The Fool’s Fresh Start Spell
incantation
Goodbye old
Embrace the new
Fresh cycles bring
Surprises too
This moment marks
My soul and heart
As I make
A brand-new start
Ingredients
1. Death
2. The Fool
- • White rose
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
It’s the first day of the new year! Perform this spell when you are turning over a new leaf, replacing an old habit with a new one, and marking a new cycle in your life.
The Death card represents endings and marks the moment of transformation. The Fool reflects fearlessly leaping forward toward new realities and possibilities. White roses represent purity. The color white represents a fresh start and a blank page.
Place the Death card. Enter the card. Listen carefully. What do you hear: music, wind, voices? Can you hear the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves? A lifeless king lays upon the ground. He represents what has passed, what is finished and done. A girl in white turns from the skeleton in fear, who marches forward like time. Like the child in blue, you look up in amazement at Death and its gifts. The sun rises between two towers. You usher in a new dawn, release the past, and discard what no longer serves you.
Place the Fool card. Enter the card. Morning sunlight spills over from Death’s arcana and fills the Fool’s arcana with a vibrant midday lemon-yellow light. Drag the Fool card over the Death card so the Fool sits atop Death. Hear the wind of opportunity blowing across the mountain peaks.
Take your white rose in hand. It is the Fool’s symbol. Smell the flower and contemplate its petals and beauty. Leave it on your table to remind you of the fresh possibilities your new year brings.
2 • January
Honor Your Ancestors Spell
incantation
House of spirits
Ghosts of mine
Thank you for
Your gifts divine
You lived your truth
Now’s my time
Thank you for
Your gifts sublime
Ingredients
- • Ancestral altar, shelf, or table
- • Fresh flowers
- • Candle
1. Nine of Pentacles
2. Six of Cups
3. Four of Wands
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Haitians celebrate Ancestors’ Day (Jour des Aieux) today. Relatives celebrate and pay special homage to those family members who have passed to the other side.
Ancestral alters can be combined into the decoration of a home. The Nine of Pentacles represents our physical connection to our family tree. The Six of Cups represents emotional qualities and the stories we inherit from our family (positive and negative). The Four of Wands reflects happiness and stability in the hearth and home.
Create a space for ancestral photos, items, and keepsakes. Place a bowl of fresh flowers and light a candle. Place the Nine of Pentacles. Enter the card. Stand inside the vineyard and consider how you are the fruit and blossom of your family. Every garden has its season and its day; this moment in time is yours. Consider those spirits who lived before; they stand in the castle, observing. You are the living connection to the past, the result of millions of years of evolution.
Place the Six of Cups and consider how you embody certain family traits. How do you experience your birthright? What have you been given? What are you grateful for? Acknowledging the positive, begin to feel an emotional swell of gratitude for the good you have been given.
Place the Four of Wands. How has stability been passed to you? Where do you draw your strength? How does happiness bloom and thrive?
The cards should be left out for twenty-four hours.
January • 3
Personal Protection Spell
incantation
Swords and silver
Blades and steel
Thoughts have power
They are real
Seal myself
Inside safe space
Protective shield
Is now in place
Ingredients
1. Two of Swords
2. Queen of Swords
3. King of Swords
4. Knight of Swords
5. Ace of Swords
- • 2 pinches of sea salt
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Paris celebrated the Feast of Saint Genevieve today. Genevieve’s protection, clairvoyance, and miracles were widely believed to have saved Paris from both the plague and the fearsome Attila the Hun.
Swords are the suit of the mind. Perform this spell sitting on the floor and facing north. Focus on yourself, not the negativity you wish to avoid. Remember, Swords are the suit of the mind.
Place the Two of Swords before you. Mirror her posture from your waist up: settle into your hips, straighten your spine, and cross your arms before your chest. Close your eyes. Nothing can hurt you. See and feel two long swords in your hands.
Place the Queen of Swords. Turn to face her. She protects you from the east. Your new beginnings are safe. Place the King of Swords. Turn to face him. He protects you from the south. Your passions are safe. Place the Knight of Swords. Turn to face him. He protects you from the west. All you manifest is safe. Place the Ace of Swords above the Two of Swords. Turn to face it. It protects your true north. Your truth and inspiration belong to no one but you.
Resume your Two of Swords posture for as long as you like, imagining a protective lattice of swords around you. Imagine this lattice of protection when you need to summon protectiveness in the world.
Throw two pinches of salt out your front door.
4 • January
Fairy-Tale Magic Spell
incantation
Fairy tales
Bewitching spells
Enchanted forest
Sorcery dwells
“Once upon a time” is said
Familiar line sticks in the head
Focus on the power of you
[said to item]
As I’m done
my dream comes true
Ingredients
1. Card representing your desire
2. Item representing your tale of choice (an apple for Snow White, a fancy shoe for Cinderella, a feather for the fairy godmother, etc.)
3. Nine of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Jacob Grimm, of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, was born on this day in 1785. The Grimm brothers’ dark and evocative stories have been weaving magic for multiple generations of avid readers.
What is your favorite fairy tale? This creative spell asks you to invent a personal spell woven from childhood enchantments and dreams.
How can we invoke fairy-tale magic into our life? Think of your favorite fairy tale and what element you would like to access. Would you like to transform like Cinderella at the ball? Choose a pumpkin. Wake up to the gentle lips of a prince like Sleeping Beauty? Choose a needle. Communicate with animals like Snow White? Choose a song. Perhaps you are in need of a fairy godmother’s service? Find a feather.
Select a card representing your desire and place it before you. Enter the card with your mind’s eye and imagine yourself embodying your desire. Take your time and enjoy.
Place the item you have chosen next to the card while repeating the incantation to the right.
Place the Nine of Cups. Your wish has been granted.
January • 5
Three of Pentacles Connection Ritual
incantation
Three of Pentacles
Creative mind
Magic with others
You will find
Work together
Open, inspire
Success comes quick
Hearts afire
Ingredient
- • Three of Pentacles
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Three of Pentacles was called the Lord of Material Works by the magicians of the Golden Dawn, who assigned it the time period of December 31–January 9.
Enter the arcana of the Three of Pentacles.
You are standing on cool slabs of cement on an oppressively hot day. You have found shelter in an ancient cathedral. Its Gothic ramparts twist, turning into the far reaches of the ceiling and disappearing into dim shadows. You are at the spiritual center of a centuries-old town.
The stone walls crumble with age. Bricks and rocks whisper to you. The gravelly voice of the masons who set them into place beg your attention with their muttering. These artisans call out from the rising walls of the church. The shadows of villagers who have lived their lives inside and amongst these walls call to you. Centuries of prayers and song rise in your ears as the emotions of those who have come to worship, pray, and weep sweep across the dim chamber. It is a truly sacred space.
A murmured conversation brings your attention to a small alcove. Three people stand, absorbed in collaboration. A Freemason is identified by his white apron, masonic instrument, and ceremonial bench. Two people hold architectural plans and discuss what is being built.
Three pentacles adorn the archway above them. The people stand like the holy trinity represented above. Trinities—be they father, son, ghost or maiden, mother, crone or conscious, super conscious, or subconscious—always represent creativity and the exponent of ideas.
Pentacles are the material world. These three have come together in collaboration that will lead to something physical. Like cells generating new growth, three minds create a new solid and enduring structure.
6 • January
Spell to Reconnect with Personal Magic
incantation
Invoke my power
Raise it high
Wands’ passion
Fire’s sigh
Blood races fast
Heart beats quick
This cleaning spell
Does the trick
Ingredients
- • Vacuum
1. The Magician
2. King of Wands
3. Queen of Wands
4. Knight of Wands
5. Page of Wands
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Italy associates tonight
with Befana, an old woman who flies through the night on a broomstick leaving gifts for children, like Santa. She is said to sweep away the problems of the previous year as she leaves.
Have you ever suffered a crisis of personal power? The feeling can be disheartening at best, depressing at worst. Losing touch with personal power can feel like falling out of love with your life; sometimes we just forget how to plug in. Use your vacuum like Befana to remove this problem.
Housecleaning is powerful magic because as you bring order to your home, you literally rearrange the world around you. Spacial energy changes as you clean, dust, and organize. The Magician, your electrical outlet card and personal power source, channels electricity into the four passionate Wand court cards.
Place the Magician card. Standing as the Magician, feel energy flowing through you, entering from the top of your head and going through the bottom of your feet. Assume his posture with hand raised skyward and point down with the vacuum hose. Turn the machine on and feel the power of the vacuum. Clean mindfully and return to the cards.
Place the King of Wands. Activate the powerful side of your personality. Your actions are done with the least amount of resistance.
Place the Queen of Wands. Activate the feminine side of your magical power. Consider how you nurture others and where you create change in the world.
Place the Knight of Wands. Feel passion radiate, exploding from your body in every conceivable direction.
Place the Page of Wands. Contemplate the joy and fun you feel when engaging your magical talents. Your imagination is the map; your talent is the tool.
January • 7
Weight-Loss Spell
incantation
Cells grow small
Fat release
Negative habits
Now will cease
Feed myself
With health and wealth
My body becomes
Swift and stealth
Ingredients
1. The Sun
2. The Magician
3. The Star
- • Apple
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
We are what we eat!
The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, kitchen classic and harbinger of good food and quality ingredients, was published on this day in 1896.
Weight-loss spells are best cast during the waning moon. As the moon shrinks, so does your waistline.
Ruled by Venus, apples are the most magical fruit, a symbol of the witch. The Sun card represents ultimate health, the Magician is assertive energy, and the Star is your weight-loss goal.
Place the Sun card. Place your attention on the sun’s face. Feel the heat radiating out of the sphere, sinking into your skin, warming your body. It pumps and powers everything you do. Place one hand on your hearth and the other on your belly. Spread the warmth through your entire body. Envision the healthiest version of you possible. Your body is the perfect physical machine to house your soul. Decide at once that you will feed your body healthy and life-sustaining foods.
Place the Magician card. See him channeling the healthy energy of the sun. He is the conduit of this powerful electrical current. Place the Star card. Feel yourself standing naked under the night sky. Peace and calm fill you. You know who you are. You know you are perfect. You achieve your goal effortlessly.
Eat your apple. Linger on the tart, sweet flavor. Imagine the mix of sun, seed, and organic matter that created this apple. You are energy consuming energy. Know you have already achieved your goal.
If health and taste permit, eat an apple every single day, mindfully recalling your spell, until you hit your goal weight.
8 • January
Get Out of Debt Spell
incantation
Debt, begone
Be paid away
I make my first
Payment today
You disappear
Do not return
You are a lesson
I have learned
Ingredients
1. Ten of Wands
2. Knight of Pentacles
3. King of Pentacles
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The United States became debt free on this day in 1835 and stayed debt free for one year. Perform this spell after you have formulated a plan to rid or pay down your debt.
The Ten of Wands represents debt. The Knight of Pentacles is the allocation of money. The King of Pentacles represents wealth and the result of the spell.
Place the Ten of Wands. The wands in his arms are like the debt you have accumulated. His head is drawn toward the ground, his back bent. You are about to relieve him, and yourself, of this stress.
Place the Knight of Pentacles to his right. This knight holds a pentacle in his hand. Focus on this pentacle. It represents the energy of money and your ability to make and spend it. The horse snorts and snuffs impatiently. His pentacle is the very first payment you will make. You are going to toss this pentacle like a baseball from the knight into the Ten of Wands card. Doing so, you’re knocking out one of his wands and paying down the debt.
Focus all your mental energy; when you are ready, throw.
Place the King of Pentacles immediately on top of the Ten of Wands. The king represents your future. You are solid and secure. You have paid down your debts and enjoy savings and holdings that offer protection and freedom. Dwell in this space, feeling the prosperity all around you. Keep the king in sight to remind you of this.
January • 9
Mermaid Magic Bath Spell
incantation
Queen of Cups
Mysteries deep
Watery depths
Secrets keep
The deeper I dive
The further I go
A mermaid’s heart
Is what I know
Ingredients
- • 1 cup kosher salt
- • Shells and ocean accessories
- • Queen of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
On this day in 1493, Christopher Columbus reported spying three mermaids off the coast of the Dominican Republic. They were actually manatees.
Mermaids—the witches, sirens, and goddesses of sea foam—exist in cross-cultural mythology. Prepare this mermaid magic bath spell and let the mermaid express the hidden and sacred feminine aspects of yourself.
Kosher salt is used because it has been blessed. The Queen of Cups is the mermaid of the tarot deck.
Run the water and add the salt. Place your shells and ocean accessories around the tub. Remove your clothing. While your bath is filling, focus on your Queen of Cups card. Look at the shiny stones that scatter the sand beneath her feet. The water laps over the stones. Each smooth ocean undulation caresses the shiny rocks, who glisten in the sun. They are remnants of the force of water crushing granules of sand, compressing and compacting them. Memory is trapped inside these ancient stones. Which stone calls to you? Is it the blue, yellow, or deep ruby-red stone? In your mind’s eye, pick it up and hold it in your hand. This stone contains an answer you have been seeking.
Enter the bathtub. As you allow the water to wash over you, allow memories to wash over you as well. Mermaids live in duality, both above and below the water. How do you do the same? Consider the mysteries you unravel and weave around yourself. Mermaids swim to the darkest depths—to the repository of your secrets and talents. Let your inner mermaid journey down and bring something back for you.
10 • January
Activate the Muse Spell
incantation
Brilliant inspiration Come to me
To your terms
I do agree
Pluck me like fruit Upon the tree
I call for you with
The magic of three
Te invovo, meditatus sum
Te invovo, meditatus sum
Te invovo, meditatus sum!
Ingredients
- • Three of Cups
- • Object representing your work
- • The Star
- • Chocolate offering
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Painter Georgia O’Keefe
was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on this day in 1977. Tap into your own creative powers, call for guidance, and summon your own personal muse for any project at hand.
Ancient Greeks credited muses and geniuses as co-creators in their creative process. A muse may be present in the form of spiritual energy, like a guide or an angel, or a muse can be an actual person who inspires your work.
The Three of Cups represents muse energy. The Star card represents you channeling your muse’s inspiration.
Select an object representing the work you do. For example, to summon a writing muse, select a pen; for a performing muse, an eyeliner wand; for a painting muse, select a paint brush.
The power to invoke occurs when you repeat a word or phrase three times.
Place the Three of Cups above your line of sight but where you can see it. Look up at the card and consider the work at hand and the muse who would help. Pick up the object you have selected, point it toward the card, and repeat the incantation.
Place the Star card before you. Feel creative energy pouring into your soul from above. Feel the pathway opening—the highway of creative inspiration. Feel inspiration fill you like water in the Star’s jug. Feel it from the soles of your feet, moving through your body to your waist, up your spine, and all the way to the top of your scalp. Call forth your greatest work from the very fabric of the universe. Be the channel.
Place the chocolate in front of the Three of Cups as a thank you to your muse.
January • 11
Postpartum Ritual for Peace
incantation
Light of life
And peace of home
Healing food
And garlic foam
Restore the body
Sleep in, maybe
Nurture my soul
And love my baby
Ingredients
- • Music you love
- • Lavender in multiple forms
- • Organic white cannellini beans, garlic, and olive oil
- • The Star
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Have you or a close friend become a new mother? Today Carmenta—goddess of childbirth and prophecy, protector of midwives, mothers, and children—was celebrated by a Roman feast day.
New mothers are busy caring for their new arrivals and healing from childbirth. They have little energy to devote to other things. If you plan to perform this ritual for yourself, be sure to have all items ready ahead of time.
Carmenta is often depicted with a flute; play your favorite music to honor her. Lavender is sacred to Hecate, a guardian of midwives, and is the most restorative of herbs. Garlic, olive oil, and beans contain sacred health-protecting properties and are also derived from ancient Roman cuisine.
Clean the home or arrange to have it cleaned when the new mom arrives home with baby.
Place fresh lavender around the home. Have spritz bottles of lavender available to freshen rooms daily. Tuck lavender sachets into pillows to deepen restorative sleep.
Play your favorite music. Bring about instant peace and nurturing by sautéing a little chopped garlic in olive oil. Add a can of drained and rinsed organic white cannellini beans. As the beans are cooking, focus on the Star card. Just as the Star channels inspiration from above, you have channeled life. Honor your body and its waters for its miracle. You are the embodiment of true magic. You are the gateway to life. You must rest and restore yourself while keeping a piece of you open to that connection. Let the Star card remind you of this every time you glance upon it.
Enjoy the garlic and beans with some salt and pepper. Continue to contemplate your health, energy, and sense of well-being.
12 • January
X-Ray Vision Spell
incantation
My gifts unwrapped Are on display
Invoke the power
Of X-ray
Peer through all
See every sign
X-ray vision
You are mine
Ingredients
1. Eight of Swords
2. The Sun
3. The Hanged Man reversed
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The world’s first X-ray image experiments were successfully conducted on this night in 1896. Perhaps our own lack of perception or insistence of our particular point of view keeps greater secrets from being revealed to us.
Want to look deeper or uncover hidden truths? The bound Eight of Swords represents personal blind spots. The Sun reflects illuminating energy. A reversed Hanged Man depicts an altered point of view.
Place the Eight of Swords. Enter the card. Feel yourself wrapped inside tight white cotton bands. You hover above the ground, bare feet inches above the sand.
It is time to come to earth. Feel yourself dropping, the sand beneath your feet, your bonds releasing. Using newly freed hands, lift the blindfold from your eyes.
Place the Sun card. Enter the card. The light is blinding: so bright, you must keep your eyes tightly clenched shut. Eventually, the blackness behind your eyes fades to brown and then yellow, and you know it is safe to look around. As if waking from a nap and into a new reality, the light of the sun helps you to see further than before. Look at the wall in front of you. Allow your mind’s eye to look through the wall. Look at your cupboards, your closets. What rests behind closed doors?
Look outside into nature. What resides at the base of a tree, in the innards of a plant, or on the other side of that mountain? What hides in the forest? Really “see” it.
Place the reversed Hanged Man. The illumination glowing around his scalp glows around yours. Your light has been officially switched on. From this moment forth, you permanently see further, wider, and greater.
January • 13
Knight of Pentacles Connection Ritual
incantation
Knight of Pentacles
Helps life to grow
His power’s within me
This I know
Action creates
Cause and effect
Take my time
Pause and reflect
Ingredient
- • Knight of Pentacles
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Knights Templar gained papal sanction on this day in 1128.
Tarot knights are often messengers heralding news. They represent actual people or qualities of your personality. A knight’s appearance always brings movement, action, and exchange of energy.
Enter the arcana of the Knight of Pentacles. A warm clover- scented breeze caresses your face. The knight’s stallion smells of sweet hay and his coat is the color of fertile, upturned earth. The horse snorts out his nose and you sense the latent power residing in his strong legs. Green sprigs of tender growth decorate his bridle.
Silver armor ensconces the knight. Reach out to feel the smooth metal; your finger leaves a short trail across the gleam. Your eyes, hair, and reflection look back at you from the knight’s armor. His soft flesh lies beneath his armor, and you consider the risk he puts himself at when he moves toward an adventure. His red cloak carries with it the power of the sun, which blesses this knight.
A golden pentacle rests in his hand. Inside the pentacle resides something that looks like the illuminated gears of a clock, all miniature movement and light.
He hands you the pentacle, pulls his leg up and over his saddle, and lands on the ground next to you. The pentacle is heavy, like a crystal ball in your hands. His brown eyes take you in, and you have the uncanny sense he can see all of you. He takes the pentacle back, kneels to the ground, pushes loamy dirt aside, and plants the pentacle in the earth. He dusts the dirt off his gloves and hops back into his leather saddle. It creaks beneath his weight. He nods at you, shoots you a wink, and is off.
He rides, slow and steady, into the distance. You look back to his seed. It has already begun to sprout, a tiny green shoot quivering through the earth, reaching up and toward the sun in the blue sky above.
14 • January
Four of Pentacles Connection Ritual
incantation
Four of Pentacles
Stability of cash
Solid structure
Protect my stash
Slow and steady
Does the trick
Enjoy financial
Arithmetic
Ingredient
- • Four of Pentacles
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Enter the arcana of the Four of Pentacles.
The Four of Pentacles
was called the Lord of Earthly Power by the magicians of the Golden Dawn, who assigned it the time period of January 10–19.
Fours represent stability. The arcana of three burst forth creatively and has evolved to the next stage. A fourth appears: stability is reached. A square. A home. A haven. The structure is complete. Four seasons. Four directions. Four elements. Four suits of tarot. Reality in the physical world has been achieved.
You stand at the foot of a stage about neck high. Lean forward, cross your arms, and rest your chin on your forearm in front of you. The stage’s backdrop is painted with a bustling medieval city, towers reaching toward the sky. Colorful flags wave in the breeze. The thriving town is cheerful in its architecture and landscaping.
An actor adorned in royal clothing sits on a concrete block, center stage. He balances a pentacle on his forehead crown chakra and another at his chest’s heart chakra. His hands and arms wind strangely around this disk as if they were rubber. Each foot rests lightly on two more pentacles. They look like circles on the ground. His direct gaze rests upon you.
It is impossible to interpret his intent. Is he hiding behind his money or is he protecting himself with it? Has the merchant’s wealth built the town behind him? What does financial security bring us in the end? Is he the Merchant of Venice?
The merchant is so grounded, he does not move. He continues staring at you. From his protective stance, a structure grows. It is the home you live in. The reality you inhabit. It is the manipulation of material wealth. Humankind’s invention of money contains an energy all its own, but it echoes the energy of the natural world.
January • 15
Healthy Pregnancy Spell
incantation
Healthy, healthy
Pregnant glow
Precious life
Inside me grow
Healthy, healthy
Nice and slow
Precious gifts
I do bestow
Ingredients
1. The Sun
2. The Empress
- • Pomegranate
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is the second feast day of Carmenta, the Roman goddess of childbirth and divination and the patron of midwives. This spell is cast to ensure a healthy pregnancy for both mother and child.
The Empress is the Mother archetype. The Sun card signifies a healthy pregnancy for both mother and child. Pomegranates are symbols of fertility and eternal life. The Berber women of North Africa prophesize their family’s future with a pomegranate. Drawing a circle on the ground, they drop a ripe pomegranate inside. The number of seeds breaking the circle is the number of children they will have.
Place the Sun card diagonally above the Empress card. Look for a moment at the spirit of the child hovering over the mother. This echoes the child soul’s selection of parent prior to pregnancy. The Empress’s wand points toward the sky. Like the Magician, she has manifested the greatest magic. The Empress is a life giver and gateway to life. Notice the pomegranates decorating her gown.
Contemplate the sacred nature of what is happening inside your body. Bring attention to your physical needs so that, like the Empress, you have all things needed at your fingertips: healthy foods, comfortable sleeping, a loving environment. The Empress has everything she requires surrounding her, and so do you.
Slice the pomegranate in half. Divide the seeds from one half into three servings. Eat a single serving of seeds for the next three days, echoing the number of the Empress. Bury the other half of the pomegranate in the earth. Eat every seed of the other half.
16 • January
Boost Your Business Spell
incantation
One, two, three
Wealth comes to me
Like falling leaves from a tree
Abundance pouring over me
Every direction I see
Wealth it comes
Quickly to me
Ingredients
- • ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- • Mason jar
1. Queen of Wands
2. Ten of Pentacles
3. King of Wands
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
On this date in 1412,
the Medici family was chosen to be the official banker of the papacy. Use legendary Medici luck to boost your business, no matter what you do for a living.
New Orleans business spells often include the use of basil. The Queen and King of Wands carry an intense and passionate combined power. The Ten of Pentacles reflects expansive financial abundance.
Shred the basil leaves while visualizing incoming money. Place leaves in a Mason jar. Pour two cups of boiling water over the shredded green leaves. When cool enough to handle, place the jar on your table. You will place the cards in a row before it.
The Queen of Wands is placed on the left side, representing the feminine pillar of the Tree of Life. Feel the contractive power of feminine fire welling within you. Imagine heat radiating from the bottom of your feet up to your scalp. When the energy is high, send it toward the basil water. Now place the King of Wands on the right side. Feel the masculine expansion of fire. It too grows in your feet and moves through your body. When it reaches its threshold, send the energy toward the water.
Place the Ten of Pentacles between the King and Queen. Enjoy the abundance and wealth pictured on the card. See the pentacles falling like rain through the card. The coins clink like winnings from a slot machine. The multiple figures on the card are people eager to throw money your way.
Let the basil water steep for three days. Sprinkle at thresholds of your business, shop, mailbox, and places where you receive payments and conduct business.
January • 17
Devil Card Connection Ritual
incantation
The Devil
Called by many names
Holds his hostage
Ensconced in flames
We are the ones
Who place those chains
When power and addiction
Race through our veins
Ingredient
- • The Devil
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Feast of St. Anthony
is celebrated today in Spain. Revelers dress in scarlet devil costumes to leap and dance through the licking flames of bonfires until dawn.
Enter the arcana of the Devil.
Sour smoke and sulphur fill the back of your throat. The air is sweltering, liquid with humidity as lava bubbles and flames leap and lick at the walls around you. The Devil perches above you with clawed feet. He gestures with his hand, making a secret signal. You are safe to explore this card. There is no danger.
He is a gruesome feast for the eyes and his piercing gaze holds you in his grip. Curling ram horns sprout from his scalp; furry goat ears perk and twitch. Giant bat wings protrude from his back. They undulate back and forth hypnotically. A black ratlike tail flicks like an agitated cat behind him. He carries the intelligence of man and wildness of beast in one body. His upper body and arms are a thick human shape. Beneath his belly button he becomes wild animal once again, thick curled hair matted and hiding his genitals.
Nude figures like Adam and Eve statues stand beneath the Beast, their skin slick with sweat. They have sprouted small horns upon their heads as if to imitate their master. The man is consumed with the heat of desire, his burning tail stoked by the Devil’s torch. The ripe and lush female stands with grapes sprouting on her tail. The man extends his hand to the female, begging her to join him and reaching for her. She refuses him. Instead, she slips the chain from around her neck. She disappears into thin air. The chain falls to the ground with a heavy clank.
The Devil looks on in dismay and disappointment. He throws his head back and peals into hysterical laughter. It echoes through his cavernlike underground dwelling as a realization hits you.
The Devil wields only the power that is given to him...
18 • January
Open Kundalini Root Chakra Energy
incantation
Root center
Root of me
Feel my power
Hold the key
Call it forth
Help it rise
Purpose unfolds
Before my eyes
Ingredient
- • Queen of Wands
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Sir John George
Woodroffe, the gentleman who brought tantric philosophy to the West, passed away today in 1936.
The root chakra is located at the base of your spine. It is said to be the center of our energetic body and the seat of our kundalini, which is described as an energetic force like a coiled snake. Once unlocked, kundalini rises through the body, creating profound mystical experiences. The root chakra is associated with earth, the sense of smell, and excretion. It is the very seed of who we are and where our essence emerges. On the most basic level it is our primal survival and safety center.
The root chakra connects to the charismatic Queen of Wands due to her energetic stance. Note how she sits on her throne. The root chakra is also associated with the color red, this queen’s signature color.
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor or sit in yogi position, legs crossed, on the floor. Place the Queen of Wands before you. Focus on the very base of your spine. Feel it from the front of you and from the back. Tighten your anus. If you are a female, it will feel exactly like a Kegel exercise. Sit straight and adjust your spine. Your root is now locked.
From this position, take a few long, conscious breaths. Imagine a red, glowing circular light at the root of your spine. Spin it. Hear it, smell it, perhaps even taste it. Now gaze at the queen. See how she sits, her spine in perfect alignment, her energy under her deft control. She knows what she wants and how to get it. Survival is guaranteed. She commands her energy. She retains control of her thoughts and actions.
Feel the energy rise through your spine as you fill your vision with light. Send the energy out through your heart in a wave of love.
January • 19
Spell to Attract a Lover
incantation
Lover, lover
Come to me
Light your flame
Feel my plea
See me, love me
Want me more
Than anything
You’ve wanted before
Ingredients
- • Red rose petals
- • Two red candles
1. The Empress
2. Ace of Cups
3. Ace of Wands
4. Card representing lover
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Cast this “moth to a flame” spell on the anniversary of the 1942 film release of Keeper of the Flame, starring legendary lovers Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. They met during the making of the film.
Red roses signify passionate love. Red candles are associated with sex, desire, and Scorpio energy. The Empress card is aspected by Venus, representing beauty and radiance. The Ace of Cups reflects an outpouring of emotion. The Ace of Wands represents passion, fire, and attraction. Select a significator card representing the person you want to attract to you.
Fix a bath. Toss in a handful of rose petals as the water runs. Soak to your heart’s content and envision how you attract your lover, why you want them, what you will do with them. Air dry your body, using no towel, then light a single red candle. Cast your cards.
Place the Empress; ponder your inner beauty. See a beautiful summer field in your mind’s eye. Imagine yourself reclining on a chaise made of the softest velvet. Your beauty and charisma literally spill out of your body like a waterfall at your feet. The water flows and transforms as you place the Ace of Cups sideways. The water contains the power of your feelings and emotions for the person you desire.
Place the Ace of Wands sideways after the Ace of Cups. Feel a magic wand in your hand, reverberating with explosive energy. Internalize every ounce of energy in your body and collect it in a ball at your tummy. When it feels right, flip over the significator card, point toward it, and send all your desire and magnetism toward the person the card signifies. Feel the energy flowing, creating a bond between the two of you. When you are certain the bond has been created, light the second red candle and repeat the incantation.
20 • January
Aquarius Outside-the-Box Originality Spell
incantation
Star of night
Empower sight
Sword of steel
New thoughts will heal
Tower destroys
Old blocks are gone
New thoughts create
A golden dawn
Ingredients
1. The Star
2. Ace of Swords
3. The Tower
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today marks the first day of the astrological sign of Aquarius. Originality graces Aquarius, whose symbol is the water bearer. Aquarians move ideas, communicate, and circulate like freshwater mountain springs. Aquarius energy brings a rush of pioneering energy to any project or effort.
Cast this spell when you need to embrace a new way of thinking.
The Star card represents Aquarius, the water bearer. The Ace of Swords is the source of pure communication. The Tower card is explosive energy.
Place the Star card and note the figure’s nudity. Rather than releasing your clothes, release all the previous ideas you have held about the subject at hand. Starlight twinkles above you. One particular star shines brighter than all others. Illuminate yourself with its light. Allow the glowing light to fill your body as if it were a lantern. The light fills you with new thoughts and new perceptions with which to examine your current situation.
Place the Ace of Swords sideways; it is the conduit of communication. Channel the light within you through the base of the sword. You will use the light to destroy your old thought patterns.
Place the Tower card as the receptacle of your brilliance. Send the light through the sword and into the Tower. It explodes all previous notions into a million tiny pieces. It dislodges and removes all obstacles toward clean, clear thinking.
Place the Star card over the Tower card to replace the darkness of destruction with light.
As you bring your mind’s eye back to current reality, keep the light of the star shining from your third eye. Facing any issue, shine the star’s light through your third eye to allow it to illuminate all possibilities for you.
January • 21
Rejuvenate Love and Tender Feelings Spell
incantation
Two of cups
Elixir of life
The two of us
Are clear of strife
We’ll walk upon The path anew
As I invoke
My love for you
Ingredients
1. Two of Cups
2. Ace of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is
National Hug Day.
This spell was created to provoke, rekindle, and cultivate love inside any relationship, be it romantic, familial, or platonic. This is an especially powerful spell to use when you need to activate the power of forgiveness.
The Two of Cups represents finding your heart’s delight in another. The Ace of Cups reflects an outpouring of emotion.
Place the Two of Cups. Enter the card. Facing the person with whom you are involved, see them as they were on the first day you met them. They are looking into your eyes. Look deeply back at them. What is your favorite quality about this person? Hear their voice tell your favorite inside joke. Smile at them.
Place the Ace of Cups above the Two of Cups. What has been bottled up is now open. Flowing feelings and emotional health spills across the two of you. The fountain flows into the two cups.
Once again, you are standing across from this person and you are each holding a cup. At the same time, drink from this cup’s healing, clear, sparkling waters of rejuvenation. When you are done drinking, embrace them with a hug.
22 • January
Cleopatra’s Power Spell
incantation
Tower card
Cleopatra’s might
Grant my desire
True tonight
Wish be granted
With strength and speed
Fullfill my every
Want and need
Ingredients
- • The Tower
- • Card representing your desire
- • Cleansing bath or shower
- • Fresh bar of soap
- • Chopstick
- • Coconut oil
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Cleopatra’s Needle, an Egyptian obelisk, was erected today in NYC’s Central Park in 1881. Visitors have found offerings and the traces of rituals around the needle ever since its erection.
Cleopatra was famous for her political and erotic powers. Draw anything you desire to you by invoking her intense power. The Tower card represents Cleopatra’s Needle and the conduit of magical energy you can use to manifest your desire. Decide specifically what you want. Choose the tarot card that best represents it. You will create a magic amulet with a bar of soap.
Prepare a hot bath with your favorite indulgent bath oils and bubbles, matched to your intention if possible (rose oils for passion, salt and lemon for clarity, etc). As the tub fills, remove your clothing. Hold the Tower card before you. See the tower right before the lightning strikes. It is a monument of power pointing to the sky. Feel the barometer drop as the clouds roll in, electricity filling the air. See lightning striking the tower and recite the incantation.
Place the card representing your desire where you can see it from the tub. Enter the bath. Embrace this new reality filling your life. Enjoy how delicious it feels. Select one symbol from the card.
Take your fresh bar of soap. Using the chopstick, engrave the symbol into the soap. You have created a magical bathing amulet. Wash your entire body with the soap, making sure to cover every inch of your skin with the silky suds. Exit the bath and moisturize your body with coconut oil, which embodies female, lunar power, covering every inch of skin with its nourishment. Wash your hands at least once a day with your amulet soap.
January • 23
Five of Swords Connection Ritual
incantation
Five of Swords
Blades of steel
Will you have
The strength to heal
Language carries
A life of its own
Words malicious
Slice to the bone
Ingredient
- • Five of Swords
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Five of Swords was called the Lord of Defeat by the magicians of the Golden Dawn, who assigned it the time period of January 20–29.
Enter the arcana of the Five of Swords.
Fives imply challenge. Fives are the halfway point, the turning point. What has manifested up until now begins to build on itself. The required challenge provides perspective for the ultimate outcome in the finality of the ten. Inside every challenge lies a gift.
You stand on a large wooden stage. A theater is packed to the rafters with people. Hundreds of audience members share a look of shock upon their faces, their mouths shaped like little Os. Something disastrous, graphic, and upsetting has just occurred.
The stage floor is smeared with puddles of blood. Bodies of the slain lie scattered. The audience waits to see what will happen next. You could hear a pin drop. A nasty laugh breaks the silence. The actor closest to you, his hair in spiky chunks, holds two swords and picks up a third. He laughs into the wind as if the air itself were under his command.
A second actor makes his way to a distressed figure near the water. Moving with the air of an ambassador or seductor, it looks as if he means to soothe the situation. The small, distraught figure in the distance keeps his face hidden in his hands. He has lost.
He turns. “How could you destroy everything? Do you think your actions have no consequence? Do you think your words cannot pierce like a knife? Why must you feel good at the expense of another’s defeat? Why would you hurt someone else to feel good about yourself?”
The lights go dark.
There is no clapping, no bows. The audience disperses. The show is over. Time to go home.
24 • January
Release Obsessive Thoughts Spell
incantation
Obsessive thought
Begone, goodbye
Served your purpose
Now you fly
I release you now
With love and light
Free of your bonds
Free of blight
Ingredients
- • Eight of Swords
- • Small spool of thread
- • The Fool
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today in 1915, Ernest
Shackleton’s ship Endurance became frozen in Arctic ice. It remained lodged for ten months until it was crushed and sank. Just like Shackleton’s ship, our minds can seize hold of a thought or idea and refuse to let go.
Use this spell to rid yourself of a negative or harmful thought or idea that refuses to leave.
The Eight of Swords represents being caught in a negative thought pattern. The Fool represents ultimate intellectual freedom. Magical practices use thread as a binding agent. Thread will also work in the opposite direction, releasing you from bonds as you unspool it.
Write down the plaguing thought or idea clearly on a piece of paper. Clearly articulate it before you release it.
Place the Eight of Swords before you. Enter the card. Feel the mental binds that hold you and recall how you feel as the thought consumes you. Note how the feet of the figure on the card do not touch the ground. Place your own feet firmly on the ground. Feel the earth connection.
Pick up the spool of thread. Recite the incantation as you unspool the entirety of the thread.
Place the Fool card over the Eight of Swords. Look at the Fool’s upturned face. You have released yourself. The knowledge of what you have done stays with you inside the Fool’s bag. Walk forward, freely, like the Fool. Bury the thread in the earth to dispel its energy.
January • 25
Brighten Winter Doldrums Spell
incantation
Sun of suns
Moonlight at night
I seek your warmth
I feel your light
Fill me with
Sustaining grace
And bring a smile
To my face
Ingredients
1. Strength
2. The Sun
- • Yellow flowers
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Suffering from a case
of the winter doldrums? Scotland and the UK celebrate Burns Night today, where suppers are held to celebrate the life and work of Romantic poet Robert Burns. This feast lifts all spirits burdened by the long, dark winter.
If you have a case of seasonal blues and spring feels too far away, perform this spell to lift your spirits.
The Strength card reflects the courage to beat any plaguing issue. The Sun card represents the full glory of summer energy.
Place yellow flowers in a vase of water. Inhale their scent deeply. Place them on the table before you.
Place the Strength card. Enter the card. Hold the great, powerful lion by the mouth. Feel the bone and muscle beneath his fur, his hot breath in your hands, the moistness of his tongue. You are unafraid. Hold him like a kitten. You know how strong you are. Personal strength has brought you to this exact moment. You are strong, capable, and have the power to override any emotion that drags you down.
Place the Sun card against the base of the vase. Focus on the radiant, life-giving sun. This yellow star holds the power of all life on earth. Should you require rejuvenation, look above. See it everywhere. It is expansive, all-encompassing. The energy of the sun warms your body. Feel the heat on your face, on your hair. Life-giving energy—making flowers bloom, babies grow, and love possible—is around and inside you.
Take a single flower from your bouquet. Thank it for its gift of beauty. Remove all petals and place in your palm.
Whisper the incantation and scatter the petals in the wind.
26 • January
Face Your Fears Spell
incantation
Eight of Cups
Faced my fear
Strength and courage
Are always near
Transform myself
Move past the gate
Unlock myself
From fear and hate
I am not afraid
Ingredient
- • Eight of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
It is Maria von Trapp’s
birthday today. Generations have enjoyed watching The Sound of Music as Maria learns to face her fears about her true calling, her fear of true love, and her fear of the devastation of war.
Use fear as an agent of transformation. Moving through the fear, a person is initiated and reborn to the other side. You can do the same.
The Eight of Cups takes a cue from the soundtrack of The Sound of Music as the “Climb Every Mountain” card. It represents the march onward and upward.
Place the Eight of Cups card. Enter the card. Step into the dim light and stand before the stacked cups. Choose the cup closest to you. Using both hands, pick it up. The cup is heavy. It is filled with liquid. Do not spill it. Gaze into the liquid.
Your fear reflects on the surface. Allow the vision to become clear. What does it look like? Is it a person, an obstacle, a goal, a behavior? Set it down.
Pick up the next cup with both hands. Inside this cup is the same liquid, but the reflection is different. You see the direct opposite of your fear. What is the polar opposite of your fear? How does it look? How does it change?
What gifts await when your fear is faced? Gaze at the reflection as if it were a scrying glass. See your life once you move through your fear. How is it affected? How does it look? How does it feel? When you see the polar opposite of your fear as a specific vision in the cup, set it down.
You now have a choice.
Will you remain frozen in fear at the bottom of the mountain or will you move forward? If you choose to face your fear and accept all of the challenges and rewards that come with it, embrace the cup with that vision. Drink the sweet liquid long and heavy until it has run dry. Make your way up the mountain.
January • 27
Enchanting Dream Spell
incantation
Four of swords
And cup of dreams
Shadows dark
Streams of moonbeams
Close my eyes
Take my flight
Journey through darkness
Dance on light
Ingredients
- • Candles
- • Almonds, Cheddar cheese, and a teaspoon of mustard
- • Four of Swords
- • Seven of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Lewis Carroll, author of
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, was born on this day in 1832. Alice’s adventures unwind like a lucid dream. Incredible landscapes and immersive experiences await the dreamer who decides they will have an active hand in their sleeping self.
Almonds are sacred to Artemis, goddess of the night. Almonds, cheeses, and grainy mustards contain high levels of melatonin, which increases the vividness of dreams. The Four of Swords represents a solid night’s sleep and a canvas for your dreams. The Seven of Cups allows us to choose our dreams and can even induce a lucid dream, in which you control the events of the dream.
Perform this enchantment while you are preparing for bed. Turn off all electric lights and machines. Light your candles. As the flickering light caresses your skin, lay the four of Swords before you. Enter the card. Stand before the sleeping knight effigy. Feel the solemnness of the cathedral around you. Sense the dark space behind and above you. Look up and note the soaring buttresses and arched ceilings of this ancient Gothic church. Otherworldly light streams through the stained glass. The knight’s effigy is carved from heavy stone. Feel the weight of this stone. It is the weight that captures you as you sleep.
Place the Seven of Cups card. Enter the card. Allow your eyes to glaze over. Observe the seven floating cups. Each cup is an experience, a landscape awaiting your footsteps. But wait, there are more than seven cups—the cups and clouds expand far beyond the perimeters of the card. Find a cup that contains something you would like to explore.
Nibble on your bedtime snacks while reciting the incantation.
28 • January
Spell for Peace in the Home
incantation
House of cards
House of love
Peace of light
Wings of dove
Darkness gone
Prevailing light
Space is clear
As is my sight
Ingredients
- • Bell
- • Ten of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Henry VII was born
on this day in 1457.
His marriage to Elizabeth
of York officially ended the
War of the Roses. Embrace his royal energy today to inspire a spell for gentle peace in the home.
Bells can be rung to dispel negative energy. To clear space, ring the bell in each corner of the house. The Ten of Cups represents a happy and positive home.
Place the Ten of Cups. Enter the card. Picture yourself standing beneath a glorious rainbow. A fine spray of mist plays across your cheeks as you look into the sky and see the glorious spectrum of rainbow colors. Children dance around you, their giggles like chimes filling the air.
Imagine the most important person in your life. The individual (alive or dead) fills you with calm and peace. See them standing under the rainbow with the warm white light of peace coming from their heart center and moving into you. It spreads through your body from your feet to your head. It radiates out through your legs and arms.
Beginning in the east, the direction of new beginnings, ring the bell three times in each corner. Move clockwise around your home until you have cleared the space.
January • 29
Sound Sleep Spell
incantation
Blissful sleep, come to me
Overcome and protect me
Twice this card
Means eight solid hours
I summon slumber
With all my powers
I drift on night’s tides
Till morning’s dew
Then I’ll wake up
And feel like new
Ingredients
- • Four of Swords
- • Sandalwood or myrrh oil
- • Black candle
- • Bath
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
In need of a deep sleep? Cast this spell to find the peace that only a sound night’s sleep can restore. The film Sleeping Beauty was released on this day in 1959.
The Four of Swords represents a sound, solid sleep that puts plaguing thoughts to rest. Sandalwood or myrrh oil aids in sleeping. A black candle represents unconscious slumber and the landscape of dreaming, darkness, and sleep. A hot bath before bed will relax and unwind you.
Prep your sleeping area before performing this spell. Turn off all electronic devices and unplug from technology thirty minutes prior. Set up your white noise machine, draw the curtains, and bless your sleeping space the same way you would cultivate sacred space.
Place the Four of Swords. Enter the card. Note the absence of sound. This knight’s crypt is buried far below the earth, under a painted window. He is locked inside the place you go to when in your deepest state of sleep. Behind the knight’s head is an alter with a single black candle. Light this candle. You will be regifted with the ability to sleep deeply.
Bring your attention back to your room. Massage your oil onto the candle, working it upward. Contemplate the darkness of sleep as expressed by the candle’s color. Focus your intention of sleep inside the candle. Light it and focus on the flame. Capture this flame in your mind’s eye.
Prepare a warm bath, adding a few drops of your sandalwood or myrrh to its comforting waters. Bathe, dry, and extinguish your candle. Retire to your bed for a good night’s sleep.
As you close your eyes, visualize your candle.
30 • January
Invoke Internal Peace Spell
incantation
Two of Swords
Calm and peace
Stress and pain
they do decrease
Find my center
In the storm
Nothing does me
Any harm
Ingredients
- • Two of Swords
- • Marshmallow
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Spain celebrates a day of nonviolence today. This observance carries the message of universal love and peace and was created by poet Llorenç Vidal Vidal.
People seem to use “happiness” as a catchphrase and appear preoccupied with searching for it. Perhaps we’d be better off if we sought peace instead of happiness.
The Two of Swords represents a self-created and cultivated inner peace. Marshmallows contain lunar energy.
Place the Two of Swords. Enter the card. The figure has placed the blindfold on herself voluntarily. She wishes to sink away from the outer world and into inner realms of peace. The water’s ripples echo distant trouble or disturbances, but she is not bothered.
What part of you remains untouched by anything from the outside world? Can you find that place? Can you let all your troubles sink away and be washed by tidal waters? Can moonlight cleanse you? Think of a moment where you found peace in the midst of stress. You have the capacity to do this.
Gaze upon the Two of Swords daily to invoke a practice of peace and acceptance in your life.
Eat a marshmallow and remember that life is sweet. Buoyancy is key.
Bounce back better than ever.
January • 31
Creative Project Spell
incantation
Create, create
Sweat brings joy
Create again
And do deploy
The best of my ability
Dazzling possibility
Sky’s the limit
Brilliance shines
See the way
Follow the signs
Ingredients
- • 4 pennies (copper is ruled by Venus/Empress)
- • 4 dimes
1. Ace of Pentacles
2. The Empress
3. The Emperor
4. The World
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is sacred to
Saraswati, Hindu goddess of the arts, music, science, and knowledge. She is known as the free-flowing waters of consciousness. As this, she is considered the place of all creative birth.
Cast this spell at the beginning of a new project or to gain momentum when you are underway with a project and you need a boost. Use for any creative project like writing a book, creating a garden, or renovating a house. It is one of my favorite and most powerful spells in the book.
Pennies represent beginnings; dimes represent endings. The Ace of Pentacles reflects the beginning of your idea. The pentacle is the packet containing the DNA of your project. It even contains a mini version of your final product. The Empress reflects a wanton expression of creativity and ideas. She thinks outside the box, exuding originality and flair. The Emperor is the counterpoint to the Empress. He creates the order for her expansive creative explosion and ensures the project stays on track. The World card represents the final stage of completion.
Place the Ace of Pentacles. Pile four pennies on top of the pentacle. Step inside the garden of creativity, feeling the expansion, blossom, and bloom of your plan. Place the Empress. She gives you permission to go wild, pushing yourself to the brink of your creative abilities.
Place the Emperor. Feel yourself pulling back, editing where you need to. Become ruthless with your project so it shines like no other. Place the World card. Place one dime at each edge. See the finished project. Imagine how you will feel when it’s complete.
