“What a fascinating book! Judika Illes’ Pure Magic does for magickal practice what I attempted to do for general Wizardry with the Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard. You don't have to already be a trained practitioner to learn from and work with the functional materials she presents here. She covers the foundations in a clear and straightforward manner, and builds on them to provide a complete Grimoire for effective spellcasting and personal magickal empowerment. From theory to practice, it's all here. And most important, the information and teachings are scrupulously accurate. I particularly appreciate Judika's encyclopedic approach to concepts and definitions. This book will be a treasured addition to any magickal library; I know I will be making considerable use of it in my own practice. Great Work, Judika!”
—Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Headmaster, Grey School of Wizardry
“Pure Magic is exactly that. Judika Illes underscores the fact that magic is (i) real and (ii) available to everyone. She proves it in this delightful book filled with spells, charms, recipes, magical exercises and down-to-earth instruction. As she says: ‘Magic is your birthright.’ And there is no negative magic included—nothing harmful to you or anyone else. Now you have no excuse not to use it!”
—Raymond Buckland, author of Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft
“I have always adored Judika Illes' work. Both her books and her classes are filled with sound advice and solid research. In Pure Magic, Judika has given us another treasure filled with practical wisdom for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced practitioner of magic.”
—Christopher Penczak, Author of Instant Magick and
The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft
This edition first published in 2016 by Weiser Books, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
Copyright © 2016 by Judika Illes
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Previously published as Earth Mother Magic in 2001 by Fair Winds Press, ISBN: 1-9311412-65-0 and as Pure Magic in 2007 by Weiser Books, ISBN: 978-1-57863-391-3.
ISBN: 978-1-57863-597-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016933096
Cover design by Jim Warner
Cover Illustration from ‘Insects of Surinam’, 1726 (hand-coloured engraving), Merian, Maria Sibylla Graff (1647-1717) / Natural History Museum, London, UK / Bridgeman Images
Interior by Debby Dutton
Typeset in Berkeley Book, Bernhard Modern, and Futura
Printed in Canada
MAR
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
www.redwheelweiser.com
www.redwheelweiser.com/newsletter
In loving memory of
Zoltan, Herta, and Irma Illes
Preface
Introduction
PART ONE: magic 101
Earth Mother Magic
Communicating with Earth
What You Won't Find in This Book
A Psychic Glossary: Some Magic Vocabulary Words
The Four Elements
earth • air • water • fire
Colors
Supplies
The Most Important Ingredient • The Enchanted Grocery List • Amulets
PART TWO: other powers: your magic allies
Tools • Allies
Animal Allies or Totems
Animal Totems: What Do I Do with Them? • Threshold Animals • Familiar Animals
Spirit Land
The Yoruba Model for Practical Spiritual Interaction •
Why Do Spirits Help Us? • Altars as Vehicles of Communication •
Ancestors • Spirit Sponsors of Magic
Minerals and Metals
Crystals • Metals
Botanicals
True Oils • Essential Oils • Flower Essences • Incense • Potpourri •
Whole Plants • The Magic Garden • Fragrant Night Garden
Dreams
Remembering Your Dreams • Having the Dreams You Desire
PART THREE: spells
The Magic Calendar • Where to Practice Magic • Words of Power •
Let's Get Real: Realistic Expectations of Magic
Aura-Cleansing Spells
Florida Water
Protection Spells
A Magic Garden of Protection • The Body
Psychic Enhancement Spells
Magical Exercises
Divination Spells
Daphnomancy
Lucky Wish Spells
Beauty Spells
Love Magic
Aphrodite's Bower of Love • Love Sachets and Bags
Aphrodisiac Spells
Love Beads
Marriage Spells
The Celestial Spirit of Marriage • An Enchanted Wedding •
Magical Wedding Gifts • The Wedding's Over and the Party's Begun!
Fertility Spells
Spirit Allies
Antifertility Spells
Pregnancy Protection and Enhancement Spells
Childbirth
Protection for Infants and Children
Henna for the Baby • The Baby's Pillow
Money Magic
Animal Allies • A Money Garden • Spirits of Financial Prosperity • New Orleans Money Magic
Enchantment to Heal Body and Soul
Animal Allies • A Healing Garden • Spirits of Healing •
Candle Healing • Crystals
Dying, Death, and Funerals
Baron Samedi Altar • Aids to Transition • A Bower of Comfort and Grief • Animal Allies
APPENDIX
Botanical Classifications
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
I revisit certain books over and over again; Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, The Master and Margarita, for instance, a book I first read in childhood. Every few years, I read it again. Every time I read it, I see something that I missed in previous readings or something that, over the years, I've gained the capacity to comprehend in a different way than before. Through experience, over time, our inner eyes open and we are able to “see” what once we couldn't.
For an author, though, re-reading your own work is a totally different experience: it's a form of time travel. Memories of where you were and who you were and what life was like while you were writing flood back to you as you read.
When I wrote the initial manuscript of The Big Book of Practical Spells, I was living in Los Angeles, my children were small, and my parents were alive. The Twin Towers still stood. Social media did not yet exist.
The Big Book of Practical Spells is the third incarnation of what was my first published book. The opportunity to write it was a beam of sunlight during a particularly bleak period of my life. The manuscript sprouted from my still-unpublished book devoted to fertility. A publisher rejected that book, but liked the chapter I had written on magic spells intended to counteract infertility and asked me to expand it into a book on magic and spell-casting to be called Earth Mother Magic. The title was given to me, as was a deadline, and I was set loose to write.
I desperately wanted to write this book. I had been learning, studying, and practicing the magical arts since my earliest childhood and so I was not being asked to do anything particularly difficult for me. I don't exaggerate when I say ‘earliest childhood’—my mother taught herself English by teaching me to read when I was three. There was no censorship in our household. My mother was not a practitioner, but she was a mystic and she never prevented me from exploring and developing my own magical path. We had metaphysical books on our family bookshelves—astrology, numerology, palmistry, and more—and I consumed them all voraciously.
However, although I didn't tell the publisher, I secretly hated the title. Earth Mother Magic seemed hypocritical to me. How was I to write a book that implicitly praised the sacred powers of Earth and natural magic, while, simultaneously being very aware of how many trees are cut down to make paper? I agonized about this for a bit. The only solution, I determined, was to write a book that attempted to be worthy of the sacrifice of the trees, a book of honest, true, experiential magic in clear, comprehensible language, the book that you now hold in your hands.
At the time I was writing that initial manuscript, the phenomena that was Harry Potter was in full swing. The first couple of books had already been published. My children were in that first generation to read them or, more accurately, to hear them: we read each book aloud. We'd go to parks, playdates, and classes, and Harry Potter was on everyone's lips, not just the children's, but the parents' as well.
Magically-speaking, I was very isolated when I lived in Los Angeles. I had left compadres and coven sisters behind in New York City. In Los Angeles, I became a solitary practitioner, not necessarily by choice, or at least not initially. This was, as I said, before social media and so the concept of the ‘virtual community’ did not yet exist.
I was solitary and I was discreet. I did not reveal my metaphysical interests to very many people. (It would be the publication of my first book that thrust me from the broom closet.) However, listening to those parents discuss Harry Potter, I was struck by the longing expressed by so many, most of whom had never previously had a serious discussion about witchcraft or the existence of magic power.
What I heard from these Muggle mothers was their hunger for magic. Occasionally, someone would whisper a story to me about some unusual experience, typically with anticipation that I would respond with mockery. When I didn't—when I instead shared a mystical experience of my own—the floodgates would open. I witnessed how hungry so many were for true magic, not fantasies, but the real deal that I knew existed. They yearned to be reconnected with their own personal power. I realized then how blessed and lucky I was to have made this connection so early in life. And so, faced with my challenging title, I determined to write a book that would ring true to those who were already experienced in the ways of magic, but which would also provide a bridge and a clear, easy-to-follow path for those embarking on their first magical journeys.
I wasn't sure if I'd ever publish another book, so I put a lot of myself in the pages, probably more than in any of my subsequent publications. I didn't want to blow a chance to share what I love: not just the more obvious aspects of witchcraft and magic, but also blues music, the city of New Orleans, and henna. With the rise of the internet and social media, these topics, once obscure, are now celebrated and embraced, as they deserve. Conversely, the brick-and-mortar witch shops and botanicas where I learned so much—once so common that there was literally a botanica on every other corner in some New York City neighborhoods—are now endangered species.
Dear reader, this book is intended to serve as a road map for your own personal magical journey, to provide signposts to mark the way. Finally, there is an accurate title: The Big Book of Practical Spells, with emphasis on the word ‘practical.’ Adept or novice, if you have questions or doubts regarding how to do something during the spell-casting process, this book will show you how. May it bring you every good fortune.
Judika Illes
Samhain, 2015
When I was a little girl, Bewitched was among my favorite TV shows. Samantha was my role model and who could blame me? Who wouldn't want to be Samantha? She was beautiful, poised, charming yet sensible, extremely intelligent and articulate, completely at home in everyday society but also secretly filled with magical powers. Her magic appeared effortless. A wiggle of her nose and she could do anything. Ironically, while so many watched rapt with envy, the central theme of the show was how badly Samantha wished to be just like us regular folks. It was the one feat she couldn't accomplish. No matter how hard she tried to live our mundane, tedious lives, washing dishes by hand rather than by wiggling her nose, she couldn't help it. Samantha was innately magical.
Jeannie, star of I Dream of Jeannie, found herself in much the same boat. Her magical powers, which, of course, all the viewers longed to share, were a burden to her and a source of embarrassment to her true love. While everyone but the object of her desire looked on enviously, Jeannie only wished to be an ordinary woman so that Tony would truly love and accept her.
Television shows like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and more recently, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, have delivered hours of entertainment but have also been a source of frustration. The magical powers that so delight us are clearly completely unattainable to mere mortals. The powers depicted are very special and very unique. Typically, they are hereditary; passed down through bloodlines, an accident of birth. Jeannie, Samantha, Sabrina: the girls can't help it.
The girls aren't alone. The best-selling books in the Harry Potter series also deliver this message. Although Harry and friends are shown studying diligently to perfect their skills, ultimately those skills are innate. Once again, some are magically gifted and some, unfortunately, simply aren't. Just as the “magical” people can't help their powers, so the nonmagical are left permanently outside the enchanted circle. Some protest that these books and television programs tempt children (and adults!) by glorifying “dark arts.” The protest seems pointless: they're missing the message. The underlying theme of these works is that if you're not born a member of a witchly family, there is no sense in trying. Your longings cannot be fulfilled. Harry Potter, like Baby Tabitha, was born with his power. The rest of us humans can only stand apart wishing wistfully, consoling ourselves with the notion that magic isn't real. By dangling the possibility of a special separate magical world before us, a supernatural existence, the ultimate insinuation is that it is all only a lovely fantasy. Magic doesn't exist. Enjoy the fantasy for half an hour and then get back to real life.
I don't mean any disrespect. I would still love to be Samantha. I love Bewitched as much as ever. I love Harry Potter, too. I Married a Witch starring Veronica Lake is one of my favorite movies. Stick a fantasy witch into a movie or television show and I'll watch it, Bell, Book and Candle, you name it. At heart, these entertainments acknowledge our deep and frustrated longing for magic. They are wonderful fantasies but fantasies are truly what they are because their implicit message is incorrect. There is magic. Real magic. You can do it and I can do it. Magic is not unique or elitist, or reserved for those with special mystical blood. Magic is as common as dirt.
Part of our problem involves limitations of language. Languages function as more than just communication tools. They also reveal much about their cultures of origin. In the same way that English is limited to only one word for snow versus the twenty-seven-odd words in the Inuit tongue, we have only one word, magic, to express so many different concepts. That word, magic, is used to delineate tricks, sleight-of-hand, sorcery and television fantasies, as well as the timeless Earth knowledge that helps us connect to the energy of our Earth Mother, fulfill our desires and destinies, and protect ourselves and our loved ones from harm.
Regarding real magic, real practical, functional, down-to-Earth magic, I have good news and bad news for you. Bad news first. As far as I know—although believe me, I would love to be the one to tell you different—there is no effective spell for redecorating your entire home in a quarter of an instant just by wiggling your nose. Get away from the mirror, girls. Practicing the Jeannie nod doesn't help. Our longing for this sort of television magic prevents us from seeing the real magic at our own fingertips.
The good news? Magic is your birthright. It is open to all. Yes, Harry Potter is not alone, nor is he unique. The aptitude to practice pure Earth magic is present in all humans at birth. It is not culturally specific nor is it dependent upon your IQ. The ability exists for both genders. Are some more magically gifted than others? Sure, but we're not all great dancers, either. Talent is but one factor; effort and desire play major roles, too. You already possess the building blocks to create the magic that is right for you. What's stopping you? Challenges to your magical gifts tend to be insidious ones, but with a little awareness and effort can be overcome. Beyond false expectations of magic, and the defeatism that this fosters, the major obstacles for most are our severed connections with Earth.
What is magic anyway? What is this Pure Magic?
Real magic, the magic of the Earth, is Pure Magic. Magic in its purest form consists of a dialogue between Earth and yourself, a dialogue whereby you are able to express your desires, receive and recognize a response and are then able to make your wishes and desires come true. Earth's gift to her children, it is the simplest, most basic and most ancient magical art, open to all. Expenses are minimal. No specialized metaphysical training is required. You don't even need to understand what metaphysical means. What is required is an awareness of the natural rhythms, energies, powers and patterns of Earth and her diverse inhabitants. These rhythms and powers are then manipulated in a harmonious and conscious manner to help manifest your goals. In simple language, Pure Magic encourages you to take your dreams and desires and translate them into concrete reality.
The bottom line is that magic is communication: communication between yourself, Earth and all the other life forms with whom we share our Earth Mother. Easier said than done? Well, unfortunately, unlike fantasy magic, real magic is not completely effortless but, on the other hand, it is completely attainable. Your own goals and desires will determine the level of effort that you need to fulfill your birthright and become a magical practitioner.
The first step is simple. Buy a cauldron? Find a familiar? No. Just be kind to yourself. This is real life, not television or literature. Forgive yourself for being unable to master unattainable and unrealistic goals and start afresh. (Magic and reality? Oh, yes. More about that later.)
There are so many reasons that people assume that they can never become a magician, witch, wizard, warlock, practitioner, adept, whatever word you prefer. Perhaps you feel that it is hopeless because you've never been able to master the nose wiggle, let alone do anything with it. Or perhaps you work as an accountant, and what kind of magic is that? Or maybe once you tried a candle spell and it didn't work. Maybe once you tried a Ouija board and you think maybe it did work and you got scared and threw it away, so how magical are you? Maybe you tried to read someone's cards and your predictions were completely off the mark. That's all old baggage. Throw it away. None of it prevents you from achieving your full potential now.
There is one aspect of magic that all of these TV shows and novels did get right: those actively practicing magic do have more fun. Magic will put a sparkle in your eyes. It will put a lift in your walk. You will begin to see things in ways that you have never seen before. Loneliness and boredom will be banished. You will feel stronger and radiant with energy. You will not feel purposeless but competent to fulfill your own destiny.
No, I can't teach you how to turn your mean boss into one of the less attractive mammals, but magic does provide some invaluable gifts. Magic can get you out of trouble. No, not everyone comes up with winning lottery numbers but magic can ensure financial well-being. You can achieve peace in your family and gain the love that you've always wanted. Magic can provide spiritual and romantic fulfillment, not to mention improving your sex life. It can also improve your appearance, bolster health and vitality, and help you become the person you've always secretly known you could be.
By definition, magic is mysterious and effective. The effective part is crucial: magic is a practical art. There are spells that have lasted for millennia. If they absolutely didn't work ever for anyone, they wouldn't be remembered. The converse is also true: no one thing works for everyone. This goes for conventional medicine, traditional medicine, educational theories and magic, too. Because your headache defied that aspirin, doesn't mean that aspirin never works. It just wasn't the right tool for you at that moment. “But that's real life,” you protest, “not magic!” Well, magic is real life, too.
There is a power that radiates from all living beings in varying degrees of force and clarity. Different languages have different words to identify this power. The Polynesians refer to it as mana. Among the Yoruba, a prominent language group of Western Africa, it is known as axé. In Morocco, this power is called baraka and in other areas of the Islamic world some variation on that word way be used.
I offer you words from different languages because English has no specific word for this concept. I can describe this concept for you in English but I can't name it. The closest approximation is force or power but these are imprecise because there are so many types of forces or powers. One could say spiritual force but that, too, is imprecise. It is a spiritual force but this force also expresses itself in very physical ways. The spiritual aspect cannot be separated from the physical. This force is a holistic power. It does not acknowledge the splits between spirit and matter that humans may perceive but transcends these divisions.
This concept lurks in the English language, perhaps for safety's sake, demonstrating our cultural ambivalence to magic and reflecting the reality that for centuries, those who openly and effectively practiced Earth magic were persecuted and suppressed. Interestingly, the cultures that do possess an explicit and specific term to identify this force rarely possess just one generic word for magic. Their languages may instead contain something more like those twenty-seven Inuit words for snow, assorted various, specific words that describe specific acts, intents and practices that would in English all be lumped together under the category, magic. There is no one blanket word to distinguish magic from real life because in these cultures, magic is incorporated into real life. It isn't super-natural but a part of the way natural works. One is encouraged to be aware of the various forces because contact with them strengthens, protects and improves quality of life.
Just because we lack a specific English name for it doesn't mean that this concept isn't at home in America. It just doesn't reside out in the open. You will most likely encounter it outside the cultural mainstream, most easily in ethnic enclaves. The most publicly accessible place to find acknowledgement of these forces is within blues music, if you know what to listen for. When the great Chicago blues singer, Muddy Waters, boasts of “all the powers in his hand,” this, not merely his physical prowess, is what he is singing about.
Although anything may contain a spark of this power, the quantity and quality varies. Certain species of plants and animals contain greater quantities than others. A human science that analyzes and studies these powers has developed over the ages, although cultural perceptions vary. Universally, horses are recognized as possessing tremendous quantities of baraka. How each individual horse measures up to the standard of potential varies but the potential always exists. In Polynesia, the ti plant also possesses the potential for vast quantities of power. It is placed near the front door to bring protection to the house and its inhabitants. No one anticipates that in the event of a burglary, the plant will transform into an armed response guard. Instead, inherent in the ti plant is a radiant force that magnetically attracts good fortune and spiritual protection. The tulsi plant, holy basil, is used similarly in India.
In North America, when sage is referred to as a power plant, when it is burned so that its smoke cleanses and purifies an area, this is the concept that we are trying to express. The concept may be expressed with a certain awkwardness, but this is on account of the inadequacy of language, not some failure of the power itself. There are no traditional cultures that did not recognize that there were plants that were especially powerful and that provided an immediate link to the sacred. In fact, wherever sage has been in contact with people, it has been recognized as being extremely powerful and used for similar purposes, not only in North America but also throughout North Africa, Asia and Europe.
Baraka, this force, this power, possesses a sacred aspect. It is defined as a positive power, a benevolent force. This power can be transmitted. It is contagious. It can be expanded. It can also be lost. (Traditional Hawaiians believed that misuse of mana, manipulating it for selfish, unethical purposes caused one's own personal power to decrease.)
The closest image that I can give to you, although it is a negative image, is radioactive radiation. Like that type of radiation, this power is formless, has no scent or sound but is absorbed and stored just the same. You will witness its absorption by its effects upon you. If you consistently feel drained or frustrated, if things just don't ever work for you, if life lacks a spark of joy, you very likely suffer from a deficiency of this power. You can attain and balance this power by selecting, arranging and manipulating the powers that surround you.
Although certain species inherently contain specific powers, the actual quantity and quality varies according to the individual. In other words, a sage plant growing wild and free in pristine wilderness contains immense power. A sage plant cultivated in a garden with love, consideration, respect, reasonably clean water and sunshine also contains immense power. Whose power is greater is a toss-up. The wild sage's power may technically be greater, however, the cultivated sage may have developed a relationship with a specific human. Working together as a pair, they may be a formidably powerful unit. A sage plant growing along the roadside, processing toxic fumes daily is using its power for its own survival; it doesn't have any to share with you.
People, too, contain this power, some more than others. Sometimes this power is innate; sometimes it's learned or acquired. Different cultures maintain varying views on exactly which individuals are most likely to be extra blessed. Blues music, for instance, extols the wonders of the seventh son, whose order of birth assures extra power. (And the seventh son of a seventh son! Wow! That power should radiate right through the roof!)
You can recognize this power in another person: having been in their presence, you emerge feeling strengthened and empowered. Sometimes an individual's power is so strong, it doesn't terminate at death but can still be accessed by others in need. To this day, people travel to Voodoo-Queen Marie Laveau's grave in New Orleans to beg her assistance and leave testimonials to the miracles she still accomplishes.
Every year, thousands venture to Marie Laveau's grave at St. Louis Cemetery Number One, New Orleans' oldest cemetery, to beseech the self-proclaimed Pope of Voodoo for favors, especially those related to money, health and legal matters. Attempts to contact her are made by knocking three times on the front of her tomb (marked Marie Glapion, her married name) or by drawing three X's in chalk or red brick on the stone. Offerings of petition and gratitude are also left: traditionally salt water, seven dimes or her favorite, red anisette.
In some areas of Earth, power of this magnitude, extending beyond the grave, is the chief, intrinsic requirement for sainthood. The behavior of these saints may not always be exemplary, however it is expected that they will use their powers to benefit others. Although in the United States, the word saint is tied somewhat exclusively to Roman Catholicism, this broader concept of sainthood exists in many cultures, including African Diaspora, Buddhist, Jewish and Muslim traditions. The power of these saints can be so immense that it permeates the very ground in which they are buried. It is the desire to access this power, usually for healing or good fortune, that stimulates pilgrimages to holy people and their shrines. In Morocco, the dirt surrounding a saint's tomb is sprinkled upon newly created fabrics and textiles to imbue them with added baraka. This is because not only the works of nature contain this power but also the creations of people. The intent of many tribal artisans is not merely to create something beautiful or functional but also to infuse it with as much positive force as possible.
Transmission of this power is constant. Transmission occurs independent of your mind and control. You can choose to be aware of these forces and manipulate them for your benefit and that of your loved ones. Because you don't acknowledge them doesn't mean that they do not affect you, any more than not acknowledging the flu guarantees that you won't get sick. Awareness of these forces shouldn't make you feel passive or hopeless but energized. The healthy presence of this power on Earth can only be good for us. There is an infinite quantity. Because someone else has a lot doesn't mean you get less.
These powers are not generic. Because a horse has power and a camel has power doesn't mean that they have identical or interchangeable powers. The beauty of this power, the beauty and power of magic, comes in the details. Your power is unique and by expressing that power positively, you are a valuable asset to Earth. No two powers are exactly identical, although many share characteristics and the most powerful, whether belonging to humans, plants, animals or spirit beings, are amazingly versatile. The key to magic is recognizing the existence of these powers, determining which ones are most beneficial for you and manipulating them in a positive fashion to achieve happiness and success.
You already possess the ability to recognize those powers and to distinguish between them. Consider, for example, the rose. Since ancient times, roses have played a major function in healing, cosmetics and spirituality. Roses were associated with some of the grandest female divinities: Aphrodite, Cybele and Juno. Sufi poets used the rose to represent the highest spiritual ideals. In medieval Europe, roses were considered so powerful that one was expected to beg permission from the plant before daring to pluck a blossom. The rose was picked neither haphazardly nor carelessly but with respect. Indeed, roses do not give themselves easily. The family of roses is characterized by visual beauty, heavenly fragrance and thorns. Those who have only received florists' roses, all thorns carefully removed, have not experienced the full power of a rose.
This power is holistic. Roses have something to give humans on every possible level. Their therapeutic oil preserves and protects aging or delicate skin. As used in modern aromatherapy, essential oil of rose is indicated for a wide range of physical ills. Rose's spiritual and emotional effects are equally profound. The scent of rose assuages grief. The worst, most painful grief, grief beyond the realm of language, can be soothed by the healing fragrance of roses. This doesn't mean that just smelling or beholding roses will instantly make everything fine and whole again. Those are the false expectations that lead to inertia. Healing, like magical aptitude, is accomplished in increments, step-by-step. A walk through a fragrant rose garden or the scent of rose attar serves as an elevator, uplifting the spirit at least one level from wherever it was, for most individuals. (Remember, nothing works for everyone!)
You may or may not have been aware of the technical properties of roses or their spiritual history before you read them here but I guarantee that you do not need anyone to tell you this: a bouquet of roses is not the same as any old bouquet of flowers. Roses indicate love, romance, desire. How do you increase the power? By number. Whether you receive five, seven or eight roses may be immaterial but make that number a dozen and a powerful message is sent. Alternatively, one single rose speaks very loudly of love and admiration. A desperate, yet often successful bid to win back a lost love is to fill an entire room with roses. In fact, roses are invaluable components of love spells from all over Earth.
In the metaphysical science of numbers, twelve signals completeness, totality.
Let's consider another plant now, one that's also probably very familiar to you and which is also universally prized for the strength of its power. This plant, too, communicates with you via your olfactory senses, although this plant is far more modest in cost and appearance than the luxurious rose. It's garlic.
One question: knowing nothing else, would you use garlic as a chief component within a spell for romance? If you couldn't afford roses, would garlic be your substitution of choice? I think not. You don't need anyone to tell you that, in fact, garlic is rarely, if ever, a component of romantic spells.
Garlic's chief magical role is as a protective device. Hmong householders use the number four to enhance that power, hanging four heads of garlic at the door for protection. Other communities prefer braids—often of twelve garlic heads rather than just any random quantity.
Interestingly, while garlic is not used for romantic spells, it is often a prime component in sexually oriented ones. Whereas roses can help you capture your true love and assure them of your devotion, it's that humble head of garlic that can help you keep those home fires burning bright. In situations where love and romance are not an issue but sex is problematic, garlic has proven beneficial, especially for couples of long-standing where the existence of love and commitment is beyond doubt but the male partner is overworked, physically tired and/or emotionally drained.
Garlic is famed for reviving men's vitality and stamina and revitalizing their sexual energy. Records show that the workers who built Egypt's great pyramids were fed a daily ration of garlic to increase productivity. Pharaoh's rations of garlic may have kept construction of the pyramids on schedule; it also helped give him a plethora of baby Israelites to worry about.
Visualize your personal reaction to receiving a dozen beautiful, fragrant roses from the individual of your choice. Visualize also your reaction to sharing a single plate of a warm, delicious, garlic-redolent meal with someone whom you love, desire and, of course, with whom you feel completely comfortable. They're not identical feelings but both bring a glow of happiness and the sense that you are where you are intended to be.
Can you substitute plastic roses for that bouquet? Will handing your beloved a garlic tablet, carefully engineered to remove all trace of taste and smell, achieve the same ends? You knew those answers before you read the questions. So many have been trained to respect only the wisdom that comes through accredited formal education. You already possess the ability to recognize those magic powers in your bones. Learning to access and manipulate these powers is a sensuous intuitive process akin to cooking and, in fact, many of the most powerful magical practitioners are wonderful chefs as well. Not for nothing are witches so often depicted stirring a cauldron! Putting together an effective magical spell is a little like planning a great meal: determining which powers best complement which others in order to produce your desired effect. Are you creating a meal to impress future in-laws, ingratiate yourself to a boss or seduce a lover? You need to understand your intent and the power inherent in your tools. This is the basic theory of magic.
Garlic and roses can both be characterized as friendly, gregarious powers. They don't withhold information, it doesn't have to be coaxed out of them, they communicate loud and clear. Not every power is like that. The good news is that you don't have to discover each one for yourself. A vast library of traditional knowledge exists from which you can avail yourself of desired information.
Some fifteen hundred years ago, the Teuton tribes of Northern Europe held an annual ceremony. At night, under the rays of the moon, a veiled statue of their preeminent female divinity was placed in a wagon. Her sacred cows were hitched to this wagon, which was pulled through the fields, as people assembled to greet and salute them. While this ceremony itself has obviously not been performed in centuries, vestigial memories of Herta or Eartha, as her name is sometimes spelled, remain. Her name resonates in our language as the name given to our planet, Earth.
We can't presume to understand all that this specific ritual meant to the Teutons nor precisely what their expectations might have been. Much of what we know about Teutonic ritual comes to us via descriptions written by Romans, themselves outsiders to the culture. The Romans tell us that this was a joyous time for the Teutons. Destruction and warfare were consciously and deliberately ceased, placed on hold, at least for the duration of the ritual. What we can recognize from our current distance is their attempt to unify and harmonize all the components of nature, all Earth's children, including plants, animals, spirits and people.
The Teutons did not confuse Herta with Earth. They were agricultural: they could distinguish between a spiritual entity and the dirt beneath their feet. Nor was she merely a personification of Earth. Rather, Herta served as an intermediary, a broker between Earth, humans and all Earth's other inhabitants, seeing to it that everyone's needs were met. Neither did the Teutons, or other early people, confuse the statue with the spiritual entity. They understood that humans created the statue. If the statue was damaged or destroyed, they realized that it did not destroy or damage the spirit. Rather this damage might indicate something significant about the relationship between people and spirit, perhaps one reason why conquerors destroy the representations of their enemies' spiritual allies with such force and glee.
Attitudes toward Herta changed over the centuries. From a benevolent intermediary, Herta evolved into a Queen of Witches, a spiritual entity to be feared and avoided. Earth's image evolved as well. No longer a she but an it, Earth became something to be conquered, mastered and controlled. No longer perceived as beneficially linked guides, providers and protectors, Earth and Herta became instead a source of danger and temptation. This was paralleled in changing attitudes towards Earth's other children, the plants and animals. Animals became witches' familiars rather than potential friends and allies of all. As the witch craze overtook Europe, plants that had given healing and pleasure became illicit objects of fear. People became increasingly afraid to communicate with these forces that had served them so well for so long, although the true danger, in the form of torture, repression and murder, came not from plants or animals, but from other humans.
Attitudes towards women were shifting, too. Once considered a repository of holy fertility power, the ultimate magic, women's bodies became a source of shame, danger and sin. Jumping forward to the present day, the effects of these attitudes are palpable. Earth is badly damaged. Many species of plants and animals are extinct or endangered. Creatures who remain on Earth are having difficulty reproducing. Sperm counts among many species, including our own, have fallen drastically. Earth, abused and caged to the point where she cannot provide for her children, may be practicing her own birth control.
The damage to humanity transcends the physical. In the United States, as elsewhere on the globe, to be human now in the 21st century typically means to be lonely and disconnected. Modern child-rearing practices are wary of the influence and power of the mother. From the first breath, the infant is encouraged to separate from its mother, and vice versa. Attempting to foster independence, we have fostered isolation instead.
The Lakota people, whose ancestral territory covered a large swath of the North American plains, possess a spiritual concept encapsulated in their phrase Mitakuye Oyasin. This translates into English as “all my relations.” Implicit in this phrase is an affirmation that all creation is connected. The two-leggeds, the four-leggeds, snakes with no legs, birds, fish, plants, rocks, minerals, spirits: we are all relations.
Tribal peoples, and that counts for all our ancestors, some just a little farther back than others, recognized that in addition to a specific human mother, we all share a common mother. Earth, the planet, is the ultimate mother. Just as the child is separated from the human mother, we have camouflaged our Earth Mother with concrete and fences. However, just as the weeds continuously break through the concrete, so Earth continues to reach for us in the manner of the good mother who never stops trying to reunite with her missing children.
Although we have limited information about pre-Christian Teutonic society, we do know of another ceremony they possessed, a childbirth ritual. This was a ritual of immense simplicity. Immediately following birth, the cord having been cut, the baby was taken and laid upon the ground. The intent was to formally introduce the child to his or her own other mother, Earth, the mother whom we all share.
There are practitioners of herbal medicine who believe that Earth provides solutions and remedies for all our ills, if only we can discover them and understand how to apply them. Would-be magicians will find the same to be true: Whatever you require is already available within you or has been provided by Earth. Recognizing our tools and learning to use them are the true challenges.
If pure magic involves a dialogue between you and Earth, the most obvious question is how do we speak to her? How do we make ourselves heard? How do we receive our answers? How do we know that anything really transpired?
Although you may certainly speak to Earth, or any part of creation, in English or any other human language, it may not be the most efficient way, nor should you necessarily expect your response to come in that manner. There are various methods of shared communications that are far more effective:
Scientific studies indicate that literacy, beyond just teaching the ability to read, encourages the brain to function in different ways. Different areas of the brain are accessed and exercised while others are left to lie fallow. Both forms of thinking, linear literate and fluid symbolic, are necessary. Humans need access to both in order to be whole. We need essentially to be bilingual. You need literate thinking while you're driving. That traffic signal isn't a true symbol, it's shorthand, developed by literate minds, as well it should be. Imagine the disaster if that traffic signal meant something unique to everyone. Strictly literate thinking, however, limits your dreaming and magical capacity.
Symbols come in minute details and often use repetition as a means of showing emphasis. Magic doesn't accept the concept of coincidence, although every single repetition doesn't have equal significance. Symbols are not about what is but what could be.
To think symbolically is to read one's environment as carefully as a road map. Is that rabbit you suddenly see just a bunny? Well, yes it is, but maybe it's also the harbinger of fertility that you've been waiting for, the message from Earth that your body is ready, go home and make love. Perhaps that rabbit is an omen of good luck: rabbits have strong associations with gambling. If that rabbit is lying dead in the road, maybe this isn't the weekend for that Las Vegas trip. Is that rabbit a messenger from the Siberian spirit Kaltes come to tell you that your petition has been received? Perhaps it's Kaltes herself coming to see you, in the form of her sacred animal. You don't have to look very hard for these signs. Once you get a dialogue going, they'll come to you.
Harming none includes not harming yourself. No matter what kind of a human mother you may have had, your Earth Mother wants you to fulfill your potential, be healthy, comfortable and happy and be a source of pride to her and all your relations.
Even if you feel unable to express yourself through symbols, you should at least be able to recognize symbolic language because this is likely how Earth will talk to you. Perhaps she's been speaking to you for years but you haven't been able to pick up the messages. If you've previously attempted some magic and found yourself unsuccessful, this is a common cause. If you are putting out requests, but then seemingly ignore the reply, ultimately the reply stops. It is important that you realize that you are not inconsequential, that you're worthy of two-way dialogue with Earth and all her powers. Every power has its place in the cosmos, including yours.
Sometimes symbols embody our hopes and dreams. Imagine the woman who wants to lose weight and has taped a picture of a very skimpy bathing suit onto her refrigerator door. That symbol is more than just a reminder. Gazed upon, it may have the power to prevent the dieter from opening the freezer door and eating that ice cream. The symbol translates the dream into concrete form and can help make the dream a reality.
Magic is practiced all over Earth in many different ways. There are, however, a few basic tenets shared by all schools. The most famous is encapsulated in the old Wiccan rede, “Do what you will, but harm none.” There are no spells included in this book that intentionally set out to harm others. There are no revenge spells, no “getting back at people who've hurt you” spells. If you're looking for those spells, there are plenty of other places to find them. They are published in many books but, frankly, save your money: with only a little magic under your belt, you'll fast find that knowledge within yourself.
Resist the impulse. The most powerful magicians have always been characterized by self-restraint and for good reason. Another universal magical tenet is that magical energy possesses something of a boomerang effect. Whatever sort of energy you put out into the atmosphere comes straight back to you, multiplied several times over. Imagine, once you really get powerful, the force of your magical returns. Wouldn't you really prefer to have positive energy bombarding you rather than the opposite?
Habitually sending forth destructive energy ultimately has dangerous and unpredictable repercussions for you and yours. So, even if you can, desist. If you fear malevolent energy has been invoked against you, there are good, effective methods for simply blocking the hex and returning-to-sender that will not incur any further damage to you. Check this book's section on Protection Spells.