The Goddess of Healing: Artemis Invocation

Creating a healing altar will safeguard your physical health and that of your loved ones. Your altar is your sacred workspace. It is charged with your personal power. Set up your healing altar facing north, the direction associated with the energy of manifestation. North is also the direction of the hour of midnight, the “witching hour,” and an altar set up facing north at midnight promises potent magic. Your shrine to the healing craft should be highly personal and represent all that signifies wellness to you.

This altar is dedicated to the goddess Artemis (see right).

Gather together

    * white fabric

    * 2 green candles, for health, in green glass holders or votive glasses

    * a small statue of Artemis, or a moon-shaped symbol to represent her

    * incense such as sandalwood, camphor, or frankincense

    * healing crystals and objects that bring comfort

To ensure healthful beginnings, drape the white fabric over your altar to make a tabula rasa, or altar equivalent to a blank slate. Take the candles and position them in the two farthest corners of the altar. Place the Artemis statue at the center of the altar. Place an incense burner between the two candles and light the incense.

Now adorn your altar with objects that symbolize healing energy to you. You may perhaps choose a candleholder carved from a chunk of amethyst crystal, which contains healing properties; an abalone shell with the iridescent magic of the oceans; a sweet-smelling bundle of sage; a small citrus plant bursting with the restorative power of vitamins; or a bowl of curative salts from the sea.

These symbolic items, and any others that you select, will energize your altar with the magic that lives inside you. It is also important that the altar be pleasing to your eye and “makes you feel good when you look at it so that you want to spend time there each and every day. After you have been performing rituals there for a while, a positive healing energy field will radiate from your altar.

Waters of Wellness

For thousands of years, we humans have been “taking the waters” as a way to restore, and also heal illness. A ritual bath that will simultaneously relax and stimulate you, is a rare and wonderful thing.

Gather together

    * 4 cups (720g) of Epsom salts

    * a large glass bowl

    * ½ cup (120ml) of almond carrier (or base) oil

    * 6 drops comfrey essential oil

    * 4 drops eucalyptus essential oil

    * 4 drop rosemary essential oil;

    * 6 drops bergamot essential oil

Pour the salts into the bowl and fold in the carrier (or base) oil. Now add in the essential oils, stirring after each is added. Continue to blend the mixture until it is moistened thoroughly. You can add more almond oil if necessary.

When your bath tub is one-quarter full, add one-quarter of the salt mixture under the faucet. Breathe in deeply ten times, inhaling and exhaling fully before you recite this:

    Healing spirits I offer myself to you.

    Remove from me any impurities

    Of the spirit and mind, I open myself to you,

    Body, heart, and soul.

    With harm to none and healing to me, so mote it be.

When the tub is full, step inside and exercise your breath ten more times. Repeat the prayer while you use the rest of the salts to scrub your body, carefully avoiding your eye area. Rest and rejuvenate as long as you like while visualizing your renewed health and vigor.

A Gathering of Angels: A Ritual of Preparation for Surgery

Call your friends together before the surgery. It can be at your home or any place that feels safe and secure. I highly recommend healing energy at the home of the person who is to undergo the surgery, as it will create an aura of restoration. Ask each person to bring something to comfort, reassure, and cure the celebrant: soup, fixings, a soothing eye pillow, sleep balm, a hand-knitted scarf for warmth, body lotion, herbal teas, books, or lavender-infused slippers are all wonderful gifts.

Form a circle of care around the celebrant and light candles. Unscented soy candles are probably best for health reasons. As you go around the circle, ask each person to give his or her gift of caring to the celebrant and say what it represents. 

I give you this herbal tea mix so you can sip tea and draw from it healing and heat.
I give you all my love and healing energy and I know you will come back from the hospital healthier than ever before.

The ritual continues until everyone has had a turn to speak and healing gifts and loving energy surround the celebrant. I suggest giving the celebrant hankies beforehand, as I know

I could not stop my tears of joy. It is completely up to the celebrant to say or do whatever he or she feels during the ritual. In many cases, they may say nothing due to the intensity of this event.

Shekinah’s Salts

Shekinah translates as “She who dwells within” and is the Hebrew name for the female aspect of God. Legend has it that she co-created the world side by side with Yahweh, the god of Israel. This simple recipe for salts calls up the scents and primal memories of what the Edenic paradise must have been like. A real plus to this recipe is that you can change the essential oils to suit your needs and mood.

The ingredients for the recipe are as follows:

• 3 cups Epsom salts
• ½ cup sweet almond oil
• 1 tablespoon glycerin
• 4 drops ylang-ylang essential oil
• 1 drop jasmine essential oil
• 1 drop clary sage essential oil

Mix well and store in a colored and well-capped glass bottle. You can use these special Shekinah salts in your ritual rub.

Soothing Sandalwood Meditation

Sandalwood, lavender, and clary sage create a deeply relaxing blend with a warm and soothing scent. Here is what you need:

• 6 tablespoons almond oil
• 2 tablespoons jojoba oil
• 20 drops sandalwood essential oil
• 15 drops lavender essential oil
• 5 drops clary sage essential oil

Mix oils together in a tightly capped blue, dark green, or brown bottle. Shake well and pour a bit into the palm of your hand to warm before using. Rub it lightly onto your shoulder and neck as well as your temples and wrists. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply with your eyes closed. Chant aloud:

Remove from me all worry.

Remove all stress in a hurry.

No more will I lack sleep.

No more will I weep.

Tranquility and calm, come to me now.

Lunar Almanac: Moon Signs of the Times

The astrological signs of the moon are of great significance. Each moon sign has special meanings set down through the centuries. Ancient and medieval folks paid strict attention to moon phases and moon signs for planting, harvesting, and canning and preserving stores for the long winter. Here is a guide to each sign with tried-and-true lore from olden days along with applications for today’s rituals.

Aries is a barren and dry sign that is perfect for planting, weeding, haying, and harvesting. Moon in Aries is the optimum time for rituals pertaining to leadership, pioneering, ambition, and authority, as well as rebirth. Any healing regarding the face and head is more successful during Aries.

Taurus is an earthy and moist sign that is excellent for planting root crops like potatoes and peanuts. Love, money, and luxury are watchwords for the moon in Taurus. If you are buying real estate, moon in Taurus is an excellent time for that. Because the throat and neck are ruled by Taurus, this is a prime time both for singing and speaking.

Gemini is another dry sign that is a great time for mowing, cutting, and getting rid of plants or pests. Communication is improved during moon in Gemini. Healing of the arms and hands and pulmonary system is well advised during a Gemini moon.

Cancer is a fruitful watery sign conductive to planting; in fact, it is the most productive sign of all. Hearth and home are the focus now, and lunar rituals are well timed during moon in Cancer. Healing rituals for the stomach are best done at this time.

Leo is the driest and least fertile of all moon signs, good only for cutting and mowing. Leo moon is good for bravery, striking out in a new direction, like performing on stage or taking a position of authority. Matters of the heart and literal healing of that organ are auspicious and advisable now.

Virgo is both damp and barren, but is a great time for cultivation. Virgo moon is good for working hard and seeking employment, tending to all aspects of health and nutrition, and healing the nervous system and bowel.

Libra is both wet and fruitful and is wonderful for grains, vines, root crops, and flowers. Now is the time for artistic endeavors, romantic liaisons, and balancing your life. The lower back and kidneys can be restored to health during moon in Libra.

Scorpio is humid and bountiful and is good for all types of planting. Make your moves during moon in Scorpio. This sign is also conducive to plumbing the depths of the spirit and achieving psychic growth. Sex rituals are at their most potent during moon in Scorpio. Healing of the sensitive reproductive organs can happen during this moon time.

Sagittarius is another fire sign that is a poor time for planting and so is best spent harvesting and storing. Rites of passage and travel and rituals relating to higher truths and philosophical matters succeed during moon in Sagittarius. Sports and horses are also in the spotlight during this time. Healing for the legs can be undertaken during this time.

Capricorn is an earth sign that is also wet and is excellent for grafting, pruning, and planting trees and shrubs. Rituals relating to work, goals, and organizing can be commenced at this time. Political careers, dreams, and aspirations should be launched during moon in Capricorn. Skeletal wellness efforts are advisable during this cycle, as well.

Aquarius is an infertile and parched moon time that is best for harvesting, weeding, and dispelling pests. The Aquarian moon is appropriate for rites regarding personal freedom. Friendship, the intellect, and starting a new phase of life all come into play now. Rituals of a more radical nature are best during this sign. Shin and ankle health tend to go better now, too.

Pisces is fecund and fruitful and is good for all kinds of planting. It is remarkable for fruits of all kinds. The highly sensitive moon in Pisces is good for spells and charms for creativity, intuition, divination, dream work, and music. Care and healing for the feet are most favorable during this sign of moon in Pisces.

Experimenting on Your Own

There are so many kinds of rituals, from everyday actions to special incantations for high holy days such as Beltane (May Day) and Samhain (All Hallows Eve). You have sampled just a few spells and rituals here and have learned how you can wield gem magic in your life. After you have been practicing these crystal conjurations for a while, you can experiment with new variations, and they will most likely come naturally to you. Try the stones you are attracted to for your altar, and if you feel an affinity for a certain crystal, explore it in the resource section of this book and then discover for yourself how you can use that stone to suit your needs. Just think about the positive change you want in your life and create your personal spell book.

Ecstatic Elixir

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. 

Brass

Brass is the result of combining copper and zinc. You may be surprised to learn that brass has been used successfully to treat hair loss! Healers favor it as a detoxifier and cleanser for people who have too much metal in their bloodstreams. Brass is also a strengthening alloy for the body and supports gems and crystals in their energies and abilities to interact in a positive way with your body. The iron content in the brass is what makes it a real stabilizer. The healing and protective powers of brass are enhanced if it is worn as a brooch in the shape of a dog, falcon, or snake.

Brass is a wealth attractor and has often been used as a shiny substitute for the much more costly gold. The ancients loved placing their gems in brass for the way it made the beautiful colors really stand out.

Truth-Seeking Spell

If you find yourself in need of help resolving a problem or uncovering new resources within yourself, try the following tried and true rite. Take a piece of plain white paper and a blue pen and have it at the ready.

On a Thursday, light some blue candles and chant the following affirmation:

Fears and doubt, begone from me!
I have the courage to break free.
I have the wisdom to know and the strength to grow. 
I call upon my inner guide to hear and see my truth.

Repeat this four times while the candle burns. Embrace your intuition and trust it with all your heart. Now write down what comes into your mind with the blue pen. You may even feel tingling at the top of your head, which is a very good sign. Knowing the truth can sometimes be uncomfortable, but it is important as a guide for your life.

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.

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.

Mood Magic: Blue Moon Balm

For a dreary day and a dark mood, use the strength of the olden unguent to release both mind and body. This desert plant produces a protective oil, which works as both a sunscreen and a moisturizer. Combine the following oils with either four ounces of unscented body lotion, or two ounces of olive oil or sweet almond oil:

• 2 drops chamomile oil
• 2 drops neroli
• 8 drops aloe
• 6 drops rose oil
  
  Shake the oils together and place in a corked pottery jar. Sit quietly in a room lit only by one blue candle, and rub the balm gently into your skin after a bath. 
  Pray aloud:
  Work thy spell to heal and nurse. Blessed balm, banish my pain. Harm to none and health to all.

Inspiration Infusion: Spell in a Cup

Your morning pot of tea can be a daily ritual you use according to your needs. If, upon rising, you feel a bit blue, brew up some bergamot. As you sip the soothing libration, you will feel your spirits lift and you can greet the day stronger and infused with this simple and true magic. Along with healing and energizing properties, herbal teas can aid the mind. Try the following blends:

• Bergamot dissipates negativity and uplifts.
• Basil lends a sense of serenity.
• Rosemary supports physical well-being.
• Orange creates sheer joy.

Midnight Moon Purification Ritual

Set up your altar outdoors, weather permitting. The altar should be facing north, the direction associated with the energy of manifestation. North is also the direction of the midnight hour, also known as “The Witching Hour.” Find a pure white square of fabric to drape over your altar for clean and clear new beginnings. Take two green candles and place them in green glass holders, and position them in the two farthest corners. Place your censer in between and burn sandalwood, camphor or frankincense for purification. Adorn your altar with objects that connote well-being to you. Perhaps an amethyst candleholder with purple candles, a bowl of bright red apples from your backyard, a dwarf lemon tree bursting with the restorative power of Vitamin C, a cellar of curative salts from the sea. These symbolic items and any others your select will imbue your altar with the magic that lives inside of you and your intention toward good health. It is imperative that it be pleasing to your eye and fills you with gladness when you gaze upon the altar. After you have been performing Midnight Hour rituals for a while, a positive healing energy field will radiate from your altar. Blessed be!

Witchy Wellness Healing Altar (Waxing Moon is Optimal)

Your altar is your sacred work space, a place imbued with your personal pagan power. I recommend starting with a flat surface, at least two feet across each way for the four directions of the compass. Perhaps you have a favorite antique table, at once simple and ornate. I have set up my altar to face north, long believed to be the origin of primordial energy. North is the direction of midnight, and an altar oriented in this fashion promises potent magic. 

Find a pure white square of fabric to drape over your table, just touching the floor. Take two candles in matching holders and place them on the two farthest corners. Place your incense burner exactly in the middle. If you don’t have favorite incense yet, start with the ancient essence of frankincense. Select objects that appeal to you symbolically to place on your altar. I have a candlestick of purest amethyst crystal, my birthstone. When I gaze on the candle flame refracted through the beautiful purple gemstone, I feel the fire within me. This inculcates your altar with the magic that lives inside you, that lives inside all of us, and magnifies the ceremonial strength of your workspace. You should decorate your altar until it is utterly and completely pleasing to your eye. After you’ve been working spells for a bit, an energy field will radiate from your altar. 

Fireplace altars today hearken back to this earliest custom. Home and hearth have primal appeal to the comfort of both body and soul. If you have a fireplace, it can become the very heart of your home. The fireplace is also one of the safest places of the ritual work of fire keeping. Sanctify your fireplace with a sprinkling of salt, and then set it up as an altar to the four seasons. Like the Vestal Virgins of old, you can keep a fire burning in a votive glass holder in the back of your fireplace and have an eternal flame. The fireplace can be your simplest altar and a reflection of the work of nature. If you don’t have a real fire in your fireplace, you can place in it beautiful sacred objects—pretty rocks, feathers, seashells, glistening crystals, beautiful leaves, and anything representing the holiest aspects of the world around you. Let nature be your guide. 

Archangel Protection Rite: Angelica Hex Breaker (Waxing or Full Moon)

Whenever you are going through a hard  time or have fears for your family, try this ritual. Angelica, also called the “Heavenly Guardian  Flower,” is said to first  bloom on Archangel Michael’s name day. This positive plant is part of the carrot family and is a tall, hollow-stemmed plant with umbrella-shaped clusters of pale white flowers, tinged with green. Candying the stalks in sugar was an old-fashioned favorite, and  was also traditionally used to cure colds and relieve coughs. Nowadays, seeds are used to make chartreuse, a digestive and uniquely tasty liqueur. This guardian flower is a protector,  as one might expect for a plant  associated with archangels, and is used to reverse curses, break hexes and fend off negative energies. Drying and curing the root is a  traditional talisman, and it can be carried in your pocket or in an amulet to bring a long life. Many a wise woman has used angelica leaves in baths and spellwork to rid a household of dark spirits. If the bad energy is  intense, burn  the angelica  leaves with  frankincense to exorcise them from your space. While you are protecting yourself and your home from negativity during this angelica smudging session, you will also experience  heightened psychism. Pay close attention to your dreams after this; important messages will come through.

All We Need is Love Magic

Love is what makes the world go 'round. right?

Any metaphysician will tell you that the most common request for help involve matters if the heart. Witchcraft is based on the knowledge that our destinies lie in our own hands, even where love is concerned. So why suffer the slings and arrows of love gone wrong when you can do something about it? Why spend a Saturday evening alone when you already know the object of your desire? And why doubt your own power to attract love when a little herbal chemistry can make you virtually irresistible. Magic not only influences desired outcomes, but empowers one’s self and foster personal growth. What better way to begin this process than with spells for love: spells that create the potential for love, draw the attention and devotion of a lover, strengthen the union between an existing couple, invoke sexual magic, heal a broken heart, and perhaps most importantly, fill your own heart with love and compassion for yourself. Inside this book are secret recipes for aphrodisiacs, ritual celebrations for the high holidays of love, and insight into the mysterious realm of the moon and the stars.

 Your Shrine to Love

An altar is a place of power- your personal power- where you can make magic. It should be an expression of your deepest self, filled with artifacts that hold personal resonance. Allow your altar to be a work-in-progress that changes with the seasons and reflects your inner cycles.

To create your altar, find a small table and drape it in richly colored, luxurious fabrics- perhaps red satin or a burgundy velvet scarf. Take one red and one pink candle, and arrange them around a sweet-smelling incense such as amber, rose, or jasmine. Decorate your altar with tokens that represent love to you: a heart-shaped chunk of ruby glass, potpourri made with ROSE and AMETHYST, a photo of your lover. Fridays are the time for spelling love, right before dawn. Before you light your candles, anoint them with a love oil you select from the following pages. 

Scent your wrists, your throat, and your left breast over your heart with the same oil. Jasmine and rose have very powerful love vibrations to attract and charm a lover. If you desire sexual results, look into the flame of the red candle; if your desire is affection or flirtation, look at the pink candle instead. This simple spell, said aloud, will create loving magic:

Venus, cast your light on me,

A goddess for today I’ll be.

A lover, strong and brave and true,

I seek as a reflection of you.

The Ties That Bind: Your Friendship Altar

Friends are some of the great loves of our lives.

 

To prepare the way for letting new friends enter your life or to focus your attention on existing friendships, set up an altar where you can concentrate your energy and clarify your intentions. If you already have an altar in place, incorporate some if the following elements to enhance your relationships with others as well with yourself. The more you use your altar, the more powerful your spells will be.

Your altar can be a low table, the top of a shelf, or even a shelf. First, purify the space with the smoke of a lit sage bundle. This is called “smudging” and is an essential part of witchcraft. You can use wild sage or purchase it in any herb store. Once you have smudged the space, cover your friendship altar with a  pink-colored scarf or cloth, and place pink and white candles in each of the four corners. (Pink is the color of affection and White represents purity.) Place rose quartz and calming fluorite stones around a vase of fresh flowers often with poppies, daisies, whatever connotes fun and friendship to you.

As a centerpiece, place on the altar a photograph of your friends or an image that represents companionship in your life.

Light the candles, kneel before your newly created altar, and say:

I light the fire of loyalty

The heat of heart and the flame of friendship.

Brightest blessing, Great Goddess bring,

The spirit of friendship will surely sing.

As the fates do dance, I welcome the chance

To share my love and my life.

So mote it be.

Your Love Grows Daily: Magical Garden

A great relationship can be cultivated, literally. 


By planting and carefully tending flowers that have special properties-like night-blooming jasmine for heightened sensuality, or lilies for lasting commitment – you can nurture your relationship along. During a new moon in the Venus-ruled signs of Taurus or Libra, plant an assortment of flowers that will surround you with the beauty and energy of sweet devotion. A few of my proven favorites are listed in the garden of Indra that follows.

Before you place your hothouse posies or seeds into pots or flowerbeds, bless the ground with a prayer of health for your plants, yourself, and your relationships.

Light a black candle to absorb and dispel bad energy, and place it in the middle of a circle you have drawn with a stick. Dip your hand into a clay bowl of water and sprinkle drops behind you and before you. Sing out:

Great spirit, I offer you this petition.

Please cleanse this land-you are the greatest magician.

With my hands, I will plant and sow.

Here, a healing garden will now grown.

Blessings to you and to the Guardians of the Earth.