Spellworking

At the end of the day, no matter what colour candles you use, whether you've lovingly selected all the "right" herbs for your incense, picked the best moonphase, time of day, wind direction and day of the week... all this does not guarantee success.  So you're now taking this at face value and asking yourself why bother learning all those correspondence tables if they're not where the magic happens anyway?!  The answer, of course, is that we use these additional props to strengthen already strong work... but frankly, if the foundations are weak, the whole thing will crumble around your ears.

So what would I define as the most essential key to spellworking?  Well, rather than give you the direct answer, let's take a clue here from dear Auntie Doreen (no, she's not my auntie... although I'm reliably informed my mother could pass for her twin!)...

For all the paraphernalia to aid our work, at the end of the day, it's what is coming from within that turns the key.  For example, say you're doing a spell for prosperity, and want to allot a set amount to it.  Okay, so you'd like £10,000, yes?  All sounds lovely?  Try that prospect out on yourself a second.  If you're as poverty stricken as most of us, chances are no matter what you say, your inner mind is doubled up laughing!  And therein lies the key... what amount could your inner mind - your subconscious - accept?  £1,000?  £100?  £10?  You can always build up, but it's always more advisable, particularly for the novice, to start small and increase your expectations as your faith in your own ability increases.

So, it swiftly becomes evident that, for your spellworking to be effective, your subconscious needs to accept the very real possibility of your will being made reality.  But perhaps in grasping this concept, you may have overlooked another key element... relax!!!  Remember, the keyword here is subconscious, and anyone who has done any form of work with their subconscious - basic meditation, divination, whatever - will know that the only way to work effectively is to tune out the everyday conscious mind until the subconscious may speak and work clearly, without interruption.

All well and good, but how is this achieved?  Well, one clue was given above; that of simple meditation.  This technique helps train the body and conscious mind to quieten down on will to allow the subconscious to work effectively.  There are other, more mundane ways of getting used to the feel of your subconscious too; try noticing how you feel at that point just before you drift off to sleep, or when you go into auto pilot setting the washing machine to run, or washing the dishes.  These every day activities swiftly become an act of ritual in their own right once viewed as important teaching tools.

This is also where affirmations and chants come into play during spell and ritual work.  By rhythmically repeating the same phrase(s) over and over, focusing on the intent behind the words, yet allowing them to lull the conscious mind to rest, is a powerful way of building energy and focus.  The possible methods and techniques are endless, and once again, it's up to you to find the particular way which works best for you.

So now you have the true core of effective spellworking in place, and you may wish, like many do, to leave it at that and work purely on this level.  Others, however, like to take it further into more elaborate spellworking, or even to full ritual.  This, once more, is entirely up to the individual.  However, now you understand better what lies at the core of your work, you can be wiser in your choices.  Yeah, sure, the love spell may call for rose incense, but if that scent holds psychological associations for you of that spotty geek who followed you around with roses for a week when you were twelve, odds on you'll have enough sense now to know a substitute needs bringing in for the spell to work as you wish!