This is probably, by far, the most controversial area of this book. No kidding. When I wrote Teen Witch, I put a magickal working in there called the Bad Bus Driver Spell. Needless to say, a lot of people weren’t too thrilled with it, because I was, in essence, kicking at the base of the ivory tower that we call your school system. Granted, it was just little kick and it came from an experience I had at sixteen. I remember telling my father that if my school bus was ever involved in an accident, that he should immediately sue and take it as far as he could go. My statement, I felt, was justified. Every morning my bus driver pulled out onto a four-lane highway and he never looked. Never. He just moseyed on out there, thinking that because the bus was bigger than most cars, and because drivers would not want to hit a school bus if their lives de-pended on it (which they did), that they wouldn’t hit the bus. We were lucky. Granted, this was the behavior of one bus driver in thousands, and not all bus drivers are grumpy or disobey the rules of the road—still, there was that one.
Teens are not stupid, and above all, they expect honesty from their parents and the school system, from writers like me, from their pastors at church, and from society in general. They expect this because this is what they have been taught. Honesty, as the sages put it, is the best policy, and this is not an inaccurate assumption. But what teens expect and what some adults are willing to give, in many cases and for a variety of reasons, are two entirely different things, and there comes a point in every teen’s life when they are smacked in the face with this realization: Not all adults are good, honest, hardworking people. Some of them are nasty, others are just strange, and a few are downright monsters and, like it or not, these dregs of society occasionally manage to squirrel their way into the school system. There they are protected by the sugar-coated belief that such a place would never harbor an unstable individual, coupled with the unions and attorneys who protect them.
So, let’s be blunt. There are good teachers who do their very best to bring you the finest education possible, and there are those who look the other way when trouble starts, turning a blind eye to your problem, or who create unbearable situations for you because they have unfulfilled lives, suffer from personality disorders, or are just downright dysfunctional. There are good coaches and there are those that should never be anywhere near children. There are good principals and administrative employees who strive to make the system work in your favor, and there are really crappy ones that care more about power, prestige, and that paycheck. A school is a business and an industry. And, as many parents have discovered, this industry is not above doing just about anything to protect itself. When the people involved in the school system are great, we should support them and help them as much as we can, but when their behavior is unacceptable, we need to do something about it, to protect ourselves and others like us. This, let me tell you, can get extremely complicated, messy, downright nasty, and expensive.
Many student versus school difficulties arise because of discrimination, and we’re not talking about just race, your income level, your religion, who your parents know in the system, or all sorts of things that fall into this category. Discrimination is a disease. It knows no color, no sex, no age, and no religion; it is vile energy that sweeps into homes, schools, jobs, and churches. It is a plague unlike any other, and it can and does destroy lives. It brings a slow and painful death. Since the dawn of man it has been the number one killer of human beings. It works on an archaic social system known in tribal societies as “honor and shame,” and uses this system to its best advantage. Most schools participate in the honor and shame scenario every day. You are either put on the honor roll or you are shamed by ostracism, detention, suspension, or expulsion. You are rewarded with a school party, or you are publicly defamed in front of your peers and classmates.
As you can tell, this social system is considered a bad one, yet we participate in it all the time. Street gangs also use the honor and shame model. Although the general populace rejects the gang behavior, they support the exact same social model in the school system, in churches, and in businesses. Why? Because most of us are too busy living to worry about social models and human behavioral patterns, until, unfortunately, the model blows up in our faces and even then people are not always moved to make changes, especially radical ones that may involve time and expense. Instead, they are more inclined to spend their time in the process of finger pointing, until the situation “blows over.” Because many of the present school systems work on a “yearly” basis—nine months in the trenches and three months out, with students ever-moving from one building to another in the march toward graduation from one level to the next—situations that normally would de-mand resolution in the outside world can be stalled, ignored, or even hidden for a very long time in the hopes that they will never become an issue, and many times that is precisely what happens.
When it comes to school issues, the most powerful magick in the world lies, for most of you, in the hands of your parents. They love you and want the best for you. It is to your parents, then, that you should turn to immediately when problems at school arise. Don’t hide that infraction, detention, or (Goddess forbid) suspension notice. Sure, they’re going to be mad at first, especially if up till this point you’ve never had a problem at school, and suddenly you seem to be on the wrong end of the educational stick. If you have done something to deserve that suspension (like stealing a cupcake), then it’s far better for you in the long run to ’fess up and deal with your own actions. Your friends did not make you steal that cupcake (and if you say that, then you are playing right into the honor/shame model and you know better).
What if, however, this is something far more insidious? Teachers, I’ve found, are not above trying to build a case against a student because he or she is different than the rest, and because the teacher is an adult who has been entrusted with the care of children, they can practice their personal brand of discrimination for many years. Threats, belittling students in public, nitpicking, and temper tantrums are all signs of an unstable personality and emotional immaturity in a teacher. These are people who have definite personality dysfunctions, yet they remain protected by the teachers’ union, a system called tenure, and the school system in general. Some are never caught due to the constantly turning wheel of students, and some are shuffled from school to school in hopes of diffusing angry parents. A few are quietly forced to leave, but only after the involvement of your parents. If you feel that you have suffered or are suffering from this type of abuse from a teacher or a school official, you must talk to your parents or a trusted advisor.
As far as discrimination against your religion, or your interest in Witchcraft and Paganism goes, your school system cannot take this book away from you. Some will try. They cannot force you to give up your pentacle necklace, but some will attempt to suspend you if you wear it. There are school systems in the United States that don’t know the law and are spitting in the face of the Constitution that they claim to uphold, and are using their honor/shame social model to try to control your religious behavior—which, last time I checked, is against the law in this country. When outrageous events like this occur, it is your parents who must step up to the plate and join the fight, and in cases like these, the system is weighing the odds of whether or not your parents want to spend the time, energy, and money it takes to beat them. They are also hoping that your parents are too busy with their own lives, and they will use the honor/shame scenario on your parents just like they use it on you. Most school systems, I will tell you, are not so stupid as to blatantly discriminate against your religion because, when taken to court, they will always lose. Unfortunately, especially in rural America, there are (on occasion) those who will be dumb enough to try.
Finally, there are teens and young adults who will use the rules and regulations of the school against you. These are the devious ones, and you might as well admit that they exist because you are going to run into these people in adulthood (and they won’t have changed much). They will set you up for a fall by accusing you of something that you haven’t done. Often they are a teacher’s pet who feels they are not getting enough attention. Again, the strongest magick is the bond and communication you have with your parents. You aren’t being a wuss if you ask them to help you. In fact, in all my examples under this section, those who oppose you are counting on your silence.
Tempest Smith25
At the beginning of this book you may have seen the dedication. It says: “To Tempest Smith, gone but not forgotten.”
On February 20, 2001, a young girl named Tempest Smith killed herself in Lincoln Park, Michigan, USA. Her suicide was directly caused by the taunting of other students at the Lincoln Park Middle School who mocked her because she was “different” and because she was Wiccan. This is a dramatic and extreme example of hundreds of everyday cases of prejudice based on religion. Even those who would never make a racial or gender-based slur may still discriminate based on religion, because many faiths teach that their religion is the only true religion. We know that change is made one person at a time. So in memory of Tempest Smith and millions of victims of religious discrimination worldwide, we at the Pagan Pride Project ask you to pledge the three things at the bottom of this page:
the pledge
I remember Tempest Smith.
I remember that it’s never right to make fun of someone’s beliefs.
I remember that sticks and stones can break my bones, but names are words of power that can wound the soul.
I remember that many mocked—and one died.
I remember Tempest Smith.
I remember that it takes all types to make a world.
I remember that nature likes biodiversity. This is true of beliefs and ideas as well.
I remember that I make a better witness to my own beliefs by simply living them, not belittling others.
I remember Tempest Smith.
And I remember that another person’s belief (or nonbelief) is just as sincerely held as my own.
I remember to have the courage to say, “Hey, that’s not right,” when I see someone being ridiculed.
And the next time I am tempted to go along with the crowd and tease someone who is “different,” I will remember Tempest Smith, and I will remember my pledge.
Because what is remembered lives.26
• I pledge my word and my honor to accept that another’s belief, or nonbelief, is just as sincerely held as my own.
• I pledge that when I see prejudice based on religion, be it taunting on a playground or whispered in a board meeting, I will stand and say, “No. This is wrong.”
• I pledge that to the best of my ability, I will respect practitioners of other spiritual paths and treat them with kindness and courtesy.
All this said, is there anything you can do magickally to ease the situation? Absolutely, but never forget that your greatest ally in situations such as these is a loving parent or guardian. The following spells combat negativity at school or on campus.
Wisdom Lamp Spell
Supplies: One white fire-safe bowl; 8 ounces vegetable oil; one package of gel wicks (found at arts and craft stores for about $3); one chamo-mile tea bag; one mint tea bag; 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/8 teaspoon angelica (or herbs of your choice that break up negativity); 3 quarters; one small red felt bag (which you can sew yourself, or use a red cloth whose four corners you will tie together with a black ribbon); one plastic baggie; the name of your school on a small piece of paper; salt.
Instructions: Cast a circle. Cleanse and empower all supplies. Open tea bags, mix contents, and pour all but 1/4 teaspoon in the plastic baggie. Set aside. Place the name of your school in the bottom center of the white bowl.
Carefully place the wick at the bottom of the bowl so that it stands vertically. We use a gel wick because this type of wick will stand straight and self-trims, meaning as it burns the used wick disappears and the flame won’t get too high. Use the quarters to weight the bottom of the wick so that the wick will not move. Be sure the wick stands straight in the center of the bowl.
Mix cloves, angelica, and the 1/4 teaspoon of tea leaves together. Grind with mortar and pestle, saying:
The belief makes the Witch, the Witch
makes the Spirit, the Spirit makes the magick. What I wish will come to pass.
Pour this mixture in the white bowl. Then slowly pour the oil into the bowl. Place the bowl in the center of your altar. Be sure that the area around the bowl is clear of papers or any ignitable articles. Slowly pour a circle of salt around the outside of the bowl.
Hold your hands over the bowl and repeat:
The belief makes the Witch, the Witch
makes the Spirit, the Spirit makes the magick. What I wish will come to pass.
Now, state your wish in very clear and specific terms. For example, “May all negativity be removed from the Northern York County School System and may any negativity be replaced with only light and wisdom. As I will, it shall be done.”
Light the wick, repeating the incantation and your desire as many times as you feel necessary. Take the leftover tea mixture, pour in the center of the red cloth, repeat the incantation, tie up the ends, and secure with the black ribbon. Place inside last year’s school yearbook. It doesn’t matter if you don’t go to that school anymore. Close circle, and allow the wisdom lamp to burn. Depending upon the circumstances, the area in which you burn the lamp, and the type of oil used, the wisdom lamp may keep its flame for two to three days. When it has extinguished, repeat the incantation one more time. Take the remaining contents of the bowl to a crossroads and dump, saying: “My will be done!” Leave tea mixture in the yearbook until school ends for this year.
Note: Because this spell contains an open flame that burns over a long period of time, please take every precaution against accidental fire. You can place the white bowl with flame in a large turkey pan, sturdy fire-safe cauldron, or other large pot to ensure home safety. Keep away from all animals.
Locker/Desk Drawer
Feather Web Spell
Supplies: A package of black feathers; several yards of gold cord; 13 small bells (all can be purchased at your local arts and crafts store); glue; perfume. Optional: White candle.
Instructions: The night before school starts, sit quietly in your room and think about what you want to accomplish this year. Form a picture in your mind of how you want the year to progress for you. Cast a magick circle. Cleanse and empower all supplies. Tie the string around individual feathers and add the bells where you like. Use glue to secure the knots around the feathers. Make the garland as long or as short as you desire. Say the following chant while working on your web of protection:
The Witch is the magick, the web
is the protection, the bells clear the air,
the feathers brush away danger.
When the garland is finished, repeat the incantation seven times, spray with perfume or aftershave, then clap your hands over the project. Hang at the back of your locker. Re-empower every thirty days by spraying lightly with perfume or aftershave. Burn on the evening of the last day of school, thanking Spirit for the protection you received during the school year.
Locker/Desk Drawer Combat Jar Spell to Prevent Theft or for the Return of Items Stolen at School
Supplies: A small, clean canning, jelly, or other glass jar with seal and lid; a picture of your school with the full name of the school written on the back; a black indelible marker; a small rubber snake (for wisdom) that will fit in the jar; one black feather symbolizing the power of the raven (discernment, protection, knowledge, etc.); 3 nails.
Instructions: On a full moon, cast a magick circle. Take the picture of the school and roll it as tightly as possible, then place it in the jar with the feather, nails, and the snake. Hold your hands over the jar, and say:
From the void to the action
from the action to the Spirit
from the Spirit to the manifestation.
All evil is caught and replaced by light
force and form unite
there is no escape.
So mote it be!
Seal the jar. Repeat the chant seven times while slowly drawing a spiral from the outside of the lid to the center. Place the jar in the back corner of your locker. Throw in the garbage at home on the evening of the last day of school.
Focus Rattle Spell
The focus rattle can be used anytime, but it seems particularly helpful when you must solve a problem, are dealing with fears where you need to clear your mind, or when you are just having trouble concentrating on schoolwork.
Supplies: One-half ounce of unpopped popcorn kernels, beads, dried beans or collection of seeds (your choice); one plastic or glass spice jar with smooth sides; 1/4 teaspoon dried mint.
Instructions: Cast a magick circle. Cleanse and empower all supplies. Pour mint and kernels into jar. Hold your hands over the jar and concentrate on the jar filling with pure, white light. Cap the jar tightly.
to use: Ground and center. Roll the jar back and forth lightly between your palms, allowing your mind to drift with the rhythmic sound. Chant:
The magick is the Witch, the Witch is the
magick, I am the Witch. I rise above my
problems, and my problems dissolve.
The more you practice with the rattle, the faster you will experience future results.