Banishing Poverty
In the last two chapters we worked on manifesting. In this section we’re going to work on pushing negative energies away from you as well as taking a good look at your current financial state and how you can work with even the messiest monetary problem in a positive way. According to Debtor’s Anonymous,17 twenty million Americans are overwhelmed by debt at this very moment. In all, it is thought that over eighty percent of the American population experiences some sort of financial difficulty—including many who would never admit it to their friends and family, let alone a survey.
They say that you teach best what you most need to learn, and this little adage has proven itself numerous times in my life. The spells in this chapter are my gift to you, designed and tested by me over a very rough time in my life. I know they work. You can best believe that I toiled over every correspondence, every moon phase, and every supply used for each spell until I felt the techniques were perfect. I called or traveled to people who had decades of training in one magickal religion or another, asking them questions about magick and prosperity.
None of these spells represent quick fix-it solutions for your financial security, but each one covers a facet of what you may be experiencing and what to change. If you perform these spells faithfully, coupled with your manifesting work, you should succeed in financial independence. I did.
As you work some of these spells, you may feel yourself fighting against the affirmations, or getting a “touchy-yucky” feeling. This subconscious (or even conscious) response is a result of your negative associations with your expenses. Immediately draw this feeling out and purposefully look at it. Don’t push the negative feeling aside without looking at that emotion for what it is—just an emotion. Don’t give up. Finish each spell by saying:
My expenses do not obligate me to suffer mentally,
physically, or spiritually. So mote it be!
If you are like me, it might be hard at first to realize that your expenses are only a temporary manifestation of your previous actions, and you may mentally and emotionally fight against what you think is the end of the world. For the first three weeks of changing my attitude toward my expenses, I had to say my affirmations many times because my thoughts and actions were a result of my own years of negative programming.
To fight my attitude about banishing my expenses, I began on the dark of the moon by lighting a black candle, and saying:
Great Lord and Lady of the universe,
assist me in raising my consciousness
and extinguishing my debt. So mote it be!
I envisioned myself becoming more compassionate, less judgmental, and free of debt. Now it’s your turn!
Quick Cleansings
Sometimes we need a quick cleansing. For example, this evening I finished paying my bills and, although I was proud that I took care of all my expenses and had some money left over, I still felt emotionally dissatisfied. Time to do a quick cleansing.
• Burn sage, using the smoke to remove negative energies.
• Sprinkle blessed spring water around the house.
• Carry a blessed egg around the house, imagining the negativity entering the egg. Throw the egg away.
Now that you have cleansed and purified your body, mind, and soul, and opened the door for positive energies to come to you, it’s time to specifically delve into removing those debts from your life!
Spell for the Desperate
Before we begin methodically working through your debt, you may need a quick spell to get you moving in the right direction. If there is a bill collector at the door or they’ve just picked you up for bounced checks (hey, it can happen), here’s a spell to help you out. I warn you, though, this isn’t going to fix the mess you got yourself into—but it will help to relieve the financial pressure until you can get your head on straight.
Supplies: Three green candles; six brown candles; one dish of water; one lodestone (can substitute a magnet); one package of needles; four eggs; crushed mint.
Instructions: Empower the green and brown candles for the monetary amount you desperately need. Carve that amount into each candle with a pin or needle. Set one green candle between two brown candles. (Put the other candles aside to be used for the next two days.) Empower the eggs to draw negativity away from you and your house. Set the lodestone in the dish of water. Sprinkle with crushed mint. Hold your hands over the dish and ask that the amount of money you specified be drawn to you. Sprinkle the needles into the water (they should attach themselves to the lodestone). Light the candles, saying: “Debt scatter, money gather.” Say the amount of money that you need aloud three times. Take the four eggs and place one egg in each of the four corners of your house. Let the candles burn completely. Wait twenty-four hours. Scatter the needles on your front and back walks, asking that prosperity come to your door. (If you are the anal retentive type, you can leave the needles in a metal—not aluminum—can.) Let the eggs sit in the four corners for seven days (do not break them), then remove them from your property. Cleanse the lodestone and put it in a safe place to be used again for other spells. Repeat the candle burning section of this spell for three consecutive days.
Magick Bill Box
You know that you have to pay your bills, but leaving them strewn across the desk where they are a constant reminder of your financial insecurity isn’t the best idea in the world. It also isn’t good to stuff all your bills in a brown paper bag and shove them in the closet. Although the bills will be out of sight (and possibly out of mind), you may just forget that they are there, which wouldn’t be so good for your financial well-being either. I decided to find a positive place to put my bills until I could pay them, remove the negativity from them, and keep me from future overspending—all at the same time.
In this spell we employ the color black (a universal repellent) and a magick mirror empowered to remove negativity. Folktales attribute all sorts of power to mirrors, including the belief that through a mirror, one can see the shadow soul of oneself or another. Mirrors were also thought to deflect or sometimes absorb negativity, and that’s how we’re going to use them in this spell.
The goddess energy used in this spell is Juno Moneta, the Roman Mother Goddess, who is seen as the guardian of the family and protectress of commerce and travel (the symbol for Juno is on page 148). Coins of precious metals were minted at the temple Capitoline (however, some historical references indicated that the money was minted at the temple of Juno Moneta) so that the money would carry the blessing of the goddess. Her coins were thought to carry the energy of good fortune and healing. Juno is closely connected to the moon, making her association with lunar magick a strong one. Those who worshiped the Roman pantheon believed that every woman had her personal “Juno” whom she honored on her birthday, where every man had his personal “genius.” Like many goddesses, Juno had many faces (or facets) to her personality. In honor of Juno Unixia, the woman of the house would anoint the doors, asking for blessings, prosperity, and protection for those who resided within. Juno has two feast days, the first on March 1 in honor of married women and the second on July 7 in respect for her salvation of the Romans during a time of battle. Juno’s favorite animal is the goose.
We’re going to use crushed cloves, excellent for the banishment of negativity, protection of your riches, and attraction of new money.
Supplies: One sturdy shoe box (or a colorful box of your choice); a paint brush; decorative paints, including plenty of black; one black marker; glue; favorite pictures; 1⁄2 ounce crushed cloves; six small mirrors (you can pick these up at a craft shop for only a few dollars; as a substitute, cut six round pieces of tinfoil); a small piece of gold or silver (again, you can substitute a small disk of smooth tinfoil; when I first designed this spell I used the tinfoil for the mirrors and the small disk, and the spell worked just fine).
Instructions: Using the black marker, seal the back of each mirror with an equal-armed cross (page 56). Paint the inside of the box completely black, including the underside of the lid. Allow to dry. Glue the six mirrors inside the box, one on each side. Allow to dry. Empower the inside of the box to absorb any negativity. Decorate the outside of the box with your paints and favorite pictures. Glue the piece of gold or silver on the outside lid of the box.
Take the box to the four quarters (E, S, W, N), beginning with the east, and ask for blessings of prosperity and the ability to pay what you owe on time without negative circumstances. Hold your hands over the box, and say:
Gracious Juno, supreme Mother Goddess.
In your name I empower this box to absorb all
negativity associated with my finances and the bills
I place herein. I ask for blessings of future good
fortune and healing, and that every penny I spend comes back to me threefold, so that all debts will be resolved quickly. Magick mirrors, consume any
negativity sent to me from another in association
with these bills and return that negativity from whence it came. With harm to none, so mote it be!
Put your box on your desk, hutch, or kitchen counter—wherever it will be easiest to get to when it is time to pay your bills. As your bills come in, place them in the box until you are ready to pay them. As you put the bill in the box, you can say the following:
Gracious Juno. Supreme Mother.
Please banish any negativity from this bill.
Bless me with good fortune and healing.
As I will, with harm to none, so mote it be!
Place the bills in the box. Sprinkle them with crushed cloves, saying:
Cloves, plant of Jupiter, banish all negativity from these expenses in this world, and in the world of phantasm. Bring me reduction of debt and new riches. With harm to none, so mote it be!
Close the lid and touch the top, saying:
Gracious Juno, assist me to build a strong and sturdy financial future, debt-free, with feelings of security. With harm to none, so mote it be!
Sometimes you may be in a hurry, so you could say “Blessings upon me,” as you place the bill in the box. Be sure to keep the box tightly covered until you are ready to sit down and pay the bills.
To enhance this spell:
• Add Juno’s astrological symbol (page 148) to your box design.
• Make the box during the full moon.
• Pay your bills on Saturday in the hour of Saturn (to banish).
• Give a food offering to Juno, preferably in the woods.
• Add one goose feather to the contents of the box.
• Add a piece of amethyst to the contents of the box to repel negativity.
• Make the box on March 1 or July 7.
The Abracadabra Spell for
Diminishing Debts
This spell is great for helping you diminish any old debts you may have incurred, including those standard, monthly debts. In ancient Hebrew the word abracadabra means “hurl your thunderbolt even unto death,” and it was associated with a thunderbolt deity who perished by throwing himself on the planet so that the creatures of earth could live. Other scholars feel that the Hebrew interpretation of the word should be ab (father) ben (son) and ruach acadsch (holy spirit). There is also debate that the word is Chaldean in origin and not part of cabalistic interpretation at all. Regardless, we know two things: the deity associated with this charm is definitely male in origin, and the word first occurs in the writings of Severus Sammonicus, a Gnostic physician of the second century. We also know that the name became an incantation of its own, used to rid the wearer of sickness or poverty. We are going to do the same thing, and use the charm to eliminate your old debts.
Instruction: As soon as any bill comes in the mail, write the following on the envelope:
Abracadabra
Abracadabr
Abracadab
Abracada
Abracad
Abraca
Abrac
Abra
Abr
Ab
A
Now, turn the bill over and write the full amount you owe; for example:
$995.34
$995.3
$995
$99
$9
$
Put the bill in your Magick Bill Box until you are ready to pay it.
I found that by consciously “doing something” with each bill (even when I didn’t have the money to pay the bill), I was mentally and physically reaffirming my power over my finances and banishing my dread. The positive thought that you are working the best way you know how to empower yourself and your finances gives you an edge.
To enhance this spell:
• For a really nasty bill, repeat the spell on a Saturday in the hour of Saturn.
• Roll up the envelope the bill comes in, sprinkle with vinegar, and burn immediately.
When to Pay What Bill
In chapter 3 we talked about money-in and money-out. Few of us have the luxury of paying all of our bills as soon as they come in, although the more you work prosperity magick, the quicker you will obtain the bill-paying schedule that you desire to control your money-out days. Some people like to pay their bills all at once, where others prefer to pay them as they come in. I used to wait until I felt good about paying them—which was unwise because I really didn’t want to pay them at all. The idea is to develop the schedule that fits your lifestyle and gets those expenses paid on time. Take a few moments and consider how you want to pay the money you owe. Monthly? Weekly? When the bills come in? Once you have a goal in mind, you are one step closer to financial security.
Most debt schedules give you some leeway in paying what you owe without penalty. There is usually a two- to three-week window from the time you receive a bill to the requested date of payment, which allows you to choose which day to write the check and mail the payment. In most cases we can even rearrange payment schedules with a simple phone call or a nicely written letter. In the upcoming Seven Sisters Spell, we perform our bill-paying routine on Saturday, the magickal day of banishing. Can we pay our bills on other days if we want to? Certainly. Remember, bills aren’t the only way we expend money. You might want to send a check to cover a vacation, invest in a favorite stock, or put money in your savings account. Although these activities are considered money-out (since the money is leaving your hands), the ultimate desire can be considered a gain. Let’s go over the other six days of the week to determine if you have a bill or two that would be better paid on a different day. Keep in mind that we use the new and waxing moon to pull energies toward us, and the full and waning moons to push things away from us.
Sunday (Planet: Sun). Sunday is considered a day of success. On this day, use your money to obtain a favor, pay for preventative health care, advertise for your business, pay advance vacation expenses, invest in the stock market, and add money to your savings account. Although many establishments are closed on Sundays (especially in small American towns or overseas), you can still mail your payments on Sunday. To make your money pull double duty, mail on a Sunday in the hour of the sun. Empower a bit of gold glitter for financial success and sprinkle the glitter on your envelope. Sunday is a good day to collect money from others. Pay gas, electric, or heating oil bills today.
Monday (Planet: Moon). Monday rules borrowing and lending money as well as family and household affairs. Sign contracts and agreements on a Monday when the moon is waxing. Use Mondays to pay for school supplies, purchase clothing for your children or spouse, invest in repairs, or buy big-ticket items for the home. This is the day to make life and car insurance payments. Monday also covers expenses associated with short trips and public relations, your house payment or apartment rent, as well as taking care of the water bill. Buy groceries today. Borrowing and lending activities fall under the energy of the moon. The moon in the first and second quarter favors the lender, where the moon in the third and fourth quarters favors the borrower. Make purchases for your family garden on this day.
Tuesday (Planet: Mars). Tuesday is the War Day, with aggressive energies. To increase your chances of winning a legal battle, pay associated bills on Tuesday during the waxing moon. If you are being sued, then pay those legal bills on Tuesday on a waning moon. Expenses related to tools, guns, metals, your health club, surgery, pool membership, sporting equipment, golf lessons, and so on, fall under Mars energy.
Wednesday (Planet: Mercury). Wednesday is the primary day of communication and correspondence. If you need to send correspondence with your payments, mail on Wednesday in the appropriate moon phase. Wednesday covers education, general travel, siblings, neighbors, sales, writing, and computers. Expenses related to your telephone, the Internet, cable, or satellite communications fall under the auspices of Wednesday and Mercury.
Thursday (Planet: Jupiter). Thursday is the Money Day. Focus on investments, new ventures, publishing activities, business expansion, and overseas travel. Payments for college or other educational activities fall here. This is a good day to pay general legal and accounting expenses. If you wish to sell something to pay a particular bill, begin on a Thursday during the waxing moon. Thursday is also the day to buy or sell your car, make car payments, invest in mass transportation tickets, negotiate airline tickets, pay car inspections or repairs, or pay the lease to the parking garage.
Friday (Planet: Venus). The Love Day. Purchase gifts for others, cosmetic products, art, and music items on this day. Buy those season tickets to the opera or sporting events. Things for your living space that are “just for pretty” fall under the energies of Friday and Venus. Fridays are good for hairdresser or barber appointments. If you are involved in planning a wedding, shower, or anniversary bash, Friday is the day for those final payments. Bills involving music or art lessons should be paid on this day.
Saturday (Planet: Saturn). Saturday is the primary banishing day. For anything you want to get rid of, this is the day to pay it off, especially bills relating to final real estate payments, dentists, and situations that have been opposing you.
Seven Sisters Spell
to Pay Your Bills
Supplies: A black pen (for banishing debt); one black candle (white will do if you don’t have a black one); 1⁄8 ounce each angelica, cloves, cinnamon; a fireproof bowl; incense of your choice; small metal dish; blessed spring water. Practice drawing a seven-pointed star (the symbol of the seven sisters).
Instructions: On Saturday, in the hour of Saturn, clear off your kitchen or dining room table. Take your bills from the Magick Bill Box and draw a banishing pentacle in the air over the stack of bills, then set aside any trash—you know, inserts, those special offers that will just cost you more money, and the torn mailing envelopes that already have your Abracadabra Spell written on them.
If you did not write the Abracadabra Spell on the old envelopes, do so now. When you are finished, burn the trash in a small metal dish, envisioning your debts leaving you. Crush the angelica, cloves, and cinnamon together and mix into the ashes (all three herbs have great banishing properties). Throw the ashes to the winds, asking that your debts be banished from your life with harm to none. (If you can’t do this on a aturday, choose a particularly windy day or perform during a great rain storm.)
Light a black candle (you can use the same candle each time you pay your bills, just don’t use this candle for anything else). Envision the light of this candle banishing your financial worries. With the candle, draw a banishing pentacle in the air over the stack of bills. Let the candle continue to burn. Pay each bill, saying:
I banish any negativity associated with these expenses from my life, whether real or imagined, whether physical or in the world of the unseen. I specifically banish (name the bill). I affirm that my bank account from which this bill is paid is merely a tool,
not a representation of myself.
If this is a one-time bill, or the closure of a loan or credit card debt, you can say:
I banish this (say the name)
permanently from my life.
As long as you have not signed a contract that penalizes you if you pay back a loan early, add an extra seven dollars on your loan payment. If you are pinched for cash, you can add an extra seventy cents to all other bills. The number seven belongs to the seven sisters, guardians of the axis mundi (women of the stars). These seven sisters permeated the mythos structure of almost every great culture, including the Middle East (Seven Pillars of Wisdom); Egypt (Seven Hathors); Arabia (Seven Sages); and Southeast Asia (Seven Mothers of the World). If you prefer to add male deities to this spell, you can use the Seven African Powers (which includes gods and goddesses) or you can invoke the Seven Sages of Greece (men noted for their wisdom).
This bill-paying technique also helps you curb frivolous spending. As your income grows, you won’t be as quick to buy that great whatever that you’ll never use but lusted after anyway.
Seal the envelope that contains your payment with a mixture of your saliva and blessed spring water, saying:
In the name of the seven sisters,
doves, mothers, pillars, stars,
I remove these expenses from my life.
May I walk with future wisdom.
With harm to none, so mote it be!
Draw the symbol of the seven sisters in the corner of the envelope. (If you can’t get that star down right, you can simply put the number seven in the lower left-hand corner on the face of the envelope.)
To enhance this spell:
• Perform on October 31 (Samhain) or New Year’s Day.
• Perform on a Saturday in the hour of Saturn.
• Perform when the moon is in Capricorn (especially if you have worked hard for your money).
• Perform on the dark of the moon, a full moon, or when the moon is waning.
Magickal Tips When Writing
Checks or Money Orders
• Use a black pen to banish debts.
• Seal the check with an equal-armed cross (not a big cross, just a little one in the memo corner) to keep any debt from increasing, and say:
My life belongs to me. I live for myself.
I do not live for those to whom I owe money.18
• If the check is an investment, use a green-inked pen to promote growth.
• For those of you who play the numbers game with negative check balances (meaning you have a habit of writing checks for money that isn’t there), ward your checkbook. That’s right. Visualize a big hairy monster, a maniacal beast, a growling gargoyle (or whatever) sitting on top of your checkbook. Make sure there is poisonous spittle coming out of its mouth. It will only activate if you are about to do a no-no. Just see how quick you pull your hand away with that visualization!
When You Mail Your Bills
Before you send your bills in the mail, hold them in your hands, and say:
I am not the sum total of my monetary debts.
In the name of the Great Mother Juno,
as these bills leave my hands,
I banish negativity and
reduce my financial responsibilities.
So mote it be!
This spell works especially well if you have done the previous magickal work mentioned in this chapter. Check out the bill-paying correspondence on page 157–160 and choose the day to mail your bill(s) that matches your intent. You can control money-out days through your bill-paying methods.
Relieving the Debt Monster’s
Emotional Pressure
A hundred years from now, no one will care what you owe and what you don’t (nor will you, for that matter). It isn’t necessary to lose sleep, stop eating, or contemplate the fact that you won’t owe any money to anyone should you attempt to segue to the other side of life.
The first step in relieving the pressure of debt and curbing those financial woes is to admit that you have a problem and, more importantly, to realize that any problem can be solved. Yes, that’s right—you have created the dreaded Debt Monster and now you have to disassemble (or is it zap?) it. You may be saying, “But I don’t have a problem, I just want to make more money.” That’s okay, as long as you aren’t in denial. Denial, in this case, is refusing to admit that you’ve got rough waters in the sea of your personal finances, complete with the dreaded Debt Monster. And, if you are worried about any current expenses, or finances in general, you have a problem. Admit it and get over it. Sometimes admitting that we have financial difficulties makes us angry, or sad, or even hysterical. That’s okay, too. Expect these emotions, process them, and let them go.
For this spell, we are going to call on the good graces of the Sisters of Wyrd, called the Norns—Verdandi, Urd, and Skuld. These three legendary Norse ladies are responsible for weaving the web of your personal fate (the Web of Wyrd). Skuld is the youngest of the Norns and not quite as benevolent as the other two. She is often depicted wearing a veil and carrying a scroll in one hand and a pair of scissors or a knife in the other. Her job is to cut the final strand of your destiny, and her primary element is water. Urd is the mother and guardian of the lot, and thought to be the oldest sister (as her mythos is older than that of Skuld and Verdandi). She focuses on the past. The third sister, Verdandi, represents your present circumstances. She too holds water as her element. While neither the Gods nor humans can order these ladies around or change their collective decree, one can entreat their assistance.
Supplies: One half-full plastic soda bottle (your choice of flavor); one black ribbon, thirteen inches long; one pair of scissors; one permanent black marker; a large bowl.
Instructions: During the dark of the moon, gather your supplies. Envision white light around you. Carry the soda bottle and the ribbon to the four directions (N, E, S, W), and in your own words ask for relief from the stresses of your debts. Draw the sigil for the Sisters of the Wyrd (above) on the bottle with the black marker.
Blow nine times into the plastic soda bottle, after each breath saying:
I surrender my financial worries to Divinity.
After you have blown the ninth breath, cap the bottle.
Now shake up that bottle and, as you do, repeat the same line (“I surrender my financial worries to Divinity”). Let all your frustration, unhappiness, and worry work themselves into the fizz of the soda. When you feel ready, stand back and uncap the bottle, allowing the contents to rise and overflow into the bowl. Visualize your monetary stress fizzing away from you. Pour the remainder of the soda into the bowl. Set the soda bottle aside. Hold the black ribbon in your hands, and say:
This ribbon represents the negativity that has attached
itself to me and the negative emotions I have
experienced over my personal finances. It represents the negative Web of Wyrd attached to my finances.
I fully understand that I created these circumstances myself, and now I will extricate myself from them.
In the name of the sisters of the Wyrd, I entreat
your help in cutting the negativity out of my life.
Blessed ladies of the Wyrd, I ask for your gentle
assistance in this matter. Urd, mother of the past.
Verdandi, sister of the present. Skuld, maiden of
the future and wielder of the sacred scissors.
With harm to none. Gently cut this debt
and negativity from me. So mote it be!
Cut the black ribbon. Burn both pieces. Take the soda outside, and say:
As I pour this liquid into the ground, I ask for the blessings of the three sisters to be upon me.
With harm to none, so mote it be!
Practice this spell once a month until you are debt-free.
Don’t Spend Today—
Breathe Easier Tomorrow
The best way to get out of the spending habit is to stop creating new expenses! Sounds simple, but it isn’t always that easy. You’ve got to get rather imaginative about it sometimes. There are expenses you realistically can’t get away from—for example, the light bill, the phone bill, the heating bill, the water bill . . . shall I continue?—but you can use your noggin without overreacting.
Supplies: A pack of sticky notes or three-by-five-inch cards; cellophane tape.
Instructions: First, you have to determine what is normal usage for you on those monthly bills, like the phone, electricity, water, gas, and so on. If you aren’t sure, check around with your friends or family members to find out how much their utilities are costing them. Pick a utility bill out of the pile. Let’s use the phone bill. (You’ve already written your Abracadabra Spell on it, right?) My regular phone bill is thirty-six dollars a month. That includes my caller-ID system. That does not include long-distance calls. The idea of diminishing utility debts is not to cut yourself off from something that you need, but to find an average dollar amount that you feel comfortable spending. I felt that thirty-six dollars was enough to spend on the phone, so I made a new rule: “No long-distance phone calls unless it is an emergency or a must-call for business.” That’s it. That adds an extra five dollars a month to the bill, no more. No call waiting. No call forwarding. No two-party calls. No long-distance calling. At first, people were insulted. Tough. They didn’t have to pay my phone bill, I did. After awhile, they got over it.
I wrote my limit on a note and pasted it on my phone. Every time my hand went to the phone to make a long-distance call, I snapped it back and thought twice. That was two years ago. Today my average phone bill is still thirty-six dollars a month (even with the rate increases), I still enjoy my caller-ID service, and the note is no longer necessary. An added benefit is that I’ve trained my children the same way (although it took my oldest daughter the catastrophe of having her own phone with her first bill at two hundred dollars to figure out why I’d made the restriction on the family phone in the first place)!
Bottom line, you can use this technique on any utility without crippling yourself. I managed to reduce my electric bill by over fifty dollars just by taping little notes on the light switches that said, “Do I really need to be turned on right now?” Hey, be creative! Draw funny little cartoons on your notes. Empower your notes to help you cut down on wasteful habits. It’s fun!
Do I Really Need It?
Here’s another trick that isn’t a spell, but since I’m on the subject, I’ll share this one with you, too. It took me several adult years to realize that I had a problem with my finances. One day I realized that if I didn’t do something, I was going to continue to be miserable. And I was fed up with being miserable. At the time I was about $7,000 in debt (not bad, but not good), and most of it was for back taxes incurred over seven years before. For the last four years I hadn’t incurred any new debt (or so I thought) and I was moaning over this old debt that just wouldn’t go away. It hung there like an ugly fly, masticating on my life.
I started small (big things make me nervous, you know). I had already instituted my “limit” program, listed above, and then I sat down with all my bills and looked at what I’d been spending my money on. I did not like what I saw. Horror of horrors! I decided to stop taking my kids with me to the grocery store. Yes, I’m weak. They would beg and, most of the time, wanting to be a good, kind parent, I would give in. Since they gave me such a bad time when I left without them, I started going to the grocery store (or any other errand that involved a store) while they were in school. That was great for the spring, fall, and winter, but what about the summer? I scheduled my errands only when I knew other adults would be present. Voilà! No buying junk that would break in thirty seconds. In one month I saved over one hundred dollars. The next month I saved two hundred dollars.
Secondly, I looked at each bill and asked, “Do I really need this?” I discovered that I didn’t have time to read the magazines I had subscriptions to. Cancel. I didn’t need that extra cable channel that nobody watched. Cancel. I didn’t need a newspaper subscription. Anything I wanted to read about current events, I could get off the Internet. Cancel. I didn’t need to belong to the video club. Cancel. I didn’t need to belong to the book club. It wasn’t saving me money, I was spending more money because of it. Cancel. And so on. Within three months I had those unnecessary bills paid off and cancelled, saving me another one hundred and fifty dollars.
Thirdly, I threw away all junk mail, advertisements, and circulars without opening them. Who needs it? I was tired of being seduced by people I didn’t even know. Then, for two weeks, I refused to purchase anything under two dollars (to show myself how much I’d been nickel-and-diming myself).
Spell to Curb Frivolous Spending
This is a very easy spell. Take one lemon and punch a hole with a pencil halfway through the fruit. On a small piece of paper, write: “Please help me curb my frivolous spending habits without harming my prosperity or personal desires.” Roll up the paper and put the scroll in the lemon. Tie the lemon with a black ribbon and hang near your kitchen window. After performing this spell, I took my personal campaign even further. I decided to banish my financial fog.
Banishing the Financial Fog
I know some of you are going to groan at this next part. When I was going about cleaning up my financial act, people suggested that I employ a special technique that so frightened me, so distressed me, that I said, “Nothing doing! That’s a waste of my time. It will upset me and therefore, I won’t do it.” Six months later, due to the other magickal work I’d been practicing, my finances were recovering, but I realized that if I didn’t bite the proverbial bullet, I would never reach my intended goal of financial freedom. So, what am I talking about? What suspenseful, terrible thing am I addressing here?
You are now about to enter the nerve center of your financial success—the list of your expenses. (Oh! Shudder! I knew you would make a face like that.) I didn’t particularly care for it either but, like Mary Poppins used to say, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” (So drink some soda pop or eat a candy bar, and let’s get back to our list.) Besides, I’ve come up with some fun ideas to keep the process from being too painful.
The first time I tried making this beastly list I used a computer spreadsheet program that only allowed me enough lines for my major expenses. Maybe that was a good thing. I had a general idea what I was responsible for, and the list wasn’t that hard to compile, nor did it take me very long to put it together. Whew! That wasn’t so bad after all. Later, I discovered that most written material on prosperity insists that you make up a list of every expenditure that you have, down to the thirty cents you lent to Patricia-Sue this morning. That would have been far too daunting a task for me (a Virgo who doesn’t usually have a problem making lists) because I still had deeply buried negative emotions attached to my finances that I had not worked through. Eventually I made that dratted list, and since I lived to tell about it—it wasn’t really all that traumatic.
In the interim, however, I realized that a big chunk of my money remained unaccounted for. According to my list, I should have had plenty of money to pay off my back taxes and do some of the home repairs I’d been thinking about. Where did that money go? Ah, a mystery! I enjoy mysteries (normally).
For the next two months, whenever I bought anything, I asked for a receipt. I know this sounds silly, but it was the only way I could make the jump from the expenses I knew I had to the black hole that gobbled up my remaining cash. To solve the problem I created a . . .
Magickal Receipt Envelope
In this spell, we use the power of the holy serpent. The symbol of the serpent is one of the oldest symbols of power, containing both male and female connotations; it is thought that the original female oracle of the Delphi Temple—when the temple was no more than a cave dedicated to the earth goddess Gaia—was called the Pythoness (later called the Pithea). In India the Goddess of Earth is sometimes called “Serpent Queen.” As the female serpent Kundalini, she represents the inner power of the human body, coiled in the pelvis. Early Gnostics worshiped the serpent not as a provider of evil but as a benevolent feminine aspect of Spirit opposing evil through truth. The history of the holy snake linked with positive forces and the feminine principle is not easy to find in standard mythological dictionaries. I guess her truth strikes too close to home.
In this spell, we use the holy serpent to bring us wisdom, truth, and protection from continued overspending. The dollar sign symbol that we are so familiar with today has roots in snake magick, with the “S” truly representing a snake. I bet you’ll never draw another dollar sign again without thinking about the power of snake magick!
Supplies: One large envelope—it can be an accordion one (for those of you who are good at this sort of thing), a plastic envelope with a cute little tie (that’s the one I finally picked), or just a plain ordinary envelope (trust me, when you get done with the envelope it won’t be plain and ordinary anymore); permanent markers (your choice of colors); incense of your choice; a green candle.
Note: If you are self-employed, you are probably already collecting receipts for tax purposes. Don’t forget to use this technique for those receipts as well (just use a different envelope). You’ll also have expenses for which you can’t get receipts. School lunches come to mind. Be sure to write those types of expenses down on a receipt you already have (to save paper). Copy all receipts you will need for income tax purposes. File the originals in your tax folder and use the copies for magick.
Instructions: As you collect your receipts, draw a dollar sign on the back of each one, turning the “S” section of the sigil into a small snake. If you forget to do this, take a moment before you perform this spell to mark each receipt. (You can even use a rubber stamp image of a snake, if you like, and one of my students even used snake stickers.) On the dark of the moon (but if you get the urge to begin this some other time, go for it), bless the envelope with the four elements. With your marker, draw a snake on the envelope. Put any receipts you have collected so far in the envelope.
Visualize yourself surrounded by white light. Present the envelope to the four quarters (N, E, S, W), asking for blessings in this ritual. Light the incense. Light the candle. Hold the envelope out away from you and up at eye level. Call the great serpent of truth and protection. Using a ritual drum is helpful, but if you don’t have one, you can use the technique of ground drumming (literally drumming on the ground with your hands). Ask that you have clarity when making any future purchases and request protection for your current financial assets. Thank the holy serpent. Allow the green candle to burn completely. Leave the envelope undisturbed for twenty-four hours, then add your new receipts. You will notice a reduction in the number of receipts that you collect, which means your mystery spending reduces.
Warning: When working with the holy serpent, you can’t lie, cheat, steal, or be involved in any type of illegal operation. If you do any of these things, the serpent will turn on you and you’ll get bitten.
Beating the Credit Card Scam
You’re darned if you do, and you’re darned if you don’t. Here you are, faithfully working through the process of diminishing your expenses, and you get a response like one of the following:
“I’m sorry, sir, but unless you have a major credit card, or a thousand dollars that we can freeze, we can’t rent you a car. Might I explain to you the best way to create a credit history for yourself?” (A rental car agency in Virginia.) I called ten car rental places in a fifty-mile radius. Not even one of them would rent us a car without that thousand-dollar cash deposit.
“Gee, I’m real sorry about this. We’d love to sell you this car, but you have no credit history. You can’t tell me that you’ve paid cash for everything in the last seven years? Are you sure you’re not in the witness protection program or something? Now, here’s how you create a good credit history . . .” (A used car salesman in Pennsylvania—a particularly humiliating experience, if I may add.)
“A room for the night? No major credit card? I’m sorry, but we can’t help you. Let me share with you how to create a good credit history so this won’t happen to you again . . .” (The desk clerk at a 57th Street hotel in New York City at midnight.) I had to get pretty pushy with the manager.
“Just give me your credit card number, and we’ll put that order through for you. You don’t have a credit card? (Slight, breathy pause.) Well then, I suppose you could send us a check . . . let me fill you in on how a credit card would assist you in the future . . .” (An international book order company.)
Argh! My heart still pounds when I think of the humiliation I went through because I insisted on paying cash for over ten years. There I was, being a good customer, and this was how I reaped my reward! Businesses want you to be in debt because that’s how they make their money.
To stop the constant embarrassment, I finally got a credit card, but I needed to put some type of restraint on it to keep me from creating more expenses I couldn’t handle.
The Ten-Dollar Spell
You can use any monetary denomination you desire for this spell. For purposes of creating good credit history I’ve used ten dollars, but you could use twenty or even a hundred. You don’t have to relegate this spell to financial troubles either. Those of you who are doing just fine can massage the information and make the energies work for your own needs.
Supplies: One ten-dollar bill; a black votive candle; a green candle; your credit cards; spring water; a pinch of cinquefoil; one nail; honey; one piece of tinfoil.
Instructions: Cut the wick off the top of the black candle, flip the candle and dig out the wick (from the bottom end) so you can burn the candle from this opposite end. (This is called “flipping a candle” and the technique is used to reverse negative effects.) Heat the end of the nail and melt a small hole in the new bottom of the black candle. Stuff the hole with cinquefoil. Melt shut. (This is called “loading a candle.”) Hold the candle tightly in your hands, and say:
Negativity I reverse today.
Bad spending habits go away.
I have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to stay.
I know that I will be okay.
With harm to none, so mote it be!
On a Thursday in the hour of Jupiter, wrap your credit cards once with tin foil, sprinkle with cinquefoil, then wrap again. Cleanse the ten-dollar bill with the four elements to remove any negativity from yourself or previous owners. Place the ten-dollar bill in the center of your magickal working area. Lay the foil packet over the top. Put the black candle on top of the foil packet. Say three times:
As this candle burns, I diminish my credit card debt to a running balance of ten dollars
and ten dollars only.
Then repeat the verse listed in the instructions portion of this spell. Allow the candle to burn completely. Keep your credit cards over the ten-dollar bill as long as possible or until the balance on each card is only ten dollars.
Banishing Blocks to your Financial Success
with the Elements
In chapter 2 I showed you how to create abundance with the elements. The next four spells work with the banishing energies of these elements. As with the other spells in this chapter, all four techniques use the phases of the full, waning, or dark of the moon—your choice.
Banishing Blocks with Earth Gnomes
According to the sixteenth-century Swiss alchemist, Paracelsus, the gnome is able to move through earth in the same manner that a fish swims through water or a human walks through air. The word “gnome” may take its meaning from the Greek ge-nomos, earth-dweller, and gnosis, knowledge. Gnomes are associated with the fey, or fairy-folk, and therefore have distinct personalities and characteristics. Legends vacillate between perceiving them as either friend or foe, but almost all myths equate the gnome to earthly treasures, earth consciousness, and great knowledge of the magick in rocks, caves, roots, gems, and mountains. We find gnomes especially prevalent in German folklore.
Because gnomes can move through earth like fish swim through water, one can turn to the gnomes to move a block of earth energy within oneself, or a block placed in our path by another. I employed the dragon’s blood herb for its potency in getting things to move and its ability to protect you while doing so, as well as its herbal association to the earth. This spell is particularly good when things have been moving along just fine for you, you’ve been recovering from your debts, sailing ahead, and suddenly—thwack! You run into some sort of block. Before you spend months worrying, try this spell.
Supplies: One cup of dirt; a sieve; 1⁄2 ounce dragon’s blood herb.
Instructions: Over a paper towel or bowl, pour the cup of dirt into the sieve. Add dragon’s blood herb. Say:
Element of earth, move the mountain of __________ (state what is stuck). As the dragon’s blood mixes with the earth, so shall the blocks in my life be broken gently apart and removed, so that I may prosper.
As the dirt shakes out of the sieve, visualize the financial problems in your life breaking up and dissolving. Once all the dirt is through the sieve, turn the sieve over and tap it seven times to remove any excess dirt. Carry the dirt to a crossroads at midnight and dump it there, once again asking the element of earth to gently disperse the negativity in your life with harm to none. Wash the sieve, asking the element of water to gently cleanse your situation.
Banishing Blocks with Air Sylphs
The word sylph is of Greek derivation, meaning a female spirit of the element of air. This spirit claimed the gift of invisibility. If you listened very hard, you might hear her sweet voice upon the breeze. Greeks considered sylphs akin to angels, showing that belief in angels existed long before Roman Christian conversion. In other cultures, sylphs were thought to be actual ghosts, emanating from the last breath an individual expelled before they died.
During the Christian invasion of Europe, the word sylph became a synonym for Witch. Charlemagne (768–814 c.e.), who found the Christian wars useful for the spoils and permission of the church for four wives and several concubines, essentially declared that sylphs could not make themselves publicly known. Charlemagne’s technique of kill or convert laid the foundation for over five hundred years of sanctified murder, giving the word “sylph” a colorful, if not bloody, history.
Supplies: A small electric fan; thirteen thin yellow ribbons; a black marker. We’re using the color yellow as this color is most often associated with the direction of east, the home of the sylphs.
Instructions: On each ribbon, use the black marker to write down your negative feelings about a particular project that is affecting your finances or keeping you from moving ahead with your financial goals. Tie one end of each ribbon securely to the grid that keeps your fingers safe from the whirring blades, allowing the other end of the ribbon to hang free. (Please do this while the fan is turned off and preferably unplugged, just in case.)
Set the fan in front of an open window or open front door. Face the east, open your arms, and invoke the spirits of air, asking that all negativity be banished from your life. If you can, position the fan so that the air can flow through the fan from the east (the place of beginnings) toward the west (the place of transformation). Turn on the fan. Visualize your troubles literally blowing out the window as the ribbons flap in the breeze. Keep the fan on as long as you desire (just be careful that someone doesn’t trip over it). If you can, keep the fan running in a denomination of seven (seven minutes, seven hours, or seven days), or run the fan for seven minutes once a day for seven days. As the blocks are removed, burn the ribbons, asking that the salamanders dispose of any remaining negativity.
Banishing Blocks with Fire Salamanders
The unique feature about salamanders is that although these critters are associated with fire, they have the magickal ability to turn fire into ice (and therefore never burn themselves). With this magickal belief, the fate of the poor salamander has never been the same. Live salamanders do burn. Christian mystics and leaders, undaunted by this fact, often proclaimed the salamander a guardian, with the motto “I nourish and extinguish.”
The properties of fire and ice have a lengthy mythos, beginning with heathenism and traveling through various cultures. German-American Witches consider the fire and ice combination primary over air and earth (although ice isn’t really an element unto itself, as it is frozen water). Regardless of its mythical associations, fire is not an easy element to work with for some individuals. I have a student who was gifted with a fire extinguisher complete with magickal protective sigils. He had a long history of mishaps with the mythical salamanders (not the real ones) and his friends wanted to ensure he would not be consumed in the future. No wonder he prefers working with sylphs!
Supplies: A small outdoor grill that you will use only for magickal work; four red candles (with candleholders); orange, yellow, and red paint. Design and paint five salamanders on the outside of the grill on a Sunday in the hour of Mars or on a Tuesday in the hour of the sun (or any day at midday). Yes, I know, the salamanders will eventually peel off unless you use heat-resistant paint, but that’s okay.
Instructions: On a piece of paper, list anything in your life that you feel may contain a block of some sort. You can include health and romance issues, as these categories sometimes intertwine with our financial success. However, the more issues you name, the more changes you will experience. If you think you aren’t ready for a passel of new issues, then begin by listing only one or two situations.
On a Tuesday during the waning moon, envision white light around yourself. Call the salamanders, asking that they remove any blocks regarding the issues you wrote on your paper. Hold the paper over each unlit candle, repeating the issues and your desire for an open pathway. Light each candle, beginning with the candle that is closest to the direction of south. Repeat the issues and your desire. Hold the paper over the center of the grill (being careful not to burn yourself). Repeat your desire, then pass the paper through the flames of the four candles, beginning with the southernmost candle. Drop the paper in the center of the grill. Watch the paper burn, whispering until the flame consumes the paper:
Flame of light, flame of day,
banish blocks in my way.
Take a deep breath and relax. Scatter the ashes to the winds, asking the sylphs for assistance. If possible, allow the candles to burn completely, or use the candles again when you cast the same spell in the future.
Banishing Blocks with Water Undines
Undines are female derivatives of water spirits. Like the other elements, the undines contribute to the universal life force through purification, movement, and sound.
This spell is an old German-American technique using the properties of water turned to ice. Pour spring water into a small, new paper or plastic cup. Freeze.
When you are ready to perform the spell, take the cup out of the freezer. Place upside-down in a bowl. Hold your hands over the ice and name what has frozen in your financial affairs. Blow on the ice three times. Allow the ice to thaw, visualizing the financial difficulty flowing away from you. Chant:
Breath of Spirit,
warmth of love.
To banish a particular bill, write the amount of the bill on a piece of paper and place under the ice.
Collecting Debts
There is nothing more frustrating than to have a person or organization owe you money, especially if they’ve made no move to pay you back. It’s even worse when you owe money, and the amount due you means the difference between having to be in debt again or sailing smoothly toward a debt-free lifestyle.
Concentrate on your emotions first. When someone owes me money and doesn’t pay me in the agreed-upon time (or conveniently forgets that they owe me money), I begin to get frustrated. This frustration turns to anger. In the past I didn’t say anything because I was taught as a child that it was bad form to create a negative situation. When I finally did say something, I was ridden with guilt. I didn’t want to make the person feel bad, I just wanted my money back. I finally realized that I was enabling the situation with my feelings and actions. I was processing the debtor’s feelings as my own because I knew what it felt like to owe money. I temporarily solved the problem by making it a policy to never lend money to anyone, which helped me on a personal level until I could sort my feelings out on the issue. Dealing with major corporations was another matter.
How many times have you called a corporation that owed you money and played the telephone game? Maybell is handling that account and she is at lunch, in a meeting, on a business trip, on vacation in the Bahamas, or has transferred your account to Harry, who is at lunch, in a meeting, on a business trip, or on vacation in the Bahamas (possibly with Maybell). You may also hear: “I’ll get back to you tomorrow, on Monday, next Friday, when hell freezes over.”
Don’t fret. You do have options.
• Hire a big man who looks like he is capable of beating the snot out of them.
• Call an attorney and spend more money.
• Camp on their doorstep.
Oh, none of these options practical? Well, let’s try some that are.
• Go to the top. That’s right. Never fool around with customer service representatives, the secretary, or an assistant. And no, I’m not making fun of these people. I used to be these people. I will tell you first-hand that they have no real power to get your money back for you. Their job is to placate you—no more, no less. They can sign you up for new services, correct minor problems, send a service person to your house, and so on, but they do not have the power to cough up your money (no matter how badly they’d like to do just that). So, always find out who runs the show, and go straight to that person.
• Put everything in writing, from the first moment you made contact about the debt. Keep track of who you talked to, when, and what was said.
• Don’t be afraid to go after your money.
• Try to collect money on the full or waxing moons. You have a better chance of success.
• Work the You Owe Me Spell.
You Owe Me Spell
Okay. You’ve asked nicely, you’ve gone to the top of the money food chain, and you’ve put stuff in writing. You are still waiting. Here’s a spell to get your money on the move, making its way back to you. Bayberry’s primary use in magick is for attraction, whether the issue is love, wishes, or money, and it is sacred to the Greek god Apollo. The marigold lends its energies to fortune and justice smiling upon you (and is especially good for any legal matter).
Supplies: One bayberry candle; bayberry incense; one marigold; an item (or picture) that belongs to the person who owes you (or stationery from the company); a one-dollar bill; one red pen.
Instructions: Write the amount owed to you in red pen on the dollar bill. Wrap the dollar bill around the marigold and the item or picture that represents the individual(s) who owe you money. Place where it won’t be disturbed. Ask your guardian angel to assist you in getting your money back. Light the bayberry incense, visualizing the person handing you the money. Light the bayberry candle, continuing the same visualization. Pour seven drops of the bayberry candle wax on top of the dollar bill. Repeat the same visualization. Hold the bill in your hand. Again, repeat the visualization. Finally, repeat the same visualization nightly while holding the dollar bill packet in your hand until you receive your money. After you have received your money, thank Spirit and your guardian angel, undo the packet, donate the dollar bill to a charity, and burn the object that belongs to the individual or company.
Note: This spell will not work if the individual or company does not legitimately owe you money.
To Get a Creditor Off Your Back
The opposite of someone owing you money is for you to owe them money. If someone is harassing you, and you are trying very hard to pay off the debt, try this spell.
Supplies: One lime; a bit of black pepper; a bit of red pepper; seven darning needles; a small piece of paper with the creditor’s name written on it.
Instructions: On the full or waning moon, cut a deep equal-armed cross in the lime (do not cut all the way through). Place the paper in the center of the cross as far as you can. Sprinkle with red and black pepper. Close the lime with the darning needles. Ask Spirit to banish the debt and protect you from harassment from the named individual or corporation. Set the lime on the windowsill until the debt is paid.
Don’t Give Up
There will be days when you think that all your magickal work has been in vain. Trust me on this one. I’ve been there. Whatever you do, don’t give in or give up. Every little bit you do really does count. I had a couple of nasty stretches once I began my plan for success. It does take awhile to bring financial balance into your life and, if you are like me, you’ll have a few dips on the way. My husband and I experienced a week or two at different times of the year where all the money had gone out and no money was due to come in for up to seven days. We became resourceful and innovative during those times. In every family atmosphere there will be times of lean and times of fat. How you perform during those times is actually what makes a family strong and independent.
Quickies for Banishing
• List your bills separately on toilet paper and flush the toilet paper down the toilet.
• Open a window to banish negativity.
• Empower a silver spoon and carry it around the house in a counterclockwise direction to banish all negativity. Fill the spoon with sugar and empower to sweeten your opportunities. Leave the spoon undisturbed for seven hours, then cast the sugar to the winds, asking for speedy, positive changes in your life.
• Throw out the old ashes in your fireplace to keep your bills from rising.
• Scatter salt on the windowsills to banish a run of bad luck.
• Place an onion or garlic bulb on the windowsill to collect negativity. Change when the bulb sprouts.
• Once a week, on Saturday, take out all the money in your purse, wallet, and pockets. Cleanse and consecrate the money with the four elements.
• To rid yourself of an unjust bill, knot nine black feathers into a strip of black rawhide or yarn. Wrap a copy of the bill around it. Fold three times. Bury off your property.
• Whenever you change your clothes, visualize poverty leaving you. Conversely, as you dress, visualize positive abundance coming toward you.
• Add a little angelica to your laundry water to banish poverty from your family.
• If you are a golfer, you will love this one (my husband practices this): as you hit the balls on the driving range, visualize poverty sailing across the green and out of your life.
• If someone is threatening you for money you do not owe, or is being unreasonable about your payment (this does happen), write that person’s name on an envelope. In the envelope sprinkle nettle, red pepper, black pepper, garden nightshade, and graveyard dirt (you can substitute patchouli for the graveyard dirt). Seal. Bury off your property or burn in an outdoor fire.
• Cross two large needles under your front doormat to keep bill collectors away.
General Emergencies
My husband and I worked very hard to find balance in our financial affairs. As I worked on the prosperity end, he worked on the savings end—and he did beautifully. By the time I had our debts resolved, he’d saved over one thousand dollars. Then a slew of emergencies hit us, dissolving that money like cotton candy in a summer thunderstorm. These are the toughest times in prosperity magick—when you think that the balance you worked so hard for has slipped through your fingers and you’re left staring at the black hole that birthed the broken oven element, the new brake system for your kid’s car, the dental bill for your husband’s infected tooth, the increase in your trash collection bill, and the deceased vacuum cleaner. Do not give up. Emergencies are a part of survival. Panic is not an option. Here is a plan of action for emergencies.
• Do a banishing spell to remove any negativity. It doesn’t matter what phase the moon is in or what day it is—an emergency is an emergency.
• Continue any regular abundance or banishing work.
• Don’t give up and don’t give in.
• Coat the bottom of a red candle with honey. Roll in gold glitter. Burn to break any blocks in your life and heat up sluggish energy. Use the candle to focus on pulling general prosperity to you. If it’s really bad, carve the symbol for Mars (
) on your candle.
• Coat the bottom of a purple candle with honey. Roll in silver glitter. Burn to focus on a specific dollar amount to cover the emergency expense.
• Take at least one ritual bath or shower to cleanse your body of any negativity, using 1⁄2 cup of lemon juice.
• Purify your house by burning sage every day until the emergency has been resolved. (This is my husband’s favorite.)