Mechanics of Spellcasting
Spellcasting is the lesser, not the greater magic; but the greater
magic builds on the lesser. The paradox is that in spellcasting we
may start out working with the personal self, but in order to work
the magic we are forced to expand and recognize the Self that moves
through all beings.
Magic involves the deliberate self-identification with other objects
and people. For example, to do a healing, we must become the healer,
the one who is healed, and the energy that is to do the healing. To
attract love, we must be able to love ourselves and to become love
its self.
Spells work in two basic ways. The first is through suggestion;
symbols and images implant certain ideas in Younger Self, or the
subconscious mind, and we are then influenced to actualize those
ideas. Spells can also influence the external world.
The theoretical model that witches use to explain the workings of
magic is a clear one and coincides in many ways with the “new”
physics. It is simply an elaborate but extremely useful metaphor. The
metaphor is based on a world view that sees things not as fixed
objects, but as vortexes of energy. The physical world is formed by
the vortexes of energy, and if we cause a change in the energy
patterns they, in turn, cause a change in the physical world. When
our own energy is concentrated and channeled, it can move the broader
energy currents. The images and objects used in spells are the
channels. They are the vessels through which our power is poured, and
by which it is shaped.
As energy is directed into the images we visualize, it gradually
manifests physical form and takes shape in the material world.
Directing energy is not a matter of simply emoting. Emotion can be
likened to a strobe light which provides a very inconstant light,
while directed energy is more like a laser beam. Even concentrated
power is a small stream compared with the vast surges of energy that
surround us. The most adept witch cannot be successful in all her
spells, for the opposing currents are often too strong.
The craft teaches to first identify the flow of energy and then to
decide whether or not it is going where we want it to go. If it is
not, then we can try to deflect it, or we may have to change our own
course. Sensing the energy climate is a matter of intuition and
experience. Some witches make a study of Astrology in an effort to
plan their magical workings at the optimal times, while others prefer
to work when they feel the time is right.
Of all the planets, the Moon’s influence on subtle energies is the
strongest. Subtle power increases as the Moon waxes, so the time of
the waxing Moon is best for spells involving growth or increase, such
as money spells. The power peaks when the Moon is full and that is
the best time for workings of culmination and love. During the waning
Moon, power subsides and turns inward. The waning Moon’s period is
used for banishings, bindings, and discovering hidden secrets. The
practical witch soon learns to adjust her spells to fit the time of
the Moon. If, for example, she needs to do a money spell during the
waning Moon, she would put a little ‘English’ on it and make it a
poverty banishing spell.
Energy pursues the path of least resistance. Material results are
more easily achieved on this plane of existence through physical
actions than through magical workings. For example, it is simpler to
lock your door than suffer the constant drain from maintaining
psychic seals on your doors and windows while you are away from home.
Of course, once you have locked your door, you might feel more
reassured by placing seals on it.
No magic spell is going to bring results unless channels are opened
into the material world. For example, a job spell is useless if you
are not willing to go out and interview for jobs or at least let
potential employers know that you are in the market for one. In the
same vein, a healing spell is no substitute for medical care.
Most medicine today can be broken down into two broad categories,
emergency medicine and that which is not needed for immediate life-
threatening situations. Emergency medicine has excelled at
stabilizing the body’s condition so that it can repair itself at its
own pace. Most other forms of medicine consist of treatment through
surgery or chemotherapy or a combination of both. The procedures
noted above work on the physical body and do not take the other
levels into consideration. Psychic healing works at healing the
higher levels of the person so that the physical heals itself or
allows the person to let go of their physical body if it cannot be
repaired. In either case, the choice rests with the person who is
being healed and not the healer.
Visualization used in creating a spell should focus on the desired
result, not the individual steps leading up to the result. We give
the spell free rein in how it goes about achieving the results with
the understanding that it is not to bring harm to anyone or any
being. For this reason, spells have a habit of working in very
unexpected ways.
To assure that the power we have unleashed does not inadvertently
cause harm, we bind the spell. This serves to ‘set’ the form we have
created so that the energy becomes fixed in the pattern we desire.
The energy we project to others affects us even more strongly than
the other person. This is because we have generated the energy, and
thus we have become the object at which the energy is directed. If
healing energy is sent out, then the health of the person casting the
spell is enhanced. By the same token, any hex or curse that is sent
out ALWAYS affects the person who sends it no matter whether it
affected the person it was sent at or not.
Reference:
Witches Of The Craft® 
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