BASIC SPELL CONSTRUCTION
The basics are the same for both “Blessings” and “Curses”. It is the desired outcome and motive that is different. So given this, the beginnings of both sections are the same, it is in the actual working and spell that you will find the differences. Remember, the Law of the Universe, it still will apply!
Because of the very nature of Magick, each working should be highly individualized and personal. Even if following a traditional spell, it should be tailored to your specific needs to be most effective for you. Understanding the basics of Spell Construction will enable you to formulate your own specific, effective spells for any purpose you desire.
Preliminary planning is necessary. The very first step is to decide precisely what your desired end result is to be. Before you can start, you must decide where you are going. You must be very explicit.
It is important, also, that you choose your time carefully. You should take into consideration all Astrological implications, energy currents and Moon phases.
The Moon is the astronomical body closest to us and, therefore, has a profound influence upon us, it is very important to choose a time when the Moon is in an astrological sign which is appropriate for your working. For example:
Aries/Action - Enthusiasm
Taurus/ Renewal - Sensuality
Gemini/Communication – Curiosity
Cancer/ Emotion - Nurturing
Leo/Vitality - Determined
Virgo/Organizing - Studious
Libra/Balance - Cooperation
Scorpio/Sexual - Philosophical
Capricorn/Authority - Ambitious
Aquarius/Innovation - Social
Pisces/Sensitivity - Idealistic
Bear in mind that magickal working for gain, increase or bringing things to you, should be initiated when the Moon is Waxing (from Dark to Full); when the Moon is Waning (from Full to Dark), it is time for magickal workings of decrease or sending away.
The highest energy occurs at the Full Moon and, therefore, this is the most powerful time for magickal workings. The New Moon is the next most powerful time for Magick.
Whenever possible, follow Nature's natural Energy Currents. There is a natural time for starting things (a planting time), for maturing things (a growing time), for reaping things (a harvest time) and, of course, a time for rest and planning. Flowing with these currents will make your magickal work much easier. Remember to plan your project for a time of uninterrupted privacy. It is important that you have no distractions. Generally speaking, it is best to work as late at night as possible. A time when there is less frantic energy is most appropriate. You might consider Midnight or later.
In choosing a place to do your magickal working pay particular attention to your needs, for you must be comfortable. Your place should be private, quiet and secure. If at all possible, set aside a special place for this purpose only. An unused room, a special corner of your bedroom, a quiet, secluded spot in your garden. A private place that is yours alone. A place that you can come to whenever need arises and that is as free from intrusion of others as possible.
Prior to the night of your magickal working, gather together the items you will need. All of the things used are tools. They have no inherent magick. They are to help you create a mood. If correctly made and used, they will trigger primitive responses from deep within you. They should be chosen with care. Consider the purpose of your ritual and choose your tools accordingly. If your magick is to be sexual, your candles, oils, incenses and so forth, should bring forth a sexual response. If the desired result of your Magick is Tranquility, then the tools should make you feel calm, peaceful and serene. Any candles you might use should not have commercially added Fragrances, as these may not be appropriate for your working.
Prior to your ritual, prepare yourself and your equipment by any means necessary to clean and purify. Historically, people have fasted, followed meticulous and detailed bathing practices, practiced chastity and used many other methods.
Most often a Ritual Bath is the preferred method. A Ritual Bath is a bath frequently utilizing candlelight, fragrant herbs, bath salts or sensuous oils. A sumptuous hot bath, special bathing preparations and appropriate lighting, combined, can create the soothing effect which will help in the very important step of relaxing and clearing the mind completely of all mundane thoughts and experiences of the day. Your ritual Bath should, also, begins to set the specific vibrations conducive to your purpose into motion. You must not only, cleanse and purify, but must, also, begin to create the type of energy necessary. Once your purification process has been accomplished, you are now ready to begin. Proceed to the special place you have previously chosen in which to perform your magick. If at all possible, you should make use of the primitive responses set into motion by a well-chosen piece of music. Your music should start slowly and build to a rousing climax.
As you use your oils, light your candle or incense (or utilize any other tool you have chosen), you should begin to further intensify the energy that you have set into motion around you. A high degree of intensity is vitally important.
The Altered State of Consciousness that you must reach is not a meditative state. Anything that interferes with your ability to concentrate upon, reach and control the high-energy state necessary to perform magick should be avoided. Such as, screaming children, a sink full of dirty dishes, use of alcohol or drugs, etc.
Do not scatter your energy by attempting to do more than one magickal working at a time. Remember that Magick is the manipulation of energy, a thought is a form of energy and visualization is an even stronger form of energy. Your visualization can be a method used to intensify further and direct your will. Your visualization can be the method by which you control the magickal energy you have produced. You must know what you want. You must see it. You must feel the high energy flow. You must direct it.
One of the most important elements in the practice of any form of Magick is the Universal Law of Cause and Effect. This means that whatever you do (or don't do) you cause something to happen.
The most important consideration is the Universal Law of Retribution. This means that no matter what you do, it comes back to you in like kind.
It is the nature of things that as you send something out it gains momentum, so that, by the time it comes back to you, it is three times stronger. If you do something nice for someone, someone will do something nicer for you.
"Kundalini is called the ‘Serpentine’ or the 'annular' power on account of its spiral-like working or progress in the body of the ascetic developing the power in himself. It is an electric fiery occult or ‘Fohatic’ power, the great pristine force, which underlies all organic and inorganic matter."
- H.P. Blavatsky, Glossary to The Voice of the Silence
I deliberated long and hard about whether or not I should write about this subject. The modern occult "scene" has been somewhat dominated by authors and would-be masters who would profess some twisted ideals concerning the nature of magick and the Power behind it. I will not dare a guess as to why, though I suspect it has something to do with money or ego, but I will say that the majority of material available for the aspirant magician lacks (or disregards) one very essential teaching; Power. More specifically we might say the “Power behind Magick”.
It is very common for the modern aspirant to be convinced that the forces behind the practice of magic are invisible, non-physical, and in some cases even described as being purely psychological. This is simply not true. There is in fact a very real and tangible Power at work in any sufficiently evolved practice. It has been described by many names, by many different magickal schools of thought, and through many ages. However, there are in many cases more similarities in definition of it than there are differences. I have neither the extent of knowledge nor the intestinal fortitude to plot out all of these similarities through traditions and practice but I will outline here some key elements. It is for the perceptive magician to identify and relate to what is described. After all, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
PHYSICAL
In most instances where an actual "Power" is defined as being behind a magickal act it is almost always described as being physical. That is to be taken literally. The magician at the least should physically sense the Power. Remember though, just because it can be felt does not mean it can be seen, but I assure you that with proper discipline it can. Some key features that have been attributed to this Power are as follows;
A. Liquid Movement. This is the most common description of how the Power feels against the flesh. It were as though it were like some etheric water just dense enough to be felt.
B. Like Electricity. It has been discovered by many that this force needs a conduit of some sort to manifest, but it should be noted that with proficiency in dealing with this Power, and a developed Will one can choose from conduits as formless as thought or as base as a rock. However, the idea remains that it must travel along a conduit of some sort.
C. Invisible Fire. When the Power has been awakened within the magician it is often best described as "fire". This is simple to understand if we think of its "movement", where it may feel as though it is in a constant state of agitation, and it is described as continually consuming or "feeding" upon some other finer force. This could also apply to various other experiences of that Power when it becomes active. But this is a subject best left to those who know that Power in such a way that they might better explain the association with fire.
D. Light. The most common of all descriptions is that the Power is a type of light that expresses or manifests some subtle influence upon finer energies. This also brings to mind the idea of Auras, astral light, and the phenomenon of seeing halos of light around "holy" people or miracle workers.
This particular description makes me think specifically about magical techniques which seek to circulate or otherwise stimulate "light" within the aura/perceptual body of the magician. Also, it brings to mind those works which seek to "draw down the light", and also certain formulas that describe the formulation of light into certain symbolic tools.
DEFINITIONS
A. Life Force. The idea that this Power is the essential Life Force of the magician is by far the most common and widest ranging idea concerning its being. It is popularly held to be the actual animating element of life, that is, the very "stuff" that gives us life. However, this idea also holds in some cases that it is finite and that once it has been exhausted one dies in a very absolute way.
B. Personal Power. This is in my own opinion the most simplistic definition although it is nothing more than a variation of the above. It says that this Power is the force which sustains our earthly existence but differs from the above by including that it is not finite, but instead that we re-absorb or replenish our supply of it from energy released by other elements. The idea implies that we might exhaust that Power through its application but that when not in use we are re-charging simply by being exposed to other things, which release this Power as well.
C. The Force. Again, we find the idea of a sustaining force, but in this instance it is not regarded as being Life sustaining. Here we find a definition where the Power is thought to be the very fabric of our perceptual reality (i.e. A magical sub-atomic level). This thought continues by promoting the concept that when we act as "channels" or conduits for this force, directing it by Will, and providing it a purpose for manifestation then we are actually using the "stuff" of reality.
I know that this last concept is a little harder to fathom, but in my own opinion, and by my own experiences I would say this one to be the most likely to be accurate. However, thus far we have only seen a few brief and vague definitions and descriptions. It is experience of this force that defines what it is for the magician. So, it follows that our experiences of it are prone to be subjectively defined and colored by our personal beliefs.
I have briefly touched upon some rather vague descriptions and definitions of the Power behind Magical Acts. Now I will describe a few ways in which it is commonly applied. Of course, the magician determines its application, and I only mention the following to provide examples of its use.
1. "CHARGING". Throughout many magickal traditions it is taught that tools (symbols) are to be "charged" with magickal force appropriate to the work at hand. Unfortunately, it is all too common for this charging to be taught as being nothing more than a concentration of visualization, emotional desire, and in some cases a physical treatment of the tool (i.e. Anointing; Cleansing; Carving; Etc.). Although these may be components of the individual's method of raising and directing the Power it is easily confirmed that many people simply do not recognize the Physical Power of Magick that we are describing and thus their efforts remain minimally effective as they are confined to work of the mind and emotions. If one is aware of that Power, sufficiently skilled at generating and manipulating it, then it would follow that using this force to empower or "charge" an object for magical use would the preferred method of approach. That is, imagine of you will, the magician would be physically imbuing the object with a real and tangible Power.
This is not to say that the previously mentioned methods would fail. Only that their effectiveness would be minimal in comparison. It is fine for the aspirant to work in that way. However, there must come a point in one's magickal career where potency becomes a concern, and the pursuit of mastery over that Power should be of the greatest interest if one would hope to reap the benefits of the work.
I would like to note here that many of the common ideas surrounding the generation and application of magical force are valid in terms of how they may lead the aspirant to a realization of the Power we are discussing. Unfortunately, many mistaken the map for the Path, and it should always be at the front of the mind that any method describing the "charging" of some object is like a guide to the Power before it has been realized. For, once that force has been recognized, and some degree of mastery over it is accomplished it becomes simply an act of Will by the magician. The "guide" or "crutch" is abandoned in favor of the talent.
2.”HEALING”. When I think of healers I have known who have tried to describe the experiences they have with their Art I am quick to notice descriptions of the Power. If one is sufficiently advanced in the use of that force we can easily see how it might be employed in healing. For, as it were, given its ability to speedily effect change in finer fields of energy, it becomes a simple matter of applying that Power directly (with Intent) to the illness or condition to be relieved.
3.”CASTING”. The creation of a "Magick Circle", sending of magical force, and even the throwing of a curse is an example of how this Power is most often applied. If for example you were to "Cast a Circle" by engaging the mind and body through visualization, desire, and physical gestures you may very well establish at some level a protective boundary within which to practice magick. How much more effective would this be if it were to include the establishment of a perimeter built with that Power?
Now, I would like nothing more than to go on at length describing the various ways in which this Power is employed. I would also like to describe how it plays together. That is, I would rather enjoy a lengthy discourse outlining the Power, its application, and potentialities as they relate to the individual magician. However, I think it best to leave this to the creative mind and close this portion with the following;
The Power is without limitations in actual application. For every magickal technique there is room to include that force. Let me repeat:
FOR EVERY MAGICAL TECHNIQUE THERE IS ROOM TO INCLUDE THAT FORCE.
Think briefly about some specific magickal action, spell, ritual, or what have you, and consider how much more it might become if you were to include an application of this Power. Through it our magick becomes alive, it is magnified, and they are imbued with a potency hardly fathomed by the average mind.
But there is more...
Spells
Their Crafting and Workings
The spell is at the heart of folk magick. It is simply a ritual in which various tools are purposefully used, the goal is fully stated (in words, pictures or within the mind), and energy is moved to bring about the needed result.
Spells can be as simple as reciting a short chant over a fresh rose while placing it between 2 pink candles in order to draw love; forming and retaining an image of the needed result in the mind; or placing a quartz crystal in a sunny window for protection purposes.
To perform effective magick - 3 necessities must be present:
The Need, the Emotion and the Knowledge.
It has been said that magick was the first religion, and that if you lovingly utilize the forces of nature to cause beneficial change, you also become one of them.
It is these powers that have been personified as Goddesses and Gods. Attuning with them is a spiritual experience and is the basic of all true religion.
COMPOSE THE RHYME OR WORDS OF POWER
Clearly state your need.
Clearly state all dimensions of your need (enduring love, rather than just love; complete protection, rather than just physical protection; etc.).
If possible, mention some of the tools that you've decided to use in the spell in your words of power or magickal rhyme. Indeed, for some spells, these words may help you to structure the entire rhyme or chant.
Use hypnotic words (those beginning with “s" or containing a "z") for psychic-awareness, love, healing spells; Use potent, strong words for protection spells. Match the words to the type of ritual you're composing.
Don't expect the words to simply flow from you. Work at it and work with them. Your psychic mind knows what you need.
EXAMPLES:
"I ask in the name of (Goddess and God or The All) that I, (Name), be granted (state desire)...I ask that this be correct and for the good of all people. So mote it be. In no way will this spell reverse, or place upon me any curse."
"In this night and in this hour, I call upon the Ancient power. O Goddess Bride and Consort Bright, I ask thee now to bring your light."
"I have a need that must be met. I ask thee (name of deity) that I obtain the perfect (whatever it is) for (reason)."
"I ask the Universe to lend the power of all the correct astrological correspondences so they may enter this circle now to obtain my desire."
"Therefore, I specifically draw toward myself the (desire) without affecting the free will of all and harming none."
"I now proclaim this spell is done. The (desire) is mine! In no way will this spell reverse, or place upon me any curse! As I will, so mote it be!"
"In this sacred space and time, We call now the Old Ones; the Goddess of the moon, seas & rivers; the God of the rayed Sun, of valleys and forests; Draw near us during this, our circle.
BREAKING A SPELL
(Note: These are just notes pulled from The Ancient Pathway book of shadows...)
First Saturday after Full Moon or on a Full Moon; One white and One black candle for balance; Props: protective nature (amethyst, apache tears or smoky quartz) - Say:
"One the Eve of ( ) I cast a spell and the effect I created I must now quell. Specifically ( ) May this spell be lifted and I now be gifted Specifically with ( )"
SPELLS TO BIND
A binding spell is the act of grasping the negative energy that is propelling a person or thing and stopping it. In a way, you are negating the unhealthy energy.
The most important thing to remember when conducting a binding spell is that you must control your own violent emotions of hatred or fear. The binding spell is for protection only, not for harm. This is not easy. The Goddess to be employed is Aradia, Queen of Witches. Be sure you are honest in your intentions. Aradia's symbol is the red garter. If you desire justice, call upon Maat, she who balances the scales. However, you must be sure that your own hands are free from violence and hatred, lest she weighs the scales for you as well! Her symbol is the pure white feather.
The binding itself is a very simple matter. A poppet can be sewn to represent the malicious person. Fill it with earth (grave dirt if you can find it), rosemary, sage, a piece of smoky quartz and a piece of amethyst. Also enclose a piece of the person's fingernails, a lock of hair, or another personal item. Handwriting can be enclosed if you have nothing else. Photos can be used also. If your intention at any time during the ritual is to harm that person, remember that you will only bring harm upon yourself - so be very, very careful.
If you can't do the ritual right away, store the doll (with the head still open) in a white cloth. During the ritual, you will sew up the head while connecting a psychic link. Then you will proceed to sew arms and legs of the doll together. You will finish by wrapping the doll mummy-fashion with a black ribbon. Bury the doll when you have completed the ritual.
A person can also be bound using mental capabilities.
Placing a sample of a person's handwriting and copper tightly in an old bell jar is a way of stopping malicious gossip. When the danger is over, burn the handwriting.
How TO "OIL DRESS" A CANDLE For Magickal Purposes
The dressing of candles with oils will enhance their powers greatly.
You should ALWAYS anoint and "handle" your candles when used for magical purposes.
Remember, to only use a couple of drops of your "special" oil on your candle.
You will need:
Anointing oil - keep in mind your intent. (Example—Cinnamon oil for success.)
Candle - Taper and figure candles works best for this, but any candle can be used such as a blue candle or an Astral candle.
Candleholder
Find an appropriate color candle for your task. Clean candle even if it's brand new (use rose water for this and let dry) Place your tools on your altar, light the blue/astral candle for power and strength. If you are going to carve any symbols or names into your candle, now is the time to do that. Take some oil and place it in the palms of you hands, starting at the middle of the candle, rub oil from middle to top for to "banish" energy away from you, from middle to bottom to "attract" energy to you.
Place oil dressed candle in holder, you now have an "Oil Dressed" candle.
This candle must be watch closely!
WARNING: NEVER LEAVE A LIT CANDLE UNATTENDED!
You can also use glass encased candles and "oil dress" the top only.
WORKSHEET FOR SPELLS & FORMULAS
· Type of Spell or Formula:
· Date and Time Made:
· Reference:
· Astrological Phase:
· Specific Purpose:
· List Of Ingredients and/or Supplies Needed:
· Specific Location Required:
· Date, Time and Astrological Phase When Used:
· Results:
· Deities Invoked During Preparation and/or Use:
· Step By Step Instructions For Preparations and/or Use:
· Additional Notes:
RITUAL RECORD SHEET
· Type of Ritual:
· Date and Time made:
· Moon Phase and Astrological Correspondences:
· Weather:
· Physical Health:
· Purpose of Ritual:
· Tools and Other Items Required:
· Deities Invoked:
· Approximate Length of Ritual:
· Results of Ritual:
· Ritual Composition:
· Additional Notes:
Spells
Quantum Magick