Cottage Witchery (19 page)

a magickal fence spell

Take three glasses and fill them full of water. Arrange the glasses in a line between yourself and the problematic situation or neighbor. Think of this as a magickal fence of sorts. What the water does is collect all the negativity the other person is sending to you and reflects it back. There's just one catch—don't drink the water! (This is a nifty spell to do while you're at work, too.) When you're finished with the cups, pour the water down a toilet and flush. Run the glasses through the dishwasher or wash them by hand thoroughly. If you used plastic cups at work, dispose of them. Try this charm to go along with this simple spell:

Three cups of water make for a magickal fence,

The water reflects, sends back and creates defense.

A psychic's clever old trick that works like a charm,

It teaches a good lesson but doesn't cause harm.

a witch jar for protection

Witch jars are quick, fun, and typically created with supplies found around the home. For this Witch jar, incorporating items that come from the house is a great way to link the protective magick for your home back into the spell. Look around and see what you can find to personalize this spell. Work this spell on the night of the full moon.

For this protective spell you'll need an old glass jar, like an old pickle jar or jelly jar. Wash the jar and lid out thoroughly and allow them to dry. Take a permanent black marker and draw a pentagram on top of the lid. Add to the jar several of the following items:

* A clove of garlic

* A few stray pet hairs (to add protection for your pets)

* A cobweb from your walls—I know if I check, I probably have a few
cobwebs hanging around somewhere

* A few leaves from one of the trees in your yard or close to your property (check the list of protective trees listed earlier in this chapter)

* Old nails

* Straight pins

* Small bits of broken glass or a few colored marbles

* A small pebble or rock from the yard

* A straw from your household broom

* Sea salt or table salt

* The stub or drippings from an old protective spell candle

Finally, fill up the rest of the jar with dried beans, barley, and dried rice (to absorb any negativity that is lurking around your home). Now screw the lid onto the jar and give it a good shake. Hold the jar in both hands and enchant the Witch's protective jar with this charm:

This Witch's jar is filled with homey and simple things,

Now absorb anger and malice, rice, barley, and beans.

All negativity is drawn straight into this jar,

My household is protected with the seal of the star.

Keep the jar tucked away under the kitchen counter or in the corner of the most lived-in room. After a full lunar cycle has passed, at the next full moon, dispose of the jar in a garbage can off of your property. After you dump the jar, turn your back on it and walk away from the negativity. Don't look back. You are moving forward and on to bigger, better things.

[contents]

Prosperity is not just having things.
It is the consciousness that attracts the things.

Prosperity is a way of living and thinking . . .

Eric Butterworth

8

Prosperity for the Home

This specialty chapter focuses on prosperity magick for home and family with a natural magick twist. Now, many of us forget that prosperity is more than having lots of cash, it's more than having the most expensive clothes, the biggest house, or the fanciest car . . . actually, according to the dictionary that's perched above my desk, prosperity is defined as “the condition of being successful or thriving.” See where we are going with this topic?

How are you thriving these days? Keeping your prosperity on track does include your place of residence. But tackling the issue of personal prosperity and abundance can be challenging at times. We all go through tough financial periods. The cars break down, sometimes all at once, our hours get cut at work, unexpected home repairs or bills hit us, and then we're scrambling. Been there, done that.

When things seem like they are overwhelming you, stop, ground, and center. Then put on your Witch's thinking cap and start working for both success and prosperity. It takes heart and determination to work toward improving your quality of life. However, if you're willing to work hard, and you combine that effort with magick, I have no doubt that you'll turn things around in a fabulous magickal style.

In this chapter we will cover many cottage witchery ideas for increasing the prosperous vibrations that emanate from your home. These positive and successful energies will influence yourself and the pets, roommates, or family members you live with.

To round up this prosperous topic, I'm including a few spells to help you sell your home, move to a better neighborhood, or find a new place to live. So, let's get started and see what sort of abundant magickal ideas we can come up with!

Ideas are, in truth, forces.

Infinite, too, is the power of personality.

A union of the two always makes history.

Henry James, Jr.

Prosperity Spells with Personality

Crafting prosperity spells for your particular situation makes them more specialized, personal, and powerful. Do you really want to know what separates the novice Witch from the more advanced practitioner? They come up with their own ideas—and you can certainly do this as well. Start simple, and then add to your witchy repertoire. Check out the plants and colors associated with prosperity and see how you can adapt the following natural magick spells and charms. Live on the edge, change a few words around, and adjust the spells to suit your needs.

As before, these next four elemental spells are simple and easy to do. Try transforming and personalizing them by adding candles, herbs, or color magick, and discover for yourself what sort of individual enchantment you can add to cottage witchery.

Air Magick

Maybe you only need a shifting in the winds of change. What better way to announce that positive and abundant change is on the way to your home than with the ringing of enchanted wind chimes? To start with, choose a small decorative wind chime for this prosperity spell. Perhaps you'll just enchant a favored wind chime that you already own. Celestial patterns, birds, or faeries would be a good choice. Metal or wood, fancy or plain—just go with whatever style of chimes you like. Find a tone that's pleasing to you and scout out a likely spot in your home to display them. Would the front porch work? How about the back patio, or outside a bedroom window? Display the chimes somewhere that you can see them and enjoy their music every day.

When you work this spell, try to hang up your witchy wind chimes on a nice breezy day. Once the chimes are in place, turn and face the east, the direction of the air element, and then enchant your home's new chimes with the following verse:

These magickal wind chimes will now ring out for me

A homey charm for abundance and prosperity.

Merrily do you announce the sweeping winds of change

Banish poverty and dread, shut it out of range.

Now ring in good cheer, wealth, and abundance so true,

Lord and Lady, please bless me in all that I do.

Wait until you hear the chimes ring out. Then close the spell with:

By all the powers of three time three,

As I will it, then so shall it be.

Fire Magick

I have an “old reliable” candle magick spell to share. However, I will warn you that the prosperity comes to your household because you get to pick up more hours at your job. The money's not just going to drop out of the sky and into your lap. You are going to have to earn it—which is why my husband calls this the “Overtime Spell.”

I like to work this spell on a Thursday, a Jupiter's day, to ensure that the monetary vibe gets rolling right along. You will need the following supplies:

* One fat green 3- to 4-inch-tall pillar candle (you may use a white pillar candle, if you prefer; it is an all-purpose color)—to add a little magickal aromatherapy, try a pine-scented green candle or a mint-scented white candle

* A cauldron or old deep pot for the candle to burn away safely in

* A nail or needle to engrave the prosperity and good fortune rune Fehu (
) and the dollar or pound sign (whatever the symbol for your currency is) on the sides of the candle

* A lighter or matches

* A spot to set the cauldron and candle where it can burn safely for a few days

Hold the candle in both hands and charge it with your intentions—in this case, prosperity and abundance. Set the candle in the bottom of the cauldron and light the candle. Repeat the charm three times:

By Jupiter's power, this abundance spell I cast,

Increase my paycheck, send prosperity to me fast.

I'm willing to work for the money I need,

Please grant my request with all possible speed.

This fire spell conveys no harm, for I have bills to pay,

Send abundance to this house in the best possible way.

Close up the spell with:

For the good of all, this magick harms none,

By Jupiter's power, this spell is done.

Allow the candle to burn until it is gone. This will take several days, so keep it inside of that cauldron or metal pot. If you have to leave the candle, put it somewhere safe to finish burning—try the inside of a empty fireplace, the bottom of your shower stall, or an empty kitchen sink. If you don't want to leave the candle burning, then snuff it out while you're gone and relight it as soon as you come back home. When your prosperity arrives, remember to give something back by making a charitable donation or volunteering in your community.

Water Magick

To promote success, abundance, and prosperity while working with the element of water, let's take a magickal look at the idea of traditional wishing wells. Sure, this is a no-brainer. You probably did this a bunch when you were a child: toss in the coin, close your eyes, and wish for good luck. However, before you go running amok and start throwing loose change into every fountain, fish pond, well, or body of water you come across, hang on a second. As someone who had to clean out all those coins people used to throw into the garden center's fish ponds and fountain displays—please don't do this!

Save your change. Tossing coins into a fish pond could hurt the fish. Plus somebody has to “fish” those coins out of there eventually, and it's a very nasty job. I can guarantee you they won't be wishing you well; they'll be swearing at your thoughtlessness instead. So, let's run—or should we say swim—with this idea and try thinking on more natural terms instead.

If you are at the edge of a natural body of water, such as a river, ocean, pond, or a lake, then try making your wish and tossing in a small pebble in place of the coin. Charge the pebble with your wishes for a happy and abundant life, then chuck in the pebble and say:

Spirits of the water, I give you a token,

Grant my sincere request as this spell is spoken.

Send prosperity homeward in a positive way,

May my life be rich and full, each and every day.

After you've spoken this charm, dip your fingers into the water and sprinkle a bit of the water onto the open palms of your hands. Consider yourself blessed by the element of water. Take a deep breath, smile, and head for home.

What I also like to do is use a green leaf to make my wish. Floating a small green leaf across the surface of the water is a better, more natural idea than tossing in coins, especially if you live in the city and only have access to a fountain. If there isn't any natural water source nearby, this is a good alternative. So choose your leaf to make the wish upon, hold it in your projective hand—that's the one you write with—and load the item with your wishes for success and prosperity. Now gently float the leaf across the surface of the water. As you do, repeat this prosperity charm:

A small leaf of green to represent prosperity,

Float away on the water and send success to me.

Water hear my call, bring waves of plenty to shore,

Wealth and abundance will find its way to my door.

After you've spoken the charm, dip your fingers in the water and rub it across the palms of your hands. Now take a deep breath, center yourself, and turn and walk confidently home.

Earth Magick

One of my favorite cottage witchery techniques is creating charm bags. Charm bags can be a simple square of cloth gathered together and tied with a satin ribbon or you can be more elaborate and whip up the charm bag on the sewing machine. If you really want to get snazzy, you could pick up some of those sheer organza favor bags in the bridal section at most arts and craft stores and use those. They are a bit more expensive but they are available in a rainbow of sheer and metallic colors. For prosperity charm bags, I would select green in any of its various shades, silver, copper, or gold.

As to timing, either work on a Jupiter's day (Thursday) for prosperity, or try a Sunday, the day of the sun, for wealth and success. If you'd like to incorporate a touch of lunar energies into the spellwork, try working this spell on either the new moon phase or full moon phase.