Book of Witchery (8 page)

For this fitness spell, you will once again need an item in sympathy with your goal. If that is weight loss, then add a photo of yourself or a tiny lock of your hair. Maybe you have an item of clothing that you want to lose weight to be able to wear. Then cut out a picture of the item and post it up where you can see it. Since part of your goal includes eating more healthily, as in more fruits and veggies and avoiding sweets, we will add an orange, which is another natural symbol for the sun, to this ritual.

To begin, set up a white seven-day jar candle. Take the screwdriver and carefully push it straight down inside the top of the candle wax. Now lift the screwdriver back out, thereby making a deep hole in the wax. Do this three times, so you have some channels to put the oil into. Set the screwdriver aside. Next, use a clean dropper and squirt the essential orange oil down into the openings you've made inside the jar candle. This way, you have a scented and consecrated jar candle without a big pool of oil on top of the wax, which would make the flame go out.

Place your item of sympathy next to the jar candle. Add the Chariot tarot card to help you keep up your willpower to stick to your healthier lifestyle and exercise routine. If you want to get really fancy, do an Internet search for an image of the Chariot tarot card, print it out, and paste it to the jar candle. Next, quarter the orange and arrange it on a small plate. Arrange the candle and sympathy item to the left of the plate, with the orange in the center and the tarot card to the right.

Now, light the seven-day jar candle. Hold your hands over the orange and focus on your lifestyle-change goals. Don't make excuses about how you don't have time or how you think you might fail. Don't go there. Neutralize those negative thoughts. Stay positive, and don't think about anything but how you will succeed. Believe in yourself. Finally, repeat the following spell three times, and when you are finished with the spell, eat the enchanted orange for a healthy snack.

On this magickal day of the bright golden sun,

Now grant me the willpower to get this job done.

The Chariot will help me stay committed to my goals.

I will lose weight in a healthy way while taking a stroll.

As this jar candle burns, so my magick has begun.

I will meet my goals with a little boost from the sun.

I am healthier, leaner, and stronger, this much is true,

Lord and Lady, protect and guide me in all that I do.

Close the spell by saying:

In no way will this spell reverse or place upon me any curse.
*

For the next seven days, you will repeat this spell with your hands on either side of the jar candle. (Eating the orange is optional on the following days.) Repeat the spell verse just before you go for your daily walk.

Now get out there and walk. Make that a nice brisk walk, and go for some hills: it's better for you than walking on a flat surface all the time, plus it keeps things challenging for your body. Start with thirty minutes per day. Yes, you can walk the dog or put the baby in the stroller and push the little urchin along for the ride. Just move! Don't be afraid to change your routine of where you walk. Go to the park, go to the local high-school track and do laps, change things up so you don't get bored. Also, if the weather is bad outside, then go to the mall and “mall walk.” Where I live, those mall walkers are intense—Goddess help you if you get in their way or on their route. Other options include doing an exercise DVD or belly-dancing video at home. Keep active, and be conscious of everything you eat. Choose smarter foods and eat smaller portions. Another tip is to keep a food journal. Write down everything you eat. It really does help.

Bottom line: keep at it and do not give up. If I can do it, you can do it. Make it fun, and realize that the change will come gradually. Don't give up after a week. Keep going; it takes time to make a lasting lifestyle change. Magick is, after all, about personal transformation. What better way to transform than by starting with your own body and your own health? You can do anything that you set your mind to if you are willing to work hard. I foresee a lot of svelte, sexy, and stronger Witches out there!

Now, take all of the information that you have absorbed from this chapter and add it to spells that you perform on a Sunday. When you decide to sit down and work out how to write and then cast your own spells, refer to the information that was presented in this chapter and create your own personalized magick. Refer to the various spells and charms and adapt them to suit your needs. Check out the worksheet on page 301. Make a few copies of it, and get to work!

Those ambitious, successful spells and charms will be heightened by working on the day of the week that has the planetary influence of the sun. So light those sunny candles, wear some luminous colors, and break out the gold jewelry! Bake up some cinnamon rolls or low-fat cinnamon muffins for an enchanting family breakfast. Take an orange with you to eat at lunch today. Try using a little magickal aromatherapy and burn some cinnamon-scented incense to encourage success and wealth today. Make the talisman to keep your solar magick with you. Sprinkle some dried marigold petals around your house—or across the threshold—to pull triumph and protection toward you and your family.

Get outside and tip up your face to the sun. Take a walk outside, and soak up some sunshine! Acknowledge the power of Sunna or Helios as they blaze across the sky and bring courage and motivation into your life. Sit outside at sunrise on a Sunday morning and bask in its warm, rosy-golden glow. Acknowledge Brigid as the inner, creative spark of imagination and inspiration. She can help these gifts burn brightly within your own soul. Use your imagination and create your own brand of witchery and magick. Here comes the sun, and it's your turn to shine!

[contents]

Monday

At-a-Glance Correspondences

Daily Magickal Applications

Monday is named after the moon. The Latin term for Monday is
Dies Lunae
(“moon's day”); in the Old English language, this day was
Monandaeg
; in Greek, it was
Hermera
Selenes
. All of these different names and languages translate to the same thing: the “day of the moon.”

Working with the different phases of the moon is an important skill that takes a bit of time for Witches to learn. So why not cut to the chase and experiment with the day of the week that is dedicated to the moon in all of its magickal energies and aspects?

Magickally, Monday encourages the lunar energies of inspiration, illusion, prophetic dreams, emotions, psychic abilities, travel, women's mysteries, and fertility.

Deities

Typically, when folks talk about deities associated with the moon, the Goddess in her three aspects of Maiden, Mother, and Crone comes to mind. The Triple Moon Goddess is a basic principle of Wiccan belief. Understanding and working with this trinity of goddesses is often a starting point for folks who are new to the Craft. These three different aspects of the Goddess correspond to the various lunar phases: the Maiden for the new to waxing moon, the Mother for the full moon phase, and the Crone for the waning to the dark of the moon. One of the better-known trinity of goddesses is the classic Greek trio of Artemis the Maiden, Selene the Mother, and Hecate the Crone.

However, there are a few male gods of the moon as well. And why not, I ask you? What's wrong with a little equal time for the God? Let's not forget that the balance of male-female energies, or partnership of the God and Goddess, is an important part of our belief system.

While researching this moon god topic, I came across some information about a horse-riding Japanese god of the moon named Tsuki-Yomi and a little-known Baltic god named Meness. Wow, these were new ones for me. Also, the Norse have a god who is linked to the moon. The most well-known moon god, though, is probably the Egyptian god Thoth. He was worshiped throughout the Early Dynastic period and then into Roman times.

Meness

Meness is a Latvian fertility moon god depicted as a young man wearing a star-covered silver cloak. He is crowned with stars and journeys in a chariot that is drawn across the heavens by a gray horse. I like the idea of him silently swooping across the night sky, keeping an eye on us. Meness was known as a protector of travelers and a patron of soldiers. You will find a spell or two working with Meness later in this chapter.

Mani

Mani is the Norse god of the moon. He is described as the personification of the physical moon, and he is Sunna's brother. He is also referred to as the “shining god.” Mani's lunar magick holds a softer, shadowy likeness to his sister Sunna's bright solar power, for the moonlight illuminates, yet it also conceals. In Norse mythology, Mani guides the course of the moon and determines its waxing and its waning. Mani is also a chariot-riding deity, and he is followed through the sky by his two children: his son, Hjuki, and his daughter, Bil.

Thoth

Thoth (pronounced
Tote
) is the ibis-headed god from Egypt who wore on his head both a crescent and a lunar disk. Thoth was believed to have regulated the seasons and to have helped keep the lunar phases on track. He was regarded as a magus, the greatest of all magicians. Thoth was a fair and benevolent god of wisdom, astronomy, and practical skills, and he presided over education and books. He was a patron deity of the scribes, and his protection included written medical and mathematical knowledge. Thoth had a wife named Sheshat, and her title was Mistress of the House of Books. Sheshat was a goddess of writing, stars, books, history, and invention. She was depicted as a woman with a star on her brow who wore an inverted, or horns-down, crescent moon on her forehead. Thoth is a powerhouse of magickal power and wisdom. Try calling on him on a Monday night and see what he has to teach you.

Selene

Selene is a Greek goddess of the full moon. She is often portrayed within the face of the full moon as a beautiful winged woman wearing a golden crown. There are Homeric hymns dedicated to Selene, as she was a very influential goddess of her time. One of the lines gives a romantic description of the goddess: “From her golden crown the dim air is made to glitter as her rays turn night to noon.” The final section of the hymn reads, “Her great orbit is full, and as she waxes a most brilliant light appears in the sky. Thus to mortals she is a sign and a token.”

Selene is a favorite goddess of modern Witches. Why? Well, her specialties include helping you find practical, commonsense answers to your problems. Solutions appear quickly within a day or so. When you call on Selene, you basically get broom-side assistance. Now, before someone starts imagining a dramatic
flash-boom!
accompanied by a swirl of fairy dust, hang on for a second . . .

Selene sends her practical solutions quietly and in unexpected ways. Plus, best of all, spells and prayers dedicated to Selene get results almost every time. However, if you don't pay attention, you may miss the magick. Selene is subtle. Watch closely, and see how she sends in her magickal assistance in a practical, no-nonsense fashion. Symbols for Selene include white flowers, the bluebell, and, of course, the moon.

Monday's Witchery

Today's guided meditation focuses on the lunar deities featured in this chapter. There is something alluring about staying in tune with the moon as it waxes and wanes through its cycles. I think one of the most profound exercises any Witch can do is to watch the moon every day, weather and clear skies permitting, and to learn where the moon rises, sets, and is to be found in the sky. Yes, during certain phases, you will be able to see the moon in the daylight skies. To me, that is always a powerful time to do any type of magick. Since both the sun and moon are present in the sky, you'll have quite a bit of magickal punch to tap into.

Meditation

Visualize that you are walking quietly outside in a moonlit garden. As you let yourself into the garden, you follow your instincts and walk along the path. The scent of night jasmine wafts through the garden; enchanted, you wander about, enjoying the sights, sounds, and scents of the garden. A small fountain gurgles nearby, and an almost full moon illuminates your trail. You walk over to see the fountain and choose to sit in a spot under a draping tree, close to where a flowering vine is twining its way up an arbor.

Sit down on the soft green grass and relax. Take a few breaths in and out, and let all your worries fade away. Movement catches your peripheral vision, and you turn your head to notice that the moonflower blossoms are shuddering and quivering and then suddenly, before your very eyes, they begin unfurl their bright white petals. Enchanted, you lean back with your spine resting upon a trunk of a tree. You look up through the branches of the tree and realize that you are sitting beneath a willow. You smile to yourself and think that the gods and goddesses have guided you to this spot, for the willow is a tree that belongs to the moon and all her magick.

As you sit and relax in the moonlit garden, you notice hawk moths have gathered around the moonflowers and are sampling the nectar within. There is peace, serenity, and contentment here in this place, and as you contemplate the night sky, you see a large shadow pass silently by. A moment later, an owl begins to call softly through the night. As you relax in this moonlit garden, you think you hear footsteps on the garden path. Curious, you lean forward and see two figures walking arm in arm before you.

One of the figures is a woman, hauntingly beautiful, with silvery-blond hair and a shining coronet upon her brow. She is draped in a luminescent white gown and she smiles at her companion as they move along the garden path. Her companion is a handsome young man with dark hair. He wears a dark silver-colored cloak scattered with twinkling stars. As you watch, somewhat hidden under the draping willow branches, you have to smile, as it appears the two of them are old friends. As they laugh and talk softly back and forth, you have a moment to wonder what the two of them are plotting.

They begin to move past where you are sitting, and the man stops his companion and gestures to the willow tree. He bends over, pulls a few draping branches aside, and smiles at you.

“Hello, child,” he says kindly. He holds out his hand. You accept the hand and rise to your feet to stand before the two of them.

Now that you can see them clearly, you realize that these two are not just regular people wandering the garden. Their ages are impossible to determine, and your eyes water as you have a difficult time focusing on them directly. There is magick afoot in this garden, and your mind scrambles to identify them. Then you begin to realize that this is Selene and Meness, both deities of the moon. Part of your brain wonders what a Greco-Roman goddess and Latvian god are doing hanging out together. Selene answers your unspoken question quietly with a question of her own.