Tag: God

About Litha: A Guide to the Symbolism of the Wiccan Sabbat

About Litha: A Guide to the Symbolism of the Wiccan Sabbat

a guide to the symbolism of the Wiccan Sabbat

by Arwynn MacFeylynnd

Date: June 20-23 (usually, the date of the calendar summer solstice).

Alternative names: Summer Solstice, Midsummer, Midsummer’s Eve, Alban Heruin, Alban Hefin, Gathering Day, Vestalia, La Festa dell’Estate (Summer Fest), the Day of the Green Man.

Primary meanings: This Sabbat celebrates the abundance and beauty of the Earth. From this day on, the days will wane, growing shorter and shorter until Yule. It is a time to absorb the Sun’s warming rays, and to celebrate the ending of the waxing year and beginning of the waning year in preparation for the harvest to come. Midsummer is another fertility Sabbat, not only for humans, but also for crops and animals. This is a time to celebrate work and leisure, to appreciate children and childlike play and to look internally at the seeds you’ve planted that should be at full bloom. Some people believe that at twilight on this day, the portals between worlds open and the faery folk pass into our world; welcome them on this day to receive their blessings.

Symbols: Fire, the Sun, blades, mistletoe, oak trees, balefires, Sun wheels, summertime flowers (especially sunflowers), summer fruits, seashells and faeries. If you made Sun wheels at Imbolc, display them now prominently, hanging from the ceiling or on trees in your yard. You may want to decorate them with yellow and gold ribbons and summer herbs.

Colors: White, red, maize yellow or golden yellow, green, blue and tan.

Gemstones: All green gemstones, especially emerald and jade, and also tiger’s eye, lapis lazuli and diamond.

Herbs: Chamomile, cinquefoil, copal, elder, fennel, fern, frankincense, galangal, heliotrope, hemp, larkspur, laurel, lavender, lemon, mistletoe, mugwort, oak, pine, roses, saffron, St. John’s wort, sandalwood, thyme, verbena, wisteria and ylang-ylang. Herbs gathered on this day are said to be extremely powerful.

Gods and goddesses: All father gods and mother goddesses, pregnant goddesses and Sun deities. Particular emphasis might be placed on the goddesses Aphrodite, Astarte, Freya, Hathor, Ishtar and Venus and other goddesses who preside over love, passion and beauty. Other Litha deities include the goddesses Athena, Artemis, Dana, Kali, Isis and Juno and the gods Apollo, Ares, Dagda, Gwydion, Helios, Llew, Oak/Holly King, Lugh, Ra, Sol, Zeus, Prometheus and Thor.

Customs and myths: One way to express the cycle of the Earth’s fertility that has persisted from early pagan to modern times is the myth of the Oak King and the Holly King, gods respectively of the Waxing and Waning Year. The Oak King rules from Midwinter to Midsummer, the period of fertility, expansion and growth, and the Holly King reigns from Midsummer to Midwinter, the period of harvest, withdrawal and wisdom. They are light and dark twins, each being the other’s alternate self, thus being one. Each represents a necessary phase in the natural rhythm; therefore, both are good. At the two changeover points, they symbolically meet in combat. The incoming twin — the Oak King at Midwinter, the Holly King at Midsummer — “slays” the outgoing one. But the defeated twin is not considered dead — he has merely withdrawn during the six months of his brother’s rule.

On Midsummer Night, it is said that field and forest elves, sprites and faeries abound in great numbers, making this a great time to commune with them. Litha is considered a time of great magickal power, one of the best times to perform magicks of all kinds. Especially effective magick and spells now include those for love, healing and prosperity. Wreaths can be made for your door with yellow feathers for prosperity and red feathers for sexuality, intertwined and tied together with ivy. This is also a very good time to perform blessings and protection spells for pets or other animals.

Nurturing and love are key actions related to Midsummer. Litha is a good time to perform a ceremony of self-dedication or rededication to your spiritual path as a part of your Sabbat celebration. Ritual actions for Litha include placing a flower-ringed cauldron upon your altar, gathering and drying herbs, plunging the sword (or athamé) into the cauldron and leaping the balefire (bonfire) for purification and renewed energy. Considered taboo on this holiday are giving away fire, sleeping away from home and neglecting animals.

The Truth Is In The Experience.

The Truth Is In The Experience.
image
Author: Snowdragon

My religion, if it can be called a religion (it’s more a way of life for me), is full and fluid and like the ocean. It never stays in one place, it is ever changing and evolving like spring to summer and summer to fall. And I grow and change with it, adapting new ideas, establishing a greater sense of myself with every footstep.I send my roots down into the fertile soil and drink of the un-ending knowledge that this earth holds before me. And like the gardener whose careful hands tend the living, breathing earth I propagate my own experiences with grace and determination. There is no formula for magick, it is not an exact science, nor is it an ancient unbending truth; it is an experience. It is the wisdom that is established from this experience that helps us to define the meaning of the word ‘magick’. I have a very long and deeply embedded ancestral link to Israel but as a child this link was not made evident to me and it wasn’t until I reached adult hood that I could better understand the connection to my Jewish roots.

Israel is a profoundly spiritual place, rich in history and ceremony. And it seems that every little mundane chore such as the making of the first meal of the day, washing of the hands and face and the general tidiness of one’s home is ripe with spiritual significance. It is the pervasive conception that god is in the details that allows the Jewish people to maintain a consistent and unwavering connection to the spiritual realm in daily life. Perhaps it is this practice of acknowledging the spiritual when engaging the practical that will help us to truly experience magick.

It is my purpose to try to establish a greater connection to the spiritual within my mundane life so that the question isn’t whether or not I should practice magick and how I practice magick but more importantly, why?

I feel that life is a magickal journey and that it is the in-between moments where our attentions are diverted to material matters such as clothing, shelter and food that cause us to lose our sense of who we are as spiritual beings. Bread may be bread and hunger may be the driving force in its creation but it is the ceremony in its preparation, the transformation of cooking it, and ultimately the sharing of it in a social setting that makes the whole process a physical representation of a greater spiritual experience. This is the essence of magick and thus where our truest spell work can be done. Just as we would study for a test or exam one must first conceptualize of the desired outcome, establish a methodology for creating said outcome and then set out with the appropriate tools to materialize the goals we wish to achieve. In doing so, we open ourselves to our greatest potential, increasing our connection to our higher selves. It is here that we define who we are, recognize our strength’s and weakness and determine whether or not we are willing to overcome them. For, we are always able. We have the very tools we need in our hands the trick is learning how to use them effectively and with true purpose and intention.

In effect spell-work is the physical act and magick the driving force. So there can never be a lack of magick in one’s life if one is willing to acknowledge the spirit that whispers underneath. The simple act of “stopping to smell the roses” is an expression of connecting to the spiritual self, the desire to know god, to touch with the hands of creation and to be an infinite part of it. But like all good things there is danger of obtaining too much or over indulging in the material benefits. I find this particularly true when it comes to religion. We often find ourselves becoming fanatical about our approach to spiritual matters, and instead of obtaining a greater understanding of our spiritual selves and having the foresight to trust its existence we become greedy and disenfranchised with the spiritual truth of those around us. We cling to our ceremony as though without it our very souls would cease to be instead of allowing it to grow, evolve and breath like the very earth in which we live. In fact I find no greater representation for the spiritual realm then the earth beneath my feet and the sky above my head and it is in this world where I have discovered some of my greatest spiritual explorations. With the people that I meet, the challenge of a new relationship and within the dynamics of those that already exist.

If we wish to continue to deepen our connection to the spiritual we must be willing to let go of it. If we cling too tightly we damage the fragile nature that makes the quest for spiritual truth so imperative. Like a clear crystal stone, if we hold it to the light we can see the internal structure that makes up its formation but if we set it down in the shadows we can not acknowledge its beauty then the very purpose of its creation is lost and its existence irrelevant. The search for spiritual relevance is what separates and defines us as human beings. We have our very basic nature still intact, eating, sleeping and procreating but it is the unseen internal struggle for knowledge that makes us the truly remarkable beings that we are. For there is no right answer, life isn’t a test or quiz and unlike our academic quests we are our own best teachers. Each of us retains the right to a spiritual truth, whether it is through Paganism, Christianity, Buddhism or all of the above the journey is yours to experience. Embrace your spiritual self with the ceremony that fulfills you the most and magick will never be too far behind you.

Saint of the Day for June 10th is Blessed Joachima

Saint of the Day

 

Blessed Joachima
(1783-1854)

Born into an aristocratic family in Barcelona, Spain, Joachima was 12 when she expressed a desire to become a Carmelite nun. But her life took an altogether different turn at 16 with her marriage to a young lawyer, Theodore de Mas. Both deeply devout, they became secular Franciscans. During their 17 years of married life they raised eight children.

The normalcy of their family life was interrupted when Napoleon invaded Spain. Joachima had to flee with the children; Theodore, remaining behind, died. Though Joachima reexperienced a desire to enter a religious community, she attended to her duties as a mother. At the same time, the young widow led a life of austerity and chose to wear the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis as her ordinary dress. She spent much time in prayer and visiting the sick.

Four years later, with some of her children now married and younger ones under their care, Joachima confessed her desire to a priest to join a religious order. With his encouragement she established the Carmelite Sisters of Charity. In the midst of the fratricidal wars occurring at the time, Joachima was briefly imprisoned and, later, exiled to France for several years.

Sickness ultimately compelled her to resign as superior of her order. Over the next four years she slowly succumbed to paralysis, which caused her to die by inches. At her death in 1854 at the age of 71, Joachima was known and admired for her high degree of prayer, deep trust in God and selfless charity.

Comment:

Joachima understands loss. She lost the home where her children grew up, her husband and, finally, her health. As the power to move and care for her own needs slowly ebbed away, this woman who had all her life cared for others became wholly dependent; she required help with life’s simplest tasks. When our own lives go spinning out of control, when illness and bereavement and financial hardship strike, all we can do is cling to the belief that sustained Joachima: God watches over us always.

Deity of the Day for June 10th is XI-HE

Deity of the Day

XI-HE

Also known as HSI-HE, HSI-HO
 

Goddess of Light and Mother of the Ten Suns.

During the old Chinese ten-day week, one Sun would appear each day, until at the end of the week they all gathered together at the Valley of Light in the east.

Being a doting mother, XI-HE would wash them, brush their teeth with Sunny Smiles Toothpaste and put them to bed in the branches of a giant Mulberry Tree.

After a while the Ten Suns became bored with this routine and ran off together, causing a terrible heatwave. Her husband DI-JUN was ordered by the Emperor to keep the naughty Suns under control, with disastrous consequences for them, but not for us.

Saint of the Day for June 9th is St. Ephraem

On the day of 9 June

Saint  Ephraem

Of Saint Ephraem, deacon and doctor of the Church, who first exercised the office of preaching and of handing on sacred doctrine in Nisisbis, his own country. Then, when the Persians invaded Nisibis, he fled with disciples to Edessa in Osrhoene where he laid the foundations for a theological school, fulfilling his office through discourses and writings and in austerity of life, and so singular was he in doctrine that the exquisite hymns he composed merited for him the title �harp of the Holy Spirit.�

Deity of the Day for June 9th is THOTH

Deity of the Day

THOTH

Also known as TAHUTI, TEHUTI, THOT
 

Well-known God with the head of an Ibis. He’s a good all-rounder for Arts, Science, Music, Astronomy, Speech and Letters. A good egg. Thoroughly recommended.

If ever a God was greater than great it was THOTH. In one translation his name is prefixed with the word ‘great’ no less than eight times. Thith may have helped to reduce the embarrathment cauthed by having a name that lookth like a lithp.

His resume seems too impressive to be true — but most of the facts speak for themselves. He is the master of time, mathematics, astronomy, readin’, writin’, ‘rithmatic — and almost anything else you can point a pair of dividers at.

365 days in a year? Thank THOTH (see AAH for the full story). 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night? Thank THOTH. Circles having 360 degrees? Thank THOTH.

His bestselling BOOK-OF-THE-DEAD is still in print and you will never be able to hitch-hike to Heaven on the Nile without it.

He does have his eccentricities — he sometimes likes to revert back to the good old OGDOAD days and appear as a baboon. Not just any old baboon, but one that could have written the complete works of Shakespeare before Shakespeare existed. (Now there’s an idea — it’s always been known that Shakespeare could hardly write his own name let alone spell it, so who really wrote all those plays that bearded scene-shifter claimed as his own?) In the custom of the times he chose the head of an Ibis with a fancy wig for those high-flying occasions.

Encouraging RA to call himself Top God left THOTH free to run just about everything without any fuss or hassle. Pocket calculators? THOTH used the whole firmament, available to all on a grand scale. Think Sky.

To make it easier, all the stars and planets required for calculation are associated with favorite Gods. Need to work something out via Sirius? Log in and have HATHOR guide you. Need the moon for phases, time or tides? Go to THOTH; he chose to be Top Moon God alongside his best buddy KHONSU.

Cool, modest, unflappable, and a brilliant arbitrator, THOTH has stood the test of time, time and time again. Full ticks and tocks to this tip-top God.

He was also known to Greek God geeks as Hermes Trismegistus, possibly to avoid talking with a lisp.

Getting My Husband to Accept My Religion

Author: Scáithshúilóir

I have believed in the Wiccan Way since I was perhaps seven or ten years old. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I began to more wholeheartedly follow the Old Way. I hadn’t done much research, regrettably, and yet looking back on old writings of rituals and dances, songs, poems, that had, at the time, seemed to have nothing to do with the Craft, really did. It was as though the Goddess and the God had been in my blood from day one (for Christianity had always felt “icky” to me, as though I were living a horrid lie that simply wouldn’t go away no matter how much I told the truth) .

I knew what I was, who I was, and what I wanted to do to show the world my beliefs.

However, in my eighth grade year, I was pulled into a weird cult group at my school and while the path we followed as akin to Wicca it was not all the same time. The gods and goddesses we followed were more or less made up, and when I met my current husband at the end of ninth grade after Hurricane Katrina and his friend whom wanted to practice Wicca and turned to me for information, I gave my husband’s friend the information of my cult from middle school versus the true information of the Craft.

My husband went online to verify the information and when it didn’t match up, he went rather nuts. So to this day, I’m still living up to that “lie.” I’m tainted and as are my beliefs.

Now, though he lets me keep my altar up (rather ignorant I’m guessing of what it stands for) and lets me wear my Goddess pendant and pentacle medallion, I know he fights me on practicing my beliefs openly. He seems unable to understand that when one says Wiccans believe in magick, it isn’t necessarily that we believe we can make the wind blow, or flowers grow, or move things with our minds, but rather that we take negative energy morph it into positive energy and through Circles and rituals and spells and the like we channel that positive energy to influence our world and through our positive thoughts and the like change how we do things and how our world is around us.

Yet… I don’t know. It’s hard because every time I bring up Wicca, he tells me “you’re not Wiccan” but I think it’s more because he’s in denial. Like, I saved something from a website that had a good Mabon ritual that I wanted to use come next month and he said, “So you’re looking up Wiccan things to buy online.”

I said, “No, I saved the site because it had a good ritual.”

He didn’t seem mad and didn’t argue with me. So, I guess it’s more of a gradual transition. My friend from years ago, Cael, did a tarot reading for me and said that there are two paths before me and only one reaches home. I’m torn between which path is the right one to take but I’m too stubborn to give up the fight.

I’m not sure exactly what to do.

I’ve prayed consistently to the Goddess and the God to guide me, to allow my husband, whom I would give my life for, who I believe the Goddess and the God gave to me personally, to accept my beliefs. I don’t want him to practice with me. I understand and accept fully that he doesn’t believe what I do, yet… I wish he’d extend the same kindness to me.

I guess I’d be more truthful if I said that there are some aspects of Wicca that I follow. I believe that faeries are lesser, almost demi-gods that are more or less spirits of the Earth manifested in plants, flowers, etc. I’ve already stated my thoughts/beliefs on magick.

I’m an eclectic Witch, but more or less I guess I’d be traditional in the sense that I worship the Goddess and the God, I only call upon Them in my rituals. Though I acknowledge all the other gods and goddesses of the various pantheons, I feel as though it more respectful to speak directly to the “head honchos” of the Way. That may just be me. I don’t believe in love potions, healing spells on myself, or things like that.

I think it is horribly against the Rede to do anything that might be considered “personal gain.” I believe in working for the things in my life, not use the magick given to me in ways to make it a faster process, just to give me a hop in my step.

I’m beautiful the way I am, the Goddess wouldn’t have made me such if I wasn’t truly beautiful. I love women and men equally; I don’t think one sex is better than the other. The Goddess and the God manifest in each of us, so no one is more perfect than the other.

I accept others beliefs, for the Rede bids us “Abide the Wiccan Law ye must/ in perfect love and perfect trust.” I follow the Rede as best I can, but like all humans I mess up.

But I’ve digressed from my general point. I only want to be accepted. I wish I could reach a mutual understanding with my husband. I love my faith and I love the Goddess and the God, and to not worship them every night by opening a circle and simply meditating with Their presence beside me, it’s almost painful.

Goddess and God willing my husband will accept my religion as I have undoubtedly accepted his. But as I’ve mentioned before in above paragraphs, it’s still a debated issue. I hope the gradual transition works out in the end. And I hope it comes to a close soon. I can’t take much more of this. It’s killing me.

Flying On A Broom

Author: Beweaver
Now mind you, I’ve been asked to do magic for folks over the years. But none have ever followed through. They think it sounds good but for one reason or the other they bail. Don’t know if it’s because they become afraid or can’t get their act together enough or what. So it’s never happened. I’ve always been nervous at the thought. Those days are gone. And it came to me as naturally as snapping my fingers.

Some of you might remember the difficult wounding of a tender, fairly new friendship back in December. It kind of blew up and kind of healed. But we have not met outside of a meeting nor talked on the phone nor walked around the lake since that day. I have missed her terribly. Missed her and her daughter. But I did make a pact with myself, because of all the challenges I was having regarding all friendships, that I would seek out those who seek me. That it was time I stopped pursuing people who, when left to their own devices, did not pursue me.

I wanted her to have the time she needed, I didn’t want to push myself on her. I had told her I loved her and that I wanted her in my life. I hoped that something might happen, not holding my breath, detachment has been mine, and last week it happened.

She contacted me to ask if paying her psychic $500 to cleanse her house was a reasonable thing given what I know about magic. That the psychic said someone was trying to take her house away, that they were watching her house. Now I don’t know if this was truth or if the person was trying to scare her into spending a bundle on “magical” remedies. I told her my truth. That no witch I know would charge anyone $500 for any magic of any kind. That I would be very happy to come and do some work on her house for her but I would prefer it if she helped. For no charge, that witches in my tradition don’t charge for their services although they were allowed to accept gifts of thanks.

I suggested that her 13-year-old daughter would be very welcome but only if my friend, as her mother, approved. I felt that she needed this cleansing as much as her mother did. And to spend $500 on a new front door if she felt she needed to spend it. Tongue in cheek of course.

She said, oh yes please. I wrote up a ritual, sent her a shopping list, worked out the best day, and called my High Priestess for direction. Like my friend my high priestess is Jewish. She suggested that instead of pentagrams we use the Mogen David. The Shield of David. Yes, that six-pointed star, like our pentagram, is a shield. A shield used by God to protect his people. Perfect. I am not a squeamish witch; I embrace all the good, spiritual tools available to me. To be able to help them with symbols and a language that spoke to them was such an honor.

My friend said that she barely got it all out when her daughter excitedly said, “YES! I want to do this with you.” Awesome.

I actually got a little lost on my way there. When I got my new phone and they transferred the sim card info, I lost all addresses but hadn’t realized until I got lost that I needed theirs. When I finally found it I realized that I had driven right past it twice. I didn’t recognize the place. My friend had already begun to renew her home and her life. The lights from the windows, the colors of the walls radiating out, was so welcoming, quite beautiful. The inside had changed even more. She was half way there instinctively, intuitively. Moving furniture out, moving it about, changing the flow of energy, those are powerful tools. New locks on doors and windows.

So three women and a dog talked about what we would be doing, toured the house, and explained grounding and some of the tools we would be using. I gently suggested that she remove her ex-husband’s things from the house as soon as she could. That is was time. He is still around but he is severely disabled due to an allergic reaction to a medication and has no interest or use for what is left. That she buys herself and her daughter new sheets and physically cleanses their rooms to remove the sadness and depression that they had experienced in their beds for the past 3 years. That the house had always felt sad to me and that it wasn’t just their sadness, that it felt older to me. She said the neighbors had told her that a woman like Throw Mama From A Train had lived there with her children. Neglect, pain, sadness. I was so glad she was doing this.

I explained grounding and we began. We tried to start from a standing position, forming a triangle with our bodies to represent the female half of the Mogen David but the dog thought we wanted to dance and kept jumping up and licking faces. We had to sit. I walked them through a guided meditation for grounding and I felt them both ground. When the daughter opened her eyes we could both tell that something had really happened for her. She is thirteen but her ability to articulate what that felt like and what she experienced was truly beautiful. I wish we could all keep a part of that wise girl who’s just become a woman, who’s still experiencing the world and it’s wonders with a state of grace, inside us.

She was so excited to do this. Her energy was so bouncy, so pure, so joyful. Her bat mitzvah was only a few weeks ago and she was so excited to learn about the Kabbalistic Cross and to seal her doors and windows with something magical that was from her own faith.

We swept that house; we asperged that house; we cleansed that house. We sealed the doors and windows with Mogen David’s; we chanted the heck out of that house and sent the negative energy and spirits packing. We charged some stones to ward the perimeter of the property and necklaces for them to wear. We laughed, we hugged, we marveled, we sighed. It was so good, so wonderful.

She and her daughter honored and blessed me with their need and their request. And their gratitude. While I was packing up to leave they went down to the basement to turn off lights and lock up. What they came back with was something that I had seen in the basement. A black leather motorcycle jacket with studs on the collar, belt, and shoulders. It had belonged to her ex-husband, the father of her daughter.

I had said that if she was selling it in the yard sale they were planning that I would definitely be interested. She told me that this coat had seen the punk music scene in New York. That it knew Lou Reed, The Ramones, poets, playwrights, was even in a photo shoot for a Japanese magazine. That it had a real history, the man who wore it had lived the life with those I had admired back in the day. I was in awe of that jacket. And they gave it to me in gratitude for coming over to bless their house.

We laughed and talked and hugged some more. I drove home high as a kite, floating on air. It was hours before I was able to fall asleep. I had hung the coat up but kept it out of my closet. While that coat, one just like it, has been on my wish list for my entire adult life, I’ve never wanted to spend the money or didn’t find one I liked or that fit, I felt uneasy. I had planted my wish in her mind and I felt that in a way I had asked for payment. I wasn’t sure what to do.

When I woke the next morning I thought I should call her, see how she’s doing. “No, she’s out buying new sheets, ” sounded in my head. I set about cleaning my own room. 90% of what I brought with me to my parents house is in one room with me. 11 x 11. I’m certain I’m being generous to the size. Clutter builds up very quickly. I’ve got The Razor’s Edge on the laptop playing and I’m clearing and sorting out my underwear drawer (I believe MOST of magic is about making mundane acts magical) when the phone rang.

It was my friend. She was so excited, words bubbling out of her so fast, she’s so emotionally charged. She starts telling me that knowing that I have that coat has done so much good. That the man who was her daughter’s father was a man she had loved, who had been a very good man, that she had really loved him and knowing that the coat went to someone who really wanted it and who knew him and her and their story, someone who would honor it and give it a new loving life made her heart overflow.

Tears? Falling like a fountain, we’re both just sobbing. She tells me she’s been crying all morning but it’s been bittersweet, a cleansing. And she was putting the new purple sheets on her daughter’s bed as we talked. And that after I left, her daughter, with eyes as big as saucers, said, “She’s the real thing Mom. She’s a REAL witch.” Now that is a compliment indeed and I’m humbled and all kinds of grateful.

So much healing was done Saturday night. The night of Saturn, waning moon in Sagittarius. A banishing protective night. But this is the best part of magic. Things happen that you don’t expect and hardly dare to hope. Things happen that are counter intuitive. Good things, things like healings and blessings and love happen when it isn’t a full moon. New things begin; joy is embraced. All in black our bond was cast. The three of us, three women. And a dog. Three women who will always have Saturday, February 6th, in their hearts for the rest of their lives and beyond. Wealth beyond compare.

Be careful what you witch for. You just might get it. *wink*

A Spell to Help You Keep A Positive Attitude In Illness and Thereby Encourage Healing

A daily spell can help you to focus your own self-healing powers and will act as a reminder that you are still yourself and not the illness.

You will need:

Sheets of white paper; a selection of crayons in rainbow colours; a black pencil.

Timing:

Every day of the illness, when you get up.

The spell:

  • On day one, draw an outline of a figure and cover it with black dots.

  • Crayola over the dots with different colours. When you have finished, say six times: Today I will feel better, and tomorrow I will recover even more

  • Throw away the paper.

  • Each day, draw fewer and fainter black dots and make the colours brighter and more intense. Repeat the chant six times and throw away the paper

  • When after a number of days you have no more dots to draw, just colour the figure and repeat the words six times. The spell is done.

Spirit Summoning Spells

Summoning a person is usually straight-forward. Call them on the telephone, drop them a note. Faxes and e-mails are instantaneous. If you’re patient, you could show up on their doorstep and await their inevitable arrival home. But how do you summon a spirit?

Straightforward methods exist as well as more complex ones. There are a lot of ways. Ancient theurgists used to call spirits with spinning tops. Some spirits respond if their name is called while others only respond to elaborate spells and rituals. It’s possible to summon generic “benevolent” spirits or summon a specific one by name. It is usually wisest to know exactly whom you’re summoning.

Some traditions consider that it’s safest or necessary to contact a gatekeeper spirit who will then summon the actual spirit for you. Essentially you are summoning a spirit to summon spirits for you. Although whether you choose to do this depends largely upon the tradition you follow, it is a wise practice if you are in the habit of summoning “generic” spirits. Summoning spirits without being very familiar with their identity and personality is a little like living in a very busy metropolis, throwing your front door open and inviting just anyone to enter. Always remember that, as with any guest, it’s easier to invite them in than to ask them to leave.

Gate guardian spirits may be petitioned to only permit benevolent or kind spirits through and bar the gate to malicious spirits. These gate guardians include:

  • Elegba

  • Exu

  • Hecate

  • Hermes

  • Maria Padilha Pomga Gira

These spirits guard the crossroads, permitting and denying access as they deem fit.

Spirits are summoned via:

*Fragrance: In ancient Egypt, it was believed that every spirit possessed it own characteristic scent, sort of like the ghost in the move “The Uninvited.” The sudden appearance of the fragrance signaled the spirit’s presence. This fragrance becomes a summoning device: when you introduce the fragrance to atmosphere, you’re effectively extending an invitation. General magickal wisdom suggests that beautiful, aromatic fragrance (gardenia, frankincense, sandalwood) summon beautiful, powerful, benevolent spirits. Likewise offensive, foul, malodorous fragrances summon malicious, mean-spirited, malignant, destructive spirit forces.

*Altars on which they recognize themselves: Every spirit has one or more attribute: objects, emblems, birds, animal, minerals or things that represent their power or whose essence they share manipulating these objects like a tableau extends visual invitations. Hence a glass of spring water and a dish of honey beckons Oshun; she is sweet water and honey, each shares the same essence.

*Offerings: In general, spirits are not above bribery but rather consider it their due. Attract their attention and lure them to your side by offering whatever they love, whatever most attracts them and invigorates them.

Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells
by Judika Illes