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Color, Candle, and
Sympathetic Magick

To Gel a Spell

Colors, candles, and sympathetic items (such as a lock of hair, a photograph of an individual, or a representation of something) are the “glue” that binds your words, intent, and power together. A spell using these items tends to be more cohesive, creates a positive atmosphere, and allows you to focus on something physical. Our creative visualization may be excellent, but our minds and bodies have been trained for years to interact with the physical environment. There is nothing wrong with using that reality.

Just think of it! All species that interact in this particular physical plane must be very special indeed to be able to manifest and interpret physical reality, when in essence, there is none—just tiny bits of unseen energy that coalesce to make our world acceptable to us. In that regard, we bring matter into form every single second of our physical lives, unconsciously. Spells are just a conscious way of doing what already comes naturally to us!

Why Can’t We Use Creative Visualization All the Time?

Although quite powerful, creative visualization does not work all the time. This is due mostly to the boundaries we have previously set for ourselves. You cannot one day believe that the only way you can get a new set of living room furniture is by buying it, and tomorrow fully believe that you can conjure it up out of thin air, or at least put that one thousand dollars for it in the bank account.

See? Our conscious minds race ahead to the way we usually acquire things—the process that we are used to in obtaining our desires. The human mind, no matter how open to change or belief, has developed unconscious blocks to prevent us from slipping entirely away from what we have diligently been told, learned, analyzed, and come to this plane with. Much like Pavlov’s dog, the mind must be retrained with persistence to obtain completely new outlooks. We are creatures of habit.

Some people may experience more success with nonphysical spells (such as making themselves better people, gaining a sense of humor, controlling negative energy, etc.) in the beginning, than with those that are performed for physical items (such as a typewriter, new clothes, a car, etc.). Since we do not fully understand the human mind or the laws that govern this universe, it is easier to accept a change in our own personalities because we don’t understand how that works, anyway.

When dealing with something physical, your mind will try to second-guess a spell or other working of magick. Questions like “Where could it possibly come from?” pop up right away. Your mind will forget the spell and concentrate on where the physical items will come from, such as a particular store, a friend, the junkyard, etc. It will try to decide where the physical item is located before you actually get your hands on it.

Your mind, then, is defeating the purpose of the spell, and will work against it. This is why almost all instruction books tell you to do it and forget it. If you don’t, a stalemate is created and you lose.

I also believe there is a second reason; I call it the “filter system.” This theory rests more on creative visualization that has not been totally thought out by the Witch. For instance, how many times have you heard the old cliché, “If looks could kill . . . ”? Since human emotion can be controlled only to a point (we are not all sweetness and light), and human anger, frustration, and sadness are a natural part of a healthy mind, there must be some type of filter system that controls negative emotions. If there weren’t, we’d all be dead.

In my theory, the filter system counteracts and negates many of these ordinary emotions, or at least takes the edge off them. I’m not saying that looks cannot kill, because they can, if there is enough trained intent behind them, but unconscious negativity is controlled by some type of intelligent barrier. There are names for this block. Some people call them angels, guides or power animals. These will be discussed more later in this book.

The third reason for failure is fate. Not fate as an indiscriminate bundle of events, where one thinks that everything in life is destined and nothing is spontaneous, but fate as in before you reached this plane of existence you yourself chose particular events or circumstances to occur. I believe that some (not all) opportunities are fated to happen at specific points on our life path, and that we have previously planned them ourselves as a trigger to reach a particular goal.

Color

Color results from our interpretation of different kinds and waves of light. Although there are an infinite number of colors, they can be broken down into seven secondary colors: red, orange, green, yellow, blue, indigo, and violet. In turn, these seven colors can be factored down to the three primary colors—red, green, and yellow. Combined, the primary colors (when dealing with light only) factor down to white, or what we interpret as white. Black, by the way, is not really a color, but the absence of color—the direct opposite of light.

Light is vibratory. Each color vibrates at a different rate of speed. For example, red is the fastest vibrating color, and is a stimulating color to the human interpretation process. Violet is the lowest vibrating color, and tends to calm the nervous system.The various vibratory waves of light can be utilized by the human brain for healing, meditation, and magick.

Using color in your work falls under the heading of practical magick, as it is the employment of an element—that of light. It is not immediately dangerous and you are not dealing with a host of unknown factors, unless you get into the use of the various kinds of light, such as ultraviolet.

Each color stands for a particular principle or set of principles and values. The following list of colors and their related properties can be used for both color and candle magick.

Color and Candle Correspondences

Red Energy, strength, passion, courage, element of fire, career goals, fast action, lust, blood of the moon, vibrancy, driving force, love, survival.

Orange Business goals, property deals, ambition, career goals, general success, justice, legal matters, selling, action.

Copper Passion, money goals, professional growth, fertility in business, career maneuvers.

Gold Wealth, the god, promote winning, safety and power of the male, happiness, playful humor.

Yellow The sun, intelligence, accelerated learning, memory, logical imagination, breaking mental blocks, selling yourself.

Pink Romantic love, planetary good will, healing of emotions, peace, affection, romance, partnerships of emotional maturity, caring, nurturing.

Green Earth Mother, physical healing, monetary success, abundance, fertility, tree and plant magick, growth, element of earth, personal goals.

Blue Good fortune, opening blocked communication, wisdom, protection, spiritual inspiration, calm, reassurance, gently moving, element of water, creativity.

Purple Influencing people in high places, third eye, psychic ability, spiritual power, self-assurance, hidden knowledge.

Silver Telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, psychometry, intuition, dreams, astral energies, female power, communication, the goddess.

Brown Influence friendships, special favors.

Black Protection, repelling negativity, binding, shapeshifting.

White Spirituality, the goddess, peace, higher self, purity, virginity (as in the woman’s mind is owned by no man), a substitute for any other color.

How Effective Is Color Magick?

Very! You can use colors to create the proper environment and bring success, happiness, wealth, and love into your life. You can use colors in healing by applying them to particular parts of the body. The chakras can be opened, balanced, or healed using colors.

Energy in Color

All color is energy. When you interact with color, you interact with energy. Remember the red power tie of the eighties? Although now a rather amusing joke among corporate executives, the power tie did have its purpose—to promote the feeling of power, strength, intimidation, and energetic pursuits. The eye, subjected to various colors over a period of time, passes images to the brain. An electro-chemical process results in both physical and mental change.

If you are visiting someone who is emotionally upset, wear a predominance of white, beige, blue, or cream. If you are planning an intimate evening, pink or peach. Pink is also a good color to wear when mending broken emotional bridges between two people, whether they have happened on the job or in your personal life.

Do you wish to go unnoticed? Wear light grey. Would you rather present a regal appearance? Indigo, lavender, or a soft violet will promote this attitude. Black gives an aura of the “untouchable.” This is why this noncolor is so exciting to many of the members of the male species. A woman in black denotes mystery and a definite challenge—the thrill of the chase. A lady in red? Passion, of course!

If you don’t think colors affect how people act toward you, try it out. You will be a believer.

Prisms

Many people scoff at the use of those pretty prisms that come in all shapes and sizes (and keep going up in price). Since they are not genuine crystal but manufactured lead crystal, many magickal people feel they have no value. Wrong.

Prisms create rainbows of colors in dots, triangles, bands, etc. Your body absorbs colors it is lacking. Yes, your body requires different vibrations of light to survive. A prism can be just as magickal in nature as that of any gem or stone because of its properties of refracting light to create color. Every Witch should have a prism in their cabinet or bag to assist in any type of healing.

The Aura

Although we will deal with this topic more in-depth in the chapter on healing, I would like to mention that the aura is the energy patterns that emanate from the seven elements of the body—solid, liquid, gaseous, ethereal, astral, mental, and spiritual bodies. The colors present in the aura tell us the disposition of an individual. Few people are adept at first in ascertaining the colors; however, with practice, you will first “feel” the colors, and then advance to “seeing” them.

A person who is feeling and expending great amounts of caring energy will have a pink aura. One who is very spiritual in nature will have a blue one. Strength and courage are reflected by red, etc. The aura is primarily affected by the emotional state of the individual and therefore fluctuates with feelings and deep-seated emotions.

To exercise this ability in seeing auras, keep a record in your notebook for the next three weeks. Every time you see a person you know, jot down what color aura you think that person had at the time. Choose the color at your first glance of the person, then weigh their emotions and body language to determine if you were correct.

Home Color Exercise

Take a piece of paper and go to your closet and dresser drawers. Which color is predominate? Write down how many pieces of clothing you have in each color. Now, match what you have to the color correspondence chart provided.

Are there any colors on the list that you do not own? Consider why. Determine what colors you would like to have more of. A complete outfit isn’t necessary. A woman could choose scarves, vests, or perhaps a sweater. A man could add colors through ties, vests, sweaters, or jackets.

Next, equate the outfits you do own to the attributes you would like to project. For instance, if you were in a very loving mood, what would you wear? How about a passionate one? If you felt the need to go unnoticed, what would you choose? Consider an unpleasant situation that you know you may have to deal with. What would you wear then?

Now that you have matched the colors to make-believe scenarios, put them into action and keep a record of the results. An easy way to do this is to tack a chart on your closet door. Monday—business meeting— blue—result. You will be surprised how much colors affect your life!

Candle Magick

Candle burning is an ancient art. Not only does it create a provocative atmosphere, the candle itself is symbolic in color and shape. Some Witches make their own candles to add additional power to the taper. Since it is created by the Witch, it holds the essence of that person. You can purchase books and kits at hobby or craft shops if you wish to experiment in this art. A nice taper candle usually takes thirty-five dips.

When purchasing candles, try to find a shop in your area that hand-dips them. Factory candles are more expensive and burn faster. Beeswax candles, although usually higher in price, are extremely powerful as they come directly from nature and her industry.

You should stock your magickal cabinet with at least two candles of each color on the correspondence list provided, as well as ten black candles and ten white candles. White is the universal color, and it comes in handy when you run out of a specific color. Black candles are hard to come by in some areas of the country (especially rural), except around the Halloween season.

There is nothing more frustrating than to realize that you have run out of black candles and a friend is in desperate need of repelling negativity. Although there are other ways to master this difficulty, candle magick is quick, easy, and inexpensive. Plus, it works just about every time!

Dressing Candles

All candles, whether store-bought or handmade, must be dressed before they are used. This is the cleansing and consecration of the candle.

For this process, you will need some type of oil. Some Witches use “specialty” oils, such as Lucky Oil, or Love Oil. These oils are made of herbs, flowers, and, of course, oils from certain plants as well as olive or saffron oil. Animal oil is not usually used because of both environmental concerns and the impurities that may complicate it from the slaughter.

Names such as “Lucky” or “Love” are given by the supplier of the oil, and are usually made up themselves. To my knowledge there is no standard formula for “Lucky Oil” or “Love Oil.”

You can make the oils yourself, or you can purchase them through occult shops or catalogs. Many Witches make their own oils for sale or barter. You should be able to locate several through your networking contacts. If, however, you have none of these things available, you can always use plain olive or saffron oil. Corn oil is good, too, if you desire some type of fertility or harvest in your life. All oils must be consecrated to the god or goddess or to the All before use.

If you wish to draw something toward you, rub the oil on the candle in a downward motion from the top of the candle to the middle. Stop. Now rub from the bottom up to the middle with the oil, as well.

If you are repelling something from you, reverse the process by rubbing from the middle to the ends. Never go in a back and forth motion as this negates the entire process.

When you have completed the process, dab some of the remaining oil on your third eye, and then in the middle of your breastbone. Speak words of power over the candle, such as:

I cleanse and consecrate this taper in the name of the god and the goddess. May it burn in strength in the service of light.

Continue by stating the purpose of the candle.

When inscribing a candle, use the same directional procedure. To bring things toward you, write from the top to the middle, then from the bottom to the middle of the candle. If you are repelling something, reverse the procedure. The athame is used to carve the inscription.

Just How Good Is Candle Magick?

Candle magick is extremely powerful and very practical. I had a friend who one holiday season realized that there was not enough money to buy gifts for her several children. Although she had been careful to budget her money (I don’t want you to get the impression that she was unstable), she forgot to pay her school taxes and found herself with both an empty bank account and a bare wallet two weeks before Yule.

Since money was at a premium, she purchased one green pillar candle, gazed at the flame, called upon the ancient gods, and visualized many presents under the Yule Tree for her children. The third day, she received a commission for some work for one hundred dollars. This was great, but with several children, not enough. She persisted.

The fifth day she received four bags of food, three bags of clothing, two bags of toys, and a gift certificate for one hundred dollars from some old friends. The seventh day she received a one-hundred-dollar check for a job she had done over a month before, but hadn’t gotten paid for. On the ninth day, her husband’s stocks soared and they received a check for three hundred dollars. She stopped the ritual and thanked the gods. After the holiday season, while everyone else was paying off seasonal bills, she was free and clear of any burden.

Even though she had finished the ritual when she felt her family was well taken care of, the day before Yule she received a check for another one hundred dollars. This she kept for after the holidays to tide the family over in food until the next paycheck came in. So, if you had any previous doubts about lighting only one candle for a big job, put them aside!

Variety

Candle magick can be the sole focus of a spell, or it can be used in combination with other tools. Candles are also used on major holidays and esbats. For a full moon ritual, one would use white or silver candles. Candles in the shape of the moon can be added to the ritual too.

For a working ritual and to bring yourself in line with the elements, you may wish to have a candle of each color corresponding to an element. Use green or brown candles for earth, blue or purple for water, red or orange for fire, and white or silver for air. To represent the god, the candle color would be red or gold. To represent the goddess, it would be white or silver. You could also think in terms of Skyfather (blue) and Earth Mother (green). There are many possibilities. The representation must be important and comfortable to you. It must make perfect sense to your logical mind.

For choosing colors for particular needs, refer to the color list provided. You can use these in combination, or alone. Experiment and see which colors work best for specific needs.

Any ritual or spell can contain several types of candles. Perhaps you will have illumination candles on the altar, and a silver candle to represent the goddess on an esbat. If you are planning a working that evening that will include magick for obtaining love, you would add a red candle, as well. This would be the focus candle. To assist, you may add a candle for the day of the week.

I would like to add one final note here about color and human reaction. I’ve heard comments such as, “So and so says that every time she uses a pink candle, the spell goes awry.” This may very well be true for that person, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be true for you. You will have to experiment.

Lighting, Extinguishing, and Disposing of Candles

Light all illumination candles, deity candles, daily candles, and focused candles with either a lighter or birthday candle. Do not use matches as the sulphur is not compatible to your working. You may even use a simple white candle designed for this purpose with inscriptions or magickal symbols.

To extinguish a candle, do not pinch it, as you pinch out the desire; and do not blow it out, as you blow the desire away from yourself. Use a candle snuffer (which is inexpensive), or wave your hand over the top of the candle to create enough draft to extinguish it.

If you plan to use the candle again, store it carefully. Bury the candle off your property, if possible, for spells involving the movement of things away from you, and on the property if you wish to draw something toward you.

Keep candle drippings when performing all rituals, save those where you are repelling something. You can add drippings to healing pouches (if the spell was for a healing), remelt them on a talisman consecrated and empowered during that same ritual, or keep them simply in the bottom of purse or coat pocket for good luck, fertility, romance, and fortune.

If you wish to construct a dream pillow for prophetic dreams, throw in some of the candle wax from a full moon ritual along with the herbs you have selected. The old adage “waste not, want not” carries a double meaning in magick!

Candles and Sympathetic Magick

Candles molded into shapes are considered sympathetic magick. Our ancestors at some point placed animal headdresses on their heads and animal skins on their backs to ask their spirits for good hunting. This is also a type of sympathetic magick—using a like object to reach our intent.

To assist you in finding a familiar, burn a candle of the animal you desire. For a hunter in buck season, burn a candle for a male deer. In both these instances, you would be contacting the animals’ collective unconscious to request their assistance.

Fertility spells can be cast with a phallus-shaped candle. Healing spells can be performed with human-shaped candles (pick up those skull-shaped candles around Halloween). White candles are great for healing, black ones for reversing spells or warding off negativity.

Sympathetic magick mixed with candle magick is very strong stuff. I once purchased a candle of Sister Spider, because I felt I needed the protection of that particular cosmic link. Although the spell was successful in the long run, the first morning after the spell I woke up literally covered with spider bites! My error was to ask for the most powerful protection the spider could give me, without adding a protective clause for myself! I should have added something like, “In no way will this spell cause me to suffer any adverse effects!”

In that way, Sister Spider would have had to think of another way to instill her power. The spell, however, was successful and the danger I faced passed, leaving me safe, but itchy!

Another type of candle/sympathetic magick is to inscribe runes, names, or other magickal symbols directly on the candle before burning. If you are in a real hurry and need results pronto, take a hat pin (yes, they are still around, but you have to look for them) and stick it as close as you can to the top of the candle without breaking it. As you are inserting the pin, say:

When this candle burns to the pin, the process of (name the desire) will begin.

Insert a second pin close to the first, and say:

When this candle burns to this pin, the process of (name desire) will come to a successful completion, and end.

Of course you may have to reword the spell, but you get the idea.

Candle and color magick are considered “sympathetic magick”—wherein like attracts like. The color red, for example, attracts passion, courage, and strength. A candle of that color or any color acts in the same fashion.

Other items commonly used in sympathetic magick are locks of hair, photographs, personal effects of a particular individual, and poppets (dolls). Because these items have a psychic link to the person they have been taken from (the dolls are made with the link), they are very powerful. These things can be used in healing rituals or for drawing good fortune to that person, and aid in eliminating bad habits.

Using Personal Effects in Magick

What are the best personal effects to use when employing magickal practices for another individual? A photograph, something that the person carries with them often (for instance, a favorite bracelet or a tie), a lock of hair, and yes, a drop of blood.

Why bother? If you want to forge a strong link from your magick to the person, you would use personal effects. These items have a psychic and physical link to the individual that has given them to you. These things can be used in healing rituals, drawing good fortune to that person, and aid in eliminating bad habits.

Sympathetic magick employed for someone other than yourself should not be done without that person’s permission. There are situations where sympathetic magick involving personal effects or poppets filled with them in combination with herbs are used.

Sometimes, you may only have a letter requesting your help. I often put the letter in a colored envelope matching the need, or I have hand-sewn felt pockets out of various colors and color combinations to place the letter in to assist me in helping that person.

Tattwas

The men and women involved in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn contributed much to our knowledge of the occult today. The Order first appeared in London in 1877 and introduced a revival of esoteric practice involving astrology, alchemy, the chakras, the Qabalah, and the attwas (or tattwas). The symbols, originally from Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy, relate to planes of existence, the elements, colors, and the seasons. They can be used singularly or in combination in meditation and magick.

To make a tattwa envelope you will need:

An 18” long and 12” wide piece of white felt

3 white velcro circles

One small piece each of black, blue, red, and yellow felt

One small piece of silver material

Corresponding thread for sewing the colors

Fold the bottom of the white felt up about six inches. Sew on the right and left sides to make the envelope ends. Attach the velcro circles so the pocket will be securely closed when flap is folded over. Cut the tattwa shapes in their corresponding colors from the table (see next page). Sew or glue them to the front flap of the bag. When you have finished, do a ritual of balance and consecrate the bag. Empower it so that it will neutralize all the negative energy of whatever it contains or for whatever is placed within it.

If you receive something of a disturbing nature, such as a letter, photo, or jewelry that carries unbalanced or negative energy, place it within the packet for twenty-four hours to balance the energies of the situation. When you have taken care of the problem, air the envelope in strong sunlight for ten minutes. Small envelopes can also be made of black and white for balancing pictures and little items. These envelopes can also carry the tattwa symbolism, either in unison or separately. (I would like to indicate here that the original idea for the colored-felt envelopes came from Ray Buckland’s book, Practical Color Magick.)

The following table is a list of correspondences for the five tattwas (although through serious study you will discover that there are seven).

Symbol	Tattwa	Quality	Color	Season	Qabalah
	Akasa	Spirit	Black	Flowing	The Crown
	Vayu	Air	Blue	Autumn	Emanation
	Tejas	Fire	Red	Spring	Creation
	Apas	Water	Silver	Summer	Formation
	Prithivi	Earth	Yellow	Winter	Action

Doll/Poppet Magick

It took me a long time to employ doll magick as I associated it with incredible power—which is accurate, but my reasoning was from a different perspective than you might think. My respect of this power was absolutely genuine, not borne of Hollywood horror pictures—rather, its roots were in a true story told to me many years ago.

A very close friend of mine was in a bad domestic situation. It was especially bad for her because her injuries from spousal abuse, mixed with the after-effects of the polio virus, rendered her unable to walk. The injuries came from constant beatings by her husband. She was in the middle of a terrible divorce, yet he refused to move out of the house they were both living in. She couldn’t leave the house because she had several children; and, of course, she couldn’t walk.

You must understand that the actual events took place several years before I heard this story. So, you will have to remember that the laws of the state she lived in at the time were not very conducive to abused wives. The husband was permitted to remain within the home until the final decree, even though it was alleged that he had been abusive toward her.

My friend was desperate with a big “D.” When her father travelled to Haiti during the summer of her divorce, she begged him to bring her back two Voodoun dolls. Such a time he had finding these dolls! A native finally took him to a nearly unpopulated area of the island and there, for a price, he acquired the dolls—one male and one female—made of bark. When her father returned to the States he gave his daughter what he thought was a simple box of souvenirs, albeit unusual.

Things in the home grew progressively worse. Finally, seated at the dining room table, my friend began to play with the dolls. Her husband was upstairs, shouting abuses over a fight that they had just finished. Frustrated at being bound to such horrific circumstances, she grabbed a pin and a piece of his soiled handkerchief, tied the cloth around the male doll’s leg, and raised the pin.

As the abuses continued pouring from upstairs, hatred and fear merged together into a powerful psychic situation. She raised the pin, but could not bring herself to stab the doll in the heart so she stuck it in the leg instead, chanting the words “mumbo-jumbo, mumbo-jumbo” over and over again.

On the surface, this story is actually funny, and the first time I heard it, I was literally in tears of laughter as she acted out what had happened long ago. A grown woman pounding a doll up and down on the top of the dining room table, chanting words of nonsense because she hasn’t the vaguest idea about magick or Voodoun, but is desperate enough to try something she really thought was silly.

When she was through, she tossed the doll up the stairs and it landed at his feet. He laughed and kicked it back down the stairs. He got ready for his evening shift work and left the house. He didn’t come home when his shift was over, but since that was usual (he had a girlfriend), my friend did not worry about it until the following day. Finally, she called his parents who told her he was in the hospital with a terrible affliction. His leg was full of open, running sores.

Aghast, my friend took the two dolls, rolled them up in a towel, and had her son hide them in the attic—where they still are today.

I never forgot that story, so it was with great trepidation and respect that I began using poppet magick. I have shared this story with you in an effort to explain just how powerful magick is when mixed with uncontrollable emotions. Truly unique is the knowledge that my friend was not involved in magick and never has been, save for this remarkable experience.

Making a Poppet

Dolls can be made of wood, cloth, clay, or even paper. They should have a basic human shape of either male or female, depending upon the sex of the person for whom it is to be used. The doll itself is useless; the effort is combined with an act of ritual.

The doll can be stuffed with batting, tissue, even straw. Other items placed within the doll would be herbs, personal effects (such as a lock of hair), and small gems. Therefore, your knowledge of these items is important.

In cases of a real emergency, poppets can be drawn with colored pencil on a plain piece of white paper and the ritual taken from there. In a binding situation, you would roll the doll up and bind it with black thread.

After the doll has been made, wrap it in white cloth until the ritual is performed. During the ritual, you will cleanse and consecrate the doll. It is at this point where the psychic link is begun. To seal this act, you would say:

Though separate you were,

now you are one

the link of unison has now begun.

Poppets should not be destroyed. If they have been used with the permission of the person they represent, they should be given to that person for safekeeping. If it is yours, store it in white cloth in your cabinet. If it has been done for a child, give it to the parents or keep it yourself. If it was a doll made for binding, it should be buried.

Spells to Bind

The first order of business in any binding spell is to carefully consider why you wish to employ it. Perhaps you desire to heighten your own protection by learning to strengthen your psychic shield, clearing your home or workplace of negative energy, or casting a spell to positively remove yourself from the situation through better education, a new place to live, or a promotion.

If you are in physical danger, you should remove yourself immediately from that scenario. If you feel for some reason that you cannot do this on your own, ask a friend, a trusted neighbor, a family member, or an organization in your hometown that has been designed to help those who are in trouble. Often, we subject ourselves to the most horrible dangers because we feel that in some way we deserve them. Never fall prey to that kind of self-ridiculing thoughtform.

Once you have removed yourself from physical danger, you must think clearly about the next step to be taken. Use both the legal system and magick, not one or the other alone.

A binding spell is the act of grasping the negative energy that is propelling a person or thing and stopping it. In this way, you are negating the unhealthy energy. The most important thing to remember when conducting a binding spell is that you must control your own violent emotions of hatred or fear. The binding spell is for protection only, not for harm. This is not easy. The goddess to be employed is Aradia, Queen of Witches. Be sure you are honest in your intentions. The symbol of Aradia is the red garter.

If you desire justice, which often we do, then call upon Maat, she who balances the scales. You must, however, be absolutely sure that your own hands are free from violence and hatred, lest she weigh her scales for you as well! The symbol for Maat is the pure white feather.

The binding itself is a very simple matter. A poppet can be sewn to represent the malicious person. Fill it with earth (grave dirt if you can find it), rosemary, sage, a piece of smokey quartz, and a piece of amethyst. Also, enclose a piece of the person’s fingernails, a lock of hair, or another personal item. Their handwriting can be enclosed if you have nothing else. Photos can also be rolled and placed within the doll. If your intention at any time during the ritual is to harm that person, remember that you will only bring harm upon yourself—so be very, very careful.

If you cannot do the ritual right away, store the doll (with the head still open) in a white cloth. During the ritual, you will sew up the head while connecting the psychic link. Then you will proceed to sew the arms and legs of the doll together. You will finish by wrapping the doll mummy fashion with a black ribbon. Bury the doll when you have completed the ritual.

A person can also be bound using mental capabilities. Laurie Cabot says that whenever she sees a terrorist or murderer on the television, she binds him by placing a mental white “X” over the face. I envision them wrapped mummy fashion in white gauze.

Turning Back vs. Binding

This subject treads, in many minds, that fine line of ethics again. Before you make the decision on whether or not you wish to employ this method, you should consider that your aura naturally “turns back” a great deal of negativity and unbalance as long as you are healthy in body and mind.

To turn back negativity is to become a mirror, where the energy that is sent to you bounces back to the initiator, leaving you unaffected. There are those that feel you are acting as personal judge and jury when you do this. Others think that because you have not actively generated the negative energy, you are not responsible for it—you are only deflecting something meant to harm you.

A great deal of protection magick employs “sending back” negative energy. Talismans, protective jewelry, strengthening one’s shield—all are methods of sending energy back from whence it came. There is an old Pennsylvania Dutch custom wherein if you have been the recipient of negative magick, you should take off your shirt and pinch it between the door and the lock, thereby squeezing out the ill will and sending it back.

Placing a sample of a person’s handwriting and capping it tightly in an old Bell jar is a way to stop malicious gossip. When the danger is over, unscrew the cap and burn the handwriting. Mirrors can also be used to turn back negative energy. If you employ such a method, however, never turn the mirror on yourself during the ritual and do not allow anyone to look into the mirror at any time. Trust me on this one!

Summary

This chapter carried a great deal of information and is the foundation of practical magick. You can influence almost any part of your reality with candles, colors, and sympathetic magickal functions. The information given can be used every day to obtain your desires and protect you.

Practical magick is a means of bringing mundane matters into form—money, better employment, success, love, and health. There are no exotic or expensive items used; all equipment can be found on hand. We’ve also touched lightly on ethics and ethical behavior in the use of magick. Remember to do all magickal endeavors with grace, love, and faith.

You have now completed the next step in your Craft training by learning the fundamentals in performing magick. I suggest you practice the building blocks presented in this chapter before moving on. Once you have had some experience casting spells, you will be better able to continue your education in the Craft.