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November 15th. 2009 ...
 Recovering From a Bad Coven Experience
 You Are Not A Tool
 The Dangers of Virtual Reality and Magickal Life: A True Story
 Diary of a High Priestess
 When Religious Intolerance Destroys Friendship
 Thinking With Your Heart
 Beauty in Death
 In that Moment: “Understanding Born From Sorrow”
 Raining Down A Different Kind of Peace

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 Why Many of Us Will Never Be Christian (No Matter How Hard We Try)
 Making Your Life Magical
 Soul Connection: The Means to Finding Your Life Purpose
 How I Met My Soul Mate. Twice
 Perfect Love and Perfect Trust: Thoughts on Love and Loving
 Love and the Use Of Magick
 Spiritual Transformation
 Follow the Yellowbrick Road: Sometimes Staying on the Path Takes a Miracle!
 The Path: A Spiritual Chautauqua

November 1st. 2009 ...
 My Magic Doesn't Work! (Because It Sometimes Doesn't)
 Avoiding the Pitfalls of Paganism
 The Breath and Faking It
 Coming Out Of The "Broom Closet"
 Profound Fruit Loops
 Magick and Science
 I Want To Live A While Longer
 "Me Time"

October 25th. 2009 ...
 Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone Touring East Coast USA for Samhain
 Lemon Magic
 My Black Kitty
 Autumnland: Pagan Path and Paradise
 The Modern Coven: Importance of Documentation
 Crossroads Rite (Version 11)
 Perceptions of Life
 The Challenge of Acceptance
 The Circle of Life

October 18th. 2009 ...
 Honoring Our Elders, Leaders and Teachers
 Space Clearing: A Fresh Look at a Classic Tradition
 Group or Solitary: Which Is Best For You?
 Which Witch is Which? The Importance of Scientific Terminology.
 Soap Making 101
 How I Maintain My Spiritual Practice in a War Zone
 To Be or Not To Be – In Pagan Business
 "Fusion" Magick

October 11th. 2009 ...
 Italy, Clavicles and Witchcraft
 The Fairies of Samhain
 Horns of Gold, Horns of Red: The God as a Sacred Focus
 The Veil as Seen Through the Eyes of a Witch
 Owl Mythology, Folklore, and Magical Interpretation
 A Celtic "Young Goodman Brown"

October 4th. 2009 ...
 What Should I Put In My Book of Shadows?
 How Do You Draw Your Pentagram?
 Your Book Of Shadows
 How I Became a Wiccan
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 The Responsiblity of Elders of Pagan Paths
 My Curse
 Thoughts on Death
 Dinosaurs and Druidry

September 27th. 2009 ...
 When I Was A Christian Wiccan
 Shamanism: Seeing in the Dark
 Dream Invasion: What It Is and How to Stop it
 The Warrior Archetype and the Reemergence of the Goddess
 Twittermancy and Open Sourcery
 Past Life, Present Mission
 The Burning Times: May We Never Forget
 Ophiuchus, the 13th Constellation: A Call for Change
 Changes: Facing Them and Making Them

September 20th. 2009 ...
 How I Found My Craft Name (and Tips on Finding Yours!)
 Life Without End: Death From A Pagan Perspective
 Creating Your Reality
 My Road To Wicca
 Officiating At A Crossing Over Ceremony
 The Energy of My Beliefs
 Tree of Life in Wicca
 My Life Entwined With Death
 The Curious Case of Birds
 Who Sings Now? XVIII

September 13th. 2009 ...
 Yes Witches Can? Yes, Witches WILL!
 Coven or Solitary: Age Old Question. A Few New Answers (I Hope!)
 Organized Pagan Community: Good Idea Or Hopeless Cause?

NOTE: For a complete list of articles related to this chapter... Visit the Main Index FOR this section.
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Article ID: 13594

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| My Magic Doesn't Work! (Because It Sometimes Doesn't)

Author: Fire Lyte
Posted: November 1st. 2009
Times Viewed: 2,575
If you're a person that's ever picked up a book on Paganism 101, spell-casting, etc. then you've heard a variation of the basics of magic. Rummaging through all the various laws and statutes and rules, most books come up with a list of what you absolutely must do in order to have successful spells. In most books, despite all the variations, the following must haves tend to apply:
1.The intent. This is what you want to happen. 2.The tools. These are the basic items you're using to set up your spell. 3.The words. The words of power you're saying. 4.The visualization. The clear image in your head of your intended end result.
You also tend to hear, read, or otherwise come to the warning that "Magic always works, but not always in the way you intend it to." Most givers of this warning follow it up with the example of wishing for money, and then you come into an inheritance after your mother passes away suddenly. However, there's a problem with this logic. This kind of example implies that your simple money spell somehow turned into a death curse aimed at your mother.
Here's a tip from me to you: THIS. CAN'T. HAPPEN.
I disagree that magic always works. I believe that every time you perform spells you expend some sort of energy, but if magic always worked a heck of a lot more people would be winning the lottery. The problem, I think, that a lot of people have is that they don't honestly know what they want to happen. Sure, someone might perform a ‘True Love Spell’, but they don't have any honest concept for what qualities their true love should have.
In this example you might have a person that continues to buy the pink and red candles, and the right herbs, and saying all sorts of combinations of words, and praying to every love deity they can find on Wikipedia, but they can never find love. It’s not because the magic is failing you, it’s because we must be clear, concise, and simple in our ideas.
Have you ever noticed that your spells for the simplest things are the ones that manifest quickest? It's because you know exactly what it is that you want to happen. You know exactly what tools you need, and you say simple, clear words of power. Like wanting tomorrow's weather to be clear and sunny. You have a concept of "clear sky" and "sunny."
When you sit down to perform a money spell, what do you visualize? Is it your bills paid? A red Ferrari? Several homes? All of these things at once? This is the problem. Our mind jumps from image to image without getting a clear visualization.
This problem comes when you're visualizing esoteric, abstract concepts like "love" or "wealth." Get at the root of what you want. You may come to find that you don’t want to be wealthy, or even well-off, but you may just want to be comfortable with a little money left over at the end of the month for savings. (That was my goal.)
So, stop performing money spells, and write down exactly what life situation you want to be in. Likewise, you can quit performing spells to draw a lover and replace them with a clearly written petition to the universe of the qualities that you want to find in another person.
However, you may find that you don't have enough money, because you keep spending too much. Or, you may have trouble dating, because you tend to be abrasive or self-loathing. Make sure that before you do spells of any kind, that you've prayed and meditated on the matter. Perhaps your higher power has been telling you to save more, invest, spend less, carpool to conserve gas, go speed dating, or whatever. Listen to those words! Those feelings are there to help you.
On a slightly different note, I've been asked on occasion to perform bindings, banishments, or curses for people. Rarely do I ever oblige the request, but when I feel that their situation merits some magical self-defense, I help where I can. Only a couple of times in my life have I performed an outright curse, and only once has it ever worked. The reason is this: the first time I performed a curse it was for me. The second time it was for someone else.
Curses are spells that require a lot of energy, a lot of very personal energy, and emotion that someone who is not directly involved with the situation simply doesn't have. So keep in mind, if you ever ask someone else to perform magic for you, they don't have the same connection to the situation that you have. They cannot clearly imagine, as you could, what you want to happen, exactly how you want it.
The nature of magic is absolutely natural. It is quite true that it is like another sense. However, in today’s world we are so bombarded with sensory overload that it is honestly difficult to come up with what it is that we want.
In the gorgeous children’s movie, Halloweentown, that re-runs on the Disney Channel during October, the grandmother says that magic is about “wanting something and then letting yourself have it.” That is unbelievably true. The only hitch in most of our magic is we cannot clearly define what we want, so magic can’t clearly give it to us.
Though, once you do, you can make those four basic agreements, those four basic rules, line up. Your intention, clearly defined, makes it pretty easy to get the right tools, write your simple and clear words, and visualize your true desire. So make lists. Draw pictures. Make a vision board with clippings from magazines or newspapers.
It’s ok to go overboard in preparations for your spellcraft! Have you ever heard the phrase “measure twice, cut once”? It’s the same thing in magic.
Remember: It’s not magic that has failed you. Magic is there for you to work with, but you must give it a real direction. Simply trust yourself and your desires.
Copyright: (c) Fire Lyte 2009

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