Healthy Birth Spell
incantation
Healthy baby
Healthy me
Deliver this baby
Come with glee
All goes well
All goes right
I deliver you
With all my might
Ingredients
1. The Magician
2. The World
3. The Sun
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Lammas and Lughnasa, ancient Celtic harvest celebrations, are performed today. The greatest harvest may just be the birthing of a child.
Many cultures consider the snake to be a powerful ally to a woman from conception to delivery. While snake imagery may feel counterintuitive to a pregnant woman, it is believed the movement of snakes can teach a woman how to give birth. It is also believed that the unhinging of the snake’s jaw is a metaphor for a woman’s expanding vagina during childbirth. Images of snakes may be placed around the birthing chamber, and snake jewelry may be worn during the birthing process.
Place all three cards facedown.
Flip the Magician card. Feel his electricity and energy. As you give birth, his conduit of energy moves through you in the pushing process. His snake unclasps from his belt and begins to wriggle. The snake slides into the air before you. It wiggles and moves. You imitate the snake, feeling the undulation of your body pushing out new life.
Flip the World card. See the soul who is about to come through you and into this beautiful world. The green wreath can be viewed as a birth canal. See it expanding in a healthy way, making room for the new child.
Flip the Sun card. See the healthy child come bounding through the card.
Feel this health inside your belly.
August • 2
Contractual Matters Spell
incantation
See what I want
This contract’s fair
Wants and needs
Are addressed there
It’s soon resolved
Written and signed
Abundance and pleasure
I am to find
1. Justice
2. Four of Swords
3. The Emperor
4. Desired outcome card
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Fourth of July is the official celebration day for US independence, but the actual signing of the contract occurred today in 1776.
Are you prepping contracts for a marriage, home purchase, new lease, or business? Perform this spell to assure you are covered and receive the best possible deal.
Justice rules over all legal matters. The Four of Swords represents the stability of the contract. The Emperor represents receiving the terms you want. Choose an outcome card that reflects your final desire.
Place Justice before you. Realize you don’t have to work on behalf of Justice, whose invisible wheels are already turning for you. Know that if you enter this contract responsibly and with your highest good stated and expressed, you will have satisfactory final terms.
Place the Four of Swords and enjoy the stability and silence of the card. This reflects the final contract.
Place the Emperor. See yourself standing up for exactly what you want. Nothing can sway you from your fair terms.
Place the outcome card you have selected. Envision yourself in your new reality.
3 • August
Morning Dew Enhance Beauty Spell
incantation
Blazing sun
Morning’s light
Prepare my ritual
Well tonight
As tendrils shoot
And flower blooms
I’ll prepare
Among my rooms
Freshest drops
I take with joy
Beauty serum
Do deploy
- • Small bowl
- • Vanilla extract
- • The Star
- • Candle
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Aztec goddess Chalchiuhtlicue commanded water, rivers, seas storms, and tempests. Her magic exists in morning dew, which has always been held in esteem for its strength and beauty properties.
Vanilla is used for attraction beauty. The Star card reflects renewal. Dew will make you as vibrant as a flower.
When the weather is warm and the forecast is fair, dress in your nightgown or a silky slip. Take a bowl and the vanilla out to the woods or your yard. Anoint the bowl with your vanilla while stating aloud how you would like your innate beauty enhanced. Leave the bowl at the base of a tree or in the grass where it will not be touched.
Return to your home.
Light a candle.
Place the Star card before you. Enter the card. Feel the purity of the water the Star pours. Feeling her water, imagine the physical effect you desire. Allow all stress to be washed away. As you sleep tonight, know you slumber beneath the protection of the stars.
At dawn’s light, return to the bowl outside and to the morning dew. Anoint yourself with the water, adding and spreading more dew on the places you would most like to effect. Return home and continue with your morning routine refreshed and feeling absolutely gorgeous.
August • 4
Six of Wands Connection Ritual
incantation
Six of Wands
Celebration time
Victory march
The ranks you’ll climb
But with each step
One more appears
The higher you climb
The wiser your years
- • Six of Wands
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Six of Wands
was called the Lord of
Victory by the magicians
of the Golden Dawn, who assigned it to the time period of August 2–11.
Enter the arcana of the Six of Wands.
Six implies advancement. The challenge of the five has been met. Sixes support forward momentum. A hierarchy is achieved.
Laughter, clapping, and music rises up to the window of your hotel room. You gulp your coffee, push aside the bone-white china cup, and make for the streets downstairs. The electric sound of trumpets fills your ears. Colored flags flap above you in the breeze. Cheers and cries spread around you as the parade commences. People have gathered in the streets as a great procession fills a stonewalled town. You slip through the crowd until you find a spot in front.
You are just in time to see a group of triumphant revelers pass by. They hold red wands that point in the air, bobbing up and down as they walk forward. The main figure, who must be their leader, rides atop a white horse whose hooves clop on the cobblestones with the rhythm of a ticking clock. Flushed with victory, the rider is dressed in the color of flames, red and yellow. A green laurel wreath circles his head and another is fastened to the top of his wand.
You recognize that the circle of victory is complete. The rider won the race he has trained for his whole life. The group of people and wands continues on their route, cheering and optimistic. Strangely, you catch the rider’s horse, festooned in celebratory green, casting a look backwards. There is more to come, more to unfold. The victory was not the end but simply a new beginning.
5 • August
Healing Love Spell
incantation
Waters of hope and clarity
Bring love of all variety
Let it heal
Let it flow
Give into my heart
And let it go
- • White candle
- • White rose
1. Ace of Cups
2. Two of Cups
3. Six of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is the Roman festival of Salus, goddess of public health. Love has the power to heal all wounds. It soothes and disinfects even those scars that won’t disappear. Cast this spell to procure a healing love into your life and imbue yourself with peace.
Roses are sacred to love. White roses represent the purifying love that can wash a soul clean. Choose a white candle for purification and cleansing. The Ace of Cups pours forth love’s healing waters. The Two of Cups is love’s mirror when we discover what we love in the reflection of the other. The Six of Cups reflects the purposeful act of giving oneself unselfishly to others.
Hold a white rose. Gently remove its petals. Let your defenses down with each pulled petal. Allow yourself to feel vulnerable. With each petal removed, feel a self-imposed layer of protection slip away.
Place the Ace of Cups before the pile of petals. Place the Two of Cups and Six of Cups under the liquid streams pouring from the ace.
The Ace of Cups is a fountain. It pours crystal clear refreshing water into each card. The cards become activated beneath the streams. This is the true nature of love and compassion.
See yourself in each card, giving and receiving healing love. How does it feel to be loved? How does it feel to give love?
Release your flower petals to the wind with a personal message of love. Deliver a message of love to someone you hold dear.
August • 6
Lovers Intimacy Spell
incantation
Rosemary sprigs
Loyalty true
My love, my soul
I bare to you
You feel my needs
Respond in turn
While Lovers’ fire
Within me burns
- • The Lovers
- • 1 teaspoon orange peel
- • 1 teaspoon rose petals
- • 1 teaspoon rosemary
- • Sheet of paper and envelope
- • Champagne or ginger ale
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Don Juan—the film with the most recorded onscreen kisses—was released on this day in 1926.
This spell may be cast with your partner or alone. In magic, love, and life, you receive what you give. When you seek something from your relationship, freely give what you desire.
The Lovers card reflects the intimacy of amour. Orange peels are used for love. Rose petals echo erotic love. Rosemary refreshes the memory of a lover’s first glance. Bubbly drinks tickle the senses.
Place the Lovers card before you. Stand up and slowly take off all of your clothes until you are as naked as the Eve figure on the card. Open your posture like her, feet apart and palms lowered but reaching up. Feel your vulnerability and allow your energy to open completely. Offer yourself to your partner with nothing left hidden.
Write and repeat the words of what you want to experience with your partner. As you do, make a promise to either express this desire to them or tell them what you want. Imagine them doing this for you. Drink your bubbly, imagining the tingles are your lover’s fingers tickling you.
Mix your ingredients together on top of the paper. Fold the herbs into the paper and secure in the envelope. Tuck this envelope inside your underwear drawer.
7 • August
Home Blessing and Connection Spell
incantation
Corner crevice
Spaces meet
Hold us tight
Life is sweet
Comfort is our
Permanent guest
As of now
This home is blessed
1.The High Priestess
2.Four of Pentacles
3. Randomly drawn card
- • Four containers of salt
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Construction on Florence,
Italy’s Duomo began on this day in 1420. Thought by many to be the most beautiful cathedral in all of Europe, European cities often have a cathedral or square at the heart of their city.
Have you recently moved into a new space? Does your living quarters reflect, comfort, and support you in the way it should? Our home is a physical extension of ourselves. This spell is a way to connect to the heart of your home. Cast this spell in the physical spot you consider to be the heart of the house. You will cast and connect from the deepest part of yourself.
The High Priestess reflects the deepest, truest part of your inner self. The Four of Pentacles represents the physical structure of your home.
Place the High Priestess and Four of Pentacles cards. Enter the High Priestess. Embrace the silent, authentic part of yourself that she represents. Listen for the water running behind her; hear the cascading overtures of your soul. Center yourself.
Become the High Priestess. Sit in her throne. Feel her crown. Look through her eyes. Gaze upon the Four of Pentacles. See this figure looming large before you. It is the spirit of your home. Let the vision transform and reveal itself to you. The four pentacles represent the four walls, the wood that absorbs the energy, the foundation upon which your chambers lie.
Shuffle your deck. Ask Spirit how you can best honor them in your home and randomly pick a card. Lay the card sideways between the other two cards. Meditate on the card’s message.
Set four containers of salt in the four corners of the home. Leave for twenty-four hours before disposing.
August • 8
Pleasure in Life Spell
incantation
Satisfaction in life
Things I love
Intense pleasure
Like a glove
Beauty, luxury
Simple things
For what I need
I have the means
- • Dried wisteria petals
- • Carrier oil (such as olive or jojoba)
- • Yellow candle
- • Nine of Pentacles
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is Happiness
Happens Day, created
by the Secret Society of Happy People.
Happiness can feel like a mysterious quality that is seemingly out of reach for many of us. External things and objects—the “pentacle” material world or “wandlike” fame—are thought to provide happiness, but happiness springs from the inside, not the other way around. Change your tack a bit. Rather than focusing on happiness, focus instead on pleasure-producing aspects of life.
Wisteria promotes pleasure and good fortune. Yellow candles promote expansion and creativity. The Nine of Pentacles reflects a fully satisfied, pleased, and pleasured woman.
Inhale the sweetness of your petals. Crush them with your fingers. Blend them into the oil. Dress your yellow candle with the oil and burn. Once your candle’s flame has alighted, place the Nine of Pentacles before you in the flickering light.
Enter the card. Stand before this magnificent woman. The two of you inhabit a vineyard, ripe and fertile in the warm harvest sunlight. Bees hum a chorus as they dance between juicy grapes. A snail crawls slowly across the dirt.
The woman holds out her falcon for you to examine. His movement is quick and his ears sharp as he senses your closeness. Put on the musky, thick falconer’s leather glove. Reach out to receive the bird. He hops to your hand.
The woman has vanished. You are alone in the vineyard. You have become the Nine of Pentacles. You are surrounded with everything that has ever brought you pleasure: food, people, entertainment, stories, experiences, delights. You recognize now that your five senses are the gateway to pleasure. As you exit the card, you bring the cultivation of sensory pleasure back with you.
9 • August
Witch’s Finger Experiment
incantation
Take my energy
Grow and thrive
With my love
You come alive!
- • The Magician
- • Potted plant or flower
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Michaelangelo’s image of God’s finger touching Adam’s was revealed as the Sistine Chapel in Rome opened on this day in 1483.
Try this experiment to determine how effectively you channel energy. The results may surprise you. A pointed finger, assigned to Jupiter, sends and directs will and intent. It channels energy in a single line like a magic wand—sometimes even more effectively.
The Magician card points his finger to the heavens to channel energy down; he casts it beneath him.
Place the Magician card. Enter the card. Stand as the Magician. You are a powerful conduit of energy. Rather than standing behind the table and acting as the conductor of power channeled from above, find the epicenter of your personal energy. Where does the core of your power reside? Is it inside your belly? Is it at the base of your spine? Every person is built differently. Seek your unique energetic center.
Feel it growing in a ball of yellow, positive energy, matching the color of the card’s background. Raise the energy up and feel it moving through your arm. When you feel ready, point the finger at your plant or flower and repeat the incantation.
Perform this act a few times a week. See if there is any noticeable change in your plant. Once you are comfortable channeling energy with your index finger, you never need to be concerned if you leave your magic wand behind.
August • 10
Meteor Shower Message of Love Spell
incantation
Across the universe
And night sky
Thoughts to you
From me do fly
Violet night and
Meteors bright
Desire me
And soon reunite
1. Card representing you
2. Card representing them
3. Eight of Wands
- • Summer night
- • Sparklers
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today marks the approximate height of the Perseid meteor shower visible across the Northern Hemisphere, making the languid nights of August excellent for shooting-star gazing.
Native American tribes once thought shooting stars were made of lunar material and called them “children of the moon.”
This spell must be performed at night. You will seal the spell by writing a message in the air with a sparkler.
Lay the cards representing you and them upon the table. Recall the powerful sorceress that you are. Feel the emotion and intention that you are sending. See the other person very clearly in your mind’s eye. Lay the Eight of Wands down to direct the path of energy like a road map. Imagine this person—where they are and what they are doing.
Begin rubbing your palms together and feel the friction of energy created. Continue and focus on what you want to send them. When you are ready, pull your hands apart; you will feel the heat and energy. Place this energy over the Eight of Wands and feel it shooting out to them, falling all around them. State your message out loud.
Go outside. Light a sparkler. Write your message to them in the inky black air. When you are done, lie back and look to the sky. Should you see a falling star, know your message of love was delivered.
11 • August
Troublesome Guest Cleansing Spell
incantation
Guests of mine
Family, friends
Your stay has come
To a timely end
I wish you all
The love and light
Peace has now
Consumed my sight
- • Two of Swords
- • Sage smudge stick
- • Gathered or purchased flowers
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Summer is high time for entertaining. Sometimes it means having guests who carry negative energy like luggage to your home. Cast this spell the moment their backs are out the door.
The Two of Swords breeds peace of mind. Sage clears your mental and physical space. Flowers bring life to a room.
Place the Two of Swords before you. Take a moment to sit, center yourself, and assume the position depicted upon the card, arms crossed protectively in front of your chest. Feel the warmth of your skin through your hands. Feel a soft blindfold upon your eyes. This will block out all distractions. It also protects you from integrating what was seen and heard during the course of your guests’ stay.
Embrace your calm, peaceful center. Discover the part of yourself that no person can touch. Sit inside of it. Feel the calmness expand out of your chest so that calm, languid blue surrounds your entire body like an oval ball of energy. Feel it extending further to fill the entire room.
Allow your imaginary blindfold to slip to the ground. Open your eyes. Light the smudge stick. Smudge each and every room in your house, imagining that as the smoke clears, calm blue settles everywhere.
Venture outside. Gather as many flowers, herbs, or ferns as possible to create a fresh vase for as many guests as were in your home. Bring them to your sink and arrange them to your liking. Place the vases in the heart of your home. The vases rebalance the energy of each guest so that the equilibrium of your home is regained.
August • 12
High Priestess Authentic Self Spell
incantation
Priestess, come
Impart your wisdom
Take it, learn it
Share my vision
From this moment on
I will be true
Fall into your
Misty blue
- • The High Priestess
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is Helena Blavasky’s birthday. Founder of the Theosophical Society, she was a true high priestess.
The High Priestess represents our essential true self. She is the receptacle of all true personal knowledge. Whatever issues, decisions, or challenges we are facing, when we act from our authentic self, our highest good is activated.
Enter the arcana of the High Priestess. You are shrouded in velvety darkness. A light pierces the dark like a star twinkling in the night. You focus in on the light and gently fly toward it. The light becomes a cross. This cross is the intersection of the spiritual and the material.
The High Priestess blooms behind the cross that drapes her chest. She is the guardian of knowledge from your true spiritual self. Objects float like mist without physical boundaries. The High Priestess is like a cool fog. Misty tendrils rise from the water surrounding you. You and the priestess are on an island, with only ocean, mist, and moonlight. A sense of peace, a solemn air, pervades. You know this sacred space in churches, temples, mountains, tree groves, waterfalls, and streams.
Stand before the High Priestess. Realize, on the deepest level possible, she is really you: a metaphysical reflection of your soul’s essence. The figure seated before you is all you have ever been and will be in eternity. You merge with her, sitting down in your royal seat. Look through the eyes of the High Priestess. What do you see? How does it feel to be inside this astral body, light as a feather? You look down to discover a scroll in your lap. This scroll is the book of your life. Its language becomes decipherable as you live authentically. To live in who you are is to recover the knowledge you have lost. It is your path in this life to reclaim it—to become who you were always meant to be.
Unravel the scroll. Be true to yourself.
13 • August
Diana’s Hunting Charm
incantation
Through wild wind
And tangled trees
My gifts have others
On their knees
Track, chase, catch
And then I share
The gift comes with
The speed of air
Page of Swords
Point my way
Find exactly what
I need today
- • Candle
- • Pen and paper
- • Page of Swords
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Ancient Romans celebrated Diana, goddess of the hunt, with a Festival of Torches today, called Nemoralia. Diana, a deity of the moon, communicates with animal and forest realms to locate what is needed.
We are natural hunters and collectors. Not so long ago, we roamed the forests, fields, and beaches to gather from nature. You can charm the Page of Swords, the Nancy Drew of the tarot deck, when hunting for something.
This charm requires absolute specificity.
Light a candle. Write down exactly what you seek, in as much detail as possible.
Place the Page of Swords before you. Enter the card. Feel the rush of alpine wind on your face as you walk to greet the page. She meets you with clever, quick eyes. She is the hunter: analytical, smart, and calculating. Free of responsibility and relationships, she follows only what piques her interest. She is interested in helping you. Tell her what you seek. Birds soar above her. They are her familiars, her lookouts. They act as her eyes, telling her what lies ahead and where to look for what she needs. Her sword points upward to higher realms of crystal-clear thought.
Stand as this page. Look through her eyes. Feel her soft leather boots on your feet and the rocky ground beneath them. See your path as it unfolds before you. Spy your prize in your mind’s eye. The object of your desire waits for you and wants for you to claim it.
Place the Page of Swords in your bag and place her image on your electronic devices until you find what you seek.
August • 14
Ritual to Align with Lizard Energy
incantation
Hot grains of sand
Warm beams of sun
Lizard magic
Has begun
Creep and enter
Shadow space
Fire magic fills
Me with grace
Hidden reality
Becomes clear
When experiencing
The lizard sphere
- • King of Wands
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is World Lizard Day, celebrating all 6,000 mysterious species of lizard. Lizards and salamanders are fire creatures existing in the sultry domain of Wands.
Are you fascinated by dreamtime, seeking regeneration, or looking for the power to face personal fears? Lizard energy bestows transformational gifts upon you. The King of Wands carries the essence of lizard energy.
Place the King of Wands. Enter the card. Gaze at the lizard at the king’s feet. Become the lizard. Look up through the lizard’s eyes at the King of Wands. How giant does the king appear from your new perspective? The king gives you a wink. Trace your eyes across the shapes of the desert landscape.
You spy a crevice under the king’s throne. This is where you live. Use all four of your legs to move toward the shadow crevice. Feel your belly move across the hot sand.
It is cooler under the throne. A warm nest of eggs is protected from desert scavengers. Turn and place your head at the line where sun meets shadow. You exist between two realities: the wet darkness of the earth’s belly and the acrid dryness of the desert air.
You discover a newfound camouflage ability. You transform into any color by standing next to it. You can now melt into any situation and easily avoid danger; when you sense negativity, stand back and let it pass without absorbing it. This power gives you strength. It is the strength of remaining true to yourself. Your tail, like human hair, regenerates itself when broken or cut. It is a reminder to move forward and discard what is no longer needed.
Stay inside lizard energy as long as you wish. Allow it to surprise you. Bring these qualities and visions with you as you exit the card.
15 • August
Drawing Down the Sun
incantation
Rays of light, waves of sun
Your energy around me spun
Solar magic infuses, alights me
Delight abounds for all to see
You are my source
From you I grow
And through your gifts
I do bestow
Into my deck
Spills love and light
I’ll use these cards
To my delight
- • Natural sunlight
- • Tarot deck
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
In 18 bce Emperor
Augustus declared this day would mark Ferragosto,
a celebration of the harvest and a rest from the growing season. Mindfully sit back and let the sun fill you with power.
Drawing down the power of the sun is a powerful tool to infuse yourself and your tarot deck with solar properties. Decide which aspect of the sun you would like to invoke. Healing and protective properties? Rapid expansion and growth? Warmth and passion?
The sun makes all physical life possible. If you desire growth in any area of life, shine sunlight upon it. Watch as it prospers and grows. Sunday corresponds to the sun, the sign of Leo, and the color gold. Perform on Sunday if possible.
The quality of sunlight is based on the time of year and should be considered. Are you working with the sultry yellow saturation of summer sun or are you working with the white stark sunlight of winter, reflected by snow? Is it the golden and mature, ruddy light of fall or the refreshing and gentle sunlight of spring?
Once you have set your solar intention, sit in the sunlight and mindfully place your deck in order. Begin by ordering the Major Arcana, starting with the Fool and moving through the World. Arrange each suit in numerical order. As you do so, see and feel the sun filling each card. When you have finished ordering, remove the Sun card and place it face up on the top of the deck. Place the deck next to you, using a crystal or rock to keep the cards from flying away if you are outside. Open and relax your posture. Place your palms open to the sun. Absorb the energy into your body. Let it fill you and your deck. Leave the deck to charge under the sun for the remainder of the day. Bring inside as twilight falls.
August • 16
Gain the Edge in Competition Spell
incantation
I know deeply
Of the reason
That I’m going
To win this season
Quick with speed
I’m ahead, I see
Victory is
Ahead of me
1. King of Swords
2. Ace of Swords
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The famed Palio horse race occurs on this day in Sienna, Italy. Call in the frenetic energy of this hallowed event to fill you with power.
Use the razor precision of Swords to help you gain the edge in any competition. Focus on the quality you desire for winning. Skill? Speed? Reflex? Knowledge? Charisma? Choose one word describing the competitive edge you require.
Place the King of Swords before you. Enter the card. Look deeply into his steadfast eyes. Feel his resolution as thick and solid as the steel blade in his hand. Make an ally of this king. What would he request of you? What sacrifice or gift might you make to him or to the element of the wind so he will grant you his favor? Ask him. See yourself giving him this gift in your mind’s eye. Once you have, make your request. Utter the word you have chosen once.
The moment you say this word, place the Ace of Swords upon the king. Your desire is granted. In your mind’s eye take the Ace of Swords in hand. Though the sword is heavy, you command it easily. Pull the sword from its upright position and hold it straight out in front of you. Look down your arm, down the steel of the blade. See your end goal as if through a crosshair. What lies at the center of your aim? What is your focal point? What must you see in your mind’s eye to win? This is what you will focus on to give yourself the edge. See this vision clearly and succinctly. Once it is laser focused in your mind, repeat the incantation.
Exit the card. Draw, sketch, or journal what you envisioned to keep it fresh in your mind. Recall this image as a focal point when you compete or when you think about competing.
17 • August
Eucalyptus Banish Bad Habits Spell
incantation
Habit grown like
Wretched weed
Time for you
To go to seed
I’m done with you
Our time is through
Bid you adieu
Time to renew
- • Eucalyptus branch (found in flower shops)
- • Pot of water
- • Six of Swords
- • A warm bath
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
On this day in 309, the Emperor Maxentius banished Pope Eusebius to Sicily. Banishing spells, like royal banishing orders, are meant to rid something completely from our life.
Eucalyptus has been used for centuries by cunning folk and witches, who use it for protection, purification, and health. The Six of Swords helps you banish any bad habit, be it a behavior, a person, or a way of thinking. The Six of Swords reflects moving forward. The suit of Swords represents the mind and the place where habits are formed. The mind is where your synapses fire and create neural pathways of habitual behavior. You have the power to rewire them.
Cut and boil the leaves, bark, and twigs of a eucalyptus branch. Reduce the heat to a simmer for thirty minutes once the water is rolling.
Start your bath.
Place the Six of Swords. Enter the card. Water laps against a dock; silence fills the card. This is a moment of transition. Become the woman on the boat. Step onto the boat, feel it moving with the weight of your body. Find balance in the boat. Cover yourself with a warm scarf. You are safe and secure as the boat moves from the dock. On the damp floor of the boat, your habit lies wrapped in a bundle. Place it in your lap. Thank the habit for the lessons it taught you. You will retain the lessons, but not the habit, in the future. Place the bundle over the side of the boat. Release. Watch it sink to the watery depths below.
Feel the boat reach the distant shore. Exit the card.
Strain the herbs from the liquid on the stove and add the eucalyptus water to your bath. Visualize your new reality while soaking.
August • 18
Dinner with the Departed Ritual and Reading
incantation
Deepest sleep
And waxing moon
I’m blessed to have
You in my room
I feel you close
And love you so
By this candle’s
Flickering glow
We can talk and
Laugh and speak
Your wisdom’s light
Is what I seek
- • Photograph or object of ancestor
- • Mindfully prepared meal
- • Tarot deck
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today Japanese Buddhists celebrate the Bon Festival to honor ancestor spirits. Lanterns, candles, and luminaries are sent downriver to help spirits find their way to the netherworld.
This ritual is a wonderful way to connect with a departed loved one. Performed alone or with a family member or friend, this ritual and reading is best performed for someone existing in your living memory. It is best to perform this ritual for a person you had a deep connection with, rather than a distant ancestor.
Focus on a photograph or object of a departed loved one. Recall their essence. Smell their scent, see their skin, hear their voice. Perhaps you recall a joke or funny mannerism. Take all the time you need to see, feel, and recall them completely.
Once they are in your mind’s eye, begin planning a meal consisting of this person’s favorite foods, drinks, and desserts. What did they love to cook or eat? Make a shopping list. Imagine they are with you as you shop, looking over your shoulder while you cook. Prepare the meal, allowing the sights, smells, and textures of the food to bring you closer to them. Set the table with their favorite music and flowers—however they enjoyed dinner—and be sure to set out a specific place for them. Place a small bit of food on their plate. Enjoy your meal.
After dinner, communicate with them in proper conversational form through your cards. Take out your tarot deck. Light a candle to represent their spirit. Repeat the incantation. Begin a dialogue of active communication, using the cards as the answering device. Soul communication is delicate, intimate work. It improves with practice. Allow them to speak to you through the cards. Trust your voice and theirs.
19 • August
Bang for Your Buck Shopping Spell
incantation
Wheel of Fortune
My spinning luck
Assure I get the best
Bang for my buck
Guide me right
To a sale
I’ll never have
To pay retail
1. Seven of Swords
2. Nine of Pentacles
3. The Wheel of Fortune
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Visionary and genius Coco Chanel, who built the famous fashion empire, was born on this day in 1883. Channel Chane (pun intended).
This spell assures you will get the best deals and score excellent, drool-worthy items. Perform on the morning of the planned shopping trip. The suit of Swords is used because it is the suit of calculation and observation; Sword instincts serve you well when shopping. The Wheel of Fortune offers supportive energy.
The layout of the spell acts as an energetic pathway, sourcing the power from above down and into your body.
Place the Seven of Swords. Enter the card and become the figure. The swords you escape with are the items you find. Not only do you find precisely what you seek, but all items are heavily discounted.
Place the Nine of Swords. Enter the card and become the figure. You bask in the garden of luxury. Your new items bring you extreme pleasure.
Place the Wheel of Fortune. Watch the card spring to life, revolving and circling. The clouds swirl and all gears, like clockwork, are in full operation. These are the wheels of luck. They churn for you. Thank them and utter the incantation.
August • 20
Embrace My Fear Spell
incantation
Swords of action, Wands of fire
Cup’s emotion, Pentacle pyre
I face this fear
I will prevail
Through forward channels
I will sail
Fear will always point the way
In one place I will not stay
Transform, change
And then adapt
Victorious life
Become enwrapped
- • Tarot deck
- • Celtic Cross spread
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
H. P. Lovecraft, author
of fantasy and creepy horror fiction, was born on this day in 1890.
Our fears offer us many clues to our true nature, and it is often the case that we fear what we want the most. By embracing a fear, facing it, and exploring it, you will emerge transformed.
Perform the Celtic Cross spread for yourself and your life situation. Take careful notes on your reading (sometimes, writing out your reading as if you were speaking to someone will help you become succinct with your answers).
Make special note of card number 9, your hopes and fears. Note also that 9 is the number of wish fulfillment, so keep this card out once all the others are put away.
How is this card emblematic of your deepest fear? How does it also represent your hopes? Are your hopes and fears two sides of the same coin?
Enter this card and embrace it for what it is.
Adopt this card as your talisman, your emblem of action. Decide upon a coarse of action—one single thing you will do to face this fear.
21 • August
Switch Career Spell
incantation
With these cards
I do brew
A change for something
Shiny, new
All things in time
Come to an end
New opportunity
Is my friend
A turn, a switch
A swap, a shift
The change comes fast
It’s very swift
1. Card representing your current career
2. The Hanged Man
3. Card representing what must be released
4. Card representing qualities of your new direction
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is the Roman festival honoring Consus, deity of harvest and grain.
The metaphor of harvesting grains may be used when examining elements of our life that have to do with breadwinning. The selection of cards is as important as the visualization of this spell. Be thoughtful in your selection of card 3. You must release what keeps you bound to your current situation. What is it? Financial security? Stability? Safety? Fear? Expectations?
Place card 1. Focus on the qualities of your current situation. How has it sustained you, defined you, and challenged you?
Place card 2. The wood from which he hangs is a powerful crossroads. You are at an intersection. Enter the card. Stand at the junction.
Place card 3 under the Hanged Man. See the behavior represented by the card leave your body like a ghost. Watch it walking away from you, down the path, becoming smaller, until it disappears. Know this is a dark path you will not follow. You have let part of yourself go; as you venture forward you may feel vulnerable. Vulnerability means you are moving in the right direction.
Place card 4. Walk down the path in this direction full of possibility. See it, feel it, embrace it.
August • 22
Seven of Wands Connection Ritual
incantation
Seven of Wands
Passions fight
Lay down your sticks
End this blight
When passion bubbles
To the fore
Time to cool
Not even score
Take a break
Give it a rest
Time will sort out
What is best
- • Seven of Wands
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Enter the arcana of the Seven of Wands.
The Seven of Wands was called the Lord of Valor by the magicians of the Golden Dawn, who assigned it the time period of August 12–22.
Seven is a mystical number. Seven is a lucky number. There are seven notes on the musical scale, seven days of the week, seven planets in our solar system besides Earth, seven deadly sins, seven seas, seven colors of the rainbow, seven continents, and seven wonders of the ancient world.
You stand among a crowd in a green field, the sky as blue as if a child had splashed it with tempera paint. Cries and voices fill your ears as the crowd ignores you while jeering and taunting a man. The gentleman stands upon a small hill. The crowd points sticks toward the man, who raises his own staff in defense. You wonder what he could have done to rile everyone up. Gazing at the wand he grips, you note that his tool, an object once used for growth and expansion, has been transformed into a weapon. How could this be?
A grimace of pain and realization fills the man’s face. He relinquishes the wand and steps back. He was safe from the crowd all along. He won by not engaging. His power and passion got everyone worked up. The crowd saw something of themselves, something they didn’t understand, in this man. Now they would punish him for it. He realizes that the way to win is to not engage. Taking this lesson to heart, he walks out of sight, stick dragging behind him. The crowd disperses, mumbling and disappointed. A single staff lies on the ground. It reverberates with power. Will you pick it up or leave it be?
23 • August
Knight of Swords Connection Ritual
incantation
Beware, beware
Blood’s in the air
Do not stop
Do not stare
Moving with
A clear directive
The Knight of Swords
Is quite effective
Off he rides
On the breeze, he’s gone
Fierce, sharp words
And full of brawn
- • Knight of Swords
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Enter the arcana of the Knight of Swords.
Scottish hero William Wallace died on this day in 1305. Wallace was the quintessential Knight of Swords: he fought tirelessly for Scottish independence.
The Knight of Swords contains the expansive energy of a maniacal, focused fury. Small doses of this essence yield quick, direct results.
Step aside. Move quick. Sound and fury surround you. Jagged clouds dart across the sky. Trees succumb to wind gusts that bend them at will. The earth quakes; the ground beneath your feet trembles like a frightened child. You turn to the sound of pounding horse hooves. A knight and horse gallop toward you.
The knight charges forward, his war sword piercing the way, splitting air as he moves. Gleaming silver armor protects his body from attackers. His feet bear razor-sharp points from toe to heel, protecting him from those who approach from the front or back. The knight’s cap bears feathers, symbolic of birds; he’s decorated with butterflies, emblematic of the flight of the soul and the element of air, from which his temper, vision, and strength were born.
As the knight crosses your field of vision, you note his sturdy horse. The horse is under the knight’s command, but he is his own entity. The horse contains his own nature. He moves forward as the knight commands, yet his eyes look back at the knight, questioning the motives of his demanding master. In a flash of insight, you realize the horse represents the choices we make, the actions we take, and the plans we set into place. The horse represents our manipulation of the world and other energies separate from our own.
The pair fade into the distance as the wind dies and the ground becomes stable once again. The time for thinking is over. It is a moment of decisive action.
August • 24
Stop the Madness Spell
incantation
Insane behavior
You stop now
Banish you far
I don’t care how
Frozen, ice bound, frosted
Before you make me
Too exhausted
Leave me in peace
And offer no harm
Your negative power
I do disarm
- • Slip of paper
1. The Devil
2. Ten of Wands
3. The Star
- • Ice cube tray
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today the Roman festival honoring Mania, goddess of spirits, insanity, and madness, was celebrated.
Craft your intention. Write down the behavior and “madness” you wish to terminate. If you wish to stop a behavior stemming from another person, be clear it is the effect of their behavior upon you, not the actual person that you will terminate.
Place the Devil card before you. Contemplate the insanity swirling around you.
Cross it with the Ten of Wands. Feel the dark, destructive energy being blocked by the field of wands. The cycle is over.
Place or roll the paper with your intention inside an ice cube tray or freezable container. Fill with water and place inside your freezer. The mania is stopped.
Place the Star over both cards. Enter the card. Feel the Star’s rejuvenation pouring over every aspect of your life.
25 • August
Veil of Neptune Spell
incantation
Veil of Neptune
Claim this space
My work fills up
This special place
Veil of Neptune
Now I’m free
Reveal new things
Unseen by me
- • Cups court cards (king, queen, knight, page)
- • 4 small candles
- • Veil, pashmina, or silky scarf
- • Seven of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The closest approach
to the planet Neptune
occurred on this day in 1989 by Voyager 2. Neptune is named for the Roman god of the sea but is undetectable to the naked eye and was unknown to the ancients.
Neptune is a dreamy blue planet with five rings and fourteen moons. It rules dreams, subtlety, and the subconscious. This misty, watery planet also oversees witchcraft, sorcery, and mysticism. It is a helpful planet to access when entering a new mystical practice.
Are you looking for privacy in a new metaphysical practice or for work? Are you beginning a yoga practice, a journaling workshop, transcendental meditation, or beginning a creative project requiring solitude? The Veil of Neptune Spell assures you’ll receive the privacy needed to conduct your new practice. It assures you spiritual space and the peace needed to perform your work unencumbered.
Begin this spell by staking out new metaphysical space around you. Mark these lines as you would stake property lines. Instead of stakes, you will ground your four corners with the dreamy Cups court cards, who will become your watchtowers and guardians.
Place a candle and the Page of Cups to the east. Repeat the incantation.
Place a candle and the Knight of Cups to the south. Repeat the incantation.
Place a candle and the Queen of Cups to the west. Repeat the incantation.
Place a candle and the King of Cups to the north. Repeat the incantation.
Place the veil or scarf symbolically over your head and focus on the Seven of Cups. Enter the card with your mind’s eye and expand the possibilities to include infinite cups spread before you, as far as the eye can see. Stay and meditate with the card on your new practice.
August • 26
Organizing Energy of Virgo Spell
incantation
Organize, crunch
Edit, throw
If you don’t serve me
It’s time to go
My energy’s quick
I do this fast
My efforts are good
And their effects last
The space is changed
Inside and out
Possibilites around me
Sprout
- • The Hermit
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is the fourth day of
the astrological sign of Virgo, ruled by Mercury. Virgo’s attention to detail is second to none. Nothing escapes their watchful and meticulous eye. Virgos are also famous for their caring and compassionate nature.
Cast this spell when it is time for you to power-punch clean, get your office organized, your financial house in order, kick off a healthy eating plan, or clean out your closets. Organizing and cleaning can be a powerful spiritual tool/practice. A skilled practitioner organizes physical space while simultaneously reconstructing metaphysical space. Actions on the physical plane affect the metaphysical plane and vice versa. Remember the Magician’s creed: “As above, so below.”
The Hermit card is assigned to the sign of Virgo.
Enter the card. You discover yourself inside the dark cave of the Hermit. It is where he was before raising his lantern. A lone candle glows, and by this light you sit and contemplate. See the space you must organize in your mind’s eye. What do you want the space to look like? Who or what is the inspiration for setting things straight? What is the implication of getting things straightened out? How does getting rid of the unneeded free you? How have you organized in the past? Do you become distracted, disheartened, or bored? See yourself organizing with crystal-clear vision. What else changes as a result of your organization?
Feel your power and wisdom. Know your vision is unstoppable. You are unstoppable. Blow out the Hermit’s candle.
Get to work.
27 • August
Renewal Spell
incantation
Ace of Cups
Wash and erase
Remove the thoughts
I just can’t face
Rinse and down
The drain with you
I’m squeaky clean
And happy too
- • Eucalyptus essential oil
- • 1 cup sea salt
- • Fresh lemon, sliced
- • Fresh lavender
- • Ace of Cups
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today is the Roman
festival Volturnalia, honoring Volturnus, god of waters and fountains.
Fountains are magical places of renewal, drawing observers like magnets. Mindfully bathing or showering will transform your energy and cleanse your aura. The Ace of Cups, the fountain card, represents the healing essence of a waterfall, the rejuvenating energy of water, and general emotional clearing. Focus on this card while bathing to extract its renewing properties. Eucalyptus and lemons are both associated with the moon, water, and purification. Salt is used for protection, and lavender is used for its healing properties.
Place a few drops of eucalyptus oil into the running water of a bath. Add sea salt, lemon, and lavender. Place the Ace of Cups where you can see it from the tub but where it will not get wet. Hop into the tub as it is filling up. The bath is echoing the properties of a fountain. Focus on the Ace of Cups as the water runs. This ace is the source of the entire suit of Cups. Continue to work with the energy of the card and running water until the bath is full.
Once the tub is full, rub all of your skin with the lemon slices. As you do so, imagine any and all negativity being erased. Feel your stress disappearing. Bask in the water as long as you like. When you are finished, unplug the drain but remain in the tub. Let the water run through the drain. Imagine any residual negative energy being washed down the drain.
Towel off. You are renewed.
August • 28
Get Back on Track Spell
incantation
Focus, movement
Getting clear
The time has come
My goal is near
I’ve dallied now
It’s time to run
I see it now
It has begun
Move toward the things
That I must do
To let my hopes and
Dreams come true
1. Soul purpose card
2. Instinct card
3. Resource card
4. True north card (where you need to go)
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Today in 1859 a geomagnetic storm caused the northern lights to shine so brightly that they were seen as far as Japan. The term “true north” describes one’s internal compass. The magic of the northern lights reminds us to cultivate our own “true north.”
This spell snaps you into place and brings clarity when you feel yourself veering off track. Stepping off track can help to reevaluate our situation. This spell helps you hop back on.
Specifically choose four cards.
The spell begins the moment you begin card selection. As each card is chosen, place before you as instructed and enter the card, meditating on each one.
1. Soul purpose card. This card represents the essence of you. Why you are here? What is the nature of your soul as best reflected by a tarot image?
2. Instinct card. What do you trust about yourself? What tarot image reflects your best instinct?
3. Resource card. What can you depend on? What represents your support system?
4. True north card. What direction do you want to head in? Where do you deeply desire to go?
Place cards 1, 2, and 3 in place, and set card 4 randomly outside of the triangle. Because this is representing the track you are getting on, move all the cards in the triangle to face that card.
Once the cards have been selected and worked with, turn cards 1, 2, and 3 to face card 4. This channels all efforts toward your true north.
29 • August
Lampadomancy
incantation
Whispering crickets
Dancing flame
My questioning heart
Comes again
Burning energy matches
My heart’s desire
I often feel
Consumed by fire
Need to know
What to do next
In your flicker
My truth reflects
- • Kerosene or hurricane lamp
- • Tarot deck
- • Question
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Charitable donors in ancient England provided funds for candles, wicks, and lanterns to shed light for travelers on dark nights. On this date in 1656 John Wardall gave the sizable bequest of four English pounds to churchwardens for an evening glass lantern to hang in their vicinity.
Lampadomancy is a form of divination using the wick of a lamp. The practice dates back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ancient lamps were formed with terra cotta, filled with thick oils, and cotton string served as a wick. Diviners observed, interpreted, and divined the dancing flames and wick. You can do the same.
Clear your space. Formulate a excellent question. Take your time observing the lamp; consider the oil, and examine the wick. Align your energy with the lamp. Ask your question out loud when you light the wick. Align your energy with the flame. Can you make the flame rise by asking? Will it dance for you? Where does the flame end and the air begin?
Watch the wick carefully to read its signs. Is it an explosive or calm flame? Does it extinguish quickly or dance happily? Is it giving off smoke or burning cleanly?
When you feel you have found guidance to your question or topic, shuffle and randomly pull a few cards from your tarot deck for further clarification.
August • 30
Eight of Pentacles Connection Ritual
incantation
Eight of Pentacles
Artisanal card
Reminds me loving
Work’s not hard
I’m paid well and
Time, it flies
With gorgeous work
Before my eyes
Happy to indulge
My day
In doing work
That feels like play
- • Eight of Pentacles
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Enter the arcana of the Eight of Pentacles.
The Eight of Pentacles
was called the Lord of
Prudence by the magicians of the Golden Dawn, who assigned it the time period of August 23–September 1.
A knock, knock, knocking is heard. Your attention is drawn to a man who whittles away on a wooden bench. The scent of cedar and pine hangs in the heady, sweet air inside a woodworking chamber. The item upon which he works is not wood but a yellow stone. He chips away at the stone, wiping the granules to the floor. They fall at his feet like snow. He wipes sweat from his brow as he works. He has displayed previous examples of work in a neat vertical line.
His feet are covered with crimson slippers, his legs by red tights, and a tunic of sea blue is covered by a craftsman’s apron. His hair turns in sweet curls, and a look of pleasure plays across his face and gentle lips.
The artisan is the bridge between the invisible world of the imagination and thought and the physical world of manifestation. His image, this card, reflects personal energy, emotion, and intention used to create a new form of matter. This craftsman manipulates the physical world, crafting it in his vision. He is using the gifts he was born with to create. You are free to do the same at any moment. You hold his power in your hands. You manipulate energy with everything you do and create butterfly effects in the world with thoughts and actions.
31 • August
Bring a Long-Distance Lover Close to You Spell
incantation
Lover, lover come to me
Cross the oceans, part the sea
Smell you, see you, need you near
In my ears your voice I hear
Your breath is warm
Your touch so soft
You send my aching heart aloft
I can’t wait
Must see you soon
Embark your journey
By the light of the moon
1. King of Cups
2. Eight of Wands
3. The Chariot
4. Queen of Cups
- • Pinch of cinnamon
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
The Flaming Fireball
Festival is held today in
El Salvador. Men dressed
as skeletons divide into
teams and hurl flaming gasoline-soaked rag balls at one another.
The King of Cups and the Queen of Cups represent the two of you. Select more suitable cards to represent each of you if you prefer. The Eight of Wands spurs action because it contains the essence of combustion set free. The Chariot directs them to you in the quickest possible way. Cinnamon is used for attraction magic.
Place the King of Cups before you. In your mind’s eye imagine your lover sitting in their throne, eyes cast in your direction. Feel their love and attention being placed on you. See yourself in their eyes.
Place the Eight of Wands, the card of travel and speed. Feel unseen forces kicking into action. The wheels are greased; the way has been paved.
Place the Chariot card, the vehicle bringing them to you. See them leaving and setting off for you.
Place the Queen of Cups, the card of full female reception. She waits patiently. She knows things always unfold as they should and in the right time. See your lover walking through your door and into your arms.
Finish the spell by sprinkling a pinch of cinnamon at your front door.
