Chapter Three

Fire:
Illumination, Transformation & Manifestation

To move ahead you need to believe in yourself…have conviction in your beliefs and the confidence to execute those beliefs.

adlin sinclair

The element of fire is the driving force behind magick. Fire is a spiritually creative natural element that has a life all its own. This element may be loving, but it can also be cruel. Fire’s energy is actively passionate in that it is creative and destructive at the same time.

Think of it this way: for something new to flourish, then something old and unneeded must decline and give way. We want to transform those old bad vibes and that sour outlook or any negativity and frustrations that may be hindering your prosperity into something better and more energetically correct.

The element of fire allows new, positive things to emerge into your magickal life right out of the ashes of what no longer serves you. Fire creates illumination and motivation—the motivation that you will need to change and transform your life. And in order to transform and make a difference in your magickal life, you must be different and react differently.

Transformation is an important goal for any Witch or magician to focus upon. However, you need to remember that the spells you will be performing are not all about money. Money itself does not have the ability to bring prosperity. Many people allow the idea of money to have a sort of power over them. In truth, we do not control money, for money is a commodity.

It is also important not to confuse money with prosperity, though it does have an energetic essence that we can and will tap in to. Consider this: to be prosperous is to be growing, blossoming, or flourishing. In other words, to be prosperous is to be successful. What you want to see manifesting with your magick is change, movement, expansion, and transformation.

Prosperity is a tool that can help to transform your life in meaningful ways so you can thrive on a spiritual level as well as a monetary one. Prosperity is simply the means by which we can smooth the progress of your life’s true purpose. You will have to work to achieve your goals; there is no such thing as a free lunch when magick is involved. But if you are willing to get motivated and work hard, you will certainly enjoy the fruits of a magickal and energetic transformation.

To begin this energetic transformation, you need to be true to yourself. Be happy and work on your self-confidence. This is why the Hermetic principles and the foundations of good magick were at the beginning of this book, followed by suggestions on how to embrace happiness and success: there is a spiritual plan in place here. In actuality, we are working our way forward, page by page, to a more prosperous life, as every magickal step we take builds on the previous chapter’s lessons and information.

This type of magickal awareness is crucial, as it brings clarification to your goals. Here is an illuminating thought: you are the source of your own prosperity. Remember the discussion of thoughtforms from the previous chapter? Your thoughts do have substance—as in the first Hermetic principle: thought creates! In a very real way, those thoughts set up the model of what is to be created. Your emotions energize the thoughts and propel them from the mental realm into the physical one, thus bringing about the manifestation of your spellwork. The more motivated you become, the stronger and more positive your emotions and the quicker you can transform your life.

Avoid Conflicting Spiritual Energies:
Be Careful What You Cast For

Success is simple. Do what’s right,
the right way, at the right time.

arnold h. glasgow

As you begin to work your magick for prosperity and abundance, keep your mind focused on your magickal intention and keep your thoughts positive. This way you avoid derailing your spell with any conflicting energies. Whatever we are feeling and thinking during our prosperity spellwork, we will attract into our magick. Case in point: my story in the introduction. If you focus on your fears and gloomy thoughts such as poverty, stress, and worries over looming bills or a lack of cash, you will pull exactly that type of unhelpful energy into your life with your spell. That energy will manifest in unexpected and unwanted ways in your magick, so think carefully before you begin casting.

Many times, people will cast blindly for cash (without being very specific). Perhaps they toss out a spell for, let’s say, five thousand dollars, and maybe their magick worked just dandy. The only problem is that their beloved grandfather had to die and leave the money to them as part of an inheritance.

Never cast for abundance without being specific. Perhaps you cast for an abundant garden and a wealth of plant growth…and suddenly you have an abundance of poison ivy taking over. Be very clear and specific when you cast for prosperity and abundance. Whether you want to avoid the old lottery curse or an unfortunate situation or an overabundance of something unhealthy or annoying, such as an abundance of stomach flu in your family or that pesky poison ivy in your magickal garden. Stop. Think. Be specific.

Here is another classic example: if you are working a prosperity spell to find a new and better-paying job, do not get yourself all in a twist about how much you hate your current job. That is conflicting spiritual energy. Seriously, do you imagine that any spell cast is going to manifest the way you want it to if you are all wound up and pissed off about your current job?

Ah, the answer would be no.

Here is something else I want you to keep in mind. There is this little thing I call the “I hate this job!” backfire. This occurs when you are so wound up and angry about the state of your current job that you cast a spell to get out of the job quickly so you can find a new one. And guess what happens? Typically you get handed your walking papers within a matter of days because you were not specific enough in your request, and the energies that you unleashed in anger and frustration manifested just as you asked. Ta-da! And now you no longer have a job.

The universe has just provided you with lots of time to focus on finding a new one. You wanted out of this job quickly? You got it. This is a classic example of conflicting spiritual energies, with no one to blame but yourself for not thinking it through, not remembering the principles magick is founded upon, and not putting a thoughtful, magickal plan of action into place. So, take this opportunity to go over those Hermetic principles again and make sure you have a firm grasp on them before your next work-related spell.

Also, bear in mind that when you are working any magick in a job environment that may potentially affect many people, you need to be extremely cautious. You want a raise? You want the boss to notice your hard work? Great! Now consider all of the options magick-wise. A spell that manifests with someone else losing their position so that you can take it is poor magick indeed. You want to make yourself and your own hard work shine, not make someone else fail.

You know the old Craft adage about how a spell is like tossing a pebble into a pond? Well, not only does the energy from the splash caused by the tossed pebble ripple out across the water, that pebble now also affects the bottom of the pond and the environment of that pond forever. So if you start carelessly tossing spells around the workplace, you can affect many other people. Poorly planned magick cast at your current job often causes a ripple effect and it can manifest into blocks to your magickal goals. That magick may cause office dramas, delays to your progress, and lots of emotional “pebbles” to pick up at work.

Only cast on yourself in a work environment. Be upbeat and positive when you work your magick. Include a tagline that ensures no one else is adversely affected when your spell unfolds. Try the following tagline for those workplace scenarios:

I now cast this spell for just myself; no one else will be affected.

With harm to none, my prosperity spell goes only as directed.

Again, a “tagline” is literally spoken at the end of a spell—sort of like an insurance policy for the magickally minded. This specific tagline will help keep any workplace magick on task and directed toward your personal, specific goal.

Being Optimistic with
Your Prosperity Spells

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

norman vincent peale

Please remember that it is better to have bright, cheerful, radiant energy than gloom and despair all around you as you cast prosperity spells. Be sure that your mood is upbeat, or at the very least businesslike and neutral. Turn your thoughts to the happy things in your life (whatever they may be) and let this positive energy fill you up. This shift to a more optimistic mood will help your prosperity magick to manifest in positive and more constructive ways. Find and focus on something that you can be grateful for as you work your prosperity magick.

I am going to repeat myself here: When you are grateful, you are allowing 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.

So allow those positive thoughtforms to build into a more successful you. This way your spells will have a greater level of success.

It is vitally important to realize that your emotions combined with your words infuse your thoughts with a deeper energetic vibration. We are aware that thought does create, so take it a step further and imagine what sort of punch the magickally spoken word packs.

Rhyme, Rhythm, and Repetition:
The Three Rs of the Spell Verse

No, I was not born under a rhyming planet.

william shakespeare

There is a very good reason why most spell verses and charms are written in rhyming couplets. And no, it is not because the writer has delusions of grandeur or wants to be the next Shakespeare. Spell verses typically rhyme so the vocal energy that they create radiates out in a smooth motion. If you want to get technical, sound is a regular mechanical vibration that travels through matter.

When a spell verse or charm is spoken aloud with intention, the energy it creates brings to life a magickal transformation. The sound of your voice combined with your intention ripples out onto the astral plane and then eventually manifests on the physical plane.

Spell verses that rhyme have a beat, not unlike the beat of music. That there is a rhythm or a beat to life is an elemental truth, both in our own bodies (our heartbeats) and in the cycles of nature that surround us. Think of the principle of rhythm, which teaches us that everything flows and that all things are cyclical. This makes the practice of rhythm very important in spells.

If you have ever been to a big Pagan festival and listened to the drummers, the sound is hypnotic. And if you ever watch the drummers, they always seem to be in their own little world. Rhythm puts you in a sort of spell, or trance if you like, because rhythmic sounds change the stream of consciousness. The rhythm and rhyme of spell verses actually ease you into an altered state of consciousness, which is called the alpha state.

Alpha is a state of consciousness that is associated with relaxation, meditating, and peaceful wakefulness. When you enter an alpha state, your mind is alert, clear, and receptive to information on many levels. During the alpha state, you are also open to extrasensory types of communication such as clairvoyance, precognition, and clairaudience. Your intuition turns on and you can feel or see that the magick is working. In her book Power of the Witch, Laurie Cabot says of alpha that it “is the springboard for all psychic and magical workings. It is the heart of Witchcraft.”

By speaking charms that rhyme and have rhythm, you actually help yourself into that tranquil state of alertness. While you are in the alpha state, your brain is focused and aware, and your inner magick is stimulated. As to why many charms and spell verses call for repetition, the answer is beautifully simple. The more times the spell verse is repeated, the farther into alpha you go. Usually spells call for a triple repetition, which helps explain the classic tagline added to many a spell and charm:

By all the power of three times three

As I will it, then so shall it be.

Not only does the spell verse rhyme, it also has nine syllables per line. There is a meter and rhythm. Also, nine is the outcome of three times three. Mystery solved as to why I have included this tagline in so many of the spells and charms I have written in my books over the years.

Candle Magick:
Tapping into the Fire of Transformation

Candle burning unites our spirit with the candle’s flame.

ileana abrev

Why is candle magick so darn popular? Well, for several reasons. To begin with, it is a direct link to the element of fire. Candle magick is simple, easy, and—bottom line—it gets results. In reality, a burning spell candle is like a signal to the Divine. It sends a message out to the astral realm that magick is afoot and spells are at work. The flame of the spell candle radiates light and transformative energy into the universe. It also symbolizes the spellcaster’s intent.

As a whole, people both magickal and mundane respond to candlelight in positive and miraculous ways. The light of candles helps distance us from the hectic and stressful outside world and guides us softly into the beautiful realm of magick.

Candles that are burned with a specific goal in mind become powerful magickal tools. In truth, that little spell candle you are contemplating using right now is a symbol in and of itself. Primal in meaning and a powerful instrument of elemental magick, a lit candle naturally brings illumination and corresponds to the element of fire and the magick of transformation. When spell candles are inscribed with a magickal symbol and then blessed, they really pack a punch.

Spell Candles and Symbolism

Symbols are the imaginative signposts of life.

margot asquith

Symbolism is an important aspect in spellwork, and it should be utilized here. Symbolism is defined as the use of symbols to represent things such as ideas or emotions. Symbolism may be complex or it can be beautifully simple. The practice of symbolism is central to all religions, and we as Witches and magicians often attach favored symbols to our magickal intent according to the situation and our specific need. We do this instinctively, as those symbols give our minds something to work with. In a real way they grant us steppingstones between our wishes and dreams and the physical manifestation of our magick.

Inscribing a spell candle with symbols aligned to prosperity and abundance is a way to program the candle for a specific purpose. The physical tool used for inscription will vary from practitioner to practitioner. Some Witches prefer to use a straight pin, a toothpick, or the tip of a kitchen knife to engrave or to inscribe their spell candles. Personally, I use a boline, which is a knife that has a curved, sickle-shaped blade. (The blade looks like a crescent moon.) The boline is the knife that I use to harvest my magickal herbs, and it is sharp, so I always slow down and take my time when I use it. I have a coven sister who only uses a specific crystal point to carve symbols into her spell candles. It is all about personal preference.

For our purposes here, the prosperity spell candle could be engraved with a corresponding symbol such as a cornucopia, dollar sign, pentagram, crescent moon, or the rune Fehu (), which symbolizes victory, wealth, and prosperity. Or you could try the astrological symbol for the planet Jupiter () or for the sun ().

Sometimes you can simply engrave words or short phrases on the side of the candle: good luck at my interview or a better, new job. You could even try a job that will meet my needs and make me happy. (Granted, you would need a larger pillar type of candle for that last verse.) But think about it and come up with a positive and specific statement.

Once you have a symbol or phrase in mind—and before you start carving away—then you may move on to the next step in the process:

Enchanting Your Spell Candles

Magic is believing in yourself; if you can do that, you can make anything happen.

johann wolfgang von goethe

The act of enchanting or blessing a candle for your magickal workings is the next step in your candle magick routine. To enchant literally means “to sing to.” To enchant something means that you load, or charge, the object with your personal power and positive intentions. This “enchanting” segment is a two-part process, as first you send energy into the candle when you enchant it, and then that programmed energy is released as the spell candle burns.

To begin enchanting your prosperity spell candles, take the unlit spell candle in your hands and focus on it. If you are going to inscribe it, now is the moment. Keep your thoughts calm and on the task at hand as you inscribe or engrave your spell candles.

Next, you will need to visualize your prosperity goals. As thought creates and our magick is affected by our moods, be sure to shift your energetic signature to a correct one. By being in a positive state, this will help your prosperity magick to manifest in affirmative and more constructive ways.

Yes, I am harping on this “positive and happy mood” part. It is important, as it can make the difference between a spell that smoothly manifests and one that just bursts out and causes more problems.

Here is an all-purpose blessing for your spell candles. Hold the inscribed candle in your hands and repeat the verse three times:

All-Purpose Blessing for a Spell Candle

As I hold this magickal spell candle in my hands

I empower it to send magick across the land.

Now burn with purpose, both bright and true

May I be blessed in all that I do.

Once you are done enchanting the candle, you may continue with your spellwork as is your regular routine.

Thinking Outside the Crayon Box:
Candle Colors for Prosperity Magick

Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.

pablo picasso

Color magick is associated with the element of fire. Technically, color derives from the spectrum of light interacting with the eye’s sensitivity to light receptors. Color has a life and energy all of its own. We do know that color affects mood, emotions, and even behavior. It is a powerful tool to employ for transformation.

Most folks assume that the only color for prosperity magick is green. After all, green is the color of currency and the earth, of life and growth. There are a few Witches out there who stretch their thinking further and logically work with metallic gold colors in their abundance and prosperity spells, as this color corresponds with the sun and success. But wait…there’s more! There is a whole rainbow of colors out there that you can successfully employ in prosperity magick. It’s time to think outside of the crayon box.

For example, royal blue is associated with the planet Jupiter, as are the colors of purple and green. Jupiter is linked to prosperity, which means that royal blue and purple would both also be harmonious to your prosperity spells. This links to the Hermetic principle of correspondence.

Magick has survived for so long because wise folks knew how to improvise and adapt. They worked with what they had on hand or could find or make themselves. Choosing a specific color in your prosperity magick will help you fine-tune your magick.

Candle Colors for Prosperity Magick

Black: removes obstacles and negativity

Gold: wealth, fortune, riches, success

Green: beginning, fertility, the classic prosperity/abundance magick color

Orange: energy, anti-depressive, enthusiasm, harvest, abundance

Pale Green: growth, new projects

Pink: growth, fertility, self-love, contentment

Purple: power, psychic ability, a Jupiter color

Red: strength, courage, determination, helps remove blocks

Royal Blue: flow, inspiration, a Jupiter color

Silver: astral energies, goddess magick, finances

White: an all-purpose candle color

Yellow: the sun’s color, emotional health, success, winning

Two Candle Spells
for Success and Prosperity

Why is it that every time I am with you makes me believe in magic?

robert a. heinlein

Here are a duo of candle spells for you to work that will help you in your prosperity goals. The first uses a green seven-day jar candle, and the second a bright blue votive candle.

Green Jar Candle Spell

Timing: For best results, work this spell during a waxing moon phase. Corresponding days of the week for this particular spell are Thursday (Jupiter’s day) or Sunday (the sun’s day).

Supplies and Directions: You will need a green seven-day jar candle. Sometimes these types of candles are called novenas. Gather a gold permanent marker or gold metallic nail polish to write your chosen prosperity symbol on the candle glass. (Seriously, nail polish works like a charm.) See page 57 for suggested prosperity symbols. Finally, you will need to plan for a space where this candle can safely burn for several days.

Center yourself and shift your mood to a positive and upbeat one. Here is that all-purpose candle blessing—with a slight adaptation. I am all about the ideas of adapt, improvise, and overcome! Adapt the blessing to fine-tune it, improvise with supplies (like nail polish) that you have on hand, and overcome any obstacle in your path.

Now empower and enchant the green jar candle:

As I hold this magickal jar candle in my hands

I empower it to send magick across the land.

Now burn with purpose both bright and true

May I be blessed in all that I do.

Place the decorated and enchanted jar candle in that chosen spot where it will be safe to continuously burn, and then light the candle. Now repeat the spell verse with intention and purpose.

For seven days this magick will build and grow

Crafting positive change as the candle glows.

It attracts to me expansion and success

As the candle burns I will surely be blessed.

May this magick manifest in the best possible way

Bringing happiness and gratitude to all of my days.

You may repeat this spell verse every day, at least once a day, while the jar candle is burning. Depending on your particular candle, this may be for five to nine days. Allow the candle to burn in a safe place until it goes out on its own. Finally, when the candle is completely burned out, close up the spell with these lines:

I embrace all of the possibilities

And as I do will it, then so shall it be.

Please note: The jar candle should stay continuously lit until it goes out on its own. If you need to move it to a safe location while you are out of the house, then do so. I often place the jar candle inside my large, deep cast-iron cauldron, then place the cauldron on my brick fireplace hearth. That way, should the candle get knocked over, it stays contained within the fireproof cauldron. Some practitioners place their jar candles inside of a sink or bathtub (away from drapes or shower curtains) or place the candle inside an unlit fireplace. You may have to move the candle around a bit for a few days. I have always found the magickal results to be well worth any minor inconvenience of plotting out a safe spot for the burning candle.

When you are finished with the jar candle, wash it out with saltwater to remove any lingering magick and recycle it.

Royal Blue Votive Candle Spell

The premier color associated with the planet Jupiter is royal blue. Some sources suggest purple and green as well, but I do like the idea of working with bright royal blue. Let’s shake things up and be creative. Besides, that intense cobalt blue is a very powerful color, and it’s different.

Timing: For best results, work this spell during a waxing moon phase. The corresponding day of the week for this particular spell is Thursday (Jupiter’s day).

Supplies and Directions: One royal blue votive candle. You will need a tool to inscribe the votive candle with. You will also need a complementary candleholder. Votive candles require a cup-style holder, as they turn to liquid wax right away. Finally, you will want to set the votive (in the holder) upon a safe, flat surface for the candle to continue burning undisturbed for several hours.

Center yourself and shift your mood to a positive and upbeat one. Inscribe the candle with a Jupiter glyph (K) then enchant the candle. Here is the candle blessing from the last spell, but it has been adapted slightly.

As I hold this royal blue spell candle in my hands

I enchant it to send magick out across the land.

Now burn with purpose both bright and true

May I be blessed in all that I do.

Place the inscribed and enchanted candle in the holder and light the candle, then repeat the spell verse with intention and purpose.

By this burning candle in Jupiter’s blue

Prosperity and success will now ensue.

By the element of fire this magick brings a change

Success and prosperity are now within my range.

May this magick manifest in the best possible way

Bringing happiness and gratitude to all of my days.

Allow the spell candle to burn in a safe place until it goes out on its own. Votives generally take six to eight hours to burn. If you like, you can observe your candle’s flame and see what it tells you about the progress of the spellwork.

Pyromancy:
Reading Your Spell Candle’s Flames

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.

buddha

The dancing flame of a lit candle has a language all of its own and a divinatory technique to boot! Pyromancy, or divination by fire, is one of the earliest forms of divination. It is rumored that the followers of Hephastus, the Greek god of fire and the forge, as well as the priestesses of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, practiced pyromancy.

All you need for pyromancy is to observe your spell candle in a quiet room that has no drafts. Then simply watch the flame of the spell candle and listen carefully for a while. This will clue you in on how your candle spell is working. At last, here we have the perfect reason to never leave a burning spell candle unattended again!

To begin the divination, sit back at least six feet from the candle flame and relax. Blink as you normally do—it’s not a staring contest, it’s supposed to be fun! Also, a lot of pyromancy is noting if the candle is “chattering,” so listen carefully. It may take you a little practice, but honestly if you just pay attention and note how your spell candle is behaving, you are halfway there. Divination is wrought by noting the color, shape, and sounds of the spell candle’s flames.

Here is a little pyromancy charm to help get you in the mood. As you begin to observe your burning spell candle, repeat this charm three times:

Candles that flicker and flames that dance

Show me the truth with a simple glance

By the sound of the flames, their shape and hue

Reveal to me how my magick will do.

Here is a quick list for you to use in deciphering your pyromancy.

Spell candles that have…

• sputtering and crackling candle flames mean that someone else is affecting the spell’s outcome
• softly chattering candle flames signify that your magick is affecting things on a personal level
• loudly chattering candle flames indicate that arguments are coming
• strong and true candle flames show that there is plenty of power and energy in your spell
• jumping candle flames represent that there is a lot of energy the spell has to work with and that
  raw emotions have been unleashed with the spell
• weak candle flames signify that there is resistance to your spellwork; cast again
• bright blue candle flames symbolize that a spirit is near

The Magick of Manifestation

The good news is that the moment you decide that what you know is more important than what you have been taught to believe, you will have shifted your gears in your quest for abundance.

Success comes from within, not from without.

ralph waldo emerson

Casting prosperity spells and working candle magick are great beginnings, but you do have to back them up with physically working toward your goals if you want to see the magick manifest. No excuses, and armchair magicians will not be tolerated here.

It is time to get up and get to work on your successful future. Get up off your behind and work at making the changes you desire! Follow up your magick with action in the physical world. So yes, work those spells—and then put in job applications and follow up on leads. Then enchant your résumé and work some personal magick to make yourself stand out from other applicants at the interview. If you are self-employed, then work to promote your own small business or product and draw customers to your door.

Actively working in partnership with your magick on the physical plane will propel the magick forward and allow it to travel onward and outward, thus helping keep that positive energy in constant motion—and this helps to remove any resistance to its successful completion. After all, magick does manifest by following the path of least resistance.

Comprehending your dreams and goals and making the decision to go after them takes energy and motivation. Daring to work the magick to achieve the transformation is an adventure in and of itself. Following that up with action in the physical world keeps the transformation and positive change in motion. This then allows the magickal and physical energy to combine, allowing you to experience the manifestation of healthy abundance and prosperity.

In this third chapter we studied the energy and transformation that working with the element of fire can bring to your prosperity magick. Now you are motivated and ready to get to work on both the magickal and the mundane planes. Be enthusiastic and positive, and see what your magick and hard work will manifest into your world. Let your light shine!

Next up, we keep the bewitching flow going by diving into the magick of the element of water. Take a deep breath—here we go!

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