I am a solitary, ecletic neopagan witch. The information I share with you here is gathered and distilled from books, articles, other webpages, other Pagans, other witches, meditations, visionary journeys, and listening to my inner voice. I am not a...
A reader wrote and asked me an excellent question, which I felt deserved an extensive answer.
Her question was, given what I believe about why spells work, why then, does spell work require props such as candles, cloth, symbols, and so on.
The simple answer is that the purpose of a spell is to focus the subconscious mind to send a message to the universe, either to draw something to you, to create a protection, blessing, or cleansing, or to push something unwanted away from you.
Carl Jung postulated a universal unconsciousness to explain why certain symbols appear to people in dreams, the same symbols over and over to different people with the same or similar meanings. The subconscious mind responds to and communicates in symbols. Thus, to reach our subconscious mind and bring it in line with our conscious desire, we must communicate with it in symbols it understands.
Different symbols and colors will mean different things to your mind, depending on your culture, knowledge, religious beliefs, and outlook. This is one reason I emphasize repeatedly that spells that you create yourself are the most effective. You know what certain symbols mean to you.
If wearing a pentagram on a chain around your neck means to you that the Goddess will protect you from harm and bring you good luck – it will. So will a St. Christopher's medal or a cross or a pearl, if those are the symbols that mean good to you. The point is you are reaching that part of your mind that will then expect to have safety and good luck because that symbol means safety and good things.
In the case of candles, a flame provides an excellent focus for the mind. If you allow the candle to burn out after the spell, or relight it at certain times, every time you see the candle, your subconscious brings forward the wish, spell, or blessing you created with that candle. It's just like repeating a certain affirmation to yourself a hundred or more times a day – except that it doesn't require even that much conscious effort.
Colors create a double reminder. If you do any sort of creative work with colors, or have studied Feng Shui, you know that colors create a vibration – a wavelength – of light that reacts with our mind to create certain feelings, or moods. This varies somewhat with different people, but some generalizations can be made. Colors contribute their own vibration, their own life, if you will, to the spell, as well as communicating directly with the subconscious mind.
Stones, gems and minerals also have their own vibrations, their own life; for all that it is far slower than our own. They help by tuning our mind, our focus, to their own vibration that corresponds with certain powers – often those of healing, calming, or increased psychic powers. Again, if you have made a charm of a certain stone, or you believe that a quartz crystal next to your bed will give you prophetic dreams – the presence of a physical symbol, the crystal, as well as the vibrations it has as it's own entity, acts as a constant affirmation that you will have prophetic dreams, or you will heal or be calm.
Herbs and flowers, again, have their own life. Many of them affect us on several levels – as a symbol (such as the rose as a symbol of love), with color (an orange as a symbol of the sun and warmth), with their scent (honeysuckle as a symbol of summer and thus abundance and warmth), and with the use that we personally associate with them (pine and cedar are used to cleanse the air – and also the atmosphere for some spells). In addition, as something that was or is a living thing, they contribute their own vibrations, as well as focusing the mind on the thing, feeling, vibration that they symbolize.
Incense works in a similar way to both the herbs (the scent of sandalwood is associated with protection) and candles – the smoke can work as a focus just as a candle flame does.
As you study and work with your beliefs and with spells, you will learn the meanings of other symbols such as the wand, athame, cauldron, tarot cards, and so on. Some of them will come to have particular meanings to you as an individual – such as a tarot card that you always chose to symbolize yourself or a loved one.
Chants and spoken word have power in themselves. In particular a chant is easily remembered and becomes a part of your subconscious. Don't believe me? How did you learn your alphabet? If you are looking for something filed in alphabetical order, doesn't your brain STILL bring that little song/rhyme forward to locate that letter for you?
So, for instance, when you think of money, what does your mind bring forward? Worries over bills? Or confidence that money comes to you? If you do the little silver spell I use, the next time your mind thinks of money, it will think "money glow, money shine, money grow, money mine" and your income will grow because you expect it to, because your mind and the universe are working in sync to bring money to you.
Rhymes and chants especially have power because they stick in your mind – like those annoying little ditty's children learn or that song you just cannot get out of your head. Without you consciously willing it – your mind will sing it to you over and over and...so let your mind tell you over and over that money comes to you, that your life is blessed and you are safe.
Certain words will be power words to you. If you think about, you know what they are. Use them in your spell work. They will connect to your unconscious mind and bring it into the spell.
Many people are drawn to natural things such as silk cloth for a robe, or a coyote tail as a symbol of freedom or I have a white egret feather that literally drifted down to me from a bird flying high above that reminds me of the gifts the Goddess naturally shares. If you find yourself drawn to something, if an object or symbol has a particular meaning to you, then use it. You will find it will become a powerful tool for focusing your mind.
Spells work by focusing your mind. The symbols and tools, or props, used in spell work assist you to reach and focus your subconscious mind.
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