Tag Archives: Magick
Magick Wiccan Jewelry For The Good Witch
The Wiccan religion believes that all things in nature including ourselves are sacred and have magickal properties. The rituals and ceremonies in this religion focus on using objects from the earth such as stones, sticks, crystals and herbs. Some of these items are used in the altar and "charged" with positive energy believed to protect the person holding it or wearing it.
Most jewelry used by followers of this religion are objects that promote healing and spiritual completeness. It can also be a symbol of of transformation and appreciation of the Wiccan beliefs and traditions. The pentagram in a circle is the most recognizable symbol in the Wicca culture and it symbolizes the integration of the physical and spirit worlds.
Due to the aggressive nature of the organized religions, the Wicca or other pagan religions sometimes had to resort to secrecy in their daily lives, wearing symbols that are sacred to them mysteriously disguised as flowers or other intricate designs on pendants, bracelets, etc. Sometimes the jewelry may be in the shape of weapons such as the Athame, Sword or Thor's hammer to signify protection for the wearer.
The planets, the Sun and the Moon are also very important for Wiccans. As a result, moon shaped pendants, earrings, rings and amulets are very commonly used. Sometimes the combination of the new moon and full moon is worn to represent the Horned God, who represents the masculine polarity of the Universe. Also, the three phases of the moon, waxing, waning or full are used in several designs to revere the Lunar Triple Goddess.
Egyptian Hieroglyphs are also used in designs such as a circle with extensions for the cow goddess Hathor, who represents feminine centered Pagans. Other symbols that are used in Wiccan Jewelry are the Wheel of the Year with eight spokes and the Witch's sign, which is used to mark ritual tools.
The emblem of Seax-Wicca which symbolizes the sun, moon and the eight holy days and Hecate's wheel, an ancient Greek symbol also is used by certain practitioners of the religion. The seven pointed Elven Star is also used by followers of Celtic style Faery Wicca.
Asatru symbols as well as symbols from African and Native American cultures as well as ancient Hindu and Greek symbols are also used in Wiccan jewelry. Other themes for jewelry are female deities, male deities, Stonehenge, witches and wizards, Tree of life, Gothic Cross, Dragon and Fairy designs, Viking Axes and Shields, Viking Ships, Runic Horses, Bat wings, Tetragrammaton, Triquetra, Chakra wheels, Ravens, and Cat symbols.
Tarot card designs such as the Moon, the Sun, The Star and the World as well as the signs of the Zodiac (Aquarius, Taurus, Gemini, etc.), are very popular when used in traditional Wiccan jewelry.
Making Lucky Charms With Magick
Most of us have heard of lucky charms such as the rabbit's foot and the four leaved clover.
The use of these objects as good luck charms began in the early ages of human civilization, when people started to treasure simple, everyday objects and assumed that they would help them against the "evil eye". They believed that these treasures often worn as talismans, amulets or symbols carved on rocks would help them in times of visible and invisible dangers. It is believed that lucky charms were worn by most of the ancient cultures including Africans, Chinese, Indians, Native Americans and Europeans.
Some of the magickal charms used in the old days include religious objects such as statues or symbols of a deity or gemstones that were believed to safeguard the person wearing it. The swastika (fylfot cross), which is as ancient as Hinduism, is one such symbol that was used extensively over the years up to the present times. It was actually perceived to be in use in almost all civilizations including the Native Americans who were believed to have moved to the Americas from Indian subcontinent during the last ice-age (20,000+ years ago!)
Lucky charms are used most when a person is afraid of facing uncertainty or dangers in their path. In ancient Africa, carrying a swift animal's foot or other parts was believed to empower a person with the speed of the animal. That is how the use of "rabbits foot" as a lucky charm originated. Also, African Voodoo ceremonies included a "Mojo" bag or good luck bag that would carry objects such a feathers, teeth, spices and herbs for luck as well as for use in spells and ceremonies.
The Chinese people used rice as a symbol of luck. In the past, they captured crickets and kept them in boxes to attract fortune. Also coins or money were spread on the floor for auspicious occasions. Yantras, Rudraksha beads, horse shoe, etc are also considered lucky charms.
Talismans were created by chanting prayers to conjure protective spirits who energized them with magical powers. These ceremonies were usually performed on auspicious days under favorable astrological signs.
In Ireland, followers or St Patrick adopted the Shamrock or the four leaf clover as a symbol of the luck of the Irish. During the time of the Medieval Crusades, when Christians turned violent towards non-Christians under the pope's orders, people who followed other religions turned to magickal charms to save their lives. The Nordic countries used magickal alphabet knows as "runes" for protection, carving these symbols on stones to prevent danger and destruction. The period of the Crusades was a terrible time for followers of pagan religions.
During the middle ages, a Romanian prince, Vlad the Impaler horribly tortured and killed thousands of people. Legends of undead or vampires spread fear into the hearts of people and as plague advanced and killed even more, people turned to the religious symbols such as the Crucifix as well as natural remedies such as garlic for protection from the supernatural threats.
In recent times, people have used medals, statues of St. Jude, St Christopher, lucky clothes, lucky pennies, etc as charms.
Witchcraft Wiccan Magick – What is Magick
Wicca is a personal, positive religion that is based on respect of nature and celebration of all things that exists in the physical and ethereal world. Practitioners of Wicca follow the precepts of Shamanism, believed to be the first "religion" on Earth.
Most practitioners of Wicca commune with the Goddess and God during rituals that allow them to understand and guide these energies which created our Universe. These rituals are usually enhanced by the use to tools, chants, music, dancing, etc. that increases the practitioner's mental acuity and intuition to high levels not easily evident in daily life.
These altered states of consciousness allowed human beings to communicate with the powerful energies of the Universe and persuade them to move in the direction of their intentions. Stated simply, many practitioners of Wicca are able to change the direction of their future. This ability of these practitioners is called Magick and the actions that are required to perform Magick are called Spells.
Wiccans use Magick to effect change in their lives as well as in the lives of others who request their help. By communing with the deities and listening to the messages from nature, they understand what needs to be done and go about doing it.
The most important rule of the Wicca (or the Craft as it is called) is that people can choose to do anything so long as it doesn't harm anyone. Wiccans believe in reincarnation and the law of Karma which decries that whatever we do to others will return to us three fold. According to this dogma, there will be no bad witches, for as soon as they do dreadful things to others, they will be destroyed.
Wiccans are called practitioners and not followers because they do not "follow" anyone. This way of life believes that each one of us is capable of communing and communicating with the Powerful energies that created life.
Magick is used in many ways. Some witches can use their minds to control the energies. Others use tools such as the Athame, the Besom, the Wand, Chalice, etc. Wicca is a very personal religion and communing with the Deities may be performed anywhere since the energies exist everywhere.
Most celebrations are held outdoors if possible because the Wicca practitioners believe that nature can cleanse and purify our surroundings easily. Also, communing with the deities mean communing with nature, so the best place for this meeting would be where most of the energies exist.
Newcomers to this way of life will first need to learn the art of meditation so that they can strengthen their concentration and focus regardless of whatever distractions exist in the environment. By practicing Magickal rituals religiously and increasing their self-confidence, these rituals help to firm up the foundation of their practice.
Results of our spells depend on many reasons
There are several types of Magick. The ritual that uses different colors and shapes of candles is called Candle Magick. Other forms of Magick use herbs and spices, plants and twigs, Gem stones and rocks, and various other natural items for rituals.
Voodoo Love Magick Still Has Its Place in Modern Day Magick
It was in Africa, the cradle of civilization that Voodoo was born. Voodoo or Vodun means Great Spirit. The practitioners of Voodoo believe that one deity rules over the entire Universe but there are multiple smaller deities called Loas who are in charge of various aspects of our life. Magick is performed to appease the Loas and gain their blessings.
Magickal ways of life probably originated from Voodoo. As Africans moved away from their land, Voodoo incorporated other practices into it and became Santeria, Hoodoo, etc.
Dance, Music and chanting are part of the ceremonial rituals of Voodoo. One of the main rituals of Voodoo is performing magick over dolls. These dolls are created ceremoniously by the Voodoo priestesses and priest. They are usually made of natural substances from the earth such as twigs, leaves, nuts and vines. While creating these poppets, the practitioner chants and meditates while giving the poppet its identity. The spirit of the ill person was invited to inhabit the poppet by anointing it with oil.
This type of magick where poppets are created to represent humans or animals was believed to have originated from necessity. Africa is a vast land where the different tribes lived as isolated nomads. When anyone got sick, they couldn't get the sick person to a healer because of the harsh and dangerous terrain. So the message would be sent to the healer and s/he would create the poppet to perform the healing magick on. Neat, huh?
Of course there were people who misused this practice to perform black magic and other psychic spells on innocent people. When missionaries returned from these pristine lands, they were only too happy to criticize the practice of Voodoo and call it savage and barbaric. For this reason, most Voodoo practitioners prefer to call their religion Vodun.
However Voodoo survived the colonial invasions and is still practiced in many countries. Candles, Anointing oils, Mojo bags, Poppets, etc are used in Voodoo spells. This religion places a lot of importance on ancestors, making a special altar for all ancestors in their homes, consecrating this area daily and sometimes also ceremoniously offering food to the ancestors.
Also, Voodoo and its variations place a lot of emphasis on the importance of the physical human body. In most spells, items from the body such as nails, hair, spit, secretions, blood, etc are used. To make some spells more potent, graveyard dirt is used. The idea behind it is that the place where a loved one is buried also contains the essence of that person's spirit who will help carry out the spell.
How To Use Voodoo Magick To Achieve Your Goals
Voodoo emerged from the cocoon of civilization, Africa. The practice of Voodoo, which is also called Vodou or Voudun, means God, Creator or Great Spirit. If the image of Voodoo is frightening to some, it is because like all other natural spiritual practices, Voodoo also has been terribly distorted by Christian missionaries so that people would easily convert to their religion.
This way of life that originated in Africa is today practiced by millions of people all over the world. As people traveled from the African continent to different parts of the world, they took this spiritual knowledge with them and continued to use it in the new lands. Many of the Africans were forcibly kidnapped and sold as slaves by the Europeans and had to use their innate skills to maintain contact with their ancestors and relatives.
Followers of Voodoo hold all things in nature as sacred. The main purpose of Voodoo is to heal, physically and spiritually. Most of the Voodoo leaders were actually master healers who created spells to benefit the community and created an aura of mysticism to impress the people. They were experts in the healing properties of the flora and fauna in the pristine land, long before the rest of the world developed herbal medicines.
The practice of Voodoo encourages a belief in a Supreme Spirit who could manifest as lower deities called Loa, Orisha or Spirits to preside over day to day activities of a community such as harvest, hunting, wealth, health and death. The Loa is present is all natural elements such as the ocean, lakes, lightning and thunder, wind and rain as well as the sun and moon, animals, trees and stones.
Among the African descendants in the New world, many substituted the names of Catholic saints as their Loa or local spirit and this new religion became known as Santeria. In spite of the zeal of the Christian missionaries to convert the so-called "lost souls", this nature loving religion has been thriving all over the world.
Ancestor worship which is rooted in the idea of reincarnation is familiar to the followers of Voodoo. A soul is believed to inhabit several bodies at various times and celebrations are held in reverence to the ancestors whose spirits may return to the world temporarily. When food is prepared, a portion of it is always placed aside for the ancestors.
An altar is also prepared for the ancestors by decorating a stone or a small table and placing items that are dear to the ancestor on it. A pot in which nine different types of soil, some dirt from the place or birth, incense, flowers, white candles, tobacco, drink and nine glasses of water are also placed in the altar.
Voodoo dolls are used as objects that may be energized when guided by the spirit guides or the Loa. The followers of Voodoo also believe in the laws of Karma and abide by them.
As there are people with good intentions, there are also people with evil intentions in every practice and religion. Voodoo dolls are not usually used to control others but in more positive ways, as a means to focus our energies and channel them into positive, constructive visualization and magick. In Africa, when people affected by infectious diseases called for a healer, the treatment or magick would have to be performed without touching the patient. In such cases, Voodoo dolls were made and spells were chanted over these dolls to make the sickness disappear!
