Creating a Shadow Mirror

Everyone who has ever seen or read any version of Snow White knows the famous line, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all."  The idea of magick mirrors goes all the way back to ancient Egypt, with the goddess Hathor possessing the most famous magick mirror of them all.  Magick mirrors have been used throughout the ages, with contemporary witches most commonly using the black mirror.  Your typical black mirror is used for scrying - a type of divination that involves gazing into the mirror to induce visions or a sort.  In his book, Shadow Magick Compendium, Raven Digitalis introduces the idea of creating a special black mirror for use in shadow magick.

Recently I've been working with the idea of mirrors and looking deeply into oneself, so I figured it was about time for me to make a Shadow Mirror.  Here's how I did it :)

You'll need:
A plain black frame, at least 5x7
Black acrylic spray paint that works on glass
A small container of acrylic black paint
Herbs
A paint brush
A silver leaf pen

The most important item is your picture frame.  It should be relatively plain and it must have a sheet of glass in it (no broken or chipped glass).  If it has one of those little stand up legs in the back, so much the better.  Otherwise you'll need to get a stand.  I happened to have an old 8x12 frame in my closet from when the local frame shop was having a 2 for 1 sale, so that bit was easy.  The herbs I needed I had in my kit, as well as a silver leaf pen.  The rest of the items were easily found in my local Fred Meyers.

The first thing I did was gather my herbs and grind them into a powder in my mortar and pestle.  I used mugwort, wormwood, damiana, sandalwood, mandrake, and a little dark goddess incense.  

Then I headed out into my garage to start painting.  I took the back off the frame so that the inside of the glass was exposed.  I then applied two coats of spray paint to the back of the glass.  I did this so that I'd have a nice smooth surface to look at when I worked with the mirror.

Once the spray paint was reasonably dry (I gave it an hour per coat), I mixed my crushed herbs with the liquid acrylic paint.  Depending on your herb to paint ratio this should end up about the consistency of tempera paint (the gloopy stuff you used in elementary school to paint banners).  

I used a small foam brush to apply my paint/herb goo to the back of the glass.  I applied a pretty darn thick layer (I'm pretty sure that glass is never coming out of that frame again, which is fine for my purposes).  I then set it in a cool, dark place to fully dry for 48 hours.

When it was done drying I had me a shiny new black mirror.  All that was left was to clean off the fingerprints and consecrate it.  

To consecrate it I cast a circle, burned a little incense, and called on my deity.  Then I wrote a sigilized version of my mirror incantation around the rim of the mirror with my silver leaf pen, in Theban.  The full incantation is: Mirror, mirror on the wall, show the shadows of us all.  Show me truth sharp as a lance; take me to the shadow's dance.

Once it was fully consecrated I thanked my deity and dispelled the circle.  I'll be keeping it in the closet with my other tools, careful to keep it out of direct sunlight.  I've got some New Moon Rituals that are just begging for a Shadow Mirror, so I look forward to using it very soon.

Ritual for Cutting Ties

A few months ago a very good friend of mine had a really bad break-up.  The relationship had been fairly toxic and she had really cared about the douchebag in question.  It was one of those relationships that creates a really strong bond between the people in it, the kind of bond that isn't easily broken.  Even after a month or two my friend was still in pretty bad shape, to the point where the baggage from the old relationship was affecting any new ones she was trying to cultivate.

She asked for my help in creating a ritual to help her really cut ties with her ex so that she could move on and I was only too happy to help.  The trick, of course, would be doing something strong enough to cut the bond and cauterize the wound without actually harming him.  It's very difficult to do magick regarding someone you're angry with without "accidentally" cursing them.  There are few things more effective at making me angry than hurting my friends, so I was pretty damned pissed at this guy and my friend was pretty irate.  Here's what I came up with:

Ritual for Cutting Ties
A ritual for cutting ties with someone that is no longer a part of your life.  If you really, truly mean to stop giving energy to someone (including in hate form), then this will help you to do so.  Your behavior must support the intent of this spell.  Once you've done it there shall be no more online stalking, driving by the person's house, or musing on what the person is doing right now. You have to mean it!

As with any banishing, this is best done during the waning or new moon.

Ingredients:

• 1 plain poppet, mostly sewn but unstuffed (basically a rag doll, should be colored in a way that reminds you of the person)
• small items representing the relationship (such as ticket stubs, printed emails, etc.  If you don't have much you can write all of your feelings about the relationship on a piece of paper and then rip it into strips)
• slip of paper with the person's name on it
• a photo of the person (if you have it)
• dried herbs for stuffing (rue, nettle, anything thorny and unpleasant - but not toxic when burnt)
• twine/yarn (at least three feet)
• a pair of scissors
• a safe place to burn the poppet and matches

Spend a good week or so gathering the ingredients for this spell.  Think of this phase as bringing all the last scraps of the relationship into one place.

Sew together your poppet and fill it with the items that represent the relationship and the dried herbs, along with the photo and person's name.  If you're into embroiders you can embroider the person's name on the poppet.

On the night of the ritual case a circle, call the elements, and any appropriate dieties.  We called on the crone, as the mistress of all things "cauterizing."

State the purpose of the ritual.  You should do this aloud and in your own words.  You need to state why you want to cut all ties and show that you mean it.  The powers you have called on will judge your sincerity and give or withhold aid based on how they find you.

Now bind yourself with the string to the poppet.  (We looped the yarn several times around the poppet and then several times around my friend, with a little extra back and forth for good measure.)  Then say, "I now cut and cauterize all my ties with [X]," while cutting the yarn with the scissors.

Unravel yourself and the poppet, thank any powers you've called on, and dismiss your circle.

Now, burn the poppet.  If you don't have a good place to do so you can unpick all the stitches of the poppet and then bury the components.

New Moon

It is the new moon as I write this.  I love new moons.  It feels like a blank slate where everything is possible.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the power of a full moon but it just isn’t quite the same.  There’s something about the depth of the night when they’re no moon.  It’s like there’s a stillness that goes far beyond sleep, almost as if you could walk right into another world if you could find the path.

Back when I first started practicing magick I diligently celebrated every new and full moon esbat with a formal ritual.  Nowadays I celebrate the moon a little differently.  I still love doing big formal ritual, but I generally only bother if I have some specific magickal working that I want to give a boost.  If my working is only devotional I usually don’t pull out the props.  My gods don’t care whether my candles are pure beeswax or if my athame is damascus steel.  The gods can see into our hearts and minds and as long as your intent is pure and strong, everything else is just window dressing.

I like to celebrate the New Moon with some quiet contemplation.  I generally light a tea light or two (black if I have them – I stock up during Halloween), make a nice cup of tea, and have a seat on the couch in my office.  I’ll spend some time writing in my journal and generally decompressing.  I find that writing in my journal helps me to quiet all the crazed mish-mosh in my head.  It always seems that once my thoughts are on paper and outside my head I can look at them much more objectively.

If I feel the need I’ll break out one of my tarot or oracle decks and do some divination.  I have more than a dozen different decks, stones, runes, and pendulums, but I seem to always have one or two that stand out as the right ones to use for any given question.  I generally use beautifully illustrated cards, like the Brian Froud Hear of Faery Oracle, because the images speak to me in a way that stones or runes just don’t.  Although I do have a set of divination tiles that I created that I use for special occasions (I’ll blog about them in detail later).  The cards generally help me sort through all the things that confound me and I end up with a much clearer head.

I always close my esbats by communicating with deity.  Most of the time this involves having a chat with my spirit guide.  Yes, a chat.  I don’t conjure, summon, or make offerings to my spirit guide (not that he minds the occasional offering).  If I’m doing magick he just shows up and we chat.  It’s rather like having an imaginary friend who’s much wiser than you are.  I chat with him and get the answers I need.  Sometimes, when the situation is very complicated or I feel the need, I will go and communicate directly with the Crone - that is a bit more complicated.  The Hag is not a kind and gentle Goddess; she won’t speak to me directly unless I’ve earned the right.  When I speak to her I have to journey to her realm (the underworld), pass her guards, and usually make some kind of sacrifice.  This sacrifice is usually mental, though occasionally it’s physical (like sitting in an uncomfortable position for a long time or being really cold)*.  Most often my sacrifice is to look into what I call Dorian Grey’s Mirror.  Taking a good look at one’s weakest, nastiest, most base personal traits is a lot more difficult than you think, and when that look is powered by harsh winter it can be downright painful.  Once I’ve proven my worthiness the Crone will instruct me as she sees fit.

Simple as they are, my esbats are profoundly meaningful to me.  I always take the time to thank my Lady and my guide when they’ve helped me and will often burn some incense for them, but that’s really the most formal thing I do.  Just taking the time to reflect and be still, to really think about what my spirituality means to me is all I need to do.  My Lady knows my heart and it is hers.

All that matters it that which puts you in the sight of your God.

* Note – Sacrifice to my Goddess NEVER involves other living creatures.  I do not kill or injure others in my workings.  The blood of another is not mine to give.  If blood is ever involved in my workings it’s my own.