carmichael and F. Marian McNeill) invariably report the Air/North connection.

2. PARALLEL CULTURES: Although arguing from parallel cultures may not be as
convincing, it is still instructive to examine other magical aboriginal cultures
in the Western hemisphere. For example, the vast majority of Native American
tribes (themselves no slouches in the area of magic!) place Air in the North,
which they symbolize by the Eagle. (Aboriginal cultures lying south of the
equator typically have different associations, for reasons I will discuss next.)

3. GEOPHYSICAL: If one accepts the insular British origins of elemental
directions, then one must imagine living in the British Isles. To the West is
the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean (i.e. water). To the East, the bulk of
the European land mass (earth). South has always been the direction of fire
because, as one travels south (toward the equator), it gets warmer. Which
leaves North as the region of air, home of the icy winds of winter. (These last
two associations would be reversed for cultures in the southern hemisphere, for
whom north is the direction of the warm equatorial region, and south is the land
of ice.)

4. HYPERBOREAN: In fact, an ancient name for the British Isles was “Hyperboria”,
which literally means “behind the north wind”, thus associating north and wind
(air) once more. The inhabitants were themselves called “Hyperborians”, and the
phrase “at the back of the north wind” (the title of one of George MacDonald’s
faery romances) is still current. Of all the winds of the compass, it is
unquestionably the north wind (Boreas), bringer of winter, which is perceived as
the strongest and most influential (cf. Robert Grave’s goddess fantasy “Watch
the North Wind Rise”). You don’t hear too much about the other three cardinal
winds.

5. SEASONAL: Many occultists associate the four seasons with the four cardinal
points, as well. Hence, winter = north, spring = east, summer = south, and
autumn = west. (To be precise, it is the solstice and equinox points which
align with the cardinal points.) Again, in most folklore, winter is associated
with air and wind, as the icy blasts that usher in the season. In spring, it is
the earth which arrests our attention, with its sudden riot of blooms and
greenery. Again, south relates to summer, the hottest season (fire), and west
relates to autumn.

6. DIURNAL: Occultists also often associate the cardinal points of a single day
to the four compass points. Thus, midnight = north, sunrise = east, noon =
south, and sunset = west. (Please note that we are talking about TRUE midnight
and TRUE noon here, the points halfway between sunset and sunrise, and between
sunrise and sunset, respectively.) These associate nicely with the seasonal
attributes just discussed. It is easy to see why sunrise should equate to east,
and sunset to west. And, once again, from the perspective of the British Isles,
the sun rises over land (earth) and sets over the ocean (water). South is
related to noon because it is the moment of greatest heat (fire). Leaving the
“invisible” element of air to be associated with the sun’s invisibility, at
midnight.

7. MYTHOLOGICAL: In Celtic mythology, north is invariably associated with air.
The pre-Christian Irish gods and goddesses, the Tuatha De Danann, were “airy”
faeries (later versions came equipped with wings, relating them to sylphs). The
Book of Conquests states their original home was in the north, “at the back of
the north wind”. And when they came to Ireland, they came in ships, THROUGH THE
UPPER AIR (!), settling on the mountaintop. (It has always struck me as odd
that some modern writers see mountains as a symbol of earth. The crucial
symbolism of the mountain is its height, rising into the air, touching the sky.
Virtually all Eastern traditions associate mountains, favorite abodes of gurus,
with air. A CAVE would be a better symbol of earth than a mountain.) In Welsh
mythology, too, Math the Ancient, chief god of Gwynedd (or NORTH Wales), is
specifically associated with wind, which can carry people’s thoughts to him.

8. YIN/YANG: Many occultists believe that the four elements have yin/yang
connections. Both air and fire are seen as masculine, while earth and water are
seen as feminine. If air is associated with the north point of the magic
circle, and earth is east, then one achieves a yin/yang alternation as one
circumambulates the circle. As one passes the cardinal points of east, south,
west, and north, one passes feminine, masculine, feminine, masculine energies.
This alternating flux of plus/minus, push/pull, masculine/feminine, is the very
pulse of the universe, considered of great importance by most occultists. That
it was equally important to our ancestors is evidenced by standing stones in the
British Isles. At sites like the Kennet Avenue of Braga, the tall, slender,
masculine, phallic stones alternate precisely with the shorter, diamond-shaped
yoni stones.

9. GENERATOR: This argument flows out of the previous one. Practicing magicians
often think of the magic circle as a kind of psychic generator. Witches in
particular like to perform circle dances to “raise the cone of power”. Hand in
hand, and alternating man and woman, they dance clockwise (deosil) around the
circle, moving faster and faster until the power is released. This model has an
uncanny resemblance to an electrical generator, as man and woman alternately
pass each of the four “poles” of the magic circle. These poles themselves MUST
alternate between plus and minus if power is to be raised. This means that if
the masculine fire is in the south, then the masculine air MUST be in the north.
If the feminine water is in the west, then the feminine earth MUST be in the
east. If any adjacent pair were switched, the generator would stop dead.

10. MASCULINE/FEMININE AXIS: When you look at a typical map, north (the cardinal
direction) is at the top. Any north-south road is a vertical line, and any
east-west road is a horizontal line. Likewise, a “map” of a magic circle makes
the vertical north-south axis masculine (with air and fire), while the
horizontal east-west axis is feminine (earth and water). This makes logical
sense. When we look at the horizon of the earth, we see a horizontal line.
Water also seeks a horizontal plane. Feminine elements, considered “passive”,
have a natural tendency to “lay down”. Fire, on the other hand, always assumes
an erect or vertical position. Air, too, can rise upward, as earth and water
cannot. Masculine elements, being “active”, have a natural tendency to “stand
up”.

11. ALTAR TOOLS: In modern Witchcraft, there are four principal altar tools, the
same four tools shown on the Tarot card, the Magician. They also correspond to
the four Tarot suits, the four ancient treasures of Ireland, and the four
“hallows” of Arthurian legend. And, like the four elements, two of them are
feminine and two of them are masculine. The pentacle is a shallow dish
inscribed with a pentagram, representing earth, and is here placed in the east.
The womb-shaped chalice, symbolizing water, is placed in the west. They form
the horizontal feminine axis. The phallic-shaped wand, representing fire, is
placed in the south. And the equally phallic-shaped athame is placed in the
north. They form the vertical masculine axis. (The gender associations of cup
and blade are especially emphasized in the ritual blessing of wine.)

12. AXIS SYMBOLISM: In nearly every culture, the vertical line is a symbol of
yang, or masculine energy. The horizontal line is yin, feminine energy. When
the vertical masculine line penetrates the horizontal feminine line, forming the
ancient Pagan symbol of the equal-armed cross, it becomes a symbol of life, and
life-force. Place a circle around it or on it, and you have a circle-cross or
“Celtic” cross, symbol of everlasting life. (Please note the importance of the
EQUAL-armed cross. If one arm is longer or shorter, then the four elements are
out of balance. The Christian or “Roman” cross, for example, has an extended
southern arm. And many historians have commented on Christianity’s excess of
“fire” or zeal. Some versions actually show a shortened northern arm,
indicating a dearth of “air” or intellectual qualities.)

13. ASTROLOGICAL: The astrological year is divided into four equal quadrants,
each beginning at a solstice or equinox. And each quadrant is governed by one of
the four elements. Which element can be discovered by examining the exact MID-
POINT of the quadrant. For example, the first quadrant, beginning at the winter
solstice (north) is governed by air, which rules 15 degrees Aquarius, symbolized
by the Man or Spirit. The second quadrant, beginning at the spring equinox
(east) is governed by earth, which rules 15 degrees Taurus, the Bull. The third
quadrant, beginning at the summer solstice (south) is governed by fire, which
rules 15 degrees Leo, the Lion. And the fourth quadrant, beginning at the fall
equinox (west) is governed by water, which rules 15 degrees Scorpio, here
symbolized by the Eagle. Thus, north, east, south and west correspond to air,
earth, fire, and water, and to man, bull, lion, and eagle, respectively. If the
last four symbols seem familiar, it is because they represent the four elemental
power points of the astrological year, and their symbols appear in the four
corners of the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune. (The same
figures were later adopted by Christians as symbols of the four gospel writers,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.)

If those are the arguments in favor of Air-in-the-North, where are the counter-
arguments in favor of Earth-in-the-North? Surprisingly, I’ve heard very few.
The most common by far is “But we’ve always done it this way.” Not too
convincing. However, no matter HOW persuasive my arguments may be, many have
countered that magic doesn’t lend itself to rational arguments. It’s what FEELS
right that counts. True. And there’s no denying that many practitioners do
just fine with earth in the north. Granted. Still, if they’ve never tried it
the other way, how would they really know?

My challenge to my fellow practitioners then is this: give Air-in-the-North a
shot. Just try it on for size. See what it feels like. And not for just a
single ritual. It’ll take several tries just to overcome your habitual ritual
mindset. And nothing is as habitual as ritual! So in order to give this a fair
shake, you’ll have to do a whole series of rituals with air in the north. And
go into it with an open mind. Like all magic, if you decide ahead of time it
won’t work, it won’t. Then, once you’ve tried it, compare it to your old method.
Ask yourself what’s different, if it worked any better, and why or why not. And
let me know. I’d enjoy hearing about your experiences.

ELEMENT OF AIR

ELEMENT OF AIR
 
Air
 
Air is the element of the intellect; it is the realm of thought, which is the first step toward creation.
Magickally speaking, Air is the clear, uncluttered, pure visualization which is a powerful tool for change. It is also the movement, the impetus that sends the visualization out toward manifestation.
It rules spells and rituals involving travel, instruction, freedom, obtaining knowledge, discovering lost items, uncovering lies and so on.
It can also be used to develop the psychic faculties.
Spells involving Air usually include the act of placing an object in the air or dropping something off the side of a mountain or other high places so that the object actually connects physically with the element.
Air is masculine, being dry, expansive and active. It is the element that excels in places of learning, and which is work while we theorize, think and ponder.
Air rules the East because this is the direction of the greatest light, and the light of wisdom and consciousness. Its color is yellow, the yellow of the Sun and the sky at dawn.
Air governs the magick of the four winds, most divination. concentration and visualization magick.

Blowing In The Wind

Blowing In The Wind
 
 
In the Wiccan Tradition, Air is the Element of the East and might be represented on an altar by incense, feathers or an athame. It can be as soft as a whispered breath and as violent as a tornado, so it isn’t an Element to be taken lightly. It should come as no surprise that particularly persistent winds have even been given names—the Scirocco winds in the Mediterranean and the Santa Ana winds on the United States West Coast, for example. When these winds blow, they can literally change people’s temperaments and often fan wild fires. When mixed with another power Element, Water, Air can produce a fury we call hurricanes.
 
But Air is a necessary and benevolent Element, too. Without even thinking about it, we use our breath to blow out candles, sing songs of celebration and whisper secrets. How often have you “stepped out for a breath of fresh air”? Used during meditation and to alleviate the pains of childbirth, the Element of Air is healing and vital.

Attributes of Air

Attributes of Air
Abstract Learing
Creativity of Mind
Inuition
Intellect
Breath
Mental Powers
Towers
Rules of Mind
Thought
Visions
Ideologies
Ideas
Wind
Imagination
Physic Powers
Wisdom
Peaks
Theory
Windswept Hills
Plains
High Mountains
Knowledge

MAKING AN ATHAME

MAKING AN ATHAME

An athame is traditionally a double-bladed knife with a black handle. Very few
people make their own, although it is possible to do so. Most people obtain one
and personalize it in some way. This is most commonly done by inscribing
symbols or runes on it. In some traditions specific symbols are required and
have been handed down through their lineage. In others and among eclectic Wicca
groups, these can be personal.

How do you do this? You cover the blade with Paraffin. (WAX) Then you let it
cool. Next you take a LONG sharp NAIL and inscribe the symbols in the wax.
Then you use dilute Hydrochloric acid – careful, this stuff is dangerous, and
drop by drop place on the blade where it shows through due to your inscriptions.
When the acid has worked – usually fairly quickly – you rinse the blade under
running water THOROUGHLY and then you use VERY hot water and a lot of elbow
grease to remove the wax.

If ANY ACID FALLS ON THE SKIN RINSE THOROUGHLY UNDER COLD WATER IMMEDIATELY and
if there is a burn of any type, seek immediate medical help. IF it gets in the
eyes, again rinse immediately and completely and CALL THE EMT/PARAMEDIC UNITS.
It is best when doing this if you wear either some type of glasses or goggles
and rubber gloves.

DO NOT INGEST THE ACID OR LEAVE IT WHERE IT COULD BE INGESTED BY A CHILD OR
ANIMAL. Also be careful of how you dispose of the rest of it – do so in an
environmentally SAFE way.

This sounded like a little too much for me, so I tried another method. Koren
made a beautiful athame for me and I personalized it by putting herbs of my
choice in the handle and sealing this with a favorite crystal of mine – again
with his help.

Oh, if you absolutely can’t get a double-bladed knife – in Massachusetts, for
example, possession of such a weapon is a CRIME – get a single-bladed knife and
grind down the other edge as much as you can.

As I said, the Athame is USUALLY black-handled, but there are exceptions – I saw
one Lady use a knife with a deer’s hoof for the handle. She was oriented toward
her Native American heritage as much as her Craft, so it had deep significance
for her. I also saw – in fact a friend of mine was selling it – a BEAUTIFUL
homemade athame with copper tubing forming a cross hilt and crystals in each of
the three tips for the handle. (this was almost a small sword) AS ALWAYS USE
WHAT SPEAKS TO YOUR OWN SOUL!!!!!

The athame is usually NOT used in circle for anything other than ritual and
ceremonial purposed. If you need to inscribe a candle for Magick or slice the
bread for the cakes and wine part of the rite, you usually use a BOLINE or white
– handled knife, often a small dagger or even a pen-knife, set aside for these
purposes.

ALTARS (Misc. Thoughts)

ALTARS (Misc. Thoughts)
Chris Olmstead

As for Altar set ups…

1. I once read Crowley’s remarks on how he contrived his stuff while he was out
wandering the world or climbing mountains. He found ways to just use the
simple things from his kit…cook knife became Athame, tin cup became the
Cup…etc.

This sort of ‘kitchen witch’ working is accepted by lots of folks. You can set an
altar up and take it down as fast as you can set a table.

2. I also have noted the “Porto-Pagan” set-ups at some of the Pagan Fests I’ve
attended. Carry the stuff in a cardboard box that can be up-ended for an altar, or
even placed on it’s side for a rain-proof ‘shrine’. Close and carry off at the end of
the visit with a minimum of re-wrapping to protect the fragiles. Some just contrive
one with the natural objects at hand…a rock, a stick, a lantern or candle, etc.

3. Some folks (including myself) have a small duffle into which I’ve placed a
second set of “traveling” working tools. I have the great good-fortune of having
friends who give me cool things. The coolest stay on my Altar, the second-
coolest hang out in the sac, and sometimes I shift the goodies around.

4. I have a buncha books that offer arrangements I find a bit Over-whelming, but
I can certainly post them, if you really need them. If you want me to fetch out
Official Altar diagrams from some of the slick commercial works I have on the
shelf, RSVP.

5. For “public” Altar, in my home, I ‘clutter’ a shelf, a mantle, or a small window
sill. It sounds to me as though, since all your stuff is packed andyour space is
totally compressed, that the “window sill” Altar is a good solution for you. I put a
little origami pinwheel up on an Eastern sill, a small shell on a Western one, a
tiny oil lamp on a Southern one, and a pretty rock on a Northern one. The whole
House is the Altar “Table”.

To clear my space I have been known to light a stick of incense, scaling it
upward in my mind until I am swinging a huge flaming brand before the various
Darks I’m dispelling, and run through the house screaming and raving aloud until
they back off. A joss stick lasts about 20 minutes. I can almost guarantee that if
you summon your Ki and Incant over a flaming brand for 15 minutes, most
Shadows _will_ go elsewhere. I haven’t had to do it in THIS house more than
twice in 3 years

Collecting and Preparing a Magickal Wood

Collecting and Preparing a Magickal Wood 

Most Witches prefer to use a fallen branch rather than cutting a limb from a tree, feeling that taking from the tree with a blade is disrespectful. Others believe that if you ask the tree and indicate your purpose, you can tell if the tree gives permission by laying your hand softly on the bark. If you feel unhappy, sad, or like you’re being brushed off, permission is not granted. If, however, you feel a warm flowing sensation, then the tree has give its permission. An offering should always be left at the base of the tree if a branch is taken in this way.

The wood should be left in a warm, dry place and allowed to cure, if it was living when taken. Fallen branches may already be sufficiently dried. If in doubt, treat it as living wood. Some Witches prefer to leave the bark on the wood, where others peel away the bark with a pocket knife, then sand the surface with sandpaper until smooth to the touch. The soft surface takes paint and wood-burning techniques better than the bark. The choice is yours. As a final touch you may wish to wrap the handle portion with leather or other soft cloth. Some Witches add crystals and gems to the point that will direct the current, either gluing or wiring the stone into place with thin copper or silver wire.

Empowerment Ceremony for Wands, Rods, Staves, Stangs, and Brooms

Empowerment Ceremony for Wands, Rods, Staves, Stangs, and Brooms 

Timing: New moon (unless the item will be used to specifically to vanish, then choose dark moon or moon in Scorpio).

Supplies: One red candle; holy water or Florida water; salt; empowering oil; incense of your choice; a carving tool or wood-burning tool; a selection of magickal symbols; a pencil (to trace the designs before you carve or use the wood-burning tool); thirteen bricks or white stones; one cauldron.

Pre-Ritual Preparations: Choose and carve the magickal symbols you desire on the piece. Build your circle with the bricks or stones. When you are finished, sprinkle both wooden tool and circle with holy water or Florida Water. Libation to the Gods.

The Ritual: Cast your circle around the stone circle, which will be in the center. Place the cauldron in the stone circle. Light the fire candle and place inside the cauldron. Call the quarters. Invoke deity. Place the wooden ritual piece inside the stone circle. Pass the four elements over the item (fire, incense, salt and holy water). Stand over the circle, raise your arms to the heavens and say:

Mistress (Master) of the Universe! I call thee forth to cleanse and consecrate this (name of item). Empower this (name of item) in the name of universal perfection!

Outstretch both hands toward the item.

(Name item), I conjure thee in the name of the Mistress (Master) of the universe to work all forms of magick for me! Ye shall conjure, banish, empower or cast aside negative energies as I so dictate. Ye shall overcome all obstacles in the performance of these task. At my very touch ye shall awaken into life in preparation for any and all magick and respond with perfection to my very will, and you shall retain your power in fallow days when magick is not required.

So I will, so shall it be!

Rub the item with the holy oil, then draw an equal-armed cross in the air over the item to seal your work. Complete the ritual by offering a libation to the Gods. Thank deity. Close the quarters. Take up the circle with your fingers and place the circle energy in the tool by directing your finger at the tool and envisioning the energy leaving your finger and entering the tool. Leave the item in the light of the following full moon for at least one hour.

Stang

Stang 

The stang is a straight branch with a fork or Y at one end, and is most used in ritual circle as a type of centerpiece representing the magick of the three –the trinity– in the following ways: Earth, Sea, and Sky; Body, Mind and Spirit; God, Goddess and Unity; the three faced of the God; the three faces of the Goddess; and the crossroads of life. Stangs used today are normally five to six feet in height and are often decorated with ribbons and flowers that match the seasonal ritual. The stang also relates to the legend of the World Tree, and in some ritual groups it is the pole of libation, where gifts of food and liquid are arranged or poured by the base in honor of the Gods. This is similar to the pole erected in the center of a Voodoo rite, dedicated to Damballah, called the Ponteau Mitan. The stang is normally place at the north (the seat of all power) or directly behind the altar. A few groups, often with Druidic leanings, place the stang in the center of the circle.

Staff

Staff 

Today’s staff is either chosen in accordance with your height, or by how it feels when used as a walking stick. Where some Witches perfer a shorter staff, others like the extended length. Of all the wooden tools, the staff is often seen as a symbol of honor and authority, and is normally decorated with magical symbols, talismans, bells, amulets, and trinkets given as gifts to the bearer tied with leather strips or sturdy cord and other unusual magickal bits that relate to its owner. In a group environment the staff of the high priest or high priestess may have symbols that relate to how many covens they have under their direction and how many members they have initiated. Like the wand and the rod, the staff is used to direct magickal current, often out-of-doors, but also used indoors if space permits. In more shamanic groups, the staff has replaced the sword. A staff carved with knobs and topped with a wooden replica of a human skull is specifically used at Samhain to honor the dead, or in other rituals where ancestors play a pivotal role: a duo derivation from Canadian Indians tribes and Haitian Voudou traditions, through ancient Celts did put the heads of their enemies on poles to capture their power and honor their valor. Obviously the Witches of today don’t carry reconstructionism that far.

Rod

Rod
 
 
Egyptians, Babylonians, Sumerians, Greeks and Romans also carried rods and staffs as symbols of authority in daily life as well as in magickal practice. Some rods were made for specific purposes, such as protection for women during childbirth, and were consecrated to Bes. The rod is a particularly interesting magickal tool with symbolism linked to power, authority, and the World Tree (Tree of Life/Yggdrasil/Pole Star), and appears in stories of Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, and Islamic magick. If one carried a rod, he or she had the power to settle all disputes, especially if empowered during a storm that carries both thunder and lightening. In European lore, a rod empowered on the Halloween full moon carried great authority over the spirits of heaven and earth. Ancient civilization believed that the rod was thought to command all types of spirits and send messages to god/dess. In measurement is approximately three feet in length, or from shoulder to fingertips. Modern magickal rods are either painted in the color of a Wiccan tradition or group, or are carved or painted with magickal symbols and sigils or the magickal person’s choice. Long-handled wooden spoons (with a handle at least three feet long) can also be carved, painted, empowered, and used in the same manner as the magickal rod.

The Censer

The Censer
 

The censer is one of the basical elements in arranging the altar for ritual. Whether we use our incense in sticks, cones or grain, we must have a vessel to hold the ashes and isolates the altar from the heat of the burning incense.

If we’re using sticks, the best will be to have a shallow, wide mouth recipient (like a soup bowl), full of sand, where we’ll nail the sticks to consume. The same if we’re using cones. If we want to use grains, the censer must be heat-proof, for the burning coals will release extreme heat. This last type is the most advisable, since it gives us the freedom of making our own mixes from scratch, using a few basic elements and adding herbs or even flowers if wanting to.

In every case, it’s better if the recipient has some kind of handle, or chains like the old Church censers, to handle it without getting nasty burns. We must keep in mind that in some cases we’ll have to walk around with it, for instance, if we’re doing a house cleansing. The better materials are clay, ceramic or bronce, being the former the cheaper but more fragile, and the later the most expensive.

The censer and the coals slowly consuming, represent the elements of Fire and Air in the rituals, both masculine. Generally, the censer will be placed on the right of the altar, needing a case similar to the one we ought to have with lit candles.

The Broom

The Broom
 

The broom might be, along with the cauldron, the most famous tool connected popularly with witches. Traditionally an element symbolising the union of the masculine and feminin principles, was used not for flying, but for the ritual cleaning of the working space, and protection and fertility rites. Some authors suggest the broom was the perfect place to hide the wand during the Witch Hunt, disguising it as an element of daily use.

Sir James Frazer in “The Golden Bough” gathers multiple examples of rituals that involved the use of a broom, generally as a symbol of fertility or fecunding energy. According to one of those, to assest the fertility of the fields a young woman had to circle them once they were sown, naked and riding a broomstick. In these rituals might be seen the remains of the primal fertility rituals, where the High Priest and the High Priestess symbolised the marriage of Earth and Sky, the Goddess and the God, renewing the fertility of the land.

Another version suggests that if we want a cleansing broom, it should be made of willow wands, which was believed of old to cast off evil spirits. This was believed to the point of considering the whipping with willow wands a sure method of exorcism.

The truth is, our ritual broom must be of the old style, made of wigs or straw, and it must be reserved to a symbolic pass to cleanse the place of any type of energies before starting any ritual, and as every tool named so far, must be kept for this purpose only. The best results will be achieved if we make it ourselves, but due to the difficulty of this task, we can safely leave it in someone else’s hands, if we’re careful enough to do the energetical cleansing before using it.

It’s use is not strictly necesary, so let us not despair if we can’t find a broom maker where we are: we can easily go on with our celebrations without the broom, as long as we replace the cleansing action with a similar one.

The Chalice

The Chalice
 

The chalice is a smaller version of the cauldron as a representation of the eternal feminin and the element of water. We’re talking about a goblet, usually of the round type, in which we’ll have water represented during rituals, even though on ocassions it might contain some other liquid, for example wine during the simple feast.

The selection of the apropriate chalice is a delicate task. We could use a glass one, even though the traditional is made of metal: gold, brass, silver or the like. We must be very careful when choosing, preffering the ones with their inside covered in glass, silver or stainless steel, because metals like copper and brass can be poisonous when in contact with alcohol. We must also consider the size, preffering the middle-sized, to make it easier to handle. It’s not necesary to get a very ornated one; it’s perfectly valid to use, if wanting to, one of grannie’s crystal glasses, if we perform the appropriate ritual cleansing.

Shops specialising in wedding gifts are bound to have sets of two metal gobblets perfectly capable of handling alcoholic beverages (the ones that have problems when reacting chemically with the metal), and so can be a good place to find our chalice. Having an extra one can be useful if we want to perform rituals where we need both water and wine (or similar), and we won’t have the cauldron available or we’ll be using it for other purposes. Personally, I’d rather have two chalices: a brass one for solar celebrations, and a silver one for the lunar ones.

The ritual uses of the chalice centre mainly in being the holder of the chosen liquid, whether it’s water to purify the circle, or the chosen drink for the simple feast or ritual libation. Usually it’s use will be the first, and even if we can replace it with any glass, due to the ease of getting hold of one, I think it’s better to chose once and for all, and use the chalice regularly, not ocassionally.

The Cauldron

The Cauldron
 

The Cauldron has a mythological based on the Celtic traditions, and another on popular beliefs. It has been associated with witches from the begining, as the place where the infamous potions were boiled. The symbology takes it both as a tool of transformation (elements enter it in one state and leave it in another) and as an image of the mother’s womb.

Celtic mythology tells us about the Goddess Cerridwen, who cooked in her cauldron the potion for wisdom for a year and a day, curiosly the same time one needs to serve as an acolite before being formally initiated. There are many mentions to the witches’ cauldron, and among the most famour we can name the one featured in a scene in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, when they make a potion as Macbeth decides his future as a traitor. Another legend taken from the Mabinogion tells us of a cauldron that has the virtue of bringing dead warriors back to life.

The cauldron we’re talking about here doesn’t need to be enourmous like we see in the movies. It’s still somewhat easy to find cooking pots very much like we need, even though they’re not the average nowadays. During rituals, depending on the size, we can either put it on the altar, or on the floor, to our left.

The uses of the cauldron varies. As representing the Primal Womb, is obviously feminin, belonging to the element of water. But as it’s solidly built, and usually isolated from the floor by three legs, we can use it, for instance, for every ritual that requires a small fire, or the burning of an element (paper or candles), without worries about security risks. It’ll be usefull in every case we need to symbolise a transformation or rebirth. Also, when full of water it can symbolise the element, though we’ll generally use the chalice. Another of it’s ritual uses can be as a place to discard every material used along the ritual, for instance matches or ashes, to keep them off the altar.

As with all tools, but with this in particular due to it’s possible uses, we must remember to scrupulously clean it after it’s use.

If necesary, it can be replaced by a small metal bowl if we need to burn something, or with the chalice if we just need it to contain water.

The Athame

The Athame

The athame is the practitioner’s ritual knife, symbolising the masculine principle, asociated to the element of Air, and according to several authors also with Fire (for the fire used during the forging of the blade). Other tools closely asociated with it are the Sword and the Sickle (a small knife with a scythe-like blade, very popular in british traditions).

The Athame traditionally must have a black handle and a double-edged blade, even though we’re not really going to use the blade too often. The main function of the Athame (and the Sword) is to direct the user’s energy, whether when tracing the circle, or casting a spell. It’s also used, raised high as a greeting, when calling the four quarters when casting the circle. Some traditions also used a smaller, white handed knife for everything that implies cuting or carving.

The sickle is used in a similar manner, mainly to cut ritual herbs, thanks to it’s shape. We could say it’s a direct heir of the small gold sickle druids used to cut ritual herbs, mainly mistletoe. The only difference is that due to it’s curved shape, similar to the waxing moon, it symbolises the feminin principle, and can be used in some lunar rituals. For more practical uses, it can be replaced with the athame, the same as the white handled knife.

The Sword is not strictly a necesary element, even though it’s highly decorative. It has exactly the same ritual uses of the athame, directing the energy projected by the witch. The only problem it can pose is the uncomfortable size when working in smaller places, along with it’s weight. Unless we were lucky enough to get a short sword, they’re generally heavy items, difficult to handle, at least for a woman. And let us not get into the difficulties of taking it along to an open place to perform a ritual, which can be illega in several countries. Whatever the uses we’re planning, it can well be replaced by the Athame, and we’ll gain in comfortability and practicity.

Awakening the Tool

Awakening the Tool
 
 
Many magickal people believe that once the tool has been cleansed and consecrated (dedicated to Spirit) and blessed (asking Spirit to fill the object with positive energy), the tool should also be “awakened” before each use. The activation process is often governed by the group that the Witch belongs to, meaning one coven may have a special chant while another group may “alert” the tool by tappping it one to three times on the altar, or they may simple pass hands over the tools and say, “Waken ye unto life.” No matter how it is achieved, this process serves as a trigger to the mind that the time for magick has begun.
 
 
 
The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation, Solitary Witch
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Lady A’s Spell of the Day for April 26: Spell to Create A Psychic Electric Fence Around Yourself

A Spell To Create a Psychic Electric Fence Around Yourself

If you are a kind, sensitive person,, you may experience more than your fair share of spite and malice. In time, this can cause you to feel constantly anxious and exhausted because you are unable to relax. You may feel spooked at night (even though you are not), because nasty remarks, sarcasm and belittling words attach themselves to your aura (the invisible psychic energy field that surrounds each of us). By creating a protective psychic fence you can shed the negativity that others have imposed on you and prevent further attacks on your psyche.

You will need:
A fibre optic lamp or two torches
 
Timing:
Just after dark

The Spell:

  • Holding a torch in each hand, shine light all over your body with whirling movements, or stand in the glow of the moving fibre optic light. Picture the light forming sparks around your outline.
  • Put down the torches (but leave them shining towards you), and shake yourself like a dog who has been in water to dislodge any lingering negativity from your aura.
  • Shake your hands and arch the over your head, picturing a gentle golden glow spreading around you like a gold sphere. Say: When I shake my hands I will activate the force field round me so none can harm me with word or malicious thought.
  • The imagined light will fade, but it will remain in the background for whenever you need protection.