FAQ: How do I do a basic spell?

Basic spell crafting is actually quite easy! All it takes is a little bit of knowledge of basic spell components and some will and visualization.

Here is a simple candle spell outline that can be changed for almost any purpose, with an example for a money spell:

1. Take a candle of the appropriate color for your purpose and carve the subject (i.e. the name of the person you want to affect or the situation or object) on the candle. I would choose a green candle to represent luck and money and carve onto it "Please bring me enough money to pay my bills every month."
2. Anoint your candle with an appropriate oil for your purpose, or, choose a scented candle that already has oils in it to suit your purpose. There is some difference of opinion as to which direction you should rub the oil but I usually avoid worrying about this by putting the oil into my hand and then rolling the candle between my palms. Either way it is more important that the candle be completely covered in the oil. For my money spell I could choose to anoint my green candle with "money drawing" oil or maybe use one of the Coventry Creations candles associated with money.
3. For added help in focusing, add an incense stick. In this case "Money Drawing" incense sticks would work well. 
4. Light your candle and incense, and focus on your goal, trying to visualize it as clearly as you can. I would visualize myself opening my wallet to pay a bill and having enough to pay and some left over. I would visualize my Visa bill being paid off and my Hydro bill being up to date.
5. Recite a charm, affirmation, psalm or request to help formulate and ask the universe for help achieving your goal. Blessed Hathor, Goddess of abundance: Please help me to find the means to repay those I owe. Help me to have the funds to live a modest life. Blessed be.
6. Let the candle burn to the end, and leave the results up to the Universe.

Here are some basic colors and their associations to help you choose a candle that is appropriate for your spell. Also check out the FAQ on the Elements for some more associations.

Red: Passion, love, creativity, Fire, Mars, Root Chakra.
Orange: Communication, mental stability, power, Mercury, Navel Chakra.
Yellow: Also communication and intellect, success, Air, Sun, Solar Plexus Chakra.
Green: Money, luck, prosperity, financial and earthly stability, Earth, Venus, Heart Chakra.
Blue: Peace, calm, healing, emotional balance, justice, Water, Jupiter, Throat Chakra.
Purple: Magic in general, psychic powers, the Moon, Third Eye Chakra (sometimes associated with Indigo).
White: Purity, blessing, Spirit, Crown Chakra (sometimes associated with violet).
Black: Banishing, ridding unwanted energy, cessation, grounding, Earth.

Now that you have a basic template of a spell you can mix and match elements for any spell you choose! Whether it's passing your exam (yellow candle and study oil) or healing your cold (blue candle and healing oil) you have the tools with which to focus your desires and manifest your magic!

Fun with Faeries on Beltane!

The holiday of Beltane (May Day) which falls on May 1st marks the mid-way point of the Pagan (namely Celtic and Wiccan) year. Opposite from Samhain (Halloween), Beltane marks the beginning of the "summer" or the "light half of the year." During these two festivals it is said that the barriers between this world and the other are thin and this makes such things as ghosts, ancestor spirits and faeries much more accessible. Being as this is the light half of the year, Beltane is associated more with life then death, and as such the Fae, who are often most directly related to plants and the earth and their wellbeing are more revered.

A Simple Offering
One of the things you can do for Beltane to garner the favor of the Fae is to leave out an offering for them. Traditional offerings include honey, milk, bread, apples and jasmine. Mushrooms and toadstools are also appropriate gifts, as well as pennies, quartz, labradorite, and anything pretty or shiny you find lying around. Make sure however that none of your gifts are made out of iron. Faeries are allergic to iron, and they won't look kindly on a gift made of it. Leave your offerings in as natural a setting as possible (the Mountain is a great place for this, but your yard can work just as well). Organize your gifts and prettily and enticingly as you can and leave it there for the faeries to enjoy at their leisure.

Make a Faery Home

If you want to invite some Faeries into your home or garden (though beware, this may lead to random disappearances of keys!), a great way to do this is to make a Faery Home. This is also a great project to do with your kids. Go to a forest or a park and gather as many rocks, twigs and leaves as you can. I also suggest getting some crystal quartz ahead of time, as quartz is very spiritually receptive and can act as a "fetish" or a spiritual home for an entity. Using either craft clay or a glue gun, fashion your stones, twigs and leaves into a little house with a hole for a door. Not only are these little homes adorable but they are also very inviting for the Wee Folk. Place your house near some plants in your home or in your garden to help promote their growth and liveliness.

Make Garlands of Flowers for the Summer Lady At Beltane the Summer Courts (or in Celtic myth the Seelie Courts) of the Fae are in their full power. The Queen of the Summer Fae sings through the lands and creates warmth and beauty. One way to welcome her is by creating flower garlands in her honor. Wearing garlands and singing lusty songs like this one are traditional for Beltane and are particularly enjoyed by the Summer Court and it's Lady. Join in their summer revels by adorning yourself in flowers and dancing through the trees. Even better, adorn the trees and passers-by with garlands, bringing the Beltane Faery spirit to all. Faeries thrive anywhere there is spontaneity and joy!

Did you enjoy the pictures in this blog? Favorite them and support the artists by buying their prints on Deviant Art. Featured in this article are: Tam Lin by Pui Mun Law, Faery House 14, Flower Garland 1D, and The Seduction. 

Make a wish!

Want the "Luck of the Irish"? Come by the store and make a wish in the wish-book at the public altar. On St-Paddy's day the staff will use all that lucky energy to do a spell to help grant your wish. Just follow the guidelines of the spell inscribed in the book:



Make a wish
For what you need
Not in hate
Or in Greed
May God and Goddess
Give you aid
And grant the wish
That you have made.
Write your wish and trust in the Luck of the Irish to grant it!

Guardian Protector Stuffed Animal

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that there has been a bit of a baby boom in this last year. It seems like every time I turn around I see someone either pregnant or with a newborn. I blame it on the recently finished year of the rabbit.

With this mini upsurge in pregnancies I've had quite a few customers ask me how they can protect the new baby in their lives. The biggest problem with this is that you need to be careful with what you give a newborn and also it's difficult to explain to a young child how or why what you are doing will protect them from those awful nightmares or that monster under the bed.

But if there is one thing that children instinctively understand it is the power of stuffed animals. Stuffies (as my family calls them) are perfectly designed to become what we call in the magical community fetishes, that is, a receptacle for a spirit. All it takes is a little bit of love and a little bit of personification and there you go: you have a magical object with its own little soul. Of course, for this we want to program that stuffy soul to be a guardian and protector of our little ones. Here's how you can do it, and how I did it for my yet unborn niece:

The first part of this spell is to find a stuffed animal that both speaks to you and represents protection to you. Some good protection animals are bears, lions or panthers, dogs, dragons, wolves among others. Once you have your stuffy it is important to treat it like a living being. Talk to it, hug it, love it, explain its duties to it, put it in a place of honor while you get the rest of the spell together.

You will need:

• Malachite (for protecting children)
• Obsidian (for psychic protection)
• Rose Quartz (for love)
• Howlite (to combat nightmares and for reducing stress)
• Spring Water
• Sandalwood
• Lavander
• Rose
• Orris Root
• Sage
• (Any other protective herbs you feel like adding)
•  Guardian Protector Candle or a black candle with Guardian and Protection oil on it.

1. Place the stones and herbs in a bowl with water. Soak on a windowsill for an evening and a morning.
2. Carve the candle with the name of the child and some affirmations and/or prayers naming the stuffed animal as the child's protector and for the child's safety and love.
3. Place the candle in the bowl with the water, herbs and stones. Place the stuffy nearby (but obviously far enough away not to get singed.)
4. Light the candle and imagine the energy flowing into the stuffy.
5. When the candle is burned down, take the stones out of the water, dry them off and sew them into the stuffed animal.
6. Hold the stuffed animal in your arms, look at it tin the eyes and explain to it its duties: that it is to keep the child safe, happy and loved.
7. Give the stuffy to the child. If they are over two years old, tell them the stuffy is going to protect them from bad dreams and monsters. 

FAQ: What is the LBRP and what is it for?

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is a banishing ritual that first made it's appearance in the famous Ceremonial and Hermetic order, the Order of the Golden Dawn. No one is quite sure where the LBRP ritual came from. The founders of the Golden Dawn claimed to have received the ritual from the same "Secret Chiefs" who had theoretically passed to them all the information for the order. Certainly the LBRP draws on many Judeo-Christian and even Hindu mystical sources an some of the prayers reflect ones of Christian or Jewish origin so the LBRP as a ritual may be quite old. However whether Mather's, Westcott and Woodman were given the LBRP by the Secret Chiefs or whether they made it up (for which there is quite a bit of debate)it remains that the LBRP is am intense, powerful and balanced ritual. Since its first recorded appearance in the Golden Dawn the LBRP has been published in many different books on Ceremonial Magic, rituals, psychic and magical protection and metaphysical books and magazines, often with slightly different variations. Unfortunately due to the fact that the Golden Dawn is a secret society it is very difficult to pin point which version is the correct one, even among practitioners of the Golden Dawn today. However all the versions agree on the basic outline and principal of the ritual, and it is mostly upon the proper visualizations that the versions disagree.

The LBRP uses divine Qabbalistic symbolism to center, balance, cleanse and protect the practitioner. First the magician will draw divine energies down through their body in the shape of a cross touching upon Sephirothic attributions (the translations of which interestingly are the same words as at the end of the "Our Father"). This is called the Qabbalistic Cross and it helps to balance the practitioner and infuse them with energy. After this the practitioner traces four banishing pentagrams in each quarter (i.e. east, south, west, north) and infuses these with divine names which helps to banish and shield the sphere of the magician. The final layer of protection is made by invoking the four archangels associated with the four quarters who are placed around the sphere, protecting the inside. Finally there is an affirmation and a final Qabbalistic Cross to recenter and balance.

The LBRP is a very complex, deep and layered ritual that is extremely efficacious. In the Golden Dawn it was the only ritual that was taught before a member reached adeptship and it is often said that if you are going to learn one ritual, the LBRP is it.

FAQ: What are the elements and what are their attributions?

In Wicca, most Pagan paths, spell-craft and Ceremonial Magic we place a high importance on the five elements which are, as the term would suggest, the magical and natural components which form in each thing. Some traditions see these elements in slightly different ways or have slightly different attributions but here is a basic guide:

Earth
Association:Earth is the element of stability and the physical. Earth is often associated with material well-being such as money, home and prosperity, stubbornness and healing on the physical level.
Color:Black or Green or Brown
Tool/Tarot Suit:The Shield and the Pentacle.
Symbols: Salt, Soil, Bread, Horns, Stone, Leaves, Bark.
Sense: Touch
Scents: Pine, Cedar, Amber, Patchouli, Sandalwood.
Direction: North
Time: Night

Air
Association: Air is the element of the mind, communication, language, writing and imagination. Air is often associated with anything having to do with the mind or mental processes and is often invoked for study, philosophical thought or automatic writing and healing of mental illness.
Color: Yellow
Tool/Tarot Suit: The Dagger and the Sword
Symbols: Feather, Rose, Quill or Pen, Parchment, Book of Shadows, Fan.
Sense: Smell
Scents: Hyssop, Mint, Violet, Moonflower, Lavander.
Direction: East
Time: Sunrise

Water
Association: Water is the element of emotions. It is associated with peace and calm but also sadness and every other emotion. Water is also associated with empathy, mystery and healing on an emotional level.
Color: Blue
Tool/Tarot: The Cauldron and the Cup (or Chalice).
Symbols: Water, Wine, Shells.
Sense: Taste
Scents: Lotus, Vetiver, Cucumber, Rosemary, Orris, Jasmine.
Direction: West
Time: Sunset

Fire
Association: Fire represents the will, creativity and passion as well as renewal but also destruction. Fire is also associated with strength and power.
Color: Red
Tool/Tarot: The Wizard's Staff and the Wand
Symbols: Flame, Candles, Lamps, Censer, Incense.
Sense: Sight
Scents: Neroli, Nag Champa, Cinnamon, Allspice, Ginger, Clove.
Direction: South
Time: Midday

Spirit
Associations: Spirit is the element of the soul, the divine and the supernatural.
Color: White or Purple
Tool/Tarot: Spirit does not have a tool but is associated with the Major Arcana in the Tarot deck.
Symbols: White Light, Quartz, Crystal, Crystal Balls, Crosses, Doves, Smoke.
Sense: Hearing
Scents: Frankincense, Myrrh, Sandalwood
Direction: Up
Time: All Time.

Come check out our Elemental display at the store for more ideas of tools and associations for your altar or elemental workings!

FAQ: What is Black Magic and the Three Fold Law?

Around this time of year we tend to get a lot of people looking for "black magic" spells and books. Many of these people are just looking for a thrill, but also some of them are spiritual seekers who may or may not realize they are seeking. As such, the staff at Melange takes it as a duty to explain magic, black magic and the theory of karma and the three fold law to clients. We all have the highest respect for the laws of the universe and so we try to teach those laws to customers. Here is a bit of an online course!

What is "black magic?"
Black magic is the term often used to signify magic that is considered "bad" or at the least morally murky. Magic in itself is morally neutral: it is simply a tool and like any tool it can be used for good or for bad. Black magic, as we here at Melange usually define it to clients, is when you use magic to go against someone's personal will or for selfish reasons. So for example, if you are doing a love spell that is forcing someone to love you against their will then you are performing black magic. However if you were to do a clarity spell to give them the clarity of mind to realize that they already love you, then this isn't going against their will and can be considered white magic, or at the very least grey magic. Not everyone follows this definition, but we here at the store have found it to be the most clear and easily applicable. Part of this idea of black magic comes from an interpretation of the Wiccan Rede: "An you harm none, do what ye will," meaning you are free to follow the wishes of your heart and soul as long as it does not cause harm to others. Of course this is a pretty vague statement and can be viewed more or less strictly depending on your interpretation. In our definition of black magic we have interpreted "harm" in the Wiccan Rede to mean "go against someone else's will."

So what does this mean practically? Can you do any magic at all under this definition that isn't considered black magic? For sure! Any spell that is done to heal, purify, protect or give clarity is considered white magic, particularly if it is done with the subject's permission. As well, anything done on yourself, particularly for self betterment is also good since it does not go against anyone's will. In fact with just a little bit of imagination and creative tinkering you can probably spin any spell you want around so that it fits under the morality of white magic.

And why would you want to do white magic instead of black magic? Besides the moral implications, there is another Wiccan law (which is often held at least in a similar manner by other pagans and mystics) called the Three-Fold Law.

What is the Three-Fold Law?
"Whatever you do comes back to you three-fold." Those are the words of the three-fold law, but what does that mean? Simply put, the Three-Fold Law states that the quality of energy you put out into the universe will come back to you three times more intensely or in three ways. So if you put out a loving energy, you will receive three times as much love. If you put out negativity and selfishness you will encounter negativity and selfishness.

The best explanation I ever heard of the Three-Fold Law is that any energy you put out comes back to you on three levels: the physical, the mental and the spiritual. So if you put out an energy of negativity, not only will you receive some physical negative backlash (like being ill or tired or having people perceive you negatively) but you will also start having a negative mindset and have a buildup of negativity in your aura. Of course this is easy to understand on a rational level: If I'm horrid to people, then obviously that will effect myself and the others around me. Nobody wants to hang out with someone who is mean, so it's likely that on the physical plane I may lose friends and have trouble at work, this might also cause stress which will effect my health. On a mental level, obsessing over ways to manipulate people will effect my psyche and if I am gathering negative energy to send out to someone it makes sense it would stick around in my sphere, especially if I don't do a banishing after.

Here at Melange, we are not only sales clerks but guides and spiritual councilors. We are all trained extensively in not only the methods of spell-craft but the philosophies behind them. As such, we like to keep our customers informed and help them to lead a balanced spiritual life. The understanding of black magic and the Three-Fold Law is just one of the ways we do that, and now you are informed as well!