It’s what we do, after all. Witches cast spells. Mention you’re a witch and one of the first things people think about are Shakespeare’s witches gathered around a cauldron, “Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble”. Stirring the magical brew.
I’ve told you about the first spell I did, and what I learned from that working. Looking back, this isn’t a spell I would have done as a first attempt had I known then what I now now. So, I have compiled a list of things I wish I had known 20 years ago and maybe, just maybe, you won’t make the same mistakes that I made.
10 Things to Know About Spellcasting
1. Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it.
Do I need to elaborate on this? Before doing any spell, think long and hard on what outcome you are seeking, and whther you are willing to accept the consequences, for good or bad, of that outcome.
2. Not every problem needs to be fixed with a spell. Try mundane methods first, or as well.
Sometimes it can take more time and personal energy to try to solve a problem using a spell than it would take to just get up and do the work. Just because you could do a spell, doesn’t mean it’s the best course of action.
3. Just because you do a spell doesn’t mean you don’t also have to do the mundane work.
It makes no difference how many spells you do to find the best job in the world or the best place to live, if you don’t get off your backside and send in a few job applications or look at a few homes, you’re not going to find either. Don’t expect a job offer or a set of house keys to just drop in your lap while you sit at home surfing the internet.
4. Most spells don’t come with a Hollywood special effects team. Think subtle.
There’s a lot of synchronicity, serendipity, and coincidence in spellcasting. You’re left wondering – is it the spell I did that brought this about, or is this all just coincidental?
There’s a lot of trust and belief in spellcasting – you have to trust that it is working, and believe that the outcome is possible.
5. If you don’t know how to get rid of it, don’t invoke it.
Yeah, just don’t.
6. When you make a mess of things, clean it up yourself.
Especially those things you invoked before knowing how to get rid of them.
But this also includes your ritual and spellcasting stuff – clear up your litter, don’t leave candle remains lying around sacred or ancient sites. Completely put out any fires.
And whatever you do, don’t decide that you are on a mission from God/dess, or even a special voice in your head and start digging up and burying pretty sparkly stones around ancient burial mounds or stone circles, or any other place. Really. These places don’t need you to give them any special protection or healing or any other such thing.
If you really want to do something nice for these areas, take a bin bag and pick up all the rubbish you see lying around.
7. Spells work better when you invest your own energy and emotion into creating them.
A huge part of spellcasting is the building of energy and the release of that energy. And one of the easiest ways to pull in and raise that energy is through emotion.
Many years ago, I saw a quote that said “A witch who cannot curse, cannot cure.” Meaning, if a witch could not raise enough energy to forge a curse spell when in the midst of wild emotions like anger and rage, then there was no way that witch would be able to do a spell when calm.
There is nothing wrong with buying or using a ready-made spell kit. Don’t be afraid of modifying words or components if those provided don’t fit, and be prepared to invest your own personal energies into the mix.
8. Keep a record of what you are doing using the language you primarily think in.
Sure, it can be fun to have a book no one else can read because it is all written in Tolkien Elvish, or Pictish Olgham script. But if you have to continually go back and forth looking at a translation key it’s going to make reading it difficult.
And if you lose the key, you’ll be stuck.
9. Don’t forget to say thank you when you have finished, even if you haven’t asked for any outside assistance.
Show gratitude in other words. If you have called in outside assistance or invited the Gods or Elemental spirits in your circle to observe, then thank them for being there with you.
When you create a ritual circle, it is sitting in a pocket that straddles this world and the Otherworlds. If you haven’t invited them in, then at the least thank them for allowing you to set up a circle between the worlds. In their home. Really, you wouldn’t wander into the next door neighbour’s house, sit and watch his TV for an hour and eat his snacks, then wander out again without telling him thank you – or indeed asking if it were okay in the first place! Manners matter.
10. Spells don’t always work.
Any witch who tells you that they’ve never had a spell fail, hasn’t been casting spells for very long. Or they’re lying.
Sometimes, no matter how good a witch might be or how perfectly they’ve put together and performed a spell, it just doesn’t work.
Do you have any questions about spellcasting? Or any words of wisdom to add to what is here? Feel free to add a comment below.
One more thing…
I am writing this for the Thursday Talking Point and also as part of an assignment for Blogging 101.
Blogging 101 Assignment: pick a blogging event from the Community Event Listings, and participate in the next round.
After a long look around some of the community events listed for WordPress I came across Your Woo Story, a blogging event created by Straight Woo.
So if you’ve found this post and this blog for the first time either through Blogging 101 or Straight Woo, I bid you welcome.
If you have experience in spellcasting, please – share your tips and words of wisdom. If you are just curious and want to know more about spells, feel free to ask questions.
Writings of a Pagan Witch 