City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism - Christopher Penczak 2001

Office Spells
Tools of the Trade

Magick done to effect change within your working environment can be done with tools from that environment. You can simply use these spells with your office tools in the privacy of your own home, or, with a simple moment of intent, consecrate and charge these tools before using them in the office. Magick need not be elaborate, nor does it require a ritual circle. It helps, but these office spells remind me of the age-old kitchen spells, in which magick was disguised as cooking and busy-work. The kitchen was the home base of many witches. Now the office is home base for many practitioners. Magick is the little things you do in life to effect change. These acts can all be disguised as mundane work.

Binding Spell

Binding spells should not be entered into lightly. They should only be used when reasonable means of solving the problems are not effective. Use them when someone specifically means to do you harm on any level. If you beat someone out of a promotion fairly, and they now hold a grudge against you, you should not use a binding spell. If they actively undermine your authority, however, or denounce you to your boss and co-workers and generally try to discredit you, then a binding spell is appropriate. Talk to the person first. Talk to your supervisor, if possible. If all else fails, do a binding.

Take the person’s name, or even better, a business card or something else he or she has handled, and put a big black “X” through it, with the intention of blocking and neutralizing any harm. Place it in an envelope. If doing this at home, get some salt and pepper. Charge it for protection. If at work, your office may have a kitchen or cafeteria. Sometimes, condiments are packaged in little paper envelopes, as at a fast-food restaurant. Charge the salt and pepper for protection and place them in the envelope along with the name. Seal it, with the intention of sealing away all harm, roll it up, and tie it with either string or an elastic. Put it in the back of your desk drawer where no one will touch it. As long as it stays sealed, the binding will be in effect and the person will not harm you in any way. As crazy as it sounds, I’ve done all sorts of binding spells and they really do work.

Removing Career Blocks

If you are in the business world or, better yet, in business for yourself, you probably have career goals. These may be based on title, company, pay scale, or job description, but, ultimately, you want to be moving toward the things that make you happy. There are many bumps along the road to career happiness. Many strong personalities and energies vie for their share of satisfaction in the business world. This can create a certain amount of office “static” in the magical worlds. Some feel their prosperity is blocked, often by circumstances of their own making. This spell helps you remove such blocks in general. It can also be individualized to remove specific abstracts. Be sure to do it in a spirit that is correct and for the good of all involved. You can do this inside a circle if you desire, but it’s not necessary. Relax yourself and focus on your intent.

Take your own business card or a stiff piece of cardboard with your name on it and wrap some string around it. Each time you make a full wrap, think about what is blocking you. Once you cannot think of any more obstacles off the top of your head, tie the string in a knot around the card. Take a pair of scissors and cut each loop of the string, breaking that block. Cut every loop, until all blocks and bindings fall off the card. Then take a coin and charge it for prosperity. It can be any coin-a penny, quarter, nickel, or dime-and glue it to the back of the card to bring success and prosperity to you. Let the glue set and keep this charm somewhere safe to do your magick. This little act of folk magick can open a whole new world of possibilities to you.

Perfect-job Spell

Everybody is searching for the ideal job. Everybody needs to make money and be self-sufficient-or even beyond sufficient to comfortable, getting the things they both want and need. At the same time, however, we want something that suits our personalities and is personally fulfilling and meaningful. It’s hard to get all that in one package. Jobs seem to be round holes into which we, with our unique talents and ideals, try to fit as square pegs. To fit the job available, we often have to relinquish our comfortable “squareness,” hiding some of our talents, personality traits, or needs.

Write up a little blurb about yourself, as if you were running a help-available add. List all your qualities and a general statement about what you want to do. Focus on things you want to be doing every day for a living. Be realistic. List qualities you have and your actual qualifications. If you didn’t graduate from high school, don’t try to sell yourself as a Harvard business school graduate. Include your expected pay range and benefits. Then write a statement from a potential employer. Don’t make up or mention a company name. Just describe a position you would like to become available. Make the description match your own qualifications and desired position, including pay range, location, and any other details important to you. Get a newspaper classified section. Glue in both your ads, separately, adding them wherever they fit in this section. Type them out to make them look more “official” than handwriting.

Cast a magick circle, with the newspaper by your side. Invoke any of your patrons or totems who may help you in this endeavor. Then draw a circle in black pen or marker around each of your mock listings and draw a line connecting them. The line can cut across other ads, or gently follow the lines between them. Choose the path that feels right to you, literally. This is your new perfect-job symbol. Visualize it in your mind’s eye, as you focus on connecting yourself and your talents to the job of your dreams, still staying in the realm of reality. At the end of the ceremony, burn the newspaper, releasing your intent. A few days later, look in the local listings and call your contacts to find the right job coming toward you.