Articles — spells

If magick worked like in the movies, we’d wave a wand, sparks would fly, and everything would fall perfectly into place. But real magick is much less predictable. Every Witch has wondered—at least once—when a spell is going to work, if it worked, or why it didn’t work. Magick is as individual as the magician. It’s impossible to say with certainty what caused a particular spell to be a dud. Instead, I’ve assembled this list of five culprits in many failed workings. Our focus here is on spells that fizzle entirely, rather than those that backfire in tragic or comical...

“I’m a white Witch. He practices black magick.” If you spend enough time in witchy company, you’re sure to come across some discussion of shades and tints of magick. But what do these terms really mean? What beliefs and ideas do they encompass? And, more to the point, is there really a distinction between white magick (good) and black magick (evil)? Before I launch into the whole white/black magick taxonomy, I should acknowledge that these terms have fallen out of favor in recent decades. Few contemporary Witches really use them to describe their practice. You can blame creeping moral relativism...

 “Am I cursed?” Because I am (I guess) sort of a professional Witch these days, I get this question from time to time.  Because of the ubiquity of “white” (i.e., benevolent) witchcraft—and the efforts of modern Witches to clear the air—you might think that Witch paranoia was a thing of the past. However, my blog’s comments and email inbox tell a different story. Lots of people believe they may be under a curse or enchantment cast by a Witch. And they’d like to get to the bottom of it. I Googled it real quick to check up on the collective...

Magick workers talk a lot about something called intention. As in, “focus on your intention,” or “write your intention on a slip of paper.” Most of us would agree that formulating the right intention is one of the major—if not the major—prerequisites for successful spellcasting. After you’ve settled on the direction of the working, the next step is usually forming your intention into something less nebulous: A sentence, a sigil, an image or object. But what is intention? Is it the same thing as will (or Will)? Is it deeply felt desire? Is it visualization? Is it as simple as...

Got a shiny new piece of magickal jewelry? Before putting it on, you may wish to take the extra step of ritually activating the object to make it more effective at its purpose. Charging and wearing an amulet is one of the oldest and most widely practiced forms of spellwork. In this article, I’ll discuss some simple ways to initiate your magickal jewelry so it can start working for you. We’re often asked if we charge or activate the pendants sold in our shop. We don’t—they all come “blank” and ready to receive your intention. The most we’ll do is...