Instruction and Applied Magic
Originally, she lived in the last house on the outskirts of the village. Or he may have dwelled on a mountaintop. She could have been a wandering mystic; he, a hermit, enclosed in a turret with a view of miles of countryside.
These were special persons, living outside the boundaries of society, possessed of the “mystic temperament.” (Thanks to Ray T. Malbrough, author of Charms, Spells & Formulas, for this term) that impelled them to seek out lonely places. In their isolation they studied plants, minerals, the stars, and arcane manuscripts. Every morning, villagers and farmers would come to their homes, bearing vegetables and chickens, along with requests for ritual acts. By moonlight, the magicians would work the rituals that brought the people’s needs into manifestation.
After many years of such an existence, a student appeared, moved in, and began learning the ancient secrets. The magician became the magical teacher. Watching and listening, the student eventually reaped the benefits of a lifetime of lonely practice.
This romantic vision of past magicians, and of the manner in which they trained their successors, lives on in the dreams of contemporary practitioners. Oh, to go back to those times and learn from a real teacher! To live a fully magical life unhindered by a job, bills, taxes, and other unnecessary distractions of our everyday lives!
The vision is appealing, but it is no longer possible. We exist in a highly technological world. The most remote places can be reached in a few days by jet, automobile, train, horseback, and/or on foot. The old ways—the old magicians—are still present in what we ungraciously term “Third World countries,” but they are apt to listen to the radio at night, vote, and register their cars. Spells may be interrupted by the ringing of telephones, and hard currency often replaces the food once used as payment for their ritual works.
Yet, the dream continues. People still feel that they need teachers, those gifted individuals who can distill the fruits of their experiences and pass them on to others. Seekers read books and magazines, attend classes and workshops. If they’re willing to part with a great deal of money, they spend a weekend with a highly visible expert to learn of shamanism, healing, crystals, and many other topics—in the company of 100 to 300 other fellow seekers.
After the flurry of learning, after the chants have been memorized and the notes filed away, even after the student has become proficient at magic, she or he may yearn for more: a wandering mystic with all knowledge. A hermit. Moonlit rituals at the side of an untamed magician locked in the fastness of a primeval forest!
Such things were possible only during earlier times, when few cared to penetrate the artificial veil that societies create between the physical and the nonphysical worlds. There were few teachers, but that didn’t matter because there were few students. Today, when tens of thousands desire to penetrate that veil to learn of magic, there aren’t enough teachers to fulfill their needs. A direct, face-to-face, one-on-one learning experience simply isn’t possible for all seekers.
What’s the answer for the many thousands of disappointed seekers?
Study what you would, and learn your subject well. Comb new and used bookstores for works that cover your area of interest. Frequent your local library. Read everything, but read with discrimination. Remember, not all books are
reliable.
Apply this learning by performing rituals. By actually doing this, you’ll learn from your mistakes. These lessons can be more valuable than those you’d otherwise receive from a teacher.
Keep records. If you aren’t a diligent journaler, at least jot down important facts that you’ve learned in your practice.
Go to the source. Once a week, once a month, or once a year, leave civilization behind and commune with nature. Spend an hour or a weekend in a cave, on a mountain, in the desert. Sense the overwhelming energy of the Earth and your own connection with it inside yourself. Know that as a magician it is these energies that you utilize to create positive change. It is wise to recharge your psychic batteries at regular intervals.
Finally, listen to nature. Nature is the original teacher—She who taught the first magicians. Study the movement of leaves and the ways of animals. Listen to the wind, to the rush of water, to millions of grains of sand bouncing against each other. Watch the sunrise and the sunset. Feel the cycles of the Earth pulsing within yourself.
Nature is the great Mistress of Secrets. If you would be taught, allow yourself to learn. The lessons are all around us in the natural world. We simply have to recapture the ability to hear and to see them.
Continue your search for a teacher, if you feel that it is necessary. You may well find one, but continue to teach yourself.
Study, apply your learning, keep records, go to the source and listen to nature. If you’re serious about making magic a part of your life, you’ll eventually realize that you’ve found the teacher you’ve always wanted.
And it will be you.
Magical Words:
A Short Glossary
Amulet: A magically empowered object that deflects specific (usually negative) energies. It may be carried, worn, or put in a specific place. Compare with Talisman.
Bane: That which destroys life; is useless, poisonous, destructive, or evil.
Baneful: See Bane.
BCE: Before Common Era; the nonreligious equivalent
of BC.
Beltane: A Wiccan religious festival, observed on April 30, that celebrates the burgeoning fertility of the Earth (and, for some Wiccans, the wedding of the Goddess and God).
Blessing: The act of conferring positive energy upon
a person, place, or thing. It is usually a spiritual or
religious practice.
CE: Common Era; the nonreligious equivalent of AD.
Charging: See Empowering.
Charm: A magically empowered object carried to attract positive energies.
Clockwise: The traditional form of movement in positive magic. (If you’re standing facing a tree, move to your left and walk in a circle around it. That’s clockwise motion.) Also known as deosil movement.
Conscious Mind: The analytical, materially based, rational half of our consciousness. Compare with Psychic Mind.
Coven: A closely-knit group of Wiccans who gather for religious observances and magic.
Cursing: The deliberate (and rare) movement of negative energies to affect a person, place, or thing.
Deosil: See Clockwise.
Divination: The magical art of discovering the unknown by interpreting random patterns or symbols. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as “fortune-telling.”
Elements, The: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These four essences are the building blocks of the universe, and ancient magical sources of energy.
Empowering: The act of moving energy into an object.
Energy: A general term for the currently immeasurable
(but real) power that exists within all natural objects
and beings—including our own bodies. It is used in
Folk Magic. See also Personal Power.
Folk Magic: The practice of magic utilizing Personal Power, in conjunction with natural tools, in a nonreligious framework, to cause positive change.
Herb: Virtually any plant used in magic.
Imbolc: A Wiccan religious festival celebrated on February 1st or 2nd that celebrates the first stirrings of spring.
Luck, Good: An individual’s ability to make timely, correct decisions, to perform correct actions, and to place herself or himself in positive situations. “Bad luck” stems from ignorance and an unwillingness to accept self-responsibility.
Lughnasadh: A Wiccan religious festival celebrated on August 1st that marks the first harvest.
Magic: The movement of natural (yet subtle) Energies to manifest positive, needed change. Magic is the process of “rousing” energy, giving it purpose (through Visualization), and releasing it to create a change. This is a natural (not supernatural) practice.
Meditation: Reflection, contemplation, turning inward toward the self or outward toward Deity or nature.
Midsummer: The Summer Solstice, a Wiccan religious festival and a traditional time for magic.
Pagan: From the Latin Paganus, a “country dweller” or “villager.” Today it’s used as a general term for followers of Wicca and other polytheistic, magic-embracing religions. Pagans aren’t Satanists, dangerous, or evil.
Pentagram: An interlaced five-pointed star (one point at its top) that has been used for thousands of years as a protective device. Today the pentagram is also associated with the Element of Earth and with Wicca. It has no evil associations.
Personal Power: That energy which sustains our bodies. We first absorb it from our biological mothers within the womb and, later, from food, water, the Moon and Sun, and other natural objects. We release personal power during stress, exercise, sex, conception, and childbirth. Magic is usually a movement of personal power for a specific goal.
Power: See Energy; Personal Power.
Psychic Attack: See Cursing.
Psychic Awareness: The act of being consciously psychic, in which the Psychic Mind and the Conscious Mind are linked and working in harmony.
Psychic Mind: The subconscious or unconscious mind, in which we receive psychic impulses. The psychic mind is at work when we sleep, dream, and meditate.
Rite: See Ritual.
Ritual: Ceremony. A specific form of movement, manipulation of objects, or inner processes designed to produce desired effects. In Magic it allows the magician to move energy toward needed goals. A Spell is a magical rite.
Runes: Stick-like figures, some of which are remnants of old Teutonic alphabets; others are pictographs. These symbols are once again being widely used in all forms of Magic.
Sabbat: A Wiccan religious festival.
Samhain: A Wiccan religious festival celebrated on October 31, which marks the last harvest and the preparations for winter.
Spell: The mainstay of Folk Magic, spells are simply magical rites. They’re usually nonreligious and often include spoken words.
Spellcraft: An alternate term for Folk Magic.
Talisman: An object ritually Charged with power to attract a specific force or energy to its bearer. Compare with Amulet.
Visualization: The process of forming mental images. Magical visualization consists of forming images of needed goals during magic. It is a function of the Conscious Mind.
Widdershins: Counterclockwise ritual motion.
Wicca: A contemporary Pagan religion with spiritual roots in the earliest expressions of reverence of nature as a manifestation of the divine. Wicca views Deity as Goddess and God; thus it is polytheistic. It also embraces the practice of Magic and accepts reincarnation. Religious festivals are held in observance of the Full Moon and other astronomical (and agricultural) phenomena. It has no associations with Satanism.
Wiccan: Of or relating to Wicca.
Witch: Anciently, a European practitioner of pre-Christian Folk Magic, particularly that relating to herbs, healing, wells, rivers, and stones. One who practiced Witchcraft. Later, this term’s meaning was deliberately altered to denote demented, dangerous beings who practiced destructive magic and who threatened Christianity. This latter definition is false. (Some Wiccans also use the word to describe themselves.)
Witchcraft: The craft of the Witch. Magic, especially magic utilizing Personal Power in conjunction with the energies within stones, herbs, colors, and other natural objects. While this does have spiritual overtones, witchcraft, according to this definition, isn’t a religion. However, some followers of Wicca use this word to denote their religion.
Yule: A Wiccan religious festival celebrated on the Winter Solstice that marks the rebirth of the Sun.
Magic is an old friend. It’s been part of the human experience since the earliest times. Wherever our ancestors wandered in antiquity, they brought with them their most important tools: fire-making stones, weapons, tools of cultivation, bone needles … and magic.
Many today see magic as fantasy: an impossible process recorded only in dusty fairy tales. Just as those who have never used flint might mistrust its use. In creating fire, so too has magic been viewed as a supernatural activity with no roots in reality.
All such doubts vanish in those who have experienced magic, for magic is an experiential art. Those who practice it no longer doubt its effectiveness precisely because they’ve reaped the benefits of this ancient form of transformation. Disbelief becomes knowledge. Only those who have never practiced magic can doubt it as a viable process.
Some claim that magic is supernatural, that its true power stems from evil. From this viewpoint, such persons should also view childbirth, germination of seeds, positive thinking (hope), love, spiritual awareness, exercise, the passage of the seasons, and all other aspects of life as supernatural, for the powers at work in these phenomena are identical with those used in magic.
This concept is, of course, born in those who are out of touch with the Earth and Her mysteries. In a day of artificiality, when we surround ourselves with the things of humans, touching nature can seem to be a dangerous and evil practice.
However, magic is a natural practice, and many of us find the time to explore its shaded byways, uncovering old spells and collecting magical regalia. Once we’ve discovered the information and have acquired the tools, we’re equipped to utilize magic’s timeless mysteries to improve our lives.
Though there are many theories regarding magic, there are some threads of thought that are common to most. These are:
- Magic is effective because it’s natural.
- Magic utilizes natural (but subtle) energies.
- These energies stem from the practitioner, from nature and from certain objects (including candles, colors, stones, herbs, and symbols).
- The magician gathers these energies and transforms them within the self through visualization (the process of creating mental images of the needed change).
- The magician then directs these energies (into a stone, a charm, a river, a candle, an herb, the wind, the ocean, a mountain or cave, an animal or, in healing, a person) so that they can manifest. The magician may also redirect such energies back within herself or himself to create a more immediate personal change.
- Except in extraordinary situations, the changes created by magic won’t instantaneously manifest. A day, week, or month (depending on the nature of the rite) may need to pass for the spell to come to fruition.
This guide to the rationale of magic is indeed simple, but is largely accepted by most magicians who’ve given thought to the inner workings of magic.
Magicians have centuries of guidelines to keep in mind while performing their rites. Despite popular misconceptions, magicians are often of the highest moral caliber. Some magician’s rules include the following:
- Magic is used in emergencies or as the last resort. It isn’t a shortcut.
- Magic is never used to manipulate (even in “positive” ways) another human being without her or his permission.
- Magic is never used to harm anyone or anything, anywhere, at any time, for any reason.
- The magician will not accept payment for magical workings (unless she or he lives in a cashless society, when food may be accepted in trade).
- Magic is a tool for love.
Such guidelines reveal that magic is far from an evil, antisocial art. On the contrary, magicians are utilizing power that has its ultimate source in the life force of the universe. To abuse this energy for destructive acts is against all magical principles. Magicians are the caretakers of the Earth and of all Her species.
The way of magic is the road less traveled. Many fear the responsibility that arcane wisdom brings. Others fear the night. But those of us who have walked this road and have discovered its wonders know that there is nothing to fear. Indeed, the path shines in full moonlight, and that which lies along its twisted way is friendly, comforting, and useful.
Magic may never again enjoy its former popularity, for time has greatly altered the world and all within it. Those of us who continue the old traditions do so out of love and hope. We light candles and smolder incense and pronounce mystic words by the crossroads, secure in our knowledge, and preparing for a brighter tomorrow.
In rural areas today, and everywhere in the past, home remedies were used to treat a variety of illnesses and conditions. Though each family knew some cures or treatments, many villages had at least one wise woman who charmed burns, dispensed medicinal potions, and offered a shoulder on which to cry.
These wise women were anything but amateurs and, in fact, were often more skilled than the “doctors” that intermittently roamed the countryside. They knew the fundamentals of diagnosis and treatment, psychology, midwifery, and a host of related disciplines. Many of the cures that they discovered were later accepted and used by established medical practitioners.
Not bound by religious conventions, these wise women freely mixed magic with medicine so as to strengthen the cure. Herbal medicines were compounded and applied with care and with an awareness of power.
Some of the wise woman’s lore, both magical and medicinal, is herewith appended. Used together, they often affected a cure, or at least relief. (This is for first aid only. Serious conditions deserve attention from doctors or other appropriate healthcare practitioners.)
For Minor Burns
Medicinal: Immediately plunge the area into chilled (not icy) water. Magical: Blow thrice onto the area, saying:
Three ladies came from the east,
One with fire, and two with frost.
Out, fire; in, frost.
For a Cold
Medicinal: Drink ginger tea. Eat a sandwich made from sliced, raw onions on white bread.
Magical: Wear tiger’s eye, garnets, rubies, and/
or carnelian.
To Stop Bleeding
Medicinal: Apply chopped or powdered dried yarrow flowers to small cuts (like those caused by shaving). It acts as a styptic.
Magical: Tie a knot in a red cord. Alternately, thrust the knife or other implement that caused the cut deep into the earth.
For an Upset Stomach
Medicinal: Drink two glasses of peppermint tea. Or, add one drop pure peppermint essential oil to a large glass of water and drink.
Magical: Place a penny in the navel.
To Ease Headache
Medicinal: Suck the juice from a bitter lemon. Vigorously exercise. Smell fresh lavender. Do not lie down.
Magical: Write “Motter Fotter” on a piece of paper and have the sufferer burn it in the company of three witnesses.
For a Toothache
Medicinal: Apply 1 drop oil of cloves to the afflicted root. (See your dentist as soon as possible.)
Magical: Say “Galbes, Galbat, Galdes, Galdat,” over the sufferer. Or remove the stocking from the sufferer’s left foot, fold it crosswise, and place it beneath the pillow at night.
Since antiquity, the Moon has cast an enchantment upon those who walk below it. Early magicians, who did much of the work of cataloging the natural world (a task which was later adopted by scientists), discovered many objects, places, and creatures intimately related to the Moon. This information was duly recorded in spellbooks and magical primers.
What follows is one such modern list of these “lunar things.” This can be used as a guide to creating and performing magical rites empowered by the Moon.
Magical effects: Love, peace, tranquility, sleep, psychic awareness, prophetic dreams, healing, beauty, fertility, childbirth
Qualities: Moist, fertile, nurturing, loving
Rules: Women, the family, mothers, children, the tides, human emotions, gardening, Cancerians
Her Phrases and Magical Operations:
Waxing: All positive operations; beginnings
Full: All manner of rites
Waning: Destroying baneful energies, habits, and disease
Colors: White, silver, iridescent hues
Magical Tool: The Cup
Day of the Week: Monday
Number: 9 (or 3)
Season: Fall
Astrological sign: Cancer
Goddesses: Artemis, Diana, Hecate, Hina, Isis, Lucina, Selene
Gods: Sin, Nanna
Musical Note: B
Sense: Taste
Body: Stomach, breast
Activities: Swimming, sailng, bathing, washing, purifying, cleaning, dreaming, daydreaming, brewing, nursing
Clothing: Garments made of cotton or silk, white robes, white capes, bathing suits, silver jewelry, crescent Moon tiaras, necklaces and rings, white belts
Incense: 1 part frankincense, ½ part sandalwood, ¼ part myrrh, ¼ part white rose petals, a dash poppy seeds
Herbs: Camphor, cucumber, gardenia, jasmine, lemon, lemon balm, lettuce, lily, lotus, myrrh, poppy, pumpkin, sandalwood, seaweed, water lily; white flowered or night-blooming plants
Perfumes: Sandalwood, myrrh, rose water
Woods: Sandalwood, willow
Stones: Aquamarine, beryl, chalcedony, moonstone, pearl, selenite, quartz crystal
Metal: Silver
Symbols: Crescents, mirrors, seashells
Places Ruled: Oceans, beaches, brooks, pools, lakes, rivers, springs, shores, wells, bogs, canals, inns, kitchens, moats, the home, gardens, tubs, bedrooms, fountains, waterfalls, farms, ships at sea
Musical Instrument: Cymbals, gongs, sistrums, resonant metallic instruments
Tarot Suit: Cups
Foods: Coconut, crescent cakes, eggs, fish, ice cream, lemonade, shellfish, soup (most), vanilla pudding, white sauces, yogurt
Drinks: Lemonade, milk, kefir, champagne, white wines
Creatures: Baboon, bat, beaver, cat, chameleon, chicken, clam, cow, crab, elephant, fish (most), goose, hare, heron, horse, otter, owl, panther, rabbit, seal, sea turtle, sheep, shrimp
Fingernails and Magic
Fingernails are ruled by the Moon. Traditionally, nails are cut on the New Moon (or during the waxing Moon) in a fruitful sign (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) for longer, harder nails.
Starting with the little finger of the right hand, cut and file each fingernail in turn. This clockwise motion follows the apparent path of the Sun across the sky.
Trimming your nails on different days of the week brings different magical influences:
- Monday: Prophetic dreams, healing
- Tuesday: Arguments, conflicts
- Wednesday: Wisdom, travel
- Thursday: Wealth, abundance
- Friday: Love, friendships
- Saturday: Aging, sickness
- Sunday: Health
Hourglasses were once one of the main tools of timekeeping. Today they’re rarely found, except in kitchens where they’ve been relegated to timing culinary pursuits. As devices that “keep time,” and due to their unusual construction, hourglasses can be useful magical tools.
The following spells require an hourglass crafted from real wood (or metal) and genuine sand. Ideally, it’ll run for at least one hour. If not, a smaller hourglass will do.
For the sake of clarity, the top portion of the hourglass (from which sand flows) is hereby termed the “sender bulb”; the bottom portion is the “receiver bulb.”
The First Hourglass Spell
(To go into the past)
Sit comfortably before a table. Hold the hourglass in your talented (writing) hand and relax. Breathe deeply, calming your mind, your thoughts, your anxieties (if any).
Turn over the hourglass and set it on the table. It should be high enough so that you can look directly into the running sand and the receiver bulb. Gaze into the sand. As it slips from top to bottom, allow yourself to travel back in time. Your mind slips from the present into the past.
To facilitate this, say these or similar words in a slow, hushed voice:
Time now … Time past …
Time runs … Back fast …
Back to … Time past …
Time now … Is time past …
(This is an excellent method of reviewing other lives, retrieving “lost” information, finding misplaced objects, and so on.)
Let the movement of the sand send you backward to the proper moment. Know that you can instantly return to the present simply by saying, “Time now!”
The Second Hourglass Spell
(To send energy into an object)
Create a drawing or draw a rune that represents your magical need. Place this drawing (or, if necessary, a photograph) on a table.
Hold the filled receiver bulb of the hourglass in your talented hand. Visualize your need. Push personal power into the sand. See it glowing and humming with energy.
Turn over the hourglass. Set it on the object to be charged and leave the area. Let the sand do its work. As it runs from the top to the bottom of the hourglass, the energy that you’ve sent into the sand will be sent into the drawing or rune.
Repeat this entire procedure with the same drawing two more times. Afterward, bury the picture; burn it or quench it with water to release its potent energies to bring your need into manifestation.
Witch Balls: Glass spheres, usually silvered on the inside, that provide round reflecting surfaces. They were once placed in homes to drive away evil and were carefully dusted lest they lose their protective powers. Also known as “gazing globes”; in Victorian times they were placed in gardens.
Witch Blood: A concept created during the heresy persecutions that “witchcraft” ran in families and that a “Witch’s” offspring were also Witches. This convenient theory led to the slaughter of entire families—who were quite innocent.
Witch Bottles: Bottles filled with a variety of substances and then buried or boiled on a fire to destroy the power of a supposed evil spellmaker.
Witch Boxes: Curious wooden boxes, filled with protective herbs and bizarre charms, with a top of glass. These were sold by Matthew Hopkins and other Witch-finders as devices that protected against the “evil” spells of Witches. Failure to buy such a box brought immediate suspicion and, potentially, arrest and execution for witchcraft. They were thus quite popular. This unholy racket continued in England for many years.
Witch Doctors: A derogatory Western term for persons who fill vital societal roles in many non-Western cultures. Such persons may be shamans, priestesses or priests, healers or magicians, psychologists, even scientists. The term has been banned from all serious sociological, anthropological, and ethnological studies.
Witch Hazel: A Native American tree (Hamamelis virginiana) long used for medicinal purposes. It has no direct, ancient associations with magic.
Witch Hunt: Originally, the search for “Witches” (i.e. supposed heretics). Since the 1950s, a general term for concentrated, biased, and absurd searches for enemies of all kinds, particularly in the realm of American politics.
Witch Mark: The supposed artificially created mutilation that Witch-finders sought on the bodies of the accused as proof of witchhood. In reality, these were normal blemishes and birthmarks. Since few bodies are perfect, many such marks were found—but they have nothing to do with witchcraft.
Witch Posts: These were created only in parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire in England. They were usually made of oak or rowan wood and were placed beside the fireplace to support the large hood that gathered the smoke and sent it up the chimney. Such posts were magically charged to guard the hearth and the home from evil.
Witch Stones: Stones bearing a natural perforation, used for protective magical purposes. Also known as “holey stones” and “hag stones.”
Witch Tree: The rowan (or Mountain Ash; Sorbus acuparia), long used for protective magic.
Witches’ Brew: Medicinal teas and magical brews made with plants and water. Today often used to refer to potent alcoholic beverages.
Witches’ Familiars: Animal companions or pets, which may or may not lend their energies to magic.
Witches’ Foot: An alternative word for “pentagram.”
Witches’ Hair: Often red or red-gold. This hair color was once believed to reveal that its bearer was a Witch.
Witches’ Hour: A supposed time in the night marked by bats flying high and descending back to earth, during which magic is most effective.
Witches’ Ladder: A length of rope or cord knotted in certain places. Feathers or herbs are usually attached between the knots. It was used for both blessing and cursing.
Witches’ Thimble: Jimsonweed (Datura spp.).
Witching Hour, The: Midnight to 1 a.m., a traditional time for magical operations.
The Yule Tree, once a Pagan symbol of rebirth honored at the Winter Solstice, has now been firmly entrenched in the contemporary Christian religious holiday that takes place at about the same time. Even so, the curious custom of bringing a tree indoors, decorating it, and honoring it during the month of December has never lost its Pagan origins, and it never will.
There are many stories of how and why this custom originated. Suffice it to say that the Yule Tree is a survival of earlier times, in which Pagan peoples, suffering through the winter, revered a living pine or fir tree as a symbol of the continuing fertility of the Earth. In other words, the Yule Tree represents the hidden seeds that will soon, with the coming of spring, burst forth into profuse growth, destroying the specter of winter and ushering in yet another cycle of fertility.
In magic, pine (and fir) is used for its purifying energies. Bringing a pine tree into the house during the shuttered month of December is an excellent method of magically freshening your home.
While many Christian customs have been layered onto this tradition, the true essence of Yule Tree rites is far older, far more earthy and magical. Here are some of these rites.
The Tree Itself
If you choose a cut tree, realize that the tree has given its life for your celebration. If you’ve chosen a living tree, know that it shouldn’t be kept indoors for more than two weeks (in warm weather areas) and should be placed near a window to receive a bit of sunlight.
The Dedication
After you’ve brought it into your home and set it into place, hold your hands palms outward toward the tree and commune. Feel its life-energies still pulsing within it. (If it’s a cut tree, thank the tree for its sacrifice.)
Now say these or words of similar intent:
O strong and noble, fragrant pine, That once shivered beneath the skies: Glimmer and shine now in my (our) home; Remind me (us) of the fertile loam That, far beneath the snow, still lies.
The Adorning
Yule Tree decorations are available in wide variety each year. Originally, apples, pears, walnuts, and other fruits and nuts were hung from the boughs, in further honor of the occasion: the rebirth of the Sun God at the Winter Solstice.
The shiny glass globes are modern representations of these earlier vegetative ornaments, and they can be used; so can real fruit. Apples can be hung from their stems, and small tangerines and oranges can be propped among the boughs. Blown-glass ornaments in the shapes of bunches of grapes, snow-frosted pine cones, and other natural shapes are usually available, and are a fine substitute for the real fruit. Garlands of cranberries and popcorn, of course, can also be made and used.
Avoid the use of plastic ornaments on the tree.
Lights are the modern (and safer) equivalent of the candles that once perched on sturdy boughs. They represent the Sun’s glow, and can certainly be used if desired.
Decorate the tree as best as you see fit. When it’s finished, stand back and admire it for its symbolism and for its real energies.
The Yule Tree’s Passing
By tradition, all Yule decorations are removed by February 1. Usually, however, the tree is taken down long before this date. Even so, by the time the Winter Solstice has passed, a cut Yule Tree is usually dry, even if you’ve placed it in water. (If you’ve used a living tree, remove its decorations to return it to its original appearance. Keep inside, move to a porch, or place it outside. Give it proper care and you should be able to use it again the following Yule.) The tree’s life force is ebbing even as the Sun grows in strength and glory.
After the decorations are removed, take a small bowl. Gently collect some of the dried needles from the tree, placing them into the bowl. When you’ve gathered a few handfuls, hold the bowl before the tree in both hands. Say these or similar words:
I thank you for your presence. Continue to shine in my life.
Hold the bowl up to the top of the tree, wait a second, then move the bowl clockwise around the tree’s perimeter: from the top, down the right-hand side, to the trunk, up the left side, and back to the top once again.
As you move the bowl, feel the tree’s fleeting energies streaming from every branch into the bowl. Transfer its powers into the needles that you’ve collected.
Place the gathered needles into an airtight jar. Once this has been done, take the tree to a recycling center (if one is available); use it for firewood (so that it can, once more, symbolize the Sun’s energy); or mulch it (so that it can directly replenish the Earth’s fertility).
Treasure the collected needles. During the winter, whenever the weather turns foul, or whenever you feel the need for refreshment, remove the top of the jar and inhale the needles’ sweet, piney fragrance. Accept the energies of your Yule Tree until the waxing Sun melts the Earth’s ice prison, spurring the rebirth of emerald fertility.
The scent of herbal tea rises and mixes with the resinous aroma of incense. Candles and firelight create a bright glow in the room. A figure bends over a book, running a finger down a page, searching for an age-old ritual.
Suddenly, the magician’s cat springs onto her lap. One errant paw flips over several pages of the book. The magician stares down at the page and smiles as she realizes that she’s finally found the ritual for which she’s been searching. The cat kneads. The magician pets her. The book seems to shine with energy.
Most practitioners of magic spend hours poring over old books. Classics of the hidden art line their bookshelves, waiting for use when needed. Years of searching have garnered a collection of time-honored works. The magician’s reference library is, indeed, a valuable magical tool.
Most magicians have their own treasured sources of information, the books that have sparked their imaginations when searching for or devising new rituals, or altering others. Though each magician has her or his own favorites, I thought that I’d present some of mine to you.
Many of these books aren’t magical texts, yet they contain much material of this nature. It was years before I realized that some of the best “magical” information is to be found in books of superstition and folklore, for both of these topics are solely concerned with the magic of past ages.
Some of these books are out-of-print and rather difficult to find, but most were printed within the last thirty or so years and may be available in new editions. Ask for them at used bookstores, or write to book search services for assistance in locating them.
And most of all, treasure these books for the knowledge that they contain.
Budge, E. A. Wallis. Amulets and Talismans. New Hyde Park: University Books, 1968. (A monumental collection of magical objects and their uses, from all parts of the world throughout history.)
Cirlot, J. E. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York: Philosophical Library, 1962. (A fascinating, worldwide look at the meaning of symbols, including plants, animals, birds, natural features, and much more.)
Elworthy, Fredrick Thomas. The Evil Eye: The Origins and Practices of Superstition. New York: Julian Press, 1958. (First published in 1895, this is a wondrous collection of folk magical rituals: everything from magic nails to ritual gestures to amulets and other protective devices.)
Fielding, William J. Strange Superstitions and Magical Practices. New York: Paperback Library, 1966. (Despite the sensationalized title, this is an excellent guide to natural magic. Topics include rings, stones, fertility, healing, love and weddings, protection, and much more.)
Frazer, James. The Golden Bough. New York: Macmillan, 1958. (Much magic is hidden among the dense pages of this book, which was culled from the original 13-volume work. Patience in reading it will be rewarded with an amazing array of magical techniques.)
Kitteridge, George Lyman. Witchcraft in Old and New England. New York: Russell and Russell, 1956. (Love spells, image magic, herb rituals, divination, and treasure-finding methods, culled from actual trial records.)
Leland, Charles Godfrey. Etruscan Magic and Occult Remedies. New Hyde Park: University Books, 1963. (A collection of Etruscan and Roman spells, incantations, divinations, amulets, and other wonders. Originally published in the late 1890s.)
Leland, Charles Godfrey. Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling. New Hyde Park: University Books, 1963. (Originally published in 1891, this is a goldmine of Gypsy charms and spells.)
Opie, Iona, and Moira Tatem. A Dictionary of Superstitions. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. (An instant classic, this scholarly work records many magical practices, including those related to the moon, eggs, cats, mirrors, and much, much more.)
Radford, Edwin, and Mona A. Radford. Encyclopedia of Superstitions. New York: Philosophical Library, 1949. (A collection of British and Continental superstitions and magical practices.)
Randolph, Vance. Ozark Superstitions. New York: Columbia University Press, 1947. (Love charms, ghosts, divinations, healing rituals, and more, culled from living informants in Missouri and Arkansas.)
Thompson, C. J. S. The Mysteries and Secrets of Magic. New York: Causeway, 1973. (A remarkable collection of magical history and practice. Chapters discuss magical rings, ritual perfumes, quartz crystal, numbers, ointments, and so on.)
Spells (simple magical rites) were once the province of all. Each family treasured and preserved certain magical remedies, mixtures, and charms that had been proven effective over many centuries. Such family spells were often written in small, leather-bound books and guarded from the eyes of strangers.
To perform such spells, there was no need for secret initiations, nor for noisome ingredients. The tools were those of any household: candles, herbs, pots and pans, mirrors, string and cloth. Short rhymes or strings of “mystic” words were another important tool.
Though a mischievous spell or two might have been included, the majority of such rites were devoted to securing love, protecting the home and its possessions, ensuring food (or its modern counterpart, money), and curing all manner of illnesses among both humans and animals.
Homely charms for halting the flow of blood, predicting the sex of unborn children, ensuring that churning was successful, blessing the fields for fine crops, guarding farm implements—these were some of the rites recorded in family books of magic.
Many of these old spells have now been gathered and published in books of folklore, folk beliefs, and magic. Yet many hundreds of others are still kept among the sanctity of the family and will never be revealed to anyone except blood relatives.
If you’re not fortunate enough to have access to such a Magic Book, you have the opportunity to create one for your own family. Begin this magical operation on the night of the Full Moon, when potent energies are afoot on Earth.
Choose a small, unlined, bound book. Light a white candle. By its flame, draw a pentagram (five-pointed star, with one point up) on the first page.
On this page, beneath the pentagram, add the date of the book’s creation, your mundane or magical name, the moon’s phase and any other information that you see fit to include.
Hold it up before the candle (or to the Moon, if it’s visible) and say these or similar words:
O stars, O sun,
O moon so bright,
Bless now this book
I’ve made tonight.
Now raise the book to the north, east, south, and west.
Copy at least one spell into the book on the night upon which you create it. In the coming months and years, you’ll discover new spells, or others will share them with you. Faithfully copy them into the book. Create a type of code so that you can note whether they’ve been successful. Ideally, copy none into the book that haven’t been proven effective.
Keep your book wrapped in white cloth, laid among moth-averting herbs (such as wormwood, rosemary, and cedar), or best of all, in a small, locked cedarwood chest.
Such a magic book can become a treasured heirloom, for it reveals the magical and spiritual nature of those who have created it, and, with its wisdom, the path of life can be smoothed.
Your magic book is an important tool in the splendor of spellcraft.