How to Pick the Best Spell Elements for You

May 23, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Element of Fire (thanks to Arthur)

“Could you help me pull together a spell to increase my confidence?” Lisa asked me.

“I’ve seen a couple of spells in books. But I’m confused. Which version should I use? What elements would work better for me?” Lisa continued.

This points to an important principle of practicing Wicca. Spells in books might be helpful. But we need to observe the reality that spells in books were written by someone else, and they were not written for you specifically. So how do you make a spell that works and is truly right for you?

Start by looking at a list of possible elements or items to include and observe what feelings you have about each one. If you don’t have any emotional connections to an element, you might do better by choosing something that inspires something deeper in you.

Let’s look at this process closely. Here is an example spell.

Spell for Confidence

What you will need:

1 yellow candle
Yellow magickal ink or yellow pen
Virgin Parchment or paper

Incense:

Powdered Buckthorn
Dragons blood
Myrrh

Here’s how the process can go. Mena sees the yellow pen and it reminds her of a yellow tee-shirt she wore as a child. She had spilled her lunch on it, and kids in the schoolyard cruelly teased her about it. So yellow is not a color that Mena would use for her confidence spell.

On the other hand, Judy gave an excellent presentation in front of class at night school, and she wore a blue sweater. She remembers how great she felt. So she chooses to use blue ink and a blue candle. She taps into the memories and feelings of her past to help fuel her spell.

Judy looks at the incense, Powdered Buckthorn. But she had no feelings connected with it. Then she remembers her Grandma baking cookies made with allspice. Her Grandma always had a big smile for Judy, and she attended Judy’s basketball games. Judy felt supported. She knew that Grandma believed in her. So Judy switches from Buckthorn to allspice.

Don’t fear about making little tweaks to your spells to make them yours. When you make those tweaks, your spell will be more effective in reaching your goals.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

Here is the full text of the spell:

Spell for Confidence

What you will need:

1 yellow candle
Yellow magickal ink or yellow pen
Virgin Parchment or paper

Incense:

Powdered Buckthorn
Dragons blood
Myrrh

While burning incense make a sigil for confidence. Place the sigil under the yellow candle and light it. Concentrate on the candle’s flame, thinking about how you’re strong and confident. Things do not penetrate your envisioned “force field” of confidence.

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Where is the Wiccan Wisdom?

May 9, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

Nina bit her lip. I could tell she was angry.

“Edna’s not wise; she’s just older!” Nina said.

It can work the other way. Have you ever met a young person with an old soul?

What about someone with a title? Does that make a big difference?

This is on my mind because I was talking with a friend who asked about my accomplishing the third degree as a Gardnerian priestess. Yes, I’ve studied for years with fine mentors. I’ve put in many hours and much effort into earning the third degree designation.

It’s a strange thing about human beings. We expect certain things. Some of us expect that people would put effort into becoming wiser as they aged. Still, we’ve seen people who just seem to stop in their maturity level.

We expect, or at least hope, that someone with an advanced degree would show superior knowledge.

My mentors whom I’ve admired have demonstrated two traits: kindness and humility.

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” – Albert Einstein

Wicca, to me, is a life-long journey in which I learn new things every week.

Recently, I wrote about the 4 elements of the Witches Pyramid—which also includes Spirit.

The great thing about meditating in the Wiccan way is that often we are given insights from the Gods and Goddesses.

In essence, the more often you meditate, the more opportunities you have to receive guidance from the Gods and Goddesses.

One of my favorite insights given to me is I am loved. This gave me higher self-esteem, and this gave me an understanding that I was not a horrible person which was a faulty idea that depression had slammed upon me.

I invite you to keep meditating or to start a meditation practice. Open the door to a better understanding of yourself and the world around you.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

P.S. I will be away camping to connect with my Gods and will be returning Monday the 18th of May. Thank you to all my readers.

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Witches Pyramid – Spirit

April 30, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

“Why is Spirit included with the Elements that make up the Witches Pyramid?” Juliet asked.

“Spirit refers to your higher self and the Gods and Goddesses,” I began. “The elements are the base of the Witches Pyramid. You need the elements plus Spirit to create life and to work magick.”

The preferable order of the Elements is Earth, Water, Air and Fire. They incrementally increase in energy.

We begin with Earth since it is the grounding Element. As you work up with the higher and higher energy levels till you reach Fire, you use Earth to ground them all.

After working with Earth, Water, Air and Fire, it’s natural to move to Spirit. When working with Spirit, we connect with our inner selves and the Gods. During meditation, you can receive messages and insights. We Wiccans strive to connect with Deity through nature, rituals and meditation sessions.

Wiccans work with Spirit in many ways that even connect with astral projection, psychometry (touching objects to sense them), and clairvoyance/clairaudience.

An Example of Connecting With the Gods

We know that life can be really tough to endure. Some time ago, I shared a particular chant (on this blog) to help you connect with the Gods and receive support.

Here is the chant you can recite to yourself when you’re hurting:

By the Sun and by the Moon,
Let the Gods’ light be my boon.
Shining deep and shining far,
May I be healed by every star.
I saw it then, I see it now,
Darkness be gone right here, right now!

You can use this short chant whenever you are feeling low. For example you can use this chant during meditation, lighting a candle or as a prelude to a meditation.

In discussing the Spirit aspect of the Witches Pyramid, we have completed our multi-post conversation of the components of the Witches Pyramid: Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Spirit.

We Wiccans can deepen our practice by repeatedly focusing on meditations related to the Elements and Spirit.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

Happy Beltane 2015

April 30, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

A way to piece.

Happy Beltane

The Witches Pyramid – Earth

April 25, 2015 / Moonwater / Leave a comment

“My life’s just too busy. I’m juggling everything. Trying to keep my husband happy and our two children. Work is getting worse, too,” Nadine told me.

“It sounds like you need a little ‘silence’ in your life,” I suggested.

“Don’t I wish!” Nadine confirmed.

In today’s post, I’m talking about the element Earth, represented as North of the Witches Pyramid.

In the previous post, we explored West and Water. Water was about to dare.

There is a different type of strength that we can find helpful: the strength known as to Remain Silent, as manifested as Earth.

Many of us find our thoughts racing all day long. It would really help if we could calm down our minds. As Wiccans, we find that quieting our minds helps us focus our thoughts and our magick. When you bring your mind to quiet, you can focus and manifest your desire into reality.

Furthermore, when we talk about to Remain Silent, we actually refer to literally being silent. For example, we stay silent about what happens when we conduct ritual. Everything done and said in Circle is sacred. This means that we Wiccans keep the details locked in our hearts and away from the mundane world.

Sure you might be tempted to share details of life-transforming occurrences in Circle. Instead, be sure that you keep silent! Keep the details as a precious, sweet experience all your own.

So how do you bring the element Earth and to remain silent into your life?

A Meditation to Celebrate Sacred Silence in Your Life

Find a quiet place where you will be alone and relaxed for five or ten minutes. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Picture a pyramid in your mind. Gently explore your answers to these questions:

What is this pyramid made out of?
What color is it?
What is the texture of your pyramid?

Imagine viewing the pyramid from various angles. Focus. Concentrate until you can even see the pyramid with your eyes open.

This pyramid process helps you focus your mind and clear it of extraneous thoughts.

Repeat this practice whenever you feel overwhelmed. Practice focusing, calming down and experiencing Sacred Silence.

More feelings of calm and peace are just a brief pyramid-meditation session away.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

P.S.

If you have a question about Wicca and would like me to reply, please fill in the request form below.

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For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

The Witches Pyramid – West

April 18, 2015April 18, 2015 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

Karina turned to me and said, “But I’ve never done this before. It’s a lot of money. I mean, I could spend all this money recording my songs and no one buys them.”

“What does your heart say?” I replied. Sometimes, and it depends on the individual, the heart says, “It’s time to Dare.”

In the previous post we talked about Fire. Now, we’ll discuss the element Water, which is West on the Witches Pyramid.

Water represents to Dare.

In this series of posts, we started with Air, which gave us the idea. Then we proceeded to Fire which was to Will and to desire the change, and get it moving into reality. Now we focus on Water because we need to Dare to accomplish the change.

Wanting to change isn’t enough, we need more energy associated to the process. We need to Dare to do it!

Many of us are too afraid of change. We hide from it and even run from it. Still, we notice:

“There is nothing permanent except change.” – Heraclitus

Change can be a very emotional subject. Being afraid of change is natural and so we need Water, to Dare ourselves to do it.

Change promotes growth. We grow not only spiritually, but also with our relationships and our mental and physical health.

A Ritual to Celebrate Water and to Move Beyond Fear

Consider something in your own life that you know you need to change but are afraid to.

Draw a pleasant, hot bath. Make a sachet of lavender. Lavender is used for purification, and lavender helps us calm those fears of change.

When your bath of lavender is ready, step in and relax. Breathe in and out slowly.

Once you have relaxed, think of the change you want and the fear holding you back from it. Concentrate on these fears you have.

Now envision the fear being absorbed by the water all while you continue breathing deeply—in and out.

When you feel you have successfully transferred all the fear into the liquid, get out and drain the water away. Dry off and make sure you do not use the towel again until you have laundered it.

Use this ritual focusing on Water and to Dare to move forward in your life.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

The Witches Pyramid – Fire

April 11, 2015April 11, 2015 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

“I feel stuck,” my friend Amy said. My first thought was that it might help for her to do a ritual related to the element Fire.

In the previous post, we talked about Air in the Witches Pyramid. In this post, we will discuss Fire, an element (related to South) that is part of the foundation of the Witches Pyramid.

Fire represents To Will on the Witches Pyramid. Will is that fire to get things done. Will is the intensified-desire that creates change and allows us to manifest our thoughts into reality.

Fire is energy. And still, we begin with the element Air which creates the idea of what you desire. Fire helps manifest what Air created.

Without Fire things stagnate. Nothing gets done. We need to Will to change ourselves and forge forward to accomplish the fulfillment of our needs.

Fire is a transformative element. Fire is a force (or energy) to change, which transforms you into something new

Change is something we strive for in Wicca. We want to transform ourselves into newer and better states of being so we can grow spiritually.

So how do we enhance the element of Fire in our lives?

Consider something you want to change or to get better in your life. Do you want to get a better job or do you need a better living situation? A quiet desire is not enough. You need to apply Fire so you Will something into being.

One of the best ways to empower yourself with Will is to do a ritual focused on Fire. Begin a meditation on Fire by first lighting a candle. Focus your eyes on the flame. Breathe deep. Soon you will close eyes and do the following visualization.

Your visualization will now be quite specific. Visualize a symbol of a current situation that you do NOT like. Now imagine that what you really want is inside the symbol.

Now apply the power of FIRE to the symbol which is like a false shell around what you want.

This false shell burns away and you are left with what you really want!

You have applied the power of FIRE.

To build up your To Will power, you may need to do a series of Fire-related meditations.

Remember, your mind, properly harnessed, has terrific power to improve your life.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

The Witches Pyramid – Air

April 4, 2015 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

“Why is the Witches Pyramid important?” Sharon asked me. “You already told me that the pentagram emphasizes the four elements Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Isn’t that enough?”

I explained that the Witches Pyramid demonstrates how the four elements support Spirit, as you can see in the illustration above.

First, I’ll give you an overview. Here is how Element relates to a direction and a concept:

Air – East – To know
Fire – South – To will
Water – West – To dare
Earth – North – To remain silent

These concepts come together to form an essential part of your Wiccan Practice.

This week we’ll focus on Air.

Air – East – To know

Air is the cerebral element. You’ve probably heard the phrase: Knowledge is power.

In the Craft, we take action to know how to use the tools and rituals. Here is what is really powerful: to know yourself.

The journey of knowing yourself requires that you focus and take efforts to remove distractions. People who are caught up with their ego will miss so much.

Meditation provides a helpful path to discovering the truth that is deep within you.

How does meditation facilitate your self-knowledge? First, it helps you quiet your mind. Clear of distractions, you can learn about what you really need. Not just what you ego wants in this moment.

Clear of distractions, you can make better and better decisions. You’ll have access to your intuition. You’ll quiet down fear.

Clear of distractions, you’ll connect better with the God and Goddess. You’ll ask for guidance and you’ll be able to take in and understand the guidance that arrives as intuitive ideas and nudges in certain positive directions.

Start Easy with Meditation

Many of us hear about meditation and freeze up. We may say, “I don’t have the time.” Start easy. Just set up a timer and meditate for five minutes. Simply, find a quiet place. Get comfortable. Make sure you sit up so you don’t fall asleep. Concentrate on your breathing. When your mind wanders, bring it back to your breathing.

You might even begin a practice with your romantic partner. My sweetheart and I sit near each other – not touching – and close our eyes for our five minute meditation practice. The good news is that when one of us is not in the mood to meditate, the other one can inspire the other one to sit for the five vital minutes of the day.

Certainly, you can expand your meditation time, if you like.

Some people get disappointed that they do not get a wonderful feeling when meditating. Know this: It all counts. With a regular practice of meditation, you make yourself calm and more receptive to guidance from the God and Goddess.

Meditation is a blessing for your mind.

Remember, your mind is your most important tool. And Air will assist you in your goals. This week, consider having a few meditation sessions in which you focus on Air.

Next week we will look at the Element of Fire in the Witches Pyramid.

Blessings,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace

What Might Be Fading from Our Wiccan and Pagan Community?

March 28, 2015 / Moonwater / 2 Comments

Two things recently shook me up. First, a friend told me about how a work group came to her house and then her camera was missing. This work group was made of pagans who participate in community events. What?!

Wicca, for example, is about respect for nature, respect for ourselves and respect for others. What happened here that some pagan stole a camera?

Second, two elders in our community told me about how they are being marginalized. “Younger Wiccans are not honoring elders. They don’t listen,” said one of the elders.

The above two incidents inspire the question: Is our Wiccan and Pagan community letting an important part of our identity fade away?

The part of our identity I’m talking about is being respectful. Respect is defined as “a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way.”

Elders and people’s rights to their property need to be respected.

But there is something impinging on our Wiccan and Pagan community: For many of us, we’re an island surrounded on all sides by the Western culture’s self-centered ego, the “me, me, me” effect.

Have you noticed that if we get caught up in our thirst for instant gratification we lose touch with the roots of Wicca?

We’re used to getting everything instantly. Through the internet, we have instant music, news, and contact with others. There is a casualty in all of this: patience.

And that’s where the lack of respect for elders comes in. Elders move and think at a different pace from those of us typing away at our electronic devices.

More than that, many of us think that elders are too behind the times to offer anything of value. What could elders teach us? Certainly, they can inform us of things to be careful about when doing ritual. Further, if they have had long-term friendships or a long-term romantic partnership, they know something valuable!

So how do we return to our Wiccan roots and enhance being respectful to others?

For many of us, we need to practice being respectful to the one person with us all the time—ourself. Show some patience and compassion toward yourself.

Then allow that patience and compassion radiate out from you.

If you’re going to be near an elder, pre-plan a couple of questions you might ask him or her.

Such questions might be:

Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?
You’ve been married 25 years. How did you do that?
I hear that you’ve been friends with two people for 18 years. How did you take good care of your friends?

Elders have gone through life stages that many of us have not experienced yet. Sure, the details change. They may have used rotary dial phones, and we now have smart phones. But elders have gone through big and tough changes including loss of friends and loved ones to death, for example.

Wicca provides us with wisdom from the past. In fact, our Wiccan heritage has been passed down through the generations by people talking to each other. The process has usually been from elder to neophyte.

So I invite you see how you can make some space, pause and listen.

There’s so much that elders can share with us.

Blessed Be,

Moonwater SilverClaw

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Goddess Has Your Back: How Wicca Can Help You Raise Your Self-Esteem and Make Your Life Magickal

And

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Book

The Hidden Children of the Goddess Embrace Wicca, Become Strong, Be at Peace with Yourself and the World Around You

And

Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magic: How You Can Remove Blocks to Prosperity, Happiness and Inner Peace