The Art of Creative Magick

By S. Connolly

DB Publishing: Kindle Edition

August 2010

Copyright 2010 by S. Connolly

All Rights Reserved

Introduction

Dreams have the ability to inspire the creative magician in all of us.

Magick is all around us. It is within us. We are born with it. This natural magick combined with creativity can empower your life, balance the spiritual and intellectual with the creative mind, and enhance your magickal workings. Everyone can practice creative magick regardless the tradition they choose to follow. Because it comes from you, it will naturally fall into the tradition or path you have chosen for yourself.

What is creative magick?

Creative magick is the essence of the self and comes from within your self. It is the creative expression of desire for change. The late Aleister Crowley defined magick as the art of creating change in conformity with one’s will. From a creative standpoint, your will is best expressed when it comes directly from you. This means that when you write the words of a spell or ritual yourself it has more meaning, more power. If you create your own ritual tools, amulets, and sigils as opposed to buying them off the store shelf – they hold more symbolism and meaning. The tools themselves become powerful to you. While understandably many pagan paths have set rituals and practices that are traditional, creative magick works on the premise that those rituals and practices belong in a group setting when you are observing holidays or practicing magick with your coven, sect, grove, grotto, or circle.

Creative magick, because it is specific to you, is best suited for solitary magickal workings. It can, however, be applied in a group setting wherein each participant presides over the group working for their own part in the creative magickal process. Some groups may be open to this. Others may not. You will find tips for group workings later in this book under the creative ritual section.

For the most part this book assumes you are exploring creative magick on your own.

Why can’t I just buy a book of spells or rituals and follow it? Isn’t it better that way?

Sure you can, and I’m a firm believer that you should own at least one spell book and one ritual book if for no other reason than to have examples to draw from. More important are books that explain the symbolism of color, animals, plants, and symbols, and books that list planetary correspondence tables for the tradition within which you are working. These things will help you create the rituals, spells, tools, amulets, sigils, etc… specific to your path and yourself.

However, I do not believe that prepared magick is the better way to work. A wise friend once told me, “There are many ways to work one magickal operation successfully, but it is highly unlikely that the same magickal operation will work for everyone successfully.”

After my own experiments with creative magick, I am inclined to agree.

In creative magick, all aspects of the magickal working must feel comfortable and right for you. Who do you think wrote these ritual, spell and magick books? Exactly. Other creative magicians, witches, and occult practitioners just like you. Their books are filled with what worked for them. Likewise, your book of shadows, grimoires, and journals should be filled with what has worked for you.

Okay. So how do I start?

There are many ways to interject your own creativity into your magickal practice. Even if this is the very first book about magick you’ve ever picked up, I almost guarantee you will be inspired to sit down tonight (or tomorrow) and apply some of the suggestions in this book to your existing practice.

I have broken down magick into three basic aspects that, when combined, make for effective magick. Each part of each aspect can be combined with other aspects as well. Nothing is ever separate. All of these things work together as parts of the whole.

First we’ll start by looking at the symbolic aspects of magickal practice.

·        Ritual Space

·        Ritual Tools

·        Amulets, Talismans, and Sigils

Then we’ll take a look at the spiritual and belief aspects of magickal practice.

·        Personal Pantheons/Deities

·        Prayer and Invocation

·        Basic Belief

Lastly, we’ll explore the purposeful aspects of magickal practice.

·        Spells

·        Rituals

Once we’ve covered all of these areas I have no doubt you will understand why I have broken each of these things down into more palatable bits. It is my hope that you come away from this book feeling inspired and creative and with a renewed understanding of magick and creative magick as a whole.

Symbolic Aspects

Choosing and Creating

Your Ritual Space

Choosing a Space

Let’s start out with the most basic question regarding magick. Where? Where do you practice magick? Do you have a room dedicated to your practice, or do you use your living room or bedroom? This may seem like a silly question. You may not even believe it matters. But it does. The energy of your space can be affected by the most prominent use of that space.

For example, you might find you are tired after working magick in a bedroom because the bedroom is predominantly used for resting. You might find yourself restless working magick in your living room if it is a space predominantly used by multiple people for multiple purposes. There is a way to modify the energies in a space to make them more conducive to practicing magick. That way is to make the space your own. It doesn’t need to be the whole room. Just a corner or one specific spot, preferably out of the way where few people will be inclined to intrude.

You can also cut off this space from the rest of the room by using room dividers or curtains. The most effective way to mark this space is to place an altar in it with just enough room in front of it for you to kneel, stand, or sit. The space should have adequate ventilation if you are going to burn incense (especially strong incenses).

You might also want to consider which direction you want your altar to face and make sure you have room for the altar at that particular point in the space. Sometimes we don’t have a choice and an altar has to fit where it fits. Consider re-arranging the room or choosing another space if the direction your altar will face feels uncomfortable to you.

Clearing the Space

Once you have chosen this space you may wish to bless it or clear it as you see fit according to your traditions. By clearing I don’t just mean clutter. I also mean clearing the air of funky or stale energies. Be creative in the clearing. Feel free to put in your favorite CD, burn some clearing incense, and dance in your ritual space if you want to. Sound crazy? If you are expressing yourself in a way that brings you joy and energy, does it matter what anyone thinks? The point is to get rid of the energy you don’t want, and to infuse the space with the energy you do want. That’s all.

The next step is to decorate the space.

Decorating Your Space

We’ll start with a bare space and work our way through it. Obviously there is no set method to creating the ritual space, so feel free to do each step as you can or as you see fit.

The Walls

Perhaps you want to paint the walls a soothing or energetic color. Maybe you’d like to paint symbols on the walls or hang tapestries or posters magick related. Or, less drastic, hang a scrying mirror.  Whatever your style, choose your more permanent decorations carefully. You should pay particular attention to colors. Certain colors can cause agitation, while others could be too soothing. As always, do what you feel is right for you.

The Floor

Now that you have the walls taken care of, take a look at your floor. You may not be able to change the flooring or carpet if you are renting. However, if you own your home, you may have a choice in flooring. If creating a physical circle on the floor is important you may be able to paint or chalk the circle onto concrete or wood floors. If you will use your space for meditation you might prefer a thick carpet, or throw pillows to sit on. Only you know how you will use your space. Therefore you should feel free to decorate accordingly as you are able.

Choosing the Altar

Once the flooring is out of the way you can move on to furniture. Obviously we’ll start with the most important piece of furniture for your space. The altar. There are three types of altars as I see it. The movable, the permanent, and the hidden. Each has its own purpose.

Movable Altars – can be hidden. This is the perfect altar to have when your space won’t allow for a permanent altar. An example of this would be a dorm room shared with a roommate. A square, flat piece of wood will suffice if need be. That way it can be slipped beneath a bed, moved into a closet or put away on a shelf when not in use. It can also be hidden if necessary.

Permanent Altars – The permanent altar is best for a dedicated magickal space. Ritual tools can be left on top of it. In the permanent ritual space, you may choose to have more than one altar.

Hidden Altars – are basically altars that either don’t look like altars when most of the tools are put away, or they are pieces of furniture used as altars then cleared when the magickal operation is complete. This type of altar, or the movable altar, may be your best bet if you have yet to come out of the closet with your magickal practice. I have found that dressers or desks make great hidden altars because the drawers can be used to store your ritual tools.

The first step to choosing an altar is to decide which altar is right for you. Choose a piece of wood or furniture that you feel comfortable with and that fits your magickal space. Something you like, or better yet – love. The more you like it, the more positive, strong energy you will associate with it. In the case of movable altars you have a lot of freedom. You may choose to decorate your altar with paintings or carvings of pentacles or other magickal symbols.

Be creative and enjoy yourself. By painting or carving (or even gluing sand, feathers, shells to it) you are putting the essence and energies of you into the altar. For more permanent altars and hidden altars, the investment of money, or the simple fact that you don’t want to deface your favorite furniture, may prove a discouragement from adorning it with paintings or carvings let alone glue. Don’t worry, you can still anoint your altar with a scented oil, or ritual oil you enjoy. You can also be especially creative with altar cloths that not only serve the purpose of decorating your ritual space, but also to protect your altar from ash, wax and oil stains. After all, we all know that magick isn’t always clean.

Other Furniture

·        Small Tables – Some people like small tables on which to set candles to mark the elemental points of the ritual space. This could be impossible if your space is small. Other people may choose to simply use painted squares of wood or decorated tiles to take place of small tables. There are reasons for tables and tiles. Hot wax tends to get everywhere. You may choose to tile your own tables or set independent decorated tiles on top of your tables.

·        Shelves – for herbs, books, and other implements.

·        Locking Cabinets – to keep swords, athames (daggers), and toxic concoctions away from children and pets.

All of these pieces of furniture can be painted, carved, or covered in the décor of your choice. You can also anoint them in your favorite magickal oils. Once the furniture in your space is taken care of, you can begin to equip your ritual space with the tools you want or need to perform your magical operations.

On that note there are some people who believe that all space is magickal and a dedicated space is not necessary. Others have turned their entire living space into a magickal space. This is okay, too. Magickal space best serves those of us who share our space with others who do not practice, and/or those of us who find focusing on a magickal task easier within a dedicated space. Once again, only you can decide if you want or need a dedicated space.

Your Ritual Tools

One of my friends once reminded her students that there is no rush to acquire your magickal tools because they come to you in their own time. That is basically to say that you may have temporary ritual tools in your magickal space that will be replaced with a tool more powerful and more loved.

A perfect example of this is my first ritual blade. It was a pocket knife. It meant nothing to me and I was happy to replace it. The dagger that replaced it, which I loved, was later replaced with another that I loved more. Not that I loved the item for the item it was (because my first real dagger was certainly prettier than the one I replaced it with), but I loved the way the tool worked for my purposes. The blade was more practical, broader, not as pointy at the tip and the second blade had a serpent hilt. The serpent is a favored symbol of mine. The grip wasn’t the smooth, polished wood like the first, but scaled and smaller. It fit my hand better and I could grip and maneuver it more readily. It is still my preferred athame after all these years and I have many athames in my collection.

There is a point behind this story. The tool that looks prettiest is not always the most functional.  If a steak knife fits your purpose and it’s functional – use it.

Chalices, Athames, Swords, Bowls, Incense Burners, Etc…

I started out shopping for my ritual tools at the local thrift shops and discount shops. There I found offering bowls, chalices, and candle holders all of which served their time on my altars over the years. I often think this is the best way to start out shopping for ritual tools because you can clean them up and decorate them as you wish without feeling guilty for spending a hefty sum buying shiny new items that may be shiny, but not practical. Plus, you might feel you can’t carve or paint sigils or symbols on your shiny new things. This way if the tool turns out to be impractical you spent less money. And it also gives you the option to buy tools you need quickly and inexpensively, that you can use while you shop and search for the tools you really want.

My favorite tools, however, have always been those gifted to me by fellow practitioners and close friends who knew my needs, understood practicality and my tastes and obviously put a lot of thought into the gift. This way the tool’s energy starts out with positive energy from the start. Even though you’ll clean and bless the tool to balance it with your own energies, you will always look upon that tool fondly for as long as you have fond memories of the person who gave it to you.

Now I’m not saying to never buy anything shiny and new. Just remember that silver tarnishes and must be polished, ritual tools should be easy to clean, they have to be practical and the tool has to be something you like. That’s a tall order and probably the reason so many of us who have been practicing magick for some time have acquired an abundance of candle holders, chalices, bowls, incense burners, altar cloths, swords and athames that clutter our homes. The perfect way to get rid of that clutter is to gift these items to a fellow practitioner who is short on cash. What wasn’t right for us may be perfect for someone else and it will give them something to work with until they find the tools they want.

Of course there are times where the neat silver chalice sets and impractical but beautiful altar cloths are practical, as in if you’re buying tools for group work and you want to create atmosphere by using formal attire that you might not feel as comfortable with.

Candles

An item we magicians and witches tend to buy in bulk are candles. Show me the home of someone who practices magick and I guarantee you they’re the only ones on their block with enough candles to keep the whole house lit every night during a two-week blackout. When it comes to candles as tools you might be asking yourself, “What does creative magick have to candles? They’re just candles!” Sure they are. If you practice a tradition where candles are just candles then this won’t apply to you. But to the creative magician, even candles can be a creative expression of magick and tools that should be infused with purpose and will.

As I was saying, there is good reason to buy candles in bulk. The first reason is that candles are tools that are used up quickly. This can get expensive if you’re paying more than you should. You can get candles with solid color through and through from discount or hobby stores if you look hard enough.  The second reason is that for general ritual lighting you don’t need the best candles out there. It’s the altar candles and candles with specific purpose that tend to be important. The important candles (large pillars or purpose candles) can be expensive if you buy them from your local metaphysical supplier.

In my opinion, the best way to acquire these special candles is to make your own. That way you can add the oils and herbs you want as necessary to infuse the candle with its purpose. Plus, because it was made by you, it is also infused with your energies and has more meaning to you. We’ll go more into intent, purpose, and will in the creative ritual section. You can buy candle-making supplies for about $25 at a hobby shop.

The cheapest way, of course, is to buy the candles in bulk and carve and anoint them for your purpose. I tend to do a little of all three. If I’m feeling especially lazy I’ll use bulk candles carved and anointed. If it’s not too far out of the way and I’m not feeling ambitious, or it’s for a group working, I’ll drive to the occult supplier and buy a special purpose candle. But if the ritual I’m doing is particularly important I’ll make my own. The latter have always given me the best results.

Altar Cloths

I think a lot of people have misconceptions of the altar cloth. Its purpose is not to look pretty. There is actually a practical reason for them - to protect the altar from spills, stains, wax, burning stuff, etc… Of course you want it to look decent to match your ritual space. So a lot of people run out and buy the prettiest altar cloth they can find only to discover that in a year, it looks terrible. Wax, oil, wine, ash, etc… tend to render altar cloths unworthy after time.

Here is a creative idea for altar cloths from my years of experience. For the front of the altar (the side you’ll see) go to your local fabric store and buy a nice piece of fabric. This will be the first layer and will lie over the altar. You can sew it up so it fits your altar perfectly, or you can just drape it. You can embroider it with sigils or symbols if you wish. Alternatively you can buy a pre-made altar cloth you’re fond of.  Then buy or find a piece of dark cheap fabric (think bargain bin and old sheets) to spread out over the top of the altar (not covering the front piece that you want to be seen). The top piece can be replaced every year or as needed, and it will protect the top of the altar and your altar cloth.  Just make sure the altar cloths are spread out flat so nothing on the altar tips. Also consider using tiles as coasters to set candles, water, wine, and incense on.

Wands and Staves

Wands and staves are two items I believe the magician should make him or herself. You can affix crystals to them with leather strapping, decorate them with stones or beads as you desire, leave them plain and natural - and most importantly if you choose the materials yourself, you get the wand or staff you want each and every time. As I’m an old school magician, I don’t understand the tiny crystal wands people spend big money on and I don’t see their point as a practical ritual tool.

I like my wands made of branches from trees I’ve known. I want to make it my own. Of course this is just my opinion. If the $100 small crystal wand is what you like and want, that is what you should use. I just don’t see that it allows for a lot of creativity. Staves are the same way. Many people buy pre-made staves from a tall box sitting next to the cashier at the curio shop. One of my staves was made by a friend who made it to my specifications. With a serpent head and crystal eyes, it turned out beautifully and only cost me a fraction of what I would have paid buying one from a store. The other is a tall oak branch I found while hiking one day. It looks gnarled and scary, but it serves its purpose well. Always remember that with wood staves and wands you will need to replace them now and again because they eventually start to fall apart, unless you treat the wood with a sealant.

This and That

Here are a few ideas for tools that you can make inexpensively yourself. Every ritual tool you create yourself, or modify creatively adds to a magickal space and ultimately adds to your magick. That is the point of this entire chapter.

·        Elemental Point Indicators – buy (or find) small squares of wood (4x9 or thereabouts) from your local hobby store. Buy black paint and silver or gold paint. Acrylic is fine. First paint each square of wood solid black. You can choose a different color if you want. This is just my illustration. Paint the elemental or deity symbols/sigils of your choice in gold or silver in the center of the square. Let them dry. Place each one at its appropriate point in your ritual space.

·        Robes – Making your own robe is easy if you have a little extra time and access to a sewing machine. With a few hours and about $30 you could save yourself some money and you can make the robe you want (via pattern). Plus, you will, once again, be infusing the robe with your own internal magick.

I have no doubt I have missed a lot of great ideas. It would be impossible for me to mention every possible idea. Feel free to explore on your own. Just remember to follow your intuition and go with what feels right for you. This applies to all aspects of creative magick.

Creating Amulets, Talismans,

and Sigils

There are two parts to creating Amulets, Talismans, and Sigils.

·        The first is to define the purpose and goal of the item.

·        The second is to actually create the symbol of that purpose and goal and put it into a physical pictorial or herbal (or both) representation.

This means that if your urge is to draw a red X on a blue disk for fertility – then that is what you should do. If you feel like painting nonsensical squiggles on a piece of white copy paper – and that represents success to you – do it.

That symbol, because it’s what you feel represents your purpose, becomes your personal interpretation of the purpose. Thereby giving you focus on the intended goal. That symbol can change from spell to spell or ritual to ritual depending on your mood at the time.

It is by this method that a personal sigil is created also.

For herbal representations of purpose (i.e. sachets and incenses) using herbs whose colors and scents represent your interpretation of your purpose can be just as useful and more powerful than prepared mixtures.

More Permanent Representations

What does modeling clay, some paint, a key ring, and a strap of leather have to do with anything?  You can make your own amulets bearing your own personal sigils. The method is as follows:

Use modeling clay. Choose a color (or mixture of colors) of your choice. Press the clay into the metal key ring, making sure it overflows and covers the metal. The key ring’s only purpose is to give the amulet its round shape, and to keep the clay from falling apart. Using a knife or other tool, carve your sigil into the disk. Using a toothpick, make a hole large enough for a small metal O-ring (the kind used to hold charms to bracelets) to go through at the top of the disk, underneath the top part of key ring. Bake the disk in your oven as directed so it hardens.

Once it has baked and cooled the clay should be hard, and the impression of the sigil is left. With a small brush paint the impression of the sigil. Now get a small metal ring and put it through the top of the disk – use a plier to close it. Cut a piece of leather strapping long enough to fit over your head. Run your leather strapping through the ring and knot the ends together. You have just made a personal sigil amulet.

You can also use modeling clay and similar methods as illustrated above to create tablets, squares, and other symbolic magickal representations. Wood carvings are another option depending on how crafty you are.

Sachets

Sachets that you wear or hang are a simple way of creating another physical representation of your intended purpose. Using scrap cloth the color of your choice, cut squares. Fold the square in half. Using a needle and thread, sew up the two sides vertical to the fold. Turn the sewed sides in.  Fill the sachet with herbs and items that represent your purpose. You can either sew up the opening or simply tie it shut. By attaching some heavy thread, rope, or leather strapping you can either wear the sachet or hang it.

Amulets, Talismans, and Sigils in Practical Use

When I was growing up my father used to have terrible fits of anger. He had a rough job running his own business and often brought his anger home with him. He wasn’t abusive, but he yelled a lot, which, in retrospect, is probably why I was so high strung as a child. When I began practicing magick as a teenager I started to look for ways that magick could help create a less chaotic atmosphere in our home. One day, when my father was in a particularly bad mood, I went to my room and instinctively created a calming sachet of my own devise.

For whatever reason I hung it on my bedroom door knowing that my father would soon bring his tirade to my room – my sanctuary - even though it was not customary for him to come to that side of the house. Sounds like a silly teenager's wishful thinking, right? Well, sure enough my father came ranting down the hallway that night toward my room. He came into the room and fell suddenly silent. After looking around, he left the room without word. He was calm the remainder of the night. That was my first experience with a successful working of creative magick.

It probably helped that my focus on the sachet’s purpose, during its creation, calmed me as well so that I did not react to his negative outburst. Afterwards that particular part of the house permeated with a calming energy that is still there today, seventeen years later, even though the sachet and I are both gone.

This is only one example of how effective a creative physical representation of magick can be. If you create it with focus and you believe in its purpose, the object can help to affect change in conformity with your will.

This brings up the next section, the spiritual and belief aspects of magick.

Spiritual & Belief Aspects

The Belief Aspects of Magick

In order for magick to be effective, you have to believe. While belief in the tools, mixtures, amulets, and symbols you create for your magick is probably important, belief in yourself and all that is (deity) is even more important. All of the tools, mixtures, words, amulets and symbols have no power by themselves until you give them that power. That power comes from within.

On that note, most magick involves working with some element of supernatural force. Most often that force is deity or the elements or some other source of energy outside of us. Even then, the powers we attribute to these sources of external energy are defined by us so that we can better relate to them.

To illustrate this: To some people water is just water. To others, water is one of the elements by which we survive. To others still, water in all its form and symbolism is embodied in a deity such as Neptune or Leviathan. If you are of the belief that water is just water and water has no spiritual significance to your belief, chances are you won’t be calling on a deity or symbol of water to assist you in a magickal working to help you with an emotional (in many traditions water is the element of emotion) issue.

On the other hand, a traditional ceremonial magician of the Goetic variety, perhaps, might have a hard time seeing a demon as a neutral source of energy. Rather he might see it as a part of himself or his psyche that must be controlled, confronted, and forced to submit. Hence the reason Goetic magicians often use evocation to conjure these “spirits”.

The point being that the external force, or deity, is often called on to help the magician focus and manifest the change in accordance to his will. Magick. In this respect, even external sources of energy become tools. The magician draws inner strength from the belief in and the connection to, the symbolism of the deity or external force.

Let me put it another way. The relationship between the individual and the external source is one of give and take. Deity gains strength the more the magician believes, and the more the magician believes the more emotional and mental strength he is granted by deity. There is transference of positive energy between the magician and the deity when the magician looks upon deity fondly.

This brings us to creating the personal pantheon. We might also refer to this as how each individual chooses an external source or sources of energies to work with.

Creating Personal Pantheons

A personal pantheon, for all intents and purposes in this book, will be the phrase I use to describe a set of energies, deities, or singular deity that the magician chooses to work with in her magickal practice.

Before you panic, please realize that it is not my intention to offend any individual’s religious beliefs with regards to his or her personal deity of choice. Nor is it my intention to get you to abandon or question your deity of choice. Your relationship with external energies and deities is entirely your own. If your current choice is working for you – don’t change it unless you feel a need to.

This chapter is included for those people who want to use energy sources or deities from different belief systems and incorporate them into their personal magickal practice. Or for those people who would like to give new (personalized) names to existing energy sources, or to create their own pantheon of gods to work with.

In creative magick this is a perfectly acceptable practice. After all, water is still water. It’s your personal interpretation of, belief in, and connection to water that matters. It’s that personal connection/belief aspect of the energy source and what you choose to label it that will affect your magick.

Where to start.

For some people simple labels for member energies/supernatural beings of a pantheon work just fine. Others, however, prefer their external energy sources to be named. For the Satanist, Satan, Lucifer, Set, Belial or a whole host of demon names may point to the same source of energy. For a Wiccan, the maiden, the mother, and the crone in the triple aspects of the goddess might be all that is necessary. On the other hand, for some, Diana, Hera, and Hecate might work better.

The point being that you should choose the labels or names of deities that you feel you have a personal relationship with. Your next question might be, “How does one go about finding out which god-forms one has a personal relationship with?”

I always like to suggest that people meditate on specific energy sources first to get a feel for them. Meditate on the names and any corresponding representations you can find. You will quickly find that there are some deities you do not feel connected to while others you feel a deep bond with. Once you’ve chosen those deities or energy sources you are most comfortable with – work with them. Nothing will be more telling than how you and this external energy source work together. Keep a journal of these exercises then go back through your notes. Which deities/energies were most effective? Which of them seemed to be a strong part of yourself?  Most importantly, was there a connection?  Like with a good friend, you will immediately click with an energy source or deity compatible with you.

For those people who wish to create a personal pantheon, make a list of the deities you feel most drawn to and connected with. Once you have done the mediations and workings like the ones mentioned above, choose those that you felt the strongest connections with. I’ve been told by many people that the deity they at one time felt most connected to change as life situations and experiences changed the individual.

Organizing Your Pantheon

If your pantheon is simple such as earth, air, fire, water, spirit – then organization may not be important. However, if you find yourself with an ever growing list of compatible energy sources/deities, you may choose to organize them for your own personal use.

Organizing the pantheon can be tackled in one of several ways. You can list them by time of year you feel most connected, you can sort them by day and night, you can sort them by color, element, emotion, purpose, or even alphabetically. These are just a few ideas for those magicians and witches who like to list and categorize because they enjoy being organized.

Working With Your Pantheon

The more you work with your personal pantheon, the more acquainted you will become with each individual energy source/deity. You may discover you have given them a form and appearance unique to your vision. You may discover their strengths and flaws. You will undoubtedly realize that each one has its own personality. This is perfectly normal (you’re not nuts) and it's okay. Oftentimes our deities take on the role of altar ego – things we wish we were. Allow this to happen because it is through these sources that we can discover ourselves, and the hidden potential we have. A deity who takes on the role of altar ego can help us be less shy, or to stand up for ourselves.

There is only one way you can work with your own pantheon. And that’s by following your own gut and working with them in a manner that feels right and comfortable for you. If that means you give offerings of pumpkins and gourds to the earth element every autumn – so be it!

Far too often in the neo-pagan and pagan world we judge what is the right and wrong way to work with our pantheons based on grimoires and guides written by other creative magicians who made up the rules. If you are comfortable with their rules (and there will be others’ rules you’ll like) then make them your own. Otherwise, create your own rules.

For me, Belial doesn’t care for food as an offering. He (he’s a he to me) prefers mulch and dirt. For others, fresh produce is the only offering fit for an earth god. In reality, who’s to say if he cares for either? Or perhaps the earth gods like it all. All I can know for certain is what feels right to me. All you can know for certain is what feels right for you.

Invoking/Evoking Deity

To invoke or to evoke, that is the question. The answer is simple. Do you respect the energies you work with and wish them to have their own free will? Do you believe they won’t harm you? If yes, invocation is right for you. Do you view these energies as a part of you to be controlled and harnessed by you? Or do you fear their power and believe they should be bound so they cannot harm you? If so, evocation is right for you.

Sometimes it’s a combination of both. You may believe evocation is right for some energies and invocation is a better choice for others.

Regardless your method – you should create the words, or use words that have meaning for you to invoke or evoke the personal pantheon you work with.

For example – in order to work with the Goetic Hierarchy traditionally you would have to believe in God and the power of God to protect you in order to effectively use the evocations provided in books like The Goetia and The Grimoirium Verum. It would also depend on your definition of God. Is God the Judeo-Christian God? Or is God simply a broad term meaning the universe or any God?

To do a spell wherein you invoke the Goddess, if the book refers to her as Diana, you would have to have a connection to Diana for that invocation to be powerful for you.

The easiest way to deal with invocation and evocation dilemmas is to modify what already exists. It doesn’t take as much time and with a little work (switching names and changing parts you don’t care for) you create an invocation or evocation that has more personal meaning to you and becomes more effective as a result because you are calling on a power from deep within the self rather than reading words on the page that have no personal connection or meaning.

For those of you more comfortable with your personal pantheon, you can write your own evocations and invocations from scratch. These invocations and evocations will be most powerful because they are heartfelt and come completely from you. They are intertwined with your own personal beliefs and bring into them your strong connections to your personal pantheon.

Once you’ve mastered the art of creating your own invocations and/or evocations you can put them in the context of ritual – the act of magick, which places you in control of the manifestation of your will.

Purposeful Aspects

Creating Ritual

Ritual is the act by which you ceremoniously manifest the change and bring about your desired goal (the will). It’s basically elaborate spell work combined with paying spiritual homage to deity in order to enlist and harness the external energies to give your magickal working more power. The extended length of ritual (as opposed to spell work) is perfect for those who wish to learn to more acutely focus their energy toward a desired goal.

I have included the following because it explains the point of this chapter in a far more eloquent way than I ever could. This excerpt is from Ellen Purswell’s book Goetic Demonolatry and has been reprinted here with her permission.

I am admittedly not into prepared ceremonial magick as much as I once was. It used to be that I'd spend weeks preparing for a rite. The phase of the moon had to be perfect; the hour spot on, and each ritual component had to be exact. I felt I was cheating if I used substitutions.

In many cases this pageantry of preparation took the meaning out of the rite.  Each rite became nothing more than a list of well-rehearsed steps to a final goal that never quite materialized in the way I had hoped. With scrutiny comes wisdom and I realized that the rites had no meaning because I had not created the steps myself, and had not put meaning behind them. Sure carrying a loadstone in your pocket for three weeks prior to the new moon may infuse it with your personal essence, but many ceremonial magick texts don't always give such exact explanations as to why a step is essential thus leaving the practitioner to guess. I also found that stock rituals weren't always effective.

I have become more creative in my rites. Twenty-four years ago I decided to paint my yearly rite of devotion to Purson within the construct of a ritual circle after having invoked the rulers of the elements. The rite had words, certainly, but they were undocumented. There was no step-by-step script for me to follow. Instead, I painted and sang my prayers to Purson. When I was finished, I had an oil painting depicting a face hiding in the smoke, looking over at a strange symbol rising from the sacred flames. Never before had I tapped into such power. The power itself did not lye with an external influence. It hid inside myself as raw creativity.

In her book, Ellen explains the steps to creating ritual. I’d like to elaborate on her steps by adding some of my own in order to walk you through the process of creating effective personal rituals.

Let’s break down the ritual magickal working into seven parts –

·        Define the ritual’s purpose and desired outcome.

·        Create the invocations or evocations.

·        Outline the steps of the ritual:

o   Beginning - invocations

o   Middle – the work

o   End - closing

·        Assemble the proper sigils, herbal mixtures, and magickal items.

·        Prepare the ritual chamber and yourself.

·        Perform the ritual.

·        Post-ritual follow-up.

Defining the Purpose and Desired Outcome:

The first step to creating any effective magickal working is to define your purpose. Be as specific as you can be. “I need some extra cash” is pretty vague but sometimes a necessary way of putting it. “I want my boss to give me a raise” is more specific.  “I want to get a better job” is pretty vague, too. Try adding the field you’d like to work in (be realistic) to that sentence. “I’d like to get a better engineering job” is more specific.

Sometimes being specific is impractical. In cases like that, feel free to define your rituals’ purpose and desired goal in broad, sweeping statements. However, being specific has its advantages. First, it helps you focus more clearly on the desired outcome. Second, it gives you a clearer picture of what it is that you really want. Do you really want a raise, or a new job? Don’t heehaw around.

Create the Invocations or Evocations

Next, decide which member(s) of your personal pantheon is/are appropriate to the magickal working and create the invocations or evocations necessary. For this particular working (to get a raise) I would choose Belphegore. An example (continuing along the lines of wanting a raise) of a created invocation might go something like this:

“Belphegore, of earth, please attend this rite. I call upon you with an offering. Hear me; be present at this rite to bring good fortune to me.

You can then add another invocation during the body of the ritual (where the work is performed) that better defines the purpose and goal of your working to the external sources you are calling upon. That might go something like this:

“Belphegore, of earth, I ask that you grant me the strength to find stability at my job, and the earthly skills to excel there, so that I might get a raise in pay.”

While these examples may not be as eloquent as you might choose to write your own invocations, they illustrate how specific the invocations should be. The more specific the invocation, the more you understand what you really want, and the external powers that be are better able to help you. Asking the external forces to simply get you a raise probably isn’t going to be as effective. Keep in mind any colors, symbols, or correspondences you will need to follow to make your guests comfortable.

Outline the Steps of the Ritual

Next you will want to outline the steps of the ritual. This can be as simple as writing down your invocations for the beginning and middle, and writing down your “thank you, please depart and drive safely” for the closing. This means that anything during the body of the ritual (the middle) is fair game. If you would like to perform spells or symbolic action during the work, pray, sing, dance, paint, cook, eat – or whatever it is you do during the body of your rituals – you can note it if you are worried about forgetting a specific part.

Otherwise, during the middle of the ritual you can do whatever you feel like doing in the present moment. With rites like this, make sure you have everything you could possibly want within your circle including parchment, candles, ink, oils, incenses, paints, canvas, music, cooking utensils etc…

I know it may sound strange to have some of these items within a ritual circle, but you must always remember that whatever you are doing during the body of the rite it must have personal meaning to you, it must connect you to your personal pantheon, and it must be done with the purpose and the desired outcome of the ritual in mind.

If you feel like writing a script, do it. If prepared scripts seem to hamper the flow of the ritual, don’t use them. As you are planning the working part of your ritual, be sure to note any colors, sigils, or correspondence you want to use during the ritual. You might also want to plan a time for the ritual based on moon phase, hour, etc…

Keep in mind that sigils and talismans can be made during the body of the ritual if you prefer to construct them within a ritual circle.

The closing of the ritual can be elaborate or as simple as you wish. In the case of Belphegore I might say something like,

“Belphegore, of earth, thank you for attending this rite. Go in peace.”

Basically you are telling your assembled guests (your personal pantheon) that you appreciate them coming over to help, and you are seeing them to the door like you might a house guest.

In the case of evocation, you would evoke the pantheon by command, and excuse them likewise.

Assemble the proper sigils, herbal mixtures, and magickals items.

Nothing is more frustrating than to have constructed a ritual circle only to find you’ve forgotten something. Make yourself a list of all the things you want and take them to the ritual chamber or space beforehand. That way nothing is left behind.

Prepare the Ritual Chamber and Yourself

Think of this as set up. Some people, during the planning stage, like to draw diagrams of the ritual’s layout. Use this technique if it helps you. Having the ritual space set up ahead of time will free you up to prepare yourself.

Some people may wish to bathe in ritual salts or oils. Others may choose to fast before the ritual. Others still may choose to take their time putting on their robes and mentally preparing themselves for a ritual. Perhaps you want to do all three. Those choices are entirely up to you.

Perform the Ritual

I don’t think I need to go further into this. But make sure you’ve set enough time aside to perform the ritual. Especially if you are on borrowed private time and your roommate will be home in an hour.

Post Ritual Follow-Up

After doing a ritual working of magick, you can’t just sit idly by and wait for a raise or new job to fall in your lap. Nor should you go to work and cuss your boss, or sit at home expecting the phone to ring with a better job offer. Instead, you have to actively participate in magick. That participation means getting to work on time and showing your boss you are competent and deserving of a raise. It means you have to go out and fill out applications.

Then Why Do Magick At All?

Magick, in itself, is a tool to help you focus your energy and to help you draw needed strength from a spiritual or outside source. It is a tool that you use to influence yourself (the way you are thinking and acting) which consequently changes the world around you. It is by this influence that changes and desires manifest.  Think about it. All magick is spurred by the desire for change. The external situation can only change if you will it to change.

Creative Ritual in Groups

Creative ritual in groups can work if everyone involved is open to the experience. In rituals of this nature, each person must work together and separately. Personal expression can be more difficult or stilted in a group setting. All members of the group must be accepting of one another and hold back any urges to correct someone's magickal impulse. It is also important that each member of the group should be involved in the initial ritual creation process so that everyone understands his/her role in the ritual. Take this advice as you will.

Creating Spells

Creating spells works in much the same way. The difference is it does not have to be a communion between the self and deity. You can use kitchen witchery and still get the same powerful results of ritual. Spells often rely more on symbols and action rather than external forces in order to help the practitioner manifest his/her will. At the same time, deity and external energies can sometimes play a large part in a spell’s symbolism.

The handy thing about spells is their ease of use. With simple candle magick you can focus your will for fifteen minutes to get positive results. With spells, the power you draw from is primarily internal. You will use symbolism (colors, correspondences, words of power, sigils, and herbal mixtures) and you may create (candle magick, herbal mixtures, sachets, and sigils) during the construction of a spell. These actions and symbols draw from your belief in them, thus pulling their strength directly from the self.

If you believe that writing someone’s name on a piece of paper, wrapping it around a piece of High John the Conqueror root, and binding it with a red thread will remove the strife you have with the person whose name you’ve written – it will happen. By performing this simple symbolic action you have already changed the way you think about that other person.

Let’s break down the spell into five parts –

·        Define the spell’s purpose and desired outcome.

·        Create the words of power to charge the spell (being specific in your purpose and desired outcome).

·        Assemble the proper sigils, herbal mixtures, and magickal items.

·        Perform the spell.

·        Post-spell follow-up.

As with ritual, spells must be followed up on. Carrying around a sachet for good health isn’t going to make you eat better and take better care of yourself. But it can remind you to choose a salad over a burger – it can remind you of its purpose and your desired outcome. If you believe in the spell you can draw personal strength from it.

In Closing

The more personalized and symbolic (to you) your ritual space, magickal tools, rituals, and spells are, the more successful your magickal operations will be.

I will leave you with this: Always remember that magick is not a quick fix to anything. It’s not a way to get stuff.  It is a tool for self-transformation and external change. The action of practicing magick is merely the catalyst by which change is manifested in conformity to the individual’s will.

Perhaps one of the most practical books I can recommend every creative magician own, regardless of personal path, is The Magician’s Companion: A Practical and Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism by Bill Whitcomb. It is published in Llewellyn's High Magick Series. It is a wonderful guide by which to experiment and find practical usage of various traditional symbols.

May all of your magick be creative, and may all your creative endeavors be magickal.

Warmest Blessings –

S. Connolly

2005