G R I M O I R E
Greetings and welcome to my digital grimoire! I'll be keeping all the things I learn over the course of my spiritual practice here.
Casting a Circle
Place chosen objects facing their associated elements, either around you on the floor or on your altar. Cast your circle clockwise or counterclockwise, whichever feels right. Stand in front of the altar for a moment and take some deep breaths. Face the west, the place where the sun goes down, the direction of endings. Hold a jar of water and walk clockwise around the circle, sprinkling water from fingertips as you go. Dark moon water can be used. As you walk, state out loud:
"I cast this circle for protection
No unwanted energies may enter here
Within this circel we are darkness, we are germination, we are ending and beginning.
With this I create a sacred space and time
So mote it be"
Feel the barrier created. See in your mind the divide between your circle and the outer world. Now face east. Gaze at the objects you've put there and consider what they mean. Remember the dark side of air: spirit communication and messages from the other side. Say:
"Hail to the east,
Spirits of air,
Whisperer of secrets,
Voice of the dead
I honor and invoke thee
Enter this circle"
Imagine air swooshing into your circle and lingering there, perhaps in the form of the dead or the ancestors. Move to the south. Gaze at these objects, consdering the dark side of fire: destruction, rage, revenge. Acknowledge that you have these inside you. Say:
"Hail to the south,
Spirits of fire,
'Harbingers of rage and revenge,
Powers of destruction,
I honor and invoke thee
Enter this circle"
Imagine a violent flame entering the circle. Move to the west.Contemplate the objects there, the powers of water to shift inner worlds, to feel the truth, to understand the dark side of emotion. Say:
"Hail to the west,
Spirits of water
Keeprs of the deadly current
The undertow beneath our lives
I honor and invoke thee
Enter this circle"
Envision a rush of black water running inot the circle. Face the north. Look at the objects, at their lack of physical lifie. They represent what is left when a life ends. Understand the temporary state of physical death, the fertility hidden within it, and the importance of transition. Say:
"Hail to the north,
Spirits of earth,
Place of bones
Keeper of corpses
I honor and invoke thee,
Enter this circle"
Imagine a deep hole in the ground appearing in your circle. Stand in the center of the circle and raise your arms above you to the sky. Say:
"Hail to the dark moon,
Spirit of death and renewal,
Keeper of great cycles
I honor and invoke thee
Enter my circle"
Now your circle is cast and you can perform dark moon rituals. To banish the circle start in the west. Walk counterclockwise around the circle and say:
"I cast this circle into the universe
The circle is open but never broken."
As you return to the west, visualize your circle spinning off into the night like a wind tunnel or cone of energy
Source: Of Blood and Bones by Kate Freuler
Elements and Their Shadow Side
Element:Fire
Direction: South
Light Side: Creativity, inspiration, sexual energy, victory, success
Shadow Side: Destruction, anger, rage, war
Objects for Dark Moon Circle: Ashes, charred remains of a fire, an object that survived house or forest fire. A piece of stone or dirt from the site of a fire, especially one that caused significnat damage. An object that has been warped and ruined by heat either by your own doing or naturally
Element: Water
Direction: West
Light Side: Intuition, deep feeling, emotion, empathy, love
Shadow Side: Navigating sadness and depression, addiction, being submerged in others' feelings, obsession
Objects for Dark Moon Circle: Silt from bottom of a pond or lake. This will contain decomposed plant and animal life. Fish bones (these are often tossed onto the beach by birds of prey). A lost object that has been worn down or destroyed by water over time and washed up on shore in a state of decomposition and transition. This could be sea glass or some other man-made item that has significantly chnaged from exposure to water
Element: Earth
Direction: North
Light Side: Prosperity, growth, fertility, abundance
Shadow Side: Physical death; deep, dark change such as compost, decomposition, rot, survival instincts
Objects for Dark Moon Circle: Animal bones and skulls, dar earth from a deep hole, dead roots of trees from underground, dirt from a grave
Element: Air
Direction: East
Light Side: Communication, self-expression, connecting to others, writing and art intellect
Shadow Side: Knowledge of the dark arts, communicating with the dead and unseen spirits, crossing information between living and dead worlds, expressing the shadow self through words or art, teaching and learning hard lessons
Objects for Dark Moon Circle: Crow or owl feathers, burning dark moon incense, breath taken during dark moon phase contained in a bottle
Source: Of Blood and Bones by Kate Freuler
Beliefs
Magickal symbolic colors are usually as follows:
North being associated with the color green
East being associated with yellow
South being associated with red
And West being associated with blue
If at all possible set up altars facing the East
Before a space can be used as an altar (whether it's a whole room, a closet, or just on top of a piece of furniture) the space must be cleaned. Sea salt can be added to water and a cleaning agent in order to cleanse the space before it is decorated.
Once decoration is finished an initial purification can be done on the New Moon.
Altar furniture usually consists of a candle (or many candles); incense burned; two dishes, one for salt and one for water; libation dish; goblet(s); and figures of your deities.
Timing is very important to magickal workings, and one of the basics to master when first starting out. Many witches begin with learning about the Moon and its phases.
There are two main phases with the first being the time from the New Moon through the First Quarter, to the Full Moon known as the Waxing Moon.
The other phase consists of the Full Moon, through the Last Quarter, to the New Moon is known as the Waning Moon.
When the Moon is growing in size, it's waxing and when it shrinks it is waning. Constructive magick ( for growth), which is used for love, success, protection, health, and fertility, is best done during the waxing cycle. Destructive magick (for destruction), which is used for binding spells, separations, eliminations, and extermination, is best done during the waning cycle.
The second basic to practicing magick is feeling. When undergoing a magickal working it is necessary to want what you are striving towards with all your being. Concentrating all you desire is the best way to ensure your desired goal comes to pass.
It is for this reason that it’s best to do magick for yourself versus doing it on someone’s behalf. It is rare that someone can feel as intensely about an outcome as the person involved would
Source: Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland