The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire Page 24
Thank Your Elemental Helpers
Make sure to treat elementals with consideration and respect—if they don’t like you, they might play tricks on you. Always remember to thank the elementals that assist you in your spellworking and offer them small gifts to show your appreciation.
Salamanders like candles and incense. Burn these to honor your fiery helpers.
Gnomes adore jewelry and crystals. Bury a token in the ground as a way of saying “Thanks.”
Undines are fond of perfume. Pour a few drops of essential oil in a stream, lake, or other body of water.
Sylphs enjoy flowers. Place fresh blossoms on your altar or lay them in a sacred spot outdoors as an offering.
Salamander Courage Spell
When you encounter setbacks, disappointments, or frustrating circumstances, ask the fire elementals to bolster your vitality, confidence, and resolve. Perform this spell on Tuesday or when the sun and/or moon is in Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius.
TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS
9 small red votive candles
Matches or a lighter
A magick wand
Arrange the candles in a circle around you, in a place where you can safely leave them to burn down completely.
Beginning in the east, light the candles one at a time as you move in a clockwise direction to cast the circle.
When all the candles are burning, stand in the center of the circle and face south.
Call out to the salamanders and tell them you have lit these 9 candles in their honor. Explain your situation and request their assistance, by chanting the following incantation aloud: “Beings of fire
Shining so bright
Fuel my desire
Increase my might.
Help me be strong
All the day long
So in each deed
I’ll surely succeed.”
You may notice faint flickerings of light (other than the candles) in the room or sense the energy around you quickening. Perhaps you’ll feel an excitement in the air. It might even seem a bit warmer. That means the salamanders are present and willing to work with you.
Take up your magick wand and point it toward the south. Your movements should be strong and purposeful, not wimpy. Envision yourself drawing powerful energy in though the tip of your wand. You might even see the wand glow or feel it tingle.
Now turn the wand and aim it at yourself. Sense the energy you’ve attracted from the south—the region where the salamanders reside—flowing from the wand into your body. Feel yourself growing more powerful, more confident, more alive.
Continue using your wand to pull energy and courage from the south in this manner for as long as you like. Remain in the center of the circle until all the candles have burned down completely.
Thank the salamanders for their assistance and open the circle, feeling renewed with vitality and confidence.
Elemental Exercises
To increase your awareness and ability to work with the elements, practice these exercises:
Light a candle and focus your attention on the flame. See if you can make the flame move or flicker more brightly (without blowing or otherwise physically affecting it).
Hold a crystal in your hand and close your eyes. Try to feel the crystal vibrating, pulsing, or otherwise resonating with energy.
Sit beside a body of water. Cast your gaze slightly above the surface of the water and allow your focus to soften. Can you see energy swirling just above the water?
Stand in a private spot outdoors, with your arms stretched out at your sides. Slowly bring your arms together and cross them in front of you, then open them again. Do this three times to raise the wind.
If you choose to work with spiritual beings, record your experiences in your grimoire. Who did you call to and why? What did you see, sense, hear, feel, smell, intuit? What impact did the entities have on your magick? What powers did they impart to you? Will you work with them in the future, and how?
Chapter 20
LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE
Once you’ve embarked on a magickal path, you will probably continue following it for the rest of your life. As is often said, magick isn’t something you do, it’s something you are. Having peeled away the veil of secrecy and glimpsed the mysteries within, you’ll never see things as you did before. Now that you’ve become familiar with the hidden dimensions of the natural world, embraced the mystical forces that underpin our universe, and felt the power of the Goddess’s touch, you can never go back to ordinary thinking.
No matter how long you study and practice the art of the Craft, you’ll never know it all. You could be at it your entire adult life and still barely scratch the surface. It’s like any other subject: The deeper you dig, the more you discover. Around each corner lies something new and awe-inspiring! Your grimoire is the place to describe your mystical discoveries, your experiences in the magickal realm, and anything else that you feel plays a part in your spiritual journey.
WORKING WITH OTHER WITCHES
If you’ve been a solitary witch until now, perhaps you’re wondering what it might be like to work with other people who share your views. Maybe you’ve considered studying with a teacher who can help you advance more quickly and steer you away from some pitfalls along the way. Perhaps you know someone else who is following the Wiccan Way and you think the two of you could combine your talents to mutual advantage. Or you might want to join a coven, a group of like-minded folks with whom you can celebrate the sabbats and engage in magick and ritual practices.
It’s nice to have “kinfolk” with whom you can share ideas and information. Also, you can learn from other people and they can learn from you, thereby expanding everyone’s knowledge. In a world that still doesn’t completely accept witches and magick, you may long for a community where you can feel safe, accepted, and valued. If you decide you want to share your magickal path with other people, do your homework in order to find the right folks for you to befriend. Each witch and each coven is unique, and it’s important that your energies, beliefs, goals, etc. are compatible.
Some covens hold open circles and allow people outside their immediate membership to participate in some events or gatherings—for example, esbat rituals. That could be a good way to start exploring your options. Check out online resources, such as The Witches’ Voice at www.witchvox.com to learn about possibilities in your area. My book The Modern Guide to Witchcraft offers more information about finding and joining a coven or other group of magick workers.
If you do start practicing with other people, you’ll undoubtedly make many discoveries—about the Craft and about yourself. Doors will open into areas where you haven’t ventured before. Record your findings in your grimoire. What did you experience when working magick with other people? How did you sense their energies and yours intermingling? Was the interaction uplifting, invigorating, peaceful, edgy, uncomfortable? Did a ritual or spell seem to have more power when you performed it with others? Note any impressions, insights, emotions, visions, sensations, etc. that seem relevant.
If you continue working with the same people over a period, you’ll probably want to keep a running account of how you evolve as a group. Describe ways in which you support and enhance one another’s workings, how you grow as a result of the group’s input, challenges that arise within the group and how you solve them, and so on. In keeping with the tradition of secrecy, you may wish to mention other people by their Craft names, initials only, or pseudonyms to protect their identities should your grimoire fall into the hands of someone you don’t want to know your business.
SHARING SPELLS AND SECRETS
As mentioned earlier, witches have often copied material from their teachers’ grimoires. A High Priestess or Priest might make available some portions of her or his book to a chosen few within a small circle, as Gerald Gardner did in his Bricket Wood coven. In this way, ancient spells and incantations have been passed down through the centuries into the present day. This practice allows
us to preserve witchcraft’s rich heritage and observe its evolution over time. Everyone’s experiences contribute to the development of the whole. Each witch is a torchbearer whose flame, when joined with others’, lights up the world.
You may decide you want to let a magickal partner and/or the other members of your circle read what you write in your grimoire. Likewise, others in your group may give you permission to study their books. If you cast spells together, it can be useful to discuss what you did and what transpired. What went right and what went wrong? How might you do things differently in the future?
Depending on your personal perspective and preferences, you may choose to share your knowledge on a larger scale, as I do by writing books. A quick online search will reveal an amazing amount of information about all aspects of witchcraft, spellcasting, magick, the witchy life, and the occult in general. Maybe you’d like to contribute to an existing blog or even start one of your own. Now that Wicca and Neopaganism are becoming more accepted in many societies, lots of witches feel a desire to spread the word. Perhaps you will too.
Whether you decide to keep the contents of your grimoire private or share your experiences with other people is entirely up to you. So is the choice whether to hand down your knowledge to those who come after you or to have your confidences destroyed when you pass into the Summerland. If it is your wish, no one but you need know the secrets you keep in your book of shadows.
MORE THAN A BOOK
By now you’ve come to look upon your grimoire as more than just another tool. Few equally powerful methods of attaining self-awareness can be used so easily every day. This repository of your most private thoughts, spells, chants, musings, and meditations probably seems more like a friend than a book.
As you continue to learn, grow, and change, so will what you write in your grimoire. Looking back over earlier entries will reveal the arc of your journey and inspire you to keep going. Keeping your book of shadows will remind you of who you are during challenges and times of doubt. You also honor the precious moments in life by recording them. And, you preserve treasured memories for years to come.
Be passionate about yourself, even as you change, even in the face of the unknown. By writing your story, you may also become an inspiration for others. May your book of shadows deepen your knowledge of yourself, your aspirations, your dreams, and your loves. May it enrich your connection with the Goddess. May it comfort you in times of darkness and bring you joy in times of light. May it keep your secrets as would a trusted friend, protect the stories of your lifetime, and hold your personal mythology securely. Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again. Blessed be.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Skye Alexander is the award-winning author of more than thirty fiction and nonfiction books, including The Modern Guide to Witchcraft, The Modern Witchcraft Spell Book, The Everything® Wicca & Witchcraft Book, The Everything® Spells & Charms Book, Naughty Spells/Nice Spells, Good Spells for Bad Days, and The Everything® Tarot Book. Her stories have been published in anthologies internationally, and her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. The Discovery Channel featured her in the TV special Secret Stonehenge doing a ritual at Stonehenge. She divides her time between Texas and Massachusetts. Visit her at www.skyealexander.com.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks are due to my astute and supportive editors Rebecca Tarr Thomas and Peter Archer, to Stephanie Hannus for her beautiful book design, and to the rest of the Adams Media staff—no author could work with a better team.
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The modern witchcraft grimoire: your complete guide to creating your
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Tables
A B C D
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P
Q R S T
U V W X
Y Z
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FUTHARK RUNES
Number Shape Phonetic Value Name
1 F Fehu
2 U Uruz
3 TH Thurisaz
4 A Ansuz
5 R Raidho
6 K Kaunaz
7 G Gebo
8 W Wunjo
9 H Hagalaz
10 N Nauthiz
11 I Isa
12 J Jera
13 EI Eihaw
14 P Perthro
15 Z Algiz
16 S Sowilo
17 T Teiwaz
18 B Berkano
19 E Ehwaz
20 M Mannaz
21 L Laguz
22 NG Ingwaz
23 D Dagaz
24 O Othala
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OGHAM ALPHABET
Shape Letter Name Tree
B Beith Birch
L Luis Rowan
F Fearn Alder
S Sail Willow
N Nion Ash
H hÚath Hawthorn
D Dair Oak
T Tinne Holly
C Coll Hazel
Q Quert Apple
M Muin Vine
G Gort Ivy
NG nGéatal Reed
Z (st) Straif Blackthorn
R Ruis Elder
A Ailm Silver Fir
O Onn Gorse
U Úr Heather
E Eadha Poplar
I Iodhadh Yew
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TABLE OF NUMBER–LETTER CORRESPONDENCES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
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ern Witchcraft Grimoire