Wicca
Creative Visualization and The Mind’s Eye
Sep 3rd
We talk about ritual tools quite a bit, especially when we’re getting started with magick and ritual. Everyone is looking for the perfect wand or athame, but the most important of all ritual items is something that we all possess already and which costs no money at all, but certainly needs some polishing and preparation before we can really put it to use. Our mind’s eye. It’s arguably the most important of all tools a Witch has because without it, the true power behind our work may not be harnessed. And let’s face it, no wand in the world can make up for the lack of ability to ground, focus and visualize our intent and send energy to our goal.
When you’re just getting started you hear a lot in books about the mind’s eye. You’ll see a lot of phrases like “Visualize your desire in your mind’s eye” or “See the elements in your mind’s eye”. A lot of people get a little confused, unsure of what and where the information that the mind’s eye calls on is going to come from. In the simplest of terms, the mind’s eye is your imagination. When we work in meditation, trying to envision something coming to us, or something happening to us, we are working to “see” with “eye” in our mind (aka the mind’s eye). For some people it can help to have almost a physical place to focus on when doing this; if you’re one of those people imagine that the there is a large movie screen or white board in your mind right around where your third eye is located. When you’re eyes are closed, imagine that this eye then opens, and when it does you can now see this screen or board through this eye. This is where you can call up any image or any energy you desire.
If you have ever read either Laurie Cabot’s book “Power of the Witch” or you have read Christopher Penczak’s Inner Temple books or listened to his meditation CDs, then you will be familiar with a countdown meditation technique that can help to develop your mind’s eye as well as help you reach that lower brainwave state that helps to bring us into deep, magickal levels of meditation. The technique that both Cabot and Penczak have used as a reference point is called the Silva Method or Silva Mind Control. This is a technique developed by José Silva, a parapsychologist and founder of the Silva Method, which were developed to help reach higher levels of mental function by naturally bringing the brain to a frequency of 8 to 13 Hz, also known as alpha state. Here the brain could be trained to and programmed to open up the psychic senses, specifically helping people be able to learn remote viewing and develop lucid dreaming skills, as well as help people raise their overall IQ and increase their personal well-being. It is basically self-hypnosis and it helps to open up, train and work with the mind’s eye. (You can learn more about the Silva Method here.)
Some people, when hearing the word “imagination” in relation to Witchcraft become a little uncomfortable, feeling that the deeper work of magick and ritual are being relegated to nothing more than a play thing. Imagination is really nothing more than allowing the mind to wander while calling up and creating images that aren’t physically real but that can be very real within our minds. This is what we often do within magick. We sometimes talk about how when we daydream we are actually in a state of spontaneous meditation, creating realities in our minds that we would like to see in reality. Often beginners will say they can’t meditate or can’t visualize anything, feeling that they will never be able to work magick, yet when asked if they ever find themselves daydreaming most of them say they do that all the time without realizing it. The work of the mind’s eye while daydreaming is the same as what you would use for visualization and meditation, only in those instances you have more conscious control over it than when you daydream. So if you can daydream, you can learn to work with your mind’s eye in a controlled way in order to visualize in magick and meditation.
Creative Visualization is a technique used in just about all forms of magickal work. It is a way of accessing levels of the imagination where we can create images in a visual in our mind’s eye while also creating and raising energy which can then be used in magickal work. So for example if you have a friend who is sick and you wanted to help them get well, after lighting a candle for them you might spend some time focusing on visualizing in your mind what they are like when they are healthy. If you friend is bed-sick because of a chest infection and they can’t breath well enough right now to do their normal activities, you would want to create in your mind the image of them breathing deeply, taking in large, healthy breaths. You’d want to see them doing a physical activity that you know they enjoy such as jogging or hiking, something that right now they can’t possibly be doing. While you’re doing this and creating the images in your mind, you also want to really feel them as well. So you could imagine being with your friend on that jog or hike and seeing them enjoying themselves, being happy and healthy and feeling that joy with them. Then you can send that energy to them in one of many different ways (e.g. direct the energy into the candle and as the candle burns the energy is released toward your friend or sense the energy forming in the shape of a large balloon in a specific color and imagine it traveling to your friend and giving them the energy when they receive it). Different traditions and types of magick have different techniques for sending energy.
Learning how to do some basic visualization techniques will help you to grow more comfortable with working with your mind’s eye as well as helping you become more confident with creating mental images. Learning to ground with creative visualization is a great way to start with this or even to refresh yourself on the basics. Give this a try. All you’ll need for this is a white candle and stone of either onyx, black tourmaline, hematite, jet, obsidian or smokey quartz in any size.
1. Sitting either on the floor or in a comfortable chair, light a candle. Make sure your feet are on the ground if you are in a chair so that some part of you is physically connected to the ground or earth. Take up the stone with both hands (if you’re using a small raw or tumbled stone, place the stone in one hand and cup with the other).
2. Begin breathing slow, rhythmic breaths and close your eyes. Take the time to feel yourself comfortable and solid in your physical position. Then begin to visualize that thick tree roots are growing either from your feet if you are sitting in a chair, or from your spine if you are sitting directly on the ground. See them going down into the earth, cutting through the earth’s crust, through the soil, and moving down around rock and stone below. As you do this think about how strong tree roots are but also see the tiny, vain-like roots that grow from the larger ones. These roots help to connect to the soil to gather nourishment and to help anchor the tree. Feel those roots as well as the larger ones and visualize your roots moving downward, toward the center of the earth.
3. Turn your mind back to your breath again, but still sensing the tree roots. As you exhale, visualize the roots move deeper, going further toward the center of the earth. Take the time on your inhaled breaths to feel what the roots feel under the earth. Are they damp from hitting ground water? Are they gritting with rock and sand? Are they getting warm as they reach the molten center of the earth’s core? When you exhale feel the roots moving, see them move through the rock, dirt, and water.
4. When you get to the point where you can feel heat, or where you feel or see heat, imagine that you roots come to a halt. You are at the center of the earth. Being to feel that warmth come up through your roots, up all the way through to your feel or spine, up your body, down your arms and out the top of your head through your crown chakra. See it as a bright white light, of if you can, visualize it the color of the molten core of the earth. Feel it heat up and energize your roots and your body.
5. When you have this feeling running firmly through you, being to feel the energy withdraw back into the earth. Imagine closing a hatch over the crown chakra and the energy retreating down your body. Feel your body cool as the energy retreats. Feel it flow back down your trunk, your legs and feet, down into the earth through your roots. When you see and feel your roots have released the earth’s energy, begin to bring your roots back. See them retreat upward just as you saw them move down. Feel the tiny roots release from the earth as your larger roots return back to your feet or spine.
6. Once you see the roots completely return to your body focus back on your breathing, relaxed breaths in and out. While you are doing this, if you feel there is any left over energy that may make you anxious or nervous, visualize that energy running down your arms like drops of water and collecting in the stone in your hand. The stone will ground the energy for you. Gently open your eyes and come back to waking consciousness.
Some other simple ways to practice include visualizing a piece of fruit, like an apple or orange, hanging from a tree branch in front of you. Imagine picking it from the tree and taking a bit. Taste the fruit, smell it, feel the juice in your hands and on your chin. As you advance, another way that you can work with visualization that can also help you with your psychic development is to work on visualizing a friend who is not with you at the moment (they can be anywhere else, even if it’s just in another room) and imagine what they are wearing. If you are in the same location when they leave the room you’ll want to ask them to change a piece of their clothing. When you get a strong visualization of what they have on either call them on the phone and describe what you see, or in the case of being in the same place you can simply ask them to come in the room and you can tell them what you are getting but don’t turn to face them until they give you some feedback. Practicing things like this helps with not just creative visualization and being able to create solid images in your mind but you’ll be able to slowly develop the psychic senses, especially remote viewing.
The mind’s eye is your most critical magickal tool. Learning to develop it from the beginning of your practice and taking the time to give it regular tune-ups along the way is key in being able to do successful magick of all kinds.
For more help with creative visualization, check out the classic book Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life
Ask A Witch: Am I a Witch?
Aug 30th
Recently I received two different questions through Ask A Witch and they both deal with a similar issue and I thought I would address them together. Both individuals wrote in with questions about being a Witch; how do you know you’re a Witch and does a Witch have to be born or can a Witch be made. Here we’re going to look at both of these questions and see what information I can give to help sort out these questions for these two readers.
I have always wondered if you had to be born into witchcraft and all other or can you tap into it and learn? I have always wanted to learn and have always been very fascinated by it.
~ Maria
I do witchcraft as hobby but i would like to know if i am a witch. I am very sensitive when i watch scary movies.
~ Jessica
Thank you for your questions Maria and Jessica.
I think the best way to start out with looking at this is to address the issue of whether or not someone can be a Witch whether they were born into it or have come to the Craft our of personal interest. There are different schools of thought on this and it differs a great deal based on the tradition of Witchcraft that someone is talking about. So let’s break this down into some small and simple bits to try and make sense of.
Do you have to be born into Witchcraft to be considered a Witch? I don’t believe so and most people today don’t believe so either. That isn’t to say that there aren’t people that do feel this way, but by and large in the Craft today it is believed that people can become Witches by learning, studying and practicing. Here is why I believe this completely.
First of all, let’s consider being born into another religion or spiritual path. Many people, myself included, seem to come to Wicca or Witchcraft after having had a Catholic or Christian upbringing or being born into a family of one of these religions. Let’s say you’re born into a family of Roman Catholics; does the fact that your parents believe and practice the Roman Catholic faith automatically make you a better Catholic than someone that came to that religion on their own? Not in my opinion, no. Second, let’s consider whether or not you yourself subscribe to the beliefs and practices of your parents. Your parents may be Catholic but do you yourself fully believe and practice the Catholic faith? If you don’t, being born into a Catholic family doesn’t seem to have made much of an impact on your spiritual life. Now, I do think that by being born into a certain faith we are given a little bit more advantage within that faith because, just by the very circumstance, we are set up with a support system of people that thinking like we do, believe like we do and so on, making it easier for us to explore our spiritual side. But if we find that this particular faith doesn’t suit us and we begin to seek outside the family, we can find it to be a difficult search as well as a long search because we may not have the same amount of support in this exploration that we would have if we just stayed within the family faith, so to speak.
Many, many people come to Witchcraft and the Pagan religions after living by a “book religion” for a good part of their life and finding that the ideas, beliefs and principles do not match what they personally feel in their heart. There are people that may find certain talents that they naturally possess, like being psychic or having the ability to connect withe spirit world, is something that is shunned or seen as evil or sinful in their “faith of birth”. This may very well lead them to explore something like Witchcraft or Wicca in an effort to find answers and find other people that they feel they share something deeper with and whom they can connect to on a spiritual level. There’s nothing wrong with this and a Witch who comes to the Craft because of a spiritual calling belongs here just as much as someone who is born into it. In fact, I sometimes feel that those who had to really work their way into the Craft may deserve it more because of what they may have had to sacrifice to get there. But being born into a family that practices Witchcraft, just like being born into a family of practicing Catholics, doesn’t make you any more of a Witch, or a better Witch, than someone that came to the path on their own later in life. Just like there are many Catholics born into Catholic families who never fully embrace their faith, there are those born into Pagan or Witch families that never really embrace that path either. Everyone has to follow the path they were meant to follow, wherever that leads, even if that means moving away from the family spiritual lineage.
So, yes, a Witch can be made just as well a one can be born. It all comes down to a choice and decision by that individual as to whether or not the path of the Witch is the one they wish to walk. If you feel you are drawn to this path and you want to explore it, do so, but do so with an understanding that it’s a path that takes seriousness and dedication. It’s not the sort of thing that you can really develop when you treat it like a hobby or something that you can just pick up and put down and will and expect it to always work for you. Taking the time to study and develop your skills with an attitude of serious intention and gratitude for being given the chance to do this is going to give you far better results than just picking up a candle, following a spell from a book word for word, and not really knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing or saying what you’re saying because you don’t feel you have the time to put into really studying the path of Witchcraft. When you’re working Witchcraft like that it’s a crap-shoot. Things might work for a while and then they stop but since you haven’t really by studying along the way you wont be able to really discern why things went off track and how to get it back on again.
Everyone is born with some level of psychic ability but not everyone grows and explores that ability. When you decide that you want to be a Witch this is one aspect of your natural talents that will grow and change. Many people tend to see someone as having a natural affinity for psychic ability as being someone that is naturally a Witch, but natural intuitive ability and being a Witch are not the same thing. Being sensitive to energies around you is a good sign of having a strong connection to the psychic realm, but the real skill of it still needs to be developed. The same goes for Witchcraft as a whole; you need to work at it and study it to really know what you’re doing. And as for being sensitive to scary movies, lots of people have problems with watching certain kind of films and that doesn’t dictate their spiritual path. Take the time to really do some soul searching and some studying about the Craft to decide if it’s right for you. If it is, great! But if it isn’t, that’s fine too! Follow whatever path truly calls to your heart and then follow it with your whole heart.
Tracing the Witch’s Pyramid
Aug 26th
One of the great, fundamental teachings that can help anyone getting starting in magickal practice is that of The Witch’s Pyramid, also known as the Four Pillars of Magick or the Four Power of the Magus. Many of us may be familiar with the concept and the words, but how much thought have you given to the actual concept? Do you put The Witch’s Pyramid into practice in your magickal life? By knowing and understanding the concept of The Witch’s Pyramid and putting it into practice with both magickal working and ritual observance, we can find a major difference in how our spells manifest and in the connections that we create with the Divine and the Otherworld in honorary rites.
The Witch’s Pyramid is a model for effective magickal practice and consists of four basic principles.
- To Know
- To Dare
- To Will
- To Be Silent
The origins of this principle are somewhat debated thought it’s thought that it was developed out of practices within ceremonial and hermetic magick. The phrase “The Witch’s Pyramid” is thought to just be a more modern naming of this (believed) ancient principle, adapted by modern Witches. Christopher Penczak suggests in his book “The Inner Temple of Witchcraft” that it could be derived from the idea that some hold which states that magick and many magickal practices originate from Egypt, the land of pyramids. It may also be that when placed in visual context we see this laid out in the shape of a pyramid, as shown below.
To Know
We all know the phrase “knowledge is power”, and in the case of magick, it certainly can be. Knowing what you’re doing magickally, knowing your process, can be very important, but even more important is knowing yourself and knowing your true intentions behind your magickal actions. This principle also can be tied to the element of earth within us. By keeping our thoughts and intentions grounded in our work we have more of a clear path and more direction in what we’re doing. Some also see this principle as being related to the element of air since it deals with the idea of thought and knowledge, areas that are typically ruled by the air element.
What this principle calls for us to do it to stop and think. Sometimes thinking is one of the hardest parts of magick because we may find ourselves so driven by raw passion and emotions that we may find our minds not very clear but in the heat of the moment we are sure our direction is on track. So the first thing that we need to do when working with the Pyramid and the idea of To Know is to be sure that we are in control of our thoughts and our intentions.
The next this is knowing our magickal procedure. What is your plan for your magickal work? Why techniques are you going to employ and what steps will you take to make that work happen. Knowing what you’re going to be doing, knowing how the process works, what it takes to raise the necessary energy, knowing how to gather and direct that energy, all help to create the base foundation of your work. Without that solid foundation there is no telling if the rest that is build upon it will just tumble.
This can also be summed up in the phrase of “Know thy self, Know thy Craft”.
To Dare
Corresponding to the element of air, To Dare deals with our thoughts and the use of the magickal mind, yet others might place this concept in alightment with water for the power of emotions that often back the daring task of casting spells and working magick.
To Dare asks us to do just that, to dare to do the work, to dare to take the risk and make that leap of faith. One thing that many who are new to magick need to deal with on their first few forays into magick is fear. Feeling fear, whether it’s fear of what you’re actually about to do or just the fear of the unknown in what you are doing, is a normal feeling, especially for those that are new to the Craft and working their first spells. But fear needs to be faced and dealt with, head on, otherwise it becomes a crippling force and can keep you away from manifesting your desires, whether through magick or any other means.
When you have fully worked with and realized the first principle of “To Know” the second principle of “To Dare” can be a lot less daunting. But you still need to actually do the work and daring to make the magick happen is a critical step to make.
To Will
This principle is often related to the element of fire. It takes some fire, some passion, some true desire to make your wishes become realty. Fire helps us to manifest and here we must will what we desire into reality.
Will is also about discipline. You need to be willing to follow up your magickal work in the mundane world as well. It’s not just a matter of casting a spell at the altar and then walking away and calling your work done. Casting the spell in the physical sense is just the begining of your work. Now you need to have the will, or willpower, to back up your magickal work with mundane actions. One of the great examples is when we cast a spell to find a job. Once you have cast the spell you may very well get a call from a friend or family member out of the blue who may have found an oppertunity for you, but you’re far more likely to manifest your desires faster if you write out a resume and use it to apply for some positions. Magick and energy follow the path of least resistance and by working with your energy you have put our there rather than against it, you’ll see faster, better results.
To Will also is a principle that deals with faith, but in this case faith in yourself knowing that you have done what you needed to and knowing that it will bring your desires into manifestation. Being sure to keep your thoughts and actions in alignment with the work you have done takes a lot of personal will (i.e. not doubting your magickal work). Doubt only sends negative energy toward what you have put out there, so keeping yourself mentally in line with what you have done keeps the energy flowing correctly.
To Be Silent
This is one of the more debated parts of this magickal concept because there are people that really don’t feel that one needs to keep their magickal work silent or secret while others believe very strongly in the idea that magickal work and the processes used in a spell, or even the fact that a spell has been cast, should never be share with anyone, save for those in your magickal circle or coven who may have been present at the time. This principle is often related to the element of water because of need to keep emotions in check and under wraps within the magickal process.
To Keep Silent is often related to the idea of not sharing with others, especially the uninitiated, what one has done magickally. The reason behind this is that if you share you magickal work and desires with someone that may disagree with you they would then have the ability to send negative energy (either intentionally or unintentionally) toward your work to possibly derail your efforts. By not sharing this information with anyone you keep your work on track much easier. The debate here often comes in with the idea that someone who isn’t magickally inclined wouldn’t have the knowledge to purposefully disrupt a magickal working or that they wouldn’t be able to generate the energy to do it. Anyone who has ever just been in an emotional battle with another person, completely outside of the magickal realm, knows full well that the words, thoughts and emotions that can be generated through disagreement can be powerful and if someone doesn’t want to see you get that new, high paying job you cast your spell for, regardless of their reasons, the thoughts and emotions they have generated with their desire to see you fail can be enough to send things off kilter. So by keeping our work to ourselves we create a safeguard against possibly disruptions.
On the flip side of this debate some feel that by openly talking about their work they are sending more positive energy to it by personally acknowledging what they are working toward and therefore adding more fuel to the fire, so to speak. This may very well be true, and in fact if discussing with others that are completely behind you, your work and your desires, their positive energy and desire to see you succeed can aid your work. But this does need to beg the question “Can you ever truly know the intent and will of another?”
The other idea here is that magick isn’t meant to be flaunted; it’s a gift and a sacred art. It’s not something for ego gratification and by treating it as such we not only cheapen our work but our gifts as well. Some believe that by flaunting and boasting of magickal conquests ones magickal gifts can be taken away by the Gods.
The Connection of Spirit
Once these four principles are brought together one is able to them attain connection to Spirit through their magickal work and with the aid of Spirit your work will manifest with more clear and positive results. Spirit resides at the top of the pyramid and comes from that foundation of the other four practices. In Wicca you can also connect this part of the pyramid to the concept of The Wiccan Rede, a sort of culmination and expression of these other four ideas in practice.
The Witch’s Pyramid is not something that is reserved for any single tradition and it is something that is used by magickal practitioners within spiritual paths like Wicca as well as by those that practice the magickal arts of Witchcraft outside of a religious context. At it’s core it is a principle for working with energy and directing our magickal work in a more solid way that helps us to see results, grow our practice and overcome fear and obstacles that we face in the process. Knowing the Pyramid and bringing it into your magickal practice can be very beneficial, especially for those that are still getting their grounding in the act of spellwork and ritual.
(This article is one that I originally wrote for another blog, Sacred Mists Blog, and I share it here with all of you to enjoy as well.)
Announcing the One Witch’s Way Circle
Aug 13th
Over the last few weeks I have been working on putting together a social networking space that will also work as a school space for the upcoming tarot class and other classes and workshops that I’ll be putting together. The site is free to join and open to anyone. The class areas, which will be expanding and growing over the rest of the year, are private and only open to those people who enroll in those classes. There will be opportunities in the future for people who become involved in the community to also teach classes as the structure of the network and the school aspect of it grows. The idea is to create a space for people interested in the Craft, magick, the occult, tarot and other aspects of the metaphysical to come together and share, get to know one another and grow a community that offers the opportunity for people to learn and develop their skills, knowledge, and abilities.
I have been working to add content to the site but it is still pretty sparse but areas for discussions, some groups and a number of forum areas are open. Once you join you can create groups, add videos and music, start and join in discussions, and create your own blog and profile page. The will be contests coming up in the future for participating members and special offers for readings, classes, healing sessions, and info on my magickal oils, incense and spell kits that are going to be coming later in the fall. This will be a great time to get involved in the Circle so that you can be part of things as they develop!
So come by, check it out and join for free. Be sure to invite your friends, share the news with others and help me in growing what is sure to be a wonderful magickal community.
Interested in sending your kids to summer school?
Jul 13th
Well, if you’re in the Grovetown, GA area you can send your kids to a Pagan summer school program during the week of July 26th to the 30th. And the price is certainly right since it’s FREE! No specific ages are listed but the activities listed range in skill and interest to where there seems to be something for everyone of all ages; circle casting, wand making, discussions on the Wheel of the Year and the Gods, and other magickal crafts are a few of the things listed in the posting on WitchVox. This is being taught by volunteers in the local Pagan community and between 9am and noon for the five days with a graduation ceremony on the last day. All registrations need to be in by July 21st and more volunteers are needed as well. If you’d like to get more details you can take a look at the listing located on WitchVox by clicking here, or you can contact Sherlin Levandoski by email.
A little about Litha and a Reading
Jun 21st
Happy Summer Solstice and Merry Litha! Today we honor and celebrate the height of the sun’s power. Today we take time to celebrate the triumph of the sun, the time when the Oak King reaches his peak and is then struck down by the Holly King who will rule the waning half of the year through winter. While today we see the year divided into four seasons, in ancient times many cultures, like that of the Celts, divided the year into two halves, summer and winter. The winter solstice marked the beginning of the winter and the summer solstice the beginner of summer. Today we often start to feel the hints of summer during mid-spring and it’s not uncommon for some places to feel as though summer has set in during the spring equinox or Ostara. This is the time of year that we see the lush green that sprung up several months ago during the equinox give way to fruit and flowers. While today most of us celebrate the solstice on the date when the event actually takes place, usually somewhere around June 21st, in some traditions there is a fixed date of June 25th which is honored and often called “Old Litha”. Litha is a favorable time to rededicate yourself to your path and the God and Goddess.
Litha is often a time when the faeries are honored and are thought to be particularly active. Bonfires are common during Litha and it’s thought that lighting bonfires in forests or on hilltops attract certain faeries to the fires and festivals. Leaving offerings of honey and cream at the edge of the fire for the faeries can keep them from causing any trouble or mischief and is thought to help create a connection between ourselves and the fae.
For Litha I thought we could do a short reading, a small glimpse with the help of the faeries through Brian & Wendy Froud’s The Heart of Faerie Oracle to see what the fae have to tell us for the coming half of the year.
The Faerie of Growth
The Lord of the Forest
The Elven Knight
Seeing The Faerie of Growth here is no wonder and no mystery. Even though the summer solstice signals the coming of the waning half of the year, there is still a wonderful and powerful period of growth ahead. Here the faeries remind you that staying stagnate for any length of time means that life is not expanding. Growth is necessary otherwise we die; stagnation is like death. As the summer months move on and we see the world around us growing we need to grow with it. It’s a good time to stop and take a moment to see what areas of our lives need growth and allow the warmth of the sun to empower our paths to welcome and foster that growth.
The Lord of the Forest is part of the embodiment of masculine energy in the faerie realm. He is the driving force of all that we are and all that we do. We all have a masculine side just as we all have a feminine side, but sometimes we forget these things and we need to be reminded so that we can really sense that energy within us. As the feminine side nurtures the masculine side impregnates and moves. Here the Lord of the Forest comes to remind us that our thoughts and dreams are good to have, as this is the feminine side doing it’s job, but we need to also let the masculine side come in and act on those dreams. As the Faerie of Growth tells us it’s time to start growing, moving and changing, the Lord of the Forest comes to help us take action.
Seeing The Elven Knight come in as well shows that we have come into a period of great opportunity and growth, more than we may even really realize. Much like the Lord of the Forest, the Elven Knight is a driving force. The Elven Knight is a guide, a leader, a driving force even stronger than the Lord of the Forest. He leads us to our destiny when we are ready to move and seek it out. Here we have the Knight letting us know that the way is clear and the path is open for us. It’s time to set our sights on accomplishing things that, in the past, we may have seen as impossible. Nothing is impossible when you have these faeries to guide you.
These are three very powerful faeries to have come together in a reading, and here in this reading, we see ourselves driven into a very powerful direction for growth and change as the summer season moves forward. This is going to be a great chance for change and for accomplishing things that we have held off on either out of fear or not being confident that we can reach our goals. Set your goals, ask the Faerie of Growth to guide you in where to go and the Lord of the Forest and the Elven Knight will be sure to keep you going and to drive you toward your goal and your destiny.
Have a wonderful and empowered summer season!
Burn, Baby! Burn! Small, safe, indoor ritual Fires
Jun 11th
One of my cauldron fires for Samhain.
When you’re an urban Pagan or Witch, or you’re someone that just doesn’t have the space outside to safely create ritual fires, you can sometimes feel like you’re missing out on getting to participate in some really great ritual experiences and spells. Certain Sabbats, like our upcoming Litha Sabbat here in the Northern Hemisphere, provide great opportunities for working with fire, but if you don’t have a place to do it or you don’t feel you can do it safely where you are, that can cause a little problem. Personally, I’ve never found the power of a plate of candles to be quite the same as that of an actually ritual fire, no matter how much energy or focus I put into it. Your experiences will certainly vary, but there are other options for those who, like me, would rather see the leaping flames of a ritual fire than just the soft dance of a candle for certain rituals and workings.
Cauldron fires can be a great, simple and safe way to bring the essence and energy of the ritual bonfire into your indoor workspace, or even to an outdoor space where an actual bonfire isn’t allowed, isn’t practical or isn’t safe. With a cauldron fire you are able to determine how big or how small you want your fire to be, how long you want it to burn, and even what sort of magickal energy you want to add to it by preparing it in specific ways. Creating cauldron fires is very inexpensive and allows for a safe indoor fire for petition magick, ritual bonfires, meditation and so much more!
What You Need:
- A Cauldron: This can be any size, but remember that the size of the cauldron will also determine the size of your fire. Small cauldrons used for incense burning are a great size option to have (these are usually 2-3 inches wide at the mouth) and the smaller sized cooking cauldrons used over campfires are a great general option as well for ritual and meditation (these have about a 6-7 inch mouth).
- A Cauldron Lid: Some cauldrons, like the incense cauldrons and the cooking cauldrons, often come with a lid. If you purchase a cauldron without a lid, have something on hand that is heat resistant and big enough to fit over the top of the cauldron; for example a cast iron pan or pot lid. This is so that if you need to put the fire out before it goes out on it’s own, you can do so safely. DO NOT pour water into the fire to put it out! This can cause splashing and can possibly cause leaping flames, hot derbies to fly out and, in general, make a big mess that could burn you or cause a fire. If you can’t get or find a lid, have a good one or two cups of dry sand available which you can pour over the fire if you need to.
- Rubbing Alcohol that is 70%-90% isopropyl alcohol: The higher the actual alcohol content the better your fire will burn and the less alcohol you’ll need to make your fire. Most rubbing alcohol is 70% so you usually shouldn’t have any trouble finding something in any drugstore or supermarket. You can also use grain alcohol if you have that on had, but personally I prefer using the rubbing alcohol. Try different things and find what works for you.
- Epsom Salts: These are also found in your local drugstore or supermarket, usually right near the rubbing alcohol and other over the counter medical supplies. This is used to create the base for your fire in the cauldron. Some people will use table salt or rock salt instead, and while you can use that, I wouldn’t recommend them as your first choice. Epsom salts absorb the heat and sustain the fire better in my experience, but in a real pinch you could use it if you had to. Epsom salts aren’t terribly expensive and you wont be using a ton of one bag will last you quite a while.
- Herbs: We’ll talk in a bit about creating special fire blends for special occasions but always have at least one herb that can be used as an offering to the fire at the end of your work. Sage, sweetgrass, cedar, or lavender work as great general herbs for offerings but you can also use an herb specific to either your working or any spirits or deities that you called on during your work. You only need one herb and you’ll only need a small handful of it. Other herbs for our fire brew will vary and we’ll discuss that in a moment.
- A Ceramic Tile, Trivet or Other Fire-proof Surface: This is going to go on top of your working surface. You want to use something designed to absorb heat and protect your table top. You can also take a large pot, bigger than your cauldron, fill it about half way with soil or sand and place the cauldron on top of that to absorb the heat. NEVER place your fire cauldron directly on any surface!! You run a high and very probable risk of burning and ruining your work surface and possibly starting a fire.
- Any Other Ritual or Spell Items: When working petition magick with your fire you’ll want to have slips of parchment and a pen; if you’re going to be making general fire offers of herbs, twigs or flowers you’ll want to have those on hand as well.
- Matches: Using matches that can just be tossed into the cauldron to light the fire rather than trying to use a lighter, even a long one, is far safer and will prevent any accidental burns or flying sparks. Small, pocket matches from a matchbook are perfect for this.
A Word Of Caution!!!
Remember that you are working with FIRE! Fire, both in the physical and energetic sense, can be very unpredictable. Just because you are creating a contained fire doesn’t mean that something can’t happen to cause a mishap! Make sure that you are working away from any hanging fabrics like curtains, tapestries on your walls or hanging objects like prayer flags. One spark catching on an updraft is enough to cause your own curtain panel to go up in flames so be sure you’re not near such things. If you’re working indoors try and work away from windows that could cause drafts and cause your fire to blow around. If you’re working outside with this, be sure that you’re working away from hanging tree limbs, flowers, vines and plants. It never hurts to have a fire extinguisher near by just in case! But don’t worry! A properly created and used cauldron fire is not any more dangerous than burning a candle, so use the same precautions that you would use with burning a tray of candles in your space. And again, ALWAYS have your cauldron on a heat proof surface.
Creating Your Cauldron Brew
A cauldron brew is simply an infusion of herbs in your alcohol that you’ll be using for your fire created before hand. You can make these in accord with magickal timing or, if you don’t have the time to do that, you can work with more mundane amounts of time such as 1-2 weeks or even just a few days if that’s all you have. If you wish to use magickal timing, depending on the purpose of your brew you can work from one moon cycle to the next such as full moon to full moon for a psychic power brew or new moon to new moon for a brew to help bring new beginnings. If you want to create a brew for banishing, create your blend during the period of the waning moon and so on. The idea is to charge and blend the brew with the energies of that moon phase and during the phase itself. This way, regardless of when you use it, it will hold the essence of that moon phase and it’s magickal energy, making it part of your intention and allowing you to draw on that no matter when you use it.
To make a cauldron brew you’ll need to first declare your intention. Then pick 3-6 herbs that you’d like to work with that support your intention. The amount of each herb you use will be up to you but a good palm sized amount for each herb makes a good measuring part (if you wish to use a 1/2 part of an herb just use half a palm full, etc). You’ll then want to take your herbs, charge each one separately, grind each one as finely as possible in a mortar and pestle, and then blend them together in a blow, charging them with your collective intent. This is very much the same process as creating magickal incense and, in a way, you’re creating a sort of incense that will be part of your fire. If you wish you can even safe a little of your herbal blend to use as an actual incense in your ritual or magickal work that you’ll be doing with the fire.
Next you’ll need a jar or bottle with an air tight lid, like a canning jar or a cleaned and sterilized used food jar. Place your herbal blend in the jar and fill about 3/4, or a little more, with alcohol leaving room for shaking the contents freely in the jar. Cap tightly. Determine how long you will be letting the brew steep for. Each day during that time take a few minutes to shake the jar, filling it with energy and intent. When you come to the end of your steeping cycle filter out the herbs with cheesecloth or a strainer and keep the brew in a clean, labeled jar. Labeling the jar is VERY important, especially if you plan to make more than one kind of brew because they will all look the same and possibly smell very similar making it hard to tell them apart. Your brews will likely last you a while too. A 2 cup jar of cauldron brew can very easily last 8-10 smallish fires.
Creating Your Fire
When you’re ready to do your fire ritual, gather together all your items. Place your fire on your tile or trivet and fill with 1/2 inch to 1 inch of Epsom salts. Next take your cauldron brew, or plain alcohol, and pour over the salts. This is where things can get tricky; you don’t want to put too much in or the fire will burn for what seems like an eternity, but if you don’t add enough it will go out very quick or wont catch well. I find that adding enough so that the top layer of the salts appear to be wet but no pools of alcohol are visible is best. You DO NOT want to pour in more after you light it!!! You may find you have to try this out a few times before you find the best about for your cauldron and your needs.
Now it’s time to light the fire! If you have any ritual steps that you’d like to do before lighting the fire, like calling on any specific spirits or deities, you can do that now; speak any prayers or invocations, intentions or chants that you wish before lighting your fire. Then simply light your match and toss it into the center of the cauldron and you should get a little bit of a poof sound and then a nice blue and gold flame. The fire will put off a lot of heat, so don’t be alarmed. You will notice though that, especially if you cleared out all the bits of herbs from your cauldron brew, that there is virtually no smoke which is nice for people that have problems with smoke from outdoor fires.
As you near the end of you work toss in your offering herb to the fire as a thank you for the fire spirit’s energy and aid in whatever work you have done.
If you complete your working, ritual or meditation before the fire burns itself out and you wish to put it out either place your cauldron lid over it or carefully pour dry sand over the top. The cauldron will be extremely hot so do not touch or move it for a few hours once the fire is out. If you let the fire burn down on it’s own you will likely be able to reuse the salts for at least one or two more fires. If you had to use sand to put it out you will need to dump out the salts and use new ones next time.
This is a great way to create a small ritual fire to honor specific Sabbats and Esbats and it also allows you to safely and easily bring in the magickal power of a bonfire right to you indoor altars. Always work with respect and reverence for the fire and use practical safety precautions and you will find this to be a great addition to your rituals.
Creating a Goddess Box
Jun 5th
In our angel message for today we had received the card God Box from Doreen Virtue’s Angel Therapy Oracle deck. In it we talked about creating a vessel for giving up your needs, worries and prayers to the Divine. I have used this method for the last few years and put together a wonderful Goddess Box and have since created a method of making one. Here is for you to use as well to create your own Goddess or God Box for the use of working along side the Divine in working to release things that are no longer serving your highest good and for working to bring those things that you most desire into your life.
For centuries in various cultures the use of prayer boxes, often in the form of jewelry, has become an honored tradition. The use of community prayer boxes is a well known tradition in the Catholic and Christian faith where people of a congregation are able to write out their need for prayer and add it to a box which either a few individuals or a whole prayer circle will work on for those in need. We can create a variation of the prayer box to fit our needs, either as individuals or for covens or circles. You can call it a prayer box, petition box, or as I’ve always called it, a Goddess box. It depends on a few variations of how you craft it and your intentions when crafting it. As I share this process with you, if you decide to work with this, make the changes that you feel you need to for your own beliefs and traditions. I will be addressing this from the perspective of working specifically with the Goddess, so if you wish to work more with the God or just the Universal energy, you can make those changes.
A Goddess box is a physical box, one crafted with intent, designed to be a place to drop written prayer petitions. Petition magick, as we’ve talked about previously, is a wonderful way to work simple spells of intention, and the Goddess box becomes an aid to petition magick, as you’ll see through the process. So we’re going to start with talking about crafting a Goddess box.
You’ll need a few items to get your started:
- A plain wooden craft box. These are available at arts and crafts stores all over or you can use an old cigar box, an old jewelry box, or anything of the sort. We’re going to be completely changing it’s appearance so be sure that whatever it is you wont mind stripping it down, painting it, etc.
- Paints, markers, and related supplies. We’ll talk about colors in a moment.
- Stickers, stamps and craft paper.
- A piece of parchment or other paper. Pick something that you find visually appealing but something that you will be able to write on where the writing will stand out.
- A small sachet of offering herbs. We’ll talk about this in a moment.
- An image of a Goddess. If you’re working with a God, than an image of whatever God you wish, or other spirit or entity that you wish to call on to work with you. This can be an animal spirit guide that you pray and meditate with, or even an otherworld entity that you work with in this way. The idea here is that whomever you dedicate this box to is someone that you have worked with before, either in prayer, meditation or magick, who you are completely comfortable in going to with requests for help and aid.
- A stone or crystal. Again, we’ll talk about that in a moment.
- A small stack of slips of parchment or other paper and a pen.
First let’s talk about our intentions. The purpose of this box is to create a place to hand over certain problems, cares and needs to either a specific Goddess, God or spirit ally that you are confident and comfortable in working with through prayer, meditation and petition work. What you’ll be doing with your box is writing down your needs and placing the slip of paper within, along with speaking words of prayer and offering, to your chosen deity or spirit, asking them to help you find a way to resolve your problem. What we’re doing here is asking for a door to be open, a way to be shown, and in a sense laying our problem in the lap of the Goddess and asking for her guidance in gaining a solution that may be eluding us.
Keep this in mind while crafting your box and also keep it in mind when deciding who, if anyone specific, you wish to dedicate your box to. Consider this intention when picking out your colors and images for the box as well as when picking out the stones and herbs for the small offerings that we’ll be keeping within the box.
Creating an offering sachet – This is a simple step in the process of making the box and one you can either do first or last, it’s up to you. Gather together either a white spell bag or a small swatch of white cloth and white string or ribbon for tying it close. Pick two or three herbs that you can place inside that are used for offerings or that have the properties of thanksgiving. A few suggestions include tobacco, blue corn, desert or white sage, copal, cedar, or lavender. If you’re going to be working with a specific deity or entity that you know prefers something specific, then use that in your bag.
Fill the bag with the herbs and tie it closed. Hold it in your hands for a few moments, directing white light and your intentions of blessings and thanksgiving into the bag. When you feel that the bag is full with energy, you can set it aside. It will be going into the box when it is completed so keep it in a safe place in the meantime, like your altar.
Picking stones - Again, keeping in mind your intentions and the purpose of the box, we want to pick a stone to keep inside that is associated with something such as prayer, meditation or even directly problem solving. The way that I personally work with the stone is that I place it on top of the petition slip when I place it inside the box. You can do this if you feel so drawn to, or you can just leave the stone in the box as an aid to the work being done. A few suggestions for stones to use include quartz (clear or rose), danburite, fluorite, amethyst, or lapis lazuli. Take your time in picking a stone and really decide what energy you want the stone to add to the box. For example with the lapis you can call on its properties of truth and awareness to aid you in seeing the truth in a situation and clearing seeing the solution, where as you can use the powers of transformation and intuition held in danburite to help your prayer needs.
Once you have picked out a stone and acquired it, properly cleanse and charge it with your specific intention and then place it on your altar with your sachet until it is time to add it to your box.
Crafting the box – This is the part where you get to really be creative. You do not need to be a great artist to do this; this is part of why we have stickers and printed images to help us. If your box you’re working with is something that is going to be recycled from a previous incarnation, take the time to do any stripping of paint or finish that you may need to. Some things you can paint right over, but if you have something that has a shiny or varnished finish, you’ll need to strip it first otherwise your paint will either not hold at all or will chip quite easily.
Take some time to pick out colors that either reflect on you or your ally you’ll be dedicating the box to. You can use colors appropriate to specific deities, use the colors of the elements, or just use some off your personal power colors. Paint the box in whatever way you personally desire. There is no right or wrong way to do this, so be creative. Paint the inside as well, either using a solid color or do something that you might find personally magickal and empowering, like painting sigils and symbols inside it to protect and empower your work.
Allow the pain to dry overnight before moving on to adding any stickers, paper or printed images. Depending on the type of paint and the surface of the box you may wish to add extra glue to stickers since the adhesive may not hold. Add a picture of your chosen deity or ally to the top of the box and embellish as you see fit. A written dedication will be going on the inside of the box top, so you don’t need to add anything like that on the outside unless you wish to.
When you are done, set the box aside and again give it at least overnight to ensure all glues and adhesives have dried.
Writing your dedication – On a piece of parchment paper, in your own handwriting, you are going to create a dedication that will be placed on the inside cover of the box. This can be a prayer, chant or blessing that you will recite each time you place something in the box. The following is a modification of what I have inside my Goddess box. You will want to modify this to fit your specific box. Write out your drafts and get your wording as you want it on notebook paper first and when you have settled on what you wish to say, write it on a piece of parchment cut to fit the inside lid of your box.
I dedicate this, my Goddess box, to the Lady of love, mercy and healing. Whatever I place inside this box I place at the feet of the Goddess. I ask the Goddess to nurture my needs and take care of me in my time of struggle. Within this box I place my hopes and fears, my dreams and anxieties. When I close the lid I know that they are now in the hands of the Goddess and she will guide me and show me what to do next. With this box I put trust in my inner knowing and in the Goddess. With this box, I foster a connection to the Goddess within and without. So mote it be!
Once the paper is dry, do any additional decorative steps you wish with it (e.g. aging the edges) and then firmly glue into the lid of the box.
Dedicate your box – For this next step you may wish to wait for the full moon or you can do it any time you wish. Gather together your box, slips of parchment and pen (these items will be kept inside the box at all times for easy and quick access), your crystal and your sachet. Bring them into sacred space and lay them out on your altar or work space. If there is a specific deity that you will dedicate the box to, evoke them into your space letting them know you are dedicating this special magickal prayer object to them and you wish for their blessings up it. You may wish to smudge the box with sage or cleanse it with all the elements and present it to the four directions as well to ask for their blessings as well.
Once you have presented the box to the deity/ally it may be dedicated to, or to the archetypal God/Goddess aspect, add your sachet, presenting it as well with words of intention, and then add the stone, again with words of intention. Add in your paper slips and pen.
Where to keep your box – You can keep your box anywhere that you wish, but try for a place where it will be out of reach of children and pets and where it will also be out of reach or sight from prying hands and eyes. This can be a great items for those of you that may need to keep your items somewhat hidden because of issues with family or roommates and it can easily blend in with other trinkets, decorations or jewelry boxes depending on how you have chosen to adorn it. You can always just keep it on a corner of your altar if you wish.
Working with your box - If you have a specific need right now, take a slip of paper and write it out. Hold it in your hands, sending your intentions, desires, hopes and worries into the paper. Recite your dedication/prayer for help to your ally. Place the paper in the box and then pick up your sachet. Hold it for a moment and draw on some of the energy of offering and thanks from it and then direct that energy to your ally, then return the sachet to the box. Close the box and leave it in it’s special place.
Once a solution to your need has been found, or things have worked themselves out, say a thank you to your ally and either send energy from your offering sachet again or leave another appropriate offering on your altar or at the box. Take your slip of paper from the box and, using a fire-proof container or cauldron, again say thank you, solidifying that your ally helped you and that you are thankful, and light the paper. Toss it into the container, allow it to burn down to ash, and then toss to the winds knowing that your problem is solved, resolved and gone from you.
Maintenance of the box – This box will become a living magickal tool for you if you use it regularly. You will want to recleanse and recharge the crystal periodically and you’ll also want to replace the herbs from time to time as well. When you do this, allow this to also be a time to change these items as well. If you want to try a different stone, do it then or use different herbs in your sachet. Listen to your intuition or even ask your God/Goddess/spirit ally what they would like.
This is a wonderful and simple tool to work with and one that you can really personalize to express your love of your specific patron deities or your closest of magickal allies. Make it more than just a place to put your problems, but an expression of your dedication to your path and the change that you desire to see in your life when you work with it.
Here are a few pictures of my own box from when it was originally crafted several years ago.
The top of the box.
The inside.
The Witchcraft Acts: A June 1st History Moment
Jun 1st
The practice of Witchcraft in England has had a very long history of laws and penalties for those who have participated in the acts of magick, consulted with the spirits, or even those who consulted with those who claimed to be Witches or who claimed to have the power to contact the spirit world. One of those most famous acts, which was also one of the most important in the history of Witchcraft in England, came into action on June 1, 1563.
While the first act of British Parliament to try and stop others from practicing the “forbidden arts” took place in 1401, an act that made Witchcraft a heresy against the church and the government, it was the Witchcraft Act of 1563 that made the “crime” of Witchcraft punishable by death. This is considered the most famous and notorious of the Witchcraft Acts in England and was passed in the early stages of the reign of Elizabeth I. The law stated that anyone who would “use, practice, or exercise any Witchcraft, enchantment, charm or sorcery, whereby any person shall happen to be killed or destroyed” would be found guilty of a felony crime against the kingdom and would be sentenced to death without the benefit of clergy. This was particularly important to the people of the day because this would mean they would not be given a chance to confess and be absolved of any sins and they would not have any last rites given to them.
In 1604 James I, who was Elizabeth’s successor, actually broadened the law to include that anyone who invoked or communed with spirits would also be found guilty and sentenced to death would go to their death without the benefit of clergy.
On of the things that many people misunderstand about those found guilty is the idea that they were all burned at the stake. The changes in the laws made by Elizabeth and James made Witchcraft a felony which brought them before common law courts, and the act was no longer considered one of heresy. In the Act of 1401, because of the ties to heresy against the country of England, those accused were tied before a tribunal and, when found guilty, burned at the stake, as this was the method of execution for those that committed crimes against the kingdom and country. By making the law a felony and not heresy that changed; those accused were now afforded the “luxuries” of common law detention compared to those held by the tribunal courts. Burning at the stake was all but eliminated during Elizabeth and James’s reigns with the exception of acts of treason. Instead, those found guilty of Witchcraft would not be hanged rather than burned.
Another misconception is that the laws against Witchcraft remained firmly in place and untouched between 1563 and 1951 when the acts were greatly changed making the way for Wicca and Gerald Gardner to reach the masses. As we can see from the actions and changes taken by James I in 1604 we know this to be untrue, but in 1736 George II also came along to make a change that would help largely change how Witchcraft was treated legally. Under George II, the Witchcraft Act was changed to state that anyone who pretended to have powers that allowed them to call up spirits to commune with and do their bidding, anyone who claimed to have the power to foretell the future, and anyone who claimed to be able to cast spells would be punished as a con artist and subject to fines and prison time. With George II’s changes to the Witchcraft Act, as of 1736 Witchcraft was no longer an act that was punishable by death.
The last known person to be punished under the 1736 act was Helen Duncan who, in 1944, was sentenced to prison where she remained for nine months after authorities became fearful that she would be able to use her supposed clairvoyant powers to work against the government during their preparations for D-Day. Before her death she was arrested again in 1956 under the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951, the act which would replace all other anti-Witchcraft laws and acts that made Witchcraft illegal.
The act of 1951, which was taken into action in England and Wales, prohibited psychics, mediums and spiritualist from claiming to have special powers and abilities for the purpose of taking money through the act of deception from the public. This is the act that spawned the ever popular phrase used by psychics , “for entertainment purposes only”. This act was actually repealed in May 2008 under schedule 4 of the Consumer Protection and Unfair Trade Regulations in the UK.
So today we mark the beginning of a long history of often false accusations and wrongful deaths in the the UK. We honor and acknowledge the loss and sacrifice for all those who died wrongly in order for those in the UK who practice Witchcraft and spiritualism to be able to do so without fear of death and other hash punishments.
The Power of Words
May 1st
Most of us know that words hold power. A single word in a conversation with someone can change everything about how we feel about that person, how we perceive ourselves or how we handle a situation. Most of us would agree that picking and choosing words carefully, especially in emotional situations with another person, is a key component to how we manage our relationships. But one surprising place that many people aren’t always as careful is in sacred space using words in magick, spells and ritual. This, above all other times, should be a place where picking our words and the kinds of words we wish to use should be of extreme importance.
The use of words in ritual and the power they hold are reflected in the Hermetic Principle of Vibration which tells us that nothing rests, everything moves and everything vibrates. Our words and the energy we place within them vibrates on this plane and in the astral plane and helps to create the change we seek through working with magick. However when we use words who’s vibrations might not truly be ones that we wish to put out into the Universe, we are only detracting from our work. Sometimes the words, and the combination of words, may look good on paper and sound good when spoken, but does their true essence, their vibration, honestly reflect what we desire?
Many people when they first come to the Craft want to jump into spells and ritual right away. It’s the “fun part” of being a Witch and it’s the thing that often draws people to this path in the first place. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the problem often comes from the approach that some which is held in the idea that these words written by someone else are the key, not fully understanding that it’s the intention and the vibration behind the words that are the real key.
I often find that in talking to people new to magick they are intent on gathering as many spell books, online spell collections and ritual collections as possible and then they just start working with spells as they are written by other people without really thinking of this power of words. This is one of the reasons that, personally, I advise against starting right off with spells, especially ones taken straight from the mouths of other Witches and magickal practitioners. Do you truly know the intent behind the words that someone else has written? Do you understand the meanings of all the words used? Do you know how to correctly say the words used? And what about the Gods or Goddesses mentioned? Do you even know who they are nevermind being able to say their names? Because the answer is often “no” to many of these questions people find little to now success in their magickal work and then become discouraged. Many then decide that Witchcraft isn’t real or doesn’t work while a small few decide that they might need to do more work, more study, and then return to magick. These end up being the “cream of the crop”, so to speak, and often become life long magickal practitioners who take up a serious study of magick and the occult.
Some might say that this shouldn’t matter; it shouldn’t matter where the words come from and that it’s the intention behind the words as they are spoken that matter. And to a point, that’s very true. But if you don’t stop to think about what’s being said, if you’re just saying it without taking the time to consider what you’re really saying and really putting your own intention behind it, then you run the risk of putting something out there you didn’t intend and instead taking on the intentions of the original author. And honestly, when it comes to working with the Gods, if you are calling on a God or Goddess that you haven’t taken the time to develop a proper relationship with before asking for their help, if you can’t take the time to learn how their name is properly pronounced, who they are and what they like for offerings (and then bringing that into your work), then you shouldn’t be surprised when you don’t feel they have answered your call for help.
While it is always best to write your own spells, this obviously isn’t something that every practitioner is able to do, depending on their experience with spellwork. If that’s the case then you might want to consider either holding off on spellwork until you have more experience through study and understanding of things like the Magickal Laws and Hermetic Principles, or at the very least take care to truly study and understand the spell you pulled from a book or website before casting it. Be sure you’re intention is always behind the words that you use. And never, ever feel as though you can’t modify a spell you find a book or on a website. None of these things are holy writ. If something doesn’t make sense to you take the time to find ways to rework it. This is how most people start out with learning how to write and construct their own spells, just by the simple act of learning how to modify the spells they find by other people.
Taking the time to choose your own words, taking the time to study the Gods and Goddesses found in the rituals who you don’t have existing relationships with, and having true intent behind your words used in sacred space for the purpose of creating change will help you to send vibrations out into the Universe and the astral plane that will bring you what you truly desire.
Perfect Love and Perfect Trust…or Grace
Apr 13th
In Wicca we talk a lot about “perfect love and perfect trust” (PLPT), a concept that is often misunderstood, at least in my opinion, by many people who speak of it like they do. In The Wiccan Rede, when it was first published in 1975 by Lady Gwen Thomson, we see the line “Bide the Wiccan Laws ye must, In perfect love and perfect trust”. It was a concept that was somewhat vague, but eventually came to be understood as the concept of acceptance and safety within a coven; it lends to the idea that within your circle you should feel safe to share whatever parts of you that you feel you need to share and that you should be working magick with people whom you hold deep trust in. As a concept within a coven, this is an idea that makes sense, however it is outside the coven setting, used within the general Wiccan and Pagan community, where this phrase and concept seem to have become somewhat misused and misunderstood. Some Wiccans and Pagans tend to have this idea that PLPT means never opposing another spiritual brother or sister, that we must sometimes come to a point of rolling over and letting things just fall where they may because if we do or say anything to push back at a fellow Pagan’s thoughts or opinions we are somehow violating PLPT. There is also the notion that PLPT means always loving and always trusting those in the Craft as though you should never feel the need to hold them to the standards that you might hold others in your life up to. I personally feel that the words themselves “perfect love and perfect trust”, not necessarily the concept, are more the issue and give a somewhat skewed impression. To me PLPT is about grace.
What of the words “perfect” and “love”. Perfect is a truly difficult and unattainable thing. What is perfect for one person is not necessarily perfect for another. When you look at the definition for the word “perfect” on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, there are 8 different entries with a number of sub-entries for each. The first definition states that “perfect” means:
1 a : being entirely without fault or defect : flawless b : satisfying all requirements : accurate c : corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept d : faithfully reproducing the original; specifically : letter-perfect e : legally valid
Right away we’re confronted with the idea of being without flaw. Who is truly ever flawless? What is flawless? What might be a flaw to one person is an asset to another. In the second part there is the idea of satisfying all requirements; but who determines these requirements and what are the criteria for meeting them. And what is the ideal standard that needs to be upheld and where and how was that standard determined? I think you can see where “perfect” itself becomes flawed and creates quite the tall order and while also being subjective.
In practical terms, the “perfect” Sunday for someone might be going out with friends to a sports bar, watching a football game while sharing a plate of buffalo wings and a pitcher of beer. For me, this would be as far from perfect as you can get since I hate football and I’m a vegetarian (I’ll have the beer though). Instead my idea of a “perfect” Sunday would be wading through a used bookstore, but for someone that isn’t a reader and doesn’t like old books, that would be a sort of torture for them. So again, “perfect” is subjective.
But what about “love”? Again we visit Merriam-Webster and find that “love” has 9 entries as well, but in the first entry it is defined as:
1 a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests b : an assurance of love
So “love” can be anything from feeling a strong connection to another person or thing, to a sexual attraction, to just common interest. It is a quite a widespread definition and we would find that levels of love would vary based on the subject matter. But, dictionary definitions aside, what is love truly? Love is acceptance; it’s accepting someone or something, flaws and all. Finding a true connection in that way is almost as difficult as attaining perfection because it’s just as demanding.
With these things in mind, thinking about “perfect love”, we come up to some difficult things to consider. What makes the love we have for someone perfect and how do we honor that? Should we say then that “perfect love” is accepting someone, flaws and all, as being flawless? Do you then say “your flaws mean nothing and therefore you’re flawless in my eyes because I love you or feel a connection to you”? Does this mean then that if someone has a flaw that hurts us that we should be accepting of it without question because we have framed them within the concept of “perfect” love?
Since “perfect” involves someone or something being flawless but “love” is really the acceptance of someone or something, flaws and all, could you say that the two almost cancel each other out?
Consider “trust”; Merriam-Webster has a 5 different entries here, but in the first defines “trust” as:
1 a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b : one in which confidence is placed
So here we could then say that to look for “perfect trust” in someone means to find flawless reliance on them as people. And who can we say we have always, without question, even on their best days, found that from? No matter how much you love your closest of friends or family or covenmates, even the ones that you think you can rely on the most have, at some point, not been reliable or strong in the way you have needed.
All of these failings are just human nature! Just because someone isn’t perfect, isn’t always lovable, or isn’t always trustworthy doesn’t make them a bad person, it just make them human. To expect perfection at all turns could almost be a way of setting yourself up for disappointment and for setting up others for failure because of their inability to meet these ideals.
But truly, that’s what PLPT is, an ideal. It’s also something that’s quite subjective, as we’ve seen, and what one might accept as “perfect love” might be anything but that to another. Being in the Craft without those orthodox, laid out standards it’s hard to say what truly and honestly is “perfect love and perfect trust”.
This is why, to me, I feel that this is a nice phrasing for something else; the concept of grace. Again let’s look at a Merriam-Webster definition. “Grace” is defined with 8 entries and in the first one we get the definition of:
1 a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b : a virtue coming from God c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
This makes me think of one of the spiritual aspects that we talk about in the Craft, that idea of recognizing the divine within each other. We are giving a sense of divine grace or divine virtue from the Goddess and we talk about recognizing the divine in each other, often we even hear this as being part of what we’re trying to recognize through this idea of “perfect love and perfect trust”. Another aspect of grace is approval and mercy. When we are coming from a state of grace we learn to step back a bit from where we are and allow from for others to come to us with their ideas, their suggestions and needs while allowing our own needs to be set aside, letting their voices be heard loud and clear. This is way to recognizance that they too have that divine spark and that their ideas, their suggestions and their needs are just as valid as yours. You are under no obligation to agree with them, you are under no obligation to oblige them their requests, all you need to do is let them be heard, listen from the heart, and then work with them from a place of diplomacy. There is no impossible standard to hold them up to and no need to feel disappointed when they fall short of perfection. You allowed them a moment of grace and you gave yourself a moment to be graceful which can truly create a state of satisfaction because you let this happen through your own divine grace.
Grace is not any easier than PLPT but it’s more attainable. Grace just means letting each person speak their truth, knowing that the Goddess knows the real truth, even if nobody else does and nobody else listens. Everyone has their perfect truth that is their own and through grace we let them say their peace and we let the Goddess and the Universe work out the rest. Grace is about faith and trust and love, but it’s not about perfection.
Witch Vow
Apr 7th
Witch Vow
By Dr. Leo Louis MartelloHear me, help me, Holy One,
My Witch life has just begun.
I dedicate myself to Thee;
My faith shall be fierce and free.Make me worthy, make me wise,
Liberate me from all lies.
Guide me in thy Goddess light,
Illuminate each dark night.I light the candle, I taste the wine,
I purify the air with incense fine.
I make the pentagram with my knife,
I declare my witchhood with my life.I offer myself in naked truth.
Grant me wisdom and the joy of youth.
Upon thy altar my soul is bare,
I leave myself in thy loving care.
Meditaiton Project: Your Suggestions?
Apr 1st
Recently while going through some old Book of Shadows material this week I decided to start working on putting together a collection of some of my meditations that I’ve written over the years. Meditation writing is one of my absolute favorite parts of working on ritual writing and thought it would be great to put together a collection of them for a book project. I’m going to be writing some new ones because while making an outline of what I’d want to see in a book like that and I was missing some of these kinds of meditations. So since I’m going to be working on some new ones, I thought I’d ask if there are any times of meditations that you’d like to see in a collection. Are there certain Gods or Goddesses you’d like to see meditations with? Are there certain techniques in meditation you’d like to see worked with? What about meditations for spells and magick? I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions, so feel free to comment here on the post and let me know what you’d like to see!
