Air:
Happiness & Success
Happiness is a complex path that becomes easy only as we walk it.
andrea polard
The element of air brings inspiration and creativity into our lives. In this second chapter we embrace cheerful ideas, attitudes, and brand- new starts, which will allow some fresh air to billow into our world. By doing so, we are clearing out those old perceptions and negative attitudes, and we are permitting joy, abundance, and prosperity to thrive. This is how you put the law of attraction into motion, for once happiness arrives, this encourages enthusiasm and inspiration, allowing for new magickal perspectives. In the simplest of terms, happiness is the currency of abundance.
From this point on, you must become aware that the wisdom and strength that you need to make your dreams come true is already in your possession. If you have trouble believing that you can actually create an abundant, prosperous future for yourself, then, my witchy friend, you are allowing your magick to be blocked. Happiness and fulfillment do not come from external events, and these emotions are not granted by material things. In reality, happiness and fulfillment are spiritual matters, and they come from within.
We do have the right to pursue happiness. If that seems a tall order for you at the moment, I suggest you take a deep breath, relax, and give yourself a break. You will get there. It is simply time to change your perspective. In life and in magick, it is the simple things that matter the most. If your will and magickal intentions are to create a better outlook, a more upbeat attitude, and a positive prosperous change, then you will do so.
But guess what? That change comes most easily when you allow yourself to take pleasure in your world again and when you permit yourself to be happy. Simple pleasures are often overlooked when it comes to a magickal life. Here is a mystery for you to contemplate: the simpler we make our life, the more abundant we become. You can learn to be happy just as you can learn any new behavior. Make happiness a habit and a magickal practice!
The Art of Happiness
Follow your bliss.
joseph campbell
Embrace what makes you happy! Happiness is not a frivolous extravagance; it is essential to our lives. Do something today that makes you happy—something wonderfully simple. Simple, affordable pleasures are often overlooked. When was the last time you baked some cookies just for fun? Or arranged flowers from your own garden in a vase for inside your home? For that matter, when was the last time you planted some flowers in your garden or tomatoes in containers on your porch? Come on, use your imagination and find something simple that you can do today that will bring you contentment and happiness.
Due to the fast-paced and hectic world we live in today, many of us feel disconnected and tired. We don’t enjoy our lives. We just get through and often waste our days wishing that we had a bigger car, that featured house on HGTV, or those really cool designer shoes. We are typically not content with the good things we do have. Instead, we yearn for something more extravagant.
I am one of those folks who is not impressed with big houses or fancy cars. Never have been. What personally impresses me are pretty, well-tended gardens; healthy, happy kids; and a long-lasting relationship. Why? Because I know that each of those things takes work—lots of work. Anyone who can pull off any of those feats has had to work at it.
Hard work and the drive to succeed, combined with the ability to be happy, is impressive, and it’s worth admiring. Remember that it is not about the things. It is, in fact, about the quality of your life and what you do with it that makes for a prosperous and abundant existence.
So, live on the edge and do something that brings you joy. Have a cup of tea in front of a roaring fire. Share a bottle of wine with your love while sitting under a tree. Take the kids to the park, pick out a nice spot in the shade, and let them run around on the playground and scream like maniacs for a while…or join them. Go on, it’s fun to run around with your kids. As long as you are at the playground, find a swing and see how high you can go. There is something so freeing about swinging up in the air. You can always take a walk at sunrise (or sunset) or meet a friend for coffee. It is the simple things in life that make us feel the most content.
Learn to savor life’s satisfying little moments. For example, spending a few quiet, productive hours in a study room at the local library, working on this manuscript, made me pretty darn happy. Sometimes a change of perspective is called for—in my case, getting out of the house and doing something different with my writing routine.
You may be wondering what all these simple suggestions for happiness have to do with your own personal prosperity. Well, we need to get that law of attraction mojo working for you. We also need to settle you firmly in a positive mood and break the pattern of any lingering negative and worrisome thoughts. Here is where we snap you out of any old ideas or patterns of negative thinking. This action is called a “pattern interrupt.”
Changing your perspective and doing something different is a positive thing. It forces you to stop, look around, and consider exactly where you are standing at this moment of your life. A pattern interrupt causes you to shift your perceptions—and it works just like magick.
Pattern Interrupt
And now for something completely different…
monty python
You can change negative and unwanted thought patterns. All it takes is some will and intention on your part. As Witches, we already should be very familiar with focusing our will and our intentions. So we have an edge, and this technique comes pretty easily to us.
Pattern interrupt was originally a hypnotherapy technique. It is designed to shift your focus and, best of all, to neutralize negative thinking. Whenever you feel frustrated or worried, you can successfully use a pattern interrupt technique. It will knock you out of that feeling of being stuck.
When we are in a negative pattern in our lives, we tend to go over and over self-defeating thoughts. It’s a vicious cycle. The more we worry, the more depressed we feel. The more down we feel, the more we worry…. That old inner monologue may go a little something like this: “I am so worried about money…nothing works; no matter what spell I try, I’ll never get out of this mess. It doesn’t matter what I do, the magick always flops anyway…”
Oh boy. Think about what sort of energy those negative thoughts are creating in the physical world. Remember thoughtforms? All that negativity is creating something, and it (the negative thoughtforms) will keep following you around, looking for more energy to feed on, making you feel worse and dragging you down.
We now know from the Hermetic principles that “thought creates.” So it is vitally important to stop that destructive cycle. You need to recognize that those negative thoughts and patterns of defeatist behavior are getting in your own magickal way. So now that you have identified the problem, it’s time to interrupt that old cycle.
Instead of worrying about all those negatives and building more negative energy, consider what you would like to have happen instead. When you catch yourself in those pessimistic thought patterns, stop. Take a breath and make the effort to change your attitude and your energy.
Come on, you are a magickal practitioner! Suck it up and make a change. Use your will and your intention, and put some effort into it. Take a deep breath, call upon the element of air to blow away any hovering negativity, and create a positive change. Now shift your energetic focus. Transform that inner monologue into something positive and constructive. Try something simple, like this: “As of today, I am changing my perception and attitude about abundance and prosperity. Abundance and prosperity is all around me. This new, positive energy is now flowing into my life. As I will it, so shall it be!”
Then do something completely different. Employ a pattern interrupt. Change your environment and your surroundings (thus interrupting your pattern of behavior to support your shift in the pattern of your thoughts). This is deceptively simple, but it works surprisingly well. For example, if you typically work out first thing in the morning, change that. Try working out after your shift ends at your job or work out in the evenings for a while. Shake up your routine. It will kick your brain into a whole new way of thinking and it forces you to adjust your attitude.
Here are a few more suggestions. If you eat lunch at your desk at work, then go outside, sit on the grass, and eat lunch in the sunshine. Use the affirmation from above. As you will it, then so shall it be.
Now, if you work at home and feel stifled and closed in, then load up your notes and laptop and sit outside on the back porch or in the garden—or get out of the house altogether.
I am very grateful to be able to work at home, and I love it here in my little office, but sometimes I do feel the walls closing in. On average I put in eight- to ten-hour days in my home office, and I rarely take a day off from writing. I love a routine and work better with one. However, everyone (even me) needs to shake up their daily routine and do something different once in a while.
I have several writer friends who, when they need a change of scenery, set up at a booth in the local coffee shop, and they swear by it. They happily pound away on their laptops, slurp fancy coffee, and write away. While I love the scents of a coffee shop, I personally can’t work in all that noise. The loud conversations and the clanging of the cutlery is jarring to me, sort of like nails on a chalkboard. But I have given it the old college try. Also, I don’t drink coffee. I know, I know, it’s like sacrilege to be a writer who hates coffee. I like the smell of it, though, so that has to count for something…
Anyway, when I need to break out of my rut or if a chapter runs away from me, occasionally I will get out of the house and get a bowl of soup, a smoothie, or a cup of lowfat hot chocolate. I will sit in a local coffee shop and enjoy the hustle and bustle as an observer. I people-watch and think deep thoughts and enjoy myself for a little while. Then, when the noise gets to be too much, I head to the library to get some work done.
With my laptop, reference books, and notes in tow, I rent a study room for a few hours. The change of pace from the noise and action of the coffee shop to the different and quiet surroundings of the library jolts me out of any mental blocks or frustration (and yes, this would be a pattern interrupt). It is an action that gets me out of the house and gives me a change of scenery. I get a lot of work done at the library. I save the “work at the library days” for when I really need them. It is a way to take a negative, frustrated mood and turn it into something positive, constructive, and enjoyable.
Another nifty pattern interrupt trick I recently discovered is to change the playlist on my iPod. We all have our favorite tunes, and technology has allowed us all to create a personal soundtrack to our lives. Shake yours up a bit and add some new music or some old favorites to that soundtrack. Music aligns to the element of air, after all.
While working on this air-themed chapter, I made a whole new eclectic playlist and entitled it “Happiness and Creativity.” I loaded up some ’70s and ’80s music, tunes from Broadway shows such as The Addams Family Musical, and some fun current hits that make me smile while I sing along. It’s a wild mix but it makes me happy, it changes my mood, and it works amazingly well.
You have the power to change your life—to experience abundance, happiness, and fulfillment—and it starts right now. Be willing to shift your perceptions. Interrupt any patterns of negative behavior and thoughts. Act as you desire to be.
Reclaim your happiness and your personal power. Express your talents fully and live as you choose. Practice keeping your mind peaceful and centered. Employ a pattern interrupt if you need to, and really work on becoming a happier person. You will find that success is more easily obtained when you do.
A Floral Fascination to Reinforce a Positive Attitude
You have the power to change your life and enjoy happiness, success, and abundance. That power is right at your witchy fingertips. This simple and cheerful spell will help you to reinforce a positive attitude, and it can be performed at any time. A “floral fascination” is a phrase I coined several years ago. It means a straightforward spell or charm worked only with flowers that can be used for various magickal purposes. Do not underestimate the power of floral fascinations; they work very well indeed. The great thing about this type of spellwork is that it is subtle. You could easily take a floral fascination along with you to work. A flower in a vase on your desk is very subtle, enjoyable magick.
The supplies are simple and may be purchased inexpensively or gathered from your own gardens. You will need a yellow flower for the element of air and for cheerfulness and success.
A bright yellow rose increases positive emotions. A spicy yellow carnation brings cheerful energy and boosts your mood. If you have yellow flowers blooming in your garden at the moment, use those. Consider coreopsis, ornamental sunflowers, daylilies, daisies, or mums. Any of those sunshine-colored flowers would add the right positive mood and magick to your floral fascination.
Slip the flower or flowers into a vase filled with fresh water and center the vase in a spot where you will see it and enjoy it every day. On your desk at work, your dresser in the bedroom, or the table in the kitchen—wherever you feel it should go. Hold your hands out over the blossoms and say the following charm three times:
By blossom and color this spell is begun
My attitude is now a positive one.
By the element of air, this floral spell is cast
The energy breezes around and goes to work fast.
Happiness and cheer now come to me
And as I will it, so shall it be.
Enjoy the flower until it starts to fade, then neatly return it to nature by adding it to a compost pile or to your yard waste to be recycled. Wash the vase and save it for another bouquet.
Blessed be.
Happiness and Success
Success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
herman cain
As I continued to research the topic of abundance and success, I kept running into the idea of “authentic happiness.” Would you even recognize authentic happiness if it came up and hugged you? Think about it. Authentic happiness would be some of your best, happiest times and fondest memories.
A few years ago I did an East Coast tour for Garden Witch’s Herbal in early June. I planned, set up, and paid for the trip myself. I had booked five author events in three states over an eight-day period of time. Honestly, it was much more expensive than I had planned on, which I did not discover until we were on the road and about three days into the tour. (Well, you have to learn these things somehow…) After the first two events, reality set in. I realized I had seriously underestimated our expenses, and I began to worry about the mounting cost of the tour.
I had never taken my husband on tour with me before, but we were determined to enjoy the trip no matter what. I soon realized that my fretting over the cost of our travel was squashing any sense of fun that we might have on the trip. After my author events finished up in Maine, my husband and I decided to use our travel day as a sort of day off and check out a Victorian-era botanical garden in New Hampshire. The fastest way to cheer me up is to take me to a garden, after all. So, armed with a GPS and a New Hampshire tourism brochure, we set out.
The garden was small but absolutely enchanting, and we did have fun exploring and taking lots of pictures. According to the local map we picked up, we were very near the ocean, so we asked a volunteer at the botanical garden how close we actually were. Her directions were simple: turn right out of the parking lot, follow the road, and look to your left.
We finished up our tour and decided to explore. We followed the road as directed, and, to our amazement, realized that we were indeed right along the shore. Actually, we were in the Hamptons, which we found hilarious. A couple of average Midwesterners from the ’burbs cruising along in the Hamptons. So we drove along, gaping at the massive homes along the ocean, and then we discovered a public beach. Parking was about two dollars an hour, and we happily paid the meter and raced each other to the ocean. It was warm and sunny that day, but the water was freezing cold—which explained the lack of beach-goers. We basically had that public beach all to ourselves. Perfect.
There was an adorable little food place across the road from the beach, and we decided to stay put and get lunch right there. For seating there were about a half-dozen wooden tables with umbrellas under the shade of some pine trees. For lunch we chose lobster rolls. It was forty bucks for two sandwiches served on paper plates. I could only sputter at the total, but my husband just looked at me and told me to take a deep breath and relax.
He asked me quietly, when would we ever be here again in the Hamptons, eating fresh lobster rolls and looking at the ocean? Point taken. It made me think of that clever commercial: Parking meter at beach, two dollars per hour. Lobster rolls for lunch, forty dollars. Memories of unplanned day on beach with husband? Priceless.
Spending time on the Hamptons beach had not been part of our travel plans, but I reminded myself as I doled out the cash for the lobster rolls that this was an adventure, and one is not supposed to plan an adventure. (Even though as a Virgo I probably would still give it my best shot.) My husband just grinned at me happily and we sat at an old wooden picnic table in the shade and looked at the ocean and ate lunch. The food was phenomenal, the atmosphere was relaxing, and the view was amazing.
Later in the day we found a hotel for the night about five miles in from the beach. We drove through a little town and discovered a grocery store and a couple of fast-food restaurants. We checked into the hotel, dumped our stuff, and headed back to the beach.
Because we had blown our food budget for the day on those lobster rolls, we ended up going to a McDonald’s for dinner. We rolled out of the drive-thru and then drove straight back to the beach, laughing the whole way.
So there we were, eating our dinner from the fast food dollar menu on the Hamptons beach. Tres chic! We finished our dinner, threw away the trash, and walked through the surf, picking up stones and shells, until sunset.
We took a few selfies with the digital camera that evening—you know, where you hold your arm way out to take your own picture. Well, it must have been the thrill of the cheap fast food in the Hamptons, because one of the pictures turned out so great that we had it blown up and framed when we got home.
Here is the funny thing…to this day, that unplanned afternoon on the beach in the Hamptons is one of my fondest memories. My husband and I got beach time in a beautiful and relaxing spot, we ate hideously expensive lobster rolls for lunch, and then we finished our day by eating extremely cheap fast food in one of the ritziest places in the United States, which really appeals to my sense of humor.
Dollar-menu hamburgers on the beach in the Hamptons was definitely a moment of authentic happiness for us, or I suppose if you want to get technical it was an authentic day of happiness. That afternoon turned my overall view of the trip around, and I was able to enjoy the rest of the time on the East Coast and finish a successful book tour. Attitude is everything.
New Mindset, New Attitude
You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances, you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.
adlin sinclair
Happiness and optimism can become a learned behavior. Put thoughts of lack behind you and become optimistic. Oh, and really try to stop worrying; it is a terrible waste of energy, after all. We can change our attitude and our outlook if we are willing to put some work into it.
May I point to those Hermetic principles from chapter 1? The very first principle shows us that thought creates! So ask yourself, what is all of that worry and negativity really bringing into your world? Answer: it is generating self-destructive and negative thoughtforms.
So come to terms with this and regroup. Now you understand why you need to stop this behavior right away. To be honest, the very idea of self-created negative thoughtforms sends some magickal folks into a panic. I don’t want you to panic; what I want is for you to be aware. Breathe. Focus and concentrate. Think about it this way: if you created these negative thoughtforms (accidentally or not), then you can certainly get rid of them.
I am not saying that it won’t be hard to change your attitude, but do it anyway. Banish those old, gloomy thoughtforms with a smile. You have moved past that now, and you no longer need to have them following you about like funky gray storm clouds. You must lift your awareness above and beyond fear and lack. The subconscious mind accepts whatever we choose to believe. It is important to recognize that sometimes gloomy thoughts can get in the way of our success. So we are going to get rid of those thoughtforms because we do not want any lingering depressive energy hampering the success of our future prosperity magick.
We all need an attitude adjustment from time to time. We have to learn to focus on the positive and change our mindset into something more open and constructive. The ability to honestly and quietly reflect on your life is one of the most powerful tools for personal growth. Just don’t dwell on it—instead, think of it as a learning experience, for now that you have evaluated the past, you can envision a bright and open future. Everything we think is, in fact, creating our future. Knowledge and information is power, so put it to good use.
Consider the information presented in this chapter, and get to work. Employ a pattern interrupt, shake up your routine, and look at things differently. It will give you a fresh perspective and encourage a new mindset.
If you will the changes into your life with magickal intention, they will happen. State your intention to change your attitude. Go ahead and visualize any negativity or ill-tempered thoughtforms blowing away and breaking apart like storm clouds being blown apart and dissipated by the wind. Visualize the change to your life that you want and know deep down that it is possible. Now move happily forward in your life as you wish to be.
Wind Chime Magick to
Break Up Negative Thoughtforms
Here is a wind chime spell that employs the element of air and the magick of sound to break up any negative thoughtforms that may stand in the way of your success and prosperity. Choose a set of new wind chimes with a design and sound that appeals to you. Then every time you hear the chimes ring out on a breeze, imagine that their music is breaking up old worries and pessimistic thoughtforms.
To begin the spell, hang up a bewitching set of wind chimes on your porch. Hold your hands on the chimes and enchant them for magickal purpose with this charm, repeating the main spell verse three times:
With my will and intention this spell is begun
By the element of air, this magick is spun.
As of this moment, these wind chimes are now enchanted
By the winds that do blow, may my success be granted.
Negative thoughtforms will break apart at the sounds of these chimes
Happiness, optimism, and success will surely be mine.
Give the wind chimes a little push so they ring out, then close the spell with these final four lines:
Now sweetly chime and ring out with your happy sound
No more negativity will ever be found.
By the element of air, this simple spell was cast
Let the energy ripple out and the magick last.
Good Mood, Good Magick:
Wow, This Stuff Really Works!
It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.
walt disney
While I researched and wrote this book, I experimented with various magickal spells and charms of my own. However, this time I worked very thoughtfully, using my research. I made sure that I kept those foundational principles in mind, and I also worked on maintaining a positive outlook and a happier attitude. I built positive thoughtforms, and I embraced gratitude while casting prosperity and good luck spells for myself and my family.
The results were pretty impressive. My husband got a pay raise when we really needed one. Then my daughter got a promotion and a pay raise at her job. I knew I was on a roll when an acquaintance called to tell me that she had four free tickets to The Addams Family Musical that she could not use. She wondered if I would like to have them. I could only squeal in excitement. I had wanted to see that show so badly, but the tickets for the national tour were way out of my price range. These tickets even came with a parking pass and were VIP club seats at the Fox Theater in St. Louis!
Giddily, I drove an hour to meet her and pick up those tickets. To say thank you, I gave her a nice bottle of wine wrapped up and tucked in a cute Halloween metal bucket. I ended up taking my husband, daughter, and a visiting friend from out of town to the musical. We all had a blast at the show.
After that, my sons dropped by for a visit and then requested that I cast some good luck magick for them. So with a firm grasp on the Hermetic principles and a happy attitude in place, I started working for them as well. A week later, my oldest son called me and was very excited. He’d had a customer walk up to him at his job at a local store where he is a department manager and hand him two baseball playoff tickets—right out of the blue.
This gentleman was a regular at the store. He had walked up to my son while he was stocking shelves and said hello. When Kraig stopped to talk to him, the older gentleman asked him what he would be doing that night, to which my son responded that he and his brother would be watching the Cardinals playoff game at their apartment.
The man smiled and suggested that Kraig take his brother to the playoff game instead. He handed him two tickets and told him to have a good time. Shocked, my son asked him what he wanted for the tickets, as trying to get tickets to the final playoff games was impossible, not to mention very expensive. The gentleman only smiled and told him they were a gift. He just wanted to give them to someone who would truly enjoy them. Amazed, my son thanked him, and the customer left with a wave and a chuckle.
The boys called to tell me the news on their way down to the stadium. The playoff tickets were bleacher seats, close to the field and in a prime location. They were so excited to be going to that game. It ended up that the game my sons went to was the final playoff game—when the Cardinals won and clinched their trip to the World Series. How cool is that?
Blessings and Gratitude
Gratitude is an opener of locked-up blessings.
marianne williamson
Gratitude is a skill that we must learn and master in our lifetime. To be grateful is a part of the magick (some would say mystery) when it comes to attracting prosperity, abundance, and happiness into your life.
Gratitude may be understood as a feeling of thankfulness, appreciation, and gratefulness. Stop for a moment and truly consider how rich you are. You are living and breathing. You are able to study as you choose and pursue your religious freedom. You have friends, family, pets, loved ones…the list can go on and on. Reevaluate and realize that you are very rich indeed. This is what makes you feel blessed. Gratitude in itself can become a spiritual practice, for when you focus on the blessings in your life you do change your vibrational rate. This act then attracts even more happiness and abundance into your world. Again, as we discussed in the first chapter, this is an example of the law of attraction at work. Those more optimistic thoughts do breed positive, energetic thoughtforms, and these will then help to create a more upbeat and prosperous reality.
When you are grateful, you are allowing—you are permitting more happiness and abundance to manifest into your world. Your mood is now optimistic because you are behaving and thinking in a more positive frame of mind. There is no time for uncertainty or dissatisfaction, not with all of this happy energy swirling around your life.
So you betcha your abundance magick and prosperity spells will work! It all depends on what energy you embrace. Happiness is contagious and it changes everything. Be willing to let old ideas and negative thoughtforms blow right out of your life. Allow happiness and abundance to breeze in and change your world.
Embrace the blessings you have and become open to receiving even more. Your personal energy will become higher and brighter. In other words, you are putting the blessed in the “blessed be”!
Go, you! Being happy is a great magickal boost. When you are willing to believe in the wonder of magick again, just about anything is possible.