Spirited (15 page)

Within the following paragraphs, you will see the term “relative association” repeated often. The term itself was one I coined some time ago to personify the principle of correspondence.
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Relative association, as it is used here, is the mind's connection between both the object (the foci symbol) and its associated qualities (the magickal uses). These connections are based on an individual's ethnic and cultural background, upbringing, and the collective unconscious. However, an individual may make the conscious decision to reject notions and beliefs instilled at an early age and seek to delve into symbolism differently. Relative association is both an active and subliminal mentality.

Witchcraft promotes the advantages of learning and applying new symbolism into one's psyche; this is the Witch's code. Colour and herbal associations are unique to the practice of spellcraft. For example, in Western society, the colour black is considered impure and deathly. The Witch, however, sees black as the colour of binding, banishment, and life-affirming destruction. Metaphysics teaches that black is the absence of colour and therefore represents the primal unconscious, the mystery of life, and the harshness of fate. While society has a generic tradition of symbolism, the Witch's code introduces a unique mindset.

It has been argued that the reason Witches use specific herbs, natural objects, and colours in their Craft is that each individual entity, animate or not, resonates with a specific vibration unique to that object/organism. The vibration is harnessed to affect a specific strand of the Web of Life.

Correspondence is a filter for perception and the mental, emotional, and physical reactions caused by the stimuli. To illustrate this, I shall give an example of a love spell, below.

The Love Spell

What you will need:

One long-stemmed red rose

Cinnamon powder

Jasmine essential oil (diluted in some sort of base oil, e.g., almond or jojoba)

A piece of red paper cut in the shape of a heart

Three pink votive candles

Timing

Waxing or full moon, preferably on a Friday

Early evening

Location

A place of natural beauty, e.g., a beach.

Using the cinnamon powder, create a circle around you wide enough to move around comfortably in, and place the three candles at equally spaced intervals around the circle. Take the jasmine oil and anoint either your seven chakras or the five parts of the body addressed in the fivefold kiss. As you do this, repeat the affirmation below each time the oil touches your skin:

Sweet scent of Aphrodite's garden, I coax thee hither

May my skin receive your touch of beauty

May my heart reach out to my awaiting lover.

Now walk deosil around your circle and light each candle, chanting:

Glowing light, flow this night

Enchant herein the powers raised

Glowing night, flowing light

Circle's cast 'neath moonlight's gaze.

Stand in the centre of the circle and visualise a pulsing concentration of pink light swirling around you. Allow yourself a moment of peace as you contemplate the working ahead of you.

Take the red rose and hold it in your power hand, and draw a pentagram or other relevant symbol in the air before you. Imagine the sigil ablaze with light. Now hold the heart in your other hand (the receptive hand) and ensure your feet are spread apart and your arms held slightly raised before you. Chant:

Reddest rose upon my palm

Bound to flesh, and flesh is bound

Call to me a lover's arm

This spell I cast in circle's round.

Repeat this chant over and over, becoming louder as you do. As you chant, meditate on the qualities you desire in a lover, and remember to remain as general as possible. As you feel the climax of power, quickly turn your attention to the heart, and say:

By my heart entwined in love

This spell is cast as flies the dove.

The spell is cast. Now ground your energy and dismantle the space.

The method outlined above is a classic love spell. The materials, timing, location, words, and gestures are all inherently sensual and focus the mind on love. Any person unfamiliar with Witch's code could successfully cast the spell above and achieve a degree of success, as the correspondence used was not overly esoteric. It is common knowledge that red and pink inspire thoughts of love and sexuality, and that the full moon is an auspicious time. However, correspondence involves more than the average superficial awareness. You need to fully comprehend why red and pink are the colours of love and why the full moon is considered a magickal time. Why is the writing hand considered to be the preferable channel of assertive energy? What of the spell's wording? Why use words such as flesh, lover's arm, and dove?

It's up to you to formulate your own ideas on relative association, correspondence, and spellcraft. Read up on the folklore and literary references of symbolism, and you will begin to see that symbolism is not always a mindset but a source of sacred power.

Make sure you have a solid understanding of why symbolism is so important in spellcraft, and you will begin to find that through your own perseverance, you are able to imbue objects with specific energies, despite them not having a traditional association with those energies beforehand. You are the catalyst; make use of your mental powers of perception and spellcraft will become a joy.

The Power of Belief

A person's probability of success
is directionally proportional to the belief
and execution of their abilities.

—Kent Calhoun

“Believe in yourself and you will succeed”—as generic and clichéd as this is, its meaning is rooted in truth. Having confidence in your ability to change things and to make decisions concerning your future are the extensions and elaborations of belief. You must trust that you can and do have an impact on transformation.

Egotism and arrogance are the byproducts of a spoilt world shaped by the “holier than thou” attitude. Individuality has been exploited to the point that egalitarian values have vanished, and perpetual hierarchy has been instated as the social norm. You are an individual, you have unique characteristics and abilities; however, you have no right to profess you are higher or better than another.

I truly came to terms with the impact my personal belief had on my Magick several years ago when I was in Bali. My father, who is one of the most spiritual people I have ever known, is a beacon of belief. My dad is always telling stories about how a certain charm or talisman saved him from certain illness or even death, or about his interactions with the gods. One of his stories concerning a ring of petrified wood highlighted the power of belief. My dad had been wearing the ring when a poisonous blade pierced him. He felt no pain, and the ring kept him strong and whole. You may interpret the story however you wish, but I personally see it as an experience of healing faith and the power of belief.
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Spellcraft honours belief. Belief aims to reinforce and secure the energy of a spell; it helps to keep the spell working and eventually offers ground for the spell to manifest. Faith is not something that one should cast away; it is a valid and personal energy that strengthens spirit and heals wounds.

Need over Trivial Desire

The Power is used only as need dictates.

—from Scott Cunningham's “The Law of the Power,”
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

The universe is not an effortless machine. It is an active consciousness that processes our energies and gives them direction. It also has a sense of humour. When it sees someone making a fool of themselves, attempting to give someone warts or pimples, it revels in giving that particular fool a great big whack across the head and ultimately sealing a decidedly greater chain of acne for said fool.

There are times when we must honour the traditional codes of conduct concerning our relationship with the Power. Spells for trivial and petty issues are not recommended, as (1) it's a waste of your time and energy and (2) karma accumulates. Remember that casting a spell is an act of devotion and power. When it comes to “need over trivial desire,” give room for your common sense to interject.

On the metaphysical side of things, when you are in dire need of something, you will find raising energy for the task an easier process, as need trumps trivial desires. Don't fall prey to the materialism of this world by casting spells to become popular or the like. Be your own person. You need to assess these things for yourself. Balance is the key.

Clear Intent and Energy Input

Sling the bow and point the arrow
As above and so below
God and Goddess, hear your Witches
Listen to us, make it so!
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We've all heard stories of Witches ruining their spells because of wording mistakes or wrong ingredients. However, is it that simple when it comes to the reality of intent and energy input in spellcraft?

“Errors” in process only work to diminish the power of the spell if the individual believes that they will. If you get emotionally distraught over missing a few words or blanking out about the rose petals, it is obvious that your spellcraft will suffer from your own anxieties. All that truly matters in effective spellcraft is the precision and sincerity of your intent as well as your devotion to the cause. Your choice to cast a spell is the beginning of your intent. From thereon, the intent needs to be concentrated so that it becomes the major driving force of the spell. Intent raises energy, and thus the vehicle of your Magick is born. You need to make sure that your intent is clarified so that you don't miss the target.

In terms of energy, intent must be focused and felt to achieve any degree of success. Maintaining the steady flow of energy during a spell is vital, as this is the link upon which your intent travels into the universe. It is essential to ground and centre before any magickal work, as this clears both astral and physical bodies of toxins and draws in the vital energy of both sky and earth, charging you with power.

Visualisation is another key factor. You need a mental picture or image of what you are working for so that your intent has visuals to relate to and draw power from.

Honour and acknowledge your innate gifts of intent and energy, and your ability to cast effective spells will be born.

The Active Principle

Energy travels the path of least resistance.

—Unknown

This is often the most forgotten principle, and for that reason many people wonder why their spells don't work or why they take months to manifest. Energy is naturally inclined to travel the path of least resistance. This means that the fewer barricades the energy has to hurdle, the quicker the spell will manifest. If you are in need of snappy results, you may like to integrate the active principle into your spellcraft.

The active principle is the physical procedures the Witch performs to help bring the spell into fruition. For example, if you cast a spell for employment, how is the spell going to work unless you get up and do something to help it along? You need to work with the energy and help to remove as many blocks as possible so that the energy can work more effectively. If you decide to simply lay back and foolishly wait for someone to call you with a dream job offer, the energy will become weaker with each passing day, as you are doing nothing to reinforce the energy. By the time the energy finds something for you, the impact it has on the situation will be at best a flicker. All the effort is wasted. You need to consciously open yourself to as many opportunities as possible so that the energy can make the leap and influence the situation. It's up to you to see your spell into the world and to strengthen its hold on the physical plane. Work with Magick, not against it.

Visualisation:
Magick Incarnate

Seeing is believing.

—Italian proverb

Visualisation, like spellcraft, is a skill to be developed. There are those who are naturally predisposed to visualisation, and there are those who struggle.

Visualisation works in that the ability to perceive something in detail, through the five senses within the mind, stimulates the likely chance that one will then come across that envisioned situation, person, or object in the physical plane. Visualisation is a logical step in energetic progression and expression.

Visualisation can be linked to the planes of existence. Think of each plane as a step on a staircase. Now, relate your mind to your higher consciousness or simply put it on one of the higher steps. You, as a physical being residing in the material plane, are represented by one of the lower steps. Now envision that someone has poured a bucket of water onto the step representing your higher consciousness. Gradually, influenced by the gravitational pull and momentum (two natural forces working together), the water will find its way to the step representing your physical being. The water on your step is now imbued with the experience of having passed over each step above your own. Similarly, as you visualise something, that specific visualisation is given astral form in the realm of higher consciousness, and this gradually manifests on the material plane by means of natural progression. It is essential that we remember all planes coexist and are not separate from one another.