There comes a point where we grow beyond just learning from books and the ideas of others. It’s not that we do not value them, but often it is the same information repeated over and over. Yet we still yearn to learn from something beyond us. My Guides are my best teachers.
My Ozark Women are particularly good at this, especially when talking about magical workings. They have taught me how to look at magical crafting and blending energies in some pretty unique ways. So today I thought I would share what that process looks like – how I get the spells work – and some interesting candle magic they have led me to.
Creating Spells and Rituals with Them
I have had my own way of crafting spells long before my Ozark Women became involved. I think those foundations were important in order to do the crafting they set before me now. My understandings and being able to see how everything worked together, made it easier and quicker to see the spells and rituals they were giving me.
Getting the Instructions
For me it is a combination of cards and channeling. As I said before, the cards give me a focus but the words they speak are the real message. I believe everyone has the ability to do this work and actually channel/ hear messages from their Guides/ Deities. It may take a lot of work to get there, but if it’s important to you, then you will do it.
Drawing the Cards
I don’t really have a need for a spell right now – at least I didn’t think I did – but I drew anyway so I could show you how I do this. They didn’t give me a spell per say, but more of a ritual I need to do. The process is the same though.
This is the first set. The top row gives me reasoning behind the work – the “Why.” The bottom row gives me the elements of the spell or ritual – the “How” or components. The cards at the bottom of the deck give the hidden, underlying energy or focus energy.
The top row – the reasoning: Magic of the Earth – Power of the Voice – Communication with the Unseen – and the hidden is about Wisdom.
The bottom row – elements of the spell/ritual: My sacred Circle outside – Fire within – Claiming what is mine – and the hidden is about Oracle work.
I have a sacred circle I created on our property. Last year it was the focal point of the Bridge spell I did with My Ozark Women. Bridging the land here, to the land they lived on in the Ozarks – and an open bridge between the seen and unseen. I haven’t been there enough this summer because we have had a lot of mundane distractions. I am also trying to work on a specific aspect of Spirit Walking right now and it has been challenging due to a distracted mind. That is what they are showing me here.
The Earth magic is referring to being in the circle, freeing myself – my mind – to be able to do the work. Submerging myself in this liminal place we created, to do the work I am wanting to. Using the power of voice, igniting the fire within – which is exactly what this work requires. A piece of Galdr to find an answer. The reclaiming comes into play with my ability to communicate and connect with the unseen. A distracted/ stressed mind has the ability to dampen that, create distance and even disconnect from it. I have been feeling that this week due to the mundane stuff.
In the hidden – Knowledge and Wisdom is found through my skills in oracle work – to find the answers I am looking for, to figure out the step I am stuck on, requires me to be in that liminal space, to walk in spirit.
Going Deeper
Even though I see and hear what they are saying, I like to clarify. If there is any cards that I am unclear on or just want more specifics on, I will draw more cards.
I wanted to see exactly what we were talking about with reclaiming. Is it just the refocusing or was there anything else I was missing? Nope, not really. Reclaiming the wisdom of the Elders. Those that came before me. There was a direct connection to Mary though, the 2nd great grandmother who is focused on spirit communication – and this work is hers. I think she holds the key to what I am searching for right now.
I wanted elements for this as well – the mode of communication I should use for this – tools – and should it be day or night time. Vision, Sun, Stone Circle. The only tool is to put myself in the sacred circle. This is all spirit work, visions and walking in spirit. Interestingly enough it is also a daytime activity – middle of the day to be specific. I will also be drinking midday sun water to help boost and take that energy into myself.
*Side Note: The Decks I use specifically for Ancestors are the Seasons of the Witch Oracle decks. The Samhain deck is their primary deck. I use the other Seasons Yule and Beltane for actions or the elements of spells -depending on the spell or time of year will depend on which I use. I feel these are great decks for Ancestors and know of several others who have also tried them and love them for Ancestor decks.
The Unknown
I never know what they will give me, but every spell, every ritual, has worked without fail. There is a lot we can learn from the dead because their perspective is different from ours. They have not only the knowledge they had in life, but also the experience of what is next. Like Deities, they have a tendency to know what we need and when we need it, even if we do not.
When I first started this work, I would look at everything to see if the magic was sound – did it align and work in magical theory? This critical way of thinking is important. You don’t want to get overly excited and just start throwing spells together without being able to see how all the aspects flow together – at least I don’t. I need to know that the magical theory behind it is sound.
This came into play a lot with the Bridge spell we did. They kept giving it to me in pieces. A series of spells that kept building upon each other until it was done. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what we were creating in the beginning, but I had built trust with them and seen the results of all the work before, so I just flowed with it. That spell took about 3 months to complete. It required some travel and stealthy graveyard work. The result though was beyond anything I had expected and has been really important to work that followed.
Sometimes we need to take leaps of faith. Follow what our Guides tell us even if we do not see the whole picture yet. Trust between has to be there, but knowing where you are being led does not.
Fire in the Darkness
I have been working with an interesting concept when it comes to candle magic, and this will also play a part in what my Ozark Women have set for me to do next.
Part of my core magic and spiritual path is around transformation. Life – Death – Rebirth, not just people but in everything. All transformations big and small. In magic it is about weaving and blending energies to create something new or destroy something to make room for something new. Weaving is about creation. You aren’t destroying but more rearranging. Blending holds more of that destructive energy because you are actually transforming the components together in order to create something new.
The type of candle magic I am going to show you is about blending. Infusing different parts/ aspects into one.
Blending Energy in Candles
First we start with an example. Say I have an impossible feeling task ahead of me. I need strength, courage, and luck to get the job done. I would use 4 candles. The colors of these are specific to me and my associations – along with what I may put around them – so keep this in mind.
I would choose a red candle for strength, blue for courage, green or yellow for luck, and a white candle to represent me because I want it to absorb all the energies of the others. The Morrigan gives me strength and courage so I would rub a little of Her sacred oil onto each candle speaking out loud what I needed from it. Ancestors I see in the domain of luck, so I would do the same with their oil on the luck candle.
I’m a safety girl so I use air dry clay to fashion a holder that will keep all the candles steady and next to each other throughout the work (as you can see above). The white candle, that represents where I want all the energy infused, would go in the middle, and the rest around it.
I will either put them on metal plate or rice paper (you can write your intentions on the rice paper but put it on a non flammable surface because the candles can heat up the clay). You can also add any plant allies, visual representations, or other things around the base if you wish. For this one I personal would just add salt to protect what I was creating.
As I lit each one, I would again speak what I wanted that energy to do. Then I will sit and watch as they burn, keeping in mind all the aspects and how I want them blended. I watch the flames as they flare up and create the exchange. The red flaring up for strength, then as its flame return to normal the white candles flame starts to peak. It has amazed me that I can actually watch as each one is doing their job and passing from one to another. No matter how many times I do this, magic always leaves me in awe.
For the Circle
For the ritual work in the circle I will also do a candle spell like this. I will chose a black and a white candle. The black to represent all the chaos and stress in my mind – the white as the cleansing and emptying that needs to be so I can re-center myself. In this, as the black candle burns, it will be burning away all these distractions and stress in my mind (not in my life – that is different work – this is just clearing the mind). The white candle will cleanse the mind and reopen it to be filled with the magical work ahead. I will surround it in pink salt and rosemary (because my ancestors love it).
Candle Magic
Candle magic holds two elements for me – a physical representation and the energy the burning process creates. The physical representation is to help me keep my focus on the work at hand. Then through burning, through fire, a massive amount of energy is released – all it take is being able to harness and direct that energy into the magic I am creating.
In my opinion, it is one of the easiest and most effective forms of spell work where physical tools are involved. I do not use big candles because I sit with my spells as they burn. For me that is the most effective way, but I also have teenage triplets, a husband, and mundane work too so I can’t be sitting there all day. The size of the candle doesn’t really matter in my experience unless you are doing a massive, long term working. Birthday candles, tea light, and small tapers work just fine.
Do not be afraid to experiment, try new things, based on your own perspectives and intuition. Just because a person says you have to do this and that for it to work doesn’t make it true. It might be true for them, but not necessarily true for you. Get ideas and inspirations from others, but experiment and play with your own ideas too.
I hope this gave you some ideas and things to play with in your own practices!
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