The Real Witches’ Craft: Magical Techniques and Guidance for a Full Year of Practising the Craft

Whenever you experience a strong feeling which is inappropriate to the setting you are in, make a point of invoking and banishing each of the four Elements. After you have done this, also take a moment to thank the Goddess and the God for their help. As with the other exercises, write this up as soon as you can.

It is important to remember to use this technique at the right time. You do not need to suppress feelings which are appropriate to the problem and in the appropriate setting. For example, if you are short-changed in a shop then it is right to point this out and to summon the manager if you do not get satisfaction. But if you feel that this is the ‘last straw’ in a day full of niggling aggravations, it is not right to berate the assistant as your first action. Use the balancing before making your point, whatever it be, calmly and sensibly, rather than explosively. Don’t use it to suppress perfectly reasonable comments.

In some Covens knowledge of the Elements is taken very seriously and new members are set specific ‘tests of the Elements’ as a part of their early training. These can involve such things as visiting an underground cave and having the lights turned out, to gain a better appreciation of the sensation of Earth. Or total immersion in the sea for Water. In other groups, individuals are encouraged to set themselves their own ‘tests’ and to report back on what they did and how they reacted. Certainly, it is worth taking any opportunity to increase your understanding of the Elements. Some of the more ‘extreme’ ways include: taking a hot air balloon ride; attending a well-organized fire walking and have a go; taking an underwater swimming class; and getting a trusted friend to cover you up to the neck in a layer of pebbles on a stony beach. Of course, you can also think up your own. If, like many, you have a concern or fear about any particular Element, you will also find that is the experience you will gain most from. Having said that, please do observe safety considerations and don’t take unnecessary risks.

Having worked through the above exercises you may want to work the Elemental Ritual near the end of this chapter. Of course, you could also work this Ritual at any full Moon, but it will be more effective if you have done the preparatory work. It gives you the opportunity to gain a greater experience of one of the four Elements and, if you haven’t done so before, to create the Sacred Space. You can also revisit later to work with each of the other Elements. It can be worked by one person on their own, or by several people together if you prefer. It centres on contacting one of the kinds of Elemental being.

The Elemental Beings, or Elementals, are the ‘life-forms’, or creatures, made directly of the Elements. Sylphs are the creatures of the Air. Salamanders are those of Fire. Undines are the creatures of Water, and Gnomes the creatures of Earth. Try not to confuse these with their fairy-tale counterparts who are often depicted as being cute beings akin to the fairies of childhood. Remember that they are not only made of their representative Elements but that they are capable of being the extremes of those Elements. They should not be invoked casually, but should be treated with respect and should always be thanked, whether or not you feel you succeeded.

To try to contact any of the Elemental beings you need to create the right environment for their presence. Burning an appropriate incense can also help to attract them. In each case it is a good idea to spend a short amount of time focusing all your thoughts on the Element in question, and perhaps to review your notes on some of the preceding exercises so that you can immerse your mind in thoughts of the Element. Then, when you are truly ready to concentrate, you will be set to try to detect the Elemental in question.

Sylphs are the beings of the Air. They are light and are in fact around us all the time, however their presence can usually only be detected in smoke or mist, as it is their moving of the medium which is observed rather than their actual forms. When the smoke from incense moves without a draft or other movement in the room, this is the action of Sylphs. They are most easily attracted to light scents such as Jasmine and Lavender, and to the scents of seasonal flowers. As they dance and play in the winds, your invocation is more likely to succeed on a day when there is only the lightest of breezes, and they prefer an atmosphere which is warm and moist.

Salamanders are the beings of Fire. They can be seen dancing in the flames of a candle or a fire. If you have an open fire then there will almost certainly be salamanders there. They can be attracted to the flame of a red candle, and when the air is completely still you can see them move the flame. They require conditions which are hot and dry. It can also help to burn incense of rose or lotus. Note that these Salamanders are not the same as the lizards of the same name!

Undines are the beings of Water, and are present in all natural waters: rain, streams, rivers and the sea. They prefer water which is moving but can be attracted to still water, so long as it is cold, as they need conditions which are cold and wet. To invoke them, you will need to collect a bucket full of water from a natural source, and to use it within 24 hrs before it loses its ‘life’. Use incense of sandalwood or cedar wood. After your invocation, gently place your hand deep into the water and, if you are fortunate, you will feel the Undines moving in the water around your fingers.

Gnomes, the beings of Earth, are found in all forms of earth. They are the beings which gave rise to the myths of Gnomes in fairy stories, but unlike any description you will have come across before. They are so slow moving that they are almost beyond the reach of

our senses. Probably the best way to come into contact with them is by lying full length on the earth and feeling for their presence with your mind. Place a few drops of musk or patchouli oil onto the ground to encourage them to make themselves known. If you intend to work indoors, then immerse your hands into a large bowl or tray of freshly gathered earth. Gnomes prefer conditions which are cold and dry and are often easier to detect when the earth is cool; winter or early morning.

ABOUT RITUALS

Do not be put off by the term Ritual. A Ritual is simply a series of Rites, or actions, brought together to make a whole. The central part of a Craft Ritual is usually a spell or spells. Rituals are not necessarily performed by groups of people; they are often performed by Solitary Witches. The usual complete format of a Ritual is as follows:

Prepare the area – that is clearing a space large enough for what you intend to do. If you are on your own and do not need a lot of equipment you will only need enough space to stand, kneel or sit, without falling over things!

Set the Altar – which simply means gathering together in one place everything you will need. Again, if you are on your own you may only need space for a candle, or some incense. Of course, occasionally you may need space for more. At times, an ‘Altar’ may even be a designated area on the ground or the floor. It is simply a question of having somewhere where everything is together, making it easier to avoid losing, or tripping over things.

Invoke the Elements – which, as you have practised above, becomes quicker and easier the more experience you have.

Invite the Goddess and the God – we will work on this later in the book, but for now I will introduce a very simple form of this.

Cast the Circle – if the purpose of the Ritual involves raising energy and directing it to make a spell work, then a proper Circle is needed, but as this Ritual is intended for personal development you do not yet need a formal Circle.

Raising the energy for a spell – which I will go into in more detail later.

Performing the spell or other purpose.

Grounding or earthing – which is sometimes performed by the Rite of Wine and Cakes and at others is simply having something to eat and drink after tidying up.

Dismissing the Quarters – as you have read above.

Thanking the Goddess and the God.

Taking down the Circle – only if it was required.

Tidying up – which is simply putting things away.

This may all seem quite complex, but is in fact very straightforward. Whilst in a Coven the process may be quite formal, a person on their own can do most of this in their mind using the skills developed in this book. As this is the first Ritual in this book I am going to use the slightly more formal way of calling the Elements, but if you are practised you can do this in your mind.

THE ELEMENTAL RITUAL

First, select which of the four Elemental forms you would like to experience. Then get, or create, the medium which they inhabit; incense for Sylphs, flame for Salamanders, water for Undines and earth for Gnomes. If you wish you can also light incense of the scent they prefer and a candle of the appropriate colour; yellow for Sylphs, red for Salamanders, blue for Undines or green for Gnomes. Please ensure that any candles and incense are in secure fire-proof holders and cannot set anything alight. Have to hand your magical journal or Book of Shadows. You will also need some matches. Place these together on the surface you have designated as your Altar area. Spend a little time reviewing your experiences with this particular Element and its associations, and in considering what you hope to achieve with your Ritual. Also consider your personal state of mind: are you personally in balance, and if not where does the imbalance lie? Address this using the techniques above.

Select a time when you are not likely to be disturbed or interrupted. Turn off the ringer on the phone, or put it out of hearing. Ensure pets are settled, and so on. When you are sure you are ready to begin, start by creating the Sacred Space as mentioned earlier.

Invoke the Elements:

Standing in the East, and facing that direction, call on the Element of Air saying:

‘I call upon the Element of Air, to join with me here in this Circle.’ When you can actually feel the presence of Air, say:

‘Blessed Be.’

Then call Fire in the South, Water in the West, and Earth in the North.

Next invite the Goddess and the God:

Still facing the North, close your eyes, visualize the Goddess and the God and say:

‘Gracious Goddess, Mighty God, I call upon you to guide me, guard me and protect me in these my Rites. Blessed Be.’

Then cast the Circle:

Lastly, move to the North-East of the Circle and with the forefinger of your strong hand draw a circle in the air around the outer boundary of the Circle. As you do so, visualize an electric blue light creating a circle which becomes a sphere containing the whole circle, and say:

‘I do cast this Circle as a place of containment and protection. A place between the worlds and a time outside of time.’

Make sure that you overlap the start and finish points of the circle and then say:

‘Blessed Be.’

Remember to move Deosil at all times.

Light the incense and candle if you choose to have them. Sit or kneel before the Elemental’s medium and gaze into it. Focus your mind on the Element and invite the appropriate Elemental to come to it, by reciting three times the appropriate invitation from the ones below:

‘Gracious Sylphs, beings of the Air, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of incense, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

‘Mighty Salamanders, beings of the flame, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of fire, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

‘Elegant Undines, beings of the Water, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of natural water, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

‘Noble Gnomes, beings of the Earth, I call upon you. I freely give this offering of living earth, that, if it please you, you will come forth and let me know of your presence. Blessed Be.’

Continue to look at and focus on the Element in question. With your mind, consider all its aspects – what it is like at its gentlest and fiercest, the effects it has on the land, plants, and in your life. Include all its associations or correspondences. Recall all of your experiences of working with it. Continue doing this until you perceive an Elemental is present. When this happens, try to clear your mind of all conscious thoughts and simply focus on the Elemental. Try not to force your thoughts, but rather relax and allow your senses to ‘observe’. You may find thoughts, sensations or even images coming to you; do not attempt to analyse these at the time, but try to remember them for later. When the Elemental departs, or you can no longer hold your attention, thank them. You should give your thanks whether you thought they were there or not, as they may be present without showing themselves.

‘Gracious Sylphs, beings of the Air, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of the skies and the winds. Blessed Be.’

‘Mighty Salamanders, beings of the Fire, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of Sun and flame. Blessed Be.’

‘Elegant Undines, beings of the Water, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of water and the oceans. Blessed Be.’

‘Noble Gnomes, beings of the Earth, I thank you. May you depart in peace to your realm of the rocks and the soil. Blessed Be.’

Before removing the Sacred Space make notes on any thoughts, feelings or impressions you felt. Also include your thoughts on them.

Dismiss the Elements:

Standing in the East, and facing that direction, call on the Element of Air, saying:

‘I give thanks to the Element of Air, for joining with me here in the Circle. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’

Repeat in the South for Fire, West for Water and North for Earth.

Next thank the Goddess and the God:

Still facing the North, close your eyes, and say:

‘I give thanks to the Goddess and the God for being present here with me in these my Rites. Hale and farewell. Blessed Be.’

‘Then remove the Circle:

Move to the North-East of the Circle and with the forefinger of your strong hand draw a circle in the air around the outer boundary of the Circle. This time visualize the electric blue sphere fading and dissipating, and say:

‘I remove this Circle and return this place as it was before.’

Make sure that you overlap the start and finish points of the Circle and then say:

‘Blessed Be.’

Wait a further five minutes before extinguishing incense or flame, or before disposing of water or earth, so that the Elemental(s) may leave at their own pace. Water or earth should be returned to the land sensitively, not just dumped. During this time it is a good idea to have something to eat and drink, even if it is only a glass of water and a biscuit, to ground yourself. Magical work of any kind brings that part of you which operates on the psychic plane to the fore, and you need to redress this before returning to dealing with the material realm. After all, you wouldn’t want to be driving on the same road as someone who was partly in a trance!

When you feel you would like to repeat this Ritual for the other Elementals, remember to only try to contact one form in any one Ritual, and one Ritual in any one day. Remember, practice of the Craft should enhance your life, not take it over.

As I mentioned earlier, knowledge of the Elements is essential to the practice of the Craft and to making spells and magic work. Furthermore, the invocation of the Elements when making the Sacred Space is a key part of this, for it draws their energies from both within and without. With a little practice you will not need to do this in as formal a way as here, as you will be able to invoke and banish using visualization only. But it is a good idea to be able to use either technique. Having said that, there is no reason why you should need to speak the above invocations out loud, you can say the words in your head if you prefer.

THE ELEMENTS AND THE WEATHER

Whilst the Elements we refer to are not the same as the weather, they are associated with each other in many people’s minds. Sometimes the term ‘the Elements’ is used to mean or describe the weather. Certainly, one of the expected, and very useful, skills of the Witch is the ability to predict and even to change weather conditions. From the perspective of the Craft it is not necessary to do either of these on a large scale; we are usually only interested in what affects a small local area and for a short period. It is one thing to ensure you have a dry period for an outdoor event, but we do not want to intervene in the weather to the extent that we upset nature’s own balance. Like many other forms of magic, it is also as well to be aware that changes are possible, but not miracles. Whilst you may be able to achieve a warmish day in winter, there is no point in seeking a heatwave!

The first step towards working with the weather lies in understanding it. To do this it is helpful to observe it carefully. Not just whether it is raining or not, but by looking at the direction and strength of the wind, and the shapes of the clouds. Use your other senses too; quite often you will find that there is a smell similar to moist earth just before rain comes, or that the air tastes different before snow, and so on. Personally, I also find that my nose becomes very cold when rain is on the way! Look, too, at other indicators: quite often animals and small children behave in different ways before a change of weather. If you live in the country you will probably be aware that livestock tend to lie down before rain, and huddle together when it is going to get colder. Certainly, children become more excitable and restless before the wind picks up, as any observant parent or teacher can tell you. Practise looking at the sky and the signs regularly and you may save yourself getting caught out by sudden changes in weather.

Once you are attuned to the weather and the seasons then you can consider working magic to make change when you truly need to.

Weather Workings

Most people are familiar with the children’s chant ‘Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.’ Or its variant, ‘Rain, rain, go away, come again by night not day.’ Both of these can be worked as spells, so long as they are performed with balance, focus and intent.

To perform them effectively, as with all spells, invoke the Elements and call upon the Goddess and the God. Say either of the spells three times, whilst actually being outdoors in the rain. Remember to dismiss the Elements and thank the Goddess and the God afterwards, and expect results to be soon but not necessarily immediate.

A similar spell goes, ‘The clouds are sheep, the wind their shepherd. Shepherd, take your sheep away.’ This is intended to remove both clouds and rain.

To raise a wind, perhaps to dry washing, stand with your back to whatever air movement there is, and blow three times whilst focusing on a gentle increase in wind.

‘Delayed magic’ can also be worked. It used to be common, but is now much less so, for sailors to ‘buy the wind’ from a Witch. The Witch would tie three knots in a cord, which the sailor could untie at need. The first is for a breeze, the second for a wind and the third for a strong wind. In this case, the Witch would have used magic to visualize and tie each form of wind into the cord, so that it could be later released.

Every Coven I know of has its own weather worker, usually the person who shows most natural skill at this kind of magic. It is their task to try to ensure that conditions are as good as possible when outdoor rituals are intended. This form of ‘in advance’ magic is worked keeping in mind the seasonal norm, for instance, if it is winter then the spell is worked to make the Ritual site a little warmer and drier than might be expected. The worker will visit the site in good weather, then when they need to work the magic they will use all their experiences of that visit to create a spell which comes as close as possible to the preferred weather. This is not to say that Witches avoid the cold or wet, for we are nature based, but some places can be unsafe if it is particularly inclement. Likewise, there are some events which can be nearly intolerable if it is too hot; I have tried to do a dance and chant workshop in brilliant sunshine, but I’d rather not!

However, knowledge and understanding of the Elements is simply the first step towards working effective magic, so I’d like to move on to some of the other steps.

Chapter Two

CREATING THE POWER TO MAKE MAGIC

Magic doesn’t just happen because you say the ‘right’ words or go through the ‘right’ movements. Nor is it cookery; simply putting the ‘ingredients’ together to get a result. There is more to the practice of effective magic than simply assembling the ‘right’ tools, equipment, candles and crystals and saying the ‘right’ words. For spells and magic to work they have to have energy, which is also needed to focus and send the magic to its intended destination. Much of this energy comes from the person working the magic, which is why magical working is usually quite tiring. Indeed, if you are not tired after working magic, then you are probably not putting enough of yourself into it.

The energy used in magical working comes from outside as well as from within. It is in part the energy of the Elements, which we discussed in the first chapter. But it is also that of the Goddess and the God who we call upon when we create the Sacred Space. But most of all, it is our own personal energy which can be harnessed and directed. This is often referred to as magical power, and the techniques to access it are called raising power. However, it is important to realize that we are not talking about power, or control, over others, but control of ourselves to create power for use in magical working.