Category: Witchcraft

Let’s Talk Witch – Solitary Practice


Native American Comments & Graphics

Solitary Practice

 

Some witches prefer to practice alone instead of being with a group of witches. This could be because the solitary practice is more suitable to their knowledge, experience, lifestyle, purposes, and temperament. However, even if these witches practice witchcraft alone, they can still join covens if only for the purpose of celebrating Sabbaths or other occasions. Some witches, on the other hand, may start practicing alone for a certain period of time and then later join a coven.

More often than not, it can be easy to choose the path of solitary practice especially if one is a seasoned witch. However, if you are a beginner, you may find it lonesome to practice alone. In addition, you need to put extra effort into practicing witchcraft properly if you are alone given that nobody will guide you on what you should do.

Conversely, solitary practice allows you to discover and hone your own witchcraft style instead of adopting the ideology of an established coven.

Solitary witches follow some guidelines, which can help them in practicing successfully and safely. These guidelines are also applicable for beginners in the Wiccan way.

When you are practicing witchcraft alone, you may need to gather different resources in order to acquire insights as well as perspectives that may help you learn and become proficient. Resources include books, articles, and other forms of reference. However, it is not enough that you merely study about witchcraft. You need to apply what you learn. As such, it is advisable to set a schedule, which can make witchcraft a part of your daily routine. You have to practice regularly in order to develop your skills.

Solitary practice involves regular meditation for improving your adherence to your higher self and enhancing your mental focus. You can also start with simple spells and rituals until such time that you think you are ready for more complex ones. It is also advisable to keep a manual or diary of your work and experiences so you have something to refer to in the future.

Once you have spent time acquiring the knowledge you need to learn and to practice witchcraft alone, you will have a more accurate idea of the types of magic or skills that appeal to you and suit you the most.

Source:

Witchcraft: A Beginner’s Guide To Wiccan Ways: Symbols, Witch Craft, Love Potions Magick, Spell, Rituals, Power, Wicca, Witchcraft, Simple, Belief, Secrets,The … For Beginners To Learn Witchcraft Book 2)

Sebastian Collins

Let’s Talk Witch – Spells Should be Cast In Harmony with the Lunar Cycle

Wiccan

Let’s Talk Witch – Spells Should be Cast In Harmony with the Lunar Cycle

 

Magic is done according to the lunar cycle. Spells that are done to increase things like love, prosperity, peace and so on should always be done during the full moon or the day just before the full moon. The fullness of the moon will attract abundance, so any spells done to attract good things during the full moon will put out an energy of abundance.

Spells that are done to take away anxiety, take away fear, or decrease stress should be done during the new moon or while the moon is waning. The energy of the moon during this cycle is focused on lessening so the energy of the moon will make the spell more effective. Spells done for spiritual awakening, learning, or divination should always be done only during the new moon.

If you’re not sure when you should do a particular spell ask yourself what the real purpose of the spell is. Clarify your intentions and then it should be clear what phase of the moon will help that spell be effective. You can keep track of the moon phases with a Farmer’s Almanac or just by checking online. If you have trouble keeping track of the Lunar Cycle you can make yourself a calendar and hang it on the wall so that you will always know when you should perform a certain spell.

Wicca: Wicca Mastery: 38 Essential Wiccan Laws and Principles To Live By, The Definitive Guide!

Desmond Blair

Different Kinds Of Magick

Different Kinds Of Magick

What is certain is that whether folk customs or more formal ceremonies are used, the underlying principles of all types of white magick are the same throughout the world, and can be categorised
under the following headings.

Sympathetic Magick

This involves performing a ritual that imitates what you would desire in the outer world, so bringing on to the material plane a desire or need or wish from the inner or thought plane. This is done using appropriate tools and symbols. So in a spell for the gradual increase of money, for example, you might grow a pot of basil seedlings (a herb of prosperity) and light a green candle.

Contagious Magick

This involves transferring and absorbing power directly from a creature or an object, such as an animal, a bird, a crystal, a metal, the wax of an empowered candle or even the Earth itself. This principle is central to the potency of talismans and amulets; for example, traditionally, hunters might wear the pelt of a lion to bring them the beast’s courage and ferocity. So, by the same token, if you wished to become pregnant, you might make love in a newly ripening cornfield (near the edge so as not to damage the crops); alternatively, you might try one of the ancient power sites of Earth, close to the phallus of the chalk Cerne Abbas fertility giant that is carved in the hillside at Cerne in Dorset.

Attracting Magick

This type of magick embraces both sympathetic and contagious magick to bring you something you desire. For example, you could scatter pins across a map between the places you and a lover live and with a magnet collect them, while reciting:
Come love, come to me, love to me come, if it is right to be.

You would then place your pins in a silk, heart-shaped pincushion or a piece of pink silk, also in the shape of a heart, and leave it on the window ledge on the night of the full moon, surrounded by a circle of rose petals.

Banishing And Protective Magick

This involves driving away negative feelings, fears and influences by casting away or burying a focus of the negativity. For example, you might scratch on a stone a word or symbol representing some bad memories you wished to shed, and cast the stone into fast-flowing water. Alternatively, you could bury it, together with quick-growing seeds or seedlings to transform the redundant into new life.

Binding Magick

Binding magick has two functions, one to bind a person in love or fidelity and the other to bind another from doing harm. This may be done in various ways, using knots in a symbolic thread, or by creating an image of the object or person and wrapping it tightly. But all binding can be problematic in terms of white magick, for whatever method you use, you are very definitely interfering with the person’s karma, or path of fate.

However, it is tempting to think that if someone is hurting animals, children, the sick or elderly, you may be justified in binding them. And what if your partner has deserted you on the whim of passion, taking all the money and leaving you and your children penniless? These are very real dilemmas; in dealing with them, I have always performed such rituals adding the proviso”… if it is right to do so.’ I believe that it is essential to include that phrase in all binding magic rituals.

My friend Lilian, a white witch and healer, used to wrap the perpetrators of crimes in a mantle of pink and visualise them in a sea of tranquillity so that they might be diverted from a destructive course of action. However, I usually cast a protective barrier around the victims and I think this is the best answer to a very difficult problem. We must harm none, not even the evil, hard though it is, and we should leave the punishment to natural justice.

In my own experience, few who find happiness at the expense of others achieve more than temporary, superficial pleasure, and in time they do seem to end badly. We should never use magick in order to act as judge and jury. After all, some who do act badly do so only out of unhappiness or ignorance.

 

A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magic Spells
By Cassandra Eason

Folk Magick And Ritual Magick

Folk Magick And Ritual Magick

Whether you are casting a simple spell, using items from your kitchen cupboard, or performing a complicated group ceremony, the source of the power behind it is the same. Every spell or ritual involves channeling the life force that runs through all forms of existence and transforming it into higher spiritual energies. These spiritual powers include our own evolved self, which some say is formed through many lifetimes, and the higher divine cosmic energies, such as a supreme god or goddess, or, more abstractly, some sort of divine light, spirit and goodness.

Magick for healing, it must be said, is not so far removed from the prayers of conventional religions, whose positive influence is well documented. The same effect can be created whatever the focus or faith, and I know from personal experience that positive results can be achieved when a Wiccan coven sends healing light to a sick member or a friend.

For hundreds of years, angels have been invoked in magick, just as in religion, both for protection and to act as vehicles for healing or positive energies. Practitioners of white magick may focus on particular aspects of a god or goddess figure, or benign power, personified through different deities from many age and cultures.

When I began practising magick ten years ago, I found it very artificial to invoke a goddess who belonged to another time and culture. However, I have since found that such symbols do hold a great deal of power and therefore can concentrate specific energies. I have listed in Chapter 4 a number of deities that seem to be especially potent in ritual or as a focus for meditation. But if you do not find them helpful, there is no need to use them.

Most rituals are related to the basic human needs for health, love, fertility and prosperity.

In past time, the well-being of the planet was considered to be the responsibility of peasant as well as king through paying tributes and enacting age-old ceremonies to invoke the necessary energies for the Wheel of the Year to turn. So individual prosperity or fertility was attained both through private spells and charms and by sending positive energies to the Earth and the cosmos and, in a sense, receiving bounty as those beams were amplified and returned to the sender.

Folk or domestic magick was an important part of people’s everyday lives right up until the nineteenth century. In rural areas, the implements used in and around the home and garden could be easily adapted for use in magick; and for town-dwellers, flowers and herbs could be gathered on a day in the country or grown on allotments or in urban back gardens. In the days before central heating systems, the focus of the home was the family hearth. Focus is Latin for ‘hearth’ and from Ancient Rome to China, the household deities have always had their place, being offered morsels of food, nectar and flowers and consulted on family happenings.

It was believed that the ancestors as well as the living gathered around the family hearth, and so it became a natural focus for magick. The witches’ cauldron started off as the iron cooking pot that hung over the fire (such pots are still used in country regions of Europe – I saw one for sale quite recently in the market in Rouen in France).

Herbal brews were not only created to cure coughs and colds but also, with magical words spoken over them, transformed into potions to bring a desired lover, employment or an unexpected helping hand in times of sorrow. A grandmother would put any small coins she could spare into a money pot and warm it near the fire to ‘incubate’ the money into sufficient to mend the roof or buy new coats for the winter.

A young wife eager to be pregnant would secretly prick a fertilised hen’s egg with a needle on the night of the full moon immediately before making love. Such actions were quite a normal part of life, a way of tapping into the same energies that made the cattle fertile and the corn set seed.
Farmers would leave milk for the faeries that they might bring good fortune, young girls recited love charms while planting herbs in soil embedded with a would-be lover’s footprint. On Hallowe’en, housewives opened their windows and placed garlic on the window ledge so that only the good family dead might enter and take shelter from the cold.

This simple folk magick, rather than ceremonial magick, forms the basis for the majority of spells. As above, so below’, the words of the semi-divine father of magick, Hermes Trismegistos, may originally have evolved from popular magick that is practised in many different cultures around the world to this day. They are certainly as applicable today as they ever were.

Whatever the aim of your magick may be, if you look around your home, garden, workshop or even office, you have the necessary tools for the spells you require. What is more, rooted as they are in
domesticity and the daily world, these implements could not be safer: fruit, vegetables, salt, sand, seeds, flowers, coins, pots and jars, together with your crystals, candles, incense and oils, and perhaps a few coloured scarves or ribbons to tie knots. Whether your spell is small and personal, or vast and universal, whether you are working to attract love, harmony in the home, prosperity or fertility for yourself or loved ones, for people in the wider environment or the planet, these are all you need.

 

A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magic Spells
By Cassandra Eason

The Rules Of Magick

The Rules Of Magick

 

Magick is not beyond or above life, but a natural though special part of your world. It is about not leaving fate, your fate, to any guru or deity, but shaping it with your own innate power, the power that emanates from some higher being, goddess or god, energy source, what you will – the divine spark within us all. There are no absolutes in magick, there is only what works for you and enhances your innate wisdom and spirituality. You should use this book as you would any other DIY guide and adapt its suggestions to suit what is right for you. Choose whatever you feel are the most appropriate herbs, crystals or even entire rituals for your specific purpose.

 

There are provisos, however. You must always remember that the form, the words and even ultimately the associations of particular oils, incenses and planetary hours are not what really matters. The truly important thing is that you should keep to the basic rules of witchcraft that are quite as strict and twice as hard as any conventional religion. These are rooted in wisdom, compassion, honesty, honour and common sense and are summed up in one short phrase:
‘An ye harm none, do what ye will’.

 

Put in modern-day language, this means, quite simply:

 

‘Do whatever you like as long as you don’t hurt anyone.’

 

Simple, did I say? It is in practice incredibly hard to harm none, especially if you are seeking promotion, fighting against an injustice or struggling to survive. But it may help you if you remember the other equally vital law of witchcraft, the Threefold Law. This states that everything you do to others, both good and bad, will be sent back to act on you with three times its intensity and strength. So, if you act always and only with positive intent to help and heal, you will automatically receive all manner of good things and you should become truly wise and happy.

According to the rules of magick, as I said earlier, you cannot be angry, mean or cruel and then expect to say sorry to a deity and have the slate wiped clean. Magick is about taking responsibility for your own actions all the time and that is incredibly onerous. But, on the positive side, the results are equally potent, and if you can learn to tap into the source of light and life and joy, you will amaze yourself and others by what is possible. Thus will your psychic powers also spontaneously unfold and guide you in your everyday world, increasing your spiritual power and wisdom.

 

The magick is within you, so let it flow and make the world a better place.

 

A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magic Spells
By Cassandra Eason

Effort And Will-Power

 Effort And Will-Power

Magick is not like the magic a conjuror uses to bring a rabbit out of a hat: that kind of magic is just a trick, which relies merely on the art of illusion. White magick is much more than that. It is intensely exciting because it means that we can extend the boundaries of possibility, recalling the psychic powers of childhood when we could span dimensions as easily as jumping across a puddle. We can increase our personal magnetism to attract love and luck and regenerate the innate healing abilities both of the human body and the planet.

 

What magick does not do is provide quick fixes with a twinkling of Stardust. It does not produce a faerie godmother, who turns up with a shimmering frock and a platinum credit card to pay the taxi fare home if the handsome prince is short of money and the faerie coach has crumpled into a pumpkin.

 

After the candles and incense have burned through and we sit, exhausted but exhilarated after sending our wishes to the cosmos through dancing or chanting, we then have to use every effort, every talent at our disposal, to make those wishes come true on the earthly plane. The psychic kick-start provided by the magick must be used to translate the magical thoughts into actuality. So we must work overtime with new enthusiasm and inspiration to get that project finished, send off to the publisher that typescript that has been gathering dust, do whatever it takes to help ourselves to get the results we desire.

 

My late mother would always say if I asked for extra funds, ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees’; and this holds true even in the magical world. Money, success and opportunities have to be generated and earned. We need to add our own will-power to the power we have drawn on.

 

What is more, under the cosmic profit-and-loss scheme, if we ask for a psychic overdraft, we must give back, if not immediately, then at a later date. So when your finances are better or your immediate troubles are passed, you should make a small donation or give time to a worthwhile cause connected with the area of the spell. This balances up the account whose cosmic energies you tapped into.

 

Many shamans or witches demand some sort of payment for services, and this is not from avarice, but because all too often if something is not paid for, it is not valued. So be sure that you pay the shaman especially the cosmic one. This is grass roots magick, but it works.

 

A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magic Spells
By Cassandra Eason

Magick And Responsibility

Magick And Responsibility

 

True magick is not like a cake in which everybody must vie for a slice or be left with none: it is more akin to a never-emptying pot. Like the legendary Cauldron of Undry in Celtic myth, the more goodness that is put in, the more the mixture increases in richness and quantity. The Cauldron of Undry, one of the four main Celtic treasures, provided an endless supply of nourishment, had great healing powers and could restore the dead to life, in either their former existence or a new life form.

Located on the Isle of Arran, it could be accessed by magical means or through spiritual quests, and many scholars believe it was the inspiration for the Holy Grail. But when using magick, you should take only as much as you need and perhaps a little more; you should not demand riches, perfect love, eternal beauty, youth, a fabulous job and a lottery win or two.

 

So, magick does not provide a help-yourself time in the sweetshop. The results could be like eating three times more chocolate than you really want and then feeling very sick. You cannot give the gods or goddesses your shopping list and then sit back and wait for Christmas: the divinity is within you to be kindled, and so you need to demand of yourself far higher standards than someone who believes in the forgiveness of sins.

 

If you do wrong, you cannot just say sorry to the godhead and carry on without putting right the mistakes or at least learning from them. Confession may be good for the soul, but magick demands more than that: you’ve got to live with the consequences of your deeds, words and thoughts because the power of a blessing or curse may be even greater on the sender than on the intended recipient. You must also ensure that you cannot harm anyone in the process of getting what you want. If you do spells for revenge, then the effects will rebound on you threefold.

 

A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magic Spells
By Cassandra Eason

Magick And Knowledge

Magick And Knowledge

White witchcraft is essentially the process of drawing on ancient wisdom and powers via the collective mind that we as individuals can spontaneously but unconsciously access in our dreams and visions. In magick, we can use rituals and altered states of consciousness to access this cosmic memory bank at will and in doing so, some believe, draw on the accumulated powers of many generations, especially in healing magick.

This cosmic consciousness – or Great Mind or akashic record, as theosophists call it – is perhaps what made it possible for pyramids to be built at almost the same time in lands as far apart as Egypt and South America, and for shamanism to follow similar patterns in unconnected continents. By accessing this source of power, we may create a ritual or use certain crystals without consciously knowing their significance, only to find out that our invented spell closely resembles one from another time or culture; we know how to heal without being taught.

Gaining such knowledge has been described as ‘inner-plane’ teaching and if you can trust your own deep intuitions, you need very little formal teaching about magick. If you scry at the full moon or during one of the ancient festivals, by looking into water and letting images form, this deep wisdom will offer solutions to seemingly impossible dilemmas.

The practice of witchcraft demands great responsibility, for you are handling very potent material when you deal with magick. The benefit is that by focusing and directing your own inner powers and natural energies you can give form to your thoughts and needs and desires and bring them into actuality. The more positive and altruistic these focuses are, the more abundance, joy and harmony will be reflected in your own world.

A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magic Spells
By Cassandra Eason

WOTC Extra – The Magick of Everyday Things

WOTC Extra – The Magick of Everyday Things

 

Our notions of what traditionally constituted black, white, and gray were incorrect. The practitioners of ancient magick were not necessarily working on a specific ethical basis at all. What was once under the guise of “white” magick (like herbalism) is now being usurped by technology, science, and medicine. In many areas of daily life, we find ourselves turning to a reliable procedure and trusting in it, while we overlook the spiritual portion of the equation. For example, a dam might help direct a mighty river, but without putting a spiritual covenant in place with that river, the spirits of that place might break that dam. We can call our technology “good,” and we can call our magick “white,” but unless we honor all aspects of the equation to which we’re applying our power, we will fall short and feel that lingering resonance (kind of like an itch you can’t scratch).

Historical references aside, it would be naïve to say that evil does not exist. The law of balance requires that for there to be “good,” there must also be the proverbial “bad.” Today we say that a person who uses black magick or walks the left-hand path is considered to be working from a selfish or malevolent vantage point. In Lewis Spence’s Encyclopedia of the Occult we read:

To gain limitless power of god, demon, and man; for personal aggrandizement and glorification; to cheat, trick and mock; to gratify base appetites; to aid religious jealousies and bigotries; to satisfy public and private enmities; to further political intrigue; to encompass disease, calamity and death—these were the ends and aims of black magic.

For a person to exhibit this type of behavior externally in any realm of life, he or she would have to have that darkness as part of their makeup (the within) according to this concept. However, the question remains as to what is truly “black” and what’s required necessary to raise that kind of energy. Some practitioners, for example, categorize working with entropy (the tendency of an energy system toward inertness through the breakdown of organized structure and pattern) or chaos energies as “black.” It receives this designation because, superficially, this so-called magick has the opposite effect from white (destroying or decreasing instead of creating). Yet the forces of nature perform these same functions. This makes us ask: if a form of energy exists in nature, can we call it “black”? Nature’s pattern is eat or be eaten, which can seem very cruel. But, again, it is only illustrating balance. Some “black” magicians would reply that they, too, are illustrating the law of nature in becoming the predator instead of the prey, or in being protectively proactive (doing everything possible mundanely and magickally to safeguard that which they hold dear).

Since we are also animals, humans exhibit similar instincts. Yet, somehow we expect that our reasoning nature will suddenly take that instinct and put it neatly away like some toy that we’ve outgrown when we work magick. I’m not sure that’s a wholly reasonable expectation, let alone a truly healthy one. Instead, a holistic approach would be to balance helpful instincts with rational thought and spiritual guidance.

Let’s take this one step further, out of nature and into the divine realms. In the world’s mythologies, we see images of gods and goddesses that take revenge against those who harm their followers (or children). We also see gods and goddesses that destroy to create. Kali (the Hindu Creatrix/Destroyer) comes immediately to mind. If the external divine uses the energy of reversal or diminishing, can that truly be called “black,” or is it merely the universe’s checks and balances? These are not easy ethical questions to consider or answer, but an honest examination of two things may help us gain some perspective—namely, intent (the internal motivating source) and the situation (the externals).

Let’s say someone chooses to cast spells aimed specifically at exacting revenge because their family had been targeted by a person or a group. This would be considered gray magick, because it is a situation when an ill has been done and has not been balanced.

Now, the sender may not enjoy the feeling of that magick. There’s a natural lingering temptation to lash out with unbridled anger and lose all focus. However, if similar circumstances occurred again, many people would be hard pressed not to do likewise. We simply want to protect those we love. Also, it is possible that people would feel inaction on their part would dishonor a sense of inner sacredness, and that sometimes we are the hand of karma (just as anything in life’s network might be).

This is where the lines of black and white get blurred. You’re not alone in facing a struggle between personal and spiritual ethics, potential karmic repercussions, and the natural desire to act . . . to do something, anything, to return the situation to a more equitable equation. It’s part of human nature. If you find yourself in such a place consider the following advice:

Always step back and cool off. Any magickal working is going to go better when you’re thinking clearly.

Ask yourself if there is a mundane alternative that could fix things. You can often use the energy generated by a bad situation to turn things around in your favor.

Always make sure you know (beyond any doubt) the focus of the spell. Otherwise you could harm an innocent person.

Consider using a “universal clause” (like “for the greatest good” or “and it harm none”) so that no one on the edges of the situation gets harmed by the energy you’re creating.

Pattern your response to only visit like for like (no embellishing—think balance).

Continue personal efforts on the mundane level to rectify things and put your life in order. This gives the universe more opportunities to open doors, heal wounds, and provide closure.

For a good book that discusses this subject in more detail than this book’s space allows, try How to Be a Wicked Witch. Let’s talk a bit about action and inaction and situational ethics.

 

 

A Witch’s 10 Commandments: Magickal Guidelines for Everyday Life

Marian Singer

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Black, White, Left, or Right?

Let’s Talk Witch – Black, White, Left, or Right?

 

The universe is our mirror. As we look into the world, something of self and the divine is reflected back to us. Where exactly do we fit in? What is the right or wrong way to walk our talk?

Physics tells us that energy is neutral. The application of energy, however, is not neutral. So humans, seeking definitions, start using terms like “good” and “bad,” “black magick” and “white magick,” and the “right-hand path” or the “left-hand path” to describe the results of applied energy and intention. Generally speaking, most practitioners define black magick as selfish, destructive, and manipulative. White magick, conversely, is giving, creative, and mindful of freewill.

Be aware, however, that black and white are only part of the spectrum. Left and right are only two directions or dimensions. These “extremes,” if you will, are easier to see by the contrast they create and consequently attract our visual attention. But our eyes and souls are capable of seeing a myriad of colors, shades, hues, blends from gray to plaid! We are aware in everyday life of several directions: left, right, backward, forward, up, and down.

Additionally, the terms “black” and “white” do not necessarily properly describe the ethical component of a magus. In fact, historically speaking, “black” implied forcefully interacting with hostile or hazardous beings to try and engender their cooperation. Perhaps it’s the forceful part that gave us modern folk the willies. After all, we talk about nonmanipulation. We’d be hard pressed, however, to find all of the spirits that we encounter willing to help out those in the mortal realm. In fact, many spirits have agendas of their own. White magick was traditionally defined as dealing with those positive energies and beings active and present in nature (like devas), inviting the voluntary participation of such forces even as we continue to do with the watchtowers of the cardinal directions. Interestingly enough, there are no moral qualifiers here – just who the magus invoked. So if an herbal magus evoked a nature spirit to create a lustful potion, it was not considered immoral since nature spirits are neutral.

 

A Witch’s 10 Commandments: Magickal Guidelines for Everyday Life

Marian Singer

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Ethics

ᑕᙓᒪ♈ᓰᑕ ᙅᖇᗝᙡ

Let’s Talk Witch – Ethics

 

Much has been written about magical ethics. Usually a list of clear dos and don’ts and thou shalts. The Wiccan Rede—” An it harm none, do as thou will”— and the three-fold law—” what you do comes back to you three-fold”— get bandied about as being the ethical pillars of Witchcraft. As I’m not Wiccan I don’t subscribe to these ideas.

In the 1950s Doreen Valiente wrote a lovely poem called The Wiccan Rede. It drew on many sources including a poem from Aradia: Gospel of The Witches by Charles Leland, some Aleister Crowley material and older teachings. The last part, often referred to as the Rede is the well-known “an it harm none, do as thou will” although the whole thing is often reworded to mean “do whatever you like as long as you’re not hurting anybody”. I believe that in a time when witchcraft was being redefined and made out to be something nice and benevolent, it may have been important to defuse outside ideas about what witches do and make them appear “good” by instilling a moral code of sorts. The Wiccan Rede only applies to Wiccans however, not all witches or magicians.

Many following the Rede try to never think ill about anyone or use it as a reason to become vegetarian. The problem I see is that “harm none” includes yourself. Some blood and body types aren’t suited to a vegetarian diet. In addition every breath or step you take on the earth may be harming small creatures and organisms. Does this mean that we only apply “harm none” to those creatures we choose? If so, who decides what can or cannot be harmed? What is the criteria for a bug or organism to be added to the “none” category?

Harm None is also the wrong part of the rede to be focused on. Of the eight word shortened version, Harm None is the least. Will is the important part, this is discussed further later on.

The other thing about the Rede is that the word ‘rede’ means advice. Not rules, not law and not even guidelines. Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Code has more credence. The Rede is more akin to your Auntie pulling you aside to talk about boys (or girls). She’ll tell you what she thinks you should do, she may even tell you some of her horror stories. Her advice may be valid and sound but in the end the decision to act on her advice is all yours.

The three-fold law is, in some form or another, the golden rule in every culture. In Christianity the Bible states “as you sow, so shall you reap” and “an eye for an eye”. The Hindu and Buddhist faiths know it as Karma. Although Karma is not the cosmic instant reward and punishment system that New Age thought promotes it as, if you want to understand Karma, learn about it from the Hindi. Modern colloquialism expresses it as “what goes around, comes around”. However it is referred to, by whichever culture, it speaks of a consequential result for what you do in life.

In Witchcraft the three-fold part is often misunderstood. I read a blog post about how you should give money to a witch because of their three-fold law. If you give them $ 10, you’ll get $ 30 back. In the same vein if you do something bad it will be three times worse for you. The mistaken belief is that the three fold will come back at you three times when for those who believe in it, it’s on three different levels— Mind, Body and Spirit.

I’ve found that there is often (but not always) a backlash. In physics— every action has an equal and opposite reaction, in Witchcraft it’s not necessarily as simple as it’s made out to be. There is also a theory that the threefold law was introduced as a way to keep beginners and learning witches safe from themselves.

It’s frequently stated that you shouldn’t interfere with another’s will. That you can’t or rather shouldn’t do a spell that will affect another without their permission. This is often said by people who then send healing energy all around the place without being asked for it and don’t see their own hypocrisy. I personally believe that it’s rarely a good idea to cast a spell regarding another person. Even if it’s “for their own good”. Who are you to decide what is best for another person? Who died and made you a God? They may have a life lesson going on, something that they need to learn from or learn how to cope with in order to grow. By ‘helping’ them you may in fact be harming them by preventing their own personal growth. It’s also a slippery slope, once you start ‘helping’ people, you can’t stop and it’s a short step away from interfering. This is different from binding and cursing but we’ll delve into that later.

Unless you belong to a faith that has its own ethics, you need to figure out what is ethical or not for yourself. Many people will assume that as a witch, you follow their system, or that witches are automatically Wiccan or Pagan and that you must subscribe to their own personal moral code in order to call yourself that. When it comes down to it, you need to ignore all the “know-it-alls” and be true to yourself. If you do ‘bad’ things there may be a backlash, but sometimes it’s worth it. Only you can know that for sure.

 

 

The Common Sense Spell Book

Debbie Dawson

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Relationship with the God-self


Egyptian Comments & Graphics

Relationship with the God-self

 

 

Relationship with the God-self Someone once joked with me, saying that since “thou art God/ dess,” praying is like talking to yourself. (I, of course, answered, “That way I only hear what I really like!”) Seriously, however, in our relationship building process with deity, we cannot overlook the fact that part of this life adventure’s goal is to “know thyself” and become self-responsible. If a spark of deity resides within, self-awareness will, in turn, naturally help external efforts to remain connected with the divine fires. Yes, it sounds like circular reasoning, but it is the rule of as within, so without on a very intimate level.

The first step in this process, in my opinion, is accepting two things: your role as a cocreator in your destiny, and your role as a priest or priestess in your spiritual life. There is a tendency in immature souls to make excuses for bad behavior or blame other people or situations for problems—anything to avoid actual responsibility. This is normal, and certainly easier, but does nothing for us in terms of our quest for enlightenment, let alone empowering ourselves to live ethically.

What (if anything) should we do about wavering, floundering souls, especially if we’re among them? First of all, I favor the idea of cleaning up our own act before we go around telling anyone else how to live (personally, communally, and globally). To do anything less causes us to stumble into that nasty disorder called hypocrisy, which could easily lead to a fall into the guru trap, which we’ll discuss shortly. It is all well and good to be able to recognize positives and negatives. It’s another thing altogether to go around destructively critiquing other peoples’ flaws, especially when you have similar ones.

Step One, then, is some honest personal appraisal. One activity that may help you with this is writing up two lists. On one list, write all the things in your life that you feel the need to improve on. For example, perhaps you have a harsh temper or tend to procrastinate. Those negative traits go on page one. Be brutally honest with yourself! On the other list, write down those things that you’re good at with similar nonreservation. To prioritize, you may want to put an asterisk next to the ones that really strike you as being harmonious with your inner God-self. This isn’t the time to be humble or overly sensitive: know thyself.

Next, prioritize that list. Which of the negatives do you feel are most important to change initially? Be reasonable in your expectations regarding those things you feel you can improve. For example, it’s reasonable to want to improve your employability, but it may require going back to school or taking some other training. Can you find a way to fit that into your current schedule? If so, then it’s reasonable to put it toward the top of your “work-in-progress” list. Next, prioritize the positives. Be happy regarding those things about which you are the most proud. Afterward, start working on item one on the “bad” list conscientiously and diligently. Ideally, you could take proactive strides toward improvement every day. At the same time, start sharing or using item one on the “good” list. This creates a potent symmetry. The “good” gift that you’re applying provides positive energy that can be applied toward self-empowerment to change those things you’re not happy with. Once you start this process, you’ll find it comes more naturally.

Mind you, there will be “off” days. Be as patient with yourself as you’d be with others, if not more. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and no soul was ever born getting it all right all the time, from their birth onward. Step by step, transformation by transformation, use this cooperative balance to make your way through the wilderness. In time, you’ll find that you’re able to help provide constructive criticism and assistance to other seekers wishing to improve on those aptitudes that you’ve been practicing and applying from your positive list. This comes without condemnation or flaunting because you recognize that you’ve been there, done that. Having gone through the process makes us more sensitive to those who are still processing, and therefore better able to help them with loving intent as a foundation.

 

A Witch’s 10 Commandments: Magickal Guidelines for Everyday Life
Marian Singer

 

Let’s Talk Witch – Magic Coming Back

Les dragons
Magic Coming Back

The theory concerning one’s magic coming back to them, often referred to as the “three-fold law”, which was mentioned earlier in The Wiccan Rede is a common belief that negative or positive vibrations sent out while you perform Magic will come back to you in multiples of three or more. Wiccans generally accept that Magic will come back in multiple of three. Other branches of Witchcraft may believe the rule extends to six or nine times, while others do not accept the theory at all. For example, let’s say you curse Tom, according to the rule of three… or six, or nine… you would receive negativity back, but worse, and bad things would soon begin to happen to you. The same can be said for the opposite. If you work good magic, and perform multiple acts of healing, you may be rewarded very nicely.

This boomerang theory regarding your Magic coming back is another issue under debate by many in the Pagan communities, but my personal opinion is that it does exist. Regardless of one’s religious affiliation, I think we all endure the repercussions of our actions, regardless if our intentions are good or bad. Some people believe that your magic will come back to you nine times, but it is unlikely, judging from my own experience. Your Magic does in fact come back to you, but I don’t think the degree is accurately represented by most Pagans. From personal experience, I would say that it comes back to you in the same degree which you sent it out. I think you get back what you send out, just in a different package, but the same degree.

I would like to add, that I’ve performed Magic which I felt was very negative, and never received what I would consider the “Payback” of the 3X Rule. At the time, I certainly felt I was doing the world a favor by binding and causing minor destruction to this particular person. Perhaps my negative Magic was really goodness in disguise.

Maybe the rule of “X” is psychological, and if you believe you are doing evil, evil will then find its way to you. If you feel you’re doing good through performing negative magic, then maybe it’s not negative Magic, but good Magic after all. Perhaps the rule of 3X was a device created by earlier Pagans to attempt to instill a sense of morality, or more likely fear into people for wanting to perform potential negative Magic. Like an unwritten law or a rule of thumb to persuade others not to be bad. It’s also possible that a tiny bit of each of these possibilities comes into play when you perform Magic and the time comes for you to roll in the rewards or suffer the consequences. I strongly encourage students of Wicca to evaluate their motives and any possible repercussions when performing their Magic, especially when the Magic is negative and involves a 2nd or 3rd person. You should certainly ask yourself how your Magic will impact these other people, and how the repercussions will affect you. You and you alone know if what you’re doing is “right”.

I feel one of the biggest debates in the Pagan community at this time exists between sub-branches of Wicca. I’ve seen countless squabbles over what defines negative Magic, and let me tell you, the line between Good and Bad in the Wiccan world is very thin. I feel for anyone, to automatically classify a particular spell as improper or negative simply because it does not pertain to healing, is rather a naive and close-minded viewpoint. In order to completely understand whether a Magical act is negative or not, you would have to evaluate the motives of the person performing the Magic, the repercussions of the Magic performed, and the means by which the Magic was carried out.

A spell to bind a person, under most Wiccan regulations, would definitely be a “bad” Magical act; however, I believe that some people need cursing. For example, if a known rapist is stalking my daughter…. You can bet the bank I’m going to be doing some serious binding. Binding is prohibited under most Wiccan philosophies. I personally, would be willing to suffer the ill effects of the “Boomerang theory” or “Three-fold law” to magically deal with someone who may cause harm to my loved one. I would not see the Magical act as negative either. This is how I feel, but I certainly do not advocate or condone the use of Negative Magic, but admit that there may be a time and place for it, under dire circumstances. Magic should be used like a gun when dealing with questionable issues, use it for protection, and let your morals guide you.

 

The Spell Book of Wiccan Shadows
Dawn Flowers

A WITCH’S PERSONAL MANIFESTO


Witchy Comments & Graphics

A WITCH’S PERSONAL MANIFESTO

 

The following personal manifesto was presented by Paul V. Beyerl to the 1987 Harvest Moon Celebration in Woodland Hills, California. It was in no way written to represent a set of laws to govern the behavior of others, but only as an open discussion of personal ethics to provoke thought and communication.

A WITCH’S PERSONAL MANIFESTO demands these things as a Witch:

– I must pursue my Highest Ideals
– I must strive to elevate my ethics
– I must be as good as my word
– I must demand integrity of myself
– I must be willing to suffer for my religion
– I must willingly embrace discipline
– I must develop financial responsibility and independence
– I must be able to pay my bills
– I must pay attention to my diet & intake of food
– I must LIVE the Hermetic Principle
– I must respect the astral
– I must approach ritual with great care
– I must see ritual work as a disciplined art form
– I must consider seriously the ramifications of reincarnation
– I must conserve fuels
– I must recycle whenever possible
– I must not litter, not even a cigarette butt
– I must avoid negative energy, even within my own thoughts
– I must avoid placing blame for any of the events in my life
– I must take responsibility for my ill health
– I must take myself seriously
– I must have humor
– I must live with my eyes open and my feet grounded

I demand these things of myself as a member of the Wiccan Community:

– I must support the work of making Wicca a respected religion
– I must expect financial accountability from those groups to which I donate
monies
– I must stop the mockery of other religions (including anti-Christian sentiment
sometimes found in modern Paganism)
– I must not support religious plagiarism (such as the teaching of shamanism by
those who have never experienced the wilderness nor studied from a real
shaman).
– I must be respectful of all other’s ritual forms
– I must separate myths and reality in our history and in our future
– I must work to contribute towards a reputable public image of Wicca
– I must protest against pagans who use shock tactics in dealing with the public
– I must upgrade standards of Wiccan education
– I must support serious research of our religious heritage
– I must demand quality in pagan literature, newsletters and books
– I must support the assembling of libraries
– I must not be a religious isolationist and I must work to remove pagan ghetto
mentalities from our communities
– I must demand provocative, challenging workshops over entertainment
– I must share my knowledge and skills
– I must make Initiations increasingly difficult, challenging and rewarding
– I must consider the amount of education other religions expect of their clergy
when planning Wiccan training
– I must be willing to network
– I must remain in contact with pagans in other places

I demand these things of myself as a Priest/ess:

– I must prepare for the deaths and burials of our peoples
– I must provide for the future of my consecrated tools beyond my physical death
– I must work towards the establishment of legal ministries
– I must provide for children and their education
– I must provide for the survival of my Tradition

I demand these things of myself as a Wiccan citizen:

– I must promote community service, being of help to all peoples regardless of
their beliefs
– I must be willing to be political
– I must be a knowledgeable, active voter
– I must respect and utilize the system
– I must find value in the political system in which I live or work actively to
promote change
– I must be aware of the world perspective
– I must extend myself to world poverty and hunger

 

Be Careful Of What You Wish For

Be Careful Of What You Wish For

As you work with natural energy and refine your abilities to effect change upon your environment, you will begin to recognize that idle wishes and spoken thoughts will seem to have more power invested in them.

As time goes on, you will discover that anything spoken with awareness and intent can be powerful. The more you learn, the  more knowledge and experience you acquire as a spellcaster, the more power you bring to bear on your everyday life. Spellcasting trains you to create change at will, using the energy available to you. If you are careless, then the change you have not thought through can occur in response to your words and actions. As you’ve read, the spoken word is an important element in the “as above, so below” relationship, representing bringing a thought or desire, which exist on the mental plane, into manifestation on the material plane.  The spoken word alone carries great power as a spell or as a technique to raise energy. The more experience you gain in this sort of application of energy, the more you will develop your abilities, and your words will carry greater and greater significance.
It may sound like a cliché, but with greater power come greater responsibility. Be aware of what you say and how you say it. Make every word count, both in spellcasting and in your daily life.

Can You Find Your Inner Magician?

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Can You Find Your Inner Magician?

Many Nature-based religions could be considered Pagan or “of the land.” But rather than relying on labels, looking at your beliefs about how the world works will tell you whether practicing magick is for you. Embracing some or most of the following philosophies might be the first steps in recognizing the magician within yourself so that you can become a practitioner of the natural world:

* Believing in more than one deity and/or more than one aspect of a single deity

* Expecting the Earth to take care of your needs and not being surprised when it does

* Being mindful of the well-being of all other life forms around you

* Doing all you can to preserve the natural world while understanding that humans are also part of Nature

* Living ethically and wisely on the planet as much as possible.

* Practicing right eating habits for your own health and the health of the planet

* Being a pantheist—that is, seeing the God and Goddess forces represented in everything around you

* Recognizing the sacred feminine as well as the sacred masculine

* Believing that the life force is sacred and that Nature, as a representation of that force, is divine

* Believing that all life forms are equal and share an equal claim to the Earth as a home

* Knowing that each individual is solely responsible for his or her own actions and that those actions should bring harm to no one

* Believing that the forces of Nature follow a pattern and can be shaped in ways commonly called “magickal”

* Believing that whatever actions a person takes, a magickal or mundane, good or bad, come back to him or her threefold

* Believing that there is no single path to spiritual fulfillment and that the individual determines the spiritual expression most appropriate to him or her
* Understanding and honoring everything about where you live
* Practicing the use of all your senses every waking minute

What is good for the Earth is good for its inhabitants. Recycling, planting trees, avoiding pesticides, conserving water, and refusing products from endangered species all attune you to the Earth and, therefore, to its positive energy. Practicing magick is good for all the earthlings–finned feathered, and furred as well as two-footed.

Goal or Purpose of Magick

Goal or Purpose of Magick

 

Drawing: to bring something (money, love; health, new job, etc.)

Repelling/Banishing/Exorcising: to cast something away(something unwanted; repel negative energies, banish poverty; unemployment; exorcise depression-inducing energies; aid spirits to pass on to next world).

Containment/Deflection/Reflection: to place limitations.

– shielding; to protect from incoming negativity

– confining; to restrict negativity to its source.

– dispersing; to dissipate incoming negative energies.

– turning; to return to sender deliberate negative energy.

Retain the Rules of Conduct or the Witches’ Rede:

– NEVER, EVER, casts magick against another witch.

– never initiate negative magick towards another.

– self-defense is acceptable as prevention, disbursement, or returning, for people are responsible for their own action.

Magical Principles

Magical Principles

 

• Magic is natural.

• Harm none- not even yourself- through its use.

• Magic requires effort. You will receive what you put into it.

• Magic is not usually instantaneous. Spells require time to be effective.

• Magic should not be performed for pay.

• Magic should not be used in jest or to inflate your ego.

• Magic can be worked for your own gain, but only if it harms none.

• Magic is a divine act.

• Magic can be used for defense but should never be used for attack.

• Magic is knowledge – not only of its way and laws, but also of its effectiveness. Do not believe that magic works – Know It.

• Magic is love. All magic should be performed out of love. The moment anger or hatred tinges your magic you have crossed the border into a dangerous world, one that will ultimately consume you.

Brief Look At Different Traditions In Witchcraft


Witchy Comments & Graphics

Seax-Wicca

 

Founded by Raymond Buckland in 1973. Although of Saxon basis, it was authored by Raymond himself without breaking his original Gardnerian oath. Raymond Buckland’s contribution to the Craft is a significant one. Not only did he develop a Tradition that is more than acceptable to many individuals, he also has written a large volume of textbooks on different magickal aspects and practices of the Craft, thereby enhancing many lives in a positive direction.

Crystals for Protection


Dragon Comments & Graphics

Crystals for Protection

 

The power behind Earth’s minerals can be felt the minute you put a crystal in your hands or near your physical body. Crystals are the treasures of the earth. These stones are filled with energy to be used. Each crystal, stone, gemstone is rated by its hardness, shape, size, qualities and often have a metaphysical significance as their personality. Some of the best crystals for protection include Bloodstone, Carnelian, Hematite and Obsidian.

Ammonite:

Properties: Ammonite is often used for stability in life. This is actually a fossilized creature that resembled a snail, over 65 million years old. It is now a helpful stone which offers a sense of relaxation. It is believed that Ammonite brings stability and order in life. Ammonite is a stone of protection. It provides for insight and it helps to assist one in seeing the “whole picture.” Since it is associated with the Root Chakra, it encourages ones survival instincts and is grounding.

Bloodstone:

Properties: Increases courage helps in avoiding dangerous situations by soothing the mind. Metaphysically, bloodstone is used to either promote a calm, tranquil atmosphere that is grounding or revitalize insufficient energy. A great stone for mental exhaustion. This stone represents both courage and strength and is used for achieving these attributes. It is associated with honesty and integrity and is useful in removing obstacles in life. Most effective on the Heart (green) and Root (red) Chakra.

Carnelian:

Properties: This stone represents confidence, boldness, initiative, dramatic abilities, assertiveness and outgoingness. Precision, analysis, stimulates appetite, encourages celebration and brings awareness of feelings. This stone helps you feel anchored and comfortable with your surroundings. Provides a connection to the past or to historical events. Carnelian can improve motivation. Helps one achieve greater success in career or personal matters. Helps ground people who meditate. Carnelian is one of the most helpful crystals for healing trauma, stress and emotional wounds that have accumulated in the etheric body or the Aura and are now manifesting as physical symptoms.

Hematite:

Properties: This crystal is the most recommended stone for grounding and is associated with the Root Chakra, by encourages ones survival instincts and is centering. Hematite condenses scattered feelings, turns fuzziness into mental clarity, enhances concentration, memory, practicality and helps with sound sleep. Considered the symbol of life energy, hematite allows for more confidence, will power and boldness. Helps us adjust to being physical. A protective stone and helps bolster low self-esteem. Hematite is known to deflect negativity. It brings our awareness back to the body and helps one maintain their sense of self.

Jade:

Properties: The ancient Chinese culture has revered Jade for centuries. Jade is considered the health, wealth and longevity stone, used also for courage, wisdom, justice, mercy, emotional balance, stamina, love, fidelity, humility, generosity, peace, harmony. Jade has been used for protection for centuries. Jade is known as androgynous, therefore it is considered having a gentle, steady pulse of healing energy. Jade is found in different colors and can be used on the appropriate Chakra based on its color. Properties common to all colors of Jade include its ability to mellow one’s existence. Helps one rid themselves of negative thoughts and energy. Very beneficial to the heart in both physical and spiritual senses. It is a very protective stone and will keep its wearer out of harm’s way. Jade bounds us to our earth energies and physical instincts. Jade is a humbling stone.

Jet:

Properties: Jet is a form of petrified wood similar to coal, though much harder. This stone has absorbing qualities. Helps draw out negative energy. Especially useful for people who have unreasonable fears that limit their lives. Therefore, that is why this black stone, it relates to the Root Chakra, the center that connects us to our earth energy. The Root chakra is connected to survival and our trust in the physical world, and in one’s own body. Recommended for stimulating psychic experience and guiding one in the quest for spiritual enlightenment. If worn, it should be set in silver. Jet has been used as a protective stone in life’s physical journeys. It’s known as a traveler’s amulet, and the wives of sailors often burnt it to protect their husbands while they were at sea. Jet has been known historically, to also protect from scorpions and snake bites, especially when the stone is wore over the heart. Jet has been used to help soothe the pain of both a broken heart due to seperation or the loss or death of a relative or loved one. In the past, this protection stone has been used to ward against enemies, evil spirits, witchcraft and harmful magic spells.

Obsidian:

Properties: This is a strong grounding stone and is known as “the protector”. It is said to “mirror one’s soul. This stone brings about objectivity, dis-attachment and is grounding. It reduces fantasy and escapism. Absorbs and dissolves anger, criticism, fear, and therefore is protective. This unusual black stone absorbs darkness and converts it to white light energy. It is a warm and friendly stone, which is used at the Root Chakra, encouraging ones survival instincts and is grounding. Black obsidian brings higher Chakra light into lower ones; cleanses and uplifts. Changes fear into flexibility with the advent of change. Obsidian is used for transformation.

“On life’s journey, faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.” ~Buddha

Andrew Pacholyk MS L.Ac

http://www.peacefulmind.com/protection.htm

Therapies for healing

mind, body, spirit

  • • • •

From the “Week-End Witchin*s

Courtesy of GrannyMoonsMorningFeast