The Book of Spells is a unique title that offers steps to enhance a different aspect of your life, allowing you to take the practice into your own hands and connect to the magick within. Read it to discover the art of spell casting to add some magick to your daily life.
Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book includes an introduction into witchcraft, the tools you may want to include, and an extensive correspondence of herbs and crystals, as well as a simple guide to create your own unique spells and rituals.
We’ve created a downloadable PDF extract from pages 10—17 within the book to give readers a glimpse into this spellbinding title.
You can also read the extract from these pages below.
The Book of Spells
View BookABOUT THE BOOK
With The Book of Spells you can read more about the art of spell casting to add some magick to your daily life.Discover:
- 150 different spells, recipes, and practices to create change, connect with, and call magick into your life
- Powerful rituals inspired by folk magick and contemporary witchcraft, including meditations, rune and sigil crafting, protection and banishment, and more
WHAT TO EXPECT
The book is thoughtfully structured into sections, making it easy to find the best magical solution for every modern-world situation or problem.
Extract from The Book of Spells
From pages 10—17Magic or magick
Different cultures have their preferred terms, practices, and concepts of what magick is. Some write it as “magic” instead of “magick,” some call it “miracles,” others call it “witchcraft,” but magick is not one strictly defined concept—it’s subject to individual interpretation. You could say our very existence, the perfect system of people, nature, and life itself is magick.
Your journey into spellcraft
The type of spell you cast will depend on your path, and there are many routes that can be investigated-
ceremonial magick, folk practices and traditional witchcraft, chaos magick. Whichever path or beliefs you follow, they are all valid. Spells can be simple or complex; they can consist of only one ingredient, or be part of a vast ritual, involving very specific tools and processes. Finding your preferred method comes with time and practice. Just as with cooking or baking, you may need to experiment to discover what works best for you.
As this is a lifelong journey, you have time and do not need to rush this process—in fact, you won’t be able to. Depending on the outcome you desire, different types of spells will yield varied results— for example, spell jars usually contain or circulate their energies around the jar and work more slowly. Candles release energy quickly and efficiently. Knot magick draws in or releases energies, depending on whether you tie or untie the knots.
Adapting and personalizing your spells
Being resourceful is very important, but you cannot substitute all ingredients within a spell and hope for the same results. To return to the baking analogy, you can’t make a carrot cake without carrots. However, spells can certainly be at their most powerful when they are adapted to suit your specific desires. You can use the spells in this book just as they are, or take them as your guide and personalize them if you’d prefer. It is your craft— make of it what you will!
Wicca and witchcraft
Not every witch is a Wiccan. Wicca is a religion that some people wish to be a part of or identify with. Witchcraft is simply a practice and is open to anyone, with specific ideas and application depending on culture, path, or religion. There are karmic concepts prevalent within witchcraft, such as “the rule of three” and “harm none,” that have been popularized by Wicca, though not every Wiccan or witch lives by these. It’s good to remain mindful of the problematic nature of pushing specific ideals from one religion onto another. You may choose for yourself.
Deities or gods
You do not have to believe in gods to perform spells, or work with deities if it feels unnatural to you. Atheist witches do exist—chaos magick, which relies on no specific belief and instead suggests that magical power comes from tested methods that have shown good results—is a great example of just that. So while believing in your own work and spells is important, it doesn’t mean you must now choose deities to work with if you cannot connect with that idea. For some, believing in gods or spirit beings is natural; for others, it simply isn’t. Either way is valid, and your beliefs are your own choice.
Making spells accessible
Spells can be performed by anyone who wishes to do so, regardless of age, sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, or religion. Making magick accessible to everyone is essential. So if you find a spell in this book that requires tools or ingredients that you can’t find, or steps or actions that you are not able to perform, adapt the spell to suit you and do not let it discourage or limit you. You’ll find a list of correspondences that you can use as substitutes at the end of this book (see pages 178–185). Analyze the spells’ symbolism and be inspired by them to create your own, too (see pages 174–177).
Know what you want
It’s important for you to be aware of what you want to gain from the spell, and be willing to put in the effort required for the spell itself, as well as work outside of it. Remember that spells are both symbolic as well as effective in and of themselves. They can be useful tools for support and guidance, manifesting or celebrating goals, or simply as a way to live a more magickal life.
Intention is not everything
It is also important to remember that spells are not quick fixes and will not do all the work for you. For example, you may want to lose weight in a healthy and positive manner. A spell may assist in that, creating the right environment for you mentally and possibly opening doors to fun experiences, but a spell will not go running for you, or make you lose weight overnight. Another example is the all-toopopular love spell. Be cautious with targeted spells directed at specific people, as sometimes we can cause ourselves more trouble than good, not knowing what a person is truly like, or not expecting any negative outcomes. As we are working not only with our own mind but also that of another, the equation is more complex. So if you are looking for some romantic love, calling that to you, rather than specifying “I want Bob to love me,” might just do the trick.
Spell timing
What about certain astrological times? It simply depends on your own beliefs. If you are afraid to cast a spell during Mercury retrograde or an eclipse, for example, then do not conduct the spell, as your fear will seep in and possibly cause side effects or the spell to fail. Although working through our fears can help, do not force or rush yourself if you know your experience will be negative.
Certain spells are most powerful or will yield the best results during particular phases of the moon or hours of the day, and many spells can be categorized and planned according to days of the week. You can check the correspondences on page 179 for which days and moon phases are traditionally considered the most potent time to perform your spell, but don’t let that restrict you from exploring and conducting spells when it feels right. Spell timing can also be synchronized with your body’s own cycles, to connect to your own inherent magick.
Microcosm and macrocosm
The microcosm and macrocosm theory is the belief that our human body is a small-scale version of the universe, and, just as the universe has an influence over us, we have an influence over it, too. Particularly interesting is the idea that because humans have a mind, the universe, too, may have consciousness, or divinity. This creates a circle, meaning we, too, may be divine or connected to divinity. You could think of spells and magick as a drop in a still body of water—the drop creates ripples, spreading and creating an effect, showing everything is connected.
What to do if your spell isn’t working
There are many reasons why a spell did not work. Perhaps it is still actively working and taking longer than expected—did you use the right ingredients to set up the timing of the spell? Using the element of fire—an element of fierceness and immediate effects—will tend to show results much faster than the element of earth, which is slow and steady (more on elements on page 182). Or perhaps you need to analyze your spell and consider if the ingredients were not quite right. Maybe you performed the spell in imperfect circumstances— for example, you rushed through it because you were tired. Sometimes a spell needs to be done periodically to show effectiveness, at other times you need to completely redo it, adding or changing a few things—that is why keeping a grimoire or spell book (see page 22) is important, so you can go back and analyze your work. It is also fundamental to fully commit to the energy of the spell, meaning your intention is important, too—it is essentially one of the ingredients. Doubt can often interfere. If this is a concern, try to forget about your spell once you’ve cast it, so as not to interfere with its energy.