Spells

So, a couple of Saturdays ago was the latest meeting about Spells - how to create one, how it differs from a ritual, how intentions are important and possible ethics issues.

In the most simple definition, a spell is an action taken to manifest an intention into reality. I've done spells before now, for protecting my home, for protecting myself while I'm not at home, and healing for others when I've had their permission. I have never done a spell for anyone without their permission, and although I have been asked to do a spell to break a particular relationship up, I have declined because I won't go against free will and free choice.

It is completely up to you as a witch whether you choose to do any spells as part of your Craft and how you do them. It is also your choice what kinds of spells you want to do.

But I believe there is one thing that spells are - they are a stepping stone action that can be taken on the road to bringing an intention into manifestation, from healing to a new house to protection. If you were to do a spell to find a new house to live in, just doing the spell and leaving the whole situation at that isn't as likely to work compared to actually looking for a new home as well.

I personally think of spells as a way of asking the Universe for assistance with my chosen intention and that by taking the necessary real steps to make it manifest in my life is proving to the Universe that it is something that I truly desire so that the Universe will work with me to bring it about.

So in the meeting, we crafted our own individual spells. I opted to craft my spell around my recent experiences with the Owl and the Dream Ritual. I know I need to release the past and what happened and this just felt like the perfect opportunity to craft a spell for this.

Emily walked us through a spellcrafting worksheet that was really helpful in working out what my intention was going to be, what I'd need for the actual spell, the various elements and correspondences, actions to be taken, any allies I might call upon to assist me, when I could do the spell, and how I can release the energy of the spell after it's complete.

My Intention:

I felt called to do a spell regarding releasing my past, in particular the time I spent with my grandmother. I no longer need that part of my story but I do need to move on from it. That time no longer serves me so it's time to let it go. I need freedom and peace from what happened because the residual ties and energy are no longer good for me. So by removing it, I can make room for better energies to come into my life.

For these reasons, my intention is: To release the past to bring freedom and peace back into my life.

Actions:

I didn't know exactly what actions when I approached this part of crafting my spell but I did make note of some ideas, such as lighting a black candle, inscribing a word, name or sigil, or possibly a cord-cutting.

Tools:

This next part was regarding what items I might need to use for the spell. Among my ideas were: a black candle, an iron nail or a pin, a herb to suit the intention, a sigil, perhaps some scissors, and/or maybe a couple of cords.

I used this section to decide what actions I would take to do my spell and decided on using a black candle, a "banishing" or releasing herb, a cord to represent me and a cord to represent that time of my life, and a sigil for releasing. I will create my own sigil and do the research to find out what herb I can use.

Energies, Allies & Elements:

For this section, I just made a list of everything that could be useful or that I'm already going to use within my spell:

Fire - to burn the energetic cord

Water - to heal/bring peace

Spring - new beginning

Moon - just after full and started to wane, or third quarter phase

Day - Tuesday (particular day of the week from years ago so it could complete the cycle), Saturday (it just felt like a good day for this), or Sunday (for healing)

Cords - purple for me and peace, grey for that time and the person I want to release

Candle - black to "banish" or let go

Animal Ally - Owl (see my post titled "A Tree, A Bird & A Goddess" for my reasons behind this)

Timing:

I sort of covered this in my ideas but since the meeting where I started to put this spell together, I received an email about the Moon Phase and the sign it is in - specifically, the Last/Third Quarter Moon in Capricorn. In Yasmin Boland's Moonology Manifestation oracle deck, there is a card relating to this with the message of "Leave the past behind" which I felt was very appropriate for my spell's intention.

I also looked into the associations for the days of the week and I decided to do this spell on a Sunday during either of these times: 2.09am to 3.12pm, or 9.18pm to 10.15pm.

Releasing/Finishing the Spell:

This was interesting because I felt like a cord-cutting aspect was needed and that by removing the unwanted energy from my life, I would also release the unwanted energy by burying the respective cord or throwing it in the rubbish. I would also use the cord representing me to call my energy back and to promote peace by tying it around my wrist after the spell.

I decided that I wanted to use Frankincense incense while doing this spell as it can help to banish the unwanted and unhelpful - I don't have any loose Frankincense but I don't have any Frankincense incense at all. Because of this, I can use Air within my spell for its cleansing, but also its association with East and new beginnings. Frankincense is also associated with the element of Fire, Sunday and the Sun. I may go and look for some Clover because it is associated with letting go but it isn't absolutely necessary for my spell. I ended up not needing to look for any Clover leaves because I discovered that I have a Refreshing incense that has the fragrance of Mint, Sage and Clover so I opted to use this as my incense instead so that I could still work with what I have.

I wanted to have my own chant for this spell and I didn't end up writing it until the night I before actually did the spell. I also wasn't sure how I was going to create my sigil, either using runes or the letters of my intention. It didn't feel right to do anything before then for some reason but I've learned not to question it and just go with the flow.

I used a method called Chaos to make my sigil. This method was created by Austin Osman Spare but it didn't gain popularity until the 1990s, long after Spare's death in 1956. This method starts with the intention, removes repeating letters and the option to remove vowels (which I did for my sigil) and then the remaining letters are used to create the sigil itself.

Items for my Spell - Refreshing incense, sigil, purple (left) and grey (right) cords, black candle and candle holder, Owl ally and iron nail

Above is everything I used for my spell and, separately, I wrote down what I felt called to say during the spell:

"I call on the Owl

and ask for your help

to see the past, release it

and heal from it.

With the entwining

of these cords, the past

is still powerfully present.

Yet the wish is here

to become free of its

vine-like constraints.

Candle burning,

shining bright,

allow me now to have

a peaceful light,

unburdened of the

past so grey,

starting anew in

the light of day.

With Owl beside me,

and Clover too,

let my heart be healed

and my mind healing do."

Once I'd burned the knot from between the grey and purple cords, I wrapped the purple one around my left wrist and tied the ends together to signify me calling my energy back to myself but it's also a reminder that I am not the person I used to be.

I haven't confirmed every action I did for this spell as I wanted this spell to work away in the background of my subconscious without being reminded of it. However, I do hope that the ideas I have provided here inspire you to craft and do your own spells in the future.

Peace and love to all!