I've been a Pagan and a witch for 20 years. One of the most common questions I get from new witchlings is "where do I find spells?" When I tell them it's best to write your own the inevitable follow up is, "How do I write spells?" I even had one tell me she couldn't write spells because she's terrible at rhyming! So my dears, here is my system for writing simple spells, and they don't have to rhyme unless you want them to.
And I stress; this is just MY system. Everyone approaches spell writing differently. This is obviously intended for beginners and so the spell example will be simple but you can make a spell as complex as you feel capable of handling.
Every spell I write begins with 3 basic components: Intent, Method, and a Call to Action. I write these down and approach them one by one.
Simply, the desired outcome of the spell. For this example, let's go with the most commonly asked for type: love.
There are many methods (petition, cord, sigils, etc) but we'll go with a trusty favorite: a candle.
The words that put your intent and method to work. For me, this is often what I will chant as the candle burns.
Now this is where most people get lost. Writing comes more easily to some than others. But don't fret! We'll keep it simple to start. So our call to action is simply, "This candle will bring me love."
There, we have a spell! Sure, it's simple, even boring. But it is a spell, and this is something anyone can do. But why stop at simple and boring? Let's take it a step further, and revisit our Call to Action.
The more specific your call is, the more likely you are to have the outcome you desire. So instead of simply "love," which could mean so many things, let's specify, "This candle will bring me romantic love." The language is still boring, so let's bring some creativity into it. Use your paper to brainstorm. What is another term for 'candle'? An instrument of fire, or servant of fire. And what rhymes with 'fire'? 'Desire.' So let's rearrange the words a little and we have, "Servant of fire, bring the romance I desire!" Now that packs more punch, don't you think? And of course, you need to visualize your desire as you chant and let the candle burn. Visualization is an important part of many magic methods.
So we have a solid foundation. Let's spice it up a bit, and revisit our method. We could add a second method, such as a petition stating qualities we expect in our future partner, or a knotted cord to carry with us or put under our pillow until love manifests. We could add multiple candles, one for each quality we desire in the relationship. For our example, let's stick with just the one candle, but we'll expand on it with amplifiers. This is where your correspondence chart comes in. Corresponding elements, such as colors and herbs, are what I consider amplifiers of a spell. Let's explore a few.
Color is a basic but powerful amplifier, and the color of love is generally seen as red or pink. So we'd get a red or pink candle. Only have white? That's fine; white is a good substitute for any other color. You can still incorporate the colors red and pink with a tablecloth, decorations, or even just a piece of construction paper to place your candle holder on. I've used an old shirt this way. Improvise, my lovelies.
How about herbs? They needn't be fancy. Raid your kitchen cabinet for cinnamon, ginger, rosemary, thyme, and basil. You can use as many as you want. How to incorporate them? You could use them to make the shape of a heart around your candle. Or you could anoint the candle (rub it down) with oil and then roll the candle in the herb mixture. Messy but effective!
Runes? Yes, please! Prior to rolling it in herbs, you can use a pin to carve into the wax. A love heart is the first that comes to my mind, but you could find a related rune from any set you want. Can't find a pin? Think carving candles is a flaky pain the butt? Write the rune on a piece of paper and place the candle on top of it!
Our little spell is a lot better now that it's all gussied up, huh?
When to perform this spell? We check our correspondences notes again, and we see that Friday is the best day for love spells, with Tuesday running a close second. And we know that the moon phase we want is new to full for attraction (waxing) and full to dark is for banishment (waning), so we now have a goal of Friday or Tuesday during the waxing phase, full if possible. Now, you could go a step further and factor in planetary hours but that gets too complicated to discuss here but if you're up to it, there are apps that track planetary hours for you. For our purposes, any time the moon is visible will suffice.
So there we have it, how to write your own simple spell, from start to finish! If the idea of writing your own was daunting I hope this has made the process a lot less scary to you. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a message. Brightest blessings to you!
