Spell Casting and The Book of Shadows.

 

It’s interesting to me that many younger people, particularly females, are coming to Wicca with only the “spell” aspect in mind. There is so much more to Wicca than spell casting. The practitioner must know what she’s doing because energy is a very powerful force and it’s unwise to use it foolishly.

The concept of spell casting is no mystery. Many religions advocate prayer to bring upon blessings. Young girls make colorful string bracelets as symbols of friendship, with hopes that it will forge a stronger bond. Wishing upon a star is a perfectly acceptable way to bring luck and love into our lives. The truth is there is energy all around us.  Spells  are the words that are spoken, but the energy is what sends the spell out into the universe. The power of the spell is within the magician or witch, who builds up the energy and lets it go at the precise time so it can perform its intended purpose.

Spells are not necessarily found in ancient books or any store-bought book. The most effective spells are those written personally by the spell caster. And if the spell is rythmical then all the better. Many solitary Witches and Witch Covens have what are called a Book of Shadows. A solitary Witch is a Witch who practices the craft alone and a coven is a group of Witches, usually limited to 13 members. This is a book that is written and added to on an ongoing basis by either the Coven or the Solitary. It’s not a mysterious writing, but a place to record all of your magical work. It is not a place to put thoughts and feelings because these things are more suitable for a journal. Your Book of Shadows is your own personal reference book for your unique path as a Witch.  Books of Shadows are almost never shared or loaned out. They are, however often written with the intention of handing them down at some point to the next generation. Which is another reason to leave out personal thoughts and feelings. A good Book of Shadows contains the moon phases and which spells work better at which phase, information on the Sabbats (the eight seasonal holy days corresponding to former pagan seasonal festivals), information on The God and The Goddess, Magical recipes, meditations and a copy of The Wiccan Rede. As your experience grows so will your Book of Shadows. You’ll want to record each and every spell you cast and its results. It would be disheartening if you’ve cast a successful spell and have forgotten the ingredients you’ve used because you didn’t write it down. A Book of Shadows can be a massive handmade wooden book or it can be as simple as a writing tablet. It’s all up to you. Remember you can always “trade up” later and transfer your information to another Book.

 It is true that spells work with energy and energy means power. Power is neither positive nor negative. It is the intention of the spell caster that makes a spell “good” or “evil” and that determines whether the spell will be helpful or harmful. That’s where morality comes in. Most practitioners understand and follow the Wiccan Rede (Ye Harm, Do What Ye Will) and do not perform any spells to manipulate, hurt or kill anyone. This is why love spells break this important rule. Most love spells are a form of manipulation. Casting a spell to bring love into one’s life is fine. Casting a spell to make a specific person fall in love with you is not. This would involve manipulation of another person. Casting a spell to harm an enemy is negative magic and violates Wiccan beliefs. Using negative energy and spell crafting is harmful to you, to your intended subject and, more importantly, to the Earth and all its goodness.

***This post and all others (including all new posts not published here) can be read at my brand new blog site: http://www.mylovesleftovers.com. Thanks for checking it out!

Santa Claus and Other Childhood Scams.

When I was in the second grade a Jewish girl in my class told me there was no such thing as Santa Claus. I was crushed. There was too a Santa Claus. Where did I get all those toys from every Christmas? Who ate the cookies and drank the milk I left on the dining table? I couldn’t wait to get home and tell my mom what the mean girl at school said. I’d tell my mom that she had said this only because she was Jewish, and since she wasn’t lucky enough to get Christmas gifts, she was jealous. School was finally over and I couldn’t run home fast enough.

I told my mom what happened and what this evil girl said. My mom sat down and had me sit on her lap. She explained that the girl was right. There was no “real” Santa and she and my dad were the ones who bought the toys and put them under the tree every Christmas. “But what about the cookies and milk?”, I asked hopefully. Mom said dad ate and drank them. I slid off my mom’s lap and went to my bedroom. I felt hurt that mom and dad had lied to me. Christmas would never quite be the same after that day. I felt betrayed and a little foolish for believing in something that wasn’t even real. A little bit of my childhood had been chipped away. However it did explain alot. Like how one old guy could travel around the world delivering presents and be home before morning. Or how when I went to the mall with my mom we’d see several different Santas ringing bells and having pictures taken with children. Then I had an awful thought. If there was no Santa was it possible there was no Easter Bunny as well??? I looked in my Mom’s eyes and asked her. The look on her face said it all. No, there was no Easter Bunny either. What a cruel and heartless joke they’ve played on me. Oh the agony! The injustice of it all! Okay, so I was seven and didn’t exactly think of it that way so I’m embellishing here.  But I promised myself that I’d never lie to my children about Santa Claus when I grew up. I could never be that cruel.

Many years later I grew up, got married and was pregnant within three months. I still vowed not to tell my kids the “Santa Claus” lie. Unfortunately, I had married someone who didn’t have any qualms about lying, even to his children. So I was stuck with the Great Santa Scam hanging over my head. What would my kids think when they found out it was all sham? Would they still trust me? Would they think everything else I told them was just one big fat lie? Or could I just point to their father and say, “Liar, Liar, pants on fire”. I couldn’t bear the thought of looking into those trusting eyes and telling them the truth.

My children are very close in age, so they all pretty much experienced the sting of the Santa scam at the same time. My oldest son started asking questions first. How could Santa have lived so long if he came to your house when you were a little girl? (Thanks alot son). How come we see so many Santas hanging around at Christmas time? How could Santa have enough time to visit every child in one night? Are there really flying reindeer? Why does Santa get me so many pairs of underwear every Christmas? I never ask for underwear but he gives it to me anyway. And on and on. Then one day my daughter asked similar questions. Their little brother was the only one not jaded by the Santa myth. He was to turn five that coming December and I had to come up with something soon or I’d still be playing this charade when the kids were entering College. Then I had an idea. An awful idea. I got a wonderful, awful idea. Then the true meaning of Christmas came through and I found the strength of ten moms, plus two. Okay, I borrowed this line from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” but it fits here.

I admitted the lie in a round about way, but minimized the damage as much as possible. I sat all three children down and explained that Santa and his elves have so much work to do that it’s only fair for older children to receive presents from their parents and no longer from Santa. So, after the last child in the household turns five Santa stops delivering presents and Mom and Dad take over. So, technically this was still a lie, but all the good child psychologists say to only tell children what they’re ready to hear. This was more like what I was ready to say, but I won’t split hairs. But, then I told them about the true meaning of Christmas. I explained to them that once upon a time there really was a Saint Nicholas who was very generous to children and that’s how the concept of Santa Claus originally began. I said the real message here is the message of giving. I told them we’d start a new tradition of having each child pick a family member to buy trinkets to fill a stocking. We’d make it fun by picking names out of a hat and them keeping it a special secret. We also decided to pick a card from the tree at WalMart and buy the requested item for someone less fortunate.

I decided the Easter Bunny was on his own. I had no explanation for a six foot rabbit with no pants going around leaving candy in plastic filled baskets just so kids could rot their teeth and get cavities. And don’t get me started on the toothfairy. What kind of freak would gather up children’s teeth and make a necklace out of them? My kids never asked about them anyway. They probably thought the idea was as far-fetched as I did. But my point is the idea of Santa Claus can still have a valuable outcome if you transfer Santa story over to the spirit of giving. Starting new family holiday traditions can be an excellent way to enjoy time with young children that will last a lifetime. And hopefully those traditions will carry over to future generations.

Since Christmas once again is a mere four months from now I’d love to know how many readers pass on the Santa story to their children. When and how did you tell them there was no Santa? How did they take it? Do you remember how you found out there was no Santa?