Knot magic works partly with the principle of
binding, which is a type of bidding spell, and
also with that of weaving, which was
traditionally a female intuitive occupation. It
utilizes ribbon, rope, string, yarn, or anything
that can be knotted or plaited to signify our
aspiration. It is a type of representational magic,
and is used in conjunction with many of the other
forms. The techniques of colour, form and use of
energies are all used in its practice.
The direction of this Element is east and the colour usually associated with it is yellow.
Incense is often used to represent Air, since the movement of the air can be seen in the incense smoke.
When you are looking for inspiration, need new ideas or perhaps to break free from the past or undesired situations, you would use this Element.
The quality associated with it is that of thinking or the use of the intellect.
When working in a magical circle, Air is the second quarter on which you call for protection.
The sylphs are the Air spirits; their Element has the most subtle energy of the four.
They are said to live on the tops of mountains and are volatile and changeable.
They are usually perceived with wings and look like cherubs or fairies.
One of their tasks is said to be to help humans receive inspiration
In most systems of magical working you will
find mentioned the four (or sometimes five)
Elements, often in conjunction with their
directions or, as they are known in magic,
quarters of the universe or cardinal points.
Together and separately they are extremely
powerful sources of energy and can give a
tremendous boost to your spell making. Each
Element also comes under the protection of one
of the Archangels (see pages 249-251).
The four Elements are energies, and
manifestations of energy, that make up the
entire universe. They also influence our
personalities and therefore what we do. Magical
working calls to each elemental kingdom and its
ruler to protect each cardinal point and its
properties. Each Element has an intrinsic power
and is known for having certain qualities,
natures, moods and magical purposes. Each
also has positive and negative traits.
Earth, Air, Fire and Water are the four
Elements and you may well find that you work
best using one of them in particular. People
drawn to candle magic, for instance, are using
mainly the Element of Fire, while those who
work with incense are using Air with a fair
smattering of Earth in the herbs and resins.
The fifth Element is that of spirit, which is the
‘binding principle’ behind everything.
Sometimes known as aether, it is, on the whole,
intangible, yet is that which makes everything
happen. You are both its representative and its
channel, so in using the other Elements in
magical working you have a responsibility to
act wisely and well.
This type of spell prepares the magical worker
and his helpers for further work by heightening
their awareness. It does not set out to call up the
powers, but appeals to gods, goddesses,
powers of nature and so on for help.
Chanting, prayer and hymns are in many
ways incantations, particularly when the intent
is stated with some passion. An incantation is
often very beautiful and rhythmic. Music has
always been an efficient way of heightening
awareness and altering states of consciousness.
These are spells where the spell maker
commands a particular thing to happen, but
without the co-operation of those involved.
Trying to make someone do something which
they do not want to do, or which goes against
their natural inclination, obviously requires a
great deal of power and energy and can
possibly misfire, causing the originator of the
spell a good deal of difficulty.
For this reason, it is wise to preface such
spells with words to signify that the outcome
will only be in accord with the greater good –
that is, that in the overall scheme of things no
one will be harmed in any way whatsoever.
This ensures that the intent behind the spell is
of the purest and that there is not any
maliciousness within the practitioner. It means
that an able and responsible practitioner must
choose their words carefully, even when they
are not casting a spell.
One type of bidding spell that is allowable is
when a curse or ‘hex’ is being removed. A hex
is a spell that ill-wishes someone and in many
cases binds the recipient in some way. A curse is
a spell with a much more generalized effect. To
remove such a negative spell, it is usual to turn
it around and send the malign energy back to
the person who summoned it in the first place.
You simply command the energy to return from
whence it came.
Many people’s first thought in this context is of
love spells – ways of making another person
find them sexually attractive and desirable. In
theory, love spells should be unconditional and
this type should be entirely unselfish and free
from self-interest. However, most of the time
they obviously cannot be so, unless they are
performed by a third party, someone outside
the longed-for relationship who is totally
dispassionate.
To try to influence someone else directly may
well go against the ethics of many practitioners
and magicians, though such spells do tend to be
the stock-in-trade of many Eastern practitioners.
Anyone who wishes to experiment with love
spells needs to be aware that such spells come
under the category of bidding spells and
therefore must be used carefully. Love spells are
often accompanied by gifts or love philtres, which
are also meant to have an effect on the recipient.
IN ANCIENT PAGAN communities the elders, or
wise ones, had, by their very experience, an
awareness of custom and a firm grasp of
what had previously worked when trying to
gain control over Mother Nature and other
powers they did not fully understand. They
had access to certain knowledge (and therefore
power) that was not readily available to the
ordinary individual.
The ancients recognized that words spoken in a
certain way, according to custom, seemed to have
more of an effect than those spoken on the spur
of the moment. As a consequence, their words
would have more power, yet the same words
spoken by the uninitiated or those who did not
understand,did not seem to have the same result.
There are three important aspects when
reciting a spell. The first is that words spoken
with intensity and passion do have a power all
of their own. The next is that the speaker also
has a power and an energy which, with
practice, he or she may learn to use effectively.
The third component, the forces and powers
belonging to that which is ‘beyond the human
being’ also have a tremendous power and are
called upon, used or directed for a specific
purpose. The use of all three of these aspects
gives a very powerful spell indeed.
There are several kinds of spell, each of which
requires a different approach.
Today there is a rich heritage of magical practices
and beliefs on which we can call to satisfy our
need for control over our own lives. Where
conventional religion no longer offers an outlet
for our sense of belonging, we can turn to
magical rituals and spell making to honour our
origins. We can make use of the knowledge and
practices that have been handed down to us and
have survived, often in the face of adversity. The
principles that form the basis of magical practice
still operate today, as do the various belief
systems associated with them.
Many of these belief systems take their names
from the Greek word theo, meaning god. One
can be polytheistic (belief in many gods) yet see
all things as being part of one great mystery, or
monotheistic (belief in one god) yet recognize
that for others there may be many gods. Again
one might be atheistic (with no belief in god),
with simply a belief in one’s own power.
In the working of magical spells no one can
tell you what to believe – you must make your
own decisions. The words ‘paganism’ and
‘pagan’ come from the Latin paganus, meaning
‘rustic’ or ‘belonging to the country’. Largely,
ancient paganism was pantheistic (believing in
all gods) but today the word has come to mean
someone who does not recognize the God of
the main religions of the world, such as
Christianity or Judaism. We are much closer to
a belief in the power of nature and for those
who seek to use magic and spell making in
their daily lives, there is the need for love and
respect for all living things. How we express
that will be mirrored in our spell making.
Curiosity, exploration and secrecy
One of most interesting characters from early
times was Abraham Abulafia (1240–95), who
made available much arcane knowledge, which
ultimately formed the basis of Kabbalah.
Believing in the divine nature of the Hebrew
alphabet, he held that God cannot be described
or conceptualized using everyday symbols. He
therefore used abstract letter combinations and
permutations (tzeruf) in intense meditations
lasting for hours to reach ecstatic states.
These were spells in the real sense of the word
since they literally ‘spelt out’ the keys to altered
states of consciousness – failure to carry
through the keys correctly could have a farreaching effect on the careless practitioner,
resulting in madness and other states of
illusion. Again, these beliefs have been brought
through to the modern day and used to great
effect. Controlled use of altered states of
consciousness, backed up by empirical
evidence, is still one of the most potent tools a
magical practitioner or spell worker can have.
The Renaissance period in Europe saw the
coming to prominence of many secret societies
and scholar-magicians. Because of the
burgeoning natural curiosity encouraged by
Renaissance principles, a new importance was
placed on the actual controlling of the forces of
nature. The basis of magic working had
previously been seen as harnessing the power
of spirits and demons. Now, additionally, the
human mind was a factor to be considered and
magical working was geared to gaining power,
not only over external forces but also over
internal states. Much good work was done in
understanding the interaction between the
spiritual realm and the physical, and how
changes can be brought about within the latter.
Both Kabbalah and alchemy, one of whose
objectives was to transform baser metals into
gold, became very popular, as we have seen.
By the 17th century, folk magic and witchcraft
were being used side by side, often with little
differentiation between them. Most people
were alternately fascinated and frightened by
energies that offered control of nature coupled
with opportunities for enormous wealth. Even
King James 1 had fallen foul of Scottish witches,
in that they had tried to control his behaviour
during his time as King of Scotland. As a result
he did his best to control pagan belief in his
kingdoms.
Across the known world, witchcraft then
became more widely identified with demonic
or satanic entities opposed to God and
therefore wholly evil. A heretic was defined as
a traitor – an offence punishable by death – and
the persecution of those who did not conform
to the so-called religious thought of the day
became relentless. This caused the practice of
witchcraft to go underground not just in terms
of secrecy but in actuality, for example in the
use of caves and secret places, such as Wookey
Hole in Somerset, England.
The practice of magic survived however and
by the 19th century there is evidence that many
secret societies, each surrounded by its own
unique mysteries, still survived. Often they
were formed by highly creative people who
were searching for new and different ways of
self-expression. Many of the beliefs of these
societies were based on the old traditions,
though some differed widely from those of the
old alchemists. Rituals and invocations were
developed which were supposedly based on
the ancient rites, often with a very strong bias
towards melodrama. Secret societies have also
survived into the present day, though not
always with full awareness of the fact that their
rituals are based on magical practice
IT IS SOMETIMES best not to attempt any
definition of ancient magic and magical
belief. However, in any discussion of magic
and its practitioners we must take account of a
period in which the magical traditions of
several different cultures coalesced and merged
into a type of international and even
multicultural magical practice, with its own
rituals, symbols and words of power. This
occurred in the Mediterranean basin and the
Near East from the 1st to the 7th centuries AD
and is the basis of most of the early, more
intellectually based, systems of magic.
Magic and its understanding is, in some ways,
a result of the human desire for control, and in
this period there was a need to control the
natural environment, the social world and the
outcome of those forces not fully understand.
This underlying desire for control comes to the
surface most often in times of change, as we have
seen repeatedly over the last fifteen centuries.
During this time the techniques may have been
modified but the goals have remained the same.
The basic laws of magic, of control, still apply
today just as they have always done.
Ancient beliefs and practices are the mainstay of
magic. Modern-day spells often have their roots
in ancient rituals and today’s rituals arise from
knowledge of age-old spells.
While we might make an attempt at defining
ancient beliefs as applied to the modern day, no
definition of magic has ever found universal
acceptance, and countless attempts to separate
it from religion on the one hand and science on
the other, have never been truly successful.
What one group of people may label magic,
another would label religion, and another
science. By choosing only one of these
classifications for magic, we close our minds to
all the other possibilities that are available to us.
SACRED GEOMETRY MEANS different things to
different people. The artists of the
Renaissance period discovered the
Golden Mean – a ratio which helped them to
construct a perfect picture, calculated as
1:l.618034, an ‘irrational’ number. This concept
is still valid today.
To the architect, that same ratio – this time
called a Golden Section – is used to calculate a
standard proportion for width in relation to
height, as used in facades of buildings, in
window sizing, in first storey to second storey
proportion and at times in the dimensions of
paintings and picture frames – in fact,
wherever a pleasing proportion is desired.
For the botanist or zoologist this same
proportion is seen in nature in the spiral of
flower and leaf growth or in the symmetry of a
shell. Here we have the best arrangement so
that each leaf gets the maximum exposure to
light, casting the least shadow on the others.
This also provides to falling rain, so the rain is
directed back along the leaf and down the stem
to the roots. For flowers or petals, it displays
them to insects to attract them for pollination.
In fact, nature has developed a way of working
in an optimum fashion, and so too can we, if
we so choose.
We can learn to use geomancy, Sacred
Geometry, Feng Shui and indeed even old-style
medieval geomancy, to learn and understand
the currents within the earth and to divine how
best to live in peace and harmony with the rest
of the world.
There has always been something magical
about mathematics, and indeed, the ancients
thought that it showed Divine intention.
Platonic solids, which still fascinate today, were
used to prove various theories and to form
‘perfect’ shapes. The magical art of
manifestation pays homage to this in many
ways. The dodecahedron (a twelve-sided
shape) is potentially the most beautiful, but at
the same time most unstable, solid – surely a
magical figure.
Man’s efforts to understand the inexplicable
have led him down many highways and
byways. Perhaps the most fruitful initially for
the spell worker or magical practitioner
nowadays is to understand magical principles.
Over the centuries many different schools of
Feng Shui have developed. The basic principles
are broadly the same, though each school has a
slightly different focus. There are three main
schools in existence today:
Form School
This school focuses on the features of the
surrounding landscape and the correct use of
the positioning of buildings – and, in former
times, burial sites – to gain protection from
inauspicious winds (feng) and provide
adequate water to sustain life (shui), though the
latter’s energy can be unpredictable.
A site or building, by tradition, needs the
protective or energizing force of particular
animals. (The Chinese believe that four celestial
animals guard the four directions: the dragon
to the east, the red bird or phoenix to the south,
the tiger to the west and the tortoise, enlaced by
a snake, to the north.) If landforms or other
natural features surrounding the site can be
seen as such symbols, then the location is
extremely fortunate. The building is protected
and/or energized according to its position. The
art of the practitioner is to minimize or deflect
bad energy (sha) and bring beneficial energy
(chi) to the establishment.
Compass School
This style of Feng Shui uses the eight major
trigrams of the I Ching (see pages 135-143 for a
full explanation) and relates them to the eight
principal points of the Compass. These are laid
out to form the eight-sided figure called the Pa
Kua, which is used to interpret the favourable
and unfavourable locations, not just for
buildings as a whole but also house floor plans
and room layouts. The Feng Shui practitioner
will advise on the correct placement of objects
within each ‘mansion’ and will often advise on
colour. The Compass school may also use the
Flying Star system, which takes into account
the astrological significances (calculated
according to the Chinese system) of the time at
which the house was built.
The Chinese compass works in the reverse to
the Western way of thinking, with the South at
the top of the diagram. Just as with Western
astrology and magical systems, in Chinese
thought, each direction is focused on certain
important areas of life or significances. Each
compass point and trigram has its own
‘Mansion’ within which are held the energies of
that direction, to be drawn on or mitigated at
will by the able practitioner.
Above are the significances of each of the
eight trigrams. These are, in order, Family
Position, Element, Polarity, Colour, Season, Area
of Life (most important) and, finally, the Shape
which enhances the energy of that section.
Black Hat Sect School
This is a more modern version of Feng Shui
which has its roots not only in traditional Feng
Shui but also in Tibetan Buddhism and Taoism.
In this school, the Pa Kua (often called the Ba
Gua) is used, but it is based on the direction of
the front door of the building, rather than the
compass points. The house or room is divided
into eight sectors, similar to the Eight
Mansions, each one having a bearing on an
aspect of life that might need enhancing.
Shown opposite is a Pa Kua calculated for a
house that has recently been purchased. Using
Chinese astrological calculations, a ‘fit’ must be
found between the occupants’ life energy and
the energy of the house. There are four helpful
areas (Longevity, Prosperity, Health and
Excellent) and four unhelpful areas (Death,
Disaster, Irritation and Spooks – also known as
the ‘Six Curses’). The diagram has been drawn
in accordance with the Western method of
having south at the bottom of the diagram.
The energy of this house is very much in
accord with the birth date of one of the
occupants, yet there are certain problems
associated with it in that, for instance, the
kitchen is in the ‘Death’ area. This means that
either the kitchen must be moved, which is not
immediately practical, or certain changes must
be made within the area to minimize risk. There
is a toilet in the house within the ‘Spooks’ area,
but with a little thought this can be used to
keep the area clear – one simply remembers to,
quite literally, ‘flush away’ the negativity.
Presenting Feng Shui in such a simplistic
fashion in no way honours the art as it should
be. It is much too complex a subject for that,
and true practitioners will study for many
years to perfect their skill and reach the state of
Perfect Man. Feng Shui is one of the ways of the
philosophy known as Tao, which assists us to
remain in harmony with ourselves and the
environment.
ONE OF THE most important adjustments
that we can make as we begin to work
consistently with magic is to the
environment in which we live and to our own
personal space. As we reach an internal peace
we create tranquillity around us, but equally
our environment must nurture us. For the
practitioner this means understanding both our
living space and our own subtle aura – or
energy field – created by our own vitality.
Scientific discoveries that were made during
the 20th century mean that we are becoming
more and more aware of the constantly shifting
fields of energy through which we move in our
daily lives. Today we call them electromagnetic
fields and talk of ‘adjusting the flow’. This
concept of energy fields is by no means new,
however, because the fact that there was subtle
movement between the two polarities of yin
and yang (negative and positive) was
recognized as far back as 5,000 years ago in the
I Ching (The Book of Changes), which we shall
study in more depth later.
The art of Feng Shui gives an understanding of
these energies and movements, both tangible
and intangible; it is the art of correct placement.
Good Feng Shui practitioners will understand
the processes of transformation, both internal
and external, which can take place when we are
in tune with our environment and will do their
best to balance the external energies in a way
that is appropriate for the task in hand, whether
that is creating a harmonious home, a
productive working space or a healing vibration.
To understand the theory of Feng Shui we
must first redefine our understanding of
divination. Divination – in this case using the I
Ching and the hexagrams as a tool – means
being able to ascertain the most likely course of
events should we be able to adjust any or all of
the energies when we are out of balance. It
consists of working with the flow of essential
energy and making very subtle adjustments
when necessary, so that we approach the ideal
or the divine as closely as possible.
Feng Shui can have an effect on every aspect
of our lives. The way it is applied can be either
beneficial or detrimental (or both) to the way
we live and to the surrounding environment. It
is by no means a game or fad, but it is a way to
live in harmony with nature, as it is understood
in the Tao, so that the energy surrounding us
works for us rather than against us.
In the West, Feng Shui is not yet accepted as a
science, since its principles cannot yet be
proved by science – although it does require
mathematical calculation. Neither a religion, a
philosophy nor a belief system, it puts into
practice tools and techniques that enable us to
be as perfect as we can and remain so.
A system that has stood the test of time
naturally changes to keep pace with
knowledge, and it is unfortunate that the
superstitious ‘silly’ side of the wealth of
information available to practitioners of Feng
Shui has received so much publicity in recent
times. The judicious placing and use of mirrors,
wind-chimes of a certain type of material, or
crystals hung in windows do all enhance the
available energy, but only when carried out
according to strict laws of correspondence.
THE WORD GEOMANCY (from the Latin geo,
‘Earth’, mancy ‘prophecy’) had a different
meaning in ancient times from that it has
today and we shall deal with that aspect first. It
was a method of divination used to interpret
markings on the ground or how handfuls of dirt
landed when you tossed them, and was therefore
the reading of patterns or signs. Geomancy
seems to have appeared as a word in the
language used by the common people in 1362,
and was one of the most popular forms of
divination throughout the Middle Ages. It was
apparently suggested to the Pope of the time that
it should be integrated into Catholic teachings.
In this form geomancy was – and indeed still
is – a practice which involved marking sixteen
lines of dashes either in sand or soil with a
wand, or, as practised nowadays, on a sheet of
paper with a pencil. This is similar to other
divinatory methods. The English version of
geomancy involved grouping the marks on the
ground into ‘constellations’ with names like Via
and Puer, which could then be interpreted.
Once used by commoners and rulers alike, it
was probably the basis for the Oraculum said to
have been used by Napoleon Bonaparte. This
was also known as the Sibylline Leaves, and
consisted of a set of instructions, which show
the user how to reduce their question to a set of
asterisks laid out in various patterns. The
answer is divined from these patterns.
Today there are those who have redefined
geomancy and taken it away from divination to
a point where human consciousness meets,
understands and appreciates the energies of the
earth. By understanding the interaction
between humankind and the earth on which
we live, it enables us to live harmoniously with
Gaia (Mother Nature) as a complex entity
involving the earth’s biosphere, atmosphere,
oceans and soil.
Geomancy is actually the practice of
identifying the subtle energies of the earth that
directly affect our health and well-being. It
involves pinpointing those energies that are
disruptive to our lives and balancing them. It
encompasses, as knowledge spreads, the art of
the proper placement of both public and
spiritual structures, places where we pray, work,
play and live. Now, geomancers can find and
shape spaces in harmony with both the physical
and the spiritual environment of a place. We can
do this through Western knowledge of Sacred
Geometry or through the Chinese art of Feng
Shui (literally meaning ‘wind and water’).
There are many folkloric remedies for the evil
eye, ranging from painting an eye on the prow
of a boat in the Mediterranean, supposedly to
outstare the sorcerer, to passing a plate filled
with burning coals three times round the head
of the victim in India. Iron is always a good
specific against the curse of the evil eye, as also
are mirrors or glass beads, which dazzle.
By and large it is the idea of envious glances
that is the basis of the superstitions and
customs surrounding the evil eye. In Turkey,
many parents keep new babies out of public
view for forty days, lest their beauty invite a
jealous glance. In Jewish and Kabbalistic lore,
the evil eye is known as ayin harah and what
follows is a variation of a charming technique
to protect a new baby from ayin harah.
YOU WILL NEED
Piece of deer’s antler
Hair from a black mare’s tail
Silver tip for the antler
Cairngorm stone (a type of smoky quartz)
METHOD
✤ Wind the horsehair around one end of the
antler at least nine times.
✤ Fix the silver tip to the antler. This ensures
that there is a balance of male and female
energy, which repels the evil eye.
✤ If you wish to make your own jewellery, the
gemstone adds additional protection,
particularly from fairies
✤ If you wish, you can then consecrate your
creation.
✤ It is said that if the antler breaks you have
been attacked and you should bury the
broken pieces in the earth.
This charm demonstrates how much arcane
knowledge can be lost, without people appreciating
the real reasons for certain actions. In other cultures
the shark’s tooth is equally protective.
While the owner of the evil eye did not
necessarily need to be a witch, the curse did
require the services of a magical person to
remove it. In Scotland such arcane knowledge
was, and in some cases still is, passed from
father to daughter and mother to son. The word
orth was used for an ordinary spell but a
ceremonial magical spell among the Gaelic Celts
was signified by the word bricht. It is interesting
that this word also means ‘bright’ in dialect –
perhaps such a ceremony required an
exceptionally bright moonlit night.
YOU WILL NEED
Lemon
Iron nails
METHOD
✤ Drive the nails with some force into the lemon.
✤ Visualize the evil eye being pierced.
✤ Keep the lemon for three days, by which time
it should begin to rot.
✤ If it does not, repeat the procedure.
Here you have externalized the difficulty, checked that
the spell worked and repeated the procedure if not. You
could then repeat the diagnostic procedure to ensure
that you are clear.
The Greek Orthodox Church does forbid
people to go to ‘readers’ or other individuals
for use of magical rituals to overcome the evil
eye. It is stated quite categorically that such
people take advantage of the weakness of
superstitious people and destroy them
spiritually and financially by playing upon
their imagination. However, Vaskania – which is
another word for the evil eye – is recognized
simply as a phenomenon that was accepted by
primitive people as fact. It is the jealousy and
envy of some people for things they do not
possess, such as beauty, youth or courage.
Though the Church rejected Vaskania as
contradicting the concept of divine providence,
the prayers of the Church to avert the evil eye
are an implicit acceptance of its existence.
In Scotland it seems that the evil eye was
more often associated with women and
therefore inevitably with the crone, or wise
woman, than with men. Anyone with a squint
or eyes of different colour could be accused of
possessing the evil eye and of using it to cause
harm or illness. A charmed burrach or cow
fetter could be used to protect animals. Other
preventative measures could also be taken,
some using plants and trees – such as rowan
and juniper – and others using horseshoes and
iron stakes. This next technique explains one of
the most-loved pieces of Scottish jewellery
YOU WILL NEED
Olive oil
Bowl of water
METHOD
✤ Drip three drops of olive oil on the surface of
the water.
✤ Watch what happens.
✤ If the drops remain distinct there is no evil eye.
✤ If they run together there is.
✤ Dispose of the oil and water safely.
✤ There are many ways of removing the evil eye.
The evil eye is an ancient, widespread and
deeply held belief in more than one third of the
world’s cultures, but is particularly strongly
feared even today in countries of Mediterranean
origin, and also in Celtic countries. Different
cultures have different ways of dealing with this
nuisance.
In Greece, it is thought that it doesn’t take
much to get the matiasma, or the evil eye. If
anyone so much as admires your shoes, even
from a distance, this envy can put a spell on
you. Anyone with blue eyes is particularly
suspected of being able to cast the evil eye.
It is believed that mothers have a particular
ability to remove it if their son is afflicted.
Though the knowledge is passed from mother
to daughter, a woman will not always learn the
prayers necessary to do this until she becomes
a mother herself. At that time she is prayed for
herself thus, since she is considered vulnerable:
…and with bright, shining Angels enfold and
cherish her, guarding her round about against
every attack of invisible spirits; yea, Lord, from
sickness and infirmity, from jealousy and envy, and
from the evil eye.
A mother can diagnose and then remove an
attack of the evil eye in the following way