богонемил

Source: PGM Va 1-3

Difficulty: Intermediate

Materials Needed: Olive oil, a small bowl, bay leaf, myrrh, frankincense, something to burn the frankincense with

I found this direct vision spell in the PGM so I decided to try it. I felt Helios trying to enter my head–a sensation where I’d anointed myself, my closed eyes started to roll back and things went black–but I struggle with channeling spirits or trance meditation and he was unable to communicate with me. I hope this will serve someone here well. It’s the easiest vision spell I’ve seen.

As this is a spell for divine communication, cleanse yourself beforehand (I took a quick shower) and I’d recommend observing basic ritual purity: not having sex for three days before the spell. Wear a phylactery during this spell.

The PGM itself gives no instruction on how to perform this, so I made my own recipe for the oil to anoint yourself. As olive and laurel branches are commonly used as crowns in spells, especially spells for divine communication, I used olive oil with a bay laurel leaf. I added some myrrh as it is used for many inks in divine communication spells. (these ingredients were also chosen because I had them on hand)

I also decided it would be best to burn frankincense as it is a sacred incense that it offered to Helios and used in other trance spells.

Here’s an image of my set-up after the spell, the charcoal burned:

Begin by lighting your frankincense and offering it to Helios with some words of praise. Feel free to make other offerings to Helios as well.

Pour some olive oil into your small bowl and add the bay leaf (dried is fine; I used it). Add a small amount of myrrh broken into flecks, grinding with a pestle or simply pounding it will do. Use the bay leaf to stir the oil.

Repeat the following spell until you feel the presence of the god: O Helios BERBELО̄CH CHTHО̄THО̄MI ACH SANDOUM ECHNIN ZAGOUЕ̄L, bring me into union with you and show me [the matter you want answers on].

When you feel he has come in, anoint your forehead with the oil, close your eyes, and allow yourself to channel him and go into a trance vision.

Source: PGM IV 94-153

Difficulty: Easy

Materials Needed: None

Yes, there are so many love spells in the PGM there’s even a spell to see whether a love spell worked! I used this with one of the first love spells I cast and it correctly predicted its success (I was salivating so much I was worried I would drool while talking). I just used this on a love spell I cast last night and kept yawning when I finished talking, so let’s hope for the best! These statements will make way more sense when you read the spell… 

I assume this spell should work with even non-Graeco-Egyptian love spells, so if you have a love spell that you cast and are waiting on results for, you can perform this spell to check up on it. Let me know how it goes!

Prepare for this spell however you wish; I tend to just clear my mind before reciting it.

Speak the following passage once, doing your best to put emotion into the dialogue. Feel free to read it off this post. If a large amount of saliva forms in your mouth as you speak, the love spell has worked and the target wants to talk to you. If you yawn frequently while speaking or immediately after, it is a good sign and your target wants to come to you. If you sneeze two times or more during/after speaking, the love spell failed. If you get a headache and start crying, your target is danger; the PGM seems to imply that the love spell is harming your target. If nothing happens, I assume it means the love spell failed.

YN = your name, TN = target’s name. I’m using she/her pronouns in the spell to refer to the target, as this is what the original uses, but change it accordingly when you recite this.

Isis is the one who comes from the mountain at midday in summer, the dusty maiden, her eyes are full of tears and her heart is full of sighs.

Her father, Thoth the Great, came in unto her and asked her, “O my daughter, Isis, dusty maiden, why are your eyes full of tears, your heart full of sighs, and your garment soiled? Away with the tears of your eyes!”

She said to him, “He is not with me, O my father, Ape Thoth, Ape Thoth, my father. I have been betrayed by my female companion. I have discovered a secret: yes, Nephthys is having intercourse with Osiris, my brother, my own mother’s son.”

He said to her, “Behold, this is adultery against you, O my daughter Isis.”

She said to him, “It is adultery against you, O my father, Ape Thoth, Ape Thoth, my father; it is pregnancy proper for me myself.”

He said to her, “Arise, O my daughter Isis, and go to the south to Thebes, to the north to Abydos. There are those who trample there. Take for yourself Belf son of Belf, the one whose foot is of bronze and whose heels are of iron, that he forge for you a double iron nail with a wide head, a thin base, a strong point, and light iron. Bring it before me, dip it in the blood of Osiris, and hand it over; we shall place it in this mysterious flame.

Every flaming, every cooking, every heating, every steaming, and every sweating that you will cause in this flaming stove, you will cause in the heart, in the liver, in the area of the navel, and in the belly of [TN] whom [TN’s mother] has borne, until I bring her into the house of [YN] whom [YN’s mother] has borne and she puts what is in her hand into my hand, what is in her mouth into my mouth, what is in her belly onto my belly, what is in her female parts onto my male parts, quickly, quickly, immediately, immediately. Rise up to the kings of Alclah, speak the truth in Oupо̄ke, arouse god after [TN] whom [TN’s mother] has borne, and I shall send her to be with [YN] whom [YN’s mother] has borne. For I am To son of To; I am the Great son of the Great; I am Anubis, who bears the glorious crown of Ra and puts it upon King Osiris, King Osiris Onnophris, I am the one who arouses the whole earth, that you may arouse the heart of [TN] whom [TN’s mother] has borne, that I may know what is in her heart for me, for [YN] whom [YN’s mother] has borne, on this day.

Rise up to heaven and arouse the High One after the Noble One. Rise up to the abyss, and arouse Thoth after Nabin; arouse the heart of these two bulls, Hapi and Mnevis, arouse the heart of Osiris after Isis, arouse Ra after the light, arouse the heart of [TN] whom [TN’s mother] has borne after [YN] whom [YN’s mother] has born.

When she drinks, when she eats, when she has intercourse with someone else, I will bewitch her heart, I will bewitch the heart of her, I will bewitch her breath, I will bewitch her 365 members, I will bewitch her inner parts whenever I desire, until she comes to me and I know what is in her heart, what she does, and of what she thinks, quickly, quickly, immediately, immediately.*

*These last two paragraphs can be repeated a few times as a reinforcement to the love spell you previously cast.

*My spells are okay for any and everyone to use in their craft, not just those who practice Voodoo or Hoodoo*

Oh babies this sure is a NASTY spell. This is a revenge cross/curse. I originally got it years ago from a website and changed a lot of aspects of it. I cannot seem to find the original writer to give them the original credit but if you know please let me know. Again, I have changed a lot about the spell and have made it my own.

Ingredients:

Spiderwebs, from a very dark place in your home preferably 

Black Square of Fabric

Dead Insect 

Plants or herbs for your intent. I will be using Spanish Moss and the flowers from a Persian Silk Tree 

Personal Item of the Person 

Black Candle 

Oil to anoint the candle with proper intent (Optional, I will be using Black Arts Oil)

Small slip of paper

Pen (If you can write in bats blood ink that would work amazing too.)

Directions:

Write what you want to happen to the person on the slip of paper. Do you want them to suffer? Lose their job? 

Anoint the candle in your oil of choice and light it. Imagine everything that will happen with this curse. Really put your energy into it. If you are contacting any specific deity for this, now would be the time. If not, continue. 

As the candle burns, place the cobwebs you obtained into the center of the square. This is to bind and hold. This will stick. 

Take the dead insect and place it inside of the web. This insect represents your victim. They are now stuck in your web. Add the personal item at this point to bind it to them. Bonus points if it is their hair or nails as it will make the spell more likely to work and even stronger. 

Sprinkle any herbs or plants that you gathered into the mixture, visualizing their intent. 

Pour the candle wax into everything. Just onto all of the ingredients. You are sealing them in and there is no turning back at this point. 

Tie everything together with the fabric. Thank your deity if you called them. Go somewhere dark and dank, using the candle as your only light. Like a corner of your basement, a crawlspace under your house, a hole in your closet wall, somewhere like that. Make sure it will get as little light as possible. Once you find a place, blow out the candle and let the smoke linger. Now you will leave it there for either 16 days or 16 weeks, which is 4 months. There is no in between. The number must be 16. So choose the smaller time or the longer time. Either way it will work but I would think of it like this: The longer it stays the more extreme the curse will be, as it builds up over time. Do not look at, touch, or mess with it until it has been either 16 days or 16 weeks. I would count it down to the minute just to be safe. The devil cannot even refuse you when you use the number 16. 

As the time continues, you will notice things start to slowly happen to the person. Small inconveniences. This is when you know that the energy has found the person. It is watching them and waiting on your last command. 

You are now to seal the deal. All of the built up energy in this charm is ready to be released. Take it and (quickly) go to a graveyard. Bury the charm under ground and as soon as it is completely covered, the energy will spark and sink into the ground. Pushed by the spirits, it will find the person you aimed it at and hit them like a ton of bricks.

Some leftover fruitcake ingredients taught me a valuable lesson quite a few years ago when I was short on winter saint offerings: if you keep a selection of dried fruit in an air-tight container you’ll always have sweet treats on hand to present during veneration.

The room of the dead should not be swept and if it is done, the sweepings should not be thrown away because this could drive the soul of the dead out and hurt it. The dust and sweepings are pushed under the bed and will be burned later.

Nothing that is present at the time of death should leave the house, otherwise the deceased would be forced to wander until he has been able to gather everything.

Of course, not the slightest noise should be made. The clocks are stopped. The bells are covered with handkerchiefs. The mirrors and paintings are veiled. All objects hanging on the walls are turned over, plates, pots, pans, paintings…

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One element of the magic worked in the Wending Way, which I decided would be worth sharing here, is what my partner and I call the “Gwarch” (pronounced like Quark, but with a G at the beginning, and a χ at the end.)

In Welsh, Gwarch translates as “What encloses or shuts up; a cover or lid.” Derivative words in Welsh include:

Gwarchad—“A covering over; guarding, securing, or protecting.”

Gwarchan—“What secures; an irresistible influence; a talisman or enchantment.”

& Gwarchawdyr—“A warden, conservator, or guard.”

In concept, a Gwarch is very akin to a charm bag and other similar magical devices, with particulars of operation unique to the workings my partner and I undertake. They can be used for beneficent and malefic magics alike, though they seem particularly potent when it comes to protective measures.

To elucidate the subject a little better, I thought I would document and explain the creation of a Gwarch meant to promote joy and ease after a period of grieving.

—

The first step in creating a Gwarch is to obtain the freely given shell of a snail, either terrestrial or aquatic. It must simply be abandoned, found by your own hand, and big enough to suit your purpose.

During the rite proper, the space is cleansed and aligned, pertinent powers are invoked, and then the caster's intention is encapsulated using a Sigil or composite-sigil on a small slip of paper. I’m not free to share any details about the specific sigil used here by my partner, but I included a picture of the paper mid-inscription, to give you an idea of the size of paper we used.

After the petition has been completed, fold it tightly into a strip that can be inserted into the opening of the shell, with as little paper as possible sticking out. Next, stuff the remainder of the shell’s interior with materials and items appropriate to the context of your Gwarch. Herbs, spices, and/or gums serve as the most common interiors. For this particular example, the shell was stuffed using a mixture of Rose, St. John’s Wort, and Chamomile.

Once the shell has been thoroughly packed with paper and plant materia, proceed to physically seal the charm by melting beeswax over the opening of the shell (of a color with meaningful correspondence to the practitioner and the working at hand) to properly secure the contents, while fumigating it with Dragon's Blood Smoke and energetically sealing the programming of Gwarch's given task.

Wara! 2023 - oil on canvas — Krzysztof Powałka (Polish, b.1985)

Before we get into the grunt of the post, I feel it is best that I first cover some magical theory. Not all will agree with me, I understand that and seek not to change solid opinion, but inform those who do not know or those who are curious in regard to other systems of belief held around familiar totems. With that being said:

Where does the power come from?

I know that seems quite general a question, but it’s important to understand the source of power that one must imbue magical items with. I, personally, have a mixed background on the matter and thereby have a mixed methodology in creating magical jewelry. The animist in me imbues these items with spirit – I use this method when creating an amulet or talisman ruled by a specific spirit. For me, these become as much devotional as magical. They become not only an item used to bring about protection or drawing, but an item to solidify a connection to a specific spirit. As an example, I have two bracelets and a necklace that are connected to my yayá, Rosa Caveira, so as to keep her close at hand. I wear them both as a sign of my devotion as well as a link to her power and energy. In essence, this loosely parallels the use of collares/elekes. The source of power is the blending energy of Rosa’s force and my own, it is a symbiotic relationship.

The other type of magical “accessories” I employ are those not bound to spirit. These are the ones I use more readily and are the collection of items, symbols, herbs, etc. – each with its own signature – that, when brought together and aimed with intent, transform something from mundane to magical.  In the case, the source of the power is the signature: the blending of items (that possess their own signature), the ambient energy/current of the Universe/etc., and your own – which come together in a way to serve what purpose you desire of it.

As an aside, this ambient energy/current of the Universe is what I really wanted to talk about with this question. All that is is comprised of energy: there is “raw” energy (electricity, plasma, etc.), the energy of motion, gravity, and all matter which is comprised of slow moving energy. Think atomically – these vibrating particles that sustain us and all things. Everything is energy and energy is everywhere. All things possess the current of the Universe, and it can be drawn from anywhere, and it is the key to witchcraft. When a witch draws from him/herself, they are drawing from the Current. When the witch draws from herb and curio, they are drawing from the Current (through the particular lens or signature of that item). When they draw from the Earth, the moon, the cosmos, they draw from the Current. And when the draw from the Gods or the Universe, they are drawing from the Current. So, in essence, both methods stem from the same source and thereby work equally as well, it simply depends on which course you favor.

Construction

I cannot say much on the specific construction of these items because there is no specific way to construct them, as there are ways innumerable. They can be comprised of simple things: a stone, a slip of paper, a coin, etc. Or they can be made of a collection of things, expertly combined for a very pointed purpose. They can be forged in gold, set with diamonds, emeralds and rubies, or sticks, stones, herbs and bones carried in a mojo bag. There are no instructions save the ones of your tradition or the ones of your imagination. Do not be afraid to get creative and trust, above all, your intuition.

Charging/Feeding/Animating

This is without a doubt the most important part of creating an amulet/charm/talisman. This, too, can be simple or complex. For instance, drawing a sigil or prayer on a sheet of paper, in clay, or on a stone to carry is – in itself – a means of charging. Not only does this writing lend itself to the construction, but to the charging as well. The same can almost be said of combining using the law of signatures, except there remains that small missing piece of intent. While you create, you may speak over the ingredients their purpose, add to them a symbol charged with intent or fumigate the charm with smoke from your lips. These methods may be unnecessary for some seasoned professionals, who subconsciously imbue each ingredient with specific purpose that combine to form a collective purpose during creation, but for those new to the art, I recommend making sure to pointedly note your intent. Clarity is always a great quality to any spell.

Another important facet to charm/amulet/talisman construction is to feed the curio. Many traditions have varying ways of accomplishing this, from oil or alcohol dressing, smoke and prayer charging, or even simply the act of holding the fetish and reminding it of its role. Personally, I’m rather fond of oil dressing, but do what feels right to you or what is dictated by your own tradition.

Disposal

You guessed it: the means for disposal are as varied as the means for creation. Nonetheless, this step is very important, for after the item serves its purpose, it needs to be properly retired. Some have a much longer “life expectancy” than others, for instance: a protective amulet will be tasked with serving you much longer than a love-drawing talisman. In the case of amulets, it may be carried until it begins to show wear or improper maintenance (falling apart, symbols smearing or chipping, etc.) at which point is should be retired and deconstructed (if comprised of multiple components). Once it has been retired, and it’s parts cleansed, it can then be reconstructed or constructed anew until it once again shows sign of disrepair. Wash, rinse, repeat. The length of time a talisman is carried depends heavily on how long it takes to accomplish its task, and once that task is completed, it’s important to dispose of it properly. Some methods include: burial (often at a specific location: graveyard, crossroads, yard, etc.), fire, deconstruction, and feeding into running water. I recommend the same here as I have above: trust your intuition or your tradition about how best to get rid of a specific charm.

A certain % of spells will always fail. I tend to approach it systematically.

Ritual work:

Did you explicitly state that spirits may only partake of the offering if they agree to do this job for you?

Did you limit access to the offerings to only spirits who are capable of carrying out the required task?

Did you plan your ritual around spirit gateways, such as certain astrological timings, days of week, or at natural spiritual gateways? Or, did you engage in acts of witchcraft to create spirit doors? All of these things make it easier to correctly contact and "call through" spirits.

Did you provide a "due by" date for the work to be completed?

Did you accurately and plainly describe exactly what it is you wanted to have happen?

Spirit work:

Did you correctly evoke the spirit? I.e., are you relatively sure the spirit was actually properly called into the ritual?

Did you evoke a single spirit, or many? If you only evoked one spirit, what steps did you take to ensure it would agree to do the job for you?

If you only evoked one single spirit, what steps did you take to ensure that the spirit is capable of doing the task at hand?

Is the spirit, or categories of spirits, known in lore to be able to deliver the kind of results you want? Are they related to, or do they dwell within, the domain where you want your results to occur?

Is that spirit(s) known to help people such as yourself? I.e., if you don't have a personal relationship with the spirit, are they known to help strangers?

Sorcerous strategy:

Did you perform divination before the spell to find out if there are blockages or problems you should address beforehand?

Did you perform divination before the spell to find out if evoking that spirit for that task would be effective?

Be reasonable with yourself:

Have you done many spirit evocations, and they usually succeed? If so, this may be a fluke.

Is this a new spirit you're working with, while other spirits usually deliver results? If so, you may have not yet learned how to correctly evoke that spirit, or how to engage with them for mutually satisfactory results.

If you're brand new to trafficking with spirits in order to work magic, then you may have just not learned all of the requisite skills necessary, or how to harmoniously put them together.

Have you successfully cast many spells in the past? If so, compare your spirit working rituals to prior, successful spells. See what aspects may be missing.

Most witches consider local spirits to be a cornerstone of their practice. It's much easier to cast a ward on your home when the local forest spirit will back it up. Ask five witches how to connect to spirits and you'll get seven answers and three arguments.

So I'm going to give you a foolproof answer.

If you live in the united states, your state will have a list of endangered and threatened species. It will also have a list of invasive species. Look through these. There's a pretty good chance that you'll be surprised and find something you've seen before. "I didn't know that was endangered! I've seen that in my grandma's backyard."

Great! You are now that species guardian angel.

Figure out how to protect it. Find out how to spread it. Then do it. It spreads from cuttings? Awesome! Take some cuttings and sprout them, then plant them somewhere.

You don't have anywhere to plant them? That's okay. Get a high-vis vest, pull over onto the side of the highway in a nice spot, plant them, and leave. No one questions the high-vis vest. Someone does? "I'm a volenteer at an endangered species reintroduction program." It's not even a lie, it's just a program of one. Hell, that program may actually exist and you may actually be able to volenteer for it.