Category: Natural Magick

The Witches Magick for April 24th – Ritual for Working With Nature Spirits

Witchy Comments & Graphics
Ritual for Working With Nature Spirits

 

Explain to the spirits the purpose of your coming to them and the nature of the ritual you plan.

If the spirits you contacted are receptive:

· – Explain to them the details of the ritual and invite them to provide ideas.

· – Listen, you may receive suggestions on how to improve the ritual. Such suggestions may come in the form of hunches, visions, answers to yes/no questions using pre-arranged signals or in other ways.

· – Explain what type of space is needed and ask what the best place to perform the ritual is.

· – You may see light or get other psychic signals leading you to other sites, or you may be at one of them.

· – You may also ask what the best places for other aspects of the planned work are (picnicking, individual vision quests, etc.).

· – If preparation of the site is needed (removing briars, preparing a fire circle, etc.) ask permission of the spirits before proceeding with such action.

· – Before you leave the power spot, tell the spirits you have contacted when you plan to return to do the ritual (visualizing the associated lunar and solar aspects can help with this communication).

· – Invite them to join in the ritual when you return and to bring their friends.

· – Ask if it would be best to return silently, with drums, with chanting, or with some other form of approach.

· – You can also ask the spirits to provide guidance for working in balance and to provide a teacher to provide further guidance.

Before you leave the power spot:

· – Thank the spirits,

· – Channel love energy,

· – Trigger your memory of the experience, and

· – If it feels right, leave an offering of tobacco, or beer and honey poured on the ground (or other suitable material)

Leave in peace and love.

Proceed to other sites that were indicated by the spirits, doing similar meditations at each site.

If you need something, like a staff, a Maypole, or a wand, you can also ask where you can find it and follow the guidance you receive (not slavishly, but as you would guidance from another Pagan)

Before leaving the general area in which you found power spots and contacted nature spirits:

· – Channel love energy towards the receptive sites you found,

· – Thank the spirits of the land,

· – Pull back your roots and branches,

· – Ground any excess energy into the Earth (placing your hands on the Earth, breathe in any excess energy, and channel the energy down your arms, while visualizing and feeling the energy going into the Earth), and

· – Leave in peace and love.

Naturally, you should leave the area at least as clean, and preferably cleaner, than you found it.

If you work with techniques of Wicca or Ceremonial Magic, you may find that by casting a circle, calling the Elements, the Goddess, the Gods, and the local nature spirits while you are at receptive sites, you may be able to greatly increase communication. Through the use of drums and other power raising techniques, it is even possible to energize receptive nature spirits. The results can be very interesting. If with a coven, such circles can be done as part of a group attunement to a power spot you have located.

If you do not get good feelings in response to your explanation of the ritual and are unable to come up with a ritual that gives good responses, do not try to force a good response. You would only be fooling yourself.

· – Thank the spirits for their attention.

· – Ask them why they are not receptive (if it feels right and they are communicative).

· – Trigger your memory.

· – Pull back your “roots and branches,” return any excess energy you feel into the Earth.

· – If it feels appropriate, leave an offering of tobacco or other appropriate material, out of respect

for the spirits.

· – Move to a more receptive site.

If it is hard to find a site that is really receptive, you

should:

– Consider any impressions you got of why the nature spirits weren’t receptive in the area you were in, and re-think your plans for a ritual, as necessary and appropriate –

It may also be appropriate to look for another general area in which to find a suitable power site that is receptive to the work planned.

 

 

 

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Working With Nature Spirits

Witchy Comments & Graphics 

Let’s Talk Witch – Working With Nature Spirits

Each plant, animal, rock, and other entity has a spirit (consciousness resonance matrix). These spirits can join together, in a hive-mind, as a spirit of an area. Nature spirits include real biological intelligences, are psychically powerful, and are much less abstract and controllable than the Elementals that many magical people who perform all of their rituals indoors are familiar with.They can be extremely powerful allies. It is possible to sense nature spirits, to determine if they are receptive to a ritual planned, and to have them actively participate in magical workings if they are.

SOME EFFECTS OF WORKING WITH NATURE SPIRITS:

Spectacular physical manifestations can happen when working with nature spirits in the wild. I have personally seen actual foxfire mark the boundaries of a magic circle at a location that was identified as a receptive power spot and attuned to a planned ritual the day before. I have seen more than one site attuned for ritual be dry and comfortable, with a round hole in the clouds overhead, on days that were cold and rainy at other nearby locations. Birds have joined in rituals, flying around the circle when energy was being raised; and insects, birds and animals have joined in chants. In addition, the wind often responds to invocations. Generally, these spectacular manifestations happen unexpectedly.

With or without such manifestations, nature spirits often will channel tremendous amounts of power into the magic being performed. It is suggested that you do not consciously try for specific manifestations. Let Nature channel her power into the magic in her own way. If approached with respect, nature may give you many pleasant surprises.

Spectacular physical manifestations are not a necessary sign of success. If you need a spectacular

manifestation and nature spirits know this, you will get it.The best success in magic is on the inner planes and more subtle than such manifestations. This success involves beneficial changes in consciousness that last and helpful chains of synchronicity. In addition, working with Nature Spirits can also bring a deep sense of partnership with Nature, and bring new levels of attunement.

To get the best results, perform nature spirit attunement several hours to several days before the main ritual. The purposes of such attunement are to find suitable power spots and to get the help of friendly nature spirits. This timing gives Nature time to gather her children and to prepare to actively participate in the main ritual.

WHAT TO NOT DO:

If nature spirits are approached with disrespect by attempting to command them rather than listening to them and inviting them to work with you, nature spirits may flee, rebel, or attack. I once attended a ritual by some pseudo-Crowleyites who attempted to perform the “Ritual of the Barbarous Names” at a power spot in a forest and then to extend the circle several hundred yards in all directions. While the forest in general had loud insect and frog noises, the area at which the ritual took place got quiet immediately when the main ritualist declared that all spirits were subject unto him. The vibes from nature could best be characterized as “Oh yea, Mother…!” One participant was quickly possessed by an angry spirit and kept repeating “You killed my children, your children will never live in peace.” When the priestess stepped out of the boundaries of the original circle, she was attacked by bees; and bees covered the Book of the Law. Magicians should know better than to attempt to command spirits whose true names they do not know!

 

Home Remedies – 25 Old Wives’ Tales

Home Remedies – 25 Old Wives’ Tales

By Beth Black

Here are some old fashioned home remedies for common complaints. Many of them I am sure are “old wives tales” but modern science has proved many of these “old wives tales” to have a legitimate scientific reason for being effective.

How about the old tale about putting moth balls in the bottom of the bed for cramps??? I haven’t tested this one myself as it is very seldom that I get cramps. Some people swear by it.

If you have any tips to add I would be interested to hear them. Just add a comment.

All these tips have been gleaned from a variety of sources, mostly from a friend and the fact that the use of well known brand names might suggest a free marketing plug for their product but if you ignore the brand names these natural remedies that most of us have in the kitchen or bathroom cupboard are a much better way than loading our bodies up with chemicals.

I hope you enjoy and benefit from some of these folk remedies and I would love to hear if any more tips you can add.

  Did You Know That? Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately — without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional  “pain relievers.”Did you know that Colgate toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns.

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids  peppermints. They’ll clear up your stuffed nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 Tablespoon of horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage  oil, for instant relief for aching muscles.

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer . Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer  begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly — even though the product was never been advertised for this use. (Note: Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold  Medicine is not the same..and contains aspirin, which can cause stomach bleeding if you have ulcers.)

Honey remedy for skin blemishes… Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile,  and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus… Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerinemouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves  your toenails looking healthy again.

Easy eyeglass protection… To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of MaybellineCrystal Clear nail polish to the threads  of the screws before tightening them.

Coca-Cola cure for rust… Forget those expensive rust removers. Just saturate an abrasive sponge with Coca Cola and scrub the rust stain. The phosphoric  acid in the coke is what gets the job done.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer… If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can’t find the insecticide,  try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.

Smart splinter remover…just pour a drop of Elmer’s Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to  the dried glue.

Hunt’s tomato paste boil cure….cover the boil with Hunt’s tomato paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the  boil to a head.

Balm for broken blisters…To disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine … a powerful antiseptic.

Heinz vinegar to heal bruises… Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up  the healing process.

Kills fleas instantly. Dawn dish washing liquid does the trick. Add a few drops to your dog’s bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to  avoid skin irritations. Goodbye fleas.

Rainy day cure for dog odor… Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making  your dog smell springtime fresh.

Eliminate ear mites… All it takes is a few drops of Wesson corn oil in your cat’s ear. Massage it in, then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily  for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat’s skin, smothers the mites, and accelerates healing.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief….It’s not for breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave  for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.

Cranberry juice taken regularly helps prevent urinary infections.     (My friend, Director of a Geriatric Care Hospital, says it’s much better than expensive cures, and ultimately economically very favourable)     There is a honey available in pharmacies which is a medical     honey.. slightly different from the usual and from a different type of bee.. this is the best for curing skin problems.

Here is one for the Aussies A few drops of dettol kills cane toads. A diluted solution in a spray bottle is quick and easy.

Sore throat and nasal congestion… steep some fresh gum leaves in boiling water and inhale.

Putting The Dirt To Work

Putting The Dirt To Work

When working with dirt, there is no need to cleanse it, charge it or do anything else you might do when using another ingredient in your spells or rituals. Why? Because the Earth is very old, ancient in fact, making it very stable. The Earth has collected all the consciousness of those who have walked here before us. The Earth has collected their knowledge and their power. If you had collected the dirt from a cemetery, it would contain all the energies and qualities of the person whose final resting place you got the dirt from. Altogether, you have already made a magickal operation. Now to apply it.

There are several ways you can do this, but they all start out the same. You just need to decide which dirt samples to combine. You can mix as many or as few as you like, the only rule being that the combination must be to your benefit and not harm you in any way at all.

Once you’ve decided this, the only left is to figure out exactly how you intend to apply the dirt. There is no right or wrong way and that you can’t mess it up.  Just be comfortable with the method you choose and let the dirt go to work.

Here are a few ideas on applying your dirt:

Sprinkling:  The easiest and quicest way to incorporate the dirt’s energies into your life is to sprinkle it along the bottom of your walls, under your throw rugs, along the outside of your house and then at the end of your property. Be sure to include all door mats and around the front porch. The only problem with its presence inside the house is the vacuum cleaner. Just be aware that you’ll have to replace the dirt every time you clean.

Charm Bags:  The bag can be made out of the traditional red flannel, leather, beadwork or any material that you prefer. The dirt is combined with snippets of your hair and fingernail clippings. By doing this, it indicates that you are the person to benefit from the spell. You can also include any other items that you might consider important to your spell working. The mixture is then placed in the bag, which is then worn around the neck or placed some where on the body. The bags can contain nail and hair clippings from other family members also. If you decide to do this, the bag should be buried rather than worn and rest close to the front step of the home as possible.

Good Luck Bottles:  Some knows these as Witches’ Bottles, which means you will have to have a jar with a tightly, secured lid.  The dirt mixture is placed in the bottom of the container and sprinkled with herbs that vibrate to good fortune (cinnamon, basil, lavender, as excellent herbs to use, the combination brings love, money and spiritual protection.)  Fish hooks are also added to hook good luck for you, as are nine dimes in payment to the spirit world for its protection and rewards.  Once the jar is at least half full, it should be filled to the top with your urine, capped tightly, and buried on your property.  Again bury this close to the front door as possible.

Symbolic Circle Casting

 

 Symbolic Circle Casting

 

The most popular magick circle is a symbolic one, physically cast by walking round the visualized circle area clockwise. It is visible psychically as a circle of light but not seen externally except by those with evolved clairvoyant light – and children.

You can make a symbolic circle before a simple outdoor spell and it is a good way of connecting with the earth energies.

Form the psychic light circle in the air about waist or kneed high, whichever feels more natural, with a pointed crystal or wand held in your power hand (or your index finger). Direct the point at about 45 degrees, casting the circle in front of you so you step into the emerging light and become empowered.

If you wish, you can make a circle-casting chant that you repeat either aloud or in your mind as you walk, for example:

May the circle be cast and so remain unbroken

May the love of the goddess be forever in our hearts

Blessings be.

If working in a group, some practitioners like to cast a symbolic clockwise circle straight after the introductory blessing and then welcome other members of the group into it. Drawing the psychic circle over head height at the planned entry point (north-west for a north-beginning circle or north-east for an east-initiated one). The guests enter at this psychic gateway and you can then finish off the circle when they have entered.

Personally I prefer to make the circle round the people once they have entered. You can enter the circle where you began casting it through a visualized doorway, sealing it afterwards.

Unless it is a real emergency people shouldn’t leave the circle during a ritual as this involves a lot of sealing and unsealing and psychic disturbance.

Psychic Protection

 

 Psychic Protection

Finally comes the all-important issue of protecting yourself psychically while your cast spells or carry out rituals.

Casting a circle and/or a magical square offers you a great deal of psychic protection as does the process of grounding yourself after a spell.

Also doing spells only for positive purposes and with good intent is in itself protective. There is no point in standing within circles, squares or triangles if you are summoning up dark forces or playing about creating elemental thought forms. If what you are doing makes you uneasy or you couldn’t tell your best friend, mother or sister (if they are generally sympathetic towards magick) what you are up to, don’t. That is the basic rule. The following may also help.

Set an earth crystal, an air crystal, a fire crystal and a water crystal that you have sprinkled with a sacred water mix that you have sprinkled with a sacred water mix at the main direction points around a room or an area where you are working. As you set each one, ask for the protection of light and goodness(or dedicate each to a special deity).

Alternatively, use an ordinary round dark brown stone for the north, a white one for the east, a reddish one for the south and a pinkish grey for the west. The north and west stones should be round or diamond shape and the others pointed.

Wash the crystals or stones in running water after the spell or ritual.

You can designate the four traditional archangels to the four watchtowers, external direction points around the room, your outdoor circle of your altar.

Light four angel candles and place them halfway along each actual or visualized line of magick square or round your circle at four main direction points.

Even if you don’t cast a circle for a simple spell you can picture the four angels or substitute angels of nature for the four archangels. Though the conventional element archangels do have ecological foci, you may prefer to choose a nature angel for each element especially for out door magick and use his herbs, crystals and candle colour to complete your protection.

Internalizing Natural Magick

Internalizing Natural Magick

 

In Natural Magick, you can borrow elemental qualities, taking into yourself spiritually the power of the elemental forces – for example, the power of the wind when you add the air element to the symbol in a spell.

For example, you might say the following as you add incense power to your symbol that represents the purpose of the spell.

I am that mighty wind that blows through time and take away inertia. And so I empower_________ and myself to bring change. 

You can use the crashing of the sea, the wind in the trees or the falling rain on your tent to amplify and give your words rhythm. You may find it helpful to hold a symbol as a focus while you speak.

It is quite possible to carry out a spell or indeed a ritual just by using words. Taking it one stage further, the ritual or spell can be visualized, using both words and actions in your mind. In order to stimulate your psychic senses you may choose to carry out this visualized spell while sitting on the seashore or in a glade. Once you are experienced at visualization, you can bring that glade on to a crowded train or into an airless office as you weave your spell.

The beauty of inner spells and rituals is that there are no limits. Your air element really can be shooting stars, your water element a sparkling waterfall or tropical blue ocean. Then next time you carry out a spell externally you will still be able to feel and see those shooting stars or that sparkling water, and so you work is enriched and more powerful.

Even if you are quite experienced in magick these spoken or internalized spells are a very good way of aligning your mind with powerful external forces and thus bringing them together in your rites. They are also useful if you are in a special place but circumstances means that you are not able to start chanting or dancing. You may be in a sacred place or one of outstanding beauty, but accompanied by a tourist party or your in-laws.

By working on this astral or spiritual plane, as you speak the word in your mind you can carry the purpose of the spell though the barrier on to the earth plane of actuality.

Starting the Ceremony (Natural Magick)

Starting the Ceremony

(Natural Magick)

 

Light any altar candles. If it is a very simple altar and you are putting directional candles on the actual altar, the southern altar candle will serve as the elemental candle as well, so don’t light this one yet.

If others are present, stand in the center of your visualized or maybe stone-constructed circle and face your guests. Otherwise stand in the center of your visualized circle. Make a short spontaneous call for blessing on all present or on yourself if carrying out the ritual alone. Hold your wand or a pointed quartz crystal in your hand, circling it clockwise as you speak.

In a simple outdoor spell this opening blessing will serve as casting the circle if you picture light beams emanating from your wand to make a light circle round you and your altar space which rises into the sky and sinks down into the ground.

Use your own favorite greeting blessing or adapt one from an old Celtic blessing. You can say something like this:

Circle this place/hillside/garden/woodland/seashore, Mother/Father. Keep harm without, keep peace within. Circle this place, Father/Mother. Bless all who gather here this day.

The ‘all’ will, if you are working alone, include the nature essences and elemental guardians of the four quarters of the circle.

Generally, you will now want to cast a full circle of magickal power round the group, or round yourself and the altar if working alone.

Cast the circle with your wand, crystal point or the index finger of your power hand (the hand you write with). Always do this clockwise, starting in the north or east. This draws earth and sky energy to you.

If you want a more elaborate circle (you need not and can go straight on to opening the four quarters) make a triple circle to empower the magickal one you created.

If you were making these three circles, this would be the point at which you would light the candle of the south and any incense. Pre-heat the charcoal for loose incense as it takes about en minutes: a stick is instant. If you are using a sacred salt and water mix into the ritual or the circle casting, empower the mix now. You can use your wand to stir the salt and water together. For a special ritual, you would set the salt and water dishes on your pentacle.

Make the triple circles with three clockwise circles, one over the other or extending inwards, the first with the sacred salt and water mix (or just salt), the second with incense and the third with the directional candle of the south. If not using the salt water mix, substitute magickal water droplets for the candle to make the third circle. If there are other present, three of you can walk round in a complete circle, one following the other, or make a single triple-empowered circle starting in the northeast.

Put the wand in the south of the altar (some use the east as they regard the wand as an air tool).

If you are inviting the guardians of the directions you should now visit the four quarters moving in a clockwise direction. Greet each one in turn and ask for their appropriate power and protection. Again, start in the north but many practitioners work from the east.

Otherwise you and anyone present can simply face that direction and raise both arms in greeting (palms flat and uppermost). Visualize the elemental forces as they are in nature entering the circle. You would still be greeting the guardians as you face the different directions, just not actually be visiting the four quarters.

You can do elemental greeting even with just a small traveling or outdoor altar by picking up each of the elemental substances in turn and inviting the guardian of the element into your altar and your spell. Reverse the actions at the end of the ritual and thank them.

If you aren’t opening the quarters, light any directional candles now and then add some incense to the charcoal if you didn’t use incense to cast the triple circle.

If using an incense stick light this now from the nearest candle (again if not used for the circle casting).

If you want to, you can now invite the ancestors or a particular one who acts as your guardian spirit by facing the west and calling them. Some people strike the ground with their staff at this point.

Now invite the fey beings into the circle (turning to all four directions as you call them). It is a good idea and practice to do this every time you do an outdoor spell.

Finally, if you want to make your ritual real special, face south, open your arms wide and ask if any deities (you can name them) would bless your ritual.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Five Moving to a Conclusion

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Five Moving to a Conclusion

 

Staging 5: Moving to a conclusion – grounding or internalizing the power

If you would like to incorporate cakes and ale into a spell or ritual, this would be the point at which you would first take the cakes on the dish. When you are working alone, this is a lovely part of a spell or ritual to help to connect you with the love all round you.

Raise the cakes on their plate (one for you and one for the birds if working alone) skywards away from the altar.

Then lower them to waist height in front of you, saying:

“May the abundance of the Mother and the bountifulness of the Father bless and nourish, sustain and protect me/you/us all my/your/our days.”

 

You can, if more than one person is present, choose one to hold the dish and another to bless the cakes by making either a pentagram or a cross over the dish as the words are spoken. You can, of course, do this alone with your power hand.

Put the plate in the center of the altar.

Now take the chalice or goblet in your receptive hand and your wand in your power hand and gently lower the tip of the wand so it almost touches the surface of the wine or juice. Say:

“As male to female, god to goddess, so in this wine/juice is joined power and love, strength and compassion, striving and acceptance.”

 

Return it to the center of the altar.

If more than one person is present, one can bless the cakes and another can bless the wine. The same people are usually chosen to carry out the blessings, but you may prefer to share the duties. Often the wand is held by a female and the cup by a male for the crossing of energies, but two women or men can carry out the ceremony.

You should then take the cakes, scatter a few crumbs on the ground (or in a dish indoors) and say:

“I return the gift to the earth mother in thanks for blessings received. Blessings be.”

 

After the ceremony feed the rest of this cake to the birds.

At this point if there were two people involved, you can offer each other a cake and then pass them round to anyone else present. Each person can say:

“Blessed be.”

 

Or add a blessing before eating.

You should then return the plate to the altar and take the wine, pouring a little on the ground and thanking mother earth again for her blessings. (Pour this offering into a dish if indoors and you can put the crumbs and liquid outside after the ceremony.)

Now drink or offer the drink to the other person who blessed the chalice. He or she will take a sip and offer it to you and to the other person who carried out the blessings, saying:

“Blessings be.”

 

If others are present, pass the cup round so each can take a sip, saying:

“Blessings be.”

 

And perhaps adding a blessing before passing it on.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: An Alternative Stage 4

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: An Alternative Stage 4

 

 

If you are carrying out a healing spell or one for gentle love or letting go of sorrow, setting off psychic fireworks may seem a bit over the top.

Instead you may choose to infuse a healing herb mix with the power to relieve pain or exhaustion or infuse a dish of crystals so that they can afterwards be burned for peace in four directions. Gently directed power can be used to steer away in a psychic way someone who is making you unhappy.

“In a group celebration you may likewise not want to have everybody jumping up and down (it could certainly scare a baby at a blessing ceremony and a few elderly relatives at a hand fasting). You need instead to use the accumulated power and direct it into sanctity, whether that be the vows of a couple or of godparents. Or you might each make reflective wishes for the year ahead after the shouting of Happy New Year and banging of saucepan lids and blowing of whistles at a turning-of-the-year rite.”

Through the technique is straightforward it is like learning to do a hill start in a car – getting the clutch and accelerator in perfect balance so you can stay ready but motionless for as long as necessary.

When the power in your spell has built up to almost a climax instead of releasing it, hold it for a moment, keeping your movements and your voice steady and then begin to recite the words more slowly and more softly until your words fade through a whisper to silence and make your movements slower and gentler until your feet become still. The incense sticks, your hands or wand will likewise become still.

Point downward with smudge, incense sticks, wand or your hands toward the symbol at a 45-degree angle (slightly away if necessary so no ash falls on the symbol, herbs or crystals).

Push very gently, psychically holding your hands or sticks motionless, using words to make the power and light flow into the symbol. You may detect a rainbow aura or green light round the symbol.

When you feel the power ebbing, stand motionless and silent for a moment and then replace the wand, smudge or incense sticks in their place or holders or put your hands in front of you pointing downwards so any residual power can flow into the symbol or be used to heal the earth.

Leave the incense to burn through and whisper:

“May you be blessed.”

 

In a ritual this would be a good time for everyone to make personal offerings or quietly pass the symbol round and make low soft promises of practical ways you all personally will help to bring peace or work for the good of others. At a midwinter ceremony you would quietly, after the cry “The sun is born again,” light your candles one by one round the circle and make your own perhaps silent resolutions for bringing light back into your life and the world.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Four

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Four

 

Stage 4: Release of Power

This stage will blur and merge naturally into the previous one if you trust yourself.

When the moment is right, raise the incense sticks and hold the upright and above you, calling for the release. Then plunge the incense sticks simultaneously into a bowl of sand. Do the same if you’re using the smudge with a final spiraling above your head (pretend you are using a lasso).

If you are just using your hands or a wand, raise your arms high either side of your head, then swing them down, one behind you and one in front of you to waist height in a slashing movement.

Picture yourself releasing the pressure within the cone and lighting the touch paper on the entire firework display. Picture that one of stars cascading into the night.

End the song with a final shout, the dance with a final clap and a leap. Then call out “The power is free.” The wish is mine’ or “The spell is done,” whatever feels right to express the culmination of the spell.

See spiraling rainbows of light shooting upwards lie rockets or hundreds of white doves, colored balloons or butterflies being released as the same moment into the air.

If working as a group, one person should be responsible for calling “Now’ or the drummer could give a huge band. In practice the synchronized energies will bring the climax into synchronicity. But it really doesn’t matter if some psychic fireworks go off a few seconds after the other, it just prolongs the joyous tensions.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Three

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Three

 

Stage 3: Raising or increasing the power

This is the most active and powerful part of the spell, and involves building up the speed and intensity of the action you started in stage 2.

Raising the power is especially easy out of doors as you connect, especially if barefoot or wearing thin-soled shoes, with the natural spiraling energies or straighter ley flows beneath the earth.

Grass or sand near a river or seashore is also energized by the water flow, especially around the week of the new and full moons. On a safe beach you can dance through the shallows.

There are many ways of raising power, limited only by your imagination. When working alone and in a potent natural setting, perhaps at a power time like sunrise, you will sing, away or move quite without prompting or run along the beach or through long grass round in circles or spirals like a dog let off the leash. Watch children playing for inspiration.

Most effective is a combination of words or sound and movement in such a way that your conscious mind is carried along by the power, like riding a carousel when everything blues except for the music. The purpose of this stage is not only to empower the symbol but also to empower yourself, since you are the vehicle to carry the magickal energies from the thought (mental) and spiritual (astral) planes to actuality (earth). This is the same process used by shamans to trigger their out-of-body or out-of-everyday consciousness.

Enchant the symbol with a pair of lighted incense sticks, one held in each hand, a few centimeters/an inch above the symbol. Move the right one clockwise and the left on anticlockwise. Move them faster and faster and chant faster and faster in order to draw in all four elemental powers.

Increase the speed and intensity so the incense sticks cross and uncross over the symbol. As you move the sticks rhythmically, recite your elemental chant continuously.

Alternatively you can move your wand clockwise in flourishes or a spiral, a smudge stick in your power hand in huge circles allowing it to dictate its own pathway and shapes. You can move the other hand anticlockwise in rhythm if you want.

A very simple chant is:

Air, water, fire earth,

Bring, I ask, this wish to birth.

 

You can continue over and over again at increasing intensity and speed, adding variants or weaving your own simple four- or five-word chants, around the natural surroundings and the elemental associations.

Other spells chant include goddess names, the most popular being Isis, Astarte (Ass tart-ay), Diana, Hecate (Hekart tay), Demeter (Dem eat-er), Kali (Karly) and Innana (In-arn-a).

Isis is the Ancient Egyptian mother Goddess; Astarte is the supreme female divinity of the Phoenicians, Goddess of love and fertility, associate with the moon and all nature; Diana, the Graeco-Roman Goddess of the moon and hunt and queen of the witches; Hecate, the Ancient Greek Crone Goddess of the underworld and waning moon; Demeter, the Ancient Gree Corn mother; Kali, the Hindu creatrix/destroyer Goddess and Innana, the Sumerian fertility Queen of Heaven and Earth Goddess in the Middle East area of modern Iraq. Feel free to substitute your own goddesses/gods.

You could instead move round and round the altar or circle, chanting and clapping, while stepping, stamping or whirling and twirling. Sufi spiritual whirling dancing has been eagerly adopted by the New Age as a way of altering consciousness. Trust your feet to follow the spirals of the Earth energies.

You can add the beat of a hand drum using your hand or a striker or use a tambourine. We can all play these, without training or a natural ear for more formal music. Just let your hands and feet set the beat and if you chant along they all harmonize. The simpler and more repetitive words and actions, the better.

Move and chant until you feel that the power has reached its height, like revving a car with the hand brake on or a plane whose wheels are starting to life off the tarmac.

Through visualization, individuals and groups can create a cone of power with the circle as the base, picturing a mass of stars or swirls of rainbow light collecting a light cone above you. Imagine the cone getting higher and brighter as the apex gets taller and the cone denser with rainbow light. As you swirl you may even see it.

When the psychic power peaks in intensity it is released through the apex as shooting stars. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a firework display.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Two

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Two

 

You are now ready to begin endowing the symbol and spoken intention of the spell with power. Here you will use words, actions and visualization to build up this power within the physical symbol.

One of the most common methods of empowering the symbol is to pass it round or through the four elements in turn, so that power builds up within it.

Some practitioners start in the east with the incense. It does not matter as long as you are consistent. It depends whether you want to add your stability (north) at the beginning or end. Some prefer to start with stability and to end with the flowing waters of the west.

Begin with the salt in the north and make three clockwise circles of salt round the symbol, moving the circles outwards.

State again the purpose of the spell and then create an earth power chant, which should be spoken three times, visualizing at the same time what seem to be relevant earth powers. Visualize the power of the element in its natural form and then see that power entering you and meeting your own inner elemental power (like two rivers meeting). You can plan your chants in advance or just let them come spontaneously: they don’t have to rhyme. You can speak the chant as you make the circle, or afterwards for each of the four elements.

Next surround the symbol on the dish with three clockwise circles of incense smoke. Create an incense chant as you make the smoke circles over the salt ones. Afterwards you can also write the purpose of the spell in smoke over the symbol if you wish.

Repeat the process for fire with the candle or, if easier, circle the symbol on its dish clockwise over the candle of the south three times. Create a fire chant and again recite it three times.

Finally you are going to fill the symbol with the power of water in the same way. Make sure the water droplets are over the circles of salt and incense smoke (approximately). Again create a simple water power chant to be recited three times as you make the three water circles.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage One

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage One

 

Stage 1: Formally defining the purpose of the spell.

Take your symbol that should be made of natural material, natural fabric, crystal, beeswax, dough, clay, flowers, herbs, twigs or metals.

Set the symbol in a dish or flat plate in the center of the altar (you can use a pentacle dish is you wish).

Raising the symbol dish in the center of the altar as you face north, name the purpose of the spell and the time scale, for example, “by the time the leaves are on the trees,” “by the next full moon or “within seven days.”

At the same time, define the person for whom you are casting the spell – this could be yourself.

If you wish, you can now, while you are speaking, pass the symbol on its dish slowly in turn over all four elemental substances, beginning in the north or east.

You may now speaking slowly and confidently, ask for any god or goddess or maybe an angelic power that could be helpful.

Put the symbol back in the center. Touch the symbol with your wand or with a crystal point or the outstretching tip of your index finger to make the connection between the symbol and the energies to be raised. Say:

Be filled with powers and blessings that _________(name) may be/ have/ do__________.

In a ritual you would announce the purpose of the gathering and draw everyone together in a initial chant or action during this first stage.

The best time to carry out spells and rituals

The best time to carry out spells and rituals

  

If a need is urgent then you can work at anytime and picture the full moon or rising dawn whose energies you need, even at a different time of the month or at darkest midnight.

Sometimes the nature of the ritual will dictate the timing. For example, a new beginning spell can be launched on any new date; the first day of the month, the first day of the year, any Sunday the first day of the week, the first hour after dawn or at the crescent moon when it first appears in the sky. Best of all is the first hour after dawn on a Sunday, which is ruled by the Sun, and so offers a double dose of power for that new beginning.

Casting a Spell or Setting Up A Ritual

Casting a Spell or Setting Up A Ritual

 

In the same way that every party has the same underlying structure, whether it is a party for child’s birthday, having a few friends round for drinks or a formal dance event to raise fund for the local community, your spell casting will follow the same basic format, whether you are casting a short impromptu spell or setting up a more open-ended ritual.

If you work from a basic magickal format, you can devise anything from a five-minute spell to call a friends’ missing cat home to a full-scale welcoming the spring for a hundred people on a local hillside.

What is more, once you have decided how the different components fir together you can change the order round to suit your needs. There is a huge variation in practice across the witchcraft community. Sometimes even experienced witches follow an order or way of doing things they were taught or read about that doesn’t fit with their own natural rhythm. Even if you are doing it right by the book, your magickal energies won’t be as powerful as if you were following the flow of the occasion. So, for more experienced practitioners, I am describing my practices for solo and group events so that you can re-examine your own structure–and then maybe decide it was right for you all along (Or that you are turning the whole ritual format on it head and creating an entirely new and exciting system).

For newcomers or established witch, coven member or solitary practitioner, once you have internalized a structure that suits you, you can create your own spells and rites, complex or simple, instinctively without needing to check that you are on track.

You will discover that some spells do not use the altar but are focused on the setting and everyday items. In these the structure is compressed but still effective. Don’t feel you have to go through all the stages of altar casting, for a simple spell. You can adapt the suggestions to either working alone or in a group.

Preparations To Do Spellcrafting

Preparations To Do Spellcrafting

(Natural Magick) 

You need to get yourself and the area or altar ready for the spell.

Clear the space you intend to use either psychically or physically. This could involve lighting cleansing incense like pine or lemongrass or having a quick smudge round the room or outdoor area where you will be working. For a more formal ceremony, sweep and asperge the area.

Use a compass to ascertain the four directions or calculate these from known places.

Set up any psychic protection that is required around the area you will be working in. You can concentrate this protection around the edges of what will be your magick circle, whether this is positioned in your mind or symbolized by the candles of the four main archangels or angels of nature. In these positions they could act as the guardians of the four quarters instead of the nature devas.

However, if you have more time available, you may prefer to set up a protective square to act as psychic boundary within which to cast your circle. You could also position your archangels at the edges of your garden or working area, or empower four large marker trees, bushes or stones. You should thank them and bid them farewell once the circle has been uncast.

If you are creating an external physical circle made, for example of branches, stones or shells this is a good time to set it up, with the help of anyone who is sharing the occasion. The standard diameter for this circle is 9 foot, although this can be altered if you are working in a confined space alone or if a number of people are attending and you want to move around.

Set up the basic altar and put everything in its place(for a more formal spell you can dedicate the altar now or at the beginning of the rite).

Basically, a bowl of salt goes in the north, incense goes in the east, a candle in the south and a water bowl in the west.

If you are making a sacred salt and water mix, you will be tipping the salt into the water so remember either to save a little in the bowl for the earth empowerment or have some spare salt in a second small dish at the side of the altar that you can use.

If you are incorporating a cakes and ale part into a longer ceremony or spell (a formal dedication of honey cakes and wine, beer or juice to give thanks to the earth mother and sky father for sustenance and all good things in our lives) set the cakes ready on a plate to the north of the altar. The drink will be put in a goblet or chalice (ceramic, glass or metal) to the west of the altar. Since this won’t be part of everyday spell casting.

As this is natural magick you should aim for organic products, barley wine or beer or organic juice and organic cakes with honey. You may well not have the time to make your own.

If you are having a garden ceremony, you can have a bath beforehand in water to which you have added rose or lavender oil, and put on something comfortable. If you are holding your ceremony on a windy beach, thick sweaters and jeans may be the order of the day. However, you can still cleanse yourself psychically. Anoint your hairline, center of your brow, throat and both wrists with one of your special waters to open your higher chakras or energy centers. Or use an essential oil in lotus, lavender or rose. Mix and match and cut out any stages that don’t fit a particular occasion. For example. You’ll only have the cakes and ale on special occasions and sometimes you’ll want just a simple circle cast while following only the basic spell casting steps.

Amplifying The Power of Your Words In Magick

Amplifying The Power of Your Words In Magick 

A funerary spell from a Middle Kingdom sarcophagus (coffin) may be found in a corner of Cairo Museum, a museum where it is said to take many months to see every exhibit. Here is a rough translation of the spell. By reciting the words you absorb magical powers into yourself, or in more modern terms awaken your own inner higher spiritual and magical mind power.

To become the God Heka

I am Heka, the one who was made by the Lord of All before anything, the son of he who gave form to the universe. I am the protector of what the Lord of All had ordained to be.

 

Reciting this in your mind can be a good way to empower yourself at those times when you are scared or anxious or the odds are totally against you – or to open a spell or ritual when you have a particularly important issue to tackle. In this way you can assume the power of a specific deity of nature and channel this into your spell casting and indeed everyday life.

For example, the Celtic Epona, the white horse mother Goddess who was worshipped even by the Romans, is wonderful for women traveling alone as well as for evoking fertility.

In coven work the High Priestess, sometimes assisted by the High Priest, draws the power of the Goddess within herself for the duration of the rite.

If you work alone, you can ask for specific deity powers to strengthen you for particular ventures.

This is not blasphemous or presumptuous. You are using the inner divine spark we all possess and plugging into an amplified version of that power, as contained with the archetype of ideal of a particular divinity. It is only if you still think you are Isis, who can stop the sun, while you are in the supermarket queue that you need a bit more earthly input to your life and maybe a short break from magick.

The Preliminaries to Cast a Spell or Setting up a Ritual

The Preliminaries to Cast a Spell or Setting up a Ritual

  

As when organizing a party, it is important to spend a little time planning your spell casting. Think about the precise purpose of the spell, the best time, most appropriate setting and for whom the spell is being cast. For a ritual you need to consider the underlying as well as the obvious focus of the ritual Do you need to change the emphasis of a tried and tested format? Even a seasonal rite will have a theme, for example the May eve/Day celebrations have traditionally been associated with fertility. This fertility applies in whatever way it is needed, whether personally, ecologically or globally. Therefore you and the guests or participant should decide in advance precisely what you are working towards and carry out rituals to take advantage of the prevailing energies.

Location is important even for a quickie spell. You wouldn’t set a child’s birthday party in the same place you would your great-aunt’s golden wedding. With open air spells or rituals you need a wet weather or sheltered location plan just in case a force 8 gale blows up. Some spells can be planned in advance for a day out or weekend away, but others will be spontaneous, when you happen to come across a perfect location while on your way to somewhere else. There are also urgent occasions when you will have to imagine that crashing sea while stood by the local canal at lunchtime. The timing of a spell is also vital.

Before you cast the spell you also need to decide how long you want the effects of the spell to last and how quickly you need results. Do you want an immediate infusion of power within the 24 hours following the spell? Will the effects take longer–before the next full moon, within three months? You should build this time frame into the spell and declare it in the purpose of the spell.

Should it be a single spell or one carried out, for example, every Friday for a month or on the three days before the fulll moon in order to build up the powers?

Then you need to decide on the symbol or symbols that will act as the focus for the spell energies (you can’t dance and chant round a would-be lover in the office).
Do you need to emphasize any one element in the spell? Is the spell mainly fire based for power or is there a fairly evenly spread elemental mix, for example to resolve a long-term justice or court matter.

You need to think about any special props, magickal tools or substances that are required. After all, you wouldn’t use the same chine or serve the same food at your teenager’s post-exam party as you would if the boss was coming to dinner. Do you want a full altar or will it be mainly a word- or personal-movement-based spell? If on a beach or in the woods, can you use what you find there as tools and symbols?

Finally, who are you inviting to your spell or rite? The friend who has lost the animal you are casting the spell for? Your sister to help you with a love spell? Are you organizing a welcome-into-the-world party for your family, to celebrate the birth of a baby to a family member who lives in another country? Are you entrusted with the organization of your magick group or coven’s autumn thanksgiving?

If you work alone, as many witches including myself do most of the time, you’re still not a magickal Billy or Betty No Mates. You won’t be short of spiritual company. You can welcome the guardians of the four quarters even in a relatively simple spell; invite the wise ancestors to celebrations such as Samhain or Hallowe’en or New Year.
As for the nature essences, whenever you work outdoors or even indoors in a circle of pot plants (my favorite setting on a really foul day) they will be curious. So invite them in and benefit from their energies.

The Power of Words in Spellcasting

The Power of Words in Spellcasting

We already know, words have the power to heal, to express love, to praise and to comfort and negatively to hurt or criticize.

In magick, words spoke deliberately and rhythmically are one of the most significant ways to build the energies in a spell.

In Ancient Egyptian magick, the basis for modern magick, one of the major creation myths tells how Ptah the creator God, thought the world in his mind and then created it by speaking magical words or hekau. The generative power he used was called Heka, which is also the name of the God of magick. This power is equivalent to the concentrated life force. In some versions of the myth it is Heka himself who speaks the words that give form to the thoughts of Ptah.

The Ancient Egyptians believed that this creation power animated every spell as it did at the first creation. So to the Ancient Egyptians ever act of magick was a recreation of that first act of world creation, using words to bring thoughts into actuality.