Notes on spells

 To me, a spell is not much more than a focused request. We use herbs, oils, candles, moon phases, stones…all symbols of whatever we need or desire.

A spell is a means of focuing intent. If you assemble several things who’s folk meanings all correspond to the desired effect, you feel a sense of power in the combination. If I want to increase money, for example, I might add  green stones to my spell, and burn a green candle. These are colors representative of money, and used together, their combined symbolism gives focus to the intent.

Is a spell different than a prayer? I think opinion differs here. Technically, a prayer is asking a favor of a Higher being. A spell is asking a favor as well, but it relies more on the practitioner’s focus than an outside force. Of course, many, many spells invoke various Gods and Goddesses…whereby making a spell and a prayer equal.

Go to church, there are prayers, incense, singing…how different is that from the kitchen witch invoking the powers that be at her kitchen table altar with her candle and herbs? Not much different, I think.

The kinds of spells that I like are amulets, charms, and the like. I really like the idea of bottle spells, and I will be posting some interesting ones soon. I am working on creating a money drawing charm for an upcoming casino trip, and I will post the final recipe and results as they unfold as well. My idea is that if the money is there to be won, may I be the one who wins it.

The cardinal rule of spell casting, however, is to mind the law of three. Be sure your intent is true and never try to coerce or force anyone into something. I don’t agree with most love spells, and I really don’t agree with the ones that are intended to make someone fall in love with you. The thing with spells is that they tend to work. And if you bend another’s will to your own you are not acting in anyone’s best interest. And that will come back to bite you.

So practice your spells, understanding that they are meant for focused intent and affirmation. Don’t try to cast spells to change others’ perceptions, or to coerce others into doing your will; that’s just not cool, and not right. We all have free will, its a gift from the Gods. Don’t mess with it or you will face dire consequences when it comes back to you multiplied.

Comments?

Journal: Prayer

Oh, Great God and Goddess

Bless those that come to You for comfort and love.

Hold them in your compassionate heart, soothe their tears of loss and fear.

Great God and Goddess,

Hear the pleas of the brokenhearted, the cries of those who have no one else to hear them.

Bless the ones who can no longer care for themselves, and those that care for them.

Bless the needy, the lonely, the hungry and cold, and keep them warm on the dark nights of the soul.

Great God and Goddess,

Bless me as well. Let me be your tool, let me be the outreach of your touch.

Grant me the compassion to help those whom I serve, and grant me the heart to find the humanity in all.

Great God and Goddess, bless us all as we walk this path. Hold us well in your hands, and deep in your heart.

Journal: On Love

 

Each time anyone comes into contact with us,
they must become different and better people
because of having met us.
We must radiate God’s love.
We must know that we have been created for greater things,
not just to be a number in the world,
not just to go for diplomas and degrees,
this work and that work.
We have been created in order to love and to be loved.
Love does not measure. . . it just gives.
Mother Teresa
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This is a beautiful quote. It says so much about what to strive for as we bump along our journey. So many people strive for success, be it financial or other, when in reality, all we need to do is just love. Plain and simple. Spirit is composed of energy and energy is supported by love. Whether you believe in God, Goddess, Higher Power…whatever name for it. That energy and pure spirit is just love and a piece of it resides in each of us.
If something isn’t working…if the love just isn’t happening and it is causing great sorrow or pain, then move away from it because it is counterproductive to what you need to do. You should not live thru great sadness or suffering just because you think that the pain brings you to greater insight. It doesn’t. We are not meant to feel emotional pain all the time. We are meant to revel in the joy and love that is given to us in such abundance. We do not need to self-flaggellate in order to find God or to find spiritual strength and being. We do not need to stay in a place that hurts us or others because of the what if or the maybe….Life is to be lived and life is to love. That’s it. This is not to say that we walk away from others that need us because we are unhappy and put ourselves first. But that we open our hearts and allow love—shiney and clear and bright as the sun–to flow. It is there. Remember that when you speak a heated word, or withhold a kind one. You need to be one with the energy that is within us all and that energy is first and foremost love. Its the kind word, the unsolicited compliment, the willingness to learn and grow, the ability to see beyond the physical into the realm of what makes each and every one of us unique yet completely the same. Find within you the understanding that we are all bouncing along the same frequency, it’s a matter of tuning in to see the similarities in each other. We all want to find happiness. We all want to cherish and be cherished. We all desire the closeness and companionship found in a great friendship or a great romance. Don’t deny it to yourself or others. Live and love in the moment. That stranger that you smile at might just become your best friend. That person on the corner holding the will work for food sign might be your father or brother. That person who is crying at night when no one is looking might be you someday. Love yourself, love your neighbor. Love your life. THat is the simple prescription. Be kind to things smaller than yourself. Don’t be afraid to let go of pain, because it is simply not part of the equation.

Book of Shadows Blessing

 

I wish I wrote this!

Book of Shadows Blessing by Silver Raven Wolf

Hearken as the witches’ word
calls to All, a gulf to ford.
Bridge the vast realities,
An it harm none, do as ye please.

Elements protect and guard this book,
From wandering eyes and prying looks.
Fill it with thine ancient power,
In this right and ready hour.

Powers of North, the East below,
Help me to live, to learn, to grow.
Lend your strength and stability,
To practice the Craft and with love be free.

Powers of East, the Wind, the Sky,
Watch over these pages with thine eye.
Your wisdom and knowledge, for these I do ask,
That this book be worthy of the Craft and its task.

Powers of South, Fire, and the Hearth,
Help these Shadows to prove their worth.
Infuse them with all your Healing and Passion,
So only good comes from the Work that is fashioned.

Powers of West, the Water and Sea,
Change and growth are granted by thee.
Bless these pages with all that you know,
That righteous readers may learn and grow.

And to the unschooled eye that see
Confusing words and sophistry,
Lead them from these sacred pages,
And bless their passage through the ages.

For free will of all,
And harm of none,
As I have willed it,
It is now done.

So mote it be!

*thanks to Raven Fire Moon who pointed out that the author of this is Silver RavenWolf. As always, I want to give full credit where credit is due.

Blessings

I only wish I could have written these beautiful words. I found them somewhere…not sure where

TURTLE’S BLESSING
May the blessings of the Universe fill your life and your heart.
May the sun shine brightly upon you and warm you for all of your days.
May the moon’s gentle beams touch you as you dream through the night and may the raindrops wash away all of your cares.
May the Great Spirit hear and answer all of your prayers.
May your home be blessed with love and laughter and happy times and may it be a haven of peace and tranquility. – old turtle
May you make this prayer inside yourself, and in its making, may you know that your home is within you.
May you understand that the sun, the moon, and the rain must touch you the human being, not the box you live in.
May you look up into the great turtle shell of the universe and into the face of the Great Spirit when you ask for and receive blessings.
May your tears fall onto turtle’s back and root your feet into her wisdom.
May your laughter be louder than your crying,
so the Great Spirit might hear you and smile.
****
Honor the Father and the Mother. Father stands for wisdom and Mother stands for feelings. Inside each of us is the Father and the Mother. If we do not honor both, we will not grow in balance. To honor both the Father and the Mother helps our masculine and feminine sides grow. The winter season is a good time to focus on this. This is our season of reflection. Honoring both sides allows us to see the Creator is both Father and Mother.
Great Spirit, Father Sky, Mother Earth, guide me today. Let me experience Listen to things more often than beings.
Hear the voice of the fire, hear the voice of the water,
Listen in the wind to the sighing of the bush:
This is the ancestors breathing.
Those who are dead are never gone;
The dead are not down in the earth:
They are in the trembling of the trees,
In the groaning of the woods,
In the water that runs, in the water that sleeps,
They are in the hut, they are in the crowd.
Those who are dead are not ever gone;
They are in the woman’s breast, they are in the wailing of a child,
They are in the burning log and in the moaning rock.
They are in the weeping grasses, in the forest and the home.
Listen to things more often than beings.
Hear the voice of fire, hear the voice of water.
Listen in the wind to the sighing of the bush.
This is the ancestors breathing.

(traditional song from Senegal)

prayer

Great Goddess above Great Mother of all beings
Look down on me this day
Bless me with your love
Bless me with wisdom to know right from wrong
Great Mother of the world, Queen of Heaven
Place your love upon me
that in turn I may love those around me
Free and unconditionally
Mother of the Moon
Grant me understanding
That I may understand others
Grant me courage
That I may face my fears
and help others face theirs
Great Mother, Queen, Goddess
Grant me love and compassion
The ability to forgive
The ability to love with purity
*
Great God in Heaven, Leader of Hearts and Creator of all
Bless me with your strength
That I may be strong for others.
Gift me the knowledge of right from wrong
And bless me with the abundance
Of your love and understanding.
Great God
I ask that you support me in times of sorrow
And provide me the peace to survive
and the love to grow
and the knowledge to express
Your peace and love to others
*
King and Queen of Heaven
You are one and the same
Halves of the same whole.
Grant me Your love
Bless me with Your grace
That I may help others
who walk this path beside me.

Goddess blessings

The cone of energy rises around me
Goddess bless this place I’m at
Angels in the four corners,
elements watching silently, like pillars.
I feel it rising within me, my hair
standing on end as if lit by lightning
My eyes, turned inwards to watch the
transformation of self
to self-less.
Incense burns brightly and
candles flicker with power
I breathe in the scent of lavender and hyssop
Elder and rowan are mine now
I cast my circle, say the words
drawing down the moon is almost sexual in its thrall.
Is she not that which is found
at the end of desire?
Goddess blessings to each of us
Goddess courage to watch over us in times of trial
Goddess brightness to light our way in times of darkness
And Goddess arms to shelter us in storm.
Slowly slowly the power recedes
my heart still running trip-hammer
I breathe slow
again and
again.
She has left for now this exact place
but She remains around and in me
forever.