Everything Under the Moon

Self-dedication ritual-

The goal of this rite is to bring the dedicant closer to the Divine, as well as to declare your connection to your spiritual path. Doing this as part of a formal ritual helps to cement their relationship with the Divine. Some people choose to wait until they have studied for a year and a day before having a formal self-dedication rite. It’s entirely up to you. Bare in mind that self-dedication is a commitment you are making; it should not be done at random or without significant thought beforehand.

(This ritual can easily be customized to honor a particular deity or deities if you with)

Need:
- A new moon, which symbolizes a time of new beginnings.
- Blessing oil (I used a custom blended oil I made in dedication to my deity).
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- A white candle

1.You should perform this ritual skyclad (optional). Find a place that is quiet, private, and free of distractions. Turn off your cell phone and send the kids out to play if you have to.

2.Begin by grounding yourself. Find your inner peace, and become good and relaxed. Shut out all the things from your mundane life that distract you -- forget for a while about paying the bills, your son’s baseball practice, and whether or not you fed the cat. Focus only on yourself, and the tranquility you’re entitled to.

3.When you’re ready to proceed, sprinkle the salt on the floor or ground, and stand on it.

4.Light your white candle, and feel the warmth of the flame. Look into the glow of the fire and think about what goals you have for yourself on your spiritual journey. Think about your motivations for performing this self-dedication.

5.Stand before your altar, and say:

I am a child of the gods, and I ask them to bless me.

Dip your finger into the blessing oil, and with eyes closed, anoint your forehead. (Some people do this by tracing a pentagram on the skin with the oil).

Say: May my mind be blessed, so that I can accept the wisdom of the gods.

Anoint the eyelids (be careful here!) and say:

May my eyes be blessed, so I can see my way clearly upon this path.

Anoint the tip of your nose with the oil, and say:

May my nose be blessed, so I can breathe in the essence of all that is Divine.

Anoint your lips, and say:

May my lips be blessed, so I may always speak with honor and respect.

Anoint your chest, and say:

May my heart be blessed, so I may love and be loved.

Anoint the tops of your hands, and say:

May my hands be blessed, so that I may use them to heal and help others.

Anoint your genital area, and say:

May my womb be blessed, so that I may honor the creation of life.

Anoint the soles of your feet, and say:

May my feet be blessed, so that I may walk side by side with the Divine.

6.If you have specific deities you follow, pledge your loyalty to them now. Otherwise, you can use simply “God and Goddess”, or “Mother and Father”. Say:

Tonight, I pledge my dedication to the God and Goddess. I will walk with them beside me, and ask them to guide me on this journey. I pledge to honor them, and ask that they allow me to grow closer to them. As I will, so it shall be.

7.Take some time to meditate. Feel the afterglow of the ritual, and feel the energy of the gods around you. You have brought yourself to the attention of the Divine, so they will be keeping an eye on you. Accept the gift of their wisdom.

Protection spell for your book of shadows-

This is a spell that will protect and bless your Book of Shadows and should be done during the waxing Moon phase.

Visualize the pages of your book growing thick with wisdom and witchery. Set the book up on your work space, light a few candles, get your favorite incense going, and set a magical mood. Now ground and center yourself. Raise your energy high, and then hold your hands palms down over the book. Repeat the charm while you empower the book with the powers of the four elements, knowledge, wisdom, and illumination. Say:

As the Moon does
grow fuller and fuller each night,
My Book of Shadows grows too, in
knowledge and light.
By earth, air, sky,
and sea, as above
now so below,
The elemental powers spin and my magic holds.

Moon Phases-
The Moon is in magick the way it is in life. Each moon phase generates an energy flow. If you want to work magick with the Moon -- which is one of the most important ways to enter into the flow of Magick -- you must perform your spells in harmony with the Moon's phase.

New Moon
New beginnings, fresh starts, optimism, hope and faith,


Waxing Moon
Building, accomplishments, creativity, strength, growth and learning, positive transformation


Full Moon
Abundance, harvest, wish-fulfillment, manifesting desires, sexuality, achieving all dreams, protection


Waning Moon
Letting go, clearing away, cleansing, releasing, shedding old patterns, undoing bindings, opening up problem-knots, making space


Dark Moon
Rest, Peace, deep wisdom, divination, contacting the guru within, letting things die away completely

Psychic development spells-

Psychic Herb Pillow

This is simple spell where you sleep with an herbal pillow to help bring on astral travel and psychic dreams during the night. You can make a simple one with these supplies:

-Purple or silver drawstring bag
-Mugwort
-Flax seed
-Wormwood
-Galangal root
-Lemon balm

If you don't have all the herbs, at least have the mugwort and the lemon balm.

Gather up your herbs and make a pillow. Stuff with herbs but don't make it too thick. You have to sleep on this, so it needs to be kind of flat. Slip the pillow inside your actual bed pillow under your head. After a few nights of sleeping on this charm, you will start to remember your dreams more clearly and expect some psychic impressions to start coming through.

Open the Third Eye

This spell you really have to do on a Monday to harness the power of the moon. You will need:

-A piece of moonstone or aquamarine
-Purple marker or paint (must be washable)
-A cup of clean water

The day before you want to perform the spell, drop the stone into the water and leave it on your altar until you are ready. Monday night, find a quiet and peaceful place to do the rest of this psychic spell.

Take the piece of crystal and hold it to your forehead, and visualize your third eye opening when you do. Picture the crystal as a magnet, pulling in energy for you. Set the stone back down and draw an eye on your forehead in the same place with the purple ink (Washable!). Let the ink dry, and continue your visualizing to open up that eye. Hold the moonstone to the eye you drew, and repeat several times:

Open the sight,
With moon light

Drink the cup of water that had held the crystal, and repeat the chant again. Sleep with the eye still on your forehead, and don't wash it off until you have to. Chances are, that will mean the next morning before work or school, but if you are lucky enough to not have to worry about that, leave it in place for added power. You should soon start to feel new psychic abilities start to waken up.

Communicating with a deity-

The first step is to choose an entity that you wish to speak with. It can be a God, Goddess, or nature spirit. Once you have selected your subject of interest, do some research on them. Find their associated symbols, read and familiarize yourself with stories about them, even look for related art. Really get familiar with them, and get your mind tuned to their essence.

This is a slightly ritualistic approach with candle magic... Find a candle that you feel represents the deity you are going to communicate with. Try and find a color, smell, shape or size that reminds you of the deity's attributes. The shape doesn't matter (to me), so I would chose something practical, but it can be helpful symbolism to chose a 3-sided candle for communicating with a triple-aspect goddess and so forth.

Once you have the candle, it's good to add some personal touches to its appearance to give it more importance. This can be done by carving a symbol representing the god or goddess into the candle. If you are unsure what symbol to use, there are plenty of books that cover this topic, or you can try searching for information on the internet. If the deity correlates with one of the planets, you can use the astrological symbol. In addition to symbols, you can attach plants and herbs or surround the candle's base in a wreath of them. A decorative holder can also be used, such as a shining gold base for a sun god, a shallow bowl filled with water for those water related, etc… Stones, earth, feathers, you name it! Make the candle special with whatever feels right to you and has a strong personalized connection to the spirit you want to speak with.

With the candle prepared, the next step is to imbue it with the energy of your will and desire. This process can be started while you are working on decorating the candle. Think about what you know of their history, their nature, and what you hope to gain by speaking with them. Feel the energy pouring out of your hands as you work on the candle. Do this at a time when you are feeling an appropriate level of enthusiasm. Give the candle your full focus, making sure distractions don't take you away from the task. This candle is an expression of your willpower to communicate with a higher entity, and a vessel for your personal energy. It may seem like a lot of work, but this is something you will be using over and over again. I personally feel it lends extra power to the candle the more times you use it.

The second step is to plan a good a time and place to make the connection. Working with a moon deity is best in view of the moon at night, and a nature deity could be contacted in the woods. For some situations you'll have to create your own environment. For fire deities, you could try it in front of a fireplace or in a dark room lit by a lot of small candles. The idea is to make you feel closer to the element of that God/Goddess, and to put you in an appropriately mystical mood.

Once your candle is ready and everything is in place, simply sit there for a while and calm yourself. Get all distracting thoughts out of the way (as much as any human can expect to) and get comfortable. If you want to be in a chair, on the floor, or standing, do it. Go with whatever feels right in this situation. As you light the candle in front of you, say the deity's name out loud like a mantra. Elongate the syllables and really feel the name. "Briiih-ghiid" etc. Repeat the name while willing the god or goddess to appear in front of you. Make your will and your call a friendly invitation and a hopeful request for conversation. There isn't one key event used to signify that a deity has arrived. Sometimes they will speak first, other times they will enter and wait to be addressed. I usually sense a building of energy in front of me as the deity enters the room. When this build-up stabilizes is when I attempt to converse.

This is the hardest part to describe, as it may be different depending on the person. When I communicate with a deity or spirit, I often speak inside my head. If you choose to speak out loud, also be sure to "think" what you are saying loudly. Make sure that as you are saying the words, you are also thinking of those words and what they mean. Try to maintain a balance of focus and relaxation. After you speak, immediately clear your mind of thought and listen for an answer. Be patient and be open. Some people receive communication in the form of images, others hear the voice respond in their mind, and some receive mental concepts in return. Feelings and ideas can be as effective as words, and you may want to try communicating with those as well. Likewise if you relate to images stronger than words, try communicating by sending images to the god. Experiment and find the method that works best. For some people, success will be instant. For others practice is needed. I find that the more times you speak with a spirit or deity the easier it becomes to hear and communicate. There will be days, no matter how often you practice, that your mind is too distracted or nervous, so don't give up and don't let failure get you down!

Advice on how to meditate-

*Note*
Your mind is accustomed to thinking of dozens of things at once; now you're asking it to stop multitasking and hone in on one particular idea or goal. That's why the Buddha recommended three things for successful meditation (or any spiritual pursuit): Practice, practice, practice!


Find a convenient place and a comfortable position that you can sit in for a while. The more comfortable your body is, the easier it becomes for your mind to direct its attention toward the purpose you've intended. At first, your mind is going to jump about from thought to thought, like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. Everything from a little twitch in your leg to a dog barking down the road can potentially break your concentration. That's why meditation is considered a discipline.

Close your eyes and give yourself permission to put the world around you “on hold” for a bit. Breathe slowly and deeply; pay attention to your breath. It may help to shake out your arms and legs or stretch a bit before you sit down to meditate. Some people like to do some light exercise, such as yoga or walking, to release tension prior to meditation.

Begin by committing yourself to just five minutes of meditation a day, then increase the amount of time over a period of weeks. Just sit quietly, with your eyes closed. At first five minutes may seem like an eternity, but soon you'll stop glancing at your watch and simply enjoy taking a brief time out to relax.

Metered breathing is the most universally suggested meditation aid. Here's how it goes. Take three cleansing breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Continue to breathe slowly. Let one breath naturally lead to the next, so there's no break in the rhythm. Focus your attention on your breathing.

Now, just for the fun of it, breathe a little more quickly than normal for about ten seconds and see if your senses heighten or diminish. Inhale, hold that breath for a beat or two, then exhale normally. Repeat this for about five minutes and note the results. Now mix and match the breathing: inhale slowly, exhale quickly; exhale slowly, inhale quickly. Finally, try the slow, regular breathing again and notice how you feel. There's no right way — use whichever breathing pattern works best for you.

Be patient with yourself and keep practicing. It's not unusual to fall asleep during meditation (in fact, meditation is frequently prescribed for people with sleep disorders). You wouldn't expect to run a marathon without training, and you shouldn't expect to reach intense altered states of consciousness the first time you meditate, either.

End your meditation gently. Slowly bring your awareness back to normal. Open your eyes a little at a time. Wiggle your body a bit. Stay seated quietly for a few moments to give yourself a chance to adjust and return to everyday reality — don't get up too quickly, or you may become dizzy.

Things to consider-

Each person's experience of meditation is unique, depending on personality, concentration level, and the goal of the meditation. Furthermore, your own experiences may not always be the same. Most meditators say they feel a sense of calm and inner peace. Some individuals report body sensations, such as warmth, a slight tingling in the extremities, or light-headedness.

At deeper levels, you may experience a connection with Spirit (however you interpret that connection). You might also witness dreamlike visions or creative insights. Perhaps you'll achieve a sense of purpose or receive clarity that helps you resolve problems. This kind of inner knowing can't easily be described in words — but you'll know it when you feel it. Over time, meditation can help you resolve issues or change patterns in your life.

Aromatherapy can help calm and center you. If you prefer, you can place a few drops of essential oil on your pulse points. Lavender, sandalwood, clary sage, frankincense, vanilla, and pine are good choices. Only pure essential oils produce beneficial aromatherapy effects — synthetic scents won't work. (I personally use peppermint)

Some people find it useful to gently press the tips of the thumbs and forefingers together while meditating. Activating the acupressure points in the fingertips can encourage mental relaxation and insights.

Here are some additional tips to improve the results you get from meditation:

-Meditate at the same time every day. Establishing a routine trains the mind to anticipate relaxation at a certain time.
-Eliminate all distractions (phone, TV, etc.).
-Create a sacred space for your daily meditations.
-Listen to soothing music.
-Gaze at a candle flame — the flickering produces a hypnotic effect.
-Design a ritual around your meditation.
-If you wish, smudge the area or cast a circle around the place where you meditate.
-Record your experiences and insights in a journal.

And again, the more you exercise any skill, the better you'll get at it. The same is true of meditation.

Two important magickal techniques-

Grounding-

Some people suffer a lack of energy, while other people feel overwhelmed by the amount of energy they have. This technique helps to establish the perfect balance of energy, and it also has a very cleansing effect on your general vibration. (I try to do this before any spell or ritual):

To begin, either stand with your feet filmy planted on natural earth, or just sit on your rump. Calm your mind and adjust your breathing to a slower and deeper rate. Visualize roots made of pure light extending from your feet or the base of your spine and extend these roots deep into the earth. When you go deep enough, you should sense a large reservoir of raw energy. With the roots dipped into this source, soak energy up by visualizing it being pulled through your tendrils and allow it flow back into your body. Take in a good drink of energy as you inhale, letting the light spread into every corner of your body. Do this every other inhalation until you feel your body is highly charged. Enjoy the buzz for a moment before sending the energy back down your roots and into the ground as you exhale. The idea behind this is that you are washing your body in pure energy that mixes with your old energy. Cycling the energy in and out of your body is to purify and dispel some of the old energy while refreshing invigorating your system with movement.

Continue the flow of incoming and outgoing energy. Saturating your body with fresh energy helps to dispel any negative vibrations in your system. When you feel this process is complete, slowly pull the roots back into yourself, dispersing their form as they reenter you. Remain still for a few moments longer and then continue on with your life refreshed and balanced.

If you feel heavily burdened by negativity, additionally visualize black or tainted energy being pushed down your roots into the earth below. See the negativity absorbed, overwhelmed, and then purified by the strong natural energies of the earth. Take additional pure energy to replenish that what you then expelled.

Visualization-

Visualization is a key component in magickal work. You must be able to form a picture in your mind of the result you intend to manifest. Clear, simple, vivid images generate faster and more satisfactory results than indistinct or confused concepts. First envision what you desire, then fuel the vision with your willpower to cause your intention to materialize. Your will animates the image and moves it from the realm of spirit to the physical realm.

Of course, there are right ways and wrong ways to use visualization in magick. The most important rule is to envision the outcome you desire. Don't focus on the problem or condition you wish to change. For instance, if your goal is to heal a broken leg, don't think about the injury — envision the leg strong and healthy. Don't concern yourself with the steps that lead to your destination, either. Just concentrate on the end result and the rest will fall into place.

Make sure to include yourself in your visualization. See yourself rolling in a pile of hundred-dollar bills or happily performing the job you desire.

Imbue your visualizations with as much sensation as possible. Instead of only seeing something occurring, allow yourself to hear, taste, smell, and touch as well.

Don't keep changing your mind or the images you've created. It's okay to refine and enrich them, but if you keep putting out new and different visions you'll confuse the matter.

Be patient. Some intentions take a while to manifest, especially complex goals or ones that involve other people.

You can create visualizations for yourself or for others, but if someone else is involved you should probably ask permission first (I understand there are special circumstances).

If you have trouble visualizing, here are a few tips that may help you improve your imaging skills:

-Think about your intention as you fall asleep and bring it into your consciousness as soon as you wake up in the morning.

-Use photos or pictures cut from magazines to strengthen your visualization process.

-Display images in a place where you'll see them often throughout the day, to continually remind you of your objective.

-Connect physical objects symbolically to your mental images. For instance, in a love spell two candles could symbolize you and your beloved.


Above all, believe that your visualization will bear fruit.