Casting Magick

We’ve all seen and read stories about spell-casting and using magick to influence the future. I’m not here to (necessarily) tell you that spell-casting and magick-making doesn’t work—but let’s just suspend our disbelief and assume that it does. There are things to consider when approaching the work of spell-casting. What are your tools? What is your intention? How are you protected and who is the honorary recipient of your work?

And yet, even before that, we have to ask ourselves what is spell-casting?

I’ll now take a liberty and give you my explanation, based on years of reading and studying, exploring and witnessing, meditating and writing about this subtle art.

When you cast a spell, you either know you are doing it, or you don’t. So there is the concept of intention, and intentional spell-casting is the mostly common understanding. One might cast a spell, or seek out a Mage or Witch to execute a spell, for the intention of having a good crop year, or encountering a Love, or ridding oneself of a kind of pestilence, illness or other affliction. You might use an incantation (in-canto: in the form of a verse, song or poem) and you might add a ritual as well (turning three times deosil—that means sun-wise or clockwise—around an object, altar or in a circle facing outward, etc) or perhaps burn an herb, incense or even an effigy.

Sometimes, people will cast spells without intention. Such things happen when we get cut off in traffic and we shout out to the offender, wishing them ill, or if we find out a former lover has moved on and we are pained with jealousy. Sometimes we wish for something beautiful or fun and exciting and then it actually happens—these “spells” we are happy to acknowledge.

In any case, you can think of spell casting as a means of influencing direct karma.

If you wish someone ill, you had better expect that energy to affect you as well. Just like if you wish someone well, and you later delight in their achievement of the state you imagined or wished for them, feeling the joy yourself—if you wish someone ill and that ill comes to pass, there will be a seed of that darkness living within you.

There have been times in my past, both near and far, when I have felt the urge to utter, informally, a prayer of ill-will toward someone who I might perceive is causing me troubles that I do not wish to experience (gossip does that, meddling does that). But what I have come to know, by experience, is that my utterances will revisit me in unexpected and toxic ways. This is why I will distance myself from people who utter such wishes, even if I am not the object of their magick. I once was close to someone who was involved in a horrible accident, where a death resulted. Separately, this same person endured a romantic loss—anticipated and agreed upon by both parties—except that it turned out she did not really want it to end. When the object of her affection moved on, she repeatedly expressed her wish that both her former love and his new love would “die in a fiery crash.” This magick is incredibly powerful, and will certainly find some kind of manifestation. I warned her that this is not a good wish and it would not bode well for her to continue to utter it. I distanced myself.

The thing is, the Lovers remained in Love. They protected and sanctified their Love and lived it right out loud, in spite of the spell-caster’s ire. Thirteen years have passed and these Lovers remain a force. The spell-caster’s life, meanwhile, has continued look like slow self-destruction—or if you will permit me, a self-immolation.

Ironically, my own “identity” as a witch is not fully self-proclaimed. I loosely use this term to explain my “alignment,” and accept it, generally, when people refer to me as a witch, for lack of time to explain my actual work. Recently, my guide in Human Design and dear friend @magickinthemundane Alyssa Troob wrote, “what I have come to understand is the name of what I am doing is irrelevant.” And she is right. Call it whatever you want—I am aligned to my own wisdom. I am in Love with the world. I see magick and I respect its power.

And so, to all the people out there who think they can hurt me (or you) or influence me (or you) by shouting out “witch” or any other old-and-tired epithet, the joke may be on those who cast, and I don’t have to do one whit of spell casting for that to be true. Do your worst, for it will come back to you. In the lore of witchcraft, it will return to you THREE-FOLD….so consider the consequences. Or, I hereby invite you to do your best and that will also come back to you, perhaps three-fold. You are either possessed by your own demons, or blessed by your own angels. Your choice. Choose wisely.