The Witching Hour
Page 20
Spirit of the Divine, the place of the center, I call thee and ask for your help and assistance in this work. Empower my actions with your aid. Please send the positive vibrations of my request to that which orchestrates the universe and vibrates to the correct pattern of energy assistance for (state person’s name), and do not stop until the working has manifested on the earth plane in the body, mind, and soul of (state person’s name). To you, I confide my need: (repeat request). Graciously take this cause in hand and let this prayer not end without having experienced in some way the effects of your intercession. I know you will do this for me!
Sprinkle some of the water from the bowl on your body (or the person you are working for).
Hold your hands out in front of you, palms up. Intone the names of each of the five elements, beginning with air. As you intone the words, close your eyes and visualize the power of that element in your hands. Make a note of which element or elements seem stronger to you as you go through the sequence. The sequence is air, fire, water, earth, spirit. When you have finished, take several deep breaths. Again, you will transcend this time, higher than before.
Cross your hands over your heart, as if to pull the energy of the five elements into your body. Intone the following prayer (make any adjustments you prefer, try to keep from being too wordy).
Spirit of the Divine, bring me into harmony with the perfection of the universe. May my higher consciousness hear my voice and vibrate to create my own healing on all levels of my being. If I have done anything that facilitates the past negativity I have experienced in my life, may it be cleared from me immediately. May I experience a blending of health, healing, harmony, and gratitude, and may this perfection rebound in my soul and fill me with the grace of joy and positive energy. With every breath I take, happiness I make. With every breath I take, joy I make. With every breath I take, peace I make. With every breath I take, love I make. So be it!
Draw an equal-armed cross in the air to seal the working. Dispose of the candles, herbs, broken flowers, and water. Thank the spirits of the plants for assisting you, and leave an offering outside in gratitude for your spiritual cleansing.
You can adjust this technique to cleanse an animal or any object you desire.
Fast Cleansing Techniques
There are many times when a full cleansing cannot be performed. Try these fast methods in a pinch.
Breathe Deeply Several Times: When problems hit, we often forget to breathe! Nice, long, deep breaths help to connect you to spiritual energy as well as cleanse the body.
Take a Bath or a Shower: Water is the great spiritual cleanser. A scented bath or shower along with chants of well-being can do wonders in any situation. If time or place is a problem, hold your hands under cool running water. Remember to say to yourself, “I know everything will work out just fine” or “I know everything will be okay.” These statements energize the field around you, tapping into the positive potential available and fueled with the vibratory essence of the running water. The statement directs the mind to focus on the solution, not tangle the pathway by worry.
Use an Herbal Blend or Mix (Fresh or Dried): Connect to the herbal world through scent and touch to eliminate stress and rejuvenate the mind. Grind dried herbs into a powder and use in your workings. By surrounding a candle with an herb mix or powder, you are connecting the internal world of your thoughts to the external world, where your desire will manifest. The herbals provide a link —a bridge from the unseen to the seen. Be sure to cleanse and bless your herbs before use. Be clear on your direction and intent. The aroma of the herbs alone can help to erase worry and stress, allowing the mind to focus on the needed solution.
Use Bells or Rattles: These quickly break apart negativity in your environment. While you are at it, pick up all the clutter. Dirt and clogged space hold negative energy fast. Clean and move to get things going again.
Use a Braucherei Technique: Place an egg (raw and still in the shell) in a bowl where it won’t be broken. Chant a protective or cleansing charm over the egg, then command the egg to take on any negativity in the room. Remove in twenty-four hours and place under a rain spout. In Braucherei it is believed that the running water from the spout will destroy the negativity collected by the egg.
Using Magickal Doodles
as Sigils for Enchantments
Doodling on paper isn’t silly—it is actually a way to channel thoughts into a single focus. Experts tell us that doodling on a scrap of paper is a window to your inner world. In fact, there is a vast pool of study on why people doodle and what those doodles actually mean (in a general sense)—just like interpreting handwriting!
Ladders, squares, and triangles indicate your willingness to work toward your goals. They are symbols of a go-getter—an achiever. Stars show optimism and hope. Flowers and hearts mean a sensitive soul and love. Shapes in 3-D can say that you are willing to see the big picture. A spiderweb can mean one of two things—you feel trapped or you want to trap someone. Dots indicate the situation is unstable or the doodler believes the issue is shaky. Cubes mixed with spirals and circles might mean a solution is possible, but the doodler is unsure of exactly where to find the answer. It can also mean that the doodler really would rather be doing something better with their time! If you don’t believe me, do a Google search using the keywords psychological meaning of doodles. The top ten will give you a broad range of explanations. Next time someone bugs you for a reading, tell them to doodle instead! (Just kidding.)
Doodles can also indicate what you really think about a person you are talking to or the situation they are describing. Have you ever had a long conversation on the phone and found yourself doodling around the information you took down as a result of the call? When you are finished, take a closer look at your doodle. Not only will your mind have transferred the main points of the conversation to paper, but it will also tell you exactly what you think or feel about that conversation. Even better, your doodle is an effort to map out a solution (should the call have been an issue where an answer is needed) and how you really feel about acting on the advice you may have given or a promise you said you would keep.
The doodle shown on page 179 is the result of someone talking (at length) about the problems they were having at work. They felt trapped, ineffectual, and at a loss for an immediate positive solution. A hard worker, the frustration is mounting, as several individuals at the place of employment are actually working on the baser side of life—lying, cheating, and incredibly narcissistic, creating unfeasible requirements that eat into the individual’s private time. Their actions (there are three of them) are severely affecting the rest of the office. Unfortunately, the person in charge is never there and is either jetting around the world or, when in the area, having drunk-fest parties at his private cabin, not giving the least amount of attention to his responsibilities.
What do you see in the example doodle on the following page?
Doodles can also provide a magickal vehicle that allows you to freely focus your thoughts on sigil creation for any given goal, issue, or desire. Magickal doodles are my signature ingredient in many of my powders, herbal blends, and poppets. Once the doodle is completed, I may add other design elements such as a planetary symbol, a circle around the doodle, or runes in a particular area of the design.
Magickal doodles are best done with your eyes closed; that way you can chant and focus entirely on an inner visual image while letting your hand holding the pen glide freely on the paper. You can take as long as you wish to create your doodle, with a general rule that when you have lost the thought, the image is completed.
You can use this doodle in a variety of magickal applications. For example, if you wish to banish a problem, roll the paper away from you and tie the paper with red thread. Pass the rolled paper over your body to draw the negativity out of yourself completely and attach it to the paper. Dot the paper with universal fluid condenser or banishing magickal oil, th
en burn the paper, confident that the answer you need will be given to you quickly. If you are ill, spit on the paper, add a few drops of universal liquid fluid condenser, and boil the paper in a small amount of water. When the water boils dry, tear the paper up and throw it in the trash. For goal programming and success, burn the paper to ash and add the ashes to another working or scatter the ashes outside. To birth a new venture that includes a desire for stability, wrap the doodle around a rock and sprinkle with earth element magickal powder and an earth element fluid condenser. Bury the rock in the ground on your property or in a flower pot in your home or apartment.
A Magickal Doodle
Creating a Single Number
to Represent Your Intent
There can be a variety of reasons to factor a written intent statement into a single number: the need for secrecy, wanting to know the best number of herbs or other objects to use in a working that exactly matches your desire, or perhaps the number of days that an enchantment will be repeated. You can use the number as a guide for choosing how many candles or gemstones to use, or even for the number of times to ring a ritual bell. The number itself has its own significance, giving you an idea of the strength of your intent in its correlation to what you wish to achieve. The time taken to write out the statement—making sure it is what you desire and then turning that statement into a mathematical vibration—gives the process more power due to the energy you have extended in your crafting. This journey creates confidence because you know you took the time to get it right.
One = Beginnings
Two = Partnership
Three = Expansion
Four = Structure
Five = Change
Six = Blending
Seven = Movement
Eight = Self-mastery
Nine = Accomplishment
Ten = Reward or harvest (should you choose to use this number)
The list above represents the meanings I have attributed to the numbers in my work. Numbers carry a plethora of meaning; choose what works for you, what vibrates the best. If you don’t like the resulting number of your statement—perhaps it just doesn’t feel right—rework your statement and then do the math again.
Using the guidelines given, an example statement of “May my life be filled with joy, happiness, and prosperity in a happy, positive way” factors into the number eight. That’s a solid number for this intent, indicating the result is self-mastery, which is exactly what I want. With this number, I will move forward to create a magickal powder using eight ingredients. Are the planets associated with numbers? Yes, they are often found in medieval planetary sigil work (magick squares). Here, I have a more modern list that follows the planetary lineup in our solar system, allowing us to equate a single number to each planet (heavenly body). This list is not to be confused with planetary magick squares or anything else you’ve seen in other books.
One = Sun (success)
Two = Mercury (communication)
Three = Venus (attraction)
Four = Moon (storehouse)
Five = Mars (action)
Six = Jupiter (expansion)
Seven = Saturn (efficiency/reward)
Eight = Uranus (intensification/individualism/freedom)
Nine = Neptune (creativity/spirituality/camouflage)
Ten = Pluto (empowerment/renewal)
Sticking with my example, the modern planet Uranus, the higher octave of Mercury, is the matching planet. At first, you might say, “That doesn’t exactly match happiness,” but for me it does. Freedom! I see freedom as a catapult for happiness and joy. Freedom from worry, unhappiness, fear…freedom to see clearly…freedom to work on my passions. So, for me the number is perfect for this statement.
When choosing herbs that have classical associations (seven planets only), you can translate as follows:
Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury; choose Mercury-ruled herbs
Neptune is the higher octave of Venus; choose Venus-ruled herbs
Pluto is the higher octave of Mars; choose Mars-ruled herbs
You don’t like my list? No worries. Make your own that vibrates with your needs. Your list is to be a guideline for you that you trust and will use frequently. Your design is best for you. You will also find powder formulas for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in chapter six.
Carrying my example further, to work for a life filled with joy and happiness to match my intent, I would choose eight herbs or ingredients to make my herbal blend or magickal powder, and I will repeat my conjuration (which includes my intent/focus statement) for eight days. One of the ingredients in my powder will be the number eight drawn on my purpose paper, which I will burn and mix the ashes in with the powder. Those ashes are my eighth ingredient. I could also grind my witness stick (used during the creation of the powder) as one of my ingredients; this would mean I would have six herbal ingredients, one paper ingredient (the ashes of the number) and the powder from the witness stick, which equals eight ingredients. I could draw the number 8 with the powder on a tile and surround that tile with eight candles.
There is no end to your creativity; nothing is wrong. I could also do cord and knot magick, using a length of string that is a multiple of eight and then making eight knots in the string; as I tie each knot, I can repeat my statement of intent. I can carry the cord with me or burn it, making it one of the eight ingredients in the powder. I might even wait for the eighth lunar day or the eighth solar day of the month. Let your intuition be your guide!
How to Turn a Statement into a Magickal Number
Step One: Write out your complete statement, such as “May my life be filled with joy, happiness, and prosperity in a happy, positive way.”
Step Two: Remove all duplicate letters: “May my life be filled with joy, happiness, and prosperity in a happy, positive way.”
MAYLIFEBDWTHJOPNSRV
Step Three: Using the alphabet sigil key, match the numbers to the letters.
Alphabet Sigil Key
A
1
H
8
O
15
V
22
B
2
I
9
P
16
W
23
C
3
J
10
Q
17
X
24
D
4
K
11
R
18
Y
25
E
5
L
12
S
19
Z
26
F
6
M
13
T
20
G
7
N
14
U
21
M
A
Y
L
I
F
E
B
D
W
13+
1+
25+
12+
9+
6+
5+
2+
4+
23+
T
H
J
O
P
N
S
R
V
20+
8+
10+
15+
16+
14+
19+
18+
22
Step Four: Add up all the numbers. Example total is 242.
Step Five: Add the numbers in the sum together: 242 = 2 + 4 + 2 = 8. If the sum is ten or over, continue to add until you have a single digit answer. The single digit is your magickal number for the spell statement “May my life be filled with joy, happiness, and prosperity in a happy, productive way.”