What is Spellcrafting?
Its the basic ability to fabricate and use Spells and Magick for any purpose that is currently needed. It ranges from the emergency spell that is sometimes needed in daily life to help with an immediate problem, to the longer range Spell that is carefully researched, crafted and executed to help with a personal growth issue or much larger problem (such as those for World Healing, to help with the Foot and Mouth Epidemic (prevalent in CE2001 in the UK) or other such important issues). It's also the ability to wield Energy and perform Magick, from Shielding and Protection through to using Auras and Empathy
How do I write a Spell then?
In common with a few others out there, I'm adverse to just giving out Spells, as they are personal things, individual to each Witch, but I will share with you the process that I use to craft my own spells, thereby enabling you to write your own! This works better for me than listing reams of different spells that may well not work for you, or for answering lots of requests for Spells for differing uses.
Firstly you really need to be very clear of your intentions, write them down on a piece of paper, looking at just what it is that you want to achieve. Think long and hard about what the results may be, not only the ones that you foresee, but the possible repercussions that may well affect others around you (like the ripples in a pond when you drop in a stone, everyone's actions impact upon those around us like the ripples interacting)<WBR>. Consider the Rede and Three-Fold Law, is what you want to achieve ethical, will it harm others? A spell written to get a certain person that you like to like or love you is a perfect example of a spell that at first glance seems ok, but when you then realize that you are attempting to bend that person to your will, then you also realize that you are impinging upon their free will, in contravention of the Rede! (A better spell in this instance is to do one upon yourself that will bring forward self love and thus the love of others for
Who you are, or one to attract love to yourself!)
I'd usually decide now upon just what type of Magick it is that is going to be best suited for my needs, be it brewing a Potion, Candle Magick, forming the Spells power into a Talisman or Amulet or a more direct Spell that will need casting in a circle.
Next look at what supplies you have, and what types of supplies you are going to need. This means investigating the different Correspondances that you want to use, and may involve a trip out to get necessary supplies. As a minimum I'd suggest at least 3 correspondances for any spell, but you may wish to use more should you feel that you need more Oomph!
Following on from the Correspondances I'd look at which Deity to seek as a focus for the spell, either from your own personal Pantheon or from the correspondances that they have (I.e. Pan being a God of Mirth, Merriment and Woodland Flora and Fauna, so you'd invoke Pan if it were a spell for protection or healing of forest or wild animals).
Next you'd actually write the spell that you wish to work with, a good idea is to use rhyme as it does make it easier to remember the actual words if they rhyme, but this isn't strictly necessary, as long as you are sincere in what you wish to achieve and focused upon your goal then the actual words don't matter all that much! (As with the Tools that we use, most of Magick is just that, tools to aid the mind focus and direct the energy and power raised in a constructive and focused manner). Be very specific in what you write, if asking for something then make sure it is specified from where you want it to come (remember the guy who needed money, but got it through the sudden death of a relative!)
Finish off with a rhyme such as 'This is my will, So Mote it Be!'
Your Spell is then ready to cast!
Is there anything else I should do as well?
Lots! Continue to work towards your goal / result as normal within the everyday Mundane world, don't talk about the Spell (as this will dissipate it's energy, and also could allow an unscrupulous unprincipled person to try and counteract or hijack your efforts) and finally make detailed notes upon what exactly you did, what was used, and what results you are seeking. This will allow you to be able to measure your results, and to learn from your triumphs and mistakes, to hone your Spellcasting and Magickal techniques to absolute perfection.
So, how do I cast it?
Firstly, ground and focus yourself! This can be done by using a simple visualization, one of growing roots from your feet and hands (whilst sat on the ground) which reach down into the soil to provide you with nourishment and grounding before you begin. Another good way is to physically go and 'hug' a tree, taking note of it's steadfastness, the feel of its bark, the scent of it's leaves and the soft sounds that it makes in the wind. Another useful technique is to Open the Chakras prior to any Spell work, as this will allow greater movement of Energy through your body!
Next you need to focus exclusively on what it is you want to achieve in the workings that are ahead, focus on actually seeing the result you are after happening. Be totally committed in seeing just success, and do not waver in this image.
Now I'd recommend raising energy for the spell. This can be done using chanting, breathing techniques, drumming, dancing, by tensing the muscles within your body, through the Energy Ball technique or in any way that you feel comfortable.
Once you have raised the energy then you need to focus it upon your intent, and actually perform the Spell itself (be it speak the rhyme, sew up the poppet or light the candle).
Now the Spell is done don't forget to ground yourself again, I'd definitely suggest partaking of Cakes and Ale before releasing the Circle and ending the Ritual.
A sample Spell!
OK then, so to illustrate how the process works, here's a spell that I've put together for protection of my husband when he last went into hospital.
Intention of Spell - To protect Spiritwolf from Harm and Hurt whilst we are apart and to help him heal following his operation.
Type of Magick - Protection Spell, utilizing Healing Crystals as an Amulet of Protection
Correspondances Required - Candle - Red (Protection) or Blue (Healing)
- Essential Oil - Myrrh (both protection and healing)
- Stone - Amethyst (both protection and healing)
- Incense - Sandalwood (both protection and healing)
- Timing - Full Moon (both protection and healing)
Shopping List - New Amethyst Stone (remember to cleanse and then charge it before use, by washing in running water and leaving in Moon and Sunlight for a full 24 hours!)
Rhyme -
"The violet glow of love appears,
And sheds away life's pain and tears.
It brings a softness, Warmth and Light,
And heals the wounds that bind my plight.
This is our will, So Mote it Be!'
Method - Anoint the Red or Blue candle, light and place upon the Altar. Ground and Centre. Hold the Amethyst in your left hand until it gets warm, raising energy in your hands as you hold it, then speak the rhyme. Visualize a beautiful white light cascading down through you and into stone. Dip it into a saltwater mixture, and pass thru incense three (3) times Widdershins/<WBR>clockwise. Anoint the Amethyst and let dry naturally on the Altar. It Is Done. Do not carry in same pocket as money or knifes.
Another Sample Spell
A SPELL TO LOSE WEIGHT by Rowena Skye
CORRESPONDENCES:
COLOUR - Yellow - Health and Happiness
STONE - Calcite - Stimulates your metabolism to help burn calories faster and helps your body remember what it's like to be healthy.
PLANTS - Fennel and fennel seeds - historically used as an appetite suppressant and aids digestion.
DEITY - Invoke Green Tara I chose Green Tara, the Hindu consort of Buddha, because her image is one of a beautiful, healthy woman with a very slender waist. Representing active compassion, she is particularly worshipped for her ability to overcome the most difficult situations. The followers of Green Tara believe that her special powers will help overcome dangers, fears, and anxieties, and that she will grant wishes. She is also believed to help one cross over from danger to safety or from suffering to happiness. Her femininity imbues her with soft and compassionate feelings, and she acts
very quickly and directly as a savioress.
RHYME:
Blessed Green Tara, Lady of health and beauty,
Be with me and teach me that health is my duty.
My body is a temple and I must honour myself,
I will leave those snacks and bad food on the shelf.
On a waning moon this spell I evoke,
Until ninety days I have slept and awoke,
I envision myself slimmer and stronger,
The mirror will tell me if it need be longer.
With each moon cycle my fat will wane,
And more self-confidence I will gain.
At each full moon the results I will see,
The spell I cast will not harm me.
The magickal charms that I create,
Will guide me towards my goal and fate,
Their power will form a new image of me,
This I will, so mote it be.
Spell-working
Prepare the altar with these tools:
One yellow candle for the spell, two green for illumination
A pin or sharp object - to inscribe the candle
Goddess oil - to anoint the candle
Stick of sandalwood incense for health
Stick of frankincense for consecrating and charging your stone and charm
Fennel leaves to promote weight loss and health
Basil leaves for added power and energy
Dragon's blood oil - for added power to your charm
A calcite crystal
Fennel seeds
Herbal tea for weight loss
Two pouches for charms
A bowl for mixing
Prepare yourself for the spell-working with a bath in sage bath salts, tea, and meditation.
When ready, use your athame to cast a circle.
Take up your wand and invoke the archangels to guard the four corners.
Invoke Uriel in the East. Ask him for help with clarity on your spell.
Invoke Raphael in the South. Ask him for the healing, physical and emotional
Invoke Gabriel in the West. Ask him for strength to face and overcome your fears.
Invoke Michael in the North. Ask him for wisdom and love.
Inscribe the rune Uruz (meaning strength, changing form, tenacity, transformation, and health) three times on the yellow candle.
Anoint the candle with Goddess oil.
Light the yellow candle.
Light the two green candles on each side and invoke Green Tara to join you in your circle.
When you feel Her presence beside you, light a stick of sandalwood and a stick of frankincense.
Raise power and visualize yourself as clearly as you can as the slimmer and healthier person you desire to be. Remember to visualize the actions you will take to achieve your intent. Visualize yourself exercising and eating right.
Mix the fennel and basil leaves in a bowl, adding three drops of dragon's blood.
Fill one of the pouches, charge it with your intent and consecrate the pouch with frankincense smoke.
Take the calcite crystal, charge it with your intent and consecrate it with frankincense smoke. Rub the crystal on your body while envisioning the desired image of yourself. Then, place it in the second pouch and fill the rest of the pouch with fennel seeds. Charge the pouch with your intent and
consecrate it with the frankincense smoke.
Recite the spell's rhyme.
Thank Green Tara and the archangels for their help, drink some tea and chew some fennel seeds. Close the circle and bury an offering of the leftover tea and some fennel seeds for the Goddess. Let the candles burn themselves out or extinguish them if necessary.
To continue empowering the spell as needed, carry the charms with you. Smell the aroma of the first pouch or chew the fennel seeds or rub the crystal from the second pouch whenever you think about eating when you shouldn't. Also burn a charged and inscribed yellow candle and/or recharge and replenish the charm bags when you need strength to continue towards your desired goal.
Other ideas you could also use include in your Spellcrafting!
Writing down what it is you wish to Banish - then burning that piece of paper and dropping the ashes into moving water.
Writing that which you wish to banish and tying to either a helium filled balloon or a kite, then releasing to float away from you, taking the troubles with them!
Taking a long hot bath (or shower), washing your troubles into the water, and allowing them to flow down the plug hole to be rid of them!
Charging a glass of pure water with your intent whilst standing under a Full Moon, then drinking in the wishes with the water!
Charging a piece of crystal with your intent and carrying it with you (the same technique can be used upon jewellery, other items, and I've even heard of a Military Practitioner casting a protection spell upon his dog tags! An excellent use of his initiative!)
Charging a candle with your intent, anointing it, carving symbols upon it and then lighting it whilst meditating on the effects it will have. (A similar process to making Poppet Magick, where a small doll is made from material - to represent the person for whom the Spell is being done - then stuffed with things that are representative of the person, before being charged as to it's Magickal purpose! Though usually the Poppet is then stored away safely before being undone once the Spell has come to fruition)
Take a cut rose (to represent a lost love, or any other flower to represent another aspect that you have need of closure in), placing it in a bowl of water, and willing that as long as it blooms you will retain your feelings of grief (or whatever other feeling you wish to banish), but when it wilts you will then feel better and allow yourself to move forwards with your life with no further regrets. Check the bloom each day until it has withered, then allow yourself to feel the closure and bury the flower in the Earth.
There's no end to what types of Ritual and Spell you can use, the only limitation is that of your own imagination!
Is that all there is to it then?
If only it was that easy! Although the actual process of crafting, fabricating and casting the spell are widely understood, few people actually understand the reasons behind exactly what they do, and how it's results are achieved. It's like driving your car to work, you move your arms and legs to make the car move, and end up at work, but you wouldn't remember how you actually moved every muscle in order to get to your destination! Using Magick is the same, you perform actions on the Mundane Plane, mirroring the desires that you have in your own head, using knowledge that you have gained to affect a resulting application of Energy on the Astral or Spiritual Plane which will have a corresponding result back here on the Mundane Plane!
Another way that I've found very easy to understand the workings of Magick is the metaphor of a house with many floors, each of which represents a Plane upon which our Magick has attributes and works.
The Four Planes by Rodica Ossiac
I have found this to be very interesting and wished to share this so that others may be enlightened on this subject as well. This information is from Nancy Watson's book, Practical Solitary Magic. I have been through hundreds of websites focusing on Witchcraft/Wicca. Out of those I found less than 4 who have this information. It is working with the four planes which help one understand magick /spellcrafting better.
To get successful results from magic, work must be done upon all four of the planes. In ascending order, these are the physical plane, the emotional plane, the mental plane, and the spiritual plane.
The PHYSICAL PLANE:
Nancy Watson suggests working with a structure which is similar to a four-story house when practicing magick. She says to imagine that the ground floor represents the physical plane. This floor contains a number of rooms, each representing a particular magickal technique appropriate to this plane. This is a room where oils are blended and poured, a room where candles are moulded and consecrated, a room where waters are created, a room where powders and incense are compounded, and a room where crystals are cleansed and charged with energy. Each of these rooms is dedicated to a particular element, so that as you work with these physical tools you learn about the four elements and their correspondence to the various facets within your character.
There is a kitchen with a large hearth; this is your lab. And there is an herb garden just outside the kitchen. There is also a storage room which contains supplies of magical tools. As a novice, you will, of necessity, spend more time obtaining supplies for magickal practice than in creating the supplies themselves. Later, when you are more experienced, you may decide to specialize in the creation of one or more magickal tools. Finally, there is a small room which serves as a temple where, after all your preparations, you may practice your magick.
There are 2 important reasons to practice magick on the physical level.
First: physical materials such as herbs and incense stimulate your senses, which in turn activate certain areas of your psyche and create an emotional state in you conducive to the practice of magick.
Second: the use of physical materials grounds energies generated on the higher planes so that you obtain tangible results from your magickal operations.
The EMOTIONAL PLANE:
According to Nancy Watson, this is the second floor of the house. It also contains several rooms. There is a quiet room where you can daydream and visualize what it is you want to achieve. There are studios where you can experiment with music, dance, or the visual arts to see what effect these have upon your emotional state. And there are a variety of therapy rooms available so that you may release the emotional stresses which are the primary cause of physical illness and pain.
The emotional plane plays a pivotal role in magick. Desire to achieve a goal urges you to move up on level to the mental plane where you can plan your magickal operations for optimal results.
The MENTAL PLANE:
The third floor is a symbol of the mental plane. This story is a vast library, with books of knowledge on all subjects, not just metaphysics and magick. There are chairs and couches so that you can mull over your goals and plans in comfort. There are writing desks, where you can create affirmations and incantations. The only sound tolerated here is the muffled shuffle of cards and the click of runes or coins as oracles are consulted.
Nancy Watson feels the analysis and planning you do on this level are critical to the safe achievement of your goals through your practice of magick.
The SPIRITUAL PLANE:
The fourth and top floor represents the spiritual plane. This is a large and lovely room, filled with works of art of all that has ever been held sacred on Earth. There is a beautiful brazier, containing the fire of purification and creativity. The roof opens, like the dome of an observatory, on clear starry nights. A spiral ladder climbs to the open sky so that you may without hindrance observe the starts, offer prayers, and receive the influx of divine inspiration. It is a generally quiet plane, except for those times when chants and music are heard.
Nancy Watson says the work you do on the spiritual level affects all lower levels, and gives depth and permanence to your magickal operations.
These four planes comprise the formal architecture of magick.
Nancy Watson has suggested another place to go to. This is known as the CELLAR. The cellar is a dark and labyrinthine place. It contains all your instincts and personal memories. It also contains those feelings, thoughts, and urges you choose to deny or ignore. Your sanity and the quality and quantity of your energy depend on this, for what goes on in the cellars will eventually affect, for good or ill, the emotional plane. The cellar is otherwise known as your personal unconscious.
The point, according to Nancy Watson, is that if you wish to practice magick safely, you must have a deep knowledge of what is going on in your personal unconscious.
This is a great way of viewing the process of Magickal workings, though our own views on which Planes and Realms are used are slightly different, though the actual process is the same! After all, it matters not what name we assign to something, but that we are aware of it and it's impact. |
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