Tag: Ritual

The best time to carry out spells and rituals

The best time to carry out spells and rituals

  

If a need is urgent then you can work at anytime and picture the full moon or rising dawn whose energies you need, even at a different time of the month or at darkest midnight.

Sometimes the nature of the ritual will dictate the timing. For example, a new beginning spell can be launched on any new date; the first day of the month, the first day of the year, any Sunday the first day of the week, the first hour after dawn or at the crescent moon when it first appears in the sky. Best of all is the first hour after dawn on a Sunday, which is ruled by the Sun, and so offers a double dose of power for that new beginning.

Casting a Spell or Setting Up A Ritual

Casting a Spell or Setting Up A Ritual

 

In the same way that every party has the same underlying structure, whether it is a party for child’s birthday, having a few friends round for drinks or a formal dance event to raise fund for the local community, your spell casting will follow the same basic format, whether you are casting a short impromptu spell or setting up a more open-ended ritual.

If you work from a basic magickal format, you can devise anything from a five-minute spell to call a friends’ missing cat home to a full-scale welcoming the spring for a hundred people on a local hillside.

What is more, once you have decided how the different components fir together you can change the order round to suit your needs. There is a huge variation in practice across the witchcraft community. Sometimes even experienced witches follow an order or way of doing things they were taught or read about that doesn’t fit with their own natural rhythm. Even if you are doing it right by the book, your magickal energies won’t be as powerful as if you were following the flow of the occasion. So, for more experienced practitioners, I am describing my practices for solo and group events so that you can re-examine your own structure–and then maybe decide it was right for you all along (Or that you are turning the whole ritual format on it head and creating an entirely new and exciting system).

For newcomers or established witch, coven member or solitary practitioner, once you have internalized a structure that suits you, you can create your own spells and rites, complex or simple, instinctively without needing to check that you are on track.

You will discover that some spells do not use the altar but are focused on the setting and everyday items. In these the structure is compressed but still effective. Don’t feel you have to go through all the stages of altar casting, for a simple spell. You can adapt the suggestions to either working alone or in a group.

The Preliminaries to Cast a Spell or Setting up a Ritual

The Preliminaries to Cast a Spell or Setting up a Ritual

  

As when organizing a party, it is important to spend a little time planning your spell casting. Think about the precise purpose of the spell, the best time, most appropriate setting and for whom the spell is being cast. For a ritual you need to consider the underlying as well as the obvious focus of the ritual Do you need to change the emphasis of a tried and tested format? Even a seasonal rite will have a theme, for example the May eve/Day celebrations have traditionally been associated with fertility. This fertility applies in whatever way it is needed, whether personally, ecologically or globally. Therefore you and the guests or participant should decide in advance precisely what you are working towards and carry out rituals to take advantage of the prevailing energies.

Location is important even for a quickie spell. You wouldn’t set a child’s birthday party in the same place you would your great-aunt’s golden wedding. With open air spells or rituals you need a wet weather or sheltered location plan just in case a force 8 gale blows up. Some spells can be planned in advance for a day out or weekend away, but others will be spontaneous, when you happen to come across a perfect location while on your way to somewhere else. There are also urgent occasions when you will have to imagine that crashing sea while stood by the local canal at lunchtime. The timing of a spell is also vital.

Before you cast the spell you also need to decide how long you want the effects of the spell to last and how quickly you need results. Do you want an immediate infusion of power within the 24 hours following the spell? Will the effects take longer–before the next full moon, within three months? You should build this time frame into the spell and declare it in the purpose of the spell.

Should it be a single spell or one carried out, for example, every Friday for a month or on the three days before the fulll moon in order to build up the powers?

Then you need to decide on the symbol or symbols that will act as the focus for the spell energies (you can’t dance and chant round a would-be lover in the office).
Do you need to emphasize any one element in the spell? Is the spell mainly fire based for power or is there a fairly evenly spread elemental mix, for example to resolve a long-term justice or court matter.

You need to think about any special props, magickal tools or substances that are required. After all, you wouldn’t use the same chine or serve the same food at your teenager’s post-exam party as you would if the boss was coming to dinner. Do you want a full altar or will it be mainly a word- or personal-movement-based spell? If on a beach or in the woods, can you use what you find there as tools and symbols?

Finally, who are you inviting to your spell or rite? The friend who has lost the animal you are casting the spell for? Your sister to help you with a love spell? Are you organizing a welcome-into-the-world party for your family, to celebrate the birth of a baby to a family member who lives in another country? Are you entrusted with the organization of your magick group or coven’s autumn thanksgiving?

If you work alone, as many witches including myself do most of the time, you’re still not a magickal Billy or Betty No Mates. You won’t be short of spiritual company. You can welcome the guardians of the four quarters even in a relatively simple spell; invite the wise ancestors to celebrations such as Samhain or Hallowe’en or New Year.
As for the nature essences, whenever you work outdoors or even indoors in a circle of pot plants (my favorite setting on a really foul day) they will be curious. So invite them in and benefit from their energies.

Natural Magick In Your Life

Natural Magick In Your Life 

 
The natural world is a power house of magickal energy that can be used to amplify our personal psychic powers and daily lives even if we don’t have the time or inclination for a spell. We all possess these abilities but they can get blunted by modern life. Working with nature rapidly restores the instinctive connection with our own inner self and you find as a bonus that you are more intuitive and aware of our hidden factors in your everyday decision-making. At specific times we can tap into the ever-changing energies of the Sun, the Moon, the seas, lakes and rivers and the weather and into the magickal qualities manifest in different flowers, herbs trees and crystals. All these will help you tune into the best times and places, moon phases and days of the week to carry out your rituals–or to bring your daily life more into harmony.
 
There is nothing strange about our magickal powers; they are part of our right hemisphere brain functions which include imagination and creativity. Working with symbols and images, the ability that underpins much magick is also located in the right-hand side of the brain. With practice we can expand possibilities first in our minds and then during rituals to transform the stored energies and magickal meanings contained in even everyday symbols and images into magickal power. For example, if we were working with a wax butterfly we had made, it would represent a new beginning because that is the meaning given to butterflies throughout the ages. The 16th-century mystic Teresa of Avila described the spirit leaving the body after death as a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. You might not be aware consciously of such symbolism (though much of this symbol code is stored in our genes to be awakened in magick), but you would instinctively know that by choosing a butterfly as a symbol in your spell, it would be a joy-bringing focus. Magick is the sister of psychology and good magick operates on sound psychological principles.

How Is Natural Magick Different?

How Is Natural Magick Different

 
Sometimes you might put on a lovely dress and dance in a ballroom following taught steps so that you and partner move in harmony. On other occasions you might dance spontaneously, moving freely alone on a moonlit seashore or at a friend’s party to fast exciting music. Both are dancing, in the same way that formal magick and natural magick are both ways of performing magick. Neither is better, not are they mutually exclusive.
 
Formal magick uses traditional rituals and beautifully made tools to control magickal energy, while natural magick uses tools made from natural materials: wood, clay, herbs, beeswax or crystal. Usually they are very simple because they are secondary to the setting of the spell or ritual. For where possible natural magick is performed outdoors, winter or summer, rain or shine, whether in woodland, on the seashore or in your garden. You can, in really bad weather or if it would not be safe or feasible to cast spells outdoors, practice natural magick inside your home by bringing in flowers, herbs or berries and by linking your magick to what is happening outside the window.

Sometimes on a seasonal festival or personal rite like handfasting you may carry out quite an elaborate outdoor ritual and of course ritual magickal practitioners and covens do work outdoors where possible.

So natural magick involves a difference of emphasis and location, but adheres to all the traditional rules of magick follow.

Calendar of the Sun for February 1st

Calendar of the Sun
1 Solmonath

Brigid’s Day/Candlemas

Color: Red and white
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon a red cloth light as many candles as you can, as well as a Brigid’s cross, a hammer and an anvil, a pen, a bowl of water, and a sword.
Offerings: Brigid’s crosses, twisted of twine or rope. Acts of creativity.
Daily Meal: Red food.

Ritual Note: Like all the eight high holidays, this day should ideally be spent not enclosed and isolated, but in common with the larger pagan community. This can be done a number of ways, including spending the day elsewhere, at the Brigid’s Day ritual of another group or tradition, or by inviting in those pagans who would otherwise not be able to attend a ritual. Either way, the eight holidays should be a time of remembering the place of the house in the greater community. If the choice is made to go elsewhere, then no liturgy is needed for the day. If the choice is made to bring the greater community into the lesser one, the following ritual can be used:

(First four who have been chosen to do the work of the ritual cast the quarters with blade, candle, chalice, and hammer.)

East: Hail, spirits of the East,
Powers of Air!
I call upon Lady Brigid,
At this Her time of the year,
Lady of poetry,
Inventor of alphabets,
Who knows the secrets
Of the Words of Power.
Clear our minds, Lady,
With every cleansing breath.
South: Hail, spirits of the South,
Powers of Fire!
I call upon Lady Brigid
At this Her time of the year,
Warrior goddess of the sword,
Fighting for that which you call your own,
Creative spark and tempering flame!
Light up our spirits, Lady,
With the heat of your laughter.
West: Hail, spirits of the West,
Powers of Water!
I call upon Lady Brigid
At this Her time of the year,
Lady of healing,
Seeker of the sacred herbs,
Curer of illness and mender of body,
Lady of the Holy Well,
May we drink of your overflowing waters.
North: Hail, spirits of the North,
Powers of Earth!
I call upon Lady Brigid
At this Her time of the year,
Lady of labor, Lady of the smithy,
Goddess who is not afraid to work,
Hammer and anvil,
Patron of artisan and craftsman,
Gift our hands with your sacred skill
That we may always do you honor.

Invocation to Brigid

Lady of the Sacred Flame,
Warrior woman with hair like fire
Smith who shapes us
Into tools to change the world,
Give us strength and voice
And hands that do your work
Willingly, of our own choice.
Lady of the Holy Well,
Healer woman who knows wounds
Careful hands who stroke us
Into hearts that change the world,
Give us eyes that see true
And hands that offer help
Willingly, in honor of you.

(Each comes forth and gives thanks for something which has come to them in the past year, and asks for something that they wish for Brigid’s aid in achieving. As they do this, they light the candles one by one, singing the Brid chant. Then the quarters are dismissed and the visitors go to feast in the kitchen.)

Chant:
Brid is come
Oh Brid is come
Brid is welcome
Welcome Brid

The Pagan Newbie

The Pagan Newbie

Author: Crick

We often hear of someone who considers themselves a ‘newbie’ on the path of the mystical arts, or of others referring to someone as a ‘newbie’. But is either of these descriptions really accurate?

The concepts of paganism and the parameters that define such concepts have always been since the first human took breath and more likely even before the advent of humans. There are some who will say that paganism and thus by association the mystical arts, died out and is just now being re-discovered. But is this really an accurate observation? Or is it really our perception and thus sense of awareness that is new?

How many times as a child did you have an “imaginary friend”? Was this friend really imaginary or was it just that the mind of that child had not yet been brainwashed to deny such a sense of awareness? Was the perception of that child such that they could see/sense otherworldly beings? How many times as a child has one seen faeries?

And yet as adults such sightings have become a desire that is in many cases difficult to achieve.

Why?

Did the faeries cease to appear? Were they, as some would have us think, simply figments of our imagination? Or are such invectives towards the imagination really just subtle denials of that which really does exist but which certain folks feel more comfortable denying the existence of?

Within paganism, imagination, which is visualization by another name, is a necessary tenet or tool of paganism and by association, the mystical arts. And who but a child has such a powerful and unfettered tool as that of imagination/visualization?

And so instead of viewing paganism/mystical arts as some re-discovered form of belief, perhaps it’s simply that our realization and thus acceptance of what has always been is really what is now coming into play. And if this is the case, is anyone really a newbie to paganism/mystical arts?

Could it be that those who now choose paganism/mystical arts are basically just shedding the denial that has been implanted from an early age? When we walk through the woods and a deer silently walks by without one noticing it, is the deer non-existent or is it just our sense of awareness that is the reality here?

When we go fishing we cannot see the fish beneath the surface of the water but we cast our lines in anyway. Do the fish hidden in the depths not exist because we cannot espy them, or do we cast our lines into the murky waters because we know that there is something there even if we cannot physically see it?

Or do we decide that what one cannot see, one cannot acknowledge and thus we move on without bothering to cast our lines in at all.

Paganism/mystical arts are akin to this analogy in many ways. Every person on earth is involved in paganism/mystical arts their entire lives and has always been. For it is such tenets of reality that have immersed us from the very beginning of time as we know it. It is our sense of awareness of this reality that determines whether we once again step onto the path of paganism/mystical arts.

Saint Augustine once said; “Unless you believe, you will not understand”. And so though there are some who will deny the existence of paganism/mystical arts this does not preclude a reality that is ever present and ever evolving. It simply highlights a sense of denial of a profound awareness. And as this denial is pierced and recognition of reality and the higher truths that accompany it are brought into the scope of one’s awareness, that person re-emerges onto the pagan path that in all reality they were always on.

And so in essence, no one is a “newbie” as such in regards to paganism/mystical paths. And so such descriptions as “newbie” should be seen not as an introduction by one to paganism/mystical arts, or as it is in some cases as a diatribe used to elevate one’s own sense of personal status, but rather as a re-awakening of one’s awareness of such a reality.

In my own “personal opinion” such a term as “newbie” should be a cause of celebration much like the birth of a newborn child. For when one opens their awareness beyond the layers of denial that have accumulated over the course of one’s life, that person has emerged from the depths of denial and is once again swimming freely in the waters of self discovery and personal growth.

Is this not a cause for great celebration and adulation by those who willingly walk the pagan/spiritual path?

If we are determined to utilize the word “newbie”, then perhaps we should consider changing the implications of such a word from the current understanding. For in essence, we are all “newbie’s” as we seek to walk the mystical path. For each time we encounter a mystery of life and arrive at an answer that works for our individual lives, we open the door to yet another mystery or experience. Is this not the essence of what it means to be a pagan?

It is this constant seeking that for me at least, defines the difference between being a subservient member of a religion and being a seeker on a spiritual path. The latter has set parameters of which subscribers are expected to follow blindly without question. And of which one is discouraged from questioning even when such questions beg an answer.

As a seeker on the mystical path, one has un-fettered liberties to form and then to seek the answers to the questions of spirituality that we all face, whether as a member of a religion or as a seeker on the spiritual path.

And so if I have to take on the label of “newbie” in order to experience such freedom of the heart, mind and soul, then I personally will wear such a label with humble pride. For as a newbie, I look forward to the rest of my life as being involved in a state of discovery and learning.

If being a newbie equates to being a pagan, I have found my calling, have you?

Coven Governance: Which Style is Right for You?

Coven Governance: Which Style is Right for You?

Author: Bronwen Forbes

If you’re looking to join a coven, you should not only do your homework to decide what tradition is right for you (eclectic, Dianic, traditional Wicca, etc.) , you should also think about what style of coven leadership you’re most comfortable with at this point on your spiritual path. Different groups are run in different ways, and knowing your own personal preferences will go a long way toward making the coven a good fit for you. Here are some of the most common styles of coven governance:

Hierarchy. In a coven run as a hierarchy, there is a High Priestess and/or High Priest, and they are in charge. They will make most or all of the decisions for the coven including: membership (whether or not a person can become a member *and* whether or not a member is asked to leave) , ritual style, class topics (if it’s a teaching coven) , and whether or not a student or member is ready for initiation and/or elevation.

Pros: a hierarchical coven tends to get the most done of any style coven. Students are trained, sabbat and esbat rituals happen when they’re supposed to, and everyone knows what is happening and when, and what needs to be done to grow and advance.

Cons: some (in no way do I mean all) High Priests and High Priestesses who run a hierarchy have a hard time giving their students and other coveners any responsibility or authority at all. They can truly become tyrants.

Democracy. There may be a High Priest and/or High Priest in a democratic coven, but the coveners have more say in the day-to-day, season-to-season workings of the group. Potential members may be voted in; the decision whether or not to volunteer to run opening ritual at this year’s Pagan Pride Day may also be put to a vote. Coven leaders may even be voted to office on a rotating basis, or the High Priest and High Priestess may have a “weightier” vote than everyone else.

Pros: students and coveners feel like they have a say in how the group is run and what route their spiritual activities will take.

Cons: just because a majority votes in favor of something does not mean it is the best choice. A potential member could be completely unsuitable for coven life but is friends with more than half the group. Once the unsuitable potential member is voted in, he or she wreaks havoc with the group but – because of the majority vote of his or her friends – can’t be voted out.

Consensus: Many groups choose consensus as the way to make decisions. An issue or agenda item (new members, how to celebrate the next holiday, whether or not to offer a Pagan 101 class, etc.) is brought up, the group as a whole discusses it and comes to a decision or plan of action that everyone in the group is comfortable with.

Pros: Everyone in the coven is happy about how the coven is run. In a small group (up to eight people) , consensus works very well.

Cons: coming to complete agreement about a decision can take *forever*, even with eight or fewer people. In fact, so much group time and energy can be used up on making decisions that nothing else ever gets done – including implementing those decisions.

Also, consensus can be co-opted into “minority rules.” By the rules of consensus, if even one member is against something (“No, I don’t want to allow Sybil into the group”) , then that something cannot happen (Sybil is not allowed to join the coven) .

Anarchy. As a rule, anarchy-run groups don’t last very long because no one is responsible for running circles, organizing the schedule, welcoming new members, etc. Very little if any teaching or training is done, unless it is one-on-one on an as-needed or personally-requested basis. Rituals are usually never conducted the same way twice, so no comfortable, familiar ritual pattern is ever established. Pros: If you are looking for a coven or group that you can drop into and drop out of any time you need to with no sense of ongoing obligation due to work or family constraints, an anarchic coven is probably best for your. Cons: not much ever gets done. If something is actually accomplished, it’s usually by accident.

In general, very few covens only use one governing style. For example, my husband and I ran a training coven for several years. As High Priest and High Priestess, we had complete authority over who was initiated/elevated and when (not the actual date, but determining when a student was ready) . We also planned the classes, and determined class content, class order, and homework.

Group membership was decided by consensus – one “no” and the potential member did not get invited to join. Only my husband and I could ask a member to leave, but we certainly accepted input from the other members before making a decision. Class and rituals were scheduled by consensus. If one person couldn’t make it at a certain date and time due to school or work considerations, we’d find a time when everyone could make it (schedules were usually determined three months in advance, so there was rarely a problem that couldn’t be gotten around) .

Whether or not to lead an open sabbat for the local Pagan community was democratically decided – we voted, all members having equal say. Extracurricular activities happened mostly on an anarchic model: “Hey, we’re going on a Pagan shopping spree to the nearest large city on Saturday. Want to come?” or “Selene just got dumped by her boyfriend and is on my couch crying. I’m ordering pizza. Come hold her hand with me?”

If you’re thinking about starting a coven, you need to determine what style you’re most comfortable with. If you’re not suited for sole “I’m in charge” responsibility, consider a democratic or consensus group. If you have a vision of how to teach students and form your own way of celebrating the Gods in ritual, go for the hierarchical coven.

Whether your joining a coven or starting your own, make darn sure you’re comfortable with how it’s run before committing yourself as a member or leader.

Taking on the Name of a Goddess

Taking on the Name of a Goddess

Author: Morrigan) 0 (

Taking on a Goddess name… I am sure are many opinions on this. This is mine.

First, ‘take on’ is not the best choice of words. Maybe receive would be better. It is not something one should just do. “To take” sounds a bit disrespectful.

Also do you know what it means to bear the name of your Goddess? This comes with great responsibility, as you not just represent Her, you are Her. To have or carry a Goddess name, one carries all the energy of that name. If it is a dark Goddess, be aware that if you have not fully dealt with your shadow, and the negativity in yourself, it will only magnify it. This happens until you deal with it and have it under control.

Usually in Wiccan traditions you do not get the honor of bearing a Goddess name until you are High Priest or Priestess. To get to third degree takes sometimes years, certainly more than just your year- and- a- day.

When I received this name, Morrighan, it happened as She consumed my life, and heart, so much so others could tell. A good friend and a HPS said on several times she wrote me wanting to write Morrighan.

I asked the Morrighan; I meditated, and waited. I felt a release Nov16th this past year under the dark moon. This happened during the witching hour. I waited a year, and had dreams. Crow and Raven were visiting me more. I have also been tested, and challenged…both before and right after. So you see this is not something I decided I just wanted to do overnight.

A magickal name is very powerful to have, and should mean something to you. It is an honor and very humbling to be called Morrighan.

I also highly suggest if one is just beginning in their path, not to do take on a Goddess name till you have gotten to know your path, yourself, and the Goddess in Her many aspects, and names. Know Her energy, and personality.

Magickal names…Why choose a magickal name? Taking on a name implies a change of life. Many magickal and shamanic cultures are known for taking on new names when a person reaches a stage of growth, such as at manhood rituals and marriages, and spiritual awakenings.

Historically, in the Craft, names were taken for purposes of secrecy and safety…Protection really. If someone didn’t know who you were, they couldn’t turn you over to the persecutors. So witches named themselves, “Wolf”, “Moon” or “Alder”” and refrained from telling their true names to their coven members.

Today we take on magickal names for less dire reasons. The main purpose in magickal naming is so that we can “feel magickal.” Just as putting on your ritual robes prepares you mentally and puts you in a ritual headspace, so too, does hearing your magickal name in Circle. Our magickal names remind us of our connection to the Goddess/ Gods and the Earth, and allow us to separate our mundane selves so that we can focus as we work our magick

A quote from Lady Hecate, from Her cauldron http://www.hecatescauldron.org. It is also copyright protected. This is only a portion from what she wrote on the topic Magickal Names:

“Choosing a Goddess name is something to take very seriously. You do not change Goddess names like the clothing you wear each day. They do not take lightly of being discarded so easily. Also, whatever name you select should match your experiences in life. Age is also an important factor when considering a name. You would not call yourself Aradia if you were young, just starting out in the Craft, or both. Also something to take into consideration is if you can live up to Her name?

“Another thing to really take into consideration is not to dishonor Her name in any way. You can dishonor her name by unfair actions that you take. You dishonor Her name if you select a Crone, who represents wisdom and knows when to talk and not to talk, and your never seem to know when to talk and when not to. You can dishonor Her name in the negative actions you take in your mundane life, because being a pagan and Witch you walk the magickal life whether you are in the mundane world or not.

“In choosing a Goddess name and her attributes you slowly become like Her. You start picking up Her attributes. However, if you are not walking a balanced life, unfortunately, you will tend to pick up on Her darker side, as each Goddess has a light and dark side to Her. So be ware of that.”

If you are wondering about how to discover or find a magickal name — or if you feel after years, you have outgrown your name — I have something here that may help and aid you.

These are just suggestions if you are looking for a magickal name:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2056613_select-wiccan-name.html

Choose the Perfect Name:

Step 1: Do not share your magickal name with outsiders. A magickal name should be reserved for rituals and as a way of identifying yourself to other Witches, or Wiccans in your coven. Some Witches/ Wiccans do not share their names at all, reserving them for direct communication with the deities.

Step 2: Research different names and their meanings. You can use baby books to learn what names mean.

Step 3: Select a name that represents a characteristic you have or are aiming for. This can be done directly or in a more subtle way. If you’re aiming for strength, for example, you can choose the name “Iron Maiden” or select the Gaelic name “Bry, ” which means noble and strong.

Step 4: Pay attention to signs. Witches believe you can sometimes receive your name through dreams, visions or special occurrences. By being open to the possibility, it is more likely that you won’t miss the sign when it comes.

Step 5: Ask for help in selecting a name. If you belong to a coven, the high Priestess may help you in choosing your magickal name by guiding you through a ritual. Do you have a totem? What are you drawn to?

Step 6: Take care in choosing the name of a Goddess. If you decide to choose the name of a Goddess, do so in hopes of becoming a reflection of her. Keep in mind, however, that you may inherit both the good and the bad side of the goddess’ personality.

Some other things to think on: Do not rush. Take your time. It will come when it is supposed to.

Scrying Spell For Love

 

Scrying Spell For Love

Cast a potent spell to see your true love during the time of the waxing Moon. You will need a scrying mirror for this. Also, you should make a tea using rose hips, dried orange peel, hibiscus, and meadowsweet. Drink the tea, then repeat the names of the herbs until you reach a light state of trance in front of your mirror. Then softly recite this spell:

 

Through orange peel,
Love I feel,
I wish to know love well.
Rose, powerful flower of love,
Tell me of my true love. Hibiscus flower,
Sight is your power;
share your sight with me.
Meadowsweet,
Your light I see,
Show my true love’s face to me.

 

Then look into your scrying mirror. You will see the face of your true love.

 

By: Jenna Tigerhart,