covenrochester

Because I will be giving a lecture on the topic this weekend, I have been thinking quite a bit about dark magic and other magic that is grayish or dark grayish. I thought about commanding spells, which essentially allows one person to take over, influence, and/or control an individual or group mind. Dark magic? It could be. It might not be, though. I think it would depend on why the control was necessary. A profit motive doesn't seem a good enough reason to me. But what about taking control of a public budget meeting to get a sidewalk or road repaired in a neighborhood where many elderly people live? Or taking control of a budget meeting to get law enforcement resources allocated to breaking up a dog-fighting or cock-fighting ring? Those are probably closer issues.

I've done a couple of these types of commanding spells in the past for specific people. A very effective and very easy traditional one involves placing nine thin Devil Sticks in a vial and covering them with whiskey. Two things to be cautious about here . . . there are several plants that go by the name, and you have to be careful to use the right one. Otherwise, forget it. Second, after the vial has been put together, it must be (a) charmed in a specific way, and (b) solely in the name of the person who is to use it.

After the spell vial is done, though, the person for whom it is made can easily take control of any meeting. Before the meeting, he must take out one of the sticks and rub it between his hands for 20-30 seconds. He must then replace the stick in the vial. He must then go to the meeting as early as possible so that, when people enter, he can shake their hands, in a friendly or professional way, depending on the person or context. He must shake the hands of as many participants (or decision-makers) as he can, with half as a minimum. If he does this, his confidence and the bewitched elixir on his hands will allow him to get everything that he wants and needs from the meeting.

Whether you allow the person to keep the vial after that for repeated uses is up to you. Don't trust him? Confiscate it, then, after he is done using it.

Another minor magical work of art. A Polynesian curse-breaking spell first recorded in 1905. When it was translated, Witches in England noticed that the incantation had a forceful and destructive beat that was found to make the spell work quickly and easily. So, it has been passed down by Witches since that time. It is a spell of the nature of Saturn and Mars. You can see that the Mars symbolism is part of the symbolic language of the spell, itself, but to signal the other vibration to the reader, I have marked in symbols of Earth, Saturn, Ceres, and Tetra-Ts as decoration.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

You've probably noticed: there's an exponential number of f*cking liars around these days. People who simply cannot accept reality, and so they cobble together some kind of delusive experience for themselves. This ranges from minor breaks with reality (thinking that you are visiting an island in the Metaverse) to major sociopathy that affects a lot of people (most politics, probably a lot of social media). Witches, of course, cannot afford this luxury. We are benders of reality and, to in order bend reality, we must name the boundaries of that reality properly. We cannot pretend a broken bone is a wart and then treat it as a wart, hoping to mend the bone. Bone-knitting requires a different kind of magic than wart-charming. An extreme and simplistic example, I grant you, but the same wind blows at lesser velocities everywhere.

I advise you to make as few concessions to falsehood as you can manage, because every single one of them will chip away at your power to work magic and to serve others. In the worst cases, you can follow the counsel of Baltasar Gracian: "speak with the many, but feel with the few." But even that is a half-concession that will weaken your will and your word.

Let people have their delusions if they do not affect you. If they bother you, you can make a choice to be amused by them. Or you can avoid such people entirely. But if someone speaks a falsehood that strikes at your life or livelihood or those of your children, set the Great Balance aright, and make that liar disgorge.

This is a kind of justice spell, you should know. And if you are going to use it, you must come to it with "clean hands," as we say. That is, you must not be guilty of lying, yourself. Or, if you are, you will have to confess your own lies before working the spell. In other words, do not cast this type of spell on another person unless you are also willing to cast it on yourself at the same time. My own High Priestess instructed me in this principle when I was a Witch of 19 years old. I listened. You should, too.

But, if you are an honest type and get attacked by someone's lie, this spell will make him sing soon enough.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

The Simple Circles are the foundation of every Magic Circle. The image above is the whole of the spell. A child born to a Witch family could and should be taught to practice it, perhaps using a special stick as a magical tool until she has a Wand. It will serve her in her childhood and then all of her days.

It is the béchamel of magic -- a pot, a spoon, and three ingredients. It can be made more complex and other ingredients added, but it can never be less than this. It can hold power temporarily, or shut out the world when she studies or wants to be alone. If she gets very practiced, animals will not cross over into it, nor snakes, nor insects.

It does not need to be uncast or banished. It is not anchored into the world at all and so it will start fading as soon as she no longer needs it. Magic is started by knowledge, but sustained by need. So, when the need is gone, magic fades back into theoretical knowledge.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

The earliest entries of The Hexopedia are comprised of a substantial collection of spells called The Book of Ancient Curses. The other day I mentioned that The Hagstone Curse is not a curse, per se, and that got me to thinking about other spells from The Book of Ancient of Curses. Many of them are not curses at all, but are more like protection spells. The purposes of ancient book curses is so that the book will not be stolen or defaced. We have more recent spells for that, but we use the language of protection, instead ("Safe From Harm" comes to mind). Being cheated, getting framed or blackmailed, having your stuff stolen, your family unjustly withholding from you your mother's bequest in her will, woodchucks eating your whole garden, the supercilious and oppressing arrogance of so-called noble persons. All of these situations were handled by spells that the ancients called "curses," although we probably would not use that same word today. Those spells still work today, ancient though they be.

I started recommending use of ancient spells---not curses---many years ago. The methods still work. About 10 years ago, a very sensible, reasonable person, but in a strange bout of ill health, came to me complaining that she believed she had been cursed, but did not know by whom. There are several spells to uncover a bewitching enemy. The Hagstone Curse could be used. There is a spell for such, too, in the class of spells "This Knot I Tie, This Knot I Knit" (a bunch of string and knot spells starting with those lines, but which have many different purposes). But the one that is reputed to be the quickest (in 24 hours) is the boiling of one's first morning urine (and a couple of other ingredients) in a pan on the hearth. This may also be used to summon the bewitcher of one's cattle, but the morning milk is boiled, instead. The woman was game to try, and I gave her instructions written up in the 17th century.

And that summoning spell worked. That day, unexpectedly, two women---coworkers she knew---came "to visit to see how she was doing." The two women came at separate times, with each visit unbeknownst to the other. The meaning, of course, was that the two women had worked a spell together. This was later confirmed by a third coworker who, several days later, overheard the two women talking to each other about the spell victim, with one saying to the other: "I can't believe it worked."

That spell now holds a pride of place in my heart and in my spellbook, and I often include it in spellbooks I write for other people, under the title: "To Unbewitch Men and Cattle: From the 17th Century"

I will leave for another time how the curse was dismantled and sent back. That had to be done in this case. If the spellcaster is not admitted to the house, the curse will be broken as soon as the spellcaster is turned away from the door. In this instance, the afflicted woman let in both coworkers for a short visit of a few minutes. And so, the spellcasters were found out immediately, but the curse had to be broken another way.

This is the great danger of published material on spells and whatnot to be accessed by unsworn cowans and fakes. Their danger is only increased, too, if they come up against a real Witch, who will boomerang their work right back to them. Sorry, not sorry.

Anyway, wasn't that a lovely break from your day?

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

If I had to narrow down Health and Healing spells to fit onto ten pages for a gift spellbook, this is what I would do:

The Charm of Nine Measures
The Horseshoe Charm
To Ease an Affliction of Mind or Body
The Oak Earth Charm
The Abracadabra Spell
To Unfix a Poison
The Apple Potion
The Healing Sachet
To Bring the Peace of Health (an old spell brought to Portugal from Ghana)
The Longevity Tree Spell
To Brighten Youth
To Turn Away Death
The Egyptian Crossing Prayer

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

Back when parlor games were popular amongst magical families, the games would sometimes include attempts at levitation or other telekinetic manifestations. If you have grandparents and great-grandparents who grew up anywhere from the Catskills through the Appalachians through the Ozarks, before the coming of electricity, those old folks might remember such games as hat-turning, broom-dancing, or chair-raising. Folks now in their 90s will perhaps remember some of those things from their childhood or their own parents' or grandparents' stories. Some of the games had charms to go with them. My all-time favorite in that category is to make a living thing "fly" in the midst of a circle of people. It doesn't rhyme, as you can see. It's rhythm is slightly off-kilter, too, but in a way that is skillfully done to catch the mind and its power off guard. When it is said in the proper way, it has a commanding feel that brooks no opposition.

IN THE DAY YOU MAY SEE.
IN THE NIGHT YOU ARE BLIND.
IN THE WORLD YOU MAY WALK.
BUT IN THIS CIRCLE, YOU FLY.

I suppose the modern equivalent might be Uri Geller-type spoon bending.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

For a gift spellbook, I have narrowed down the spells of this section to:

A Multi-Purpose Love Spell
A Word About Love Potions, with Two Examples
The Seven Drops (a famous love potion)
The Clove and Anise Love Potion
To Enchant an Apple
The Love Web (Romanian)
The Apple Love Spell (Hungarian)
The True Love Wish
The Magic of Roses
Wedding Rings in Magic
To Birth a Male Child
To Birth a Female Child
The Blessed Cradle (Le Berceau Béni)
To Call Back the Wandering Faithless
To Undo a Love Spell
To Banish the Pain of Unrequited Love
To Ease the Loss of Love
To Dismiss Love
How to Write a Letter to the Dead

The Blessed Cradle is not an ordinary blessing spell. It is designed to make the child rise in station and wealth in life, and to become skilled and knowledgeable in magical matters. It is a common spell amongst Witches in European countries. It is a bit more complicated than the Baby Gifting Rite that appears in hidden form in The Sleeping Beauty.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

Having been initiated in the Craft for over 34 years now, you can imagine that my spellbooks are enormous. Early on, it became a challenge to keep the information organized. I eventually divided the material into four leather-bound spellbooks, one for each of the Four Elements, figuring that every Witch who came after me would know where to find what. If you are looking for the Dreaming True Potion, you must know that it is in the Book of Water. If you are looking to heal an animal, you know that the spell must be in the Book of Earth. Looking for the way the wise read the Tarot? It's in the Book of Air. Need money? Earth. Break a Bad Habit? Fire. How to predict the weather from the exact times of new moon and full moon? The table is in the Book of Air. The Witches' Rules for Gardening? Earth. Sick of waiting for your future husband to show up? A Witch can summon him from the Book of Water. Banish Mice from the House? Fire.

There are several supplementary books, though. The Hexopedia is a separate work. So is my Greenbook, which contains herbal medicine. It is a topic separate from spells involving, say, certain trees (Earth). I also have a book Natural Magic from A to Z based on spells involving plants.

Sometimes I make spellbooks for others as gifts. In that instance, this is usually how I divide it into sections. I have found it a very workable method of organization.




*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

Although we are currently the custodians of the four-volume Hexopedia for intellectual and historical purposes,



On the Shelf



Volume IV, entitled

we are very loath to engage in any curse work whatsoever. There are other efficacious methods for dealing with negative people or experiences. On the top of that list: protect yourself. You have a right to do so and, if others depend on you, a responsibility to do so.

A victim of false and malicious gossip? It's been a problem for thousands of years. There is a very popular ancient Greek spell that is still used to this day. Let the person prattle on. The spell turns the prattler into a cassandra. He or she might be heard, but his or her false statements will be thought mad and not believed.



OMGs, You Can Do Better Than That

My old Witch Mother once asked me what I would do, magically, if a person were aiming negative energy at me. Either just in day-to-day nastiness or as a formal curse. I think I replied with something elaborate and brainy. She sighed and, in a grandmotherly hand-patting gesture that seemed to say, "oh, my stupid little child," told me what a Witch of the old persuasion would do: make a poppet. In modern days, it can be stood in front of a cheap mirror. In the old days, it would be suspended in a tree, by neck and legs, face down, over still water (a pond or old well). Either way, anything evil coming from the person would immediately be reflected back to him.

Different cultures seem to make their poppets in different ways. Cloth dolls seem popular amongst southern Witches. My old Witch Mother did not mind working in wax. In the Northeast US, a popular style is fallen sticks, pine boughs, and yarn.

Of course, making the poppet is just the technical part, not the magical part. It is the conception of the spell, but not its birth. Your Witch Mother (or Father) will tell you what to do over the next couple of days. You have to be a bit patient. Babies are birthed in their own good time, and so are poppets. But, once the poppet has been magical-ized (for want of a better term), the rest is child's play. And long, long, long lasting.

The boss of one Witch was terrorizing the Witch at work. The Witch made a poppet for protection. The boss suddenly retired two weeks later, out of the blue. The friend of another Witch was being cyber-bullied. "Come bring these things . . . (A, B, C, X, Y, Z) . . . and I will show you how to protect yourself." The bullied friend last reported: "The spell is working. Magnificently."

There is an old Witches' Proverb: Never banish something that may be freed by a blessing. A similar thing applies here: Never curse another when simply protecting yourself does the job.

So mote it be.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester