The Spells For the Spirit

Well, this afternoon I was feeling in the mood for some spell writing, and considering I am planning to contact the spirit tomorrow night, it makes sense to go ahead and write the spells out that I am going to use. For the preparation, I will of course cast a circle and call to the four directions as I normally do in preparation for any spell.

After the initial preparation, I will use this spell/spells for the beginning part of my plan:

Ring of fire, 'round me now,
keep me safe, don't let me down,
see you here and know no ill,
until my purpose, I fulfill.

Spirit near but so far,
come to me if you will,
share your story of before,
so I may help you, I implore.

These runes I cast you will know,
use them well until you go.

After that, I will be doing an actual rune cast. I haven't fully made my mind up yet, but I think I will do the three norns first to get an initial idea, and then from there I will go with what makes the most sense as a way to further enlighten myself about the purpose of the contact I have been feeling with a spirit.

After I have communed with the runes and the spirit long enough to have an idea of what to do next, I will make a promise with the spirit to do my best to help them achieve peace:

Spirit of the other-where,
I promise you, I'll make it clear,
I cannot undo the past you lived,
but surely peace can find you here,
your troubles I will take them on,
so you can go to the beyond.

Once that is done, I will remove the connection I made with the runes:

Work done, and with thanks,
my rune-power will, with me remain,
I myself have made it so,
I myself undo it now.

Then I will finish with the closing of the circle and final part to the spell:

Ring of fire round me no more,
let your power leap and soar,
return to earth, your rightful place,
again I'll call, if I may.

Circle of the ancient power,
ground the power of this hour,
spirits here, will soon be gone,
to be at peace in the beyond.

Blessed be to all who hear,
my spell of hope, no need to fear.

Well, that's it for this one. I hope that I can help this spirit, I have the feeling something amazing is going to happen!

Contacting Spirits

For several weeks I have felt like there is a presence in my kitchen/living room. I saw this spirit out of the corner of my eye, well, it's shadow on the wall next to my refrigerator. It has been noticeable so many times, and often after I get the feeling, I go upstairs and I feel like it is following me, and I end up asking it not to as I turn the corner to come up the stairs. At that point the feeling seems to leave, though clearly this spirit keeps returning. It may be because I have been using runes and doing magic in the living room. Maybe this spirit is here because it needs my help with something and because it knows that I beleive in it and am able to do magic, it was somehow attracted to my house because of that.

Of course, when I do my safeguards around the house before bed I don't feel like the spirit, or anything else for that matter, is there. But I don't do that all the time, only when I feel like I need to. I sometimes also imagine a special door in the safeguards for things that are good to come in through, so that it's not just blocking everything. I definitely have noticed that the number of unexplainable occurences in my life has increased since I decided to embrace my natural inclination towards magic. I beleive that anyone has a choice to acknowledge and accept the things that are "unexplainable" in life or deny them and see less of them. It seems like once you accept it, it's like you just opened up the flood gates for all kinds of things!

Anyhow, since I have definitely determined that there is a spirit at my house, and it is not leaving on it's own, I think maybe I should try to contact it. Since I use the runes for divination, they should work equally well for communication with a spirit as long as I make the right preparations and am ready to make contact! I get very afraid though when I feel like it's there. I guess maybe I should do some protection for myself then so that I can feel safe while I do it.

Ok, so here is my plan for the spell(s):

• Protection for me
• Allow the spirit to use my runes to communicate
• Ask the spirit to communicate

After the preparation spell is complete, and once I feel ready, I will then do a rune cast, I think it might help if I use the norns cast for it because the spirit would clearly need help with something from the past in order to be at peace in the future.

Finally, I will do another spell to finish things up:

• Make a promise with the spirit that I will help them as best I can
• Remove the connection from my runes and the spirit
• Close the circle, ground the energy in the house
• Put up safeguards in the house

The reason I am going to be sure to do safeguards is because I think that any time that you make contact with a spirit like that you are possibly opening yourself up to other spirits seeking you out for the same reason and really that's a bit much for me at the moment. I mean, I don't really mind except that I get scared by there being extra presences in my house. My cat is a bit jumpy too, so that's a concern.

I am going to work on the spell writing today and see how it goes. This should be an interesting thing for me to do, and actually if it works out, it might be something that I can do to help and make a different with my magic so that would be awesome! It's funny how when you are searching and searching for purpose it seems so hard and then it just finds you, or was there all along!

Once I have actually tried the spell I will update my blog with the results and also with the actual spells I used. I like writing my own spells because they seem to be easier to really put my energy into, which of course is very important!

Blog Revamp and update!

Well, I went through and re-organized my layout and added a page with some general recommendations for websites and books. It's mostly for people who are just starting out, but I will be adding to it as I go along. I don't know if I have any readers yet, but I am hoping to have readers because that would be pretty dang cool.

Magically I haven't been incredibly active simply because I've been busy and contemplative. I have been searching for my purpose in life and magic, and I have really been pondering it every chance I get lately. Sometimes it really bothers me to think about how much of life is just meaningless repetition of routine.

This book series I'm reading by John Twelwe Hawks doesn't help either. It's set in a very Orwellian universe (that could technically also be true) where current technology has been used to monitor and control society by an organization behind the scenes of all governments. In the story there is one idea that I really liked. The organization which opposes the one wanting to control society has a penchant for randomness, and in fact subscribes to the mantra: "Cultivate randomness". I really like this. It's neat, though a bit hard for me to explain. I like the freedom of not being concerned over whether you make the "right" choice, and instead treat the choice making as a random act which does not have overt consequences. For example, the choice to take a left or take a right at an intersection. In most cases you make the turn which makes sense for your destination, but if you just take a random route, you might see some things you wouldn't have seen otherwise, you may be later or earlier than you would have otherwise. It makes your immediate fate different. You can change anything about yourself if your universe is always that changeable. Humans tend to cling to routine and order, so to allow that little bit of chaos in your life could be enough to change the course of everything.

Anyways, that's what I have been pondering lately. I guess I have decided that I want to do that, and that I am clearly getting tired of living a life with no variety and creativity!

Stormy Day!

Last night it was so windy here! The wind was extremely powerful, and it was making so much noise at my house I had a hard time sleeping this morning! Also I wasn't that sleepy, but I was really windy. It also happens to be my fiance's birthday today.

He has dreams from time to time which come true, so I was hoping that with all the energy from the storm he would have some interesting dreams maybe, but when I asked him this morning he sleepily replied in the negative. I really did feel the energy from the storm myself while I was getting ready and also somewhat last night, though last night I felt more calmness than this morning. This morning it was like everything around me was affected by that wind. It was swirling and gusting and whistling everywhere!

Generally I can sense the mood of the storm, like whether it is a destructive storm or a life giving storm. This one was clearly destructive, but I am unsure of whether there was really a strong mood of that, to me it was mostly just a chaotic mood, not so much destruction but instead just a feeling of whirling power. I felt excited and happy about it actually.

Which reminds me, I haven't mentioned in my blog about some new events that are important. This last Friday I met with the 2 other witches whom I know and we talked some and I did some rune casting as well. It was neat because one of my witch friends asked a questions which complements the one that I asked of the runes recently, albiet from her perspective not mine, so of course it was not the same question, but rather about the same topic, which is whether to keep being solitary now that we have the option to join together.

I had reservations about it, so I asked the runes, and she has different ones of course, so it was just neat that we are both thinking of that. Nothing has really been set in stone at all, it's more that we are all slowly getting to know each other's preferences and sort of feeling it out. It was really cool to talk about it and show them both my book and runes and everything which I have been studying, making, and learning. I hope it works out, it would be very cool if it did.

Speaking of things I am making, I have been continuing to work on my rune cloth, it is coming along pretty well. I am unsure of how much detail I want in the cross stitching, and so I am simply doing outlines for now and leaving the decoration for after the main parts are in so I can get a feel for how much of an undertaking that would be.

I will take some pictures and make a post about it this week.

Anyway back to the maybe I'm going to form a coven thing. Well, I guess it might be a good call to set something up. I should look at my schedule and find a good night for that type of thing, or maybe we can each take turns having it at our houses and each person sets the day and time. There are only 3 of us so it wouldn't be like we would need to have a "leader" or priestess or anything, but we should really have like, plans for what we want to accomplish. I think what I will do is make a list of things I want to learn from them/learn as a group, and goals for my witch life as far as what I want to accomplish. It would be a good starting off point for us as a group to each make something like that and then we can come together, compare, and make plans for helping each other reach our goals.

I am also thinking that I will do some reviews of different books I have read about being a witch. Honestly I have a hard time calling myself "Wiccan" because I feel like it's not really what I am. Partly because I tend to just read things and take what I want only from it and I'm not really following in anyone else's footsteps, so I didn't feel like I'm a follower of Wicca, more of just someone who identifies most closely with that group. But I do feel comfortable calling myself a witch. At least when I am talking about it anyway.

I am not open about it actually, except with my fiance and my two witch friends. My family and most of my friends have no idea. One of my witch friends, she asked about how I would handle it if someone asks me what religion I am or something like that, and I told her I don't know, because really no one asks that. Plus, I was raised Methodist, so it's not like I can really say that I'm against all religion, I think it's great for some people, it's just not what is right for me. I just can't beleive in it, and so it becomes nothing but something that I felt like I should beleive in, not something that I actually did.

Once I let that go, I have been so much more free and happy, and also more creative and I am starting to see things. But I haven't really shared my secret with anyone, people who knew me before just assume I'm a Christian and I have never really refuted it to them. I don't want people to become concerned with it so I just let it be. I know who I am, and that's all that matters. This post is getting long and off topic so I'm going to let it be as well, for now!

To be continued!

The Water Elemental I Met

The following is something I wrote from January 30th, 2009, almost a year ago. It relates to what may have been a water elemental, or some other water spirit, whatever you want to call it.

It was an amazing and slightly strange experience. I was cross country skiing (a love of mine) when I came across a meadow thick with fog. It wasn't normal fog that almost smells dirty, it was clean smelling. The air was thick with water, it was slightly hard to breathe and I knew there was a presence in that meadow. I could feel it wanting to draw me near. It wasn't a particularly picturesque meadow at the time, because there were snowmobile tracks all over it. They tend to do that to open spaces in the snow.

Despite that, it was so quiet and it seemed almost like sacred ground. On my first stop there, I decided to continue on past, knowing I should be cautious about something so clearly more powerful than me. But at the same time, very curious. I was tempted to go look there. I simply said: "I'll be back." And kept going.

I felt like I could feel more than just a magical presence, but also an intelligent one. On my way back by, I stopped again, and this time, sure I shouldn't go over there, I did a little bow as if to pay my respects and thought about bringing my friend who is also a witch with me next time. She happens to be a water person, so that elemental was a better fit for her than me.

For a while after that day I would feel like I was being watched over by something in the sky, and I felt like the weather was being controlled by that spirit, and it was still reaching out to me. I never figured out what it meant, and I have since mostly lost that feeling, though I do sense whether a storm feels destructive or life bringing.
It was a very neat experience, and I can't say that I have really felt something similar since. I have really wanted to and several times I have thought about going back to that place, but I never have. I also have thought about trying to astrally travel to that place, but I have struggled with that type of thing, I think I need more practice. Anyways, I just wanted to add that in there because it was on my mind today. Occassionally I think of that day and ponder what the presence was and what it wanted. Someday maybe it will be clear!

Creating a Rune Cloth

In my earlier post I wrote about my first rune cast which I completed last night. I am currently in the planning stages of creating a rune cloth for rune casting. The cloth I am planning will have two sides, one with an embroidered mural of sorts with divisions between the different worlds in norse legend. I found this layout to be interesting because there are so many different interpretations possible, and I thought it would be pretty!

Here is a rough layout of that side of the cloth:

This is not what colors I will be using, and instead of naming the worlds I plan to make cross stitch illustrations of them. Like I said I am in the planning stages so I am still working on that part. It's going to be awesome though!

The other side will be three circles that intersect, representing the three norns for that type of rune cast. I figure either side can be used for other casting as well, but they will both have specific purposes to the designs on them. For that one I think I am going to use a couple different fabrics and also add some embroidery to it.

I am excited to see how it turns out once I have it finished! I will be sure to post pics.

My First Post

Good Morning and Happy New Year to all! Today is the perfect day to start a new blog because it is the last day of the year and a blue moon! An auspicious day to be sure. Knowing that this is probably a good and powerful time to get in touch with the forces of the universe, last night I decided to finally use the rune set which I recently constructed.

I have been concerned for some time about a person in my life who I have recently become closer to, and I thought that this would be a good time to consult the runes for some guidance. I don't know why I was surprised to find a clear and wise answer delivered from the runes, but I was. I need to get over the doubt factor. Maybe it would be good to finish reading that book about doubt and it's influence on history, if only to understand why I can't seem to conquer it. It's like I am at war with myself over my beliefs! I mean, you are your own worst enemy after all, so it's really not productive. But how does a person let go of something like that?

Anyway, back to the runes and thier answer. The first time that I pulled out runes from my little rune satchel, I got 4 blanks and then a rune that (in this situation) means concentration and focusing on a goal. I thought, ok, clearly I am not focusing enough on the task at hand here, which was of course true as I had just sat down and I actually was trying to hurry up and get this chore done so I could just sit and watch Netflix the rest of the night. Clearly I was not in the right mental place to be reading the runes, right? And of course that's the answer I got that time.

A while later, I had gone ahead and watched some Netflix, and finding myself unsatisfied by it and also feeling more ready to truly try out the runes, I sat and concentrated on the question I had, which was essentially, "What should I do?"

One thing that I have read about divination and magic in general is that the "soft touch" of your thoughts and the goal of your magic is key. This is why I was hesitant to start the runes until I felt myself ready, and also until I had a good knowledge of the meaning of each rune and it's importance for myself. However, I did overlook the fact that practice is important to learning something new, and the runes are a good guide and focus which would help a person who is just learning how to use thier magic to get a handle on this "soft touch" business.

Once I felt I had a good idea of what I wanted to find out, I tried picking up runes one by one from my rune satchel (for the time being I will just call it a satchel as I don't know what it should really be called). I got 4 blanks and an Uruz. I continued to pull out runes, and got the Laguz and the Algiz runes in a row at that point. I then had 3 runes with which I could answer my question.

Uruz is a cyclical rune which can denote new beginnings, creation, and protection from harm. It can also be seen as a death rune, but to me it is important to note that in death there is rebirth, so it doesn't mean it's a negative death. Laguz is a personal rune that relates to intuition and trust. It is a rune that can mean to let go of your reservations and trust your instincts. Algiz is also a protection rune, and it relates to actions. It means to take action for protection. I think the order is important here, as you can see that in order for a change and a new beginning, I need to trust my instincts and feelings about this person but remember to be careful with my own actions. I think that I should not just protect myself, but protect others too. I felt that it was a positive response, a "don't give up" type of answer.

While I liked that reading, I guess I felt like I might have been just creating my own answer from the runes, not listening to the answer the runes were giving me. Essentially, I needed confirmation that my ideas were correct since of course I have no confidence in my skills because it's my first time, and I have doubt problems, as I said before.

In order to accomplish that, I put all the runes back, shook the satchel up lightly, and just grabbed a handful of runes and dropped them onto my coffee table. Interestingly, I got all three of the original runes in a grouping, and a few others as well. When I say they were in a grouping, I mean they were all next to one another in a line in the top right corner plus they were all facing the same direction, which was upward and slightly to the right.

I feel I need to interrupt the story once again with some information about some things I have read about reading the runes and ways to tell what they are saying. When you do a grab bag and drop to the table type reading, you get more than just the meaning on the rune itself, you get it's placement in relationship to the other runes on the surface. Groupings and bound runes are possible, as well as runes in opposition. This type of reading is neat because it can give you a very clear answer as long as you are able to understand it.

On the other side, at the top, is the twin rune, Ehwaz. This rune can faciliate soul travel, and it also can mean future positive growth of the self. I took this placement to mean it is a marker for the reading, since it was all by itself. This meant to me that the three runes are one possible outcome in my future as it relates to the person who the reading was about. In other words, I would have a new beginning with this person with trust and protection if the conditions are met.

There was one other grouping on the table, with two runes that hadn't been drawn before. They were clearly bound together as they were lined up together, and also pointing diagonally upwards towards the twin rune.  The ice rune, Isa, was on the bottom and pointed directly at the Jera rune. The ice rune is a strong force of will rune, and I like to think of it as freezing things in place, of a firm hold on the situation. In this situation I thought it meant to be careful and controlled. The Jera rune means cooperation towards a goal and hard work, so to me this meant a lot because I was also wondering if I should consult someone else for help in figuring out what I wanted to do with this person.

The two runes together meant that I needed the strength of another person to help me reach my goal and get the desired possible result that the runes had given me on my first reading. Honestly, I was shocked and pleased to see such a clear and hopeful response from the runes. I found using them extremely easy, as well as figuring out the answers to my question. It was really really cool to see them in action like that.

Stay tuned for more updates on rune casting and other magical stuff that I try in the next few months!