Empathy's Book of Shadows

 

Dedication ceremonies

Dedication Rituals are a very personal thing. Only you know when you are truly ready to dedicate yourself to The Lady and The Lord. The ceremony should be personal and a reflection of what you want to get as well as give to The Craft. Take your time with this. This may be the most important Ritual you do. Be sure to be comfortable with your dedication and for maximum benefit, memorize it before beginning. Here are some examples of dedication ceremonies to use as a guide for writing your own.

Raymond Buckland's Self-Dedication

Need: Bell, anointing oil, athame, goblet filled with drink of your choice.

Ring the bell in three sets of three. Take the oil and dip your index finger into it. Draw a cross inside a circle on your forehead. Then draw a pentagram over your heart. Touch the oil to your genitals, right breast, left breast and genitals, in the path of a triangle.

Pick up your athame. Hold it high in a salute and say:

God and Goddess; Lord and Lady. I am here a simple seeker of knowledge, a lover of life. I here dedicate myself to you and to your service. You are the ones I have chosen to serve. I do this of my own free will, with no pressure from any other. Guard me and guide me in all that I do for all that I do is in love of you and of all life. Help me live my life with harm to none. Help me acknowledge the depth and beauty of all life, animal, vegetable and mineral. The animals, birds, fish, reptiles and all living things are my brothers and sisters. The trees of the forest, the plants, flower's herbs and all growing thing are my brothers and sisters. The rocks, soil, sand, the rivers, lakes , seas, all waters of the earth and all that is of the earth are my brothers and sisters. Make me one with this family. Let me guard them and work for them as they work for me.

Lord and lady, from this day forth, I accept and will ever bide by the Wiccan Rede: "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." I pledge myself to you, the gods. I will always protect you as you do me. I will defend you against those who speak ill of you. You are my life and I am yours. So mote it be.

Lower your athame and ring the bell three times. Take up the goblet and raise it saying:

To the gods!

Pour some into your offering dish and say:

As this wine drains from the cup, so let the blood drain from my body should I ever do anything to harm the gods, or those in kinship with their love. So mote it be!

Drink to the gods Replace the goblet and raise both hands high in salute. Say:

As a sign of my being born again into the life of Wicca craft, I here take upon myself a new name, by which I shall always be known within the Sacred Circle, which is the place between the worlds. Henceforth, I shall be known as (witch name). So mote it be!"

Lower your arms and ring the bell three times. Sit and meditate on what The Craft means to you. Follow with Cakes and Ale.
 

Scott Cunningham's Self-Dedication Ritual

Items needed: A bottle of scented oil such as Frankincense, Sandalwood, Cinnamon or any other scent.

Place: Outside where you can sit on the ground and feel the earth. Find a spot that calls to you.

Go to your spot, sit down and breath. Make a connection to the Earth. Feel the energies around you.

Call the Goddess and God in any words your chose or use the following invocation (memorize it first):

O Mother Goddess, O Father God,
Answers to all mysteries and yet mysteries unanswered;
In this place of power I open myself to your essence.
In this place and in this time I am changed;
From henceforth, I walk the Wiccan path.
"I dedicate myself to you, Mother Goddess and Father God.

Rest for a moment

I breathe your energies into my body, commingling,
blending, mixing them with mine,
that I may see the divine in nature, nature in the divine,
and divinity within myself and all else.
O Great Goddess, O Great God,
Make me one with your essence
Make me one with your essence
Make me one with your essence

You may feel a difference, subtle or strong. Whatever happens, know that you have opened yourself and that the Goddess and God have heard you. You should feel different inside.

Wet your fingers with the oil and anoint yourself with the symbols of the Goddess and God somewhere on your body. As you anoint, visualize these symbols sinking into your flesh, glowing as they enter your body and then dispersing innate millions of tiny points of light.

Thank the goddess and God for their attention. Once home celebrate in some special way.

Scott Cunningham's Full Moon Rite

Perform this ritual at night in view of the Full Moon if possible. If not, fill a cauldron with water and place a piece of silver in it.

Cast the circle and invoke the Goddess and God and anyone else you chose to invoke.

Gaze at the moon or your "moon" in your cauldron. Feel its cool Goddess energy wash you with power and love. Say these words.

Wondrous Lady of the Moon
You who greets the dark with silvered kisses
Mistress of the night and all magicks,
who rides the clouds in blackened skies
and spills light upon cold Earth.
Oh Lunar Goddess
Crescent one
Shadow maker and shadow breaker,
Revealer of mysteries past and present,
Puller of seas and ruler of women
All-wise Lunar Mother
I greet your celestial jewel
at the waxing of its powers
with a rite in Your honour
I prey by the moon
I prey by the moon
I prey by the moon

Continue chanting "I prey by the moon" while visualizing the goddess.

Now is the time to work magick or meditation. Crystal scrying is particularly recommended (you can use the silver in the cauldron for this).

Enjoy a simple feast. Thank the Goddess and God and release the circle.

New Moon Ritual

Need: Lavender Incense dipped in vanilla (and allowed to dry), anointing oil, white candle, pink candle, cakes and wine.

Cast circle, call quarters and ancient ones, invoke Goddess and God.

Statement of purpose:

Goddess and God, guardians and ancient ones, I come before you upon this night of the new moon, the night of new beginning, to acknowledge the growing power of the goddess and reaffirm the sacred space of my self and my altar and to invite the protection of the spirits.

Close your eyes and feel the energy move around you as you chant:

Ancient Witches hearken nigh
Earth, wind, water, sky
Stars above and Earth below
Peace and prosperity, energy flow
The energy around me is flowing ,flowing
The Goddess's power is growing, growing
(keep repeating the last two lines to build energy)

Release the energy into the tool of your choice or into a spell candle for later use.

Rededicate yourself as sacred space:

Sacred space within myself
Earth and sky, light and health
Blessings of the Goddess shine
Bring to me the light divine
As above, it is below
All around me energy grow
Be I Witch, Faery or Elf,
Sacred Space I call myself (Silver RavenWolf)

Anoint yourself with oil in the symbol of your choosing.

Rededicate your altar/home/room, etc. as sacred space:

Light a virgin white candle in the centre of your altar/sacred space.

Eternal flame, light divine, enter here this shrine of mine.
Eternal flame, pulsating bright, shine for me day and night.
Eternal flame, from ancient song, bless this (home/altar/space) all life long.

Allow candle to burn self out.

Ask spirits (or ancestors) for protection:

Light a pink candle (I use a pillar candle. This can be reused during each ritual for the purpose of calling on the spirits.)

Spirits I invite you into my sacred space.
Please protect me and mine within this place.
I ask that you keep away thief, troublemaker and negative one.
Stop them from entering by the light of the moon or sun.
With love and trust and the power of three,
I thank you spirits for protecting me.

(I let the candle burn for 30 minutes and then relight it and call upon the angels during rituals.)

Work any magick that you need to do. Enjoy cakes and ales; thank the quarters, ancient ones and the Goddess and God. Open the circle.
 

Well Of  Forgiveness

red ink Piece of paper small jar vinegar
To enable you to give someone who has wronged you write their name nine times with
red ink on the piece of paper. Place the paper into the jar and cover it with the vinegar.
Secure the lid on the jar. Maybe melt some wax around it and bury the jar away from your home.

To Call Joy Into Your Life

Magic to call joy into one's life should be performed at the Waxing Moon.
Get three cherry-red candles. Gather flowers, whatever kinds are in season, and decorate
your altar with them. When you have viewed the Moon that evening, light your three candles
and dedicate them to the Fates. Joy is very much in their domain. Say:
"Red is my blood and red is my laughter,
Red is the colour of life and of love.
Gracious Old Ladies, who weave in deep dark places,
Bless me with joy and bless me with luck."
Perform this honouring of the Fates three nights in a row, and burn the candles a little each night.
The last night, allow your candles to burn down. For incense you can burn red clover.
Once the spell is finished, dispose of it by taking a little bit of the candle dripping, dried flowers,
and ashes from the incense to a living body of water, cast them in, turn your back, and don't look back.

Banish Pain

Write on a small piece of paper:
Flee! Pain can not find me I am free!
Calm is drawn to me I am free!
Wrap this with a dark blue ribbon and carry with you or wear it.

Purification

If you wish to be free from a habit, thought, idea; if you wish to be rid of past
associations, guilt or blockages; take the symbols of that problem - whatever they
may be - & throw them onto a raging fire. The fire will consume the symbols & so
shall it consume the power they had over you.
For the symbols think a moment - if you overeat, take a portion of your favourite food
& throw it onto the fire. Smoking, drinking the same.
For problems which utilize no concrete objects, draw a symbol or image & burn.

Peace Bath

Draw a bath for yourself. Pour a tablespoon or so of milk into a large bowl of water and say:
'Water ripples on the breeze...'
Add several rose petals (fresh or dried) to the bowl of water and milk.
Say: 'Thistledown flies through the air...'
Stir the water, milk, and rose petals with the index finger of your right hand. Say:
'Silent as the mighty seas...'
Gently pour the mixture that you have created into the bath. Say:
'Peaceful here without a care.'
Step in. Bathe for as long as you wish.
Let the water absorb negative thoughts and worries. Allow yourself a few moments of healing peace.

Broken Heart

Place dried rose buds (not open ones), rue, lavender, jasmine, mistletoe and lady's
mantle into a red or purple silk or cotton pouch. Tie it with a matching ribbon
and while passing it through the smoke of some love/aphrodisiac incense say:
"Pouch of mine, lovers hearts entwine, no more.
Heal my heart, For we now part, goodbye.
The pain I feel, I need to heal, be well."

Spell For Reconciliation

This spell is for a case where you are willing to admit your own fault in a matter
whether a simple miscommunication or a dramatic confrontation.
You must accept that you cannot change another person but you can change yourself.
It may be for a lover who has left you.
You need:
-- one white candle one blue candle one pink candle
Anoint each with love potion.
Carve the name of yourself and the person you wish to reconcile with on the blue candle.
Invoke Cerridwen and Pan.
Light the white candle.
Cerridwen, mother, blessed be
I light this white candle to remove hostility
Light the blue candle.
Mother and father, blessed be
Bring between _______ and I love and tranquillity;
By the love Goddesses let him remember and love me...
Light the pink candle.
Pan and Eros, blessed be
If there is still love between us, let it be
For the Good of all and the Harm of none, as I will, so mote it be!
Let candles burn down.
Act in accord. Call the person or somehow indicate you have lowered your hostility
and long for his/her return. Personalize the chant to make it right for you.

Make A Poppet

To make a poppet, take two pieces of cloth with right sides facing each other. A bit of fabric
from an old shirt or other garment is best. From them, cut an image of a person (yourself).
Sew them together, leaving an opening for stuffing.
Next, take a dried rose and pull the petals off in a counter-clockwise manner, repeating,
"Doubt torn away, confidence today."
Place the petals inside the poppet and sew up the hole.
On the outside, paint or embroider a word or emblem which symbolizes uncertainty to you.
Then place the poppet in the light of a waning moon to reduce your reservations.
After 10 days bury the poppet along with your hesitations.


Relieve Stress

Ingredients: Ginger Sugar Sea Salt Lemon Cardamom Chamomile Tea
There are several ways to utilize this spell:
1. Draw a bath and add three chamomile tea bags, a whole ginger root, three fistfuls of sugar,
three fistfuls of salt, a teaspoon of cardamom seeds, and the juice of a whole lemon.
Relax and soak in the tub.
2. Brew a cup of chamomile tea add a pinch of salt, cardamom, and ginger.
Then add lemon and sugar to taste. Drink tea before, during or after a stressful situation.
3. This preparation is used as a massage therapy for muscle tension in the body.
Brew the tea as described above, but do not add the salt.
Fill an empty mayonnaise jar with sea salt and then pour the tea over it. Shake well.
You now have a salt rub to use on specific areas of your body that hold tension and stress.

Spell To Heal & Fresh Start

Perform on an incoming tide, when the moon's new hold a silver coin,
2 seashells, and Vervain leaves in your hand and hold it towards the sea and
ask for the moon's blessing.
Then drink a toast to the sea and moon. Focus on your purpose and throw 1 shell
as far as you can into the ocean (while chanting your wish). With the other, write your
wish and your name in the sand below the tide mark.
Wrap the shell and coin in the Vervain leaves and count seven waves hitting the shore,
and bury it in the middle of your message.
As you wait for the tide, chant:
"Tide and time receive my wish
And grant me new beginnings"



Courage Spell

Sit back and relax your body. Let your mind go and think of nothing.
Breathe calmly for about a minute. Chant:
Burning flame, cooling wind.
I summon courage from within.
I call on all my strength and love,
Send me power from above.
Continue chanting staring quiet and getting louder. Do this for about three minutes.

Courage Spell 2

If there is something you are afraid of i.e. the situation at school, write it on a small piece of paper
in your own blood. Burn it to ashes, and powder the ashes in a mortar & pestle or coffee grinder
with some cinnamon, nutmeg, & ginger. Use this mixture to flavour a) cookies, b) mulled wine, c)
any other food you like. When you mix in the herbs and ashes, consecrate what you are cooking
to the service of the God in you. When you eat or drink, know that what you are physically
absorbing is the flesh of the God himself, and that his courage is within you, If you like, you
can do an invocation, self-blessing, or other charm which will remind you of this fact. One good one is:
May the Sun shine within me, may Mars lend me his courage and Jupiter his strength.
Let the blood of heroes run in my veins, and my feet walk in the paths of heroes.
My name is ___________, and I am brave. (repeat)
If you can do this while looking in a mirror, so much the better.
Do this spell in full daylight, when the sun is shining.

Healing

Gather 3 black candles and places them in a triangular pattern around yourself.
Sit in the middle of them and have them all lit.
Burn 3 sticks of Dragon's Blood incense and place them beside the three candles.
Take a piece of paper and write everything that has happened in the past and fold it up.
Get a white candle and get that burning and set the folded piece of paper burning.
Say out loud:
Goddess I pray, take this pain away. Into the light, away from the dark.
God I pray, bury this pain. Cradle it in the internal dark.
From the sun, to the moon. From the earth, to the stars.
From the fires, to the waters. Into the carefree wind.
Bring me into the light, away from the dark. Make me pure, make me free.
By the grace of the heavens. So mote it be.
Channel all negative energy that is left into the three black candles and let the positive
energy from the white candle fill you up. Have the black candles burn all the way out
and bury them at three points on your property in a triangle pattern.
Gather the ashes and set them in the middle of the triangle.



Depression or Stressed Spirit Spell

Everyone knows someone who is or has been depressed or really stressed out so
make time in your magical + social life for them. Give them a helping hand by writing
this on paper and then burning it to release the magic:
Magic moon burning bright,
Let mine will be done this night.
Answer now my Pagan Spell,
Let all with ______ now be well.



Confidence

Fill your bath with hot water and sprinkle fresh rose petals on the surface light four candles
of your favourite colour, place towels over mirrors in the bathroom and light the candles at each
of the four corners of your bath turn the lights off and focus on your best feature then relax in
the bath and 'wash' either physically or mentally away negative feeling, after this say out loud:
I am beautiful/handsome,
I have friends and I am loved
I have confidence.
Get out of the bath after completely submerging yourself.
Dry yourself off and get ready blow out the candles and go out feeling refreshed and younger!


Calm The Mind

Sandalwood and Frankincense help to relax by calming the mind.
Excessive mental strain, for example: studying for an exam, can be eased by diffusing
Frankincense perhaps with Bergamot to relax the nerves and uplift the spirit.
Both Sandalwood and Frankincense blend well with citrus oils.

Mental Fatigue

Try Tea Tree instead of Rosemary or Basil for mental fatigue.
Invigorating and uplifting, it increases blood flow to the brain.
Blends well with Rosemary. Can be added to any unscented shampoo for a real treat.



Ashes To Riddance

There are times in our lives when we become burdened with worrying.
We spend so much time worrying that we never come to solving the problem.
Sometimes we have past hang-ups that prevent us from moving towards more positive lifestyles.
This little spell is to help us put an end to these ruts in our lives.
Needed: Ashes from burned wood Jar or bowl to hold the ashes

Moon Phase: Waning Moon
Locations: Outdoors in a clearing
Gather wood ashes the day of the spell and place in a glass jar or open bowl.
During the day, hold the jar or bowl and visualize all your worries and/or hang-ups pouring from
your 3rd eye and heart and into the ashes. When the night falls, take the ashes to a clearing in
a field, wood, or parking lot. Hold the jar or bowl in your hands and do one last pouring out of
your worries and hang-ups. Now say:
"You are ashes, And to ashes you shall return."
Pour the ashes out of the jar or bowl and walk away without looking back.
When you've returned home be sure to wash out the jar or bowl.
Burn some incense, take a bath, or light a candle, and refocus. It is done.

Power Meditation

You should begin by considering your own body, particularly your breathing. This is
not difficult, merely finding yourself a comfortable chair in which you can sit without falling
asleep. You should try to find a place where you will not be disturbed. Not because
disturbances are dangerous, but because you may find yourself enjoying the relaxed state so
much that being brought suddenly out of it by an offending family member may cause you to
lose your temper.

Once you have found your spot, sit quietly for about 10 minutes at a time. That is how
you start. Just by sitting and doing nothing, and while sitting try to notice how your body
reacts. Notice that twitch you have? Feel your lungs filling with air, rising and falling,
pushing out our rib cage and letting it fall back in.
As you sit, notice all of these things. Your body has certain places that are naturally
tense. You will hear things you normally ignore. That is not really so strange.
Everyone experiences it when they are falling asleep at night (i.e.. the creaking of the
house). Pay very close attention to all of these things and you will discover something
interesting. The more you listen to your own body, the less you are bothered by the
thoughts of the day. This is because your conscious mind can only handle one piece of data at a time.
If you are studying intently, you are unaware of what is going on around you. The more you
practice, the more effective your mind becomes at blocking out unwelcome stimuli.



Burning Coffin Spell

Okay, you've just been through several bad relationships or one or more of any of other
unnamed traumatic experiences.
If you are looking for closure and are absolutely sure you are ready to let go of all the
negative emotional baggage then here is something you can try.
(be aware that wanting to let go and being ready to let go of negative stuff are two different things.
You might want to let go, but you might not be ready for what ever reason.
Maybe you are still learning something from the experience or you are not exactly out of the
situation that has caused the emotions in the first place.
Make sure you are ready of this won't help at all.

What you need:
1 Large sheet of white paper, a ruler, a black marker, a red pen, a heat-proof container,
stainless steel or ceramic.
Excalibur Oil (see below), scratch paper, matches.
Using the ruler, draw the shape of a coffin onto the large sheet of white paper.
Set it aside. Then, on a scratch paper, list those things in your life that you want to get rid of--
those traits or qualities you don't like in yourself: those energies that were not any good for you anymore;
relationships you're ready to let go of. Think carefully as you decide what energies to dismiss,
you don't want to let go of something before its time.

Once you have completed your list, use the red pen to write each thing to be released in the
middle of the outline of the coffin. When your are finished with that, take the black marker
and colour in the coffin, so you can't see your words. Visualize closing the lid on these things in your life.
If it is a relationship you are letting go of.
Do not imagine a person in a coffin... this is not what you should be doing for that and such images
could cause harm. Those kinds of things come back to you and they are more times than not the
reason why things get so messed up in your life to begin with. Instead you may wish to use the door
shape for that and visualize closing the door on them, never to open it again because you are going
to burn that door. You can slam the door if you want.... I don't think it will cause harm, it will just make
you feel really good.

Next, anoint the coffin with the oil and let dry.
Destroy your scratch paper list-- you can tear it up and throw it away.
When your coffin or door is dry, place it in the heat-proof bowl (which should be large enough to
contain the flames or the burning paper and don't forget if your indoors to leave a window open
or use the kitchen stove exhaust- you don't want that energy left in you home not to mention any
toxic fumes from any of the materials you have used.)
Say:
You have been part of my life.
I now release you back into the Universe to be changed and transformed,
Forever separated from me. I bid you go, leave my life and don't come back.
You are dead to me. So Mote It Be
Light the paper on fire and watch the coffin/door containing all of the unwanted energies
burn away into ashes. Either flush the ashes away using running water or take them, once they are cold,
away from your home and bury them deep in the ground. You can also sprinkle them in the
ocean when the tide is going out. If you are on a septic system, do not flush these ashes into it.
It will be difficult to remove the negativity if it is still lingering in your water system.

 

 

 

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