Image Magick
Image magic usually conjures up visions of sneering voodoo dolls bristling with black-headed pins. We have the media and a century of fundamentalist propaganda to thank for that. The so-called voodoo doll, which is neither solely connected with that much-misunderstood religion, nor is necessarily a doll, has as its roots image magic, which has been known in every magical system since the dawn of recorded history. Everywhere, images have been made of various types of wood, clay, lead, gold and silver. They have been marked on large leaves, bark, animal skins, and fashioned from lemons, onions, apples, eggs, turnips, nuts, coconuts, limes, potatoes, and the infamous mandrake root.
Sometimes the image is carved to the minutest detail, right down to the strands of hair. At other times it is a crude outline engraved onto flat surfaces such as peels of fruits, bark, or even in the earth herself, scratched with fingernails or sticks into the dust.
Whatever the substances, whatever the spell, the image stands as one of the most-used objects in the history of magic.
Today, after nearly five thousand years of continuous use as a technique, it has a wholly unfounded evil reputation.
True, image magic has been used for negative purposes, but so has nearly every other form of magic. Its most useful contribution to the magical arts is that it enables us to have a plan or diagram for ourselves or those we’re working magic for.
Not that the image actually becomes the person represented; no images are baptized or breathed into life, as in some of the darker workings. The outlines or images simply serve as blueprints with which we plan and make our future selves, always in improved conditions.
Books of magic that crowd the shelves of occult stores today are full of image magic, usually designed to cause torture or death, and the dolls themselves can usually be purchased, through the mail, complete with pins!
But none of this will be discussed here. Instead, the more humane aspects will be explored, and the spells— all of which are easy— are those that vibrate love and healing, protection and blessing.
While it is commonly supposed that image magic is performed with dolls, figure candles, or paper cutouts, the first three spells given here are best performed with a flat dish of moist earth that you have freshly gathered. Before using the earth, remove any rocks, twigs, and other impurities.
Spread the moist earth or sand an inch deep in a round dish or plate— preferably at least ten inches in diameter to give you plenty of room.
This will be your “canvas” upon which you will mark your image.
Your writing instrument will be a sturdy twig, or perhaps a sharpened pencil. Thousands of years ago they used stylus and clay.
If the earth is too dry, you may wish to add a little water. If you cannot obtain clean soil, then collect some sand (or buy some) and wet it until it “sets,” that is, until it will retain a figure sketched onto the sand.
These preparations are to be repeated for each piece of image magic you do. Return the used dirt after a spell to the earth.
Of course, if you can actually perform these spells on the ground, results will be better, since this is the way they were originally done. The spells will have to be modified slightly, but again, it will be well worth the effort.
Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic
Scott Cunningham
Witches Of The Craft® 