TEN
WRITING RITUALS AND CREATING SPELLS
However comprehensive a book on Witchcraft, Magic and Spells is, it can never contain every spell you may need, or every Ritual you may wish to work. The nature of spells and magic changes with time; I doubt my ancient predecessors gave a lot of thought to protecting motorcycles! Rituals also alter to reflect the changing needs of our times, and so that you can ensure everyone takes an active and meaningful role. This is as it should be – for the Craft to be meaningful, it needs to develop and grow to meet the needs of the Witches of today and, in time, those of tomorrow. One of the sayings I frequently repeat is, ‘Witches should be a part of the world, not apart from it.’ In order to make the spells and Rituals in this and any other book meaningful to you and appropriate to your needs, you will need to learn how to change Rituals without losing their meaning and how to write effective spells and magics.
In an established Coven this learning takes place in a fairly straightforward way: As an Aspirant and First Degree you spend at the very least two years taking part in Rituals and seeing magic performed. This period means you will have participated in one or more full turn of the Wheel of the Year. Occasionally, you might see how your High Priestess adapts spells and Rituals to answer a specific need, perhaps one you yourself approached her with. You might even be involved in making these adaptations. After your Second Degree you will almost certainly be asked to write some Rituals for the group, and to devise some spells. Your High Priestess or another experienced Witch will guide you in this, to help you avoid some of the more common pitfalls. After you have taken your Third Degree you will still have access to this guidance, even though by then you may feel less in need of it. However, for those of you in newer groups, or who are starting out on your own, the prospect of creating your own magic can be quite daunting. Here then are some guidelines on writing Rituals and creating Spells.
WRITING AND ADAPTING RITUALS
As we saw in Chapter 2, a Ritual is made up of a series of Rites focused around the magical working or celebration, which is the purpose of that Ritual. There are two main categories of Ritual: those which contain a magical working or spell, and those which are celebratory. In the former you need to cast a Circle and raise power, in the latter you do not. Initiations are an exception as they are both a magical working and a celebration.
There are several key steps in writing and constructing meaningful Rituals, which can be thought of as the questions you ask yourself. They are the same questions I would be asking were you to come to me for help!
Without a purpose there is no point in holding a Ritual. You need to define what exactly you intend to celebrate or achieve.
CELEBRATION OR WORKING?
In most cases it will be easy to decide whether this is a celebration or a working, but it is as well to give some thought to this as occasionally the lines can become blurred. For example, you might wish to give thanks for the safe delivery of Anne’s child and yet seek the help of the Goddess and the God as Anne is still poorly. These two steps can be combined in a working Ritual, but resist the temptation to also try to present the child to the elements, the Goddess and the God, as that falls into the category of Wiccaning and is a celebration. Of course, you could work a spell for Anne’s recovery in a working Ritual and then take a token of that spell to the Wiccaning to give to Anne at the end of the celebratory Ritual.
WHO AND HOW MANY?
It is far easier to write a Ritual when you know exactly who will be there, and their level of experience and understanding. In the absence of this level of information you need a rough idea of numbers and at least some idea as to whether all, or any, have been in Circle before. As I have said before, everyone should have some kind of role in a Ritual and it should be meaningful for everyone, but there are obvious differences in the kinds of roles you can entrust to an experienced Third Degree and an Aspirant attending their first Ritual. As a rule of thumb I entrust active roles to those with experience and get the least experienced to stay with chanting, dancing and reinforcing roles until they grow in confidence and the Craft.
An idea of numbers is also helpful when deciding whether everyone is going to reinforce a spell. For example, you may intend to anoint six magical candles. If there are 20 people in Circle and each candle has to pass through everyone’s hands before the next is started, you are going to be there a long time! But knowing there are a lot of people you can write your Ritual so that several candles are circulating at once.
Another point to consider here is whether the people can actually do what you plan? Energetic Circle dancing is out unless you have enough fit people to do it. A person can be well enough to stand in Circle with a broken arm, but will not want to leap around the room!
WHERE?
If indoors, do you have, or can you make, enough room? Will your Ritual be so noisy that it disturbs the neighbours?
If outside, can everyone get there? Some of us older Witches do not easily climb steep hills and rock faces, and still have enough energy to perform magic afterwards! Not only that, but can you get everything you need to your site? Is it physically safe? Check your site for broken bottles, rusty metal, rabbit holes, etc. Is it both legal and private? Ritual is rarely a spectator sport. Nor do you want to attract the attention of the police! What will you do if there’s really bad weather?
WHEN?
Some Rituals are best performed at certain phases of the Moon, or on particular days of the week, and so on, but it is still a good idea to look at other factors. Is everyone you need going to be available? Will your location be free? Have you chosen a sensible hour, or will the place be overrun with small children? And so on.
ARE THE ROLES FAIR?
I repeat, everyone should have a meaningful role, the Craft is a participatory belief system, and there should be no spectators. Whilst you cannot please all of the people all of the time, I have seen a surprising number of Rituals which seem designed to give one person (usually the writer) the starring role, whilst everyone else is not far from being cast as ‘the admiring audience’! If you find yourself designing a Ritual like this, give some thought to whether you are writing for a purpose or because you enjoy being centre stage.
WHICH RITES?
Some steps in a Ritual cannot be ignored: preparation, those creating and removing the Sacred Space, and so on. Other steps should be selected because you need them, not because you ‘like the idea’. Ask yourself, do you need to Banish Unwanted Influences, perhaps because you are working a spell for defence, or because everyone is upset about something. Do you need to raise energy? And would dancing and chanting work better than Drawing Down the Moon, because it more fully involves everyone?
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR RITES?
The basic steps in casting a Circle are not fixed in stone. Yes, you do need to prepare the space, set the Altar, Bless the elements, invoke the quarters, invite the Goddess and the God, and so on, but you do not need to stick rigidly with the wording you have been using or with the actions you normally perform. Now, I would not suggest that you change the wording of, for example, invoking the elements, at each and every Ritual, as this is just going to confuse everyone. But you might like to consider adapting it slightly, especially for a celebration. For example, when invoking the elements for a Handfasting you might like to change the usual invocation to, ‘I do summon, stir and call ye O element of Air. Raphael, guardian of the gateway of the East, attend with us for this Ritual for the Handfasting of Jane and John, guard us, guide us and protect us in these our Rites. Hail and welcome. Blessed Be.’ And you might like to change the banishing to, ‘I do banish thee O element of Air. Raphael, guardian of the gateway of the East, we give thanks for your presence at the Handfasting of Jane and John. Continue to guard, guide and protect them in all they do. Hail and Farewell. Blessed Be.’ Obviously, if you do this with one element you will need to do likewise with all the others, and perhaps adjust the invitation of the Goddess and the God too. Similarly, you might like to expand the actions of invoking so that when Air is called the person walks Deosil to the Altar, collects the incense, walks it around the circle and finally places it in the East quarter, and likewise with all the elements.
Whilst there is no ideal length for a Ritual, it is important that it is neither too long nor too short. Over-long Rituals are energy draining and, if not totally fascinating, result in people losing focus. Too short and your Ritual may feel rushed and incomplete. I cannot give you definitive timings but would suggest that anything under 30 minutes or over 90 minutes is worth looking at. Where a Ritual is over long, consider reducing the number of Rites, or their individual length, etc. If a Ritual seems too short ask yourself if you have missed or shortened any steps, or whether you need to spend more time raising energy, or in establishing focus.
CAN YOU DO IT WITHOUT PAPER?
Lots of people in Circle trying to read from pieces of paper, rustling them, dropping them, trying to read by flickering candlelight and losing their place, is the bane of any High Priestess’s life. It is one thing to have a ‘book of the script’ available to one or two people at an Initiation, or a list of the steps handy on the Altar; it is quite another to have a dozen individuals all clutching sheets of words. If a Ritual is that complex then perhaps you need to rethink it, or at the least provide copies in advance so people can prepare. Ask yourself if you are trying to put too much in, or if you are trying too many new things at one time.
DOES IT FLOW?
You should be able to recall the steps in a Ritual because they make sense to you. For example, Banishing Unwanted Influences logically would come before, not after, Self-Blessing, if you feel the need for both. Try to avoid sudden changes in direction; these usually happen when you are trying to put quite different spells or Rites together in one Ritual.
Do you have, or can you get, all the tools, equipment and aids you need. It’s little good to decide fresh sunflowers are a ‘must’ in the depths of Winter. You can usually overcome these problems by checking in advance and substituting alternatives.
If you have asked others to bring essentials, remember to check with them a day or so before. It’s surprising how many forget or don’t bother to tell you they couldn’t find the right things.
HAVE YOU THOUGHT IT THROUGH?
As you can see from the above questions, planning a Ritual is not just about writing a list of actions, there are many other things which need to be considered. One of the best ways of checking your Ritual is to ‘walk it through’. Visualize each of the steps taking place, what everyone is doing, where they are standing, the tools and equipment they will need.
When I used to do a lot of business presentations I was advised that you should take three times as long in preparation as you do in presentation, and I find this is a good rule of thumb when preparing Rituals.
DOES EVERYONE UNDERSTAND?
Part of the preparation for Ritual lies in communicating the Ritual to everyone who will be there. For complex Rituals you might like to contact people to give them advance information. But whether you do that or not, you do need to take time before the Ritual to ensure that everyone really understands, not that they are just too stunned by it all to ask!
As you can see from the above questions, writing Rituals is not just about producing a list of actions, there are many other things which need to be taken into account, not least the practical ones. But the key to writing working Rituals lies in choosing or devising the spell(s) or magic(s).
Devising spells is really not that difficult. The most important thing to remember is that it is your focus and intent which make the magic work. All the tools, equipment, aids and correspondences help you to achieve it, they don’t do it for you.
Once again there are some fairly simple steps which you need to go through and, once again, I have covered them in the form of the questions I would ask you.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
You absolutely have to establish the nature of the problem. It is no use working magic for ‘Jack’ if you don’t establish what it is you want to do for him.
WHAT IS THE UNDERLYING CAUSE?
Having defined the nature of the problem, look to see if there is an underlying cause. Say Jack is experiencing conflict at home, there are arguments all the time and he feels unhappy there. If you simply work to ‘resolve home conflict’ it might result in his wife leaving him, making him more unhappy. Perhaps the conflict is caused by lack of money, which is in turn caused by his compulsive gambling. In this case you might like to work towards encouraging Jack to give up his addiction.
HOW MUCH OF THE PROBLEM IS YOU?
Personal honesty is very important in the Craft and especially in any kind of magical working. Say you have fallen out with a friend – instead of jumping straight in to work to make them more tolerant and understanding, give serious thought to how much you may have contributed to the problem. Are you being stubborn, or accusative? Perhaps you should be working towards making both of you more tolerant?
In some cases this appears obvious; for Jack you seek to break his addiction to gambling. However, at other times it can be less so. For instance, were you to consider working to give Jill confidence for an interview, you would want to focus on her getting the right job, not just this job.
Also give some thought to whether the outcome you seek will go against the Wiccan Rede, in word or in spirit! Working magic to make someone love you will interfere with their freedom of will, is definitely against the Rede and, as a result, is quite likely to misfire in some way.
ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE TOO MUCH?
Some problems need to be broken down into steps and each step addressed separately. For example, to try to achieve a pregnancy, ensure a safe pregnancy, ensure safe delivery and the protection of the infant, all in one spell is too much. It’s far better to work several really powerful spells, than to create one huge one which tries to cover everything.
WHEN SHOULD IT BE WORKED?
Ask yourself, is this really an urgent problem or can it wait until the appropriate phase of the Moon? Few magics apart from healing are really urgent, and indeed many will benefit from the extra thought you put into them if you plan and think ahead. If the problem needs addressing immediately and the Moon is in a less propitious phase, then can you redirect your focus to achieve the same results? In healing you could work to banish an illness at the Waning Moon, rather than waiting for the Full to work to speed the healing processes.
When you are working magic for other people you need to be sure that you can identify who the magic is for, and direct it appropriately, so you need to make sure that you have enough information to do this properly. When working magic for those who come to you, you need to consider if a tangible object will give them more confidence in the spell. Of course, when working for someone who is not of the Craft you also need to give thought as to what item(s) you could give which would be acceptable. It’s no use empowering a Pentagram to give to your maiden aunt if she considers it to symbolize the devil; it’ll just end up in the bin! Perhaps a pot plant would be more acceptable.
WHICH MAGICAL AIDS WILL YOU USE?
Magic can be worked using candles, cords, stones, mirrors, etc., as seen in Chapter 6. To choose between them, focus on what you are trying to achieve and consider which is most appropriate. Mirrors are good for reflecting things; cords are good for things which have several steps and so on.
Also consider which is best for your personal and working circumstances. I like to scry into a real fire, but I wouldn’t try it in a house with no fireplace! If you want to work magic to help heal a housemate with strong anti-Witch views, then leaving a fith-fath with their photo on it lying around, will be counterproductive. If six of you are going to imbue something with energy at the same time, you’re going to need something larger than a bead to work on.
Do you need any aids to maintain focus? A picture of your subject perhaps?
ADVANCE PREPARATION?
No point in deciding now, to perform a spell tonight which requires water left in moonlight for three nights, unless you have already prepared the water.
Also, do you really have everything you need? Many’s the time when I’ve been certain I have something in the cupboard, only to find that actually I haven’t. Don’t just believe it’s there, go and check!
WHAT PREPARATION NEEDS TO BE DONE IN CIRCLE?
In theory you only need clay to make a fith-fath. In practice you will also need: something to put it on, or it might just stick to your Altar cloth; something with which to inscribe it with any sigils you have chosen; and a damp cloth to wipe off the excess clay from your hands before it gets onto all your working tools.
Also give some thought to how long your in-Circle preparation will take. If you’re working with others you don’t want to keep them hanging around for two hours because that’s how long it takes you to draw the sigil of your choice. Even on your own your time in Circle preparation does not need to be too lengthy as you may lose focus.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO WORK THE SPELL?
It is important to ensure that everyone in Circle agrees with the magic. Just one person who is unsure can dilute or negate the spell. Even when working on your own, if you have even the slightest doubt about the wisdom of doing the magic, or that it will work, you will effect the outcome. If in doubt, don’t do it!
Also, give some thought to the practical moves which need to be made. Who will need to do what and when?
HOW WILL YOU PAY FOR THE MAGIC?
Life, and the world, work on the exchange of energies; you have to burn the wax to get light from a candle, you have to water a plant to make it grow, you have to be pleasant to someone before they will like you. In magic, some of the energy comes from within, but some also comes from outside, and this should be repaid. After a Ritual some people like to place a little of the wine and cakes on the land as an offering, but I feel that something more practical is probably more effective. It could be tending plants, clearing litter or maybe helping a neighbour. You might like to devise a Ritual of thanks, write a poem, or paint a picture to honour the Goddess. Whatever your skill, try to utilize it to benefit the land, honour the Divine, or just to put some of your energy into saying ‘thank you’. For every act of magic, successful or not, you should put something hack; you are not making a deal with the Goddess and the God!
Whether you are writing a Ritual or devising a spell, don’t be afraid to use things already in existence. Take ideas from others or from books and adjust them to suit your needs. You won’t get any extra ‘points’ for re-inventing the wheel!
Finally, whenever you feel stuck for ideas, or confused from too many options, ask the Goddess and the God for guidance. They are, after all, the Mother and Father of us all, and what they don’t know about magic, you will not find elsewhere.