Category: Spellcrafting

Choosing Components for Spells

Choosing Components for Spells

by Skye Alexander

It is reasonably safe to say that there is not a stone, plant, animal, or other natural object that hasn’t been used at one time or another for magickal purposes. This book has already discussed the importance of symbolism and imagery in spellcraft, and how witches use sympathy and similars to work magick. As you concoct your own spells, pay attention to the images and symbols you include and notice how you react to them. Choosing and combining the right ingredients is essential to spellworking.

If you think of a spell as a magickal recipe, you’ll understand why the components (that is, the ingredients) are so important. If the components are not measured correctly, if they are not added to the mix at the right time, if you don’t give them enough time to “bake” properly, the magick goes awry.

A good spell component is anything that’s essential to the recipe, something that builds the energy until it’s just right. Each component should resonate with the nature of your intention. All the ingredients must blend on a metaphysical level. Their energies should complement one another and contribute to the outcome. Of course, the witch herself is the key component of any spell.

To illustrate this point, following are some possible components for a prosperity spell.

  • Animal symbolism: rabbits (known for their prolificacy)
  • Gemstones: aventurine, tiger-eye, turquoise
  • Color symbolism: gold or silver (the color of coins)
  • Herbs: saffron (the herb of kings), mint
  • Numeric symbolism: four or eight
  • Timing: during the waxing moon (to inspire growth)

You might wish to compile a list of appropriate components, then design a spell that combines the ones you like best or have access to. Putting such a list together provides numerous options for a witch. He could burn a gold candle, put mint leaves and a piece of aventurine in a talisman, tie eight knots in a cord and wear it for eight days, or carry a gold coin in his pocket.

A good working knowledge of components is essential to effective spellcraft; over time, you’ll know by heart which items to use, just as an experienced cook knows what to put into a soup or pie. Let your intuition and imagination guide you as you choose and combine ingredients.

Written Spells

Written Spells

by Skye Alexander

In earlier times, written spells were the province of a few wise men and women who were more literate than the majority of the populace. In many cultures, the written word was revered as a gift of the gods, especially among the Egyptians and Greeks. For this reason, written spells came to be considered more potent than verbal ones.

One of the oldest and best-known written spells is the word Abracadabra, customarily used to banish sickness. In ancient Chaldean texts, Abracadabra translates as “to perish like the word.” The letters in Abracadabra were written in the form of a descending triangle on parchment, which was then laid on the inflicted body part. Then the paper was removed and stuck in the cleft of a tree. As time and the elements destroyed the paper, the magick would begin to work. This whole process is an example of magickal symbolism, sympathy, and similars — the word disappears into nothingness; the paper disappears into nothingness; and, therefore, the disease or illness takes the hint and follows suit.

When you write with a pen or pencil, you activate the acupressure points in the thumb and fingertips. These points induce relaxation and strengthen the connection to the subconscious mind. Thus, writing contributes to the power of a spell because it helps to center your mind and engages your imagination.

Written words, affirmations, incantations, and sigils are often included in contemporary spells. A written intention might be slipped into a talisman or amulet. Spells are sometimes written on paper, then burned to release the intention into the universe. Witches might write a spell a set number of times — the number corresponds to the spell’s objective (e.g., six times for joint endeavors, eight times to attract financial security). The color of the ink, the shape of the paper, even the addition of aromatics to the ink or paper may contribute to the overall effect of the spell.

Why go through all this fuss? Because witches believe that the more dimensions magick has (with sensual dimensions being especially significant), the better the results will be.

Forming Your Intention

Forming Your Intention

by Skye Alexander

The purpose of a spell is to manifest something you need or desire. That need or desire (or both) compose your intention. When you cast a spell, your intent is as vital to your success as your beliefs. Focusing attention on what you want puts energy behind your objective, enabling your mind to consciously create the circumstances you desire.

“A spell involves words and actions chosen to achieve a certain goal or desire, and is driven by the will of the person performing it. Words, symbols, and tools are combined to produce a ritual. Power is raised and directed out to the Universe to do its work.”

— Debbie Michaud, The Healing Traditions & Spiritual Practices of Wicca

As you design a spell, ask yourself a few basic questions. What is your reason for doing a spell? What outcome are you seeking? How passionately do you want what you’re trying to achieve or accomplish? Are you ready and willing to accept the outcome?

Be very clear and specific when asking for what you want. Remember the old saying “Be careful what you wish for.” Ambiguous statements tend to yield confusing and sometimes unwanted results. Bear in mind that just like a computer, spells do what you tell them to do. So if you perform a spell to find a perfect companion and get a wonderful dog, your magick certainly has manifested — exactly as you asked but not exactly as you’d hoped. Spells always take the easiest and most direct route to manifestation, so if you don’t state exactly what you intend, the outcomes can be interesting — to say the least.

It’s not necessary to envision how all the events leading up to the outcome will unfold. However, you must be able to clearly imagine the end result you seek. In fact, seeing from the end is essential. Hold firmly to your vision of the outcome you desire and trust that it will manifest.

Keep it Simple

Multitasking has become the norm in our busy modern world, but it’s not the best way to do magick. When your attention is diffused in several directions, its creative power becomes dissipated.

 Limit a spell to a single objective or desire. Don’t design a spell to find the perfect partner and improve your finances (although if you attract a wealthy partner, both goals might be accomplished simultaneously). If you want to create more than one condition, cast a different spell for each intention, preferably on a different day. Some magicians suggest waiting until one spell has manifested before doing another. By focusing on a single goal and putting all your energy behind that objective, you improve your chances of bringing your goal to fruition and avoid confusion.

Spoken Spells

In Old English, the word spell meant “story or narrative.” The noun form referred to a recitation or the act of speaking aloud. The verb spellen meant “to read something letter by letter.” Spoken spells were probably the earliest form of spell-casting, dating back to a time when few people could read or write.

Verbal spells, also called charms, make use of the power of sound and vibration. The word charm comes from a Latin term carmen, which means “incantation.” Many spoken spells rhyme or have a distinct rhythm in their delivery, making it easier for the witch to commit them to memory. Recitation and repetition have the additional benefit of forming impressions in the brain, providing a channel for your thoughts to flow through to manifest your intention.

Charms are a simple, no-frills sort of magick, considered by some people as a “low” form of spellcraft (as opposed to the highly ritualized magick performed by ceremonial magicians). Originally, verbal spells probably dealt with mundane matters rather than exalted ones. Prayers, however, also fall into the category of spoken spells. Don’t be misled by their lack of complexity; verbal spells can be quite powerful and fast-acting

Ethical Spell-Casting

Ethical Spell-Casting

by Skye Alexander

Whether simple or complex, all spells involve focusing the power of intention to produce outcomes. Your intention not only provides the fuel that energizes a spell, it also colors the spell. As discussed in Chapter 1, your motive for doing a spell determines whether it’s “white” or “black” magick, or somewhere in between.

There’s nothing wrong with doing “gray” spells — most spells, in fact, fit into this category. It’s not incorrect or selfish to use your magickal talents to improve your lot in life. However, a wise witch always examines her reasons for casting a spell before she takes any action. Sometimes the only difference between a gray and black spell is your intention. Let’s say, for example, you want a certain job. It’s logical to do a spell to improve your chances of landing the position you desire. But if your spell intentionally causes someone else to lose the job so you can take over, that’s black magick.

Black magick doesn’t always involve the ritual of casting a spell. Many people perform black magick without even realizing it. If, in the heat of the moment, you curse someone or wish something bad to happen to him, you’re doing black magick.

It’s also important to feel good about the spells you do. Witches have different opinions and preferences when it comes to working magick, and although certain practices may not be wrong, they might not be right for you. For instance, some witches engage in sex magick, but it’s not for everyone. Stay within your own comfort zone.

Witches subscribe to a few general guidelines that constitute morally responsible spells. Here are the basic spellcraft “don’ts.”

  • Don’t design a spell that might harm another person or interfere with his free will.
  • Don’t cast a spell that includes components or methods that violate your own personal taboos or ethics.
  • Don’t work with languages or symbolic items that you don’t fully understand.
  • Don’t do spells if you are ill, angry, or otherwise off-center, as this can affect the outcome dramatically.

If you follow these simple guidelines, you’ll avoid the problems, pitfalls, and unpleasant ramifications that can sometimes accompany spell-casting.

Let’s Talk Witch – Creating Your Own Spells

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Let’s Talk Witch – Creating Your Own Spells

People who are new to magick often ask if it’s okay for them to create their own spells. The answer is a resounding yes. Think of it this way: someone, somewhere had to come up with the idea for the first spell, and the hundreds of thousands of spells after that. Personally created spells are often considered a very important step in the witch’s training and adeptness.

Once you’ve become familiar with casting spells and adapting existing spells for your individual purposes, you’re ready to design your own, original spells from scratch. Other than your fundamental knowledge of magick, you no longer have a construct to work from. You must devise all the actions, symbols, timing, wording, and other components of the spell yourself—that’s what makes creating original spells so exciting. It’s like being the composer of a piece of music and the performer as well.

The components you include in a spell should support, strengthen, balance, and harmonize with one another. They should also be items you feel comfortable using. Some witches enjoy working with flowers, herbs, and other botanicals. Others have a fondness for gemstones and crystals. No one type of ingredient is inherently better than another, but your feelings will certainly influence a spell’s outcome. Keep your objective in mind at all times as you select ingredients. For instance, if you are making a love talisman, you might want to include pairs of ingredients: two rose petals, two pieces of rose quartz,etc. Consider the symbolism of each component and how well it aligns with your intention. A ring is a powerful symbol to put in a love talisman; a coin clearly symbolizes an intention to attract wealth.

Choosing your own ingredients, rather than following a prescribed formula, allows you to fine-tune a spell to your specific needs. Let’s say you’re doing a prosperity spell to help you

(1) attract money and

(2) hold on to it.

To achieve both objectives, you could combine a piece of aventurine with a piece of hematite. Once you understand the basic natures and symbolism of various components, you can mix and match them to create exactly the right combination of energies.

Let's Talk Witch – Review Time, My Pretties

Faerie-Guardians

 

Key Elements of Successful Spell Casting

1. Like attracts Like – what you are focusing on is what you wil attract. If you focus on the problem or what you don’t want. Even though you say you don’t want it, because you’re energy is caught up in that negative emotion you will attract more of the same.

2. Faith & Certainty. In order to successfully cast a spell you must have absolute certainty that what you want to have happen will. There is no doubt, hope or longing. You know and so it becomes!

3. YOU are the key ingredient to a spells success. As it is your energy and focus that will determine the outcome of the spell.

4. It is strongly recommended that you cast your own spells. As often people will position themselves as witches and offer to cast a spell for you – and they are not aligned to what it is you want, as they are not true magickal practitioners. As any true white witch would tell you that YOU are the best person to cast your own spell, for the reason your energy is closer to the outcome than anyone elses.

5. And harm ye none. You Never Ever Ever look to go against another’s free will. Meaning you do not try to make them love you, or do anything you desire. We each have the right to choose for ourselves. We also are to never wish revenge or pain or suffering onto another.

6. The Rule of Three is that if you go against the right of another to free will and spell cast to make them do something. Feel something or have something happen to them – you will invoke the wrath of the Rule of Three and encounter something back tha tis three times in magnitude of your wrong doing.

Let's Talk Witch – Ethical Spell-Casting

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Let’s Talk Witch – Ethical Spell-Casting

Whether simple or complex, all spells involve focusing the power of intention to produce outcomes. Your intention not only provides the fuel that energizes a spell, it also colors the spell. Your motive for doing a spell determines whether it’s “white” or “black” magick, or somewhere in between.

There’s nothing wrong with doing “gray” spells—most spells, in fact, fit into this category. It’s not incorrect or selfish to use your magickal talents to improve your lot in life. However, a wise witch always examines her reasons for casting a spell before she takes any action. Sometimes the only difference between a gray and black spell is your intention. Let’s say, for example, you want a certain job. It’s logical to do a spell to improve your chances of landing the position you desire. But if your spell intentionally causes someone else to lose the job so you can take over, that’s black magick.

It’s also important to feel good about the spells you do. Witches have different opinions and preferences when it comes to working magick, and although certain practices you may not be wrong, they might not be right for you. For instance, some witches engage in sex magick, but it’s not for everyone. Stay within your own comfort zone.

Witches subscribe to a few general guidelines that constitute morally responsible spells. Here are the basic spellcraft “don’ts.”

Don’t design a spell that might harm another person or interfere with his free will.

Don’t cast a spell that includes components or methods that violate your own personal taboos or ethics.

Don’t work with languages or symbolic items that you don’t fully understand.

Don’t do spells if you are ill, angry, or otherwise off-center, as this can affect the outcome dramatically.

If you follow these simple guidelines, you’ll avoid the problems, pitfalls, and unpleasant ramifications that can sometimes accompany spell-casting.

 

The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book (Everything®)
Alexander, Skye (2008-07-01).

How To Make a Witch's Ladder

How To Make a Witch’s Ladder

By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide

A witch’s ladder is one of those nifty things we sometimes hear about but rarely see. Its purpose is similar to that of a rosary – it’s basically a tool for meditation and ritual, in which different colors are used as symbols for one’s intent. It’s also used as a counting tool, because in some spell workings there is a need to repeat the working a particular number of times. You can use the ladder to keep track of your count, running the feathers or beads along as you do so. Traditionally, the witch’s ladder is made with red, white and black yarn, and then nine different colored feathers woven in.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Varied

Here’s How:

Realistically speaking, it makes more sense to use yarn colors that have a significance to you and your working. Also, finding nine differently colored feathers can be tricky if you’re looking for them out in the wild — you can’t just go plucking feathers from local endangered species — and that means a trip to the craft store and some oddly tinted feathers. I’d recommend using either found feathers of any color, or something else entirely — beads, buttons, bits of wood, shells, or other items you have around your home.

To make your basic witch’s ladder, you’ll need:

Yarn or cord in three different colors

Nine items that are similar in property but in different colors (nine beads, nine shells, nine buttons, etc)

Cut the yarn so that you have three different pieces in a workable length – usually a yard or so is good. Although you can use the traditional red, white and black, there’s no hard and fast rule that says you must. Tie the ends of the three pieces of yarn together in a knot.

Begin braiding the yarn together, tying the feathers or beads into the yarn, and securing each in place with a sturdy knot. Some people like to chant or count as they braid and add the feathers. If you wish, you can say something like this variation on the traditional chant:

By knot of one, the spell’s begun.
By knot of two, the magic comes true.
By knot of three, so it shall be.
By knot of four, this power is stored.
By knot of five, my will shall drive.
By knot of six, the spell I fix.
By knot of seven, the future I leaven.
By knot of eight, my will be fate.

By knot of nine, what is done is mine.

As the feathers are tied into knots, focus your intent and goal. As you tie the final and ninth knot, all your energy should be directed into the cords, the knots and the feathers. The energy is literally stored within the knots of the witch’s ladder. When you’ve completed the string and added all nine feathers or beads, you can either knot the end and hang the ladder up, or you can tie the two ends together forming a circle.

If you’d like your ladder to be more like a rosary string, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of Pagan Prayer Beads by John Michael Greer and Clare Vaughn.

Let's Talk Witch – "Knots"

Witchy Cat Graphics & Comments

Knots

In Spellcraft, knots offer a simple way to contain or loosen energy. The obvious symbolism of tying a knot indicates an intention to bind something or someone. If, for example, you wanted to prevent an enemy from harming you, you could create a poppet (see preceding section) to represent your enemy and bind his hands and feet with string. If a witch perceives unwanted energies in a space—especially while performing a spell—she can tie a knot in a piece of clothing or the altar cloth to trap that energy until after the magickal working.

You can tie energy of any kind into a knot. Witches sometimes tie a line of knots of a long cord, placing thought, emotions, incantations, etc. into the knots. These lines are sometimes called a witch’s Ladder. Untying a knot at a later date frees the energy bound therein.

You can use knot symbolism in the following types of spells:

Bindings and banishings (especially illness and negative energy)

Channeling energy into a specific location (the energy can be captured in the knot, and then released when it’s most needed)

Securing relationships (hence the term “tying the knot” to refer to marriage)

“Tying up the loose ends” of a situation

You can tie intentions into knots, too. Let’s say you want to stabilize your finances. The best number for this purpose is four. You could make a money charm and secure the pouch with a gold ribbon. Tie four knots in the ribbon and concentrate on your goal each time you tie a knot. Or tie a ribbon around your bills, using four knots to limit the outflow of money.

The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book (Everything®)
Alexander, Skye

 

Life As The Witch – Destroying Packets, Poppets & Dolls

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　The Poppet and Packet Racket

 

If the magick you worked involved the use of a poppet or a packet (a mojo or gris gris bag, or a collection of objects), feel fortunate. The good news is that it’s one of the easier types of magick to unravel. But don’t breathe that sigh of relief just yet. The bed news is that you’re going to have to retrieve the objects and destroy them. And if you buried them—or even worse, already destroyed them—that could present a problem.

But just for grins, let’s say that you haven’t destroyed the objects, you know exactly where they are, and you can put your hands on them. In this case, breaking the magick is only a matter of destroying the objects. You’ll only have one shot at this though, so you’ll need to do it correctly.

Destroying a Packet: While there are many techniques, I believe that the most thorough way to break the magick is to completely dismantle the packet. Start by removing the contents piece by piece. Set each piece on fire and allow it to burn to ash, then continue with any other pieces one at a time. When nothing else remains, burn the bag or packet dovering if there is one. Finally, toss the ashes into running water to disperse them.

Destroying a Poppet or Doll: Remember how you marked the object with the target’s name? Well the first order of business is to get rid of that. So, mark through it with a heavy, black permanent marker, and continue to work until none of the identifying name shows through. Once that’s done, remove any identifying marks if possible. Finally, burn the doll to ash and toss the remains in running water.

 

Reference:

Excerpt from:

Utterly Wicked, Curses, Hexes & Other Unsavory Notions
by Dorothy Morrison

 

Life As The Witch – Past Life Remembrance Exercise

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I have been digging around in our files this morning especially for you, my dear. I am also on the hunt for the unusual and the different. I know if you are like me, you get tired of the same old, same old. I have done it seems like the same Past Life Regressions and Remembrance Spells for the last five years. I ran across this one and automatically said, “Oh boy, I had forgot about this. Something new to share. I admit it is different, very different from what you are use to but it does work and work very well it does. I hope you find it useful and enjoy!

Past Life Remembrance Exercise

Actually you can use it for many things, but it works well for this purpose.

Get into a relaxed position, lying down is best.  You should do some exercise to open your Chakras. After that, once you are really relaxed.  You first imagine that you are getting smaller.  Like your body is shrinking and you become smaller and smaller.  Then you imagine you are your normal size again. Now you imagine that you are getting bigger and bigger, your entire body is just growing.   Then again back to your normal size.  Eac h time you go smaller or bigger, imagine you are going further and further into that size.  When you are getting larger and you feel like you are above the town, above the earth, just hovering with the stars.  Stay there for a minute.  Just relax and think about nothing.  Then when you are ready to return to your normal size again, tell yourself as you move further down towards the earth, when you arrive you will be at another time, in another lifetime.  You can ask to arrive in a lifetime that will help you in this carnation.  Once you are back to normal size, take a minute and just see what you feel what thoughts are running through your head. You might see scenes or images or flashes of things.  Even if you think you might be making it up, just go along with it as it comes.  Don’t question it or try to understand any of it, just be more like a spectator.  When you are ready, you make yourself larger again.  And again, as you are hovering above the earth, you say to yourself as you return to your normal body size, you will be back in your own time, in your present life.  Take your time to come out of it, relaxed and slowly.  You may want to write down what you can remember about it all, so you don’t forget later.  Now, take what information you received and try to meditate on it, see if you can understand anything that connects that life with this one.

Naming Your Poppet Magick

Name Your Poppet Magick

 

First you will need to form a bond between the person and the doll.  Use this simple naming ritual:

“Little one, I made you and now
I give you life I name you (person’s name)
Her body is your body
Her breath is your breath
Her passion is your passion
Her blood is your blood
Though separate you were
Now you are one.” 

Make Your Own Worry Dolls

Here is how to make your own extra strength worry dolls using your poppet. Make some tiny little poppets as above – 7 would be good! – and find 7 different coloured pieces of string or thin ribbon (tip – you can pull a string from a piece of fabric). Assign one topic to each colour – let’s say:

Purple: Magic/Spiritual/Religious worries

Blue: Work/Study worries

Green: Money problems

Pink: Love problems

Red: Physical/health/self esteem body problems

Orange: Emotional Problems

Yellow: Thought/Intellect/memory worries.

Tie one of these around each moppet’s neck, line them all up and one at a time, give them your worries to worry about. They will not only worry for you, but also in real voodoo doll fashion set to work and go and resolve these worries for you. There’s one thing though. If you start worrying about a worry you have given over to a worry doll, you are taking the worry BACK to YOURSELF and the spell is broken.  Should this happen accidentally, go back to the doll and give it the problem afresh. When the problem is resolved, you can take the ribbon off the voodoo doll and it returns to a neutral waiting state until you want to use it again for something.

How to Make a Poppet

How to Make a Poppet

 

Example of poppets made of felt and fashioned from the gingerbread pattern. Poppets have been used for centuries as tools of magical intent and most often for healing purposes. When people hear of poppets they oftentimes associate them with voodoo dolls. In recent years, pagans have helped to refine the poppet’s tarnished reputation. For the purpose of this, we will work through the basic poppet construction for a healing purpose.

You’ll Need:

Green material

Natural filler (ie: cotton)–nothing synthetic

Spearmint

Needle

Thread (made of natural material)

Scissors

Straight pins

Simple human pattern (the generic “gingerbread man” form works well)

pen or pencil

marker(s)

Step 1

Before you begin, sit for a few minutes and relax. Take some deep breaths and focus on the purpose you envision for this poppet. The emotional energy you put forth will resonate from the poppet along with the magical intent. If you wish, ask Spirit (or whichever Power you feel most comfortable working with) to be with you and to guide you as you make this poppet and that your purpose be accomplished as you intend. Keep healing, positive thoughts as you start this working. Picture the person healthy, happy and energetic with no sign of the illness, or remnants thereof.

Step 2

Basic gingerbread pattern for a poppet. Cut material to the dimensions needed in order to make the size poppet you wish. Remember to cut the material large enough that you leave some material along the outer edge.

Step 3

Cut the gingerbread forms from the material. Line up the edges of both forms so that they are even. Use the straight pins to hold the forms in place.

Step 4

Stitch the two pieces of material together leaving a large enough opening to insert the filler and spearmint.

Step 5

Fill the poppet with the spearmint and filler (alternating one then the other until the doll is filled). Once you have filled the poppet, you can use the straight pins to hold the area together until you stitch it closed.

Step 6

Use a marker to write the person’s name, your intent or to even draw the person’s features. Get creative! But ALWAYS have positive intent and purpose while making the poppet. This goes for all poppets, not just those for healing.

Step 7

If you asked for the guidance of Spirit at the start, be sure to thank Spirit.

 

Tips & Warnings

Keep your intent in mind, and in focus, from the moment you start the poppet til you finish.

For the purpose of this, depending on the size of the poppet you are making, use your discretion as to the amount of filler and spearmint used.

Other possible herbs for healing: Eucalyptus, Rowan, Cinnamon, Sage, Peppermint, Hops and Sandalwood. (Use alone or in combination.)

Choose the color of the material and herbs used for future poppets based on your intent.

You can use one herb alone or in combination with others.

Feel free to include stones associated with your intent as well.

NEVER imbue a poppet with anger, spite or any other malignant intent. Remember, that which you send out will return to you in time.

NEVER conduct any workings that would impose your will onto another person. DO NOT become involved in that person’s life without their asking you to and giving their consent. Harm none.

Such workings as above should NEVER be used in place of seeking the help of a medical doctor. All diagnoses should come from a licensed professional.

Life As The Witch – Things that Weaken or Ruin Spellcasting

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Things that Weaken or Ruin Spellcasting

There are some circumstances that can weaken or even destroy the spell you have worked so hard to cast, so you want to be aware of and avoid the following:

Drug or alcohol use: You should never cast a spell with anything other than a clear head. For one thing, it is insulting to the Gods to come into sacred space under the influence of mind-altering substances. For another, it interferes with focus. (Yes, there are some folks who believe in the use of drugs to deepen spiritual practice; they are entitled to their opinions, and I would never argue with them, but it has been my experience that nothing destroys magickal concentration and focus faster than coming into circle high or drunk.)

Extreme emotional states: As I said above, you need to have a clear head in order to do your best spellcasting. Coming in to your sacred space filled with anger or fear or any other very strong emotion will not only stand in the way of clarity and focus, but you may cast a spell you later wished you hadn’t. This doesn’t mean that you can’t do spellwork when things are bad—sometimes this is when we need magick the most. But try to achieve as calm a state as possible before starting the work. Do some meditation, take a long bath or walk, repeat some calming affirmation. At the very least, take slow, deep breaths and concentrate on the light and love of the Gods until your head is in a better place.

Mixed feelings about the spellwork: If you’re not sure whether the spell you are casting is the right thing to do or not, that doubt may undermine the will you need to feed the spell. Never cast a spell unless you are certain of your path in that instance. This is also true of the times when you are uncertain of your goal. That confusion will sap your spell of strength, so it is better to wait until you have a solid goal in mind, and the will to back it up.

Negative intent: This is not to say that you can’t cast a spell that would have a negative impact on someone else; for better or for worse, free will allows for this. However, you should bear in mind that not only do the powers of the Universe often not allow these types of spells to work, it is not unusual for them to rebound on the one what casts them–either immediately or sometime down the line.

Lack of focus: This is the main reason for not coming into circle under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or heavy emotions; they will simply make it too difficult to maintain the focus needed to create a powerful spell and send it out into the world. But other things can get in way of focus, too. If you can’t find a quiet, private place to cast your spell (the kids are running around screaming, the dog is barking, the neighbors are arguing at the top of their lungs) you are better off waiting for a different time. It is almost impossible to get good results when you cast a spell in the midst of chaos.

Writing and casting your own spells can be a fun and empowering part of a well-balanced witchcraft practice. If you follow the few simple suggestions laid out above and sidestep the (easily avoidable) pitfalls that can stand in the way of successful spellcasting, all Witches can create spells to enhance and entrance their lives.

 

Reference:

Excerpt from

“Writing and Casting Spells for the Best Results”
by Deborah Blake
Lllewellyn’s 2013 Magical Almanac

Empowering Your Sacred Space

Empowering Your Sacred Space

 

Purpose: To reduce the needs of shields and circles in a small area,

(i.e. consecration in a very different way).

When you have found a place where you feel safe and empowered, stand in the center and close your eyes. Feel the energies around you. Sense the forces that dwell within your space and say something like this:

Forces and powers, around me do spin, If thou art good,

I welcome thee in With love and Light, I charge this space,

To work my magick within this place.

Spread out your arms towards the boundary of your circle, visualizing white or purple light sprouting from your fingertips and forming a circle about you. Say this charm:

Forces of Air, Forces of Wind,

Protect me here, the power begin.

Forces of Fire, Forces of Light,

Protect this circle, both day and night.

Forces of Water, Forces of Sea,

Protected forever, this circle shall be.

Forces of Earth, Forces of stone,

Power awakened by me, alone.

Forever and Ever, As long as I live,

My powers and love, this circle I give.

So shall it be.

Touch the floor and see it ripple as the tide of the sea does. See the flames within the boundaries of the circle. Feel the earth below, and hear the vibrations of the Mother. Feel the breezes around you and allow the wind to  awaken your spirit. Know you are home. Your sacred space is formed.

Grounding and centering ritual

Grounding and centering ritual

 

Face East and center yourself.

“I am grounded in the center of my being.”

Visualize energy of below.

“I am supported by the powers of below.”

Visualise the God/Goddess of above.

“I am guided by the powers of above.”

Visualise the unity of self with center above and below.

“I am balanced in the axis of my being.”

Extend your hand to the East. Visualize and make contact with the powers of

the elemental forces. Visualise clarity.

“I am inspired by the powers of Air.”

Visualise purifying/transforming.

“I am enlightened by the powers of Fire.”

Visualise healing/cleansing.

“I am renewed by the powers of Water.”

Visualise nurturing/stability.

“I am nurtured by the powers of Earth.”

Establish the balance of axis and elements. Feel this to be true.

“The forces are in balance within me and about me.”

Feel the Sphere of the Circle.

“The Sphere is placed.”

Feel the Cube of the Temple within the Sphere.

“The Temple is established.”

Feel the Temple within yourself.

“I am the Temple.”

Grounding and Centering

Grounding and Centering

Grounding and centering is the absolutely essential first step for any energy working. It’s the thing that makes sure you are pulling the energy from the Earth, instead of depleting your own resources.  Without it, you will find yourself exhausted (or highly exhilarated) immediately after doing work, and then sick, headachy, dizzy, or faint afterwards. Sometimes the headache can persist for days afterwards.

All of these are signs that something is wrong.

Fortunately, it’s easy to fix! Grounding and centering is a simple thing that is a natural ability in all of us. For some reason (probably that it smacks of the occult) it’s rarely taught in the schools now, though. So this is your chance to learn it here.

Sit comfortably, without any part of your body resting on any other part (no crossed legs, etc.) and smile. (It relaxes you wonderfully to smile.) Begin by looking at the diagram to the left. These are your Chakras. We aren’t going to go into what they are, or how they work right now. For now, just look at them. Notice that they go up in spectral order, starting from red and going through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (actually a lovely, bright blue-violet, but it’s called indigo anyway) and violet. The first one is red and is at the base of your torso, near your anus. The second, orange one is about the width of both hands (with fingers held together, and including your thumbs) above that. In fact, in my experience, they tend to be pretty evenly spaced, and all about two hand-spans apart. The third is at the Solar Plexus (yellow), the fourth at your heart (green), the fifth at your throat (blue), the sixth at your “third eye” (indigo) and the seventh at the crown of your head (violet.)

You probably already know this; but you have more than one body. The ones we are going to be concerned with here are your physical body, and your etheric body. Just assume for now that you have the body you are used to thinking of as “you,” and you also have another one, larger and subtler, that has all the same parts and is around your physical body like two layers of an onion. Think of it as the blue outline in the picture. The point of the first part of the exercise, centering, is to line the two bodies up so that the energy can flow freely. You do this sort of like zipping a zipper. Hold the picture firmly in your mind, and line up the two red dots, physical and etheric, front to back and side to side. As you visualize (imagine) them coming together, hear the note C in your head. The first note of the scale.  Then carefully visualize all the others coming together as well, one by one, front to back and side to side until there is only one colored light. As you do, go on up the scale; doe, ray, me, fa, so, la, tea, doe.  (Yes, I know I’m spelling them wrong; but many people are used to hearing them, not seeing them written out, and this way they will sound like they should.) When you get to the final doe, visualize your whole body wrapped in white light. If this is really hard for you, visualize it going the other way, starting with your crown chakra, the violet light on the top of your head, and going down your body and down the scale. But try to learn to do it the other way, because it makes grounding easier. For the second part of the exercise, Grounding, it is absolutely essential that you be centered. If you aren’t, please go back and read that part now.  Starting with your crown chakra, the purple spot at the top of your head, visualize (imagine) a cord of light going all through your body, connecting your chakras as it goes. See it coming down from the root chakra, and becoming a root itself. Feel it going through your chair, through the floor, through the foundation of the building, and into the ground. Feel the warm, fertile ground below you. And feel your root going deeper and deeper, down through the ground, down below the deepest well. There is a whole core of energy down there. The core of the planet is full of pure, clean, loving energy; and the Earth means her children to use it. So draw that energy up your root now, up through the ground, through the soil, through the foundation, and the floor, and the chair, and into your body. Feel that pure clean energy coming into your body.  And pull it on up through your body, up through all your chakras, up through your crown chakra, up through the top of your head. And as it comes, it washes away all the tired, old, nasty energy, and fills you with clean, pure, fresh energy, energy from the Earth.  And let it come out of the top of your head, and flow out like a fountain, like the branches of a tree, up and arching gracefully down, and flowing back into the Earth. You are sitting in the center of a circuit now; a circuit of energy flowing up from the center of the Earth, through your body, through the top of your head, and back down into the Earth again. See how that feels? If you are doing it right, you will be able to feel it. If not, try it again some other time. It’s really not hard.  Now, the important thing to remember at this point is not to get greedy and try to keep too much of the energy. When you are finished with the exercise, you should have exactly as much energy as is normal for you. No more, and no less. Just think of yourself as taking no more and no less, and your own body will even it out for you. It’s nice and clean and fresh, but it’s the same amount. If it isn’t, you will wind up with one of the headaches again. And you don’t want that!  Keep doing this for a few minutes every day, and soon it will be as easy as taking a deep breath. And it will make you feel so much better!  Not just when working with energy, but when facing any kind of stress, or tension, or fear, or exertion, or anything. Being grounded and centered just makes life a bit easier to take!

Life As The Witch – Other Places To Gather Graveyard Dirt, Hmm..

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Yesterday’s article in regards to graveyard dirt brought many replies. I believe the most comment I received was in regards to not being close to a cemetery. Individuals living in big city, their cemetery relocated and had no way of obtaining graveyard dirt.

Yet named graveyard dirt, it can come from other places beside a graveyard. You can obtain dirt from certain buildings that will work just as well. Getting the dirt from a building is basically a give me. Consider what your needs are and then consider what kind of building correspondence. For example, a Law Office, the dirt would be used for justice, the same can be said for the dirt from a courthouse.

Below you will find examples of other places to obtain “graveyard” dirt. It will work just as well as dirt from a cemetery if you stop to think what kind of person you are taking the dirt from. And what kind of building are you taking it from.

*Note: Do not be obvious when collecting dirt from public places. Look around, stake our your surroundings, then find a nice, quiet place to collect your dirt.

Bank: Collect and use this dirt to bring money into your hands or to receive payment of a long overdue debt.

Church: This dirt is wonderful when used to invite the assistance of positive spiritual forces. It goes a long way toward protecting against evil spirits also.

Courthouse: Use this dirt for anything remotely involving legal matters. This could include contracts, court cases, general justice, and even money that’s owed to you. If your intent would benefit from the discerning eye of the Law, this is the dirt for you.

Educational Facility: Whether it comes from a school yard or a college campus, this dirt is excellent for efforts involving knowledge acquistion and retention. It can also be effective in magick to encourage study.

Enemy’s House: Gathering this dirt is a bit trickier and may involve some skulking around to collect. There’s no better way to cut your enemy off at the knees than to use dirt from his/her house against him. Unless you want to cause possible harm to everyone living on that property, be very careful how you word your spell.

Home:  This dirt is to protect all the occupant of your home and guarantee their safe return. The best way to accomplish this is to sprinkle a bit in every pair of shoes in the house. To ensure that someone else visits you again, sprinkle a bit in his or her shoes.

Hospital or Doctor’s office: Dirt from these locations are for efforts involving healing. There are a couple of things you should keep in mind. First, no magick in the world is a substitute for medical care or prescription medication. And second, be certain that healing is exactly what you have in mind when you add this dirt to magick.

Garden or Flower Shop: Often used in love spells, this dirt has the tendency to make love sprout and grow roots, bud and blossom. Unless you’re playing for keeps though, it’s inadvisable to add this dirt to magick.

Jail: Keep the police away from your door, especially if you are a criminal. It will make you invisible to the police and cause them to overlook a bench warrant, add hematite to the dirt.

Mall:  Attract large amounts of cash to yourself if you gather dirt from here. There’s nothing better than this type of dirt when used in efforts to obtain gainful employment or increase your cash flow.

Police Station: Dirt from this area is often collected and sprinkled along the baseboards of the home and along the edges of its structure to keep your family safe from harm. It is not a good idea to use this dirt if you’re involved in any sort of illegal activity because it will bring the police straight to you.

Workplace: There are lots of uses for this sort of dirt. It works great when included in spells for you getting a raise or promotion. It can also help you to foil a co-worker or for getting the dirt on the company

Life As The Witch – Getting that Graveyard Dirt & Dealing With Those Spirits

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I have had several people ask me about graveyard dirt recently. How to collect it? What grave do I get it from? I have answered these questions in extent. But when it come to dealing with the Spirit world, I don’t want to take any chances that I might have been misunderstood or didn’t emphasis the importance of a certain area. Due to this fact, I ran across an article in a book by a Pagan Author I greatly admire, Dorothy Morrison. She also discusses this subject very thoroughly. I hope you enjoy this excerpt from her book, “Utterly Wicked, Curses, Hexes or Other Unsavory Notions”

Graveyard Dirt and Dealing With Spirits

Taking graveyard dirt without permission is much like breaking into someone’s home and stealing their possessions. And if you did that on the physical plane, the only help you’d get from the injured part would be a one-way trip to jail. The same is true of the spiritual realm. Yeah, I know that spirits don’t necessarily live in the dirt in the cemetery. However, that dirt comprises the final resting place of the body it left behind. That means that its energy is in that dirt. And to take that without permission is to take the only possession it has left. Go that route and one thing’s for sure: Jail time is going to be the least of your worries.

You also need to remember that asking permission is not enough. Some sort of relationship must be formed with the spirit before proceeding. And depending upon the spirit and your individual needs, this could take a few minutes or several days. You also need to be prepared for the possibility that you’re not going to be able to form a relationship at all. The reasons for this are many—personality clash, little or no common ground, or an objection to your desires, just to name a few—but in this case, none of that really matters. What does matter is that you don’t push the issue. Just thank the spirit for its time, and continue your search.

Once you do find a spirit that’s willing to help you (and you will), payment for the dirt is not enough. Mind your manners, be polite, and thank it for its assistance. Bring it an extra token of appreciation. You never know when you might need its help again, and no one—living, dead, or otherwise—is going to be willing to offer support of any kind if you can’t even be bothered with common courtesy.

Of course, if a spirit really likes you—if you’ve been kind and courteous and gone the extra mile—it may decide to hang around you, whether you want it to or not. To avoid this, offer it a piece of black onyx as a parting gift once your goal is achieved. (It’s the stone of separation and will sever your connections peaceably.) And if you need the spirit’s assistance again? Not a problem. Just go back to visit, and be assured that it will remember you.

Reference:

Excerpt from:

“The Real Dirt on the Quick and the Dead”
Utterly Wicked
Curses, Hexes or Other Unsavory Notions
by Dorothy Morrison