This is the heart of witchcraft in my belief. It is a both sacred and life-affirming experience that cannot easily be described and certainly not without a huge amount of props and this and that…? Yes, it is a sacred thing, here the magick blossoms, indeed, it is something good.
But you don´t need to buy yourself poor. Begin with what you already have, and you will soon realize that true magick is not in material goods but in what magick is to you and what you do with it. The reason I love this part of witchcraft is that it changes my attitude towards life and the lessons I need to learn from it.
Try to make some tools yourself. Be creative. You will know from the inside of your heart what feels right to hold and to use. My dominant index finger is my most powerful athame that I´ll ever get.
Try to write something beautiful and relevant to you. Keep it simple to begin with, but do try to express your innermost feelings, make it a happy and positive experience, dress up for the big dinner as well. It all depends on what you want to gain from it. By making it yourself, you become the inner Goddess.
Be inspired, research, choose, make/do. That is my kind of freedom that I choose what I want, and I get what I need.
- 121 Practical Witchy Stuff
- 122 How To Write Rituals
- 123 The Magical Circle
- 124 Consecration, Enchanting, Charging
- 125 Cleansing
- 126 Invocations
- 127 Ritual Witch
- 128 Protection
- 129 Prayers
- 130 Nature Prayers
- 131 Blessings
- 132 Poems
- 133 Chants
Practical Witchy Stuff : Grounding techniques (how to relax and set the mind, body and soul up for ritual or closing down and center and ground residual energy), preparations before a ritual (creation of a sacred space), precautions (e.g I always have plenty of water at my rituals in case of a rebellious candle that goes bananas out of nowhere), and definitions of ritual components and glossary of terms.
This is like the base of a house, it is not worth building on a flowing foundation. Like everything else that require some sort of background knowledge, witchcraft has quite a few basics that should be implemented as soon as possible to make it both a wonderful journey and to avoid mistakes later on.
The most important thing to focus on, however is always the intention behind the idea of making a ritual. Magick don´t work by itself. And the most important person to make that magick work is you and what you want from the ritual.
I use this section to prepare my mind for writing a ritual or a spell, just to get the principles right. And if I begin with a grounding of myself, typically through a meditation of app. 5 minutes, I´m already well on the way to get the work done, because I always begin with the basics. To be relaxed, to be creative, to know my reasons for making a ritual and to stay focused during the work.
How To Write Rituals : I use my own work sheet as a main menu to remain organized and concentrated during rituals, and I plan to make a work sheet for each type of ritual, with the same main structure, because it is a reasonable thing to do, when you want to work in a sacred place with sensitive and often wild energy that makes a difference in your daily magickal life.
The intention behind the ritual should be as specific as possible, without too many statements of the obvious, like will I marry, if you are single and on the lookout for a new love. Life itself will show you what will happen, magick does not hold promises of a perfect tomorrow.
Next is to get the timing right, according to planetary/astrological times for specific magickal purposes, to choose correspondences, props and magickal workings that suit the purpose well, and to make a to do list before, during and after the ritual. Here I use my general ritual work sheet as a guide when planning rituals and spells.
Then you can create your sacred space/magickal circle and remember the importance of being undisturbed. However, I use my celIphone to play music or to listen to guided meditations or my own. I sometimes also pick my acoustic guitar and play at bit for meditation purposes during the ritual.
I always meditate at least for 5-10 minutes before beginning a ritual to clear my mind and to prepare myself for energy demand and the beauty of the ritual I have created.
The Magical Circle : To me to cast and to close a magickal circle is the moment of truth. Here I feel at once, if I missed something during my preparations or the day just isn´t the right one.
I call the elements and the quarters to join and to protect myself, participants and the ritual. I call on the powers of corresponding goddesses/gods, spirit, totem and power animals and those of my ancestors, and I cleanse my sacred space with white sage (ordinary sage or your preferred incense works fine as well) and a cleansing chant where I symbolically swipe the floor.
Then I do my readings, e.g. strengthening mantras/prayers (typically for Moon rituals and powerful rituals such as banishing or releasing negativity), often addressed to powerful Crone goddesses and the Horned God. After that I play some meditation music to create and preserve a mood of enchantment.
Thus prepared, the circle fully cast, I begin my magickal workings, such as spells, mini rituals, charm/amulet making, Tarot/Lenormand spreads, seed blessing. No limit but fantasy and creativity.
Consecration, Enchanting, Charging :
I use incense for spiritual cleansing, consecrate magickal tools for focused use with the elements through candle flames /Fire), sprinkling with salt and blessed water (Earth and Water), through incense with sage (Air). And I charge my magickal items with energy from the Sun and the Moon in the windowsill or outside (treat especially crystals with great care, because some of them are susceptible to damages from e.g. sun light, water and temperature)
Invocations : I call on goddesses and gods, spirit, totem and power animals, and ancestors to draw on their powers and energy in rituals. I´m careful to not do it too often, because it´s a bit energy demanding. This is for the special occasions, such as Drawing Down the Moon ritual, releasing spells and sabbats.
Cleansing : I typically cleanse myself, items and my house with white sage/sage and certain items like my pendulum under running water. I always take a ritual bath before my magickal workings, because I want to be as pure and relaxed as possible. I also want to actually feel and enjoy my journey with witchcraft, and what´s better than to be clean and in comfortable clothes before doing something you love ?
Ritual Witch : In this section I keep record of my ever-growing supply of rituals. I have inspirational texts and ideas, but I prefer to do the writing myself, because your personal energy will naturally be stronger than a copy of other people´s workings.
If I do use a copy, I also write down the credentials, because I want the same treatment for my writings. Feel free to copy here, but please do remember where it came from. And Blessed Be, hopefully it meets your needs, if you do ever come back, maybe you have something to share with me.
Protection : My list of herbs, crystals, symbols etc. with protective abilities. Protection in witchcraft is necessary, because when you bounce into energy, that energy will bounce back, and you don´t want any negative influences at all. So a protective blessing here includes humans and animals alike. I like the principle not to summon what you can´t dispel. In other words, protection is common sense.
Prayers : These include prayers relevant to my magickal workings in rituals, daily prayers and prayers related to the sabbats in the Wheel of the Year.
Nature Prayers : A call to Nature itself is often more tangible than a prayer to a Goddess/God, because you can go direct out in nature and experience the elements close-up. That feeling you can apply to your prayers in rituals.
Blessings : Protection of my loved ones.
Poems : Poetry can be appropriate to use in rituals, when you want to create a certain atmosphere, such as joy for happiness and growth spells, intuitive for Moon magick and relaxing for releasing rituals.
Chants : A new area to explore to me. At the moment, I read with stress on rhymes and rhythm, but I need to train my voice a lot more, if I one day should choose to chant myself. I prefer to read.
May the rest of this day be as blessed as when I woke up this morning and felt happiness, inner peace, a good health and kindness from the world. May this feeling also dwell in my family, my friends and other special people. So Mote It Be.
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