The New Calendar
A long time ago—the year 45 BCE to be precise—Julius Caesar instituted the Julian calendar and the new year was officially celebrated on January 1. Being that the Julian calendar was slightly out of step with the actual length of the solar year (by roughly eleven minutes per year), adjustments were made at the insistence of Pope Gregory XIII, and in the year 1582 the Gregorian calendar was born. This calendar brought the “wandering” days into alignment so that the year always begins on January 1.
Happy New Year
Celebrating the new year is one of those universal holidays. Every year you can watch television coverage of celebrations all over the world in dozens of different countries and cultures; that so many people focus on a single event and purpose is absolutely magical to me. For the typical modern New Year’s Eve celebration, most of us are already used to getting our supplies from the supermarket, so not much adjustment is be needed from the usual champagne, hors d’ oeuvres, party hats, and noisemakers.
The underlying theme of the New Year’s celebration is renewal; in a fashion similar to Samhain, we can bid farewell to the old year and build hope for the new. As such, a focus of magical work for this time is on cleansing of any unresolved or problematic energy that may linger from the previous year.
Simmering Potpourri
A simple way to charge the atmosphere of the home with a blast of “fresh start” energy is to use this potpourri.
Happy New Year’s Potpourri
Cut up the citrus fruit and place in a pot with just enough water to cover. Charge the ingredients to provide cleansing and renewal and allow the mixture to simmer on low, adding water as needed, for as long as desired to freshen the atmosphere of the home.
Brews
The classic beverage for a New Year’s celebration is of course champagne, which magically relates to abundance, celebration, divine love, and harmony with nature. The bubbles of champagne can be helpful in releasing its energy. To add to the natural properties of champagne, we can prepare a simple mixture that can bolster our wishes and hope for the future in a magically festive fashion.
New Year’s Champagne Punch Potion
Make just before serving. Prepare the fruit and add it to a punch bowl. Pour in the brandy and triple sec or liqueur (if used), then add the champagne (or ginger ale) and club soda. Stir lightly to combine and charge with intent. Either add a sprig of mint to each glass or float them in the bowl as garnish.
Incense
This incense is crafted to not only cleanse the atmosphere and bring renewal but also to offer the energy to help manifest our intent.
Unfolding Renewal Incense
Combine the herbs in a bowl, mixing them with your fingers. Charge the incense with the energy of purification and happiness. Bottle and use as desired.
Incense Spell
In addition to using this incense as a general atmosphere cleanser, it can be used to amplify the intent of a New Year’s resolution; transforming it from an affirmation exercise into a magical spell.
Unleashing the Resolve
Write what you resolve to accomplish in the new year on the piece of paper and mentally (and emotionally) pour all of your desire to achieve the goal or goals into it. Light the candle and also the charcoal in the cauldron and when it is glowing and ready, smolder the incense. Hold the paper in your hands visualizing yourself having accomplished your goal(s), then light the paper in the candle’s flame and drop it in the cauldron over the incense (or on the dish) and say,
For good of all and by free will, let this magic now fulfill;
what is sought shall be claimed,
all goals are reached, even those unnamed;
The work is done, the power set free,
as I desire, so mote it be.
Once the incense is completely cooled, bury the ashes in the ground or in a flowerpot.
Oils
This oil formula can be used to increase energy and shore up your motivation to follow through and achieve those New Year’s resolutions magical or otherwise.
Get Up and Go Oil
Add the grapefruit zest and coffee to the corn oil in a pot and warm over low heat until you can smell the aroma in the air. Remove from heat and allow to cool before adding the sesame oil. Strain, bottle, and charge with your intent.
Oil Spell
A good way to enhance your motivation to reach your goals is to work a bit of candle magic. This spell can be used to focus your energy and channel it into accomplishing your objectives. To have “fire in the belly” is an expression usually used to denote having the burning desire and determination to accomplish a goal. With magic, we can take this concept and go further than mere metaphor; we can infuse ourselves with that determination via the food we eat and the energy we channel and express.
Fire in the Belly
Have a prepared cupcake or slice of cake, homemade or store bought. Carefully anoint the birthday candle with a little bit of the oil; while holding it with your fingers, fill yourself with a sense of determination to reach whatever goal you have in mind and transfer this feeling into the candle. Press the candle halfway into the cupcake and visualize that as you do, the energy is charging the cake with your intent in a similar manner as an athame charging water in a cup. When you are ready, light the candle and to seal the spell say:
Flame of passion to reach my goal,
brought to bear in this confection;
I’m filled with desire evermore
to achieve my purpose with new direction.
Allow the candle to burn itself down to the cake and once it is out (snuff it with a spoon if necessary), eat a few bites of the cake to absorb the magic. Eat around the candle as much as you want, and then bury the remains in the ground or in a flowerpot.
Powders
When hosting a gathering such as a party for New Year’s, an important consideration that can get easily overlooked in the frenzy of preparation is that of security. With so many people gathered together it can be difficult to weed out party crashers or unsavory people. Even if you aren’t hosting an event, magical methods for warding away or dispelling unwelcome people or energies are always good to have on hand. Though this does count as a powder, it is not a typical formula. Chances are you already have these ingredients on hand.
Shield Powder
Using a mortar and pestle, spice grinder, or coffee grinder, blend the salt and pepper together into fine powder. You may want to cover your mouth and nose with one of those surgical face masks people sometimes wear to avoid the flu as all the pepper can be irritating. After they have been blended pour the salt/pepper mixture into the shaker. Charge it with the energy of protection. When you wish to use this powder, sprinkle it from the shaker along the walls of each room indoors as if you are seasoning the perimeter of your home. To seal the intention, as you use the powder, say this spell:
Salt and pepper join together
to keep me safe from harm,
powerful magic weaves the shield;
a circle of power around this home.
Charms
Though charms are often thought of as bags of herbs or carefully crafted metal disks engraved with archaic sigils (both are powerful forms of magic), this charm is much more basic. But with determination, clear intention, and energy, it can be just as powerful.
Noisy New Year’s Wish Charm
Have a clear wish in mind before activating this as a charm. Ideally, obtain a photograph or drawing of what you wish or have something that symbolizes your wish to you. For the noisemaker, at this time of year there are usually multiple styles available. My favorite version is the blower type that unfurl as the noise is made but any style will do. Place the picture under the white candle. Light the candle, pick up the noisemaker, and focus all your energy and attention on your wish. Hold the noisemaker over the candle (high enough to avoid burning yourself, of course) and picture. Say:
To gain a wish on New Year’s night,
I place my intention into this charm;
when the air is filled with cheerful noise,
desire be granted with toot of horn!
Extinguish the candle and wrap the horn in natural cloth, saving it until midnight.
As the time draws near, take out the horn and focus your thoughts on your wish. When midnight comes and it is time, blow the horn and visualize the energy being released to grant your wish; see the wish already fulfilled. Keep the horn as a keepsake until the magic manifests.
Foods
The celebration of New Year’s Eve usually constitutes some form of party and a party usually calls for hors d’ oeuvres. In keeping with the magical theme of this particular holiday, this appetizer is attuned to the power of success, transformation, and purification.
Magical Cheese Bites
In a bowl, mash the cream cheese and goat cheese together and once combined, cover with plastic wrap and chill for half an hour. When ready, scoop out little balls of the cheese mixture and roll them in the ground pistachios. Continue until all the cheese has been used. Set the hors d’ oeuvres on their serving platter and charge them with intent before serving.
Each season has an elemental influence that tends to predominate, and many (if not most) practitioners believe the earth element has the greatest influence for the season of winter. In winter, the earth in her dormant state is very dominant. We can align with this energy for purification among other things. A brief but relevant digression is needed here; each element has the ability to purify, albeit through slightly different means. The purification of which I speak is not to be rid of anything “sinful,” “unclean,” or “evil,” but rather a transformation of energies; freeing oneself of anything that may be harmful or counterproductive to your highest good. We strip the energy that is present of any incorrect intentions, replacing them with the intention of blessing. It is always best when removing or banishing something (even “just” intention) to replace what is lost with some form of blessing, lest any random vibe be drawn into the vacuum.
Returning to the subject at hand, the ideal purification for wintertime (also perfectly timed for the new calendar year) is to use a specially formulated bath salt. The ingredients of this bath salt formula are all rich and earthy and aid purification. Add it to a nice soak in a hot bath or put a handful of the salts in a washrag and use it to scrub your skin while showering. Incidentally, Epsom salt can usually be found in the health and beauty aisle of most supermarkets.
Bath Salts
The base for most bath salts is Epsom salt (a magnesium sulfate), sea salt or table salt, and a small bit of baking soda, which helps minimize any potential skin irritation.
Winter Purification Bath Salt
Mix the Epsom salt, sea salt, and baking soda in a bowl to combine. Place the rosemary into the jar and pour the salt mixture over it. Holding your hands over the jar, charge the bath salts with purification and blessing energies. Put the lid on the jar and store in a dry, dark place for at least three days to allow the salts to absorb some of the energy and fragrance from the rosemary. Use as desired.
Witch Bottles
This bottle is another that should be more of a diorama in that it should be constructed not only from the herbs and materials aligned with your intention, but also be constructed so that just by looking at it, you are reminded of your magical goal; the look of the witch bottle should be related to its purpose.
Three Realms Bottle
Pour the ground coffee into the bottle. The coffee is not only to lend energy but also to represent the realm of Land. Layer the raisins over the coffee; the raisins correspond to the realm of Sea. Next, add the sunflower seeds which not only stand for the sun but also the realm of Sky. With the three realms in place, it is time to build your magical intent by adding ingredients that symbolize your goal. As an example, for love you could add sugar which is attuned to Venus, some cardamom, and two hearts cut from citrus peels that are then dried. Lemons are a bit more attuned to yin energies, oranges to yang, and limes could be used for anywhere along the spectrum. Personal items such as hair, nail clippings, or photographs can also be added at this time.
This bottle does not have to be limited to love magic; any goal can be built into the bottle. All that is needed is a goal and to look up what ingredients can be added that will match the goal. See the Ingredient Table of Correspondence list at the back of the book for ideas. Whatever goal is chosen, carefully craft a pleasant looking arrangement on top of the realm layers, summon up your energy, and charge the bottle with your intent. Place the lid on the bottle and to seal the spell, say the following (or something similar):
The three great realms of life combine
and fuse with my magical intent.
To bring about [state goal] divine,
the bottle is sealed and message sent.
Keep the bottle where you will be able to see it but it won’t be disturbed by other people.
Witchy Ways
Nothing puts a damper on a holiday celebration like catching a cold. While science has yet to bless us with cures for the common cold or the flu, magically minded folks have come up with concoctions to “treat” or ward off illnesses, but as author Judika Illes reminds us, “healing spells are not intended to be used instead of conventional, traditional, or other methods of healing. Instead, they work best in conjunction with them, reinforcing other systems, enhancing their power and likelihood of recovery.” 3 Making sure that there are no food allergies involved, using culinary herbs and ingredients in a healing practice is usually safe and sometimes surprisingly effective. Since this timeframe is deep into the cold of winter, it may be helpful to have a recipe for a food-based mixture to help strengthen the body and ward off sickness.
Healing Herbal Honey
Warm the honey over low heat until it is just heated through. Remove from heat and stir the herbs into the honey before it cools. Pour the mixture into a clean mason jar or bottle and allow to cool before putting the lid on. At this time, charge the mixture with pure, white light for healing. After you put on the lid, store the honey in a cool, dark place such as a cabinet for two weeks to allow the ingredients to mingle, stirring occasionally to evenly distribute the herbs.
Once the honey is ready, it can be added to teas, sauces, salad dressings, cakes, or breads as needed for both flavor and magical healing energy. The honey can be stored in a cabinet or in the refrigerator.
New Year’s Shopping List
3 Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells (New York: HarperElement, 2004), 334.