Hi all! I thought today while I'm preparing stuff for Beltane I would share something pretty near and dear to my heart. This is something I improvised in a time of need, so feel free to substitute the ingredients or steps to suit yourself, as always.
Ingredients:
- 1 fetish (something to connect the spell to the intended target. Mine was a small soapstone carving of Discworld's Death that my Dad made for me.)
- 1 rose quartz, if needed.
- 1 large, shallow bowl = mine was blue glass, for healing and serenity
- Enough warm water to fill the bowl halfway. = healing, peace
- 1 glass jar with a lid, large enough to house the fetish.
- 1 white candle (I don't feel right putting a candle out after a working, and prefer to allow them to burn down, so a smaller candle may be more practical.
- Myrrh incense =healing, peacefulness
- 1 apple, cut in half horizontally to show the pentagram formation of the seeds =good luck, the Goddess' blessing
- thyme =protection through the night, health
- chamomile =healing, rest
- sage =good health
- mint =health
- lemongrass =love, psychic travel (So the effect could cross the sea to where my Dad was)
- cinnamon =boosting power, healing
- olive oil = my go-to anointing oil. Use what speaks to you.
Steps:
Ground yourself, activate your altar if you use one, cast a circle and call the quarters. Get set up, basically. Set the incense burning on the altar.
Bless and anoint the candle with the olive oil; inscribe it with your intent, symbols, or power words you want to use. I used words like 'strength' 'rest' and 'health'.
Place the fetish in the glass jar and seal it in. Imagine the jar keeping the object (and the subject of your spell) safe and protected. Affix the prepared candle to the top, light it, and place the whole thing in the bowl. (I was worried about the jar floating and knocking the candle around, so I weighted it down with a large chunk of rose quartz.)
pour the water in the bowl, surrounding the sealed fetish with the warm, healing energy of water.
One by one, add the spices to the water. Place both halves of the apple on either side of the jar.
Sit with the bowl, stating your purpose and praying. Allow the candle to burn down until it goes out on its own.
Thank and dismiss the quarters and close down your circle.
(Bonus?) At this point I removed the candle and jar, carried the bowl and its remaining contents outside, and poured them over the roots of a cedar tree. Obviously not everyone has cedar trees handy, so dispose of the remains in whatever way seems right to you.)
When I'm casting, I always sit with each ingredient before adding it, imagine my energy running down my arms and filling it, and I say to the ingredient what my intent is for it in the spell ("You will bring peace to my father," "You will carry my message," etc).
Story time:
Over the past year, my Dad has been battling esophageal cancer. We didn't really catch it early, and by the time the doctors knew about it it was in stage three, and was spreading. The next few months were sort of a nightmare what with the chemo and such, but don't worry, this story has a happy ending!
At the beginning of last April, the hospital was trying to get his surgery date in earlier. The problem with that is Dad hadn't been able to eat solid foods for months, and was very weak. There were a lot of days where me and my siblings would be told it was happening, and we'd be biting our nails all day, and then find out later the date got pushed back.
It was stressful, to say the least, and since I live on a different landmass I couldn't even go to visit him without risking getting sick, or even worse, passing along the infection myself.
It's in times like this that we turn to magick.
I made this spell on the fly, with just stuff that I happened to have around. There's nothing too special in it, I think, but I put a lot of love and energy into it. My focus was for my Dad to get some very good rest, so that he could get through the surgery safely and recover well.
Every Working is a bit of a leap of faith, and the surgery got delayed again for a few days, but later that week it happened. They got it all.
What's more, he was scheduled to be in the hospital for about eight days after the fact, but he was healing so well they let him out in three. The doctors were astounded.
I'm not going to take full credit for that, but I really, truly believe this spell helped.