Showing posts with label rituals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rituals. Show all posts

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Deconstructing Rituals - Toward a Psychology of Religious Ritual



Blessed Be.

My Spiritual world has taken a haphazard bunch of turns recently. I liken it to floating aimlessly at sea in a comfortable well stocked vessel. I have been enjoying the aimless floating and gathering lessons from what takes place around me. I have gained some dominion over fears, and have become more confident in my abilities and really learnt some amazing things.

However, it is time to move....some where. The thing about being in the middle of the ocean so to speak is that there is no "right" direction. Especially if you have no destination. Its like seeing several island off in the distance and being so indecisive that I just remain floating there.

I need to pick one and go exploring.

In that light, recently I just decided to "Pick" something to read in depth and opened up a whole library of knowledge and a labyrinth of direction I could go in one area of my life.

In doing so, I stumbled upon an interesting document that I believe is relevant to understanding ritual; and the effect is has upon our minds.



Great stuff to read.

Update: 14th May 2023. I did go somewhere. I did pick something. and I am calmer and more content with the word, and feel more equipped to share my knowledge.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

How to write rituals that work for you.


Keep track of what you
 do and when. It helps also track the
progress of your spell as it  unfolds

People ask me all the time to share my rituals and spells. And I say no…..
Am I selfish?  Not at all….. but why give  people something they would have no use for? Why give a man a fish, when you can teach him to fish?
Rituals and spells are meant to configure the mind to assist in bringing the belief that want you want to happen can be possible. Rituals and spells MUST be catered to the individual for them to work. I know a lot of traditionalists are going to jump down my throat at that one. However, if a ritual (tool of change) has to have a psychological effect on the individual….then who best to create the tool than the person whose mind needs it?

First, you need to know the difference in purpose between a Ritual and a Spell.
A Ritual is to be carried out often at a particular time. The ritual, reinforces an idea everytime you do it, and brings your mind into a particular focus. A morning ritual for example, which focuses on gratitude for the new day, should be repeated every morning. I have a six weeks ritual, which involves cleansing my home (when I had one) and clearing my mind of clutter. I also have a nightly ritual performed with my daughter, which clears the house and her room of the “beasties.”  It is meant to remove any negative energy from the home, and create a protective barrier as we sleep. It also causes her to rest peacefully without fear of “things under the bed.”
So note: RITUAL – Repeat at time set by you!! It reinforces an idea into your brain!!
SPELLS : These usually are created to change the course of something. Like when your job isn’t going right and you want a change….your love life needs to change, your finances need to change…..get it….change. And you are not changing anyone…you are usually changing yourself, your impressions on the matter, your needs…etc…the change is in you. Spells have the effect on your mind that from this point on (the spell point) I shall have no more of this bull…and be done with it! That’s what it tells your mind…or should.
So back to the creation of the spell or ritual, and I shall present this in that famous phrase : To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Keep Silent:
Using whats around
you and knowing how they
communicate with you is important.
TO KNOW:  To create effective rituals and spells that work for you…you must know Magick…..as in have research the methods, types and forms of Magick….. know which method draws you in. Know which method fills your heart with that magicky feeling and makes YOU feel empowered! That’s the one you use…the one that make you feel like the magick is there and you are riding on the wind! Know too….oh curios one…..the ASSOCIATIONS…and then throw them out the window!  After you have learnt all the Associations, pick apart your elements, your planets and look around you for objects, plants and things which you can associate with the elements and planets. The key is to use what you have in your environment to work your magick. Know that the Universe provides all that you need. Everything is right there….we just don’t always realize it. For example… in learning Magick all the herbal associations I learnt about were of plants that grow in temperate countries. There is no way I could find rowan trees, and ash and oak in a rainforest environment. I had to make do with coconut, bougainvillea, bay leaf, hibiscus….you get the drift. So it took some reflection and meditation on my part to see what my mind ASSOCIATED each local plant with…which qualities come to mind? It is a process which I am still working on……I started a blog… but I am kinda slow at blogging them down:http://herbalshadows.blogspot.com/
You have to know what touches which part of our heart. You have to know what draws you. You have to know which tools make you feel magickal…and if they don’t then do away with them. You have to know whether in Magick, your mind responds to visual, auditory, kinesthic, and let’s not forget smell and taste in the experience of the spell or ritual. ( Yes taste…I once created a delightful spell for happy days based on the sunlike image of a delicious fried egg with garlic mushrooms on the side for magicky connections with the earth!)
To know takes a lot of learning and research. It is worth it, even if it means one topic at a time learnt well. You have all your life to know yourself and what you respond to…and the fun is in the process/journey…not in the destination.

The gods are not laughing.
Think of them as personifications
of raw energies.
 I sometimes make up my own
enlisting the energies I need!
TO DARE: “What if I do a spell wrong? What if I do a ritual wrong?
If those thoughts are in your mind then don’t do any spell or ritual. Someone, has previously planted a seed in your mind. One that says that Magick is playing with things you know nothing about……..have they? Then you need to do some extra work on your belief that Magick is wrong/ evil/trouble/ can create trouble.
“To Dare” speaks to our confidence. Our confidence in ourselves. Our confidence in our knowledge. Our confidence in our beliefs. As I read somewhere : There is no god looking down at you laughing at your attempts to create the perfect ritual. There is no demon waiting for you to draw a symbol wrong so that he can jump in and wreak havoc on your life. Get those thoughts out of your head! Get that programming out of your mind! As a matter of fact…..just learn a good banishing spell and banish those thoughts from your brain for a few years before you attempt a spell again. If negative thoughts are in your head about something…it will never work for you as a psychological tool of change. If you have doubts about a chant, a herb, a colour our a candle or gem…don’t use it. Doubts and fears are destroyers of the work you do……when in doubt, don’t. Just wait a while and the solution may pop into your head.
TO WILL: Do you want the thing you are creating the ritual for? Have you thought it over…mulled through its implications on your life? Have you given thought to the effect it shall have on you and others around you? (Look up “And it harm none, so mote it be) After reflecting on the end result you want and what it may take to get there do you still Will it to happen? Are you absolutely wanting it so bad still that you can taste it and feel the happiness down to your toes at the thought of it taking place and all around you is sunshine and flowers.. J (being silly here of course)
Then by all means proceed….and hold that feeling in your heart as you do the spell/ ritual and use its energy to drive the power of the spell or ritual. WILL it strongly…even if it is only for two minutes……spells and rituals do not have to be long and elaborate. But they do HAVE to have the power of your concentrated emotion behind it. (Please be careful of spells done in anger…please always phrase you spell/ritual to make changes in you and no one else.)
TO BE SILENT : When you have done a spell or ritual…be done with it, and thank the Universe and the ALL Creative for granting you our request! And shut up about it. Telling someone what you have done is opening your mind to their opinions, which may have a negative effect on your mind. “Why did you use Avocado?” says the whiny voice, “Banana would have been more appropriate!” and so enters the seeds of doubt into your brain and pffffht! There goes the mental will behind your spell, the force that drives it to work. Your belief has been shattered, the spell has been shattered. (Picture the silver Magick forces who were going along just fine till you told. Now picture “doubt” like the miserable idiot that it is just running in and shattering the magicky silvery energy and all the tendrils of magick falling to the ground and going nowhere further.. See what telling does?) NEVER TELL!
Clearly you created the spell for your mind. Any other person has had different life experiences, and hence will be affected by different associations and methods……duh…. This is your mind…not theirs!
Note the format for these things . Have them in sections:
1)      Cleansing the space and yourself
2)      Opening announcing the spells intention
3)      The play : The part where you do the core thingy that makes the spell/ritual workable using the associations.
4)      The Thank you for granting what the spell/ritual was for
5)      The clean up in reverence and gratitude.
And it does not have to be elaborate. One of my best banishing/ clearing spells involves writing all the things I wish to get rid of on black paper with a silvery pen.  At the dark of the moon I burn them one by one in the flame of a black candle, and speak words telling them to begone and never return! It works for me….. very effective.
Another time, I had an issue which was causing some anxiety. I eventually ended up transforming the issue into an issue beastie by drawing it on paper. I worked to make the beastie as close as possible to what I felt….and then I burnt up the paper with the beastie in it!!! … Ahhhh…that felt better.
Don't worry, these are cast off
fairy wings! (Dried Hibiscus Petals)

Try as best as possible too to not even think about the spell…..if it pops into your head, automatically thank the gods and goddesses for granting it.

The point about this whole post is that the research into yourself, and creation of your own spells is the REAL thing that gets the Magick flowing. It’s not in performing the right ritual or chanting words you do not understand. It is in creating something that touched the core of your subconscious, and blasts away the negative thoughts that say the thing you want is not possible.
It’s the best work you can do for yourself……and they really do work.


Yule Reflections- a winter period

Yule Father....by Dan MIller

I would love to direct your attention to a story I read in Witchvox that prompted this line of reflection. Click here to go to it : http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=ussc&c=holidays&id=14874
The story tells of a winter, and of singing for hope that the happy days will soon return. At least that is what I got out of it.
 For the last six month I have been experiencing a "winter" in my life. Yeah yeah yeah...I live in the tropics....we see no winter, and never see a cooler temperature than 25 degrees Celcius. The winter I refer to is a metaphorical one. Since doing the Uranus Magick, and being jettisioned so to speak from my career, and from my home. I have been living a winter where things were scarce...I had a lot of reorganizing my mind as to what is important to me and..... with all the fears and worry....I pulled through. The solstice is upon us....and already I see signs of my Earth waking up!
Yule Ornament on my tree. A rare find on my island...wish I could find more.
This Yule, I shall celebrate with a clearing ritual first. All things that are past...are past. I shall then create a ritual to sing out my hopes to the future. To focus my mind on the good things to come, to speak of gratitude for these trials I have been through, this winter of my life. I know that such periods test the character of the individual.
Again, I did the Magick that prompted this life change. I create Uranus Magick, these are the things I requested:

1) To be removed from the high level management job that took up all my time and energy.
2) To find a part time flexible job that would free up my time
3)To be able to work on and build my career in art so that that artistic life would be the source of my income.

All of this was the aim of being a better me... less stressed...less grumpy...more fulfilled, and more family time.........
My Magick is working....for this I am grateful....now on to my ritual.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Elemental Magick - Air Magick - Clarity Spell


Meditation Clarity Spell
This spell requires at least half an hour. Do this exercise after a ritual bath or shower.

You need
Broom/Besom
4 small ceramic saucers
4 charcoal blocks
Frankincense grains, Air incense or incense sticks
Chalk
Cushion –yellow and purple preferably



Prepare charcoal blocks and place in saucers. Cleanse your ritual space, marking your ritual circle.
As you sit/ kneel in the center of your circle, face the east and mark the symbol of the element AIR. In the center of the symbol, place a saucer and while sprinkling the incense onto the charcoal block say:
AIR cleans
AIR clears
Clarity is here


Face South. Mark the symbol for Fire. Place the saucer in the center, sprinkle your incense and say:
FIRE cleans
FIRE clears
Clarity is here

Do the same with WATER and EARTH, marking each symbol to the west and north respectively; changing the chant each time.
When all the incense is lit, sit in the center of your circle. Close your eyes and visualize the AIR saucer and the incense burning. Visualize the incense clearing away any disruptive THOUGHTS, till your vision is one pale yellow screen. When you can visualize this clean yellow colour, turn to the south.
Facing south, visualize all the disruptive PASSIONS being cleared away by the incense smoke, until all that can be visualized is a clear red screen. Nothing but pure FIRE energies can exist in your body, only passions for the good of all.


Do the same for WATER (west) and EARTH (north), again visualizing all the disruptive EMOTIONS, and MATERIEL distractions being cleared away by the incense smoke to leave a clear blue and citrine colours respectively.
Go through each element again if needed, until all the colours visualized are clear.
Continue to meditate for as long as you wish. Thank your deity for the power to do this for yourself.
Open your circle, and clean up.

I usually finish this with some Clarity Tea, which I would post in another blog.





Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Back to the Beginnings



The Elders at Witchschool did caution that the learning curve would actually be a spiral. After a feverish frenzy of reading and getting lost in conflicting views, I have come back to the beginning. Am I a witch? If not...then what am I? What exactly do I believe. Here begins the discriminatory process of identifying those thigs that work, and chucking those things that I do not identify with.

One thing I agree with is the Quantum element. The theory that whatever you believe will be confirmed by the Universe....so...what do you want to believe?

I begin a new journey with study on the morning ritual. I am in the process of creating my own morning ritual, encorporating the elements, and specific sounds and movements to greet the day. My ritual should speak of gratitude, harmony with the Universe and acceptance that it knows what is the best direction for me to take....

I begin again.