::: Magick and Spellwork ::: the ways and means of magick :::

Before a Wicca can begin to do magick and spellwork, a firm foundation must be laid. The Wiccan Rede must be fully understood and abided by, with special care taken to ensure that the motives are honest and ethical.

The Law of Return, someimes called the Threefold Law, ensures that whatever energies and feelings are put out return to us threefold. If the Wicca is to be using a partner in magick, or if working with a coven, he/she must be certain that it is with perfect love and perfect trust, and that all members involved are working towards the same goal.

Rituals and spells are a means of accessing, harnessing and shaping energies through the use of gestures, words, and images. These energies can be directed by the use of one's controlled will. The mentality necessary for ritual work is represented in a glyph called the Witch's Pyramid. It comprises these attributes:
Personal Will
Imagination
Visualisation

The four qualities of the Witch are:
To know: that one's abilities and powers can manifest that which you desire.
To dare: to stretch the boundaries of time and space to shape and mould energy.
To will: oneself to achieve one's goal despite all obstacles.
To keep silent: in order to keep one's magickal intentions concentrated and pure.

Preparatory skills before working magick are not limited to visualisation and meditation. Sometimes Witches use hatha and raja yoga to control and discipline the body and breath. Cleansing oneself in a bath that contains herbs and/or salt, clearing all the negativity from oneself and one's aura, and stilling one's mind are very important and should not be skipped.

Some forms of magick that Witches use is stone magick, where gemstones are charged with specific intent or purpose, and candle magick. A candle flame is a wonderful tool to focus energy and different coloured candles hold different meanings to a Witch. Candles, gemstones, herbs and incenses are combined to give the spell or ritual added power.

Sometimes a Witch will store a spell in an amulet, talisman or power object, to be worn or carried. Often Witches will be called upon to perform healing, or it may be that a member of the family has fallen ill.

Healing is performed in a variety of different ways, such as:
Psychic healing – the laying on of hands or visualisation.
Herbal healing – with the use of teas, baths, ointments etc.
Energy channelling and clearing of auras and chakras
Colour therapy – the use of light, gems, coloured water etc.

Divination is another aspect of magic and Wicca. The various methods employed here are:

Scrying: The Wicca gazes into a bowl of water, scrying mirror, crystal or candle flame in order to view possible futures.

Astrology: Astrology is the use of the heavenly bodies, stars planets and moons, to predict possible paths and personality traits both good and bad.

The Tarot: The tarot is possibly the most misrepresented divinatory tool that Wicca uses. A typical tarot deck consists of 78 cards, each of which has a brightly coloured and highly symbolic drawing.
The most feared and misunderstood card in the Tarot is the Death Card. When a person has this card in his or her Tarot spread, it does not necessarily mean the literal death of a person, but could also represent the death of a situation, or a great change in that person's life.

Runes: Runes are symbols or glyphs that are etched, drawn or painted onto a variety of materials, wood, metal, stone or ceramics. Each rune has a specific symbolic meaning and the reader then predicts possible futures or outcomes of situations from the way they are drawn or cast.