Luck By the Cup

When you are crafting money magic, it is good to get in the manifesting mindset with some prosperity tea.

Gather together:

    2 cups fresh water

    Teapot    

    Green mug

    Strainer

    1 tablespoon dried rose hips

    1 tablespoon dried chamomile

    1 teaspoon orange peel

    1 cinnamon stick

Steep the rose hips, chamomile, and orange peel in the freshly boiled water for 4 minutes. Strain and pour a cup of tea and stir widdershins, or counterclockwise, in the mug for a moment. As you drink, visualize the abundance coming into your life.

The Manifestor’s Mindset: Magical Thinking

I first heard the wisdom of the visionary teacher and writer Louise Hay 25 years ago when my dear friend Duncan gifted me his well-worn cassette tape of her speaking about how to develop a mindset of abundance. I admittedly brought a bit of a scarcity mindset to California with me from West Virginia and was eager to learn new ways. I loved Louise Hay’s insights, which were wholly new to me. Duncan patiently explained to me his takeaways from Hay’s wisdom and how it had worked for him and changed his life for the better. When paying bills, instead of resenting the utility that had supplied water and electricity, write the check, seal the envelope, and say aloud “Thank you, Pacific Gas and Electric, for supplying me with power for my home and trusting me to pay you. Blessings to you, PG&E!” We even began a ritual of paying bills together and then walking to the mailbox and pronouncing our gratitude to all the recipients of our money. We even added the finishing touch of kissing the stamped envelopes and saying “Thank you!” before dropping them in for mailing. We got some looks of surprise at our mailbox rituals but we believed wholeheartedly in Louise Hay, and doing that had been working for Duncan. Soon, it began to work for me and I fully embraced the mindset. Most surprising of all, I stopped being filled with dread and worry when bills came in and started paying them the same day they came in, whenever possible. In addition to adopting an attitude of abundance, it helped my credit score!

Luck by the Cup

When you are crafting money magic, it is good to get into the manifesting mindset with some prosperity tea.

Gather together

    * 1 tablespoon dried rose hips

    * 1 tablespoon dried chamomile

    * 1 teaspoon orange peel

    * 2 cups (480ml) freshly boiled water

    * a teapot

    * a green mug

    * strainer

    * 1 cinnamon stick

Steep the rose hips, chamomile, and orange peel in the freshly boiled water in the teapot for 4 minutes. Pour the tea into the mug through the strainer, and stir widdershins, or counterclockwise, with the cinnamon stick for a moment. As you drink, visualize the abundance coming into your life.

Set Your Intention to Be a Master Manifestor

I learned the art of intention-setting some years ago and quickly incorporated it into my morning rituals. Upon waking, sometimes even before I open my eyes, I set my intention for the day—it only takes a minute! It can be about work, financial challenges, a problem I am dealing with, relationships, health, hopes and dreams— anything, as long as it is also for the good of all. It has become a morning prayer for me, quick and quiet. I simply state my intention, such as, “I intend that my presentation today at work will go really well and I will feel joy as it is happening and set the stage for success for this product launch, for the good of all. I am grateful for this wonderful day. And so it is.” During the peak of my money woes, I would get very specific and set intentions for the exact amount of money I needed to make the mortgage payments, pay credit card bills, etc. Granular detail is good when manifesting so it is fine to say how much you want when intending with money.

Keep these other tips in mind:

    * Avoid using words with any negative charge to them, such as “can’t,” “but,” and “won’t,” and amplify     your intention with a statement of gratitude immediately after.

    * Always state your intention as if it is happening now and not in the future. Be specific and intend             without limit.

    * Your intentions do not always have to be personal to you and intending for the greater good of all             contributes to a positive global shift.

    * By setting intentions every day, you will soon become a master manifestor. I intend that for you!

Energy Management—You and Your Crystals

The first thing you need to do with a crystal is charge it, which means syncing it up with your personal frequency and vibrations. You’re placing your desires and wishes into the vessel of the crystal. The crystal’s inherent energies will come into play with your personal power, and your intentions can be manifested, or made real, through the crystal.

The very first step in this process, however, is the dedication of the crystal toward the greater good of all beings. An essential part of this process is the cleansing of the crystal in order to purify its energy. Although this is a straight-forward task, it is of supreme importance for your use of the crystal down the road. If a gem or stone is not as effective as you had hoped, the problem could stem from the initial dedication. Think of this primary step as the honing and direction of the intention. Here is how: simply hold the crystal in the palm of your right hand, and in your mind picture a glow of light surrounding the stone.

When the rock is completely enveloped by light in your mind’s eye, state out loud, “This crystal is only for exacting good of the highest order. In this stone of the earth, there is only love and light.” I like to leave the crystal out in the light of the natural rays of the sun and the moon for a twenty-four-hour period for the maximum dedication of light and love from the universe and the heavens above as part of the purification process. But, if time is of the essence, you can move right on to step number two, charging the crystal itself.

All stones possess natural energies of their very own. You want to merge your energies with those of your crystals so that the crystals will be in sync with your vibratory channel. Remain mindful of the great power your stones have and you will be in a good position to work with it. Consider carefully what kind of energy you want to place into your crystal. Take a stone that has been cleansed by sitting in a bowl of sea salt overnight and in the light of the sun for a day. Sit in a comfortable position and hold the crystal in your right hand. Focus on the energy you desire your crystal to hold and project it into the stone. Bear in mind, the use of crystal magic should not be used solely for your purposes, but also for the greater good. Please make sure you’re projecting positive energy and not anger or hatred. You should ask aloud for your crystal to work together with you for the highest good. You are doing creative visualization here, so keep concentrating until you can see and feel the energy flowing into the stone. You will feel when the charging, or programming, is complete; your intuition will tell you.

While it is not the best-case scenario, you can charge a stone for someone else. For example, if you have a friend who is very ill and halfway around the world, you could charge the crystal with positive, healing energy and send it to your friend to help them. Ask the crystal to work for the highest good of this person and then release that crystal to them.

Summoned by the Light of the New Moon: A New Vocation Spell

The new moon is an excellent time for ritual, especially when your focus is on bringing new things into your life, such as a job change. If you’re seeking employment, try out the following ritual to manifest your desires. 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. As you light each one, repeat these words:

    A new career is what’s desired,

    I cast this spell so I’ll be hired.

    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, being 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.

Altar Candles: Creating Your Power Center

An altar is a place of power—your personal power—where you can make magic. By building a stone shrine, altar, or power center in your home, you can create a sacred place for daily conjuring, rituals, and

thinking. This will set the stage for you to focus your ideas and make them grow. Having a shrine in your home allows you to rid yourself of personal obstacles and invite friendly spirits into your space. Your
shrine will spark your inner flame and bring daily renewal. The more use an altar gets, the more energy it builds, making your spells even more effective. 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. I recommend starting with a flat surface, one 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 and associated with 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.

Recording Your Rituals

I recommend creating a Book of Shadows to keep notes on ceremonies you have participated in and witnessed. Your BOS can and should be a document of what works for you in terms of specifics—moon phases, colors, numbers, herbs, etc. You can greatly expand your BOS with notes on your ritual projects and your life as a work in progress. Here should be your musings, your writing of invocations, your hopes, and your intentions. I call this the “journal of the journey,” and it can take any form of your imagination as long as it catches the deep truths of what you hope to accomplish.

Your ritual record need not be fancy, but it should be raw, honest, and real. Tell the stories of what really happened, mistakes and all. Those who are the most truthful and open will gain the most from their record of experience. Not every group ritual will be a smashing success—someone will be grumpy, someone else might say the words wrong, or you will all get nervous and forget what to do. Or nature may change your plans. For example, an outdoor full moon circles planed for a year may be driven indoors by a rainstorm that puts out the candles and wilts every spirit. Nevertheless, I am always encouraged and amazed to discover the so-called mistakes we learn most from. If everything is perfect, the ritual is more likely to slip from memory. Life itself is messy and bumpy. Think of the metaphor of the Navajo blanket in which the weaver, despite his skill, always makes one mistake. The metaphor is that life itself is not perfect, and the blanket should be reflective of life. That one “crooked thread” can be the strongest stitch holding the fabric together.

At one full moon weekend, a woman’s circle organized by Z. Budapest started off badly when several women didn’t show up, failing to help pay for the retreat house. The ever-resilient Z. only noted the resulting blessings. The women present created a coven of thirteen, a number sacred to the goddess. With fewer women, we could cook and clean up faster, leaving more time to hike in the woods and pray. During the first hike, we discovered a natural spring bubbling out of the side of the mountain. Inspired by this miracle of nature, we splashed and bathed and Z. created an on-the-spot goddess water rite. It was the highlight of the retreat, and an unexpected blessing. Pure magic was woven by Z.’s experienced hand with this crooked golden thread. By documenting and sharing the ritual stories, I have learned much about ritual and about myself in the process. 

Designing Your Own Earth Rituals

Drawing on the power of the earth, you can perform ceremonies of immense strength and richness to further your personal and spiritual goals. You can begin new projects, deepen your dreams, and ground yourself in nature. You can plant a magical garden with seeds of change. You can sculpt or carve a wooden or stone goddess for your altar. You can cook a sacred meal to serve after ritual work. You can perform rituals outdoors, celebrating the beauty of our planet, a gift we all share and must preserve.

Other earth elemental rites you can design on your own could include ceremonies for fertility, bodily health and strength, prosperity, property, success, and manifestation.

Earth Deities

In addition to Gaia, there are other gods and goddesses who can represent the element of earth. On your home altar or shrine, they can represent earth in your ritual work.

• The Green Man: the forest god who represents the power and divinity of nature.
• Buddha: He achieved enlightenment under the sacred Bodhi Tree.
• Venus of Willendorf: Her appealing and ample shape represents fertility and the feminine.
• Artemis: The huntress or woman warrior who travels with a pack of devoted dogs.

Ritual Knotting

You can add an additional aspect of manifestation to empower your statement of intention with a knotting spell. All you need is your paper scroll and a length of red thread or cord. The color red signifies life and active energy.

As you read your statement of intention, picture the end result in your mind and pour all your powers of concentration onto the paper. After you feel you have fully focused your energy into the scroll, roll it up. Now, proceed to tie knots in the order of the following traditional chant:

By knot of one, this ritual is begun.
By knot of two, my wish comes true.
By knot of three, so mote it be.
By knot of four, the magic is even more.
By knot of five, the gods are alive.
By knot of six, my intention is fixed.
By knot of seven, under the influence of heaven.
By knot of eight, I change my fate.
By knot of nine, all powers are divine.

When you have completed the knots, tie the cord around your scroll. 

Basil Bliss

This sweet tasting herb is excellent in savory dishes. Basil truly grows like a weed, and you should cultivate it right on the kitchen windowsill so you can snip basil leaves to add to your Thai or Italian-inspired dishes. Give your basil plants plenty of sun and lots of water and you will reap a mighty bounty to share with the neighbors. Old wives and hedge witches claim basil protects while it brings prosperity and happiness to any gardener’s home. Basil helps steady the mind, brings happiness, love, peace, and money, and even protects against insanity. (What more can you want?) The benefits of this plant are as plentiful as the plant itself; it can be used for manifesting and attracting love and on the highest vibrational level for abetting psychic abilities, even astral projection.

Topaz

Topaz is a teacher crystal, showing us how to love. This is the stone of true love and success and is fantastic for confidence and creativity. Topaz is an aura cleanser and helps overcome negativity, replacing it with a sense of joy, abundance, and love. From its facets, topaz even has a charge, both negative and positive; you can see and feel the charge if you rub the stone. Topaz occurs naturally in a golden yellow but can also come in blue, reddish blue, brown, green, light pink, and clear. It is found in many parts of the world, including Zimbabwe, Ireland, Russia, Burma, South Africa, Brazil, and California. Topaz is often discovered as worn water pebbles downstream from an underground cache of ore.

Topaz works through the laws of attraction and manifestation. Creative visualization and meditation with topaz on what you really want and believe is right for you is very potent. Set in a silver wand, topaz is a tremendous abundance tool, connecting to the great source of life, energy, and love. You will find that topaz makes you more sure of your intuitions. The bushmen of Africa used topaz ceremonially for sending their brethren to the next world and for healing.

When meditating with topaz, imagine that you are holding the very energy of the sun—warm, healing, and benevolent. If you are tapped out, burned-out, and at your lowest ebb, topaz will generate rays of replenishment to recharge you and get you back up to a good energy level. Topaz relaxes at the same time that it refills; it “coats” your nervous system so you feel comfortable and ready for anything. Topaz will help you see your real goals in this life and will even illuminate the path to getting there. Topaz is a generosity generator, and you will want to give unto another with no expectations of getting anything back. Yellow topaz attracts advantageous people into your life if worn on the ring finger. Blue topaz stimulates the throat chakra and helps with speaking abilities if worn as a necklace.

Rutilated Quartz

Rutiles are the needle-like inclusions in minerals. Native Americans, who teach that spiders are the weavers of the world, saw the rutiles inside the quartz as the web of the spider, a tool for weaving our dreams into reality. Therefore, rutilated quartz is the crystal of manifestation, bringing ideas and dreams into the world in which we live. I love rutilated quartz and always have; one of my favorite pieces is a big pendant set in silver on a leather strap that I can adjust to whatever necklace length I need on any given day.

The rutiles are not only beautiful and mysterious looking; they also amplify healing. These inclusions can occur in almost any kind of quartz, and they will intensify the healing properties specific to that stone. Rutilated quartz is the healers’ healer, helping them uncover the true causes of illness. Many healers have found that rultilated quartz has the power to regenerate the body’s tissues and to help nutritional supplements and herbs to do their jobs better. The crystal is invaluable for the respiratory system and is an immune system booster, too. It is also said to slow the aging process.

Fire Agate

This interesting specimen has small, thin layers that allow light to fill them with what is known as fire. Really, the effect occurs due to the inclusions of very thin layers of iridescent limonite, which cause the light to refract in differing colors. Fire agate is formed when silica-laden water is heated and mixed with iron oxide, filling the cracks between the rocks and then cooling into this interesting stone. Most often found in India, Iceland, Brazil, North America, and the Czech Republic, fire agate needs to be cut in just such a way to feature the layers; one wrong cut and the fire agate is ruined. The process of cutting fire agate is a reversal of Mother Nature’s process.

Fire agate is favored for its iridescent appearance; some believe it is the physical manifestation of the spiritual flame, one of absolute perfection. Fire agate brings the wearer courage and the ability to fend off fear. The fire inside this agate provides a protective shield that actually sends fright back to its source. Fire agate causes a sense of calm and a greater connection to the planet. It is a very useful mind-clearing stone for meditation. Fire agate is wonderfully conductive to introspection, helping to bring deep-seated issues to the surface so they can be examined in the clear light of day. Orange stones are thought to be the most powerful for their high degree of stimulation and for their ability to reveal the hidden.

Fire agate brings out the best in you with this positive, cardinal energy; it propels you forward for advancement in both the spiritual sense and in the real world of work and success. Fire agate can be placed upon the meridians of the body in the same way an acupuncturist or acupressure healer lays on hands. In this way, any sensory blockage can be cleared away, and nervous and circulatory issues can be dealt with.

This is a healer’s stone—the companion for doctors, shamans, and dentists, and psychologists. It is also a cleansing agent of the stomach and glands and is great for the eyes, even said to improve night vision. And, as one might guess with fire, this agate is a sexuality stone. So, light the flame within with fearless agate. Make sure you’re sporting this sexy gem when you are planning a big seduction!