I. MAGIC IN THE CRAFT
A. Working Definition
1. Magic is the craft of shaping and has been defined as "the art
of changing consciousness at will".
a. The art of changing consciousness at will is a demanding one,
needing long and disciplined apprenticeship.
(1) The outward acts of waving a wand, lighting a candle, or
crooning a rhymed incantation, are meaningless without the proper
mental preparation.
(a) But when the force of a trained awareness is behind the
gestures, they are far more than empty motions.
B. The Witch as Cosmic Artist
1. We exist on this plane as multi-faceted jewels, which conceal a
spark of the essence of the Goddess in the heart of each jewel.
a. Each facet of the jewel that is ourself is likened to shells,
or "bodies" in which we wrap the heart of our jewel.
2. These "bodies" are divided into two groups.
a. The Individuality
(1) Upper Spiritual- Consists of pure or abstract Spirit.
Sometimes call the 'Divine Spark', it is substance and energy from the
Great Unmanifest which we symbolize with the archetype of the Goddess.
(2) Lower Spiritual- This is the individualized spirit which
has separated from the abstract. This is where the spirit embarks upon
it's own journey of self-discovery. And where it eventually returns
before it adds its experiences to the Great Whole and rejoins it as a
drop in the endless ocean of being.
(3) Upper Mental- This is the realm of the abstract mind.
Individualized spirit begins to be self-aware, and form polarities
which lead to the development of the personality.
b. The Personality
(1) Lower Mental- The person develops a concrete mind held
together by form and memory.
(2) Upper Astral- Level of abstract emotions. Attraction of
polarities leads to a desire for union.
(3) Lower Astral- Level of instincts and passions. A desire to
attract other polarities and to possess things develops.
(4) Etheric Body- Tenuous energy-web of near-matter which
links the Physical with the subtler planes. Without the Etheric body
to hold the physical body together, individual sparks of the spirit
cannot manifest on the physical plane.
(5) Physical Body- Made of dense matter.
3. Taking a broad look at the Personality, we find that it is an
instrument, or machine, consisting of three distinct 'bodies'.
a. These 'bodies' are built up during one incarnation and
discarded in the Summerland after they have served their purpose.
(1) A physical form that naturally moves and acts on instinct
and orders from your mind.
(a) This physical form has its own set of laws that govern
it.
(b) It exists in time and space, and it has to be acted
upon; it is not capable of thinking.
(c) We know that our body is not the cause of us, because
it has to be acted upon to function. And anything that has to be acted
upon is an effect, caused by something else.
(2) An emotional 'body', operating from laws similar to
hydrodynamics.
(a) If our emotions become blocked, we are like a river
whose flow is dammed up, building up untold pressure until some
release occurs; or we go dead inside and stagnate, diseased and toxic
to ourselves and others.
(b) Crafters know that pent-up emotions are to be released
and understood, so that this constricted energy can be expressed for
the purpose of validating our existence.
(3) A mental life, our unique world of personal thoughts, that
is creative by nature, and has no limits except those it chooses to
construct for itself.
(a) Since we exist in a Universal Mind that is all knowing
and limitless, we know that limitation is not a universal law, but
only exists in the individual use we make of these universal laws.
4. Our Personality is responsible for our being able to function
on this plane and it is through our personality that we create the
world around us.
a. Without our input the world is neutral, colorless and
meaningless.
(1) It is only when we assume the role of creators or artists
and paint an image of the world in our minds, colored by our feelings,
does the world affect us.
(a) This is way two people can have the same experience and
respond in two entirely different ways.
(2) We constantly choose moment-by-moment what our world is
like.
(a) A person who opts for a negative experience descends
into a universe that contains all the potentially negative forces that
are waiting to make up reality.
(b) And no matter what someone outside does to make it less
negative, it will not change.
(c) Having set up the polarity for a negative experience,
the negativity acts as a magnet, attracting more and more negativity
until it is overwhelming.
(d) On the other hand, a person who opts for a positive
experience, ascends into another universe, that immediately
cooperates, and instantly, forces begin moving to manifest a positive
result.
5. The main work of a person on the Path of Return is to integrate
the creative aspects of the Personality under the guidance of the
Individuality, or Essence, so that they can develop as a member of the
universe in full harmony with the rest of it.
a. When this happens the Seeker discovers an inner state of
harmony where all actions begin corresponding to a deeper truth
resident within.
(1) It is as though every thing flows naturally and easily.
(a) Even what had seemed 'impossible' before fades into non-
existence and a new possibility takes its place.
II. CULTIVATION OF THE MAGICAL PERSONALITY
A. Magic is the Craft of Witchcraft
1. The power of magic should not be under-estimated.
a. It works, often in ways that are unexpected and difficult to
control.
(1) But neither should the power of magic be over- estimated.
(a) It does not work simply, or effortlessly and it does
not confer omnipotence.
B. Learning to work magic is a process of neurological repatterning,
of changing the way we use our brains.
1. In order to manifest anything on the physical plane, it must be
formulated and given life on the mental plane.
2. Unless a person can concentrate his thoughts and desires down
into a tightly controlled set of symbols, the mental plane has
insufficient information to create what is desired.
a. The Archtype of the Magician in the Major Arcanum of the
Tarot deck teaches some valuable lessons in concentration.
(1) The traditional picture of the Magician shows a man
dressed in a white robe, encircled by a belt in the shape of a snake
holding its tail in its mouth, and he is wearing a cloak of vermilion.
(a) He stands in a garden with four white lilies and five
red roses, behind a table where he has laid out his magical tools.
(2) With his right hand, the Magician lifts a wand upward
toward the sky. His left hand makes the universal gesture of
attention, pointing with extended forefinger toward the fertile earth
at his feet.
(a) The message inherent in this gesture is that the Force
of the higher levels flows through the Magician to whatever he gives
his full measure of attention.
(3) The garden in which the Magician works represents the
subconscious field.
(a) It is from this subconscious field that the hidden
powers come that the Magician directs in his quest for increased
freedom.
(b) These powers are symbolized by the lilies which stand
for various aspects of truth and the roses which are symbols of human
desire.
(4) The Magician is a transformer and transmuter of
experience.
(a) He cultivates the flowers in his garden, improving
them and by force of his control of their development, takes them far
beyond the conditions spontaneously provided by nature.
(b) Taking things as he finds them, he watches until he
perceives the underlying principle at work in what he observes. Then
he applies that principle in novel ways so as to produce a different
situation.
C. The Language of the Old Belief, the Language of Magic, is
expressed in Symbols and Images.
1. Poetry, which is itself a form of magic, is magic speech.
a. Spells and charms worked by witches in rhyme are truly
concrete poetry.
b. The American Indians would call them Songs of Power.
2. Images bridge the gap between the verbal and non-verbal modes
of awareness.
a. They allow the two sides of the brain to communicate,
arousing the emotions as well as the intellect.
b. The vast storehouse of symbols, which embody all the possible
realities of this universe is the subconscious mind.
c. The Archtype representing the subconscious mind is the High
Priestess.
(1) The High Priestess is depicted as a solitary woman, seated
on a cube placed between two pillars of opposite colors. There is a
veil hung between the pillars with pomegranites and hearts of palms
woven into it.
(a) She is dressed in a white garment adorned with an
equilateral cross on her breast and surrounded by a blue robe that
flows down and out of the picture.
(c) She wears a silver crown, made of two crescents and an
orb and holds a scroll in her lap.
(2) The message conveyed by the High Priestess is two-fold.
(a) First she represents memory. Everything that comes to
the attention of the mind of her counterpart, the Magician, is
recorded on her scroll.
(b) Like all languages, the records she keeps are symbols
for the reality they represent and it is the second function that she
represents that makes the knowledge available to the Magician.
(c) The imagery of water flowing through this tarot card
is reinforced by the blue color of her robe, and the way it pools down
at the bottom right side of the card and seems to flow off the card.
Water is the universal symbol of the astral essence of the higher
planes and just as waterways on earth served as highways of
communication and commerce in the old ways, it is the astral essence
that serves as a bridge between the different planes.
(d) In order to recall things stored in memory as written
down on the High Priestess's scroll it is necessary to still the
waters so that they become a mirror and reflect the images you are
seeking.
(3) The ability to concentrate to the point where a still
calmness in the mind is achieved, coupled with the images that surface
from the subconsciousness leads to the point where new realities can
be visualized.
D. All manifestations on the physical world are rooted in the mental
and astral planes.
1. In order to change your physical reality, you need to be able
to use creative visualization to plant the seeds of your new reality
in the higher planes.
a. The Archtype of the Creative Imagination is the Empress of
the Tarot deck.
(1) In direct contrast to the virginal High Priestess, the
Empress is a pregnant matron. She is Venus, goddess of Love, Beauty,
Growth and Fruitfulness.
(a) She is seated in a garden backed by trees, with a river
cascading down a waterfall and forming a pool at her feet.
(b) Wheat grows at her feet and her gown is the color of
Spring. She holds a copper shield with a dove on it and a sceptre of
an orb divided on two and topped by a cross.
(c) A crescent moon is at her feet and a crown of 12 stars
over her head. She wears a necklace of 7 pearls.
(2) When the Magician is joined with the Empress, the cold
virginity of the High Priestess is transformed into the rich fertility
of Venus.
(a) The Empress is imagination, the mind's power to make
new combinations from remembered experiences.
(b) What you make the object of your attention is what you
become, sooner or later. Fix your attention on images of misery,
poverty, and weakness, and their actual physical embodiments will
become part of your surroundings.
(c) Change the patterns by attending to their opposites,
and presently creative imagination, symbolized by the Empress, will
begin to build you a new life and will impress even the conditions of
your environment with new ideas.
(d) Remember, even your physical body is part of your
environment.
E. The generation of mental images at the level of self-
consciousness is a necessary forerunner of changing your
circumstances, but it does not do any good if you do not prepare the
ground for the seed to grow.
1. Creating prosperity thoughtforms and then doing nothing to
allow them to come through on the physical plane is as senseless as
buying a high performance car without any tires.
a. Getting control over your own environment is a necessary
first step in preparing for the changes you are working for.
(1) Working with the resources at hand, you need to gain
control over your environment.
(a) Physical and spiritual cleansing of your environment
clears away the clutter of old worn-out thought- forms.
(b) Actively seeking out knowledge of how to effectively
manage the conditions you are trying to bring about sends messages to
your subconscious that you are serious in you work and ar not going to
waste any gifts that come your way.
2. Regulation and supervision are implied by every- thing in the
Archtype of the Emperor.
a. Supervision is overseeing. Thus the function of sight is
chief among our senses.
(1) The Emperor is seated on a cube on the edge of a cliff
overlooking a river which has worn a channel through the mountains
turning them into the soil that serves as the base for the garden of
the Emperor.
(a) He is dressed in armour, symbolizing his willingness to
impress his will on his surroundings but he sits in a passive stance
content to observe the conditions that exist before he acts.
(2) The quality of our vision or observations of how things
are determines the course of our progress towards liberation.
(a) Unless we imagine, we do not really see.
(b) The mind is the true seer. Unless we learn to
supplement what our eyes report with imagination based on other senses
no true vision of the world can be made.
b. Regulation is dependent on the ability to reason which is the
second aspect represented by the Emperor.
(1) The basic function of reason is to oversee and control.
(a) Through the development of our ability to reason we
learn to supervise and control our daily activities.
F. After we have learned to concentrate and visualize what we want
to do using symbols from the unconscious and prepared for the work to
manifest on the physical plane through observation and regulation of
our daily lives we are ready to manifest our new reality through our
Personality.
1. Our Personality is not what we truly are, but how we express
our Inner Self. It is important that we work in accordance with the
guidance of our true 'Essence'.
a. The Archtype of the Hierophant represents the Self.
(1) The Hierophant sits between two pillars in a temple like
the High Priestess.
(a) He is the Inner Self who is also the Emperor. Only the
spheres of operation are different.
(b) The ministers kneeling before the True Teacher wear
garments which are embroidered with the same flowers that appear in
the garden of the Magician.
(2) The general meaning of the Hierophant is summed up in the
word Intuition.
(a) Intuition is the Voice of the True Self.
(b) Genuine intuition is not a substitute for reason. It is
a logical consequence of good reasoning.
(c) The inner Teacher wastes no time in fruitless endeavors
to instruct the incompetent who will not take the trouble to observe,
to remember, to imagine, or to reason.
(3) The Voice never speaks loudly and many fail to hear it
over the clamor of their own thoughts.
(a) Practicing the listening attitude of mind leads to
eventually hearing it.
(b) The fundamental practice is to be still when you wish
the counsel of the Voice.
(c) Stop racking your brains when a seemingly insoluble
problem confronts you. The harder you try the less likely you are to
hear the answer.
G. Patterns appear when we have contrasting elements in what we are
examining.
1. The Tables of Correspondence (Spiral Dance) are based on the
recognition that everything exists in relation to other things, and we
use the process of discrimination to find the correspondences.
a. The Archtype of the Lovers represents the process of
discrimination.
(1) The tarot card of the Lovers shows an angel bestowing
blessings upon a naked man and woman.
(a) The message here is that the self- consciousness and
subconsciousness are equal and receive the blessings of the True Self.
(b) When there are no secrets between the two (nudity) they
work in harmony under the guidance of the Self and can see the
connections between seemingly unrelated facts.
H. The final ingredient needed in the development of the magical
personality is the development of the magical will.
1. Development of the Magical Will comes about as the result of
synthesizing all the aspects we have been talking about so far.
a. The Chariot is the Archtype of the Will
(1) The Chariot depicts a person standing in a chariot pulled
by two sphinxes of opposite polarity, before a city surrounded by a
wall. At the foot of the wall runs a river.
(a) The Charioteer is the Inner Self.
(b) The sphinxes represent the senses and the reins (which
are invisible) by which he guides them represent the mind.
(c) The chariot itself is the physical body and it is drawn
by the sphinxes.
(2) The starry canopy represents the celestial forces whose
descent into matter is the cause of all manifestation.
(a) On the shield is the Hindu Lingam-Yoni symbolizing
the union of opposites.
(3) The charioteer is a victor.
(a) This card represents the conquest of illusion which
comes about when the Self guides the personality.
2. The Magical Will is very much akin to what Victorian
schoolmasters called character: honesty, self-discipline, commitment
and conviction.
a. Anyone who wishes to practice magic must be scrupulously
honest in their personal lives.
(1) A bag of herbs acquires the power to heal because I say it
does. For my word to take on such force, I must be deeply and
completely convinced that it is identified with truth as I know it.
(a) In this sense, magic works on the principle that "It is
so because I say it is so."
b. Unless I have enough personal power to keep my commitments in
daily life, I will be unable to wield magical power.
(1) To a person who practices honesty and keeps commitments,
"As I will, so mote it be." is not just a pretty phrase; it is a
statement of fact.
III. THE ART OF CASTING SPELLS
A. Definition
1. "A spell is a symbolic act done in an altered state of
consciousness in order to cause a desired change."
a. To cast a spell is to project energy through a symbol.
(1) Too often, the symbols are mistaken for the agent that
casts the spell.
(a) Props are useful at times, but it is the mind that
works the magic.
b. Correspondences between colors, planets, metals, numbers,
plants and minerals, and musical notes make up a great deal of magical
lore.
(1) Particular objects, shapes, colors, scents, and images do
work better than others to embody certain ideas.
(a) But the most powerful spells are often improvised from
materials that feel right or that simply happen to come to hand.
B. Theory of Spellcasting
1. Spells are an important aspect of magical training.
a. They require the use of the combined faculties of relaxation,
visualization, concentration and projection.
(1) The casting of spells provides practice in coordinating
these skills and developing them further.
2. Spells are extremely sophisticated psychological tools that
have subtle, but important, effects on a person's inner growth.
a. Spells may highlight otherwise hidden complexes of the person
casting the spell.
(1) A person who has conflicts about success will find great
difficulty in concentrating on a money spell.
(a) Many times the practical results of a spell are far
less important than the psychological insights that arise during the
magical work.
(b) Discovering our inner blocks and fears is the first
step in overcoming them.
b. Spells also go one step further than most forms of
psychotherapy.
(1) They allow us not only to listen to and interpret the
unconscious, but also to speak to it in the language it understands.
(a) Symbols, images, and objects used in spells communicate
directly with Younger Self, who is the guardian of our emotions and
who is barely affected by the intellect.
(b) We often understand our feelings and behavior but find
ourselves unable to change them.
(c) Through spells, we can attain the most important power
- the power to change our lives.
3. Spellcasting also forces us to come to terms with the material
world.
a. Many people attracted to the spiritual path of the Craft find
themselves uneasy with using magic for practical or material goals.
(1) Somehow it seems wrong to work magic for oneself, to want
things and to get things.
(a) This is an attitude which is a holdover of the Judaeo-
Christian world view that sees spirit and matter as separate and that
identifies matter with evil and corruption.
(2) In the Craft, flesh, the material world, none of what is
commonly thought of as matter is separate from spirit.
(a) The universe is made up of the Goddess who is manifest
in all things.
(b) Union with the Goddess comes through embracing the
material world and all the gifts that She has placed in it for us.
(3) Our major task on this plane of existence is to become
masters of this realm of manifestation.
(a) We do not fight self-interest; we follow it, but with
an awareness that transmutes it into something sacred.
C. Mechanics of Spellcasting
1. Spellcasting is the lesser, not the greater magic; but the
greater magic builds on the lesser.
a. The paradox is that in spellcasting we may start out working
with the personal self, but in order to work the magic we are forced
to expand and recognize the Self that moves through all beings.
(1) Magic involves the deliberate self- identification with
other objects and people.
(a) To do a healing, we must become the healer, the one who
is healed, and the energy that is to do the healing.
(b) To attract love, we must be able to love ourselves and
to become love its self.
2. Spells work in two basic ways.
a. The first is through suggestion
(1) Symbols and images implant certain ideas in Younger Self,
or the subconscious mind.
(a) We are then influenced to actualize those ideas.
b. Spells can also influence the external world.
(1) The theoretical model that witches use to explain the
workings of magic is a clear one and coincides in many ways with the
"new" physics.
(a) It is simply an elaborate but extremely useful
metaphor.
(b) The metaphor is based on a world view that sees things
not as fixed objects, but as vortexes of energy.
(c) The physical world is formed by the vortexes of energy,
and if we cause a change in the energy patterns they, in turn, cause a
change in the physical world.
(2) When our own energy is concentrated and channeled, it can
move the broader energy currents.
(a) The images and objects used in spells are the channels.
They are the vessels through which our power is poured, and by which
it is shaped.
3. As energy is directed into the images we visualize, it
gradually manifests physical form and takes shape in the material
world.
a. Directing energy is not a matter of simply emoting.
(1) Emotion can be likened to a strobe light which provides a
very inconstant light.
(2) Directed energy is more like a laser beam.
(a) Even concentrated power is a small stream compared with
the vast surges of energy that surround us.
(b) The most adept witch cannot be successful in all her
spells. The opposing currents are often too strong.
4. The craft teaches to first identify the flow of energy and then
to decide whether or not it is going where we want it to go.
a. If not, then we can try to deflect it.
b. Or, we may have to change our own course.
(1) Sensing the energy climate is a matter of intuition and
experience.
(a) Some witches make a study of Astrology in an effort to
plan their magical workings at the optimal times.
(b) Others prefer to work when they feel the time is right.
(2) Of all the planets, the Moon's influence on subtle energies
is the strongest.
(a) Subtle power increases as the Moon waxes, so the time of
the waxing Moon is best for spells involving growth or increase, such
as money spells.
(b) The power peaks when the Moon is full and that is the
best time for workings of culmination and love.
(c) During the waning Moon, power subsides and turns inward.
The waning Moon's period is used for banishings, bindings, and
discovering hidden secrets.
(3) The practical witch soon learns to adjust her spells to fit
the time of the Moon. If, for example, she needs to do a money spell
during the waning Moon, she would put a little 'english' on it and
make it a poverty banishing spell.
5. Energy pursues the path of least resistance.
a. Material results are more easily achieved on this plane of
existence through physical actions that through magical workings.
(1) Example - it is simpler to lock your door than suffer the
constant drain from maintaining psychic seals on your doors and
windows while you are away from home.
(a) Of course once you have locked your door, you might
feel more reassured by placing seals on it.
6. No magic spell is going to bring results unless channels are
opened into the material world.
a. A job spell is useless if you are not willing to go out and
interview for jobs or at least let potential employers know that you
are in the market for one.
b. In the same vein, a healing spell is no substitute for
medical care.
(1) Most medicine today can be broken down into two broad
categories, emergency medicine and that which is not needed for
immediate life-threatening situations.
(a) Emergency medicine has excelled at stabilizing the
body's condition so that it can repair itself at it's own pace.
(b) Most other forms of medicine consist of treatment
through surgery or chemotherapy or a combination of both.
(c) The procedures noted above work on the physical body
and do not take the other levels into consideration.
(d) Psychic healing works at healing the higher levels of
the person so that the physical heals itself or allows the person to
let go of their physical body if it cannot be repaired. In either case
the choice rests with the person who is being healed and not the
healer.
7. Visualization used in creating a spell should focus on the
desired result not the individual steps leading up to the result.
a. We give the spell free rein in how it goes about achieving
the results with the understanding that it is not to bring harm to
anyone or any being.
(1) For this reason, spells have a habit of working in very
unexpected ways.
8. To assure that the power we have unleashed does not
inadvertantly cause harm, we bind the spell.
a. This serves to 'set' the form we have created so that the
energy becomes fixed in the pattern we desire.
(1) The energy we project to others affects us even more
strongly than the other person. This is because we have generated the
energy, and thus we have become the object at which the energy is
directed.
(2) If healing energy is sent out, then the health of the
person casting the spell is enhanced.
(a) By the same token, any hex or curse that is sent out
ALWAYS effects the person who sends it no matter whether it affected
the person it was sent at or not.
9. MAGIC IS NOT TO BE USED TO GAIN POWER OVER OTHERS.
a. Magic is a technique used in developing your own 'power from
within'. Spells that are directed at gaining power over others weakens
the 'power from within'.
(1) Aside form the damage done to oneself, it is important for
another reason.
(a) Many people who do not understand the laws of magic are
afraid of being attacked magically and are given to paranoia.
(b) The witch's main stock-in-trade used to be removing a
competitor's hexes and preparing charms to protect their clients.
(c) While true psychic attacks are EXTREMELY RARE a persons
guilt makes up for any lack and after using 'forbidden' help, their
paranoia leads them to seek protection from the same person they just
turned to in desperation. Do your self a favor, and resist the
temptation to 'help' these types.
(2) Most magical formularies consist of formulae gathered and
tested by witches as well as many charms to protect the common man
from those same witches who sold them their charms.
D. Times and Correspondences
1. I mentioned earlier that timing and the right props are
considered important in spellcasting.
a. For your convenience there is a Table of Hours included at
the end of this lesson.
(1) Keep in mind that all times are Pacific Standard Time.
(a) You will need to adjust for different time zones and
those periods of Daylight Savings Time as may be in effect in your
area.
b. Over the years, systems of Correspondences were developed
which assigned certain attributes and aspects to the seven ancient
planets of Astrology.
(1) Each planet was assigned a God or Goddess, who embodies
the attributes the ancients wished to invoke.
(a) Each of the Gods and Goddesses were assigned an hour of
the day, color, incense, metal, number, signature, plant, mineral,
musical note, and animal or bird.
(b) There is a Table of Correspondences in the back of The
Spiral Dance.
E. General Guidelines for Casting Spells
1. Set aside a room for your magical work.
a. Decorate it with things that put you in a magical mood.
(1) Remember to use things that stimulate all five of your
physical senses.
(a) Some obvious things would be the use of appropriate
colors for sight, incense for scent music for hearing, wines for
taste, and textures for feel.
2. If you do not have a room you can set aside exclusively for
your magical work then choose a room that can be locked while you do
your work.
a. This will allow you to work undisturbed.
(1) In any case you should clean your work area periodically
with a purifying powder/floorwash to keep away negative vibrations.
3. Set up an altar to be used as your worktable.
a. It's size and shape should be those that appeal to you.
(1) Placing candles and other items that assist you to
concentrate on the work at hand is a good practice.
(a) Some people like to cover their altar with a white
cloth and place fresh cut flowers on it every day.
4. Always use the best candles, oils, and incenses that you can
afford, or make your own.
a. Scrimping on materials has a negative effect on the
subconscious.
(1) Don't forget that the subconscious is very good at making
do with raw materials that it can shape to it's own use.
5. Never cast a spell until you have a clear and concise picture
of what it is you wish to accomplish.
a. This ties in with the saying "Be careful what you wish for,
you just might get it."
6. Always ground out any extra energy you raise for the spell, and
bind the spell so that it expires within the pre- determined amount of
time.
7. Once you have cast the spell do not discuss it with any one
until after it has worked.
a. Most spells peter out because the person who casts it boasts
about it to so many people, that the spell is robbed of power before
it has a chance to work.
(1) The ancient bond placed on the magician was to dare, to
know and to keep silent.
IV. A BASIC FORMULARY
A. Preparation of candles
1. Types of candles
a. Votives
(1) Short and stubby. Usually burned in a small cup or
container.
(a) Used to provide a light for several hours.
(b) Less space consuming so more candles can be placed on
the altar at the same time.
b. Taper
(1) Long and slender. May be burned in a candle holder.
(a) Very elegant and can be allowed to drip into a pie pan
so that the drippings can be read in a manner similar to tea leaf
reading.
(2) Come in many different lengths and thicknesses.
c. Candle-in-a-jar
(1) Large, long-lasting candle, which is formed by pouring
either colored wax into a clear glass container, or clear wax into a
colored glass container.
(a) When annointing the candle, only the top of the candle
is annointed.
(2) This is probably the safest candle to leave burning
unattended, provided the maker of the candle took care to ensure that
the wick runs in the center of the candle.
(a) Although leaving any candle or open flame burning with
on one around is considered dangerous and foolish.
d. Specialty Candles
(1) Candle-in-a-jar
(a) Candles dedicated to a christian Saint or to a Voodoo
Loa. The designs, signatures and instructions on how to use the candle
are printed on the glass container.
(2) Cross Candles
(a) Candles formed into the shape of a cross. Comes in
black, white, green and red. Used as altar pieces for christian
oriented work tables.
(3) Male and Female Figurine Candles
(a) Comes in black, white, green and red. Used to bind two
people together or to separate them.
(b) Burned face to face & they melt into each other to
bind.
(c) Burned back to back so that no wax mixes to bring about
a banishment.
(4) Seven Day Knob Candles
(a) A candle which is cast so that its length is made of
seven knobs. One knob is burned each day for the duration of the
spell.
2. Colors
a. The color of the candle should reflect the planetary aspect
that is assigned to the incense you are going to use.
3. Annointing the Candle
a. There are two general methods which are used to anoint the
candle.
(1) The first consists of starting at the middle of the candle
and annointing it to the top, and then going back to the middle you
would anoint down toward the bottom.
(a) The principle behind this is that you are the center of
the candle, sending your energy both upward into the spiritual planes
and downward into the physical.
(2) The second method is to start at the top of the candle and
draw an unbroken line down the side, under its base, and back up the
other side.
(a) When you reach the top of the candle, you turn it 1/4
turn and trace another unbroken line in the previous manner so that
the candle is 'tied' to your purpose
b. When you are using a candle-in-a-jar you would anoint it by
placing your moistened finger inside and rubbing clockwise, or
counterclockwise as needed, three times in a circle in three sets to
make up nine.
(1) Here is one of the more popular rhymes used to focus your
attention on what you are doing. Perhaps you have heard it before.
"The wyrd sisters, hand in hand
Posters of the Sea and Land
Do go about and about
Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine
And thrice again to make up nine.
Peace! The charm's wound up!"
END OF LESSON SEVEN PART A GOTO PART B
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