True Magic
When people think of the word magic, the average person probably thinks of Samantha in "Bewitched" twitching her nose to turn a cat into a horse, or of Macbeth's three witches standing around the cauldron while chanting,
"Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog..." But magic has nothing to do with the supernatural. True magic comes from within ourselves. It can only work within the boundaries of natural law, but it can seem to happen miraculously, simply because most people don't understand the extent of the natural laws that we are dealing with. The fundamental idea behind this is that the thoughts you put out into the cosmos are a form of energy, and this attracts other energy in many forms. Your brain is like a radio beacon that is constantly sending out messages...and the universe (or the gods) receive those messages and transmit a reply back to us in one form or another.
"Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog..." But magic has nothing to do with the supernatural. True magic comes from within ourselves. It can only work within the boundaries of natural law, but it can seem to happen miraculously, simply because most people don't understand the extent of the natural laws that we are dealing with. The fundamental idea behind this is that the thoughts you put out into the cosmos are a form of energy, and this attracts other energy in many forms. Your brain is like a radio beacon that is constantly sending out messages...and the universe (or the gods) receive those messages and transmit a reply back to us in one form or another.
Thoughts are energy, and words are powerful. These are two truths that are the basis of spell work. There is a natural law that states that on a metaphysical level, like attracts like. By visualising an object and affirming to yourself that you want this item to manifest in your life, you are sending a clear message to the universe and to your subconscious as to what you want...and the cosmos will listen...and a corresponding image to the one you sent out will soon find its way to you. What we send out in thoughts and words, we attract to ourselves. What you think and what you say has more power than you can imagine. This is a type of magic in itself. We use this type of "spell" all the time, mostly without realising it. How often do you say to yourself or others, "I'm always broke, there's just never enough money to go around!" And what's the result? That's a form of magic that you are working against yourself every day. Some other examples that I hear people say are: "As soon as I stop dieting, I put weight back on," and "My car is always breaking down." In this article, we will be looking at using this same principle, but we will turn it around so that this form of magic works for us to enhance our lives.
Magic is a natural process that can be easily accomplished. It is a wonderful demonstration of the power that we each have to bring about change in our lives, and in our world around us. The life energy within us, and the universal forces that surround us, are energies of specific vibrations. In order to create magic, we simply need to attune with the vibrations of what we desire, and we need to know how to send the message of our needs to our subconscious and the universe. Spells are practical tools that help us to attune with our desires, and then, in conjunction with our will, we direct this power inwards and outwards to ensure manifestation. As Aleister Crowley said... "Magic is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will." The subconscious mind is the source of the personal power used in magic. And spells are an effective way to convey messages to the subconscious because spells incorporate symbols - and symbolism is the language of the subconscious. Know that words have power. And when words are used in conjunction with symbols, then the results are magical!
In the book "Myth, Religion, and Mother Right", the author J.J. Bachofen eloquently describes the power of symbolism: "Human language is too feeble to convey all the thoughts aroused by the alternation of life and death and the sublime hopes of the initiate. Only the symbol awakens intimations; speech can only explain. The symbol plucks all the strings of the human spirit at once; speech is compelled to take up a single thought at a time. The symbol strikes its roots in the most secret depths of the soul; language skims over the surface of the understanding like a soft breeze. The symbol aims inward; language outward. Only the symbol can combine the most disparate elements into a unitary impression. Language deals in successive particulars; it expresses bit by bit what must be brought home to the soul at a single glance if it is to affect us profoundly. Words make the infinite finite, symbols carry the spirit beyond the finite world of becoming into the realm of infinite being. "From what we have described so far, I'm hoping that you now realise that magic comes from within. And the more energy that you put into creating a spell, the better the result will be. For a spell to be effective, you cannot simply say words from a spell book and hope for the best, you have to know how to put power into the spell.
The spell is not the magic, it is only by putting power into a spell that you create the magic.
Ask for what you need
If you don't need it, don't ask for it. The magical power of a spell is driven by a true need; if you're asking for a second yacht, you probably won't get any results that you would like.
Don't fence yourself in
The most likely reason for a spell to fail is if you're asking for something too specific - you want to give yourself and the universe as much room to maneuver as you can. Don't focus on details, focus on the feeling you want to have when things work out right. Close your eyes and try to find that feeling "out there;" if you find it, either move toward it or reach out and bring it toward you.
Pay attention to the tides
The second most likely reason for a spell to fail is if the time is just wrong. Remember that spells work within the bounds of nature, and sometimes the wind and the tides are working against you. When that happens, the best thing you can do is to put a finger to the wind and figure out where you can go, working with the natural flow of things; or just wait it out until the tides shift in your direction.
Give something back
If you're asking for something, it's a good idea to offer something in return, at least as a token gesture - a flower, or a bit of food, or a coin, for instance (no live animals, please).
Remember other people are using magic too, whether they know it or not:
Most people have some natural magical ability, whether they know it or not, and an instinct for taking care of themselves. If you try to cast a spell that is inherently detrimental to another person, you will meet resistance from that person's magical energy. The magical universe is a crowded place, and things will work out best for you if you manage to navigate a path that avoids direct conflict with your fellow beings.
Follow up with mundane action
Another important point about spells is that it's very important to follow up with mundane action. If you cast a spell for money, don't expect a check to just show up in your mailbox the next day; get out and look for a job, or at least buy a lottery ticket (magic doesn't work terribly well with those, by the way, because everybody who buys a lottery ticket throws a bit of magic into it, whether they know what they're doing or not). The idea is to make a point of putting yourself into situations where the magic has a chance of working.
Magick and The Creative Process
Each of us creates every moment of his or her entire life by sending out thoughts, feelings, emotions, prayers or declarations into the Matrix, being the energy weavings of the universe. We can send out new thougths that might change the energy patterns, or repeat old thoughts that will (re)create more of the old energy forms, or we may be influenced by the ideas and emotions of others and help so reinforce their energy patterns.
We are not only sending energy, at the same time we are receiving the energy of the thoughts and feelings of others. If their thoughts and feelings contain truth for us, we might incorporate that energy as 'our own', what means that your thoughts don't necessarily have to be your own thoughts!
To understand the creative process we need to understand the basics of it:
The power of belief.
The more you believe that what you think and feel is true, the more certainty you add to the energy you send out, and the bigger the change that it will take form in the physical world. Also the more you think the universe will grant it you, the greater the certainty that you will receive it. Be thankful beforehand, knowing that it is already existing and will appear in the physical world.
The power of united souls.
The more persons think, feel or pray the same thing, the larger the amount of a certain energy capable of causing changes.
The power of repetition.
The more often you think or feel the same thing, the more belief and certainty about it you raise in your mind, so the more powerful your sent out energy becomes. Choose the same thing over and over again.
The power of clarity of mind.
Make sure that you know what to choose; that way you send out equal messages to the universe.
The power of similarity.
Like attracts like! You will attract that what you send out, so if your thoughts contain a lot of fear of disease for instance, you will attract disease as a magnet. If you send out thoughts of love and kindness, you will suddenly notice that unknown people smile at you and greet you.
The power of the basic emotions love and fear.
At the base of every thought or emotion (or behind the conscious thought/emotion) lies one of these two emotions. If the basis is love, you will have ideas like: there is enough for everyone, I am good enough to ask this, the Universe will grant it me, I am thankful for life and its treasures... You will feel self-trust, self-love and self-confidence, inner peace and union with the All. A basic thought of love will add enormous power to your creative force.
If the basis is fear, you will think things like: there is never enough, I won't get it, I don't deserve it, I am not good enough, I have not done enough, I will lose it again, what if it does not work. You will experience fears and worries, doubts and insecurities, and you regard yourself as separate from the infinite Source. A basic thought of fear will severely diminish your power to create.
The power of taking responsibility.
If you take responsibility for your life than you can find the strength to make conscious changes in it. If everybody around you has done it, or fate, and you consider yourself a helpless victim, then how could you even believe that you could influence your own life in a positive way?
Of course you are not personally responsible for big events like wars, earthquakes or tornadoes; these occurrences are often called upon by our group-consciousness. Also many personal issues are often created by more persons than just you. But you surely are responsible for your reactions on and decisions towards all events. Do you try to find a positive solution or do you sit down effortless in self-pity? (Discouragement creates the same thing over and over).
The power of attention.
What you give attention to will be realized. This means that the love you feel for the things you like to realize will attract them to you. This also implies that suppression of 'bad' or 'ugly' parts of our personality only contributes to their existence. After all you have to put quite some energy in the denial of these characteristics by trying to think them away. It is much more beneficial to accept that we all have our 'good' and 'bad' qualities, and that we choose whether we want to live as a sinner or a saint.
Observe 'the horrible you' without judging it, decide what kind of person you want to be, and begin to think and act in a new way. Mind torturers like fears, worries, anger and grief can disappear if you simply let them be, accept them without putting energy in it. The feelings you dare to confront without holding on can pass through you like clouds.
The power of thought control.
If you notice yourself thinking something that you don't wish to think, simply consider how you want to think over that subject or person and. Send out the new thought. It is like copying out a page on a computer!
The power of not accepting no.
Declare your truth completely, friendly, but determinedly. If people argue about it simply agree that you can understand their point of view, but... repeat your truth in a firm friendly way... until you get what you want. This is the famous technique of assertiveness trainings known as the 'broken gramophone record'. In fact the creative process is a big personally adapted mind-control program. Better to control your own mind then having it done by others!
There are three levels in creating:
- Think about what you want. Speak it out or write it down (not necessarily in the company of others, since they might diminish the belief in yourself by questioning your mental sanity) act as if it is already existing, smell it, taste it,
- Visualize it. On the more levels you are creating, the greater the materializing force you set into motion. Usually we start the creating process at step 1, but it can also start at step 2 (remember the occasions where you heard yourself say something and realized later how much truth you spoke?) and the quickest way is to start at step 3: act in a new way and afterwards
- Think about it.What you think of, you create. And what you create you experience, and your experience is the basis for what you will think of next. Enjoy creating simply for the joy of creating and remain free from expectations. How others react on your creations is their responsibility, not yours. But if you try to create for the highest good of all, you can hardly go wrong. Dare to change your mind if necessary. Don't ask for guarantees.
If life is created over and over again, changing from minute to minute, how can we guarantee anything except that life will be life? If you don't like a certain outcome, know that you are a magician and change it!
Author: Anja Heij
The Art of Casting Spells
"A spell is a symbolic act
done in an altered state of consciousness
in order to cause a desired change."
To cast a spell is to project energy through a symbol. It is important to note that the energy is what is key, not the symbol; too often, the symbols are mistaken for the agent that casts the spell. While props are useful at times, it is the mind that works the magic. Correspondences between colors, planets, metals, numbers, plants and minerals, and musical notes make up a great deal of magical lore, and particular objects, shapes, colors, scents, and images do work better than others to embody certain ideas. The most powerful spells are often improvised from materials that feel right or that simply happen to come to hand, however.
Theory of Spellcasting
Spells are an important aspect of magical training. They require the use of the combined faculties of relaxation, visualization, concentration and projection. The casting of spells provides practice in coordinating these skills and developing them further. Spells are extremely sophisticated psychological tools that have subtle, but important, effects on a person's inner growth. Spells may highlight otherwise hidden complexes of the person casting the spell.
A person who has conflicts about success will find great difficulty in concentrating on a money spell, for example. Many times the practical results of a spell are far less important than the psychological insights that arise during the magical work, for discovering our inner blocks and fears is the first step in overcoming them. Spells also go one step further than most forms of psychotherapy, in that they allow us not only to listen to and interpret the unconscious, but also to speak to it in the language it understands. Symbols, images, and objects used in spells communicate directly with Younger Self, who is the guardian of our emotions and who is barely affected by the intellect. We often understand our feelings and behavior but find ourselves unable to change them, but through spells, we can attain the most important power - the power to change our lives.
Spellcasting also forces us to come to terms with the material world. Many people attracted to the spiritual path of the Craft find themselves uneasy with using magic for practical or material goals. Somehow it seems wrong to work magic for oneself, to want things and to get things. This is an attitude which is a holdover of the Judeo-Christian world view that sees spirit and matter as separate and that identifies matter with evil and corruption. In the Craft, flesh, the material world, none of what is commonly thought of as matter is separate from spirit. The universe is made up of the Goddess who is manifest in all things. Union with the Goddess comes through embracing the material world and all the gifts that She has placed in it for us. Our major task on this plane of existence is to become masters of this realm of manifestation. We do not fight self-interest; we follow it, but with an awareness that transmutes it into something sacred.
Mechanics of Spellcasting
Spellcasting is the lesser, not the greater magic; but the greater magic builds on the lesser. The paradox is that in spellcasting we may start out working with the personal self, but in order to work the magic we are forced to expand and recognize the Self that moves through all beings.
Magic involves the deliberate self-identification with other objects and people. For example, to do a healing, we must become the healer, the one who is healed, and the energy that is to do the healing. To attract love, we must be able to love ourselves and to become love its self.
Spells work in two basic ways. The first is through suggestion; symbols and images implant certain ideas in Younger Self, or the subconscious mind, and we are then influenced to actualize those ideas. Spells can also influence the external world. The theoretical model that witches use to explain the workings of magic is a clear one and coincides in many ways with the "new" physics. It is simply an elaborate but extremely useful metaphor. The metaphor is based on a world view that sees things not as fixed objects, but as vortexes of energy. The physical world is formed by the vortexes of energy, and if we cause a change in the energy patterns they, in turn, cause a change in the physical world. When our own energy is concentrated and channeled, it can move the broader energy currents. The images and objects used in spells are the channels. They are the vessels through which our power is poured, and by which it is shaped.
As energy is directed into the images we visualize, it gradually manifests physical form and takes shape in the material world. Directing energy is not a matter of simply emoting. Emotion can be likened to a strobe light which provides a very inconstant light, while directed energy is more like a laser beam. Even concentrated power is a small stream compared with the vast surges of energy that surround us. The most adept witch cannot be successful in all her spells, for the opposing currents are often too strong. The craft teaches to first identify the flow of energy and then to decide whether or not it is going where we want it to go. If it is not, then we can try to deflect it, or we may have to change our own course. Sensing the energy climate is a matter of intuition and experience. Some witches make a study of Astrology in an effort to plan their magical workings at the optimal times, while others prefer to work when they feel the time is right. Of all the planets, the Moon's influence on subtle energies is the strongest. Subtle power increases as the Moon waxes, so the time of the waxing Moon is best for spells involving growth or increase, such as money spells. The power peaks when the Moon is full and that is the best time for workings of culmination and love. During the waning Moon, power subsides and turns inward. The waning Moon's period is used for banishings, bindings, and discovering hidden secrets. The practical witch soon learns to adjust her spells to fit the time of the Moon. If, for example, she needs to do a money spell during the waning Moon, she would put a little 'English' on it and make it a poverty banishing spell.
Energy pursues the path of least resistance. Material results are more easily achieved on this plane of existence through physical actions than through magical workings. For example, it is simpler to lock your door than suffer the constant drain from maintaining psychic seals on your doors and windows while you are away from home. Of course, once you have locked your door, you might feel more reassured by placing seals on it. No magic spell is going to bring results unless channels are opened into the material world. For example, a job spell is useless if you are not willing to go out and interview for jobs or at least let potential employers know that you are in the market for one. In the same vein, a healing spell is no substitute for medical care. Most medicine today can be broken down into two broad categories, emergency medicine and that which is not needed for immediate life-threatening situations. Emergency medicine has excelled at stabilizing the body's condition so that it can repair itself at its own pace. Most other forms of medicine consist of treatment through surgery or chemotherapy or a combination of both. The procedures noted above work on the physical body and do not take the other levels into consideration. Psychic healing works at healing the higher levels of the person so that the physical heals itself or allows the person to let go of their physical body if it cannot be repaired. In either case, the choice rests with the person who is being healed and not the healer.
Visualization used in creating a spell should focus on the desired result, not the individual steps leading up to the result. We give the spell free rein in how it goes about achieving the results with the understanding that it is not to bring harm to anyone or any being. For this reason, spells have a habit of working in very unexpected ways. To assure that the power we have unleashed does not inadvertently cause harm, we bind the spell. This serves to 'set' the form we have created so that the energy becomes fixed in the pattern we desire. The energy we project to others affects us even more strongly than the other person. This is because we have generated the energy, and thus we have become the object at which the energy is directed. If healing energy is sent out, then the health of the person casting the spell is enhanced. By the same token, any hex or curse that is sent out ALWAYS affects the person who sends it no matter whether it affected the person it was sent at or not. MAGIC IS NOT TO BE USED TO GAIN POWER OVER OTHERS. Magic is a technique used in developing your own 'power from within.' Spells that are directed at gaining power over others weaken the 'power from within.' Aside from the damage done to oneself, it is important for another reason. Many people who do not understand the laws of magic are afraid of being attacked magically and are given to paranoia. The witch's main stock-in-trade used to be removing a competitor's hexes and preparing charms to protect their clients. While true psychic attacks are EXTREMELY RARE, a person's guilt makes up for any lack, and after using 'forbidden' help, their paranoia leads them to seek protection from the same person they just turned to in desperation. Do yourself a favor, and resist the temptation to 'help' these types. Most magical formularies consist of formulae gathered and tested by witches as well as many charms to protect the common man from those same witches who sold them their charms.
Times and Correspondences
I mentioned earlier that timing and the right props are considered important in spellcasting. Over the years, systems of Correspondences were developed which assigned certain attributes and aspects to the seven ancient planets of Astrology. Each planet was assigned a God or Goddess, who embodies the attributes the ancients wished to invoke. Each of the Gods and Goddesses were assigned an hour of the day, color, incense, metal, number, signature, plant, mineral, musical note, and animal or bird.
General Guidelines for Casting Spells
Set aside a room for your magical work. Decorate it with things that put you in a magical mood. Remember to use things that stimulate all five of your physical senses. Some obvious things would be the use of appropriate colors for sight, incense for scent, music for hearing, wines for taste, and textures for feel. If you do not have a room you can set aside exclusively for your magical work, then choose a room that can be locked while you do your work. This will allow you to work undisturbed. In any case, you should clean your work area periodically with a purifying powder/floorwash to keep away negative vibrations. Set up an altar to be used as your worktable. It's size and shape should be those that appeal to you. Placing candles and other items that assist you to concentrate on the work at hand is a good practice. Some people like to cover their altar with a white cloth and place fresh cut flowers on it every day. Always use the best candles, oils, and incenses that you can afford, or make your own, for scrimping on materials has a negative effect on the subconscious. Don't forget that the subconscious is very good at making do with raw materials that it can shape to its own use.
Never cast a spell until you have a clear and concise picture of what it is you wish to accomplish. This ties in with the saying "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."
Always ground out any extra energy you raise for the spell, and bind the spell so that it expires within the pre-determined amount of time. Once you have cast the spell, do not discuss it with any one until after it has worked. Most spells peter out because the person who cast it boasts about it to so many people, that the spell is robbed of power before it has a chance to work. The ancient bond placed on the magician was to dare, to know and to keep silent.
Above all, at all times, remember the Rede: "An ye harm none, do what you will." You do not know all the effects of your spell, therefore, use magick sparingly, if at all.
FROM
http://gypsymagicspells.blogspot.com/2010/08/art-of-casting-spells.html
