Tag: Magick

Have A Wonderful, Magickal Wednesday!

Hey World, you awake yet? I can’t help it my body’s thermometer told me it was 110 in the shade, so I slept late, lol!  Really listening to the A/C kick off and on, off and on told me how hot it was. I was dreaming of dollar signs floating around in my head.

I promise I won’t talk your ear off and you are going sure, sure! Everytime you hear this you know there something good coming. I have always wanted to know what purpose I had in life.  The Goddess showed me exactly what I was supposed to do and I have been doing it. But before the Goddess got a hold of me and straightened me out, I did somethings that a good witch might not do. I walked the line between white and black magick. Most of the time I fell off that line on the side of black magick too. I don’t know what brought me back to my senses. I remember the first group I joined on the net. The owner was a very sweet and kind lady. We automatically became friends.  Perhaps talking to her, watching her daily and seeing what she done had a huge influence on me and I didn’t know it. That is all that I can think of that Gypsy.  Well since then I have walked on the right side of magick. But I occasionally get to questioning again, “why was I borne?” I had been doing that quite frequently here recently. Last night I had a horrible dream. I saw no one it was just black everywhere. But I did hear a man’s voice, it was a very masculine voice. He told me my  mother had given birth to two souls. one good and one evil. Then I woke up. Needless to say the dream has left me with lots of questions. I am the only one left in my family. I don’t know how to take this dream.  I don’t dream unless it is important. Most of the time my dreams involve someone getting hurt, an accident, wreck or worse. I don’t have dreams in regards to me.  So I am totally baffled. Do any of y’all have dreams that you can’t figure out? Better yet, do your dreams come true?

The Magick is in the Witch…Not the Bitch

Author: Phoenix Forestsong

I recently placed myself in a position where I had to “explain myself” to a non-magickal person. Surprisingly, this situation planted a very interesting seed into the fertile soil of my mind. Ultimately that seed has culminated in this essay, minus the offensive title. Without getting into irrelevant details, the conversation essentially boiled down to “I don’t care what you say, Magick doesn’t work because I refuse to believe in it.”

Yup. That statement is one hundred percent factually true. Magick only works if you open yourself to it first, even if you don’t believe but still accept the possibility, then Magick can move in your life. A non-magickal person or, to upset those witches that take themselves way too seriously, a Muggle who “does not believe”, but “refuses to believe” will not be knowingly influenced by Magick. The key here is in the word knowingly. Magick is life and Magick is energy, thus all that lives is filled with the energy of Life; whether it knows, believes, or denies the possibility of Magick, the human spirit is still affected by Magick.

The problem that most non-magickal people have with Magick, aside from centuries of brainwashing by Christianity, is the concept of a binary world. The concept of a binary world is anathema to traditional stratified religions where there is Earth, Heaven, Hell, and only The Creator and The Destroyer can manipulate “Magick” to make things happen. Even then, it is only good and “Holy” when that power comes from God or Jesus, and “evil”, “unnatural”, or “Satanic” when it comes from any other source, for as we all know, that which is not exclusively from the domain of God, comes from the Devil’s own hand.

To Wiccans and pagans there are two worlds that make up our lives. There is the physical and material world that simultaneously and conterminously coexists with the spiritual world, which is the world of energy, the world of magick. When we see the forest, we see the physical world with trees, rocks, leaves, streams, and forest creatures; however, we also see the energies that these seemingly simple physical things are made of. It is natural to see this world and to live in this world; in fact, from the moment of birth we are completely opened up to the True World. As we gradually learn more about the “Real World”, the exclusive world of the physical, we do so ignorant of the natural abilities that we were born with. Thus, the situation creates a disconnect within us where “something” is missing, but we’re not quite sure what.

The Witch

The Witch, The Wise, A Wise One, or whatever name we are known by, changes neither the responsibilities nor dedication that it takes to become a Witch. When you first began to follow your path, there was a tremendous amount of information that had to be learned, a lot of books to read, and a ton of thinking, meditating, and writing that needed to be completed before you really had even the slightest clue of just what you were doing. However, setting aside your confusion you pressed on, slowly coming to master the basic talents required by the Craft. You can now raise power, know your correspondences for candles, herbs, and gemstones. More than likely you have delved into divination with the Tarot, a pendulum, or Runes.

In any event, you are a Witch and it took a lot of thought and effort to, not only learn and master your skills, but to acquire the right philosophy and spirit to actually put them to use. It is the same as a computer technician who spends long hours in class working for a Bachelor’s degree. Though some of what will be learned may seem pointless at the time, overall it has taken at least four years to learn enough of the basics of Computer Science to be proficient at your chosen field. While you may not be an expert in every area of computer technology, you are pretty damn good when it comes to identifying, troubleshooting, and repairing a computer whenever it fails…it’s all fundamentals to you now.

For the IT Professional, the medium that is best used to faithfully execute their duties is the Internet. Obviously I use this profession for the example because, well, write what you know. I have the B.S. Degree, I’ve had several technical positions, including a management position and a consulting business, and so I have witnessed and experienced the IT field from several different angles. I would regularly run into computer programs that I’ve never even heard about prior to accepting the client. So I would research.

I would hit the Internet, learn more about this new technology, and I would test it out prior to taking any drastic action. I taught myself how to operate that computer program, usually better than the employees who had to use it on a daily basis. The point is that I didn’t know it before, I recognized the fact, did the research, got the hands on experience, and incorporated new, albeit somewhat situational, knowledge into my life. I had to make an effort to grow, to learn, to develop something within myself in order to learn this new skill.

How does this have any relationship to Wicca? Imagine that your sister is in a relationship with one real bad dude. When you do see her, which rarely ever happens, she always wears clothing and makeup that conceal the abuse. When you say something about it she gets worried, not angry, and begs you to stay out of her life. Just this past Thanksgiving she missed the traditional family meal, so you decided to stop by her house and check everything out. She answers the door in tears, blood streaming from her broken nose. She tells you, panic blazing from her eyes that she broke her nose falling down the stairs and that everything is all right. Don’t worry; just go home she’ll be fine.

Sure. What do you do? Right off the top of your head the best solution is to call the police. If they can’t (or won’t) do anything, then call the YWCA, even a local church with a women’s outreach group, someone who is trained to handle domestic violence. So, once you’ve called the cops, and no one presses charges, and the beatings continue, and you see your sister less and less often, in greater agony at each and every meeting. What do you do?

You are a Witch, you know the basics inside and out, you have the Rede, and you have a very desperate need. Using the Rede as your guide, you begin to peruse the Internet and your own Magickal library to research how to safely and permanently get rid of this guy. You find the best way is through a spell of binding placed on him (‘An it harm none…’An he IS harming someone) so that he will be unable to harm your sister in any way followed by a spell of protection placed on your sister. The research completed, you hit up your local craft shop or Wally World and get what you need for the ritual. You create the necessary components required for your ritual, prepare the ritual, work the ritual, raise power, empower the spell with your most desperate need, and fire it off into the Aether, knowing with all certainty that it has already worked.

When a computer guy fixes a computer, he or she knows that it is fixed because there is a very noticeable and measurable change in the machine. Mainly, that change is that the computer now works, however, in more complicated computers, such as Internet Servers, the change may not be drastically noticeable as the computer is not running just one or two applications like your PC, it is executing thousands at a time. An adjustment here and a tweak there will create noticeable results; however, it takes patience and experience to notice those changes.

When a Witch fixes a situation, he or she knows that it is fixed because there is a very noticeable, yet subtle change in the situation. As our “Fundamentals” are not well-documented scientific skills but rather are naturally-born abilities that, once trained, unlock greater levels of perception in the Witch, we notice the change in energy before the event actually moves in that direction. Two very important rules to remember are: “Magick always follows the path of least resistance” and “Energy always occurs before motion.”

Energy occurs before motion is an accepted scientific law. Simply look to the famous Sir Isaac Newton and his three marvelous and Magickal laws of motion. The First Law of Motion, which is the only one we’re interested in, states that an object in motion will stay in constant uniform motion and an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by some external force, with force being kinetic energy.

To simplify even further, things tend to do what they were already doing unless some outside force influences it. Thus, the ball just sits there and does nothing until you kick it, which is the application of kinetic energy. Thus the bastard will remain abusive (an A-hole in motion) until some outside force (emotion, Magick, POLICE) pushes him (and his energy) onto another constant, uniform course, which hopefully leads straight to a jail cell and a karmic reward.

Now, I know all you eggheads out there are just drooling about the big flaw in my argument. I can hear it right now, it goes something like this…Dude, that only applies to an object with constant mass, not to something that can grow or shrink, thus changing its mass and, potentially, its momentum and direction! That is what is so cool about the flaw; the first law only ALWAYS works on things, static things, things that don’t change and people their situations are dynamic.

In the world of spirit, we’re not simply bundles of energy floating around without thought, without direction. Hell no! People are driven, motivated, self-directed, and above all else, highly intelligent and sentient individuals. We steer ourselves through life; our Spirit hops into the driver’s seat, takes the wheel, puts the pedal to the metal, slams on the break, grinds the transmission, and tries to go where it wants to go. Magick, like a sudden gust of wind upon the interstate or two tons of rolling steel smacking fatally into you, still affects your motion. The difference between a gust of wind pushing your car and the horror of a traffic fatality is force, which is energy.

In Magick, it is a disciplined and focused Will that sets the direction of the spell, and it emotion and desire that give our spells force, “kinetic energy”, the kick. Correspondences naturally add additional power to the magick, thus increasing the force of the spell. The energy is raised, the desire for change churns at the heart of the spell, waiting to be let loose, the spell is directed, it’s energy changing to comply with the Will of the Witch, transforming into what it needs to become to do its job. The spell is let loose, it’s aim is true and the force behind the spell is mind-shatteringly intense. You ground, center, thank your Deities, and close out your circle, cleaning up along the way. You listen for the phone.

An hour passes, you near nothing. Two hours pass, still nothing. After four hours you have to sleep, the ritual was too much of a draining process to keep sleep over the horizon for much longer. One day goes by, nothing, two, three, five, still nothing. You stop by her house but she won’t open the door, she keeps the chain latched and hides her face in the safety of shadows. You know. You’re not upset; you’re pissed. “’An it harm none…” as your first thought is to personally explain Newton’s Laws of Motion using the example of his face as the object with your fist as the application of kinetic energy, which would technically violate that whole “harm none” thing. As Plan A won’t really work out, you fall back to Plan B and call the Police who rush out to arrest the guy who, surprisingly, actually gets charged, convicted, and sees the inside of the Pokey for a while.

The Bitch

Oh! I see. You spent all that time worrying and worshiping the Devil, and all you had to do was call the Cops. See! Magick doesn’t work! Tee-hee! Tee-hee! Sure, the Police were called and it was the Police who dragged the human filth out of the house and into a cruiser, but they had already been called before without any result. Now, there is a noticeable result. Notice that the spell took time to work; it could have taken months even! Why?

The Jerk is self-motivated, self-directed, and self-centered, thus instead of a ball of rock floating idly in space, he is a jerk behind the wheel of car and he’s going wherever he wants to God Dammed go! Your Sister, for her own reasons, was attracted to him which drew her closer to him, the distance between them lessened and he began to influence her. The proximity of their paths and the momentum of his desire and his will to be abusive does not simply stop and cease to be because one wishes for it too. It stops because some outside force, some outside energy, slammed full-force into him and pushed him in another direction. The spell of protection cast upon your sister, it too slammed into her life, pushing her away from his abuse.

Now, neither the Jerk nor your Sister were ever aware of your spell, so to their knowledge nothing abnormal ever occurred. However, Magick always follows the path of least resistance. The Jerk, being a physical guy, liked his drink and he liked women, but when he got drunk he would get violent. It was his nature and he followed his nature. Your sister, after having a half-remembered dream about watching some show on TV last week about fidelity and abuse, was growing more resentful and angry the more she thought about things. It took a few days but when you stopped by the house the tension that had been mounting over the past few days, the stress fractures of two lives being pushed away from each other, were the trigger.

Directly, did you Physically do anything to anyone in that scenario? No. What did you do? You gave a situation, two lives, a necessary push and nature took care of the rest, because Magick follows the path of least resistance. This is a completely fictional story, but one designed to show the mechanics of Magick. While situations for your spells will be different, never doubt its power. Even science has proven that Energy comes before Motion, therefore the mechanics of Magick, the First Law of Magical Motion, is a logical and “provable” concept.

In Land of the Blind…

I walk down the street at noon, a gentle breeze ruffles my hair, trees shimmy and shake their leaves, making a cacophony of sound like hundreds of sheets of paper being torn to shreds. The bright golden sun assaults my eyes as it glares angrily from dingy storefront windows and the hot windshields of boiling parked cars. A sea of people flows around me, or I flow amongst them, I don’t really know and It doesn’t really matter, I’m a part of something.

I come abruptly upon the strangest sight, a plaza full of men, women, and children with blindfolds painfully tight upon their heads, dirty thick padding covers their ears, a cloth gag obstructs their mouths, while filthy rags consist of their clothing. Each and every soul in the plaza sits in silence, suffering etched deep into their faces while one lone man cries loudly above the noise of the city. You strain to hear him over the sounds of construction, but eventually his message is heard.

“Fear! Fear my God! For he has declared this world to be an illusion and all upon to be evil and ill. Repent of your sins, surrender your body, mind, and soul unto me, blind yourself unto the evil illusion of this world and you will be rewarded in your next life.”

Out of a morbid sense of curiosity I wandered into the plaza; I had to know what was going on. Ignoring the absolute stench of the place, I located the preaching man and moved swiftly to him. His blind eyes passed me over, seeing nothing. Questions flooded my mind, yet I remained in control and simply spoke to the man. “What are you doing Sir?” I ask him, “What are all of you doing here?” His answer surprised me, shocking me into an absolute funk.

“My God, My God, My most powerful and omnipotent Lord. He has told me that this world is nothing more than a great illusion, a false reality, and the evil of this place is too great and My God demands judgment. Fire and Death shall rein down from the heavens, the earth will crack and the seas shall heave. The blood of the unsaved shall run like a river of crimson Justice! Join me and blind your eyes, deafen your ears, silence your tongue, and feel the full suffering of the flesh. For only through suffering can we purify our souls in order to gain Paradise! Give your Illusionary life to me and My God, and you will receive wealth and wisdom beyond measure after death.”

It just sounded too good to be true! Blind my eyes, block my ears, silence my tongue, suffer in the flesh, but at least I wouldn’t be dead from fire, death, cracking, or heaving. I was confused.

“Sir, how do you know this to be true? Have you any proof?” His grimy hands rummaged through a tattered burlap sack, quickly withdrawing a badly damaged cassette tape player. “God himself recorded his message for me on this holy artifact. Unfortunately even the most enlightened individuals cannot bear to hear the true voice of God without its perfection causing immediate and violent death. For the mysteries of God are Deadly to the wicked and can only be revealed through suffering in darkness and silence. Join Me! Else you will be punished for your lack of faith for all eternity, for my God is a wrathful God!”

…The One-Eyed Man Will Be King

After that exciting excursion into the world of Sir Isaac Newton and his wonderful First Law of Motion, and a quick escapade to an obviously allegorical plaza filled with walk-ons left over from the filming of Tommy, what was the whole point? There is a morbidly humorous saying: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man will be king. When we are born, all of us, are born with two eyes, we see both worlds, the world of the physical and the world of energy.

As our world really is a binary world, we are literally being asked to blind one eye in order to become a part of society. Our society is one that is based upon science and Judeo-Christian values. Magick, and any other current scientifically improvable concept, is not “real” because it cannot be measured and it goes against those long-standing values that are so important to our national identity. Although, just because something is not scientifically proven beyond a shadow of a doubt does not mean that it is wrong.

I work magick, you work magick, and millions of people the world over work some kind of Magick. We believe in it because we can feel it, it may not be quantifiable, yet it exists. We believe in Magick because it works, and it works every time we try it. The situation may not be completely resolved, but it will begin to move, slowly at first, but soon it will be defused in no time at all because you gave it a little nudge to knock it out of the way.

The sun still shines its light of love and heat of hope upon the Earth oblivious to the fact that Jim in Accounting absolutely refuses to believe in the Sun’s existence. It still doesn’t change the fact that the Sun is a star and that Jim in Accounting probably could use a long vacation somewhere with sun, sand, and surf. Of course Jim won’t burn on his vacation because he doesn’t believe in the Sun.

When Jim finally returns from his long vacation, he is as red as a steamed lobster. He begins to explain to you how he contracted this strange skin disease at the beach and how it was strange to be at the beach without the Sun. As a Witch, and since Jim is nuttier than a fruitcake by now, you promise to work some magick on his…rare condition. Jim doesn’t believe in Magick and is violently opposed to it. You decide to work a spell on him to alleviate the pain from his sunburn without telling him. He feels better the next day after discovering an exotic cure for his illness…aloe.

Show Me Da Magick!

This essay has been a bit juvenile in its examples, yet the point was not to provide the very best example of a situation, it was to provide the best example of the mechanics of Magick. If you begin to study your own spellcraft, watch where the energy that you send out ends up by feeling for it. You will begin to learn and eventually understand just how Magick, and Life, flows and brings change where it’s needed most. The one fatal mistake that any Witch can make is to give away their power in the face of a challenge. The idea that “I can’t help with that! It’s too tough!” Well, you’re right; you can’t do anything because you have decided that you do not have the power to…so now you don’t.

But, just like the blind man who ignored the visible world, and the overzealous Christian who demands suffering and pain as a sign of submission, their refusal to accept the real world around them doesn’t change the nature of the world around them. It only changes their reactions to that outside stimulus that they detest. A closed-minded individual who refuses to believe in magick can still be swayed by magick, just as the boy who believes himself to invincible can be knocked over by powerful wave. Their refusal to accept does not change the fact that Magick exists, has always existed, and will always exist. The blindness in their eyes does not change the fact that there are Two Worlds, not one, two. Just because a person refuses to see a painting does not mean that it was never painted, it exists in all its intricate beauty, that person simply refuses to appreciate it.

As Witches we walk the world with all our senses developed and alert, this allows us a greater depth of understanding and perception concerning people and situations. We do not walk our Path with our eyes blinded, nor do we walk our Path with one eye closed. We walk our paths with both eyes open; both worlds, the physical and the spiritual are real and readily available to us, each just as real as the other. We have to remember that WE hold the power to create change in the world, it is not something that can ever be delegated to another, it is our power, our will, and our destiny to develop into the individual who we want to be.

Magick, a natural part of life, will always be an influence even on skeptics, for just as matter moves, so does energy. Regardless of denials, misunderstandings, and flat-out lies, one can no more banish Magick than one could Banish the oceans, it is a natural part Life, just like the rising and setting of the sun and the migration of birds in the Winter. It’s natural, it exists, and nothing and no one can ever change that.

Blessed Be,
-Phoenix Forestsong

Charged Waters

Charged waters are charged with magickal powers and intentions.

Not all charged waters are really waters. Some are actually alcohol-based formulas, recalling that the roots of perfumery and liqueurs lie entangled in magick potions, brews, and philters. (Philters are drinks;  although some potions are consumed, many formulas are for external use only.) “Water” must be understood in the context of perfume designations, such as eau de Cologne (‘water of Cologne’) or of alcoholic beverages like aquavit or whiskey (whose name derives from the Gaelic for “water of life”).

The alcohol typically recommended as a base is vodka, not because it may be consumed but because of its minimal scent. Avoid what is commonly called “rubbing alcohol”: the typically strong, unpleasant aroma will interfere with that of the formula.

Cottage Witchery for Thursday, May 12th

Thursday

Increase prosperity on this day; work toward expansion and

moving up in the world

Planetary influence:  Jupiter

Household symbols:  a dollar bill, coins, a paycheck stub, a picture of your home

Colors:  Green and Royal Blue

Kitchen spice:  Sage and nutmeg.

Cottage Witchery
Natural Magick For Hearth and Hom
Ellen Dugan

Iron Spells

Iron Spells

Iron repels evil of all kind. Most malevolent spirits cannot bear to be in its presence. In addition to providing protection, iron enhances and stimulates the growth of one’s personal magick powers, so that you are stronger and better able to protection yourself, requiring less outside spiritual protection. Iron also invigorates general vitality and energy.

ELEMENT OF AIR

ELEMENT OF AIR
 
Air
 
Air is the element of the intellect; it is the realm of thought, which is the first step toward creation.
Magickally speaking, Air is the clear, uncluttered, pure visualization which is a powerful tool for change. It is also the movement, the impetus that sends the visualization out toward manifestation.
It rules spells and rituals involving travel, instruction, freedom, obtaining knowledge, discovering lost items, uncovering lies and so on.
It can also be used to develop the psychic faculties.
Spells involving Air usually include the act of placing an object in the air or dropping something off the side of a mountain or other high places so that the object actually connects physically with the element.
Air is masculine, being dry, expansive and active. It is the element that excels in places of learning, and which is work while we theorize, think and ponder.
Air rules the East because this is the direction of the greatest light, and the light of wisdom and consciousness. Its color is yellow, the yellow of the Sun and the sky at dawn.
Air governs the magick of the four winds, most divination. concentration and visualization magick.

Collecting and Preparing a Magickal Wood

Collecting and Preparing a Magickal Wood 

Most Witches prefer to use a fallen branch rather than cutting a limb from a tree, feeling that taking from the tree with a blade is disrespectful. Others believe that if you ask the tree and indicate your purpose, you can tell if the tree gives permission by laying your hand softly on the bark. If you feel unhappy, sad, or like you’re being brushed off, permission is not granted. If, however, you feel a warm flowing sensation, then the tree has give its permission. An offering should always be left at the base of the tree if a branch is taken in this way.

The wood should be left in a warm, dry place and allowed to cure, if it was living when taken. Fallen branches may already be sufficiently dried. If in doubt, treat it as living wood. Some Witches prefer to leave the bark on the wood, where others peel away the bark with a pocket knife, then sand the surface with sandpaper until smooth to the touch. The soft surface takes paint and wood-burning techniques better than the bark. The choice is yours. As a final touch you may wish to wrap the handle portion with leather or other soft cloth. Some Witches add crystals and gems to the point that will direct the current, either gluing or wiring the stone into place with thin copper or silver wire.

Unblocking Spells

In some versions of the Sleeping Beauty story, the handsome prince would very much like to save Sleeping Beauty from her hundred years sleep but is initially unable because the road leading to her castle is obstructed with thorns. The prince can’t pass until he take his sword and cuts his own path. In other versions of the tale, his sword won’t cut; he’s unable to pass through the thicket until powerful fairies recognize his predicament and cut a road for him.

That’s exactly what unblocking or road opening spells do.

When your life seems stagnant, when opportunities always seem to peter out, when no viable alternatives seem to exist, when no roads open for you, you may have what is magically known as a blocked condition. Blocked conditions stem from a variety of causes.

  • Blockages may result from insufficient magick power your magickal gas tank is empty, therefore you can’t proceed.
  • Blockages may be the result of a hex or curse. However the emphasis with Unblocking Spells is emphatically a repairing the situation at hand: opening the roads. There’s little emphasis on who may have placed a hex or on returning it.
  • Blockages may result because you’re desperately in need of magickal cleansing: too much accumulated negative debris is weighing you down, preventing mobility
  • Blockages may result from spiritual causes

Unblocking spells remove blocks, obstacles, and hurdles, opening the roads so that you can proceed happily with life. Blockages are the opposite of a crossroads. Crossroads offer possibilities of change, motion, and power. Blockages weigh you down, removing avenues of opportunity and limiting you to travel a path not of your choosing.

There are two aspects to unblocking spells:

  • Specific spirits, magickal owners of gates and crossroads, control access on all roads. They determine who passes and who is blocked. These road opener spirits may be petitioned to remove your particular blockage
  • Other spells take advantage of the power of herbs and magickal items to remove a block

Awakening the Tool

Awakening the Tool
 
Many magickal people believe that once the tool has been cleansed and consecrated (dedicated to Spirit) and blessed (asking Spirit to fill the object with positive energy), the tool should also be “awakened” before each use. The activation process is often governed by the group that the Witch belongs to, meaning one coven may have a special chant while another group may “alert” the tool by tappping it one to three times on the altar, or they may simple pass hands over the tools and say, “Waken ye unto life.” No matter how it is achieved, this process serves as a trigger to the mind that the time for magick has begun.
 
The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation, Solitary Witch
Silver RavenWolf

The Elements

The Elements
Philippus Aureolus Paracelus, a Swiss physician, chemist, and philosopher (1490 – 1541) is credited with the Doctrine of the Four Elements, from which early nineteenth-century occult practitioners drew the belief that an element (earth, air, fire and water) is not only physical but also contain a spiritual essence. Granted, ancient cultures around the world long before Paracelsus’ time believed in this same principle: however, the condemnation of the Christian church did its best to eradicate this belief for over a thousand years. Pliny (Rome, first century A.D.) Pythogoras (Greek, 582 – 500 B.C.), Aristotle (382 – 322 B.C.) and Manilius (there is debate whether he lived to the first or ninth century A.D.) were all saying basically the same thing. To have Paracelsus renew the idea and pass it around didn’t make him especially popular, therefore in the occult world he gets give gold stars.
Paracelsus defied physicians of his time by insisting that diseases were caused by agents that were external to the body and that they could be cured by using chemistry. Many of his remedies were based on the belief that “like cures like.” He could be called the father of homeopathy, which has become popular in alternative medical circles (which include practitioners of Witchcraft). Homeopathy stems from the idea that one should treat the underlying problem, rather than just try to cure the symptom by using natural ingredients, such as herbs. He was pooh-poohed by his peers because he included magick in his scholarly writings. Witches also believe that we need to treat the problem rather than concerning solely on the symptoms, but what does this have to do with the primary elements?

 

Almost everything in the Craft, from the tools we use to the herbs we employ to the sigils we design, zodiac associations and planetary alignments we follow; fire into the ancient and medieval elemental category of the primary elements. Manilius put it this way:
 
“And first the heaven, earth and liquid plain, the moon’s bright globe and stars titanian (bright white). A spirit fed within, spread through the whole and with the huge heap mixed infused a soul; hence man and beast and bird derive their strain and monsters floating in the marbled main; these seeds have fiery, vigor, and a birth, of heavenly race, but clogg’d with heavy earth.”
 
So, about 2,000 years ago, the Roman Manilius was trying to tell people that everything–animals, humans, stars, seas and earth–consisted of living energy. I realize that philosophy might not interest you, but then I’m sure there are those among you who will be delighted to discover that even though these old geezers are long gone, their ideas of magick, science and philosophy continue on, right into the lap of modern Witchcraft.
 
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word element has a mysterious origin and is first found in Greek texts meaning “complex whole” or “a single unit made up of many parts.” From the ancient up to medieval times there were only four elements (earth, air, fire and water) and if you were occult-oriented the fifth was Spirit. Cornelius Agrippa called spirit the “quintessence.”
 
Today, although scientists list more than 100 chemical elements (with some being manmade), magickal people continue to rely on the five basic building blocks of medieval occultism—earth, air, fire, water and Spirit—using some of the additional elements of the modern age to support the original five, depending on the spell or ritual. For example, silver (an element/metal) is used in various spells, and is a symbol of the divine Goddess, feminine mysteries, and is associated with moon magick, dreaming and psychism. Gold, another element, stands for the God, male mysteries, success prosperity, general well-being and all magicks associated with the sun.

Can a Christian Practice Magick?

Can a Christian Practice Magick?

Author: Belenus

 For many years, I struggled with a personal conflict. You see, my Christian upbringing didn’t seem to fit in with what I call my “mystic callings, ” that is, my other path of mystery and magick. I kept my magikal pursuits separate from my religious activities. I began my magickal journey more than twenty years ago by studying astrology, because the notion of predicting the future and getting a better handle on my own personality and relationships with others appealed to me. I must admit that my romantic urges were a major driving force in all this investigation and revelation, as were my materialistic ambitions.

So, although I didn’t keep my Astrological studies from my close friends and family, I didn’t advertise it to those in my religious community. When I did divulge to a very select few, it was with a real sense of insecurity and fear that I was being negatively judged. When my Mystic interests branched out into the areas of Magick and Paganism, I did indeed keep it almost exclusively to myself, as I felt that this was even more off the beaten path and frowned upon by society in general and particularly so by my Christian family and community.

Now I am both a mage and a Christian, and I do not feel particularly conflicted about it. Just a fleeting guilt feeling now and again, usually brought about by some external reminder that there are Christians who do indeed condemn such activities. That even sounds funny in the same sentence, you know, Christian and condemning? And although I don’t go shouting my Magickal activities off roof tops, I am comfortable within myself that I am on the right path for me, and have integrated Magick into the other areas of my life, including my religion. I feel actually compelled to follow this duel path and even though I see some inconsistencies, I am confident that this is my calling for now.

I go to Catholic Mass and see many of its rituals and methods to be similar to Magickal rituals and methods. For example, the burning of incense in the Mass parallels Magickal rituals that use incense as a way to carry intentions to higher forces, be they Gods or Goddesses or what ever. The Catholic Mass is full of symbolism and what some would call Magic. Symbols are also a large component in Wicca, Paganism and are used in working Magick. Chanting and singing are other examples of techniques used in both Christian and Pagan rituals and rites.

One major difference I see between Christian prayers and working Magick is that with prayer, a person asks for something and then passively waits and hopes that it is answered in a way that satisfies a need. This is quite different from the Magician who inserts her or his own power and will into the work. Rather than hoping for something to change, the Magician “wills” the change to come about.

I feel that as a Christian Mystic, I have an advantage in many ways. I get to combine both prayer and magick in my rituals. Intuition dictates that with this combination, I should have even better results. I am not too concerned with this for now though. I am just answering the two callings I have in a way that helps me thrive spiritually. I use rituals that incorporate both some standard Wiccan magickal tools, such as a wand and an athame, but also include prayer and a chalice filled with blessed, Holy water from my local parish.

I like to think that I am the kind of person who accepts people from all walks of life and faith, or even no faith. This is not always easy in a world that has people of different faiths and paths, drawing lines and grabbing at power and control, but I think I do it as well as just about anybody. The key has been to nurture an open mind and often examine myself and my motives. Over time, this has lead to a level of self-awareness that allows me to be true to self, and at the same time, let others be as they are.

I remember a small event that took place several years ago, which let me know I was making progress. I realized as I watched a political debate on the television that I wasn’t getting angry with the commentator who was espousing what I felt was the wrong side of the argument. I told my wife that in the past, I would have turned off the T.V. in anger and disgust, unable to handle emotionally my own internal conflict that watching the show produced.

Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t too long ago that the very sight of a Pentagram made me cringe. In case you don’t know, the sight of a Pentagram can send shivers down the spine of many Christians who don’t know better; that it is not a symbol of evil, but of things that are life affirming and good. I look back on this now, and chuckle at my own built in sense of prejudice, especially now, knowing that much of what the Christians practice, borrow from Pagan traditions.

I personally believe that most religions have it wrong in the sense that they tend to foster a kind of ‘us and them’ attitude among their members. I believe, as did Gandhi and many others, that the idea of being separate from each other and even with the natural world is an illusion. We are all one and need to start acting that way. I look at it such that each being is like an individual cell that is part of a greater living being, and when one of us is deprived, sick or in trouble, we are all effected.

The Catholic Church systematically adopted many of the old ways and gave them a new twist, in order to bring more souls into the Christian fold. I think that after some analysis, one will find more similarities between Paganism and Christianity than differences.

I’ve recently begun investigating Hoodoo traditions and have learned how they are interrelated with the Catholic Church. I am excited to follow that path farther to see where it takes me. It is interesting to me that each Catholic Saint is attributed with special powers to help those who petition them with prayer requests. How is this different from one Wiccan praying to Odin and another praying to Diana?

I subscribe to the tenet that all Gods are one God, and that Love is the highest law. But, while I am here on this good earth, I expect that struggle and conflict, whether from external sources, or from internal issues, will always be a part of life for me, just less so as the years go by.

Modern Tools for Ancient Arts

Modern Tools for Ancient Arts
 
Though the mortar and pestle were definitely useful to our forefamilies, most of us today just don’t have the time to sit around grinding herbs. Most of us don’t have time to wait several weeks for magickal herbs to dry or for ritual oils to fix. Even if we did, who wants to?
Today, we use many types of modern kitchen conveniences to ease our lives. The days of slaving over a hot stove are gone. Gone, too, are the incessant “When is dinner going to be ready?” questions and those “I’m starving” whines. We just yank something out of the freezer, pop it into the microwave, and in a matter of minutes–presto!–dinner is served. We make fancy salads in seconds with the help of the food processor. The blender is a multi-faceted kitchen wonder, and I know of no working person alive who can manage without a crockpot.
With the high availability of such wonders, we would never dream of going back to consistently cooking on a wood stove or, even worse, an open fire. To even suggest such a thing would be absurd. What’s more, we use these devices to best serve the needs of our most precious commodity–our families.
Why, then, don’t we use them to increase our magickal efficiency? It is probably because we get so caught up in the “ancient” part of the magickal arts, that it never crosses our minds. We continually seek out obscure objects to use as magickal tools because we think we are supposed to. The fact is that magickal implements don’t have to be ancient to be useful. They don’t have to look like the ritual tools of old. The only pre-requisite for magickal tools is that they work efficiently for the jobs we designate.

 

Today’s convenience items have the capacity to increase efficiency in the magickal household and cut preparation time in half. Using these time-savers will not decrease magickal power. Spending less time on a working does not mean putting less of yourself into it. Saving time does not mean cutting corners. Instead, it means increased productivity and more time for magickal work. If you are still concerned about using today’s technology for use in the magickal arts, here is some food for thought. The mortar and pestle was once a modern convenience, too.
 
When the Earth was young, grinding grain and herbs was a painstakingly slow process. The only way to accomplish such a feat was to rub the substance between two rocks and hope for the best. Much later, someone invented the mortar and pestle, a vast improvement over the earlier method. It allowed portability, grinding ease, and a greater amount of productivity. At the time, folks probably viewed the mortar and pestle as a modern convenience. Did our forefathers scoff at the new device? Did they refuse to use it because the ancient way was better? Did they think it would hamper their magick? No. Obviously, they acquired it and used it. If they hadn’t, we wouldn’t think of it today as one of our most valuable ritual tools.
 
If you decide to use modern appliances for magickal purposes, please remember that they then become magickal tools. In other words, using the same appliance for mixing love sachets and frozen margaritas isn’t a good idea (unless you are counting more on magick than drink ingredients to pack the intended wallop). Use appliances for magickal purposes only and consecrate them as such. If you don’t have extras and don’t want to give up your kitchen appliances, check at your local second-hand store or thrift shop. You can usually find appliances in good condition there for a very nominal charge.
 
“Everyday Magic”
Dorothy Morrison

The Automatic Drip Coffee Maker

The Automatic Drip Coffee Maker
 
The coffee maker is an essential part of my existence for most of the same reasons it is to other folks. I, like a good portion of the population, am not a morning person. The fact is, I don’t like anybody until I’ve had several cups of coffee. Having to wait for it makes me an unbearable grump. Fortunately, my coffee maker does the trick in three minutes flat. Its speed give me time to get my wits together before my loved ones–all morning folks, including the dogs–leap from their beds.
While the device always provided me with an indispensable service, using it for something other than brewing coffee never occurred to me until I had to consecrate my athame. My roommate at the time was having guests over for dinner and refused to let me use the stove. It didn’t matter that I needed an herbal infusion for a consecration. I begged. I pleaded. He didn’t care. He just went on cooking. Then he gave me one of those looks and muttered something about “…..on pain of death…..”
At the time, I thought he was a real jerk. But his obstinacy, as aggravating as it was, brought with it the richest of blessings. It jolted me into a creative mode. I grabbed a coffee filter, threw it in the filter cup and tossed in the herbs. I added the water and flipped the switch. Then I chanted the incantation loudly enough to rouse the neighbors. The results was a perfectly balanced brew that simply tingled with magickal essence.

 

The coffee maker not only saves time, but brews flawless infusions, decoctions, and washes. Here are a few tips for using it in magickal efforts:
 
*Do not use the same coffee maker to brew both ingestible teas and poisonous liquids. If you plan to use the device for brewing washes that list ingredients unsuitable for human consumption, obtain one solely for that purpose.
 
*Between magickal brewings, clean the pot and filter cup with hot soapy water and bleach.
 
*When brewing decoctions, place the root or bark material in a coffee filter, then close the filter securely by tying it with a string or a rubber band. After the brew cycle, place the pouch in the brew pot and leave it on the warming plate for approximately thirty minutes.
 
The incident with my roommater forever changed my magickal life. Yes, I discovered that using the coffee maker for magick saves times and aggravation. But more important, I realized the meaning of magick in its truest form and its relationship to technology. Magick equals creativity. Creativity equals life. This means that life–how we live it and what we do with it–is the rawest form of magick. The technological resources created by humankind have a magick all their own, and incorporating them into personal magick brings an increase of power to every spell performed. Denying that source of magick is tantamount to refusing magickal assistance and a hindrance to all efforts of enchantment. It all boils down to one thing. If it works, use it to your best advantage and be glad for the help.
 
“Everyday Magic”
Dorothy Morrison

Paper

Paper
Paper can be the Spell
Certain scripts are perceived as inherently powerful, for instance, Arabic, Chinese and Hebrew. If there was a pagan Greek belief that the world was created and activated via the sound of the vowels, in traditional Judaic teaching life is activated through the Hebrew letters. Ancient Egyptians utilized different scripts for different purposes, mystical and mundane. Northern European runes and Celtic Ogham script are specifically for magickal and spiritual use. Many contemporary Wiccans and ceremonial magickians use various magickal script.
Paper can create lasting amulets. The most readily accessible example is the Jewish mezuzah, attached to doorposts. The use of mezuzahs has been adopted by some Hoodoo practitioners. Similar written amulets exist in Chinese, Japanese, Ethopian, Muslim and Tibetan traditions.
Paper as we know it was invented in China in 105 ce, and China remains the primary home of paper magick. Paper charms are traditionally written in red cinnabar ink on yellow or red paper with a peach wood pen, in special magickal scripts known as “thunder writing” or “celestial calligraphy.” Charms are used in various ways: Pasted over the door or on the walls, worn in the hair or carried in a medicine bag.

Some paper spells are created in ordered to be destroyed via fire or water. Destroying the paper spell releases its energy into the atmosphere so that the spell can work as intended. Sometimes water and fire are combined: some Chinese charms are burned first, and then the ashes are mixed with tea or water and drunk. Rice paper is particularly effective for this as it dissolves easily in water.
 
*A written spell doesn’t necessarily require paper: an ancient custom was to inscribe a clay bowl or plate with spells and incantation. It is then shattered to release the energy into the atmosphere. (If you make your own pottery, the traditions can be combined; insert tiny pieces of paper directly into the pottery, inscribe further so the magick is contained inside and out, then shatter.)
 
*Not all paper spells require words. Spells can be cast with images. Chromolithographs incorporate the power and blessing of a Spirit. They may also substitute for a statue. If you don’t have no artistic ability, a collage of sacred and power images create an amulet.
 
*A traditional alternative is to write the name of the desired divinity in gold ink on red paper and post it on the wall.
 
Many spells suggest using “magickal inks” formulas. Although this is never required, it can empower a spell.

 

Pen and ink are only one form of magick writing. There are many traditions of drawing designs on the ground, particularly to invite, invoke and honor spirits. Materials used include flowers, flour, cornmeal and special rangoli powder.
 
*Angelic sigils are written on paper or engraved onto metal. Each angel has a specific sigil that can be used to summon them. The “veve” designs of Haitian Vodou have similar purposes. Each Iwa or spirit has a “veve” that expresses its essence and is thus worthy of meditation, but the “veve” may also be used to summon and honor the spirit. “V’eves” may be drawn on paper but are most frequently drawn on the ground. Candomble and Romany spirits also possess sigils as do others.
 
*Rangoli, the women’s spiritual art of India, utilizes rice flour with brightly colored flowers and spices to create patterns. As Earth’s tiny creatures eat the rice flour, they carry imbedded prayers and petitions to the Earth’s womb.
 
*In Brazil, pemba, a kind of chalk which may contain pulverized herbs, is used to create invocational markings on Earth. Originally an African practice, the finest pemba is still thought to come from Africa and may be imported and purchased at a great cost to a less-than-wealthy practitioner.

White Magick, Black Magick

Magick, is, in essence, the use of energy for a variety of purposes. Energy is neutral. What isn’t neutral, however, is the intent of the person casting the spell, and this is where the misunderstanding of calling magick “black” or “white” arises. Generally, if the spellcaster seeks to cause damage or perform a malicious act, then it’s referred to as “black magick.” If the spellcaster seeks to do good work and benefit themselves or others, this is seen as “white magick.” In reality, it’s a lot more complex than this simple dichotomy, good versus bad and the importance of employing an ethical system in conjunction with spellcasting. The point is that magick is neutral. A common illustration is the use of a tool such as a knife. The knife itself is a neutral object. However, it may be used to cut someone’s throat, to cut up vegetables to feed a family, or to slice through the bonds holding someone prisoner. The knife isn’t good or bad: what you choose to do with it determines its value within the content of a situation.

As a rule, the energy you will use in spellcraft is neutral. It is true, however, that if it has at some time been programmed with a strong intent, energy can sometimes retain the echo of that original purpose. People visiting various monuments or historical sites often comment on a certain feeling that seems to be perpetuated or generated by the location itself. Energy in the form of strong emotion has soaked into that area, creating a permanent echo of the of the original event. Take, for example, the islands used as quarantine containment areas off the coast of Australia. As each ship of settlers arrived, a doctor inspected the passsengers, and if anyone was deemed a health threat, then the entire load of passengers was exported to one of these islands. Close quarters ensured that whoever wasn’t sick would become ill through contact with those  who were, resulting in a pervasive feeling of dread and despondency throughout the quarantined community. Visitors to these islands today remark on the feelings of despair, fear, and resignation that the islands possess, even though their original purpose of isolating immigrants has long passed.

These echoes of strong energy can remain for years, and sometimes give rise to the belief that a place or an object is “haunted.” However, the majority of energy that a spellcaster will encounter and work with throughout his or her practice is neutral, and safe to use in spells to improve one’s life.

Healthy Bodies Make Better Magick

Healthy Bodies Make Better Magick

by NightOwl

article

Are you in pain? Do you wake up tired? Take a couple of minutes right now and examine your body, your heart and your spirit. Then answer this question: Are you in pain right now?

You may forget to pay attention to yourself, even if you know it’s important. Stretch, flex, roll your head around, rub your neck and shoulders – how are you doing? Look for tension in your jaw, around your eyes, in your neck and shoulders and in your lower back. Are your hands sometimes clenched when you are not conscious of being stressed?

Continue your assessment to determine which areas need attention. Try taking a few minutes and assess your body several times a day. If you want to make changes in your life, remember it’s impossible to get somewhere without knowing your starting place, and your body is your starting place.

We live at a time when we use our minds more and more, and our bodies less and less. Most of us think of our “selves” as being located in our heads somewhere. Yet if we stop for a moment to consider the reality of our lives, our bodies are our very best friends. They carry us around like faithful and patient mules; they bring us exquisite pleasure; they enable us to interact with other people and with the world of nature. They give us honest and reliable information about our actions and our thoughts. As practitioners of the Craft, we use our bodies to focus energy and do magick. They are our chief magickal tools. If you purge pain and ill health from your body, your magick has that much more chance of working.

Working with pain isn’t simple. We human beings tend to learn our deepest lessons via pain. If you train yourself to think of pain, whether physical, emotional or spiritual, as a valued teacher – one who grades pretty tough – then you can more easily accept any source of pain or unhappiness in your life as an opportunity to learn. Pain is one of the ways in which our bodies “speak” to us.

I am not suggesting that this is the “true” explanation for pain, or that this is the “best” way to approach it, but this is a way to view the puzzle of pain that empowers you to put it to use in your life.

The keys to the pain puzzle are your body, your feelings, your thoughts and your beliefs. Your body responds to physical reality and follows the orders of your thoughts and beliefs. As you learn to pay attention to the pain in your life, you will increase your ability to see your own belief structures, both positive and negative, to take good care of your body and to decrease the suffering in your life if you choose to. This article covers some ways to unlock the pain puzzle.

None are a replacement for seeing a doctor or other health care professional when you are sick or injured. If it seems warranted, discuss with your M.D., naturopath or other health care professional possible causes and treatments for your pain, tiredness or stress. If a professional does give you medication or make suggestions, at least try them for a period of time. What is the point of paying someone to advise you and then ignoring the advice? By all means, insist your health care providers explain the reasoning, and the mechanism, for any treatments they give you. But if you don’t trust their suggestions, find a health care practitioner you do trust enough to follow.

If you try some techniques following – actually doing them and not just thinking about them – and you still feel really sad much of the time, or if you cannot find the energy to even try them, you may have clinical depression and you should see an appropriate health care practitioner right away. Depression is a real physical illness that has emotional components. Trying to think your way out of most illnesses is risky business.

You are the one in charge of whatever you do for yourself, and you have to do the work to change anything in your life. Every act of life is a creation ritual. The suggestions in this article are just ideas to enable you to become more aware of your state of well-being and help you fine-tune your wonderful mind, body and spirit.

Begin with breathing

Breathing is the only body system that is both voluntary and involuntary, and so it is the easiest place to begin. Practice breathing all the way down into your belly. Fear and tension cause us to tighten our bellies and breathe in the upper lungs. You can relax very quickly by breathing deep into your belly and counting as you breathe to balance the in-breaths and out-breaths. For example, breathe in to a count of six, slow and easy. Hold your breath for a count of three, and then exhale to a count of six. Hold again for three, and inhale for six. Do this cycle several times, striving to breathe very evenly all the way in and all the way out, ending with your lungs completely full, and then completely empty.

Be gentle with yourself while doing this. It is not a contest to see how much or how little air your lungs can contain but a way to become conscious of what you do with your body and to nourish it. Many people “underbreathe” all the time as a result of stress and find they are tired because the body is oxygen-deprived.

Particularly if you are quitting smoking, or some other addictive, numbing behavior, practice breathing deeply and slowly every time you get the urge to return to your addictive practice. You may find this reduces the craving.

Easing your pain

Try lying on your back with your knees bent and slowly twist your legs first to the right, then the left, as far as is comfortable. This exercise will make you aware of and help release any tension in your lower back. Next, sit cross-legged and roll your head around on your neck, slowly and carefully, then shrug your shoulders, roll them in big circles, and flex your spine forward and back. Are you finding any areas of tightness, any pain?

If so, first examine your environment to see if it holds the source. Is there pain in your neck and shoulders? Are you on the phone a lot? If you are, do you have a headset or at least a shoulder brace? Are you in the habit of holding the phone by scrunching up your neck and shoulder while you write stuff down? If you do that, and your neck hurts, stop doing that and invest in a shoulder brace (around $5) or a headset phone ($30 to $100, and you get what you pay for). Don’t wait until your boss offers to pay for it; his or her neck doesn’t hurt.

Do you carry a purse or a backpack on one shoulder? If you have pain right at the top of your back and at the base of your neck, stop hanging that heavy sack on one shoulder. If necessary, get one that cannot be carried that way. A fanny pack around your hips can carry as much and won’t create the pain in your neck and shoulders. A regular two-strap backpack is better for your spine than a one-strap bag, if you will use both straps.

Examine your posture, the chair you sit in at work, your mattress and pillow, your easy chair. Are any of those the possible source of your pain? If so, determine what changes will assist your body and make those changes. Sleeping on a fairly firm mattress, and if you have neck pain getting a cervical support pillow, can reduce or eliminate back and neck pain. The pillows are sold on television or at places like Zenith Supplies, a fabulous store near 65th and Roosevelt in Seattle, for $20 to $30. Pillows and mattresses wear out and should be replaced every few years.

Walking, swimming, biking and all other forms of regular exercise will do more for your well-being and long-term health than any other single thing, except for stopping smoking. Smoking is the No. 1 killer in the United States; 1000 people a day are dying from the long-term effects of smoking just in this country alone. Regular exercise is also the best way to improve your mood and energy.

Yoga is the very best exercise for reducing pain, even that from arthritis and other chronic problems. If you are in the habit of regularly taking pain medication, either prescription or over-the-counter, discuss your chronic pain with your doctor, exercise teacher or coach and see if there are not specific exercises that will help you. Many yoga teachers and other exercise experts are extremely skilled in working with chronic problems or people with specific needs. Movement therapy, dance classes or hiking in the park could change your entire experience of living.

Don’t be afraid to try acupuncture for chronic pain. The needles are much less painful than most people imagine they will be, and acupuncture can be very helpful for a wide variety of chronic illnesses, injuries and stress-related pains.

Another way to improve your well-being is to drink more water. You may not be drinking enough water to allow your body to balance itself. Drink at least a quart a day, plus other liquids. When you are under stress, adrenal steroids and other stress chemicals build up in your body. When you exercise, drink water and breathe deeply, you assist your body in getting rid of the stress chemicals. Just exercising to the point where you are breathing more rapidly and beginning to perspire changes your body chemistry dramatically, and therefore changes your mood.

Better sleep

Get enough sleep. Modern humans are only sleeping six to seven hours per night. It has been estimated that humans slept eight to nine hours per night before the invention of electric lights. Our bodies have not been able to adequately adapt to the sleep reduction in the short amount of time lights have been available, so most of us are tired most of the time and don’t really realize it.

If you have trouble sleeping, or wake up tired, try the following practices:

  • Reduce the amount of caffeine you use. Do not drink any coffee, tea, or soft drink containing caffeine within six hours of when you want to go to sleep. If this change doesn’t solve your problems, switch to decaf, herb teas, fruit juice or water.
  • During the day, turn up those lights, and be sure to spend some time outside every day in the fresh air, walking around and appreciating the wonderful planet we live on.
  • Go to bed at the same time each night. Use earplugs if your bedroom is near a noisy street and eye shades if you cannot make the room dark enough. Make your bed clean, comfortable and adequately supportive.
  • Don’t read or watch television in bed. Train yourself that when you go to bed and turn out the light, you will simply go to sleep. Tell yourself, “I can go to sleep easily and sleep all night.”
  • If your dentist tells you that you grind your teeth in your sleep, get a bite guard. They are a bit expensive (in the $200-300 range) but can go a long way toward soothing neck, shoulder and facial pain, plus enabling you to get more restful sleep.
  • Try melatonin supplements. If you are older, you may not be producing enough melatonin from your pineal gland. Production begins to fall around age 30, and by age 40 a fair percentage of people are not producing enough to stay asleep all night. Do some reading before you begin any self-experiments, however. Melatonin will only work one time each 24 hours as it “resets” your biological clock. Only take it once each night at most, about an hour before you want to go to sleep. It does not help everyone but appears to have a very low incidence of side effects. Discuss taking it with your health practitioner.
  • If you become aware of pain in your body you ignored during the day, do some light stretches and flexes, tighten and release different muscle groups and turn your head from side to side while lying flat on your back with your knees flexed. Listen to slow, dreamy, relaxing music while you stretch.
  • Examine the label of any herbal preparation you are using. Ma huang, or ephedra, should only be taken in the morning as it will interfere with your ability to fall and stay asleep. Ma huang is a pretty intense herb and should be used with caution anyhow, as it may raise your blood pressure, make you dizzy or wind you up just too tight. It is often the main ingredient in the so-called “thermogenic” formulas sold for weight loss.
  • Before going to your doctor for prescription sleep medication, consider trying the herbal teas such as Sleep Easy, or preparations with folk remedies like hops, skullcap, valerian, passionflower and others. Look remedies up in herb books and, if you like, experiment gently with yourself, beginning with small amounts and increasing them gradually.

Herbs are not harmless, so learn what you are doing before you use them, or go to a herbalist or other health care professional. Be cautious and stop using anything the moment you have an adverse reaction, including prescription medication, which often interferes with rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep. Herbal sleeping formulas may leave you feeling groggy when you first wake up, but they do not seem to interfere with REM sleep the way prescription sleeping medications do.

Additionally, if you suspect that you are suffering from seasonal affective disorder or mild depression, try using herbs and other folk medicine if it is not too serious. St. John’s wort is used widely in Germany to help mild depression.

The food you consume

If sleep is not a problem for you, but you still suffer from tiredness, nervousness, muscle tension and pain, consider trying the following.

Go to your health care professional for a complete physical. You may have some condition that requires treatment. For example, you may be anemic and need to take iron. Without adequate iron, your red blood cells cannot carry enough oxygen to meet bodily needs.

A quick home check for anemia can be done by very gently pulling your lower eyelid away from the eyeball while you look at it carefully in the mirror. The blood vessels are very close to the surface there, and the area should be a nice rosy pink. If your lower lids are noticeably paler than other people’s, ask your doctor to check you for iron deficiency.

Avoid taking iron unnecessarily, however, as it can build up in the blood, particularly in males, and can become toxic. Females who menstruate are less likely to have too much iron, and more likely to have too little, as they lose some each month during their periods. After their periods cease, women need to be more cautious about taking too much iron.

Eating a healthy diet with little or no caffeine, small amounts of sugar and fat, adequate protein and lots and lots of grains, fruit and vegetables will go a long way toward improving your health and your well-being. You should eat at least some complex carbohydrates as soon as you get up in the morning, to begin bringing your blood sugar up to operating level. Just having some coffee in the morning and eating no food until lunch is a poor health practice, as is skipping lunch. Several small balanced meals per day are much better for your health than one giant one at night.

Following is a recipe for “Go Juice,” adapted from Adele Davis’s and very good for building your tolerance for stress and reducing those winter blues. All items mentioned are available in health-food stores or in the nutritional departments at co-op groceries, Fred Meyer’s, Larry’s Market and other stores. Prices are approximate.

To a 12-ounce can or equivalent frozen juice (your choice, grapefruit, raspberry, peach, lime) add the following in a blender:

  • 1/2 to 1 cup nutritional yeast. Using a full cup makes the mix thicker than you may like; you can always drink more if you like the effects. A 1-pound can of nutritional yeast costs around $7; yeast is even cheaper in bulk from the bins.
  • 12 to 24 calcium-magnesium-zinc tablets. Generally, 250 tablets are $10 to $12. Try Costco for cheaper.
  • 1/2 to 1 cup lecithin granules or powder. A one-pound can runs about $7.
  • 4 to 8 tablespoons blended oils. If you make Go Juice often, try mixing one pint Hain All-Blend oil mixture (safflower, walnut, soy, peanut) with one pint of olive oil. Keep the blended oils in the fridge to keep them fresh. You can also use this blend for cooking and in salad dressing. Cost is $4 up, depending on the oils you use.

Mix the juice and put some of it in a blender. Turn on the blender and first grind up the mineral tablets, then slowly add the yeast, lecithin and oil. Allow them to blend thoroughly, then add the remainder of the juice to make a couple of quarts, and store your Go Juice in the fridge. Shake it well each time before you pour some in a glass to drink, as the minerals settle out and you need to take all the ingredients together.

If you find the mixture causes intestinal gas, try taking three to six Super-Enzymall tablets (Schiff, 90 tablets for $13), or another enzyme formula, and three to six Betaine Hydrochloride with Pepsin tablets (Thompson, 180 tablets for $9) with each 6- to 8-ounce glass of Go Juice you drink. Experiment to discover what works for you.

Some people hate the taste of Go Juice, and others love it. You should notice an improvement in energy and mood within a week if you drink a glass each morning and each evening.

Many people take vitamins and other supplements as insurance. Unless you really pay attention, and eat food that is grown organically, you do not have any way to know whether you are getting all the nutrients you need. A good (usually fairly expensive) multiple vitamin, additional Vitamin E and C and, for women particularly, additional calcium can improve your well-being. If you have pain in your legs at night, commonly called “growing pains” in children, or menstrual cramps, you may be low in calcium or may not be absorbing what you take in. A naturopath can help you evaluate your diet if you cannot do so by yourself.

More tune-up tips

Learn some massage so you can have massage breaks with your co-workers and friends. When you get together to watch a movie at home, give each other back and shoulder rubs. Get some massage tools and carry them with you so you can use them on the bus or if you get stuck in rush-hour traffic. Use them for little breaks at work. If you have a desk job, remember to stop, stretch, bend, breathe, get up and walk around and change your position every hour or so.

Light-sound machines or “brain-tuning” tapes are useful for learning how to relax and to help you fall asleep. Brain-tuning tapes play a slightly different pulsed rhythm in each ear. The pulses are masked with music and ambient sounds such as rainfall, cricket chirps and owl and whale calls, so the pulsing is not very noticeable. The brain balances out the difference between the two rhythms and lowers your brain waves to match. The Brainwave Suite tape set is excellent, as are many others. The light-sound machines can put you into a meditative state, or to sleep, in a few minutes and are a lot of fun.

These tapes and machines are amazing to use and really work for many people. Do not confuse them with the “subliminal learning” tapes that are widely offered for sale. I have not been able to find any studies showing that “subliminal” tapes are any better than just listening to the relaxing music used to mask their spoken words. You could probably do just as well buying relaxing music you like.

Light-sound machines can be dangerous for those who have seizure disorders, so do not use these if you do, and never use them while operating machinery or during any other dangerous activity.

Grounding and earth energy

Learning to ground and doing so daily, even if just for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, can really help you relax and learn about yourself. There are many ways to ground, and in the absence of a class or teacher, all the possibilities can be confusing. Following is one description. You can use your imagination to focus your own energy, and you can then practice moving energy from the earth and sky into and out of different areas of your body.

Stand or sit in a relaxed posture with your spine straight and, if standing, your knees slightly bent. Take a deep breath and relax your belly. Imagine that there is a long cord attached to the base of your spinal column that extends down into the ground, going down deep, even to the center of the earth. Visualize this cord and imagine it getting bigger and stronger, see it pulsing, and then visualize or feel sending energy down it. Imagine the energy as light, sound, vibration or however you wish to picture and feel it.

Then visualize and feel any tension, or excess energy in your body, draining down the cord into the earth. You will be able to feel the change right away, although you will have your own experience of it and may describe it very differently from anyone else. It may be helpful to ask a friend who is more familiar with the skill to ground with you the first few times, to help increase the sensation and the experience.

You may wish to use your hands to increase the sensation of the experience. Place one hand on the center of your chest, and the other on the center of your back opposite it, as near the top of your spine as you can comfortably reach both front and back. Slowly move your hands down the center line of your body to the base of your spine, using your imagination to feel the energy moving down your spine with your hands and continuing on down your grounding cord into the earth.

Play around with this for a few minutes, and then imagine you are growing roots from the bottoms of your feet, down into the earth. Feel your roots sliding down, deep into the darkness and inner warmth of the earth. Use these roots to draw earth energy up into your body to balance and heal it. This energy may have a color, a temperature, a vibration or some other sensory or visual aspect. Imagine and feel the earth energy filling and nourishing your whole body and spirit.

Sky energy

You can also draw energy from the sky. Once again using your imagination to create a picture of this in your mind’s eye, see an opening beginning as a point and growing to about the size of a quarter in the very top of your head. With your imagination, draw in energy from the sky. Imagine this sky energy filling and energizing your body, flushing out tension and tiredness. Sky energy will probably appear and feel very different from earth energy to you. Imagine sky energy and earth energy swirling and mixing together in your belly and pelvic area, and then spreading out to heal and nourish your entire body, mind and spirit.

Move this energy from point to point in your body. For example, rub your palms together and feel the sky-earth energy mixture flowing into and building up in your hands. Feel it moving into your hands more and more as you rub them together. Then, when you have built up a charge, separate your palms an inch or two apart, and play with the ball of energy that you can feel between them. Build this energy ball even more, moving your hands closer and further apart, feeling it get larger and stronger. Then take this energy ball and press it into any area of your body that is tired or tense, and visualize the energy ball flowing from your hands into the area. Feel that area soaking up the energy and being nourished by it.

These exercises can be done anywhere, at any time, to assist in balancing your energy and improving your mood. Your ability to use them will increase with practice, just as your muscle tone increases with physical exercise. In time, you will do them automatically whenever you are under stress. If you’re interested in learning more about them, look through the many books available, or take a class.

Remember that thinking about doing a technique is not the same as actually doing it with your body. It is very easy to kid yourself that you know a technique just from reading an explanation. To actually learn it, you must actually do it.

Listening to your inner voice

Can you usually hear what your “inner voice” is saying? Do negative or scary thoughts flit through your mind fairly often? You can greatly reduce the stress in your life by paying attention to the content of the automatic thoughts that go through your mind. You may have to make an effort to become conscious of the exact words, but if you do, you will probably find the source of much of your unhappiness in life. To learn to hear your own automatic thinking, also called “self-talk,” take a few minutes every once in a while and write down every thought that pops into your mind. You may be surprised at how negative your self-talk really is.

If you do find it’s mostly negative, don’t worry about it. The little thought-voice in the mind is negative for most people. It’s like a scared little watchdog who always tries to keep track of the “worst possible scenario” to keep you safe, so it usually looks on the dark side of things.

It’s useful because it’s on the lookout for danger, but it can become a major source of stress and tension because it is only semi-conscious. You can begin to greatly reduce the tension in your life by becoming aware of your self-talk, assessing the accuracy of the statements and changing the inaccurate negative or scary ones to positive and relaxing affirmations. Once you do a little work to become aware of your self-talk, you can use it to change your point of view in life and have a lot more fun. As you learn to hear what a paranoid pip-squeak lives inside your head, you will laugh at how silly it sounds out loud.

Get a kitty or some easy-care plants to make your home a restful refuge. Cultivate a positive frame of mind, and take a self-mastery class. Encourage your friends to support you in being positive, and put cards around your house with affirmations like “Today I will be happy and calm, and I will accomplish everything I need to do” or “Goddess grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” Get involved and make a useful contribution to the well-being of the world through volunteer work or other social action. Develop a regular spiritual practice. Mourn your losses, and give yourself credit for all you accomplish.

These are difficult times we are living through; the future looks uncertain, and everything is changing faster than before. Try thinking of what you are doing as surfing, or dancing, with the energy of life.

This is indeed a time of great opportunity.

Casting Spells by Burning Herbs

Magick spells are cast by burning herbs (incense), thus releasing their magick power into the atmosphere (fumigation).

One of the most ancient methods of casting spells is consciously, carefully and deliberately  burning herbs. This method incorporates all four primal elements into one spell. By applying the power of fire, herbal power (which has been nourished by Earth and by water), is transformed into smoke (air) and dispersed into the atmosphere to provide magickal solutions and fulfill magickal desires. If you burn incense on a metal pan or burner, then you incorporate what many consider to be the fifth element, metal, into your spell as well.

Modern incense frequently taken the form of sticks and cones, which require a little technical know=how. However, incense is an ancient, ancient art. If cave people had the technology to create fine, viable incense, of course you do, too. The material original incense was loose dried herbal material, ground and powdered. Most magick spells assume incense will be in this form.

Mortars and pestles are ancient magickal, medical and culinary tools. They may be used to break down and blend herbal material. Once upon a time, incense was created by repeated grinding with a mortar and pestle, and then sifting with a sieve (also an ancient magick tool). However, if you desire the fine powder that many spells specify, a coffee or spice grinder, particularly an old-fashioned manual one, can make life easier.

If you prefer stick incense, blanks may be purchased and doctored to your taste.

Herb Sachets and Gifts

Herb sachets are used to fragrance the house, as wards of protection and defence and can even be carried on the  person, in addition to herbs, flowers, spices, leaves, and so on, they may also contain stones, charms or crystals, all imbued with Magickal energies. Some people even create totem bags which also contain pictures of their loved ones, a lock of hair or many other things which link them to those they care about. Herb sachets make excellent gifts or ways of working Magick for others. Much of the work of the Witch is for other people. I sincerely the posts in this section will inspire you to do a little “Magick” today!

Sachets can be made from almost any natural fabric; it does not have to be specially bought for the purpose. Whilst silk squares look very attractive, you can recycle old clothes or cloths, or anything else you have to hand.

Make sure the fabric is thoroughly washed and if you have any doubts about is psychic cleanliness then hang it overnight in the light of the Full Moon before use. The easiest shape to use is a circle, but a square also looks quite attractive. Place your ingredients in the centre and tie up all the ends to create a bundle. To tie your sachet you can use thread cord, ribbon or even twine or string.

If giving sachets away, it is a good idea to make them reasonably discreet – not everyone wants their home to look as though a Witch lives there. Alternatively, you can make the highly decorative in their own right perhaps by placing several sachets onto a strip of attractive ribbon which can then be hung on the wall. Remember whilst making up your sachet to keep your Magickal goals clearly in mind and to imbue it with Magickal power.

If you want the sachet to look decorative then you do not have to stick to single colour fabric, but try to choose something where the right colour for your intention is fairly dominant Alternatively, you can cover the sachet twice, once for the Magickal intent and once with an overlay which is in keeping with the decor of the area it is intended for.