Sometimes I have lots of ideas for this blog. But sometimes, I get stuck.

That usually means that I need the spell or Magick lesson more than my readers do. It’s been a crazy day at the end of a crazy week. We are adjusting to life with a new puppy (which means lots of trips to the back yard in the middle of the night and therefore, not a lot of sleep!). My husband is in school, and I am helping to launch a new podcast. Plus, my day job has me traveling a lot these days. I’m not complaining as I’m fully busy with blessings.

Yesterday was a challenge, but I was up to it.

We didn’t sleep much because of the puppy. He had an upset tummy and there were several accidents to clean up in the wee hours of the morning. Still, we got up for the day around 5:00 a.m. I worked, put dinner in the crockpot, worked some more, dropped puppy off at doggy daycare, took Husband to work, worked, went to an appointment, raced back home to get puppy before doggy daycare closed, worked, kept puppy from chasing cats, worked, got puppy outside several times (no more accidents!), took puppy on a long walk on a noisy road (which scared him, but we got through it!), loaded puppy back in car to pick up Husband, stopped for ice cream on our way home. I WAS WINNING AT BEING ME AND KEEPING OUR LITTLE HOUSEHOLD RUNNING!!!

And then while driving home, some lady gave me mixed signals about merging, and then flipped me off.

I cried.

What was the big deal? Some asshole on the road flipped me off…I’ll survive. But I cried all the way home and ate our mediocre dinner (disappointing recipe) on the couch. It wasn’t about the lady. It wasn’t just about being underslept. I was filled up on low-level stress coming from being too busy.

Sound familiar? We are all way, way too busy. And guess what? Stress hinders Magick.

Now, moments of emotional extremes can actually help Magick. The energies of heartbreak, the panic in a moment of impending danger, the power of grief, the peak of sexual ecstasy–all of these energies can actually manifest incredibly powerful, effective Magick. These energies could be equated to stress, but that’s not the point in the moment. I’m not talking about the kind of extreme stress that comes when eviction is imminent or one’s children are hungry. I’m talking about the routine stress from being overworked, overcommitted, emotionally spread thin, or tired from too little sleep for too long: the common, chronic stress that is so highly pervasive in today’s environment.

When we’re stressed, we disconnect from our internal desires. Everything becomes “fight or flight.” Magick is built on manifesting what it is we truly desire. When we’re disconnected from that, we can’t manifest. Ideally, we would create regular moments of peace for ourselves but even if we don’t, doing an inner peace spell before a Magickal working may be helpful.

I did this spell for my own inner peace. Maybe it will work for you, too!

Ingredients:

  • Purple candle. (I wanted blue, but we were out. Blue is a great color for tranquility work, but purple is good, too).
  • Herbs: Lavender and cinnamon bark (Other options are standard cinnamon, basil, rosemary, and salt)
  • Personal curio: saliva

The Working:

I arranged the herbs around the candle and sat with it, quietly, for a bit. Using an exercise I learned from my friend Wendi, I listed all of my stressors (Will I ever get more sleep? Do I have enough cash for a specific bill coming up? Will the dog shit all over the place while I’m meditating? Etc.) and imagined placing them in a garbage bag in front of me. There is a tendency in such exercises to jump to “letting go” of all the stressors, but fully letting go can be even more stressful. I’ve found it more effective to imagine setting them aside for a time, knowing you can pick them back up whenever you want. Often times, we don’t go back for them.

I imagined the stressors existing through my heart.

Then, I licked my thumb and forefinger and, with the based of the candle placed at my heart, touched the wick with my thumb and forefinger and pulled the saliva toward my heart. The intention was to bring peace back into the void where I’d released the stress, earlier.

I lit the candle and sat with it for a bit, listing all of the things I am grateful for in this life I lead. I also took a moment to read from one of my daily devotionals. The reading was, of course, about not being too hard on myself.

If that doesn’t work, you do have other options!

For more spell-casting tips, check out my online course through Sacred Mists College. I will also be at the Curious Cauldron in Fort Myers, Florida teaching a Spellcraft class on March 9th!