How to Become a Witch (22 page)

Bellarmine jars (or “Beardman jugs”) are salt-glazed, stoneware bottles created in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. They have a fierce bearded face molded on the side. It supposedly depicted Cardinal Bellarmine, a well-known church leader, but the face was actually the Old God, Woden.

These bottles were sometimes used for magick, either protective or baneful. They were filled with such things as bent pins, rusty nails, and human urine, then buried under porches and gates. They could serve as traps for evil spirits, or possibly as curses on someone’s enemies.

Since most modern Witches never do curses, the bottles are rarely used today.

While a spell can certainly be worked by itself, it will often pack more power if worked within a sacred circle, as the centerpiece of a ritual.

Ritual Magick

Ritual is a very important tool for Witches everywhere. There are three kinds of ritual, broadly speaking, in the modern Craft:

Celebratory Rituals:
Sabbat celebrations, some moon rituals, anything that marks the turning of the seasons or a special event.

Transformative Rituals: These involve magick to change yourself or your world. Often they are performed at esbats, but they can be done whenever needed.

Rites of Passage: These mark a turning point in an individual’s life such as a baby blessing, coming-of-age ceremony, handfasting, initiation, or croning. They are partly celebratory and partly transformative.

Ritual can be as simple as lighting a candle or a stick of incense or as complex as casting a full circle and including many other activities. But normally we are talking about a process with the following steps:

Defining the Purpose:
Never do ritual just because it’s on someone’s calendar. The purpose may be to celebrate the Summer Solstice, join two lovers in a handfasting, or “perform whatever practical magick each covener needs this night, drawing the power of the full moon.” Sometimes the purpose is simple, and sometimes, with self-transformation or social change, it can require much thought and careful phrasing to be clear.

Gathering Tools and Supplies:
In chapter 4 we talked about the magickal equipment and supplies you may want to obtain. Some Witches use a few simple tools in ritual; some go all-out for the most ornate and expensive. Either can be effective, for it is the will that makes the Witch, not the tool.

Setting Up the Altar: Decorate your altar with items that reflect the sabbat, the season, the phase of the moon, or otherwise enhance the purpose of your ritual. Use your imagination, and have fun!

Self-Preparation: Begin the process that moves you mentally and emotionally into sacred space. This may include a ritual bath, putting on robes (or removing your clothes), wearing special jewelry, meditating, chanting, or anything else that puts you in the mood and mindset.

Gathering: If you work with a group, decide what will help everyone make the transition. In some covens, members gather in a circle and hold hands. In other traditions, a leader casts the circle, then invites people to enter through a gateway, where they are purified and welcomed.

Attunement: This can be any activity that helps participants connect and harmonize with one another mentally, energetically, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Chant together. Hold hands and hum. Have a short drumming circle. Listen to a brief guided meditation. The activity should help everyone feel fully present and in touch with everyone else. If you are working solitary, ground and center, then think about the work you will do. You may also want to chant, drum, or dance.

Cleansing: Remove all negative or distracting energies by sprinkling the circle with saltwater, carrying incense around the edge, smudging each person with burning sage, or sweeping the circle with your ritual besom (broom).

Casting the Circle: This is also called creating sacred space or establishing the temple. You will create a spherical shell of energy around the participants (or just yourself), using an athame or sword to direct the power. The circle contains and focuses the energy you raise until you are ready to send it to your goal, and it keeps away energies or entities that might disrupt the work. To cast the circle, walk deosil (clockwise), pointing your athame where you want the circle to manifest, and will the circle to come into being. Say aloud words like these:

I conjure thee, O circle of power, that thou beist a boundary between the world of humanity and the realms of the Mighty Ones, a guardian and a protection, to preserve and contain the power we (I) shall raise within; wherefore, do I bless and consecrate thee!

Visualize a ring of blue fire springing up where you point, and when the circle is complete, see the energies rising up and extending down from the ring until they touch at top and bottom, creating a translucent blue sphere (partly below the floor) with you in the center. When done, state, “So mote it be!” to strengthen the sphere.

Which way around the circle?

Deosil
is the Wiccan word for sunwise, sunward, or clockwise, from the Druid term
deiseal
. It is pronounced “jesh’-ul” and is the direction that Witches move around the circle when we cast the circle or raise energy.
Widdershins,
from Lowland Scots, or
tuathal
, from Scots Gaelic, mean counterclockwise, and we move that way when doing magick for banishing or releasing.

Calling the Quarters:
Facing each cardinal point of the compass in turn (usually east, then south, then west, and finally north), invite the elemental powers to attend. For example: “Spirit of Air, I call upon you to be present this night and lend your powers to my/our work.” It might also involve mudras, music, dance, or song. It serves a dual purpose. First, it reminds you to be present and engaged in every way: mentally, emotionally, energetically, and physically. Second, it brings the spirits of air, fire, water, and earth to the edge of the circle to empower your magick. (
Note:
Do not invite the elements
into
the circle, or the air will blow out the candles after the priestess’s sleeve catches on fire, and she knocks over the chalice, drowning the cakes, etc.)

Invoking Deity: Your deities may be general or specific, from “Great Spirit” to “Lady and Lord” to “Athena and Apollo.” You may simply invite them to be present. But a trained and experienced Witch may aspect Deity (also called “Drawing Down the Moon [or Sun],” or “assuming the God-form”). This means that a specific deity—for example, Athena—is invited to enter the Witch’s body and speak through her or his lips. Goddess and/or God becomes incarnate; this is theurgy in its purest form.

Stating the Purpose: Because all words are Words of Power, it helps to focus energy if you speak your purpose aloud. This is especially important in group rituals, to make sure that everyone understands the purpose and supports it.

Core Activity: In a sabbat or celebratory ritual, this might involve dancing the maypole, singing songs, or playing a game. A transformative ritual will require raising power and directing it to a goal. To raise power, you can sing, chant, dance, clap, or drum until you feel the energy rise. When the power reaches its peak (you will feel it surging around and within you), direct it to the goal. You can raise your arms and let it flow through you to an image you visualize, or you can cup your hands around a talisman and let the energy flow into it. After the power ebbs, ground any extra energy by touching the earth, while any remaining power flows back to the Mother.

Cakes and Wine: The sharing of food and beverage enables us to give thanks for the earth’s gifts and begin transitioning back to the usual world. Eating also helps you ground.

Farewells to Deities and Quarters:
Thank whatever deities were invited and release them. You may say something like, “Thank you, ______, for your presence and power in this ritual. May your wisdom, love, and power stay with me. Stay if you will, go if you must, and if you must go, I bid you hail and farewell!”

Then release the quarters similarly, thanking them for their presence in your ritual and bidding them “hail and farewell” as you imagine them retreating from the edge of your circle into the distance where they came from.

Opening the Circle:
The energy sphere is taken down, and the area returns to normal space and time. Walk widdershins (counterclockwise) around the circle, pointing your athame at the ring of blue fire. Imagine it being pulled back into your athame as you walk. For a traditional closing, say: “The circle is open but never broken. Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again!”

Acting in Accord: Follow up any magickal working by taking practical action in support (like sending out résumés for a new job, installing those deadbolts for a more secure house, etc.). You may also repeat the ritual later to reinforce the magick.

Writing Rituals
And a Word about Coyote

We believe in the value of writing your own rituals rather than trying to memorize and perform “canned” rituals written by someone else. Your and your life are unique, and no one else can fully understand your circumstances when writing rituals in a book. A book ritual can be an excellent place to start and a source of really witchy wording, but do personalize it. (A sample self-dedication ritual is included in the appendices. We do not expect you to say it word for word, just use it as a starting point. It can also serve as a template for other rituals.)

In your Book of Shadows, write out your rituals as you envision them—and be ready for the Goddess and the Old Gods to stick their fingers in and stir things up. No ritual ever goes exactly as written if the energy is alive and moving.

Sometimes, things can get really out of whack; the Trickster has appeared. He is called Old Man Coyote in the Southwest. To acknowledge this trickster energy, we usually place a small coyote on the altar—either a tiny statue of an actual coyote or anything funny (Wile E. Coyote and Snoopy come to mind). Thus we honor the trickster energy, which otherwise may manifest in spectacularly disruptive ways. Ignore the Trickster at your peril.

A Sample Ritual for Samhain

Every ritual is unique; even if the same outline is used, different participants and lunar and seasonal energies will guarantee that one ritual cannot duplicate another. Differing traditions, goals, and styles make the range of variation even more enormous, so it’s difficult to present anything like a typical ritual. Nonetheless, here is one just to give you a glimpse.

October 31, Samhain.
Outside, children have wandered the neighborhood in costume, being deliciously scared and gathering great bags of Halloween candy. But the hour grows late, the streets are dark and deserted, and now an ancient holy day will be celebrated.

“Why do they schedule Halloween on the same night as Samhain?” grumbles Oak Shadow, the high priest of Twilight Coven. “Did someone turn off the porch light?”

“Done,” says Velvet, the coven maiden. “And the altar is ready. Where’s Summerlight?”

“Here.” The high priestess seems to flow into the room, her black robe swirling. “Gather the clan, please.”

When all eight members are gathered, Summerlight invites them to place mementos of their beloved dead on the altar, and each comes forward to place a framed photo, piece of jewelry, or once-treasured possession between the black candles.

“We have prepared ourselves for this night with fasting and meditation,” says Oak Shadow. “Let us begin. Velvet, will you lead us in an attunement?”

Soon, all are holding hands and chanting: “Hecate, Ceridwen, Dark Mother, take us in…” Afterward, all but Summerlight and Oak Shadow step into the next room.

At the altar, Summerlight murmurs quiet words over a dish of salt and a bowl of water, then combines them. Then she moves slowly around the room, flicking saltwater to purify the space. Oak Shadow follows her, the coven sword in his large hands. In his deep voice he intones, “I conjure thee, O circle of power…” and continues until the circle is cast. Then he cuts open a portal, and he and his high priestess move to flank the invisible entrance into the circle of energy.

Now the coveners enter one by one; they are purified with the smoke of incense, then welcomed, kissed, and spun to the left of the gateway, according to the old custom. When all have been “spun into the circle,” Oak Shadow closes the gate with the sword.

Now the coven moves in unison, facing east, then south, then west, then north; at each direction, they salute with their athames and then simultaneously draw the appropriate element-invoking pentagram. At each quarter, one invites the appropriate power: “Spirit of air, guardian of the watchtower of the east, join our circle this Samhain eve…”