#image magic

15th Mansion: Al Ghafr (The Covering) 0° Libra to 12° 51’ 22″ Libra

This image was birthed during a favourable Luna election in April 2020.

From Picatrix, 11th Century

Trixie Lulamoon is at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic.

It’s time to talk about my favorite type of magical charm. I’ve been meaning to do a little more about charms and image magic for a while now.

Blue eye beads have a long history as protective charms across various folk magic traditions. The practice began and remains popular in Turkey, where such an amulet is referred to as a nazar. It has since spread to folk magic traditions throughout the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere, including Hoodoo practices in the US.

Beads and charms such as those shown above are carried or displayed as magical protection, primarily to ward off the “evil eye”, which is predominately associated with jealousy. They may be found as jewelry, over doors, in shops, on walls in homes, and even as decorations in vehicles.

Any representation of a blue eye, even as simple as a sketch with a blue pen, with proper intent can be used as a protection against negative energy and hexes.

The necklace at the top of the photo is made with beads from Ankara, Turkey, by a friend who spent ten years there.

The hand shaped charm I acquired from a botanica in New Orleans. The hand image itself is known as a hamsa, another protective icon of somewhat less clear Middle Eastern or North African origin. The two are sometimes but not always combined in the above fashion.

Powers: Luck, Image Magic.

Magical Uses: Straw is lucky; hence it is often carried in small bags. For a home luck talisman, take a used horseshoe and some straw, sew up into a small bag, and place it above or below the bed. Small magical images may be made of straw and these can then be used as poppets. Straw attracts fairies (some say that fairies live inside straws).

      As someone who is both a witch and a gamer, I have noticed an inherent potential of some videogames as tools of the craft. In witchcraft, it is very common for spells to involve visualization of the desired effects, imagining the outcome of the spell as though it is happening in real time before your eyes. For this purpose, a lot of spells will use fetishes and foci to help the witch focus and visualize. This is what Image Magic is all about- using things to represent other things for spell work.  In much the same way, videogames can be used to represent the real world, more visually representing the changes you wish to make. Some games seem almost tailor-made to represent our real world, in fact. There are many ways that Minecraft, for example, could be used in spell work.  Consider the following ideas:

     -Use a nametag to name a Villager after someone who bullies you, use a lead to tie the villager to a post, then encase the whole thing in bedrock to restrict your aggressor’s actions in an unbreakable binding.

     -Surround your Minecraft home with a circle of pillars made of Gold and Emerald blocks to draw money and prosperity into your real-world home.

     -Use a block of Iron above the door of your Minecraft house to ward unwanted energies from your life outside the game.

      This methodology can easily be applied to other games as well, including The Sims. For example, make a Sim that looks like you and shares your name, then give that Sim traits that represent ways you’d like for your own personality to grow. Create Sims representing people who would like to be in a relationship, then use the game to help them along. The possibilities are nearly endless. This is also incredibly helpful for witches who wish to keep their practice a secret, giving them a way to engage in spell work in a powerful and tangible way without anyone raising any eyebrows. Someone walks in and sees you playing a videogame, they won’t bat an eyelash or pry into it. If they ask what you’re doing, you could even be completely honest with them and they would never even question that you’re just talking about your goals in the game.

 Just Some Minecraft Correspondence Ideas

     Bedrock- Impermeable, Unbreakable, Containment.

     Wool, Stained Clay- Associated Color Correspondences. Wool for softness, gentleness. Clay for firmness, strength, sturdiness.

     Lead/Leash- Binding, Drawing, Containment.

     Slime/ Slime Block- Sticky, but also repellant and bouncy.

     Lava, Fire, Netherrack- Heat, Burning, Destruction, Pain, Light.

     Torch, Glowstone- Illumination, Guidance, Safety.

     Glass/ Glass Pane- Clarity, Separation, Vision.

     Redstone/ Redstone Block- Speed, Time, Power, Energy.

     Gold- Money, Magic, Solar energy

     Emerald- Money

     Books/Bookshelves- Wisdom, Knowledge, Mystery, Secrets.