A Witch’s Guide to Spellcraft

Althaea Sebastiani

©2018, 2021 Althaea Sebastiani
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any
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without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by
United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, contact
the publisher, at info@ladyalthaea.com Reviewers may quote brief
passages.
Second Edition
Previously published under the title An Introduction to Spellcraft
ISBN:
Print 9798516604690

Witchery is often an act of liberation. To be free of oppression, free of
poverty or pain of broken love. For all our knowing of the rules of things,
our witchcraft reflects our deep desire for feral freedom, our overwhelming
need to be ourselves.
-Emily Banting, from David Southwell’s Hookland

Other Titles
Books
By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The Theory & Practice of Effective Home
Warding
Paganism for Beginners: The Complete Guide to Nature-Based Spirituality
for Every New Seeker

Courses
Be a Local Witch
Bone Magic
By Holey Stone & Bone of Toad
Developing Divine Relationships
Feral Witchcraft
An Introduction to Ancestor Work
An Introduction to Spirit Work
Spiritual Self-Care
The Witch’s Allies
A Witch’s Guide to Necromancy

Table of Contents
Exercise List
Introduction

Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, & Witchcraft
Putting Meaning to Words
Understanding Magick
What is a Spell?
Putting it into Practice
Rules of Magick
On Matters of Religion & Spirituality
Exercise 1: Feeling Energy
Exercise 2: Moving Energy
Exercise 3: Using Energy
Exercise 4: Revisiting Your List
Final Note

Lesson 2: Going with the Flow
Rooting your Spell in the World Around You
The Lunar Cycle
Dark Moon
New Moon
Waxing Crescent
Waxing Gibbous
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Waning Crescent
The Solar Cycles
Eclipses

Timing Spells to your Advantage
Work Specific Spells for Specific Results
Exercise 1: Tightening Focus
Exercise 2: Silver Water
Exercise 3: Recharging your Charm
Exercise 4: Putting it Into Practice
Final Note

Lesson 3: Throw Out Your Correspondence
Lists
On the Use of Objects
Use What You’ve Got: Determining Correspondence
Looking at the Practical Uses
Listening to Your Intuition
Letting the Spirit of the Object Teach You
Spell Remnants
Exercise 1: Enforcing Boundaries
Exercise 2: Getting Your Hands Dirty
Exercise 3: Cleaning up After Yourself
Final Note

Lesson 4: Harnessing Power through Ritual
Branching Out
Altering Space & Time
Casting a Circle
Throwing a Compass
Altars & Tools
Tools
Altars

The Power of Words
Exercise 1: Creating Altered Space
Exercise 2: Making a Witch Bottle
Final Note

Lesson 5: Raising Energy
Reaching Outside of Oneself
Eliminating Distractions
Asserting your Will
Dissolving Separation
Exercise 1: Planning Out
Exercise 2: Raising Up
Exercise 3: Tapping In
Final Note

Lesson 6: Boosting Efficacy
Precautionary Measures
Marrying the Magick to the Mundane
Patience
The Value of Secrecy
Exercise 1: Reassessing
Exercise 2: Burn, Baby, Burn
Final Note

Lesson 7: Troubleshooting
Reasons why Spells Fail
You’re Spread too Thin in all Areas of Life
You Read all the Information, but Didn’t do the Exercises
You Lack Confidence

Your Approach was Wrong
Your Spell wasn’t Focused
You Worked Against your own Spell
You Overcomplicated it
You’re Using Energetic Means to Solve a Physical Problem
You’re Inexperienced
You’re Trying to Make the Impossible Happen
You were Impatient
You Didn’t Follow Through
You Underestimated the Potential of Witchcraft
Morality & Ethics: It’s all in the Details
Exercise 1: Developing a Plan of Attack
Exercise 2: Be Purified by Fire
Final Note

Lesson 8: Watching the Ripples
To Create Change is to be Changed
When to Expect Results
Cleansing—What & Why
Exercise 1: Revisiting
Exercise 2: Cleansing—How
Final Note
Afterword
Glossary
About the Author

Exercises
Introduction
Prerequisite Homework
Create a list of potential spell foci by brainstorming areas in your
life and/or witchcraft practice that would benefit from active magickal
application.

Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, & Witchcraft
Exercise 1: Feeling Energy
Becoming familiar with how energy feels by comparing the energy
of different objects.
Exercise 2: Moving Energy
Forming energy balls to learn to move and control energy.
Exercise 3: Using Energy
Charging an object to create a charm.
Exercise 4: Revisiting Your List
Revising list of potential spell foci as created prior to Lesson 1.

Lesson 2: Going with the Flow
Exercise 1: Tightening Focus
Choosing one goal from your list of spell foci to work toward and
identifying smaller goals necessary to achieve that one goal.
Exercise 2: Silver Water
Using the Full Moon to silver water for future spell work.
Exercise 3: Recharging your Charm
Charging your charm again, now that your skills are stronger.
Exercise 4: Putting it Into Practice
Candle spell for one of your larger goals.

Lesson 3: Throw Out Your Correspondence Lists
Exercise 1: Enforcing Boundaries
Crafting a ward.
Exercise 2: Getting Your Hands Dirty

Baking a poppet.
Exercise 3: Cleaning up After Yourself
Properly disposing of spell remnants.

Lesson 4: Harnessing Power through Ritual
Exercise 1: Creating Altered Space
Working magick within a ritual setting: erecting an
altar/workbench and casting a circle.
Exercise 2: Making a Witch Bottle
Making and placing a witch bottle.

Lesson 5: Raising Energy
Exercise 1: Planning Out
Developing a multi-prong magick approach spanning the two-week
waxing phase of the lunar cycle.
Exercise 2: Raising Up
Raising energy through chanting and breathwork.
Exercise 3: Tapping In
Learning to be a conduit for universal energy; also functions as an
effective grounding exercise.

Lesson 6: Boosting Efficacy
Exercise 1: Reassessing
Review your multi-prong magick approach for the waxing lunar
phase.
Exercise 2: Burn, Baby, Burn
Fire spell with whole dried herbs.

Lesson 7: Troubleshooting
Exercise 1: Developing a Plan of Attack
Developing a multi-prong magick approach spanning the two-week
waning phase of the lunar cycle.
Exercise 2: Be Purified by Fire
Fire purification.

Lesson 8: Watching the Ripples
Exercise 1: Revisiting
Review your multi-prong magick approach for the waxing lunar
phase.
Exercise 2: Cleansing—How
Cleansing via smoke, water, sound, and fire.

Introduction
While there is more to witchcraft than just casting spells, it’s hard to deny
that spellcraft still plays a key part and is often how many of us start out in
the magickal arts. But like most aspects of witchcraft, spellcraft is not easy.
Lighting a thousand candles and reciting just as many beautifully rhyming
words will not, in themselves, get the job done. It takes concerted and
consistent effort to develop, hone, and maintain the skills and abilities that
are necessary to make the magick go.
Yet the ability to work effective magick is there for us all, and by making
simple changes in your approach, you can create deep and lasting changes
within your life.

For Those Who Would do the Work to be
Effective…
Throughout this eight week course, we will dig deep into the subject of
spellcraft to help you develop an understanding of how magick works and
what it takes for a spell to be successful. While we will be focused on the
underlying mechanics, we will also be focusing heavily on practice and you
will be casting spells and working magick each week.
This course is first and foremost designed to boost your efficacy in
spellcraft. And while it is presented within the context of witchcraft, please
note that this is not a course in witchcraft. There is far more to witchcraft
than just spells and far more than can be taught in eight short weeks.
This course is also designed to be started at the Dark Moon. We’ll cover
what that term means later in the course, but for now, check your calendar
for the next New Moon. This is the day to start Lesson 1 of this course.
From there, progress through the lessons one week at a time, devoting one
week to each lesson. In this way, each lesson will be completed over the
course of one lunar phase—you’ll see why that’s important later in the
course, too, and you’ll appreciate the results for having paced yourself with

the lessons by the end of the course. And, after all, when it comes to
spellcraft, the results are the most important part.
Each lesson will contain material to read and an outline for a few exercises
to complete. Each lesson will build upon the previous so it is essential that
you find the time to complete each lesson. Total time to complete each
exercise should take no more than 15-30 minutes and you have an entire
week to complete them.
You will not need to purchase any additional materials for this course,
however, a sturdy notebook may be useful, as you may wish to take notes
and there will be times when you will be asked to free write/brainstorm as
part of certain exercises (e.g., in your Prerequisite Homework, below).

Prerequisite Homework
Prior to beginning Lesson 1, it is asked that you take a few moments to
explore your thoughts and motives for taking this course. Witchcraft is
unique among the magickal arts in that it focuses upon creating real and
lasting changes within our everyday lives. As such, with each week's
lesson, you will be actively casting spells and working magick to create
changes within your life.
To help you get the most benefit in doing so, it is asked that you
freewrite/brainstorm areas in your life and/or witchcraft practice that would
benefit from active magickal application.
For example, you might identify goals you have within your life and/or
witchcraft practice; things that you are struggling with, unhappy with, or
just want to be different; things in your life that aren't quite how you would
like them to be or where change—even just a small nudge—would be
appreciated.
Through this course, you will add and subtract from this list, working
toward goals and tightening focus based upon what you learn and
accomplish in these lessons. So don’t worry about having a perfect or even

detailed list right now. But do take the time to note some of the concerns
that you have right now, issues you’re facing, and other such areas where
change would be welcome.

Next Week’s Lesson: Spells,
Magick, & Witchcraft
Understanding how magick works and what
is required to cast a spell is crucial in order to
successfully and consistently work magick.
This course begins immediately with
jumping into the mechanics of spellcraft,
looking at how spells are only one aspect of
magick, and performing simple spells to aid
your work throughout this course.

Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, &
Witchcraft
Waxing Crescent Moon Phase

Spellcraft has long captivated imaginations for its promise to empower us to
make changes in our lives for the better—however we perceive better to be.
It holds the promise of answers when all other options fail us and provides a
means for us to take back power and balance the scales, so to speak. As
much as we see these promises exploited by mainstream media and fiction,
with the casting of spells being made out to be as easy as an accident and
the effects nothing short of fantastic, it is hard to argue against the fact that
the promise of (re)claiming power and creating changes in our lives is a
common draw for many to witchcraft and that spellcraft continues to hold a
prominent focus in many witches’ lives.
Although there is more to magick than casting spells, spellcraft is one of the
distinctive traits that defines and separates witchcraft from other magickal
systems. Yet despite this fact, and despite the strong focus that it is given
within modern witchcraft, we see the terms spell and magick used in an
overly casual manner that confounds meaning and, unfortunately,
discourages an in-depth understanding of either. However, as magick
handlers, as witches, understanding how magick works is crucial to
successfully and consistently work magick. Efficacy in spellcraft requires
some level of understanding.

Before we get too Deep…
As mentioned earlier, witchcraft is one type of magickal system—that is, a
system for working magick and achieving results in doing so. This naturally
means that not only do other magickal systems exist but there are
distinguishing factors that enable us to tell the difference between one
magickal system and any of the other systems, such as how we can
differentiate between witchcraft and ceremonial magic or between chaos
magic and hoodoo.
Similarities among systems are to be expected, however, it is the differences
that are of greater significance as it is within those differences that we
discover what is unique about a thing—and this holds true regardless if we
are talking about magickal systems, cultures, or personalities of cats. The
differences show us why a thing matters and holds a distinctive name. If

there were no differences among the magickal systems, none of us would
feel so strongly moved to call ourselves witches, our work witchcraft, and
to tie our identities into the peculiarities of this Otherly craft. But we do,
because the word witch means something and holds a distinction from other
magickal systems; that difference is something we feel bone deep.
However, in defining anything and stating what it is, we are simultaneously
stating what it is not. And that is a touchy matter. Please note that the
purpose in offering any such definitions is done for the sole intent of
helping you to be more effective with your magick and not for the purpose
of riling your own bone-deep wisdom. There is enough mud in the water,
let us find some clarity so that we can be more effective in the work we are
doing.
Now that we’ve gotten all necessary caveats out of the way, let’s jump into
the good stuff…

Contents
Putting Meaning to Words
Understanding Magick
What is a Spell?
Putting it into Practice
Rules of Magick
On Matters of Religion & Spirituality
Exercise 1: Feeling Energy
Exercise 2: Moving Energy
Exercise 3: Using Energy
Exercise 4: Revisiting Your List
Final Note

Putting Meaning to Words...
We’ve already noted how witchcraft is one particular system out of many
different systems of magick. It is specifically delineated through five
foundational traits. While each of these traits can be and is utilized
individually by many a non-witch, it is the presence of all five traits
together that we see as constant amongst all witches—regardless of what
qualifiers they may attach to their practice.
These five traits are:
animism
divination
the Land
ritual
spirit work
Spellcraft falls under ritual, as ritual refers to any pattern of steps
performed in a certain order for the purpose of achieving a desired result.
To give an example, the act of seeking a wild herb, asking the plant for
permission to harvest from it, harvesting in an ethical manner, and carefully
drying the herb matter in a cool dark place is a ritual we perform with the
intent of attaining preserved herb matter that is of a high spiritual and
medicinal quality.
Another example would be how that herb matter may be carefully
measured, powdered, mixed, and empowered on a Dark Moon night and
then smoldered to remove spiritually undesirable energy or presences from
a home. Both actions involve steps performed in a particular order so as to
achieve a particular result. Those steps may be repeated at another time but
would be done so for the purpose of achieving the same result. That’s what
makes each example a ritual in the spiritual/religious sense. (It’s also worth
noting that in both examples, every trait but divination was present).

Understanding Magick

Defining magick is where things get a bit trickier. There have been
numerous definitions offered over the last several decades as to what
magick is within the context of people who actively and deliberately work
magick. One commonality they share is that magick is an action. It is
something that we do, that we are active within and (attempting to be) in
control of. It is not an external force that we are at the mercy of nor that we
attempt to catch the favor of. Magick is the culmination of actions we take
to utilize spiritual forces to achieve something. That something could be a
change within the physical world, it could be a change in our mental and
emotional well-being, or it could be a change in how we operate within and
are affected by the spiritual world so as to aid that aspect of ourselves. But
the magick is still action(s) we take involving spiritual forces to achieve
change.
This definition of magick is broad and it also contradicts the perception of
magick by non-magick handlers. And that’s good. We should not be taking
advice on magick from those with no experience. Viewing magick as an
unknowable thing or to describe it as those things that science can’t yet
explain is disingenuous and compromises our ability to work magick.
Understanding how magick works and what we must do to work magick is
crucial to successfully and consistently work magick.
This is because magick largely works through Will—and this is why
honesty is a highly desirable trait among witches. We enforce our Will
through our actions and words. This is why so many published spells end
with the phrase “so mote it be” (so must it be), as you are stating that your
spell will be successful, the change you desire be made, because you say so.
Will is the culmination of your spirit body
and physical body working in unison and the
direct result of a strong sense of self, justified
self-assurance of your capabilities, and
personal conviction that radiates throughout
your life and is exhibited in your actions and
words. It is the driving force of spell work.

But when our words and actions don’t line up, when we attempt to work
magick and flex our Will—performing specific ritual steps to achieve a
specific goal—yet affirm that we don’t know how magick works, we work
against ourselves. We contradict our actions and our intent because we’re
stating that we don’t know why we’re performing those specific steps in
that specific order in the first place. We’re stating that we don’t know what
they will or even could achieve.
And so the magick doesn’t happen because, not only did we not assert our
Will in order to take hold of those spiritual forces, we couldn’t assert our
Will because we disallowed ourselves to make the necessary connection
between the physical and spiritual worlds. That connection is made through
a basic understanding of the reality of the world in which we live—and
having a working understanding of magick and how it works is part of that.
This also further demonstrates how magick is an action and not an external
force that we can tap into because the power doesn’t lay in the words or the
materials—it’s in the doing. This is why you can take a spell that a hundred
witches have used repeatedly with great success and use the exact same
materials and say the exact same words and have nothing happen because
you did everything but work the spell.

What is a Spell?
If magick is the action of using spiritual forces to create change, what
distinguishes it from a spell?
Magick and spells share quite a few similarities:
both involve ritual steps
both require actively taking hold of and using spiritual forces
both are used to create change in our lives and/or the lives of
others
both may or may not involve ritual tools and/or other materials

What distinguishes the two from each other is that magick is a broad term
and refers to a number of actions, practices, and techniques that each
involve the use of spiritual forces (energy, spirits, etc.). In this way, things
such as divination fall beneath the umbrella of magick, as do astral travel,
spirit communication, and divine possession. A spell, on the other hand, is a
narrow term and refers to a specific type of magickal action.
While magick can be worked reflexively, as the result of a strong emotional
response, spells are always worked deliberately. They are a consciously
undertaken action. That deliberate action means that there is nearly always
some sort of planning involved to be sure that the focus of the spell is clear
and the approach appropriate to what result is sought.
Even if acting purely from intuition and throwing that spell together in the
moment, it can be argued that you are working off a deep knowledge of
what needs to be done and how it needs to be done—you’ve already done
the planning subconsciously and faster than your conscious mind can
recognize.
However, when working magick reflexively, there is no planning nor
intuitive response. A situation arises where change is necessary and, as the
result of your training and practice, you respond instinctively by flexing
those magickal muscles, raising the energy and sending it out accordingly
for an immediate response. An example of such is in a moment where your
safety, or the safety of another, is threatened, such as when driving in
inclement weather or when your children are approached by someone you
don’t know when out in public. There isn’t time to think and you naturally
react by very quickly gathering and sending forth the necessary energy to
keep everyone safe.
Yes, this distinction may seem like nitpicking, but clarity in word usage
leads to clarity in communication and in understanding. Witchcraft is very
much about perceiving the subtlety present in our world—subtlety such as
that the world is alive with spirits and that lines of connection exist between
all things. Awareness of the subtlety in words you frequently use, such as
nuances in meanings and differences in application, encourages you to
always be looking for that subtlety, to recognize that there is power in those

differences, and that that power need be handled in different ways. Plus, it
makes you a better witch to truly know what you’re talking about and why
you do things the way you do them.
Spells are concentrated and deliberate ritual
acts of magick for the purpose of creating
specific change. They utilize spiritual forces
to create measurable changes in the energy
within and without a situation and/or person.
Magick is the action of utilizing spiritual
forces to create change; many different
systems and approaches exist, witchcraft is
one such system; magickal actions include
things such as spells, rituals, divination, spirit
communication, astral travel, and more.
Witchcraft is one of many magickal
systems, distinct in its strong focus on
creating change within the everyday, and
defined by its fundamental inclusion of
animism, divination, the Land, ritual, and
spirit work. It is not inherently religious but
can be melded within a variety of religious
contexts or practiced wholly without.
This purposeful action and careful planning are also what distinguish spells
from prayers. The two are often conflated when trying to explain spells and
magick to non-magick handlers (which is generally a waste of time; you
can’t convince people that something is real when a: they’ve already made
up their minds that thing doesn’t exist, and b: the only proof of that thing
being real can only be experienced through its enaction). Yet the two are
functionally different.
Spells are a deliberately taken action wherein we exert our Will to
manipulate spiritual forces (energy) to bring about a change we desire and

deem worthy of creating. That action—and the success or failure of that
action—rests entirely on us. However, prayer is an act of faith (which is
unnecessary in magick). It’s used for the purpose of strengthening faith or
requesting assistance through the expression and existence of that faith.
Faith in what is far too large of a subject to get into here, but it is enough to
say that prayer need not involve a deity, though often does.
Going back to our example in the previous section, of performing a spell
with a successful track record and having the spell fail because the spell
wasn’t actually worked. Just as the magick isn’t in the words and materials
used, the spell isn’t just the steps written down—the spell is you engaging
your spirit body to grab hold of the forces of the universe to render change.
It's you flexing your magickal muscles and making that change in the
energy currents happen. If that's not done, you weren't doing anything but
playing pretend in your bedroom over a collection of pretty objects. That
deliberate action of engaging your spirit body to use spiritual forces to
create change in a consciously directed manner is the spell. Everything else
is just frosting.

Putting it into Practice
Theory and definitions are nice but unless you act upon that knowledge, it
is useless. So how do these definitions of witchcraft, magick, and spells
actually help you to be more effective with your spellcraft?
We noted earlier that awareness of the subtlety of language—specifically
the language you use to describe spiritual actions—primes you to be open
to perceiving subtlety in other ways, such as the subtlety that surrounds you
and is the mark of witchcraft active within your life. You will rarely
experience magick so strongly and dramatically as it is portrayed in books
and movies. Frequently, what is experienced could be chalked up to
coincidence or a trick of the imagination—despite its ability to knock you
off your feet and leave your head spinning.
This is because in using your spirit body (through use of your
psychic/magickal skills) to take hold of spiritual forces (energy, spirits, etc.)

you first and foremost measure any sort of results through the use of those
same skills and abilities. It is only through marrying the spiritual with the
physical, learning to trust those spiritual perceptions and to recognize the
very real physical sensations that you experience along with those spiritual
sensations, that you are able to say with any assurance that, yes, the spell I
cast was effective or yes, the spirits within my house really are telling me to
keep the kitchen cleaner. But until you reach that point, it is far too easy to
miss the magick. Changes in the energy currents around you are so slight,
so subtle. This is why training yourself to remember to look for the subtlety
is so important.
It is appropriate to reemphasize that in laying
out these terms and mechanics so plainly, the
intent is not to take away the wonder and
awe of the world but to help you to be more
effective with your spellcraft.
The definitions and explanations in this
course are not so comprehensive nor concrete
that finding reasons to be overcome by the
beauty and intricacy of the natural world
should be difficult to come by. These are
merely explanations to increase your efficacy
and understanding of the world so you can
better do what you’re already doing.
A clear understanding of these terms also tells you what magick can
realistically achieve and helps you to understand just how magick works, if
only in a generalized way. That understanding allows you to be more
effective as you won’t waste time focusing your spell casting efforts on
unachievable goals or on working spells that are only designed to fail.

Rules of Magick
There are rules to magick. As much as this causes some people to cringe, if
you practice magick long enough, you will naturally see that it behaves in

certain ways—that some things are possible, others are possible only if
done a certain way, and some things are never possible no matter how many
candles you light. We do not live in a world ruled by chaos, there is order
even within entropy. That order within the universe is not something to
push back against but something that affords us stability and makes it
possible for magick to work in the first place.
Spells are worked for the specific purpose of
creating specific change within your life,
change that you cannot easily achieve
through everyday means or to facilitate
everyday action that you are taking to create
change. But, no matter how much you hone
your skills, you are only able to achieve
change if there is wiggle room. The
possibility of the change you desire occurring
on its own must be possible. You cannot
make the impossible happen; you're shifting
the odds in your favor, boosting probability,
increasing likelihood.
Without rules, there would be no such thing as ritual and you could not
work magick with any expectations of achieving results; any results
attained would be purely by chance. That you can take a simple stone from
the river’s edge, tie your stress to the stone, and then toss it back into the
river, sending the worry and doubt away with it with any sort of success is
proof of that order.
In this way, it can be seen that magick is far more mechanical than
mysterious (though it is highly unlikely that anyone alive today will ever
fully understand how magick works). It is dependent upon your ability to
bridge that distance between the physical and spiritual, to engage your spirit
body and grasp onto spiritual forces/energy, in order to create changes
within the energy currents that permeate our world. This is not supernatural
and it certainly isn’t something dependent upon one being born with any

sort “special” abilities. Rather, working magick is just something that
requires effort on your part to learn to do and to then do well.

On Matters of Religion & Spirituality
Although the practice of magick is absolutely a spiritual affair and carries
the prerequisite of a certain quality of spirituality, like spirituality in
general, it need not be associated with any religion. Yes, magick and
witchcraft, especially, are now commonly associated with—and often
conflated with—modern Pagan religions but they shouldn’t be. Neither
belongs to this religious movement: the practice of both has traditionally
existed both within and without a variety of religious contexts. So, whether
you find yourself moved or repulsed by modern Paganism, a theist or an
atheist, a polytheist or a monotheist, know that magick, spellcraft, and, yes,
even witchcraft are all open to you.

Exercises
Throughout this lesson, the term energy has been used interchangeably with
spiritual forces to emphasize the ambiguity of it. Despite its common usage
in the magickal community, we don’t really know what energy is. It is not
the same energy as spoken of within the scientific fields. In fact, it could
entirely be a metaphor contingent upon our limited understanding and
ability to feel/grasp this reality because of how disconnected we are.
But it doesn’t change the fact that there is something there, something that
we can see, feel, and manipulate in such a way that it causes direct and
indirect changes within our lives—both in the physical and spiritual
dimensions. And we term that something energy. For all its faults, it’s a
term that works as long as we keep in mind its obvious limitations—such as
its complete inability to be objectively proven to, measured for and/or by,
nor demonstrated to another person.
Nonetheless, the ability to feel, move, and manipulate energy is the
foundation of magickal practice. You cannot cast spells without being able
to move energy; and without being able to feel energy, you might not have
any idea whether your spell was successful.
As such, this week we’re focusing on basic energy exercises that will aid
you in every other area of your witchcraft. There are three exercises and
one spell, however, keep in mind that the exercises can be completed in 10
minutes (so definitely repeat them, often) and the spell can be completed in
less than 2 minutes.

Exercise 1: Feeling Energy
Although we don’t know what it is, one thing we are certain of is that all
things—animate and inanimate—are comprised not just of physical
substance but of energetic substance, too. That energetic substance
comprises our spirit bodies and, in all things, that energy is able to be felt
and interacted with (in varying degrees of complexity, but that’s a
conversation for another time). But, so, too, is there energy about us, great

currents rushing and flowing, influencing our lives as much as we are able
to influence their flow.
It is the same ability to feel the energy within a plant, a crystal, or your
dearest friend as it is to feel the currents of energy moving about you. To
help you strengthen this ability, you will be acquainting yourself with the
energy of a variety of things and beings so that you can better discern the
slight differences between them and, thus, better hone your sensitivities.
You can do this exercise with whatever objects and beings you prefer and,
ideally, you should work with at least three total. Suggestions are a tree in
your yard or that you see often, large stones, crystals, dried herbs,
houseplants, a sleeping child, and animals.
Begin first by merely being near the object/being. Let your gaze fall softly
upon it and merely take in its physical appearance. Allow your eyes to pass
over it as you open yourself and extend your spiritual awareness to the
object/being. Pay attention to any sensations you may feel, any thoughts
that come unbidden, or any impressions.
Rub your hands together to sensitize them and gently touch the object/being
without expectation. Allow what comes to come. Again, pay attention to
any sensations you may have as well as any impressions, thoughts, or
emotions. You will feel something. What do you feel? How does it feel?
Some people have trouble feeling energy with their hands without
consistent practice due to other energetic training they’ve done (such as
various forms of energy healing and some forms of yoga). As such, if you
feel you are having difficulty at first, you may wish to use another part of
your body, such as your face or feet.
The use of hands will be stressed throughout this course as, except in the
instances of physical impairment, we largely manipulate and interact with
the physical world with our hands: touching things, moving things, creating
and destroying things with our hands. As there is no separation between the
physical and spiritual worlds (as you are experiencing by feeling energy), it
is a simple extension to use your hands to manipulate spiritual forces. But

other areas of your body, such as the all of your skin, can also easily be the
conduit for how you feel and move energy.
Taking notes of your experience immediately afterwards is recommended.
Note the differences you felt between different objects and beings,
especially if you practiced with similar type objects, such as with a tree and
houseplant or living plant and dried herb.

Exercise 2: Moving Energy
Once you are able to feel energy, one of the simplest ways to learn to move
energy is through the creation of energy balls.
Stand or sit comfortably. Relax. Rub your hands together to sensitize them.
Then, hold your hands out in front of you, palms together. Close your eyes
and visualize a small ball of light forming between your hands. Move your
hands about an inch away from each other. Open your eyes and gaze (do not
stare!) at the space between your hands.
Concentrate on that little ball of energy forming and existing there. Push
more energy through your hands and into the little ball, feeding it and
making it larger; move your hands apart a bit more to accommodate the size
change. Continue to see and feel the ball of energy you created. Feel the
warmth in your hands as the energy moves through you and to the ball, feel
the warmth of that ball, too. You may see the ball, as well, perhaps as a
swirling ball of pale light.
Play around with the ball of energy you’ve created. Push more energy into
it, making it larger, squish it to make the energy denser, or stretch it out into
a ball so large that it surrounds your entire being.
When you are finished, you can either pull the energy back into you or you
can open your hands and shake them to dissipate the energy.

Advanced Practice

Once you can easily create and maintain an energy ball, expand the ball of
energy about your entire person. This is an alternate way of casting a circle
and can also be used for basic protection measures. Note that this energetic
sphere must be maintained (i.e., the energy must be held and replenished) or
it will naturally dissipate.
This technique can also be used to ward children, pets, and/or yourself
while sleeping and to temporarily conceal things from sight (no, it doesn’t
make them invisible, but you can program the energy to dissuade the item
from being noticed).

Exercise 3: Using Energy
Now that you have the basics of energy manipulation down, you’re going to
put those skills to use for your first spell in this course. This is a very simple
spell because witchcraft is a simple craft: even at its most extravagant we
are still using simple everyday objects to create changes within our
everyday lives.
For this spell, you will be charging an object to create a charm to aid in
clarity of thought. Originally, the term charm referred to a spoken magickal
verse, however, we will be sticking with the modern usage: an object
imbued with magickal powers. This is a very simple procedure that you will
use throughout your craft, regardless if you practice for decades. It is that
foundational and basic of a skill.
Firstly, you need an object that you can easily keep on your person. It
should be of natural materials, so no plastic, but can be manufactured or
altered, such as a piece of jewelry made of real metal and minerals. What
you use isn’t so important as you can remain in close contact with it and
that you can touch and hold it without risk of breaking it. If nothing else, go
outside and find yourself a small stone that will fit comfortably in your
pocket. Don’t just choose a stone randomly, listen, feel. Put those witch
skills to use. Choose a good rock.

Once you have your object, close your eyes and take a few slow, deep
breaths to center yourself. Rub your hands together, if needed, to sensitize
them. Now, hold the object in your non-dominant hand with your dominant
hand atop it. Just as you created the energy ball, focus on building that
energy within your hand and push it into the object. In your mind, focus on
the energy transforming that object to help you maintain a clear mind and
clear thoughts to aid you throughout this course. You might visualize the
energy leaving your hand as yellow or bright glowing white. Focus and let
the energy pour forth from you until you know enough has been placed in
the object.
It is done. Keep the object close to you and touch it when you especially
need that boost of clarity.

Exercise 4: Revisiting Your List
As part of the Introduction for this course, you were given early homework
of creating a list of potential spell foci for this course, areas and things in
your life that could benefit from a little magickal push. Revisit your list,
bearing in mind everything you’ve learned so far in this lesson. Add,
subtract, and tighten the focus as you feel necessary.

Final Note
We covered a lot this week, especially for the first lesson. Don’t worry if
you don’t feel you have it all down-pat, you can always refer back to this
lesson as needed. Much of what we covered, however technical, was
necessary background information. You now have a greater understanding
of the basics and mechanics of magick (and witchcraft, too). And now that
we’ve gotten it all out of the way, we can jump into juicier spell casting
techniques and really look at ways to fine-tune approach and achieve
results.

Next Week's Lesson: Going with
the Flow
Effective spellcraft often comes down to the
details. In this lesson, we’ll look at how to
ensure that the focus of your spell is highly
targeted and that your approach fits what
you’re trying to achieve. You’ll also learn
how to tie your spellcraft to the energy of the
Moon for a potent boost of power.

Lesson 2: Going with the Flow
Waxing Gibbous Moon Phase ending with
the Full Moon

The basis of spellcraft comes down to our ability to move energy, either
pulling it towards us or pushing it away. That push and pull, attract or repel,
is reflected in the action that the spell is to perform and in the general
behavior of energy, flowing like water and moving in currents about us.
In the previous lesson, you charged an object to aid you in keeping a clear
mind during this course. In this way, the energy you placed within the stone
slowly dissipates, acting upon you to gently push away errant thoughts and
to repel the temptation to chase after every mental distraction. However,
were you to have charged the object for healing or financial prosperity, that
energy would have dissipated so as to draw more energy to you, creating a
current of energy to lend you further strength to heal or to encourage more
money (and money creating situations) to come to you.
In this way, when we work to increase the efficacy of our spellcraft, we
look for ways to more accurately direct the current of energy we’re sending,
to more strongly grab onto the energy we seek, and to clear away whatever
obstacles may get in that energy’s way.
Some of the most effective ways to do so are to tie our spell work to natural
currents of energy (so that they move more quickly) and to, of course,
increase the accuracy of our aim by ensuring our spell is focused and that
we are taking the right approach to accomplish our goal.

Contents
Rooting your Spell in the World Around You
The Lunar Cycle
The Solar Cycles
Eclipses
Timing Spells to your Advantage
Work Specific Spells for Specific Results
Exercise 1: Tightening Focus
Exercise 2: Silver Water
Exercise 3: Recharging your Charm
Exercise 4: Putting it Into Practice
Final Note

Rooting your Spell in the World Around You
We can make the energy of our spells move with less resistance and greater
efficacy by timing our spells to take advantage of moments in the cycles of
the natural world when certain energies are amplified.
Although energy is neither good nor bad, nor is it positive or negative in
similar meanings as has been largely misconstrued, energy can be positively
or negatively charged—similar to electricity. From there, energy can be
further charged or “programmed” to a particular goal.
For example, in Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, & Witchcraft, you charged a
stone or object to aid you in keeping a clear mind. When charging the
object, you were programming the energy within it to your goal, as well as
filling it with additional energy. That additional energy wasn’t a different
type of energy, however, functionally, we view energy as being different
types or flavors only because it helps us focus our thoughts and, thus, shape
the energy better. It does not reflect the reality of energy because energy is
inherently neutral. (Remember, words matter. Understanding that subtlety
helps you to operate more effectively. And you do not have time to work
ineffective magick).

Law of Attraction vs As Above,
So Below: How Energy Works
Metaphysically, it is negatively charged
energy that is receptive/attractive, whereas
positively charged energy is
projective/repelling. Also similarly to
electricity, we see that two positive charges
or two negative charges will repel each other
(like repels like) while a positive and
negative charge will attract each other
(opposites attract).

I know. Blasphemy. The maxim “like attracts
like” has become ingrained into current
magickal thought, but this is a very recent
development due to the metaphysically dilute
“law of attraction” nonsense seeping into
witchcraft via new age influence.
Prior to this influence, it was the law of “as
above, so below,” of micro- and
macrocosms, that was commonly understood
to reflect the behavior of energy. It’s this
same microcosm/macrocosm worldview that
is the basis of palmistry and sympathetic
magick (wherein the object that is being
magickally acted upon represents the
receiver of the magick and, thus, creates a
microcosm of the larger macrocosm
surrounding that receiver).
With this shift in understanding, wherein we
reject the “like attracts like” explanation and
re-embrace the microcosm/macrocosm
worldview, we see that many spells operate
through actions taken to create change in our
inner world or through symbolic actions
(through tools and objects) in order to cause
a corresponding change within the outer or
greater world.
For example, we draw prosperous energy to
ourselves because there is a lack of such in
our lives, not because it is in abundance. And
once we have attained that prosperity, our
magick naturally shifts to maintaining that
prosperity—not to still attract it. If this action
was based upon “like attracts like” then we
would need to already possess abundance in

our lives to draw more toward us because
thoughts and holding intentions alone do not
create magickal results. They cannot. It is the
flexing of our spirit bodies to wield spiritual
forces that creates magickal results.
Yes, this is a subtle difference in wording and
focus but witchcraft is found within and
dependent upon subtlety—making sense of
and learning to trust that subtlety is part of
why witchcraft takes continuous effort. You
cannot be effective by ignoring the subtle.
These moments of heightened power in the natural world are evident in the
many cycles that are continuously unfolding about us. The signs and effects
of these cycles can be subtle, but they do affect us, causing changes in our
behavior.
The most blatant cycles are those of the Moon and Sun. These cycles are
made possible through the exact placement of the Earth, Moon, and Sun,
emphasizing the relationship between and among these bodies. It is the light
of the Sun casting the shadow of the Earth onto the Moon that gives us the
lunar cycle. It is the topography of your local area that determines the exact
rise and set times of the Sun and Moon, as well as determining when the
Dark Moon begins and when it gives way to the New Moon. It is your
location on the Earth, paired with topography, that determines the amount
and intensity of sunlight you receive each day and which then is responsible
for how the land responds to that sunlight, i.e., the unique expression of the
seasons for your local area.
The natural cycles are a dance of rising and falling energy, carried and
propelled by the bodies of the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Their dance affects us
on a profound level, influencing our dreams, menstrual cycles, joint health,
how well we sleep, the amount of rain our local areas receive, how strongly
seedlings grow, and the behavior of animals (from migration to fertility).
These cycles are powerful. And we can tap into them with our magick to
get stronger and faster results.

The Lunar Cycle
In the Introduction, you were asked to begin Lesson 1 at the New Moon and
to spend one week working through each lesson, thus allotting an entire
lunar phase to each lesson. And you’ve likely noticed that at the beginning
of each lesson, the lunar phase for that week has been noted. All of this has
been so that you can make a conscious effort to take note of how the
Moon’s energy feels during each phase, compare the phases, work with
those energies, and experience those differences firsthand.
It takes the Moon 27.32 days to orbit the Earth. However, as the Earth is
also rotating, the Moon takes 29 days to circle the Earth from our
perspective. There are eight distinct phases in the lunar cycle, with four
primary phases (waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, and
waning crescent) lasting roughly one week each. The other four phases
occur when one of the primary phases ends and another begins.
This makes for really convenient spell planning as you can take advantage
of different lunar energies every week, allowing you to form a
comprehensive magickal plan of attack on a, roughly, monthly occurrence.

Dark Moon
Although this term was once commonly used, it has fallen out of general
usage and is rarely found outside of the magickal community. This term
refers to the time period when the Moon is no longer visible in the night
sky. How long it lasts is dependent upon latitude and topography but it is
generally between 1.5 and 3 days. The Dark Moon generally rises and sets
with the Sun.
Magickally, this is a complex time period. It is typically viewed as being
when the Moon’s energies are turned inward, with such pursuits as
divination and spirit communication recommended. However, my own
experience has shown that, even when working with the Dead and chthonic
spirits, the intense energy during the Dark Moon is not any better for

divination and spirit communication than the Full Moon and can actually be
counterproductive (as many spirits come across as preoccupied). Rather,
this energy is highly concentrated and better applied for such things as
consecration, spirit travel, shadow work, striking powerful contracts with
spirits and deities, protection magick, and curse work.

New Moon
There are two definitions to this term, the old way (when the term Dark
Moon was common usage) and the current and astronomical use. Per
astronomy, the New Moon is the exact moment that the Moon begins to
wax, marking the beginning of a new lunar cycle (hence “New” Moon.
Note, also, that this timing puts the New Moon at the peak of the Dark
Moon). However, per old common usage, the New Moon is the moment the
Moon becomes visible again in the sky after the Dark Moon. The New
Moon is visible in the West, chasing after the setting Sun.
Resurgent use of the term Dark Moon in the magickal community (because
of the intense energy of this time period) in combination with the confusion
caused by the exclusive use of the term New Moon in astronomical and
common use, has lead to the terms Dark Moon and New Moon frequently
being used interchangeably. However, as you will notice in working with
them throughout this course, they hold very different energies, appropriate
to very different magickal use.
Because witchcraft is a simple craft using simple materials and
straightforward associations to create change in our everyday lives, the New
Moon is a wonderful time to begin new projects and to work magick toward
the strong and steady progress of those projects. It is also appropriate for
blessings and any work that focuses on a new start with an intent to draw
energy to it for its success and prolification.

Waxing Crescent
Also called the First Quarter, this phase of the lunar cycle begins at the
exact halfway point of the Dark Moon (the time that your calendar or lunar

app will give for the New Moon) and continues until the start of the Second
Quarter Moon. Note that the term waxing refers to the first half of the lunar
cycle, when the Moon grows in power and appears to be getting larger in
the sky. The crescent period refers to when the Moon is less than half lit, a
clear C shape in the sky. In the northern hemisphere, the waxing crescent is
a backwards C, lighting from right to left; in the southern hemisphere, the
waxing crescent is a forward-facing C and lights from the left to right. The
waxing crescent Moon rises between shortly after sunrise and noon, rising
closer and closer to noon until the next phase.
Magickally, this phase is similar to the New Moon and is good for giving a
strong start to new projects. Magick begun now can be boosted during each
lunar phase in order to accomplish long-term goals. It’s also good for goals
that need time to build, that you’re hoping to manifest at the Full Moon, or
any goals focused on increase and maximizing opportunity, especially
prosperity and fertility. This phase lasts roughly one week.

Waxing Gibbous
This is the Second Quarter lunar phase and last week until the Full Moon.
At this time, the Moon is still growing larger in illumination and in power.
In the northern hemisphere, the Moon appears as a forward-facing D in the
sky, becoming further illuminated from right to left; in the southern
hemisphere, it is a backwards D, becoming further illuminated from left to
right. At the beginning of this phase, the Moon will rise around noon and
set around midnight, rising and setting later as each night passes.
Magick and spells started at the New Moon will have a good amount of
energy behind them that can be further boosted now. This is a good time for
strengthening that which has already been started, maintaining, and adding
a final boost to magick meant to manifest at the Full Moon.

Full Moon
It’s at the Full Moon when we see another divergence in definition between
old traditions and current science. It is the peak of the Full Moon, when the

Moon begins to wane, that is noted as the time of the Full Moon on
calendars and apps. Note also, too, that US wall calendars frequently go by
eastern time. However, it was once common to see the Full Moon as lasting
for three nights. As the peak of the Full Moon often occurs while the Sun is
up, this makes sense as the Moon appears quite full for a few nights.
Generally, the Full Moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. The
exact length of time that the Moon is fully illuminated varies and can last
several hours.
Traditionally, this is prime witching night. Not only does the light of the
Full Moon make it easier to walk about at night (facilitating the naked Full
Moon rituals you should do at least a half dozen times in your life) but you
can more easily see the power of the Full Moon in your life. Not only does
the Moon pull on the waters of the Earth, controlling the tides, but so does it
pull on your own waters, influencing your dreams, how well you sleep, and
the reproductive cycle of people with active uteri.
The night of the Full Moon is well suited for magick focused on
manifestation, fruition, and bounty. It is good for those goals that need a
good, strong boost to help them manifest quickly. Divination and dream
work are especially strong at this time, as is any magick focused on being as
expansive as the power and light of the Full Moon. This is a good time to
consecrate tools, using the Full Moon’s power and light as part of that
consecration and is good for charging tools that warrant such charging (i.e.,
there’s no reason to put out every magickal tool you own to catch the Full
Moon’s light; be purposeful with your actions).
Crystals do not have to be charged at the Full Moon because they don’t lose
their energy—so there’s no need to recharge them each month. A Full
Moon charging is only appropriate if you’re going to use that crystal, in the
near future, for something that requires that specific type of energy boost
that the Full Moon brings. Charging by the light of the Full Moon isn’t any
different than charging with the energy you project from your hands: if
there’s no clear and immediate purpose for that charging (i.e., you’re
working magick that requires that accumulation of that energy within that
stone/object) then there’s no reason to do so. It brings no benefit.

In recent years, the term super moon has become prevalent. Despite all the
hype surrounding it, this is just a new term for a when the Full Moon occurs
when the Moon is at perigee—the closest it will be to the Earth during that
lunar cycle. This isn’t a new concept and there isn’t any extra significance
to it. The Moon will appear a tiny bit larger in the sky, but that’s it. The
Moon’s energy isn’t stronger; that Full Moon isn’t more powerful due to it
being “super.”
Note also, too, that the term blue moon also receives a lot of hype but
means nothing from the magickal perspective. A blue moon has two
definitions: it commonly now refers to the second Full Moon occurring in
one calendar month but it used to refer to the third Full Moon in a season
that has four Full Moons (with a season being the time between a solstice
and an equinox—or equinox and a solstice—as a way of making the
calendar fit the cycles playing out on the land). Unfortunately, given that
the Gregorian calendar is entirely made up and full of flaws, there is no
energetic difference to a blue moon—of either definition. The term carries
no weight or meaning outside of the Gregorian calendar.

Waning Gibbous
This lunar phase occurs after the Full Moon and marks the beginning of the
Moon growing smaller in illumination and power. This is the Third Quarter
of the lunar cycle. At this time, the Moon rises around midnight and then
rises later and later until it rise around noon, at the start of the the Fourth
Quarter phase. In the northern hemisphere, the Moon will gradually come to
resemble a backwards D in the sky, with the light receding from right to
left; in the southern hemisphere, the Moon will gradually appear as a
forward-facing D with the light receding from left to right.
As the Moon wanes in power, we appropriately use that energy for magick
focused on lessening and decreasing. This is a good time for magick that is
begun to slowly remove something from your life, especially if you will do
further work during the waning crescent or Dark Moon phases. It is really
well suited to beginning to wrap up work and tie up loose ends.

Waning Crescent
This is the Fourth Quarter and occurs the week before the Dark Moon. At
this time, the Moon is again a crescent in the sky, but facing the opposite
direction as the waxing crescent. The Moon will appear as a forward-facing
C in the northern hemisphere while the southern hemisphere will have a
backwards C in their sky.
This is a very potent time for magick, particularly for protection magick,
strong endings, spirit communication, necromancy, ancestor work, spirit
travel, banishings, strong cleansings, warding, and magick focused on
removing things from your life.
You may find it useful to make a note in your
journal or notes for this course regarding the
lunar phases and their effects on you. Good
things to note are how well you slept each
night, general themes of dreams, your
emotional levels for the day (especially
general stress levels), your energy levels,
libido, how the light of the Moon feels on
your skin at night (if applicable), any
synchronicity, messages from guides and
gods, and anything else that feels relevant
and worth noting.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a
considerable amount of data to look back on
and compare. This will help you determine
patterns, to identify if there are particular
lunar phases that work better for certain
types of magick for you, and help you to see
your magick within the greater context of
your life rather than as events that sit
separately.

The Solar Cycles
There are two solar cycles that operate, energetically, much the same as the
lunar cycle. These cycles occur daily and yearly. The cycle of the day is one
that we are all familiar with as it intimately shapes our lives, our habits, and
our actions. The Sun rises each morning, fresh and full of promise, to then
peak high overhead at noon, blazing and glorious. As the afternoon passes
and descends into evening, the Sun’s power becomes concentrated and
highly targeted, much like the waning crescent phase of the lunar cycle.
Those moments of dawn and twilight (the gloaming)—when it is not quite
day nor night—are liminal times. That liminality makes it easier to slip
betwixt and between the worlds and are powerful times for magick,
especially working with spirits (particularly land spirits and the dead) and
spirit travel.
The night can be a difficult time to work with solar energies but it is
possible, just as working with lunar energies is possible during the day.
However, it does have a strong “defeats the point” feel to it. The night is to
solar energies what the deepest Dark Moon is to the Moon, a time when that
energy feels so distant and like smoke passing between your fingers.
The second solar cycle unfolds throughout the year and is revealed to us
through the land’s reaction to each phase. We see this cycle played out in
the seasons and marked by the Summer and Winter Solstices, the Vernal
and Autumnal Equinoxes, and cross-quarter days (the halfway point
between each solstice and equinox).
Frequently, these times are referred to as Sabbats and, in their entirety, as
the Wheel of the Year. However, the Wheel of the Year is entirely modern
—as are many of the Sabbats, including much of the celebrations and even
names we associate with them (such as Mabon, which was created by writer
Aidan Kelly in the ’70s, when he also named the Vernal Equinox Ostara
and the Summer Solstice Litha[1]). Yes, some of the Sabbats have rough
inspiration taken from religious festivals of various Western European
cultures, yet no single culture has ever celebrated or acknowledged all eight
of these festivals—except the modern Pagan religious movement. And, just

like the Sabbats of Mabon, Ostara, and Litha, we can point to exactly who
came up with the Wheel of the Year (the name, what the festivals would
generally be called—Sabbats, which holidays would be included) and the
time period in which these decisions were made.
Nonetheless, these eight days do correspond to energetic changes within the
solar cycle. What those energetic changes are, however, is entirely
dependent upon your local area. The traditional associations stem from
seasons as experienced in England and do match up with some other areas
of the world (they match the northern Midwest of the USA quite well)
however they make no sense in many areas (such as the entirety of the
American Southwest and the southern hemisphere). It is always better that
your magickal actions and associations, if they are to be based upon natural
energies, fit the natural world where you are—regardless of what
“tradition” says. Tradition doesn’t bind you to the land, working with the
land binds you to the land.

Eclipses
Both the Sun and Moon experience eclipses. Solar eclipses always occur at
the Dark Moon and are caused by the Moon passing between the Earth and
the Sun, the Moon covering the Sun in the sky. Lunar eclipses are caused by
the Earth passing between the Moon and the Sun, the Earth’s shadow
passing across a Full Moon. Please note that solar eclipses should never be
viewed directly but it is safe to watch a lunar eclipse directly.
Eclipses may be partial, where the Sun or Moon is only partially covered, or
total, where they are blocked entirely. Generally, an eclipse takes a few
hours to complete.
Eclipses are an interesting time, magickally, as they are first and foremost
unpredictable. They were once harbingers of doom due to increased
instances of disaster. Even now, modern astrology warns us that eclipses
can affect us through unfortunate situations arising externally and entirely
outside of our control. Lunar eclipses also tend to bring endings with them,
hitting us hard as the Moon holds greater sway over our emotions. Solar

eclipses, on the other hand, tend to bring new beginnings and opportunities
(but not always with the positive connotations that are frequently assigned
to “beginnings” and “opportunities”). It is common for solar and lunar
eclipses to travel together, in a pair, however, sometimes they will come in
threes.
Both solar and lunar eclipses provide an interesting opportunity to access
the full force of an entire solar or lunar cycle in that one moment. This can
give a powerful boost to spells while being tempered with the knowledge
that the spell may manifest in an entirely unpredictable and unexpected
way.
In recent years, the term blood moon has become more prevalent and
discussed with a lot of hype and enthusiasm. However, this term only refers
to a lunar eclipse, as the shadow of the Earth gives the Moon a reddish tint.
Once again, hype and sensationalism have blown a naturally occurring
event out of proportion. There is no additional significance of or energetic
power to be found with a blood moon.

Timing Spells to your Advantage
Adhering to strict timing for spells and magick sometimes gets a bad wrap
as it can be inconvenient to adjust one’s schedule to ensure that a spell gets
completed during the ideal time frame. But putting in that extra effort to
take advantage of the best time for your spell is just one more way to clear
obstructions out of your way and to better align yourself with natural cycles
and energies. It also affirms your Will that this goal is important, this
change is being made because you say it is. This part of walking your talk.
There’s nothing about magick or witchcraft that is convenient. It takes
sustained and committed effort to develop and hone the skills necessary to
be any good at this. That means making changes to your schedule and
lifestyle to practice energy exercises, to train your mind so you are in
control of your thoughts (rather than them being in control of you), to
support you when you push yourself out of your comfort zone and finally

cast that first spell or swallow your fear and acknowledge the spirit you’ve
seen peeking around corners in your kitchen.
If we acknowledge that certain natural energies are more effective for
certain activities and magickal goals and that those energies occur during
certain time frames, then it only makes sense to actually adhere to those
time frames to take advantage of that energy. Otherwise, we’re only paying
lip service to ideas we don’t truly hold to importance (if they were
important, our actions would reflect that).
A great example of this is in the timing of the Full Moon. We noted above
that the peak of the Full Moon often occurs during the day and that
calendars note that peak time. For example, the Full Moon in May 2019,
occurred on the 18th, at 5:12pm on the east coast of the US. That means
that on the night of the 18th, the Moon was no longer full and was actually
waning—its energies focused on decreasing and lessening. If you had
planned to use that Full Moon for something like boosting success for an
upcoming job interview but worked your spell the night of the 18th, you
would not have had that boost from the Full Moon. But, if you had double
checked the exact time of the Full Moon beforehand, noticed that it would
occur during late afternoon, and then worked your spell the night before, on
the 17th, your spell would have been performed while the Moon was
waxing—its energies focused on growing and increasing.
If the goal of your spell is important to you, it is highly advised to do
everything you can to better ensure its chances of success. Using the
energies of natural cycles by taking time to confirm the occurrence of the
desired energies and then working your spell during ideal time frames can
often provide a boost that brings results in a way that is difficult not to call a
miracle. It can make spells manifest faster (such as that same day or even
within minutes) and make them manifest so strongly as to stop you in your
tracks and utter a prayer of thanks to whatever Powers can hear you.
Yes, sticking with exact timing can be annoying. Maybe you’ll have to get
up 20 minutes early to cast a spell before work or maybe you’ll have to stay
up an extra hour to ensure you catch the Moon when it’s full but not yet
gone void of course. But the results are worth it. Allow yourself the benefit

to be inconvenienced, to show the Universe that when you flex your Will to
create change you really mean it.
If the goal for your spell truly matters to you, you’ll find a way to make it
happen.

Work Specific Spells for Specific Results
One of the primary reasons why spells fail is because they weren’t focused
in the first place. A strong, clear focus is the way you aim your spell. It
determines what the target is so that you aren’t just raising energy and
sending it out aimlessly into the universe.
Consider how many times you have seen someone discuss a spell they
worked with a focus that was nothing short of scattered. To use an
unfortunate real example, consider a candle spell focused on helping a
loved one heal after surgery—while also focusing on bringing them love,
protecting them while they heal, and bring them purification (whatever that
means). That’s one spell worked with four different foci.
With multiple foci, the energy doesn’t know where to go. It has no
direction, no target. And so it goes nowhere or arrives at the hoped for
target so dilute that nothing happens. Having an unclear focus only wastes
your time because it sets you and your spell up for failure.
So how do you ensure your spell’s focus is clear? First: what is it that you
want to achieve? What is it that you need to achieve? Are these the same
thing? Second: look for the wiggle room in the situation. What is possible
to achieve in this situation? Magick cannot achieve the impossible, no
matter how many candles you use and how many beautiful rhyming words
you say. You can only boost the chances of success of something that was
already in the realm of possibility—even if that possibility is remote.
Should you still have multiple things that you would like or need to
achieve, consider doing multiple spells. If you want a specific result, you

must work a specific spell. The energy must have a clear target or it goes
nowhere.
If a strong, clear focus is how you determine the target for your spell,
ensuring you have the right approach is how you aim. How you work
magick toward that specific goal matters. If the actions don’t make sense, in
that they don’t fit what you’re trying to achieve, you end up working
against yourself.
A perfect example of this would be working a spell to cut ties with someone
and then carrying the spell remnants on your person. This doesn’t make any
sense because the spell’s focus is to remove that person from your life, but
then you keep them and the bond close to you, maintaining an energetic
connection and countering the work of your spell. Another example would
be to cast a spell to attract emotional love, yet all the materials used for the
spell have strong traditional association with romantic/physical love.
In each of these examples, the means were not justified by the goal. What
actions were taken did not make sense per the goal. And so, the spell can
only fail.
We’ll be exploring a variety of spell casting techniques throughout this
course so you have an arsenal of methods at your disposal to ensure your
approach always fits the focus of your spell.

Exercises
This week’s exercises take everything that you’ve learned so far and turn it
into firsthand experience. Reading about witchcraft is fun but nothing will
teach you as strongly as the results garnered from direct experience. For this
lesson, you will be casting one spell and revisiting your work from last
week, as well as planning for the future spells in this course by making use
of auspicious timing for the benefit of future spells. The spell should take
you 20-30 minutes to complete, with the other activities taking as much as
an hour total.

Exercise 1: Tightening Focus
Throughout this course, you have been keeping a list of potential spell foci:
areas in your life that could benefit from change and/or that aren’t what you
would like them to be. Look at your list again and, given what you now
know about having a clear focus, it’s time to begin developing a plan of
attack. For the remainder of this course, you will be working towards one of
the larger goals on your list.
In considering which larger goal to focus on right now, you will likely
realize that there are actually a number of smaller goals that must be
achieved first. For example, you might have improving your financial
situation as a larger goal. For smaller goals, you might have getting a higher
paying job, eliminating bad spending habits, and feeling more comfortable
in professional settings so you can be the genius that you are. Yes, these are
very practical matters that will take everyday efforts—but that’s part of
what makes them perfect for magick.
Identify what things need to be worked or could be worked to facilitate
achieving your goal. Feel free to prioritize these smaller goals based upon
what is indisputable and what is not essential but would help support that
larger goal.

Exercise 2: Silvering Water

As much as the importance of exact timing was stressed earlier, there is a
way to capture the power of the Full Moon to use for future spells. This is
especially recommended when, astrologically, a Full Moon will carry a lot
of extra heft to it. This is through silvering water.
Silvering water is a simple process, with two means of achievement. Silver
has strong associations with the Moon so water that has been silvered is
water that has been imbued with the energy of the Full Moon.
Silvered water is not to be confused with
moon water. Where as moon water is passive
and requires little to no effort to make,
silvered water requires your active
participation. And that difference, between
passive maybe-the-moon’s-light-touched-itbut-who-can-be-sure moon water and youcaught-the-moon silvered water is palpable.
The traditional way to silver water is to go out to a natural water source,
such as a river or lake, with a bowl. Hold the bowl with your hands or perch
it in the crook of a stang and “catch” the Moon’s reflection on the water into
that bowl. Alternately, fill a bowl with water, go outside, and hold the bowl
so that the Moon’s reflection catches in the bowl. It is not enough for the
light to touch it, you must catch the reflection. See it and feel that lunar
energy flowing and oozing its way into the water, rendering it something
alive and potent.
Transfer your silvered water to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and be sure to
label it (Silvered Water, Full Moon, MM/DD/YY). Don’t ever let direct
sunlight touch the water or its power will be lost.
This water can be applied to candles prior to spells, onto charm bags,
charmed objects, spirit houses, and yourself to tap into that specific energy
of that specific Full Moon, adding a strong boost to magick. A few drops
are all you need.

Exercise 3: Recharging your Charm
In last week’s lesson, you charged an object to aid you throughout this
course. As you have had further time to practice the energy exercises from
that lesson and have a greater understanding of how energy moves, you will
now recharge your object to the same goal.
Typically, charms don’t need to be recharged after just one week. However,
this will give you a chance to practice this action, feel the difference in
energy amounts from when you first charged it, and to further boost the
charm’s power thanks to the waxing gibbous and impending Full Moon.
There is no cleansing necessary. Just follow the same simple and quick
procedure. This should take no more than two to five minutes.

Exercise 4: Putting it Into Practice
It’s time to put your list to work. You’re going to do a simple candle spell
for one of the larger goals on your list, making a firm declaration to the
Universe that this goal is important and that you are going to work to make
it happen.
For this spell, you will need to time it to take advantage of the Full Moon so
be sure to double check the time of the peak of the Full Moon, adjusting for
your timezone. Should the peak occur during the day for you, remember
that it is better to work your spell the night before as the waxing energy will
be more beneficial to your spell than waning lunar energy.
As the Full Moon is focused on strong manifestation and you will be
working toward a goal that realistically requires time and considerable
effort, this spell is to get the energy moving in the right direction so that you
can work further spells to this goal that are boosted by the spell you work
now and further carry that energy forward.
This is a simple candle spell. Note that you need a brand new candle that
has never been lit. It is never advised to use a candle for multiple spells.

This is because, as part of the spell, that candle is charged with energy and
spiritually changed. It is made into something different, into a tool specially
designed for that one specific spell. Snuffing the candle or putting a pin in it
is not advised because you cannot reuse the candle (it isn’t designed for any
other spell) and that means it is wasted. For this reason, small taper candles
are perfect for candle spells, especially chime candles or Shabbat candles.
These candles burn relatively fast, burn cleanly, and are able to be inscribed
with relevant symbols for your goal.
Always practice fire safety. This isn’t an obligatory disclaimer, this is a
witch who’s accidentally burned too many things telling you to be careful
because fire spirits are especially mischievous when magick is involved.
Make sure your candle sits snugly in its holder (trim the bottom if necessary
and melt the end before placing in the holder so it sticks). Ensure that there
is nothing hanging near where the candle will be placed. Ensure that there is
nothing above the candle, such as shelves. Ensure that the area around the
candle is clear in case it should somehow fall over. Burning spell candles
inside cauldrons (not those tiny pots, but a cauldron that can hold at least 4
quarts) or inside a sink or bathtub is recommended. If you must leave your
candle before it has burned out, place it in your bathtub. Keep cats,
children, and curious housemates out of the room while your candle
burns.
Before getting started, hold the candle in your hands and focus on the goal
of your spell. As you did with the charm you created, push energy into the
candle while holding your thoughts on the spell’s focus. Allow the energy
to flow until it stops.
Now, light the candle. Watch the flame as it burns and continue to focus on
your spell’s goal while you also focus on still sending energy into the
candle. Hold this focus as long as you can (try to commit 10 minutes to
this). When you can no longer hold focus, break your gaze and do not look
at the candle anymore except to ensure that it hasn’t toppled.
Once the candle has extinguished itself, the spell is done.

Final Note
Paying attention to the details—both in our actions and in the subtlety
around us—has been an underlying theme in this course. One of the single
most important skills you can ever develop as a witch is your ability to pay
attention and to be aware of the world within and without you. That
awareness and openness to the world is the foundation of being able to
recognize energy, to feel the energy currents about you, and is key in
strengthening your intuition. Be willing to stop, listen, and take note, no
matter how trivial that thing may seem. This is how synchronicity reaches
you and how the signs of a successful spell in action begin to appear.

Next Week’s Lesson: Throw out
your Correspondence Lists
In discussing spells, so much of the
conversation focuses on having the “right”
materials and memorizing correspondence
lists compiled by anonymous authors. But, in
this lesson, we’re going to throw out those
tired correspondence lists and learn how to
determine the magickal use of any object.
This will help you to become more
innovative with your spells, to be less reliant
on the “right” tools and materials, and to
have fewer excuses as to why you can’t work
the magick you need to when you need to.

Lesson 3: Throw Out Your
Correspondence Lists
Waning Gibbous Moon Phase

At its core, witchcraft is a simple craft. We utilize simple materials, often
taken from the land, to create changes in our everyday lives. In the previous
lesson, we noted how witchcraft uses straightforward associations with
those simple objects. This means the magickal correspondence of any
object is not so obscure that it cannot be known unless told to you by
another. Rather, the magickal use of an object is based upon observable
qualities and commonplace lore.
Within witchcraft, we are able to use virtually any object as a means of
creating powerful change within our lives. While the shiny tools with their
hefty price tags may carry the illusion of Authenticity™, previous
generations of folk magic practitioners (upon whose practices so much of
contemporary witchcraft is based) didn’t have the convenience of online
retailers or a local metaphysical shop to spend money they didn’t have on
supplies they didn’t need for their magick. Rather, they used items they
already had, items from around their homes or that the land right outside
their doors provided. They worked with local items that were easily
obtained, placing emphasis on doing the magick and not on “doing things
the right way.” If there was a need for magick to be done, then magick was
done. No excuses.
Although we live in different times, we are able to recapture that
perspective of practicality and pragmatism. In looking to our own ingenuity
and to the Land—from where witchcraft springs forth—we can become not
just more competent witches but more powerful. We build competency in
our skills and the ability to work magick regardless of the circumstances.
This is the true sign of a powerful witch. It’s not adhering to the absurd
witchcraft aesthetic so painfully prevalent right now but being able to do
the magick when the magick needs to be done, without excuses.

Contents
On the Use of Objects
Use What You’ve Got: Determining Correspondence
Looking at the Practical Uses
Listening to Your Intuition
Letting the Spirit of the Object Teach You
Spell Remnants
Exercise 1: Enforcing Boundaries
Exercise 2: Getting Your Hands Dirty
Exercise 3: Cleaning up After Yourself
Ongoing Exercises
Final Note

On the Use of Objects
As we noted in Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, & Witchcraft, there is a common
misconception regarding spellcraft that the power lays dormant within
words and objects and that a spell can be cast on accident with impressive
ease and devastating effects. As you’ve experienced firsthand in working
with energy, practicing feeling and moving it, this is so far from reality that
the idea is laughable at best. Yet this same fear-based attitude still finds its
way into the magickal community with many a witch abstaining from
spellcraft because of fear of accidentally achieving something fantastically
awful and permanent.
However, as has been stressed throughout these lessons, a spell is a
concentrated and deliberate act of magick utilizing spiritual forces to create
change. If you don’t do the work to cultivate the skill required to wield
those spiritual forces, the magick will not happen. It doesn’t matter how
many candles you light, how powerful that root is, how super that blood
moon is, no skill no spell.
Objects do hold power but it is not unknowable nor uncontrollable. And
those objects do not, by their natural existence and presence, cause extreme
changes. Even a double terminated crystal with strong reputed aid in six
different areas will exude such a minuscule influence in all six areas in
comparison to the undeniable heft it can throw behind one area after being
charged to that end. Consider the object you charged in Lesson 1 and now
carry on you. Its power and influence on you comes through your skill in
shifting its innate energies to that one goal, in filling it with additional
energy to that one goal. Yes, its innate energy held power and influence but
not so strong as when that energy is focused upon a single task. Just as your
spell must have one strong focus so, too, must natural objects.
Although the use of objects is not essential to spellcraft nor witchcraft, their
use affords numerous benefit. We seek and use specific objects due to their
accessibility and because of their intrinsic ability to aid us in shaping and
directing energy.

Objects are used in spellcraft for a number of reasons:
they provide a focal point for gathering and directing energy
they make it easier for us to turn off our chattering minds and
slip into the altered state of consciousness that is necessary to
work magick
they emphasize our connection to the physical world, that we
are not spiritual beings having a physical experience but that
we are spirit and flesh, and that it requires both in harmony to
live effectively and successfully work magick; the use of
objects forces us to act upon that connection and to embrace
our physicality in a way that is founded upon harmony with
our spirits—which reinforces the holistic reality of our being
and helps us to tangle ourselves deeper into the world and into
life
it’s fun. Assembling materials, arranging everything just so,
and then moving them about as part of the working is really a
lot of fun. And frequently things are burned or destroyed in
some way; it’s really emotionally satisfying. And that makes
the magick even more effective.
While anything can be used for magick, why it is used and to what end is
crucial. The use must make sense just as much as how it is used must make
sense. The magickal correspondence of that object must fit the magick
you’re working. This is very much part of making sure that you have the
right approach for your spell: using materials that make sense and using
them in a way that makes sense per your magickal goal.
While you won’t find common items like a book of matches, a die, or a
paperclip in the correspondence list of that popular witch book, these can
very much be some of the materials you use in a spell. Remember, what you
use for your magick doesn’t need to be exotic, USDA certified organic, or
on anybody’s list of approved magickal objects in order for you to create
powerful and lasting changes within your life.
“Remember, it’s called witchcraft not

witchthink: the magick you work will always
be more effective than the magick you don’t
work.”[2]

Use What You’ve Got: Determining
Correspondence
One of the beautiful things about being a witch is the way that the most
commonplace items can become powerful tools that help us transform our
lives to better fit our needs and desires. But, it is in learning to see the
innate possibility of any object for ourselves—whether that object be manmade or natural—that enables us to tap into that full potential.
The correspondence lists so frequently
regurgitated and published online and in
books are problematic for a number of
reasons. This is primarily because we have
no idea where this information is coming
from. We don’t know who put together the
original list, what these correspondences are
based off, or if that person had ever seen that
plant, stone, object, whatever in person let
alone even used it for the use they’re
advising.
Yes, some of the information could be from
folklore. Some could be someone’s own
gnosis. But just as much could be a
misremembering passed along or even flat
out bullshit that someone made up or
assumed based upon who knows what
reason.
Past generations of folk magic practitioners
weren’t passing about lists that they clung to

as fiercely as their Bibles. Rather, they were
outside, in their kitchens, in their barnyards,
touching these objects, plants, and stones and
learning about them intimately through
everyday use. That intimacy and the
knowledge gained as a result should form a
greater base for how and why we use an
object for a certain magickal task over
anything we find on a correspondence list.
So how do we move into that place of being able to use literally any object
for magick and away from that place of consulting published lists of
magickal correspondences? Like so much of witchcraft, this comes down to
our willingness to pay attention: to be aware, to take in as much detail as we
can without judgment or expectation, and to leave ourselves open to more
and/or different information coming to us at any time.
From there, there are three methods that can be used to determine an
object’s correspondence. While any of these methods can be used
individually, applying all three will afford you a more complete profile of
that object—which helps you to realize a greater range of uses for it. And
this is information that you can rely on later when the need for magick
strikes.
These methods are:
the practical use(s) of that object
your intuition
consulting the spirit of that object
Magickal Correspondence: the relationship
that exists among an object (such as a plant,
stone, planet, color, etc.), its energy, and a
particular magickal goal. For example, the
color red is traditionally associated with fire,

physical vitality, anger, passion, strength, and
protection.

Looking at the Practical Uses
Consider what the common uses of that object are. These are the ways in
which that object or item is used most frequently, as well as other purposes
it could serve in a practical manner. For example, in looking at a cup, we
know that it can be used to hold things, to pour, to transfer. If we flip the
cup upside down, such as when catching a spider to take outside, we see
that a cup can be used to cover, to conceal, to protect, to deflect. From
these, we can infer magickal use that is sustaining and protecting. In
following the five elements model, we can easily see there are associations
with water (it can and does hold liquids), air (it can and does transfer/move
things, such as water to our mouths), and earth (it holds, protects, and
maintains). We can also draw potential use in invocation and working with
the element of spirit (the Gods/divinity) in that, as a cup can be filled so,
too, can we. And it can be used in evocation, being filled with a particular
type of energy, especially archetypal.
With herbs and plant matter, the process begins the same way, by first
looking at the common and practical uses. One common use of a plant is
cooking. How does it taste? Does it have any unusual effect on food, such
as thickening liquids or imparting a strong color? Next, consider what
medicinal uses the plant has. Does it burn out infection or soothe rashes and
irritation? Does it relax muscles, diminishing pain, or excite the nerves,
increasing attention and focus? From there, consider the type of
environment that plant naturally grows in. This may not be a way that the
plant is used, but the environment in which it grows and the conditions it
needs to thrive speak intimately to the nature and qualities of that plant.
Does it like hot and arid climates or does it prefer cold and humid areas?
Does it prefer a moist, loamy soil or course, nutrient deficient soil? How
does it blossom? How does it reproduce? Is it edible? What animals
naturally rely on it for food? Which animals avoid it?

All of these qualities give you a profile of that plant and help you to more
fully understand it. Together, this information shows you how it can be used
magickally (at least, from a logical standpoint; more on that in each of the
next two methods).
Additional things to consider, specifically with plants, are its history. Is it
native to your area or was it naturalized? Look at any folklore that exists for
that plant. Are there stories connecting it with specific uses, such as
providing miraculous healing, being used to speak with the dead, or
protecting against vermin, lightning, or thieves?
For example, in looking at the familiar black pepper, we know that it is
spicy—but it has a sharp heat, not an enduring heat. We know that black
pepper was once available only to the wealthy, especially royalty, and that
wars have been fought for it. We know, too, that it is responsible for much
of the spice trade, encouraging travel and seeking in far off places. We
know that it can help with treating colds, especially sinus colds. All of these
traits show us an obvious association with the fire element and the planet
Mars. We can also easily infer that it would be useful for magick needing
fast results or magick that hits hard and then abates. So, it can be used for
immediate boosts in protection, such as in driving off a threat. Its
association with wealth and fire can add urgency to prosperity magick. In
healing magick, it can be used to hit hard, drive out, and provide extra
vitality.
In both examples, a cup and black pepper, we have identified a handful of
magickal uses just by looking at what we already know about these items
and the ways in which we commonly use them in our lives.

Listening to Your Intuition
While looking at the practical uses of an object provided us with a logicbased understanding of how an object can be used in witchcraft, using our
intuition provides an emotion- and psychic-based understanding. This is a
step forward in magickal application—which does not, however, diminish
the value in considering how the practical use of a thing translates to

metaphysical use (i.e., none of these methods are superior nor inferior to
another. They’re just different ways to gather information and it is only by
using all of the methods do we get any sort of complete understanding of
how an object can be used in magick).
In effectively applying intuition to a task, it is essential that one has first
done the work to develop and hone their intuition. While each of us
possesses intuition (that we do is part of the evidence that shows us humans
are naturally made to be bridges amongst the worlds), the ways of modern
society directly contribute to diminishing and stifling the development and
use of intuition. This necessitates a rediscovery of our own innate ability to
be aware of how much larger the world is than we are told. A witch sees
and hears what others can’t—or won’t; a witch knows what others deem
impossible or fantasy. The practice of witchcraft is a process of unfolding
our inner being in an expression that is harmonious to the natural world.
With that unfolding comes access to greater amounts of power and ability,
greater ways of being and perceiving. But all of this begins with learning to
pay attention.

Strengthening your intuition is a process that
takes time and repetition. It is not something
that you can accomplish in a few months, let
alone even a year. But it is one of the single
most effective means of increasing your
psychic abilities—which directly translates to
you being more effective with your magick.
Intuition is one of those ways in which we pay attention. It is the way in
which we perceive the imperceptible. Many like to say that intuition is
messages from our “Higher Self” but this is a limiting way of thinking. This
is because it implies that the way you are right now, physical and active
within the world, is inferior to a spiritual—yet distant—part of yourself.
And, again, that’s bullshit. If there wasn’t value and importance in
physicality, then it wouldn’t exist. We would not be both body and spirit;
the use of both for us to effectively work magick would not be required.

The practice of witchcraft strengthens our bonds to the physical world. You
cannot be a witch and neglect the land beneath your feet.
A more useful definition of intuition is that it is the way you receive
information without physical means or methods. It is information you know
without engaging the five physical senses. It is the sense that encompasses
all of the psychic senses and is the way you spiritually interact with the
world in a passive way.
Using this spiritual awareness to determine the magickal uses of an object is
simple, so long as you have already strengthened your intuition to some
degree. To begin, you must have that physical object before you. Calm
yourself. Performing any grounding and/or centering exercises is useful if
you are still learning or if engaging your intuition isn’t second nature for
you yet. Hold or touch the object in some way. Open your awareness and
extend your senses into the very being of that object. Listen and feel
without any expectation of what you are supposed to hear or feel. Be sure to
record all thoughts and impressions. Even something that you intuit that
doesn’t quite make sense now may make sense later.

Letting the Spirit of the Object Teach You
Where looking at the practical uses of an object provided logic-based
information and using intuition provided emotion- and psychic-based
information, consulting the innate spirit of that object (or plant, per our
example) provides spiritual-based information.
As noted in Lesson 1, both animism and spirit partnership are woven so
tightly within the fabric of witchcraft that extricating them would only
render witchcraft something else. This makes consulting the spirit of an
object highly advised because it just makes sense. If we recognize that
everything contains a spirit and that the energy inherent in any object can be
used for magick, why wouldn’t we ask the spirit within that object to what
it is best suited and with what is it most willing to help us?

Animism is the term for understanding that every object—animate and
inanimate—contains a sentient spirit with whom we are able to form a
relationship. It is the fundamental worldview of witchcraft, defining the
way that witches see and interact with the world. But it is this idea of
partnership that defines our work with spirits—no matter if it is the spirit of
a cup, a handful of black pepper, a giant oak tree, a familiar, a land spirit, or
a deity. We don’t command spirits, we communicate with them and make
contracts with them, we work together to accomplish a goal.
It is through communicating with the spirit of an object that you can
uncover new and sometimes surprising uses for that object. It is not
uncommon to encounter a plant and have it whisper to you new ways to use
it, ways that you did not know but that you are able to corroborate through
medicinal herbalism and folklore.
If you are new or inexperienced in spirit communication, it is tempting to
dismiss the whispers of such a small spirit as being your intuition, or vice
versa. But there are notable differences in the ways these messages will
come to you. These differences, however, can vary from spirit to spirit and
are not bound by logical assumptions. For example, it would not be unusual
to have a plant speak to you in sharp, clear sentences while a stone speaks
just in colors and emotions and a piece of broken glass in bursts of music
that conjure memories that make clear its message.
Although working with spirits is traditionally
and historically a fundamental part of
witchcraft, hearing the whispers of spirits is a
combination of skill on the part of the witch
and willingness on the part of that spirit. It
takes time and effort in order to reliably
develop this skill but it will add richness and
depth to your practice incomparable to any
other skill you will cultivate.
When communicating with spirits—regardless if they are the small spirits
of objects or the purely spiritual beings such as the dead or nonhuman/non-

animal etheric beings, or deities—discernment is essential. Care must be
taken to consider if the messages you hear are in fact from a spirit and not
your intuition, mental chatter, or just some nonsense your mind threw at
you because you want so badly to hear something, anything from that spirit.
These are not concerns to dismiss. Developing and practicing discernment
is also what allows you to tell the difference among the voices of spirits.
This may seem a bit more than is necessary for a discussion on speaking
with the spirit in, say, your favorite teacup, but spirit communication is a
serious topic and even a light dive into it cannot be without a few quick
caveats, not without being irresponsible.
To communicate with the spirit within an object is much the same as using
your intuition, as noted above. That clarity and empty/openness of mind is
even more important, as you must be without attachment to the idea that a
response is guaranteed or that you are owed one. Grounding and centering
beforehand can be useful, as can taking extra ritual steps, such as purifying
yourself and the space in which you will be working—do not cleanse the
object. Rather than extending your senses about the object, hold yourself in
gentle openness. You want to let the object speak to you, to let its words
come to you (hence why you hold yourself back, not forcing yourself onto
it but remaining open, passive). You may find it helpful in remaining
passive to not look directly at the object, lest you inadvertently wrap your
senses about it in anticipation of a response. An intense seeking of answers
from a small spirit can be met with a complete refusal to talk unless a
relationship has already been established or the spirit is a living spirit, such
as within a live plant, and has chosen to speak with you and tolerate the
pushiness.
Be sure to record any and all impressions, including words, unbidden
thoughts, smells, sounds, tastes, flashes of memory, and sudden emotions.

Spell Remnants
How you put any object to use depends upon what you’re trying to achieve.
But, regardless of what you do and what you’re working for, after your spell

is cast you will have leftover material to deal with. There are remains from
the spell, bits of wax and candle stubs, ash and a sprinkling of herbs, a floor
littered with salt, ash, dirt, and who even knows what that stuff once was.
All of these things need to be cleaned up but, just as the approach for your
spell must make sense per the goal, how you dispose of spell remnants
must make sense per the spell you cast.
This is because the materials you used in your spell have been changed on a
spiritual level. The energy within them behaves differently now; they are
not the same as they were before the spell and certainly not the same as they
were before you charged them. This is why, as we discussed in Lesson 2,
you don’t reuse a candle from one spell for a new and different spell.
Through the charging and casting of the spell, that candle has been rendered
something different and designed only for that one spell.
With few exceptions, the materials you use are exclusive to that spell.
One of the primary exceptions are tools. Unlike spell materials, tools are
objects of consecrated use. They are spiritually altered to become an
extension of oneself, amplifying skill and providing an extra layer of
precision, power, and accuracy. They help us to further wield and shape the
energy of the objects we’re using while not giving themselves over to the
spell.
Other objects that are able to be reused are things such as rocks, minerals,
and metal objects, as well as fabric from charm bags. These objects can be
cleansed, allowed to rest for a period of time, and then put to a new use
(such as for a new spell, inclusion in a charm bag, or just hanging out in
your pocket).
With those materials that cannot be reused (e.g., candle stubs, ash, dripped
wax, herbs, thread, etc.), how they are handled and disposed of afterwards
matters. This is because those spell remnants are powerful. They contain
the active energies of that spell. And that means those energies can affect
you should you touch them with your bare skin or allow them to remain in
your home or on your property (those remains can also be used to work
against your spell, but that is an unlikely risk).

For example, if you did a spell to end a relationship but then kept the
remains of the spell laying about (or, worse, decided to carry them on your
person) energetically, you are keeping a part of that relationship “alive” and
close to you: you’re working against the spell. Rather, those remains should
be quickly disposed of, making sure that you don’t touch them with your
bare skin in any way.
Generally, the remains of any spell meant to remove, end, banish, or curse
should never be touched with bare skin and should be disposed of quickly,
getting the remains as far from you as you can. Throwing them in the trash
is good, especially if you take the trash out of your house right away.
Composting is not recommended unless the compost pile/bin is off your
property. Also good, if the spell remains are biodegradable, is to toss them
into moving water so that they are carried away from you.
It is also recommended, when disposing of such remains, to not look at
them. This is another reason why working spells inside a cauldron or
heatproof container is nice as you can cover the container (don’t overthink
it, put a piece of paper on top), take it to the trash, dump the container, and
walk away. Depending upon what the remains consist of, flushing them
down the toilet can be a very appropriate ending to a spell.
With spells that are meant to attract, grow, increase, or heal it can be
beneficial to keep the remains around for a bit. These are often appropriate
to carry about on you in a charm bag if the spell was worked for you. This
allows the energies to continue to have an effect.
However, sometimes you really just want to cast the spell and be done,
getting rid of every last trace immediately. This helps you to not think about
your spell after casting it as each time you see the remains, you would be
reminded of the spell and, thus, you would think of the spell. And that
would influence the energy you’ve set in motion.

Exercises
In this week’s exercises, you will demonstrating your ability to be a selfreliant witch, take active steps toward your large goal, and make progress
toward understanding yourself as a truly powerful witch. Please note that
one of these exercises does take a bit more time to complete, so you may
wish to read through the exercises right away and then plan your time
accordingly. Although you may be tempted to modify that exercise,
understand that it is purposely meant to encourage you to try something
new and that may be outside your comfort zone. Remember that you have
all week to complete these exercises.

Exercise 1: Enforcing Boundaries
Now that you know how to discover the magickal use of any object, it’s
time to put that knowledge to good use. Protection magick is a fundamental
part of witchcraft and affords many benefits, especially when frequently
casting spells and working magick as it blocks psychic/energetic
interference. For this exercise, you’re going to be making a ward. This is a
simple protective charm that acts as an anchor point for energy. Wards are
used solely for protection, often being placed at any entry point in your
home (such as doorways, windows, and even inside doorways, stairwells,
and mirrors) or carried on your person.
Just as any object can be used for magick, nearly anything can be used to
make a ward. Your task is to find objects within your home that you can
either individually turn into a ward or that you can combine to craft a ward.
Some suggestions to get you started: walk through your home, holding in
your mind that you need to make a protective charm. Walk slowly, holding
yourself open and aware. Just feel. Listen for anything in your home to
jump out and demand to be used. Be sure you walk through your kitchen,
peruse any junk drawers, and peak into any storage closets. Listen for your
intuition, too. Most importantly, do not overthink it. The importance here
is that you do the witchcraft, not that you make a beautiful piece of art.
Besides, protection charms shouldn’t be pretty. They should bite, scratch,

scare, and roar. They should be sharp, rusty, reflective, fearsome, smelly,
and diligent.
Listen for the objects to call to you. Listen for your intuition to guide you.
Make what you feel needs to be made, even if it’s the ugliest damn thing
you’ve ever seen.
Once you have your ward crafted, charge it the same way you charmed your
object for clarity of thought. Place it near one of the primary entryways to
your home or above your bedroom door.

Exercise 2: Getting Your Hands Dirty
Review your list of spell foci. Last week, you began working toward your
large goal by setting the energy moving in the right direction. Now it’s time
to take advantage of the waning gibbous Moon and remove obstacles.
Particularly well-suited obstacles are those that require gentle removal, such
as bad habits, self-destructive tendencies, or maladaptive behaviors that
you’re aware you possess that could interfere with achieving your big goal.
This is a two-part spell that will take a bit of preparation but provide steady
results over a period of time. It is a bit more elaborate but this is to help get
you thinking more creatively about what your spellcraft can look like. For
this spell, you will be making a poppet, transferring the energy of that
habit/trait into the poppet, and then burying the poppet outside. As the
poppet rots and dissipates so, too, do those traits in you.
Poppets are commonly made out of fabric, but it was once common to make
them out of whatever one had on hand. That meant making them from rags,
carving a turnip or potato, or using a stick dressed in bits of clothing. To put
a creative spin on it, you will be making your poppet out of dough and
baking it.
As with any poppet, you will need a few items to stuff your poppet with.
Because you will be baking this in your oven, do not include anything that
is not food safe (so no animal droppings even though it could be appropriate
to your goal. Ew. Not in your oven, please). Also, do not include blood or

bodily fluids because, though you are ridding yourself of bad traits/habits,
the poppet does not represent you. You are transferring the habit/trait from
you to it, the poppet is a vessel. So no personal ties. You also do not want to
include any stones (rocks or minerals) due to the possibility of them
exploding/cracking while baking (this could ruin your poppet and your
oven).
Appropriate objects to represent what is being gotten rid of could include
things such as sharp broken eggshells for personality traits that cut others as
much as they cut oneself (and, thus, would be good to get rid of), or a
mixture of garlic and chiles for anger that blinds and binds one in place.
You could even write/draw words/symbols on small slips of paper and place
them within the dough, taking care that they are not exposed as they could
catch fire in the oven.

Materials Needed
1 cup flour
1 pinch salt
2 pinches baking powder
water
objects to represent the habit/trait you’re removing
Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add enough water, a
teaspoon at a time, until you have a good, firm dough. Using your hands,
form the dough into a flat circle. Gather the objects that represent what
you’re removing. Do all necessary charging individually. If you are
writing/drawing on paper, fold the paper so that when you fold it, the paper
closes away from you.
Place the objects in the center of the dough and then fold up the edges of
the dough to cover them. Mold and shape the dough to create a rough
human shape.
Bake in a moderately hot oven (400 °F) until the dough is just beginning to
brown about the edges. Allow to cool before touching.

Once the poppet is cool enough to touch, take it outside and off of your
property (if you live on several acres of land, you likely have a point on
your land where it stops feeling like “your” land and feels entirely wild and
as if you are a guest. Take it there). Dig a hole, using your hands or a hand
shovel. It should be several inches deep to avoid animals digging up the
poppet.
Now charge your poppet. If you feel moved to you may speak, proclaiming
what the poppet holds, how it shall take this habit/trait from you and shall
rot and decay, returning to the Earth.
Then place the poppet face down into the hole, head pointing away from
you; use your hands to fill in the hole. Walk away without looking back.
Wash your hands immediately. It is done.

Exercise 3: Cleaning up After Yourself
It’s time to do an assessment of your magickal supplies and take care of any
loose ends. You know what I’m talking about. It’s time to get rid of any
spell remains you haven’t disposed of yet, such as last week’s candle spell
or any leftover bits from your poppet.
Don’t think about the remnants or what spell they were for, just get rid of
them. If nothing else, throw it all into the trash and take the trash outside.
When you’re done, wash your hands and do something decidedly
nonmagickal to further keep your mind from thinking of those past spells.

Ongoing Exercises:
Revise your list of spell foci as needed.
Add to your notes regarding the different feel of the lunar
phases and how they affect you.
Practice energy exercises (because frequent practice the only
way you cultivate skill. Fear the skilled witch, not the witch

with “natural ability” who doesn’t practice).

Final Note
In this one lesson, you have made incredible progress in being a truly
functional witch. No longer are you reliant on correspondence lists and
expensive spell supplies. You’re an innovative witch who can look at the
world about them, wander through their home, and see all the magick that
can be done with things that are already available to you. And that is so
incredibly amazing. You’ve further eliminated any excuses or doubt you
could have regarding working a spell when you need it most. You’ve further
taken responsibility for your magick and yourself as a witch, stepping into
greater capability and power. You’re a functional witch, and that’s the most
badass kind of witch anyone can be.

Next Week’s Lesson:
Harnessing Power through
Ritual
Although spellcraft falls under the category
of ritual in the greater context of witchcraft,
there are additional ritual steps we can take
and rites we can perform to further boost the
power of our spells. In this lesson, we’ll
explore the wider application of ritual within
spellcraft, looking at common rites such as
casting a circle and throwing a compass, how
and why (or why not) to use an altar, and
guidelines for using words in spells.

Lesson 4: Harnessing Power through
Ritual
Waning Crescent Moon Phase ending with
the Dark Moon

We creep ever closer to the Dark Moon and to completing the first of two
lunar cycles together for this course. This lesson marks the halfway point
and already we have covered so much information. More importantly,
however, you have been identifying and working toward a significant goal,
actively working magick for now four weeks straight to help you achieve
that goal.
Thus far, the spells you’ve cast as part of this course have been rather
folksy, relying on personal skill and common objects. This week you’ll
expand upon this, building off your skills and knowledge through a more
formalized approach to spellcraft: using ritual techniques designed to
facilitate raising and focusing energy so that the energy you send is stronger
and better directed.
This is a purposeful contrast to encourage you to continuously focus on
having the best approach for your spells, giving consideration to what
techniques and materials best suit what you need to achieve. Sometimes
throwing a spell together on the spot, grabbing materials as they call out to
you is the best approach. Other times, however, taking the extra time and
preparation to employ ritual techniques in order to concentrate and boost
power is exactly what you need. Regardless, having strong familiarity with
a variety of techniques only adds to your arsenal and further eliminates
excuses and barriers to working the magick you need to work when you
need to work it.

Contents
Branching Out
Altering Space & Time
Altars & Tools
The Power of Words
Exercise 1: Creating Altered Space
Exercise 2: Making a Witch Bottle
Ongoing Exercises
Final Note

Branching Out
In addition to keeping you flexible in your approach, that familiarity with
ritual techniques helps you to be more flexible with your spellcraft, in
general, as you will know how to apply basic energy exercises to a variety
of situations instinctively. And that, being able to work magick
instinctively, is a good goal to aim for as it means you have mastered the
basics to the point that their use is second nature. You don’t need to think
about working magick in the moment because you’re already living it,
sensing and responding to the energy and situations you find yourself in
seamlessly.
Note that in this lesson, the term ritual will
be used specifically in the modern Pagan
context and not the broader anthropological
context (although that context does still fit).
In this way, ritual refers to established
magickal protocol. For example, in an
eclectic Wiccan ritual format, a circle is cast,
the elements are evoked, and then two deities
are evoked. Then there is a rite of worship,
followed by communion with those gods,
thanking of all Powers attending, releasing of
the elements, and then opening the circle.
The entire format, regardless of the purpose,
is frequently referred to as ritual, without any
qualifiers.
Stronger energetic skills are but one benefit. Ritual techniques also provide
a number of benefits specifically in that moment of casting a spell. They
help to eliminate distractions and interference (from energy and spirits),
they increase accuracy as they eliminate some of the “distance” between
you and the target of your spell, they increase your focus so you can
concentrate more clearly on the task at hand, and they add an extra layer of
power that you can weave into your spell.

For this lesson, the ritual techniques we’ll be focusing on are altering space
and time (via casting a circle or throwing a compass), the use of tools and
altars, and the power of words.

Altering Space & Time
Although witchcraft is very much a craft of digging in the dirt and
scattering ashes into swift moving water, there is strong benefit in being
familiar with structured ritual technology. Just as there are steps that we can
take that transform a simple stone into a potent charm, there are steps that
we can take to alter the conditions of a very localized space in order to
facilitate the casting of spells and the working of magick, in general.
This alteration of localized space is accomplished, essentially, by
delineating that space around us and then encapsulating it in energy so as to
make that space be somewhere else and, often, somewhen else as time
frequently operates differently inside that delineated space. Within
contemporary witchcraft, there are primarily two methods for doing such,
each with its own poetic title.

Casting a Circle
The most common method is casting a circle. This technique comes to
contemporary witchcraft via ceremonial magic through British Traditional
Wicca. Much the same as in the crafting of the energy balls you’ve been
practicing throughout this course, energy is directed outward from the body
to trace a circle about oneself. That circle extends above and below to
encase that space in a wall of energy. The circle is then anchored by
evocation of the four elements.
The space within a circle is seen as being set apart. It is a space between the
worlds, a liminal space that exists not in the physical world nor in the spirit
world yet is accessible by both and through which both worlds may be
accessed. In ritual use, the circle is cast, then anchored between the worlds
through the presence of the elements, and then the spirits and Powers that
are being worked with are called to the circle.

Note that in ceremonial magic, spirits,
demons, angels, and deities are not called
(evoked) into the circle but outside of it. The
circle’s primary function was to protect the
magician.
Working magick inside a cast circle affords a few benefits:
it contains excess energy so you can focus on raising as much
energy as possible without worrying about that energy
dissipating
it forms a protective barrier that keeps out unwanted energy,
psychic influence, and spirits that could influence the energy
being raised/sent or distract you from your work
Time has been noted to behave differently inside of a cast circle, often
seeming to have slowed down. This is because of the circle’s nature of
being between everything. The delineation allows time to be manipulated
within the circle. Temporal magick is complicated but it is very possible to
make noticeable changes, such as speeding up time within your circle (so
that it flows faster than outside the circle), allowing you to accomplish an
hour’s worth of magick in half that time.

Throwing a Compass
Another means of altering time and space is by throwing a compass. There
are a lot of similarities between a compass and a circle. Whereas the use of
a circle comes to us through ceremonial magic and is prominent in modern
witchcraft, a compass comes to us through traditional witchcraft.
Modern witchcraft and traditional witchcraft
are both contemporary witchcraft practices,
neither any older or more “authentic” than

the other. The primary difference between
them lays in their sources of inspiration.
Modern witchcraft is largely based off the
public non-oathbound writings on British
Traditional Wicca, which bears a strong
ceremonial magic influence via Gerald
Gardner's broad experience and involvement
in various occult groups, including the
Rosicrucian Order and Ordo Templi Orientis.
Traditional witchcraft, on the other hand, is
based upon surviving regional folkloric
customs and information gleaned from
studying the infamous witch trials. In more
than one instance, prominent writers of both
schools of thought have pulled inspiration
from the very same original source material
and written their books during the same time
periods.
Another major discrepancy between them,
however, is seen in the considerable
influence of the New Age movement upon
modern witchcraft which is more slowly
permeating traditional witchcraft (possibly
due to its embrace of “darker” attitudes and
techniques, such as work with toxic plants
and zoological remains).
The procedure is much the same between casting a circle and throwing a
compass. However, rather than energy being projected from the hand (or
through a ritual knife held in the hand) the compass is drawn upon the
ground using one’s foot, a stang, or a walking stick. The action of dragging
the foot or stick across the ground is both trance-inducing and energy
raising, altering that space. In contrast to how a circle sits between the
worlds, a compass sinks deeper into the land. It lays anchored within the

Otherworld. A circle requires the Gods and various spirits to be called from
Their locations to the circle but a compass takes you to where these spirits
largely are. This makes it ideal for spirit communication, work with
chthonic deities, and spirit travel.

Altars & Tools
Although they carry a greater impression of formality and rigidity than
other objects, there is much to be said on the benefit of using tools and
altars within spellcraft. They are a simple way—through purposeful action,
objects, and placement—to add additional power to your workings, along
with mitigating resistance the energy may encounter in reaching its target.
They can feel like a burden to practice, inaccessible due to cost, but the
tools you use and what might constitute an altar for you can be minimal,
simple, and yet still remarkably potent.

Tools
As noted briefly in Lesson 3: Throw out your Correspondence Lists, tools
are consecrated items, set apart from other objects, and reserved for specific
use. Like any tool, be it a pairing knife to a prospecting scoop to a #6
pencil, they are items of precision, designed to fulfill a very specific
purpose.
Much like the way charging a candle for a spell renders it forever changed,
made different especially for that one spell, the process of consecration
alters tools on a spiritual level. It makes them different, changing the way
that energy moves through them. This consecration renders the tool an
extension of the self, amplifying power and allowing us to be more precise
with our actions. In this way, consecration is the beginning of a relationship
with that object and the very real spirit it contains (remember: animism is
the foundational worldview of witchcraft. All things contain a spirit that can
be spoken to, regardless if that thing is animate or inanimate, natural or
man-made).

In addition to that benefit of amplifying power and increasing accuracy,
tools can be very useful when first starting out in magick. They facilitate a
conducive state of consciousness, one that makes it easier to reach out,
grasp energy, and render the changes you seek. Their use also helps to fill in
gaps due to inexperience. For example, the amplification of power they
offer makes it easier to raise energy while still learning how to consistently
raise energy alone. Their use also supplements energy that is easily
accessible, providing a further buffer.
Many things can become dedicated tools within your practice; they needn’t
be anything that makes sense to anyone else or that is found on any list of
approved tools. It is far better to have one tool that you know intimately and
use often than a number of tools that do little more than sit about gathering
dust. Tools that are not used do not gain potency. They can never be as
powerful and as useful as a tool that is regularly used by the witch. If that
means you fashion a fancy top for a simple straight pin, consecrate that pin
by the light of the Moon, guard it fiercely, and put it to use frequently in
your magick and never acquire another tool in your life, so be it. That one
pin, that witch thorn, becomes stronger with every use. Your relationship
with it makes it something so much more in your hand. And that is far more
valuable than a dust-covered collection of magickal items.
The consecration of tools can be as simple or as complicated as you want. It
can be done within a circle or compass, or it can be done with nothing but
the trees of a beloved forest surrounding you or the light of the Moon
shining through your window. In considering how to consecrate your tool,
keep in mind how it will be used and what Powers you work most strongly
with (if there are none, that is fine. But if there is a deity or spirit with
Whom you are close and Who may be part of the work you do with that
tool, and vice versa, it behooves you to seek Their input). For example, if
you work strongly with lunar energies, it makes sense to incorporate the
Full Moon and consecrate by the Moon’s light. If you work strongly with
the Land, it makes sense to consecrate that tool outside, perhaps by washing
it in moving water a number of times (three, seven, or nine times are
traditional). If you work strongly with the four physical elements model,
consecrating by earth, air, fire, and water makes sense.

Just because it’s magick doesn’t mean that
common sense goes out the window. Keep
your wits about you, think about what you’re
doing and why. Let your actions follow
appropriately. Think for yourself and consult
your intuition, Gods, and spirits over blindly
following prescribed advice found online
and/or in books—and that includes in this
course. Test all information against common
sense, intuition, and experience. Common
sense and discernment are invaluable.
Note that tools never need to be cleansed once they are consecrated. You
may want to cleanse prior to consecration, but cleansing any tool after
consecration only serves to remove the built-up energy that tool contains—
undoing your work to render that tool a potent extension of your spiritual
body.

Altars
The term altar is frequently misused in the spiritual community to refer to
any flat surface housing a collection of vaguely spiritual objects. But an
altar is far more than a place to put things out of aesthetic preference or
convenience. It is an important piece of ritual technology common within
many religions, performing a critical function within rituals and worship.
Within the field of religious studies definitions, an altar is more clearly
defined as an elevated flat surface used as the focal point in a religious
ritual or ceremony, frequently holding offerings to a deity. Though it
frequently holds other tools, it is a deliberately constructed tool in its own
right. Its use is part of its construction as an altar can only be active and
temporary (an altar not in use is more appropriately termed a shrine).
This temporary nature and inclusion of deities are why, in witchcraft, we
often refer to the place where we work and house long-term spells as a
workbench—because witchcraft is inherently secular, it does not require the
presence nor involvement of deities. However, the use of an altar (should

the witch work with deities) offers considerable benefit as its creation,
through the tools placed upon it, creates a portal between the worlds that
facilitates communication with gods and spirits alike, as well as facilitating
the transference of energy in spell work. That last point contributes to
stronger and faster results in spell work as the distance between you and the
target of the spell is significantly decreased.
The use of an altar in spellcraft also serves a similar function as the use of
other tools in that it aids focus and helps with slipping into a state of
consciousness conducive to magick. So, if you were to erect an altar, what
would you need to do so? What items should be present?
Within a broader religious context, there are a few items that are common
amongst altars. Typically, some sort of effigy of any Powers being worked
with is present—such as statues, paintings, or representative candles for
deities, saints, and/or other spirits, as well as spirit houses for familiars and
ancestors. Also common are containers for libations to those Powers.
Braziers or censors for burnt offerings and/or incense are also fairly
common.
If you were to erect an altar specifically for use in casting a spell, consider
what Powers you work with and want included in this spell. If you do not
have relationships with any deities or spirits, this is unnecessary. It is better
to have no representation of a deity present than to include a deity to Whom
you have never even introduced yourself. If there are no Powers Who will
be aiding your spell, you may find it beneficial to include a candle or two
not just to illuminate the surface of the altar but to also represent the witch
fire, present within all witches and that is the source of the compulsion we
feel to call ourselves witch and to get on with the shenanigans we are so
wont to get on with.
Consider also what additional tools might be necessary for your spell. Will
you be performing your spell within a cast circle? Do you use any tools to
cast the circle, such as a ritual knife or representation of the elements to
hold and anchor the circle? These should be present.

What materials will you need for your spell? These can also be placed upon
the altar, near the front where they are easily reached. If you are burning
anything, be sure that you have at least two forms of creating fire (lighter
and matches, two lighters, etc.) at the ready to eliminate distractions should
one method fail. Also be sure to have a heatproof container to hold not just
what you’re burning but in which you can place extinguished matches and
out of control spell fires (because it happens. Eventually, we all nearly burn
down the house with spellcraft. Practice fire safety).

The Power of Words
Often when we think of spells, it is the idea of words that hold great power
that comes to mind. We think of carefully rhyming incantations that bend
and wield power to achieve impressive ends. More than any other form of
magick (even the use of potions and necromancy) it is spoken spells that
have been seized by imagination and aggrandized by mainstream and
fiction alike.
Yet there is a truth in this, as there is in all the best-told lies. Words do hold
power and in the mouth of a skillful witch, they can lend a potent boost to
magick, gathering and focusing energy with unparalleled precision.
Should you choose to use spoken words in your spells, there are some
things to keep in mind to increase efficacy:
Be clear with what you are saying. If your words could be
misinterpreted, they likely will be. It is exceptionally
important that your focus be clear and direct. Poetic phrasing
is nice, but if it leaves room to suggest something else is
desired, then the energy could be sent that way instead—and
energy will always take the most direct route.
Only use a language you are fluent in. There is perceived
power in using foreign languages in spells, especially Latin.
However, unless you can speak the language with little effort,
you will likely be more focused on getting the words right

than you will be on gathering the energy and directing it
toward your goal.
There is power in rhyme and rhythm but neither is
essential. Rhyme and rhythm have a way of weaving energy,
of folding it back on itself and concentrating it. Your rhymes
don’t have to be perfect and your rhythm certainly not at
Shakespearean levels. But extra effort put into your spells
pays off. It’s an assertion of will and helps you to be in the
proper mindset longer, getting the energy moving in the right
direction before you ever cast the spell.
Your spell needn’t be spoken aloud. Yes, it must be recited
but saying your spell in your mind alone is sufficient. The
energy will still be raised, gathered, and sent. But saying your
words aloud, if only in a hurried whisper, is another
demonstration of Will. It is a verbal proclamation, another
way for you to physically tie yourself into the magick, uniting
body and spirit to achieve this goal because you deem it
worthy and good.
Of course, the use of words in any spell is not necessary. But, they are
another detail that, like timing by the phases of the Moon or working within
a cast circle, can add another layer of power and further increase the
likelihood of your spell’s success.

Exercises
This week’s exercises are to be done as close to the Dark Moon as possible.
You will, essentially, be doing one large act of magick: creating a protection
charm within a ritual framework. For ease of understanding and preparation
(and in case you should want to practice the ritual techniques beforehand),
the ritual format and construction of the protection charm are presented as
separate exercises.
This pairing of a more formal ritual format with a very folksy protection
charm is deliberate, it’s to further encourage your mental and energetic
flexibility and to encourage you to seek those methods for your spellcraft
that will enable you to be as effective as you can be, regardless of how
much logical sense they make.
Be sure to check the exact time of the Dark Moon, adjust for your timezone,
and then determine when is the best time for you to work your ritual.
Remember, it is always better to work the Dark Moon while the Moon is
technically waning. As we discussed in Lesson 2: Going with the Flow, the
Dark Moon can last between 1.5 and 3 days, depending on your local
topography. Working during the Dark Moon period yet while the Moon is
waning allows you take advantage of the decreasing/repelling qualities of
that lunar phase. As you will be creating a protection charm, that waning
energy is even more desirable.

Exercise 1: Creating Altered Space
For your ritual, you will be erecting an altar and casting a circle. You will
then create a witch bottle within the circle, open the circle, and then place
your witch bottle. See the next exercise for materials, construction, and
placement of your witch bottle.
Should space be a concern, your circle can be cast so that it passes through
walls and even large furniture. It’s made entirely of energy; these aren’t
issues. You will want enough room that you can move comfortably, what

“comfortably” means is up to you. Kneeling before a scarf tossed across
your bed that serves as an altar may be all the space you need.
First, erect your altar. Any flat surface can be used, including the floor.
Don’t overthink, just get on with it. Consider what tools and materials you
will need and place them upon it appropriately. Spell materials should be
placed near the front to avoid reaching across lit candles. Any candles
should be placed near the back and so that they are not at risk of toppling or
setting anything else on fire (i.e., be sure there is nothing above them or too
close beside them). There is no need to cleanse your altar after it is set
up. Doing so defeats the purpose of the tools you have assembled.
However, you may wish to perform a simple blessing after casting the
circle to anchor in your mind the sanctity of this space. Incense smoke may
be passed over the altar or a candle held so that its flame illuminates all
surfaces of the altar. As you do so, hold firm in your mind that it is so,
allowing the smoke or flame to seal the sacred space you have created.
Now it’s time to cast your circle. If you have been practicing the energy
exercises from Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, & Witchcraft, this will be a
relatively simple extension of creating an energy ball. Prepare yourself as
you need to, rubbing your hands together to sensitize them and activate the
energy. Hold out your dominant hand before you and project energy. Move
your hand to the right, tracing a clockwise circle about you and back to
where you began. See the energy form a glowing line in the air around you.
Feel that energy. Know that it is there. Your senses tell you that it is there.
Trust yourself.
Light any candles on the altar and bless it if you so desire.
Next, create your witch bottle (see Exercise 2). After its creation, it’s time
to open the circle. First, extinguish any candles and snuff any incense. Now,
with your dominant hand, pierce the circle before you. Focus on pulling the
energy back into yourself as you move your hand to the left, moving
counterclockwise about yourself. Stop when you reach your starting point.
The circle is open.

Place your witch bottle and then dispose of any remnants of your work. It is
done.

Exercise 2: Making a Witch Bottle
A witch bottle is an old protection charm with known use stretching back to
at least the 17th century. It is a deceptively simple charm that is used as
both a magickal decoy and trap. For this exercise, you will be crafting a
witch bottle and then placing it outside your home.

Materials
1 small jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid (~4 fl oz. in size)
several straight pins (listen to your intuition regarding how
many)
urine
A witch bottle works by drawing unwanted energy and spirits into it
through the use of personal effects acting as a decoy. In this case, it is urine
that is traditionally used. This underscores the strong emphasis that
witchcraft places on physicality and maintaining focus on the physical
world while mediating between the physical and spiritual worlds. The use
of bodily fluids has longstanding use in witchcraft. As witches, we use what
we’ve got and what works. It cannot be argued that, when you need a part
of yourself (or someone else) in a spell, anything works better than bodily
fluids. They are intimate, they come from inside of us, and they not only
contain our energy but they are a potent link to us. And, it’s really easy to
acquire them. That makes them a very good choice for spell work.
Other personal effects that are useful in
magick, in addition to bodily fluids:
hair
fingernail cuttings
a scrap of clothing

personal belonging kept close to
the body, such as jewelry, keys,
hair tie, etc.
signature
photo
anything that person has written
Don’t overthink how to collect your own urine: you can pee directly into
your jar or into another container (to later be rinsed and recycled). Which
collection method doesn’t matter, listen to how you are guided to proceed or
how well you know your aim to be.
Much the same as you charged your object in Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, &
Witchcraft, hold the pins, however many you are guided to use, and charge
them, pushing strong, unapologetic protection energy into them. Focus on
how the pins shall catch all that is ill and baneful, keeping it caught in the
jar so that it cannot touch you, cannot harm nor influence you in any way.
Now add the urine (fair warning if you add the urine first and then place the
pins in the jar/bottle, you may end up spilling pee on yourself). As a final
touch, you may spit in the jar/bottle. This isn’t necessary, but it adds a final
“take that” touch to the witch bottle’s creation. Then the jar/bottle is tightly
capped and, just as you did with the pins, charged to be the fierce protector
that you’ve created it to be.
Then place the witch bottle outside your home where it will serve as a
decoy, drawing unwanted energy, influences, spirits, etc. away from you
and your home. Remember to walk away without looking back after you
place the witch bottle.
Additional items can be placed within the jar/bottle, such as bits of rusty
metal, broken glass, and sharp broken ceramic.
Regarding placement: if you live in an apartment, placing your witch bottle
behind a flower pot on your balcony is an option. You can also place it
inside a garage (in a corner, just beside the door is good). You might also

tuck it amongst shrubbery or landscaping but so that it is hidden. The witch
bottle can be buried, also, but it should be buried close to—but not touching
—your home.

Ongoing Exercises:
Revise your list of spell foci as needed.
Add to your notes regarding the different feel of the lunar
phases and how they affect you.
Practice energy exercises (e.g., feeling energy, energy balls,
etc.).
Ensure you’re disposing of all spell remnants properly.

Final Note
Keeping your mind and skills flexible will continually serve you in your
work as a witch. This week’s lesson was deliberately filled with contrasts
and designed to build upon skills you have been strengthening throughout
this course. There are times when you may have found yourself feeling
uncertain or even uncomfortable with what was being asked of you. This
was purposeful. Learning to trust yourself and your skills despite
uncertainty and despite how strongly you may be confronting the
boundaries of your comfort zone only makes you stronger. It makes you a
formidable witch who is able to face any situation and determine how to
proceed within any limitations. It hones your skills to a razor edge, it shows
you firsthand just how strong you truly are as a person, it destroys the selfimposed limitations you’ve placed on yourself that prevent you from seeing
your strength and your power.
You have done so much in these past four weeks. You’ve become proficient
in basic magickal skills and, most amazingly, set a course for yourself to
make changes in your life so that it better fits what you need and desire out
of it, all the while increasing your understanding of how energy and magick
work through direct experience. And that is incredible.

Next Week’s Lesson: Raising
Energy
The basis of all spell work is the
manipulation of energy. While we may work
with objects and ritual techniques to access
and amplify energy, we remain our greatest
source of energy and tool to gather energy. In
this lesson, we will be looking at a variety of
embodied energy raising techniques.

Lesson 5: Raising Energy
Waxing Crescent Moon Phase

One of the underlying themes for this course has been to see your magick as
a natural extension of your life, working in harmony with your everyday
actions to help you achieve the goals you seek. You have been working
toward this through increasing your awareness of the energy about you,
learning to feel and manipulate the energy of common objects, taking note
of the way that large energy changes can affect you (such as with the lunar
cycle), and by working magick to tackle very real concerns in your every
day life. You’ve confronted the boundaries of your comfort zone and
worked to keep yourself mentally and energetically flexible. You’ve cast
spells to help you change your life, to better yourself, and all of it with a
greater focus on helping you to accomplish one large goal.
As you’ve already noticed, this approach of breaking a large goal into many
smaller goals and working to accomplish each, while working additional
magick to support each of these goals, has an effect to bring results more
quickly and more strongly than if you had just worked one spell for that
large goal. This multi-prong approach to magick is something we’ll placing
greater focus on over these next two lessons as you will be planning and
working this waxing lunar phase as a whole, planning magick from the New
Moon to the Full Moon that builds, grows, and supports your larger goal.

Contents
Reaching Outside of Oneself
Eliminating Distractions
Asserting your Will
Dissolving Separation
Exercise 1: Planning Out
Exercise 2: Raising Up
Exercise 3: Tapping In
Ongoing Exercises
Final Note

Reaching Outside of Oneself
Thus far, the spells you’ve cast throughout this course have relied upon
your ability to work with the innate energy of objects—objects both small,
such as when you made your wards in Lesson 3: Throw out your
Correspondence Lists and Lesson 4: Harnessing Power through Ritual, and
objects large, such as when you silvered water in Lesson 2: Going with the
Flow. Yet energy is not confined to embodiment: it flows freely about us, in
currents and waves that touch and affect change further than our watchful
eyes can see.
It is these currents of energy that we are often influencing when we cast a
spell, altering their courses, their speed, and even sending new currents
rushing forth. But this is not the only way that we are able to work with this
free-flowing energy around us as part of our spell work. This energy is also
a resource, one that we can tap into, draw from, and manipulate to create
change.
In this way, by utilizing the energy outside of ourselves, we are able to work
magick without experiencing the exhaustion that sometimes follows
particularly powerful spell work. This is because rather than working within
the limitation of the energy within ourselves (i.e., personal energy; we often
use this energy alone to cast a spell or use it to supplement, shape, and
guide the energy of objects—such as when you charged your charm in
Lesson 1) we are working with an inexhaustible supply of energy. This
allows us to do the work we need to do, achieve strong results, yet avoid
feeling completely wiped out afterward.

When working with energy, we can utilize
the energy inherent within something (such
as stones, herbs, and even the personal
energy within ourselves), the energy that
flows freely outside of ourselves (universal
energy), or we can raise energy through
physical actions.

Along with tapping into the energy that exists outside of ourselves, we are
also able to raise energy, to generate additional energy that can be easily
shaped and directed. This is achieved through embodied magick, where our
physical bodies and spirit bodies work in harmony, the physical body
performing actions that naturally generate energy that the spirit body is able
to gather, shape, and direct as part of the magickal working.
These physical actions are key. But, what we do to raise energy needn’t be
complicated or even exceptionally strenuous. Rather it is repetitive actions
that best cause energy to surge and fall back on itself, building and growing.
Simple actions such as rhythmic breathing, chanting, syncopated clapping,
walking, dancing, and the dragging action of throwing a compass all serve
to raise energy.
Any repetitive physical action can be used to
raise energy. The only contingencies are that
you are able to do that action with relative
ease and that you are able to maintain mental
focus on feeling that energy rise, gathering it
up, and then sending it out when the energy
reaches its peak—when no more energy can
be raised and/or contained within the circle
(if applicable). At that moment, the physical
actions are stopped and the spirit body sends
the gathered energy out to affect the desired
change.
Of course, that means that sex and
masturbation are two such highly effective
ways to raise energy. Sexual energy is
especially potent for magick as it travels fast
and burns hot. It’s well suited for goals that
require a quick burst of energy to help push
them over the edge (deliberate double
entendre…)

Obviously, sex magick requires two or more
consenting parties and, ideally, all involved
parties should work to time their orgasms to
occur together. All parties should be focusing
on the same goal, feeling the energies
building along with the passion within them.
Chanting and visualization may be helpful in
keeping everyone focused on the magickal
goal. The energy is then released and sent out
at the time of orgasm.
Solo endeavors are still effective, though you
may find the energy more appropriate to
highly specific goals. For example, some
people find that sex magick through
masturbation is better suited for more
immediate foci, such as consecrating tools,
charging objects, and goals that directly
benefit them alone. Of course, you won’t
know how effective sex magick can be for
you and what it may be more effective at
achieving unless you give it a try.

Eliminating Distractions
Energy can be influenced by thought alone and, truly, all acts of magick
begin with the thought that change is needed and we should do something
to create that change. That one thought alone—that change is needed—
influences energy currents, making ever so slight changes. However, it is
action and consistency that achieve results. Happy thoughts and
“intentions” are not capable of creating the powerful change that a skillful
witch with a plan is able to create. That initial ever so small change created
by thought alone will not ripple nor grow enough to create changes that
manifest in the physical. Without follow through—i.e., action—that initial
tiny change created by the thought to work magick to accomplish
something will dissipate. The energy currents will reclaim their course,

erasing that change as cleanly as a flowing river erases the ripple of a
pebble that falls from the edge and into the water.
But some fallen stones are heavier than others. And sometimes a stone will
be thrown one after another. While altering the currents of energy about us
to create change requires a stronger approach than a flurry of thoughts and
hopes, the energy currents that we set in motion are far more easily
influenced than the currents of energy we aim to shape and redirect. The
thoughts of another person, mulling over the spell we confessed in private,
or the consistently thrown hate and jealousy of someone on social media,
these are things that are capable of influencing our magick.
This is partly why protection magick is so foundational. No, it’s not because
there are a bevy of jealous witches ready and willing to hurl curses from
you across the internet (although cursing through social media is becoming
increasingly more common) but because the thoughts and energies of others
—even the casual blessings and “healing” energy—do present a very real
energetic interference. It is another force that must be accounted for and
handled as someone else’s best wishes for you may very well run counter to
what you want for yourself. Even if the energy that someone else is
directing at you is consensual and aligned to a problem you are facing, that
incoming flow of energy toward you will disrupt the flow of the energy you
send out.
For a deeper explanation of the benefit that
warding your home brings to you and your
magickal practice, please see my book By
Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The Theory &
Practice of Effective Home Warding.
In the last two lessons, throughout the waning lunar phase, you have created
two wards to help eliminate unwanted energetic and psychic influence from
within your home. Much the same as why one may wish to work their spells
within a cast circle, a warded home keeps your home energetically clean. It
maintains your home as your energetic space and is a further assertion of
your Will in your life.

In looking purely at the magickal benefits (as warding also benefits your
spiritual health and everyday life), maintaining this energetically clean
space facilitates any magick you work in your home. Warding makes it
easier to raise energy as there are fewer energetic distractions affecting you,
less external energetic interference to disrupt the energy you’re raising, and
fewer things to get in the way of the energy once you send it forth. For
long-term spells, that warding can be a considerable boon, allowing the
spell to work uninterrupted. When working multi-pronged magick, knowing
that your space is properly warded can make it easier for inspiration to find
you, with additional spells and courses of action making themselves more
readily known to you, and it can make those individual spells more
effective due to your increased confidence in knowing that you’ve taken all
measures to ensure the success of your spells.

Asserting your Will
Will is the culmination of your spirit body and physical body working in
unison and the direct result of a strong sense of self, justified self-assurance
of your capabilities, and personal conviction that radiates throughout your
life and is exhibited in your actions and words. In this way, Will is the
driving force of spell work. It is what shapes and guides energy, driving that
energy forward and using it to insert a new order into the fabric of the
universe—that new order being the goal of your spell, the change you seek
to create.
Where it is skill that allows us to feel and raise energy, it is Will that propels
that energy forward along the course you’ve determined for it. That energy
then fuels the manifestation of change as dictated and defined by Will. This
process begins within the witch, for just as you must make effort to develop
and hone your skills to more effectively yield that energy, you must make
concerted efforts to strengthen your Will.
Will is not to be confused with the common, yet lacking, term of intention.
Just as magick is an action we take, Will is assertion of desire and control.
When you Will something to be, you are engaging your spiritual skills—

tangling spirit and physicality—not to passively ask for something to be,
but to make it be so. The assertion of Will is the witch in full embodiment
of the role of changemaker, wielding the forces of the universe to undo
what it and remake life into what you choose.

Dissolving Separation
The reality of our world is one of greater variation and subtlety than we can
ever hope to individually recognize. There exists a multiplicity of beings,
ways of being, and ways of interacting that far exceeds what any of us will
ever experience in life. Yet, we are not so closed off and separate from the
world that this reality remains outside of our grasp. Our work as witches,
and there is always work to be done, seats us more firmly within this reality,
awakening us to greater truths that slip deeper within us, crumbling the
facade that contemporary society has instilled within us which
presumptively asserts only that which can be physically substantiated is
worth exploring or considering.
The only separation that exists between us and magick—or between us and
the spirit world—is that which we maintain in our own minds. As much as
our minds are a wonderful tool that help us to work magick, it is also our
greatest hindrance.
Already you have seen how simple actions that defy logic can yield
noticeable changes within your everyday life. You have seen how you can
manipulate objects, time, and locations to cause changes within the unseen
spiritual forces around you to create observable results in your life. A stone
in your pocket or necklace around your neck to keep your mind focused. A
poppet baked and buried to aid your personal growth. A circle cast and
candles lit to manifest a future more in line with your needs and desires.
See how these actions are working together, building upon each other as
each spell cast, each bit of magick worked, clears the way for other magick.
You’ve set the ball rolling and it continues to pick up momentum every time
you assert your Will and refuse to accept a separation between yourself and
magick. Every spell you cast is an act of re-enchanting your life—of living

without separation, of living a life of magick and awe, and seeing the world
more truly for what it is.

Exercises
This week’s exercises consist of a combination of energy raising and
accessing techniques to practice along with beginning a concerted multipronged approach to magick you’ll work at the Full Moon at the end of next
week’s lesson. Keep in mind that the New Moon occurs this week, the
timing varying depending upon the topography where you live and how
early/late the Dark Moon occurs based on your location (so much of
witchcraft comes down to where you live, the natural energies you are
steeped in each and every day). You may wish to incorporate the New
Moon into your magickal planning for the week.

Exercise 1: Planning Out
You will be planning a multi-pronged magick approach for the next two
weeks, beginning your magick with the New Moon and culminating with
the Full Moon. The simplest way to think of multi-pronged magick in
action is to envision many small acts of magick all aligned to accomplish
small goals that support one larger goal.
For example, if you had a job interview, while getting ready for the day, you
might enchant your personal care products to boost your confidence and
charisma. While you brush your hair, you might focus on the energy being
raised and form it into a diamond sphere about you, brilliant and repelling
all distractions and clumsiness. You might apply a salve carefully crafted to
aid in a good first impression, to your hands and throat to boost your
eloquence and how attractive you appear. Before you head out the door, you
may charge a dollar bill, kiss it for luck, and place it in your money jar.
Then, while driving or commuting, you may repeat an affirmation to help
you remain calm and focused.
Each of these is a small and simple piece of magick that, together, supports
you through the job interview and further tips the odds in favor of your
amazing job experience and impeccable references. This is multi-pronged
magick.

Revisit your list of spell foci and choose one of your sub-goals that would
be best worked during this waxing lunar phase (remember, the energy is
attractive and increasing, building toward manifestation). Devise how you
can break it into smaller goals and identify small ways that you can achieve
and support these goals over the next two weeks.
Look for ways that you can incorporate your silvered water for an extra
boost of transformative Full Moon lunar eclipse energy. A few drops
applied to candles, stones, charms, and even your own skin before energy
work can add a major boost.
Consider what larger acts of magick you can also work to support your
goal. Would a candle spell, the candles anointed in your silvered water, and
performed in a cast circle at the New Moon be an effective way to set the
energy in motion? Would repeating a spell a few nights in a row during a
particularly stressful or hectic time help keep the energy moving and en
route to its target? Consider your situation, remember that you have a two
week period to be planning for, and don’t forget to allow for spontaneous
in-the-moment magick.
There is no minimum or ideal number of spells to perform as part of your
multi-pronged magick. What matters is that you set the energy in motion
and you keep it going; that you reinforce in your mind that these magickal
actions are just as potent and effective as your efforts to pick out just the
right professional looking outfit for your job interview, sticking with our
example.
You may find it useful to write out an outline for your multi-pronged
magick and even schedule your workings in your calendar.

Exercise 2: Raising Up
Any repetitive physical action can be used to raise energy. Controlling your
breathing and chanting are some of the simplest methods you can use. Both
methods rely on repetition and the conscious changing of how you breathe

to move energy differently throughout your body, generating additional
energy in the process. This is achieved even if the chant is recited silently.
A chant is a short phrase or verse that is meant to be repeated. It may or
may not rhyme and may or may not be rhythmic, but typically is more than
two lines long. A simple chant for raising energy:
rising in me, growing, growing,
shining from me, flowing, flowing
Experiment with this or other chant to raise energy. You can sit with your
eyes closed, saying the words aloud or silently in your mind.
In raising energy through breath, it is enough to alter the pattern of your
breathing. Quickening the pace of your breathing, in a rhythmic manner, is
very effective at raising energy that can be released with nothing more than
a focused exhalation wherein you gather the energy within you, concentrate
it, and the forcibly send it out of you on your breath.
One altered breathing pattern you may find useful is four quick inhalations,
followed by four quick exhalations, and then repeated. (Breathe in-in-in-in,
then out-out-out-out. In-in-in-in, out-out-out-out). If you do any sort of
syncopated breathing, be sure that you are using your diaphragm, your belly
visibly moving with every inhalation and exhalation.
Please note that deliberately altering your
breathing pattern may create problems if you
have certain chronic illnesses and/or
respiratory disorders.
Be aware of your body. If breathing exercises
such as these will cause problems for you but
you want to attempt them anyway, take
measures to ensure your safety. Make sure
you are in a safe position should you pass
out. Make sure that someone else is with you

in your home so they can provide additional
help, if necessary.
Work with your needs. Some people have
success in performing breathing exercises by
working with the medications they take,
timing when they do such exercises with
when they take their medications (in order to
take advantage of the affects that medication
has upon them).
Do what you need to for you and if safely
performing breathing exercises just isn't an
option, scrap them. There is no shame nor
guilt in listening and responding to your
body. There are other ways that you can raise
energy—just as effectively, if not more so—
that don’t require you to take unnecessary
risks. Remember, it’s your practice. If it
doesn’t meet your needs, then it’s not an
effective practice. And if it’s not an effective
practice, what’s the point?
These and other energy raising techniques are quite versatile and can be
used as part of many different spell casting methods. They can be used
alone to raise energy, sending it out with a cessation of movement and large
exhalation, or used to raise additional energy, such as during candle spells
after you light the candle, focus on your goal, and feed additional energy to
the spell.

Exercise 3: Tapping In
Learning to consistently tap into universal energy is a process. It is,
admittedly, not a beginner’s technique as it requires you to learn how to get
out of the way of the energy. You can’t seize universal energy as you would
the energy you raise while chanting and burning herbs in a circle. Rather,

you must remove yourself from the process and allow the energy to flow
into you and through you. In this way, you are nothing but a conduit for that
energy, serving as a bridge for it to reach where it is needed. However, as a
sentient conduit and badass witch, you are able to direct that energy.
Note that it can take years of practice before being able to consistently
allow universal energy to flow through you. Some people find benefit in
being attuned to Reiki simply for the opening to and connecting with
universal energy it enables. This is not required, however, it can be a jump
start if you find yourself with few results after years of practice. None the
less, this technique can facilitate learning how to be open to the energy as it
is not your willingness to be open that makes you such but, quite literally,
your spirit body’s ability to be open to the energy that is required. You are
training your spirit body to behave differently.
For this exercise, you will practice being a conduit for energy. This will be
done through envisioning an energetic channel—a hollow tube—running
along the length of your spine. You will begin by pulling energy from the
Earth up through the bottom of your channel and out the top of your
channel, then pull energy from the Universe down through your channel
and out the bottom, and then do both actions simultaneously (please note
that this may be difficult the first few times, and that’s okay! You’re
learning to move your spirit body in new ways). It is strongly advised to
visualize the energy to facilitate its movement through you.
Sit comfortably but so that your spine is straight. Take a moment to calm
yourself, breathing slowly and deeply; your diaphragm should move with
every breath. Breathe deeply, pulling energy from the Earth up and through
the bottom of your channel—quite literally through your bottom, about
where your perineum is; you will feel an expansion of the muscles of your
pelvic floor. Pull the energy up to about where your sternum ends, hold it
there as you exhale.
Now, breathe deep again and pull more Earth energy up through your
channel. Continue moving the energy up and, as you exhale, send the
energy out through the top of your head, in line with your spine. Feel the
energy fall softly around you, on all sides, returning to the Earth.

Do this at least four times, until the action is comfortable. You may find
yourself naturally relaxing and stretching outward as you do this, sitting up
taller as your spine straightens more.
Now, reverse it. As you breathe in, envision the cosmos and our greater
universe above you. Pull that energy down and into your channel, through
the top of your head. Continue moving the energy down and hold it at the
base of your sternum as you exhale. Breathe deep again and pull more
energy into you, pulling it down and moving it down and out your channel.
Do this at least four times, until the action is comfortable. You may feel
yourself naturally pulling inward, your body curling up and retracting.
It is highly recommended that, if you pulled energy up through your
channel, say, six times, that you pull energy down through your channel for
six times as well. You want to maintain a balance.
Repeat, alternating the pull-up and the pull-down until you can do so
comfortably.
When you are comfortable performing both actions, it’s time to do both
simultaneously. As you breathe in, you will pull energy up through your
channel and down through your channel at the same time. When they meet
at your sternum, exhale and focus on continuing the upward flow and
downward flow, spiraling the energies about each other, like an energetic
representation of DNA within you. Repeat this action more times than you
think you need to.
Avoid any tasks that require your full attention for an hour or so afterward,
such as operating a vehicle, as this exercise can result in an altered state of
consciousness.

Ongoing Exercises:
Revise your list of spell foci as needed.

Add to your notes regarding the different feel of the lunar
phases and how they affect you.
Practice energy exercises (e.g., feeling energy, energy balls,
etc.).
Ensure you’re disposing of all spell remnants properly.

Final Note
As we embark on the second half of this course, your actions are only
further strengthening your Will and removing the fallacy that there is some
great trick to working magick and shaping your life to better coincide with
your needs and desires. In continuing to focus on building your skills to feel
and move the energy about you, you are establishing yourself as a
functional witch—the most dangerous kind there is. For the witch who can
see the wiggle room in any situation, the ways that they can modify even
the most difficult situation to their ends, is someone not easily pushed
around or intimidated. A functional witch is someone unafraid of putting in
the effort and knows the sweet victory of achieving their goals. And such a
type of witch, you are well on your way to being.

Next Week’s Lesson: Boosting
Efficacy
Continuing with our focus on multi-pronged
magick and long-term planning, in this
lesson, we will explore additional ways to
boost the power of your spells—looking not
so much at what you can do or can add to
them, but what you can not do as part of your
spellcraft.

Lesson 6: Boosting Efficacy
Waxing Gibbous Moon Phase

While nothing you do can guarantee a successful spell, you are able to tip
the scales in your favor and increase the likelihood of your spell’s success.
Regardless of the desired result, in spellcraft, we are always looking for the
wiggle room. Is there a chance that what you want to achieve could happen
without magick? Good. Exploit that chance. Is there a chance that this focus
with such an approach could produce that desired result? Good. What else
can be added (or subtracted) to increase the chances of that spell’s success?
That is what we’ll be exploring in this lesson: simple ways to boost your
spell’s chances of success, as well as further encouraging you to see your
spellcraft as a normal part of your life, to see magick as an extension of
who you are.
Viewing your spellcraft as being ingrained in your life, able to touch and
affect all aspects, places you in a position where it is advantageous to note
the way the ripples of your spell flow not just outward but inward, too. The
spell is not over the moment you cast it. That energy is in motion, moving
and able to be knocked off course without follow through and acting
accordingly. Worse, too, your spell is able to achieve additional results—
unwanted results—if necessary precautions are neglected. Sloppy magick
brings sloppy results. And though a “successful” spell can backfire, you can
work to reduce the chances of such.

Contents
Precautionary Measures
Marrying the Magick to the Mundane
Patience
The Value of Secrecy
Exercise 1: Reassessing
Exercise 2: Burn, Baby, Burn
Ongoing Exercises
Final Note

Precautionary Measures
One of the primary ways that you can boost efficacy in your spellcraft is by
making sure you have attended to all loose ends in the casting of your spell.
If you will be using words with your spell and have them planned ahead of
time, be sure to read over those words carefully. Read them aloud. Could
they be misinterpreted? Are there any words you could stumble over,
accidentally saying another word that changes the focus or would break
your concentration? Rework the words until your desired end goal is clear
and the words flow easily when spoken.
As noted in Lesson 2: Going with the Flow, when we work with energy we
are either pushing or pulling that energy. This same fluid movement of
energy underlays the basic foci of our spells: we are working to either
draw/attract/increase or to protect/repel/diminish. Mechanically, there are
fewer precautions needed when working attractive spells. These spells are
dependent upon a strong focus of goal and target—what you want and who
gets it. This inherently decreases the chances of unwanted results so the
worst case scenario is that your spell just doesn’t work or doesn’t work as
much as you needed it to, such as working money magick and only
acquiring half your needed amount (and this could be attributed to a number
of factors, including that you were not specific enough with your focus by
failing to note how much money you needed at the bare minimum).
However, spells focused on removal are a bit touchier due to the way that
energy works. When you remove something, that which was removed has
to go somewhere else—and energy always chooses the most direct route.
This means that if you are working magick for someone else to remove
something from their life, that thing being removed must go somewhere
else and it will go to the next closest target unless you factor in where that
something should (or shouldn’t go). And that next closest target is always
you because you are the one tugging and pulling at the energy currents, you
are the one who has placed themselves between that person and the thing
you are removing.
Energy is neither good nor bad, it also isn’t

sentient. It can’t predict what you want and
can’t be altered from its course due to your
intention alone. If you move the energy,
setting it on a new course, always look to
where you are sending it and from where it
will be moving. Ensure there aren’t
accidental targets set in its course and that it
won’t pull from a source that can’t be easily
replenished.
Here is an example to put that into better perspective. Your dearest friend
has suddenly begun to be harassed by a few of their coworkers. They are
certain that they don’t know these individuals, they work in different
departments, and it is only the last two days on lunch that they have ever
seen these individuals. And yet these individuals yell, swear at them, and
threaten them each day from a distance. Your friend is understandably upset
but doesn’t want to take the issue to management as they are in line for a
higher paying position and feel this could jeopardize their chances. So you
decide to do what you can magickally.
You cast a candle spell aimed at the harassers to shut their mouths and turn
their heads, to keep them from even daring to look at your friend let alone
speak to them. You feel the energy moving strongly, the flame burns hot
and bright, and there is little wax left over.
The next day at your own job, a client lashes out at you, saying awful, cruel
things out of nowhere. You don’t know what could have caused this as you
have always had a really good relationship with them and it has been an
uneventful day. Nothing further happens that week, however, and that client
acts as if nothing ever happened. At the end of the week, you are able to
check in with your friend and learn that the individuals who had been
harassing them are gone. They haven’t been anywhere around on your
friend’s lunch breaks. The harassment is over.
The spell was an undeniable success, yet it had the effect of taking that
which was being removed—the harassment—and placing it firmly on you.
After thinking back over exactly what you did while casting the spell, you

realize you didn’t take any measures to protect yourself from the energy
being removed. You worked the spell naked and let the light of the candle
fall across your entire body, you handled all of the spell remnants with your
bare hands, and you left the spell remnants on the floor by your bed to “take
care of later.”
This example highlights the need to consider the full scope of your spell
and what it could be inadvertently achieving even after carefully
considering your approach.

Marrying the Magick to the Mundane
Your spell’s success is largely dependent upon a flow of energy. That
energy must be able to move easily and be able to reach its target. This is
partly why marrying the magick to the mundane is so crucial for success.
Remember, your spell casting is not an isolated part of your life: if it was,
you wouldn’t be able to work successful spells for anything that wasn’t
directly constrained to spell casting. But you are able to flex those magickal
muscles, reaching into the energetic fabric of the universe to create change
in something as beautiful and everyday as keeping your coffee warmer
longer in the morning, easing traffic so you can safely drive your children to
school on time, attracting new clients who love your work so you can
finally quit your job and freelance full-time, and calming your dog during a
thunderstorm so they don’t feel like the sky is trying to eat them.
An important part of successful spell work is being active within the
universe so that the universe can be active within your life. If you want
change in your everyday life then your everyday life must support your
spell. This is part of acting accordingly with what you want to achieve. As
we discussed in Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, & Witchcraft, magick is an
action. The power isn’t found in the tools, the words, or even the spell, the
power is found in you taking action. And when the action you take to
manipulate spiritual forces is supported by appropriate physical actions, you
further eliminate obstacles to that energy reaching its destination.

For example, say you worked a spell to spice up your love life or to help
increase your finances but then you spend all your time on the couch taking
snaps or scrolling instagram. This works against your spell because the
energy you sent in motion can't reach its target. Where’s the wiggle room?
If you want a new lover or a new job then you have to ensure that new lover
or job can find you. Are you going out into the world, meeting new people?
Are you on a dating app or two and reaching out to people? Have you sent
out resumes, followed up with old clients, or applied for a job?
Another example, from a different angle. Say you worked a cord cutting
spell to end a relationship with someone ...but then you keep thinking about
them. You drive past their work at least once a week and go to places you
know they frequent, watching to see if they’ll notice you or if your spell is
“really working” and they somehow won’t see you.

Patience
Another way that we support the success of our spells is by being patient.
Spells take time to do their work. Yes, you can achieve results the same day
but you will just as frequently have spells that take days, weeks, and even
months to sufficiently get the energy rolling to reach its goal. Note that
spells that take longer to manifest aren’t necessarily successful or
unsuccessful, there may have been more needed to get in place first or more
that was going on in the background than you realized. They don’t
necessarily reflect your strength in spell casting.
Western culture is obsessed with instant gratification. We are trained to
expect immediate results, an instant reward for a “job well done.” But that’s
not how magick works. And being impatient with your magick unravels the
spell you so carefully set in action.
Impatience causes anticipation. Anticipation means you’re thinking about
your spell rather than letting it do its work. Each time you think about your
spell, you are tapping back into the energy of that spell, tapping back into
the moment you cast that spell and sent that energy off and moving. That
connection, between you and the energy set in motion, causes energy loss:

negatively affecting the level of overall energy that is able to reach your
goal.
This underscores why it is so important to cast your spell and forget about
it. Don’t check the Tarot every day to see how your spell is coming along or
if the situation has suddenly changed and you need to do something
different. Don’t let your thoughts wander back to the spell, looking for ways
you could have, should have, would have done it differently. Just stop
thinking about your spell and let it do its job. Don’t let impatience breed
doubt. If you suddenly have any suspicions to your spell’s success, practice
that multi-pronged magick, marry the magick to the mundane, and do what
you need to do to support your spell.

The Value of Secrecy
You’ve likely noticed a theme throughout this lesson, that boosting efficacy
often comes through controlling what does—or does not—affect the cast
spell. To a large extent, this is outside of our hands. However, as the person
who cast the spell and who, thus, has a direct connection to that energy
(unless care is deliberately taken to prevent such, as would have been
advised in our example regarding removing harassment), paying attention
to the ways we personally affect that energy in motion is something within
our control.
One way that we can control what affects our cast spells—and more
effectively than any other means—is by remaining silent about them until
they achieve their results. Spells and secrecy go hand in hand.
Please note the reason for maintaining secrecy about your spells has
nothing to do with imagined fear of persecution. Secrecy is not a call for
you to hide your witchcraft. Secrecy within witchcraft is entirely about
controlling what influences your spell while it is in action, limiting
influences so that your spell can manifest its intended results.
It is incredibly simple to work against a spell through a photo taken of that
spell while it was being cast. It is also relatively simple to reach through a

photo of a witch’s altar to adversely affect any spells that witch may
currently have in progress (as well as to adversely affect that witch).
Social media culture has created almost an obligation within the witchcraft
community to prove your witchiness through a constant barrage of posts
detailing just how witchy you are. After all, if you’re not showing every
craft related object you own and evidence of every spell cast, you’re clearly
not doing the witchcraft, right?
This attitude is problematic on so many levels. Never mind that constantly
posting photos means you don’t have time to actually be working magick
(because you’re staging spells, taking photos, and then editing them). Never
mind that witchcraft isn’t found in the objects you own but in the
shenanigans you regularly get up to. Never mind that if you stop to take a
photo of your spell in the middle of casting it, you clearly aren’t focused
and actually casting the spell. Let’s focus purely on the energetic mechanics
of sharing that photo of an in-progress spell.
When you take a photo of spell in-progress, you are capturing that spell at
its most vulnerable moment, when every bit of your concentration and
focus is needed for it to work, and you are opening that moment up to
others, inviting their gaze, curiosity, and even scrutiny. Every set of eyes
that befalls that photo taps into that moment and sends energy to that spell
—and you have no way of controlling what energy they send. This touches
back on how we discussed in Lesson 5: Raising Energy that it can be highly
undesirable to have others wishing blessings for you or working magick on
your behalf for what they think you want/need. It’s disruptive energy that
can knock a spell off course or even hinder it entirely.
Discussing your spells with others, witches or not, before they manifest also
invites this scrutiny and disruptive energy into your working. In this
instance, you have another person listening to your words and description
of your spell and then thinking about your spell, imagining the casting of
the spell and the materials you used, picturing you casting the spell,
picturing the spell coming to fruition. Even if this is your best friend whom
you are able to trust entirely, their thoughts carry the potential of disrupting
the flow of energy of your spell. If you wish to get their input, discuss your

spell with them beforehand and maybe work together to cast the spell, tying
your energy and focus together to manifest the goal more strongly.
There are times when you may want to share
a photo or even video of your spell while it is
being cast because the accumulated emotion
and attention paid to that spell can be
harnessed and used in achieving your goal.
However, this is an advanced technique and
something that must be programmed into the
spell. It also must fit the focus of the spell
and, so, is not an approach you will want to
frequently employ nor one suitable for all
spell foci.

Exercises
This week’s exercises are a continuation of last week’s: you will be
continuing the multi-pronged magick that you planned for this waxing lunar
phase, culminating in a larger spell for the Full Moon. Remember that to
take full advantage of the manifesting boost of the Full Moon, it is better to
work when the Moon is still waxing. The time given for the Full Moon on
calendars is the halfway point and, thus, when the Moon begins to wane.

Exercise 1: Reassessing
In the previous lesson, you outlined a plan of attack for this two week
waxing lunar phase, employing a multi-pronged magick approach with a
number of spells and acts of magick worked to support each other and
increase the likelihood of your larger Full Moon spell.
Review the plans that you made for your magick and make any necessary
changes based off what you achieved last week (either results achieved or
energy that you set in motion). Are there any other spells or magick that
have become necessary now? Adjust your plan as necessary and get to work
on that magick, remembering to look for ways to support your magick in
your everyday life, too.

Exercise 2: Burn, Baby, Burn
As part of your multi-pronged magick this week (or perhaps for your Full
Moon magick), you will be harnessing the power of fire without relying on
a candle spell. This method is deceptively simple yet incredibly effective at
sending out strong bursts of energy that you can then manipulate and/or
enhance through raised energy or projecting Universal energy. Note that this
is exactly the kind of technique that can lead to singed hair, blackened
fingernails on your thumb and forefinger, and a scattering of small burn
marks in your shirt or across your favorite altar cloth.

For this spell, you will be burning a number of dried herbs and then
manipulating or enhancing their energy. This method works really well in
conjunction with the aid of any spirits—be they familiar, ancestor, or deity
—as They can further manipulate, enhance, and guide that energy to its
target. To burn your herbs, you will either carefully sprinkle them onto a
glowing charcoal briquette or hold them in the flame of a candle, allowing
them to burn nearly to completion, and then dropping the flaming herb into
your heatproof container to finish burning.

Materials Needed
1 charcoal briquette (the kind for incense, not for BBQ) OR 1
candle
dried herbs, at least two different types (if you are using a
candle you must have whole dried herbs, not cut)
censor, small cauldron, OR heatproof container (a large
cooking pot with sand or dirt in the bottom and a smaller pot
or even cleaned veggie can/tin set on the dirt is perfect)
lighter or matches
a scrap of fabric and thread (~3” square of fabric)
What herbs you use is dependent upon your spell’s focus. Refer to Lesson
3: Throw Out Your Correspondence Lists for a reminder on how to tell what
a particular herb should be used for. Trust your intuition, too. Let your
intuition guide you on what color fabric and thread to use. In a pinch, use
either black or white, depending upon your goal and intuition.
This spell can be done within a cast circle or thrown compass, trust your
intuition and be sure that the use (or lack of use) is an appropriate approach
for your spell. You may or may not erect any sort of altar. This spell can be
as casual as you sitting on your kitchen floor, setting things on fire.
Visualization is a strong component of
magick and spellcraft. However, it gets
knocked sometimes due to the implied

limitations of its name. Yet, visualization is
so much more than the ability to picture
something in your mind. It is a technique of
perfectly (re)creating a situation, moment, or
object within your mind. Simply seeing that
situation in your mind isn’t enough and isn’t
magickal in the slightest.
Potent visualization that fuels magick
involves all senses and even the emotional
and physical responses associated with that
which is being visualized. In this way, even
someone who is blind can effectively
visualize as part of a robust magickal
practice because the seeing/imaging part is
less important (and less effective) than the
combined force of all other senses and
emotional and physical responses. It is the
combination that is necessary to produce an
accurate (re)creation.
To utilize visualization as part of spellcraft,
to create the change that we wish to take
place, we hold firm that vision of our desired
change: we fill our imagination with focus
and fill that vision with the details of a
(re)created physical state. This vision then
guides our application of energy in order to
create the necessary changes within the
energy currents that permeate our world—
this to bring about the change that we desire.
But if that change, that magickal goal, cannot
be clearly visualized, the ability to create it
within the physical world becomes
increasingly difficult.
Set up your workspace. At the minimum, you need to have your heatproof
container on a heatproof surface because there is a strong chance of

floating/falling embers burning holes in whatever you have beneath your
heatproof container. Ensure you have all necessary materials on hand before
beginning.
Take a moment to ground yourself (if you feel it’s necessary) ensuring that
you make a complete circuit between the earth beneath you and the
sky/cosmos above you (as with the Universal Energy exercises in the
previous lesson). Center yourself, gathering your point of consciousness to
that point where your physical body and spirit body meet and are
indecipherable. From that place of harmony with yourself, begin gathering
your focus and light your charcoal briquette or candle.
Take the first of your herbs. Focus also on its energy and twine yourself
about that energy. Do this by gently extending your energy and awareness
into the herb; feel yourself twine about it. Sprinkle the cut herb onto the
charcoal briquette or light your whole herb by the candle. As it burns, focus
on why you are burning that particular herb, on how is it so perfectly suited
to achieve your goal. Repeat with the next herb.
Throughout this process, maintain your focus on what it is you are working
to achieve and on manipulating the energy of the herbs to that end.
When all the herbs have been burned, collect the ashes and place them onto
your scrap of fabric. Add any unburnt herbs, especially those herbs that fell
to the side of your charcoal briquette. Gather up the corners of the fabric
and tie the fabric closed with your thread, creating a small, sealed sachet.
Hold the sachet in your dominant hand and affirm in your mind that the
spell is cast and active.
Keep this sachet on you until the next Full Moon, when you will unmake
the charm and dispose of the remains properly.

Ongoing Exercises:
Add to your notes regarding the different feel of the lunar
phases and how they affect you.

Practice energy exercises (e.g., feeling energy, energy balls,
raising energy, manipulating universal energy, etc.).
Ensure you’re disposing of all spell remnants properly.

Final Note
Boosting the efficacy of your spellcraft largely comes down to paying
attention to what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and then continuing to
give a damn after the spell has been cast. Each spell you work is not a
single incident within the fabric of your life but a glittering addition that
serves to enhance and make that fabric functional and desirable to you.
While each spell is but one moment, the energy you send out roots your
spell firmly within your life and it roots you more firmly within the world,
changing how you see yourself and the world. Each spell is an act of
defiance in a culture that often feels unfair and biased against us. It is a way
for us to reclaim power that we were led to believe we never possessed by
asserting our right to have what we want and need, our right to live a life
that brings us joy. It is a way for us to exert control in our lives, to assert
our worth, and to create something beautiful.

Next Week’s Lesson:
Troubleshooting
It’s frustrating when spells fail. While we
may not be able to guarantee a spell achieves
just what it was meant to, we can consider
our actions, the situation, and other external
factors to identify if there was a blatant
failure on our parts or if something—or
someone—else intervened. In this lesson,
we’ll look at some of the common reasons
why spells fail because it’s easier to increase
the likelihood of success when you know
what not to do.

Lesson 7: Troubleshooting
Waning Gibbous Moon Phase

Regardless of how well we plan our spells, we are at best still only working
to increase the likelihood of what we want to occur. That means that no
matter how much we pour into our spells, there is always a chance that the
spell will not be successful. And this holds true regardless of how long one
has been practicing witchcraft: even a witch with decades of practice under
their belt will have spells that are utter failures from time to time.
In these instances, it’s easy to dismiss the failure of the spell as “it wasn’t
meant to be” but this is disingenuous as it removes responsibility for the
spell from the only place it belongs: on the person who cast it. It also
encourages complacency in witchcraft as there’s no incentive to become
stronger in your skills, to better understand the mechanics of magick or how
the universe works because the success of your spell rests outside of your
control. Worse yet, it is a way that we undermine our Will by giving away
our power to an unknown and utterly vague force or being. Yet there’s no
room for fatalism in witchcraft when every spell cast is a conscious act to
change what is and to make it be what we want it to be. What is meant to be
is what you Will to be.

Contents
Reasons why Spells Fail
Morality & Ethics: It’s all in the Details
Exercise 1: Developing a Plan of Attack
Exercise 2: Be Purified by Fire
Ongoing Exercises
Final Note

Reasons why Spells Fail
When a spell fails, we are often able to look back at it and get an idea of
possible reasons why that spell might have flopped. This doesn’t always
hold true, as there can be reasons for the failure that are simply outside of
our scope of perception —there were things going on so far in the
background that we were never aware of them nor capable of seeing them.
However, often we can attribute that spell’s failure to something we did or
didn’t do.
The following are a number of common reasons why spells fail. Many will
come as reminders based off previous lessons but are included for ease of
future reference. Take these not as criticism (especially if any should ring
true) but as warnings, reminders, and encouragement to remain focused on
doing whatever you can to promote the success of your spell.

You’re spread too thin in all areas of life.
Things like working too many hours, not getting enough sleep, recovering
from illness, and being stressed out leave you with too little energy and
focus to be at your peak when it comes to spell casting. Even if the magick
you’re working is dependent upon Universal energy rather than personal
energy, you still have to do the work of channeling that energy, focusing it,
and sending it on its merry way. But you can’t do that if you’ve worn
yourself out by trying to tackle too many things each day. Of course, we
don’t always have a choice in how many things we must face in a day.
Regardless if we’re stretched thin by choice or necessity, this does have the
potential to adversely affect any magick worked while in this state.
But change can still take place in these situations to help you more aptly
apply and manifest your magick. One such change is in that of your
approach and the focus of your magickal working. Rather than trying to
shape and change the energy currents in your life, focus your efforts on
changing the energy currents within you through basic energy exercises
such as grounding (which creates a circuit between you, the Earth, and the
universe, harmonizing your physical and spiritual bodies by correcting the

flow of energy within you; see Lesson 5: Raising Energy, Exercise 3:
Tapping In for an example,) and centering (which reorients you within
yourself, further bringing your physical and spiritual bodies into balance,
and reorients you with the physical and spiritual worlds; this can be
accomplished through breath work: close your eyes, sit with your back as
straight as you can comfortably can, breathe in for a count of four, breathe
out for a count of five, repeat for at least a minute or two). These provide a
form of spiritual self-care that keeps you still active within your witchcraft
practice and still working toward goals that benefit you, but that are more
sustaining and maintaining rather than shake-up and changing.

You read all the information, but didn’t do the
exercises.
The single most effective way to learn witchcraft is to practice witchcraft.
Just as you can’t learn to be a phenomenal dancer by reading books alone,
you cannot become a competent and effective witch simply by reading
about it. Witchcraft is a spiritual craft that necessitates the development and
honing of spiritual skills. But we employ those spiritual skills through the
physical: by using physical tools and movements to engage and manipulate
spiritual forces. This cannot be learned except through doing.
By going through the ritual steps, meticulously practicing magickal
exercises, and engaging your physical body with your spirit body, you train
yourself to manipulate and apply both your own energy and the energy
around you. While working magick is a natural skill, modern society does
not actively acknowledge nor engage with the spiritual world. This requires
you to train yourself to perform those spiritual actions until they become
second nature and you can perform them reflexively. But, until that level of
ability is attained, you must do the work. You must consciously engage
those spiritual muscles to shape, direct, and send forth the energy. If you
don’t, it’s highly unlikely you’re working magick and more likely that
you’re just sitting in the dark, talking to yourself in front of a candle.

You lack confidence.

Spells manifest because you say they will manifest. Your Will be done. But,
without confidence in yourself or in your abilities, you cannot be an
instrument of change. It is that confidence that is the honed edge of focus,
that concentrates the energy and directs it outward into the universe to
create the changes within the energy currents that make your spell
successful. If you’re convinced your spell won’t work and have determined
that it will fail before you even get started, then you won’t be able to
effectively engage your spirit body to take hold of the energy and create
change. You’ll just be going through the motions of a spell without any
power behind your actions and words. Don’t doubt your capabilities nor
your potential. Seize your power and let it surprise you with how much you
are capable of right now.

Your approach was wrong.
In remembering that it isn’t the tools that make a spell effective but the
actions (i.e., it’s you reaching out and seizing the energy currents about you
to create change), it only follows that the approach—how you work magick
toward that specific goal—matters. The means must be justified by the goal,
your actions must make sense per what you are trying to achieve. If you’re
working magick to rid yourself of something, don’t carry the spell remnants
on you afterward. If you’re working magick for love, don’t use aphrodisiac
herbs. If you’re working protective magick, don’t leave the finished product
or remnants out where others can see them. Much of what constitutes a
strong approach comes down to looking at what you want to achieve and
employing common sense in the spell construction.

Your spell wasn’t focused.
An effective spell will have one clear focus: one specific goal that it is
meant to accomplish. With the casting of a spell, a finite amount of energy
is being gathered and, essentially, thrown at a target. However, with more
than one target (e.g., a candle spell to protect someone, but also to bring
them love and prosperity) will cause the energy to falter; there are too many
places for it to go. If any of the energy manages to hit one of the multiple
targets, it will have a minimal effect. If you can’t gather your thoughts

enough to focus on one goal for your spell, there’s no way you could focus
your energy enough to accomplish anything even if your spell wasn’t a hot
mess. Take a step back, grab a pen and some paper and jot down a few
things: what is the problem? Why is this a problem? How do I want it
changed? What is the simplest way to change it? What is the easiest way to
change it? How can I practically affect change with magick, keeping in
mind the simplest and easiest routes? Is there one solution that fixes all of
these problems? Use your answers to identify one goal for your one spell.
Another problem with a spell’s focus is found in the casting of the spell:
rather than keeping your concentration on what you wanted to achieve with
the spell, your thoughts were centered upon what you didn’t want to
achieve. This means that all the energy you gathered and raised was
directed against the goal of your spell: the energy was directed at
perpetuating the situation you were already in or possibly even creating a
worse situation.

You worked against your own spell.
So, you’ve got one clear focus for your spell, you’ve made sure the
approach is right, and you’ve been practicing your energy work so your
skills are in good working order. But after casting your spell, nothing
happened, or worse yet, the opposite of what you wanted happened. Often
times, this comes down to simple errors in the spell construction that
basically undo the spell. For example, you work a cord-cutting spell to be
done with your ex for good, but then you carried the spell remnants around
with you. You cannot get rid of something if you insist on carrying a piece
of it around with you. Or perhaps you made a witch bottle for protection,
but you placed the bottle inside your home where everyone can see it.
Magick does have rules, it is not intent driven. If you cast a spell but then
finish that spell with actions that undo its effects, all the intent in the world
won’t correct that mistake.

You overcomplicated it.

Witchcraft is a simple craft that uses simple means and materials to
accomplish profound change. But, sometimes in our enthusiasm and desire
for a spell to be successful, we can do a fabulous job of making the spell far
too complicated, causing the spell to be unfocused and the approach
questionable. Think about what it is you want to achieve, tighten the focus
so that there is one clear goal. Allow yourself a moment of stillness to just
focus on that goal. Listen for your intuition to help you begin shaping the
approach of the spell. Keep it simple. Your spell can have a broader range
of effect if you aren’t restricting it with worry and a complicated spell
format. Remember, you can always cast another spell to support this one if
needed.

You’re using energetic means to solve a physical
problem.
When honing your spell casting skills, it’s tempting to cast a spell for
anything and everything. However, energy most strongly affects energy so
energetic means are most effective in combating energetic problems. If
there is a physical problem that can only be solved with physical/everyday
means, then no amount of energy and spell casting will get the job done. A
perfect example is trying to banish people or places from your life. These
are not spirits nor energy patterns that you can break up and remove:
they’re physical beings and locations. A spell won’t make you stop
bumping into an acquaintance if you keep stopping by where they work,
just as a spell can’t make you stop going to a local metaphysical shop that
you walk past every day. While a spell could support you breaking contact
with this person or making better spending habits, these are still problems
that require everyday action.

You’re inexperienced.
The successful use of magick is a consequence of the development of skill.
That skill is developed through time and effort. Being inexperienced is not
anything to be ashamed of, as even the most experienced witch had to start
from a point of not knowing what they were doing at all. But they put in the
effort and kept pushing forward anyway. And they made fantastic mistakes

along the way (any witch who claims a flawless record of perfectly
manifested spells is a liar). That consistent effort makes the difference. So,
if you aren’t seeing good results with your spells, consider making a point
to spend more time practicing basic energy exercises each day until those
actions become second nature to you.

You’re trying to make the impossible happen.
Witchcraft isn’t supernatural. It operates within the natural world, utilizing
spiritual forces (that naturally exist within the physical world) to create
change in the physical world. But even the most experienced witches
cannot make the impossible happen. There must be wiggle room for a spell
to be successful. That means that the goal for your magick must be within
the realm of possibility: there is a chance (regardless of how small) that it
could happen independently, with no magickal assistance. If there’s no
wiggle room, there’s no room for success.

You were impatient.
When the need or desire for a spell to manifest is especially strong, it can be
difficult to stop thinking about that spell. But this can cause the focus of the
energy you sent out to be altered. Every thought of whether your spell will
be successful, or maybe it will manifest this week, or maybe you should do
a redo spell only serves to decrease the amount of energy your spell has to
work with. It nibbles at your spell, tearing off bits of it until there’s nothing
left to effectively hit the target.

You didn’t follow through.
Just as your magickal practice doesn’t exist separate from the rest of your
life, your spells do not exist in a vacuum. Each spell requires follow up
effort in your life to encourage its success. This can be as simple as making
sure you go outside or submitting job applications when trying to increase
your income. Or it can be more complex, such as when you develop a
multi-pronged approach to accomplish your goal, but after you cast the first

spell you had a million reasons why you couldn’t do the second step in your
magickal plan of attack.

You underestimated the potential of witchcraft.
Similar to not having confidence in yourself, not having confidence in
witchcraft and magick directly undermines what you are able to
accomplish. There is so much more that we are able to achieve as witches
than any of us can possibly conceive. There is so much more that is possible
than our minds can fully comprehend. But the only way we can catch a
glimpse of just how much more we can do, how much more there is that we
could do, is by holding ourselves open to the possibility that those things
are possible in the first place.
Half-assed results are not as good as it gets. They are the result of
underestimating witchcraft—what it can achieve in your life and what it
requires of you. Give it your all and allow yourself to be surprised when it
shows you how much more is possible.

Morality & Ethics: It’s all in the Details
One of the underlying themes throughout this course has been that of
consequences. Primarily, thus far, we have focused on controlling actions in
order to bring about desired consequences: how to effectively create the
change we desire. As all spellcraft comes down to the manipulation of
energy, this controlling of actions pertains largely to keeping energy
mechanics in mind. In this way, the casting of a spell is itself mechanical
and its success is dependent upon successful execution and accounting of
much subtlety.
Yet, there are other consequences that often weigh heavily on our minds
when it comes to spellcraft. This is the moral consequence, what right do
we have to cast that spell and get what we want, and the payment
consequence, how much will it cost us to create the changes we desire.

Everyone who practices witchcraft comes to the practice with a vast
collection of experiences and influences. Our lives are an act of adaptation,
so these influences have both been collected by us and been forced upon us.
Regardless, these experiences and influences, for better or worse, directly
shape the way that we see and interact with the world. They shape our
values and, thus, our personal perception and understanding of right and
wrong.
Right, wrong, good, bad… these are not universal concepts. They are
personal, influenced by the cultures we are exposed to and can and do
change based upon our changing experiences in life. For many people,
religious influence plays a strong part in shaping views of what is
right/wrong, good/bad. But different religions are different for a reason and
the perception of right/wrong within one religion may very well differ from
the perception of another—which further demonstrates the subjectivity of
views on right/wrong.
Witchcraft is at its very core a secular
practice, as evident in the fact that much of
contemporary witchcraft is based upon
European folk magic and folklore. This folk
magic was born within and largely existed in
a staunchly Christian environment. Yet many
contemporary witches employ the same
magickal techniques and recipes in a
decidedly Pagan or atheistic context. If that
religious element was inherent to witchcraft,
these techniques would not work. But they
do. And quite well, as you’ve experienced
firsthand throughout this course.
This makes the ideas of moral consequence and payment problematic, first
and foremost because they imply that you don’t deserve to get what you
want in life. They strip you of the power that witchcraft helps you to
reclaim and shows you how to wield with precision. Second, these ideas
reinforce the concept of lack. This concept is prevalent within Western

culture and contributes to feelings of unease and restless that many of us
experience in life—feelings such as that we have to fight for every bit of
footing, that we have to struggle for the smallest bit of comfort and
happiness, that we’ll never have enough money, never be truly secure, never
be good enough at the skills and hobbies we care about to justify our doing
them. Feelings of lack keep us feeling stuck and hopeless, further stripping
us of our power. Third, these ideas suggest the need to prove ourselves to
some outside force who, alone, has the right to judge us. This entirely strips
our power from us, placing us in a position of helplessness.
Yet, every spell we cast is a proclamation that we are not helpless. Each
spell is a proclamation that we have the right to decide what our lives look
like and that what we want and choose for ourselves is good because we say
it is. Each spell is a proclamation of the power that we hold and an
affirmation of our innate right to wield our power for ourselves.
As such, there is no inherent morality or guidelines for how you should
work your magick, for what spells you should or should not cast. What
passes for karma in the West is a bastardized version of the karma of
Hinduism and Buddhism and does not reflect how energy works. The Rule
of Three was invented in the 20th century[3] and your own experiences in
spell casting will show you how poorly it holds up.
You are your own person, a person who holds power, and you are more than
capable of deciding what you should or should not do with your magick.
You are not bound to only work “selfless” magick; if you need something,
do the magick to get it. You are not bound to only work magick of “love
and light”: if you need to defend yourself or strike back, by all means, show
your teeth, witch.
But, keep the mechanics in mind and know that all actions hold
consequences: part of wielding power is deciding if you can live with the
consequences of your actions. Witchcraft demands personal responsibility
and just as energy always takes the most direct route, any consequences to
the spells you cast will affect you first. Your experiences in casting spells
and working magick will show you the range of how these consequences
can play out. This will aid you in creating your own personal ethics for

magick, a personal code of conduct based upon your experiences as a
witch, based upon your understanding of how magick and energy function,
and influenced by your life experience. May it serve you well.

Exercises
This week’s exercises follow the pattern of the exercises you did during the
last two lessons: you will develop and put to work a multi-pronged
approach that now takes the waning gibbous and waning crescent lunar
phases into account. In addition, you will be performing a simple
purificatory technique that you can make use of before (and after)
spellwork, as well as prior to divination or even at the end of a particularly
stressful day.

Exercise 1: Developing a Plan of Attack
You will be planning a multi-pronged magick approach for the next two
weeks, beginning your magick after the Full Moon and culminating with
the Dark Moon.
Revisit your list of spell foci and choose a subgoal that would be best
worked during this waning lunar period (remember, this energy is best
suited for removing, diminishing, lessening, etc., with strong endings best
focused on or just before the Dark Moon). Devise how you can break it into
smaller goals and identify small ways that you can achieve and support
these goals over the next two weeks. You have a wide variety of techniques
at your disposal; don’t be afraid to experiment or to combine techniques.
Trust your intuition and keep the magickal mechanics in mind.

Exercise 2: Be Purified by Fire
The waning period is an ideal time for any magick focused upon removal
and endings. This makes it a time when our minds naturally remember the
importance of keeping our spaces and ourselves energetically clean. Just as
you created wards to protect your home and reduce the amount of energetic
distractions therein, regularly purifying yourself serves to remove unwanted
energy that can serve to impede your ability to work magick.

A simple way to purify yourself and to remove miasma (ritual pollution)
and/or unwanted energy requires nothing more than a simple candle.
For this purification technique, you will need to be sitting upright. It is
advised to tie long hair back, just to keep it better out of reach of the candle
flame. If you can comfortably do so, you will hold the candle in front of
your body and then move it to your right (in just your right hand), passing it
behind you, and then transfer the candle to your left hand and bring the
candle back in front of you. In this way, the candle passes around you in a
circle, beginning in your right hand, transferred to your left hand behind
you, and then returning to both hands before you. If these motions are not
possible, holding the candle in front of you and visualizing the flame
passing around you will still produce the same energetic effect.
A pillar, or medium-sized jar candle is ideal.
The following chant works well for directing the energy. During the first
line, hold the candle before you so that the light and heat touch your face.
During the second line of the chant, pass the candle straight down from
your face to your belly. During the third line, pass the candle to your right,
switch hands behind your back, and bring the candle before you again.
All that burns can be purified by fire.
As my body can burn
So, too, can I be purified.
Repeat the chant and actions at least four times. You will feel the energy
change with every recitation and may very well feel a building or spiraling
tingling sensation at the end of the third line of the chant.
Use this chant as you feel moved to. It is particularly effective before
magickal workings, worship, divination, and spirit communication, as well
as when you feel especially affected by emotions that you wish to shake off,
such as stress, worry, sadness, and/or mental distraction. It can’t remove the
emotions, but it can make it easier to bear them.

Ongoing Exercises:
Add to your notes regarding the different feel of the lunar
phases and how they affect you.
Practice energy exercises (e.g., feeling energy, energy balls,
raising energy, manipulating universal energy, etc.).
Ensure you’re disposing of all spell remnants properly.

Final Note
Ultimately, when spells fail, it does no good to place blame on ourselves. It
is far more effective to try to understand what might have gone wrong so
that steps can be taken to ensure that it doesn’t happen (as much) in the
future. Looking at our actions and understanding successful magick as an
application of skill enables us to find ways that we can strengthen those
skills. It helps us to create goals for ourselves, ways that we can keep
applying ourselves and, thus, keep our practices active, changing, and
organic. Not only does this helps us to be more effective with our
witchcraft, but it helps this spiritual craft to more effectively work us. It
allows witchcraft to better teach us and to show us just how large and full of
wonder the world truly is. It allows witchcraft to show us just how amazing
and capable we truly are.

Next Week’s Lesson: Watching
the Ripples
In this, our final lesson, we’ll look at the farreaching effects that working magick can
have in your life. Although witchcraft is
largely something that we do, it is still a
spiritual practice and so it does have
unavoidable spiritual consequences.

Lesson 8: Watching the Ripples
Waning Crescent Moon Phase ending with
the Dark Moon

Throughout this course, you have been encouraged and challenged to find
ways to further embrace magick through spellcraft and to use it to create
changes within your everyday life. In doing so, you have confronted ideas
of power, encountering firsthand the power held within all living things,
within everyday objects, within the universe, and within yourself. One of
the greatest gifts that witchcraft offers us is the reclamation of our power.
Spellcraft serves as an affirmation of that power you hold, a declaration of
your right of choice and autonomy.
However, this gift is not offered without consequence. Just as in our
everyday lives, our actions bring results that can be desirable or disastrous,
helpful or hindering. But unlike our everyday actions, the consequences of
magickal action are much more difficult to ignore or escape. And in
spellcraft, as noted in the previous lesson, there are always consequences.

Contents
To Create Change is to be Changed
When to Expect Results
Cleansing—What & Why
Exercise 1: Revisiting
Exercise 2: Cleansing—How
Ongoing Exercises
Final Note

To Create Change is to be Changed
In Lesson 1: Spells, Magick, & Witchcraft, the ways that witchcraft differs
from other magickal systems was touched on. We spoke of its five defining
traits (animism, divination, the Land, ritual, and spirit work) and how it
thrives in that place of union between the physical and spiritual worlds,
utilizing spiritual forces to create change within our everyday lives.
Yet there is another way that witchcraft differs strongly from other magickal
systems. In considering its defining traits, we see a touch of wildness about
it. Witchcraft requires that we confront our hang-ups and revulsion
regarding the physical world, that we embrace our physicality for the power
and beauty that it holds. It demands that we entangle ourselves with the
world, experiencing the land and its spirits on their terms and learning our
place among them through that direct action. It is in that wildness that a
peculiarity of witchcraft is revealed.
As much as witchcraft springs forth from the land, it behaves as if it is some
sort of creature, half-feral, sentient, and roaming across the landscape.
Sharp of tooth and claw, in exchange for it teaching us how to reclaim our
power, how to wield power to create real and lasting change, witchcraft
demands that we become effective in wielding that power.
This becomes evident as situations arise in our lives, fraught with
synchronicity and foreboding, that require us to turn our eyes inward, to
confront shadow and do the work of personal growth. It’s as if witchcraft
turns to face us, chewing and scratching at us to tear away all the nonsense
with which we burden and preoccupy ourselves.
And in doing so, we are made to be better witches. The consequence of
wielding power to create change is to be changed by that power. The vessel
is made stronger so it can hold more and so it can pass on those contents
with less contamination and loss.
This strengthening is not always pleasant and can, in fact, be quite
uncomfortable. Encountering these demands of change, of personal growth

and improvement, for the first time frequently comes as a sort of rite of
passage: an ordeal all witches must face yet not all pass through. For the
witch who passes through this rite, the depths of witchcraft are revealed for
they can only be reached through the depths of ourselves. And for the witch
who is forced to confront themselves and turns back, resisting the call to dig
in, dig deep, and chew out the rot? These are the witches who, despite years
of practice, believe there is nothing more to witchcraft than
correspondences and candles, archetypes and affirmations...
How can we facilitate this work of becoming better witches? By doing the
work to grow as a person. We become better witches by recognizing and
doing the work we need to in order to mature emotionally, to take ourselves
seriously, to quiet the voice that says we’re not good enough, that our
efforts don’t make a difference. We become better witches by seeing our
flaws, accepting them as part of who we are, and striving to do better. We
become better witches by not shying away from the pain of dealing with our
past, by confronting our feelings of lack, and by learning how to be our own
best friend. Your witchcraft cannot be effective if you hate yourself,
frequently dodge your responsibilities, or refuse to accept your adulthood.
All of this is very much part of learning to walk in that place of liminality,
where the physical everyday world is embraced as strongly as the spiritual
and the line between them becomes blurred. There is no witchcraft without
wholeness—that includes wholeness of ourselves.

When to Expect Results
When casting spells, it all comes down to results. It doesn’t matter how
much thought you put into the spell, how carefully focused and constructed
it was, nor how much energy you raised—if results aren’t produced it’s hard
to consider the spell anything but unsuccessful.
But the time frame in which a spell manifests can really vary. And,
unfortunately, the factors that contribute to that variance are just as diverse
as when you could expect to see results. Assuming perfect construction of
the spell, there are still matters of your experience and skill, the

involvement of familiars and deities, and larger universal currents of energy
that can greatly affect when—and if—a spell comes to fruition.
While instant results are typically exclusive to the realms of fictional
magick, results can be achieved within a matter of minutes, especially in the
case of a small spell that’s part of a multi-pronged approach. It is more
typical, however, that a spell manifests sometime within the next few days
or, in the cases of spells strongly tied to lunar energy, one full lunar cycle
later (i.e., you cast the spell at the Full Moon, results appear at the next Full
Moon).
Of course, sometimes a spell may produce results that we cannot see, such
as when it reaches its target yet doesn’t carry the heft necessary to create
significant change. This is where follow-up spells are beneficial because
that subsequent spell can ride on the momentum of the first spell. Just as if
you were to hit a large boulder with a hammer each day until one day your
blow caused the boulder to crack, that follow-up spell may be more
“successful” (producing visible results) due to the preliminary work of an
“unsuccessful” spell. Should you cast a spell where you were certain that it
should have had an effect, consulting divination on whether to perform a
follow-up spell—and how to perform that spell—can be quite valuable.

Cleansing—What & Why
Active magickal practice requires active magickal hygiene. Just as you
wash and clean your physical body to maintain good health, your spiritual
health is aided through ritual techniques that keep your spirit body and
living space energetically clean. These techniques are known as cleansing
and purification.
As you experienced in the previous lesson with the purification technique in
Exercise 2: Be Purified by Fire, cleansing and purification work through
removing energy. The energy that we aim to remove with cleansing or
purification is not innate to us but, rather, is energy that has been acquired
through everyday events and people we come into contact with, as well as
being consequential: the results of our own actions, both both physical and

magickal/spiritual, as well as being the result of biological functions. In the
case of an object, the energy we seek to remove is also not inherent to that
object but has been acquired through use and/or proximity to other energy
sources. This unwanted/consequential energy is known both as ritual
pollution (for its ability to interfere with spiritual/religious activities) and as
miasma.
Miasma, or ritual pollution, is a state of
energetic impurity as a result of certain
activities, situations, actions, and biological
functions. This state impacts your ability to
perform certain religious functions and rites,
as well as impeding magickal activities, such
as divination, communication with deities
and spirits, and spell work.
While a state of miasma can happen as a
result of everyday events and biological
functions, such as using the bathroom,
wearing dirty clothes, sexual intercourse, or
being near illness or death. There are also
activities unique to witches that directly
interfere with the ability to perform other
magickal actions due to the resulting ritual
pollution. These include:
spirit communication, especially
with the dead
Otherworld travel, sending the
fetch, astral travel, spirit travel,
journeying, etc.
healing work, especially energy
healing, laying on hands, etc.
banishing work, exorcising of
spirits, depossession work, etc.
possession and invocation

taxidermy and the creation of spirit
houses
spell work, especially heavy spell
work where you may not have
sufficiently utilized outside energy
sources and leave yourself tired
and weak
Miasma is not inherently bad, nor is ritual
purity inherently good. Ritual pollution is a
natural part of life and magickal practice.
Neither is this energy we remove negative or
bad. Remember: “negative energy” is the
boogeyman of contemporary witchcraft—it
doesn’t exist yet holds people trapped in fear.
Nonetheless, an imbalance or accumulation
of energy within ourselves, within an object,
or within a location can have undesirable
effects. Cleansing and purification are ritual
technology that enable us to correct this.
We remove this energy due to the effect that it can have upon us or, with
objects, because of the way that energy impacts our ability to use that object
within magickal practice. This energy serves as interference, undesirably
affecting our thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and it disallows the intrinsic
energy within an object to perform as it normally would. While things such
as an argument in a room or death of a loved one are often cited as reasons
to cleanse a space, there are very normal magickal actions that we do that
also require cleansing after performing them. For example, particularly
strong magickal workings can leave the energy within a room frantic,
causing headaches and restlessness in people. Any divination or
communication with the dead, as well as chthonic deities and/or spirits, can
also require a space to be cleansed. In these examples, a cleansing resets the
energy of that space so that it doesn’t serve as a distraction or hindrance to
basic functionality nor impedes magickal practice, as those energies could
linger and interfere with subsequent spells.

In the instance of objects, it is natural for them to acquire energy due to
proximity/coming into contact with other energies or being put to use, such
as in the case of stones that may hang out in your pockets each day or be
used in healing work. To what extent this occurs in any object will depend
on what it is, what it is near, how it’s being used, and the indwelling spirit.
Some objects soak up energies far more readily, others wouldn’t notice or
be effected if the spiritual equivalent of a bomb went off near them. But, for
those objects that are prone to accumulation, this energy creates a burden on
them and prevents their innate energies from being able to operate as
strongly. Cleansing that excess and acquired energy allows them to do their
job well.
Cleansing and purification are very similar in
practice, so much that the same techniques
can often be used for either. Yet, they are
different in function. Cleansing is more akin
to surface washing: wiping down your
countertops and sweeping the floor.
Purification, on the other hand, is the deep
cleaning: it’s getting on your hands and
knees and finally scrubbing that strange
discolored spot on the kitchen floor and
removing the dead spiders from inside your
windows.
Note that cleansing and purification do not
hold a protective function, nor are they
means of removing spirit attachment or
presence from within a space: they are ritual
technology for removing excess, unwanted,
or otherwise disadvantageous energy. That’s
it.
Cleansing is most often used for objects and spaces, frequently to excess.
Although cleansing your home of transient energy can make your home feel

more comfortable, unless your home is warded, that energy will just return
because there’s nothing in place to keep it out. Often, too, commonly
advised cleansing techniques are done improperly so as to have no effect.
For example, it has become common to “cleanse the space” before doing
Tarot readings, in which the diviner waves incense over a table. However, it
is not the presence of the incense/herbs that performs the cleansing, nor is it
the action of waving it around in the air. It is the smoke that cleanses excess
and/or unwanted energy. If the smoke doesn’t bathe the object—touching
and passing over it—that object has not been cleansed.
So how do you know if you, your home, or an object could benefit from a
cleansing or from purification?
In yourself:
irritability and/or mood swings
feeling distracted
strong emotions that prevent focus (e.g., anger, joy, sadness,
etc.)
recurring thoughts, such as a song or phrase stuck in your head
having recently been sick
having recently done magick that involved visiting, touching,
crossing, or viewing liminal spaces
In a space:
feeling that something is off
sudden mood swings shortly after entering that space
feeling “pockets” in the room that feel heavy or thick
In an object:
it feels inexplicably heavier
if a stone, it rolls and refuses to remain where you place it

it was recently use in heavy magickal work, such as healing
work, protection work, or anything that involves touching or
crossing liminality
it was handled by or touched someone else for a length of time
as part of a magickal working and/or healing work
the object tells you to cleanse it
Your home does not need to be cleansed on a daily basis, nor does any tool
you own—that includes a Tarot deck, even if used for daily readings.
Cleansing is done on an as-needed basis. It does not benefit you to cleanse
obsessively. With proper warding within your home, a monthly cleansing is
sufficient for basic care. With any object, how often you cleanse, too, will
be as needed. Tools that are heavily used and regularly come into contact
with others, such as stones, mirrors, or jewelry used in healing work for
others, should be cleansed after each use and checked to see if they need
cleansing again before being used again. However, there may be times
when you find daily purification of yourself to be quite beneficial. If you
work heavily with spirits, it is recommended to purify a few times each
week.

Exercises
This week’s exercises are a continuation of last week’s: you will be
continuing the multi-pronged magick that you planned for this waning lunar
phase, culminating in a larger spell for the Dark Moon. Be sure to check for
your timezone and time of sunset to determine when you should work the
Dark Moon.
Remember that to take full advantage of the decreasing energy of the Dark
Moon, it is better to work when the Moon is still waning. The time given
for the New Moon on calendars is the halfway point of the Dark Moon and,
thus, when the Moon begins to wax.

Exercise 1: Revisiting
In the previous lesson, you outlined a plan of attack for this two-week
waning lunar phase, employing a multi-pronged magick approach with a
number of spells and acts of magick worked to support each other and
increase the likelihood of success for your larger Dark Moon spell.
Review the plans that you made for your magick and make any necessary
changes based off what you achieved last week (either results achieved or
energy that you set in motion). Are there any other spells or magick that
have become necessary to work now? Adjust your plan as necessary and get
stated on that magick, remembering to look for ways to support your
magick in your everyday life, too.

Exercise 2: Cleansing—How
Cleansing is a practical and foundational part of good magickal hygiene that
is also remarkably simple to do effectively. There is nothing needed to
perform a strong cleansing that you don’t already have in your home.
For this exercise, experiment with some or all of the following cleansing
techniques, incorporating them into your multi-pronged magick as is

beneficial.
As mentioned earlier, smoke is a very common and effective way to cleanse
a person, space, or object. To increase efficacy, burn herbs or wood that
have cleansing or purifying properties—check your spice rack for which
herbs are cleansing, wander about the trees near to your home and ask them
which is willing to aid you in your cleansing work and then collect fallen
branches, look for what you already have or to which you have relatively
easy access.
Water is also an effective cleanser because it is naturally conductive to
energy, facilitating it moving on its own accord. Asperging is the practice of
sprinkling water for the purpose of cleansing or purifying. It can be done
with an aspergillum (tool for sprinkling water), a sprig of fresh herbs, a
small bundle of twigs, or your fingertips. Objects can also be submerged in
water if it is safe to do so (not all crystals can be safely placed in water,
such as selenite and pyrite).
Sound is another effective means of cleansing. It is especially useful for
spaces but can be used for objects. Rising notes and increased pace
generally facilitate raising energy, while pure sustained notes are effective
for cleansing. Bells are especially good for this purpose, however, you can
also sing, holding a note, at pitch, growing louder in volume, bathing the
object or filling the space with your voice.
You have already experienced fire’s ability to cleanse. The light drives out
extraneous energy just as effectively as it drives out shadows. Its function
is, admittedly, more purificatory than cleansing and works well in
conjunction with other cleansing methods.

Ongoing Exercises:
Add to your notes regarding the different feel of the lunar
phases and how they affect you.
Practice energy exercises (e.g., feeling energy, energy balls,
raising energy, manipulating universal energy, purification,

etc.).
Ensure you’re disposing of all spell remnants properly.

Final Note
There is no end to our learning in regard to spellcraft as each spell cast,
every bit of magick we work, is a new experience, building off the work
we’ve done to open our awareness to the reality of the world and to step
more fully into that awareness. Although this course focused on boosting
efficacy in spellcraft, you have explored a number of topics and grown
proficient in a variety of magickal techniques that will continue to serve
you well throughout your witchcraft practice.
Although you may not have anything further in your multi-pronged magick
planned after the Dark Moon, it is my sincere hope that you continue to
look for ways that you can meld the magick with your everyday life,
embracing the unseen to create real and tangible changes within your life.
To be a witch is to walk in that place where the line between the worlds
blurs.
May that line between magick and the everyday be ever blurred for you.

Afterword
While never intending to be anything but an introduction to spellcraft, this
course inadvertently became so much more than expected when I first
began outlining it. It was to be my fourth course in less than a year,
following the compelled by necessity Be a Local Witch and the “wouldn’t
it be fun if” tandem release of Introduction to Spirit Work and Introduction
to Ancestor Work. The words flowed strong and easily, pouring from my
fingers in that way that words do when you aren’t so much writing as you
are allowing something else to be born through you.
I wasn’t sure what exactly it was that I had put together, but as that first
group of thirty-some witches and I worked through the material together
and shared our experiences each week, I gradually began to realize that this
was so much more than a simple look at how to better write and cast spells.
It was as if the feral beast that witchcraft is had snaked its claws so deeply
within me that I had become a creature inspirited by its nature, affording it
physical means to ensure that all necessary points toward efficacy in
magick (within the context of witchcraft) were addressed—and planting the
seeds of worldview so that the beast of witchcraft might find its way into
the hearts of those that worked through the resulting material that much
more easily.
In the weeks following our completion of the material, witch after witch
told story of transformation, of finding themselves—their practices, their
lives, themselves—undergoing changes as a direct result of the course.
There were the expected reports of improvements in careers due to
spending eight consecutive weeks working magick to create such, increases
in confidence within their practices, and the like. But there were also
several unexpected reports of finding themselves encountering spiritual
challenges, entering the fallow times indicative of deeper changes to ones
spirit body.
It’s been three years, at the time of this writing, since this course was first
released. Then and now it continues to surprise me. That’s one of the really
great things about writing, when you have something that you know you

wrote but you aren’t really sure how it managed to be what it is. And what
this course, now book, is remains to be something that I wish had existed
when I first began practicing witchcraft so many years ago. It remains
something that I would hand to bright eyed, optimistic, hungry for info
beginner witch me without reservation—and with wonder if I would see the
bits of myself that found there way into the material and still live on within
me.
May this course help you to build a strong foundation to your magickal
practice—or create one where it may have been lacking. May it help you to
remain curious and open to finding out what can be achieved through your
own efforts May it help you to remember that there is always a solution,
that there is always wiggle room—but you have to be willing to do the
work to make that wiggle room worth a damn.
May this course help you to remember that there is so much more to
witchcraft—and the world—than any of us could ever hope to discover in
one lifetime.
Althaea
May, 2021

Glossary
affirmation short phrase, generally lacking rhythm or rhyme structure, that
is repeated in an effort to change your thoughts and beliefs so as to
influence behavior (i.e., repeating the affirmation “I am confident, smart,
and sexy” every morning to help yourself believe it so that you act
accordingly and are, thus, perceived as such by others).
altar purposely constructed temporary physical space that serves as a portal
between the worlds through which energies and entities may be called forth
or sent through; a flat surface upon which are deliberately arranged
particular religious/spiritual tools and objects for the effect of their
combined energies and the way that effect contributes to achieving a
defined goal; contrast with shrine.
animism the belief that there is a unique spirit present within all things—
animate and inanimate, natural and man-made—as well as spirits who share
the physical world with us, who exist solely in the spirit world, and who
may flit back and forth between both worlds. These spirits are of equal
value and importance as living humans and so emphasis is placed upon the
relationships had with these other-than-human people.
archetype the base energetic understanding and qualities of something,
such as a type of animal or social role; archetypes are frequently confused
with spirits, however, they are impersonal and their value comes solely
through their ability to evoke a response based upon what that archetype
symbolically encompasses; archetypes do not reflect inherent traits of a
thing but, rather, traits that are reflective of collective perception of that
which is represented by the archetype; although the prevalence of
archetypes within witchcraft can be attributed to the psychologist Carl Jung,
this concept has become altered and reinterpreted within magickal practice.
astral travel see Otherworld travel
awareness the ability to experience what is there to be experienced—
internally and externally—without judgment or expectation; one of the

foundational skills a witch must develop in order to be effective and
capable.
banishing a ritual technique for removing or sending away various energies
or spirits, often as a counter technique for having called forth those energies
or spirits (such as through evocation).
breath work a ritual technique that involves consciously altering the
pattern of your breathing for the purpose of manipulating energy, entering
an altered state of consciousness, and/or eliciting certain emotions within
yourself.
centering an energetic exercise that consciously reorients you within
yourself, further bringing your physical and spiritual bodies into balance,
and reorients you with the physical and spiritual worlds.
ceremonial magic a system of magick based upon esoteric and Hermetic
texts. It historically was a practice exclusive to wealthy men who were
frequently affiliated with the Church. Contrast with folk magic and
witchcraft.
chant a short phrase or verse that is meant to be repeated. It can be as short
as one line of a handful of words, or several lines and verses long. With
multiple verses, chants frequently make use of repeated rhyming structure,
such as in the form of couplets.
charge to consciously infuse an object with energy as well as align its
inherent energy to a specific goal; similar terms include enchant and
empower.
charm an object that is deliberately constructed (or modified) and charged
so as to perform a magickal function; originally meaning an incantation,
song, or verse that was recited as a spell, as a term in contemporary
witchcraft, it may refer to a magickally charged object or spoken magick.
circle ritual technology used for the purpose of creating an energetic sphere
about yourself and/or a small group of people in order to keep out unwanted

spiritual influences, contain raised energy, and be used as a vehicle that
takes those within the circle into a space that is in between the physical and
the spiritual, thus, requiring any deities or spirits being worked with to be
called into the circle via the portal created through the construction of an
altar; contrast with compass.
cleanse a magico-religious technique for removing excess and/or unwanted
energy, such as ritual pollution or miasma, from an object, person, or place
so that energy will not interfere with further magickal work or day to day
events in that location; contrast with purification.
compass ritual technology used for the purpose of altering time and space.
Whereas a circle is anchored between the worlds by the elements, a
compass sinks those within its bounds deeper into the land and is anchored
within the Otherworld, thereby taking you to any gods or spirits that will be
consulted for that working; contrast with circle.
consecrate a ritual technique wherein an object or place is made sacred and
set apart from everyday use by being dedicated to use for one or more
deities.
cord-cutting spell a spell used to cut the energetic bond between two
people so as to dissolve spiritual connection and allow each to live their life
no longer spiritually affected by the other; often used when romantic
relationships have ended or when a relationship that is or has become toxic
must be severed for the well-being of one or both of the two.
correspondences, magickal the relationship that exists among an object
(such as a plant, stone, planet, color, etc.), its energy, and a particular
magickal goal. For example, the color red is traditionally associated with
fire, physical vitality, anger, passion, strength, and protection.
Correspondences must not be understood as definitions nor boundaries, but
as descriptions of an energetic relationship that help you better understand
the nature of an object.
crescent denoting when the Moon is illuminated less than halfway; a
crescent Moon may be waxing (growing in illumination) or waning

(decreasing in illumination); compare with gibbous.
Dark Moon the time period when the Moon is not longer visible in the
night sky, lasting 1.5 to 3 days—depending upon latitude and topography.
The Dark Moon generally rises and sets with the Sun; compare with New
Moon.
deity a type of spirit with considerable power and influence over the
physical world. Their distinction as “gods” may be due to status (through
our honor and worship, we have elevated Them to that place of power and
rank) or a trait intrinsic to Their nature; some deities were originally land
spirits or even human before becoming a god.
depossession a ritual process in which someone who is possessed by a
spirit (be it a deity, deceased human, or other spirit) is made to no longer be
possessed.
divination a means of analyzing a situation in order to gain clarity and
insight through random variables. Forms of divination include but are not
limited to scrying, cards (such as Tarot or playing cards), throwing the
bones, and runes.
eclipse when either the Sun or Moon is obscured from view due to the
passing of another celestial body before them. Solar eclipses always occur
at the Dark Moon and are caused by the Moon passing between the Earth
and the Sun, the Moon thereby covering the Sun in the sky. Lunar eclipses
are caused by the Earth passing between the Moon and the Sun, the Earth’s
shadow passing across a Full Moon. Eclipses are not rare and, historically,
have been viewed as malefic (having unfortunate and even disastrous
influence).
elements energetic forces that categorically and thematically allow us to
better perceive the world as multifaceted and layered. Originating in ancient
Greece, the modern perspective holds there are five elements: earth, air,
fire, water, and spirit. The elements are seen (by some) as being the
energetic building blocks of all things, with everyone and everything
existing as a compilation of the four physical elements and animated

through the fifth element of spirit, connecting us to the divine. Despite how
commonplace it has become, not all witches embrace this view of the
world, some preferring to not categorize energy in such a manner that can
be construed as limiting understanding of that energy and its uses.
energy an incredibly common yet remarkably vague term used throughout
the various magickal communities to refer to spiritual forces that lack the
individuality of spirits and are able to be influenced through the use of
psychic skills. The manipulation of energy (pushing and/or pulling) is the
foundation of magickal practice. It is not the same energy as spoken of
within the scientific fields; see also personal energy and universal energy.
energy healing any of numerous metaphysical practices whereby someone
directs energy through or from themselves and into someone else for the
purpose of affecting the energetic temperament of that individual in such a
way as to consequently facilitate healing within the physical body due to
the interconnection of the energetic/spirit body and the physical body. Reiki
is one such form of energy healing.
equinox a twice yearly event in which the center of the Sun is directly
above the equator, causing the day (time of light) and night (time of dark) to
be roughly equal; contrast with solstice.
evoke the ritual act of calling or pulling a spirit or type of energy so that it
is present outside of ones physical body; evocation; contrast with invoke.
familiar any spirit with whom the witch is in close relationship. While a
familiar might be the spirit of a deceased animal (or an energetic being who
has never been physically incarnate), a familiar cannot be a living animal
because that animal is not capable of performing the jobs that a familiar
does, such as garnering safe passage for the witch through the Otherworld,
striking deals with other spirits on the witch’s behalf, introducing the witch
to deities and other spirits, or gobbling up curses. A familiar is the witch’s
closest spiritual companion, acting as an extension of themselves, boosting
magick, acquiring and relaying information, affording protection, and
offering companionship.

folk magic a body of information relative to the common people of a
specific region that relates to spiritual beliefs, superstitions, customs, and
the position that people hold within the local land, as well as those practices
utilized to better help the individual and their community navigate that
position, be in right relationship with the land and its spirits, and otherwise
better their position in life; contrast with ceremonial magic, compare with
witchcraft.
Full Moon per astronomy, the exact moment the Moon begins to wane.
Traditionally, this is a three day period with the peak of the Full Moon
occurring on the second night. The Full Moon rises around sunset and sets
around sunrise. The exact length of time that the Moon is fully illuminated
varies and can last several hours.
genius loci a general term referring to all spirits inhabiting a given location.
This can include the spirits of deceased humans and animals that linger
upon the land, the animating spirits found within plants, living animals, and
natural features of the landscape (such as the spirits of hills, a forest, a
stream, a boulder, or a meadow), as well as spirits that live on the land just
as any physically incarnate being might, calling that place home and
sometimes holding a protective or even governing role over a location.
Variations include genii locus and genii loci. Historically, the plural is genii
locorum, however, the singular genius loci is frequently used in an all
encompassing, plural manner now.
gibbous denoting when the Moon is illuminated more than halfway; a
crescent Moon may be waxing (growing in illumination) or waning
(decreasing in illumination); compare with crescent.
grounding an energetic exercise that consciously creates a circuit between
you, the Earth, and the universe, harmonizing your physical and spiritual
bodies by correcting the flow of energy within you.
incantation a verse that is not repeated. It is generally longer, consisting of
several lines, and may feature repeated phrasing and/or rhyming as a way of
raising and focusing energy.

intention the desired outcome of a spell or other act of magick. Intention
alone is not magick, is not a spell, and is not capable of accomplishing
change; intention that is not supported through appropriate action—
magickal or otherwise—is little more than thoughts and wishes.
intuition as a skill, it is the combination of psychic skills working in
harmony with a basis in clairsentience (knowing without knowing how you
know, without having the physically based experience to support that
knowing). Intuition is the knowing that there is a spirit present when there
is no sensation of energetic changes or visual indication of that presence; it
is asking a question and having an answer appear from deep within,
disconnected from all emotion and weight of expectation; it is feeling the
need to move your coffee cup further from the edge of the counter seconds
before something falls out of the cupboard and lands right where your cup
was.
invoke the ritual act of calling or pulling a spirit or type of energy so that it
is present inside of your physical body. In the instance where a spirit (such
as a deity) is called into your physical body, this act could also be termed
ritual possession or divine possession; invocation; contrast with evoke.
journeying see Otherworld travel
Land, the the physicality of a location in tandem with the animating forces
and very real spirits that inhabit that place altogether. A term (with
deliberate capitalization) that encompasses both the land in the purely
physical sense and the genius loci (the animating forces and resident spirits
of that location) to provide a more complete description of a location.
liminality a quality of being not of one thing nor another but between them,
both and yet separate. There is much of witchcraft that is born of and exists
within liminality, so much so that this quality becomes a dominant
descriptor of the witch themselves, as this is a place in which they
frequently find themselves.
lunar cycle the period in which the Moon goes from not being visible in the
night sky to fully illuminated and back to not being visible at night. This

cycle lasts 29 days (from Earth’s perspective) and is marked by eight
distinct phases: dark moon, waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, full moon,
waning gibbous, and waning crescent.
magick the action of utilizing spiritual forces to create change; many
different systems and approaches exist, witchcraft is one such system;
magickal actions include things such as spells, rituals, divination, spirit
communication, astral travel, and more.
miasma aka ritual pollution a state of energetic impurity as a result of
certain activities, situations, actions, and biological functions. This state
impacts your ability to perform certain religious functions and rites, as well
as impeding magickal activities, such as divination, communication with
deities and spirits, and spell work.
monotheism the belief that there exists one singular deity Who exists
within and separate from the physical world. As a worldview, it frequently
goes hand in hand with dualism, which posits a separation between the
physical and the spiritual, including a separation between living humans
and that deity, as well as between living humans and the dead. Emphasis is
placed on being in right relationship with that deity so that one can be with
them in death; contrast with polytheism.
moon water a ritual technique that passively catches the light and energy of
the Moon in water, potentially retaining the energy of the Moon; contrast
with silvered water.
multi-pronged magick an approach to spellcraft in which you layer spells
to accomplish a larger goal. Each spell is focused upon a unique goal but all
goals within the multi-pronged approach support and facilitate achieving
the one larger goal.
New Moon per astronomy, the exact moment the Moon begins to wax,
marking the beginning of a new lunar cycle (hence “New” Moon; this
timing puts the New Moon at the peak of the Dark Moon). Per old common
and maritime usage, the moment the Moon becomes visible again in the sky

after the Dark Moon. The New Moon is visible in the West, chasing after
the setting Sun; compare with Dark Moon.
Otherworld a name for the spirit world that emphasizes the differences that
exist between it and what we tend to think of as “our” world, as well as
emphasizing the reality of this world in contrast with the physical: it is
similar yet different, it is other.
Otherworld travel one of the many names for a ritual technique in which
you send forth your spirit body to travel to another plane of reality, this
plane of reality may be called the Otherworld, the spirit world, or the astral
plane, among other names; other names for this technique include astral
travel, journeying, spirit travel, and sending the fetch.
Paganism a contemporary religious movement that is an umbrella for many
contemporary religions and religious traditions; these traditions are largely
polytheistic and animistic, many are an attempt to revive the indigenous
religions of Europe and the surrounding area.
personal energy energy originating within and particular to an individual;
contrast with universal energy.
personal responsibility the only implicit concept of morality within
witchcraft; personal responsibility means that you are responsible for your
actions and the decisions you make, you are responsible for the
consequences of your actions and the decisions you make.
polytheism the belief in the existence of many, living, complex, and
autonomous deities who exist within and without the physical world and
Whose presence and actions maintain order in the cosmos. Emphasis is
placed on being in right relationships with these beings.
poppet a likeness made of a living individual to serve as representative so
that magick can be indirectly performed upon them.
possession the ritual act of drawing a spirit, typically a deity, into oneself so
that spirit may speak through that physical body. This is often done to

deliver prophecy, as part of oracular work.
Powers, the a collective name for deities and spirits of significant enough
power so as to hold influence in a matter or in your (or anyone else’s) life.
psychic a catch all descriptor for energetic and/or spiritual forces and/or
skills, e.g., the ability to feel and manipulate energy is a psychic skill as is
intuition.
purification a magico-religious technique for removing excess and/or
unwanted energy, such as ritual pollution or miasma, from an object,
person, or place so that energy will not interfere with further magickal work
or day to day events in that location while also creating a state that
encourages the drawing and accumulation of energy conducive to spiritual
practice, a magickal, or daily life. It can be performed using a variety of
materials, such as fire, water, smoke, and sound; contrast with cleanse.
religion a way of viewing and interacting with Ultimate Reality as
established by a community. There exist many different religions
throughout the world. Historically, most religions have viewed Ultimate
Reality as being multilayered, with a physical world and sometimes
multiple spirit worlds, and many different types of beings, existing in
physical form as well as spirit form who are able to interact with each other
to varying degrees. Religion provides a framework for spiritual beliefs and
practice; contrast with spirituality.
ritual any pattern of steps performed in a certain order for the purpose of
achieving a desired result. Within witchcraft, ritual is a broad term,
encompassing such things as any type of spell, a purification process, or the
procedure surrounding divination; it can also refer to more formal and
religious actions such as making offerings to a deity or other spirit, an act of
worship, or a ceremonial act of celebration.
ritual pollution see miasma
ritual technology tools and techniques with established and fairly well
understood (by general practitioners) mechanics that are able to be used in a

magico-religious context to produce consistent and predictable results that
often facilitate the working of more complex rituals. The creation and use
of an altar, for its ability to create a portal between the worlds, in one such
example.
Rule of Three a maxim that implies an inherent rule of energetic behavior
to enforce a code of conduct for witches, i.e., that every action the witch
takes will be returned to them three fold, thereby encouraging the witch to
be mindful of their actions, both everyday and magickal. The first instance
of this rule can be found in the book High Magic’s Aid by Gerald Brosseau
Gardner, that was published in 1949.
Sabbat a general name for any of the eight holidays that make up the
Wheel of the Year; see Wheel of the Year.
sachet a small cloth bundle containing dried herbs and sometimes small
stones, roots, bones, and curios. It may be crafted for the purpose of amulet
(repelling) or talisman (attracting) and presents a versatile piece of folk
magic for the witch of any experience level.
sacred space space that has been consecrated (made sacred) for the purpose
of religious ritual, especially ritual to which the Gods and other Powers may
be called.
shadow work a general term for the work a witch does to encourage
personal growth (rather than allowing that growth to be consequential to the
work of witchcraft; this is an active seeking of that growth for the sake of
that growth). It is loosely based on the concept of shadow as conceived by
Carl Jung, who described shadow as being unrealized aspects of
personality, such as the entirety of our unconscious, all of which we are
unaware about ourselves, the darker side of our psyche that we repress,
aspects of our personality that we may repress due to social pressuring
and/or to protect ourselves (such as a tendency to be nurturing, an easy
sense of humor, or creativity). It has, unfortunately, become a buzz word
within the community and suffered greatly to extensive misinformation as
well as unethical and dangerous guidance.

shrine dedicated physical space that has been devoted to that particular
deity; a flat surface upon which items have been placed for the delight of a
deity and to aid in the worship of that deity; unlike an altar, a shrine is a
permanent space; an altar that is not taken down is more appropriately
called a shrine when not in use.
silvered water a ritual technique that involves actively catching the light
and energy of the Moon in water, thereby retaining the energy of the Moon
in that water; contrast with moon water.
solar cycle from the Earth’s perspective and within a strictly magickal
context, these are the daily cycle of night, dawn, morning, noon, evening,
dusk and the yearly cycle as played out on the land in the form of the
seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
solstice a twice yearly event in which the center of the Sun is the furthest
north or furthest south from the equator, causing the longest day (time of
light) and shortest night (time of dark) as well as the longest night (time of
dark) and shortest day (time of light); contrast with equinox.
spell a concentrated and deliberate ritual act of magick for the purpose of
creating specific change. It utilizes spiritual forces to create measurable
changes in the energy within and without a situation and/or person.
spell remnants the bits of wax, herb matter, ash, string, and other such
material that are leftover after casting a spell; this material holds the active
energy of that spell and must be disposed of properly as it can be used to
(intentionally or accidentally) work against your spell.
spellcraft the art and practice of casting spells; one component of
witchcraft that falls beneath the category of ritual.
spirit any being that exists on a spectrum of energetic beings, some of these
beings may have once been physically incarnate—such as spirits of
deceased humans and animals—while others may have never been
physically incarnate—such as some (but not all) spirits of place (genius
loci), familiars, the Good Folk, and the Gods.

spirit body the spiritual structure of an individual that is comprised of, as
best is currently understood, energy and which directly affects the spiritual
and/or psychic experiences that we have and are capable of having.
spirit travel see Otherworld travel
spirit work the art and practice of engaging and communicating with
spirits; one of the foundational and defining characteristics of witchcraft.
spirituality the personal relationship that you have with Ultimate Reality
based upon your understanding of and experience with the world. This
includes personal views on the spirit world, personal experience with deities
and other spirits; and understanding, beliefs, and opinions of deities, spirits,
and the spirit world. Your spirituality may be informed by religious
subscription however religion is not a requirement for spirituality; contrast
with religion.
spiritworker a religious specialist who serves as a mediator between other
living humans and the spirit world, including deities. Their role may be
fulfilled through the use of divination, necromancy, possession, among
various other modes of service and intercession.
synchronicity events that occur in relative close succession that feel
meaningful yet don’t have any clear connection to each other, such as
singing your favorite song then turning on the radio only to hear that song
playing or buying a coffee on your birthday and the total cost is your birth
date. Synchronicity can be used by spirits to communicate with us,
however, the use of discernment is so essential as most times syncs having
nothing to do with spirits of an sort and more to do with the intersecting of
energetic currents and our proximity to that intersection (i.e., syncs happen.
Don’t worry about it).
Tarot a system of divination dependent upon a deck of cards with set
imagery and meanings of the cards. Originating from the Italian card game
tarocchi in the 15th century, its use as a divinatory system is not bound to
any one culture, system of magick, nor religion.

tools consecrated items, set apart from other objects, and reserved for
specific use. Consecration alters items on an energetic/spiritual level,
rendering them items of precision: designed to fulfill very specific magicoreligious purpose.
universal energy energy originating outside of an individual that is not
bound to any living being, does not comprise any spiritual being, and is
largely free flowing throughout the physical and spiritual worlds; contrast
with personal energy.
visualization more than the ability to simply picture something in your
mind, it is a technique of perfectly (re)creating a situation, moment, or
object within the mental sphere. Potent visualization that fuels magick
involves all senses and even the emotional and physical responses
associated with that which is being visualized. This (re)creation can then be
used as a means of guiding energy (such as in spell work), as way finding
(in the case of Otherworld travel), and as a means of facilitating
communication with spirits (particularly the dead and deities).
waning the second half of the lunar cycle, occurring between the Full Moon
and Dark Moon, denoting the decrease in illumination of the Moon (from
the perspective of the Earth); contrast with waxing.
ward a physical object used as an anchor point for energy for the purpose
of providing magickal protection and spiritual defense; to ward is to enact
any sort of semi-permanent magickal defense for a place or living person.
waxing the first half of the lunar cycle, occurring between the Dark Moon
and Full Moon, denoting the increase in illumination of the Moon (from the
perspective of the Earth); contrast with waning.
Wheel of the Year a collection of eight holidays, taking individual
inspiration from various pre-Christian European cultures. While no single
ancient culture ever celebrated all eight of these holidays, they are a
common religious calendar among Druids and Wiccans (with both of whom
the Wheel of the Year originated), many Pagans, and some Heathens.

Wicca a contemporary witchcraft religion founded by Gerald Gardner in
the 1940’s; its popularity is responsible, in part, for the advancement of
modern Paganism as it has, in recent years, largely served as a “gateway
religion” to other religions and traditions within the Pagan movement.
While originally an initiatory mystery tradition, it is now largely an eclectic
religion of solitary practitioners. The initiatory traditions of Wicca (such as
Gardnerian, Alexandrian, or Blue Star) are sometimes referred to as British
Traditional Wicca.
Will the culmination of your spirit body and physical body working in
unison and the direct result of a strong sense of self, justified self-assurance
of your capabilities, and personal conviction that radiates throughout your
life and is exhibited in your actions and words. It is the driving force of
spell work.
witch someone who practices witchcraft, there are no other defining traits.
witchcraft one of many magickal systems, distinct in its strong focus on
creating change within the everyday, and defined by its fundamental
inclusion of animism, divination, the Land, ritual, and spirit work. It is a
contemporary practice, taking inspiration from European folk magic
practices which belonged to the common people and, thus, have frequently
been labeled ‘superstition’ by the elite.
witchcraft, land-based a style of witchcraft that is rooted in the witch’s
unique local landscape, relying upon relationships forged with the genius
loci, the use of items specific to that location, and anchored within the
energetic tides of that location.
witchcraft, modern a differentiating term used to denote dominant sources
and influences within the practice of witchcraft. It is a style of witchcraft
largely based off the public non-oathbound writings on British Traditional
Wicca, which bears a strong ceremonial magic influence via Gerald
Gardner's broad experience and involvement in various occult groups,
including the Rosicrucian Order and Ordo Templi Orientis; contrast with
traditional witchcraft.

witchcraft, traditional a differentiating term used to denote dominant
sources and influences within the practice of witchcraft. It is a style of
witchcraft based upon surviving regional folkloric customs and information
gleaned from studying the infamous witch trials, and typically emphasizes a
strong land-based focus. In more than one instance, prominent writers of
both traditional witchcraft and modern witchcraft have pulled inspiration
from the very same original source material and written their books during
the same time periods; contrast with modern witchcraft, see also land-based
witchcraft.
workbench a flat space where spells and divination may be performed, it
also houses long-term spells along with the working tools of the witch;
contrast with altar.

About the Author

Althaea Sebsatiani is a full-time spiritworker and witchcraft teacher whose
work focuses on helping people navigate the realities of deep spiritual
practice. Her work is punctuated by strong emphasis on doing the work and
encourages learning through direct experience. With a hands-on, practical,
and “no-bullshit” approach, she challenges witches to engage more deeply
with their witchcraft and to cultivate relationships with the spirits with
whom we share the world.
A spirit-led witch with 25 years’ experience, her personal practice is landbased and devotional, focused on being responsive to the spirits of the land
wherever her travels take her and doing right by the Gods Who have called
her into Their service. She is a dedicated priestess to two deities and has
been active within the Pagan and witchcraft communities, locally and
online, for two decades.
When not writing, throwing the bones, or cavorting with gods and spirits,
Althaea spends her time wrangling six half-feral children with her husband,
wandering about the American West in a tiny traveling house, and living
off-grid in the wilderness.
Find her on social media @LadyAlthaea or at www.ladyalthaea.com

[1]

Aidan Kelly, “About Naming Ostara, Litha, and Mabon,” Aidan Kelly: Including Paganism
(Patheos, September 21, 2017), https://www.patheos.com/blogs/aidankelly/2017/05/naming-ostaralitha-mabon/.
[2]
Sebastiani, Althaea. By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The Theory & Practice of Effective
Home Warding. Second Edition, 2020, p. iv.
[3]
The first reference to the Rule of Three is found in High Magic’s Aid by Gerald Brosseau
Gardner, published 1949.