Category: Book of Spells

Casting a Formal Circle for a Group or Solitary

Casting a Formal Circle for a Group or Solitary

If there is a limited amount of space within the circle, it is often easier to cast the circle and admit the participants after creating the space. There are pros and cons of doing it this way, mainly having to do with making the participants feel excluded from part of the ritual. In order to avoid this, it is important to have them focus on the people or person casting the circle and adding their energy to what is going on. If you choose to have them within the circle, it is best to have them kneel at the boundary and cast the circle just behind them and over their heads, having them focus on the casting.

With this particular method, you can have one, two, or three people cast the circle, splitting the parts up as you desire. In a large group, splitting up the jobs in this manner helps everyone to participate when there are a limited number of things to do. Any of the parts of the ritual can be split up this way, but some will work better than others. Having more than one person cast the circle is a nice way for a group to maintain the bonds of working together.

When everyone is prepared and quiet, the person casting the circle should move to the altar and touch the pentacle with his or her athame. If the altar is set in the north, all that they need to do now is to visualize energy coming from the pentacle and walk the edge of the circle until they return to the starting point again. Once the caster is there, they should touch the pentacle with the athame again to seal the circle and then visualize pulling the edges of the boundary around to form a sphere above and below. This can also be done by actually using the athame to cast by starting at the pentacle and pushing the energy up over the heads of everyone, around, down through the floor, and back to the pentacle.

If the altar is elsewhere in the circle, the person touches the athame to the pentacle to perform a connection to it and then walks to the east to begin casting. They proceed to the south and then the west and then finally to the north before returning to the east. At that point, they can return to the altar and finish sealing the circle.

NOTE: Circles may be cast in either direction, depending on the work being done. Clockwise (N, E, S, W) tends to be the most common. This sunwise direction is used to invoke and bless. It is useful when the ritual has an outward focus. Moonwise circles (N, W, S, and E) tend to be used for banishing or rituals that focus inward or on the self.

Once the circle is cast, the next person should bless the salt and water to use for purification. Tip three pinches of salt into the water and stir it three times moonwise saying, “By the powers of Life, Death, and Rebirth.” Take this water and go to the east, sprinkling it around the edges of the circle, walking in the opposite direction of the circle caster. Once you have moved all the way around the circle, and if the people are within the circle, sprinkle each of them saying “Be washed clean.” (Make certain that you have someone do this for you, as well.) If they are not in the circle, place the salt water on the altar for later use.

The third person (Or the first, if you are only having two perform this) will bless the incense to consecrate and fill the circle. Place some of the loose powder incense on the hot coal (or light a stick incense) and draw a pentagram over the burning saying, “Blessed be the union of fire and air, the breath of the Gods.” Walk around the edge of the circle with the incense in the direction that it was cast in, slowly, and call the Ancestors to come and witness your circle.

Finally, the fourth person (or number two) moves to the center of the circle and declares that this is sacred time and sacred space. The circle exists outside of our normal time and reality. The shift from mundane to sacred should now be complete and should be a tangible feeling for everyone. The air may look or feel different, or the people may experience a shift in consciousness.

At this point, if you have cast the circle with the people outside, it is time to let them into the circle. The person who cast the circle will take their athame and cut a doorway into the boundary. This is done by inserting the tip of the athame into the circle at the level of the floor and cutting along it to make a wide enough entry for people to pass through. Then they cut upwards to the height of the people outside the circle. They should arch the top and then cut down the other side and across to meet the original point on the floor.

The person who blessed the salt water will switch places with the caster and stand in the doorway before each person as they enter, sprinkling to cleanse them. The caster will hug the person and pull or spin them over the threshold of the circle, bringing them in as a part of the company that will perform the ritual.

Once everyone is inside the circle, the caster will “erase” the doorway by placing the tip of the knife to the floor again and move it upwards, “sealing” the circle again. The “door” should be removed exactly opposite of how it was placed. When you are finished, there should be notrace of a break left in the circle wall. If you can see one, mend it with your own energy and close the break.

Experimenting with Circles

 

Experimenting with Circles

When you feel comfortable in your ability to cast a circle, it is time to start finding new ways to do it. There is no limit to what you can do to create sacred space. It can be as simple as sitting and drumming the circle into existence or chanting something to create the energy to draw your circle. Movement is something used in lieu of everything else. It is possible to use a piece of recorded music to cast it, or to dance to the music to cast the circle. You can create a circle by telling stories or sharing your day with others.

Some of the techniques that can be used will be very difficult at first, and that is why you should learn to cast in one of the first two ways before you begin experimenting. If you do, you know what the end result should be and will know when you reach it. As you develop a new way to cast a circle, you will find certain things that work and certain ones that don’t. Don’t be afraid to change elements around or substitute things in or out to make it work. This is one of the first totally creative things that you will do as a witch.

 

Creating A Magickal Circle

 

Creating A Magickal Circle

Your Spiritual Space

A magick circle is a space where a Witch will conduct rituals and ceremonies. It is the gateway between worlds, spirutal and physical realms come together and allow you to communicate with spirit, conduct spiritual work, rituals, ceremonies and castings.

 

As with everything in the spiritual essence of the world, even a circle has a few guidelines that need to be followed. The circle is not to be broken by someone stepping into this space unless a gateway has been prepared for them to enter. Nor should a Witch step outside the cirlce during a ritual unless a door way has been prepared.

 

A circle is used to draw a visionary broundry that protects a Witch from outside forces while conducting spiritual work. Many witches use visions of blue flames or divine white protection to create this boundry.

 

Others choose to create this circle in the physical sense as well. Either by drawing a circle on the floor in a permanent means, or by using a nine-foot cord made from natural fibers that can be easily placed and removed as needed. Sand, salt or herbs can also be used to draw the circle.

 

When you have selected the area to place your circle, you should Clear and Cleanse the energies before you draw the circle. Many Witches will place a broom at the doorway of the circle as a tool that designates the entry point of the witch or someone else who will be called into this space for work. The broom is also a symbol of a spiritual barrier to keep out unwanted energies from entering your sacred space.

 

To draw a doorway, a Witch should use a wand or athame to cut a “hole” in the energy field. Many Witches will use incense to close the doorway, using the smoke to symbolize the divine energy field.

 

Once your work is complete, you must close the circle and ensure the energy has been properly shut down. Leaving an open gate is not only disrespectful to the forces that assisted you, but also dangerous for you and your home. Closing the circle is as simple as 1-2-3.

 

Thank the guides, teachers, God/Goddess that you called or who came into the circle to offer assistance during your work.

Imagine the energy around the circle lowering around you, toning down and fading so to speak.

 

Finally, clear the space with a blessing and ask the energies to close the gate. If the circle was a temporary fixture, then remove it and store it appropriately.

 

Circle Casting

Circle Casting

Why do we cast a circle? We cast a circle for protection from what may be attracted to what we are doing. There are times when spirits that do not wish us to succeed will be drawn by the power that we raise during a circle. Sometimes it is beneficial to cast a circle to lay down a boundary between the ill will that pagans sometimes encounter as they walk on their path. The circle itself is a reminder that we are now in a different time and space, and that this space is special.

The circle is a container as well. It is used to hold the energy that is raised until it is time to release it to whatever end we are working towards. If it was not there, the energy that we raised would have to be directed into a container rather than letting it swirl around in the one that has already been created. It is far easier to tell if there has been enough energy raised when you are moving directly through it than it is to tell if there is enough in the container.

Finally, the circle exists as a link to the people that have cast circles and gathered together in the past, and a link to those that will cast them in the future. It is a continuation of a chain that has evolved over thousands of years, passing information on and down throughout the ages. While there are very few religions that can trace their roots back into antiquity, it is undeniable that there are traces of those religions left, and that there are rites and ideas that have been passed down from one person to another throughout those long years. The circle is our way of trying to connect to those times gone by and it is our legacy to our children and their children for years to come.

Whether your circle has a physical boundary, a boundary of thought, or whether it is simply a grove of trees that is circular, the ideas are still there. The circle is a construct of the mind, an idea that passes between groups. It is the idea of a scares space and sacred time.

Why do we do ritual? Ritual is a way of trying to connect to something that is greater than the self. It is a link to other people and other beings; a link to times past and future. When people come together to celebrate their idea of the sacred, it is a sharing of something that is intangible and profound. It is a way to experience the divine that surrounds us in nature and is a part of ourselves that is not always understood. Ritual is a time for joy to be expressed in the celebration of the seasons and a time for sorry to be shared in the cycles of life that take our friends and loved ones from us and a time for everything in between.

It seems almost innate for people to come together to share this idea of the sacred. While the idea of what sacred is varies from people to people, there are very few cultures that do not espouse some version of the ideas of the sacred being a time set apart from secular life. Many cultures choose to make the goals of the two similar, thus ensuring that both are successful. Religion, it would seem, is something that is almost an inborn need of humans, a way of processing the things that we do not understand and of being able to celebrate them.

Why do we place the elements of ritual in a particular order? The simple answer is that it makes it easy for more than one person to follow what is happening when there is a common order to what is being done. The not so simple answer is that there is a logical progression from start to end to rituals that allow people to perform their rites in the simplest and easiest manner possible, allowing more people to participate.

Paganism is a group of religions that tends to frown on a centralized religious structure, and so it is important that more people be able to perform these rituals. Simplicity and structure gives the ability of those who do not wish to spend years mastering the smallest component of a ritual to participate as well. Common sense also plays a part in the order of a ritual. For most people, it makes sense to cast a circle and cut it off from the world outside before inviting the gods and elements as it is somewhat rude to make them stand around and wait, or call them and then cut them off from the ritual as you cast your circle. Some, however, find that it makes more sense to cleanse and purify the area, bring everyone in, and then cast the circle and invite the gods. Still others call the gods first and then cast the circle. As with anything, each person must decide what works best for them and why.

Where do we place things in a ritual? When thinking about where to place an event in a ritual, it is necessary to examine that event to find out what the results might be, or the reason that it is being done. If you are going to Draw Down the Moon (Call a Goddess into a person), then you need to consider just how tiring this is going to be for that person. Will they want to run and jump around to raise energy after? Is the Goddess likely to want that sort of thing?

If a person were going to do a drawing down for a God and Goddess, doing that before the Great Rite would make sense as it is a rite that takes the opposites of male and female and uses that polarity to make the rite that much stronger. Ritual creation takes the ability to think about the small details such as this and form them into a larger, successful whole.

How do we know when it is right to do something and when it is not? Start to decide this by thinking of the outcome of the ritual. What is the purpose that you are getting together for? If you are doing a healing, it would be good to invite gods that have that particular aspect. If you are doing a binding or a deconsecration, choose gods that deal with endings. If you are celebrating Beltaine, a fertility holiday, don’t invoke a Crone goddess who is past her fertile years.

The yardstick that any witch must use in creating a ritual is “Does it make sense to do it this way?” If it does not make sense, then find a different way of doing the event that does. There is no limit to what can be done with ritual. There is no right or wrong way to do a ritual. If it does not make sense to call the quarters, then don’t. Because something has always been done need not mean that it should always be done. Similarly, don’t throw out tradition unless it makes sense to do so.

THE EARTH TEACHES ME

Witchy Comments & GraphicsTHE EARTH TEACHES ME

 
Earth teach me quiet,
as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering,
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility,
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring,
as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage,
as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation,
as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom,
as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance,
as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal,
as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself,
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness,
as dry fields weep with rain.
 
A Prayer from the Ute

 
~Magickal Graphics~

Healing Our Animals

Healing Our Animals

  • Eden, selected from AllThingsHealing.com

by Carl David, Contributor to Animals & Pets on AllThingsHealing.com

I have been interested in and have studied and read about healing for years. I was fascinated by energy work, particularly hands on healing and could not get enough of it. The idea that we all have energy within us that can be used to heal excited me. I pursued all of the books I could find that had validity and were written by very credible people especially Barbara Brennan’s “Hands Of Light” and tried the methods she described to see if I could create the ball of energy she described. I did and that was the beginning of a long deep interest which has become an integral part of me. My healing energy comes through my hands…

The first step is to relax, taking in several deep breaths and slowly releasing them until you are in a near meditative state. The next step, which is crucial, is to protect yourself by visualizing an impenetrable pink bubble or field surrounding you so that you don’t absorb any of the negative plasma from the person or animal to whom you are extending healing energy. A very brisk rubbing of your hands until they are warm will create the healing energy. If you hold your hands 4-6 inches apart as if you are holding a ball, you will feel the energy. At that point you are ready to share the energy by holding your hands a couple of inches above your recipient and visualizing blue, pink, violet or green going into them and finding it way to wherever it is needed. You can also place your energized hands on an animal if they allow you to do so. They will feel the energy entering them and have a warm infusion of healing. You will feel instinctively when the energy stops flowing as your hands will stop pulsing and go cold. Animals will pull away when they have had enough; you will know.

 

When the healing session is over, you must shake your hands violently for a few seconds to detach and disperse harmlessly into the atmosphere any of the negative plasma you have inadvertently attracted to yourself. The healing sometimes works with immediate results, other times over a period of hours, and sometimes not at all. It is not within our control to affect the results; we are but conduits for the energy and cannot and dare not dictate to the Universe. If it is meant to be then our healing offerings will be received and will be successful in restoring positive health. It is also important to know that a healing must be requested by the person or accepted if you offer it. It is never okay to try to heal someone if they don’t want it. We do not have the right to impose our will on anyone, even to help to heal them by sharing our energy. Animals will let you know if they accept or refuse.

I have given healing energy to many dogs and even a pony. One of my clients in our art business had a pony that would not get well regardless of mainstream veterinary care and methods. They even tried acupuncture but to no avail. When I asked if I could come to their farm and see if I could perhaps help, they replied, “Sure, why not, we’ve tried everything else. We’d be very grateful.” When I saw their pony he was standing; listless and appeared visibly unwell and despondent. I visualized a pink bubble surrounding me for protection and then rubbed my hands together briskly to initiate the warm energy flow. I then randomly placed them on Chancy’s body and let them move wherever they went from place to place, not having any idea where they would move next, or when. I could feel him receiving the energy and saw it going wherever it was needed in his body. This healing touch lasted about ten minutes or so when he became agitated and pulled away. I knew intuitively that he’d had enough and that was his way of letting me know. I gave him a hug and a loving kiss and told him I hoped he would feel better and that now it was his responsibility to get well. Then I shook my hands violently in the air to release any negative plasma that I pulled from him. I asked my client to please let me know in a few days or in a week, if they saw any improvement whatsoever; that I could not guarantee it but perhaps my touch would help him.

Less than a week later I got a very excited call from them to thank me so much. “Chancy is eating again and has regained his frisky nature. He’s running around the farm like he hasn’t in months; his energy is seemingly endless!” They couldn’t believe it and didn’t quite understand what I did but knew that it was my hands on treatment had allowed him to heal. I could hear the smiles over the telephone and I was filled with excitement to know that I was able to help Chancy.

Since then I have worked on several dogs and even a bird or two, most with success and others with a degree of success even if only temporary. There was a golden retriever who was ailing with cancer as he lay in the corner of the kitchen store we were perusing one afternoon. As my affinity for animals was a passion, I inquired as to what kind was wrong with their dog. I sensed he was sick and they looked at me puzzled that I knew so readily. I explained my invisible thread to the animal world and how I was so attuned to them. “Would it be okay if I laid hands on him to see if I can alleviate his pain?” I asked, hoping. “Absolutely, we’d be so grateful; he just isn’t himself after the chemo treatments. He isn’t eating and just seems so resigned.” Our eyes met as I approached him and I knew he knew I was there to help him. I spoke to him softly, telling him that I was going to give him energy. I felt his acceptance as I rubbed my hands together, surrounded myself with protection and gently placed my hands on him. I could feel the energy pulsing stronger and stronger as my hands moved in rhythm randomly over his golden coat. For about ten minutes I zoned out and was one with him, visualizing the pink, blue and purple light waves coursing through his system, traveling wherever it was needed. He let me know when he’d had enough. I got up, shook off any negative plasma and told the store owner I’d be around for a week and would be happy to work on him again if she’d like. “Oh, thank you that would be wonderful. We are so appreciative.”

I called a few days later to see how he was doing and they told me he was eating and playing with his toys again, that he seemed so much more like himself. I did return to give him a few more treatments and he was much improved for a while but his cancer returned and he eventually succumbed to the disease. I felt as though I had failed and was deeply saddened until I realized that although a cure wasn’t possible, the energy I was able to give him improved his quality of life dramatically and may have even extended it.

My training comes from the volumes of books I have read and from sharing knowledge and experiences with others who have the gift (ability). If it is meant to be healed, it will be healed. Energy is energy and will infect any living thing it encounters. That goes as well for plants, not just animals and people.

Do not neglect traditional Western medicine. Many miracles have taken place and countless live have been saved. Complementary healing is just that and should be used as an adjunct, not a replacement.

I think everyone has psychic abilities to some extent. Depending upon the level of “Openness” and their belief system, the ability will differ. My wife has an extraordinary psychic gift. I am constantly in awe of the things she can see; the information she receives. I have also learned, painfully, not to go against her intuition for every time I have in the past, I have paid for it.

I think that anyone can learn to heal but they have to be open to it and really “know” that they can do it. Some people are far more advanced beings than others and have a natural aptitude, ability or gift of healing.

Sometimes a hands-on healing isn’t possible because the person in need is far away. That is when “Distant Healing” can be effective. The principles are pretty much the same except that the recipient of the energy is not with you so you have to send the energy to them through the Universe. This is where a meditative state and creative visualization together transport the healing energy. It is considerably more difficult but can be quite effective.

I have been dubbed, “The Dog Whisperer” by many of my friends who have seen the effect of my hands on their animals.

Boomerang Spell

Boomerang Spell


 
To reverse any negativity or hex being sent your way, anoint a purple candle with Rosemary oil. On a piece of white paper write the following in black ink: ” All blocks are now removed.” Fold the paper three times. Light the candle and burn the paper in a bowl, ashtray or any fireproof dish. Invoke the power of fire and it’s elemental spirits. Repeat three times:
Firedrakes and salamanders, aid me in my quest, protect me from all evil forms, turn back the negativity being sent.
After the third repetition say:
So mote it be.

Extreme Yang Spell

Extreme Yang Spell

In traditional Chinese belief, what we call demons may actually be a manifestation of excessive yin energy. This can be neutralized by applying the opposing force: extremely potent yang energy. The following serve as demon/yin repellants:

Firecrackers

Mirrors

The crowing of a rooster

Swords

Reading sacred texts and philosophy books is also believed to send malevolent spirits on their merry way because these create order, in which demons(which crave chaos) cannot thrive.

Put the Dead to Work Spell (1)

 

Put the Dead to Work Spell (1)

 

An extremely ancient metaphysical practice that still survives revolves setting the dead onto somebody. Recorded practice goes back to ancient Egypt. Technically, one is merely requesting assistance from the deceased over a specific situation, problem or person. However, there is an inherent intimidation factor involved with receiving a visitation from beyond the grave: frequently there’s an element of something akin to calling in thugs to work over your enemy.

 

A trip to the cemetery is not required. If you know whose assistance you need, an altar maybe erected at home, so that you may discreetly request personal aid.

 

1. The minimum offering is a white candle plus either a glass of spring water or Spirit Water.

 

2. The altar may also be personalized so as to strongly attract the person whose assistance you seek: offer a favorite libation or meal. Set out photographs or objects that will beckon attention.

 

3. Write a brief, clear, concise statement of our desire on a piece of brown paper.

 

4. Place this within a conjure bag, together with graveyard dirt and seven coffin nails.

 

5. Carry this with you, retain it in a safe place in your home or bury it in Earth immediately.

 

6. If and when your petition is granted, bury the bag in Earth.

 

A COUNTER-CURSE REVENGE SPELL AGINST A ROOT-WORKER

A COUNTER-CURSE REVENGE SPELL AGINST A ROOT-WORKER

If someone has put roots on you, make a Counter-Curse. It
will do two things: First, remove thier curse by killing
them or stopping them from harming you. Second, the person
who rooted on you will decide their own fate; no other fates
will be affected unless you desire it through guilt or doubt
— and then the spell may fizzle.

Get a paper, a dagger, a white candle, and a black candle
(white on your right, black on your left.) Draw a human
figure on the paper to represent the person who put roots on
you.

Invoke Satan in your own way. Invoke the elements.

Think of all the problems you have been having, project it
into the paper form, feel the anger fully (this is very
important), stomp, humiliate, beat, torture, and vent your
anger on it, hate it with a whole heart, hate who put the
roots on you, next stab the genitalia and direct this
torture to the tormenter, formed or formless, that they are
destroyed in the name of your body’s power and the dark will
of the Satan within you, that they will die, they will feel
pain, they will suffer, their body will betray them, and
their sex will rot off, and they will be plunged into the
void to be driven insane.

Offer this “sorceress/sorcerer” to Satan as a “sacrifice” as
you invoke hate into the form. Draw a reverse pentagram in
the air over the paper form. Label this person a sacrifice
“through justice and vengance and dominion over the spells
and roots that tormented me that I do not desire.”

Burn the figure still impaled in the WHITE candle. This
DISSAPATES him, and makes his energy and power fly away at
the speed of light.This counter curse works well.

WISH RITUAL

WISH RITUAL


A large bowl A wooden spoon A sifter or colander
As many of the following herbs as you can find: Cinnamon, basil, clover, ginger, marjoram,
tea, catnip, jasmine, ginseng, lavender, pine, sage, cloves.
This is inherently a simple spell but you can make it into an all-out ritual.
Best if done when the moon is waxing, unless you are wishing to get rid of a problem.
Place all the ingredients into the bowl. Stir and grind them with the spoon.
Continue to grind and blend until everything is mixed into a coarse substance –
there should be no large pieces. It should be grainy and almost powder-like.
Dump the substance into the colander or sifter and gently shake it back and forth over another bowl.
The finest powder will get through the sifter but the large pieces will not.
What you should have when you are finished is at least a handful of herbal wish powder.
Make sure you go out on a nice day to perform the spell.
Find a nice clearing and take your wish powder with you in a pouch.
Take a handful and say a chant – it’s best that you write your own so you can state the specific
need of the wish. Make sure you are very clear about what you wish for and how you want to get it.
Throw your powder to the wind and let it carry your wish away to come true!

Dark Goddess Invocation

Dark Goddess Invocation

I am the Darkness behind and beneath the shadows.
I am the absence of air that awaits at the bottom of every breath.
I am the Ending before Life begins again,
the Decay that fertilizes the Living.
I am the Bottomless Pit,
the never-ending struggle to reclaim that which is denied.
I am the Key that unlocks every Door.
I am the Glory of Discovery,
for I am that which is hidden, secluded and forbidden.
Come to me at the Dark Moon and see that which can not be seen,
face the terror that is yours alone.
Swim to me through the blackest oceans
to the center of your greatest fears–
the Dark God and I will keep you safe.
Scream to us in terror, and yours will be the Power to Forbear.
Think of me when you feel pleasure, and I will intensify it,
until the time when I may have the greatest pleasure
of meeting you at the Crossroads Between the Worlds.

STAY AWAY SPELL

STAY AWAY SPELL

In a small pot, crush items that the person you are wishing away hates (say, if they hate
china berries, then crush those!) While you crush, visualize that person staying away from
a certain place. When everything is crushed, then add the four representations of the elements.
these are: 1 pinch of salt (earth,) 1 sprinkle of water (water),
something flaming, (fire) (dip in, then pull out three times),
and incense (air) (do the same as the fire)
Crush again. Before putting in elements, ask the lord and lady to bless them for you,
so that they may work their purpose faster, longer, and stronger.
Visualize the person staying away, while you chant :
“Berries of the trees, make true the wish to me.
Keep (name of person) away from here,
so that I may rejoice and cheer”
Then, smear a bit of the mixture over whatever you want the person to stay away from.

DESTRUCTIVE KNOT SPELL

DESTRUCTIVE KNOT SPELL
If there is a situation, problem, possible menace you are facing, there is a knot spell for this.
Take the cord and firmly visualize the problem in all its agonizing detail.
Become emotional about it; seethe with anger, crumble into tears, whatever works.
Then firmly tie the knot. Walk away from it, out of the room if possible.
Take a shower, eat, do whatever will get your mind off the spell and allow you to relax.
When your emotions are stabilized return to the knot. With calm and peace untie the knot.
See the problem vanishing; dissolving into a dust that is swept away by the cleansing,
refreshing North wind. It is done.

A Ritual of Necromancy

A Ritual of Necromancy

Outside the circle, set up an altar with three candles (the original rite calls for red, white, and black) situated around a black and red triangle, with a picture or representation of the person to be called within the triangle. Burn wormwood and horehound as incense.

1. Make your openings/quarter calls as you feel appropriate.

2. Call upon a force which presides over the dead. The original rite calls upon Hecate with a poetic incantation, followed by an ad-lib request for the deity’s help in successfully completing the operation.

3. Call upon the spirit of the deceased. The rite gives the following: “Colpriziana, offina alta nestra, fuaro menut, i name …….. the dead which i seek, …….. thou art the dead that i seek. Spirit of ……, deceased, you may now approach this gate and answer truly to my calling. Berald, Beroald, Balbin, Gab, Gabor, Agaba! Arise, i charge and call thee.” {The magic words are from the Grimoirium Verum, and though i don’t wish to go track the reference down right now, they are clearly corruptions of latin and hebrew words.}

4. Make an X sign, calling the person’s name. When there is some manifestation in the smoke, Say to it: “Allay Fortission Fortissio Allynsen Roa!” which is also a combination of hebrew and latin. The intent of the words seems to be the giving of strength (fortis) and breath (ruach).

5. Do your business with the deceased.

6. When you wish it to depart, say “Go, Go departed shades by Omgroma Epic Sayoc, Satony, Degony, Eparigon, Galiganon, Zogogen, Ferstigon. I License thee to depart unto thy proper place and be there peace between us evermore.”

7. Close shop.

Incidentally, the rite from the Grimoirium Verum is not nearly as explicit, has different components, and was most likely used to *raise* the dead rather than to evoke them. The process is kept alive today in the caribbean with the aid of certain frogs and fish, and it is possible that the french grimoire records an ancestor of the practice. In both the very real carribbean and the hypothetical 17th century french cases, the victim of zombification is only “mostly dead” and thus the rites fall under the domain of psychological manipulations and not of magic.