The Real Witches’ Book of Spells and Rituals

He kisses her feet and continues,

‘My prayer upborn upon the rising incense. Then spend thine ancient love O Mighty One, descend to aid me who without thee am forlorn.’

The Priest then rises and faces the group and says,

‘Listen to the words of the Great Mother, she who, of old, was also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Ceridwyn, Dana, Arianrhod, Isis, Bride and by many other names.’

He then steps to the side and the Priestess, facing the group, raises her arms and delivers the Charge.

THE CHARGE OF THE GODDESS

‘Whenever ye have need of any thing, once in the month and better it be when the Moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and worship the spirit of me who are Queen of all Witcheries. There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, and yet have not won its deepest secrets. To these I shall teach things that are as yet unknown. And ye shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be naked in your Rites. And ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music, and love, all in my name. For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit, and mine is also joy on Earth, for my law is love unto all things. Keep pure your highest ideal, strive ever towards it, let naught stop you, nor turn you aside. For mine is the secret door which opens on to the land of youth, and mine is the cup of the wine of life, and the Cauldron of Ceridwyn, which is the Holy Grail of immortality. For I am the gracious Goddess who giveth the gift of the joy of life unto the heart of man, upon Earth 1 give knowledge of the spirit eternal, and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor do I demand sacrifice, for behold I am the gracious Mother of all living, and my love is poured out upon the earth. And thou who thinkest to seek for me, know that thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not, unless thou knowest the mystery, that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, then thou shalt never find it without thee. For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning and I am that which is attained at the end of all desire.’

After the Charge has been delivered the Priestess lowers her arms and crosses them over her breast. She then says, ‘Blessed Be’, which is echoed by the rest of the group.

It is then usual for that Priestess to lead the group in the Raising of Power for the magic which is to be worked. Where Drawing Down the Moon is performed simply for celebration, at one of the Sabbats, it takes place towards the end of the Ritual and is followed by the Rite of Wine and Cakes and the Sabbat Blessing.

At first it may seem that Drawing Down the Moon is something which can only be done within a group, or at the least a partnership; however, this is not the case. The Solitary Witch can also Draw Down the Moon on her or his own. It is best done at the Full Moon and with the Moon in clear sight. After the usual preparation, stand facing the Moon with your arms raised to each side of your head, as in the above Rite. Look directly at the Moon, although if it is very bright you may need to focus just above the Moon to save straining your eyes. As you gaze, visualize the Goddess in all her beauty and strength. In your mind call to her and ask her to join with you, to become part of you. When you feel certain that you can feel her power within you, lower your arms and cross them over your chest. Recite the Charge, either aloud or in your head, and then move on to the remainder of your Ritual. Be sure to remember to ground yourself after your Ritual. Many Witches find that this is a very powerful and energizing Rite and gives them a physical and emotional boost which lasts several days, as well as empowering them to carry out their magic.

RAISING POWER

Whilst raising power is not a Rite in itself, it is an essential part of any Ritual where magic is to be performed. A group will work together to combine their energies in a way whereby the High Priestess can direct that power towards the desired outcome. A Solitary Witch also raises power, and then focuses and directs her or his own energy. Whilst Drawing Down the Moon does raise energy which is then focused in the High Priestess, it is usual to then move on to supplement this power with energy derived from the group as well. There are many ways to raise energy, the most common of which are dance, chant and drumming. Frequently two, or even all three, of these techniques will be used together.

There are other methods such as binding, scourging, astral projection and trance, but these are all techniques which need to be taught on a one-to-one basis.

* Dance. Sometimes called Circle Dance. The actual dance can be as simple or intricate as the group wishes, and may involve snaking around the Circle, or weaving in and out of each other. At its simplest, members of the group, holding hands, dance Deosil around the Circle. They are led by the High Priestess who determines the pace of the dance and the time at which she perceives sufficient energy has been raised. At that point she will raise her arms to indicate that it is time to stop. Some High Priestesses will join in the dance, in which case raising her arms causes everyone else to follow suit. Others will stand in the centre of the dancers. In either case, at the point where she raises her arms, she is directing the energy towards the group’s intent. There is then a pause whilst the energy is directed, and whilst everyone gets their breath back.

* Chanting. There are a huge number of chants used in the Craft today. Some are universal, others may be written within the Coven. Most chants have their own tune, or may be known by different tunes, but the simple repetition of words to a beat will suffice if you are not musical. It can be helpful, where there are newcomers to a group, to set aside a period of time for chant practice as it is important that everyone can chant together.

* Drumming. Drumming can supplement the energy of either dance or chant, or indeed both. However, it is important that your drummers do have rhythm, as anyone who cannot hold a beat and remain in time will detract from the energy rather than increase it! You also need to ensure that drumming does not drown out chanting, or irritate any neighbours. Where you have too many people for safe dancing, or some who cannot dance, then drumming is a way of ensuring that everyone participates in raising power. However, I have found that there are some people who feel self-conscious dancing and therefore prefer to drum rather than dance, and you need to decide whether you are going to let them ‘off the hook’ in this way!

Solitary Witches can raise power by any of the above three methods, or indeed by doing two or even all three at once, if they are very well co-ordinated. As with many things in the Craft you will probably need to try different options to see which works best for you.

Whilst energy is not raised for magical working at most celebrations, chanting, dancing and drumming still take place in order to raise energy within the group, and because they are such an integral part of celebrating the Craft today.

CLEANSING AN OBJECT

Anything you purchase will have been handled by other people and will have traces of their energies on it. This particularly applies to anything second-hand where it may have been used for a number of purposes before you receive it. Obviously, anything you intend to use magically or in a spell will need these energies removed before you use it. There are several ways to cleanse an item and you will need to select the most suitable, as some techniques are definitely wrong for some things – for example, you wouldn’t run a book under water for 10 minutes!

* Moonlight. An item can be placed in the light of the Full Moon overnight and the Moon will not only cleanse it but will empower it too. It is best to do this on a windowsill, especially for small items, as just placing it outside can result in it being moved or you forgetting where you put it. An indoor windowsill is also better as your item is less likely to be knocked off by a curious bird, or blown off in a high wind.

* Running water. Many things can be placed under running water for 10 minutes whilst you visualize all negativity being washed away. Obviously this is no use for anything that will spoil through getting wet.

* Through the elements. You can cleanse an item by passing it through the elements in the same way as you consecrate it (see below). But do be aware that this means taking an uncleansed item into the Circle.

CONSECRATING AN OBJECT

When you first get any of your magical tools, especially your Athame, they should be consecrated. Likewise, in many spells and magics you may decide to use an object to focus the magic onto, and this too should be consecrated. It could be a candle which burns down to release the energy, a talisman which is carried by someone who was not present at the Ritual, or any one of a number of other items. In many cases, where someone comes to you seeking magic it can be helpful to get them to provide anything like this as not only does it link them to the magic, but keeps down the costs. The object in question should be cleansed (see above), and should be placed on the Altar prior to the start of the Ritual.

At the appropriate point in the Ritual the High Priestess takes the item from the Altar. First she consecrates it with the elements. She passes it through the incense smoke and says,

‘I do consecrate this … (name of item) with Air, that it may … (name the purpose it is being consecrated for).’

She repeats this with Fire (being careful not to set light to it), Water (by sprinkling a few drops on it) and Earth (sprinkling a few grains of salt onto it).

At this point it may be necessary to do something to the object. Perhaps carve a name on a candle, anoint an object, or some other part of the spell.

She then holds it up over the Altar and says,

‘I call upon the Goddess and the God (she may name the aspects or Godforms appropriate) to bring … (whatever the attributes of the spell might be) to … (name of the person for whom the magic is being worked).’

She pauses a moment whilst visualizing the Goddess and the God also blessing the candle, then says, ‘Blessed Be’.

NAMING AN OBJECT

This is very similar to the above in actions and words, but is performed to bring about a different intent. Here the object represents a person, not an action or event. Naming an object is often useful when your magic is intended to affect two people, perhaps in a reconciliation. It can be used where you have no picture, physical or mental, of a person, or to strengthen the energy of a picture. It is frequently used in fertility magic or where an image of the person is created.

In this case as the object is passed through each of the elements it is named. For example, as the High Priestess passes it through the incense smoke she says,

‘I do name this … (name of item)… (name of person), that it may be … (name of person)… in this our Ritual.’

And she repeats this with each element. She then holds it up over the Altar and says,

‘I call upon the Goddess and the God, to know that this is … (name of person), and to lend their energy in his/her good.’

She pauses a moment whilst visualizing the Goddess and the God acknowledging the person, then says, ‘Blessed Be’.

THE RITE OF WINE AND CAKES

The Rite of Wine and Cakes is performed at the end of all Rituals, prior to removing the Sacred Space. It has the two-fold purpose of sharing the Blessing of the Goddess and the God, as well as being a preliminary step in the grounding necessary after working any kind of Ritual or magic.

To perform this you will need on your Altar wine in a chalice and ‘cakes’ on a plate. The wine used is generally red in colour, although you may prefer to use a sweet wine or mead for some of the festivals. Some groups prefer to use port or another fortified wine for this Rite. If you do not wish alcohol in your Ritual then grape or another fruit juice is just as acceptable. The cakes can be anything from home-made, moon-shaped biscuits, to commercially available crackers, or slices of apple. Whichever you prefer, try not to have them too large as you will have a long pause whilst everyone chomps their way to the end! Most groups will have one more ‘cake’ than they have participants so that one remains to go with a little of the wine as an offering of thanks. The offering is usually taken outside after the Ritual and scattered on the Earth. Members of our group often bring their dogs with them to Rituals, as they come from the same sire (or, with the addition of a new generation, grandsire!). As a result we frequently have additional cakes which are then shared with any of our dogs who might also be attending.

The High Priestess and High Priest stand in front of the Altar, facing the group, with the High Priest on the High Priestess’s right-hand side. The High Priest takes the chalice and, holding it up to the whole group, says,

‘Behold the Chalice, the cauldron of Ceridwyn, the fount of all knowledge and life.’

He then turns towards the High Priestess and kneels to face her. The High Priestess takes her Athame, holding it in both hands with the blade pointing upwards, and displays it to the group, saying,

‘Behold the Athame, symbol of the Horned God.’

She turns it so that the blade points downwards and lowers it into the wine saying,

‘As the cup is to the female so the Athame is to the male.’

Both High Priestess and High Priest should look into one another’s eyes and continue together, saying,

‘And co-joined together, they bring forth life eternal.’