As a person that has never used potions, spells or any form of ritual to talk with the spiritual world... I have always wondered WHY people feel the need to use these items when it comes to being Spiritual - Godly - Open to Growth?
I ask so that I may grow from the knowledge I receive.
... blessing
Potions, spells and rituals
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Kassandra
- Posts: 3193
- Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 11:42 pm
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- Location: Terra, Sol III, Milky Way Galaxy
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Do we need potions, spells or rituals?
Hahaha, you sound like EUTM member Imalorki, who finds spoken spells and "ingredients" somewhat annoying, as she learned to manipulate energy without them. lol
Do we need to use them?
I understand both perspectives, and your question is a good one. I came into the use of whatever abilities I have without any spells or rituals, as well. But I know too that spells and the "ingredients" that may or may not accompany them help one focus one's intention (which is the most important "ingredient" in anything we do, magical or mundane), as well as focus the energies around you, especially those of the elements (the power of which goes under-estimated, if not entirely unknown, in materialistic, contemporary Western culture). Potions are distillations of the energies of the elements (rocks, flowers, roots, oils, etc). Spells don't necessarily have to rhyme, nor contain Old English words like "ye" and "thou" for them to be effective (for some reason, to many these practices seem to make spells more powerful or "authentic"), but if that works for you, then go for it. EUTM member Stephanie Mae doesn't even speak spells in English, but was taught to recite them in Latin when she was learning witchcraft, which had been her family's tradition for generations. Whatever works.
It's like using tarot cards for divination, or a pendulum. You don't need them necessarily, and though they help focus energy and intention, you still will use some degree of psychic ability to decipher their meanings (or "intuitive," I should say, since people have a problem with "psychic" for some reason).
It's interesting, but I saw an episode of this now-canceled show called, "America's Greatest Psychic," where they pit different kinds of psychics --mediums, tarot readers, voodoo practitioners, etc., against each other to do readings. The one with the highest accuracy wins. They ask each one what they learned after each competition (when one gets eliminated, as with other "reality" shows).
One girl said she discovered that she didn't need her tarot cards after all to read a situation. She said that she learned they actually slowed her down, because while the others were directly reading the energy during the challenge, she was busy nervously re-shuffling and re-reading her cards. She ended up getting eliminated (and she had been highly accurate throughout the show). The lesson to me was be flexible and try not to rely on crutches. It's OK to know how to use spells, ingredients, divination tools, etc., but try to learn to read or manipulate energy, including your own, without them. I use divination tools, but I'm not dependent upon them.
Spells
Put your hands in the sky
Put your hands in the air
If you're the praying kind
Turn this song into a prayer
--U2
The oft-chanted platform slogan that Barack Obama based his successful presidential campaign upon, "Yes We Can!" was essentially a "spell" which he cast on a very willing American audience. It had all the ingredients of a tremendously successful spell: it was spoken, chanted and sung by millions of people, with strong intention and deep emotion. It raised phenomenal energy! This spellwork (along with a whole lot of stump speeches) got him the top job at the White House.
Relative to American history, the use of this "spell" was no random choice by his speech writers, but rather a shrewd, clever "reworking" of the intense energy and emotion (called "thoughtform," another post altogether) already behind its use in previous contexts. In 1974, an athlete playfully re-popularized the saying, when he won money at a dog racetrack. A few years prior to that Mexican-American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez had made this his slogan (in Spanish, SÃ, se puede!) when he fought on behalf of exploited Mexican-American farm workers (who had been denied basic human rights and had no union protection). So in 2008, by the time Obama got hold of it, his usage of the phrase instantly created within his campaign a huge, loyal constituency of millions of Mexican-Americans who connected deeply with its meaning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ky8Hvq-F0U
Catchy tune, even if you don't speak Spanish. Might be '
cause its chordal arrangement, baseline, general buildup
(and even some of the singer's inflections) are similar to
Irish rock band, U2's "With or Without You." In fact, at the
beginning of its career, U2 was quite socially-conscious, well known
for its songs about the political and religious issues which violently
plagued Ireland for many, many years. I'm wondering whether
or not the similarities were coincidence
Spellwork and magic are all around us, at all times, on a daily basis. You don't need to consult a Book of Shadows nor grimoire to see it in action. In a capitalist society, speech writers and advertising executives are the alchemists and magicians of our daily lives. Their spells influence what we eat, what we wear, whom we vote into office to govern us, and the music we upload into our iPods.
Songs are really focused spells, or chants, put to music. In fact the word "enchant" (meaning "sorcery; to influence by or as if by charms and incantation; bewitch; to attract and move deeply, rouse to ecstatic admiration," etc.) originates from the Latin word, cantare, meaning "to sing." Songs themselves are powerful sigils (as EUTM member Ankhhape commented in this thread), and you cast a spell over your own life when you sing them repeatedly. Examine your habits and be sure that the songs you regularly listen to and/or sing are invoking the kind of energies you actually want in your life.
So there is great power in words, whether you call them slogans, vows, positive affirmations ...or spells.
Rituals
Ritual work is a nice way to focus the energies in your life. It offers a great opportunity to grow because the procedures of a ritual cause you to reflect on the deeper meanings of what is occurring, both in the ritual, but more importantly, in your life as a whole. Weddings are examples of rituals: we recite "vows" or spells to focus our intentions on uniting with another person; when a spouse cheats, he or she breaks the focused energy created in the vows, which then has a ripple effect throughout the relationship. The spell has, effectually-speaking, been broken. There are even many little personal rituals and spells we subconsciously do on a daily basis, and don't even realize it.
Some rituals carry a great deal of history and culture within them. EUTM member Stephanie Mae describes her family's yearly Yule ritual celebration, which you could compare with my post in this forum about Yule and see that the little details of her family's celebration actually go back thousands of years.
If you have a "beginning" or an "ending" of something in your life right now, an undertaking you're either about to start, or have recently completed (or are in the middle of, and could use some "oomph" with keeping its momentum going), find a ritual that suits the occasion, to anchor this energy into your life. It's about growth. A moving example is the Motherhood rite of passage ritual EUTM member Twisted_Pixie shared with us.
So, do people need to use "potions, spells or any form of ritual to talk with the spiritual world"? Probably not; personally, I don't. But one could certainly make an argument for the supportive roles these items play in that process. Ultimately, like everything else, I guess it all depends on the individual. In any event, you may find it interesting to try a spell or ritual, and see how it feels to manipulate energy in a different way, and judge for yourself.
.
Do we need to use them?
I understand both perspectives, and your question is a good one. I came into the use of whatever abilities I have without any spells or rituals, as well. But I know too that spells and the "ingredients" that may or may not accompany them help one focus one's intention (which is the most important "ingredient" in anything we do, magical or mundane), as well as focus the energies around you, especially those of the elements (the power of which goes under-estimated, if not entirely unknown, in materialistic, contemporary Western culture). Potions are distillations of the energies of the elements (rocks, flowers, roots, oils, etc). Spells don't necessarily have to rhyme, nor contain Old English words like "ye" and "thou" for them to be effective (for some reason, to many these practices seem to make spells more powerful or "authentic"), but if that works for you, then go for it. EUTM member Stephanie Mae doesn't even speak spells in English, but was taught to recite them in Latin when she was learning witchcraft, which had been her family's tradition for generations. Whatever works.
It's like using tarot cards for divination, or a pendulum. You don't need them necessarily, and though they help focus energy and intention, you still will use some degree of psychic ability to decipher their meanings (or "intuitive," I should say, since people have a problem with "psychic" for some reason).
It's interesting, but I saw an episode of this now-canceled show called, "America's Greatest Psychic," where they pit different kinds of psychics --mediums, tarot readers, voodoo practitioners, etc., against each other to do readings. The one with the highest accuracy wins. They ask each one what they learned after each competition (when one gets eliminated, as with other "reality" shows).
One girl said she discovered that she didn't need her tarot cards after all to read a situation. She said that she learned they actually slowed her down, because while the others were directly reading the energy during the challenge, she was busy nervously re-shuffling and re-reading her cards. She ended up getting eliminated (and she had been highly accurate throughout the show). The lesson to me was be flexible and try not to rely on crutches. It's OK to know how to use spells, ingredients, divination tools, etc., but try to learn to read or manipulate energy, including your own, without them. I use divination tools, but I'm not dependent upon them.
Spells
Put your hands in the sky
Put your hands in the air
If you're the praying kind
Turn this song into a prayer
--U2
The oft-chanted platform slogan that Barack Obama based his successful presidential campaign upon, "Yes We Can!" was essentially a "spell" which he cast on a very willing American audience. It had all the ingredients of a tremendously successful spell: it was spoken, chanted and sung by millions of people, with strong intention and deep emotion. It raised phenomenal energy! This spellwork (along with a whole lot of stump speeches) got him the top job at the White House.
Relative to American history, the use of this "spell" was no random choice by his speech writers, but rather a shrewd, clever "reworking" of the intense energy and emotion (called "thoughtform," another post altogether) already behind its use in previous contexts. In 1974, an athlete playfully re-popularized the saying, when he won money at a dog racetrack. A few years prior to that Mexican-American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez had made this his slogan (in Spanish, SÃ, se puede!) when he fought on behalf of exploited Mexican-American farm workers (who had been denied basic human rights and had no union protection). So in 2008, by the time Obama got hold of it, his usage of the phrase instantly created within his campaign a huge, loyal constituency of millions of Mexican-Americans who connected deeply with its meaning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ky8Hvq-F0U
Catchy tune, even if you don't speak Spanish. Might be '
cause its chordal arrangement, baseline, general buildup
(and even some of the singer's inflections) are similar to
Irish rock band, U2's "With or Without You." In fact, at the
beginning of its career, U2 was quite socially-conscious, well known
for its songs about the political and religious issues which violently
plagued Ireland for many, many years. I'm wondering whether
or not the similarities were coincidence
Spellwork and magic are all around us, at all times, on a daily basis. You don't need to consult a Book of Shadows nor grimoire to see it in action. In a capitalist society, speech writers and advertising executives are the alchemists and magicians of our daily lives. Their spells influence what we eat, what we wear, whom we vote into office to govern us, and the music we upload into our iPods.
Songs are really focused spells, or chants, put to music. In fact the word "enchant" (meaning "sorcery; to influence by or as if by charms and incantation; bewitch; to attract and move deeply, rouse to ecstatic admiration," etc.) originates from the Latin word, cantare, meaning "to sing." Songs themselves are powerful sigils (as EUTM member Ankhhape commented in this thread), and you cast a spell over your own life when you sing them repeatedly. Examine your habits and be sure that the songs you regularly listen to and/or sing are invoking the kind of energies you actually want in your life.
So there is great power in words, whether you call them slogans, vows, positive affirmations ...or spells.
Rituals
Ritual work is a nice way to focus the energies in your life. It offers a great opportunity to grow because the procedures of a ritual cause you to reflect on the deeper meanings of what is occurring, both in the ritual, but more importantly, in your life as a whole. Weddings are examples of rituals: we recite "vows" or spells to focus our intentions on uniting with another person; when a spouse cheats, he or she breaks the focused energy created in the vows, which then has a ripple effect throughout the relationship. The spell has, effectually-speaking, been broken. There are even many little personal rituals and spells we subconsciously do on a daily basis, and don't even realize it.
Some rituals carry a great deal of history and culture within them. EUTM member Stephanie Mae describes her family's yearly Yule ritual celebration, which you could compare with my post in this forum about Yule and see that the little details of her family's celebration actually go back thousands of years.
If you have a "beginning" or an "ending" of something in your life right now, an undertaking you're either about to start, or have recently completed (or are in the middle of, and could use some "oomph" with keeping its momentum going), find a ritual that suits the occasion, to anchor this energy into your life. It's about growth. A moving example is the Motherhood rite of passage ritual EUTM member Twisted_Pixie shared with us.
So, do people need to use "potions, spells or any form of ritual to talk with the spiritual world"? Probably not; personally, I don't. But one could certainly make an argument for the supportive roles these items play in that process. Ultimately, like everything else, I guess it all depends on the individual. In any event, you may find it interesting to try a spell or ritual, and see how it feels to manipulate energy in a different way, and judge for yourself.
.
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[White Orchid]
Re: do we need potions spells or rituals
Elisa wrote:Hahaha, you sound like EUTM member Imalorki, who finds spoken spells and "ingredients" somewhat annoying, as she learned to manipulate energy without them. lol
I agree with all of what you said as I to believe that the magick comes from within us all.
Re: do we need potions spells or rituals
A very nice way to put it Elisa,I personally started practicing in order to put more intention and energy in my goals (being a child of "the secret" philosophy for over a decade). Although I haven't done much spellcasting, the little I have done has really helped in motioning things towards the right direction for me and focusing my thoughts on the things I want happeningElisa wrote: But I know too that spells and the "ingredients" that may or may not accompany them help one focus one's intention (which is the most important "ingredient" in anything we do, magical or mundane).
right now, instead of thinking of them as something that may happen in the distant future (a way of thinking that could doom it to always remain in the future,never to actually appear in the present).
Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.
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Kassandra
- Posts: 3193
- Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 11:42 pm
- Gender: Female
- Location: Terra, Sol III, Milky Way Galaxy
- Contact:
And that is so important. It is one's "sacred space" as they say. No amount of the mundane should violate that space.Radiance wrote:For me ritual and "ingredients" not only help me to focus but help to give everything a sense of enchantment. It aids in drawing attention away from the mundane everyday things and focusing them on the task at hand.
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