Magick is an essential part of my spiritual practice. In a more general and abstract sense, it suffuses everything we do. In a more tangible sense, everything is energy. Magick is how we direct and interact with that flow of energy.
In most Pagan and witchcraft circles, when we talk about magick, we talk about it in the context of a ritual or a spell. While I’ve talked a lot about things involving magick on my blog, I haven’t posted much directly on the topic or gone into detail on how I craft my own magickal workings. Here is my introduction to magick and spells for Pagans and witches!
Prioritize Personal Connection
Personal connection is what most strongly drives magick. What do I mean by this? I mean all the ways that you are connected to your spell or ritual, from the deities you invoke, to your intention, to the spell ingredients you use. Your personal connection to each of those things is going to have so much more of an impact on your magick than literally anything else.
What does this mean practically?
The Divine
It means you should call on the deity that you have a relationship with, rather than calling to a deity you’ve never met before but “seems more aligned with the intention of the spell.” I’ve talked a bit before about how I advise against using 1-800-DIAL-A-GOD, but this is really what I mean. Calling on a deity that you don’t know and haven’t established a relationship with is going to create much weaker magick than working with a deity that you have a strong relationship with, even if they aren’t a “perfect fit” for the intention. That doesn’t mean that you can’t branch out and get to know new deities – Far from it! I’m a hard polytheist, and I encourage you to pursue relationships with deities that call to you. However, just like you wouldn’t ask someone for a big favor the first time you meet them, you also shouldn’t do that with a deity. Establish a reciprocal relationship first, then see if it feels right to ask for their help.
My article on Connecting with Aphrodite: Cultivating a Relationship with the Goddess has some general information that can be applied to any deity that you want to form a relationship with.
Intention
Is the intention of your spell something you truly want for yourself? Is the subject of your magickal working something that makes your soul sing, or is it something you feel like you “should” want or “should” have? Magick that is in greater alignment with your personal purpose or truth is going to be much more effective. Think critically about why you want to cast this particular spell. For example – When casting an abundance spell to call in money – Do you want more money to just flaunt wealth, or will you use that extra money to pursue a personal passion or help others? Are there ways to frame your intention that have a greater connection to you? What is your end goal and what will help you achieve it?
When crafting your intention, you want to strike a balance of being specific enough so that your magick has something concrete to flow towards, but not so specific as to limit the ways that your goal could potentially be achieved. For example, if your goal is to have enough money to live a comfortable life, casting a spell to get a specific job posting with a specific company may be limiting, as there could be something else out there that you would enjoy more and that would pay you better. However, if your goal is really to get this job because it is your dream job in your dream place, then casting a more specific spell for it would be appropriate.
Wording
Writing your own spell wording that comes from your heart is going to be so much more powerful than reciting something you found in a spell book. Why? Because it enhances your personal connection to the magick. This is not to say that you can’t ever use passages that you’ve found that speak to you – sometimes another writer has found the perfect way to articulate something, and it resonates with you on a deep level. If that is the case, by all means use it (with permission, of course)! But don’t go along with something written in a spell or ritual simply because it is there. Tailor it and make it your own. Use it as inspiration. Or come up with something completely different!
You can also play around with different aspects of language here, like tone, rhythm, rhyming, and diction. Not every spell has to be serious in tone! If you’re doing a spell to call more joy into your life, a more whimsical, playful tone would be appropriate. Rhythm can be very powerful in a few different ways. If you are able to word your spell with such a rhythm that you fall into it naturally and it seems to flow, that will allow you to sink further into the words and give them more energy and power. Rhythm can also be used in the form of chant or song, which are both beautiful ways to construct a spell and can make the experience even more immersive.
To me, rhyming is a part of rhythm. It can be powerful if you choose to use it, but it can also make things feel forced if it isn’t a natural fit for your words or intention. If you want to try it, pull up a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary and give it a go! If it becomes frustrating or feels like it is impeding your ability to actually get the spell done, then don’t worry about making things rhyme.
Diction is another linguistic tool that can aid in your spellwork. Choosing the right words that best fit your intention and capture the tone and specificity that you are going for can greatly contribute to the energy of your spell! At the same time, don’t feel pressured to use flowery language if it doesn’t feel right, or use words that you’ve never heard of just because you saw it in the thesaurus. If the words of your spell distract your mind during casting because you aren’t sure how to pronounce them or aren’t sure what they mean, that loses some of the natural momentum of your magick.
Spell Ingredients / Correspondences
It is a big pet peeve of mine when spells will just list ingredients, but not explain their true purpose or meaning. There could be ingredients you’ve never heard of or don’t have access to. Or ingredients that you can obtain, but that you don’t personally vibe with. The pre-written spell could ask for a color of candle that you don’t have or an essential oil that is hard to find. If you’re reading from a spell written by someone else (and the author hasn’t already done this), go through the ingredients and parse out the true purpose behind each ingredient. Is basil being used for love or protection? Or both?
Why are they asking for this particular color of candle or bag? What does that color mean to you? If the person writing the spell indicated to use a green candle for prosperity, but gold has a stronger connection to prosperity for you – Use gold instead! The same goes for herbs and other ingredients. The tools/colors/herbs/scents/et cetera that hold a more personal meaning for you to the true purpose of the spell are going to create stronger magick for you because you can more easily connect with those energies.
Again, this is not to say don’t ever branch out and work with new items! It is an encouragement to explore what truly resonates for you, even if that goes against the “traditional” meaning or what is listed in the spell. We also form relationships with the tools and items that we use. You’re going to have a much stronger relationship with an herb that you’ve grown yourself instead of one bought at the store. Of course, this isn’t always practical, so I recommend that you spend some time sitting with the herb and getting to know it before you use it in a spell.
Flexibility is also a must, and it is a lot easier to be flexible when you understand the WHAT and HOW behind things in your spell. There are also matters of preference. For example, I almost exclusively use beeswax candles in my devotional, ritual, and spellwork. My great uncle was a beekeeper, so the scent of beeswax has some comforting nostalgia for me. I also like using natural products, so for me they are a better choice than paraffin candles, which are derived from petroleum. Beeswax candles burn really cleanly, and I also like supporting local apiaries and small businesses. BUT beeswax candles are naturally yellow – anywhere from a light yellow cream to a brighter gold to a deeper golden brown. There’s a lot of natural variation. You can get colored beeswax, but it’s typically pretty expensive and the selection options aren’t great. You won’t find the same range of colors or candle types (tapers, votives, tealights, chimes, et cetera). So, whatever the default color for the particular batch of beeswax I have is my version of the “multi-purpose candle” (typically thought of as white in color). If color is an aspect that I want to incorporate into my spell, I will find another way to do it – such as putting the candle in a colored votive holder.
Timing
Spells will often include the ideal timing for performing them, including solar holidays, moon phases, days of the week, planetary hours, and so on. Emphasis here on IDEAL. I am a big believer in practical magick, and if I need something, I’m not going to wait two more weeks for it to be the “right” moon phase.
All of these different aspects of timing will support your magick, so if you can get one or two or several to align, that’s fantastic! But you don’t need to worry about all the stars perfectly aligning for your magick to be successful.
Here are some brief descriptions of magickal alignments of different types of timing that might help:
Solar Holidays (also known as the Wheel of the Year)
Imbolc (February 2nd) – Welcoming spring, new beginnings, healing and creativity (from the association with the Goddess Brigid)
Spring Equinox/Ostara (March 20th-23rd) – Height of spring, entering the light half of the year, balance of light and dark, cleaning out stagnant energy, new beginnings, planting literal or metaphorical seeds to blossom, manifestation
Beltane (May 1st)- Welcoming summer, passion, romance, joy, pleasure, blossoming intentions, interpersonal relationships, thinning of the veil between the worlds (towards possibility and the future)
Summer Solstice/Litha (June 20th-23rd) – Peak of solar energies, the height of summer, abundance
Lughnasadh/Lammas (August 1st) – First harvest, abundance, bringing things to fruition, planning for the colder months ahead
Autumnal Equinox/Mabon (September 20th-23rd) – Second harvest, abundance, balance of dark and light, entering the dark half of the year, gratitude
Samhain (October 31st) – Final harvest, honoring our ancestors and beloved dead, thinning of the veil between the worlds (towards the past), shadow work
Winter Solstice/Yule (December 20th-23rd) – Welcoming back the light, new beginnings, family and friends, warmth in the cold
Lunar Cycles
There is a bit of a difference in magickal terminology and astronomical terminology here. In general, the astronomical new moon (no visible moon at all) corresponds to the magickal dark moon. The magickal new moon is at the first visible sliver in the sky, 1-3 days after the dark moon.
New Moon (first visible sliver) – New beginnings, starting projects, embracing new attitudes and habits
Waxing Moon – Manifestation, growing or increasing
Full Moon – Peak of lunar energies, manifestation, fruition, abundance
Waning Moon – Banishing or decreasing, getting rid of harmful habits/thought patterns
Dark Moon – Shadow work, introspection, divination
Days of the Week
These will vary based on your pantheon, but Friday is Aphrodite’s sacred day – ἡμέρᾱ Ἀφροδῑ́της !
Astrological Timing
I recommend checking out the book Practical Astrology for Witches and Pagans by Ivo Dominguez, Jr. for a more in depth look at this.
The Universe Works in Mysterious Ways
I always incorporate something in my rituals and spells that I like to call “leaving room for the magick to happen.” This can range from intentionally creating space for Divine encounter during a ritual to wording a spell in such a manner that your intention may be granted in an unusual way. The universe is mysterious, and sometimes what you think is best for you isn’t actually the best thing for you. (I’ve certainly experienced this in my life!) Leaving the door open for different possibilities allows your magick to find the best way to work once it is released out into the world.
Practice and Experiment!
The best way to get better at magick is to practice! Gaining familiarity with different techniques allows you to more easily sink into a flow state with them and get into a better headspace for ritual. For your first few times doing any magickal or energetic technique, you will likely be more focused on the method than the magick – and that’s okay! That’s how we learn! Giving yourself time and space to master different techniques will help to level up your practice.
Along the same lines, I encourage you to experiment! Try different types of magick and different structures for your rituals. Experiment with the timing and ingredients of your spells. See what works best for you. Maybe you really resonate with a particular phase of the moon, so doing your magick then, regardless of the intention of your spell, is what makes you feel the most empowered. Perhaps there are aspects of spell creation that have a greater importance to you, like a deep connection with plants and herbs, so focusing on that while designing your spell will be the most meaningful.
While you are experimenting, don’t write something off just because it doesn’t work once. There are many confounding factors that could also be at play. Maybe you were tired that day, maybe the timing of the spell was what was off, and not the technique. If you are interested in using a particular technique/ingredient/tool/correspondence/timing/et cetera, I recommend trying it at least three times, under different circumstances, to really get a feel for it. If it still doesn’t resonate with you, then toss it! However, some techniques really require practice to be successful or feel empowered as you are doing them. Think about meditation – You have to start small and work your way up to longer amounts of time! Some magickal techniques are similar – It takes a little while for it to really sink in.
All of that said, if some technique/ingredient/tool/correspondence/timing/et cetera gets an immediate and visceral NO/WRONG from you, physically and energetically, don’t feel like you have to try it again. Listening to your intuition is important, too.
Have Fun!
We don’t always cast spells for happy reasons. A lot of the time, there is something bad that we are trying to change or protect ourselves from, but to the extent that it is possible, I encourage you to have fun with your magick. Geek out on designing rituals, explore a bunch of different herbs and see which ones you connect with, map your own personal color associations for various intentions, get several crystals and see how they feel, experiment with different altar tools, work with the different elements, or get to know a new deity!
Magick should feel empowering! Experimenting will give you your toolkit. Practice will give you confidence and skill.
Happy casting!
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Priestess of Aphrodite 