The Moon will be Full this afternoon at 2:40 EDT. As usual, I turn to my favorite resource, Cafe Astrology, to learn what to expect:

On Friday afternoon, the Full Moon occurs when the Sun in Aries opposes the Moon in Libra. The Full Moon is a time of culmination and the promise of fulfillment of that which was started at the New Moon. It is an emotional time—a time of romance, fertilization, and relationships.

The Aries-Libra polarity is a relationship axis, where Aries represents "self" and Libra represents "other". Where Aries is about self-assertion, Libra is about compromise. The energy of the Libra Moon is the awareness of the need for relationships and all that comes with maintaining them--compromising, negotiating, graciousness, and balancing. The Aries Sun, on the other hand, is self-assertive, leading, and personally courageous. This Full Moon urges us to strike a balance between meeting our personal needs and tending to the needs of a significant other, and between independence or autonomy and dependence or companionability.

The Libra Moon is diplomatic, equality-minded, and fair-minded. The Aries Sun, however, values authenticity over tact, and is energized by independent efforts. The Full Moon illuminates this conflict.

With the Moon full and bright in the sky, symbolic "illumination" occurs in our own lives. However, these new feelings and revelations are emotional ones, as emotions burst forth into our consciousness. It's time to express ourselves, and to let things out of our systems. Of course, we might want to exercise some care while doing so, knowing that what is coming out of us is new and not particularly rational as yet. Full Moons are about exposing or illuminating issues that are already there, but that have not yet been dealt with.

At the risk of sounding like a sappy romantic, I really believe that this Full Moon is going to be all about manifesting love, whether it's finding a new love or supporting the one you have.

For one thing, we just experienced Ostara. Remember that part of preparing for Ostara is about clearing out the old to make room for the new? So many women I know have ended relationships recently and made lots of changes in their lives, including lots of haircuts just like mine (I explain the significance of that in my post Cut the Crap). I wondered what was going on that could be influencing so many people in a similar way, and now I think I'm getting my answer. There's such a confluence of magickal energy that it would be difficult not to come to the conclusion that the universe has been preparing us to be able to use the energy of this Full Moon to fill the space we've worked so hard to create. It's Spring and we, embodying the Maiden Goddess, have returned ripe with fertility and filled with hope at the promise of new things (so, everyone make sure to stock up on birth control if a baby is not part of your romantic picture). It seems that we may be destined to find new love this Spring. Before long, it will be Beltane and we all know what that means.

This Full Moon has the potential to support love magick in a very positive and powerful way. The balance (another reference back to Ostara!) between the energy of the Aries Sun and the Libra Moon strikes me as representing the qualities that we need in an ideal relationship. It also seems like a stabilizing influence while Venus is in slippery Pisces (as it will be until April 6). Venus in Pisces can be the ultimate way to express love, tenderness and affection being at their strongest now. But borders and boundaries blur under Venus in Pisces, so it can be difficult to tell the difference between dreams and reality. Astrologically, there is a lot going on with Venus this week that also supports my sense that this Full Moon is the ideal time to try out that love spell you've been hanging on to. Check out This Week in Astrology to learn more details.

Speaking of that perfect love spell, Christopher Penczak included the spell he used to find his true love in the book Outer Temple Of Witchcraft: Circles, Spells and Rituals. I've been holding on to it, waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. I think this may be it.

Lifemate Love Spell

You will need:

1 live red rose
Vase
Spring water
Sugar
Dragon's blood

On the last Friday before the Full Moon, or any waxing day with beneficial aspects to Venus (which makes today perfect as long as you do it before 2:40 pm), cast a circle and meditate with the rose. Pour your heart out to it. Tell it all the things you want in a partner, and how you envision your life with a partner. It's best not to get too specific about who, or about superficial qualities, but to express the essence of what you want in a partnership. Call upon the spirit medicine of the rose to make your magick.

Bless a pinch of sugar (white or brown) and place it in the water of the vase. If you can obtain water from a special spring or well, so much the better, but any pure water will do. Then place a pinch of dragon's blood in the water for power. Put the rose into the vase, raise your energy to the universe, release the circle, and leave the rose on the altar for three days. As the rose begins to wilt, take the petals apart, dry them, place them in a green, pink, or red bag or box, and put them someplace special. You can carry it with you, but one thing that works is to put them under your mattress. If you are ready to meet your love, you will meet within three months.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 11:37 AM | Comments (1)

As many of you know, I belong to the group Spells for Democracy, started and led by none other than Isaac Bonewits, which is dedicated to effecting political change by pooling the magickal energy of Pagans across the country. In 2006 I posted the 13 Tuesdays spells that were meant to support Democratic efforts to regain the House and the Senate. Now that we are in a Presidential election year, the outcome of which is so important to all of us, it seemed like a good time to revive the practice of sharing the spells with you. The more the merrier and the more effective the magick will be!

The latest spell: Turning up the lights!

Between now and February 5th is a good time to do revelation spells on all the US party candidates for the presidential nominations. Every Monday night (Jan. 21, 28, and Feb. 4th), pick a candidate or two, then invoke appropriate American deities (Justice, Liberty, Democracy) to bring light to all evil shadows around them. Let ugly rumors dissipate and hidden truths stand out clearly, so that even the traditional "mainstream" media cannot hide the results from the American people. These spells will be the ethical equivalent of investigative journalism actually being done about the rich and powerful.

Some of you may want to do divination to decide which candidates to work on and whether revealing negative information is more important than revealing positive. Similar spells will be needed during the following months, but the number of candidates to focus upon should be smaller, except for those of you with important Senatorial or Congressional contests involving corrupt figures.

If none of this makes any sense, or seems somehow "unethical" - imagine forcing politicians to run honest campaigns! - you may wish to read my Spells for Democracy page. Those of you who've participated in spells like this before will notice that we are switching our working nights to Mondays, though some of you may want to work on Friday or Saturday nights instead; especially if you can get a group of friends to help.

Let the light of Truth and Justice shine out brightly!

bright blessings,
Isaac

Imagine witches across the country working together to accomplish some real change in our currently horrible government. It is possible! Remember the story about the witches in England who cast spells together to protect the British from German air attack? With bright blessings, indeed, let's turn up the lights!

If you wish to join Spells for Democracy, visit the website Isaac links in his letter above.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:16 AM | Comments (1)

We've all heard the time management chestnut about the guy who puts rocks in a jar and asks his audience if they think the jar is full. Usually the moral of the story is that you can always find a way to fit more in. Well, Jenna Avery, the Life Coach for Sensitive Souls, recently wrote about this story from a slightly different perspective. In her version, this is the punchline:

"No," the speaker replies, "that's not my point. The Truth is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you will never get them in at all."

We've all been in situations where we've filled our lives with so many small, relatively inconsequential things that we don't have room to focus on what's really important. Most of the time I think this is because we haven't stopped to consider with any real seriousness what our "big rocks" actually are. So we prefer to busy ourselves with a maelstrom of mundane tasks to keep ourselves from facing the fact that we just don't know what we really need to make us happy and fulfilled.

I've spent a lot of time lately asking and being asked what I want for myself this year, what is most important to me, where do I want to focus my energy so that my needs will best be fed. The short answer - I don't know. Someone said to me once that rather than being a bad answer, this is actually good. Not knowing is coming from a place of open readiness; a space within us just waiting to be filled. But this is where the lesson of the jar and the rocks is instructive. Choose wisely.

The way I've learned to look at this is that we have to pick out what our "Big Rocks" are first, organize our priorities around those, and only then look at what else we want to add into the remaining interstitial spaces of our lives.

Similarly, when my intuitive development teacher, Sonia Choquette, leads her "Creating Your Heart's Desire" workshop, she talks about the importance of focusing our manifestation efforts on no more than three things in any given year. If we try to do more than that, she says, our efforts have little chance of manifesting into reality because they are too watered down.

Three big rocks.

Jenna advises:

As we move into the beginning of 2008, I invite you to carefully consider your Three Big Rocks. When I work with my clients through my coaching program, I ask them to first "cast a wide net" in their explorations. Often, our greatest dreams and intuitive next steps get buried by our mind's "good ideas" and our internalized "shoulds" about what's most important. But deep down, our inner guidance can lead us in the proper direction if we allow it to do so.

Powerful questions to ask:
- What do I really, really want?
- Where am I being called to focus my energy right now?
- If I didn't have to worry about time, money, or anyone else, what would I do?
- What really matters to me in terms of how I spend my time?

Further questions to consider as we choose our "three big rocks" come from a Celtic Devotional by Cailtin Matthews that I found here:

What am I endeavoring to manifest now in my life?

How can I make the best use of this lifetime?

Maybe one of the reasons why the beginning of a new calendar year feels so full of promise is because it has the same energy as a New Moon. We start from the blackest point of the year and it only gets brighter from there, waxing toward whatever we want to do with this clean slate we've been given. Whether we call them resolutions, dreams, or rocks, these things with which we step into the new year - like the Fool stepping off the cliff - are the glimmering, nascent hopes held safe within us before we send them out into the world to manifest.

What if we turned the metaphor of the jar and the three big rocks into a manifestation spell?

Angela-Eloise's Three Big Rocks Manifestation Spell

Find your "jar." It can be any vessel that you like, that you believe will be a good place to keep safe your three most important hopes and dreams for the new year.

Spend some time thinking and meditating on what your three big rocks will be. As ideas occur to you, write them down and put them in the vessel. For now all they are doing are sitting, waiting for you to decide what you want to do with them.

Then find your three rocks. These could be gemstones or other stones that have particular energetic properties that are important to you and the things you wish to manifest. They could be rocks that you find in nature.

By the next New Moon, on January 8, you should have chosen both your metaphorical and your actual three rocks (if you are not ready by January 8, wait until the next New Moon on February 6). At the New Moon, you are going to charge your three actual rocks with the intentions of your metaphorical Three Big Rocks.

Have your jar, your rocks and any other materials you want to include in the spell to aid in manifestation. You may decide to anoint your rocks with oils, write sigils on them, etc. Perform whatever preparation you normally do for spellcasting.

Take your slips of paper from the jar and set aside the three that represent your big rocks. You can decide to burn the others, or perhaps you want to keep them in a different vessel to consider later as the "interstitial" things to add to your life.

One by one, take up your actual rocks. Hold each rock in your hands and charge it with the intent from one of your slips of paper. When you feel that it is charged, put it into your jar. Do this until you have charged all three rocks. Seal your jar any way you feel is appropriate.

At this point, I would burn the three slips of paper upon which you wrote your intentions in the manner of a petition spell. As the paper is burning, think of the smoke carrying your intentions out to the universe.

Once your work is complete, perform whatever closing practices you normally use.

Put your jar on your altar or any other place that is important to you, where it can safeguard your intentions, manifest your desires, and remind you of your Three Big Rocks.

May your wishes be manifest and may your new year be full of happiness and abundance! Blessed be.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 3:07 PM | Comments (4)

After writing my "isn't it lovely" New Moon post, I happened to pick up the latest copy of New Witch that has been sitting in my in box for several weeks and came across Elizabeth Hazel's Astro Spell column. In the interest of "fair and balanced" reporting, I felt it was my duty to share with you her views on spellcasting over the next few weeks. Elizabeth says:

The New Moon in Leo on August 12th ushers in a veritable landmine of strange and unstable interplanetary connections that spoil the rest of the month. Venus and Saturn are participants in an ugly planetary pile-up in the late degrees of Leo that extends from August 13th to the 21st. Retrograding Venus has a bad case of girl-god PMS due to her extended contact with Saturn, who says "no" to everything she desires. This is a bad hair week, and a particularly bad time for new haircuts or risky fashion choices. Role models fall from grace. Glances from Neptune the Fog King and Pluto the Dark Lord create additional confusion and trigger obsessive-compulsive reactions. Do daily meditations to strengthen aura shields and protective circles; be on the lookout for sneaky magickal attacks and back-stabbing. A cosmic fumigation of the home may be necessary after these blighting aspects are past.

Spellcasting during this period is to be avoided. Might I suggest a fire extinguisher?

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:04 AM | Comments (1)

Have you ever read an astrological report for a particular day that said aspects were good for love, or communication, or business, or whatever but your schedule kept you stuck somewhere that kept you from taking full advantage of the super ducky planetary energy? If I had a dime . . .

Well, there is a way to work around this. You can capture the benefit of planetary energies in a crystal, a charm or a potion - literally catching a "falling" planet and put it in your pocket to save for a rainy day.

Let's say Venus is in a once-in-a-lifetime aspect to Jupiter, which would serve to give your current romance a much-needed expansion, but the love of your life is on a business trip half-way around the world. All cheesy advertising to the contrary, the telephone isn't exactly your idea - or Venus' - of the best way to reach out and touch someone. What's a witch in love to do? She charges a pink quartz (or the effective stone of choice) with the energy of the moment to use when honey bunny gets back, that's what. Charging stones with energy is a very effective and easy way to use them to help you when you need them, whether it's to imprint the memory of a magickal working to help you do it again properly when you need to or to store the energy of a particular planetary alignment so you can benefit from that energy even after the planets involved have moved on. It's all about charging the stone with intent and channeling the energy available to you.

Potions work well for this type of work. At a moment when planetary energies are beneficial for a particular purpose, use the ingredients that correspond best to the planets involved to make a potion. Then, when you need to recreate those energies, even if the planets are not aspected in the same way, you can use the potion to bring the power to your spellwork that the planets would have if you had been able to do your work at the time they had been in that particular place. Whether you anoint candles or use the potion in other ways that work for you, the point is that the potion can serve you when the planets no longer can.

Busy witches with a little ingenuity never need to let auspicious astrological moments go to waste.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 7:29 PM | Comments (0)

Today is the thirteenth and final Tuesday in the Spells for Democracy "13 Tuesdays" campaign - ELECTION DAY!

Today's spell:

Big honkin’ spell-casting all day long combining the first 12 workings (or as much participation as you can manage) & nighttime results vigil

First 12 workings:

(09/19) Spell to increase curiosity, courage, and tenacity of local and national journalists
(09/26) Klutzokinesis spell on opposition candidates, political party spin-masters to make them accidentally speak truth in public
(10/03) Spell to encourage whistle-blowing at the Diebold corporation about secret programming and hacking plans for their voting machines
(10/10) Call on the Founders, Lady Liberty, Columbia, Justice and the other spirits of America for help
(10/17) Release the salamanders! (undoing damage of gerrymandering)
(10/24) Set up an energy matrix on the astral around all polling places to ensure fairness
(10/31) Offerings to powerful Changemaker deities like Sekhmet, Kali, etc.

Today is a Waning Moon in Gemini. Waning Moon energy is good for making things go away - think about removing from office all of those who are not truly serving. Gemini, being ruled by Mercury, makes this a good time for communication. With Mercury in Retrograde, we need some good communication energy to make sure all votes are counted and nothing goes wrong with machines or other counting methods. This will also be a day for giving speeches - let's hope that tonight we are hearing lots of Democratic victory speeches!

"13 Tuesdays" was designed to support Democratic candidates and get progressive politicians elected to key positions on every level across the country. The purpose of this work has been to ensure the change we so desperately need in our government and in our country.

For background on who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish, visit the Spells for Democracy home page. For more details on the "13 Tuesdays" project as it proceeds, join the Spells for Democracy egroup at yahoogroups.com.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:35 AM | Comments (0)

Today is the twelfth Tuesday in the Spells for Democracy "13 Tuesdays" campaign to support Democratic candidates and get progressive politicians elected to key positions on every level across the country. The mid-term elections are next week and there is still much work to do to ensure the change we so desperately need.

Today's spell:

Offerings to powerful Changemaker deities like Sekhmet, Kali, etc.

Other deities of change? Oya, the African Goddess of Change. Cerridwen, Celtic Goddess of Death, Fertility and Regeneration.

Today being Samhain, there is no better day to communicate with the deities who have the power to help us in our efforts. Most of us will be attending or performing a Samhain ritual tonight. Choose the arbiter of change who most appeals to you and add an offering to that deity to your altar.

For background on who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish, visit the Spells for Democracy home page. For more details on the "13 Tuesdays" project as it proceeds, join the Spells for Democracy egroup at yahoogroups.com.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 2:02 PM | Comments (0)

Today is the tenth Tuesday in the Spells for Democracy "13 Tuesdays" campaign to support Democratic candidates and get progressive politicians elected to key positions on every level across the country. The mid-term elections are only a few weeks away! Please add your energy to this effort to bring about change - magickally.

Today's spell:

Release the salamanders! (undoing damage of gerrymandering)

The Moon is Waning in Virgo today. Waning Moon energy is particularly useful for undoing and decreasing. Virgo, like Gemini, is ruled by Mercury, so just as last week's Gemini Moon made for good communication, do does today's Virgo Moon. Virgo energy is good for anything that requires critical detail. Many people also feel the urge to clean their homes when the Moon is in Virgo, making this the perfect time to clean some political house!

Recent news reports say that the Republicans have turned their attention - and the benefit of their coffers - toward candidates they feel have the best chance of winning or in areas where Democratic incumbents are particularly threatened. It might be good to focus attention on some of these specific races. Having photographs of the people you are focusing on is a big help.

For background on who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish, visit the Spells for Democracy home page. For more details on the "13 Tuesdays" project as it proceeds, join the Spells for Democracy egroup at yahoogroups.com.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 3:04 PM | Comments (2)

Today is the ninth Tuesday in the Spells for Democracy "13 Tuesdays" campaign to support Democratic candidates and get progressive politicians elected to key positions on every level across the country. The mid-term elections are only a few weeks away! Please add your energy to this effort to bring about change - magickally.

Today's spell:

Call on the Founders, Lady Liberty, Columbia, Justice and the other spirits of America for help

The Moon is Waning in Gemini today. One thing to keep in mind while working today's spell is that the energy of the Waning Moon is best used for decrease or banishment. So, get creative and make your personal spell specific. Ask the spirits to decrease the influence of the Republican party or remove the blindness of the American people to the lies, avarice, greed and manipulation that the current administration has been using against them. Ask the spirits to lend their energy toward the removal of a particular politician who is being opposed in the next election by a more progressive candidate.

Gemini is ruled by Mercury, making this a good time for communication. Gemini's dualistic nature inspires adaptation and change. While the Moon is in Gemini it sometimes can be difficult to make up our minds because we see all sides of the story, however it is a good time for writing, taking care of puzzling tasks, making speeches or simply letting our mind be free to think. If we can focus and channel this energy, it will inspire our spellwork and give us powerful energy to communicate our needs to the spirits.

Having photographs of the people you are focusing on is a big help. It should be easy to find images of our country's founders, Lady Liberty, Columbia, and Justice on the web or in an encyclopedia. If you decide to ask the spirits to remove a particular politician from office, then it might be helpful to find an image of that person as well.

For background on who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish, visit the Spells for Democracy home page. For more details on the "13 Tuesdays" project as it proceeds, join the Spells for Democracy egroup at yahoogroups.com.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 9:50 AM | Comments (0)

Usually I add a section for spellwork at the end of my Full Moon posts. Today, however, there is so much happening energetically and so many opportunities to delve into the art of spell craft that I wanted to devote an entire post just to spellwork.

Since the Moon goes Full at 11:13 tonight (EDT), we have all day to use up the last of the Waxing Moon energy to work any magick for increase. In fact, it may be the most powerful time of the Waxing cycle. Magickal powers are said to be at their greatest during a Full Moon. Tonight, at 11:13 pm or even at midnight, will be the ideal time for spell work involving fertility, divinations and problem-solving magic. Given how today's Full Moon falls between Mabon and Samhain, it also feels to me like one of the most powerful times of the year. I think today and tonight will be particularly good times for spellwork. Today also represents a particularly powerful confluence of energy around passion, desire, love and action.

Usually referred to as the Harvest Moon, in Celtic traditions, the October Full Moon is also known as the Blood Moon. It is the Moon of Celebration and is associated with courage, protection, prosperity, healing, inspiration, and spirituality.

Friday is Venus' day - the ideal day for working love spells. The Goddess of love and fertility, Venus governs all aspects of love and relationships - romance, pleasure, sensuality, beauty, erotica and attraction. Venus has a very magnetic power and attracts all things of value. Anything you value can be drawn to you with Venus energy, from love and sex, to money, art and luxury.

The Moon is in Aries today - a period of ambition and energetic activity. It is a good time for beginning projects and instigating change. (Be aware that a desire for change will be based more upon impulse than reason, so take great care with how you word your spells to make sure that the outcome you get is the one you really desire.) Aries is ruled by Mars. The complement of Venus, Mars is the masculine yang, outgoing energy in nature. Mars is closely related to our physical energy and rules our more basic, animal essence, often expressed as courage, initiative, assertiveness, aggressiveness, impulsiveness, adventurousness, self-will, resistance, rashness, and strong sexual love.

We instinctively start a new cycle when the Moon enters Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. This gut instinct to start something new today is tempered by the Full Moon energy, which is a time of culmination and the fulfillment of that which was started at the New Moon. Because today is influenced by both Venus and Mars and the beginning of a new cycle and the culmination of one, we have a unique combination of energies at our disposal for spellwork.

Planetary Hours

When you really want to boost a spell with planetary energy, its advisable to choose the hour of the day based on its planetary correspondence. For example, if you are working a love spell but the ultimate goal is to improve the communication in your relationship, then you might choose to work the spell on Friday (Venus' day) in the hour of Mercury. Bewitching Ways has a great online planetary hours chart that you can reference to learn the planetary hours and to figure out the best time for your spellwork.

Using planetary hours can get tricky. The simplest way is to use modern clock hours - basically, the first hour of the day starts at midnight and lasts for 60 minutes and the first hour of night starts at noon. However, traditionally, day and night hours were calculated based on when the Sun rises and sets. The 12 "hours" of the day are calculated by figuring out how much time there is between sunrise and sunset and dividing that by 12. Hour One of the day begins at sunrise and lasts for the amount of time you calculated. The only time that "hours" will actually have a full 60 minutes is on the two equinoxes.

Today, in Boston, the Sun rose at 6:47 am and sunset is at 6:15 pm EDT. Each of the "hours" of the day are about 57 minutes long. So, Hour One started at 6:47 and lasted until 7:44 (give or take a few seconds). Mercury falls in Hour Two, so if you were working the love spell I mentioned above, you would want to begin your spell at 7:44 or after and make sure that you were finished by 8:42.

I was taught that using the traditional hours method will make my magick more effective and I have stuck to that principle. I don't always use planetary hours for spell working, but when I do, this is the method I use.

Pulling it all together

Below, I'll offer a personal example to illustrate how I am going to use today's energetic confluence for spellwork:

Continue reading "Spellwork for Today"

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 12:13 PM | Comments (1)

Today is the eighth Tuesday in the Spells for Democracy "13 Tuesdays" campaign to support Democratic candidates and get progressive politicians elected to key positions on every level across the country. Please add your energy to this effort to bring about change - magickally!

Today's spell:

Spell to encourage whistle-blowing at the Diebold corporation about secret programming and hacking plans for their voting machines.

The Moon goes void-of-course this afternoon at 4:13 EDT. Most witches believe that it's not good to perform spells during a void-of-course Moon, so it may be best to do your working today before that time. The Moon is in Aquarius, when public affairs become more important and there is an increased interest in social welfare. Aquarius' ruling planet, Uranus, brings the desire for freedom and a love for the innovative and unconventional. All good energy for encouraging potential whistle-blowers to exercise their freedom and to finding innovative ways to expose Diebold's activities.

One thing to keep in mind when working this spell is that the Moon is currently Waxing. Waxing Moon energy is used for increase. For this spell, think of increasing courage, increasing freedom, increasing opportunity for the Diebold employees.

Having photographs of the people you are focusing on is a big help. Unless you happen to know someone who works at Diebold this may be difficult. Perhaps you can find images of Diebold executives on their website. Certainly you could use their corporate logo.

For background on who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish, visit the Spells for Democracy home page. For more details on the "13 Tuesdays" project as it proceeds, join the Spells for Democracy egroup at yahoogroups.com.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 2:18 PM | Comments (0)

Today is the sixth Tuesday in the Spells for Democracy "13 Tuesdays" campaign to support Democratic candidates and get progressive politicians elected to key positions on every level across the country. Please add your energy to this effort to bring about change - magickally!

Today's spell:

Spell to increase curiosity, courage, and tenacity of local and national journalists.

The Moon moves into Virgo tonight at 8:07 EDT, which is good energy for today's spell. Virgo influences people to be discriminating, critical, methodical and analytical. It also tends to make people focus on service. All of these are excellent qualities in a journalist!

One thing to keep in mind when working this spell, however, is that the Moon is currently Waning. Waning Moon energy is for taking things away; Waxing Moon energy is for increase. When the purpose of a spell is to increase something (as is the case with today's Spell for Democracy) and you must perform it during a Waxing Moon, the trick is to become creative with how you word the spell. Think about what is the opposite of what you are trying to effect.

In this case, think about diminishing fear, taking away obstacles to intellectual curiosity, reducing hesitation. These are all actions that will utilize the energy of the Waning Moon but still achieve the goal of the spell.

Having photographs of the people you are focusing on is a big help. You can also use campaign flyers, images of donkeys (or an elephant when appropriate), etc. If you don't have a local candidate, pick one one or two who live within a hundred miles of you (the closer the candidate is to you, the better chance your energy has of reaching him or her). ActBlue provides a list of candidates who who have strong stands and strong local netroots support here.

For background on who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish, visit the Spells for Democracy home page. For more details on the "13 Tuesdays" project as it proceeds, join the Spells for Democracy egroup at yahoogroups.com.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 9:04 AM | Comments (0)

Spells for Democracy is conducting a "13 Tuesdays" project, wherein all of the members of the group are working a specific spell each Tuesday leading up to the mid-term elections to show our support for Democratic candidates across the country. In addition to taking back the House and the Senate, we hope to support Democrats in local elections so that all will benefit from the positive change to be enjoyed when progressive politicians are working on every level.

I have been remiss in posting about this (and - truth be told - in working the spells) but from now on, every Tuesday I will be posting the spell for that day in hopes that others will add their energy to this effort to bring about change - magickally!

Today's spell:

Leave pictures of the opposition in the hot sun and call on the light of Truth to expose their evil.

It's very sunny here in Boston today, so it will be a good day to work this particular spell.

Having photographs of the people you are focusing on is a big help - and, as in today's example, they may be essential to the spell. You can also use campaign flyers, images of donkeys (or an elephant when appropriate), etc. If you don't have a local candidate, pick one one or two who live within a hundred miles of you (the closer the candidate is to you, the better chance your energy has of reaching him or her). ActBlue provides a list of candidates who who have strong stands and strong local netroots support here.

For background on who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish, visit the Spells for Democracy home page. For more details on the "13 Tuesdays" project as it proceeds, join the Spells for Democracy egroup at yahoogroups.com.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

What method do you use to plan through rituals or spellwork? (such as a ritual outline, etc) Give a brief rundown of how a particular ritual for you goes.

The first step is to identify the most opportune phase of the Moon depending on the work I want to do. If I'm casting a spell to bring something to me or for help manifesting something, I pick a date during the Waxing Moon. For help removing something, I pick a date during a Waning Moon. The Full Moon provides the strongest power for spell work and I believe that the Dark Moon is best for banishing spells. It's important to know exactly when the phases of the Moon will occur for correct timing.

If I'm not using the Full Moon or the Dark Moon, which would limit me to whatever day on which they happen to fall, I pick a day of the week that corresponds to energy that will be the most beneficial for the success of my spell. Sunday=Sun; Monday=Moon; Tuesday=Mars; Wednesday=Mercury; Thursday=Jupiter; Friday=Venus; Saturday=Saturn. It's good to think about what it is that you really want your spell to achieve. For example, the first inclination might be to perform a love spell on a Friday, Venus' day. But if what you really need to do is to improve communication with a loved one, then the better day for your spell might actually be Wednesday.

I was taught that different hours of the day also have their own correspondences, and I have a table that tells me what they are, but using this method gets complicated. To do it correctly, you have to do mathematical calculations using the exact time of the sunrise and sunset and then divide the time in between by 12 to determine "hours" of the day. Magickal hours don't necessarily have 60 minutes each! This certainly lends another layer of accuracy, which adds another measure of power to the spell, but some witches don't think it's necessary to go quite this far. I've done it to practice but I don't do it every time I cast a spell.

Usually I choose a particular God or Goddess to invoke, especially if I want to communicate with deity to ask a question or for guidance. I have a great book that describes different Goddesses and lists correspondences and invoking rites for them: The Ultimate Guide to Goddess Empowerment. I admit that I work with Goddesses most of the time, so this book has been all I have needed. If I wanted information to invoke a God, I'm sure a Google search would lead me to plenty of resources. I use information the book provides about colors, stones, herbs, foods, etc. that the Goddesses like and I use the items I have or can get that correspond to decorate my altar for the ritual/spell.

Other than providing a pleasing environment for deities I plan to invoke, I also decorate my altar with any objects that will bring power to my spell or may simply create an atmosphere that I find pleasing or appropriate. This might include seasonal items, photographs, etc. I also like to use candles in all rituals and choose candles for scent and colors that correspond to the work I am doing or the energy I need to raise. I don't have a lot of experience making potions, but when I have a potion or oil that would add to my spell, I dress my candles with it.

The last step I take when planning for a spell is to write new quarter calls. Depending on the type of spell I'm casting, I write quarter calls I think will resonate most closely with my work. Sometimes, for simple things, I use a basic quarter call invoking elemental spirits of the four directions, but the quarter calls are one area of spell casting that I can get creative with and adds to the artistic quality of my work.

I write down all of my spells ahead of time. Perhaps in time I will feel confident enough to do the work from memory, but for now this helps me to stay as accurate in the performance of the spell as I've been with the planning. I add the spell to my Book of Shadows.

I try to follow all of the steps I was taught when casting a circle and creating a sacred space for ritual. This includes cleansing beforehand. Sometimes I will be so elaborate as to shower and put on clean clothes and then cleanse my space. Sometimes a simple smudge or salt-water circle feels appropriate.

I have learned the hard way that my apartment's smoke detector is very sensitive. From now on if I have to burn anything other than a candle or some incense, I'll try to find a way to perform my work outside. (Just one of the many challenges of being an urban witch!)

As I've said before, formal ritual sometimes has it's appeal but I'm drawn to the idea of simple, instinctive types of magick that come with practice and time. I hope to get to the point where magickal work becomes such an ingrained part of my day that I don't need to perform a ritual every time I want to work a spell or create some sacred space.

Thank you to Witches Weekly for the Q&A.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 6:55 PM | Comments (0)

If this group of people in Lausanne, Switzerland can stop global warming, then surely a bunch of talented witches could get rid of George Bush.

Thanks to SFGate's Day in Pictures for the photo.

At exactly 12:39:13 p.m., the citizens of Lausanne, Switzerland, leap into the air on cue from Prof. Hans Peter Niesward of the "Institute for Gravitational Physics" in Munich. Niesward, who in real life is German artist Torsten Lauschmann, wanted 600 million people in the Western Hemisphere to jump simultaneously in order to push the Earth out of its current orbit into a new one. Which would, of course, prevent global warming.

What I propose is this: On an upcoming Dark Moon (which is one of the best times for banishing spells) we coordinate as many witches across the country as possible to simultaneously perform a spell to remove George Bush from office.

No need to wait until the next Presidential election either. I mean, the longer our juju is percolating the better and with major Congressional and Senate seats being decided this November, the Democrats can use all of the associative energy they can get, right? We can always perform the spell again in 2008 for good measure.

My recommendation is that we do this at Midnight on Friday, September 22 while the Moon is in Virgo. The New Moon begins at 7:45 am and coincides with a void of course so we'll want to be done before then. Performing the spell at midnight gives us the strength of the witching hour, the Dark Moon, and the last hours of the Moon in Virgo. Virgo energy is good for taking care of things that require painstaking attention. Since Virgo tends to lean toward the fastidious, it's also a good time for cleaning house. Need I say more?

Through the magick of the internet - which we know is considerable - we can contact thousands upon thousands of witches from coast to coast. Email threads. Blogs. Witchvox. We'll use them all. Imagine how many witches we could summon! Imagine the power! Imagine a Democrate in office!

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 10:31 AM | Comments (2)

Conventional wisdom says that it is best to perform any spells designed to take unwanted things away from you during the waning moon. This is the time to do your magick if you want to banish evil influences, lessen or remove obstacles and illness, neutralize enemies, and to remove harm. For truly banishing something for good, a dark moon - or a Black Moon - is best of all. Tonight is a dark moon in Aquarius.

When the moon is in Aquarius, public affairs become important as we take an increased interest in social welfare. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus and this influence brings the desire for freedom and a love for the innovative and unconventional. People are operating from intellectual rather than emotional motivations.

Tonight, I am going to perform some candle magick To sever the ties that bind. The purpose of this ritual is to release myself from my lost love. I have been struggling to let go of a love that was very important to me and that is now truly lost. Tonight, on this Black Moon, at midnight when a witch's power is at its strongest, I will release this love with hope that I - and he - can finally achieve some peace.

The spell I'm using is from Marie Bruce's book Candle Burning Rituals. It's a simple spell, performed with black candles. What I like best about it is its compassionate tone:

I sever the ties that bound us together,

In mind, body, spirit and heart.

I sever the ties that bound us together,

For we must part.

I wish you well, I know the pain will heal,

But sever the ties and break our seal.

A time when desire for freedom and intellectual motivations rule seems most auspicious for one who needs to move on from a painful emotional entanglement. I will hold my pink quartz heart and wear my pink quartz ring - for self love - as I perform the ritual. And for good measure, I'm going to burn a photo of the two of us as a physical representation of a final, complete parting.

I've added the complete spell to the Grimoire.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)