Category: Rituals

Let's Talk Witch – The Importance of Ritual

Pentagram Book of Shadows

 

The Importance of Ritual

Because we spend so little time living in synchronicity with nature, we are also removed from rituals that help us understand and live in rhythm with the ebb and flow, the little and big “deaths” that occur in our lives.

Much of our uneasiness with endings comes from our distrust in natural processes. Having rituals that acknowledge and celebrate the earth’s natural processes can go a long way to easing our discomfort and having us fully appreciate the paradox of endings.

Many articles could be devoted to ways in which we can celebrate endings through ritual, but for now. I will simply say that any ritual that celebrates the seasons, elements or natural processes will help us to grow more deeply aware of the inherent beauty of endings. Consider that the sunniest day of the year wouldn’t stand out if every day were just as sunny. Similarly the bloom of a rose is special because we know its beauty cannot last forever. This sentiment is echoed in the words of a well-respected educator about dealing with grief in our modern secular society.

It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth–and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up–that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross).

Cultivating a deep appreciation of every moment–every pleasure we experience–can be a path that helps us embrace life’s endings. Remaining conscious that only moment that the only moment that truly “exists” is the moment in which we currently live helps us appreciate that the passage of time, experiences, and our lives is simply an integral aspect of life itself.

Many of us are comfortable with a form of prayer or meditation that involves giving thanks. One way of becoming more comfortable with endings is to incorporate your awareness of the passage of time in these prayers. “Thank you for this beautiful day; this day that exists only in this moment and will, with the arrival of another moment, be gone forever. Fill my heart with deep appreciation for the fleeting nature of life and all the gifts it brings.”

 

Reference:

Embracing Endings
By Harmony Usher

How To Make a Witch's Ladder

How To Make a Witch’s Ladder

By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide

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

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Varied

Here’s How:

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

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

Yarn or cord in three different colors

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

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

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

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

By knot of nine, what is done is mine.

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

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

How To Hold a Lammas Bread Sacrifice Ritual

How To Hold a Lammas Bread Sacrifice Ritual

By , About.com Guide

Grain is the heart of Lammas, and the beginning of the harvest season is a milestone in many societies. Once the grain is threshed and milled it is baked into bread and consumed, honoring the spirit of the grain god. This ritual celebrates both the harvest and the sacrifices we make each year, as well as the sacrifice of the grain god. Decorate your altar with symbols of the season — sickles and scythes, garden goodies like ivy and grapes and corn, poppies, dried grains, and early autumn foods like apples. If you like, light some Lammas Rebirth incense.

Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varied

Here’s How:

  1. For this rite, you’ll need a loaf of Lammas bread and a cup of wine or water. You’ll also need pieces of straw or other plant material, enough for each person in the ritual to make a small doll, and some yarn or string to tie the dolls together. Finally, you’ll need a fire. You can either have a large bonfire, or a small tabletop fire in a pot or brazier.
  2. If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, do so now.

    The High Priest or High Priestess says:

    It is the time of the harvest once again. Life, growth, death and rebirth, all have come full circle. The god of the harvest has died once more, That we may eat and consume him, Giving us strength in the months to come.

  3. The HPs hands each member of the group a sheaf of straw, saying:

    We now create dolls in our image. These dolls symbolize our selves, in our many aspects, and all the things we give up each year, so that we may thrive and flourish later on.

    Each member of the group constructs a doll to represent themselves. Use the instructions here if you don’t know how to make a doll: Corn Doll or Straw Man. As each person creates their doll, they should energize the doll with personal qualities. These are the essences of self that each person is bringing to sacrifice, so that they may be reborn as the harvest god is each year.

  4. When everyone has completed their dolls, the High Priestess says:

    The god of grain is dying, vegetation returns to the earth. We call upon the gods of the harvest, asking them for their blessings. Tammuz and Lugh, Adonis, Dumuzi, Cernunnos and Attis, Mercury, Osiris. You are born each year, and live in our fields and are sacrificed as part of the cycle.

  5. Raise energy by circling your fire or altar three times, moving in a counter-clockwise (widddershins) direction, building speed each time (you’re moving against the pattern of the sun, because it’s the end of the harvest season). If you like, you can increase the feeling of power by chanting one of these popular traditional Wiccan verses:

    Hoof and horn, hoof and horn, all that dies shall be reborn. Corn and grain, corn and grain, all that falls shall rise again.

    or:

    Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath and fire my spirit.

  6. If your group is musically inclined, have half the group sing the “Hoof and horn” part, and the second half sing the “Earth my body” verse, so that it forms a round robin. The effect is amazing!

    When the raising of energy is complete, each person in the group approaches the fire, one at a time, and casts their doll into the fire. They can either say out loud what their sacrifice will be this year, or speak it only to themselves and the gods. As each doll is placed in the fire, direct leftover energy into the flames as well.

  7. When everyone has made their sacrifice, the HPs holds up the loaf of Lammas bread. Say:

    Months ago, we planted seeds, and through the summer watched them grow. We have tended the fields in our lives, and now we are blessed with abundance. The harvest has arrived! Thank you, lord of the harvest, For the gifts yet to come. We eat this bread, grain transformed by fire, in your name, and honor you for your sacrifice.

  8. The HPs breaks off a piece of bread for herself, and passes it around the circle, so that everyone can take a piece. Eat the bread, and then pass around the cup of wine or water. If you wish, you can say something as the cup is passed, like:

    May you reap the blessings of the harvest.

    Once everyone has eaten their bread and sipped from the cup, take a moment to reflect on what you have harvested for yourself this season. End the ritual as you normally would or move directly into a Cakes and Ale ceremony or other rites you wish to perform.

What You Need

  • A loaf of Lammas bread
  • Straw or plant material
  • String
  • A fire
  • A cup of wine or water

Life As The Witch – Destroying Packets, Poppets & Dolls

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　The Poppet and Packet Racket

 

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

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

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

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

 

Reference:

Excerpt from:

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

 

Life As The Witch – Past Life Remembrance Exercise

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

Past Life Remembrance Exercise

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

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

Naming Your Poppet Magick

Name Your Poppet Magick

 

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

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

Make Your Own Worry Dolls

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

Purple: Magic/Spiritual/Religious worries

Blue: Work/Study worries

Green: Money problems

Pink: Love problems

Red: Physical/health/self esteem body problems

Orange: Emotional Problems

Yellow: Thought/Intellect/memory worries.

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

How to Make a Poppet

How to Make a Poppet

 

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

You’ll Need:

Green material

Natural filler (ie: cotton)–nothing synthetic

Spearmint

Needle

Thread (made of natural material)

Scissors

Straight pins

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

pen or pencil

marker(s)

Step 1

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

Step 2

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

Step 3

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

Step 4

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

Step 5

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

Step 6

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

Step 7

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

 

Tips & Warnings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Empowering Your Sacred Space

Empowering Your Sacred Space

 

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

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

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

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

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

To work my magick within this place.

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

Forces of Air, Forces of Wind,

Protect me here, the power begin.

Forces of Fire, Forces of Light,

Protect this circle, both day and night.

Forces of Water, Forces of Sea,

Protected forever, this circle shall be.

Forces of Earth, Forces of stone,

Power awakened by me, alone.

Forever and Ever, As long as I live,

My powers and love, this circle I give.

So shall it be.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I is for Dragon’s Blood Ink

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Dragon Blood Ink

 

Items You Will Need:

1 part of powdered Dragon’s Blood Resin

12 – 15 parts of Alcohol

1 part of Arabic Gum

A few drops of essential oil of Cinnamon or Myrrh

Make all your resin a powder and add the ground Arabic Gum. Then add the alcohol just a little bit every time, till all the powder is dissolved completely. This might take some time.

Filter through a strainer on which you have attached a piece of cloth (clean piece of cloth, a cloth you will not need again).

Store the ink in a bottle and inscribe on it the name of the ink. Keep on your altar ready to be used.

Best time to make this ink is during the Waxing Moon.

I is for Invoking

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Invoking

Invoking is a form of voluntary possession. When you invoke a deity or being, you’re not asking it to come hang out, you’re inviting into yourself, and that god or goddess will manifest through a human host. The ritual of  is an excellent example of invocation of deity.

Typically, if you’re new to spiritual practices such as Wicca or Paganism, most people will advise you to hold off on invoking deity until you’ve learned enough to have a good handle on what’s happening. It may be a good idea to focus instead on evoking, and communing with the gods, before you go inviting them to take control of you, even if it is just on a temporary basis.

W is for Warding

W

 

Warding

 

Wards are magick raised and set into place to protect a space, object or person. The traditional Four Directions are warded, but one should ward “up” and “down” as well; “ooglies” and negative energies can “tunnel” over and under on the astral plane! For this reason, raise
a sphere rather than a Circle.

Obviously, in order to ward one must first learn to raise magic. Here’s a
simple but effective method. Stand erect and visualize roots growing from the
soles of your feet deep into the center of Mother Earth. Then, draw up magickal
energy into yourself until you feel filled with it. Don’t overdo it at first!
You can return unused magick the same way. Then, retract your roots. Don’t ever
leave leftover magick lying around. It will mutate and draw “nasties” that feed
on it like roaches feed on crumbs.

Why ward? For the same reason you keep your car and your house doors
locked: to protect yourself, your property, and your personal space. While
actual effective psychic attacks are quite rare (this is one of the hardest
magickal works to learn and the easiest to defuse; most people who can do this
sort of thing know that it is something that seldom should be done), other
things still need excluding: the negative energy of your mean, nasty, constantly
quarreling neighbors (especially in  buildings) and the fervent prayers
for the salvation of your soul (which to all intents and puiposes is an attempt
to force you into their mold by any means necessary and in my opinion borders on
black magick) which may be being offered up “for your own good” even as you read
this by your parents and their church! Also, magickal  increases levels
of sensitivity, and you just may feel the previously undetected energy of others
pressing in on you.

To ward yourself strengthen your aura daily by filling it with blue or
white magick. If you can’t assemble enough of it in your solar plexus to get the
job done (and don’t feel bad if you can’t; these things take time and work) draw
up some from Earth to “prime the pinup.” Some also visualize a helmet over their
heads with a protective symbol between the eyes and slightly upward (the
location of the “third eye”). If you do feel you are under psychic attack (its
symptoms can resemble those of the flu) and need additional protection, grasp
hold of cold iron. An old railroad spike works dandy. Consecrate it to Thor if
you like. Cold iron breaks hexes and dissipates psychic attacks. Or, it may just
be the flu you’re coining down with. Its treatment is somewhat different,
and beyond the scope of this article.

To ward an object (for instance, a trunk containing your magickal
supplies), put a protective sign on it. The Elhaz (Algiz) rune (the fifteenth
rune in the Elder Futhark) works just fine. To make one, get a peace sign, cut
off the circle around the edge, and  it upside down. It should look roughly
like a three-pronged antler. Or, you can just draw or paint it on. Cover the
object with a “chain link fence” of blue magick. Be sure some magick is in the
spaces between the -links. Anchor the wards to the protective sign. Visualize
them keeping others from touching the warded object Clean and maintain
periodically (at least once a month) to avoid your wards dying and perhaps
unpleasantly decaying. Also, don’t let others touch the object so it won’t give
them a nasty psychic shock You can make your car “invisible” (not readily
noticed) by putting magickal screens around it and willing that others not see
it. Be careful, or you might have a hard time finding it yourself when you
return, or find it’s been hit by another car even though in plain sight!

The “chain link fence” technique will also ward your house or apartment. I
advise homeowners to ward their homes around the walls, floors and ceilings
facing the outside of the building (not interior walls between rooms or the
floors/ceilings of multistory houses) and set up secondary wards around the
property lines. You’ll need something to anchor your wards to. I suggest driving
charged railroad spikes with the Elhaz nine painted on them at the corners (of a
square lot). White (clear) quartz crystal points work well for the corners of a
home as anchors. By the way, white quartz is the best “generic” stone for
general use, so don’t panic if some book says only the rare and costly Atlantean
Moonstone (available from the book’s publisher, needless to say) will do for
what you need to accomplish. White candles work well for most spells too. White
light contains all colors. That’s why sunshine can be broken up into a rainbow.
Clean those stones first Try to get some that haven’t been handled by a
bajillion people before you bought them. White quartz picks up and holds the
random charges of people who handle it. It picks up and holds a charge just
fine. That’s why you want it. My partner can’t stand handling white quartz
points in stores, so I get that job! I once pointed one at him and said “Zap!”
It was a joke, but it zapped him anyway, much to his chagrin. If you are
sensitive and need to handle, select and purchase them, try warding a pair of
gloves for the purpose! When you get them home, soak them overnight in cold salt
water. Take them out, rinse and dry them, send a wave of cleansing energy
through each one, and charge them one by one. You’ll need to do this
periodically in your ward cleansing, and should try to put each one back in its
proper corner each time. Then set your wards. Let them “jell” for an hour or so
before you go out, at least when you are initially setting them up. You’ll get
an extra bit of “Oomph!” if you do you warding on the Full Moon (and the
Full Moon will thereafter be a reminder to clean and recharge your wards). Be
sure to take down and ground your wards if you move!

Anything that can be done can at times be done just a bit too well. If
your wards are too tight, nothing can get in, but nothing can get out, either!
You might find the space difficult or impossible to sleep in, with an
increasingly heavy or oppressive feeling. In extreme cases, ghostly images of
people not currently there might be seen. These arise from personal energy that
cannot dissipate. A certain Lexington Pagan (not I) had this happen to her once!
In the unlikely event that this happens to you, turn the “volume” down on your
wards a bit and then do a basic magickal cleansing of the area. Use your magick
to sweep the area clean of accumulated magickal debris and trapped energy, and
take it as a sign that you can ward and ward well. Talk about beginner’s
luck!

A useful adjunct to your wards is a household guardian. Charge a small
statue. A frog dragon, cat or dog works well. Give it a name and decide its
gender. Fill it with magick, making it vigilant and friendly to you, your family
and friends but wary of and hostile to unwanted intruders, and finally and very
importantly, subject to your will. It is essentially an extension of your
will, a magickally ensouled thought form enshrined in the small statue. Feed it
regularly and tie it in to you. If you don’t, it will mutate, develop a will of
its own (probably a surly one) and create problems for you. You’ll have to
disassemble your creation, and it will be much harder to take apart than it was
to put together to begin with.

I recommend that every Pagan and magick user learn to ward. Wards are real
and wards work. I’ve seen psychic ickiness sliding off the wards of my apartment
when my partner and I let them get dirty. I once saw them repel a psychic attack
launched by some naughty local Pagans. I even sensed who was sending what was
tying to get through, and had the reality of the attack and identity of its
perpetrators confirmed by mundane means a few days later. When my partner and I
took down the wards in our old apartment right before we finished moving out (we
set the spell to take them down gradually) I saw curious little astral critters
move into space from which they previously had been excluded. Nevertheless,
there’s only so much warding can do! I once knew a magician who claimed only
Gods could get through his wards. Not surprisingly, two people independently got
through them without any problem, and one of them brought back unusual
information which was soon, without his inquiring, confirmed by “mundane” means.
Hubris will get you nowhere but into trouble.

Warding won’t protect you from the consequences of your own unethical
actions, nor from problems created by “getting in over your head.” With magick
as well as anything else, you’ve got to walk before you can run. If needed,
there are other things you can put into your wards. They can reflect negativity
or attacks (like a mirror) or even boost the strength of the attack and send it
home to bedevil the sender, potentially even killing anyone who can manage to
launch a very strong psychic attack against the warded individual. These are
techniques for the more advanced magician. Needless to say, don’t tell others
the details of your wards. Today’s friend may be tomorrow’s enemy in the all too
often dysfunctional world of the Heathen/Pagan Communities, so use discretion,
but avoid paranoia

 

Realmagick.com

The Witches Spell for January 16th – Modern Female Rite Of Passage

Modern Female Rite Of Passage

Note: East – Air; South – Fire, West – Water, North – Earth

Early Preparations

Candles for the ritual will be made that day. Celebrant will make two white candles. Candles will be herbal and scented, and inscribed appropriately. Celebrant and mother will also bring something that symbolically (to them) symbolizes the rite of passage.

Ritual baths will be taken prior to ceremony, with Celebrant’s bath being drawn for her. Salt, herbs and scents appropriate to the occasion will be added to the bath, and it will be blessed prior to use. Mother will help Celebrant to the bath, where she will light a candle and incense, give words of love and comfort and instruction to the Celebrant, and then withdraw to assist in Circle Preparation.

Circle Preparation

Circle area will be cleansed and Circle constructed and consecrated in the usual manner. Altar will sit just West of Center of Circle to symbolize both the emotional aspects of the ritual, as well as the death/ rebirth aspects.

Added to altar arrangement will be the Celebrant’s two white candles. Also on the altar will be a mirror sitting behind and between the two white candles. Symbolic gifts will be placed beside the altar – the mother’s to the North symbolizing steadfastness, grounding, caution, and wisdom of the elder. The Celebrant’s will be to the South of the altar, symbolizing the fire, passion and impetuosity of youth.

Invocations

Guardian of the East Hail to thee, Ancient ones of Air! Blow soft around us this night That the restrictions and pains of childhood Will be but memories in the mind of the adult.

Guardian of the South

Hail to thee, Ancient ones of Fire! Lend to us this night your passion and strength Envelope us in your warmth, That the fires of youth may be tempered within thee.

Guardian of the West

Hail to thee, Ancient ones of Water! Wash over us with thy loving embrace That the sorrows of days long past Can give way to new understanding.

Guardians of the North

Hail to thee, Ancient ones of Earth! Stand firm with us in our purpose this night, That from the youth shall grow the adult Full of purpose and wisdom.

Invocation to the Lady

Blessed Lady of a Thousand Names, You who art Maiden, Mother and Crone. Grant that this night the bindings of childhood will be broken And the bond between mother and daughter be strengthened. For the two, as so reflected throughout all creation, Are but images of thee in thy divine Trinity. Blessed Be. In honor of thee do I pour this toast, and drink this wine.

Invocation to the Lord

Great Lord, Ancient one of the fields and Consort to our Lady, We ask that thou wouldst give a measure of your love and protection to she who will soon join the battles of this life. Fill her with the knowledge of thee as sanctuary And grant that peace may follow her always. In honor of thee do I pour this toast, and drink this wine.

Chalice is then passed to each of the coveners to share in the toast.

Drawing Down the Moon

Priestess/Mother stands facing the moon with hands upraised and palms turned upwards, cupwise. Drinking in the Lady’s essence, she says,

Come to me and fill me with thy light Enter me, shine in me your fullness That I may use your power for my good, And for the good of All.

When appropriate, she blesses all within the Circle, and the rite that is about to be performed. Then, nodding to the Father of the Celebrant, says:

Bring forth your daughter, that she might, this night, cross the threshold of adulthood.

Father brings the Celebrant to the Eastern Gate.

Mthr:

Is this the daughter I bore so many years before? Nay, it cannot be, for she was but a child when last I held her.

Dtr:

Mother, I am your child. Now grown and ready to throw away the things of childhood. Years it has been since my moonflow began and I became a woman. Now it is time that this is recognized.

Mthr:

Very well, lead the child into the center of the Circle. There to have her sit in silence.

Father leads Celebrant to the center of the Circle, while mother re-closes the Circle. She then joins her daughter in the Circle’s center, saying:

Mthr:

You sit now in the Center of the Circle; that which is known as the Cauldron of Hecate; the point of transformation; the mother’s womb, where beginnings end and endings re-begin. I have heard your words, and weep for them; Tears of both joy and sorrow. It was my body that cried out in pain and joy as you were born. It was my mind that went in circles to provide for us. It was my heart that broke when that which you wanted I could not give you. But always did you have my love…and always shall you carry that love with you. Behold in me the Three-Fold Goddess She who is One in Three – Maid, Mother, and Crone One in Three, as she is in you and all women, And as you and they are in her. Look upon her and know her, That you, too, may be whole. So I ask thee truly, art thou ready to face the woman within thee? To see within thee the light and dark, and fear no more the dark? To accept that which you are, and strive for that which you can become? To leave behind the things of childhood, But to continue to love and nurture the child which lives in all adults?

{Celebrant has answered accordingly to each of the questions, at which time the Mother now exhorts the Celebrant to stand and face the altar.}

Mthr:

Daughter, I ask you now to look deep within the mirror. See yourself reflected there. Look into your eyes and know yourself. Repeat after me: “I come to commune with my Soul.”

Dtr:

I come to commune with my Soul.

Mthr:

Look into the reflection of your eyes, and name one thing about yourself that you love.

{Celebrant and Mother will continue this, alternating between what the Celebrant thinks is both good and bad within her…}

After the last question, the Mother then says:

Mthr:

Daughter, within thee is both light and dark. Know always your shadow side. If something is there which offends thee horrible, give it up. For others to love you as an adult, you must love yourself first. And loving yourself means giving up any self- hatred you’ve carried over from young years. Now is the time to cut these things from thy life. They are the bonds of childhood which have held you limited. Free yourself from them, and know that thy spirit flies free.

Now look again into the mirror. Look at yourself with love. See the Goddess shining within thee. She is strong; no man has dominion over her. She knows herself and loves herself. She will give herself to those who are worthy of her affections, and turn from those who try to debase her. Let the Goddess within thee shine through thee, that the nobility and strength of woman is clear for all to see.

Now, come with me.

Mother embraces daughter and leads her to each of the four quarters. After each challenge, the Celebrant must answer as she sees fit, and asks the Guardian’s Blessing. The Covener at each gate will then bless the Celebrant, and offer a gift for adulthood, such as strength, courage, etc…or a physical gift pertinent to the rite and Gate.

Covener at Eastern Gate:

Hold! I am the wild wind and fury of the storm! That which buffets thee without shelter. How will you survive?

Covener at Southern Gate

Hold! I am fire and passion That which will consume thee with lust. How will you survive?

Covener at Western Gate

Hold! I am floods and weeping and gnashing of teeth. I am loneliness and frustration. How will thee survive?

Covener at Northern Gate

Hold! I am chaos and turmoil Plans gone wrong and dreams that die. How will thee survive?

Mother faces daughter (Priestess mode ON here)…

I am the Lady, thy Mother… I shall be with thee no matter how far thou shalt roam. And when loneliness besets thee, Thou needs only gaze upon the moon, To see my face and my love reflected there to you.

Father approaches daughter and turns her to face him…

I am he who is father to thee now. I shall stand behind and beside thee always. And when loneliness besets thee, Thou needs only to step out into sunlight To feel my warmth and love within thee.

Mother takes daughter by hand and returns to the altar. Daughter picks up her gift of childhood and presents it to the mother, saying…

This I do give you as a symbol of childhood now behind me. Hold it and cherish it as you remember me.

Mother picks up her gift of adulthood and presents it the Celebrant, saying…

This I do give you as a symbol of your adulthood, and my recognition of it. Hold it and cherish it as you remember me.

Draw a pentagram above the celebrant, with an affirmation at each of the five points:

Point one:

In the name of Inanna, Queen of Heaven

Point two:

In the name of Athena, warrior Goddess, but also of Peace

Point three:

In the name of Astarte, warrior Goddess, and protector of young females

Point four:

In the name of Diana, she of the bow and arrow, Goddess of Light

Point five:

Do I bless thee, and call thee “Woman”. May their strength and independence, their love and virtue, be thine all the days of thy life. I recognize the child no more, but she the child who lives in all of us.

Mother stands with a space between her and her daughter and presents the new adult to the coven.

Feasting (and in our case, a birthday celebration) follow.

Quarter Guardians are thanked, and blessings are asked of the Lord and Lady upon the group, as well as the Celebrant.

Blessed Be
 
 
Ritual by:
* Lady Shyra *

Life As The Witch – Kitchen Alchemy

Kitchen Alchemy

 

Kitchen alchemy is really a very simple form of magickal work: it doesn’t require circle casting or the invocation of elements, and you don’t even need to use a spell for most basic everyday dishes. (You may want to use one of the truly important occasions, like having your boss to dinner or the first meal you cook for a new lover, but that’s up to you.)

Like all magick, kitchen alchemy is primarily a matter of intent, focus, and will. You start by choosing your intention–increasing prosperity, for instance, or creating an atmosphere of love and peace in your home. Then, as you are cooking, you add the magickal ingredients you have chosen to use while focusing on your intention and directing your will into the dish. As with other magickal workings, the more intent, focus, and will you bring to your food preparation, the more effective your kitchen alchemy will be.

Almost everything in your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets has some magickal association. Here are a few of the most common and easiest to integrate into everyday meals. These associations are based primarily on “Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen”– if you only get one resource. I highly recommend this one. But different sources gives various other associations; always follow your own internal wisdom when it come to witchcraft.

Apple:  love, health, peace

Basil:  love, protection, prosperity

Beans:  prosperity, sexuality

Black pepper:  protection, purification

Cayenne pepper:  energy, creativity

Chocolate:  love, prosperity

Cinnamon:  love, psychic awareness, prosperity

Coffee:  conscious mind, physical energy

Dill:  conscious mind, prosperity, weight loss, love

Garlic:  protection, health

Ginger:  love, prosperity

Lemon:  love, happiness, purification

Milk:  love, spirituality

Olives:  health, peace, sexuality, spirituality

Parsley:  prosperity, protection, sexuality

Peppermint:  healing, purification, sexuality

Pomegranate:  creativity, fertility, prosperity

Potato:  protection

Rosemary:  conscious mind, healing, love, protection

Sage: health, protection

Salt:  grounding, protection

Spinach:  prosperity

Sugar/honey/maple syrup:  love, prosperity

Thyme:  love, psychic ability, purification

Tomato: health, love, prosperity, protection

Vanilla: love, sexuality

Reference:

Simple Kitchen Alchemy
By Deborah Blake
Llewellyn’s 2012 The Magical Companion

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Magickal Hours of the Day

Magickal Hours of the Day

 

As analogy of how the hours of the day influence magick can be drawn to a day in the life of a flower.With the first rays of sunshine, the flower begins to open. The, it fully opens, and stays open until closing again at dusk. The flower quietly sleeps, yet it still continue to grow and develop all through the night, until the dawn comes once again.

Magickal timing by the hour of the day follows the flower pattern. Although some of us are morning people, while others are night owls, you will discover that there are certain times during the day and night that you do your most successful magick. Pay attention to you own natural rhythms, and honor them, choosing the times when you have the most energy for magick making. The following is correspondences for the daily timing of potions and spells.

Dawn

A time of renewal, rebirth, new ideas dawning, new beginnings, and consecration. Over the centuries, people have collected the dew on the grass and plants at dawn to use as a magick love potion.

Morning

This is a good time for setting patterns in play for preparing potions, and casting spells for attaining goals. The day’s light is growing strong and your magick grows accordingly. Mid-morning is a good time to harvest flowers.

Noon

The solar energy is most powerful at high noon, and there is a tremendous amount of energy for magick making. Noon is also a good time to gather flowers for magickal uses.

Afternoon

This is a time of harvesting magickal goals. The heat of the afternoon sun is a good time for harvesting herbs for potions.

Dusk

A powerful junction point between solar and lunar energies, dusk is the time when the portals to all worlds are thrown open and you can freely enter them. This is a very potent time for any magick making because the portals are open and communication with Divine energies is particularly strong.

Dark of Night

The lunar and stellar energies are strongest at night. Throughout history, witches have always cast their spells under the cloak of night. This is also a good time to map out magickal potions and spells.

Midnight

Traditionally called “the witching hour,” midnight is a good time to let go of old habits or negative relationships and banish negativity from your life. This is also the time for updating your life patterns and practicing dream magick.

The Hour Before Dawn

This is the time of the Otherworld of fairies and when many predators hunt. It is a good time to stay indoors.

 

Drawing Down the Sun

Drawing Down the Sun

 

Choose the time of day that is best for your purpose. Clear conditions are ideal though of course you cannot look directly at the Sun at any time. Eventually you will be able to visualize the orb. Though Sunday is the special day of the Sun, you can choose any day that feels right.

Decide on the kind of Sun energy you want to focus on for this particular ceremony, a loving Sun Mother to bring joy, abundance and a sense of well-being, and aesthetic Sun God for spiritual and mental clarity and focused creativity or a warrior to empower you and give you the courage of purpose. You don’t have to pick a God or Goddess from a particular culture but can picture you own or use the Sun itself as your focus of light, life and health bringing powers. You can adapt your chant accordingly or use one that refers to these attributes.

1.  Occasionally, just draw down the Sun or recite your chant as a way of giving thanks for life or to send the Sun to those who need it spiritually or in actuality.

2.  Find your Sun place where at particular times of the year the Sun casts radiating beams or dancing rays. You may have to wait for just the right conditions for your first Sun encounter.

3.  Mediterranean and oceanic tropical sunrises can be spectacular and can be appreciated while on vacation. A few minutes of solitary sunset connection can be a very deep healing experience.

4.  It may help to hold a clear crystal or rainbow quartz (any with fractures inside will reflect rainbows).

5.  Set on the ground, on a rock or on your outdoor altar a dish of any gold jewelry, golden crystals, gold-colored coins, flowers and fruit to be empowered by the Sun.

6.  Next to it place a glass bowl of sparkling mineral water Afterwards the water will be charged with the power of the Sun and you can use it in baths or to splash on pulse points.

7.  Raise your arms high and wide, palms uppermost and set your feet quite widely apart.

8.  Speak your words aloud, unless there are too many people around.

9.  Then wait until you feel the light beginning to enter you.

10.  Now move your arms so they are extended horizontally either side of your body with your palms still upward to absorb the light. At this point breathe in the golden light through your nose, slowly and gently, and exhale the darkness through your mouth.

11. As you continue breathing, visualize the light spreading to every part of your body from your toes right to the tips of your fingers and the crown of you head.

12.  Allow the light to extend now beyond your body, forming a shield of golden rays all around you and above you so that you are enclosed in a shimmering sphere.

13.  Gradually move your arms and hands so they cross at about waist height. Repeat this in succession and in the rhythm that is right for you, raising, extending and enfolding yourself with light as if you were splashing it over yourself.

14.  When you feel that you are completely filled with the radiance, cease to breathe in gold deliberately. Stand with your arms still raised, close together in front of your body with elbows bent.

15.  Say slowly and with confidence three times:

“I am filled with the light of the Sun. I am pure light.”

16.  Allow the energies to flow between your body, the pool of light and the golden sphere.

17.  Kneel or reach down and splash a few drops of the newly made Sun water on your hairline, brow, throat and wrist, saying:

“The Sun enters my spirit, enriches my mind, transforms my words and warms my heart. Blessings Be.”

18.  Listen and you may hear a message from the Sun Mother of Father.

19.  If you face opposition or spite, shake your fingers and see golden sparks emanate from your fingertips like miniature Sun rays.

20.  Extend your arms in a circle over your head so you create a psychic protective force field of sparks all around you that will gently repel any malice.

21.  Make a sign, perhaps touching the place between and just above your eyes that is your third eye. Or you may prefer to touch your heart or make a circle in the palm of you hand.

22.  As you do so, say:

“When I touch my brow/heart, I will invoke the Power of the Sun with me.”

23.  Look upwards and picture the  Sun Mother or Father or a whirling, spinning solar disc and gradually allow the radiance and the Goddess to fade, knowing that you can recall the Sun into your life any time you are in need, just by making your psychic sign.

24.  Spend the rest of the day or at least part of it in the Sunshine and the next day do something amazingly brave to make the most of your new power.

 

Drawing Down the Power of the Sun Goddess or God

Drawing Down The Power of the Sun Goddess or God

 

In witchcraft, as you know, there is a ceremony known as ‘drawing down the moon’ in which the High Priestess takes into herself the power and wisdom of the Moon. In some traditions the power of the Sun is called down by the High Priest at the beginning of the Esbat or monthly celebration and on other major seasonal ceremonies into the Priestess. There is another ceremony where Sun power is called down into the Priest by the High Priestess or into herself, especially at seasonal solar change points such as the Equinoxes or Solstices.

However, in both cases, whether you work alone as a witch or in a coven or practice less formally, you can at any time of the day or year call into yourself the strength, fertility and joy of your chosen Sun God or Goddess.

At dawn:  Draw down the powers of the rising Sun for a new beginning or for a fresh approach or for optimism or inspiration

At noon:  Plug into the rush of pure life and light force for a make or break situation or to spur yourself on if you are tired or dispirited – or for sudden illumination.

At dusk.  The Sun consoles, heals and harmonizes desperate demands or people and draws gentle abundance to you.

Full Moon Ritual

Full Moon Ritual

 

The full and new moon rites are a celebration of the moon and Her cycles, as well as a celebration of us.

What you will need:

Your tools

Silver or white candle

White altar candle

A view or picture of the moon

 

Setup:

Place the silver or white candle next to your altar candle.

Position your altar so that you can see the moon.

Perform a meditation.

Cast your circle.

Raise your arms over your head, palms up, while saying:

“OH GREAT MOON,I AM HERE BEFORE YOU,IN YOUR LOVING GRACE.”

Take the cauldron of earth hold it toward the moon and say:

“OH GREAT MOON,BLESS THIS EARTH.”

Take the silver or white candle and place it in the cauldron. Light it and say:

“OH GREAT MOON,HEAR ME.””OH GREAT MOON,THEE I ADORE,I HONOR,I RESPECT.”

Kneel and say:

“I HONOR YOU ON THIS SPEACIAL NIGHT.””HEAR ME. BLESSED BE.”

Now close your circle. Point your athame down and release while saying:

“MAY THIS ENERGY BE USED BY OTHER ON THEIR PATH.” “SO MOTE IT BE.”

Let the silver or white candle burn itself out.If you decide to do a spell, perform it before closing the circle and point your athame up instead of down. Then close your circle.