Hex Your Ex: And 100+ Other Spells to Right Wrongs and Banish Bad Luck for Good - Adams Media 2019

How to Make Magick Work for You

No matter how much we plan, things tend to go south every once in a while: a pickpocket lifts your wallet on the subway; you accidentally hurt your friend’s feelings; you catch your partner flirting with someone else. These things happen when you least expect it, through no fault of your own. But you can take charge of how you react to those situations . . . and take steps to help prevent or change them. The solution?

Magick!

Maybe you’re skeptical. If you didn’t believe (at least a little!), you wouldn’t be here, reading this book. Maybe you’re ready to get to know the world of magick and don’t know where to start. You’re in the right place. Or maybe you’re just wondering, what’s this magick stuff all about anyway? And more important, can it really help me? The answer is yes.

WHAT IS MAGICK, ANYWAY?

Magick is the act of consciously creating circumstances using methods that defy scientific logic. Whenever you form an objective in your mind, then fuel it with willpower, you’re doing magick. You may not realize it yet, but you’re already a practitioner! You’ve already done lots of spells without even knowing it. Now you’re going to learn how to cast spells purposefully, to turn your luck around. All it takes is desire, a little training, and practice. Once you discover the secret, you’ll be able to write your own destiny.

Once you’ve mastered a few basic techniques, you’ll be able to cast spells for just about anything. In the following chapters, you’ll find guidelines for all kinds of conjuring, plus more than one hundred good spells to fix (or, even better, prevent!) everyday mistakes and mishaps.

FOCUS YOUR WILLPOWER

The most important ingredient in any spell isn’t the words or the location or even the materials you use—it’s your will. When you do magick, you literally will something into being. Willpower is the energy that generates results—without it, a spell just sits there.

In magickal terms, “will” is a combination of intention, desire, and focus, and your spell’s success depends on all three factors. In order for your spell to be successful, you must have a very clear picture of what you wish to accomplish; you must be passionate about achieving that objective; and you must direct energy toward the goal until you succeed. So, before you begin a spell, you should ask yourself three questions: Is your intention clear? Do you really, really want it? Can you stay focused on your goal? If you’re fuzzy about what you really want, the outcome will be muddled or unsatisfactory. If you aren’t passionate about your intention, you’ll get lukewarm results. If you let your focus wander, it will take a lot longer to reach your goal.

In essence, here’s what happens when you perform magick. Everything in the universe is composed of energy, including you. When energy particles interact, a reaction occurs. Quantum physics has demonstrated that if an observer focuses attention on energy particles, it affects their movement. When you do a magick spell, your energy influences the energy around you; your will directs the reaction to manifest the result you desire.

BELIEVE IN YOUR SPELLS . . . AND YOURSELF

The second most important part of spellworking is believing in yourself and your own power. If a witch doesn’t believe a spell will work, it probably won’t. Doubt can ruin a perfectly executed spell faster than mosquitoes can ruin a cookout. But if you have confidence in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals, anything is possible.

As you grow more adept at doing magick, your thoughts will gain power. Your intentions will materialize more quickly and accurately, so it will become increasingly important to control your thoughts and your beliefs. A witch never puts her mind on something she doesn’t want to materialize. Any time you catch doubt creeping in the back door of your consciousness, stop yourself, cross out the negative thought, and replace it with a positive one.

SO WHAT KIND OF MAGICK WORKS FOR ME?

Witches and wizards, shamans and sorcerers. Whose magick is best? In the world of magick, nobody has the market cornered. If done properly, all magick works. It all stems from the same source and operates according to the same principles. Only the tools and methods differ.

For instance, Wiccans, witches, and other pagans often bring nature into their magickal workings. They time their rituals in accordance with nature’s cycles and may include herbs, crystals, shells, and other natural ingredients in their spells. Their magick draws upon the forces of heaven and earth, as well as their own personal power, to create outcomes.

Ritual magicians (also called ceremonial or “high” magicians) engage in more intricate and formalized rituals, as their name implies. Many of their concepts are based on the teachings of the mystery schools in ancient Egypt and the Middle East. The Hebrew Kabbalah and the doctrines of Hermes Trismegistus play an important role in this type of magick, along with astrology, alchemy, and the tarot.

Shamans are adept at moving between the various worlds of existence, and can interact with beings who reside in the nonphysical realms. They journey to other worlds—in dreams or trance states, sometimes with the aid of spirit animals and guardians—to gain wisdom for healing, guidance, or protection.

These are just a few of the many magickal traditions that exist throughout the world. You may want to study more about magick’s many faces and forms to determine which suits you best. Each has its own unique style, but you don’t have to stick to just one. Take what you like and leave the rest. Most of the spells in this book are of the Celtic Wiccan/pagan variety, with a little shamanism, feng shui, and other stuff blended in.

THE RIGHT WAY VS. THE WRONG WAY

As you may have guessed, not all magick is good, and there are right and wrong ways to do it. In either case, unless you follow some fundamental procedures, you won’t get the result you desire. Moreover, if you don’t implement a few safety measures, you could endanger yourself or others.

Different schools of magick use different tools and techniques to generate outcomes. They may also subscribe to different codes of ethics. Generally speaking, however, most witches observe one basic rule: do no harm. Most also agree with the old saying “what goes around comes around.”

Magick is not a game. Even the “k” is added to distinguish the real thing from card tricks and stage illusion. It can certainly be fun—just remember to respect its power.

WHITE, BLACK, AND GRAY MAGICK

You may have heard of white witches, meaning they uphold the “do no harm” rule. But the truth is, most magick isn’t black or white, it’s gray—including the magick most self-proclaimed white witches perform. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact, all the spells in this book fall into the gray area. Just so we understand each other, let’s define these three grades of magick:

BLACK MAGICK: anything done to harm or manipulate another person or to interfere with his or her free will is black magick.

WHITE MAGICK: white magick’s purpose is to further spiritual growth, by strengthening your connection with the Divine realm and/or gaining wisdom from a higher source.

GRAY MAGICK: everything else.

This means if you do a spell to get a better job or to attract a date, you’re operating in the gray zone. Nothing wrong with that! But watch out, because it’s easy to inadvertently cast a questionable spell—especially when you’re having a bad day. Let’s say your roommate is driving you crazy and you do a spell to get even with her for a dirty deed. Your revenge may seem justifiable, but it’s still black magick.

Here’s another little-known fact: most black magick isn’t performed by evil sorcerers or wicked wizards—it’s done by ordinary people who don’t even realize what they’re up to. Have you ever cursed some jerk for stealing your parking space or cutting ahead of you in a long line? That’s black magick too.

One more fact: magick is all in your mind. As we discussed earlier in this chapter, magick involves forming an intention in your mind, then fueling it with energy and emotion. So if you wish for something hurtful to happen and invest that wish with angry emotions, you’re doing black magick whether or not you enact a formal spellcasting ritual.

Maybe you’re wondering why not to use magick to put someone who’s wronged you in his place. It’s tempting, for sure. Except that in the world of magick, whatever you do returns to you like a boomerang. That’s a good reason for keeping your thoughts focused on positive stuff. It’s also why usually the best way to get what you want—especially on days when everything seems to be going wrong—is to bless instead of curse.

FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT

Admittedly, it can be hard sometimes to determine if you’re treading on the dark side of Magick Street. For many people, love spells seem to raise the most questions. What if you want to do a spell to get your yoga instructor to fall for you? Is that okay? It all depends on your intention. If he already has a partner and your goal is to steal him away, obviously that’s not a good idea. But if he’s single it’s okay to use magick to get him to notice you, and later in this book you’ll find a spell for that very purpose.

Good spells respect other people’s free will and right to make their own choices in life. Even if your yoga teacher isn’t romantically involved with anybody else, it’s manipulative to cast a spell to coerce him into doing something he wouldn’t want to do otherwise. How would you feel if someone did that to you?

There’s another reason, too, to think carefully before casting a spell to win a person’s heart. A well-executed spell creates a strong bond between you. Later on, if you change your mind, breaking the bond could be tough, to say the least.

Instead, look for another angle to accomplish your goal. You could magickally enhance your own attractiveness. You could do magick to remove any obstacles existing between you and the other person. You could do a spell to attract a partner who’s right for you, rather than targeting a particular individual. Or you could turn the final decision over to a higher power by ending your spell with the words: “This is done in harmony with Divine Will, our own true wills, and for the benefit of all concerned.” Witches often complete spells with a qualifying phrase like this to ensure their actions will produce positive results. No one can foresee all the surrounding circumstances, future possibilities, and karmic conditions involved in a situation. Maybe you and your yoga teacher would live happily ever after together. But maybe you’d be better off with somebody else—maybe someone you haven’t even met yet. If your intention is that your spell will manifest “for the good of all, harming none,” you’re in the clear.

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU’LL GET

When doing magick, it’s important to know what you actually want and what achieving your goals looks like to you. Before you can attract money, a job, or a significant other, you must create a mental image of what you intend to manifest. If you’re unsure of your goal before you start, what you get may not be what you want.

Magick spells utilize both the conscious and the subconscious parts of your mind, aligning them so they work together in tandem. Whether you realize it or not, your subconscious is always busy influencing your everyday activities, decisions, and interactions with other people—sometimes in ways that conflict with your conscious plans. If the conscious and subconscious aren’t on the same page, the result will not be what you were hoping for.

In magick, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Witches often use a technique called “creative visualization” by which the conscious mind formulates a precise mental picture of the end result you wish to manifest. This picture shows the subconscious what you want it to help bring about. In the next chapter, you’ll learn to design effective visualizations. You’ll also explore ways to incorporate imagery into your spells—because what you see is what you’ll get.

A WORD OF CAUTION

Abracadabra. The word is synonymous with magick. It comes from the Aramaic Avarah K’Davarah meaning “I will create as I speak.” When you speak, your words vibrate through the space around you and subtly affect everything they touch.

Like images, words influence the subconscious and direct it to fulfill your intentions. In order to get the results you desire, however, you have to ask in the right way. When you’re formulating magick spells, you must state exactly what you wish to achieve, in precise, uncomplicated terms. Otherwise the outcome might not be what you’d hoped for. Your subconscious hears everything you say, and interprets your words in a rather simplistic, linear way. So if you say, “I’m too fat,” or, “I couldn’t do that in a million years,” your subconscious will strive to make your words come true. Conversely, you can use positive statements to magickally create positive results.

Start paying attention to what you say and how you say it. In the next chapter, you’ll learn several techniques for incorporating words into magick spells and rituals. Later in this book you’ll find lots of spells that utilize words to shape and empower your intentions.

MAKE A MAGICK CIRCLE

If you wanted to keep your dog in your yard and keep other dogs out, you’d put up a fence. When you’re doing spells, you contain magickal energy and prevent outside interferences from getting in by erecting a magick “fence” known as a circle. Circle-casting techniques range from very simple to elegant. The quick and easy method is to just envision a circle of white light surrounding you and the area where you’ll perform your spell. Some people like to draw a circle on the ground with flour, chalk, or another temporary medium. Others arrange candles or crystals in a circle around the perimeter of the magick space. It’s really up to you which method you decide to use, and you don’t always have to use the same one. However, casting a circle the right way involves a few basic steps.

1. Clear the space of any unwanted energies. The simplest way to do this is with a broom—sweep the air as well as the floor. As you sweep, say aloud: “This space is now cleared of all harmful, disruptive, and unwanted energies.”

2. Light a stick of sage or a bundled sage wand and allow the fragrant smoke to waft through the area to purify it.

3. Bring everything you’ll need for the spell into the area around which you’ll cast the circle.

4. Position yourself so that when you’ve completed the circle you’ll be inside it.

5. Start at the east and move in a clockwise direction until you’ve completed the circle and returned to the east. If you’re lighting candles, for instance, light the easternmost candle first and continue working clockwise until they’re all burning. If you’re using a magick wand to draw the circle, begin by aiming the wand toward the east and turn in a clockwise direction, holding the wand straight out horizontal to the earth, until you’ve gone 360 degrees around.

6. Once the circle has been cast, don’t leave it until you’ve finished your spell.

7. When you’re finished doing the spell, open the circle. Go back to the east and move in a counterclockwise direction, reversing your earlier steps. Extinguish the candles one by one, erase the chalk line, douse the burning sage, and so forth. This allows your magick to flow out into the universe and take effect.

WHO’S IN YOUR MAGICKAL SQUAD?

Most witches believe we aren’t alone in this universe—we share it with myriad nonphysical beings, including lots of good guys who are willing to help us. They guide, protect, and aid us in our daily lives. When things go wrong, we can call on them for assistance.

Some people envision these divine helpers as angels. Others prefer to think of them as sages, guardians, or parts of their own higher consciousness. Native Americans often look to revered ancestors and spirit animals for guidance. Pagans frequently request help from various gods and goddesses. Faeries and nature spirits, elementals, and extraterrestrials might also bring you benefits. However you choose to view these entities, they can be tremendous assets in magickal work—indeed, they could be essential to a spell’s success.

When working with spirit helpers, certain rules of etiquette apply:

SHOW RESPECT—treat spirit helpers as honored teachers and allies, not servants.

ASK FOR ASSISTANCE—guides, guardians, and deities recognize your free will and might not intervene unless you invite them to do so.

DON’T TRY TO MICROMANAGE—if you seek aid from spirit beings, turn over the reins and allow them to carry out your request as they see fit.

DON’T SEEK HELP TO DO HARM—although there are some evil entities out there, you don’t want to join forces with them, and the good spirits won’t get behind a bad cause.

EXPRESS GRATITUDE—remember to thank the beings who assist you, and perhaps give them an offering.

KEEP GOOD RECORDS

Witches often write down their spells in what’s called a grimoire, or book of shadows. This record describes in detail what ingredients were used, what actions or procedures were implemented, for whom the spells were performed, and what results occurred. Remember to date each entry too.

It’s not usually a good idea to show anyone else what you’ve written in your book of spells. Stash your grimoire in a safe place or write in code to keep your secrets safe.

Keeping track of your spells allows you to see what turned out well and, if necessary, what you want to tweak a bit. You’ll probably decide to repeat a successful spell again and again, like a favorite recipe, so don’t risk forgetting what went into it.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Like anything, magick requires practice to perfect. Training your mind takes time—it can be harder to build mental muscles than physical ones. Don’t give up if your efforts don’t produce immediate results. Keep trying and see mistakes as learning opportunities.

Here are a few tips that can help you develop your magickal skills and power:

USE YOUR SENSES—burn incense, listen to soothing music, and so on.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR INTUITION—hunches, epiphanies, vivid dreams, serendipitous experiences, and so on will increase in frequency as you start opening up to them.

KEEP YOUR GRIMOIRE UP-TO-DATE—keeping track of your successes and failures will help you remember what to do—or what not to do—next time you try a spell.

ELIMINATE AS MANY DISTRACTIONS AS POSSIBLE—turn off the TV, radio, computer, and phone when doing magick. Try to work when you know you won’t get interrupted or sidetracked.

EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF MAGICK—some may appeal to you more than others. Gardeners usually enjoy herbal magick; artists excel at visual spells.

WORK WHEN YOUR ENERGY IS HIGH—some of us are morning people, others are night owls. Do magick when you feel strong and alert, not when you’re stressed out, tired, sad, or ill.

READ OTHER BOOKS—and if possible, talk to other practitioners. Exposing yourself to a variety of ideas will help you determine what’s best for you.