McMagick is spellwork of the quick-and-dirty variety, simple spellwork for the beginner or to cover daily needs for the more advanced magickal practitioner. It is an intermediate step between the simple chant and the I'm-going-to-use-every-correspondence-I-know ritual. It is easy to perform, doesn't require elaborate or expensive components and still can be quite effective. There are an infinite number of techniques for McMagick, of which I will write of but a few. Please read the entire procedure before attempting these techniques, as a little bit of pre-planning is necessary. Timing can be important for effectiveness because McMagick is relatively uncomplicated, if nothing else use the appropriate Moon phase. You may chose to repeat your spellwork if your need is greater. If you do, try to repeat it a number of times that correspond with the energies you are working with, and (for added emphasis) on a corresponding day of the week; or a span of days will do if time is not permitting. Candle McMagick The concepts involved in candle magick are connected to fire magick. Fire is used as a focus in meditation or scrying, need-fires are kindled for manifesting and sympathetic magicks, fires can be used to set the mood or, more mundanely, to warm. Fire can convert one form of matter, wood for example; to another, ash and gas. It can change the form or shape of materials like plastic and metal. For these reasons, magickal energies are often visualized as different colors of fire. Candles are used for similar purposes in magic: meditation, scrying, manifesting and sympathetic magicks. They set the mood, but you do need a lot of them for warmth. When you burn a candle that has been in some way charged with your intent, you convert the inactive focusing energies into active, focused energies, and release them to carry out the task you charged them with. The type of candle does influence the procedure to a certain extent: if you want to perform the procedure only once, use a votive, otherwise to repeat the procedure over a number of days, use a taper and section it off for as many days as needed by carving a line, or lines, all the way around the candle. Burn the candle through only one section for each performance of the procedure. You do want to burn your candle, votive or other, as completely as possible. It is also advisable to use an appropriate color or scent of candle. If you don't have a specific color candle, use white. White candles are generally available unscented, in a floral scent which works for just about any purpose, or peppermint which is a protective scent. Unscented candles seem to be becoming scarce for smaller outlets, like card shops and grocery stores, but are readily available mail-order or at larger suppliers like craft stores and candle factory outlets. Factory outlets are especially nice for varieties of candle colors and scents, and if you're lucky they might have a scratch-and-dent section for seconds. For flexibility, I prefer unscented candles, and a coordinating incense. Here is one guideline for candle magick: Candle Magick Procedure: 1. Open (as usual) - When I say this, I do mean Cleansing your space, Casting a circle and Calling (or invoking) the Lord & Lady, elemental energies etc. Your opening for spellwork doesn't need to be as elaborate as the opening for a Sabot or Esbat, but the bare minimum of the three C's is necessary. Do not attempt any spellwork more complicated than a parking space chant without a properly cast circle -- it's bad juju and can lead to all sorts of problems. 2. Cleanse - Fairly simple, you need consecrated water, smudge/incense and your candle. After opening, simply smudge your candle and cleanse with the water by starting in the MIDDLE of the candle and traveling to the ends. This sets up the appropriate power flow for spellwork. Use your favorite cleansing chant or whatever trips your mystical trigger. 3. Dress - Similar to consecrating, you need a blessed and consecrated oil that is suited to your task, or one of the generic equivalents. Again, start in the MIDDLE of the candle and travel to the ends for appropriate power flow. 4. Carve - Using your boleen, carve appropriate symbols 'till your candle is covered-- yes covered. If you are going to be repeating this ritual, section your candle first. Carve each section separately: do not overlap your symbol set between sections. This is where you are charging the candle to your specific intent. Do some research to find appropriate symbolism. You may use pentagrams, planetary sigils, magickal alphabets, alchemical symbols, runes, talismanic symbolism, normal words or stick figures -- whatever works. There are a few things that I always like to include: the rune for victory to make it go, the name of my target if this is for someone in particular, the specific pentagram for the element(s) involved, and I always sign my name. Your name has power, and by signing your name to your spellwork, you tie the spell to your power and flavor it with your energies. 5. Burn - Light the Candle and meditate on your goal as you watch the flame, you can chant or simply visualize during this time. If you are repeating this ritual, remember to burn the candle only one section for each performance. 6. Close (as usual) - Chose a Closing appropriate to your Opening. 7. Disposal - Tradition holds that you should stuff all your remaining wax, string, stones or other left-overs into a glass jar (Kurr makes nice ones), seal it with wax and bury it. We're more hip to the environment now, so ...recycle! Wax can be saved to make new candles or for sealing during spellwork, and should be cleansed. String or stones can be saved to renew the spell later, or cleansed and used for other purposes. Some spells are more delicate or caustic than others, and the left-overs need to be handled like either a-very-holy-and-sacred-thing-that-should-not-be-profaned, or like toxic waste that could contaminate something it sits next to on the shelf. In these cases, I will usually use the Mason Jar Method, or burn whatever can be burned, then return natural items (like stones) to a nearby body of moving water. 8. Act - Act in accordance to your spell. If you are using spellwork for manifestation, say a new job, your chances for success are slim if you don't go apply for one or several of them or at least start talking about it to people. Magick is not an instant cure-all, it simply lubricates the gears of the universal flow of energies to help you toward your need. You must open yourself up to the universal energies by creating space for your goal in your life -- it is difficult to manifest a job without connecting yourself to the mundane access to them. Granted, some spells culminate in miraculous ways, but you should always do everything in your power to help them. If your spell is for someone else, remind them to act in accordance -- don't let them expect a free lunch because miracles are not the rule, they are the exception. A variation of this procedure may be used for flavoring the atmosphere of a room or a house. Use a pillar candle and burn it only long enough for a brief meditation. After the ritual, place the candle in a visible spot in the location desired and burn whenever you need that particular kind of energy. For example, for a warm peace or calm air in a house, use a pastel green candle and place it in a heavy-traffic area or the room most commonly used. Talismans of the McMagick Variety Whereas candle magick is pretty straight forward, talismanic magick comes in about a zillion forms. A talisman, traditionally, is basically an object that has been marked with symbols and is used in some form of magickal operation. They can be worn or carried, or used in ritual in other ways (such as detailed in The Key of Solomon). This definition has been expanded to include amulets (such as a charged stone) and charms (such as a mojo bag). Talismans of the McMagick variety are usually paper and can range in size from a one inch square (unless you can write really small) to as large a piece of paper as you can lay your hands on. They can be worn, carried in a pouch or posted on a wall. Here are two methods: Procedure: 1. Open (as usual) - See candle magick procedure. 2. Formulation - Come up with one word or very short phrase that sums up your intention and write it at the top of your piece of paper. You may choose any sort of paper, and any sort of writing implement or color of ink. Use what you have around or tailor it to suit your purpose. You can write this word or phrase in any alphabet that suits you. If you plan to use Connection (see below), you may choose to incorporate a few symbols as well. Connection talismans using symbols look particularly arcane and I think, really nifty. I have seen Connection talismans using symbols formed around a central figure, like a mythical creature or other bestiae, that are quite striking and very effective. 3. Reduction or Connection - Two distinct methods, Reduction will eventually produce a single symbol that can be similar to a bindrune, Connection produces a squiggly, occult looking symbol that can sprawl to cover even the largest piece of paper. Whichever method you use, this is the stage at which your talisman is empowered. Reduction - Beginning with your single word or phrase, pair the letters within the words and write them (one covering the other) on a line or space immediately under your starting word or phrase. In the case of a single word, combine pairs of letters on successive lines until you have one symbol that is made up of all the letters in the word. In the case of a phrase, treat each word separately until each word is one symbol, then start combining the word symbols until you are left with a single symbol. Reduction is easier with blocked or squared types of alphabets but your end symbol tends to be pretty much the same every time, especially with phrases. Connection - Beginning with your single word or phrase, start in the middle of your paper and begin to write the letters in order in such a way that each letter touches, covers, overlaps or in some other way is connected to another letter. Letters can be distorted, mirror imaged, reduced or enlarged in size and successive letters in the word or phrase do not have to be connected to each other. Repeat the word or phrase in this way until you run out of paper space or until you otherwise feel you are done -- this could mean only one writing or many. You can also pick an appropriate number of repetitions to correspond with your need. Connection works with any alphabet and can be quite pretty and artistic. 4. Meditation - Again, there are a lot of ways this can be done. One method is to simply meditate on your need while using your talisman as a focus, then post it on a wall somewhere visible, carry it in a pouch or wrap a ribbon around it and where it as a charm until you have obtained your need. Another is to burn your talisman and focus on the flames. 5. Close (as usual) - See candle magick procedure. 6. Disposal - same as in candle magick: however, I almost always burn my talismans when I am done with them, or in step #4. 7. Act - See candle magick procedure. Perhaps it is worth a note here on the importance of disposal. Unlike celebratory rituals, spellwork focuses a lot of energy toward a specifically tuned need, and in the case of most techniques for spellwork outside of pure visualization, a specially charged object (in this case a candle or a talisman) is created and imbued with LIFE ENERGIES and given a TASK to perform, then it is sent on its merry way to perform it. Well, like the Energizer Bunny, it keeps going and going, and going and going. Now, remember that this thing is something YOU created, and that it does not have its own sustaining power source, only the energies that you originally imbued it with. The problem is this: with time, the power of the object erodes and the quality of results (because these things have been known to cycle through the completion phase several times before they completely fizzle) gets worse -- sometimes downright skanky -- and you can have unpleasant results. So, before things get to out of hand you do need stop the cycle of the spell... hence the Mason Jar method or burning, cleansing or otherwise disposing of spell materials. Now, I know what you are thinking, "I can design a spell that is self terminating or self powered and avoid the need for disposal." Yes, you can, but these types of spells are a bit more complicated, require more prep time, more precise timing, more physical stuff AND more follow-through than anything that I would call McMagick. Remember, never use a nuke when a baseball bat will do. And until you have a good grasp of Wild Energies, UPS theory, Power Scooping and the like, you really shouldn't attempt it, besides the need of understanding different methods of just how spells are ended et cetera. Master this, then move on. The dangers of a really complicated spell gone bad can be easily avoided if you do. Reference Material or Where to find all those nifty correspondences: The Magician's Companion by Whitcomb (Llewelyn Publishing) has just about anything you need and more for Sigils of all types (including how to make your own), Magickal alphabets or Runes, Angelic names, Specific Sephera -- all sorts of correspondences Timing - Consult a table of planetary hours, planetary correspondences for the day of the week, a Magickal Almanac can tell you when things are actually happening, consult the tables of correspondences for the most appropriate time and the almanac for the best time, get as complicated or as simple as you like, if nothing else, go with the appropriate moon phase Color - (of candle, paper or ink) Go with what you feel or consult Bucklands Practical Color Magick, check planetary and elemental correspondences with color If you wish to incorporate stones - Cunningham's Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic is really nice |
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| Mc Magick: |
| Quick Candle & Talisman Magick for Beginners |
| -- By Cybele WindDancer |
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