Wicca Workshop
BASIC WICCA INTRODUCTION->Part 10 Magick
Question: What do you think is the main purpose of religion? (any religion)
I feel that the purpose of religion is to make individuals aware of something larger than themselves, to help them feel connected to everyone and everything.
Part 10 Magick and Spells
First of all, magick is a natural manipulation of the energy of the universe. To effectively use it, you need two things: a purpose and a way to accomplish the purpose. Magick should only be used when all other methods of obtaining something are exhausted.
Purpose
In order to use magick one must first have a purpose. This purpose should always keep in mind the wiccan rede (An' it harm none, do what thou wilt) and the three-fold law. If the purpose does not violate either of these principles, and it is done with the full knowledge and permission of everyone involved, then it's acceptable. This is not really negotiable since doing something for "someone's own good" isn't a good enough reason for casting a spell. Come on, be honest with yourself. After all, the crusaders said they were killing and torturing people for their own good. Yeah, right. And there should be no other way to obtain the desired action. (For instance, getting a second job to obtain $200 would be more practical than doing a spell and just waiting for it to show up. You could be waiting for a long time.)
So, to reiterate, the four steps to finding a purpose are:
1-Does it violate the Wiccan rede? (or even better, "Does it harm anyone, including myself?"
2-If this came back on me three times as powerful, would it be a really bad scene? (Would you get hurt if this happened to you?)
3-Do I have permission from everyone involved?
4-Is there a more mundane way to obtain this item?
So, if you answered "yes" to 1,2, or 4 or "no" to 3 , my advice would be: "Don't do it".
Okay, so you've got your purpose and answered every checklist question above. What next?
Methods
There are many different methods of creating magick and I will name and explain some of them. Most of them involve the buildup and release of energy. Each method has different things it works best with and I will attempt to explain these as mundanely as possible in order to provide the full effect.
1-Visualization
For illustrative purposes, let's say that you want to have a good parking space when you get to work. Doesn't hurt anybody, isn't going to get you zapped by the three-fold law and you have permission from everyone involved, namely, you. Now what?
Visualization (as a form of magick) is the ability to create something in your mind and have it happen in the mundane world. The first thing we would do in our above scenario is to visualize the parking space in our mind. Visualization takes practice and it may become easier if you close your eyes. Can you picture an apple? Can you turn it around in your mind and "see" every part of it? That's visualization. The stronger and more clearly you visualize your goal, the easier it is and the stronger the magick is.
Idea
So, if visualization works, why does it work? There exists a kind of cosmic law that all things are connected to each other on the psychic/spiritual plane. The belief is that your visualizing the parking space moves through the web and connects to everyone, giving you the empty parking space because you psychically "reserved it" for want of a better term. This is one of the most common methods of performing magick because you don't really need sacred space to do it, you don't need a big ritual (although these might help), and you can do it almost anywhere. Please, don't do it while you're driving though, the road should have 100% of your attention.
Visualization is a very important part of most if not all magick practices. Even the traditional voodoo doll won't work without visualization, so let's talk a bit more about it.
If you have problems visualizing, try this: (this can also make your visualizations stronger)
Hearing--Instead of imagining the apple, imagine a rooster crow. Can you hear it? If you can, keep making it crow and try to see the rooster crowing. Did you do it?
Some cultures believe that everything has vibration (and when you think about physics and the atom, it does), so if you want to visualize energy, it would have a certain vibration, depending on the color. I find that this method adds power to whatever I'm doing.
Smell--Can you imagine the smell of brownies cooking in the oven? Can you imagine what they'd look like, the top all crinkly and delicious looking? The smell can also be used to increase your visualization power.
Taste--Can you taste an orange in your mind? Can you feel the sections separate as you chew? This one may be a bit harder to imagine, but not impossible.
Touch--Can you imagine how soft a rabbit's fur is? Can you imagine petting the rabbit and feeling the silky fur?
If, after trying this, you still find you cannot visualize at all, try looking at an image for a minute or so, then look away. Can you picture what you were just looking at in your mind? If not, try again for longer. Eventually, after trying long enough, you will be able to visualize with ease.
Visualization is a wonderful practice that will aid your magick, no matter what kind of magic you decide to do. In time you will find you can create whole worlds of the senses to aid you. Magickal energy has a certain vibration and energy. I imagine is sounds like a hum and feels like a motor running, the vibrations. The color will depend on what it is you're trying to do, and we'll discuss that next.
2-Color Magick
The second most helpful type of magick is color magick. Visualization is part of some color magick, in that certain colors help certain actions. What color you need will be determined by the action you wish to happen.
3-Fire Magick
I first learned this method in "Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner" and it has been a useful (but messy) method of magick.
Again, let's pick another situation that would work better with fire magick. Say you want to get into a particular college and you've got the application (or you're waiting to hear from them). You would set up a circle and create sacred space (be sure you have everything you'll need in the circle). You would need a candle, something to light the candle with (unless it's already lit), a piece of paper (not too big, perhaps 1/2 to 1/4 sheet), something to write with (pencil seems to work just as well as pen, though some use "Dragon's Blood" ink, an ink made from the Dragon's Blood herb), and a place to put the burning paper. Be sure that the item you pick to place the burning paper is fireproof. Some people use their little cauldrons (though if it's metal, that would be really hot), but mostly I use a small stoneware bowl. It absorbs the heat well and is cool to the touch.
So, you've created your sacred space and invoked the elements and Gods. What now? Next you tell all gathered (the elements and Goddess and God) of the purpose for your ritual, namely, to get into this college. This particular college. Now, you'd need to light the candle if you haven't already. Then you write your need on the paper, visualizing yourself going into this school, taking classes and the like. Concentrate your need "into" the paper as you write.
What should you write? Well, I'd write what I want, what I plan to do when I have it, and why I want this. Just write all over the paper if you can. Then, concentrate some more on the object and "feel" it absorb into the paper. Keep concentrating on the paper and touch it to the flame. (You can fold it first if it's too big.) Then place the burning paper into your fireproof container and wait until it goes out.
Now, it's been my experience that if the paper burns completely, and all that's left is ash, the spell has worked. Sometimes the paper turns brown but does not turn to ash and in that case the spell has not worked, but again, this is only my experience and does not necessarily reflect the experience you will have.
Special Effects with Fire
This is not a common practice, and has very little to do with Wicca, but it can be fun.
**You should always know what you're doing when handling anything dangerous, and fire is one of the most dangerous. Please read all warnings and instructions before performing anything described with fire.**
Flash products
There's also a type of paper called "Flash Paper" (not to mention the flash string and such) and it's more in the realm of the stage magician's magic, but it can be fun and add a bit of a magic act to your ritual. Flash products are a type of pyrotechnic so I can't stress enough to use caution when using these.
Flash paper is cellulose nitrate and is used to make "smokeless powder". It burns with a bright yellow flame and does not have much heat (you could hold it and not get burned), it also does not leave any ash. This is also convenient if you don't want to make a mess with all the paper ash. I did a search and found lots of places that were selling flash paper and string, even glue, so you could let your imagination go wild on this. It's not too expensive either, but then consider that you're buying it to make it go up in flame. Most of the sites I have looked at will ship the paper wet and need to be dried before use. Of course, one wouldn't want to use anything too warm to dry it, or it might ignite accidentally. Be sure and follow the directions that come with your purchase.
Color Effects
To get a colored flame you would need to add certain chemicals to the paper: sodium will burn yellow, lithium red, and copper green. Always remember to be careful when working with fire in any form.
They also have types of additives for flash products and if you're interested I suggest you do a search and look for "flash paper", or "flash products".
4-Water Magick
This is something I've never actually read about in any book, but I have used it successfully in the past. It works on the same basic principle of the fire magick: put your energy into the object, then release the energy.
One would have a cup or bowl of water (salted if desired) and concentrate your need into the water. Imagine the need happening as clearly as you can. Then release the energy. My favorite way of doing this is using the water to feed a tree or plant (not salted!).
5-Cord and String Magick
Cord magick has long been used in the seafaring communities and on ships, thus the wide range of knots available. The idea behind cord magick is that you store the energy in knots that you place in the cord. When you no longer need the energy stored there (or you find you need the energy) you undo the knot. Other ways I have seen it explained is: You create the knot because you want something, and when you obtain that item, you undo the knot. Usually, not more than 2 knots are tied (that would be greedy).
6-Magick of gesture
Think there's no magick in a gesture? Watch a police officer direct traffic. It seems his very gesture is magick, directing the forces (the cars) in flawless (usually) harmony. A simple gesture or pose can inspire feelings of awe, and magick. I am partial to the image of a bird's wings spread wide, rather like the Isis image. Perhaps that's why I enjoy looking at images of angels. The Buddha sits in a pose that many of us would find impossible to attain, and that is also powerful.
7-Aura Magick
According to psychics, there is an auric image, a net of power, around every living thing. This aura can be seen by the specially trained and there are many books on this. I find the best way to see an aura is to look at someone with a white background behind them. Others may find a black background works better for them. It has worked for me both ways. The best way to see it is to gaze at the spot between the head and the shoulder, where the space is empty, but the energy is not.
Some claim to be able to manipulate or view the aura as a selection of colors depending on the mood and temperament of the person being viewed. Also, there is a type of camera or film that is said to be able to photography auras called:
"Kirlian photography involves the transferring of a high frequency charge through a metal plate attached to a Polaroid film camera base. The fingertips are lightly placed on the film, which is encased in a light-tight bag, and an electric exposure is made. Sixty seconds later, after the film develops, the Kirlian photograph is complete and the subject's energy field is revealed. " -- From <a href="http://www.crystalinks.com/kirlian_photography.html" TARGET=NEW>here</A>.
A local new age store where I used to live offered this service, but I did not take advantage of it.
8-Familiars
A familiar is long known in folklore as the black cat that sits next to the old hag of a witch as she stirs her cauldron.
Actually, a familiar is a kindred spirit in the form of an animal or even plant. (But usually animal) This creature is one that we feel a close connection or bond with and can aid in magick. Some hospitals have special programs that bring animals to the sick and/or elderly and they greatly aid in recovery and life quality, so why shouldn't they help magick?
9-Chants
A chant is the rhythmic repetition of words, usually poetic and easy to remember. A prime example of this is the chant, "She changes" that is, simply, "She changes everything She touches and everything She touches changes...(repeat)" as a Goddess chant. To be effective in magick, the chant is usually repeated over and over, faster and faster (building energy) until it can no longer be contained, so it is released.
10-Divination
Not really a type of magick, divination is the practice of trying to tell the future, your own or someone else's. Various methods of doing this are: tarot cards, runes, dice, I-ching, scrying, tea leaf reading, candle divination and future dreaming.
Scrying is looking into a crystal ball (or any clear object/liquid) and waiting for images to appear, either in the material, or in your mind. Runes are Norse (or Germanic) letters that represent certain occurrences and advice. They are read in much the same way as Tarot cards. Tasseomancy (Tea Leaf & Coffee Ground reading) involves making tea (or coffee) from loose tea leaves (not bags) (or coffee grounds) and drinking the liquid. The future is read in the resulting clumps of tea (or coffee) in the cup. Ceromancy (a type of candle divination) is the art of dripping hot wax into cool liquid (usually water) and interpreting the images (much like tea leaf reading). Some people have the skill of dreaming of the future before it happens. (I've actually done this, but unfortunately, it always seems to be about a year in advance and I don't realize I dreamed it until it's happening.)
Another method, bibliomancy, is where one divines the future by opening a book to a random passage and reading it. Often the Christian Bible and the dictionary are used for this. Additionally, I like to use the radio to divine my future (or answer my question). I'll call this 'radiomancy'. I do this by having a problem on my mind and turning the radio to a random station. The next song that comes on is my answer. (This works especially well with country music stations.) One could use the various music television stations the same way.
Yet another commonly practiced method of divination is the use of a pendulum to divine answers to questions. A pendulum is a weighted object on a string. When you allow the weighted object to swing freely, it will move in two ways, circular, or straight (vertical or horizontal). Various cards or pages are used to provide a "map" for the pendulum to swing on. I have seen them as simple as a single "Yes"-"Yes" on the vertical and "No"-"No" on the horizontal. The question is asked and the pendulum is released. The direction it swings is the answer to the question. If it circles around, the answer is unsure (maybe). I used to enjoy this type of magick, but I've found that if you concentrate on what you want it to do, it will do that, so I believe the results of this type of divination is just too easily jinxed.
What about "high" magick and "low" magick?
Wicca is sometimes called low magick, but it refers to the fact that it's an earthbound magick, as opposed to high magick that is worked on the astral (or psychic) plane.
Astral Travel, Remote Viewing and Lucid Dreaming
Astral travel is the idea that the spirit body can travel without the body to other planes of existence and to other places on this physical plane. Remote viewing is the ability to view events when you are not physically present in the environment where the incident is happening. Lucid Dreaming is the ability to control one's dreams; to know one is dreaming and control what happens in the dream.
Though not magick, I present these three because they appear in numerous texts and I wanted everyone to be clear on what they actually are.
Bibliography and Further Reading:
Real Magic by Isaac Bonewits
Magick Made Easy by Patricia Telesco
Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
Green Egg Issue No. 121 (Nov-Dec) 1997 - Millennial Witches
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