Wicca (22 page)
Dis:
cypress
Ea:
cedar
Eros:
red rose
Gwydion:
ash
Helios:
sunflower, heliotrope
Herne:
oak
Horus:
horehound, lotus, persea
Hypnos:
poppy
Jove:
pine, cassia, houseleek, carnation, cypress
Jupiter:
aloe, agrimony, sage, oak,mullein, acorn, beech, cypress, houseleek, date palm, violet, gorse, ox-eye daisy, vervain
Kernunnos:
heliotrope, bay, sunflower, oak, orange
Kanaloa:
banana
Mars:
ash, aloe, dogwood, buttercup, witch grass, vervain
Mercury:
cinnamon,mulberry, hazel, willow
Mithras:
cypress, violet
Neptune:
ash, bladderwrack, all seaweeds
Odin:
mistletoe, elm
Osiris:
acacia, grape, ivy, tamarisk, cedar, clover, date palm, all grains
Pan:
fig, pine, reed, oak, fern, all meadow flowers
Pluto:
cypress, mint, pomegranate
Poseidon:
pine, ash, fig, bladderwrack, all seaweeds
Prometheus:
fennel
Ra:
acacia, frankincense,myrrh, olive
Saturn:
fig, blackberry
Sylvanus:
pine
Tammuz:
wheat, pomegranate, all grains
Thoth:
almond
Thor:
thistle, houseleek, vervain, hazel, ash, birch, rowan, oak, pomegranate, burdock, beech
Uranus:
ash
Woden:
ash
Zeus:
oak, olive, pine, aloe, parsley, sage, wheat, fig
As the Wicca, we will take only that which we need from the green and growing things of the earth, never failing to attune with the plant before harvesting, nor failing to leave a token of gratitude and respect.
Here ends this herbal grimoire.
CRYSTALS AND STONES
are gifts of the Goddess and God. They are sacred, magical tools that can be used to enhance ritual and magic. Here are some of these ways of earth magic.
Preparing the Circle
The magic circle can be laid out with crystals and stones, if desired, rather than with herbs.
Beginning and ending in the north, lay 7, 9, 21, or 40 quartz crystals of any size around the circle, either inside the cord or in place of it. If the ritual to be conducted within the circle is of a usual spiritual or magical nature, place the quartz crystals with points outward. If of a protective nature, place with points facing inward.
If you use candles to mark the four quarters of the magic circle rather than large stones, ring each candle with any or all of the following stones:
North:
moss agate, emerald, jet, olivine, salt, black tourmaline
East:
imperial topaz, citrine, mica, pumice
South:
amber, obsidian, rhodochrosite, ruby, lava, garnet
West:
aquamarine, chalcedony, jade, lapis lazuli, moonstone, sugilite
A Stone Altar
To make this altar, search through dry river beds and seashores for a variety of smoothly shaped stones. Or check rock shops for appropriate pieces.
Create the altar itself of three large stones. Two smaller ones of even size are used as the base, while a longer, flat stone is placed on top of these to form the altar itself. On this place one stone to the left of the altar to represent the Goddess. This might be a natural, river-rounded stone, a holed stone, a quartz crystal sphere, or any of the stones related to the Goddess that are listed below.
To the right of the altar, place a stone to represent the God. This might be a piece of lava, a quartz crystal point, a long, thin, or club-shaped rock, or a God-symbolic stone such as those presented below.
Between these two stones place a smaller stone with a red candle affixed to it to represent the divine energy of the Goddess and God as well as the element of fire.
Before this, place a flat stone to receive offerings of wine, honey, cakes, semiprecious stones, flowers, and fruit.
A small, cupped stone (if one can be found) should be set to the left of the offering stone. Fill this with water to represent that element.
To the left of the offering stone place a flat rock. Pour salt upon this to symbolize the element of earth.
Additionally, another flat stone can be placed before the offering stone to serve as an incense burner.
Use a long, thin, terminated quartz crystal as a wand and a flint or obsidian arrowhead for the magic knife.
Any other tools that are needed can simply be placed on the altar. Or, try to find stone alternatives to them.
This setup can be used for all types of Wiccan rituals.
Stones of the Goddesses
In general, all pink, green, and blue stones; those related to the moon or Venus; water and earth-ruled stones, such as peridot, emerald, pink tourmaline, rose quartz, blue quartz, aquamarine, beryl, kunzite, and turquoise.
Stones that are related to specific deities follow.
Aphrodite:
salt
Ceres:
emerald
Coatlicue:
jade
Cybele:
jet
Diana:
amethyst, moonstone, pearl
Freya:
pearl
Great Mother, The:
amber, coral, geodes, holed stones
Hathor:
turquoise
Isis:
coral, emerald, lapis lazuli, moonstone, pearl
Kwan Yin:
jade
Lakshmi:
pearl
Maat:
jade
Mara:
beryl, aquamarine
Nuit:
lapis lazuli
Pele:
lava, obsidian, peridot, olivine, pumice
Selene:
moonstone, selenite
Tiamat:
beryl
Venus:
emerald, lapis lazuli, pearl
Stones of the God
Generally, all orange and red stones; stones related to the sun and Mars; fire and air-ruled stones, such as carnelian, ruby, garnet, orange calcite, diamond, tiger’s eye, topaz, sunstone, bloodstone, red tourmaline.
Stones that are related to specific deities follow.
Aesculapius:
agate
Apollo:
sapphire
Bacchus:
amethyst
Cupid:
opal
Dionysius:
amethyst
Mars:
onyx, sardonyx
Neptune:
beryl
Odin:
holed stone
Poseidon:
beryl, pearl,
*
aquamarine
Ra:
tiger’s eye
Tezcatlipoca:
obsidian
Cairns
In earlier times, throughout the world, people built mounds or piles of stones. These were sometimes formed to mark the passage of travelers, or to commemorate some historic event, but such cairns usually had ritual significance.
In magical thought, cairns are places of power. They concentrate the energies of the stones used to create them. Cairns are rooted in the earth but lift upward to the sky, symbolically representing the interconnectedness of the physical and spiritual realms.
During outdoor circles, a small cairn, composed of no more than nine or eleven rocks, can be fashioned at each point of the circle of stones. This can be done prior to creating the circle itself.
The next time you’re in some wild, lonely place with a profusion of stones, clear a place among them and sit. Visualize a magical need. As you visualize, grasp a nearby stone. Feel the energy beating within it— the power of the earth, the power of nature. Place it on the cleared ground. Pick up another stone, still visualizing your need, and set it next to the first.
Still visualizing, continue to add stones, building them into a small pile. Keep adding stones until you feel them vibrating and pulsating before you. Place the last rock on top of the cairn with firm ritual intent—affirm to yourself, to the cairn, and to earth that with this final magical act you’re manifesting your need.
Place your hands on either side of the pile. Give it your energy through your visualization. Nurse it. Feed it strength and see your need as being fulfilled.
Then leave the cairn alone to do its work.
A Quartz and Candle Spell
Have a candle of the color symbolic of your magical need, according to the following list (or as your intuition tells you):
White:
protection, purification, peace
Red:
protection, strength, health, passion, courage
Light blue:
healing, patience, happiness
Dark blue:
change, psychism
Green:
money, fertility, growth, employment
Yellow:
intellect, attraction, study, divination
Brown:
healing animals
Pink:
love, friendships
Orange:
stimulation, energy
Purple:
power, healing severe diseases, spirituation, meditation
With the tip of a cleansed, terminated quartz crystal, scratch a symbol of your need onto the candle. This might be a heart for love, a dollar sign for money, a fist for strength. Alternately, use an appropriate rune
*
or write your need on the candle with the crystal.
As you scratch or draw, visualize your need with crystal clarity as if it has already manifested. Place the candle in a holder. Set the crystal near it and light the wick. As the flame shines, again strongly visualize. The crystal, candle, and symbol will do their work.
*
Pearl and coral have been mentioned in these lists as “stones” because they were anciently thought to be such. Our knowledge of them as products of living creatures leaves us with ethical questions of whether or not to use them in ritual. This must be a personal decision. Save for beach-gathered coral, I have chosen not to.
*
See the following section for runic information.
RUNES ARE SYMBOLS
that, when drawn, painted, traced, carved, or visualized, release specific energies. As such, rune magic is surprisingly easy to practice and is undergoing a renaissance today.
In earlier times, runes were scratched onto birch bark, bone, or wood. They were carved onto weapons to ensure accurate shots, engraved on cups and goblets to ward off poisoning, and marked on goods and the home for protective purposes.
But much confusion surrounds these figures. Some feel that runes themselves contain hidden powers. The same is also said of the pentagram and other magical symbols. The thought here is that, simply by drawing a rune, the magician unleashes supernatural powers.
This isn’t the case. Runes are tools of magic.
Their potency lies
within their user.
If my neighbor happened to doodle a healing rune on a napkin and, later, used this to wipe his forehead, no healing energy would be transferred to him simply because he didn’t put any into the rune.
Runes must be used with power to be magically effective. Carve, paint, or trace away—with visualization and with personal energy.
The ways to use runes are limited only by your imagination. For example, if a friend had asked me to speed her recovery from an illness, I might draw a healing rune on a plain piece of paper and sit before it.
While concentrating on the rune, I’d visualize my friend in a healed, whole state. Then, after building up personal power, I’d send the energy to her
in the shape of the rune.
I’d see it meshing with her body, unblocking, soothing, healing.
Or, I could carve the rune on a piece of cedar wood, again visualizing perfect health, and give it to her to wear.
Runes can also be fashioned onto food—with power—and then eaten to bring that specific energy back into the body; marked on the person with oil and visualization; carved onto a candle that is then burned to release its energies; traced or visualized in a pond or bathtub prior to entering it.
To draw runes on paper, specific ink colors related to each of the runes presented here can be found in their descriptions below, and can be utilized, if you wish. The colors work in harmony with the runes. Here are the runes:
