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Your Invisible Magical Toolbox

I adore the idea of an invisible magical toolbox. In addition to being filled with priceless and endlessly useful treasures, an invisible magical toolbox can go everywhere with you—without raising any eyebrows, cluttering up any rooms, or requiring you to check any baggage. Not to mention, unlike a visible toolbox, it’s not actually separate from you. Once you cultivate a relationship with the exercises in this chapter, their energy will become an aspect of your personal energy and their power will become an aspect of your personal power. It’s sort of like enhancing the usefulness of your computer or smartphone by downloading apps or upgrading the operating system.

While this entire book is fundamentally about stocking and developing your invisible magical toolbox, this chapter gets the momentum going by starting you out with some especially useful essentials.

You might start with these exactly as they’re written or adapt them according to what feels most powerful for you. You might also find that as you work with them over the next few months or years, and even over the course of your life, they’ll shift and evolve. This is natural, as every magical practitioner is different and everyone is always changing. Additionally, because it’s ideal to keep your magic fresh and inspiring throughout your lifetime, if you find yourself getting into a rut at any point, it might be time to clear out, adjust, or restock your invisible magical toolbox.

The more you practice with these tools, the stronger and more substantial they will grow within you. As you read through and get acquainted with each tool, you can practice conjuring it up and putting it to work. After that, you might like to set aside time to practice doing this one or two times per week or you can seamlessly merge your practice time into your day by employing them as the opportunities naturally arise. In time, utilizing these tools will become like second nature, just like making tea or riding a bike.

But before we go any further, let’s make sure we’re on the same page with the whole “free will” thing.

Caveat: Energetic Magic and Free Will

Because we’re about to get into some actual magical techniques that are likely to in some way affect the lives of people other than you, it’s important for us to take a moment to discuss permission and free will. If you’re an experienced magical practitioner, you already know that it’s generally considered unethical to perform magic on behalf of another—or plain old on another—without express permission from the person themselves. I find that there are some exceptions to this rule, as well as some slight differences when working magic that is purely performed in the energetic realm without any physical tools.

For example, in cases where I want to perform energetic magic for the express purpose of healing or supporting another in a way that I know they will benefit from, I find that it’s just fine to obtain the needed permission by having a conversation in the nonphysical realm. In other words, where purely positive, nonspecific energetic magic is concerned (such as sending healing or supportive energy or love), I might simply tune into the other person’s spirit, whether they’re physically present in the room with me or not. Once I feel that I am sufficiently connected, I might ask them (in my visioning mind, not with my actual voice) if it’s okay for me to perform magical energy work on their behalf. If I get an inner okay, then I’ll proceed. This might come in the form of a vision of them nodding or smiling, an auditory sense of them saying yes, or just a strong emotional feeling of affirmation. If I don’t receive an inner okay, I won’t.

And if I want to perform a supportive, nonspecific form of magic (such as healing or protection) on behalf of people or animals who have already trusted in me to help them (this would include beings such as companion animals, children, convalescing parents, and friends who have confided in me), I would just go ahead and work the magic, taking their physical-world trust as confirmation of their nonphysical-world trust.

Now, this would simply not fly if we’re talking about performing magic on someone rather than on behalf of them. For example, you cannot tune into someone’s energy and then ask them, “Is it okay if I perform a spell on you to make you fall in love with me?” or “Is it okay if I perform an energetic ritual with the intention of getting you fired?” This is because if you’re even considering working magic like this, you are clearly biased and can’t be trusted to receive an accurate answer. Additionally, for intentions like this it will be of much greater benefit for you to concentrate purely on what you’d like to experience (such as romance or harmony at work) rather than focusing on how you can manipulate others according to what you think will help you experience what you want to experience.

This also would not fly if we’re talking about creating specific conditions for another that we are not totally sure that they desire or will benefit from, which would also fall under the category of manipulation. For example, if you decide that you want to work magic on behalf of your adult daughter so that she will have a baby, though she has not recently expressed the desire to have kids (even if you think you know that she will love it), I would definitely not recommend trusting yourself to ask her on the energetic plane if it’s okay for you to do so.

Just to be clear: it’s a good idea to get permission in the physical world unless we’re talking about one of the following (in which case it would be okay for you to ask on the energetic plane):

• a divine, unspecific intention such as love, healing, cleansing, protection, or emotional support
• something that the person has expressly asked you for support about (such as healing or manifesting a new home)

And finally, of course, it’s my belief that you don’t have to ask at all if you’re performing magic that has to do with self-defense, provided you’re only sending out purely positive (or neutral) nonspecific energy, such as protective light or transmuting flame.

Now that we’re all clear, in the words of Willy Wonka, “Yes? Good! On with the show.”

The Cauldron of Lilac Fire

The cauldron of lilac fire is a tool of transmutation. In other words, it’s a tool that cleanses away negativity by transforming it into positivity and blessings. It draws upon a vibrant lilac-colored (pink-violet) light that is a dynamic combination of cool, receptive, blue lunar light and bright, active, red solar light. Together, these colored lights form a lilac-colored fire that can naturally balance and powerfully purify pretty much anything you’d like, including (but not limited to) people, objects, relationships, physical spaces, and situations.

Once you really get to know the lilac fire and it’s strongly present within your inner landscape, you can call on it by itself and mentally direct it into and around things, beings, and situations without even closing your eyes, and we’ll talk about how to do that shortly. First, though—and regularly throughout your life (in order to refresh and revitalize your connection with it)—you’ll want to inwardly acquaint yourself with its origins and see it in all its blazing glory.

Here’s a visualization that will help you do just that. As with most extended visualizations, begin by relaxing comfortably, with your spine straight, in a place where you won’t be disturbed.

Cauldron of Lilac Fire Visualization

It’s a dark night outside in a meadow, and the stars are bright. You’re standing in the center of a large sacred circle. Although you cannot see the beings that make up the outer circle with your physical eyes, you know that they are there and sense their presence at this magical site. They are the wise ones from times past. They are the primordial ancestors and the sacred spirits of nature.

At the very center of this circle is a giant silver cauldron filled with extremely dry leaves, sticks, and logs. To your left, on one side of the cauldron, is the Moon Goddess; robed in blue, she glows with an ethereal and iridescent light. To your right, on the other side of the cauldron, is the Sun God: robed in red, he blazes with a golden-red fire. The deities gaze at each other over the cauldron with bright eyes of love. Holding their palms toward the cauldron, they ignite a bright lilac fire within it that immediately flares upward toward the stars.

As you hear the lilac fire crackling, you sense and know that it will rage on forever. You can feel a searing power emanating from it, and you know beyond all doubt that whatever is placed within it shall be powerfully cleansed, purified, and harmonized. It has the unique power to ignite stuck or frozen energy and transform it into light, warmth, and movement. The fire has an inner wisdom that knows what is not needed and how to shift it into precisely what will be of value. It transforms challenges into blessings, confusion into confidence, and roadblocks into open paths.

The Moon Goddess and Sun God look at you, and you sense that they want you to go into the flames. With perfect love and perfect trust, you inwardly agree to this and instantly feel yourself being swiftly lifted and placed within the fire. You allow the crackling lilac flames to move through you and around you, thawing out what is frozen, burning away what is old and dead, shining light into the darkness, and transforming all into positivity, energy, and heat.

When this feels complete, you find yourself standing outside of the flames once again while they continue to rage on eternally. Inwardly, you thank the Moon Goddess, Sun God, circle of wise ones, earth, sky, and lilac fire.

In addition to placing yourself inside the cauldron during this visualization, you can place other people or companion animals within it, or even objects (such as crystals or charms) that you’d like to be cleansed and activated.

As I mentioned above, the more you do this visualization, the stronger the lilac fire will become within you and the more you’ll be able to wield it easily and efficiently throughout the day. When you feel ready to try this, you might simply call on the lilac fire itself and visualize it filling and surrounding your body, your home, your car, or your workplace. If you find yourself dealing with a challenging situation or a situation that feels stuck, you can conjure up a sense of the situation—with all of its tension and struggle, and perhaps any pictures or areas that you associate with it—and then send the lilac fire into it from every angle. If you’re in the situation currently, you can send it into and around the area and everyone involved in the situation. You can also employ the lilac fire if you want to energetically cleanse an item in a pinch (such as a secondhand art piece or a library book).

If it feels helpful, you could choose a word, sound, or hand gesture that aligns you with the lilac fire. For example, every time you call upon the violet fire (starting with the visualization exercise), you might angle your right forearm up, palm facing you, and touch your pinky to your thumb to symbolize the cauldron, letting your middle three fingers symbolize the flames. Additionally, the number three can symbolize the two forces—lunar and solar—that become one. This way, you will strongly associate the gesture with the visualization, which will help you to call it up more swiftly and with greater clarity.

Lilac Fire Gesture

Finger as Wand

Many magical practitioners work with wands made of any number of natural materials, such as crystal, metal, or wood. Most often these are used as tools of focused projection (such as projecting healing energy into a person or directing protective energy into a charm) or focused absorption (such as absorbing cosmic energy from the heavens or receiving healing energy from a crystal).

While wands can be great fun and hold a unique magical energy all their own, the fact of the matter is that index fingers can work just as well, if not better, than external wands and fulfill all the same purposes.

Every magical practitioner is different, so you’ll want to experiment, practice, and find what works best for you. Let’s start with some general guidelines to get you started, and then we’ll move onto some exercises you can employ for practical purposes or simply practice to help you hone your expertise.

General Finger-as-Wand Guidelines

• Consider that magical power generally flows through your body along a vertical path: when standing this means it flows from your feet to the top of your head, and when sitting this means it flows from your tailbone to the top of your head. Conversely, just as it flows from earth to heaven along your spinal cord, it also moves from heaven to earth. You might also imagine this energetic path moving down into the earth like the roots of a tree (and drawing energy up) and moving upward into the sky like branches (and drawing energy down).
• To direct energy through our arms and hands, we employ energy centers (some call them chakras) that are located along the central thoroughfare of our spinal cord in order to direct it outward rather than along its usual vertical path.
• While the energy center in the middle of your forehead (third eye chakra) focuses the intention and visualizes the path that the energy will take, the energy center in the middle of your sternum (heart center) is the roundabout where the energy pools just before it moves down the arm and out through the hand.
• To employ a finger as a wand, choose the index finger that feels the most powerful for the purpose; for most of us, this will be our dominant hand. Then, with your arm straight, point your finger so that it is in one long, straight line with the rest of your arm. This will ensure that the energy flows most freely and abundantly from your heart center.
• Now, using your mind to focus your intention and being sure that you are consciously connected to earth energy and the energy of the cosmos (ideally by having recently performed your simple daily alignment practice from the last chapter), feel energy pool at your heart center, then consciously allow it to flow out through your finger.
• For many people, the index finger of the non-dominant hand will be most effective for receiving and absorbing energy. To practice absorbing energy, point your finger at the sky while angling your palm up, as if you are beckoning to the sky. Now, using the energy center at your forehead to visualize the path you intend for the energy to take, use the receptive energy at your heart center (the energy that yearns and pines for people that you miss or that causes you to desire to hug someone deeply to your chest) to draw some of this cosmic light down and into the center of your heart. You might feel yourself drawing this energy down as you inhale, and then visualize it pooling at your heart center as you exhale. Once you feel yourself receive a noticeable amount of this energy, point your finger down at the ground and project the energy into the earth in order to ensure that you aren’t overly energized or ungrounded. (This will have the added benefit of giving the earth a burst of neutral energy that can be used for healing.)

Finger-as-Wand Exercises

Cast a Circle

In an area where you have enough floor space to cast a circle around yourself that’s about four to five feet in diameter, stand facing north and connect with the element of earth (see previous chapter). Then fact east and connect with the element of air. Turn to face south and connect with the element of fire. Face west and connect with the element of water. Once again, face north, and now connect with the element of spirit. Point the index finger of your dominant hand (or whichever finger you prefer to use for projective exercises) down at the northern point of the circle you wish to cast. Visualize/imagine/feel the bright white or clear light of the cosmos and the golden-white light of the earth merging at your heart center and moving down through your arm and out through the tip of your finger. Like a golden laser beam of blinding light, see it moving from your fingertip and out to the ground. Steadily, and at a moderate pace, rotate in a clockwise circle as you draw a circle of light on the ground around you. In your mind’s eye, see the circle glowing. (If necessary, start slower and build up to a more moderate pace.)

You are now contained within a protective and energetically nourishing circle of light. If you like, you can sit down or remain standing and work any additional magic or manifestation exercises that you desire; being within the circle will give them an extra dose of focus and power.

Before you leave the circle, you’ll want to open it.

Open a Circle

To open a circle that you’ve cast using your finger as a wand, face west and thank the element of water. Face south and thank the element of fire. Face east and thank the element of air. Face north and thank the element of earth. Still facing north, now thank the element of spirit. Now, twirl or spin counterclockwise in one full 360-degree circle. At the completion of the spin, raise your arms up over your head and then release them outward, as if you’re throwing petals to the sky.

After opening a circle, it’s a good idea to earth any excess power that you may have raised.

Earth Power

To earth power after opening a circle or anytime you’d like to draw off excess energy and return to a healthy, everyday energetic set point, point both index fingers down toward the ground, arms straight in front of you and angled 45 degrees away from your body, palms down. Visualize any excess energy within you and around you moving down your arms and out through your fingers as you send it down into the core of the earth. Finish by kneeling or sitting down, placing your palms flat on the floor. Use this gesture to consciously connect with the physical, earthly realm.

Empower an Item, Food, or Beverage

To imbue and infuse a certain item (such as a crystal, a piece of jewelry, or an article of clothing), food, or beverage with a particular quality of magical energy, begin by connecting to the spirit element, becoming aware of your weight on the ground as you send roots deep down into the earth. Then become aware of the crown of your head growing branches and connecting with the glittering cosmos above. Feel the earth and spirit energy mingling and mixing within your body and aura before intensely pooling at your heart center.

Once you feel connected with and nourished by this infinite power source, conjure up the quality you’d like to infuse within the item, food, or beverage, and allow it to shift the vibration of the universal energy within you in a way that feels powerful and significant for you. For example, if you wanted to infuse something with the energy of healing, you might feel a cool, fresh, minty rush of energy at your heart. Or, if you wanted to infuse it with the energy of self-love, you might feel a deep upwelling of love toward yourself as you inwardly see golden and pink sparkles move throughout the energy at your heart.

When you feel ready, point your finger at what you would like to empower and send this energy down your arm and out through your finger into it. In your mind’s eye, see it swirling and pulsating with this energy. When this feels like it has reached a natural peak, bring your hand back down to your side, once again connect with the energy flowing in through your feet and head, and then earth the power (as in the previous section).

You can then eat or drink the item to internalize the magic or keep the item nearby as needed. You can also give the item to someone else to eat or drink, or to keep nearby, provided that they have willingly and knowingly accepted your magical assistance.

The Emerald Heart of Healing

The emerald heart of healing is a powerful energetic healing method that you can perform on behalf of any sentient being, whether or not that being is in physical proximity to you. Here’s how to do it:

If the person to whom you’d like to send healing energy is in the room with you, ask her to sit comfortably in front of you so that you are facing one another, perhaps three to five feet apart. Alternatively, she can rest in a reclining chair or on her back on a bed. (In this case, you’ll want to stand in front of her in such a way that you can easily direct your palms toward her heart center.) If the person is not in the room with you, close your eyes and visualize this person sitting or reclining in front of you, and keep your eyes closed for the remainder of the exercise. Sitting or standing with your spine straight and your feet flat on the floor, connect with your infinite power source: feel energy coming up from the core of the earth and down from the infinite cosmos and meeting at your heart center.

Now visualize/imagine/feel your heart center swirling with a clear, clean, blinding emerald light. Know this light to be a radiation and representation of omniscient healing wisdom: it brings exactly what is needed to bolster immunity, soothe pain, increase vitality, and strengthen one’s ability to heal. With straight arms, now direct your palms toward the other person’s heart center (or visualized heart center). As you inhale, feel the healing light getting brighter and more potent within you. As you exhale, send it out through your palms and directly into the other person’s heart. Stay with this until it reaches a peak. Then move your arms down and reconnect with the energy of the earth and sky. Finish by earthing the power.

Palms of Power

The palms of power technique allows you to infuse any person, animal, or object (including yourself and any part of your body) with positive energy of any variety. By now, I imagine you’re starting to get the gist of the way energy flows throughout your body and aura, as well as how you might consciously direct it for any number of magical intentions. As in the previous exercises, before wielding the palms of power you’ll want to connect with the abundant power of the earth and the infinite power of the cosmos.

Once you’ve brought these energies to meet at your heart, take a moment to tune the energy to the frequency of your intention. For example, you might want to choose the energy of pure love, in which case you might conjure up the scent of roses and an inner vision of pure white or pink light while feeling as much love as you possibly can. Or, if you want to choose the energy of relaxation, you might conjure up the sound of gentle ocean waves, the scent of coconut, and an inner vision of cool blue light.

Once you’ve tuned the energy, cup your hands gently with your fingers side by side, as if you’re wearing mittens. Then, as you send energy through the center of your palms, direct your palms toward what you would like to empower, holding them just a short distance (two to four inches or so) away from the object or being. If possible, you might cup or sandwich the object between your palms so that you’re directing energy inward from two opposing angles.

The Mirrored Sphere

The mirrored sphere is part protective bubble, part ninja invisibility cloak. As a resident of a big city, I find it invaluable for times when I need an extra dose of protection, as well as times when I would prefer not to be looked at (e.g., when I feel a creepy stare pointed in my direction).

Plus it’s really simple: all you do is visualize a huge mirrored sphere around yourself, instantly reflecting any and all energies pointed your way right back to where they came from. This way, if a person is directing envy, unwelcome lust, or any other undesired thoughtform your way, it will bounce right off of you and go right back to its source. And if someone is leering at you or simply making you uncomfortable or self-conscious, they will no longer see you but rather will see some sort of reflection of themselves. On really sunny days, they might also be sort of energetically blinded, causing them to avert their eyes.

Elements as Tools

The more familiar you get with the five elements, the more easily you can employ them as magical tools. Here are some ideas for how you might do this.

Earth as Grounding Tool

If you feel frazzled, anxious, or generally ungrounded, you might call upon the element of earth by envisioning yourself buried in moist, rich, fertile soil, like a seed. Know that you can easily breathe under the earth, and feel her cool, relaxing, centering, cradling energy on your skin and all throughout your inner organs and extremities.

Earth as Cleansing Tool

To cleanse yourself, a loved one, your home, or any physical space, you can imagine the earth beneath you or the area (even if it’s a number of floors down). Now feel the earth drawing out discord and negativity, like a clay mask draws impurities out of your skin. Feel the earth receiving the challenging energies with love and with the absolute ability to compost them into nourishing positivity.

Air as Clarity-Enhancing Tool

To refresh and bring clarity to your mind or to any situation, call on the element of air. Then envision yourself standing on a hilltop at sunrise as wind whips around you, caressing your skin and blowing through your hair.

Air as Cleansing Tool

To cleanse yourself, your home, or any physical space with the element of air, call on the element of air and then envision clean wind whipping around you or through your space, blowing away and dispersing any stuck energy or negativity.

Fire as Protection Tool

There is a traditional magical protective oil known as “fiery wall of protection.” Similarly—and without any oil at all—you can envision an actual fiery wall of protection keeping negativity of all forms strongly at bay. Simply call on the element of fire, visualize a fiery wall, and place it around yourself, your home, or any person or area that you’d like to protect.

Fire as Cleansing Tool

To employ fire as a cleansing tool, simply call on the element of fire. Envision fire filling and surrounding what you’d like to cleanse, powerfully burning away any and all stuck or negative energy and transforming it into heat, light, and positivity.

Water as Healing Tool

Just as tears are our body’s natural way of washing away emotional pain, you can call upon the element of water to soothe and heal emotional or physical pain. To do so, call on water and envision/imagine/feel a wave washing over and around you, completely drenching and immersing you in the cool ocean tides. Calling to mind the way that water smoothes rocks and breaks down mountains into sand, feel it smoothing painful edges and powerfully dismantling the energy behind physical or emotional ailments.

Water as Cleansing Tool

To cleanse yourself, a loved one, or a physical space, you can just call on water and see ocean waves rushing in, around, and through what you’d like to be cleansed. See the saltwater absorbing and neutralizing negativity as it powerfully disinfects and purifies everything in its wake.

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