Spellcaster: Seven Ways to Effective Magic
Seven talented magical practitioners have joined together to produce this invaluable guide to the art of spellcrafting. Much more than a do-it-yourself magic manual, this guide to the craft emphasizes the responsibilities and ethical issues that are part of the magical life. \ Spellcaster addresses the theoretical and practical background of magic-exploring how magical energies operate and manifest. The seven essays represent different approaches and traditions-including Wicca, Hermetic...
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Seven talented magical practitioners have joined together to produce this invaluable guide to the art of spellcrafting. Much more than a do-it-yourself magic manual, this guide to the craft emphasizes the responsibilities and ethical issues that are part of the magical life. Spellcaster addresses the theoretical and practical background of magic-exploring how magical energies operate and manifest. The seven essays represent different approaches and traditions-including Wicca, Hermetic Magick, Northern traditions, and freeform Natural Magick. The wisdom collected here is meant to inspire and empower beginners and less experienced magic users, so they may go on to safely and confidently customize their own magical practice.
Song of the Star \ LEAH WHITEHORSE\ When I first began walking the witch’s path I was oblivious to the whys and wherefores of spells. They were something belonging to the dark horror movies of my teenage years, the pages of storybooks and fairy tales.\ Spells were about power, seduction, control, and perfection. Of course I was utterly fascinated, a little scared, and completely clueless. My first\ “proper” spell involved the obligatory unrequited love situation. I found a spell printed in some antiquarian booklet, diligently followed everything by the letter, chanted my chant, and got my man . . . for one night only, after which I was ceremoniously dropped from a great height whilst the Goddess giggled in the background. I came to know this as my first spiritual handslapping.\ The partial success of my crafting inspired me, whereas its demise frustrated and disappointed me. Not only did I feel let down by the poor guy in question, but I felt utterly betrayed by spirit. The success led me to feel that there was something to all this magic stuff; the failure led me to question why.\ Looking back at this situation, I realise that this was the beginning of my journey toward understanding the nature of magic. I pondered what I had done to change the fabric of the universe and bend it to my will. I feared retribution, questioned my motivation and intent, raged at the skies, and cried into my pillow. Somewhere there was an “answer,” and I was determined to find it.\ My dream life has always been vivid, and it was the nature and laws of the dreamscape that would eventually tutor me in the ways of magical practice. Spirits, Guides, and ancient gods populated my dreams from early on, and often my magical inspirations and understandings have been triggered by my nightly wanderings. I experienced lucid dreams as a child, and for a long time I didn’t differentiate between that reality and the one of the waking world, despite being told the difference by others.\ My dreams were simply “my other life,” just as real and meaningful as the everyday world. I quickly learned that I could fly at will and manipulate the scenery to my own design. It was this latter curious ability that really caught my attention, as I had an inkling of recognition that this in some way related to the structure of the waking world. I noticed that sometimes I could dissolve or transform the monsters and demons that haunted me, and other times I could not. I questioned why.\ In my early twenties I began to work with astral projection/out-ofbody experiences triggered by sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. These journeys provided further food for thought from Guides and other entities that dwell in the astral worlds who put up with my childlike endless questioning and occasionally granted me glimpses of the greater pattern.\ What I offer here is my understanding of the process of magic and how it shapes and changes us when we choose to cast spells. I have a firm belief that whatever spiritual path we follow, each step along the way needs to be matched with personal development. By “personal development”\ I mean the process of delving into the far reaches of the mind to understand why we act, think, feel, and respond as we do. The magical path is one that increases and demands self-awareness.\ I have a particular view of reality and ways of working that I wish to share with you. I do not profess to know the truth, for we each hold our own individual truths. Instead I offer what I have learned so far on the journey in the hope that it will facilitate you on your own magical path and inspire you to seek greater meaning as to what magic means to you.\ I rarely perform actual spells nowadays—that is, if you define a spell as using the various tools and paraphernalia available. Yet I live a magical life in which I notice the great web unfolding and changing endlessly with my thoughts. I am in awe of how the universe is constantly in communication with us and how the Goddess hears my whispers on the wind.
Contents Introduction . . . ix Song of the Star . . . 1 LEAH WHITEHORSE Nature and Magic . . . 39 ELEN HAWKE What Is Magick? . . . 67 MARTIN WHITE Occult Philosophy and Magic . . . 95 MARTIN DUFFY The Eightfold Ways of Magic . . . 137 ANNA FRANKLIN Wild Enchantments . . . 167 POPPY PALIN Seeking Magickal Advice . . . 211 MORGANA SIDHERAVEN The Choir Sings . . . 235 THE SPELLWEAVER COLLECTIVE End Word . . . 249 Author Biographies . . . 251 Resources . . . 257
