Category: Spell Work
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Focus in the Dark
On Samhain (October 31) each year, a practice our group adds to our ritual is that we go into the dark earth labyrinth where a large mirror is propped on a table. In candlelight, we look into the Mirror of Truth and then pull a Tarot card from the table where they are spread in front of the mirror. This card tells us what our focus should be in the coming dark of the year when introspection and insight are key.
This year, I almost forgot to pick a card. Just before we went into the labyrinth, I enacted an intense magical component of the ritual when the Crone parts the veil between the worlds, which we traditionally do before going into the labyrinth. As I was about to do it, I stepped in the Mayhole. In the darkness, which seemed so much darker than other years, I did not even see it. It is at least 6-8″ deep and lined with rocks. I stepped in and pitched forward in nearly a face plant.
The result was that I tore the end off of my toe (wearing sandals), scraped and bruised my shin so it is now pretty colors, and wrenched my hip and knee and apparently, every body part in between the two. I felt myself wanting to cave. My whole premise of late has been to take care of myself first and others after. Shifting out of the Mothering phase I was in since I was ten-years-old has been quite a challenge for me. Now, going into the Crone phase, I am long past overdue to let that part of myself slip into the shadows. It was like someone who keeps trying to leave military service, but gets pulled back in for one more tour of duty. Necessity always demanded.
I thought about going inside, piling onto the couch and crying. I knew Eric would finish up the ritual just fine on his own. I thought about just not going into the labyrinth and waiting in the circle for everyone to return. My shoe was filling up with blood and the bottom of my dress was wet either from blood or the water that was still in the Mayhole from the previous day’s rain. Samhain only comes once a year and as much as anyone, I was ready for my time of rest. Ultimately, I wanted to embrace the dark of the year fully, so I completed the ritual. When everyone had left, Eric asked me what card I pulled and I realized I’d neglected to do so. I debated whether to get one or not, then picked up a flashlight and made my way into the labyrinth alone.
The labyrinth is a beautiful and sacred place, but it is also spooky at night, especially in front of a massive mirror with only a flashlight. I pulled my card and found it an interesting juxtapose with Eric’s.
He pulled Death, which means tremendous change. I cringed when I saw it because, to be honest, this was a very tough year. I was called upon to dig deep and find strength I didn’t know I had patience I did not ever think I could muster. I am tired. More change sounds exhausting to me.I pulled the 4 of Wands, which means stability, a happy harvest, and the successful end to hard work. It was quite a relief. Apparently, the change will primarily involve Eric and I will somehow be protected from the impact, at least in a negative way.
I am eager to see how this all manifests in the dark of the year, which runs until March 21 when we plant again. Until then, there will be a great deal of careful consideration about what to manifest in the coming year and a lot of exploring of dark corners to learn more about myself.
I also plan to rest, restore, regroup, and rejuvenate. I need to revamp my way of being in the world. The greatest gift of the past year was finding out exactly who I am meant to be. That was always in such turmoil before between satisfying what others wanted me to be and trying to honor my own destiny and even to know what that might be. This year left no further mystery as to how I am to best manifest The Goddess in this life and how I should best invest my energy on a daily basis and ultimately. Until further notice, I am giving those objectives my best effort.
I learned a great deal and I am eager for the repose of the dark. Right now, the rain California so desperately needs is pouring down and with the time change, it is dark, dark, dark. I can feel Autumn all around and I have put a major project (Aster of Avalon) to bed after a year and a half of working on it. Two more projects are waiting to begin after a brief time out from writing. Stephen King might recommend writing every single day, but I have to step away from it now and then to recalibrate my control panel.
Last Thursday, a tickle in my throat turned into a full scale head cold. I am never, ever ill, so when it does happen every few years that something hits me, I take it as my cue to slow down and rest, giving my body a chance to heal. I managed to get through the weekend of working at the shop with the entire right side of my body feeling sore and broken from the fall and my cold holding court in my head. Today, I cleaned house from our event on Friday and did some busy work, but the rest of the week, with the exception of a trip to town on Wednesday to meet with the homeschool teacher, is dedicated to recovery.
I hope all of you are welcoming the dark with open arms, ready to embrace the wisdom that is there for you.
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High Emotion Magic: Bonus or Bad News?
Emotion is what fuels magical practice because spell work begins with what you want to have happen. If you cannot feel, then you cannot want and feeling is emotion. All intense emotion is high energy and you can, with rational thought and careful planning, direct all the intensity of that energy toward your goal. Passion will spike energy right off the meter, whether that passion comes from lust, anger, fear, or exultation. High emotion of all kinds: love, fear, sadness, anger, frustration, etc, can fuel your magical energy like a stoked furnace. But should you? (more…)
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10 Spells For Money and Prosperity
photo from https://www.flickr.com/photos/koiquest10/8287469574
Most people find themselves in circumstances from time to time where a little more money is needed. Here are some quick and reliable spells, all personally vetted for effectiveness by the author, for upping the level of financial prosperity in your life and/or generating quick funds from sources expected and unexpected. (more…)
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ABCs of Magic
In today’s blog post, we are going to put the old Crone Witch of more than three decades of practice to the test. Let’s run through a minimum of twenty-six quick spells and tips, one for each letter of the alphabet. Consider it a lightning round. (more…)
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Weather Witchery: The Power of Rain
There is little doubt that rain is essential to life. Without it, life would not exist on planet earth. In times of drought, not only do we suffer economically and ecologically, but we also suffer emotionally and spiritually. Most people require a healthy balance of water to dry in order to thrive. Since our bodies are composed of a high percentage of water, we naturally relate to the humidity and water around us. Many people, even those who do not swim, are drawn to the water and enjoy standing in the ocean or in a river, just to participate in the kinship that exists between humans and water. (more…)
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It’s Knot Magic (Yes, It Is)
In my experience, one of the greatest magical focus tools of all time is the rosary. The intense concentration one can generate by praying the rosary is very nearly unparalleled across spiritual dividing lines. In Paganism, we have our own form of praying the rosary that is slightly different, but accomplishes the same goal. “Knot Magic” is a very effective form of focused magic similar to praying the rosary, except that one instills their own intent into each “bead,” which is actually a knot. Here is how to do it: (more…)
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Breath of the Dragon
An up and coming, fast-track, newbie Pagan I know recently referred to feng shui as “fluffy bunny magic.” I stared in amazement because, gentle reader, if taking the energy movement in your home seriously is fluffy bunny magic, then it is the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Little is more vital to your day-to-day magic than the energy flow you cultivate in your own spiritual sanctuary. (more…)
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A Different Kind of Spring Cleaning
During this time of Spring Cleaning and the purging, it is important not to overlook home cleaning of a different kind. Just as we track in dirt on our shoes and hands, so do we bring in psychic debris from our ventures into the outside world. “Smudging” is the act of using the smoke from an herb to cleanse away negativity and is an important part of self-care. (more…)
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Managing Psychic Attack
In Monday’s blog, we talked about symptoms of psychic attack and these may come from intentional malice or inadvertent ill will (like pouting and wallowing in anger). In this post, we discuss how to work with psychic attack without incurring karmic backlash. (more…)
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Identifying Psychic Attack
In Monday’s blog, we talked about the feasibility of working magic toward a positive outcome using the food we prepare. In this posting, we will discuss the nuts and bolts of how to do it. When working magic through food, there are two categorizations to consider. (more…)
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Food and Energy – Part 2
In Monday’s blog, we talked about the feasibility of working magic toward a positive outcome using the food we prepare. In this posting, we will discuss the nuts and bolts of how to do it. When working magic through food, there are two categorizations to consider. (more…)
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Food and Energy – Part 1
Creating a particular outcome through the use of food is a practice as old as eating itself. It is less about ideas such as “Apricots will make you flirty” and “Eating bananas will draw in a lover” and more about the way energy operates in the world around us. Where there is energy, there is magic. (more…)
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An Ostara Blessing
To the seasons of life and beginnings
To the egg, the bud, and the seed
To a successful harvest yet to come
And the meeting of every need
Ita fiat!
To all earth’s beings great and small
To promise of blessings to be
We lift our cup in sacred praise
And honor results we can’t yet see.
Ita fiat!
We plant our seeds; they germinate
In our hearts and in our minds
They manifest in reality
And The Gods respond in kind.
Ita fiat!
Our seeds prosper and grow to greatest good
With the care and love we give
With the blessings of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air
A better life to live!
Ita fiat!
We ask the Ancient Ones of old
The Lord and Lady of the Field
To bless our harvest in this seed
The best results to yield.
Ita fiat!
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On the CUSP
Eighteen years ago, my priest/husband/co-author and I outlined a spiritual path that got to the bare bones of the agricultural sabbat cycle and created a plan for positive life change through magical manifestation. What was born of those long nights of drinking, writing, drinking, researching, drinking, and plotting was CUSP (Climbing Up the Spiral Pathway). Little did we realize that it would turn into a practice used worldwide and by practitioners of many faiths. It influences our lives daily. (more…)
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Simplifying Magical Ethics (Part 2)
Thursday’s blog post discussed ethical considerations such as the power of intent and working for others without their permission. Today, we move further into the subject, beginning with Karma and Three-Fold Law…
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Simplifying Magical Ethics (Part 1)
There is much to say about magical ethics, especially when you consider the variances from tradition to tradition and spiritual path to spiritual path. A person’s head could explode trying to keep track of what candle to put out first or which way to walk in circle without courting disaster. (more…)
