Full Moons Correspondences

This is Chaos Magic, Wanda. And that makes you the Scarlet Witch

life is a game.

are you on storymode or freeplay?

She’s coming. DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022) | dir. Sam Raimi

When spells don’t work

Introduction to magic masterpost

Spells can go wrong for many, many reasons. I only have the experience to list a few. Unfortunately this will be a long post because I really want to try and explain these concepts thoroughly.

Not enough energy was raised

The bigger your goal, the more energy you need. Everyone has a natural limit of how much energy they can safely channel. This limit increases as you gain magical experience.

If you are trying to achieve something really improbable, you will need to raise more energy. In order to raise more energy you can do magical exercises to strengthen your astral body, practice channeling, and practice properly directing energy (try exercises like shielding, purification, charging, and enchanting objects.)

The spell was miscast

By this I mean, your had some bad programming in your spell.

You could have misstated your intent. This happens when what we actually want, and what we command the spell to do, are two different things. Here is an example:

You want more money so you do a general prosperity spell. You begin to feel good about life, you produce a lot of art, you get all your work done, and you feel like you have a lot of free time to enjoy yourself – but no money! You became more “prosperous” in your life, but because you did not accurately state your intent (“I want money”) your spell was essentially miscast.

On the other hand, sometimes spells are miscast simply because they were not put together very well. Depending on the style of magic you use, this could mean a lot of things. Here are some examples of ways spells could be miscast in my own style of magic:

I did not correctly charge the ingredients I am using

I did not call on the correct powers for the job

I tried to do too many things inside of one spell (like, trying to send one spell to do five jobs)

I did not correctly seal the spell

I did not correctly program the powers I called on and I misdirected them

If you think this may be an issue for you, simplify your spells. Try using only one ingredient or only your intent. Write simple spell goals and keep your spells very direct and specific. Also, try out different spell formats which may suit you better.

The target was not properly targeted

When you send a letter, you need a proper address that the Postal Service can identify. If you are doing a jar spell or an enchantment, then targeting is not a problem. You simply tie the spell right to that physical item. But if you are sending a spell to a different destination, you must accurately identify your target.

This can be done by using a physical taglock, such as fingernail clippings or hair. If you wish to target a person and don’t have their hair clippings, use a card with their full name, home address, and personal descriptions. The spirits and powers you work with can use this information to correctly target the person.

If you are attempting to target a situation or a non-physical concept, try using clear focus and vividly imagining the situation you wish to affect.

You do not have the experience to identify when magic works

Magic can act in very subtle ways. You know how cool people in action movies are like, “there are CIA agents who have been following us for five blocks!”? That is sometimes what working with magic feels like. It can take an experienced eye to determine what is ‘natural’ and what is ‘magical’.

Sometimes, people who are new to working magic are expecting very grandiose, showy manifestations that knock their socks off. Often, magic manifests gently and slowly. In this case, the magic didn’t fizzle – it just hasn’t been recognized.

Your spell just hasn’t manifested yet

Manifestation is an important part of spellwork. I believe spells need a foothold in the physical world in order to correctly manifest, and if that foothold isn’t there, then the spell will just wait around endlessly in the astral waiting until it can come down and do your work.

Manifesting a spell can be done by tying the spell to a physical object, like jewelry or a rock. Or, you can create opportunities for manifestation by doing physical actions. One example is turning in applications to help a job spell manifest.

The target had protections or defenses which deflected your spell

These defenses do not have to be intentional. Many people and places have natural defenses, whether or not they are magically inclined.

If you wish to target something that seems to have natural defenses, try sending spells to erode or destroy their protections. Or, try scrying or remote viewing so you can understand the nature of their protections and get around them.

Sometimes, getting around protections is as simple as using a different kind of energy. A very fiery person is not likely to be brought down with a spell charged by the Sun, for example.

Interested spirits or a third party stopped your spell

If your target has spirits interested in their well-being, those spirits may stop incoming spells. Even if you believe a spell is well-intentioned and will be beneficial to your target, spirits may have other ideas.

In addition, some witches or other magical practitioners may consider certain people or locations under their protection. If I believed my friends were under magical attack, I would take steps to protect them.

I do not believe that “the universe” will stop spells for your own good. I think the universe likes to let us land on our ass now and then to learn a good lesson. I also think tutelary spirits will let us make our own mistakes if we insist on it. But intervention by spirits or other people can be a possibility.

Your previous spellwork or personal protections are stopping spells from getting through

Suppose I cast a really intense protection on my home that allowed no spell to pass. Well, that would also mean none of my spells could get out.

Like software being run on an incompatible operating system, sometimes the magical framework you have set up for yourself can block your attempts at manifesting spells.

If you are worried that this is your problem, make a list of the spells you have cast on yourself and on your life, and what kind of protections and spirits you have working for you.

Try casting an uncrossing with special intent to allow your spells to flow freely. Also ask any spirits you work with to help sort out your situation and find what is blocking your spells. Consider taking down old, defunct protections and other spells which no longer serve you well.

You used energies contrary to your goal

If I wanted to cast a spell to bring peace, I would not use energies of fire, the Sun, or Mars. Even if I asked the fire to bring peace, that’s not really what fire does, you know?

This can be one downside of choosing to working with limited energies or forces. It’s like having a well balanced pokemon team. You need the ability to call different powers to your defense and your benefit.

If your spells aren’t working, ask yourself if you are working with a limited range of forces. Ask if the powers you use match the goals you want to achieve, and if the energies you use support your spells.

Setting an intention = deciding to do something.

Stop overthinking intentions! By definition, intention means, "a thing intended; an aim or plan". Setting an intention is simply just deciding to do something.

"I'm going to eat an apple right now" = a set intention

"I'm going to shift right now" = a set intention

"I'm going to finish my homework" = a set intention

Setting an intention is literally just deciding to do something when you want to. That's all it is! So stop overthinking it! You don't need to meditate and do 100 backflips to set an intention. Literally just make a decision. That's it.

"I'm going to shift. I'm going to manifest. I'm going to the void" yadda yadda and so on and so forth. Those are all set intentions. Just make the decision to do something and chill. I know it seems really easy, and that's because it is. It's not supposed to be hard!

An essay on why we all get so fatigued trying to do witchcraft, and some ideas on what to do about it.

I've mentioned a few (several?) times that I'm trying to rework my practice to be so much lower energy.

I want to practice a lot. My path has responsibilities and demands. I want to be engaged in witchcraft daily and often.

As a part of this I have had to really sit down and untangle the question of chronic magical fatigue, which then turns in to chronic regular fatigue.

I've come to some personal realizations during this quest. Here is one of them, which I would like to suggest as a concept or hypothesis but not a literal truism:

One of the most vital and basic energy working techniques you can learn is feeling how full your "mana tanks" are.

Magical battery, odic fluid, witch-power, whatever you want to call it. It's finite for all of us (even if for some it can recharge faster than they can use it).

I have yet to see a "daily practice" or "101 energy work guide" provide a resource on how to feel how much magical energy you have, and explain how to avoid over-spending it.

I have also never seen a 101 guide ever really explain that "energy-gathering" techniques which are meant to recharge you are in and of themselves draining.

Techniques which refill your mana tanks are often the same techniques as energy raising and energy programming.

E.g.: "Pull energy up from the earth" (energy raising) "and guide it to your spine, imagining that it refills and recharges your whole body" (energy programming).

This is an actively draining technique.

The only passive energy-gathering technique I'm familiar with is just resting.

As humans, this should be common sense! Eating food requires energy (to find food, to prepare it, to consume it) and then can further tire us as our body redirects resources to digestion.

As humans, when many of us get older, we start to realize our physical limits. You know how far you can get in the day on a single bagel. And for many of us, if you've pushed past your limits, your whole day is thrown off. Refueling might make you crash and nap, not suddenly fill you up with a huge burst of energy!

Yet somehow it's pervaded the 101 energy working sphere that a certain energy-gathering exercise - which drains your magical power - will just fill you up and you can do as much magic as you want again. Warnings about not over-exerting are usually like, "take it easy! Only do 1 or 2 minutes if you can't do all 15, or even take the day off ;)" but no actual instructions about how to feel out your limits and know how to reliably stop before you over-exert.

I think that for a lot of people it would be helpful to divide their energy-working abilities into two categories: Muscle and Fuel.

Your energy working Muscle becomes stronger over time. It has its own muscle-memory, and repetition of techniques can allow you to do them faster and better over time. This Muscle behaves very much like your earthly muscles: it burns fuel to work, but it also becomes fatigued and even damaged with over-exertion. It requires regular periods of rest. Once pushed to the point of fatigue, the necessary period of rest becomes a lot longer.

Your energy working Fuel can be thought of as the little magical calories floating around your energy body system. These units of energy are refilled and recharged as we do normal things like eating, sleeping, and engaging in restorative mundane activities. This Fuel doesn't do anything on its own*. In order to utilize it, you have to engage your Muscle. The more that you work with Fuel-collecting and Muscle-using, the more efficient your energy body system becomes at accepting, processing, storing, and expelling Fuel. You can use your Muscle to collect Fuel and store it inside your energy body.

No matter how much Fuel you have, once your Muscle is fatigued, you have to rest.

I can run a marathon (no I can't, but imagine with me) and be totally exhausted. If I eat an entire pizza, will this allow me to suddenly run another marathon? No, of course not!

Now, let's imagine that nobody brought a pizza to me, but I had to walk down to the corner shops to buy one - now, my poor muscles can barely hold me up. Energy-raising exercises still require you to flex your Muscle, and if it's already fatigued, you are probably just shooting yourself in the foot.

Your Fuel and Muscle are not automatically synchronised. And I think a lot of us out here are abusing our poor Muscles, demanding they work again and again and again, not understanding that they need literal periods of rest - hours and days to be allowed to relax, heal, and regrow to a stronger state. And I think a lot of people do believe that just by Refueling, their Muscles are supposed to "magically" work as if they just came of a week of rest.

In my beliefs, this Fuel and Muscle are the same ones we use for divination, spellwork, and spirit contact :) So if you're trying to do tons of these things all the time and thinking that a grounding exercise can replace rest, you're probably literally just… running yourself into the ground.

I would like to propose that if you are having a really hard time dealing with fatigue and energy levels when trying to engage with your practice**, you should learn two techniques: A way to judge the fatigue of your Muscle, and a way to judge the fullness of your Fuel.

Either of these things can be accomplished with a pendulum on a number line (using a pendulum requires usage of your Muscle, by the by!). Bodily sensations may tip you off - I get a strained feeling in my forehead when I'm close to over-exertion. You can also induce a psychic technique, such as asking yourself where you're at and waiting to hear, see, know, feel, or understand where your Muscles and Fuel are at.

I would also like to propose that metaphysical energy gathering can actually be so tiring that it might be inappropriate for everyday use. Raising a ton of energy and infusing it into yourself or objects for later use is a full day's activity, not a quick act you can shove into a morning routine. I'd like to clarify that here I differentiate between energy-raising, and meditative techniques which provide a "grounded," present-moment focused state of mind.

If you're taking suggestions, I would recommend figuring out how much magic you can do before you achieve a state of 50% Muscular fatigue/Fuel exertion, 75%, and 90%. I believe you shouldn't push past your limits. It just hurts. It feels bad, it's exhausting, and it takes exponentially longer to rest and heal. And I think many of us will be surprised at how little magic we can accomplish when we respect our limits.

*Some people who experience a great over-abundance of personal energy do have weird stuff happening around them all the time; it's the metaphysical equivalent of a cat rubbed with a balloon and set loose in a Styrofoam factory.

**Here, I mean people who notice marked upticks in exhaustion and fatigue when working magic, not people with baseline fatigue which just carries forward.

May Week 1 - Understanding Magical Symbols

Apologies for the lateness of this post! I’ve been working some overtime and dealing with a lot of personal and family issues. But I am working ahead on everything this week so the posts will be done and queued!

This week’s focus is on magical symbols of all kinds, their origins, meanings, how to use them and so on. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Part 1 - Lab Notebook

So let’s make a list of the various types of symbols we already know about. Think about them. Runes? Sigils? What other magical symbols do you know of? The alchemical symbols? Put this list on a separate piece of paper inside your notebook. Expand it as necessary when you find more types of symbols to add.

On a page in your notebook, dedicate one to the symbols listed below.

alchemical symbols

runes

sigils

the ogham script

One each of those pages, write out what you already know about each of those, then expand on that and learn a little more about each one of them. For the sigils page, write out how you have learned to make them or, all the methods to making them, as there are various methods.

Dig deep with these, but also, give it your personal touch. I have created my own magical symbol that I place on things for various reasons, but mostly for protection.

Part 2 - Origins, Meanings, Adaptations

Look into the origins of the runes (example: the elder futhark runes), sigils, and alchemical symbols. Add this information to your pages. Along with that, look into the meanings of the various symbols and make a list of them if you choose, that you can look back on for reference or study and memorize. Continue further and look into various adaptations of these symbols through history. Let this be the bulk of this week’s study, learn as much as you can!

Part 3 - Use

What are the purpose and uses of these symbols through history and today? How have they changed or stayed the same? And why do you think that is? How can you incorporate any or all of these into your own practice?

Part 4 - Practical: Make Some Sigils/ Runes/ Symbols

Using the methods you have learned about, make some symbols of your own to use in your practice. Anything from a single symbol to a small set of them, or even an entire alphabet! Have fun with this. Incorporate color and other elements in the creation of your sigils to give it purpose and personal power! Feel free to share these if you like!

Part 5 - Meditate/ Journal

It is spring! The rain is falling, the sun is shining and the plants are growing. Let’s continue to meditate and journal on spring, the idea of rebirth, growth and abundance in our lives and in our practice. What does spring mean to you? What does it bring or take away from you? What can you learn from the natural world around you as spring embraces the world completely?

Okay! That wraps up week one! We will continue with more prompts next week and stay tuned this week for another bonus prompt!

-Mod Hazel

You deserve love now. Not once you lose weight. Not once you accomplish that thing. Not once you move. Not once you get on medication. Not once you start therapy. Not once you get that job. Not once you're more like them. Now. You don't have to earn the right to be loved. You deserve it right now, and always have.

Instruments: Grimoire

A Grimoire is a journal in which a witch or group of witches puts their research of all magickal related texts. Grimoire can be shared amongst certain families, or covens. Some people consider this sacred and share with nobody, whilst others happily share their works to help inform. The choice is up to you, if you even desire a Grimoire, and what you might wish to do with it.

Book of Shadows vs. Grimoire:

Generally most practitioners use these terms interchangeably. However, if you research into their origins, you will discover that the first Book of Shadows was a book of information about demons and spirits by an anonymous author. This information is not to impose on anyone’s person uses of the term, but educate those who desire wisdom.

Grimoire History

The earliest recorded written magical texts originate from ancient Mesopotamia in which they were inscribed on cuneiform tablets of Clay. The ancient Egyptians also employed magical incantations, which have been found inscribed on amulets and other items. The Egyptian magical system, known as Heka, was enormously altered and expanded after the Macedonians invaded Egypt during 332 BC at the orders of Alexander the Great. Under the next three centuries of Hellenistic Egypt, the Coptic writing system evolved, and the Library of Alexandria was opened.

Grimoire Concepts:

Basics:

Intentions:

Basic intentions such as Warding, Binding, Banishing, Charging, and Grounding are always worth research and writing notes on, even if they are quick and sloppy. These topics can really benefit any practitioner.

Personal:

Birth Chart:

Did you know that each individual being has more than one zodiac sign? In fact, each person on this planet has a zodiac sign for each and almost every celestial body in our solar system.

Your Favorite Plants:

Are they a flower, herb, spice, tree, or a shrub? Are they an annual or perennial plant? What do they represent for me? What is their collective magical prosperities? Is it safe for pets or humans, why or why not?

Numerology:

Numerology is a form of Divination that reveals introspection into your soul, life, and potential healing, much like a Birth Chart. Each person inherits a Life Path Number, Soul Number, and Destiny Number and moment they are born.

Timing:

Birthday Correspondences:

Do you know your birthstones? What about your astral Color, flower, or foods? What do these embody for you, as well as in common magic? What is your Numerology, or Birth Chart? 

Daily, Weekly, and Monthly:

Time Magic is usually not what people imagine it is. Rather than forcing time to bend to your will, Time Magic often means working alongside it instead. Each hour of the day, day of the week, and month of the year have meanings.

Sabbats and Seasons

If Time Magic such as Daily, Weekly, or Monthly, overwhelms you or you simply don’t have time to practice in that manner, you can always look into the possibility of seasonal magic or working with the Wheel Of The Year.

Grimoire Forms:

Digitally:

Blogging

Collages

Collections

Digital Artwork

Digital Editing

Google Documents

Word Documents

Physically:

Art Books

Bullet Journals

Coloring Books

Notebooks

Printed Pages

Vision Boards

Other Links:

Instruments: I