New Moon Prayer

In name of the Holy Spirit of grace,

In name of the Father of the city of peace,

In name of Jesus who took death off us,

Oh! In name of the three who shield us in every need,

If well thou hast found us tonight,

Seven times better mayest thou leave us without harm,

Thou bright white moon of the seasons,

Bright white moon of the seasons.

In name of the Father Almighty,

In name of the Glorious Son,

In name of the Holy Spirit,

By grace of the three-in-one.

If tonight moon, thou hast found us

In peaceful happy rest,

May thy laving lustre leave us

Seven times still more blest

Moon so fair

May it be so,

As seasons come,

And seasons go.

Amen.

I can't do incense due to my lung issues, so I wanted to make a spray for cleansing my spaces instead. Named "sunshower" cuz the smell reminds me of a spring rain where the sun is still shining!

For a screen reader friendly version, click here.

🌦️ Ingredients 🌦️

25 drops total of essential oil: - 3 drops sweetgrass (for cleansing) - 15 drops lemongrass (for cleansing and opening) - 7 drops lavender (for cleansing)

0.5 oz unscented witch hazel

0.5 oz alcohol (vodka/ethanol)

Distilled water

🌦️ Instructions 🌦️

Mix oils in a small container. > I used a dropper tool I had lying about, it made it easier to control how much I was putting in. The correspondences of the oils is more important than the amount of drop ratio. Just make sure it totals out to between 20–30 drops. 25 fit the 4 oz container I am using. :>

Add the witch hazel and alcohol to the container and mix, then pour it in the spray bottle. > Some people prefer using either witch hazel or alcohol instead of both. I personally find that adding alcohol helps the spray evaporate faster and I also use it's cleansing properties as a correspondence for this spray!

Top it off with distilled water. Shake to combine. > The distilled water helps dilute the mix without diluting the scent, be mindful of how much you add. Distilled water is preferred for clearer sprays and longer shelf life.

Shake before each use.

✍️ Bonus tips ✍️

✍️ When adding the label, write a sigil on the back that corresponds with your spray's purpose to amplify it. You can also draw it directly on the bottle

✍️ Some folks may want to add herbs or flowers, make sure to use dried ones to prevent any mold, fungi, or bacteria from growing.

✍️ Don't have distilled water? That's fine, boil tap water and allow it to cool before adding it.

✍️ Speaking of water, consider charging your water by setting a sealed container of it outside during a rain sh

⚠️WARNINGS⚠️

❗Do not spray on or in areas where there are tiny lungs such as pets or children!

❗Allow the spray to fully dry before pets or children come in contact with the area.

❗Essential oils can be allergens, be mindful of those you live with or have over often.

❗If any of these are a concern, please dilute the spray further and ensure that the spray fully dries or is kept away from common areas.

Caduceus Mercury. Livre des figures hiéroglifiques, Alchimie de Flamel, c. 1701-1800, BnF

Match magic is a versatile and easy sort of spellcrafting. Unfortunately, fire is a necessity so this is not for people who can’t light matches.

The basic concept of match magic is that the matchstick is charged with intent. Then, the match is burned to release the intent so the magic can go do its work. As the match burns, watch the flame to divine the success or manifestation of the spell.

1. Getting prepared

The only thing you really need are wooden matches. Lighters do not work for this particular kind of thing because the main focus is on charging and burning the wood, not the fire itself. I can find a box of 250 large wooden matches for a dollar here.

When you hold a lit match, the match cannot burn all the way down (or you will really burn your fingers!) This may lead you to feel like the entire spell has not been released. There are three solutions I have found and perhaps one will resonate with you depending on your beliefs:

a. Mark a line on the match with a pencil, and put the intent only on the burning end. When the flame reaches the pencil mark, blow it out. All the intent will be released without your fingers being burned. b. After the match is lit, carefully and firmly grasp one end with a pair of tweezers. This will allow the entirety of the match to burn, releasing all the intent. c. Recognize that the bit of unburnt match left over works to ‘ground’ the magic in your life, helping keep the intent attached to the physical plane as it goes about and does its work in the ethereal or astral.

If you choose, you may watch the match burn down in order to divine the success of the spell, or the path it will take during manifestation. The shape of the charcoal may also give you a clue as to the success of the magic. However, in order to read the omens in the flame, you should have a good understanding of what a regular, mundane match looks like when it burns. Get your box of matches and decide on a few things:

Will you be holding all your matches perfectly horizontal, or vertical, or in some other fashion?

Will you be holding the match with your fingers or some other tool?

How long will you allow each match to burn?

Ensure that you are wherever you are likely to do your match spells most often (it may be over an altar, or for me, my desk). Turn off any fans in the area, close windows, and generally reduce any drafts as much as possible.

When you have an idea of how you want the little ritual to go, light about ten uncharged matches in your working area and carefully observe how they burn. Note how high the flames tend to go, how quickly the flames move along the match, in what way the wood curls when it is burned, et cetera. Carefully save these burned matches (you could also take a photo) and use them as a control group to compare against your magical matches. You may or may not notice a distinct difference between how your plain matches compare with your magical ones; my magical matches tend to burn in a corkscrew shape and the flames often reach much higher.

2. Understanding the nature of match magic

Match magic is not a big kickass sort of spell. It can be powerful and forceful, but it is more like a paintball gun than a cannon. The wood itself can only hold so much energy, and the energy is released quickly instead of through a long, steady burn. This is really more like quick fix-it Band-aid magic than anything else. Here is what I have found match magic to be appropriate for:

Motivation

“Get me through the day/this class/this meeting”

Quick fix for anxiety, although only for a short amount of time

A nudge for someone to do something

Gaining focus for a task ahead

Because the matches burn so quickly, they are also appropriate for on-the-go devotionals or to add quick power to an existing spell. Many of us will leave tea lights on an altar to empower something; if you cannot leave a tea light burning, charging and burning a match may be a sufficient substitution.

Here is one paradigm explanation for how match magic “works”: Wood is good at holding magical intent and charge. The physical item is also excellent as a focus point. As you gather power, you can store it in the match. When you intuit that you have collected enough energy for the magical task at hand, use your magical willpower to imprint your intent on the raw energy. After you ‘stamp’ your intent in to the energy, the match is now a self contained charm. However, we want the magic to move ahead of us and around us in order blaze the trail for our success. When the match is lit, the energy is rapidly released and goes on its merry way.

The fire in this spell is transformative; full of changes. It transforms our intent in to reality; it releases contained energy in to flowing energy; it converts one situation in to another.

3. Charging the matches

Do not bother using your own energy for this kind of spell; you can actually get the energy within the match quite dense, and you may end up draining yourself. Instead, call upon an external energy. If you ground with a root system, you can call upon the powers of the earth to work for you. If you can gather energy from the space around you, do that - you can also use energy stored in crystals, or whatever other method you typically use for raising spell-energy.

In this spell, your energy is the wheel, not the clay - call upon energy from something else and use your magical reservoir to shape it.

Before you begin, ensure you have a simple statement of intent. The statement is probably better off being positive instead of negative. Here are some examples:

POSITIVE:

I will get all of my homework done today

Laura will skip class today

That dog will be silent today

NEGATIVE:

I will not be sleepy

My bills will not come in the mail today

John will not call me today

Hold a single match in your hand (marked with a pencil if that is how you prefer to do it). Call energy to you and direct it in to the match. At first the energy may be very thin and in a cloud around the matchstick. Compress the energy down until it is all contained within the wood. Draw up and compress more and more energy until you feel you have gotten enough. The matchstick may seem to be glowing very brightly, if you can ‘see’ energy, and if you can feel energy the matchstick may make your skin feel quite weird. Using your magical will, keep the energy within the matchstick contained. Simultaneously use your will to stamp your statement of intent in to the energy, forming it and molding it so it is programmed to your will. If you don’t get what I mean, just imagine that the matchstick is full of all this raw, smooth energy. Then mentally shout at it until you intuit that the energy is programmed.

After this, you may wish to do a sealing action (“so mote it be”). Then immediately light the match and hold it in the same way you did during your practice runs. Watch the match burn and see if you can determine how the spell will go. Blow the match out when it is time and keep or discard the charcoal and leftover wood however it feels right to you.

If you wish, call appropriate and relevant energies instead of just using whatever. Air energy is appropriate for focus and mindfulness, while Mars energy is appropriate for acts of aggression.

Pro tip for those who make ceremonial sigils, you can use aluminum tin foil as a base. Many rituals call for plates made of copper, silver, etc depending on the deity being worked with (quicksilver for Mercury, copper for Venus etc) Parchment is standard and perfectly fine, but metals are definitely preferred. Most of us don't have access to straight up silver, but aluminum can also work as it also has the ability to conduct electricity and trap heat/energy. I use my wand to engrave the foil, be careful because it rips easily. It is certainly flimsier in all ways compared to a superior metal, but it does get the job done!

As some of you may have noticed, I am not a big proponent of shielding (protecting, warding, banishing, etc.). I acknowledge and respect the practice in its own rite, but quite frankly, I believe it is a wildly misused and trite technique. 

My biggest issue with shielding is the fact that it creates a deliberate and defensive separation from a plethora of useful and harnessable energies simply because they are perceived as harmful or “negative”. Additionally, I believe that when used excessively or incorrectly, shielding can actually draw in the type of energy that it is meant to deter. 

I have struggled to find alternative types of energy work in lieu of the common practice of shielding, which rarely seems to yield desired results in my experience. One technique I have been working towards developing is what I refer to as [energetic] expansion. 

However, in the book I am currently reading, I came across another alternative exercise I am enthralled to practice and use regularly. The author refers to this technique as ‘eating’ heavy energy. Essentially, it is the act of absorbing dense (or “negative”) energy, ‘digesting’ it, then transmuting it to serve our will/needs. 

I would like to put my own spin on this exercise and transmit it in my own words, more or less. First, I should point out that transmutation does require more energy than shielding, but it can reap far more useful results in many circumstances. I find it particularly useful when the energy I am emitting is heavy. In such cases, shielding is virtually useless considering the energy is coming from within. 

Transmutation is also extremely useful when cleansing a space of heavy energy. I have not yet attempted this personally, but I anticipate it being much more beneficial to the cleansing process. Rather than going into an area with a shield erected and attempting to banish the unwanted energies, we can actually accept the energy as is and allow it to move through us. Once absorbed, we can then generate the process of transmutation through our will/intention. 

Transmuting Negative Energy

Focus your attention and get into a light meditative state.

Ground yourself; establish a strong, rooted connection to the earth. 

Bring your awareness to the solar plexus. Feel the energy it projects outward to the edge of your aura. 

With your will and intention, imagine the edge of the aura in front of the solar plexus expanding or opening, something like a “mouth”. 

Draw the unwanted dense energy into this opening; “swallow” it. 

Will the energy to go through a transformative process. Feel it being broken down, similar to food being digested. You can facilitate this process by thinking “Neutralize” or “Return to your original state”. 

As the energy goes through this purification process, you should feel it separate into two different “currents”, one heavy and one dense. Like the intestines, we discern the difference between the two, absorbing and converting the heavy energy into refined, healthy energy like we absorb nutrients, while releasing the dense energy like we excrete waste. 

Draw the dense energy through the body, down into your roots and into the earth. It has now been grounded and restored to it’s original state, no longer inflicting harm or adverse effects.

Bring your awareness back to the “mouth” of your solar plexus. Use your will to bring its energy back in and down to a normal state, then close the opening. 

With this technique, we don’t have to feel vulnerable or in need of continuous shielding. On the contrary, we can feel empowered knowing that we have the ability to transmute any energy that we face, converting it into something useful to us and our current needs. This sense of empowerment encourages us to remain open and receptive to surrounding energies so as to transform them for the betterment of ourselves and others, rather than simply protecting ourselves from them. 

By incorporating the energy into us, we acknowledge that we are not separate; in fact, we are all connected. We learn to identify and confront negative energies, rather than shy away in fear. By letting the energy pass through us, we learn that nothing can harm us if we are not attached to it, if we simply experience it and then release it. 

Be aware that transmuting energy can be somewhat difficult, depending on the intensity of the energy we are dealing with. Start small and if you find that transforming energy is overwhelming, cleanse and shield as usual and try again later when you have more strength and personal energy at your disposal. As you develop, this technique should come more easily.