Center Yourself with the Help of a Little Candle Magic

The best way to prepare for personal ritual is to center yourself. I call this “doing a readjustment,” and I believe this is especially important in our overscheduled and busy world. Doing a readjustment helps pull you back into yourself and gets your priorities back on track. Only when you are truly centered can you do the true inner work of self-development that is at the core of ritual. Centering takes many forms. Experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. One excellent way to center is to light a candle and meditate on it. By focusing on the flame, you bring your being and awareness into focus. You can take this a step further with this spell for new insight into your life.

Step 1: Place one candle on your altar or “centering station.” Light your favorite meditation incense. For me, nag champa immediately sanctifies any space and creates a sacred aura.

Step 2: Scratch your name into the candle with the tip of your knife. Next, scratch your hope onto the candle, either in words or other symbols. 

Step 3: Light your candle and recite:

    This candle burns for me.

    Here burns my hope for [say what you are hoping for].

    Here burns the flame of insight,

    may I see clearly in this new light.

Sit with your eyes closed for a few minutes and picture yourself enacting your hopes and desires. You are setting your intention. Picture yourself in the company of people who inspire and teach you, those who bring insight and new light into your life. Let the candle burn down completely.

Amethyst

Amethyst is a purple quartz found most commonly in Brazil, Canada, and East Africa. The color can range from light violet to deep purple or can be nearly colorless. Amethyst has been prized for jewelry for hundreds of years, and before a huge cache was discovered in South America, it was valued as a precious gemstone. It is now classified as semiprecious.

It is one of the stones most esteemed by healers. The legendary American psychic Edgar Cayce recommended it for control and temperance. Amethyst is believed to aid in the production of hormones and regulate the circulatory, immune, and metabolic systems. Amethyst is treasured for its centering and calming properties and seems to connect directly to the mind, fighting emotional swings and depression. Aquarians and Pisceans can count it as their birthstone, and this might be a very good thing because the Fishes frequently struggles with substance-abuse issues, and amethyst can conquer drinking and other sensory indulgences, such as out-of-control sexuality. Amethyst also helps with metal focus, intuition, meditation, and memory.

In early Renaissance, amethyst was held to have the power to prevent evil, at least evil thoughts, and to offer protection in time of war. The lovely purple gem continues to reign as one of the most popular of all stones. Little wonder, since it is such an aid to our physical and emotional health.

Dark Moon Magic: Symbol Writing

If you wish to make direct contact with your subconscious, here is a way to see through the veil between two worlds and enter the recesses of your mind. At any herbal store or metaphysical shop, obtain dried mugwort, dried patchouli or wormwood. The latter is a bit harder to come by, but worth the try.

Crumble any one of these herbs between your hands until it is gently ground into an almost-powdery consistency. Pour the herb into a baking pan. Make sure the crumbled herb dust is evenly spread over the surface of the pan.

Light yellow candles and close your eyes. Take the forefinger of your left hand and touch the center of the pan. Run your finger back and forth in a completely random pattern—don’t think, just rely on your instincts for two minutes. Open your eyes, look at the pattern you have drawn, and write down what the symbols and designs bring to mind. Also write down the thoughts you were having while you were drawing. This ritual is best performed in the new moon phase, but if you have an urgent need to connect with your innermost self, you can do it anytime in the darkest of the night.

Grounding Meditation

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   Because the world we live in today is very much about getting in your head and staying there, many of us have to make a concentrated effort to become grounded and in touch with our bodies and with the natural world around us.
   
   Grounding is the technique for centering yourself within your being, getting into your body and out of your head. Grounding is the way to reconnect and balance yourself through the power of the element of earth. When you see someone walking past talking on their cell phone, you know that they are not grounded.
   
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