. Wicca Course Lesson 22 Spell Casting Basics
Spells vs Rituals One of the most interesting and exciting segments of Earth Spirituality is spellcasting and rituals. These two activities are filled with individualism, creativity, and power. It is one of the areas where the practitioner can really spread their wings. Not only are spells and rituals filled with freedom, but rituals also allow a practitioner to connect directly with the God and Goddess. With something so important to most Earth Spiritualists, it becomes imperative that this section begins with detailed definitions of rituals and spells. While these two terms are commonly used interchangeably in this day and age, spells and rituals actually serve two different purposes. The following definitions take a little from history and add current, modern day practices. A spell is an activity that prolongs or changes a state of being through direct manipulation of the creative life-force energy. This is usually done through the use of spoken words (i.e.- chant or the like) accompanied by candles, gemstones, incense, herbs, amulets, and other items. As an example, let us say that we are working a healing spell. The spell may include spoken words to bring about healing, blue candles, a fluorite gemstone, life-everlasting herb, sandalwood incense, and an amulet that has been blessed for healing. The words and the items used usually all relate directly to the desired intent - in this case they relate to healing. A spell can be considered a very "hands-on" approach. It is an attempt to change or prolong a situation without directly requesting assistance from deity. (The God and/or Goddess) Rituals are used to connect to deity. They are commonly used for such activities as asking for help or guidance from the God and/or Goddess in addition to requesting recognition from deity. Examples of requesting recognition are croning rituals, dedications, birth rituals, and the like. Recognition rituals generally request that deity recognise and/or accept a "change" in a person or situation. Help or guidance rituals are used to seek assistance from deity. For example, a practitioner may wish to ask for help in healing a serious injury. Connection to deity may be assisted through the use of gemstones, herbs, incense, and the like. These items may either honour the God and/or Goddess, or help the practitioner focus on the connection. Rituals may also be described as "an activity done two or more times - a repetitive activity." For example, a healing spell that is done every morning in the same way. The activity of doing it repetitively can be called a "ritual". Many practitioners use a combination of ritual and spell for most of their workings. An example of this would be a healing rite that includes herbs, candles, and gemstones to help bring about healing (a spell) in addition to a direct request for help from deity (a ritual). When choosing whether to perform a ritual or a spell, there really is no right or wrong answer. Some people may prefer a ritual to a spell. They may feel safer in asking the more powerful deity for assistance or they may just have better results. Others may use spells more than rituals. They may believe that deity need not be bothered with a "simple" healing request, or they may be a practitioner that believes only in the creative energy.
The most common question about Witchcraft is about spellwork. "Do you do them?", "How do you do them?", "Can anybody do them?" etcetera, etc. Spells are not the meat of Wicca. Wicca is a religion first and foremost. It is developing your soul and shaping you as a person. Spells are the Craft part of Witchcraft. Not all witches cast spells, and not all spells are cast by witches. There are many magickal religions out there, Wicca being one of them. Working with magick is a delicate undertaking that should not be entered into lightly. You are manipulating natural forces that are inherent in the earth and all it's facets. (To bring into mundane terms it's kind of like going to the president/prime minister of a country and asking for a job, raise or funding for a project. You need to word yourself properly so you can be heard and taken seriously without the guards/secret service coming to take you away.) When working with natural forces, BALANCE is a key issue. We all love a good windy day, but we know that nature can take that wind and cause great devastation too. Different traditions also differ in this area too. Some traditions do spell workings, some do not. Some see it as being integral to their beliefs, and again some do not. It is important to keep in mind that the general alignment for the natural forces are neutral. Meaning that the 'power' is not fundamentally black or white... it is in the grey area. In the heart of the spell caster comes the alignment. For instance: A knife is wonderful tool that helps us cut our food, carve our utensils etc. it can also drive deep into a heart and take a life (be it animal or human or vegetable)... it is the direction of the wielder that sets the energy, and where it is going and to what outcome. Spells have to be thought out. It's purpose, it's direction, the outcome and the changes that this will effect in the long term. A good way to see if you are on the right track is to do a form of divination. I find the Tarot personally very useful for this. Do a couple of readings first before stepping into the circle. Ask yourself, your gods for guidance, these or similar questions: 1.) What will be the final outcome of doing this [spell]? 2.) What will be the final outcome if I don't do this [spell] 3.) What is the best course of action to bring/be rid of this [spell/affliction] etc. 4.) What is stopping me now in achieving this goal? I know this may seem like a lot of card layouts, but it is so important to know all aspects of what you want or don't want, as well as taking the responsibility of your actions. Being well informed is the best way to go. Your belief in yourself, your place in the world will affect your work. If you honestly don't think that you can 'get' this on your own, magick will most likely fail. The deservability factor in your psychological make-up is a major factor in working magick. If you don't believe yourself to be worthy of love, you may find you keep finding those people who reaffirm that in your life.
Love Spells Which brings me to the topic of love spells... we get a lot of requests for that. Love spells are particularly a complex one. As I mentioned before, if you don't believe you are worthy of a good relationship the wheel that you are on may continue to produce the same results. It's time to break the habit. Often we become so comfortable in our ways that this is a hard thing to break, even when it's a 'bad' choice, because it's familiar. Change is a scary thing, even though it's for the better. With the aid of therapy, understanding your habitual cycle is rewarding in seeing your patterns and magick can aid in the change of energy to the life you want to lead. When doing a love spell, remember that it is unwise to focus on a particular individual. Even though your feelings towards that person may be genuine and life without them seems unbearable, it is a doomed venture to try to manipulate anybody with magick. Remember, you have to take responsibility for your actions. The three-fold law, what you put out, you receive 3 times. If you yourself were to be pulled to someone that you are not particularly interested in against your will, how would that make you feel? It would also blow up in a matter time. Magick moves in flowing circles, to push against the flow is tiring and eventually the energy diminishes and is ineffectual. Not to mention the heartache that follows. Is it worth it? Or do you want to bring the "right" person to you for the "right" reasons? Then set out a beacon of light so the "right" person for you will come along. Remember, "free will" is for everybody, not just for those magickally inclined. Magick or natural forces are everywhere. Anyone can tap into the flow. It is with great responsibility that we venture into that arena. Do your homework! It is so important to look at all aspects of your work. When you head out on the highway you take a map, you know what to look for, what landmarks and exits to turn off at. Same thing when working magick. Learn the road. Life is a journey, not a guided tour. Magick is there to aid you in your journey, but not be the end all be all. You must take action and be responsible for that action. Doing a spell for a job and then sitting on your sofa is not going to produce results. Send out resumes, knock on doors, have the interviews, then work for the 'right' job to come to you. You are literally aligning yourself to the door of opportunity. If you stay shut up inside, how can they see you? How do they know you're alive? Your Younger Self is very playful, and likes symbols. It always takes things literally (kinda like a computer), it can only say "yes" to whatever you tell yourself. So guard against negative thoughts, and saying things like "She is a pain in the neck" or it may manifest for you. Once you have started to do magick or Spellcraft more regularly you may notice that things seem to come more easily - this is true of negative things as well as positive things. Your "stray" thoughts may not be so "stray" as before, you will need to keep your mind in better order. What we do in magick, is to symbolically act out what we want to have happen. We see it as happening now, as a "done deal", and we see it as being positive. We state what we want, not what we don't want! By doing this with the use of candles, incense, herbs, etc, we have fun and we get our Younger Self's attention. We speak in rhyme, we dance to raise energy, and we send that energy and our desire out into the universe to have it come true. Younger self sees that and
the message is sent out to our Higher Self, who is linked with Deity, and what we want is set in motion. Another point I wish to stress is that magick DOES work. I have first-hand, personal knowledge of this, and not a belief. I have seen it at work in my life, and the lives of those around me. I have done good spells and I have done a few "Aunt Clara's" that backfired on me! Magick, though, is WORK make no mistake about that. It's not a hobby, it's not a toy, and it's rarely entirely predictable, so if you are looking for the easy route to winning the lottery, keep looking! Remember to be silent, do not let it be known that you are doing magick, it promotes fear, hostility, envy, or someone could try to interfere with you. This really can't be stressed enough. There are some cases, however, when you should discuss your magick with another person. If you are involving another person in your spell YOU MUST HAVE THEIR PERMISSION!!! Even healing, done without someone's permission, is going against the plan for their lives that they have decided upon. You have no right to infringe your will on another person, and doing any kind of magick without asking first is imposing your will on them. Suppose they have a lesson to learn from being sick? Or someone else in their life has that lesson to learn from their illness? If that is the case, then even the best magick probably won't cure them, but you have no right to even attempt it without asking them. PUTTING THE SPELL TOGETHER Boil everything down to its barest essentials, to do that - eliminate the people. Don't involve any people in your spell itself - this doesn't mean you have to work alone, this means don't put spells on people! Remember, the only person you can work on is yourself! The only person you have the right to try to change is yourself - work on being the person you always thought you would be. Get down to the nitty-gritty, what do you want? Be exact: "I want a job where I make X dollars an hour, I enjoy what I am doing, I get along with my co-employees and my employer, I work only 9-5 weekdays, I have Holidays off and other time off as needed, etc." Now I don't say exactly what or who I will work for, I leave that to the Universe (and/or God/dess) to manifest that for me. This is being "generally specific" by saying what I want but not how it has to present itself. Also plan to read the want ads and go on job interviews, you need to put yourself in a place or position where your spell CAN manifest. If you don't look, you won't find. Now, fine tune your spell by adding more ingredients in the way of colours, day of the week, time of the day, runes (if any), herbs, oil, soap, candles, cycle of the Moon, incense, etc. The more vibrations you tune in to your spell, the more fun Younger Self has with it. Also the more energy and thought and research you are putting in, the more you will get back. Remember to construct your spell in rhyme, as a chant works best, and be positive (say what you want, not what you don't want). See it as happening NOW, not tomorrow or some time in the distant future. Your subconscious mind only knows HERE and NOW. You will learn about all the spell correspondences for different purposes in following lessons. Many spell casters keep a Book Of Shadows or magickal diary, and write everything down including the results. This will help you to see how effective your magick is over time, and will help you to fine tune your skills.
The first step, then in planning a spell, is to fill in the list with all the elements that correspond to your desire, whether or not you intend to actually use them. After you have compiled the complete listing of all ingredients you could use, then you can go back and decide exactly which ingredients you choose to use. You can use them all. People normally will choose what they have readily available and work with those. You may find something by doing this research that you hadn't thought of before, but that will fit so perfectly into your ritual that you want to include it, and that is the beauty of making this list. Choices should always be thoroughly explored before beginning the magick itself. Purpose God & Goddess Moon phase Day of the Week Planet Planetary Hour Element (air, fire, water, earth) Number Colour Incense/oils Gems or crystals Herbs/plants Other associations Now go back and decide which of these elements you choose to incorporate into the spell itself. Remember to keep your numerology as consistent as possible. See what substitutions you may have to make. For example, in Cunningham's "Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner", he gives substitutions for plants and herbs that may not be available in your area (we ll also cover all this in more detail in coming lessons). You don't have to use what is listed in a book, either, if it feels wrong to you. Go with your own feelings, for this spell is for you and about you, and you are the most important element in it. It must feel right to you to be the most effective. Decide what KIND of spell you are going to do, candle magick, poppet magick, etc. What kind of energy raising do you want to use for this spell? Chanting, dancing, and physical activity, or do you wish to raise energy through meditation and visualisation? This depends entirely on your own expertise and comfort. It's better to go with the method that is appealing to you until you have perfected which method you like best. This is work, and raising and sending the energy successfully takes practice. What words will you use for your purpose? Remember that chanting is better done in rhyme for younger self. A method that works well and is fairly simple to remember is to make a couplet, or two line rhyme about your purpose. To say, "I want a wonderful, fulfilling job that is exactly perfect for me" is an excellent statement. To say the same thing in a rhyme, something like, "When the Moon is at her peak, The perfect job is what I seek" is easier to get into, has a good beat for chanting, and will help you focus your energy. This is an example of translating your desires into rhyme. Play with it a bit. Avoid the temptation to write long verses for this, keep it simple and easy to remember, since you really don't want to be reading all this while you are trying to raise the energy. Now that you have the basics down, it's time to write what you plan to do. I recommend highly that you take a spiritual bath first, and that you do cast a circle or some kind of protected sacred
space. So include those items in your plan. Use an appropriate bath salt, or herbs and oils in your bath to coincide with your magickal working. Write down all the supplies you will need for your magick. If you plan to inscribe your candle in circle, write down the tool that you will use to do that on your list too! Make this a recipe for your magick, and list EVERYTHING you will need. It is very distracting to be right in the middle of working only to find that you forgot something and you have to leave the circle area to get it. So after all this, you may say to yourself, "Why don't I just use someone else's ritual who has already done all this work for me?" That's a really good question! And here's "my" answer: Spells that we write for ourselves have so much more impact and work better in our own lives than any spell someone else could write for us. This doesn't mean that you can't use someone else's rhyme, or use someone's idea, or their choice of Goddess or whatever you like. Go ahead! You can always borrow ideas from other people, that's how we grow and learn. And you can use other people's spells as well, and they can be very effective. My point is simply, if you don't do the work for yourself, you don't get the chance to learn and grow. Since that is always my goal, that's how I teach. Spell ethics Once you have decided to work a spell, ritual, or combination of each, it becomes important to understand the consequences. A spell or ritual, even a "positive" one, can change the normal state of being. When this change occurs, a second change may follow, called "Karma", to allow for a balance in the creative energy patterns. Spellcraft is an art and takes time to learn. If you don't wish to learn the art, then just use any spell that looks good to you out of a book and it will be effective to a certain degree. You must do what makes YOU happy, and what you are able to do. The only wrong thing there is, in my opinion, is to force your will on another person, which is harm. "An it harm none, do what ye will." ANYTIME YOU TRY TO IMPOSE YOUR WILL ON ANOTHER PERSON IT IS UNETHICAL MAGICK.