A Practical Guide To Witchcraft And Magic Spells Part 5

Other forms of the Horned G.o.d include Herne the Hunter, the Greek Pan, G.o.d of the woodlands, and Dionysus, Greek G.o.d of vegetation and the vine, whose ecstatic mystery cult involved ritual dismemberment and resurrection.

Cerunnos' importance has been in his continuing presence as the Horned G.o.d, the male principle in witchcraft through the ages, in modern Wicca and other neo-pagan faiths. He is also invoked for prosperity, fertility, instinctive power and knowledge of when it is necessary to hunt, whether to find employment or a home, and as protection against predators of all kinds.

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Dionysus Dionysus, sometimes depicted as a Horned G.o.d, was a G.o.d of the grain, who died and was reborn every year as a child in a basket, representing the seed corn. He was the Greek G.o.d of fertility, ecstasy and wildness, who bestowed great abundance on his followers; his cult performed savage rites at Eleusius where human flesh was eaten as the bread of life. Not an easy deity to use, without great experience and restraint, as the excesses carried out under his name need to be kept in check while invoking the free spirit and the renewal of life. He is potent for breaking away from destructive situations or, ironically, bad habits such as alcohol.

Osiris Osiris became one of the most important and popular G.o.ds in Ancient Egypt, mainly because he promised non-royal believers that resurrection and salvation from death were for everyone, poor as well as rich. Originally he was identified with each dead pharaoh, and his son Horus was identified with the reigning successor.

Osiris married his sister Isis, and his brother Seth married Isis's sister Nephthys. According to legend, Osiris was at first made an earthly king by his father Geb, the Earth G.o.d. Osiris ruled wisely, teaching his people about agriculture and the arts. But Osiris's brother Seth was jealous and vowed to kill him. Seth invited Osiris to a feast and showed the guests a fine coffer, promising that whoever fitted inside would be the owner. Osiris stepped inside the coffer and it fitted perfectly. Seth slammed the lid tight and he and his followers threw the chest into the Nile.

Isis searched for her husband and at last discovered the chest at Byblos on the Phoenician coast. She brought Osiris' body back to Egypt and conceived a son by her dead husband, hiding herself in the rushes of the marshes of the delta while awaiting the birth.

Seth discovered the body of Osiris, hacked it into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt so that he could never be restored to life. But Isis searched once more and, a.s.sisted by Nephthys, remodelled the bones into Osiris' form and restored her husband to life once more.

When their son Horus, the Sky G.o.d, became a youth, he fought to avenge his father against Seth. The divine judges, including Thoth, G.o.d of wisdom, met in the Great Hall of Judgment and decided that Osiris should become not a living king once more, but eternal King and Judge of the Underworld.

Osiris was also G.o.d of vegetation, the fertile, flooding Nile and the corn, and so represented the annual dying of the land and rebirth with the flood. He is normally pictured as a man, bound in mummy wrappings.

Osiris is an important icon of the annual cycle of sacrifice and resurrection but, as with all the sacrifice G.o.ds, it is the female power that causes the resurrection. Like other sacrificed and restored G.o.ds, Osiris thereby represents the integration of animus and anima and sacred s.e.x magick. He can be used in rituals for the balance of male/female energies or where the female in the High Priestess role takes the lead. He is also good for any magick that relies on a cycle of regeneration following a natural ending.

Deities of fire

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Agni Agni, the Hindu G.o.d of fire, is said to be manifest as the vital spark in mankind, birds, animals, plants and life itself. He appeared in lightning, in celestial sun flares, in the sacred blaze rising from the altar and in household fires.

Agni was the divine priest and acted as messenger to the G.o.ds, interceding with them on behalf of mankind. The priest would chant: 'Agni, the divine ministrant of the sacrifice,the great bestower of treasure.May one obtain through Agni,wealth and welfare.'

Agni is still important as the G.o.d of domestic and ritual fire and for spells for the increase of wealth, material goods, creativity and domestic protection.

Hephaestus Hephaestus, Greek G.o.d of fire and metal-work, was thrown from Mount Olympus by his father Zeus because he took the part of his mother Hera in a quarrel; as a result of the fall, he became lame. He created armour, weapons and jewels for the G.o.ds in his workshop beneath the volcanic Mount Etna, in Sicily, and as a reward was given Aphrodite as his unwilling bride. He was among the least charismatic of the G.o.ds, but his Roman counterpart, Vulcan, fashioned Jupiter's thunderbolts.

Hephaestus is patron of metal-workers in much of the Western world and in the Middle East from where his cult originated. He is effective in all rituals for craftsmanship, for the acquisition of wealth and treasures, for the development of skills and precision and for controlled power for a particular purpose.

Deities Of Healing Aesculapius Aesculapius was a healer, son of Apollo and the mortal Corona, who lived during the eleventh century BC, and became a G.o.d after Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt for raising the dead.

The first shrine dedicated to Aesculapius was built in Athens in the fifth century BC by Sophocles. Other shrines followed in rapid succession, the most famous at Epidaurus, which became a major healing centre. Many were sited at sacred wells and springs. These shrines were dedicated to healing and dreams, and were the principle vehicle for obtaining relief or cure of illness of all kinds.

When Aesculapius appeared to the dreamers, he would tell them the medicine they should use and any treatment that should be followed. He can be invoked for healing and meaningful dreams, for good health and for divination.

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Ganga Ganga is the Hindu water G.o.ddess who is manifest as the sacred river Ganges, daughter of the mountain Himalaya. She is a natural focus for healing rituals, as well as for happiness, fertility and prosperity, and for Water magick.

Iduna Iduna is the Viking G.o.ddess of eternal youthfulness, health and long life. As G.o.ddess of spring, she possessed a store of golden apples that endowed immortality, fertility and healing and so she can form a focus for healing rituals, and for spells for beauty, health and the granting of wishes, especially those using apples as a symbol.

Panacea Panacea is the Roman G.o.ddess of healing, who takes away pain. Daughter of Aesculapius, she and her sister Hygeia a.s.sisted in healing the sick in their dreams at the dream temples.

She is good for healing rituals for women, children and especially teenage girls.

Sulis Sulis, or Sulevia, is the Celtic G.o.ddess of healing and especially of healing waters. Her name is derived from the Celtic word for the Sun and her most famous site is the hot mineral springs that have for at least 10,000 years poured from the ground in Bath, in south-west England. From Celtic times, perhaps even earlier, the springs became a formal centre of healing.

Sulis became Sulis Minerva under the Roman occupation and she maintained her role as a healing deity. The significance of the sacred springs continued and Edgar, the first king of England, was crowned there in AD 973. In medieval times, the springs were still a focus for healing pilgrimages and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Bath became a fashionable resort where the wealthy would come to socialise and take the waters.

Sulis is potent for all healing water rituals. Because curse tablets as well as offerings have been retrieved from the waters, she is also a.s.sociated with justice through karma and the banishing of sorrows.

Deities of wisdom As well as wisdom, these G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses are for knowledge, truth and justice.

Athena Athena, or Athene, daughter of Zeus, is G.o.ddess of wise counsel, both in peace and war, of intelligence, reason, negotiation and all forms of the arts and literature. The owl is her sacred bird and the olive her symbol representing peace, healing and nourishment.

Hathor Hathor is the Ancient Egyptian G.o.ddess of truth, wisdom, joy, love, music, art and dance and protectress of women. She is said to bring husbands or wives to those who call on her and she is also a powerful fertility G.o.ddess. Also worshipped as a Sky G.o.ddess, Hathor is frequently shown wearing a Sun disc held between the horns of a cow as a crown.

She was once entrusted with the sacred eye of Ra, the Sun G.o.d and her consort, through which she could see all things. She carried a shield that could reflect back all things in their true light. From her shield she fashioned the first magical mirror. One side was endowed with the power of Ra's eye to see everything, no matter how distant in miles or how far into the future. The other side showed the gazer in his or her true light and only a brave person could look at it without flinching.

Hathor can be invoked for all forms of mirror magic and is also a.s.sociated with gold and turquoise and so jewellery made of these can be a focus for her powers. In the modern world she is guardian of businesswomen. Fiercely protective in defence of her own, she is especially potent against physical and psychic attack.

Ma'at Ma'at, the Ancient Egyptian G.o.ddess of truth and justice, was responsible for maintaining the correct balance and order in the universe. She was daughter of Ra who created her to establish unity and order in the world. Ma'at is pictured as a woman wearing a single ostrich feather as a headdress.

She was all-powerful, even over the king, who had to rule with truth and justice to attain eternal life. After death, a person's heart was weighed on the scales of justice against the feather from her headdress to see if it was free from sin. She can be invoked for all rituals of justice, uncovering secrets, truth and trustworthiness.

Hermes Hermes is the Greek messenger G.o.d who travelled between dimensions. He is a.s.sociated with the wise Ancient Egyptian G.o.d Thoth and the later Roman Mercury. He is credited with great knowledge, healing powers and medical knowledge.

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The double entwined snake of Hermes' and Mercury's caduceus, or wand, which is often a living growing staff, is a symbol both of healing and of powerful communication. The snake forms two circles, the interlinked cycles of good and evil, life and death, light and darkness. The wings on the caduceus are for wisdom, guarding against gossip and malicious words as well as illness.

Among Hermes' many patronages were moneylenders and thieves and so he can protect against poverty and trickery, as well as helping you to speak the truth that is in your heart.Hermes can also be invoked for all medical and commercial matters, for good fortune of all kinds and for peaceful sleep.

Minerva Minerva is the Roman G.o.ddess of wisdom, who ruled with Jupiter and Juno as the triumvirate of justice and wise power. She also controlled commerce and all crafts and is credited with the invention of music. She is often depicted in armour.

Minerva, whose creature is the owl, can be invoked in employment rituals and for the development of skills, retraining and musical ability as well as for truth and justice. Unlike Bellona (see page 70) and the warlike G.o.ds, both Athena and Minerva are used in rituals for using legal means or oratory and persuasion, rather than direct action, to overcome injustice.

Thoth Thoth was the Ancient Egyptian G.o.d of the Moon, wisdom and learning. He was also G.o.d of time, languages, law and mathematical calculations, who invented the calendar and hieroglyphic writing. He is often depicted with the head of an ibis although he was worshipped as a baboon in Hermopolis.

Appeal to him for all matters of magical wisdom, learning, intellectual pursuits, examinations and better time management.

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Wise Woman Deities These G.o.ddesses are for transformation rituals, for endings that become beginnings and for accepting what cannot be changed.

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Cailleach Cailleach, meaning' the Veiled One', is the Celtic name for a number of hag G.o.ddesses. These are powerful crone G.o.ddesses, who have retained their early a.s.sociations with the winter. For example, the Scottish Cailleac Bhuer, the Blue Hag, manifested herself as an old woman wearing black or dark blue rags with a crow on her left shoulder and a holly staff that could kill a mortal with a touch.

She roamed the Highlands by night during winter when her power was at its greatest. Cailleac Bhuer is credited with creating the mountains by flying through the sky dropping stones, and so is said by some folklorists to be the origin of megaliths and stone circles and the nursery rhyme, There was an old woman tossed up in a basket'.

Hags are expert shapeshifters and as well as appearing as old women, they may a.s.sume the form of lovely maidens, hares, cats, stones and even trees.

Hecate As well as being a crone G.o.ddess, Hecate is a G.o.ddess of good fortune, especially but not only of sailors and hunters. As G.o.ddess of the crossroads, where offerings were traditionally left to call up her blessings, she is regarded as the supreme G.o.ddess of witches and witchcraft and is akin to the Bone G.o.ddess who transforms death into new more perfect life. She can be invoked for all waning moon magic and for rituals for banishing sorrows and bad habits.

Charges Charges are declarations of the powers of the G.o.ds or G.o.desses involved in the ritual, and are in themselves empowering and a way of linking the pract.i.tioner's own divine spark with that represented by the Divinity. They are similar to creeds in a Christian religious service.

The Charge of the G.o.ddess The Charge of the G.o.ddess is a powerful way of focusing on cosmic energies. The G.o.ddess is considered to be both 'transcendent', or above and beyond the created universe (like the traditional idea of G.o.d on a cloud, looking down and judging creation!), and also 'immanent', or manifest within every natural object, be it flower, stone, animal or person. The two concepts are complementary rather than contradictory.

Some pract.i.tioners feel that charges are an attempt to formalise energies that are beyond definition within a more conventional spiritual framework and that they are therefore artificial and restricting. If you have not used them before, I suggest you try working through the meditation given later in this chapter, to see if it is right for you.The first and most popular version of the Charge of the G.o.ddess was created by Gerald Gardener's High Priestess Doreen Valiente, herself one of the most influential people in formal magical traditions. Her version of the statement of the unifying principles of the G.o.ddess is widely quoted and often memorised and sometimes adopted as a focus for trance work. (See page 300 for books describing her work.) However, some pract.i.tioners, both solitary and those in less formal groups, create their own charges and may alter them as their confidence and experience of magick increase. You can create your own charge at the beginning of some rituals, or use an existing one, even if you do not acknowledge the G.o.ddess as central to your personal spirituality.

You may view the divine force as a more abstract source of light and wisdom, but even so it can be helpful to personify it as a female (anima) and at the same time male (animus) form. Though the Valiente charge includes names of deities of both male and female forms, unless these mean something to you, you may want to exclude them or use names to which you personally relate.

You can refer back to the beginning of this chapter, where I listed a number of G.o.d and G.o.ddess forms, common to magick and drawn from different cultures, that emphasise specific strengths or qualities of the Divinity. However, your own list, drawn from mythology or perhaps your own background, may work better for you. The following is a version I have developed using three G.o.ddess forms from the Celtic tradition, my own favourite, which I have adapted for the three phases of the G.o.ddess.

So spoke the Great Mother who has been known in many forms and by many names in countless ages, but is and always will be one and the same. As the Maiden, she is the Celtic Brighid who in early spring softens the Earth with her white wand of fire and so awakens the spring and restores fertility to land and people. As Mother, she is Cerridwen whose magical cauldron of wisdom and inspiration overflows to all who seek and call in need; finally she is Cailleach, the Veiled One, wise woman, healer and bringer of dreams, who in the winter of life transforms the old and outworn into new life to be born with the Maiden in the spring.

'When the Moon is full, you can call on me, G.o.ddess, mother, sister, friend, daughter and grandmother of all ages and all places, in joy, for I bring love and plenty. You may also bring me your hopes with the waxing moon and your sorrows on the wane, for I am with you in all states and stages, when you call and when you are silent, when you turn to me as an eager child and when you weep solitary tears in your pillow when your dreams have dissolved into ashes.

'I hold the key to the mysteries of existence and the universe, but these I will share with all who come with willing heart and open mind. For they are not hidden from you, but are all round you in every season. I am in the Moon as she pa.s.ses through the sky, in the fertile Earth and the mighty waters, for I am them as I am part of you, and you of me, and you too are of the same divine fabric as the Moon and the fertile Earth and the waters, the stars, the sunshine and the life-giving rain.

'I do not ask sacrifice or worship, for I come to you in love as a gentle mother, with compa.s.sion, understanding and forgiveness of those things in your heart that you fear to look on in yourself. I am fierce, defending my young and my green places and creatures from all who would do them harm, but I would rather teach than avenge, restore and regenerate.

'I am the great healer of sorrow, pain, loss and doubt. Through me and through my herbs, oils, crystals and sacred waters, you can spread my healing wisdom.

As I give life, so in death all return to me to be transformed, renewed and born again. I was with you in the beginning and will be with you in the end.

'If you work with honour, love, humility and for the highest good, then you may realise your own divinity and spread light and fertility throughout the Earth. For what you give, will I restore to you threefold and more, time without time and for evermore.'

We are of the circle and we are the circle. May the circle be uncast but never broken.

If you are working in a group, you can each recite different parts of the charge, but best of all, through meditation, alone or as a group, you can work to create your own. If you are a solitary pract.i.tioner, you can read or recite your charge into a candle flame or in a wild, open place, and feel the energies resounding beyond and within you. You can also use it before divination or as an introduction to a ceremony for healing or greater understanding.

Meditation can last from five minutes to half an hour or more. In these initial stages, allow your own psyche to guide you as to when the experience is done. If other members of the group are still working, this is not a sign that their experience was more profound. Sit quietly or lie down, enjoying the silence and allowing the images of your meditation to develop quite spontaneously.

If you are working with a group, remain in the circle and pa.s.s round a bowl or chalice of pure water. If you are working indoors with candlelight, arrange the candles so they reflect on the water. As each person gazes into the water, they can contribute a series of images about what the G.o.ddess represents to them, which will be stimulated by the meditation. You do not need to use a bowl of water, but it is a way of directing inner images externally to find expression. Some people prefer to pa.s.s round a crystal ball or a large piece of uncut crystal. A crystal is helpful if you find it difficult to retrieve images from meditation or if you find meditation unproductive, as the living energies provide a direct route to your unconscious wisdom.

After your meditation, if you are working alone, surround a clear bowl of water with white candles and, looking into it, begin to speak. You may like to record your words on ca.s.sette to make them easier to recall. If you do not consciously try to formulate poetic expressions, profound poetry and rich images will emerge almost from another place. This is the deep pool of collective wisdom speaking.

If you are in a group, the images can be set down by your scribe as a collective charge that can be changed over the months. Working on your charge can be a fruitful activity every six weeks or so as it reflects and stimulates the group consciousness.

Copy a version of your charge into your Book of Shadows. It is good to read if you feel afraid or alone at any time when you are not doing magical work.

The Charge Of The G.o.d For some pract.i.tioners, this charge is less important, but I believe that the male polarity or energies are an integral part not only of the seasonal Wheel of the Year, but also of human experience, whether you are working alone or as part of a coven. It is one I have found helpful, but you can create your own through a G.o.d meditation by visualising a G.o.d form that seems relevant to you. Again I have used Celtic G.o.d forms: These are the words of the Father, who is son and consort of the Great Mother, born in the beginning of She who created the universe from her own body, from her smiles and tears and ever-fertile womb.

'I am He, the wild untamed power of the hunt, the horned beasts and the woodland, that offers food, shelter and protection to people of all races, clans and creeds. I am Cernunnos, horned Lord of Winter; as Master of the Animals and Lord of the Corn, I offer willing sacrifice for the land and people; as King of the Dark Places beneath the soil, in the nurturing womb of the Mother, like all creatures who have entered the gentle Earth, I grow strong again, resting but never slumbering, until I hear the call at the darkest and coldest hour to be reborn as Lugh, radiant son; at that hour I bring the promise that the Sun will not die, but as the wheel turns bring lighter days and the promise of spring as the mid-winter yoke is conquered once more.

'I bring power, strength, courage and n.o.bility to defend the weak and the vulnerable, and to give of my life blood to maintain what is of worth and just and lovely. Mine is not the path of ease, but of ecstasy in the wild wood where the untamed instincts bow only to natural law and natural justice; as the fruit of the sacred vine, Lord of the Dance, the young stag who masters the old; as the Barley King, I dance and laugh and sing of the spirit that never can be broken, of the potency of the life force coursing through my loins to bring increase and abundance, as fields and the animals and humankind are made fertile by the sacred coupling beneath the may bowers and blossoming trees.

'Birth follows death, plenty follows dearth, creation follows necessary destruction, and so renewed, I dedicate myself to the sanct.i.ty of all life ruled by the highest of intent and in humility in the hour of my greatest triumph.'

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A G.o.ddess Meditation You can use this to create your personal or group Charge of the G.o.ddess.

Find a quiet, safe place for meditation where you will not be disturbed and can fall asleep without coming to any harm, if you naturally drift from a meditative to a sleep state. Choose a time when you are not too tired and before you begin, have a bath to which a few drops of sandalwood or ylang ylang oil are added for heightened psychic awareness.

For the meditation, use a focus, for example a bubbling fountain or water feature, fragrant herbs or flowers, such as lavender or roses, or a scented candle of jasmine, apple blossom, lilac or neroli. (You can easily make a water feature by setting up a very small electric pump in a deep container in which you place crystals, greenery, perhaps a tiny statue and some plants.) You can work either alone or as a group, sitting in a circle round the focus, so that you can see it without moving your neck or head. Experiment until you get the height of the table and the distances right. For group work, you can light a circle of candles.

If you are working indoors, and there is no natural harmonious sound, such as the water, you may like to play softly a CD of rainforest or ocean sounds, birdsong or dolphin calls.

* Light incense sticks of frankincense or myrrh.

* Sit either cross-legged on the floor on a rug or blanket with your hands supporting your knees, in the lotus position if you are skilled in yoga, or on a chair with both feet flat on the floor. If you wish, support your back with a pillow and have arm rests on the chair for your elbows. Relax your arms and hands, with palms uppermost. It is important to be comfortable and not to be distracted by worrying about keeping in a particular 'approved' position.

* Visualise yourself surrounded by a circle of warm, protective light or, if you are using a candle, gaze into the flame.

* Take a slow, deep breath through your nose, inhaling the light. Hold it for a count of 'One and two and three' and slowly exhale darkness through your mouth.

* Let the circle of light expand and enfold you so that you are bathed in the light. You may find it easier at this point to close your eyes and to see the light with your inner vision.

* Within the sphere of light, allow the G.o.ddess form to build up quite naturally. It may be a familiar figure or a composite of many different female power icons of beauty, wisdom and grace. She may be old, young, wise or challenging, according to the qualities you are attracting to meet your as yet, perhaps, unformulated needs. In different meditations you may see different G.o.ddesses and so adapt the charge accordingly to emphasise particular strengths and qualities they evoke.

* Let words flow about the G.o.ddess and her relationship with the world, nature and the cosmos.