Don’t Worry, Be Happy: A Spell to Quell Anxiety

As the sun sets on a waning moon day, you can quiet the inner voices of worrywart that get in the way of life. When our moon ebbs, another grows forth, and so it goes for our creativity and renewal cycles.

Gather together

• 1 vanilla bean pod
• sandalwood incense
• amber resin
• a charcoal cake for burning incense
• a fireproof glass or clay dish
• 1 black or gray candle

Timing: As the moon decreases in size, cast this spell.

Set aside a small piece of the vanilla bean, then grind together a teaspoon each of sandalwood, amber, and the remainder of the vanilla bean using either the back of a spoon or your mortar and pestle. Burn this resin-based mixture on a piece of charcoal in the fireproof dish on your altar. Light the black or gray candle, for protection. Rub the reserved small piece of vanilla bean in your palm until the scent begins to waft up thanks to the heat in your hands. Concentrate on the flame and rub the same vanilla essence on your temples and place your hand over your heart.

As you meditate, think about how you sometimes doubt yourself, worry needlessly, and how you will begin to trust your innate wisdom and instincts. Visualize clearing all anxiety from your mind. Think about the wonderful aspects in your life, your bright future, and your potential as you chant:

    La lune, goddess of the moon,

    As you may grow, so do I.

    Here, tonight, under your darkest light,

    I embrace all within me that is good and right,

    and bid goodbye to all the rest. Blessed be.

Blow out the candle and throw it into a fireplace or your cast iron cauldron to burn away. You must completely destroy the candle because it contains the energy of your anxiety and fear. Now, go and worry no more.

Garden of Prosperity: A Ritual to Plant New Beginnings in Your Life

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 and will grow quickly and spread, beautifying any area. They reseed 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.

Diwali Ritual

 Diwali offers us the opportunity to vanquish our own demons and start anew. The symbols of light and sweetness are used here to represent the intention to replace resentment and bitterness with hope and balm. Essential elements of this ritual are plenty of candles, a new piece of clothing (such as a scarf) or a new item of jewelry, and a plate of sweet cakes, confections, or candy.

Light as many candles as you can in the room where you are performing this ritual. Create a circle of candles, and create sacred space by having a symbol of each element in your circle: a dish of salt or earth, a cup of water, incense, and a candle. Sit lotus-style in the center of your circle and relax in the flickering candlelight. Feel the center of your circle and relax in the flickering candlelight. Feel the presence of the four elements and the balance they create. Notice how warm and alive the room feels. Notice how the gentle, flickering candlelight makes you feel safe. Now think back to all the difficult situations you have experienced over the past year and think of the people who have angered or hurt you. Imagine them surrounded by the warm, loving candlelight, and say to each of them, one by one:

I release you. May the lights of Diwali bless you.

As you release each person or situation, visualize their image melting into the candlelight. While the image fades from your mind’s eye, place a bite of the cake or confection in your mouth. Allow the treat to dissolve, spreading its sweetness across your tongue. Visualize and feel that sweetness spreading through you, counteracting any of the traces of pain or bitterness that might remain. This is the sweetness that your new life holds, untainted by these bitter demons that have held you back.

When you have finished releasing your demons to the light, purify the new piece of clothing or item of jewelry by passing it through the smoke of the incense. Put on your new piece of jewelry of clothing, saying:

With this act, I declare the past gone, and see the future bright with hope.

Stay within your circle of light as long as you desire. Leave some of the cake or sweets as an offering to the gods in thanks for your new life. 

Personal Ritual for Renewal: Bed Blessing

Turn back the bedspread to reveal fresh sheets. In a red cup, mix a half-teaspoon of jasmine oil and a half-teaspoon of rose oil. Hold it with both hands and speak:

In this bed, I show my love.

In this bed, I share my body.

In this bed, I give my heart.

In this bed, we are as one.

Here, my happiness lies as I give and live in total joy. 

Blessed be to thee and me.

As you say, “Blessed be,” flick drops of your bed blessing oil from your fingers all across the bed until the cup is empty. Now, lie down and roll around in the bed. After all, that is what it is there for!

New Year, New You: Metamorphosis and Transmutation

Here is a personal ritual I recommend for the New Year, whether it is Samhain (October 31, All Hallow’s Eve) or Saturnalia (December 17–24). It can also be performed any time you feel the need for renewal or personal reinvention.

Like a caterpillar, we can burst out of our old form and shed old skin. Old habits that no longer serve should be released. If drinking alcohol, for example, has become a problem for you, let go, find a Twelve-Step program, and let miracles happen in your life as you release the old and welcome the new. We must let go of the past in order to look to the future.

A well-timed ritual can be the process by which you let go of that past. It formalizes the act and marks the time of entry into a new present and new future.

Start with a ritual bath, or this Inspirational Immersion, to cleanse yourself.

Immersion

At the day’s last light, pour a bath. As your run the water, pour drops of bergamot, rosemary, vetiver, and eucalyptus oils into the steaming waters. Bathe in the gathering dark. As darkness begins to fill the room, meditate and pray for positive change in your life. Know that this is the day your life will surely change forever. 

Stone Shrines: Creating a Crystal Altar

 

By building a stone shrine, altar, or power center in your home, you can create a 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. 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.

Create your shrine on a low table covered in a white scarf. Set rainbow candles in an arc and then add black and white candles. Place a heatproof bowl containing amber incense (good for creativity and healing), and place it in the center of the rainbow, surrounded by quartz. You should also keep a stick of sage or a seashell on your altar for cleansing the space every day.

Prosperity stones should be to the far left on the altar, in the money corner. Romance crystals should sit to the far right on the altar.

The rest of your altar should consist of meaningful, personal symbols. They should reflect your spiritual aspirations. I keep fresh wildflowers in a vase, a statue of a goddess, abalone shells, a magnetite obelisk, and a rock-crystal ball on my altar. An obelisk or pyramid on your altar can be used for writing out desires and wishes. You can use just about anything—photos of loved ones, religious images, and so forth.

With your altar, you can create a bridge between your outer and inner worlds. It can even be a place where you commune with the deepest and most hidden parts of yourself. An altar is where you can honor the rhythms of the season and the rhythms of your own life. An altar is a touchstone, a place to see the sacred and incorporate it into your life each and every day. It can be your special corner of the world where you can rest and connect with your spiritual center. Creating and augmenting your altar every day is one of the most soul- nourishing acts you can do.

Following it a table of different crystals and what their presence on your altar will mean:

Altar Crystal: amazonite, aventurine, carnelian, chrysolite, chrysoprase, citrine, green tourmaline, malachite, yellow fluorite

What They Mean: Creativity

Altar Crystal: amethyst, azurite, celestite, lapis lazuli, moonstone, selenite, smoky quartz, sodalite, star sapphire, yellow calcite

What They Mean: Intuition

Altar Crystal: amethyst, magnetite, rhodochrosite, rose quartz, twinned rock crystals 

What They Mean: Love

Altar Crystal: bloodstone, carnelian, citrine, dendritic agate, diamond, garnet, hawk’s-eye, moss agate, peridot, ruby, tiger’s -eye, topaz, yellow sapphire

What They Mean: Prosperity

Altar Crystal: amber, apache tear, chalcedony, citrine, green calcite, jade, jet, smoky quartz 

What They Mean: Protection

Altar Crystal: azurite, chalcedony, chrysocolla, green tourmaline, hematite, rutilated quartz, tiger’s-eye

What They Mean: Self-Assurance

Altar Crystal: amber, aventurine, blue jade, dioptase, Herkimer diamond, jasper, kunzite, moonstone, onyx, peridot, quartz, rhodonite

What They Mean: Serenity

Altar Crystal: carnelian, obsidian, quartz, selenite, sodalite, topaz

What They Mean: Success

Altar Crystal: agate, aventurine, bloodstone, calcite, chalcedony, citrine, dioptase, emerald, garnet, orange calcite, ruby, topaz

What They Mean: Vigor

Altar Crystal: emerald, fluorite, Herkimer diamond, moldavite, serpentine, yellow calcite 

What They Mean: Wisdom 

Body Purification Ritual Rub

Since the time of the ancients in the Mediterranean and in Mesopotamia, salts from the sea combined with soothing oils have been used to purify the body by way of gentle ritual rubs. From Bathsheba to Cleopatra, these natural salts have been used to smooth the skin and enhance circulation, which is vital to overall body health as the skin is the single largest organ. Salts from the Dead Sea have long been a popular export and are readily available at most health food stores. You can make your own salts, however, and not only control the quality and customize the scent, but save money, too. The definitive benefits that is far and above cost saving is that you can imbue the concoction with your intention, which is absolutely imperative when you are performing rites of self-healing. Cook up your own “kitchen cupboard cure.

“Aries: Impatiens Renewal for Rams

High energy Aries often race forward as they blaze new trails. Patience is not their strong suit. When the going gets tough, they just race forward, never stopping, However, this can also be a major source of undue stress and strain; try impatiens flower essence and you’ll discover a wellspring of fortitude.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is purity and positivity. It is a powerful crystal of great immediacy, quickly redirecting the energy of the mind and body. Tourmaline fights fearfulness and eliminates long-held wounds from the past, leaving you renewed and with far greater clarity. Whatever is weighing you down will soon be gone; your emotional baggage will be unpacked and lightened. Tourmaline is regarded as one of the best all-around healers. It is one of the most effective stones to use in overcoming a crisis or trauma and the accompanying pain. It relieves and releases sorrow and replaces it with joy. Tourmaline is also grounding, giving perspective regarding the very meaning of life.

The name apparently comes from the Sinhalese word turamali, the former name for “gems” in Sri Lanka. Tourmaline is found all over the world and comes in many colors, each one with distinctive properties.

* Blue tourmaline, known as indicolite, is highly sought after. This stone relates to the upper torso and is healing for the brain, the pulmonary system, and the immune system. As with many blue crystals, tourmaline is superb for spiritual growth. It is a visionary stone and opens the third eye, giving way to psychism. This crystal enables you to see how you can serve humanity with higher mind awareness.

* Green tourmaline, properly called chrome, is said to be the most powerful of all the tourmalines, and a great many healers believe it is the most powerful of all crystals! Green tourmaline is healing to the eyes and heart and helps with weight loss. Anyone who suffers from chronic fatigue should try tourmaline. This stone also abets the study of herbalism. This crystal is a problem solver. This is a complete balancer, touching upon each chakra as well as rejuvenating the brain, the nervous system, and the immune system. Green tourmaline is a creativity crystal and lends enormous energy and impetus so you can strive for your best work and art. Green tourmaline turns thoughts into actions, facilitating follow-through and helping you overcome any obstacle in your path. This is a confidence crystal, giving you greater compassion, inspiration, prosperity, and tolerance for others.

* Purple tourmaline is a stone of devotion. Lending the highest spiritual aspirations, this crystal works by connecting the root and heart chakras. It greatly enables the ability to love unconditionally and creatively. Purple tourmaline is a heart healer.

* Black tourmaline wards off negative energy and does not absorb it as most other black crystals do. If you sense that bad energy is being directed at you specifically and malevolently, black tourmaline will repel this psychic attack. Psychic vampires are also a problem, though they might be unconscious of it, but this crystal will keep them away and prevent them from draining you of energy. Black tourmaline is a guardian stone; keep it with you during times of stress. When held in the hand, black tourmaline relieves the symptoms of allergies within ten minutes. I would go so far as to suggest you keep it with you in your home, on your altar, and at your place of work, as it will make your personal space safe. This crystal shields against disease and strengthens the body. If nightmares or insomnia are any kind of issue, turn to tourmaline.

* Pink to Red tourmaline, called rubellite, is very soothing. This pretty crystal is an excellent one to use in a relationship that needs adjustment because it heals hurt and lends mutual understanding. Pink tourmaline can aid in overcoming inhibition in lovemaking; it provides trust in your own body and very gently allows you to let love in and to be able to receive love being shown to you. This is a stone of acceptance and release, paving the way to new experiences in love and in life. Pink tourmaline brings the most important kind of love of all—for yourself.

* Watermelon tourmaline is an exceptional combination of green and pink and is a stone of harmony and balance. This crystal is one to call upon when dealing with conflict. It gives you the ability to love yourself and others, to understand, and to heal. It is a peacemaker’s stone, more essential in this world than ever before.

* Clear tourmaline is the blending of all the other tourmalines. This clear crystal touches upon and opens the crown chakra, creating synergy between the etheric body and the physical body by aligning the meridian lines. It is a boost to the immune system and has been used for healing nervous disorders.

Gold

Gold is beloved for its sheen and purity. Whether white or yellow, it is a fantastic energy conductor. Gold enhances any gem or stone and encourages the action of said stone with a dose of quickening energy. It is a symbol of wealth and personal power and accentuates any gem or crystal. Gold also accentuates you.

The softest and the strongest metal, gold never tarnishes and seems to stay beautiful and perfect through anything; it’s impermeable to weather and the effects of aging. This is an adaptable, mutable metal and maintains its unity in alloys.

Gold fascinates—no doubt about it. It is used in jewelry, in industry, and also in medicine. Because gold is a viable energy conductor, it has wonderful healing properties, and because it is impervious to harm, gold is a tremendous element of renewal and regeneration. It has been said to help with arthritis, blood and circulation problems, and mental and emotional issues.

Gold can give you courage and self-esteem. It can accentuate the positive in yourself and your regard of others. Wearing gold-nugget jewelry might even bring in a continuous flow of wealth!

In Mexico, gold is linked to religion and faith. Gold crucifixes and crosses are worn for protection and as a link to God, Christ, and Mary. In India, parents give their young children tiny gold amulets to guard against harm and illness.

Let this metal of kings and queens cast a golden glow over your life! 

Attraction Action – A Group Rite

Here is a beautifully simple way to attract money to you and your circle. Be sure to pass on some of the good fortune that has shone on you in order to keep the flow of abundance in circulation. This ritual is most effective performed at midnight on a full moon. Ask the participants to bring a green candle with their name scratched into the wax. Find the biggest green candle you can get and light it at the stroke of midnight.

Ask each ritualist to step forward and recite their name, lighting their candle from the large one. Pray aloud:

Holy Moon on this bright night! 
Now is the time for fortune to shine. 
Mother Moon, lend us your power 
In this midnight hour.
Full moon bright, full moon’s light,
Grant to us, our wish tonight.
Let abundance flow from this rite. 
With harm to none, so mote it be.

Allow the candles to burn out on their own.

As they flicker under the full moon, gather the circle in a comfortable spot and talk about what you want to manifest in your lives. The more specifics in the discussion, the better. This rite bears repeating every once in a while to renew the power.

The Charmed Life: Thriving Thursdays

We all need to give ourselves a health and happiness boost. This spell aimed at abetting menial and emotional well-being is best performed when the hardy spirit of Thor is in ascendance. On any Thursday, take a blue candle, dress it with cedar or bergamot oil, and say nine times:

Fears and woes — I take respite;
Worries and cares — you’re out of sight. 
Stronger and happier, I will grow each day; 
My soul has found its way.

If you do this for several weeks, your friends will notice as your health blooms and you simply beam with a bright, jolly and renewed sense of self and well-being.