Articles — 2015

Today, we’ll look at a versatile and inexpensive addition to your spell kit: Black ritual salt. Black salt is a potent ingredient in defensive workings. Black salt combines the grounding properties of salt with the protective power of the color black. (Technically not a color, yes I know). In this article we’ll cover the basics of using black salt in spellworking. Most black salt spells have the same basic purpose: Creating a barrier of protection and/or “earthing” crummy energy to be disposed of later. Types of black salt There are basically two kinds of black salt on the market: Black...

Herbs, spices and incenses with the energy of Fire are a powerful addition to your magick. Fire helps to cleanse and consecrate, banish and protect. Fire is also the element of confidence and fast action--a crucial ingredient in a lot of spellwork. In writing about the elemental rulership of herbs, I've tried not just to make a list. I couldn't possibly list all the herbs on the planet, anyway.  Instead, I wanted to consider what traits cause a plant to belong to one category or another. (This article is the third in a four-part series: Also read about the herbal...

If you've done even basic energetic or ritual work, you're probably familiar with the practice of grounding.  Grounding allows excess psychic energy to be released and re-establishes contact with the physical body.  It's especially important after energy transfers, trance work, and group rituals. While beginners often disdain grounding practices as un-magickal, experienced workers know that it's an essential part of healthy, sustainable psychic work.  Neglecting to ground properly most often results in a mildly unpleasant "spaced-out" feeling.  But it can also lead to loss of appetite, entity attachments, fatigue, and other more serious side effects. Grounding works best and feels...

Dallas is a vibrant city full of spiritual, artistic people--if you know where to look.  Our city's twin faults of searing summer heat and ridiculous sprawl have a way of keeping Pagans isolated (and indoors). Still, in recent years, Pagan events have begun to pop up around the city, uniting some of our scattered groups for a day of merriment and fellowship.  If you've never attended a Pagan Pride gathering, you're missing out.  Though increasing visibility and religious tolerance are part of the aim of a Pagan Pride Day, it's usually less of a demonstration or rally than a big...

A candle snuffer is a tool made of a hinged bell attached to a handle.  Its purpose is to neatly put out burning candles, without the danger or mess of spattering wax. Candle snuffers are usually made of brass, pewter, or iron, though some are made of heat-resistant resin. The candle snuffer is a quaint implement, which harkens back to pre-industrial days when many, many candles would have been needed to adequately light a room.  Blowing them all out certainly would have required a lot of breath!  Also, candles in the past were often made out of animal tallow, which...