Magick

I decided to take a break from quilting (which is coming along nicely) and write a post about magick b/c I mentioned doing it on one of the Melissa posts. This is a tough one for me to write because it is so much unconscious thought that I may as well be describing how I walk.

First, note that k I added to magic. A long time ago I read that witches spell it magick to differentiate true Witchcraft from stage magic. Now some people make fun of the word magick because it’s associated with the ‘fluff bunnies’ people who are a little overboard in their efforts not to harm anyone while doing only good magick. I still use magick and not magic because now magic looks to me as if it’s misspelled.

I also have issues with so called ‘good magick’ I think magick is like electricity- in and of it’s self it is a neutral power that can light up your house or kill a man on death row. The electricity doesn’t care what it is doing; it’s people who determine if it’s good or bad. I am very firm on protecting myself. I don’t have a problem putting binding or banishing spells on stalkers, potential rapists, or even people who gossip about me. I don’t attack people just for the fun of hexing, but if someone is trying to hurt me I see no reason to be a doormat.

I’m a kitchen witch. This means that most of my spells deal with my home and my garden. Some people think that is a selfish kind of magick but I think my home is the place where I rest, heal, live, love, etc, and it needs to be the most ideal environment for me to thrive. Doing home magick tends to radiate out into the world. I use magick to make the garden grow and then I share my harvest with my neighbors thus creating community.

Some people think kitchen witch is a derogatory term. Since I’m not conjuring demons or controlling the weather some think I have no power. I think it is harder to make a spell work with a few simple ingredients than it is with a full ritual. So you cast a circle, called the watchtowers, evoked the gods, and summoned a dragon to protect your house. I achieved the same goal with one candle and three herbs. No power? Hah!

Which brings me to the question, what does one need to create magick? Just yourself. Yes, I used to do full rituals, but I think that was just training for my mind. They were something to make me feel ‘witchy’ until I learned what the flow and rise of magick felt like. After I got a handle on how to do it I could sit in my backyard and cast spells in my head with no tools or props. And that’s usually what I do. I have a ley line in my backyard.

I insist on keeping my spells secret. To do this I reduce everything to numbers. (Please note this is unusual for a kitchen witch) Every letter of the alphabet corresponds to a number. Write out the alphabet and number each letter 1 through 26. Then add each two digit number together to get one digit. J is the 10th letter, so 1+0= 1. That should give you a chart like this:
1 A, J, S
2 B, K, T
3 C, L, U
4 D, M, V
5 E, N, W
6 F, O, X
7 G, P, Y
8 H, Q, Z
9 I, R

Now I write down exactly what I want. Let’s say
I WANT A VACATION.

I turn my letters into numbers.
(9) (5,1,5,2) (1) (4,1,3,1,2,9,6,5)

You can add up the whole string, but I tend to miss numbers that way so I reduce each word to one number and then add them. Please note that you can get different numbers depending on your adding. It doesn’t matter which way you do it as long as you do it the same way every time.
9+4+1+4= 18

1+8= 9 So 9 is my number. I write 9 on a piece of paper, put it in a bag, add some herb and stones. Then I empower the bag which is my favorite part.

If I don’t need the spell right away I leave it in a circle of crystals. The bag pulls in the power of the stones. I usually let my spells stay in the circle overnight. If I need the spell that day I use my rocking chair.

I saw my Granny do this a hundred times but back then I didn’t know what she was doing. She would rock with a spool of thread in her hand, eyes closed and whispering. Then she’d go sew and she made the most perfect clothes. She never had to rip any thing out. Her patterns were always accurate and the bias never stretched. She was enchanting the thread for smooth sewing.

This is something that can’t be rushed. It’s ready when it’s ready. Sit down with the bag in your hand and both feet on the floor. Think about what you want and keep that picture in your head as you rock. You’ll find a rhythm. Some spells require fast rocking, but most are slow. Just find what feels comfortable and keeping thinking about what you want. If your mind wanders just refocus. Keep going until the bag feels warm and heavy then it’s empowered. Carry the bag with you until your wish manifests.

A spell doesn’t need ingredients to work. Just saying your wish allowed can make it happen. That’s how I got my pool table.

It was two years ago on my birthday and Kevin took me to the movies. When we got to the theater the time had been changed so we had an hour to kill. We wandered into the Sears next door (Let me stop right here and say don’t ever, ever, ever buy anything with a Sears credit card. The card is designed to keep you in debt until you die and then your family can be in debt. Whatever you put on the card will end up costing three times the original price. I know this because I used to work for them.)

Upstairs we found the sporting goods department. I picked up a very nice solid black pool cue and admired it. I showed it to Kev and said, “You should buy this for me.”

“Why?”

“For the pool table I’m going to get!”

He laughed.

A week later I drove past the dump and saw a pool table.

I couldn’t believe someone would throw out a pool table. I decided there must be something wrong with it. On the other hand, I wanted one and this one was free. I decided that if the table was still there when I came back I would stop.

It was.

By that time it was full dark and I couldn't see very well. It appeared to just be the top, but still, it was free, so I decided I could always find legs for it later. As I was wondering how I was going to load it on the truck by myself a teenage couple stopped and the girlfriend made her boyfriend help me. I took the pool to my parents house and my father helped me put it in the barn, telling me the whole while I was wasting my time, nobody throws out a pool table.

The next day I came back and discovered the pool table did have legs- they folded under. All that was wrong with the table was one tiny rip in the felt and one loose pocket.

I’ve gotten so good at manifesting objects that I really don’t need to say anything now. Last year I wanted a new coat, but couldn’t afford it. I admired the coat. I longed for the coat, but it was out of my budget and being that it was so expensive I wasn’t going to ask anyone to buy it for me. But I kept thinking about it.

One weekend I went to my parents house and my mother told me she bought something she thought I would like. It was a leather coat almost identical to the one I wanted. It was shorter and the pockets were different, but basically the same. Mom got it on sale for next to nothing. That’s really how magick works, you gotta want it.