Tag: spell

The Majick of Water

Published on by WitchybyAineLeave a comment

Think, for a moment, of all the things you can do with water. We drink it, cook with it, bathe in it, nourish our plants with it. We sail on it. We fish from it. We swim in in. We sit beside it. We taste, see, and smell it. We hear it. We feel it.

Our lives begin in water in our mother’s wombs, and our bodies are about 60% water. Is it a mystery that a bath is soothing? Is it any wonder than we find the sound of running water calming? And what is more romantic than moonlight on the water?

In California, where Awen’s Cauldron is based, we feel the impact of water, or rather, its absence. This very hot summer has brought multiple days exceeding 100 degrees. The lack of humidity in our area increases thirst, and we long to immerse ourselves in the coolness of a pool, pond, river, or ocean. We cannot live without water, any more than we can live without any of the elements: fire to warm us and cook our food, air to breathe and blow cool breezes, earth to stand on and in which to grow our food. Of all the elements, though, we resonate with water—it is part of our name, referenced in the cauldron.

Water plays an important part in all faith traditions, most often symbolizing purification and cleansing. For Hindus, bathing in the sacred water of the Ganges is an important ritual. Christians use water to baptize people in that faith. Water appears in creation myths, as part of the formation of the world. And people travel annually to sacred water sites such as the Lourdes grotto in France or the Chalice Well in England.

There is even a popular belief that blessing water and speaking to it in a loving way can change its nature. When returned to other bodies of water, the expectation is that the water goes on to change the water it encounters. As intriguing, hopeful, and majickal as that idea might sound, it is not supported by scientific research.

There are, however, many ways in which water is majickal in and of itself. The fact that it can be gas, liquid, or solid is remarkable. Air, fire, and earth don’t have that ability. Water dripping on stone will erode it over time—the Grand Canyon was formed over the course of millennia by the course of the Colorado river. Water can power electricity and take us to new places. And when it rages, it is a terrifying element, sweeping away everything in its path.

In Wicca, water is associated with the moon and is considered feminine. That is one reason why it is represented by an upside-down equilateral triangle, which reflects both the shape of a chalice and the shape of the womb. It is the element that is most closely aligned to the goddess (for example, Belisima, Anuket, Brizo) and it is the element of those born under the signs of Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio. Water rules our subconscious as well as our emotions. Its tools are the cauldron and the chalice. Water is associated with the west, autumn, and sunset. Silver, topaz, amethyst, citrine, aquamarine, opal, pearl, and sapphire crystals or gems should be used in water rituals. Animals associated with water include, as expected, turtles, dolphins, and seals, but also bears and snakes. Majickal creatures associated with water include undines, mermaids, and sea serpents. Using musical instruments such as cymbals or bells will invoke water during a ritual.

Majickal rituals are often preceded by sacred bathing that relaxes the ritualist and prepares her to be receptive to majickal influence. Herbs, oils, and water charged under the moon can be used in the bath, as well as the special bath salts we create for our Sabbat boxes. Moon-charged water can also be used for scrying; put it in a dark bowl and gaze through the water to practice your divination skills. Making tea or potions with moon-charged water is also a good idea. After using water for ritual purposes, it should be returned to the earth, no emptied into a sink.

How do you charge water? The simplest way is to leave a vessel of it out all night where the moon will shine on it for the longest time. Our practices involve using the same vessel each month and using that container only for moon-charged water. Rainwater, spring water, or purified water are the best sources of water for charging. You can also do solar water charging in the same way, leaving it out where the sun will hit the water for most of the day. Some Wiccans bless the water to free it from any negative energy and use salt to purify it.

Majick spells that work best with water are those that healing, dreams, sleep, intuition, love, and friendship. If you have been plagued with bad dreams, for example, this might help. Take a cup of moon-charged water and add a teaspoon of sea salt along with three drops each of jasmine, lavender, and violet essential oils (or add petals from each of the flowers; you can also substitute bergamot for violet oil). If you have moonstones, add them as well. Place the bowl of water near your bed, and before lying down to sleep, put your hands about the water and say (if you aren’t comfortable yet with writing your own spell):

Majickal water, I now ask
For you to fill this simple task
Bring me restful peace and sleep
Let my dreams not make me weep

Water is life, but more than that, water is majickal. All life came from water, and humans begin their lives there. Like water, we can carve our own paths. The creatures that live in it have their own beauty; even a hippopotamus is graceful in water. And the majickal creatures are even more striking—undines with bodies made of water, mermaids with their fish tails and long flowing hair, sea serpents that curve sinuously through the oceans.

All the elements can be used in majick, but we have a favorite in water.

Opening image: “A Mermaid,” by John William Waterhouse – Art UK, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7715772

Majickal Moon, Majickal You

Published on by WitchybyAineLeave a comment
By Jessie Eastland – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81142233

Why is the moon so majickal? I think the primary reason is that we see it grow and ebb in the sky above us. While we can track the movement of the sun from rising to setting, its changes are more subtle. If you’re very observant, you’ll notice that the place it rises and sets shifts over the course of the year, and of course, the days shorten and lengthen. But the moon! She changes daily in position, rising, setting, fullness. Since humans looked up to the sky the moon has been a fascination to them.

According to Erin Dragonsong, the moon represents mystery and chaos, flow and evolution, birth and death, emotions and soul, and wisdom and majick. Until we explored her, we speculated about what the moon was made of. It was a mystery. Humans observed her changes in the sky, along with her apparent death and rebirth. If you listen closely to love songs, you’ll hear the moon referenced quite a bit more than the sun. A moon is romantic. We see partially. We see with our souls.

And then, there is majick, the kind of focus and intention setting we do according to the phase of the moon. There are many books and articles written on this topic. Our hope here is to provide an overview and help you get started.

First, then, we want to understand the kind of spell each phase of the moon calls for. The cycle begins at the New Moon, because this is a time to set goals, think about your dreams, and make plans for how to achieve them. It’s important to think about what you want rather than what you don’t want. Spells work very poorly when they’re cast as what you don’t want to happen. For example, if you’re going on a trip, you don’t want to write a spell that says, “I don’t want to get sick” or “I don’t want to get stranded somewhere.” You write a spell for good health and safe travel. Focus on the positive, not the negative.

The New Moon lasts about 3 nights, when the night sky is dark and no trace of her is to be found. During this time, be sure to write down your goals and how you expect to achieve them. Keeping records is a very good way to track what really happens instead of relying on memory. You may even want to draw or do a collage of your dream, so that you are seeing it as well as feeling it. You can also write a spell and cast it during a ritual. If you do write a spell, be sure it is specific, because what you get may not be what you intended if you are not precise. Use the New Moon to focus on what you want to achieve.

The Waxing Crescent moon follows the New Moon. If you are casting new spells, focus on positive outcomes such as friendship, health, love, or success. While focusing on your New Moon goals, remember that things are growing. Things are moving. You are moving toward your goals.

A good way to practice your majick during this time is to read your goals and plans aloud to focus them in your mind. Look at any visual representations you’ve made of them or visualize in your mind what achieving your goal would look like. Is this majick? It’s certainly one form. Other forms include using potions, charms, rituals, dancing, singing, and divination to work your will. If you’re a beginner, we suggest starting with visualization and writing of goals and plans, and continued focus on them throughout the moon cycle.

We come to the First Quarter, the half-moon. In some ways it’s the most mysterious of all, neither this nor that. The dark half tells us whether the moon is waxing or waning (dark left is waxing, dark right is waning), but at first glance it can be hard to tell. Its “neither here nor there” aspect may create doubt in you considering the things you’re working toward. It’s important to keep focused during the first quarter, to remain confident. Revisit your goals and visualization again. Say them aloud.

The Waxing Gibbous Moon promises us that the Full Moon isn’t far behind. New spells should still be focused on positive outcomes. And this is a good time to review goals and plans and adjust as you might need to. Don’t simply give up if something isn’t working exactly as planned. It’s too easy to sabotage your own success with doubt when you’re close to achieving it. The Gibbous Moon is swollen with potential. It’s a woman in her 8th month, yearning to give birth to something miraculous. You are swelling, expanding, and intensifying. Ride that increase to its conclusion.

And now the Full Moon arrives! For three days she shines upon you and your dreams. For the first of the three days, she is 99% full. The second day is 100% full, and the third is back to 99%. Although the third day could be considered a waning period, the moon is so full that we respond to her as in that phase.

This is a time to ask for almost anything. Divination, spells, and rituals are especially powerful now. It’s also a good time to charge your tools, potions, candles, etc. with the moon’s energy. Create moon water by leaving a full vessel under the moonlight. If your dreams, goals, and plans are going to manifest, you will get some hints about that around the time of the full moon. This is a good time to release negativity and any hurts that have accumulated. It will help you be clearer in setting your intentions at the New Moon. It’s also a time to express gratitude. In some moon circles, expressing gratitude is used to open or end the ritual. Writing it down makes it even stronger. Words are majickal. They create ideas that last.

Today, August 9, 2019, the moon is Waxing Gibbous phase. Use the mounting energy of the growing moon to cast spells that will increase your creativity, your intuition, your success, your courage, your love. The full moon will be here August 14-16. Be prepared to greet her and make majick in her light. Next Tuesday, we’ll talk about the energy of the waning moon and the majick that you can work during those phases. Until then, blessed be!