Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi - Michael M. Hughes 2018

Black Lives Matter: Spell for Justice for a Victim of a Police Action
The Magical Activist’s Spellbook

The following spells have been created to be easy to follow and understand, and they utilize common or readily acquired components. That does not mean they are “beginner” magic or in any way “dumbed down.” This is the real deal. Approach these spells with respect and perform them responsibly.

With minor modifications, all of them can plug into a wide variety of traditions, so adjust and tweak accordingly.

As you read and work with the spells in this book, you will begin to see the patterns that make up a larger set of practices I have developed, through trial and error, over the course of twenty-five years. By practicing the following rituals, you will be well on your way to understanding and mastering the larger system. The spells here can, and should, be used as a foundation to create your own workings.

In recent years, a divide has grown between magicians who emphasize a personal energy model of magic and those who adhere to a spirit-based system. I find that split, like many divisive arguments in the magical community, to be silly and counterproductive. Both models work, so I use both.

This is a spell for justice in what has become an increasingly common situation—when an African American is the victim of an unjust, extrajudicial killing by a police officer. I watched as my home city, Baltimore, was torn asunder after the death of Freddie Gray in the back of a Baltimore City Police van. None of the officers were charged with a crime, which is also all too common in these cases.

I’m tired of innocent black men, women, and children dying without any consequences.

In this spell the power of the color black is invoked to represent the energy of the African American resistance in the United States, going back to the uprisings of enslaved Africans.

This is a powerful working that calls upon the severity of the sword of Justice and should not be employed lightly or indiscriminately, but only when it is overwhelmingly clear that the attacker(s) killed someone without justification.

The ideal time is during the waning or new moon.

Components

Black candle

Hyssop Oil or Power Oil (see pages 143—144)

Pin or nail to inscribe candle

Justice tarot card (you will need to give up this card for the spell, so if you can’t afford to buy a new deck, use a printout instead)

Images of slain African American activists: MLK, Medgar Evers, Fred Hampton, Malcolm X, etc.

Images of the police officer or small square of paper with their name written on it

Arrange the images of the slain civil rights leaders around your altar. They will be the audience for your working.

Inscribe the candle with the name of the victim while keeping the victim in mind and saying a prayer for them. Anoint (dress) the candle with oil.

Print the photo or write the name of the assailant on a piece of paper. Write JUSTICE across their photo or name twice, in the shape of an X.

Place the image (or paper with name) of the perpetrator facedown on a fireproof surface on your altar. Place the Justice card on top of it, faceup. Then place the candle on top of the Justice card.

Do the Centering Ritual.

Light the candle.

As you look upon the faces of the slain black activists, say,

I call upon the honorable spirits of those who died in the great struggle for civil rights. May you be with me as I work for justice for the soul of (victim’s name).

As this candle burns down, just as the spirit left (name of victim)’s body, may it bring the full force of Justice, by all means necessary, down upon (name of perpetrator). May the soul of the unjustly murdered (name of victim) find peace, and may the guilty be tormented by the cries of the spirits of the unjustly slain until they atone for their wickedness. Amen, selah, so mote it be.

Burn the candle daily for as long as it takes to melt it down to a stub. If wax drips on the tarot card, so much the better.

When the candle has fully melted, take all the components and leave them on the steps or grounds of a courthouse (ideal), jail, or detention center or bury them away from your home near a crossroads or in a place with little human traffic.

As with all spells in which components are left in a public place (which should only be done when magically and symbolically significant), please balance the act by collecting and disposing three times the mass of your leavings of litter nearby or elsewhere.

Extra Credit

Donate time or money to a victims’ rights organization, a victim’s family, or to support families of slain police officers.