Supermarket Magic: Creating Spells, Brews, Potions and Powders From Everyday Ingredients (5 page)

• The tool, item, or object to be charged

Procedure

Begin by gathering all the tools and items necessary and

arranging the altar. Next, go into a meditation and reflect on what your goal for the ritual is, i.e. the type of charge you want the item to hold. The next step is to begin the

rite.Settle yourself before the altar and hold the item to be charged in your hands (if the item is too large, place

it on the altar and hold your hands above it). Close your

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eyes and see the item in your mind while at the same

time, sweeping your dominant hand over the item in your

other hand (or on the altar). Say, “
I neutralize energy not
in harmony with me and fill you will with
state intention

power! For the good of all and by Land, Sky and Sea, as I will,
so shall it be
!”

Repeat this chant three times and then pass the item

over the candle flame and sprinkle it with saltwater. The

charge has been made. The rite can now be concluded and

you should wrap the charged items in natural cloth of ap-

propriate colors until you use it in a spell. This keeps the item clean, safe, and fully charged until needed.

When you should;

when you shouldn’t … and why not!

There are several “rules” and laws regarding ethical the

use of magic and these rules are followed for a variety

of reasons; personal safety being among them. Some of

these rules include:

• Any spell that you cast should be cast with

the intention that it shall be ‘according to

free will and for the good of all’.

• Magic should not be done (solely) for

personal gain.

• What you send out returns to you.

• Work according to the moon phases.

43

44 Chapter 3

All of these magical laws have been found to be use-

ful and correct and they are all intertwined with one an-

other. They have been followed for untold generations in

one form or another by magically minded people.

I will briefly examine each of these rules individu-

ally and detail why they are necessary. Let’s start with:

Any spell that you cast should be cast with the inten-

tion that it shall be “according to free will and for the

good of all”. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

First of all; if you send all your magic out with the in-

tention that it be “for the good of all” then, you never

(seriously! NEVER!!!), have to worry about unforeseen

negative consequences from accidental, irresponsible or

“black” magic. Any spell that you cast with the intention

of “for the good of all” already has a built in safety net to prevent any and all controlling or cursing elements of a

spell from manifesting in the first place thus saving you

from having to endure the consequences. The “according

to free will” part also ensures the safety and responsibility of our magic by focusing within our intention the condition that our spells will not coerce, compel or control the free will of another in order to manifest our magical goal.

Witches are taught the concept of “Infinity of Solution”

which contains within it the belief that no one needs to

suffer in order for our happiness to exist; everyone can

“win”; we can all be happy at the same time with harm

to no one. That is what Witches believe and that belief

has been reinforced through our life experiences and our

Magical Ethics 45

magical practice. If you use magic to reach your goals “according to free will and for the good of all” then you en-

sure that your work is positive, progressive, effective and most of all, proper.

The second reason why it is advised that you do your

magic “according to free will and for the good of all” is a bit more selfish (but, that’s okay). The reason is that when you work your magic in this way, you virtually ensure your success. You automatically maneuver around the obstacles

and opposition that would exist out there in the universe

to a magical goal that was sent out in the spirit of “I want this no matter who gets hurt or what the cost”. That at-titude would not be conducive to successful magic since,

everything and everyone is spiritually interconnected and

so, many destinies are intertwined with one another. If

you cast a spell for something “no matter what” then, if

you are powerful enough to get it, you have caused a dis-

ruption in the flow of events for both yourself and others that are connected to you. If you work for the good of

all, you are not creating a disruption but rather, you are merely adding your specific desire
into
the flow of current events. With this one subtle act you make a profound difference. You remove opposition; you create rather than

disrupt and/or destroy; you nurture rather than neglect

and you empower rather than weaken all of the people

involved. Now (unfortunately) this doesn’t mean that as

long as you work in this way you will never have a magi-

46 Chapter 3

cal failure; you still might, but the scales of success versus failure will be GREATLY tipped in favor of success.

The second magical “rule” is: no magic should be

done (solely) for personal gain. Why? This rule should be

taken with a grain of salt. It goes along with the previous guideline that states that magic should be done for the

good of all. There is nothing wrong (thank goodness!!!)

with using magic to get what you want. Granted, magic

is a spiritual practice and is a byproduct of our spiritual learning and understanding and so it can seem irreverent

or sacrilegious to use this energy and knowledge for the

acquisition of mundane things, but it needn’t be. Magic

is a gift and this gift is meant to be used for the betterment of our lives and the lives of those around us (as-

suming they desire it). Confusing aren’t I? I tell you don’t use magic for personal gain; imply that it is a sacrilege

and then say to go do it. My guideline for this is “if your desire or goal will better your life and enhance who you

are (or the one asking for the goal), then the use of magic is not only “okay” but also, highly encouraged”. If your

goal is frivolous (a spell for a new car is important; a spell just to get a “better” car than a next door neighbor is not) or harmful, then I would advise against using magic to

achieve your goal. Using magic for personal gain is only

bad or incorrect if you use it for frivolous ends or in such a way as to cause harm. That’s it; case closed.

The next rule regarding magic is: that what you send

out returns to you. This is not only a “magical rule” but

Magical Ethics 47

also, a rule in every aspect of our lives. Everything that we do creates a ripple effect since we are all connected to one another and to the universe in which we exist. Everything

that exists (naturally … not so much with plastic … and

yet … even plastic) vibrates at a certain pitch. Everything is particle AND wave. It all interacts and intermingles

and affects itself and each other. When you drop a stone

into a pond it creates ripples in the water that radiate

out to the edge and then doubles back to the point of

origin. The waves ALWAYS return to the point of origin

(granted, frequently they return in a weakened or subtle

state). It is the same with our actions. Our actions gen-

erate a spiral of energy that reaches first outward, then

inward; back to the point of origin. This is why we should always conduct ourselves in a positive manner. The physical nature of the earthly plane is slanted toward decay.

We, as living beings thus have the responsibility to cre-

ate, maintain and foster growth. If our actions are posi-

tive and nurturing; positivity and nurturing energy will

be released and (eventually … ) return to us in the form

of positive and nurturing life experiences. This is not to say that “bad things won’t still happen to good people” I

am merely saying that through positive thought, action,

magic and experience you will tip the scales in favor of an overall happier life for both yourself and others.

Some say, “what you send out returns threefold” while

others say that it returns to you tenfold or even others that say it returns in equal proportion or (like ripples in a pond) in
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a weakened or relaxed state. Either way; know that it DOES

return and you are much better off making sure to conduct

yourself in such a manner that it does not return
with a vengeance
. That’s my advice on the matter at least. Your experience may vary as may your life choices, but I shall end this subject with the personal note that when I was young(er)

and stupid I did misuse magic for petty revenge once and

without going into detail, let’s just say what goes around came back around to me and I haven’t misused magic since.

Don’t say I didn’t properly warn you … mwah ha ha.

The final general magical rule that I shall discuss is one that can be found in virtually any magical guide (including earlier in this one); to time your work according to the moon phases. The reason for this rule is that the moon ex-erts a great deal of influence upon humans, (other) animals, plants, and the earth and ocean. This influence is due to the moon’s gravity, light and; in its orbit, the angle at which it resides in relation to both the earth and sun. When the moon is “new” it is lined up with the sun; a perfect alignment would be a solar eclipse. This is considered to be a

powerful time and the reason for this is that the gravity of the moon and the gravity of the sun have (since the moon

is small and close and the sun is huge, but really far away) a similar gravitational influence on our bodies and when

they are in the same general area in the sky we are being

“pulled upward” as I like to say, by both at the same time.

The moon is “waxing” after the new moon through

until the full moon; (approximately 14 days) and during

Magical Ethics 49

this time, the moon appears to be moving away from the

sun and growing in light. As such, the gravitational influence of the sun and moon is gradually separating instead

of being jointly focused on us like a laser beam. The wax-

ing phase of the moon is an excellent and much preferred

time to work magic toward positive, growth-oriented

goals such as increasing abundance, finding love, gaining

luck; indeed, gaining anything. If you are looking to “in-

crease” and/or “gain” then, the waxing moon is the right

time to use magic toward your goal. It is the active spring/

summer-like time of the lunar cycle.

The moon is full when it is on the opposite side of the

earth from the sun. It (the side we see) is fully engulfed in sunlight and appears to our eye to be complete in its

roundness. This time in the lunar cycle is very powerful

and can be difficult if you do not proceed with caution

in your endeavors; both magical and mundane. The rea-

son being is that gravity from the moon is pulling us in

one direction and the sun is pulling us in the opposite

direction; so to speak. You may know that the word ‘lu-

nacy’ is a term originally used to denote the weirdness

that may come over some people at this time and indeed,

some people do act rather loony for the three days of the

full moon. It can also be a difficult time for people who

suffer from migraine headaches as these tend to be worse

during the full moon time for many sufferers. I would

venture to guess that is due to the gravitational pull from both the sun and moon acting on us from opposite di-50 Chapter 3

rections. That being said, when we are in the middle of

the alignment of earth, moon and sun, we are opened up

psychically to a much greater degree of magical energy

and spiritual awareness. If we seek to utilize our access

to this “magical boost” we can work very powerful magic

during this phase. During the full moon, it is best to work magic toward psychic awareness, Goddess worship and

understanding, physical and spiritual protection, divina-

tion, and anything having to do with the “infinity of so-

lution” i.e. if you are embroiled in conflict and need to

find a way to make everyone happy (release all expecta-

tion of what you want to happen beforehand though to

avoid unfair manipulation). This time in the lunar cycle is delicate AND powerful and should not be taken lightly;

it should be respected and, if used, be used only for im-

portant goals. That helps take away any possibility of lu-

nacy … thank goodness!

The “waning” moon is after the full moon on through

back to the new moon when the moon appears to be mov-

ing toward the sun and the moon is decreasing in light.

At this time, our bodies are readjusting from the gravita-

tional force of the full moon and preparing for the gravitational focus and new beginning of the new moon. During

the waning moon our bodies and minds are in “release”

mode so; it is best to work magic to release, remove, and

rid oneself of anything harmful or unnecessary. It is an

ideal time for banishing, healings (in the form of casting out illness as opposed to building strength), curse (actual

Magical Ethics 51

or perceived) removal, and deep spiritual grounding and