Basic Spell-Casting
You will want to keep good Spell correspondences where you can see all of the possible magickal ingredients available to you. I keep complete correspondence charts in my Grimoire, but I also keep a Spell Book where each page is devoted to one particular type of spell. There, I can simply look for the type of spell I want to cast (such as “peace”) and quickly see all of the “ingredients” I can use for that purpose. Here are several pages from my spell book so you can see what I mean:
Your Grimoire/Spell Book should always be within reach since you never know when some problem or issue may present itself and demand your immediate attention. As soon as you see or become aware of a problem and have tended to it (as much as possible) by mundane means, you should ask yourself these three questions:
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“What kind of spell is best for this particular situation?” By “kind” I mean, will you cast a spell for Banishing, Healing, Love, Money, Protection, or what? You might consider the current Moon phase when you make this determination.
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“What do I have in my Witches Cabinet?” (tools, ingredients, supplies)
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“What form should my spell take?” (see below)
SPELL FORMS AND TYPES
Candle-burning spells are often the quickest and the easiest types of spells to cast. All you need is a colored candle and off you go. If you don’t have a colored candle, you can even use “white” in a pinch. You can draw in color from other places (like burning the candle atop a colored piece of cloth or drawing words onto the candle with a colored marker like a Sharpie).
The next easiest type of spell you can craft is a Stone-Charming spell. This kind of spell consists of choosing a Gemstone that has properties in line with the type of spell you are casting and filling it with your “intention”. This can be done with or without a candle-burning spell and the charmed stone is then carried as a pocket stone to “draw” or “repel” as directed.
Sometimes you may want to make a Mojo. This charmed bag may contain all sorts of magickal items from gemstones to herbs, to seeds, nuts and roots, to charms and trinkets. The Mojo can be crafted as a spell alone or it can be part of a larger spell with a candle-burning or other things.
Closely related to the Mojo is a Poppet. Whereas the Mojo is a simple bag, pouch, or tied-up cloth, the Poppet is shaped like a human being. Like the Mojo, the Poppet contains all sorts of magickal items. In addition, it may be crafted to look like the particular individual it is crafted to represent and it may contain items that belong to that individual.
Magickal Baths can be spells. You can make your own herb infused soaps, salts, oils, lotions and powders that can turn a simple cleansing activity into a magickal experience designed to draw money, prosperity, healing, peace, romance, and similar desireables; or to remove or repel negativity, excess weight, illness, shyness, anger, or other things.
Spells can take the form of food and drink. Magickal teas are often crafted and drank to effect certain outcomes, but food dishes, particularly stews, soups, and casseroles can also be prepared magickally and enjoyed while visualizing a particular outcome.
Some Witches are Potion-makers. They craft magickal oils, powders, incenses, and elixirs that may be used alone or with other items as spells. Those who enjoy making candles can also craft them with herbs and oils infusing them with a particular kind of magick.
Almost any common item you can think of can be charmed with magick. A bandana or piece of clothing dabbed with a magickal oil or herb-infused tea can become a magickally charged garment. A tool rubbed with a drop of magickal oil can be made magickal. Any item washed with herb-infused water (tea) can take on the magickal properties of those herbs.
Scent alone can magickally charge or transform a space and effect every person and thing in it. Scented candles, sprays consisting of essential oils added to distilled water, and incense can be used to accomplish this.
You will not be able to choose from every type of spell every time. A person who lives in a place where they can’t burn candles or incense will have to choose a different type of spell. A very young, very old, or handicapped person may not be able to take a magickal bath. A person with certain dietary requirements may not be able to eat or drink a spell. You will have to learn how to look at the problem or situation and the people involved to determine what is the best form your spell can take. Once you’ve done that, you will know how to choose your spell ingredients.
Timing matters in spell-casting. The evenings of Full Moons and New Moons are the most excellent times to cast spells. If you have some need or desire that can wait on the Moons appropriate phase to arrive, you should wait. If your need is more urgent, you can cast your spell using the Moon energy that is available. If you do this, be mindful of the current phase of the Moon and craft your spell accordingly.
For example, if you need to cast a money spell, but the Moon is Waning, cast a spell to Banish your bills instead. Fewer bills means more money stays in your bank account. You increase your assets, only in a different way. Likewise, you can use a spell to remove obstacles when the Moon is Waning and you want to find a new love or to better your relationship with a current one. If you need to cast a spell to stop people from gossiping about you, and the Moon is Waxing, cast a friendship spell. Gossip falls on deaf ears when it is told to a true friend. Once the Moon phase is Waning, follow your up friendship spell with a spell against gossip. Whenever the current Moon phase is not right for the type of spell you want to cast, be creative and consider other types of spells that can aid in your quest to accomplish your goal. Learn how to turn a positive into a negative and a negative into a positive.
Before you begin your spell-casting, make sure that you set up your Altar or workspace with everything you will need. While no big tragedy will befall you or your spell if you have to leave your Altar to go and get something while you are in the middle of your spell work, having to do so breaks your concentration, takes away from your focus, and can mess up your visualization. If you do have to stop and grab something you forgot before you finish your spell, take the time to concentrate on your desire and retrieve your full visualization before you go back to work.
Your spell can be as simple or as elaborate as you desire. You may cast a spell once and consider it “done”; or with difficult cases, you may cast the spell multiple times, and over the course of many days. If you feel like the spell will be more effective through repetition, you should lay out your plans for this as you are planning your spell and gathering your ingredients and materials. Plan to cast your spell once, or once a day for a certain number of days; typically 3, 7, 9, 13, 21 or 33.
When repeating a particular spell, usually only portions of it are done over again. Sometimes only the Chant, Affirmation or Invocation is repeated. At other times, the spell candle may be lit and extinguished multiple times before it is allowed to burn itself out completely or is disposed of. Mojos and Poppets may be refreshed through anointing them with Blessed Water or a magickal oil a certain number of times before it is hidden away, disposed of , or destroyed.
Decide how often your spell will be cast or renewed when you’ve determined the form your spell will take. For example, a potent money spell may be cast once and left to manifest. A love spell may be strengthened and manifest more quickly if it is cast fully once, partially over the course of a number of days or moons, and if tokens, Mojos, or Poppets are refreshed through anointing with some frequency. Determine what you want to do, how often you want to do it, and when you will do it every time you decide that you will cast a spell.
The most important thing to remember is that when you craft a spell, you call the shots. You determine the type of spell, the form it will take, whether or not Deity will be invoked, whether you will cast the spell within a ritual, what ingredients you will use, what type of spell-speak you will use, and how simple or elaborate your spell will be. Don’t worry about how other people craft their spells. Craft yours the way that works for YOU.
Additional Considerations:
THE ROLE OF DEITY
As polytheists, we call on many different Celtic deities (both male and female) in ritual and spell work. When spell-casting, that means that IF we decide to invoke a deity to aid us with a spell, we choose a deity who is skilled in whatever we are casting a spell for.
We do not have to invoke a deity to cast a spell. Every human being is naturally endowed with magickal power and energy. Sadly, most are convinced from childhood that they are powerless; and, that they must rely on the compassion and mercy of some deity possessing supernatural powers whenever they have a need or a problem. Even some Pagans continue to believe this. Some Witches know that they possess magickal powers of their own, and they learn how to direct energy to accomplish their goals and to obtain their desires without dependence on others — mortal or immortal.
This is not to say that we are arrogant or that we avoid invoking deities in our spell work. On the contrary, we most certainly do from time to time. The point I want to make clear is that invoking deity is not always necessary or desirable. This is because we are Animists.
As Animists we believe that every natural thing — water, earth, metal, plant, rock, tree, etc. — has its own unique spirit, energy, and magickal power. Since the power lies within our magickal ingredients, they are sufficient by themselves for our spells. For this reason, we don’t believe that we must petition a deity for assistance every time we want to cast a spell. Both deeply spiritual witches and those who aren’t very spiritual at all can practice our type of witchcraft.
If you are a particularly spiritual person who likes to invoke deity for anything and everything, you will no doubt want to continue this practice in your spell work. That’s fine. Invoke deity in every spell if you like, or only on rare occasions and in the most serious of circumstances. When you do, or do not, call on deity to aid you in your spell work is up to you.
Just like every natural thing has its own unique spirit, energy and power, each deity has his or her area(s) of specialty. If you are going to call on a deity to aid you in your spell, you will want to make sure you call on the right one. If invoking deity to aid in spell work is something you intend to do, then you should do your own research and see what information you can find out about their personalities, magickal skills and abilities. Everybody has situations and that come up in life from time to time when they may wish to invoke the aid of a higher power. If you find yourself in a desperate situation, you may find comfort in knowing that a deity is working magick with you.
When invoking and petitioning a deity, remember to bring an offering when you ask for your favor. Your offering may be a coin, a piece of jewelry, a trinket, nuts, grains, foods, wine, beer, a gemstone, or almost anything you think that the being you are working with would like. You may place your offering in an offering bowl on your altar, bury it in your garden, or simply pour it onto the ground. Offerings are important. They are our modern-day “sacrifices”. While the world will not end, nor calamity ensue should you forget to offer something when you ask for a favor, it is just good manners to do so. If you constantly ask for favors and never give anything in return, you may find that the beings you are soliciting stop listening.
ANIMISM AND INTENTION
The minute we decide that we will cast a spell for some thing, such as “peace”, the intention of “peace” takes over our magickal minds. When we consult our list of ingredients that are good in “peace” spells, we are thinking “peace”. When we go to our Witches Cabinet (our supplies) and select an Amethyst gemstone (for example) to use in our spell because we know as Animists that Amethyst has peaceful energies, we do so with the purpose and intention of “peace” in our minds. That Amethyst is “charged” with the “intention” of “peace” the minute we pick it up with the plan of using it in our “peace” spell. In that moment, and throughout our spell, that Amethyst is charged to draw “peace”.
This is how our intention works hand in hand with Animism. According to most magickal correspondences, Amethyst is helpful in spells for many different things, including: Warding off Thieves, Aiding in Sleep and Dreams, Healing and Health, Love, Happiness, Peace, Overcoming Addictions, Psychism, and more. If we select that same Amethyst stone while having the intention of using it for a Dream spell, then that’s the property that will come forth and become dominate in the gemstone. Most of the items in your Witches Cabinet will be useful for more than one type of spell.
The most important thing to remember is that when YOU craft a spell, you call the shots. You determine the type of spell, the form it will take, whether or not Deity will be invoked, whether you will cast the spell within a ritual, what ingredients you will use, what type of spell-speak you will use, and how simple or elaborate your spell will be. Don’t worry about how other people craft their spells. Craft yours the way that works for YOU.
Easy Spellcraft 
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