Magick

Magic has been defined as the ability to create change by force of will and in some respects is not dissimilar to the power of prayer.

However, in Magic, it is our personal intervention that may create the change around us.

Magic is not just like cookery, as in just a matter of following a recipe and getting a result.

Magic will almost definitely require a deep understanding of ourselves and the energies that are around us, and the ability to control and focus on our own energies.

One of the greatest keys to this is the ability to visualize.

In order to visualize you may require a study and understanding of the elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.

The Magic we practice is not that of the stage, conjuring up special effects that you may see so often in many films.

It is practiced to heal, protect and enhance our lives.

It is worked for ourselves and those around us as well as possibly those who come to us with requests for help.

Magick is a constantly flowing stream of energy.

It is a  concentrated and channeled form of the life force that flows through all animate life forms, people , animals, birds, insects, and plants of all kinds.

The life force is also present in rocks and crystals, in some cultures regarded as living energies, in rain sunshine, the moon, winds, storms, the rainfall, and rivers to the sea.

We receive and give out the life force of Natural Magick in its spontaneous form through our auras, our physic energy field that extends from possibly an outstretched arms span around us.

It also passes to and from our bodies through our chakras or psychic energy centers.

These energy centers filter the aura energy and receive power from the earth beneath and the sky above us, from what we eat, drink and breathe and form those with whom we interact.

When you stand in the shallows of the sea and fell the waves pushing at your toes, that sensation may be the life force and the force behind magick.

If you stand on a windy hillside and are tugged by the wind, this is also life energy and the power behind Magick.

When you bury your feet in earth or press your soles against grass barefoot you are taking pure power.

Magick involves channeling and directing the life force by tapping into those energies in ritual and in spells as well as using the directed and concentrated flow to transfer thoughts and wishes into actuality.

This occurs in the same way that the strong wind can buffet you off course or the tide can unexpectedly lift you off your feet.

In Spells and rituals, however, you structure words, images, and actions to collect the power and channel it into a named purpose.

You can then amplify and release the concentrated strength into specific purposes or areas of the spells ritual.

In the release, your wishes and focused thoughts make a transition through the psychic sounds or light barrier so you have the impetus to make these desired possibilities come true.

True magick is not like a cake in which everybody must vie for a slice or be left with none: it is more akin to a never-emptying pot.

Like the legendary Cauldron of Undry in Celtic myth, the more goodness that is put in, the more the mixture increases in richness and quantity.

The Cauldron of Undry, one of the four main Celtic treasures, provided an endless supply of nourishment, had great healing powers, and could restore the dead to life, in either their former existence or a new life form.

Located on the Isle of Arran, it could be accessed by magical means or through spiritual quests, and many scholars believe it was the inspiration for the Holy Grail.

But when using magick, you should take only as much as you need and perhaps a little more; you should not demand riches, perfect love, eternal beauty, youth, a fabulous job, and a lottery win or two.

So, magick does not provide a help-yourself time in the sweetshop.

The results could be like eating three times more chocolate than you really want and then feeling very sick.

You cannot give the gods or goddesses your shopping list and then sit back and wait for Christmas: the divinity is within you to be kindled, and so you need to demand of yourself far higher standards than someone who believes in the forgiveness of sins.

If you do wrong, you cannot just say sorry to the godhead and carry on without putting right the mistakes or at least learning from them.

Confession may be good for the soul, but magick demands more than that: you’ve got to live with the consequences of your deeds, words and thoughts because the power of a blessing or curse may be even greater on the sender than on the intended recipient.

You must also ensure that you cannot harm anyone in the process of getting what you want.

If you do spells for revenge, then the effects will rebound on you threefold.

Although there are many different kinds of magick, in practice all spells and more formal magical rituals tend to follow four stages, though informal spells may combine one or more steps.

The Focus

This defines the purpose of the ritual or spell and is generally represented either by a symbol or a declaration of intent.

These could take the form of a candle etched with the name or zodiacal glyph of a desired lover, a little silver key charm or an actual key in a spell to find a new home, a picture of an ideal holiday location, and so on.

In a sense, this part of the spell begins before the actual rite and involves verbalising the purpose.

As you define it in a few words or a symbol, you may realise that what you are really seeking lies beyond the immediate external purpose.

Spending time at this stage is quite vital as it is said we tend to get what we ask for, so we should take care to ask for what would truly fulfil our potential, rather than what we think we need immediately.

If you are working alone, hold the symbol while speaking words that summarise the purpose of the magick.

You may be surprised to discover that it is your wise psyche speaking, guiding the intention towards what you truly need or desire – and afterwards, you realise it could have been no other way.

If you are working in a group, a declaration of intent, created by the group collectively before the ritual, is a good way of focusing the energies.

After the initial circle is cast, the symbol can be handed around while the person leading the ritual speaks the intention.

Alternatively, each person can add his or her special interpretation while holding the symbol and so the declaration is worked as part of the ritual.

As others are holding the symbol, visualise it within your own hands; this provides the transition to the next stage of the ritual.

Concentration is the key to this first stage.

The Action

This is the stage where you use actions to endow the symbol with magical energies.

This is part of the continuous process of translating your magical thoughts and words from the first stage, the inner plan, to manifestation as the impetus for success or fulfilment in the everyday world.

These energies amplify your own.

For example, passing incense, representing the Air element, over the symbol activates the innate power of rushing winds that cut through inertia and bring welcome change, harnessing the energies of wide skies in which there are no limits, soaring like eagles, carrying your wishes to the Sun.

You can unite other elemental forces by using the appropriate tools and substances.

Similarly, you might begin a chant, a medley of goddess names or a mantra of power linked with the theme, or a slow spiral dance around the circle.

You could try drumming or tying knots either on individual cords or in a group, creating a pattern with the longer cords of fellow witches, perhaps looped around a tree.

The action of the magick is limited only by the environment and your imagination.

You may find that improvisation enters quite spontaneously as the energies unfold and spiral.

Movement is the key to this stage.

Raising The Power

This is the most powerful part of the magick, as the magical energies are amplified and the power of the ritual carries you along joyously.

Ecstasy forms a major part of the shamanic ceremonies and the old mystery religions; it is akin to the exhilaration you experience riding on a carousel or running barefoot along a sandy shore with the wind lifting your hair.

You might repeat a chant of power, dance faster, drum with greater intensity, bind your cords in ever more intricate patterns or add more knots if working alone, visualising a cone of spiralling, coloured light, rising and increasing in size and intensity as this stage progresses.

Stretch your arms and hands vertically as high as possible to absorb power from the cosmos.

If you are in a group and have been linking hands, as the power increases to a great intensity, this is the time to loose them.

As the power builds, you will create what is known as a cone of power.

The cone-shaped hats traditionally associated with witches and bishops’ mitres reflect the concentration of spiritual potency.

The purpose of the cone, like the sacred pyramid, is to concentrate energy in a narrowing shape so that it reaches a pinnacle of power, which can then be released at the end of the ritual to carry your wishes or desires into the cosmos.

In order to create a cone of power in magick, you can visualise these energies as coloured light or as gold.

Alternatively, you can visualise different rainbow colours to create a cone of every colour that merges to brilliant white at the apex. In healing work, some people see this as silver-blue light that becomes brilliant.

Whether working alone or in a group, as you build up the power, breathe in pure white light and exhale and project your chosen colour, seeing it become ever more vibrant and faster-moving as the intensity increases.

After you have been practising magick for a while, you will notice that the cone of colour builds up quite spontaneously, with no apparent effort.

It has also been described as a cloud of energy. At the point when the climax is reached, comes the release of power.

Note that for some people the cone concept interferes with their own natural magical abilities – some of the most skilled witches and healers see circles of light, shimmering golden beams or rainbows with their psychic eye.

Some see nothing at all, but instead feel power pushing their feet almost off the ground.

Growth is the key to this stage.

Release Of Power

When you release the power in the final stage, you may see the cone exploding and cascading as coloured stars or light beams, which surge away into the cosmos and break into brilliant rainbow colours.

If you wish, you can direct the energy after the final release of power by pointing with your hands, or a wand or knife, so that the energies cascade horizontally and downwards, for example into herbs on the altar that you are empowering to make into herb sachets.

Or you can direct the cascading energies in a specific direction, perhaps towards a person who is ill or in need of magical strength.

The release is the key at this stage.

This release may take the form of a final shout, a leap, or words.

As you extinguish your candle of need, you may shout:

It is free, the power is mine!

Or, at the point of release, you may throw your extended hands wide in an arc above your head.

If the ceremony is formal and you are using an athame, you can at this moment bring it in front of you to mark the invisible cutting of the knot holding the power.

Pull your visualised or actual knots tight, cut them, leap into the air, shouting:

The Power is free! or It is done!

Sometimes there is just a sudden stillness, as the power leaves.

Afterwards, you need to ground the energies by sitting or lying on the ground and letting excess energies fade away into the Earth as you press down with your hands and feet.

Magick is not like the magic a conjuror uses to bring a rabbit out of a hat: that kind of magic is just a trick, which relies merely on the art of illusion.

White magick is much more than that. It is intensely exciting because it means that we can extend the boundaries of possibility, recalling the psychic powers of childhood when we could span dimensions as easily as jumping across a puddle.

We can increase our personal magnetism to attract love and luck and regenerate the innate healing abilities both of the human body and the planet.

What magick does not do is provide quick fixes with a twinkling of Stardust.

It does not produce a faerie godmother, who turns up with a shimmering frock and a platinum credit card to pay the taxi fare home if the handsome prince is short of money and the faerie coach has crumpled into a pumpkin.

After the candles and incense have burned through and we sit, exhausted but exhilarated after sending our wishes to the cosmos through dancing or chanting, we then have to use every effort, every talent at our disposal, to make those wishes come true on the earthly plane.

The psychic kick-start provided by the magick must be used to translate the magical thoughts into actuality.

So we must work overtime with new enthusiasm and inspiration to get that project finished, send off to the publisher that typescript that has been gathering dust, do whatever it takes to help ourselves to get the results we desire.

‘Money doesn’t grow on trees’; and this holds true even in the magical world.

Money, success and opportunities have to be generated and earned.

We need to add our own will-power to the power we have drawn on.

What is more, under the cosmic profit-and-loss scheme, if we ask for a psychic overdraft, we must give back, if not immediately, then at a later date.

So when your finances are better or your immediate troubles are passed, you should make a small donation or give time to a worthwhile cause connected with the area of the spell.

This balances up the account whose cosmic energies you tapped into.

In magick, time and direction have an important place and it is necessary to understand that there may be differences according to which hemisphere of the globe you are working in.

In the northern hemisphere, magical circles are cast clockwise, or ‘deosil’, which means ‘in the direction of the Sun’.

In the southern hemisphere, however, practitioners casting their circles deosil should normally cast them anti-clockwise, because that is the direction of the Sun in that hemisphere.

Practitioners in the southern hemisphere will also need to alter the dates I have given.

For them, for example, the mid-winter solstice is celebrated on or around 21 June and the summer solstice, when the Sun is at it most powerful, is around 21 December.

In the same way, the two annual equinoxes, when there is equal day and equal night, move round so that the spring equinox falls around 21 September and the autumn equinox around 21 March.

It is perhaps better to think in terms of the Wheel of the Year, rather than our modern-day calendar, for what matters is not the date but what is happening with the cycle of growth and fruition.

So the autumn equinox is the time of harvest, whenever that may be in your part of the globe

.

Things are a little more complicated, however, when it comes to the use of the quadrants of your magical circle and the directions, North, South, etc.

However, in the southern hemisphere since the equator, the area of maximum heat, is to the North, this direction will more naturally be regarded as Fire.

To face the colder direction of winter, you must turn away from the equator, towards the Antarctic – the South.

This means that when following the instructions in this book practitioners in the southern hemisphere should substitute the opposite for each direction.

So, for example, where I have said you should set up your altar in the North, and enter your circles from the East, you would set up your altar in the South, and enter from the West.

If you find this too complicated, don’t worry.

Some practitioners in the southern hemisphere follow the northern traditions, especially if they have ancestors from colder climes.

It really is a matter of preference and all this diversity actually has a very positive effect, because it means that you can weave the natural forces into your personal creation of magick.

The only important thing is that you are consistent in your attitude.

You can create magick in all kinds of ways and you can use it for an almost infinite variety of purposes.

Your magick can be solitary or group-based, self-centered, or entirely altruistic.

It can be personal and informal, or it may be framed in a rigid ceremony.

But whatever kind of magick you wish to practice, you will need to create a special place to work in, a personal area at home for your private healing and personal development work.

When you were a child, you probably had a special place, perhaps a treehouse, a den under a table with a curtain draped over it, or a corner of the garden hidden by bushes that only you and chosen friends visited; in this place, you wove your dreams and played with your treasures.

This magickal place is just such a special place, an extension of and, in a sense, a return to that time of enchantment, for you are once again making an area separate from the everyday world, where you can set up your special artifacts.

But it will also be very different from your childhood place because as an adult you can learn to control and direct the energies that then ran free and unstructured.

Your imaginings can be refined as visualizations, your daydreams as altered states of consciousness; you can make wishes and dreams come true, not just in faerie land but in the here and now.

If you have sufficient space, you may set aside a room, perhaps a conservatory, attic or basement, or a sheltered spot in the garden for your special magical place.

Alternatively, you may need to use a corner of your bedroom or draw a velvet curtain across an area of a room where you can be quiet and private.

The Green level of Witchcraft uses herbs in many different practices pertaining to the Craft.

Herbs alone can be used for health, comfort, treatments of ailments, and divinations.

They can be added to spells in charms, candle magic, oils, and incenses, and are used in bulk for sprinklings, aspersions, and magic packets.

Infused herbal oils, they can be used for consecrations, anointings, blessings, altars, and cleansings.

These uses are not exclusive to Green Witchcraft, but this is where their uses began, and they’ve been adapted to many other types of practice.

Herbal Baths

Herbs may be used in bathing as a Green element of the Craft.

Light a candle, burn incense and let the scented waters work their magic into you.

For Peace: chamomile, lavender, rose, hops, peppermint

For Energy: heather, rosemary, lemon balm, savory

For Comforting: calendula (marigold), lavender, raspberry leaves, chamomile,
mint, rosemary

For Relaxation: chamomile, heather, lemon balm, dianthus, jasmine flower

Herbal Oils

Herbal oils are an essential part of the Green practice, used to consecrate a new magical tool, aid in the empowerment of objects used for a spell, or to help open up the practitioner to alternate states of awareness.

These oils are applied with a fingertip of the power hand, in a symbol that speaks to you: pentagram, solar cross, spiral, triquetra, etc.

Different oils will be called for in different rituals, and each does a different job.

The following oil examples are made by adding the ground herb (may use mortar/pestle or electric herb grinder) to a base of spring water, or an oil like sunflower or safflower, along with drops of essential oils).

Altar Oil

Used to prepare the altar for ritual may be sprinkled with a sprig appropriate for the season.

Mix with mortar/pestle: a half tablespoon of rue, a half tablespoon thyme, a half tablespoon vervain.

Add 3 drops of oil of citronella, 1 drop of oil of fir, 1 drop of oil of rue, and 2 drops
of sandalwood.

Gently swirl with: a quarter cup of spring or distilled water.

You may asperse the altar with this oil using a white heather sprig.

Anointing Oil

For anointing those within the circle during spellwork  Mix with mortar/pestle: 1-star anise, a quarter tablespoon basil, a quarter tablespoon hyssop, a half tablespoon rosemary.

Add: 3 drops oil of acacia, 2 drops oil of balsam of Peru, 1 drop oil of benzoin, 2 drops oil of rose.

Gently swirl with: ¼ c sunflower or safflower oil.

Astral Projection Oil​

To aid in astral projection travels  Mix with mortar/pestle: one tablespoon of jasmine, one tablespoon of cinquefoil, two tablespoons of mugwort, one tablespoon of woodruff

Add: 2 drops oil of acacia, 4 drops oil of benzoin, 3 drops oil of rue, and 1 drop of oil of sandalwood.

Gently swirl with: ¼ c sunflower or safflower oil.

Apply to temples, forehead, throat, the pulse at wrists and inner elbows, back of knees, ankles, and soles of feet.

You can also burn incense of jasmine, sandalwood, or benzoin

Blessing Oil​

May be used for rites of passage (presentations, namings, handfastings, and passings)

Mix with mortar/pestle: one tablespoon of lavender, a half tablespoon of rosemary, and one tablespoon of St. John’s Wort.

Add: 2 drops oil of juniper berry, 2 drops oil of rose, 3 drops vetivert.

Gently swirl with: a quarter cup of sunflower or safflower oil.

Cleansing Oil​

Used to revitalize and refresh an area, purging it of negativity that may have built up (particularly useful if there’s been an unwelcome visitor or
quarrel).

Mix with mortar/pestle: one tablespoon of basil, two tablespoons of rosemary, one tablespoon of valerian, and one tablespoon of mugwort.

Add: 2 drops of balsam of Peru, 2 drops oil of benzoin, 1 drop oil of fir, 2 drops oil of lavender, 4 drops oil of rue.

Gently swirl with ¼ c sunflower or safflower oil, or spring water if using for appeasement over a room or furniture.

Consecration Oil​

Used to consecrate a new tool for your practice.

Mix with mortar/pestle: one tablespoon of fennel, one tablespoon of Tansey, one tablespoon of rue, one tablespoon of wormwood, a half tablespoon of yarrow

Add: 2 drops oil of fir, 3 drops oil of rue, 2 drops oil of sandalwood.

Gently swirl with: a quarter cup of sunflower or safflower oil.

The hours of the day are also influenced by the planets.

For example, if you were carrying out a love spell in which you wanted rapid results, perhaps for a special meeting, you could work on a Friday, Venus’s day, on both her hours – sunrise and the third hour after sunset.

If you wanted courage in love, you would use a Mars hour on a Friday.

If you needed to communicate your feelings, but found it difficult, you could add the energies of a Mercury hour to a Friday love spell.

If you wanted a banishing spell for shedding excess weight, you could use the last days of the waning moon cycle when it is in the sky during the morning before it sets.

The banishing lunar energies should take away the compulsion to binge that is keeping you from a healthy lifestyle and if you use them at the hour of Venus, this would increase your inner beauty and help to bring you to a state of self-love.

Remember that the beginning of the hour is always the most potent.

The times of sunrise and sunset are different each day.

Calculate the precise timings from true sunrise, which is the first hour of the magical day.

Alternatively, for a less formal spell, you can make an approximation.

Any good diary will have the sunrise and sunset for each day, but choose one also with the
moonrises and moonsets.

You will need a calculator if you decide to use the exact planetary hours.

You can calculate a week or even a month ahead if there is a period in which you intend to do a lot of
magical work.

In this way, you can maximize the energies of specific hours and choose a good time for
anything from asking for a raise at work to sorting out the budget with a reluctant partner.

Enter the planetary and angelic hours in your diary or the appropriate section in your Book of Shadows.

These calculations can also keep bored children amused on rainy afternoons – just tell them stories about the angels and planets first.

Children also adapt quickly to angelic time – after all, it’s far more fun if you change sad old bedtime into St Michael’s hour and have a bedtime story by the light of his golden candle.

To calculate the magical hours, you need to divide the time from sunrise to sunset and then the time
between sunset and sunrise by 12.

At the height of summer, the days are much longer than the nights, so each ‘day’ hour will be longer than the ‘night’ hours.

At the spring and autumn equinoxes, when day and night are equal, day and night hours will be of the same length.

As a shortcut, when you need instant magick, you can use the times of sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight and the day of the week energies, with approximations of hours if you wish.

Combine the day energies with the power of solar magick, which tends to be more immediate than lunar.

So if you are seeking a new beginning, go for dawn.

For full power or realize your potential, carry out your rituals at noon, the height of the Sun, and for banishing spells, try sunset.

You will know instinctively if it’s a solar or lunar issue and whether you need a blast of Sun power or clarity, or more subtle Moon bindings or unravellings.

Ritual magick is no different from any other activity that you may carry out in a systematic way.

Yes, it is true, it is more formal than folk magick: you are using special tools and following a series of preordained steps based on traditional practice.

But this does not mean that it has to be so complicated as to be beyond the capabilities of any normal person.

You do not need special powers; and the preparation is just the same as you would do if you were redecorating a room, servicing your car, or preparing your annual accounts.

When you decide to do any of these tasks, you set out the necessary equipment in advance, so you are not constantly dashing off to find what you need.

You check that it is all in working order and you probably consult a reliable reference book, computer software, or calculator to clarify the necessary stages and finer points of the method.

And that is exactly what preparing for ritual magick is like.

First, you need to collect any relevant information; for example, you must find out which tools, herbs, candle colors, etc. you may require.

Then you must check that your magical tools are charged with power.

You must check whether the hour and the day are well-chosen to benefit from the energies and are most aligned to the focus.

If you are working with a group, you must decide in advance who is to carry the salt and other elemental substances around the circle, and who will perform particular parts of the ritual, such as welcoming the Spirit Guardians.

This preparation is important, although.

You do not even need to belong to a coven to create beautiful rituals.

Indeed, practicing alone, you will find that as you increase in confidence, the natural rhythm of the ritual cycle will amplify your own innate powers and you will feel angelic or divine forces joining with you as you walk around the circle and hear their voices mingling with your chants.

You should not allow yourself to be overawed,  by books and practitioners who vaunt their knowledge of obscure magical phrases, measure their circles down to the last millimeter, and insist that only their form of working is authentic.

What matters is the actual connection you make in your ritual with the storehouse of natural and higher energies – and that can be done with a kitchen candle if the need is great and the intention pure.

Ultimately, the power is within you, and as you become skilled with magick, you may find that the external form becomes less important.

However, formal magick does have its place, for a special need or for raising spiritual awareness, or for focusing magical energies through the accumulated power of tools charged and regularly used for a positive purpose.

Some people believe also that in the ritual you tap into the energies of all those before you who have created circles of power and protection, and within them have raised and called upon the elemental qualities to bring desires and needs from the thought to the material plane.

The Aims Of Formal Rituals

Rituals and spells at all levels cause a positive change or effect, whether for oneself, a loved one or the whole ecosystem, as they bring healing, peace, reconciliation or whatever is needed in the spellcaster’s life.

But over and above all these is the purpose of raising one’s own levels of awareness so that perhaps for a few moments you feel connected to a higher power, perhaps even the source of divinity, and this is best expressed through the more ceremonial forms of work.

The awareness you attain may be experienced as a sense of deep peace, of being filled with golden light, of floating through clouds or certainty of being loved and protected, perhaps even as a glimpse of a Divinity.

Formal rituals do not have to be focused on a particular aim, however.

Sometimes, you may wish to carry out a ritual without having any specific purpose in mind.

In this case, you can simply cast a circle and raise the energies gently through a natural focus of herbs, flowers or fruit, allowing wisdom.

As well as preparing the physical area for magick, you also need to prepare your mental state.

It is universally agreed that we have two hemispheres of the brain -the left, logical, and the right, intuitive, side – and that generally in the everyday world the left brain predominates.

This may be no bad thing; after all, buying golden sunflowers and oils pressed from fragrant herbs may lift the spirits, but they will do little for us if we are so disorganized that we fail to remember the cereal and cat food – and the yowls of hungry children and cats ringing through the early morning air are not conducive to relaxation.

These demarcations within the mind have not always been so clear.

Julian Jaynes, in his book The Origin of the Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, suggests that self-awareness in humans has existed for only about 3,000 years.

In stating this, he was defining self-awareness as the awareness of our own separateness and our private thoughts.

This state of mind, normal in adults, is very different from the more primitive state of mind of small children, who keep up a running commentary on their actions.

But young children are also incredibly skilled at mind-hopping and reading the thoughts of others.

This is precisely because they do not have the adult’s strong sense of the individual and private self.

In so-called primitive societies, the individual does not have the same importance: it is the collective responsibility that matters.

So the rituals that are carried out to ensure the fertility of the crops and animals and the community are performed in a group.

In a sense, magick is about using the bicameral mind, placing the brain’s right hemisphere in the driving seat, taking concentration, focus and determination from the more logical side as fuel and a map, and reconnecting our unified self with the undifferentiated universe.

You can carry out magick absolutely anywhere as long as you are in a positive frame of mind.

But many practitioners believe that by entering an altered state of consciousness, you remove all the conscious blocks and allow the intuitive brain free access to the unconscious mind and with it the repository of human and cosmic wisdom.

This brings about a state of mind in which energies can flow between the dimensions.

You are in your most relaxed state when your brain is generating alpha waves.

They oscillate about ten times per second (the range is eight to 13 cycles per second) and are less common in our modern stressful lives.

But they are naturally generated, for example, when you daydream, or sit by a fountain and let the rushing water fill your mind, or gaze into a candle flame, or have a lavender- or rose-scented bath.

Compare these with the traditional routine preparations of fasting and ritual bathing of practitioners of the craft and you begin to see why these are important.

Invoking your protective angels to stand at the four corners of your magical circle, performing the rituals of preparing your magical tools and, in more formal magick, casting a circle – these are all ways of marking the limits of the everyday world and the entry into this magical space in which all the normal laws are suspended.

There are many ways of reaching this state, techniques to still inner turmoil and outer demands that block the easy access to the deeper psychic states.

At times when you feel unhappy, tense or anxious, you may need tranquillity; alternatively, there may be times when you need an infusion of power to meet a challenge, restore confidence or gain energy when all you feel like doing is sleeping.

Breathing in light and colors is a method of creating a cone or vortex of power, that can be released as magical energy or healing power in the cosmos.

In addition, by absorbing the light of the Moon or Sun you may take in either tranquillity or energies for those moments when you are particularly in need.

Perhaps you will find yourself in an artificially lit building, crammed on a commuter train or rushing to get the children to school and go to work.

At such times you may feel like one of the hags from Macbeth, ready to turn the entire carriage of commuters into toads – that’s when good magick is what you need.

The overall idea of types of magic, like Black magic, or White magic, largely stems from applying Ceremonial uses of magic practice to Witchcraft.

The dark side of nature and the light side may naturally find balance in the world.

The idea that black magic is evil and white as good, with grey being somewhere in between, stems from assumptive mainstream ideas about magic.

Using dark power to harm another can be seen as going against a Witchcraft code.

The Yin and Yang of Oriental systems is much more applicable to the Green Witch: dark and light in equal measure, finding balance in the same space together.

We have the Lord of the Shadows (another aspect of the God), giving rest and caring for the departed, as well as the Dark Mother (another aspect of the Lady), leading us from this world and into the next.

Context and perspective need to be in place when trying to describe these things, which helps us to see the dark side of magic is not evil at all.

Many contemporary writers on Witchcraft have pointed out the relevance of new discoveries in the physical sciences that seem to identify what Witches have always known to exist: a symbiotic relationship between mind and matter.

This relationship can be viewed from many angles and is probably not entirely understood by anyone, but its existence is clear to practitioners of magic as well as other mind/thought-based disciplines that bring about positive change in one’s life.

The traditional worldview of most of Western society for the past few millennia has held that reality is chaotic and inflexible, created by forces outside of human control.

It has also held that the mind is not a physical entity, and is separate from what we think of as “matter

”(The phrase “mind over matter” illustrates the fundamental opposition perceived to exist between the two.)

What Witches understand, and what science has begun to uncover, is that reality is flexible, and is co-created by and with everything in it, including the mind.

The mind is not separate from matter but is matter in its most basic form.

The power of thought has been illuminated in many books and videos about the “Law of Attraction,” a “New Age” topic that has recently found popularity among mainstream audiences, celebrities, and even business professionals.

The Law states that thoughts attract experiences that reinforce them, so that dwelling on negative circumstances can keep them in place while focusing on positive experiences creates improved circumstances.

Changing one’s thoughts is harder than it might seem, of course, which is possibly why so much information and advice regarding the Law of Attraction is currently available.

There are many books to read, pre-made spells, and lots of verbal advice about which herbs to use and how to create a spell using sympathetic magick.

Most of them call for supplies that are next to impossible to get in your area, unfamiliar to you, and, therefore, have little to no meaning to you, or are just plain expensive.

A lot of Pagan Witches live on a tight budget and don’t have the extra cash to purchase tools or supplies that a given spell may call for.

If you are thinking you must have money to be a witch, the truth is maybe you can be homeless, penniless, or just plain frugal and still work effective magick without buying anything.

So, how does a homeless, penniless, frugal witch do magick without even a candle?

What is the secret?

There are only a few things that are actually needed to work magick and these things are free.

You will need belief, imagination, will, focus, and desire and it is also good to have a moment of undisturbed time to work the spell.

These are the things that hold the power to your spells.

Do they really work without candles, herbs, and charms?

Yes, they do.

Using items to help you focus, believe, imagine, etc. are very helpful and do add a little ambiance to your spells but they are not necessary.

If you have a need to be frugal, you can also use items you may already have on hand.

An emergency candle, for example, is usually white and works with almost any spell or ritual.

You can perform a reflection spell that requires a mirror with an old compact mirror that comes with face powder.

This item is usually discarded, but you can always keep the little mirror.

You can clean it up, remove any dirt, smudges, or makeup left behind.

Something as plain as a disused makeup mirror is the only item that was needed for a simple spell.

You do not need to run out and buy candles, herbs, stones, string, or anything.

You can keep your spells simple.

Chants work really well for just about anything.

Ritual supplies are the same.

You can use mundane things such as a letter opener for your athame, a wine glass for your chalice, and most of your items you can make yourself such as a wand or staff.

The items you make can be as simple or elaborate as you want them to be.

Your finger works just as well to call guardians or cast a circle.

The gods and goddesses don’t really care about how expensive your tools are or how elaborate they are.

They don’t even care if you have anything at all.

They are simply there for you.

That means, that whatever meaning you put on your tools if you even choose to have tools, is what truly matters.

To be a witch, you don’t have to dress in black or any specific way or own specific items or any of that.

A witch can dress and acts the way they feel, believe, enjoy, or just their own style.

Some have short hair and some have long. Some dress professionally, some wear jeans, and some dress like a neo-hippy, goth, or even steampunk.

It doesn’t make them any more or less of a witch.

And this includes both male and female witches.

Who and what you are comes from within you and so does your power.

It is probable that all alphabets were originally magical.

Only in later times did they come to be reduced to the more prosaic transactions of mere record and trade.

The names which the letters were given often concealed some secret, which they enshrined in an abbreviated form.

Also, the number of the letters, and their divisions into consonants and vowels, had inner and arcane meanings.

A frequent proportion found in old alphabets is that of twenty-two letters, whereof seven are vowels.

This conceals, in a rough approximation, the relation of the diameter of an Alphabet magick.

Examples of alphabets from The Magus by Francis Barrett.

Alphabets, Magical circles to their circumference, which is today mathematically expressed by the Greek letter TI.

Moreover, before numeral figures were invented, the letters of the alphabet also served for the figures of numbers, such as A = 1, B = 2, and so on.

In this way, a word or a name was also a number.

Hence the study of what is today called numerology is a very time-honored practice.

The Hebrew alphabet, in particular, contains mystic meanings in this way; and the study of these, and the use of numbers to express transcendental ideas, a kind of spiritual algebra, is called the Qabalah, meaning traditional knowledge.

This word is sometimes spelled Cabala or Kabbala.

It has become an important part of the mystic and magical tradition of the West.

The Arabic alphabet, too, is used in this way, by the Sufis and other arcane brotherhoods of the Near East.

The Greek alphabet also lent itself to such use and interpretation, in ancient times.

In Britain, the Celtic Druids made use of the Ogham alphabet, which had several forms.

These have been studied extensively in our day by Robert Graves, in his now famous book, The White Goddess (Faber and Faber, London, 1 961).

He found them to throw a flood of new light upon the religion of Ancient Britain, and to show among other things that Britain was by no means a benighted and savage region, as often
previously taught, but a country in touch with the philosophy and religion of the greater part of the ancient world.

When the Angles and Saxons and the rest of the northern invaders settled in these islands, and Celtic Britain became Anglo-Saxon England, another magical alphabet found its way to this country.

This was the Runic alphabet, or Futhork (so-called from its first six letters).

This alphabet has given us the word ‘rune’, meaning a magical rhyme.

Originally, the Runes were the letters it was written down in.

Each of the Runic letters had a magical meaning.

Runic inscriptions were cut upon the hilt of a warrior’s sword, to make it powerful and victorious in battle; and this may be the origin of the ‘magical weapons’, knives and swords with mystic sigils and inscriptions upon them, which play such an important part in medieval magic.

The magician uses such weapons to draw the magic circle and to command spirits.

Though the witches of ancient Thessaly also used short swords as magical weapons.

It was because of their connection with pagan magic that the old Ogham and Runic alphabets were regarded with disfavor by the Christian Church.

With the spread of Christianity, these old alphabets fell into disuse and were replaced by the Latin alphabet, upon which our present-day alphabet is based.

The use of Ogham, however, was continued by the Bards of Wales, in order to write down the traditional knowledge they claimed to have Amulets received from the Druids.

They also evolved their own Bardic Alphabet, for the same purpose.

The Middle Ages saw the invention of a number of secret alphabets, which were used by magicians and witches exclusively for magical purposes.

These were mostly based upon the twenty-two-letter Hebrew alphabet; though there is one, the so-called The ban Alphabet of Honorius, which is based upon the Latin alphabet.

Consequently, this is a favorite magical alphabet of the witches, whose magic generally is not Qabalistic; and the Theban alphabet is often used by them today.

It takes its name from a legendary great magician of the past, Honorius the The ban.

To write something down in a magical alphabet serves two purposes.

Firstly, it conceals the secret of what has been written and hides it from the uninitiated.

Secondly, it compels the magician or the witch to concentrate more upon what he or she is writing, because they have to use unfamiliar characters to express it.

Hence, more power of concentrated thought goes into an inscription so written and makes it more magically potent.

One of magic’s main focuses is healing—healing of the self, healing of the earth, healing of humanity and nature.

In this sense, magic and self-care go hand in hand.

Self-care is a way to maintain your health, heal your spirit, and maintain or optimize your emotional, mental, and physical health.

Magic helps with self-empowerment and exerting control over your life, encouraging a focus on yourself as the best person you can be.

These are all things that can resonate well with the general goal of self-care.

The practice of magic seeks to establish or balance the connection between an individual and the environment.

If a spiritual aspect is added, then magic also seeks to balance or maintain the connection between the individual and the Divine.

Incremental Self-Care

There’s a tendency for people to say, “Oh, just exercise; your depression will vanish” or “Take up yoga and you’ll be a much better person spiritually!”

That’s not how self-care works.

Self-care is a complicated interwoven combination of hundreds of small acts and an attitude shift.

Using just one of the rituals, spells, or practices is not going to solve your problems.

But each magickal act will make you feel a little better and hopefully help you see that you are worthy of self-care and deserve to take the time and attention you need.

Even though it may not make your fatigue vanish completely, taking care of yourself is still a valuable thing.

Cleaning up a room won’t eliminate your anxiety, but it will make the atmosphere healthier and more comfortable to be in, and that’s important.

Fighting the Stereotypes of Self-Care

The media pushes self-care “solutions” in the form o sspa days and retail therapy.

It’s frustrating because these solutions assume that you are of a certain class with certain options available to you.

They assume that you have disposable income; they assume that you actively desire these things and deny yourself for some reason; and they assume that you have the time to engage in these activities, even as a treat.

These media suggestions also assume that engaging in these kinds of activities will fill a gap in your life, implying that you are somehow not normal if engaging in one doesn’t fill the void in your heart.

Take courage! The media view of self-care does not have to align with your sense of self-care, and, in fact, it’s probably healthier if it doesn’t.

Self-Care Guilt

Another stereotype of self-care is of someone lazily lounging on a sofa eating chocolate and ignoring chores.

This stereotype is harmful in that it suggests taking a few minutes to yourself between tasks is letting an unspecified “everyone” down in some way.

It implies that if you’re not wholly immersed in handling things, you are failing somehow.

This is one of the most harmful stereotypes associated with self-care because you are being told that you aren’t taking things seriously enough if you aren’t always working for the benefit of someone other than yourself.

It tells you that if you take a moment or two for yourself, you should feel guilt

Candle magick may be the most basic form of magical practice.

It can be very simple, prayer and lighting a candle before an image or in a special place.

Or you can anoint the candles with herb-infused oils to draw upon the power of the herb devas, and inscribe the candle, dedicate it to a magical purpose, and light it with the ceremony.

Candles can be added in with any other work you are doing.

Many mainstream religions already incorporate candles into their workings.

Catholics often light candles for prayer, and may even see this as the main purpose for attending mass.

Candles and incense are both lit for Buddhist practice.

But while you can certainly use candle magic in these settings, you don’t need an incense-laden shrine or wall of candles to work your candle magics.

You can do this from the privacy of your own home, in your own way. in fact, intuition matters quite a lot.

Intuition will tell you what you need to do in a given situation.

For example, the traditional ritual before magic working is to take a purifying bath and dressing in ceremonial robes before doing your spellwork.

But if your intuition says it’s not really necessary to do the ceremonial bath first, or you are a come-as-you-are type who doesn’t change clothing, etc, there’s nothing wrong with that.

You should learn to listen to that intuition/gut feeling/impulses, at all times!

It is something that you just start to do after a while until the craft becomes part of your daily life.

Green level practice is not the same as Shamanism, though they do have commonalities.

To require near-death fasting and exposure to become closer to the spirits, and its original purpose was to help the sick by entering the spirit world to fight the spirits of the dead, over these sick and dying people.

This practice exists within some Buddhist practices but is not quite the same as witchcraft.

Witchcraft and Shamanism share certain elements, such as with connection to a spirit guide or power animal.

But the difference lies in that Green Witchcraft focuses on the union with nature, above all else.

Journaling is a therapeutic practice.

It’s also a valuable part of working magic.

Keeping records of your work allows you to consult notes regarding herbal or incense blends, timing, successes and failures, origins of ideas, references, and experiments with energies of various
supplies and components.

Partnering or uniting the concepts of reflective self-care journaling and magical journaling in pursuit of self-care just makes sense.

You’ll have more than one magical and/or self-care journal in your life, so don’t get too caught up in finding the perfect one to last forever.

Any blank journal or notebook that is pretty and makes you happy or relaxed when looking at it is good.

Do you already keep a magical journal, recording your energy work, spells, and rituals?

Decide if you want to have a separate self-care journal or if you’re going to use your existing magical journal for that purpose.

Do what feels right for you.

You can always start one way and switch later if your initial choice doesn’t work for you.

A self-care journal tip:

Glue an envelope to the back cover, or use washi tape to tape the bottom and side of the last two pages to make a pocket open at the top.

This allows you to keep loose things in it.

The following rituals will help get you started with your journaling practice.

The first is a simple technique to bless your new self-care journal.

The second establishes optimal conditions to allow a productive journaling session.