New Moon, New Friends

When I moved to San Francisco, I didn’t know a soul, but I used this tried-and-tested trick to fill my life with friends.

Gather together

• 1 candle of any color or size
• your favorite incense

Timing: Try this on a new moon Friday (Freya’s Day, which is ruled by Venus, is ideal for fun, love, flirtation, gossip, and good times).

Light the candle and incense. Breath in the sacred smoke and dance around, arms held upward, joyously. Say aloud:

I call upon you, friend Freya,

To fill my life with love and joy. I call upon you, Goddess,

To bring unto me that which I enjoy

In the form of people, wise and kind.

This I ask and give thanks for, blessed be.

This resulted in me having friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin; I can count on them for boundless love and they bring so much joy to my life.

Mystical Crystal DIY: Elixir of Love

 

An elixir is a very simple potion made by placing a crystal or gemstone in a glass of water for at least seven hours. Then you remove the stone and drink the water, which now carries the vibrational energy of the stone, the very essence of the crystal. This is one of the easiest ways to receive crystal healing and is immediate.

The red stones always hold a lust for life. So, for the Ecstatic Elixir, we are going to push the envelope here and put as many red stones into our potion as we can! Place the following into a glass of water: carnelian, garnet, rough ruby, red coral, red jade, jasper, red sardonyx, cuprite, aventurine, and red calcite. If you don’t have all of these, just mix and match. Even a single rough ruby and a tiny chunk of jasper is a lot of love in a jar.

Place the Ecstatic Elixir on the love corner of your room or altar. Light amber incense and a red candle and speak this spell: “This jade is my joy, the garnet my grace.”

Leave the water on your altar for seven hour or overnight, and drink it upon awakening. Your life energy will quicken, and you should feel very upbeat and good to go. 

Create Stained-Glass Decorated Candles

To enhance the magic of your ritual candles, you can create your own, filling them with your energy and intentions! You can adorn them with big sequins, curio crosses, symbols such as the Egyptian ankh, faux pearls, or anything lovely and suitably glittery that can be added to the sides of the candles to create a “stained glass” appearance. Another technique is to mix in your magical objects, stirring them into the melted wax inside a mold. An even easier way to do this is to take a soft beeswax pillar candle and “stud” the sides and the candle top with tiny crystal pieces that cost just pennies per pound. You can save them after melting the candles down and reuse them again and again. Nowadays, candle-making classes abound, and you can get leftover or “recycled” wax to use, melt, and pour into glass votives for your own uniquely magical candle creations. 

Light of Love Altar Dedication

Light candles and incense and dab the jasmine and essential oils above your heart. Speak aloud:

I light the flame,
I fan the flame,
Each candle I burn is a wish. 
My lust will never wane.
I desire and I will be desired. 
Harm to none, so mote it be.

Pool of Plenty: Intention Setting Spell

After any magical work involving employment, you should immerse yourself in the waters of prosperity with a money bath. This particular ritual is most effective if practiced on Thursday night during a new or full moon. Pour pine, mint or green apple essential oil into running bathwater and bathe by the light of a single green candle. Immerse yourself completely and, as you rise, close your eyes and meditate on your truest desires. What does personal prosperity mean to you? What do you really need and what do you really want? Focus on the candle flame while whispering:

The lean times are past and possibilities are vast. 
Here and now, my intention is set.
New luck will be mine and all needs will be met. 
With harm to none and plenty for all, so mote it be. 
With thanks to the goddess who provides all.

Prosperity Altar: Using the Laws of Attraction

The full moon is the time for fomenting your intentions and seeing them to fruition. You can increase your prosperity by remembering one of the most basic principles of prosperity: by giving, so shall you receive. To create a prosperity altar, consecrate the area with sea salt. Cover a low table with green and gold altar cloths or scarves and place matching candles on it. Each day, “recharge” your altar with an altar gift such as flowers, jade or other green crystals, golden flowers, scented amber resin, and coin-shaped pebbles.

Goddess Invocation - Sowing Seeds of Change

Nature is the ultimate creator. At a nearby gardening store or hardware store, get an assortment of seed packets to plant newness into your life. If your thumb is not the greenest, try a wildflower mix or poppies which are extremely hardy, grow quickly and spread, beautifying any area. They re-seed themselves, which is a lovely bonus.

On a new moon morning, draw a square in your yard with a “found in nature” wand, a fallen branch. Apartment dwellers can use a planter on a deck or a big pot for this ritual. Each corner of the square needs a candle and a special stone. I get my stones at new age bookstores, which often have the shiny tumbled versions for as little as one dollar. Mark the corners as follows:

Green candle and peridot or jade for creativity, prosperity and growth

Orange candle and jasper or onyx for clear thinking and highest consciousness

Blue candle and turquoise or celestine for serenity, kindness and a happy heart

White candle and quartz or limestone for purification and safety

Repeat this chant as you light each candle:

Greatest Selene, I turn to you to help me renew, 
Under this new moon and in this old earth. 
Blessings to you; blessings to me. Blessed be.

Put the seeds under the soil with your fingers and tamp them down gently with your wand, the branch, which you should also stick in the ground at this time. Water your new moon garden and affirmative change will begin in your life that very day.

A Lovely Night for a Moon Dance - Saturn Day Night Fever

Here is a pagan party plan which is wonderful for weekend evenings. You can add many embellishments such as important astrological or lunar happenings, but you should gather your friends or coven and celebrate life any Saturday night of your choosing. If the weather is warm enough, have the festivities outside. Otherwise, make sure to choose an indoor space with enough room for dancing, drumming and major merriment. Ask each of your guests to bring cake, cookies and sweets of their choice along with their favorite beer, wine, mead, cider or ale and sitting cushions. Place the offerings on a center table altar and light candles of all colors. Once everyone is seated and settled, the host or designated circle leader chants:

Gods of Nature, bless these cakes. 
That we may never suffer hunger. 
Goddess of the harvest,
Bless this ale,
That we may never suffer thirst. Blessed be.

The eldest and the youngest should serve the food and drink to all in the circle. Lastly, they serve each other and the leader chants the blessing again. Let the feasting begin!

A Happy (and Hoppy) Household Blessing

When you or a friend move into a new home, place a wreath or bundle of dried hops and eucalyptus on the front door. Walk through the door, light your favorite incense and a brown candle, and lie down in the center of the front room. Whisper:

House of my body, I accept your shelter. 
House of my spirit, I receive your blessings. 
Home to my heart, I am open to joy.
And so it is. And so it shall be.

Moon Cakes and Ale: Full Moon Festival

Here is a pagan ritual I have performed on weekends, when the full moon shines bright. Over the years, I have added many embellishments, such as astrological or holiday themes. This basic ritual, Moon Cakes and Ale, however, is a timeless and powerful classic.

Gather a group of friends either outdoors under the moon or in a room large enough for dancing, drumming, and singing. Have the guests bring a cake of their choice as well as a cider, mead, beer or juice to share. Place the offerings in the center, on an altar table. Then light a sage leaf and green and brown candles for home and hearth.

Once everyone is seated, the host or designated leader intones:

Gods of nature, bless these cakes, 
That we may never suffer hunger. 
Goddess of the Harvest, bless this ale, 
That we may never go without drink.

The eldest and the youngest of the circle rise and serve the food and drink to everyone in the circle. Last, they serve each other. The ritual leader pronounces the blessing again. Then everyone says together, “Blessed be.”

The feasting begins, ideally followed by a lot more ale and lively dancing. A wonderful way to keep a group of friends connected is for a different person to host the circle one Saturday each month.

Under a Waxing Moon

When the first narrow crescent of the waxing moon appears in the twilight sky, place a green candle beside a white lily or freesia. White flowers have the most intense aromas. Anoint the candle with tuberose or rose oil. Take a handful of seeds, such as sunflower, walnuts, or pistachios, still in their shells, and place them in front of the candle.

Close your eyes and recite aloud:

Under this darkling moons, 
In Eden fair, I walk through flowers 
In the garden of my desires, 
I light the flame of my mind, 
I plant the seeds of things to come. 

New Job, New Moon

Another good spell purpose for the new moon is getting a new job. If you’re seeking new employment, try this ritual out.

Get your supplies out:
• 2 green candles
• 2 white candles
• 2 gold candles
• 2 pieces of green jade or another green stone
• Cinnamon oil

Line up the candles, alternating the colors. Anoint each one with cinnamon oil, and rub a little oil on the stones too. Start at one end and light each candle. With each one, repeat these words:

A new career is what I desire, 
I cast this spell to get a hire. 
By the light of this new moon, 
I need a new job soon. 

After all the candles are lit, take each stone and gently pass it through the flames (careful of your fingers). Then hold the stones in your hands and visualize the type of job you want to get. After the spell, pocket the stones and carry them with you. You should have a new job by the next new moon.

Autumnal Equinox Ritual: Macon, September 21

Establish one room in your house as the temple. Ideally, it is the room in which you normally keep an altar or sacred shrine. In any case, you should create an altar in the center of the space. Place four small tables in the four corners of the directions and place four evenly spaced candlesticks between the tables. Place a loaf of freshly baked bread (bread you have made with your own hands is best) in the east, a bowl of apples in the south, a bottle of wine in the west, and a sheaf of wheat or a bundle of dried corn in the north. Upon the main altar, place a candle, a plate of sweet cakes and a goblet. Light incense and place it in front of the cakes. Before your ritual, take some time for contemplation. Think about what you have achieved during this busy year:

What have you done?

What do you need?

What remains to be done?

What are your aspirations?

Write down your thoughts and feelings and the answers to those questions.

Read what you have written and ponder it. Look for continuing ideas or themes and make notes of these on a piece of paper. Light the candle on the altar and use this candle to light all the other candles in the temple.

Now go around your temple space in reverse order and extinguish all candles. Then declare your temple closed. The common wisdom is that you should place the apples, bread and wine in your garden as an offering the next day, as a blessing to all of nature.

Create Your Temple Sanctuary: Magical Mandalas and Sacred Space

Spiritual health is just as important as the other kind. Regular maintenance and what I call “inner work” is greatly abetted if you have sacred space where you feel at your best. If you don’t have access to a temple space, you can create a sacred temple space in your own home. The imprint of your own creativity is vital to your personal shrine; it should be decorated with things also made by your own hand. Ideally, your windows allow sacred light to fall upon your designs. This is an artistic endeavor; you are making sacred art. If you do your best work at night, be sure to have adequate lighting. It is also a good idea to reduce the possibilities of distractions and interruptions. It is strongly suggested to turn off phones and television, to create as peaceful an environment as possible.

Bless the space in a fashion of your own choosing with your favorite incense, candles and objects that represent deepest spirituality to you. A magical mandala will greatly enhance your sacred space. The word “mandala” is from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. Loosely translated to mean “circle,” a mandala is far more than a simple shape. It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself—a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds.

Pendulum of Truth Invocation (New Moon is Optimal)

Many witches carry a pendulum with them at all times to help make the right decisions. I sometimes see pendulums twirling over herbs and produce at the farmers market or hovering over restaurant menus. They have recently become available at most metaphysical stores, but a lovingly handmade pendulum is imbued with more personal energy. An easy DIY way to make your own pendulum is to take a strong string or length of leather and tie a ring, gemstone, or crystal to the end. By the light of the new moon, take a bundle of sage, light one end and pass the smoke over your pendulum, “smudging” and purifying your space.

Wear the pendulum around your neck for seven days. Each night, light black candles on your altar to absorb negative energy and, holding the pendulum still, chant:

Guide me to the path of truth, O goddess hear my song.
This pendulum I charge with my energy, to judge right from wrong. 
So mote it be.

On the seventh day, you can begin using your new tool. Any time you need advice before making a decision, dangle the pendulum and observe its movement—swaying from front to back means yes, left to right means no.

Hope and Healing Candle Consecration

Recently, I have been wishing and hoping for peace in this world of ours, as have most of us. I have been making, burning, and giving away candles with the word “peace” written with crystals embedded in the soft candle wax.

If possible, perform this spell during a full moon night for the greatest effect. Place your stained-glass peace candle on your altar and light rose incense, which represents love and unity. Light the candle and chant:

I light this candle for hope,
I light this candle for love,
I light this candle for unity,
I light this candle for the good of all the world 
That we should live in peace. And so it shall be.

Sit in front of your altar and meditate, eyes closed, for a few minutes while visualizing peace in the world. Let the candle burn completely for full charging. Whenever the world around you feels chaotic, light this candle and meditate on a sense of peace enveloping you. And it will.

Citrine Serenity Ceremony (All Moon Phases)

Light a yellow candle for mental clarity, and anoint with calming and uplifting bergamot oil. Place a yellow rose in a vase to the left of the candle. To the right, place a bowl containing at least two citrine or quartz crystals.

Saffron water is made by boiling a single teaspoon of saffron from your cupboard in two quarts of distilled water. Let cool to room temperature and pour into the bowl of crystals. Put your hands together as in prayer, and dip your hands in the bowl. Touch your “third eye” in the center of your forehead, anointing yourself with the saffron water. Now, speak aloud:

Goddess great, fill me with your presence.This night, I am whole and at peace.
Breathing in, breathing out, I feel your safe embrace. 
And so it is.

Sandalwood Spell for Grounding (Waning Moon and New Moon)

Sandalwood, from the Sanskrit word chandana, has been used for thousands of years in India. The woody, sweet smell clears your mind and reconnects you to the earth. This simple spell can actually be used every day as prayer, or to prepare for meditation. Light a stick of sandalwood incense and “smudge” the area with the soothing smoke.

Anoint a brown candle with sandalwood oil. In scentless base oil, such as canola, olive or sesame, add:

• Six drops sandalwood oil
• Two drops lemon oil
• Two drops amber oil

Warm this concoction in a clay oil lamp or carefully heat it on the stove. When it is warm to the touch, dip your left ring finger into the oil and anoint your “third eye,” located in the center of your forehead, just above the eyes.

Sitting in the cross-legged lotus position, whisper three times:

Come to me clarity, come to me peace, 
Come to me wisdom. Come to me bliss. 
I sit in stillness, I sit in peace.
As above, so below; and so it is.

Meditate for twenty minutes, and then massage the warmed oil into your feet. You will be utterly and blissfully grounded now.

Moon Stone: Personal Power Crystal Blessing

You can perform a blessing on a single stone and keep it with you at all times. I keep an amethyst crystal chunk on my nightstand and another one that is a candleholder in my office. As a Pisces, I want my birthstone energy with me for strength, stability, and a love connection with the universe.

Choose a crystal to become your touchstone. Begin charging your crystal on your altar during a full moon. Light a white candle for purification and then place your hands on the stone. Chant thrice:

Goddess of Night, moon of this night,
Fill my stone with your white light.
Instill this stone with your magic and might;

Surround it with your loving sight. 
So mote it be.

Perform this spell three nights in a row. Then you can begin to draw energy from your personal moon stone. Your sanctified stone will be a source of strength, wisdom, and love you can turn to whenever you are down and in need of a boost. And, best of all, you can take it with you.

Pool of Plenty: Intention Setting Spell (Full Moon is Optimal)

After any magical work involving employment, you should immerse yourself in the waters of prosperity with a money bath. This particular ritual is most effective if practiced on Thursday night during a new or full moon. Pour pine, mint or green apple essential oil into running bathwater and bathe by the light of a single green candle. Immerse yourself completely and, as you rise, close your eyes and meditate on your truest desires. What does personal prosperity mean to you? What do you really need and what do you really want? Focus on the candle flame while whispering:

The lean times are past and possibilities are vast. 
Here and now, my intention is set.
New luck will be mine and all needs will be met. 
With harm to none and plenty for all, so mote it be. 
With thanks to the goddess who provides all.