Fear and terror are very self-limiting. It can stop you from taking first steps in incredible directions. If you have an inner fear of phobia you want to conquer, this spell could prove useful. It is essential to have a clear understanding and visualization of your phobia and sometimes having a picture or item that represents it. If you want to make this into a gris gris or spell bag, have the material on hand at the time of the spell.
You will need:
Orange candle
Anointing oil representing courage such as 7 African Powers or Healing
3 Rose quartz for clarity
1 Tiger’s eye for courage
Paper with the word FEAR written on it
Picture or item of your fear/ phobia (optional)
Sharp knife
Tiwaz rune for courage
Fabric and string for spell bag (optional)
The Spell:
Using the knife, carefully inscribe the candle with your name and the words REMOVE MY FEAR. Also inscribe Tiwaz, the rune for courage.
If you are making this spell into a spell bag, lay the cloth out in the area you are working. Anoint the candle with your oil and then place the paper with the word FEAR written on it on top of the spell cloth. You can place your optional picture or item of your fear on top of this. Place your candle in the center and then light it. Rose quartz brings your mind clarity and prevents worries from festering. The tiger’s eye will bring you the ability to move forward with courage.
Hold 2 stones in each hand and repeat this spell 3 times.
With this crystal I remove my fear With this candle I settle my doubt Burning down it no longer bothers me Moving forward unimpeded is my route
Surround the candle with all 4 crystals and allow the candle to burn all the way down, being careful not to let it catch the paper or fabric on fire. Once the candle has completely burned down, gather all of the items together in the fabric and tie the spell closed. Place it on your altar or your sacred space for 3 days so that it can take effect.
When the spell was complete, I dripped 3 drops of 7 African Powers and Healing oil on it to finish it off along with a bit of salt for cleansing. And of course I tied it with 3 snake charms, the snake representing Hekate as well as symbol of protection in Egypt for Isis and Sehkmet. Symbolism at its finest! You don’t have to but I did as an afterthought! I would love to hear how this spell goes for you and what you might do different. Drop a comment below!
The new moon is a wonderful time to make new goals and bring intention into your life. I participate in a very large pagan service every Sunday here in San Antonio and so I opened it up to the students to drop their new moon intentions into the bowl and I would burn them in the evening. (Spell below). I do read them just in case of suicidal ideations as I am a mandatory reporter and while there was none of that, it really made me realize that people’s basic needs are not being met. Work on mental health/anxiety, find love, learn to love myself, fix my finances, get out of debt, take care of my family, learn real skills, let go of people who don’t care about me, get stronger, and happiness were some of the most repeated. We always talk about how there is a mental health crisis in not just the U.S., but the world and this really drove that home. I hope that every one of them gets their wishes granted with the new moon because everyone deserves happiness.
Ingredients: Something to write with Something to write on Bay leaves Dandelion root Fireproof area to burn your intentions Lighter/matches
First, write out what your new intentions are. They can be as simple or as complex as you want. However, the simpler the better. It makes it easier to concentrate on it later on. By writing out your intentions, you are now commiting to it as an end goal, not just a hopeful wish. Place your paper in the fireproof location. You could also write your wishes on the bay leaves themselves. That is another fantastic way of performing this spell. Next you will cover the paper in bay (or add more bay to the fireproof area if you want to increase the spell’s effectiveness) and add dandelion as well. Finally, set all of it on fire. Paper and dried bay leaves are highly flammable so make sure you do this safely. Allow everything to burn and release your intentions up into the universe until it is nothing but ash.
Witch Tip: Use those ashes for later happiness spells or to create black salt afterwards.
A new year means new opportunities and new blessings! A lot of people make resolutions and many have difficulty following through with them. Sometimes, a little bit of magic or even just the act of performing a spell is all we need to give us a little boost to be able to follow through and ensure success. Kick start your year with a spell to help transform your life for the better. Bring into it things that will benefit you and help your grow and develop, bring happiness, and attract success.
You will need a pen and paper, incense, a purple candle (white will do just fine if you don’t have purple) and if you want to be really extra like me, purple sealing wax, a small bottle to collect the ashes, tiger’s eye for happiness, aventurine for success, and labradorite for magic.
First things first, write down your intentions for the new year. What is it you want to accomplish? Be as specific as you like. I would limit it to no more than 3. Too many things for the magic to focus on can stretch it thin or make it happen in unexpected ways. Keep it simple and specific. Make it goals that are attainable. Write it down and then roll it up into a tube. You could also burn it flat but it is easier to control as a tube.
Light a candle and some incense. The incense will help you to manifest your intentions and focus during your spell. Focus on the smoke from your incense as you recite the intentions you have written down. Light your purple candle to represent ambition and empowerment. Light the paper on fire and allow it to fully burn. While it is burning, repeat 3 times, “The time for change has come. I will achieve ________. This I hold to be true.” Collect some of the incense ashes as well and crush the two together into a powder. I had many candles burning but you can use any of the flames to alight your intentions.
I used an old tea light to safely burn the paper and to drop the ashes from my incense into it to mix. Be careful because it can get hot! Once I use it for this spell, I will throw it out so as not to cross contaminate spell particles.
At this point, you can add any other herbs you might wish to enhance your spell. I kept it simple this time and only used the ashes from my incense and intention paper. I allowed my candle to burn until the incense was finished. Then I put out my purple candle. From there, you can add crystals that match your intentions. I specifically added tiger’s eye for happiness, green aventurine for success, and labradorite for magic. I finished the spell by sealing my intentions with the enhancing crystals with purple sealing wax and attached a small piece of twine to properly hang my new spell on my altar. I am going to let it sit on my altar during the month of January so that it can take effect and also, remind me of my intentions each time I practice this month. It has now become a tangible representation of my goals for the year and that will help to spur me on to take the proper steps to ensure a favorable result.
Have you ever done a spell like this one to welcome in blessings and intentions? Have you tried this spell specifically yourself? Let me know in the comments how it worked out for you or any variations you have done! I would love to know how your magic works for you!
Cat whiskers are very magical! Cat whiskers are a wonderful item that you can use to enhance your craft, but what exactly are they? A defining characteristic of our furry companions, whiskers serve a multitude of important purposes aside from just adding to your pet’s cuteness. Whiskers are sensory organs, vital multifunctional tools for your cat’s sensory input and are needed to help them interact with their environment. A cat will often “feel” his way around with his whiskers before committing to a jump or squeeze through a tiny opening. They help them gauge distances and navigate tight spaces. From a built-in tape measure to night-vision goggles, whiskers are an essential part of your feline’s genetic makeup.
Whiskers aren’t just hair follicles — they’re attached to your pet’s nervous and muscular systems. The hair itself is loaded with nerves, with an extra-sensitive tip called a proprioceptor, making for the optimal sensory tool. Whiskers are basically a sixth sense for our feline friends and allow them to sense more in their environment than we can through vibrations from their whiskers. Whiskers can pick up on subtle changes in air pressure and vibrations. This allows them to detect danger or prey, even when they can’t see it. The longer hairs around your cat’s little nose are visible, but cats actually have whiskers in other areas of their body as well. These little sensory whiskers are also above their eyes like eyebrows, in their ears, along their jaw, and on their legs. This allows for your cat to be able to sense prey, judge the size of small spaces and detect changes in the air all through these magic little hairs.
The placement of a cat’s whiskers is also significant. The outermost whiskers (on the sides of the face) are the longest and most mobile. These are used to gauge distances and help the cat judge whether it can fit through an opening. The shorter whiskers above the eyes and below the chin are called tactile hairs, which provide information about air movement and assist with hunting prey.
You can tell a lot about your cat’s mood based on the status of their whiskers. In a normal, relaxed state, your fur baby’s whiskers will be slightly droopy. When they’re feeling aggressive or threatened, they’ll be tensed up and pointing out to the sides. When your pet’s whiskers are pointing slightly forward, your cat could be feeling friendly or curious about their surroundings. When two cats meet, they will often touch noses and rub cheeks as a way of greeting each other and exchanging scent information. This is how they learn about each other’s individual smells, which is an important part of communication for cats.
In many cultures, the cat is associated with witchcraft and sorcery. Cat whiskers are powerful symbols in myth, folklore and ancient cultures, signifying good luck, spiritual growth, prophecy, telepathy and protection against negative energy. Whiskers help cats maintain balance and stability, and spiritually, they symbolize the balance between the physical and spiritual worlds, as well as the importance of maintaining equilibrium in life. Generally, they are associated with powerful goddesses, such as Bastet and Freya, due to their physical form, connection to the night and strong intuition. They represent an ancient respect for the spiritual realms, as evidenced by all the tales throughout history that depict cat whiskers with magical properties.
How does one use cat whiskers in their craft? Cat whiskers, once again, are very magical. In general, whiskers can be used in any spell, no matter what it is, to give it a huge magical boost. Cat whiskers serve as a physical guidance system, and spiritually, they represent the intuitive and psychic guidance that can lead individuals in the right direction. Cats are guardians and beings who exist on both sides of the veil. Cat whiskers afford us protection, especially when travelling in this and other worlds. Cats are said to walk between the worlds, after all.
Witch Tip: Use cat whiskers to aid in spiritual travel and divination works. They can be used to aid in astral ravel and prophetic dreams when placed near your bed as cats are believed to be able to travel between the spirit and mortal worlds, using their whiskers to feel their way around.
Another belief is that they signify the cat’s connection to the spirit world and their ability to see beyond the physical realm. Just as cat whiskers are incredibly sensitive to touch, they symbolize heightened sensitivity to energies, emotions, and vibrations in the spiritual realm. On a spiritual level, they represent a protective barrier against negative energies and forces.
Witch Tip: Place a few cat whiskers in your car or use them to create a traveller’s charm for protection and to avoid accidents. They can be stored in your glove compartment or a spell bag hanging from the rear-view mirror.
Black whiskers can be used for things you want to remain a secret. You can burn a whisker to boost manifestation. One old wives’ tale states that if you burn a cat whisker to make a wish, that wish will then come true. Whiskers are also said to be lucky charms, providing protection against evil spirits and bad luck. They are said to bring fortune to those who find them and can help us get past obstacles and to help our perceptions. Use them to boost any energy works or energy magic.
Witch Tip: Putting good luck and perception together, whiskers can help you to find lost items.
Black whiskers are often associated with strength and power, while white whiskers may represent wisdom and purity. Longer whiskers are often seen as a sign of good health, while shorter whiskers may be a sign of illness or stress.
Witch Tip: Black cat whiskers are especially powerful and are said to ward off evil spirits during astral travel if one is placed near your bed.
Important Note: There is one main and important rule for caring for a cat’s whiskers- DO NOT cut them or pull them out! Pulling them out can hurt them and removing them in any way, be it to pluck it or cut it, would be like cutting off one of their senses. It is very stressful for them and violates their boundaries and personal space. Besides being incredibly disrespectful, removing whiskers on purpose, especially in bulk, can leave your cat disoriented and confused, so leave this vital part of them alone to ensure comfort in their surroundings. Even if you own a cat with curly whiskers such as the Cornish Rex it is still important to leave their whiskers to grow and fall out naturally. Wait until they shed naturally. When they fall naturally, they are meant for you to find and use as you see fit. You will often find one or two a week if you keep an eye out.
Witch Tip: To find those whiskers, look in your fluffy goblin’s favorite spots, especially their favorite grooming locations. Keep an eye out for them before vacuuming and check the lint trap after you do laundry. I can’t tell you how many whiskers I have found in the lint trap. A bright flashlight can make spotting them much easier.
Witch Tip: Create a whisker bank to hold the fallen whiskers of your fury babies. You can create another for shed claws and keep them side by side. Any jar or bottle will do but they have some really cool ones on Etsy and Amazon as well.
Do you not own a cat? There are many cat owners who sell their cats’ naturally shed whiskers on sites like Etsy. The bank above was found on Etsy and the one below was found on Amazon. Find something that fits you!
If you’ve walked down to the corner of Sixth Street and Park Ave in Louisville, you’ve probably seen what can only be described as a natural monstrosity—a tree so knotted, tortured, and misshapen that it could easily serve as a portal to the underworld in a Tim Burton film. There stands the Witches’ Tree, a gnarled tree clad with trinkets and other offerings to the practitioners that brewed it up. Even if the tree didn’t resemble something from a nightmare landscape, all of the trinkets, baubles, and bead necklaces hanging from the branches would make it impossible to miss. They were placed there by locals to appease the vengeful witches.
During the famous Southern Exposition of the 1880s, a lovely garden near Central Park in today’s Old Louisville attracted throngs of visitors looking for respite from the summer heat. Although the famed botanical gardens have long since disappeared, cleared to make room for an expanding city, one tree from that time still remains.
Before the tree became the creepy wonder it is today, local lore says a majestic maple tree stood there once and was a popular midnight hangout for those practicing the dark arts. Locals know it as the Witches’ Tree. In the late 19th century, this tree was the gathering place for a coven of Kentucky witches. There they would meet under its majestic branches at midnight to cast their spells and brew their potions. They performed their ceremonies and generally didn’t create too much of a nuisance.
This all changed in 1889, however, when Mr. Mengel, the famous lumber merchant and head of a planning committee, announced the city’s plans to chop down this tree for the next year’s May Day festivities. (In Victorian times, this was a popular celebration, and the centerpiece of any May Day festivities was the tall, straight tree that was stripped of its bark and then festooned with garlands and greenery to create a maypole.)
Of course, when the witches found out what was in store for their beloved maple tree, they weren’t too pleased, and they warned the organizers not to take away their tree. They left a parchment warning on the trunk of their beloved maple:
This tree shall stand and not be cut, We’ve fed her with our laughter. Our leafy haven you’ll not gut. Or pay forever after.
But if you, Wooden King, prevail, And Mother Maple dies, The force of Fate shall strike this town And right between the eyes.
If our tree falls, yes, Fate will call To teach you, heartless Dunce, That all man’s work can disappear. BEWARE ELEVENTH MONTH!
But they did not take the witches very seriously back then because nobody paid attention to the admonition. When the grand maple came crashing to the ground, the witches left. West of town they found a new tree in the dark forest. Before leaving, though, the coven promised to have its revenge.
The May Day celebrations were held, the wood of the maypole later being burned in a great Whitsuntide bonfire, and everyone forgot about the witches — until 11 months later, that is. That’s when the coven exacted its revenge, which came in the form of a deadly tornado on March 27, 1890, one year to the day when the tree was cut down.
The witches, they say, brewed up this tornado dubbed “the Storm Demon” in their new copse of trees and sent it — along Maple Street (for a bit of symbolism) — into downtown Louisville to do their bidding. The tornado was an EF4 level tornado that killed 76 and injured well over 200. A number of them were members of something known as the May Day Celebration Committee. Among the dead were two members of the Mengel family. It flattened more than half of the city, mansions, churches, bourbon and tobacco warehouses.
Eyewitnesses reported that, after wreaking its havoc downtown, the twister took a strange right-hand turn and roared south along Sixth Street into what is now Old Louisville. As it passed by the botanical gardens, a bolt of lightning shot out from the tornado and struck the stump of the maple tree that had stood there. There was a tremendous explosion and a new tree magically sprang up in its place — to replace the one taken from the witches. Not a healthy, happy tree, but rather the otherworldly thing that stands there now.
With its burls and gnarled trunk, and its thin and bony branches, they say it’s much more befitting of witches today. The witches returned to the tree and no one messed with them anymore. Since then, they come to the neighborhood and on many nights you will find them at the tree, brewing their potions and casting their spells once again. Now, as a peace offering, people bring trinkets to hang all over the tree so the witches will cast them good luck.
I received a very interesting question at work this week and I thought I might share it with you. The question came from a non-practitioner who was interested in knowing if there were any side effects that could happen to her if she did a fidelity spell on another person for another person. Definitely a loaded question with a lot of layers to unpack! However, where does one start with that? I asked her about the spell she was interested in doing and how it pertained to that person and we had to have a bit of a talk about how magic works and is the spell even worth doing.
I think it is wonderfully admirable to want to help a friend out and improve her relationship but how much does the man want to change? Fidelity often means complete commitment, trust, and respect usually to one person. To me, there is no such thing as ‘accidently cheating’. A man doesn’t just trip and fall into a vagina. So when doing a spell like this, does the man want to change? Does he even have the CAPACITY for change? There are many people, both men and women, who find commitment to be something beyond their abilities. Some may go about open relationships or polyamorous relationships to cope successfully or have many failed relationships throughout their life if they are unsuccessful. Love is a difficult thing to classify anyways but when we bring societal expectations, falling OUT of love, and unhealthy toxic relationships into the mix, it becomes even more difficult.
I also asked her would making this man act monogamous improve the relationship enough to be worth keeping the relationship? Because if him cheating isn’t the only issue, then a fidelity spell isn’t going to fix it. If he is also sloppy, disrespectful, doesn’t contribute to the home, takes out anger on the person, or a myriad of other red flags, then just doing a fidelity spell will not make that relationship much better. Are they a couple that breaks up and gets back together every other month or even every other week? It is definitely something to consider.
My next question to her was just about love languages. It seems so simple and silly but it matters. If my husband came to me with lots of gifts, that’s great and all but that isn’t my love language. I would have the same reaction to him giving me one flower, to him buying me a car, to him taking me on a surprise get away. I appreciate the effort. But for me it is quality time and words of affirmation. I want you to talk to me, really talk to me, and communicate effectively. I want us to share our problems and fix them. I hate silent treatment and I will not tolerate disrespectful words just to be as cruel as possible in the situation to feel on top. I want to spend time with you. I don’t want to sit there gaming for hours on end staring at a screen. My husband loves gaming but that doesn’t mean I want to watch him game. That isn’t quality time to me. Going out to dinner and then both of us sitting on our phones isn’t quality time. I want us to spend that time, take pictures, try new things, and laugh and make memories.
A spell won’t fix a complete lack of love communication. It isn’t a miracle worker. You have to know what love is for that person but communication is a two way street. They have to know what love is for you as well. Just because you know they love food and you cook amazing meals for them, if they don’t realize you need physical touch and just thank you but go watch TV instead of giving you a hug for your effort, that relationship isn’t going to be saved by a seven day magic spell.
On a final note, the person has to want to change for the better. Spells are amazing and can go a long way to bringing joy into your life but without that additional effort from the person the spell is for, nothing will change. If you do a spell for health, how are you going to get better if you don’t go to the hospital or take your medicine be it pharmaceutical or all natural? If you do a prosperity spell, how are you going to bring in money if you never leave your house or call out of work or refuse to apply for jobs? Same thing in this case. Love is a capricious thing and it the person at the end of the spell does not have the capacity to change and love someone, one someone, unconditionally, your magic will fall short.
Just some food for thought I wanted to share, especially to those new witches out there. This could even apply to those who have been deep in the craft for a long time but do not often do spells for others.
Woodcut showing the beheading of Peter Stumpp in Cologne in 1589
Werewolves: ancient legends, or real-life monsters? Whether you believe in these creatures or not, crimes committed by werewolves appear in the history books and on the Internet. A number of these supposed werewolf crimes originate from 16th century Europe, particularly France and Germany. This was the height of werewolf hysteria, when many men and women were burned at the stake or tortured after being accused of possessing dark powers. A few of these victims truly believed that they could turn into beasts.
The most comprehensive source on the case is a 16-page pamphlet published in London in 1590 called The Damnable Life and Death of Stubbe Peeter, the translation of a German print of which no copies have survived. The English pamphlet, of which two copies exist (one in the British Museum and one in the Lambeth Library), was rediscovered by occultist Montague Summers in 1920.
It describes Stumpp’s life, alleged crimes and the trial, and includes many statements from neighbors and witnesses on the crimes. Summers reprints the entire pamphlet, including a woodcut, on pages 253 to 259 of his work The Werewolf. The original documents seem to have been lost during the wars of the centuries that followed. Some additional information also came from an account by Edward Fairfax in 1621, who referenced the case when writing of his daughters being accused of witchcraft in his famous Daemonologia.
A page from the pamphlet.
In the late 16th century, the town of Bedburg, Germany was terrorized by a diabolical creature that slaughtered its cattle and snatched away its women and children, killing them with unspeakable morbidity. The shocked and horrified townspeople feared that they were being victimized by a raving demon from Hell or, just as bad, a bloodthirsty werewolf who lived among them.
Peter Stumpp (c. 1535 – 1589), also spelled Peter Stube, Peeter Stubbe, Peter Stübbe or Peter Stumpf, and other aliases include such names as Abal Griswold, Abil Griswold, and Ubel Griswold. The name “Stump” or “Stumpf” may have been given him as a reference to the fact that his left hand had been cut off, leaving only a stump. In Germanic mythological systems, which underpinned laws and court rulings, it was held that if a werewolf’s left forepaw was cut off, the same injury appeared on the man. Peter was a German farmer and alleged serial killer, accused of werewolfery, witchcraft and cannibalism. He was known as ‘the Werewolf of Bedburg’.
Stumpp was born at the village of Epprath near the country-town of Bedburg in the Electorate of Cologne, a small city in Germany’s Rhineland, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. The area where Stumpp lived had most recently been devastated due to the Cologne War, also known as the Sewer War (the name is apparently derived from a battle in which Catholic forces stormed a castle through its primitive sewer system).His actual date of birth is not known, as the local church registers were destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648).
He was a wealthy farmer of his rural community. The community knew him as a pleasant enough widower and father of two adolescent children, whose wealth ensured him a measure of respect and influence. During the 1580s, he seems to have been a widower with two children; a girl called Beele (Sybil), who seems to have been older than 15 years old, and a son of an unknown age born out of an incestuous relationship with his daughter.
Woodcut from 1590
At the time, Catholicism and Protestantism were at war for the hearts and minds of the populace, which brought invading armies from both faiths to Bedburg. There were also outbreaks of the dreaded Black Plague. For many years, farmers around Bedburg were mystified by the strange deaths of some of their cows. Day after day for many weeks, they would find cattle dead in the pastures, ripped open as if by some savage animal. The farmers naturally suspected wolves, but this was actually the beginning of Peter’s unnatural compulsion to mutilate and kill which would escalate into attacks on neighboring villagers.
Children began to disappear from their farms and homes. Young women vanished from the paths they traveled daily. Some were found dead, horribly mutilated. Others were never found. The community was thrown into a panic. Hungry wolves were again suspected and the villagers armed themselves against the animals. Some even feared a more devious creature—a werewolf, who could walk among them unsuspected as a man, then transform into a wolf to satisfy its hunger. Although he did not literally transform into a wolf, Peter would cloak himself with the skin of a wolf when seeking his victims.
During 1589, Stumpp had one of the most lurid and famous werewolf trials in history. After being stretched on a rack, and before further torture commenced, he confessed to having practiced black magic since he was 12 years old. he made a pact with the Devil, with the Prince of Lies getting his soul in exchange for numerous worldly pleasures. But this wasn’t enough to satisfy Stumpp, who was “a wicked fiend pleased with the desire of wrong and destruction” and “inclined to blood and cruelty.” He claimed that the Devil had forged and given him a magical belt or girdle of wolf fur, which enabled him to metamorphose into “the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws.” Removing the belt, he said, made him transform back to his human form. After the trial an extensive search was made at Peter’s farm for the magical werewolf-belt but nothing resembling it was ever recovered.
For 25 years, Stumpp had allegedly been an “insatiable bloodsucker” who gorged on the flesh of goats, lambs, and sheep, as well as men, women, and children. Lambs and calves were ripped apart and devoured raw. Small children were strangled, bludgeoned, and throats ripped open with his bare hands. Some were disemboweled and partially eaten. Being threatened with torture, he confessed to killing and eating 14 children, 2 pregnant women, whose fetuses he ripped from their wombs and “ate their hearts panting hot and raw,” which he later described as “dainty morsels.” One of the 14 children was his own son. Stumpp led the boy into the forest, killed him, and then ate his brains. The young women among his victims were sexually assaulted before he tore them apart.
Woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1512, of a werewolf ravaging a town and carrying off babies.
In one instance of a triple murder, Stumpp saw two men and a woman taking a walk just outside the city walls of Bedburg and he crouched hidden out of sight behind some brush. He called out to one of the men by name with the pretense that he needed help with some lumber. When the young man joined him out of sight of the others, Stumpp bashed his head in. When the man didn’t return, the second young man went looking for him and was likewise killed. Fearing danger, the woman began to flee, but Stumpp managed to catch her. The men’s battered bodies were later found, but the woman never was, and it was thought that Stumpp, after raping and killing her, might have eaten her completely.
Not only was Stumpp accused of being a serial murderer and cannibal, but also of having an incestuous relationship with his daughter whom he had impregnated, and was sentenced to die with him, as well as his mistress. In addition to this, he confessed to having had intercourse with a succubus sent to him by the Devil.
When the limbs of several missing people were found in a field, the villagers were further convinced that a ravenous wolf was responsible, and so several hunters set out with their dogs to pursue the predator. The men hunted the creature for days until at last, they saw him. But according to the account, they saw and chased down a wolf, not a man. The dogs chased the animal until they had it cornered. The hunters were sure that they were chasing a wolf, but when they came to the spot where the dogs had it cornered, there cowered Peter Stumpp. According to an eye witness account, being trapped with no room for escape, Stumpp removed his magic belt and transformed from the wolf to his human form. He was also accused on account of his missing left hand, for the werewolf in question was missing a left forepaw. This supposedly came about when the werewolf had been caught in a trap earlier and had to chew its paw off to escape. Stumpp was missing the corresponding hand, which was lost in an accident years before. However, the timing of the injury was conveniently ignored in an effort to find evidence against Stumpp.
The hunters saw no magic belt, as Stumpp later claimed he had, but only an ordinary walking stick in his hand. At first they disbelieved their own eyes; after all, Stumpp was a respected, long-time resident. How could he be a werewolf? Perhaps this wasn’t really Peter Stumpp at all, they reasoned, but a devilish trick. So they escorted Stumpp to his house and determined that he was indeed the Peter Stumpp they knew. Peter Stumpp was arrested and tried for the crimes.
The arrest, trial, and prolonged execution of Peter Stumpp, the sorcerer and werewolf, near Cologne in 1589 were recounted in pamphlets in the Netherlands, London (1590), and Copenhagen (1591). Cologne had recently become Catholic and the accused was Protestant, so the accounts of Stumpp’s sodomy, incest, rape, and cannibalism may have had a political element involved. The 1590’s pamphlet provides trial notes and witness statements which can be found recorded in other publications, indicating that the story of Peter Stumpp’s execution is true. The private diaries of Hermann von Weinsberg, a Cologne alderman, also covered this case and it was detailed in several broadsheets printed in southern Germany, which all convey identical versions this weird and gory tale.
Thought now to be a werewolf, Stumpp was brought to trial, and it was only under pain of torture on the rack that his confession to all of the heinous crimes came out, including sorcery, his consort with the Devil and the story of the magic belt.
woodcut print by Lukas Mayer of the execution of Peter Stumpp in 1589 at Bedburg near Cologne.
This fact has led some researchers to surmise that Stumpp was, in fact, innocent; that his wild confession was elicited by the torture. Perhaps Stumpp himself was a victim of the superstition and religious rivalry taking place at the time: the fear and conviction of a demon-inspired werewolf might lead people back to the “true Church.” Whether he was truly a serial killer or a political victim, Stumpp was found guilty on October 28, 1589.
The 16-page pamphlet and the German broadsheets all noted the attendance of “members of the aristocracy” at Stumpp’s execution “including the new Archbishop and Elector of Cologne”. This single fact suggests the presence of a hidden motive.
It might be relevant that the block of years in which Stumpp was said to have committed his crimes (1582-1589) were marked by internal spiritual and political warfare. The Electorate of Cologne was in upheaval upon the introduction of Protestantism by the former Archbishop Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. Stumpp was an early convert to Protestantism and fought in a war which historians claim brought uncontrolled violence out of soldiers on both sides, resulting in an epidemic of the plague.
In 1587, the protestants were finally defeated and the new lord of Bedburg – Werner, Count of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck made Bedburg Castle the headquarters of his Catholic mercenaries who were determined to re-establish the Roman faith. Stumpp’s werewolf trial may have been performed to, a tad more than gently, persuade the remaining Protestants to sign up to Catholicism. It was unlikely that any of Germany’s elite would have attended a regular werewolf or witch trial – and they were regular. It is most likely the case that having drawn up Stumpp’s alleged, and truly outrageous crimes,
the elite constructed a popular public spectacle, and with assured visibility to the public at large, the nobility mounted their rides and attended the disembodiment of a werewolf – a protestant scoundrel – an archetype of anti-Catholic spiritual darkness.
The execution of Stumpp, on 31 October 1589, alongside his daughter Sybil and mistress, Katherine Trompin, is one of the most brutal on record: his body was strapped spread-eagle on large wheel; with red-hot pincers, where his executioners pulled the flesh from his body in ten places, followed by his arms and legs. Then his limbs were broken with the blunt side of an axehead to prevent him from returning from the grave, before he was beheaded and his body burned on a pyre.
His daughter and mistress (both of whom were convicted of abetting his crimes) had already been flayed and strangled, and were burned at the stake along with Stumpp’s body. By directive of the magistrate, a warning to other potential devil-worshipers was put in place for all to see: the wheel on which Stumpp was tortured was set high upon a pole from which hung 16 yard-long strips of wood, representing his 16 known victims. Atop that was the framed likeness of a wolf, and above on the sharpened point of the pole was placed Peter Stumpp’s severed head.
This execution of a werewolf takes place in a historical context where, in various parts of Germany, alleged witches or devil’s minions were hunted down and then condemned after torture sessions that led to extravagant confessions such as those of Peter Stumpp. About 250 werewolf trials from the period between 1423 and 1720 are documented in the literature. The files on this witch trial have not been preserved. It is therefore impossible to determine whether Stumpp actually committed the crimes for which he was convicted. There may be no way of knowing for certain whether Peter Stumpp was a convenient scapegoat for the authorities (which means a wolf or wolves really were responsible for the deaths), or he was a maniacal serial killer.
In Stubbe’s case, it’s possible he was suffering from clinical lycanthropy. The diagnosis (recognized in the DSM-IV) is thought to be a cultural manifestation of schizophrenia, and associated with bouts of psychosis, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and “grossly disorganized behavior.” There was a documented case from the 1970s, in which a 49-year-old woman, after having sex with her husband “suffered a 2-hour episode, during which time she growled, scratched, and gnawed at the bed,”
according to Harvey Rostenstock, M.D. and Kenneth R. Vincent, Ed.D. in their article in The American Journal of Psychiatry. The woman later said the Devil came into her body and she became an animal. The article goes on to say that “there was no drug involvement or alcoholic intoxication.” This was just one of the instances in which the woman had a lycanthropic episode. The authors opined that people experience lycanthropy when their “internal fears exceed their coping mechanisms” and they externalize those fears “via projection” and can “constitute a serious threat to others.” While in many cases lycanthropy is associated with wolves, there have been cases where patients believed they were sharks, leopards, elephants or eagles, among other “feared” animals.
If you are interested in reading the full 16 page pamphlet of his trial and execution, click here. Definitely an fascinating read!
The Kamasutra is an ancient Hindu Sanskrit text from the 3rd century written by Vatsyayana Mallnaga. Vatsyayana states that he wrote the text after much meditation but not much else is known about the author or the location the text was written. The text suggested lifestyle customs and systems to create a specific type of respectful and interactive society based on virtue, wealth, and love. Loosely translated, Kamasutra means “rules of love.” The 64 ‘arts’ described in the Kamasutra were taught in various phases to children and young adults so that lovers would know how to please each other.
Contrary to popular belief, the 64 arts are not all sexual positions. Sex is only one of the arts while others include daily activities such as hygiene, marriage, romantic love, living styles, farming, housekeeping, sewing, and child care, as well as fine arts such as music, painting, poetry, and dance. The book received people’s attention due to the explanation of different sexual positions. All of the other instructional portions were overlooked with time.
There are varying ideas about sex and the Kamasutra and those notions have been assumed and speculated for centuries. The Kama sutra itself is based on spiritual ideas rooted in eastern religions. When it comes to the sexual ideas presented in the text, people became confused. The Kamasutra went underground for a long time and only recently has the text become mainstream. Some people believe the Kamasutra is only about sexual positions while others realize there are specific ideas about fore and after play.
The KamaSutra is not a sex manual. Only 20% of it explains sexual positions. People pay attention only to this 20% and overlook the rest 80%. This book was initially composed to focus on three goals of life mainly, that is, “Dharma” the moral living, “Artha” or the material opulence, and “Kama” or sensual body pleasures. This is the meaning of the KamaSutra, according to the book. The writer intended to explain the sexual positions in an art form.
The text acknowledges the Hindu concept of Purusharthas, and lists desire, sexuality, and emotional fulfillment as one of the proper goals of life. Its chapters discuss methods for courtship, training in the arts to be socially engaging, finding a partner, flirting, maintaining power in a married life, when and how to commit adultery, sexual positions, and other topics. The majority of the book is about the philosophy and theory of love, what triggers desire, what sustains it, and how and when it is good or bad. This book explains intercourse as a divine act of union. Its subject attracts the readers and awakens their sexual desires. This book explains 64 sexual positions for you and your partner to enjoy in bed.
Communication is crucial to any relationship. It is important to talk about what you want, what you desire, and how you can make things better for each other. Keeping your partner satisfied in the bedroom increases the likelihood of a smoother life outside the bedroom.
To use the Kamasutra, you need to be comfortable and trust one another. You need to treat your body well, as the Kama sutra calls for stamina, flexibility, and sex drive. A woman needs to trust her man completely while he holds her upside down or suspended in the air. Likewise, a man needs to trust his woman to communicate with him if she’s being hurt, needs more time to warm up, or if her body is sore.
Witch Tip: Make sure you know the range of flexibility of your body. If your sexual position requires more muscle flexibility than you think you have, it’s best to change the position or modify it to avoid injuries.
A fire – that is what a woman is, Gautama. Her firewood is the vulva, her smoke is the pubic hair, her flame is the vagina, when one penetrates her, that is her embers, and her sparks are the climax. In that very fire the gods offer semen, and from that offering springs a man.
– Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.2.13, ~700 BCE
The Kamasutra includes verses describing homosexual relations such as oral sex between two men, as well as between two women. Lesbian relations are extensively covered in Chapters 5 and 8 in Book 2 of the text. the Kamasutra discusses same-sex relationships through the notion of the tritiya prakriti, literally, “third sexuality” or “third nature”. The Kamasutra also mentions “pretend play”, sadomasochism, and group sex.
If you are a fan of tarot and oracle cards, you may want to consider the Kama Sutra Seductions Deck which has all 64 poses and explanations included.
Witch Tip: Consider making your magical energy stronger during spellcraft through the use of sexual intercourse. You can try reading the book, Kamasutra cards to practice with your partner, or yoga that employs some of the poses to raise your energy vibration when casting spells.
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
Social media is a great way for witches and other practitioners to share information, knowledge, spells, and experiences, but it is also a source of misinformation. I absolutely loved this image I found on Pinterest years ago:
I found blog posts, Facebook posts, Tumblr posts, and Pinterest pins of new age witch’s describing the legend of the purple door. “Legend says that a purple door means a witch lives there.” Recently, a trend among witches of painting their doors purple to mean “A witch lives here” has sprung up. I loved the concept so much that, for many years, I wanted to paint my door purple.
I was curious if there was more to the meaning behind this or if there was some kind of symbolism that I was unaware of in regards to this legend. I was also curious as to where this legend stemmed from both as a story and as a culture. After delving more into the history behind these posts which only repeatedly described the same concept in different ways that a purple door means a witch lives there, I could find no other information. Unfortunately, no matter how much I researched for the supposed legend of the purple witch’s door, I could find no information actually substantiating it. As far as I could find, this seems to have started with a Facebook post quite a few years ago.
Doors, entryways, and gates are themselves magical and full of lore as a portal of entry. Many modern witches have expanded their practice to include Eastern concepts such as Feng Shui, Chakras, Aromatherapy, Meditation, and I-Ching just to name a few. In Feng Shui and across most magical arts, the front door is known as one of the most powerful places in your home. It is literally the threshold where energy from the outside world enters your home and becomes your own. It is the symbolic entry point of blessings and wealth. The front door is known as the “Mouth of Chi”. Energetically speaking, your front door color defines the vibration of your home and advertises the qualities of energy you want to call into your life.
The color purple guarding the place of entry invites the energy of that color into your life. According to Feng Shui lore, chi (energy) enters your home through the front door and the color purple invites opportunity and inspiration into your home (or business) and encourages those who live there to have an open mind. A purple door also symbolizes prosperity and honor and sends the message to those entering your home that you are a person of importance who deserves respect. A purple door is a sign of creativity and open-mindedness. It shows intuition and an awakening of the subconscious. It will promote good health and success in your career and is associated with wealth and success.
As purple is a color closely related to spirit and magic, this is appropriate in modern times. However, it should not be misconstrued as an ancient tradition. Witches, historically, have been members of the common classes. Purple was expensive to create and became a status symbol for the wealthy and powerful, which often included clergy. Soon, it became a status symbol, unattainable by the common folk not just by its cost, but in some places by tradition and even law. This is why purple continues to represent wealth, power, and spirituality to this day. Purple, historically, may have been an appropriate color to represent High Magic and certainly an appropriate color for Ceremonial Magicians but witches? Not likely.
That being said, it is also important to remember that only in the last century or so has it been socially acceptable to be labeled as a witch. Throughout history, including ancient times, practitioners of magic were either a part of the local religion or kept a low profile for fear of reprisal. The European witch hunts and Salem witch trials are a perfect example of why no witch would ever go out of their way to clearly label their front door with a color (they likely could never afford) to openly let everyone know they practiced magic because that would make them a target with very real consequences that could lead to their death and every possession of value (including land and animals) being confiscated from what is left of that person’s family even before they were executed.
I believe what may have occurred was that a pagan practitioner with a very deep understanding of color symbolism and Feng Shui may have made a comment that it is a great representation of a witches and, like many things on the internet, it snowballed from there. Old wives tales had to start somewhere and the purple witch’s door is just our most recent addition to witchy wives tales.
Perhaps the most significant and legitimate reason to embrace the purple door trend, despite the fact that it’s not likely to have any historical significance is that it promotes unity among witches. We paint our doors purple because other witches paint their doors purple. We are part of this group and this is a symbol of our solidarity. This can only be a good thing. Purple is a spiritual color, it does symbolize many of the things modern witches value and work toward. Purple not being a terribly common front door color enhances its sanctity and lets other witches know that a witch lives here.
So, do you still love the idea of having a purple front door? I know I do! Adding that splash of purple color to your home can bring a uniqueness to your home that is lacking in many cookie cutter homes these days. The concept of the purple door representing a witch is a popular one despite it not being rooted in historical fact and I fully embrace it. A coat of paint is cheap and easily changed, so it is a very non-committal way to embrace this idea and see if you love it but if you are afraid to paint it or are not allowed to paint it for one reason or another (rented property, apartment complex, etc.) then perhaps a purple wreath or standing welcome sign may do the trick for you.
I love Pinterest and Facebook but make sure you are doing your research when you see images like this and not taking it as a face value proven fact.
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
When we elevate a thought by infusing it with our magical intention, it transforms into energy. Spell-casting is the art of identifying, raising, and directing energy to actualize our intentions and when it comes to matters of the heart, love spells are the perfect tool for inviting positivity and connection into our lives. Everyone goes into relationships with a different personality and history. We bring emotional baggage into our relationship as well. We come with different expectations, different ways of approaching issues, and different opinions about what matters in life. You don’t have to agree on everything but you do have to find a way to handle your differences so that they do not become divisive. Be it an already established relationship or you wanting to begin a relationship with someone, magic can be there to support you in your endeavors.
Love magic has been around for millennia and is practiced by all denominations, races, social classes, and backgrounds across the world. Love magic is not limited to one path or belief and there is a plethora of different approaches to love magic. While some love spells are extremely complicated, calling for obscure ingredients and implementation at specific times, others are extremely simple and straightforward. Some spells are there to help attract love while other enhance love that has already been established. Some spells are for healing love magic while others are for increasing desire or increasing chances at finding love.
Because witchcraft has been around for centuries, conversations about ethics in magic are just as old as the craft. Love spells in the magical community are a fairly divisive topic, and conversations around practicing them ethically, if at all, are easy enough to find in online communities like Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and even TikTok. In truth, witches have been talking about love spells and the ethics of said spells for centuries. Love spells have long been a part of magical communities, describing the “wise woman’s” role in society. In the past, a person might visit their local witch or wise woman and ask for a spell for a broken heart or to attract a new partner, but not necessarily direct the spell at a particular person.
Many express misgivings about spells directed at individuals because they violate free will and consent but highlight other types of more ethical love magic. Consent is still very important! Ask yourself if the target of your magic would feel the same way without a spell cast on them. If not, you may be crossing an important line. Ask yourself how you would appreciate that same magic being used upon yourself. Would you? That may be a deciding factor in if you carry out the spell. Some sexual assault activists and experts hold the same boundaries on love spells and how they could be considered assault or at the least, forgoing proper consent. How you cast a spell can make all the difference. If the person on whom you are casting the spell has already drawn a boundary and expressed a lack of interest, then the spell is very likely unethical, immoral, manipulative, and/or abusive. However, if the intent is to create an opportunity to see if something organic happens, then it is likely harmless in nature and does not cross any ethical boundaries. Discussions about the effects of love spells from the perspective of those who were targets or their merits are easily found in witchcraft communities online today. However, there are other forms of more ethical love magic such as rekindling relationships, drawing (general) love to your person, self love spells, healing love energy, and sex magic.
Unfortunately, others might visit a witch with less ethical methods and pay for a spell to make a certain person fall in love with them, with every intention to circumnavigate their target’s free will and ensnare their emotions. It didn’t matter if the target person wanted to be in love, and they certainly would not have been asked for consent. For a certain amount of money or a favor, an unethical witch would perform the ritual.
Even Genie couldn’t do it!
True long lasting emotional love is a choice.
Before you begin, make sure that you are aware of your abilities and exactly what it is you want. When it comes to love magic, there is nothing more important than clearly defining what you are looking for. Make sure that you have realistic expectations. Casting a love spell so that a hot young billionaire like Christian Gray shows up is rather unlikely to work. But clearly stating you want someone with a loving heart who is there for you sexually is both broad and clear at the same time. The criteria is a broad to ensure you have a larger pool of candidates but you are being very clear on what it is you are looking for. mention the qualities that you want a person to possess such as loving, caring, funny, etc. If you’re focusing your spell on a specific individual, you need to already have a strong connection with that person and you shouldn’t attempt to transform who they are or how they feel; instead, focus on inviting more abundance and love into your relationship with them.
I never actually read/watched 50 Shades of Gray to be honest…
Unlike your exes, the universe doesn’t play games: It gets right to the point, and so when you’re casting a love spell, your intentions need to be extremely specific. Remember, spells are simply conduits for energy, and if your spell is based on generalizations, your results will be imprecise. If you’re involving your partner in your spell, you can focus on that person by creating an incantation that incorporates their name, for example.
Alternatively, you can create attraction spells to welcome new love or release romantic blockages, and although these concepts are broader, you can still get specific about the intentions within them: Are you looking for long-term commitment or passionate sex? Maybe both! Are you seeking to let go of painful, lingering feelings for your ex? Make sure you know precisely what you want to achieve before beginning your spell.
Keep in mind that a person unavailable in one realm is unavailable in all realms. For instance, if your lover is extremely blocked in the spiritual realm, spells can do little to help you deepen your relationship with them in the physical realm; they must be emotionally and spiritually open to spellwork first. Alternatively, if the object of your affection is currently in a relationship with someone else in the physical realm, they are not someone you can connect with in the spiritual realm. (You don’t want to set an intention of ending someone else’s happy relationship?)
To find the most direct route to manifesting your intention, spend some time figuring out which correspondences best suit your needs. If you are drawn to moon cycles, explore the offerings of each lunation: New moons, for instance, are a great time to begin something new, whereas full moons are useful for discovering truths. Days of the week, colors, textures, herbs, leaves, and crystals are all time-honored correspondence devices, as their unique properties can amplify the power of your spells. Will you be doing a potion or a spell? Will you be using candles or making a sachet? Romance rituals will work well on Fridays. This is because the Venus day falls on a Friday. You can also try love rituals during New Moon because that’s when intention can easily become real.
There’s a fine line between awareness and compulsion. Once you release your magical intention, it will take the best route to reach its destination, but this route won’t necessarily be the fastest. Your energy has the power to bypass obstacles, but in order for the universe to do its thing, you need to give it time, space, and trust. When you obsess over the outcome of your spell, you infuse this energetic current with desperation, fear, and doubt. This energy muddles the effectiveness of manifestations.
If you are single and looking for love, a spell can help you get your dream lover. We all want love in our lives and sometimes we need a special nudge in that direction to make it happen. Some magic kicks in right away and other times, the magic takes time to manifest itself. People who cast a love spell often want instant results. However, these spells sometimes need time to work because it is about two people and their emotions. After you cast your spells, you should be willing to take inspired steps to further your chances. Reach out to someone you have interest in or sign up for a dating site. Go out to the bar or try a tipsy art class. Even the most potent love spell can’t send your dream lover straight to your doorstep.
Witch Tip: For casting a successful spell, always choose materials that are meaningful to you. Next, create an invocation about what you want and use clearly stated intentions.
Be aware there is a chance your spell will not work or could even backfire. Negative effects could include stalking, driving apart a relationship, or even accidently ruining your own relationships.
Have you used love spells before? What results did you get? Tell us more about your experience in the comments!
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
Ancient love spells date all the way back to Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the rest of Fertile Crescent. While magic was discouraged and sometimes even punished in antiquity, it thrived all the same. Authorities publicly condemned it, but tended to ignore its powerful hold as it was very widespread and quite common. Erotic spells were a popular form of magic. Professional magic practitioners charged fees for writing erotic charms, making enchanted dolls (more to come on dolls used in spellwork), and even directing curses against rivals in love.
Magic is widely attested in archaeological evidence, spell books and literature from both Greece and Rome, as well as Egypt, and the rest of the Middle East. The Greek Magical Papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt is a large collection of papyri listing spells for many purposes. The collection was compiled from sources dating from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD, and includes numerous spells of attraction.
Some spells involve making dolls, which were intended to represent the object of desire (usually a woman who was either unaware or resistant to a would-be admirer). Instructions specified how an erotic doll should be made, what words should be said over it, and where it should be deposited. Such an object is a form of sympathetic magic.
The best preserved and most notorious magical doll from antiquity, the so-called “Louvre Doll” (4th century AD), depicts a naked female in kneeling position, bound, and pierced with 13 needles. Fashioned from unbaked clay, the doll was found in a terracotta vase in Egypt. The accompanying spell, inscribed on a lead tablet, records the woman’s name as Ptolemais and the man who made the spell, or commissioned a magician to do so, as Sarapammon.
The Louvre Doll.
The spells that accompanied such dolls and the spells from antiquity on all manner of topics, were not mild in the language and imagery employed. Ancient spells were often violent, brutal and without any sense of caution or remorse. In the spell that comes with the Louvre Doll, the language is both frightening and repellent in a modern context. For example, one part of the spell directed at Ptolemais reads:
Do not allow her to eat, drink, hold out, venture out, or find sleep…
Another part reads:
Drag her by the hair, by the guts, until she no longer scorns me…
A Coptic codex with magic spells, 5-6th century AD from the Museo Archeologico, Milan
Such language is hardly indicative of any emotion pertaining to love, or even attraction. Especially when combined with the doll, the spell may strike a modern reader as obsessive (perhaps reminiscent of a stalker) and even misogynistic. Indeed, rather than seeking love, the intention behind the spell suggests seeking control and domination. Such were the gender and sexual dynamics of antiquity.
But in a masculine world, in which competition in all aspects of life was intense, and the goal of victory was paramount, violent language was typical in spells pertaining to anything from success in a court case to the rigging of a chariot race. One theory suggests that the more ferocious the words, the more powerful and effective the spell. Most of the technologies that are used in spells for throwing erotic passion into someone are borrowed from the realm of cursing. If you actually track it down, melting wax, sticking pins into an image, and a lot of the language in the surviving erotic charms are all used in cursing rituals. Thus half of the repertoire of love magic is curses, whereas the philia-producing spells uses amulets, knotted cords, and potions, which aren’t technologies you find in curses–you find them in healing magic.
Most ancient evidence attests to men as both professional magical practitioners and their clients. There was a need to be literate to perform most magic (most women were not educated) and to be accessible to clients (most women were not free to receive visitors or have a business). However, some women also engaged in erotic magic although the sources on this are relatively scarce. This healing magic, which seems to have been the purview of women, evolved in the hands of women into forms of philia magic focused on healing or preserving a broken relationship. Erotic magic, on the other hand, is based on cursing techniques and often seems to be used by one family to attack another. Most often it seems to be used by a man who’s on the outside of a family trying to get a woman out of her father’s house or her husband’s house by breaking up a relationship.
Taking a psychological approach to erotic spells, it could be argued that they were primarily used by people who were helplessly in love. They were used self-therapeutically. By projecting their pain and suffering on the victim, who they perceived as the cause of their pain, it would take away their own suffering or gain progress in their relationship. It is more likely that men used these curse-like spells for sexual conquests and domination. In one of the surviving texts, a man casts erotic spells on several different women.
These were used by men to inflict great pain and suffering on women, but the men want the pain and suffering to stop when the women arrive at their door. Thus a common formula reads something like: “Burn, whip, torture the heart, the liver, the body of NAME, until she leaps from her home and comes to me, NAME.” The assumption of the users of these spells is that these women are not going to make love to them or even look their way unless some supernatural torture is applied to them to force them to come.
In ancient Athens a woman was taken to court on the charge of attempting to poison her husband. The trial was recorded in a speech delivered on behalf of the prosecution (dated around 419 BC). It includes the woman’s defense, which stated that she did not intend to poison her husband but to administer a love philtre to reinvigorate the marriage. The speech, entitled Against the Stepmother for Poisoning by Antiphon, clearly reveals that the Athenians practiced and believed in love potions and may suggest that this more subtle form of erotic magic (compared to the casting of spells and the making of enchanted dolls) was the domain of women.
Within the multiplicity of spells found in the Greek Magical Papyri, two deal specifically with female same sex desire. In one of these, a woman by the name of Herais attempts to magically entreat a woman by the name of Serapis. In this spell, dated to the 2nd century AD, the gods Anubis and Hermes are called upon to bring Serapis to Herais and to bind Serapis to her. In the second spell, dated to the 3rd or 4th century AD, a woman called Sophia seeks out a woman by the name of Gorgonia. This spell, written on a lead tablet, is aggressive in tone;
Burn, set on fire, inflame her soul, heart, liver, spirit, with love for Sophia…
Gods and goddesses were regularly summoned in magic. In the spell to attract Serapis, for example, Anubis is included based on his role as the god of the secrets of Egyptian magic. Hermes, a Greek god, was often included because as a messenger god, he was a useful choice in spells that sought contact with someone. The tendency to combine gods from several cultures was not uncommon in ancient magic, indicative of its eclectic nature and perhaps a form of hedging one’s bets (if one religion’s god won’t listen, one from another belief system may).
Deities with erotic connections were also inscribed on gems to induce attraction. The Greek god of eroticism, Eros was a popular figure to depict on a gemstone, which could then be fashioned into a piece of jewelry.
The numerous erotic spells in antiquity – from potions to dolls to enchanted gems and rituals – not only provide information about magic in the ancient Mediterranean world, but the intricacies and cultural conventions around sexuality and gender.
The rigid system of clearly demarcated gender roles of active (male) and passive (female) partners, based on a patriarchy that championed dominance and success at all costs, underpinned the same societies’ magical practices. Yet it is important to note that even in magic featuring people of the same sex, aggressive language is employed because of the conventions that underlined ancient spells.
Still magic remains, in part, a mystery when it comes to erotic practice and conventions. The two same-sex spells from the Greek Magical Papyri, for example, attest to the reality of erotic desire among ancient women, but do not shed light on whether this type of sexuality was condoned in Roman Egypt. Perhaps such desires were not socially approved; hence the recourse to magic. Perhaps the desires of Sarapammon for Ptolemais were also outside the bounds of acceptability, which led him to the surreptitious and desperate world of magic.
Much of my research information comes from this article here. Feel free to read the original!
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
The reason I wanted to include the 5 love languages is because not only is it an eye opening book/concept that helps you to understand both yourself and your partner, but sometimes, a spell, potion, or charm isn’t even necessary to fix or improve your relationship. A little understanding or explanation may be all it takes for it to click, giving you lasting results vs. casting a spell which may only give temporary results if any depending on your skill and the person in question. And even once your magic works and you have the person of your dreams, knowing their love language is going to do a better job of keeping them in your life than any spell, potion, or charm ever could. Remember witches, healthy communication and understanding makes for healthy long lasting relationships! Magic can only go so far! The rest is up to you! (You don’t even have to read the book as I give a pretty clear synopsis below but I still highly recommend it)
The desire for romantic love in marriage is deeply rooted in our psychological makeup. Why is it that so few couples seem to have found the secret to keeping love alive after the wedding? And sometimes even before the wedding? Why is it that a couple can attend a communication workshop, hear wonderful ideas on how to enhance communication, return home, and find themselves totally unable to implement the communication patterns demonstrated? It is not that the books and articles already published are not helpful. The problem is that we have overlooked one fundamental truth; people speak different love languages.
If we are to communicate effectively across cultural lines, we must learn the language of those with whom we wish to communicate. In the area of love, it is very similar. Your emotional love language or the language of your spouse may be as different as Chinese from English. No matter how hard you try to express love in English, if your spouse understands only Chinese, you will never understand how to love each other and this is where a lot of relationship issues can often stem. It is a misunderstanding or an ignorance of meaning in your partner’s language.
The need to feel loved by one spouse is at the heart of marital desires. Once the experience of falling in love has run its natural course, we return to the world of reality and begin to assert ourselves. We must be willing to learn our spouses’ primary love language if we are to be effective communicators of love. There are five Emotional Love Languages.
He will express his desires, but his desires might be different from hers. We are all unique individuals. They have not yet grown to understand each other properly and their emotions mingled only briefly in the ocean of Love. Now the waves of reality begin to separate them. They fall out of love and at that point either withdraw, separate, divorce, and set off in search of a new in love experience, or they begin to hard work of learning to love each other without the euphoria of the in love obsession. Our most basic emotional need is not to fall in love, but to be genuinely loved by another. That kind of love requires a lot of effort and discipline.
Gary Chapman often says that when your spouse’s is emotional love tank is full and he feels secure in your love, the whole world looks bright and your spouse will move out to reach his highest potential in life. But when the love tank is empty and he feels used but not loved, the whole world looks dark and he will likely never reach his potential for good in the world.
Discovering the primary love language of your spouse is essential if you are to keep their emotional love tank full. But first, make sure you know your own love language. There are five emotional love Languages. They are words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, physical touch. Some individuals will know instantly their own primary love language in that of their spouse. For others it will not be that easy.
The book has an accompanying website, complete with a quiz to discover your own love language. I highly recommend reading the book to accompany the quiz as well so that you can make complete and full use of understanding the importance of your and your partner’s love language and how to accommodate filling their emotional love tank. If you don’t have time to read the book, you can take the (free) quiz here. A quick rundown of the 5 love languages is below and explanations are offered with the results of your quiz. And then, on to the magic!
Word of Affirmation
The first love language is words of affirmation. One way to express love emotionally is to use words that build up. Solomon wrote that the tongue has the power of life and death. Many couples have never learned the tremendous power of verbally affirming each other. Verbal compliments, or words of appreciation, are powerful communicators of love. They are best expressed in simple, straightforward statements such as “you look good in that suit”, or “I feel like I can count on you”. What would happen to the emotional climate of a marriage if the husband and wife heard such words of affirmation regularly?
If your husband takes the garbage out, say “thank you for taking the garbage out. I appreciate it”. Don’t say “it’s about time you took the garbage out. The Flies were going to carry it out for you”. When someone does something good, you should give them a verbal compliment. Often times, verbal compliments are far better motivators than nagging words or backhanded compliments. When we receive affirming words, we are more likely to be motivated to reciprocate and do something our spouse desires.
Compliments aren’t the only words of affirmation. Encouragement is also important. You must first learn what is important to your spouse. Only then can you give proper encouragement. Kind words are also important. One sentence can have two different meanings depending on how you say it. Our words say one thing but our tone of voice can say another. We can send double messages and our spouse will usually interpret our message based on our tone of voice, not the words we use.
Quality Time
The second love language is quality time. Quality time is giving someone your undivided attention. Not sitting on the couch watching television together but when you spend time together with the TV off talking and giving each other undivided attention. It means taking a walk, just the two of you, or going out to eat and looking at each other and talking without any cell phone in sight. It isn’t enough to just be in the same room with someone. A key ingredient in giving your spouse quality time is giving them focused attention, especially in this era of distraction. Some spouses think they’re spending time with each other when, in reality, they are only living in close proximity. They are in the same house at the same time, but they are not together. A wife who is texting while her husband tries to talk to her is not giving him quality time, because he does not have her full attention.
Quality time can also mean quality activities. One of the byproducts of quality activities is that they provide a memory bank from which to draw in the years of head. Those are memories of love, especially for the person his primary love language is quality time. You have to make time for such activities just as you make time for lunch and dinner. Why? Because it is essential to your marriage just as meals are too your health. Does it take careful planning? Yes. Does it mean we have to give up some individual activities? Perhaps. Does it mean we do some things we don’t particularly enjoy? Certainly. Is it worth it? Without a doubt. You will then get the pleasure of living with a spouse who feels loved and knowing that you have learned to speak his or her love language fluidly
Receiving Gifts
Of The 5 Love Languages, ‘Receiving Gifts’ Is The Most Misunderstood. People seem to look down on the ‘receiving gifts’ love language and attach unfair judgments. They may consider a person with that language to be materialistic, frivolous and shallow. But that’s often not the case as it’s not the price tag that’s important to this person — it’s the thought, care or effort that went into choosing or executing the gift.
The right present makes this person feel seen, understood or appreciated. A thoughtful gift speaks more deeply than a gift given without consideration to their likes. In other words, don’t spring for a pair of fancy sneakers just because they’re expensive if your partner isn’t into fashion. The value of the gift is about more than the item itself — it’s about what it symbolizes. To give a gift with meaning and thought behind it requires attention and empathy, which ultimately strengthens the relationship connection.
Gifts may be purchased, found, or made. The husband who finds an interesting bird feather while out jogging and brings it home to his wife has found himself an expression of love. You can purchase a beautiful card or you can make a gift for free. You can even purchase an item for your significant other that you know they have been interested in for a while and surprise them. Know that experiential gifts — like a weekend trip, art class or tickets to a concert or game — can be just as appreciated as tangible gifts.
Physical Touch
Having physical touch as your love language does not necessarily mean you’re all about sex. When you hear that someone’s love language is physical touch, it can be easy to assume that this means sexual touching, but that is not necessarily the case. It more often means you prefer physical expressions of love over all over expressions (such as verbal compliments or gifts). This may seem self-explanatory, but there are both intimate and non-intimate touches that can and should be used to show your partner love. Physical touch has long been known a way to communicate emotional love. Holding hands, kissing, embracing, and sexual intercourse are all ways of communicating emotional love to one spouse.
Sexual expressions of love are used in most romantic relationships, but what if you live 100+ miles away from your partner? What if you and your partner are waiting to have sex? What if you’re not a touchy person? What if sexual intimacy is mentally or physically challenging for you?
Physical touch, specifically cuddling, releases oxytocin. Oxytocin is known as the bonding hormone. That hormone is the same hormone released between a newborn baby and its mother, which is why skin-to-skin contact is highly recommended for bonding after childbirth. In addition to the joy of cuddling, it also helps boost your immune system. Physically touching your partner is one of the best ways to build a bridge and increase feelings of connectedness. When your partner gets home from work, you might kiss them or hug them, which can immediately release some of that day’s tension. Rub your partner’s back or sit side by side at dinner.
Acts of Service
For people who love with acts of service, love is not felt as much with abstract words and intention as it is with visible action and follow-through. An act of service is the physical expression of a thoughtful gesture. At its core, an act of service is about someone going out of their way to meaningfully help and support the other person. When people take initiative to ease some of their responsibilities and burdens, it helps them feel taken care of, safe, and loved in return.
An act of service is about dedicated time and effort, usually in a nonverbal way. It is quite literally showing up in ways that are tangible, meaning actions speak louder than words. For those whose primary love language is acts of service, they will appreciate the tactile, palpable steps you are taking to enhance or simplify their life by making it a little bit easier. When they don’t have to worry about the little but big things that give them stress, it allows them to fully show up as a partner and reciprocate love from a place of abundance.
Remember that an act of service is about more than doing household chores, delivering on some high-octane grand gesture, or how much one can accommodate their every desire to please them. When thinking about acts of service, think about how you can improve their quality of life by planning ahead or freeing up their time to spend on other things. It’s really about going after a much more emotionally subtle feeling where they feel like they can trust you to have their back, for the small and the big things. To strike the right balance in giving and avoid burnout, pay attention to their daily activities and notice where you can check things off their to-do list. Then, fold that into your schedule naturally. This can range from small acts such as making a coffee to go for them in the morning to save a few minutes to putting jumper cables and a backup battery in their car.
If you haven’t already taken the quiz, you can go here to take it for free!
Discovering the primary love language of your spouse is essential if you are to keep their emotional love tank full. Some individuals will know instantly their own primary love language in that of their spouse. For others it will not be that easy. You can also look back over your relationship and ask what have you most often requested of your spouse or friend? Whatever you’ve most requested is probably in keeping with your primary love language. Those requests have probably been interpreted by your spouse as nagging but they have been in fact your efforts to secure emotional love.
Another way to discover your primary love language is to examine what you do or say to express love to your spouse. Chances are what you were doing for her is what you wish they would do for you. If you are constantly doing acts of service for your spouse, maybe that is your love language. So you could actually ask yourself how do I consciously express my love to my spouse? If two languages seem to be equal for you, then perhaps you are bilingual. If so, it will make it easier on you and your spouse. Now they will have two choices, either of which will strongly communicate love to you.
Be aware that your love language may change over time! I originally took the quiz back in 2018. Words of affirmation was my #1 and I was tied for physical touch and quality time as my #2. That being said, while composing this post I thought to take the quiz again and my results have certainly changed! My #1 is now quality time and words of affirmation and acts of service is now tied for #2. However, the more things change the more they stay the same and receiving gifts was last both times. My job and emotional needs in 2018 were different from my job and emotional needs today. Someone may experience severe emotional and/or physical trauma at the hands of an abuser and their #1 which may have been physical touch could become their #5. Someone could pass away and the need for quality time with those left could increase or a toxic relationship could make them feel used and now acts of service are what they need to feel like they are not a servant themselves. In other instances, a new baby could change your priorities and words of affirmation may be the kind of environment you want your child to grow up in. While I understand that we all have an ideal for ourselves that we want to maintain or once we understand something about ourselves it becomes inconvenient for it to change, it is equally important to realize that you are a constantly growing and evolving being whose life factors will continue to transform and evolve what we require to maintain a healthy relationship with ourselves and others. Your concept of love and how you express and receive love will also continue to change over the years so flexibility will be key!
Now that we have discussed what love actually IS, the different forms it takes as defined by the Ancient Greeks, and the 5 love languages, let’s talk about LOVE SPELLS AND MAGIC!
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
One key to healthy relationships is to understand the different types of love. Everyone gives and receives love differently. Everyone understands and interprets love differently. Not only that, but our love language and understanding of our partner’s love language will also dictate how we give and receive love and how successful our relationships will be.
9 Different Types of Greek Love
Eros: (from the Greek deity Eros, god of love, fertility, and desire, the equivalent of Cupid in Roman mythology) is passionate, romantic love, with sensual desire and longing. The Greek word erota means in love. Eros is a fiery, intense form of love which arouses sexual and romantic feelings. The Ancient Greeks were actually quite fearful of this love. They thought that because human beings have an instinctual impulse to procreate, that this love was so powerful it would result in a loss of control. Although the Ancient Greeks thought this kind of love was dangerous, it was still the kind of love that is associated with passionate, sexual love.
Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth by eros. With eros love, people let go of their boundaries and get very physically and emotionally involved. This can be a time when people can’t get enough of being with their partner or lover. However, it’s for these reasons that eros was thought to be a dangerous type of love by the ancient Greeks, because of how it made people lose control. Plato refined his own definition. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth. For some people, this intense attraction might burn out and cause the relationship to end, or it may transform into a deeper or different type of love.
Philia: Philia represents love between friends, which can often be just as important as romantic love. A dispassionate virtuous love was a concept addressed and developed by Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics Book VIII. It includes deep loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Philia is motivated by practical reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. Ancient Greeks thought this kind of love was better than eros because it represented love between people who considered themselves equals. Philia can mean love between equals, love connected with the mind, and love between people who have shared hard times. This comes from the Greek philosopher Plato (hence the idea of platonic friendships). Plato’s idea of platonic love came from his belief that physical attraction wasn’t a necessary part of love, and anyone who’s experienced philia will know that friendship love can still be powerful.
Ludus: Ludus is a playful and affectionate type of love. This might mean the love and excitement you feel when you have a crush on someone or when you’re first getting to know them. This love is not to be taken too seriously. The ludic lover retains a partner only as long as the partner is interesting and amusing. Ludus can mean flirting and teasing in the early stages of a relationship but it can also refer to the playful affection between friends and between children.
Agape: means love in modern-day Greek. The term s’agapo means I love you in Greek. The word agapo is the verb I love. It generally refers to a “pure” ideal type of love, rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. Agape is a spiritual kind of love, involving enormous empathy. This kind of love means that we accept, forgive and trust others. Plus, the concepts of charity and sacrifice within agape can be thought of as ‘the highest form of love. The highest of the types of love as it is the divine love that comes from God. As God is love itself, it means Agape love is perfect, unconditional, and pure love.
Pragma: Pragma means long-lasting love. It’s a love that has endured and matured over time, and has meaning. This kind of love often involves compromises from both people in the relationship, as well as patience and tolerance – and the focus is more on staying in love, rather than just falling in love. Pragma is the result of action on both sides of the relationship; it involves people who make agreements and stick to them, and who put the relationship first.
Philautia: Self-love was actually a concept conceived far back in the time of the ancient Greeks. Philautia refers to self-love or self-compassion, and the Greeks thought that loving yourself meant you had a wider capacity to love others. Aristotle is thought to have said: “All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man’s feelings for himself.” However, the Greeks knew that there was a negative type of self-love too, in the form of self-obsessed narcissism. But it’s possible to healthily love yourself without being narcissistic.
Storge: Storge is the Greek word describing family love, the naturally developing bond between parents, siblings, and family members. It is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. Storge refers to love between family members. It builds a feeling of safety, security and support for one another, as well as the joy that comes from having shared memories. It describes the naturally developing affectionate bond between parents, siblings, and family members. As well as the love between family members, Storge can also describe a feeling of patriotism or allegiance, whether it’s to your country or even to a sports team.
Mania: Mania is a combination of eros and ludus and is characterized with extreme highs and lows. It is a jealous and obsessive kind of love that is frequently troubled and intense. It often involves feelings of codependency, or the feeling that another person will heal and complete you. We now consider these behaviors to be symptoms of an unhealthy or a toxic relationship, rather than being a positive kind of love.
Xenia: hospitality was an extremely important practice in ancient Greece. It was an almost ritualized friendship formed between a host and his guest, who could previously have been strangers. The host fed and provided quarters for the guest, who was expected to repay only with gratitude. The importance of this can be seen throughout Greek mythology—in particular, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
Eternal Love: Eternal love is a more recent ideal form of love that became popular during the Medieval period. Eternal love is that love that does not die or wither with time. Eternal love is a love that transcends physical death. All of us are the product of millennia of love. Our ancestors by blood and ritual have in some way created the DNA that weaves throughout our bodies. The love between two beings, separated only by physical death, is the kind that poets wax lyrics about. There can be other variables in the equation of life, but eternal love remains constant.
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
I wanted to thoroughly touch on a subject that many new witches and even seasoned witches always seem interested in. Love magic is often times a hot topic and there are thousands of books, blogs, movies, etc. on how to find love, win love, fix love, and enchant love. However, love is also a very complicated emotion and I wanted to touch on the concept of love a bit more thoroughly before getting into love potions, spells, and magic. To begin with, I think it is important to understand love as an emotion, verb, and state of being before deciding to try any kind of practical spellwork. I believe it is important to understand what love means to you so you are better able to be clear about what kind of love you are trying to attract. It is also important to understand the type of love the recipient of your spell feels. Understanding a person’s emotional depth can go a long way toward ensuring your spell will have an effect. Sometimes, a spell isn’t even needed and it was just an issue with clear communication and other times it could potentially be a mental disorder or obsession. I feel that delving into love magic with a clear mindset is very important so as to avoid future problems, magical fall out, or wasting time on something that could be fixed as easily as just complimenting the one you care about.
Love is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. Love lingers and leaves its own legacy. It is said love makes the world go ‘round but it can sometimes cause problems in our relationships as well. Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states. It is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection, as “the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another” and its vice representing human moral flaw, akin to vanity, selfishness, amour-propre, and egotism, as potentially leading people into a type of mania, obsessiveness or codependency. Abstractly discussed, love usually refers to an experience one person feels for another. Love often involves caring for, or identifying with, a person or thing, including oneself (narcissism).
People can be said to love an object, principle, or goal to which they are deeply committed and greatly value. For example, compassionate outreach and volunteer workers’ “love” of their cause may sometimes be born not of interpersonal love but impersonal love, altruism, and strong spiritual or political convictions. People can also “love” material objects, animals, or activities if they invest themselves in bonding or otherwise identifying with those things. If sexual passion is also involved, then this feeling is called paraphilia. A common principle that people say they love is life itself.
Interpersonal love refers to love between human beings. It is a much more potent sentiment than a simple liking for a person. Unrequited love refers to those feelings of love that are not reciprocated. Interpersonal love is most closely associated with Interpersonal relationships. Such love might exist between family members, friends, and couples. There are also a number of psychological disorders related to love, such as erotomania. Throughout history, philosophy and religion have done the most speculation on the phenomenon of love. In the 20th century, the science of psychology has written a great deal on the subject. In recent years, the sciences of psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, and biology have added to the understanding of the concept of love.
There are so many questions when it comes to love. How do you know you’re in love? Why do you fall out of love? Is it possible to fall in love at first sight? We often think of love just in terms of romance, but love between friends and family members can be thought of as types of love in their own right, and they can be just as powerful.
Ancient Greek philosophers distinguished several different concepts in which the word “love” is used, each embodied by a different word and they are still relevant today. This can help us to understand what kind of love we are experiencing, especially when it comes to a love with a romantic partner. Ancient Greeks identified nine forms of love: sexual and/or romantic desire (eros), friendship and/or platonic desire (philia), playful love (ludus), self-emptying or divine love (agape), longstanding love (pragma), self-love (philautia), kinship or familial love (in Greek, storge), hospitality towards guests (xenia), and obsessive love (mania).
Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of love: unrequited love, empty love, companionate love, consummate love, infatuated love, eternal love, and courtly love. Numerous cultures have also distinguished Ren, Yuanfen, Mamihlapinatapai, Cafuné, Kama, Bhakti, Mettā, Ishq, Chesed, Amore, Charity, Saudade (and other variants or symbioses of these states), as culturally unique words, definitions, or expressions of love in regards to a specified “moment” currently lacking in the English language.
Think about these kinds of love. Which do you have and with whom? Are some of these more important to you than others? Why? What kind of love are you looking for? When doing love magic, which of these are you actually trying for? It is important that your spell work coincides with your goals.
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
As promised, my next post is going to be about how to make a healing sachet! As I said previously, I did undergo a surgery and now I am one organ down so healing is very important for me right now, especially with some of the random bleeding I have experienced while healing.
The finished sachet turned out lovely and smells amazing. I carry it with me in my purse and hold it during meditations.
Finger Labyrinth Travel Meditation Cards can be found here
I began by gathering all my ingredients and clearing my mind with a labyrinth meditation. This labyrinth is the Poitiers Cathedral Labyrinth has an asymmetric shape that resembles a tree. I chose this design because it creates a central alcove where you may reflect on life and growth.
As I was preparing, Constantine decided to get some meditation of his own in.
Ingredients:
White sachet or material- White is a color associated with healing and positivity. Tiger’s Eye- A stone of protection, particularly useful in healing illness. Hematite- Hematite is connected to the blood. Hematite is considered to be one of the best stones for increasing healthy circulation in the body which is great for healing. Hematite keeps your tissues healthy, it makes sure you can properly absorb all your nutrients, and it detoxifies the body. Pearl- Helps to treat wounds and prevent infections. Sage- Used to cleanse your space, your energy, crystals, rocks and rid any negative or low energies. Helps amplify good intentions. Rose- Rose petals are mildly sedative, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-parasitic. The antiseptic nature of rose petals makes them a wonderful treatment for wounds, bruises, rashes, and incisions. Lavender- Relaxing and stress releasing, lavender is great for mental healing. Mint- Mint is clean and healing, especially on stomach and bowels. Black Pepper- Protection, banish negative energy, ward off evil. Sea Salt- Protects personal energy, purification, and cleansing. Frankincense resin- Healing and protecting, resin functions as sympathetic magic because resin is what the trees use to heal themselves. Myrrh resin- Healing and protecting, resin functions as sympathetic magic because resin is what the trees use to heal themselves.
All ingredients were ready and I had some fennel, star anise seed, and ginger tea to ground myself afterwards. I blessed each ingredient and asked for healing as I added them so the sachet.
Once it was finished, I sorted through my stones to seal the sachet closed.
Originally, I was going to use labradorite but I couldn’t figure out how to incorporate it in a way that worked for me. Labradorite is a useful companion through change, imparting strength and perseverance. I also had a moon charm as our bodies recover while we sleep. The 3 stars represent Hekate. Again, I couldn’t figure out how I could possibly incorporate it in a way that worked for me. Always be flexible and fluid in your designs! Even if you want to incorporate every healing and symbolic stone, charm, herb, etc. into your design, sometimes, the best way to go about magic is by your gut and what calls to you. The final design only incorporates the pearl inside the sachet and tiger’s eye and rainbow hematite around the outside tying the sachet shut.
I really love the final design!
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
Collect objects to use as mediums. The word has many definitions, but in this case, “medium” refers to the substance through which you’ll transmit your bad energy (i.e. your curse). Any of the following items will serve as strong mediums:
Curse victim’s DNA, called taglocks, as this holds their essence which include hair, nails, cigarettes/ cigarette butts, etc.
A poppet which is a small human shaped doll often used to represent the victim.
A picture of the victim or their name written down can also suffice
Urine, blood, saliva (your own) may be added to the jar to help you gain domination over your target
Raw meat and bones
Graveyard soil can be used to drive someone away or drive two people apart. Soil from a fresh grave is the most potent: If you do decide to remove soil from a new grave, ask permission from the departed’s soul and leave an offering — alcohol (e.g., wine poured into the ground), food (e.g., part of your last meal), or money (even a dollar) are standard
gravel
Sulphur
Dead bugs, venomous spiders, wasps, bees
Rusty nails or nails in general, needles, pins, thumb tacks, broken glass, razor blades, or other sharp items can be added to the jar to generally hurt your target
Mirrors (broken or intact) to cause them to reflect on their mistakes or harm them
Red pepper flakes or whole red pepper pods will cause your target to become angry. You could even add hot foot powder.
Vinegar may be used to sour the life of an individual, or to sour the relationship between two people. Cranberry juice can be used used as a substitute for vinegar when cursing.
Rose thorns may be used to cause your target harm through deception (as a beautiful rose looks deceptively soft until it pricks your finger) or to sour love. You can also use burnt rose petals.
Thistles
A match can be added to jars containing paper to fire up your curse whenever you shake or move the jar. You can use a cigarette to burn your anger into the poppet.
Poisonous plants may be added to the jar to cause harm to your target. Just be sure to be safe and careful whenever you’re handling anything poisonous. Hemlock, poison ivy, poppies (for confusion), marigolds, blueberries (for confusion), and mold can all be used.
Sigils
Rum
Coffee grounds to speed up the curse process
Fossils are things that were once alive but now are dead. Most really old things work well because they’ve had a lot of time to gather up negative energy that you can use.
Try to collect your curse ingredients humanely. This is simply a list of ingredients for all variety of curses and hexes.
Note: You don’t need to use every one of these items in a curse. Just one or two of them is fine. But the more items you use, the more thorough your curse can be. But you also only need to choose the items that will make your spell most effective.
If you don’t want to cast revenge spells on your enemies, then you can actually perform a ritual using protection spells on yourself. By the time anyone attacks you with magic, you already have your protection.
Can’t stop thinking about that time someone in a witch group accidentally made chlorine gas 😂
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
For centuries, revenge spells have been considered as a weapon that anyone can take advantage of in both good and bad occasions. Some use curses to hurt others while some just want to protect themselves from evil revenge. But what IS a curse? A curse is defined as a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something. A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. Curses are magic spells placed upon people with the intention of harming them in some way. The intended harm can range from mild annoyance and psychological stress to physical illness and suffering, to even death. Curses are often associated with black magic. The curse jar (a variation of the bottle spell) is a simple curse method whose users claim a high success rate. Special names for specific types of curses can be found in various cultures. These are just a few examples:
• African American hoodoo presents us with the jinx and crossed conditions, as well as a form of foot track magic which was used by Ramandeep, whereby cursed objects are laid in the paths of victims and activated when walked over.
• Middle Eastern and Mediterranean culture is the source of the belief in the evil eye, which may be the result of envy but or, more rarely, is said to be the result of a deliberate curse. In order to be protected from the evil eye, a protection item is made from dark blue circular glass, with a circle of white around the black dot in the middle, which is reminiscent of a human eye. The size of the protective eye item may vary.
• German peoples, including the Pennsylvania Dutch speak in terms of hexing (from hexen, the German word for doing witchcraft), and a common hex in days past was that laid by a stable-witch who caused milk cows to go dry and horses to go lame.
Curse inscription on lead, Keramikos Museum, Athens
On the other end of the spectrum are cursed objects. Cursed objects are generally supposed to have been stolen from their rightful owners or looted from a sanctuary. The Hope Diamond is supposed to bear such a curse, and bring misfortune to its owner. The stories behind why these items are cursed vary, but they usually are said to bring bad luck or to manifest unusual phenomena related to their presence. Busby’s stoop chair was reportedly cursed by the murderer Thomas Busby shortly before his execution so that everyone who would sit in it would die.
A hex is just another name for a curse. To hex someone is the same as to curse someone. A jinx, on the other hand, is the state or spell of bad luck. You can curse someone for misfortune or even death, but a jinx is just series of unfortunate events displaying a negative capacity in your life. It is like a low key curse that foredooms failure.
Love this shirt! You can find it in different styles here.
It is always a good idea to make a point of being careful when you curse. There is always the chance that it could come back to you. It is a popular belief amongst witches that curses are unethical and, as a result, will return to the curser in the same form they have been given. There is little known about the psychological impact the person placing the curse may suffer when they are successful in hurting their target. If you place a curse on someone, you might suffer psychological stresses as well as regrets.
Another option is to consider forgiving and moving on. Think about why you want to take revenge, and if it’s really worth your time and energy to do so. Chances are, your time and energy are better spent moving your life forward instead of dwelling on negative emotions that will only make you feel worse. The person who hurt you might very well deserve to have something bad happen to them, but they certainly don’t deserve to take up any more of your time.
Some people feel that revenge spells such as a curse need a huge load of your energy to be sent into the universe to strengthen the magic power and the consequences remain unforeseen most of the time, but they are just like any other magic. In theory, you are always putting out large amounts of energy during spell work and consequences remain unforeseen even in happiness and money spells.
A lot of people, not just witches, feel uncomfortable with curses. Some people don’t believe in them and others are worried that if you bring it up, either you are planning to curse them or the person speaking might be cursed. And who wants to be around someone who is cursed? Many witches, and especially Wiccans, will bring up the threefold law, also known as the rule of 3.
What is the threefold law or rule of 3? The rule of 3 is a religious tenet held by some Wiccans, Neo-Pagans and occultists. It states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.
Do I believe in the rule of 3? Absolutely not. Because by that logic, if I put out 1000% effort and positivity, then it should return to me right? That is, unfortunately, not how my life has worked. I have been the supportive friend who was used and discarded time and time again. I only have 1 friend from the first 24 years of my life because all the rest needed to be removed from my life due to their toxic nature. I have been the person looking out for others who was not looked out for and wound up hurt both physically and emotionally. I am the person who has always tried to be respectful and understanding and received disrespect and hatred and even apathy. One of my first supervisors destroyed my mental health so much that even today, I still have emotional triggers, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, difficulty trusting. I have lived my entire life trying to be a good person and I have been slapped, verbally abused, mentally ruined, and left out to dry more times than I care to recall.
To me, the rule of 3 is just another method of control to discourage witches from attempting things like curses, revenge, and dark magic. To me, if you cannot curse, you cannot heal. I personally see a curse as a method of healing and a way for you to move on. It is a way for you to get over something traumatic that has happened to you. It is almost like being able to get the last word without having to confront that person so that you are able to move past the event and be at peace with yourself. Even though the premise of many religions is to forgive and forget, some people just deserve payback. I don’t agree with throwing out curses willy nilly, but I also don’t discourage their use. Not cursing because it makes someone uncomfortable is the same as not practicing witchcraft because it makes someone feel uncomfortable. A great comeback may be “I’m sorry you feel that way but this is just another aspect of my spirituality.” You don’t have to tell the whole world you cursed someone and if the ethics of cursing raise a red flag in your mind and makes you uncomfortable, then just don’t do it. It’s that simple.
If after all that, you decide that you want to move forward with the curse, sit down and carefully think about what you want to happen. Set your intentions. Having a clear sense of what you want to happen as you work through every stage of your curse will make it more effective. Before working curse magic, make sure that you’ve protected yourself with a protection spell and/or amulet. If the person you’re cursing also practices magic, it’s possible that your curse will bounce back to you so make sure you take that into careful consideration.
Interested in a topic of your own? Just ask here and I will be glad to post it!
Preparing for Litha: Start preparing for your Litha celebration by using lemon, lavender, and thyme essential oils in your home diffuser.
Greet the sun at dawn: See the sun rise and set. Whether with song, drumming, or a simple salute to the early morning sunrise, today is a day to bask in the strength of the sun, for this is its height and its joy. Midsummer is a time to absorb the sun’s warming rays and it is another fertility sabbat, not only for humans, but also for crops and animals. Enjoy time outdoors, allowing the sun to warm your body as you relax, walk, or read. Take a picnic and enjoy the warm light. Bid farewell to the sun god for a few months and be assured, he will return.
Honor the storms and the sun: Remember that the storms are integral to the day as well. In many areas, midsummer marks the start of the rains, and thunder and lightning are just as much a part of the season as the sun. Take time to reflect on the many facets of the season.
Family get together: Summer Solstice is a time for people to get together and celebrate life. Many people gather at sacred sites, where it is usual to leave an offering of summer flowers, a stone, or crystal as a thank you to the sun.
Litha Magic: To celebrate the new light and warmth of the Summer Solstice, gather a large bowl of beach sand, 3 candles, a sea shell for cleansing energies. As you welcome the glory of the sun, a symbol of energy, growth, and wellbeing, light your candles, representing your body, mind, and spirit in a triangle shape around the bowl. With your blessed seashell in the center of the sand, begin to draw a spiral clockwise, from the seashell outward, visualizing, new growth, renewal, and positive light energy finding way to you as you do so. Say:
With this symbol of life, death and renewal, I now draw in new energy to manifest my desires. I welcome opportunities of positive change into my life.
When complete, meditate with your new energy.
Midsummer Spell: Make a Midsummer incense for a solstice love spell to harness the magic of the solstice. Mix a handful of fresh or dried rose petals and lavender flowers in a non-metallic bowl. Add half a stick of crumbled cinnamon and two pods of star anise. Add six drops of rose oil to the mix. Now grind the ingredients together. If you don’t intend to use the incense immediately, keep it fresh in a sealed jar. Now you are ready to do your spell. Facing east, burn a teaspoonful of the incense on a charcoal block and, without holding a particular person in mind, ask for new love to come into your life. Close with the words: May this be for the highest good of all.
Litha Herb Charm: Take St. John’s Wort, Mugwort, vervain, and lemon balm, and then pour all of your worries, fears, and concerns into them. Then place them into a small yellow sachet bag. Feel free to draw a sigil, sun, or any other symbol on the bag. Drop the bag into the Litha fire or cauldron and watch how your worries burn away.
Cauldron works: Rituals include placing a flower ringed cauldron on the altar. Gather and dry herbs to put in the cauldron and plunge your athame into the cauldron for renewed energy. You can also set these herbs on fire to simulate a bonfire.
Roll a burning wheel: Roll a burning wooden wheel down the hillsides to represent the decline of the sun. The wheels were very large to ensure fertility and prosperity in the coming year. The ritual commemorates those ancient sun wheels and purification by fire.
Make solar water: Make solar water by leaving a bowl of spring water under the midday sun for a few hours. You can use this water for masculine rituals, those requiring significant power, and any kind of spell needing a power up.
Charge your crystals: Leave any crystals or items of jewelry you would like to imbue with the sun’s energy out in the sun for a few hours.
Found this years ago. I plan to tray this on Litha!
Protection Rattle: Create a Litha protection rattle that you can use while dancing around your bonfire. Using 2 shells that join together, twine, and carnelian, create your rattle to celebrate the solstice. Place the carnelian inside the 2 shells before wrapping the twine around the shells to hold it together. Secure the twine so that the shells do not open while in use.
St. John’s Wort
Gather flowers: Summer Solstice celebrates the sun as it brings life to plants and flowers such as its namesake, the sunflower. Deck your house with Birch, fennel, St. John’s Wort. Also called goatweed, rosin rose, and chase devil, the St. John’s Wort flower is prized at the Summer Solstice. If it is native, seek it in your area. If it is not, seek another flower that blooms around this time of year. According to folklore, if you pick seven or nine types of wild flower in the evening, in silence, and place them under your pillow, you will dream of your future spouse. But you mustn’t reveal whom you dreamed about to anyone! Flowers or herbs picked at Midsummer are thought to be doubly potent. St. John’s Wort is so named because it traditionally flowers on Midsummer’s Day or St. John’s Eve, by its Christian name. If it is harvested at this time, it can be kept until the winter and made into an antidepressant tea with the qualities it has absorbed from the sun.
Create a wand: Midsummer is the time to cut magical wands as the trees hold their greatest amount of light at this time.
Decorate your altar: At this time when light will begin to wane, decorate your altar and house with sunflowers. Place honey on your altar to represent life’s sweetness. Light the same gold candle for a short time for four or five nights over this period. On the last evening, after the candle is safely snuffed, wrap what is left of it in yellow or gold colored cloth with sunflower seeds. Tie the parcel with a yellow ribbon and keep it somewhere safe for protection and good fortune until next Litha.
Divination: At Litha, the veils between the worlds are thin. The portals between the fields we know and worlds beyond stand open. This is an excellent time for rites of divination.
Sun wheel cake/bread: One way of marking the Summer Solstice in your own home is to bake round cakes covered in yellow icing. These traditionally represent the sun wheel, a symbol used to represent the sun in many ancient cultures, and should be eaten for breakfast. Ideally, you should get up before the dawn and sit on a hilltop to watch the sunrise, while eating the cakes as the sun’s golden disc rises above the horizon. Take any sponge or fairy cake recipe, but add saffron for yellow color in the cake, or to color the icing, and add some honey to taste. Garnish the mix with sunflower seeds to add midsummer ambiance. Once your sun wheel cake is baked, prepare a flask of mead, a traditional honey liqueur, to wash down a slice at sunrise. You can also bake bread in the shape of the sun as well.
Sunflower Solstice Cake: Bake a sunflower solstice cake decorated with yellow icing and sunflower seeds to share with your friends over a glass of mead. If you don’t want seeds on your cake, you can add chocolate chips to represent the seeds and make it more palatable.
Sun Wreath/catcher: Create a sun decoration covered in colors and plants of the holiday. Sunflowers, yellow ribbon, and lavender are great starts to your wreath. You can also make a sunny decoration from dried oranges or other citrus.
Reaffirm your dedication: Reaffirm your vows to the Lord and Lady or your dedication to following the old traditions. To celebrate, put out an offering to your deity.
Leave out an offering for the Fae: The faeries abound at this time and it is customary to leave offerings, such as milk, food, or herbs, for them for the evening. Summer Solstice, in particularly Midsummer’s Eve, is a time when fairies would bestow good luck on humans. An old ritual for children was to place food out in the garden for the fairies who would then sometimes leave crystals as a token of thanks. Shakespeare took the fairy legends and lovers traditions and wrote about them in his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, when fairies with their magic, play the leading characters interacting with humans and mortals.
Help the Environment: Make a pledge to Mother Earth pertaining to something that you will do to improve the environment. Try to make long term changes to make the earth a better place for all life.
This is the last of the five major tools, also known as the workbook, journal, or spell book. This is the book where all rituals, spells and magical recipes are written before use. Most witches and magic workers have what is called a Grimoire or BoS (Book of Secrets, Book of Shadows, Book of Spells, etc.) A grimoire is a textbook of magic.
It is most commonly believed that the term grimoire originated from the Old French word grammaire, which had initially been used to refer to all books written in Latin. By the 18th century, the term had gained its now common usage in France, and had begun to be used to refer purely to books of magic. Owen Davies presumed this was because “many of them continued to circulate in Latin manuscripts”.
However, the term grimoire later developed into a figure of speech among the French indicating something that was hard to understand. In the 19th century, with the increasing interest in occultism among the British following the publication of Francis Barrett’s The Magus (1801), the term entered the English language in reference to books of magic.
What is a Grimoire? It is a magic book, a life collection of spells, recipes, secrets of nature and sometimes even science, advice, ancient wisdom and instructions. For ages, witches have kept journals on creating charms and incantations, making talismans and recording lessons’ for using these elements in a Book of Shadows. A witch’s Book of Shadows is a treasured and much respected item. The book itself is sacred to the witch who created it. Its contents are mostly kept secret from wandering eyes.
Many of these have been handed down through generations; others are created by new members to the Magic family researching old traditional methods of living and healing. Many of the contents of these books are simple traditional recipes using time honored ingredients often referred to as complementary or alternative medicine.
A Book of Shadows documents your journey on your magical path, and might also include notes on rituals and spells, recipes, crystals, herbalism, deities and supernatural entities, stories and lore, animal symbolism, divination methods, and much more. A Grimoire or Book of Shadows doesn’t need to be a mystical old book that you hand write everything into. It can be though. Some baby witches start with just a notebook and take notes from books they read while beginning their practice. Some use loose leaf paper and a binder that they can rearrange and change out if they mess up and need to rewrite something. Choose something easy to work with when starting out because you can always upgrade later.
Witch Tip: Traditionally, a Book of Shadows was bound and covered in either black leather or other animal skin and containing parchment leaves, even a standard book of high quality drawing paper will suffice.
This beautiful book was available on Etsy! Esty has a LOT to offer.
There are many beautiful books available to buy which are suitable to use as your witch’s journal. There are even those who make pages for your Book of Shadows ready to print out with standard information such as the wheel of the year. Choose a book that suits you well. If you are artistic, choose one with plain pages so you can draw symbols and charts easily. Choose a style you love- if it feels special to you, it will generate more positive energy. Take time choosing your book of shadows and trawl for unusual finds in second hand bookshops.
Some believe the more important works should be translated in magical language for either secrecy (coming from the theory of necessity in The Burning Times), empowerment (as in the more you put into something, the more you receive in return), or simply desire.
A great example of journaling your BoS
But you could even make it a type of journaling with pages printed and pictures glued in. You could cut flowers and press them for your book. Tape in charms and trinkets as you acquire them! The possibilities are endless!
Many modern witches have a digital Book of Shadows. This is particularly handy if your handwriting is messy and difficult to read (guilty) or you want to keep it hidden from prying eyes or are low on space in your home. Fast typing and different font styles can help your finished product to look nicer and more magical as you edit and combine information from your different reading sources before finishing it off with a gothic font.
I am extremely Type A. I tried hard to get an empty BoS and write in it. It didn’t work. Currently, as of April 2020, my Book of Shadows is 247mb accumulating years upon years of research, knowledge, and art. Once I have deemed a topic finished and I will likely not add more to it, I print it out on parchment paper and put in page protectors in a very large leather binder. Page protectors keep ingredients from staining pages. Are page protectors as mythical looking? No. Do I have cats that literally just knocked over my cup of water? Yes.
After finally deciding on what they want to record their magical works in, many baby witches have trouble deciding what it is they should put write. And the answer is: anything and everything you want. Your Grimoire is personal to you and you make this book your own. This book is the ultimate personalized culmination of your craft. You don’t need to put every single bit of witchy knowledge in your book. But you can if you want. I do because I am anal and very Type A and it feels like incomplete information to me if I leave pieces out. I also sometimes reference the information when I am writing fantasy stories (my hobby). But you could also put only what you believe and will practicing. For example: As a Sea Witch, you could put only stones that pertain to water, plants that pertain to water, a description and associations with the element water, mythical creatures and deities associated with water/ oceans/ rivers/ lakes/ wells, bath rituals, and information about shells and sea creatures you would like to use in your craft.
A good choice for a Sea Witch!
Some ideas for your own Book of Shadows to help you get started:
Altars: How and when to set them up, what you’ll need for your altar and rituals
Animals: Their spiritual powers, which animals are connected to you, mythical, spirits, totems, and familiars
Books: Writings you can use as reference when needed (which can include websites)
Colors: Definitions of each color and what they can be used for (including candles, moods, spell types, etc)
Crystals: Their names and uses
Deity: Their powers, how you must worship them, your own beliefs and worship
Herbs, plants, trees: Their medicinal and metaphysical properties
Meditations: Meditations, groundings, and centering
Planets/ Celestial Bodies: Their relation to magic and mythology
Recipes: Especially for those who will use cooking/baking more often in their witchcraft
Rituals: for Sabbats, Esbats, holidays, etc.
Sigils and Symbols: So you can easily reference them for your spells/ rituals
Spells: Ingredients, prayers, incantations, etc.
Witchy History: How and when magic started, how and when your specific sect of witchcraft got started, etc.
Zodiac: Characteristics and dates
Things that are specific and give you power: For example- my familiars are cats and ravens. My flowers are jasmine and roses. My seasons/Sabbats are Autumn and Samhain. My herbs are rosemary and garlic. My celestial body is the moon. My element is water. Etc.
Witchcraft is an old tradition in which lore, rituals, and spells are handed down through the generations, but many witches also keep magic chronicles. Unlike the formal patriarchal religions, witchcraft has evolved with time; ceremonies are influenced by dreams, visions, and insights of the participants. They are not set in stone according to some bygone era. Witchcraft’s legacy as a living, oral tradition may, in some part, be due to the penalties of death, torture, or dispossession, which hung heavily over witches in the past and so nothing was recorded. Thankfully, many of today’s witches live in an age of tolerance and most covens and individuals are able to keep journals and even share their Grimoires.
Historical accounts of books of shadows are often shrouded in death, reflecting the dark times that fell against witchcraft. An Italian legend, for example, tells of a spell book that fell into the hands of the inquisition after its author was burned at the stake. Everyone who read it heard the witch’s screams in their dreams at night.
A more uplifting tale surrounds a spell book from Sussex, England. This book of shadows survived fire and flood, through many generations, keeping alive the legacy of its writers and remains with its coven even today.
This is a very heated topic in some circles because some people feel very passionately about differentiating magic vs. magick. But what are we actually differentiating? Is there really a difference between magic and magick? Does adding the “k” really make any difference in the meaning? Should we even be using the “k?” What is the point?
According to some sources, the word “magick” is quite old, showing up in translations as early as 1651. The earliest use of the spelling of “magick” is that by Heinreich Cornelius Agrippa. Agrippa was a 16th-century physician, occultist and philosopher. Agrippa’s works (primarily his Three Books on Occult Philosophy) were arguably some of the most important works written in Western Occultism often being referred to as its foundation.
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
However, as with most words in the English language, letters were later dropped with words such as shoppe becoming shop, olde becoming old, and magick becoming magic. It wasn’t until the Victorian Period that the k was brought back by Aleister Crowley. During this period, mesmerism and spiritualism were captivating audiences across Europe, especially in England. He defined magick famously as “the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will” in his book Magick In Theory and Practice. His public explanation for the spelling was to distinguished this with the magic of fairytales, folklore and stage magician slight-of-hand. Today, many witches still follow this practice, using magick to describe their craft and rituals while using magic to describe illusions and tricks. Some occult practitioners today still prefer the “k” feeling that the magic which they work with is the same as the magic of folklore and legend.
Sage, from exemplore.com sums it up perfectly. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales:
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
My spell check is having conniption fits. That’s Middle English; Old English is even more unrecognizable. Moral of the story: we don’t speak Middle English anymore. So why pluck the spelling of one isolated word out of the past? We have standardized spelling since then, and the word magic in our standardized modern spelling doesn’t have a ‘k’.
Some will argue “but that’s how witches spelled it back then.” Maybe, but they also spelled it Aprille instead of April, and shoures instead of showers like Chaucer. Back then, the ‘k’ was not an attempt to sound archaic; it was the actual spelling. Things have changed.
I agree with her. When I see that many red lines under words, it sets off my anxiety that I am spelling things wrong but unfortunately, it is all accurate.
Spelling magic with a ‘k’ has become a very common thing in the Pagan community at large, particularly with Wiccans. As Wicca exploded in popularity in the 90’s, and more and more books came out, almost all of them seemed to include that ‘k’—books were not about magic, they were about magick . Gerald Gardner—Wicca’s founder—used magic in all of his writings. So did Doreen Valiente. It’s often mistakenly believed to be a Wiccan tradition. There’s no actual historical relevance to the ‘k’ in Wicca.
Aleister Crowley
On that note, Aleistor Crowley is often credited with having brought it back into our century but he also made things up and changed many words and meanings without regards to the rules of language construction or grammar. His works are considered controversial because a lot of it is untrue and created with the end product of mesmerizing his followers, not staying true to the actual old ways of magic. I read his works for the historical knowledge of the changing times and his influence on others who enabled pagan religions to stand out and excel, and not so much for accurate material I can apply to my own craft.
It makes no difference in pronunciation. The only time it can be seen as relevant is in writing. When you write about witchcraft, spells, or famous magicians like John Dee, do you really believe that without the ‘k’ people would think you meant sawing a lady in half? When you, as a pagan, talk about magic with someone, rarely are they going to think you mean card tricks.
When my friends ask me what witchy things I am up to today, they know I am not going to ask them to pick a card. They know that I am probably burning candles and herbs and meditating in my circle and potentially casting spells or making sachets to help me in life.
So what is the correct spelling of the word? Who cares? Spell it however you want. Spell it medjuke if you want. The most important thing is your intention in influencing your magic works.
