Get a sigil tattooed on your body.
There’s no limit to how many sigils you can draw or how many ways you can use them. Give your imagination free rein.
Creating Sigils on a Magick Square
A magick square is an ancient configuration of smaller, numbered squares arranged in rows and columns in such a way that the numbers in each column and row add up to the same sum. One of the simplest squares, which magick workers associate with the planet Saturn, consists of nine small squares within a larger one.
4 9 2
3 5 7
8 1 6
To design a sigil on a magick square:
Decide on a word that represents your intention. Let’s say, for example, you want to increase your strength (physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually).
Refer back to the table of letter and number correspondences in Chapter 5. Write down the numbers that correspond to the letters in STRENGTH: 1 2 9 5 5 7 2 8.
Place a sheet of tracing paper over the magick square.
Locate the square with the number 1—the number that corresponds to the first letter of your word, the letter S. Draw a small circle on the tracing paper where you see square 1.
Next, draw a line on the tracing paper from that circle to the square with the number that relates to the second letter in your word, in this case the square for 2 because that’s the number linked with the letter T.
The third letter in STRENGTH corresponds to the number 9, so find this square and draw a line to it.
If your word contains two letters side by side with the same number value, draw >< on the line where it crosses the box that contains the repeated number.
Continue in this manner until your line drawing “spells out” the word. Make a small circle at the end of the last line to denote the end of the word.
The finished design is your magick sigil. Affix the tracing paper with the image on it into your grimoire. Or, if you prefer, redraw the sigil directly into your book. (If you’d like to learn more about using magick squares, see my book Magickal Astrology. You can also see methods for designing sigils on YouTube.)
Add Sigils to Your Grimoire
Not only are sigils the perfect way to encode a spell or anything else you want to keep private, they can be beautiful additions to your grimoire. As with runes, sigils can define the various sections in your book of shadows. They can also stand alone as visual spells. Use them to illustrate the core meaning of an affirmation or incantation. You can even design a sigil that encompasses the entire affirmation. If you like, add other images to a sigil, such as astrological glyphs, runes, stars, spirals, flowers—anything that holds meaning for you.
Chapter 13
ACTIVE SPELLS
Most spells have an active component to them, even if it’s just lighting a candle on your altar. The “Buried Treasure Spell” in Chapter 10 is a good example of an active spell. So is the “Spell to Protect Your Home” in Chapter 3. Even writing in your grimoire is an active spell.
Some rituals involve many complex, carefully choreographed steps. When you’re doing complicated magickal workings, you may find it necessary to write down the steps in your book of shadows so you can remember them—especially if you don’t perform them often. Although you can cast a spell simply by envisioning it in your mind’s eye, witches often combine physical movements with words, visualization, and sound. The more you engage your senses in magick work, the more powerful your spells and rituals are likely to be.
CASTING A CIRCLE
Casting a circle is one of the most fundamental and widely used practices in magick work. This circle functions as a shield against any undesirable influences, as well as a container for the energy generated during spells and rituals. It also separates magickal space from mundane space. A circle isn’t a flat ring, nor is it a dome over you. Your circle is a sphere surrounding you above and below the place where you do your magick work, as if you were standing in a bubble. You draw a circle, but envision a sphere growing out of the line you draw—it’s a circle in three dimensions, a shell that allows the sacred space within the circle to exist between the worlds.
Yes, you can cast a circle by imagining yourself surrounded by a sphere of pure white light—and that circle will work just fine. But many witches enjoy a more active ritual. You’ll find lots of suggestions and instructions for circle-casting online and in other books, including many of mine. You can also design your own method. Do whatever you feel inspired to do, whatever engages your senses and your imagination. You may want to try a number of different ways to cast a circle to see which one best suits you. In your grimoire, write what you did, what tools (if any) you used, who else (if anyone) took part, what you felt, and what results you experienced.
Basic Circle-Casting Steps
You can design an elaborate ritual for casting a circle, or you can follow these easy steps:
Stand in the center of the space you will define as your circle.
Facing east, point your magick wand or athame outward toward where you’re going to draw the circle’s wall. (If you don’t have a wand or athame, you can point your finger. We’ll talk more about magick wands, athames, and other tools in Chapter 15.)
Center your personal energy within your body. Then ground your energy by envisioning it flowing down through your feet and into the earth, where it connects with the energy of the earth.
Draw energy up from the earth, through your body, and out to your hand, into your wand or athame.
Allow this energy to flow out to the point where you intend to begin forming your circle.
Slowly turn in a clockwise direction until you are again facing the original starting point and the flow of energy joins up with where it started, forming a seamless ring.
Visualize the ring thickening and curving inward until it meets above your head and below your feet, forming a perfect sphere of energy.
Lower your wand or athame to shut off the energy flow.
You are now ready to enact your magick spell or ritual within the circle you’ve cast.
Circle-Casting with a Sword
Some witches use a ceremonial sword to cast a circle. Hold the sword with the point facing outward. Beginning in the east, walk clockwise three times around the space where you will work, delineating the outer edge of the circle with the point of the sword. Chant the following incantation (or one you compose yourself) as you walk:
“Thrice around the circle bound
Evil sink into the ground.
This charge I lay by the number three
As is my will, so mote it be.”
Circle-Casting with Pentagrams
If you’re using a wand or athame to cast your circle, you may want to stop at each of the four directions—east, south, west, and north—to draw a pentagram in the air before you. (You can use your hand if you don’t have a wand or athame.) The pentagram represents protection, so this added step in your ritual reinforces the protective nature of the circle.
Hold your wand or athame in your hand, with your arm outstretched before and slightly above you, pointing outward.
With the tip of your tool, draw a pentagram in the air.
Visualize energy flowing from the cosmos into your tool, down your arm, through your body, and into the ground.
Repeat this action at each of the four directions.
Calling the Quarters While Casting a Circle
Some witches call the quarters while casting a circle. As you walk around the circle, stop at each of the four directions and call out to the guardians of those directions. You can craft an eloquent incantation or use this simple one:
“Guardian of the eastern sphere
Now we seek your presence here.
Come, East, come.
Be with me (us) tonight.”
Repeat this directive at each of the four directions (substituting the name of the specific direction). You may choose to light a candle at each point. Select a color that corresponds to each direction, a
s discussed in Chapter 12.
The Four Elements Technique
This technique combines the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—to cast a circle.
Fill a bowl with saltwater, which symbolizes the elements of earth and water.
Beginning in the east, walk in a clockwise direction, sprinkling the saltwater on the ground to define a circle as you say: “With earth and water I cast this magick circle.”
Next, light a stick of incense, which represents fire and air (smoke).
Again, start in the east and walk clockwise around the circle, trailing the fragrant smoke behind you while you say: “With fire and air I cast this magick circle.”
If you prefer, two people can perform this circle-casting ritual together. In this case, one person holds the bowl of saltwater and the other carries the stick of burning incense.
“In Witchcraft, we define a new space and a new time whenever we cast a circle to begin a ritual. The circle exists on the boundaries of ordinary space and time; it is ‘between the worlds’ of the seen and unseen . . . a space within which alternate realities meet, in which the past and future are open to us.”
—STARHAWK, THE SPIRAL DANCE
Opening the Circle
At the end of your spell or ritual, you must open the circle in order to return to your ordinary realm of existence. Once you’ve removed the “psychic fence,” your magick can flow out into the world and manifest. Additionally, you must release the entities you’ve called upon (if any). An easy way to do this is to retrace the steps you took while casting the circle, but in reverse order. Instead of walking clockwise, walk counterclockwise. Imagine the circle you erected dissolving behind you as you move.
Did you call upon the guardians of the four directions or invite other nonphysical entities to join you in your spell or ritual? If so, now’s the time to thank them for their assistance and bid them adieu until next time. Pause at each direction and say aloud:
“I thank you for your presence here
And for the aid you gave to me.
Until we meet another time,
Hail, farewell, and blessed be.”
If you lit candles at the four directions, snuff them out as you release the spirits of each direction.
Ending your spell or ritual is just as important as beginning it. After you finish your working, record all the details in your grimoire. Describe the actions you took during the ritual. Write down the incantations, invocations, or other chants you used. Later, when you see the results of your spell or ritual manifest, note what happened, how the results came about, how long it took for the outcome to materialize, and anything else you consider significant.
“A spell involves words and actions chosen to achieve a certain goal or desire, and is driven by the will of the person performing it. Words, symbols, and tools are combined to produce a ritual. Power is raised and directed out to the Universe to do its work.”
—DEBBIE MICHAUD, THE HEALING TRADITIONS & SPIRITUAL PRACTICES OF WICCA
MAGICK MUDRAS
Mudra is the Sanskrit word for seal or gesture and refers to a special movement used in a spiritual ritual. Perhaps you’ve seen people employ a familiar mudra during meditation; they press their thumbs and index fingers together while extending the other fingers. Folding your hands in prayer is another example of a mudra. Although we often associate mudras with Eastern religions, witches in all parts of the world use them in spellwork and ritual practices.
In a broader sense, mudras are gestures or postures that depict your intentions. Purists might argue that the term refers only to sacred gestures, but we use “mudras” all the time to convey our intentions—when we wave to a friend, cross our fingers for good luck, or clap our hands to applaud someone. Think of a police officer directing traffic by waving his arms, or a dog trainer using hand signals to instruct her animal. Holding out your hand with your palm facing away from you clearly says: Stop. These and other gestures serve as active symbols. They also enable you to communicate with other people via sign language during a group ritual.
Witches know that where your attention goes, energy flows. When you point your finger, you steer attention (yours or someone else’s) in a particular direction. That’s what you do when you extend your hand to cast a circle. Mudras may involve only the hands or the entire body. Try some of these mudras to direct energy for magickal purposes:
With your hand, draw a pentagram in the air for protection.
Stretch your arms up above your head to draw down energy from the heavens.
To invoke a deity, hold one arm outstretched above your head, then draw the energy into yourself by pulling your hand down to your heart center.
Hold your arms up and outward from your body, curving them in the shape of a crescent moon to invoke the blessing of the moon goddesses.
Clear sacred space by sweeping your arms and hands about the area to disperse unwanted energies.
Ground energy by bending down and placing your palms flat on the ground (or floor).
Touch your index finger to your third eye to stimulate intuition.
Stand with your arms outstretched at your sides with your right palm turned up to draw down the energy of the heavens and your left palm turned down to draw up the energy of the earth. Then cross both palms over your solar plexus to bring both energies into your body.
Push away unwanted energies by holding your arms outstretched before you, palms open and facing away from you. Then turn in a counterclockwise direction until you’ve made a complete circle.
Lay your hand over a body part or chakra to send healing energy.
Sign Norse or Ogham runes (see Chapter 5 for charts of rune symbols).
In your grimoire, sketch the mudras you enacted. Describe why and how you used them. How did you feel performing these magickal movements? Could you sense or see energy shifting in connection with your actions? Did you experience anything else? What, if anything, might you do differently to produce a different effect?
You can read about traditional mudras online and in many books. Consider incorporating them into your meditations, yoga, breathwork, healing, and/or other practices. If you like, you can design your own symbolic gestures that have significance for you.
MAGICKAL DANCE
Dancing may be one of the oldest forms of magick. The early Celts incorporated dancing in many of their rituals and festivals. Dancing around the Maypole on Beltane, for instance, symbolized and encouraged fertility. Ancient magicians danced to raise energy, chase away unwanted spirits, petition deities for assistance, align themselves with divine powers, facilitate healing, and more. Today, modern witches still dance for these and other reasons. In group work, dancing stimulates positive energy and unites the individuals participating in the ritual. Besides, dancing is fun!
“Dance is the hidden language of the soul, of the body.”
—MARTHA GRAHAM
Mystical Movements
In classical Indian dance, mudras carry special meanings—the dancer conveys a range of ideas, both mystical and mundane, through hand and body movements. Sufi dancing encourages peace and harmony, in the dancer and in the outer world. In Iran, the Sufi dance samā‘ includes movements that correspond to the planets, the cycle of the seasons, the elements, and humankind’s search for union with the Divine. Expressive hand movements also play an important role in Middle Eastern belly dancing.
In Native American traditions, dancing offers a way to connect with Mother Earth and Father Sky. Dancing awakens intuition, inner wisdom, and healing powers as well. A dancer who wishes to invoke a spirit animal’s assistance enacts movements similar to those of the flesh-and-blood animal. Shamans may also dance to gain visions or enter trance states.
The Spiral Dance
In a group dance known among Wiccans as the spiral dance, participants weave their energies together to celebrate community and creativity, honor loved ones who have transitioned into the afterlife, and symbolize the cycle of life, death, and
rebirth. Starhawk, author of the bestselling book The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess and a founding member of the Reclaiming Collective, designed the basic movements in the ritual, which was first performed publicly in San Francisco in 1979.
Performed on Samhain, the ritual dance marks the turn of the Wheel and the witches’ New Year. Dancers hold hands and twine in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Drumming, music, and chanting often accompany the dancers’ movements, raising power for ritual work. You can see the dance enacted on YouTube.
Want to participate in a spiral dance? You can. Wiccans and Neopagans in many parts of the world celebrate this uplifting ritual—if you search online you can probably find one being held someplace near you. Or, learn the steps and invite a group of like-minded friends to join you in reenacting this tradition. Record your experiences in your grimoire.
MAGICKAL LABYRINTHS
When you hear the word “labyrinth” what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of the mythical structure in Crete, designed by the architect Daedalus to contain a frightful beast known as the Minotaur, half human and half bull. However, that convoluted prison, rich with psychological symbolism, was really a maze, not a labyrinth. Mazes are puzzles with many blind alleys and dead ends. Labyrinths are magickal, unicursal systems used throughout the world for millennia as tools for spiritual development.
In the mid-1990s, the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress popularized the thirteenth-century labyrinth on the floor in France’s Chartres Cathedral by having it replicated in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. Labyrinths date back many thousands of years and had mystical and magickal purposes long before the advent of Christianity. This ancient pattern features a single, winding path that leads into the center of the circle and symbolizes the journey to your own center or to the Source.
The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire Page 15