Spell for Free and Fair Elections

2020 has been a dumpster fire and things aren’t getting any better.  A lot of folks have been asking me what they can do magickally to help things get better.  The answer is easy: vote.  Vote like your life depends on it, because it does.  

I can hear the complaining already, “but voting isn’t magick.”  Hell yes it is.  You take your intent, infuse it into a ballot, that energy joins that of countless others, and then it changes reality.  Pretty much the definition of magick.  You want to take it further: get your friends to vote, get your family to vote, your co-worker, your barista, the person down the street.  Every vote is deliberate energy tuned to create change and we need every last drop.  

You want to take it further still?  How about some spellwork for free and fair elections.  The news is drowning in stories of voter repression and downright fraud trying to prevent people’s votes from being counted.  It’s an affront to justice.  This is the time to pull out the big guns.  Call on your gods, ancestors, and allies to assure that justice is served and that people’s voices are heard.  Take the time to do a full ritual.  Cross every T and dot every I.  This is important.  Do whatever working is strongest in your tradition to ensure that every vote counts and that the published results are the truth and that they are upheld.

Not sure what to do?  Here’s a sample spell you can use.  Feel free to modify it to best fit your practices.

Spell for Free and Fair Elections 

Get a small blue or white candle.  If you have them, grab your voters guides and/or ballot (if you don’t consider finding your local voters guide online and pulling it up on your phone or tablet).

Place your voter’s guide and/or ballot in front of you.  Hold the candle in your cupped palms, hovering over the voter’s guide/ballot.  Recite the following incantation:

Spirits of justice and liberty, hear my call and aid me this day.
Guard the sanctity and security of our elections.
Every person that should have the right to vote will be allowed to do so.
Every person who casts their vote shall be counted.
The results of the election will be published fairly and without bias.  
The true choice of the people will be acknowledged and accepted.
Let justice be served; let our voices be heard.
By our will and action so mote it be!

Place the candle (in an appropriate holder) on the voter’s guide/ballot, light it, and let it burn all the way down.

Repeat as necessary.

Vote by Karen Hallion
https://www.karenhallion.com
https://society6.com/product/vote1295562_poster

Summer Solstice Prosperity Ritual

This year I had a very low key Summer Solstice, doing an impromptu prosperity ritual rather than a more elaborate full Sabbat.  I’d had grand plans for going out to a big public ritual, but in the end plans fell through.  Things have been rather busy lately and my brain really wanted to just listen to some Debussy and read a nice frivolous novel rather than stress out about driving the hour out to the ritual site and celebrating with a group I’m not all that familiar with.  I went with my instincts and stayed home.

So there I was home alone on the Summer Solstice with no responsibilities other than doing whatever working my heart felt compelled to do.  Not so bad eh?  The day before I’d picked up some chocolate coins at the store with the thought that they’d be great to use in a prosperity ritual.  The coins were sitting on my kitchen counter in front of a half-empty jar of homemade almond granola and an almost dead jar of honey.  As I stood there I realized that I had all the makings of a prosperity spell sitting right in front of me.  I looked outside at the gloriously blue and warm morning and decided to go with it. 

Still in my PJs, I scooped up the honey, granola, and chocolate coins and headed into the yard – followed by my fuzzy familiar, Cleo.  I sat down in the grass by our enormous rhododendrons and took a few minutes to listen to the birds (and my neighbor’s weed whacker) and enjoy the sunshine.  Cleo took the opportunity to hop into my lap and get fur on absolutely everything – gotta love kitties. 

After a few minutes of meditation I kicked Cleo out of my lap and cast my circle.  I felt that all of the elements and deities of the day were already present, so I didn’t bother doing any formal calling or invoking.  I said a few words on the nature of the solstice and asked that the energies of the day allow my prosperity working.  I poured the granola in a half circle in front of me and offered it to nature, particularly to the birds and insects that call my backyard home.  I poured the honey on the ground just beyond the granola and offered it to the earth, in gratitude for the sweetness of the summer season.  Then I held the bag of chocolate coins in my hands and raised them towards the sun.  I asked that the power of the Summer Solstice enter and infuse the chocolate, so that as I consumed them in the days to come I would be consuming the potent positive summer energy.  I asked that they be infused with the energies of prosperity, healthy, wealth, happiness, and comfort.  When I felt that the coins were sufficiently energized (and before they could start melting) and placed them in the shade behind me and gave thanks to the energies that attended and aided me.  I dispelled my circle and then headed back inside.

Now I’ve got a bag of magickally charged organic chocolate coins sitting on my earth altar.  I’ve been eating one a day and am absolutely enjoying it.  There’s something luxurious and rich about good dark chocolate that make it particularly apropos for prosperity work.  That it’s delicious doesn’t hurt either ;)

I do love simple, heartfelt ritual.  There’s something about doing what you feel just when you feel it’s right that it’s hard for more rigidly planned rituals to replicate.  As much as I love a good formal ritual, for my personal work I think I’ll stick to going with the flow.

Cleo says Hi

Sweetening Spells

I’ve done a lot of spellwork over my magickal career, but until very recently I had never done a sweetening spell.  I think I’d skipped over them in the past because they’re often grouped with love spells, which I just don’t ever do.  However, I recently got a really fantastic bone casting and the reader told me that I should consider doing a sweetening spell to make the people at my new firm act more favorably towards me.  So, I decided to take a closer look at sweetening spells and really liked what I found.

In essence, a sweetening spell is done to make a person or situation more favorable – to make them be sweet to you.  Sweetening spells are close kin to love spells, but are a lot gentler and less coercive.  Instead of trying to force people into specific actions or emotions (e.g. make Jim love me or make my boss give me a raise), sweetening spells are aimed at making people be nicer, be more open and receptive.  Sweetening spells are the magickal equivalent of bringing someone cookies in the hopes that they’ll be more likely to do you a favor.  In fact, sweetening spells can be happily used in conjunction with bringing someone cookies ;)

While there are many different types of sweetening spells out there, the one that resonates the most with me is the honey jar.  In its simplest form all a honey jar spell needs is a small container, honey, a small piece of paper, and a pen.  You write the full name of the person or situation you want to sweeten three times on the piece of paper, then rotate the page 90 degrees and write your own full name across the other person’s name three times.  Put the piece of paper in the jar, letting some of the honey get on your fingers.  Then suck the honey off your finger saying, “As this honey is sweet so ___________ will be sweet to me.”  You can enhance the spell by adding something linked to the spell target to the jar (a photo or signature are your most hygienic options).  A bit of candle magick is often added by burning a small chime candle (of the color most appropriate to your desired outcome) on top of the jar, letting the wax drip onto the lid and jar.  In most of the sources I looked at, both tasting the honey and the candle burning should be repeated weekly as long as the situation lasts or until you’ve reached your desired outcome.

Gotta love locally sourced magick :)

For the honey jar I made, I got a small jar of local honey (purchased from a local vendor very close to where I work) and used both paper and a pen from work.  My targets for the spell were pretty much all the supervisors in my department, so rather than writing a bunch of names three times I created a sigil that represented them and wrote it three times on the paper and then crossed it with my own.  I also drew the sigil on the lid of the honey jar with a sharpie (an invaluable magickal tool).  I folded the paper nice and small and stuck it in the jar.  I then burned a small yellow candle on top of the jar, right on top of the sigil.  I’ll be doing this every Sunday in an hour of the sun for the foreseeable future.

Sigils make writing out long lines of text so very much simpler

Resources:
Hoodoo Honey and Sugar Spells: Sweet Love Magic in the Conjure Tradition http://www.luckymojo.com/honeyjar.html
https://lamplighterblues.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/honey-jar-sweetening-spell-basics/

Beltane Blessing 2015

I've been celebrating Beltane for...a good long while now and this year has, by far, the most tumultuous energy I've ever felt on May Day.  With everything that's going on in the world it seems appropriate to turn the traditional blessings of fertility and personal prosperity into blessings for understanding and fruitful communication between all people.

A brief aside for Seattle area folks - I've got two events going this weekend. I'm facilitating a Beltane Ritual tomorrow at 3pm in Carkeek Park.  It's going to be fun and low key, so come on by :) On Sunday I'll be teaching a workshop on Psychic Self-Defense for Ghost Hunters at Spooked in Seattle's Metaphysical Market at 4pm.

Beltane Blessing for 2015

As I reach down to feel the earth beneath my feet I feel it pulsing with the energy of new growth.  The seeds we have sown are awakening and burgeoning with new life; changing the landscape with bursts of energy.  I shall ride these currents of growth and change and harness them to my will.  With them I birth a shift of consciousness in my self. The vast and unfathomable energies of the Sabbat flow through me and change me from within.   

The bright fires of Beltane burn within and purify me.  Beltane fire burns away prejudice and privilege so that I may grow true, unburdened by the mistakes and misconceptions of my past. 

The seeds of expression bear the fruit of clear and effective communication.  The seeds of listening grow into true hearing. The seeds of knowledge within me blossom into real comprehension.  The seeds of compassion I've sown flower into true empathy. 

I manifest this growth through right action in my life.  I know that all change begins within but must be brought without in order to take hold.  I walk through the world enacting comprehension and empathy with all those around me.  I model the behavior I would see.  I inspire others to manifest positive change through right action.

Beltane blessings take hold within me and through me move into the world.

Negative Energy

At the moment I'm in the process of writing up the first of my courses on Magickal Defense and I've been thinking a lot about negative energy: what it is, why it's a problem, and what we can do about it.

It can be difficult to understand just what negative energy actually is.  I often find it easiest to think of negative energy as the residue of negative actions.  It is energy that holds the feelings of sadness, anger, pain, depression, destruction, etc.  You can think of it as being like the smell of burnt popcorn that lingers in your kitchen for hours, subtly making everything just a little bit gross, or the smoke of a forest fire that dims and besmirches everything it touches.  Negative thoughts and actions create negative energy.  In essence negative energy is the distilled power of unpleasantness, like a battery filled with ill feeling.

Magickal practitioners, particularly shadow workers or anyone that works with the dead, also tend to encounter magickal entities like ghosts, faeries, elementals, and the like.  These entities have very strong energetic fields that can be either positive or negative, depending on the entity.  Psychically, being in the presence of a negative entity, like a boggart or imp, feels a lot like being run over by a psychotic two year old on a bicycle - you’ll live, but you sure will be unhappy about it.  Of course, the stronger the negative entity the worse the effects.

One of the fundamental laws of magick is the principle of “like attracts like.”  That means that positive energy attracts more positive energy and conversely negative energy attracts more negative energy.  Think about the last time you had to take a bus or plane and you could tell the person sitting next to you was having a really bad day; how that person’s anger and stress vibrated off of them.  How did it make you feel?  Could you feel yourself getting stressed?  Your patience wearing thin?  That’s magick at work.

While generally uncomfortable to be around, negative energy wouldn’t be such a problem if it didn’t have so many ill effects.  We come into contact with negative energy every day and in limited amounts it’s not really a problem.  However, when we come into to contact with too much negative energy at once or a little bit for far too long it can have negative consequences.  Psychically, contact with negative energy can cause stress, the feeling of being watched, cause you to feel more anger and less patience than usual, make you snap at friends, or even encourage you towards dangerous behavior.  Physically, negative energy can cause muscle tension, headaches, a feeling of heaviness or lethargy, a prickling sensation in the spine or the palms of your hands, etc.  Negative energy is potentially very nasty stuff.

Of course, we also have to deal with our own negative energy.  I don't know about you folks, but on a bad day I can generate negative energy like it's going out of style.  Anyone who's ever suffered from depression knows exactly what I'm talking about.  All the shielding in the world won't help you if the negative energy that's bringing you down is being manufactured by your own brain. 


Coming in contact with negative energy, internal or external, is a lot like being hit by a wave while standing on the beach.  Depending on how prepared you are, it can either splash your feet and then harmlessly flow back out to sea or it can knock you on your ass and try to drag you back out with it.  External negative energy can be shielded against, filter out, transmuted, or grounded.  Internal negative energy can only be transmuted or grounded.

Going in depth on how to deal with negative energy would require a whole book, so for now here's are some links to other entries on shields and protection down below.
 
Previous entries on Shielding:
Nightly Protection Spell
Daily Protection



Anchored Shields

Pop Culture Magick for Geeks - Bag of Holding

One of my absolute favorite ways to use pop culture in my magick is in my choice of altar swag, tools, and props for spells.

Traditional tools and altar pieces, while lovely to look at and nice to own, can be both pricey and impractical.  As much as I would love to have the $600 hunk of labradorite as a part of my altar, it's just not in my budget (and really, the piece would needs its own custom liturgy just to keep it charged).  So instead I have action figures and toys on my altar.  They have the benefits of being inexpensive (unless you're talking serious collectibles, jeebuz!), easy to get a hold of, and are relatively innocuous when people come over.

Here's a little altar I set up for doing a prosperity spell during the Superbowl (with all that energy running rampant, why not take advantage of it?  It helps that my city was overflowing with successful and joyous energy).  I specifically used the figure of Loki to represent the silver-tongued skills I need to improve in order to wrestle a raise out of my firm's rather reluctant partners.  I used the figure of Boba Fett to represent the ability to find a better position if my firm won't pony up appropriately.  Nothing quite like using strong and tenacious characters with a big ol' free energy source to fuel a potent working.

I also enjoy using pop culture characters in protective workings.  At work I keep a small stuffed Chtulu as an anchor for a ward to keep my more annoying co-workers from hanging out near my cube. Lovecraft's Cthulu is one of the most terrifying characters in 20th century literature, that has somehow morphed into the poster child for weird creepy people everywhere - I love him.  A stuffed Cthulu embodies everything I want to evoke in my work area - cute an innocuous if you don't look too closely, but foreboding and uncomfortable if you dig where you're not welcome.

Pop culture geekery is also treasury of potential tools.  Need an athame, why not get a replica of a dagger wielded by a DnD barbarian?  Need a coven sword for your den of nerds, why not a Klingon bat'leth?  Personally, I use three different wands (pictured above) - depending on what I'm doing at any given time. The top wand is one of a pair of arnis sticks that I use in defensive/offensive work; the middle wand is an ebony wand in the Harry Potter style that I use for more finessed workings; and the bottom wand is the 10th Doctor's sonic screwdriver that is marvelous for workings involving heavy intellect or air energies and any kind of creative problem solving.

Harness the power of your nerdness and make thinkgeek.com and Toys R Us your primary shopping places for spell components (and don't forget second-hand toy stores, they can be amazing!).  Who says a line of little green army men in your garden can't work as an amazing ward?  Use the images of characters you already love and obsess over to make your magickal workings more natural for you.  An object is no less sacred for being mass produced and loved by children everywhere, as long as it holds special meaning for you.  Magick is all about harnessing natural energies and nudging them where we want to go, if it makes more sense for you to do that with action figures than herbs and crystals (or all three!), then go forth my nerdy brethren :)


Other Posts on Pop Culture Magick for Geeks
The Things With The Stuff - A basic introduction to using pop culture characters in magick
Who's Your Doctor? - Thoughts on determining version of a character you want to work with

Shadow Magick for New Beginnings

It's official, after nine years I will be leaving the Grey School.  I've been everything from a student to a Board member at the school and it's time for me to do something different.  I've loved being a part of such an interesting organization, but it's time for me to spend more time on my personal work.  It's a huge change and it's also the perfect time for a bit of shadow work. 

Whenever we make big changes in our lives we create the opportunity for altering our own energy patterns.  Any change in our regular activities creates a bit of momentary chaos in our energy flows before things settle into new patterns.  We can take advantage of that confusion and chaos to deliberately forge new and better patterns, rather than letting the chips fall as they may.  Here is a little spell designed to help shift your energies into more advantageous flows when you make a big change.

Shadow Magick for New Beginnings
To be done at the time of any large changes in your life (e.g. moving, getting a new job, at the end or beginning of a new relationship, etc.), if it can be done during the new moon - all the better

Ingredients

• 1 white tea light
• 1 black tea light (I tend to stock up on these during Samhain season)
• prosperity incense (try something with cinnamon or bergamot)

Set the stage for the working in your usual manner.  For me this means casting a circle, calling the quarters, and calling on my Deities.

Incantation
*light the black tea light to honor the past* 
I come this day to end one chapter of my life and begin a new one.
I have spent countless hours and untold amounts of energy forging my path through this world.  Today I change directions.
I honor the work I have done and the energy I have spent.  I honor the lessons I have learns and the gifts I have received.  I honor the challenges I have been offered and overcame.  

 My past has created the person I am today and I am thankful for it, but now it is time for change.


*light the white candle in honor of the future*
Today I begin anew.  I start new endeavors; I choose a new path, a new direction.  
I have learned from my past and have moved on.  
I welcome new lessons and new challenges, fitting for the new person I have become. 

*light the prosperity incense*

Today I usher in new prosperity for myself.
Today I start afresh.
I have grown from who I was and deserve new and better things.
I know I will make new mistakes and face new obstacles and I embrace the challenges they will bring.
I honor my past, as it has shaped me.  I honor my present as it is who I am.  I honor my future, for it is who I shall be - let it be better.

As I do will so mote it be.
 
  
 

Prosperity Ritual

Last week I found out that my boss is moving on to another job at the end of the month.  This woman is quite possibly the best boss I have ever had.  She's been my partner in crime on a massive implementation project, a shield against the insanity of other managers, and a sympathetic ear when I've needed it most.  I'm kinda devastated that she's leaving. To add insult to injury, she's leaving the week before we roll out the implementation we've been working on for the last year and a half - so I get to do it by myself.  But wait, it gets worse.  She let me in on some confidential info that the firm is going to be shifting things somewhat in the very near future.  My job is secure, but it's likely that I'm going to get a lot more responsibility dumped on me with no extra recompense.  Lovely.  Just fricken lovely.  So I decided it was apropos to do a prosperity ritual as soon as possible.

The day after I found all this out I trucked on over to Edge of the Circle to stock up on some gold chime candles and some money drawing incense.  I figured that I needed to do something fast because my boss was trying to fast-track a raise for me before she left and I wanted to give that as much energy as I could as soon as humanly possible.  I also wandered into a cute little art shop in Ballard (whose name escape's me) and got some canvas artist trading cards to make a talisman for myself.  I have a pretty decent herb and oil stash at home, so I wasn't too worried about those ingredients.

I had planned on doing my ritual in the hour of Jupiter on Thursday, but life interfeared and it just didn't work out.  I didn't want to wait a week for another Jupiter-Jupiter hour, so I ended up doing it during the hour of Jupiter on Friday.  Not perfect timing, but at least the moon is waxing.  I set out all my ritual components on my altar and got down to business.

I normally cast my circles using a sword, but this time I felt compelled to use a pair of arnis sticks as giant dual wands.  Apparently prosperity magick calls for super phallic circle casting - figures.  I then called the elements and deities, citing the powers associated with them I most wanted to bring to the ritual (abundance, clarity of thought, force of will, happiness, etc.).  I gave special attention to calling Jupiter, as that was the power I was banking on.  Then I explained to all the lovely forces I'd drawn up just what I wanted and why (to be paid what I'm worth in a job that doesn't make me want to jump off a bridge - not so much to ask I feel).  I lit my prosperity incense as an offering.

Next I assembled a mojo bag using a cotton tea bag (yes, I know it should really have been a hand sewn red flannel bag but I didn't have time to hit the fabric store).  I used a good tablespoon or so of calamus root, one enormous high john root, and a tonka bean, and then dressed it with some bergamot and vetivert oil.  I tied the bag shut using three tripe knots.

Then, I dressed my gold candle with the bergamot and vetivert oils and charged it.  I raised the energy by stirring up all the elemental powers in the room with my wands (they're weapons; they want to be swung around aggressively - I saw no reason not to indulge them).

I lit the candle and used the first three drops of wax to seal the knots of the mojo bag.  No wealth spilling out for me thanks!

While my candle burned I took out one of my blank artist trading cards and my colored pencils.  I took some time to meditate and decided to draw a talisman based on the sigil of Jupiter in Jason Miller's Advanced Planetary Magick.  I drew the sigil in blue, filled in with gold.  I sat it on a bed of green, sinking into brown earth, sinking into rock and magma.  Prosperity is always a seed rooted in the earth, to the imagery seemed to work.  I then filled in the sky with fiery orange for action and movement, to symbolize the prosperity energy firing off into the world to do its work.

I then made an offering of my favorite elderberry mead.  I took three sips and pledged the rest to Jupiter.  After that I was pretty keyed up and took a little time to ground.  

I thanked and dismissed the deities and elements, and dispelled my circle.  Once everything was open I took my mead outside and poured it into the garden to finish the offering.  Then I went back into my temple to hang out while the gold candle burned all the way down (never leave candles unattended folks, especially if you have cats!).  I put my talisman in my wallet (in the clear plastic pocket where your ID goes), that way it will both be next to the symbols of my wealth and will always be on me. 

The mojo will go into a special pocket in my work bag or be carried in my pocket.

Shadow Magick for Composure

If you're like most of the people I know you probably face a dozen or more situations every day that just annoy the pants off of you.  Maybe you have a horrible commute, a co-worker you want to immolate, or just have so much stress you want to scream. Sadly, vibrating with tension has become a fairly common condition in our lives and it's just not good for us.  People often combat this stress by doing deep breathing exercises, taking a walk, eating obscene amounts of fat and sugar (my vice of choice), or occasionally going a bit postal on the people they love.  Some of these coping mechanisms are obviously more productive than others.  While doing something that boosts my serotonin levels can temporarily make me feel better, it doesn't really do anything to make my situation better, and when the mundane fails to fix things I turn to magick.

Fortunately for me, shadow magick is spectacular at dealing with the crappiest aspects of my life.  It's raison d'être is to deal with things that make us uncomfortable, and literally twitching with stress and rage is pretty damned uncomfortable.  Here's a quick shadow magick exercise for when life makes you want to throw something out a window.

Exercise for Composure
 
This exercise can be done anytime, anywhere, as long as you can safely zone out a bit (so you shouldn't don't do it while driving, but if you're stopped in endless gridlock you're good to go). 

To begin, feel your shadow, that dark bit of who you really are, deep inside yourself.  Your shadow is an ally.  It is the part of you that basks in darkness.  Let that shadow come to the forefront of your mind. 

Allow your shadow to expand out of your body, so that you're surrounded by numinous shadow.  All of the negative energy around and within you feeds that shadow.  Let your shadow absorb the frustration, the annoyance, the rage that's flying around and inside you.  Feel your shadow growing stronger as it feeds on the negative energy, like Kali consuming the energy of demons.  Let it continue until it's full and sated.

Allow yourself to merge with your shadow.  Feel its contentment.  Let the energy it as gained strengthen you.  Your shadow digests all that negative energy, leaving a clean slate behind.  Allow your shadow to return to a comfortable place in your core.  You are your shadow; your shadow is you.  You are strengthened and calmed. 

Protection Balm

A protective balm is a solid lotion (think lip balm) that you can anoint yourself with when you need extra protective energy.  Rub the balm on your temples, pulse points, the back of your neck, the base of your spine, or anywhere else you’re feeling vulnerable.

To make a discreet and portable protective balm you will need:

• ½ oz. beeswax (either a solid chunk that’s been grated or small pearls)
• ¼ c. olive oil
• 40-80 drops of a protective essential oil(s) (e.g. dragon’s blood, sage, rosemary, or any of the oils discussed in “Defensive Techniques 301”)
• A closable container to hold the finished product (Any discreet container will work, e.g. old lip balm tins or even a clean mini-altoid tin.  If you want to get a special tin just for this I recommend those found at Mountain Rose Herbs http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/supply/tins.html)
• Optional - small protective stones (e.g. hematite, malachite, jet, etc.)
• Optional - a small amount of crushed protective herbs (e.g. angelica, bay, clove, etc.)

Begin by preparing your container(s).  Make sure your container(s) is(are) clean and dry.  Place the container(s) on a heatproof surface (such as a trivet or cutting board), near where you will be heating your oil and wax base.  If you are using small stones or herbs, place 1 stone and/or a pinch of crushed herb to the container.

Combine the olive oil and beeswax in a heatproof bowl and melt the wax either in a double boiler or the microwave.  If using a double boiler, melt the wax over fairly low heat and remove it from the heat as soon as it’s fully melted.  If using the microwave, melt the wax by setting the microwave on high for 10-15 seconds, then stir.  Repeat until the wax is fully melted.  

Test the consistency of your balm by dripping a few drops on a plate you’ve chilled in the refrigerator..  This will quickly cool the balm to its normal consistency.  If you’d like a more solid balm add a little bit more wax, and if you’d like a more liquid balm add a little more oil.  (I personally prefer a solid balm because it’s less likely to make a mess in your pocket on a warm day.)

*CAUTION* Do not overheat the oils, they are flammable! If your oils begin to smoke remove them from the heat IMMEDIATELY!

Once the wax is fully melted add your essential oil(s) and stir to combine.  Once combined carefully pour your mixture into your container(s) and let cool until solid.  When the balm has solidified you can close your container and take it with you wherever you’ll need it.

Spell for Courage and Protection

Things have been a little funtastic in my life of late - and by funtastic I mean fucking stressful.  There comes a time for everyone when you just can't accept any more crap and you finally stand up for what you know is right.  Sometimes it's saying what other people can't or pointing out painful flaws in a plan someone is really attached to.  Other times it's calling out a bully or manipulator for what they're doing and making them look in a mirror.  Whatever the situation is, it's damned uncomfortable.  It's necessary, there can be no growth without discomfort, but it's not much fun.  It's been one of those weeks.

One of the big problems with really, deeply pissing someone off is that, whether they realize it or not, they will start throwing negative energy at you.  Most of the time this isn't a conscious thing, but it's happens anyway.  It can act a lot like a hex if you don't do something about it.  Some people might mirror it back to the sender, but in my experience that just makes things worse. 

Sometimes that negative energy can hit so strong you start to doubt the courage of your convictions.  You might know that everything you've said is true and needed to be brought out into the open, but it might get so hard that you start to wuss out.  Of course it's hard, doing the right thing is never easy.  Fighting for what you believe is hard, but it's necessary and worth it. However, when you're neck deep in psychic bullshit it's hard to remember that.

Here's a little spell to help you keep the courage of your convictions and to help you persevere in the face of adversity.

Spell for Courage and Protection

 Ingredients:
Firey Wall of Protection Oil
red candle
purple candle
small carnelian bead
rue
devil's shoestring
cinnamon chips
mandrake
tonka bean
high john the conqueror root
King Solomon incense powder
cotton bag

 Assemble all the components of the spell on your altar.  Call in any dieties you normally work with, or any protective forces you're friendly with. Explain your situation and why you need courage and protection.  Don't blame the other people, it just sours the spell.  Keep your intent positive and focus on what you need to accomplish that requires courage.  Explain this goal fully.  Focus on that goal and channel that energy into your spell components.

Put the herbs, carnelian, and incense powder into the cotton bag.  Tie the bag shut using a triple knot and then tie the strings around the bag to create a little package.

Then anoint the candles with the firey wall oil.  Put the red candle in its holder.  Light the purple candle from a tea light and then light the red candle with the purple candle.  Then set the purple candle in its holder.

Let the candles burn all the way down until they burn out (I set them in an iron cauldron filled with salt so they can do so safely).  Thank any deities or spirits you called on earlier and bid them farewell.  Now carry the bag with you until the situation resolves.

Shadow Magick for Imbolc

 Imbolc is coming up in just a few weeks.  It seems to have come up out of nowhere this year.  Maybe it's just getting older, but the last twelve months have flown by faster than any other time in my life. I kind of feel like I'm caught up in a great wind that's flying past me that I can't quite grab hold of.  Rather appropriate for this time of year.

One of the old Scottish tales of this time of year tells about the Callieach fighting tooth and nail to retain her power and to continue the rule of winter.  Of course, time turns on and winter must eventually fade and yield its power to the coming spring.  Seasons must change in their never ending cycle and so must we.  Imbolc is the perfect time to do a working to help yourself see what you are desperately hanging onto, what things whose time has come you cling to.  We've all had times when we've held onto an idea that's died - the ideal that can never be achieved, the job that wouldn't really make you happy, the untenable relationship, etc.  It's hard to let go of something you've made precious, sometimes its so hard you can't even see it.

Spell To See

Find a private place where you won't be disturbed.  Bring a small black candle, some incense (I prefer dragon's blood or copal), and a small bowl of water (the bowl should be reflective - either silver or black, and should have only a cup or so of water in it).

Begin by turning of the lights in the room.  Cast a circle if you wish (lately I've been doing most of my work without one) and light your incense.  If you have a particular deity or powers that you work with, ask it/them to help.

Sit down in front of your altar.  Make yourself comfortable enough that you can sit for a while, but not so comfortable that you'll get drowsy (I find it helpful to keep the room just a bit colder than normal).  Think for a few minutes about what you really want to accomplish.  Think about what you're actively doing to make that happen.  Out loud, say exactly what you're trying to do and state that you want to see the situation clearly and want to really SEE the effects of your actions and whether or not they're actually doing what you want them to.  Speak from the heart.  The most important thing is that you say what you really mean and that there's some emotional weight behind it.

Light your candle and place it somewhere where it will indirectly light your bowl of water (you shouldn't be able to see the candle flame when you look in the bowl).  Hold your hands over the bowl of water and concentrate on your goal.

Say, "Dark waters help me to see.  Show me the things that are hidden from me."

Open your mind and spend 5-10 minutes gazing into the water.  Pay attention to any shapes you see in the water and any ideas that come into your mind.  I find it helpful to cup my hands around, but not quite touching, the bowl.

After a few minutes you should get the sense of completion, that you've gotten all that you're going to get from the experience.  Then drink the water.

Give thanks to anything you've called on and make some small offering to the powers that be (I like to reserve just a bit of the scrying water with a drop or two of essential oil added for this). 

You might not get a clear answer right during the spell itself, but fragments should float to the top of your mind over the next few days.

Memories of Imbolcs past.

House Cleansing and Protection for Special Events

I love having people over for food, stories, and maybe a little magick ;)  I love it when my home is filled with laughter and smiling faces.  I don't love it when a guest tracks metaphysical muck all throughout my house.  A few years ago I had a Samhain party and someone I knew brought someone I didn't know into my home - someone with an attachment.  Well, surrounded by a bunch of tasty magickians that attachment decided to wait until one of my guests was vulnerable and try to attack her.  It waited until everyone else had gone (this friend was spending the night) and it tried to attack her in her sleep.  The standard protections I had up kept it from doing her any real harm but it scared the living daylights out of her.  When I found out the next day I felt awful that my protections hadn't prevented it and kicked myself for not acting on my instincts and booting the SOB that brought it when I first felt something was wrong.

As you may imagine, I've changed up the protections on my home since that event.  Now I have a much stricter protection ritual that I use before people come over.

House Cleansing and Protection for Special Events

Begin with a thorough mundane cleaning of the house and a good smudging.

Set the energy in your home to the energy you want at your festivities by playing appropriate music (the vibrations of the right music can do amazing things!), decorating, etc.

Create and energetic "shower" that people must pass through in order to enter your home.  You can do this by decorating your door frame with cleansing herbs, charged streamers, etc.  Charge the area to cleanse all guests as they come into your space and to bind them to keep their crap to themselves and not leave it - if they bring something negative they've got to take it home.  You can also do this by handing guests charged party favors as they enter.  For example, you can hand each guest a small bag with a sprig of rosemary, a small onyx, and piece of rose quartz "for luck." 

Before your guests are set to arrive, but after you've set up, go to your altar and make declaration of intent for your party.  Verbally affirm your intent for the gathering, what you hope to accomplish, and how.  Speak any rules for your guests behavior, and exactly how you want your wards to function during the event.  Be sure to include a statement of what happens when someone violates your rules - e.g., "If anyone coming to this event intends harm to me, mine, or any of my guests they shall not gain entrance here.  Anyone bringing harm into my home shall be blocked and forbidden."  Then set out an offering of the very best of your food and drinks on your altar to ensure a fun and festive event with as little drama as possible.

Enjoy your gathering and be a good host.

Do a thorough cleansing of your home as soon afterwards as possible.  You may need to pass out on the couch immediately after the party wraps up, but do this as soon as you are able.  I like to go through with smudge and my tsingshas.

Make an offering of thanks at your altar.

Spell for Guiding Change

In times like these change is in the air. We're not always sure if change is for good or bad, or idea what things are going to look like when the dust settles. Here's a little spell for guiding the changes in your life to be as positive as possible.

"Change is in the air,
Things are shifting, moving, evolving,
Change is here,
Things are growing, stretching, shedding old skins,
May I grow easily,
May I learn my lessons swiftly,
May I shed that which no longer serves painlessly,
May I evolve smoothly,
Into something more,
Something higher,
Something greater,
Change serves me,
Change is my ally,
I stretch, I learn, I grow,
I am change and change is me,
I am ready,
So more it be."

Yule Shadow Magick

It's that time of year again, Yule is fast approaching.  This year the moment of the Winter Solstice will be at 3:12am pst on Friday December 21st.  If I were a slightly more fastidious (or anal) Pagan I'd do my darndest to stay up and do ritual right at the moment of the Solstice.  However, I'm not, and I have to work on Friday.  So, instead I will do a bit of ritual at Sunset on the 20th (4:20pm) and a bit at Sunrise on the 21st (7:55am).

Yule is about rebirth.  It's about surviving and thriving during the darkest night and rekindling the fires of life and ushering in new light.  Given that shadow magick as whole deals with those themes, it is an ideal time to do a major working.  Yule is an excellent time to set major goals for the next year and imbue them with energy and intention.  Of course, to fully embrace the natural shadow of winter it's best to set your goal for a major change of habit or something that will force you to deal with things you've been avoiding.  If you want to succeed at shadow magick you can't be afraid to face unpleasantness.

My big goal for the coming year is to achieve more balance in my life.  I tend to do everything in the extreme.  I'll study a subject 12 hours a day for a month and then drop it forever; I'll go from sitting on my couch to trying to run an hour a day and injure myself; I'll do ritual three times a day for a few weeks and then barely light a candle for months.  I tend to be very "all or nothing" in the things I do, which isn't the healthiest of mindsets.  It just leads me to overdo things, overextend myself, and then end up physically and mentally burned out. 

I used to think this meant I was just a hard worker, but really it's a weird kind of obsession.  It's almost as if I'm hoping that each new obsession will be the magic bullet for my general malaise - that one thing that will make everything else fall into place and give me a lasting sense of purpose and fulfillment.  It's not actually a terribly healthy way to go about things and it's very difficult for me to admit that.  Shadow work is all about giving up false ego and embracing the truth.  It's very, very hard.  If it's not hard you're either doing it wrong or you're a bodhisattva.

At sunset on the 20th I'm going call on the Crone for help and light a black candle for banishment.  I'm going to write down a thorough description of my utter lack of balance and all the harm it does me.  I'm also going to write down the things that I used to think it brought me that it really doesn't.  Then I shall burn the paper and say, "My obsessive tendencies and lack of balance have failed me.  I have failed to be the person I want to be because of them.  As the light dies on this darkest night I release my grip on them.  I let go of attachments that do not serve me and let them fade with the dying sun.  I release my false ideas and open myself to something better.  May I find a better way of coping."

Then, at sunrise the next day I'll take a little "coffee break" at work.  I'll take a small cookie or candy and hold it in my hands and mentally say, "As  the light returns to the world I shall find my balance.  I shall find the path of moderation that will allow me to be whom I want to be and do what I want to do.  As the days lengthen I shall walk this new path of balance.  I shall be my best self, whole and complete, accepting and accepted, shadow and light entwined."  Then I'll eat my little, moderate treat and go about my day.

Travel Spell

Here is a spell I wrote many years ago when I was traveling cross-country on a regular basis.  You say this spell before beginning your journey and it can be repeated at any time during the journey to give it a boost.

By the powers of the moon and sun,
I conjure.
I travel this night.
Great power of the west,
Guardian of those, who like the primal waters,
flow from place to place.
I will depart on time.
I will arrive on time.
My road will know no obstacles.
My journey will know no hardships.
Let my lessons from this journey be brief.
I will fly like the wind,
Where I want to go.
I meet those who care, safely.
I have all I intended to bring.
Thus do I conjure.
Never let this spell reverse
or upon me place a curse.
By nature’s will and harm to none
Let this my spell not be undone.

Nightly Protection Spell

I am an insomniac.  I do not fall asleep unless I feel safe enough to turn off my brain – I’m paranoid enough that this is not easy.  I started experimenting with sleep safety spells and dream wards as soon as I learned of their existence.  Some of them worked for a while but eventually stopped, others were completely useless (as was the valerian tea I tried).  One night, about eight or years ago I was dead tired and couldn’t sleep and just got completely fed up with myself.  I decided that any job worth doing was worth overdoing and came up with the ultimate in sleep safety spells and I’m going to share it with you.

I’m quite adept at visualization and do this entirely by visualization.  If I say “cut a circle around the room” I mean visualize it in your head, and if I say “say ...” I mean say it in your head.  If you’re not the mental magick type, you can do everything physically and out loud – I only do that when I’m totally freaked out and need as much power as I can get.

Begin by selecting the area you wish to protect – your bed, bedroom, house, entire property, etc.  I typically include my entire house in these wards.

If you feel the need to do so before doing energy work, ground and center.  I’ve been doing this spell every night for the last eight years, so it requires no prep for me.

Build a ball of energy in the center of the space you’re warding.  Charge this ball with the power to drive out any negativity lingering in your space.  Visualize the ball expanding outwards until it encompasses your entire space and creates a sacred circle around it while saying “Safe within the circle round, thrice sealed, thrice bound.  Repeat two more times.

Starting in the north, cut a circle around your space while saying: “Power of earth, ground me and hide me from all that would do me harm.”  As you cut the circle, fill it with dark green earth energy.  Once the circle is cut, visualize it creating a sphere of glowing green earth energy surrounding you.  Envision tree roots growing around the sphere, creating a solid shield of earth.

Starting in the east, cut a circle around your space while saying: “Power of air, alert me to any incoming negativity and give me the wit to deal with it.”  Empower the circle with glowing yellow air energy and let it grow into a sphere.  Envision swirling winds creating a solid shield of air.

Starting in the south, cut a circle around your space while saying: “Power of fire, protect me mind, body, and soul.  Give me the strength and will to do what I must.”  Empower the circle with hot red energy and visualize it growing into a sphere.  Envision flames dancing around the sphere, creating a solid shield of fire.

Starting in the west, cut a circle around your space while saying: “Power of water, heal me mind, body, and soul and strengthen my correct intuition.”  Empower the circle deep blue energy that grows into a sphere.  Envision sheets of rain creating a solid sphere of water around you.

Starting back in the north, cut a vertical circle going up above your head.  When you get to the ceiling pause and say, “Goddess, watch over me and protect me.”  Envision a sphere of silver energy starting above your head and slowly pouring around your space, creating a solid shield of divine energy.  Continue the circle down the opposite wall and pause when you get to the floor.  Say: “God, watch over me and protect me.”  Envision a sphere of gold beginning beneath the floor and growing slowly upwards until it creates a solid shield of divine energy.  Complete the circle.

Starting in the upper northwest corner of the space, envision a bold Chinese dragon flying in a crosswise circle (northwest to southeast and back around the bottom) around the space.  Starting in the upper northeast corner of the space, envision a Phoenix bird flying in a crosswise circle (northeast to southwest and back around the bottom) around the space.  Say; “Dragon and Phoenix, encircle me.”

Starting in the west, cut a vertical circle above your head towards the east.  As you complete the circle say: “By my Lady’s will my circles are sealed.”  As you complete the circle envision the entire space being filled with divine energy.  Give it a few moments to sink in.

Say: “Circles protect me this night.  When I wake you will dissolve into the walls, continuing to lend your protection to me and mine.  Stay in this space as long as it’s mine.”  (After a while you won’t need to add this last bit, it will be firmly in your unspoken intent.)

That is the long version of what I do every night.  I started off doing the long version every night, but after a few years I adopted a shorter version for most nights.  In the short version simply envision all of the circles and empower them appropriately without stopping to say what they’re for.  On a sleepy night I can do this in two minutes flat and it has never failed me. 

If you decide to try this, keep in mind that these are pretty heavy duty shields and you will have to modify them depending on who’s coming and going in your space, what spirits/entities you want to have access to you, and what kind of dreams you want to have.  If you clamp down too tight you might not dream at all, and if the wards are too loose then they’re not worth the time of putting them up.  Experiment and see what works for you.