Invisibility 1

So on a whim I thought I would see what I could find on invisibility. The following posts, over next couple of days, are the fruits of this search. Lots of sites had info/spells but they seemed to be mostly variations on these five themes. This first one was presented as a tried and true recipe for an invisibility manifesting preparation. Although it is presented as a powder, to be strewn, burned, or carried, the herbs given could just as well be concocted into a potion, oil, or tincture.

Invisibility Powder:

At Dark Moon, in a mortar and pestle, grind together:

1 part Fern leaf, dried
1 part Poppy seeds

Add

2 parts Slippery Elm powder
1 part Myrrh
1 part Marjoram, dried
3 parts Dillweed, fresh if possible
Grind all together, mixing well.

Add 9 drops almond tincture (almond cooking extract is great.) with enough spring water to make everything barely moist, and mix in well.

Place in a ceramic bowl, spreading as thinly as possible, and dry the mixture over low heat, stirring it occasionally, until it seems lightly browned. Pour back into mortar, and grind again, enchanting:

Things Seen, and Things Not Seen:
Let me walk here in between.

When finely powdered, store in a clear glass container. It will keep its power for years. Sprinkle, just a little bit, on yourself, objects, or in a place to be made invisible.

author of spell: Mara Ravensong Bluewater

Happiness and Self Esteem

Okay found these spells and I really liked how the felt kinda light hearted in some respects but serious in their efforts. I also like the gardening aspect, it is like as the plant grows so will your happiness. I changed some of the wording because I was not happy with the rhyme of the first spell. Okay I changed quite a bit, I liked some of the basic ideas but after re-reading a few times it just did not feel right to me. So hope you enjoy them and may you be blessed by them.

First, you must get in touch with the witch in you. That's the voice within telling us to breathe some magic into our lives. Your witch intuitively understands the wonders of spells and other rituals. These allow us to know ourselves and others better, improving the quality of our lives, encouraging us to face our problems. Try it. Believe it. This might just work...

To reap rewards we need to make sacrifices of the personal and you must commit totally to improving your situation. This spell is particularly helpful when cast in conjunction with the self-esteem spell.

You will need: a jade plant or a cutting from one, a suitable-sized pot, gold paint or ink, 3 coins and a crystal.

On the pot, using the gold paint or ink, paint the symbol for magical energy, blessing and fertility (a star, crescent, and 2 triangles). Place some earth in the bottom of the pot and then place in the coins before adding the plant and filling in with earth around the edges. Say, May Hecate bless me with good fortune and may that fortune grow and grow. With Hecate's blessing It Is So.

Keep the plant on a sunny windowsill and a week prior to a full moon place a crystal on the soil. The day after the full moon, put the crystal in your purse. Carry it with you as a reminder of what you are trying to achieve (you'll be amazed how adept we are at double think. We know we have no money, but it doesn't stop us spending what we don't have).

Once you become aware of the growing sense of happiness, pass the crystal on to someone deserving. Spreading happiness breeds happiness.

Self Esteem Spell:

You will need: a bath, 7 green oak leaves (or bay leaves), lavender oil, a purple candle, a yellow candle, jasmine oil, and purple thread.

Run the bath to a depth and temperature of your liking and sprinkle in the lavender oil and oak leaves in. Light the candles and climb in. Close your eyes (but don't fall asleep) and take some long deep breaths. Breathe in the warming orange light of confidence and breathe out the murky coloured self doubts. Imagine a yellow light above your head which slides down your body replacing any darkness within, filling you from top to bottom.

When you leave the bath, let candles burn out naturally.Thread the oak leaves onto the purple thread. Then, whenever your self-esteem fails you, heat jasmine oil in a burner, light the candles, and hold up the oak leaves. I suggest carrying the leaves in a box or envelope with you in your handbag,backpack etc.. on all sorts of important dates. I think you could also leave them on your alter or in a safe place.

Simple Decision Spell

When you're having trouble deciding among alternatives, place one chair for each choice within your ritual area, and label each chair with one of the choices. Now center yourself and create sacred space around you and your chairs. Call on Mercury and the goddess of Minerva to aid you in making your choice. Be assertive, defend your position, and give every reason you can think of for this particular choice. Switch chairs and repeat for each one. At some point in the debate, one "chair" will make the most sense! That's it! Your magic has worked! Thank the deities and carry out the winning alternative knowing you've made the right choice.

Poppet Update

A quick update on my poppet plans. I have been working on gathering all of the necessary materials to make my poppets. Which has proven harder than I expected. I am trying to find material for the backside of the poppets which represents to me the person they are to represent. Which as I said is harder than it sounds. Another problem is the eyes, can't decide what to do about them if anything. So I am close to actually making them but not quite. I really want to feel great about them so I am taking the time to chose all the right materials.

Releasing a Bad Habit With a Poppet

To eliminate an unwanted habit or trait, make a puppet of yourself out of cloth, straw, or a carved candle. Make symbols or words on it to indicate what you want to release forever, allowing anger to build within you that you have practiced this unwanted behavior. Call upon Pluto or Hecate to assist your resolve to fully carry out change in your life. Then, using a safe container such as an iron cauldron or metal bowl, anoint the puppet with a few drops of oil of myrrh, pennyroyal, rosemary, or rue, and then carefully set it on fire, visualizing the release of your unwanted habit or trait forever. Burn the puppet to ashes, and then take the ashes to a place where you have no need to be at any time soon. Bury it, turn firmly, and walk away. Don’t look back!

Questions, That Keep Me Up at Night

So here it is almost one thirty in the am and I am wide awake again. With all kinds of weird questions rolling around in my mind. I seriously can not get over the things you think about when it is dark, quiet and when most importantly you should be sleeping.

1) If you are Pagan does that mean you believe in magick? Does it mean you have to practice magick?

2) Does Quantum Physics explain magick? I am reading a book about quantum physics and I have looked into it some before and I really wonder if it does explain, at least in part, how magick works.

3) If you believe in fairies, angels, elves etc....does that imply the existence of vampires, werewolves etc...? Looked at a few web sites that say they have evidence of the existence of vampires. I was not won over. Not saying I don't believe that they could exist just that these sights did not make a winning argument to me. The only thing they did say that made an impact was that through the centuries and across the globe there have been stories of vampire type beings. Is that true?

4) Why do people collect things? And why do some people's collections seem so weird, like collecting dolls or pig figurines? So I tried to figure out why I collect books, like a stone collects moss. It is partially a feeling I get when I hold a book in my hand, not all books, but the ones that come home with me have a certain feeling. And I think it is partially a quest for knowledge, a curiosity about the world.

So any thoughts on these subjects? Anyone else find themselves up at night pondering things like this? See more questions.

Poppet Misc.

Here are some misc. things I found floating around the internet, thought I would share them with you.

Tips & Warnings
Keep your intent in mind, and in focus, from the moment you start the poppet til you finish.

Other possible herbs for healing: Eucalyptus, Rowan, Cinnamon, Sage, Peppermint, Hops and Sandalwood. (Use alone or in combination.)

Choose the color of the material and herbs used for future poppets based on your intent.

You can use one herb alone or in combination with others.

Feel free to include stones associated with your intent as well.

NEVER imbue a poppet with anger, spite or any other malignant intent. Remember, that which you send out will return to you in time.

NEVER conduct any workings that would impose your will onto another person. DO NOT become involved in that person's life without their asking you to and giving their consent. Harm none.
Such workings as above should NEVER be used in place of seeking the help of a medical doctor. All diagnoses should come from a licensed professional.

Some possible colour associations:
Purple: Magic/Spiritual/Religious worries
Blue: Work/Study worries
Green: Money problems
Pink: Love problems
Red: Physical/health/self esteem body problems
Orange: Emotional Problems
Yellow: Thought/Intellect/memory worries

Some more Fabric Ideas:
•Animals: Brown or green fabrics, patterns with cats or dogs, anything pet-related
•Banishing: Black fabric, designs such as swords or wands, dragons or fire
•Creativity: Orange or yellow fabric, prints of suns or other fire symbols
•Healing: Silver, white or blue, with designs of clouds or other air symbols
•Love: Pink or red material, designs like hearts, roses or other flowers, Cupids
•Money: Silver, gold or green fabric, or designs of dollar bills or coins, cups or earthy symbols
•Protection: Red or white material, with patterns of shields, keys or locks, fences, mistletoe.

Some General Poppet Ideas:
To Gain Financial Success
•Material: satin, green or gold or silver
•Herbs: clover, chamomile, ginger, cinnamon
•Gemstones: snowflake obsidian or sodalite

Create a poppet that represents you yourself. As you make it, focus on the positive attributes that you possess which will make you appealing to a potential employer. Another option is to create the poppet in the image of the employer (include business cards or letterhead inside, if you can get them) and tell the employer poppet why you're the best person for the job.

To Heal a Sick Person
•Material: White cotton or unbleached muslin
•Herbs: Lemon balm, feverfew, ivy, and pine.
•Gemstones: Bloodstone, turquoise

When you make this poppet, be sure to indicate what you are trying to heal, whether it's a case of tennis elbow, a chronic infection, or even a broken heart. Focus all of your energy on the ailment in question.

To Bring Love Into Your Life
•Material: Red or pink silk or cotton
•Herbs: Rose petals, parsley, and peppermint
•Gemstones: Barite, jade, rose quartz

Make a poppet to represent the object of your affection -- remember that in some magical traditions it's frowned upon to make a specific person the target of your working. If you are simply trying to attract love to yourself, but you don’t have a specific person in mind, focus on all the desirable qualities you want to see in a potential lover.

Silencing a Gossip
•Material: Ground beef or other squishy meat
•Herbs: Horseradish, pepper, rue, yarrow, valerian
Shape the meat and herbs into a person, and create a "meat puppet" in the same way you'd make a fabric one. As you make the doll, tell it that it's time to be silent, and tell no more gossipy stories. Remind it that people who can't say nice things shouldn't say anything at all. Dispose of the doll by either burning it on your grill and burying it someplace far away, feeding it to your dog, or leaving it out in the sun to rot.

****Really like this Idea****
Emergency Poppet on the Fly
•Material: Aluminum foil
Perhaps something has come up in a hurry, and you feel it needs immediate magical attention. Use a piece of aluminum foil to whip together a quickie poppet -- shape it into the figure of a person. Fill with any magical components that might be handy -- bits of wood, dirt, grass, even a name scribbled on a piece of paper -- and personalize the poppet.

Poppet Pattern

Here is a pattern you can print out and enlarge to create your poppet.

Constructing a Poppet

A poppet can be made from clay, wax, wood – let your imagination run wild. Try to remember that the more work you put into it, and the more complex it is, the stronger your link will be to your goal. A poppet is a device for sympathetic magick. In other words, all of its components will be symbols of what it is you hope to achieve.

Poppet construction can either be done as part of the spellwork itself, or it can be done ahead of time, leaving the poppet to be used later on. The choice is yours.

Remember, the poppet is representing a person. Accordingly, before you begin construction, you need to determine what sort of spell you are doing. Do you have someone you want to keep out of your life? Want to stop someone who spreads gossip? Or is there a friend who wants to get a job and needs some magickal assistance? Do you just want a protection poppet to keep around your house or in your car? The possibilities are endless, but it’s a good idea to determine your goal before you get started. It will save you from countless “do-overs” later on.

The directions here are for a simple poppet construction using fabric. We’ll go through it step by step, but feel free to modify or “tweak” anything you need.

Selecting Your Fabric

Obviously, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to material. However, you can choose your fabric based on your purpose. For example, someone doing a money poppet might select a piece of green or gold cloth, or a festive cotton print covered in dollar signs. If you’re looking for love, try something in pink, or perhaps in a heart design.

Fabric is inexpensive – most craft shops such as Joann or Michael’s – even Wal-Mart has a craft section -- sell cotton prints at less than $3 a yard. You can make a LOT of poppets with a yard of fabric. Be sure to check for the post-holiday sales, and you can get a ton of great fabric to save for later.

Another alternative to purchasing fabric is to use something that links the poppet to your target. Ask your friend who is job-searching to give you an old t-shirt, or when you’re trying to draw love into your life, cut up that pair of silky pajamas that you slept in last night. Poppets don’t care what you make them out of, and they won’t be insulted if you use previously worn material.

When all else fails, and you just can’t seem to find the right fabric, a plain piece of muslin or felt is perfect for the job.

Here are a few additional suggestions for poppet fabric, based on their purposes.

Spell Goal & Fabric Color or Patterns to try:

Prosperity: Green, gold, silver Dollar signs, dollar bills, earth symbols
Love: Pink, red Hearts, Cupids, roses or other flowers
Banishing: Black Swords, wands, dragons
Creativity: Orange, Yellow Suns, fire symbols
Protection: Red, white Keys or locks, fences, mistletoe
Spirituality: White, blue, silver Moons, clouds, air or water symbols
Animals: Brown Cats, dogs, anything pet-related


When it comes to texture of the fabric, anything goes. Cotton is easy enough to work with, but if you’re an inexperienced sewer, you may want to stick with something stiffer at first, such as felt, which is available in darn near every color imaginable. Felt will hold its shape nicely as you sew, and its natural properties help keep the fabric from slipping during assembly.

Now that you’ve figured out what fabric to use, let’s move on!

Poppet Shape

Because the poppet is representing a person, we want it to look like -- you guessed it -- a person. Two arms, two legs, a head, that sort of thing. You can either create your own outline, or you can use the ultimate poppet template – a gingerbread man!

Several of the major craft stores sell large gingerbread man cookie cutters, especially around the holidays. You can pick one up for about $5, and use that as your template. Alternately, you can design your own, but basically the gingerbread man shape is perfect for poppets.

If you’re doing a spell for an animal – such as healing a sick pet – make the poppet shape accordingly.

Remember, your poppet doesn’t have to be huge, but it will need to be big enough that you can stuff it with all of the ingredients later. This is where planning ahead comes in handy!

Cutting and Sewing

So now you have your fabric, and you have a pattern. The next activity is going to be cutting out the poppet. This isn’t hard, but you will need a good pair of scissors, and some straight pins might be useful as well.

You will need two pieces of your fabric. Place the pieces right side together on a flat surface. This means that if your material has a print or design, the patterned sides should be facing each other. This is important!

Place your template or pattern on top of your fabric and secure it into place with your straight pins. Once your template is in position, you can cut out around it. Be sure to either leave some room around the edges, or design your pattern a bit larger so that you will have room to sew it shut. A ¼” to ½” margin is a good size.

Remove your template, and presto! You now have your poppet shapes!

Now, on to the sewing. If you’ve never used a needle and thread before, don’t be alarmed. It’s not as scary as it sounds, but it WILL require you to concentrate a little, and to be patient. If you’re pressed for time, you could theoretically use a sewing machine, but poppets like it when you take a bit of time and effort with them and sew them together by hand.

It’s probably a good idea at this point to pin the two pieces of material together, although if you’re using something such as felt, it may stick together on its own. Use your own best judgment.

Place the right sides of the material together, and then stitch around the edges. Don’t go all the way around. Leave yourself an opening (wide enough to get a couple of fingers into) at the head. Then turn your poppet right side out. Presto! You have one partially complete poppet.

Stuffing Your Poppet (or What the Heck Do I Put In There?)

Stuff your poppet with fiberfill, which is available at any craft store (or even Wal-Mart). If you don’t have fiberfill, you could use cotton balls or even old pantyhose. Make sure you work the fiberfill all the way into the extremities. Once you have stuffed the arms and legs, you can work on the center of the body. This is where you will place your spell components. If you are adding herbs, stones, a taglock, whatever, this is the place to do it.

You may be wondering what in the world a taglock is. Well, quite simply, it’s the part of the poppet that links it to the person it represents. This can be hair or nail clippings, the person’s signature or name on a piece of paper, body fluids (yes, body fluids!) or even a photograph.

Once you have stuffed the components inside, finish filling the body and head. Sew the head shut with a small overcast stitch, as shown in the graphic.

Now that your poppet’s body is complete, it’s time to personalize it a bit more. This part is lots of fun!

Let’s Play “Name That Poppet”!

You’ve already placed the taglock and other goodies inside your poppet, but the more personalized you can make it, the better. Draw or paint a face on your poppet. Add yarn to represent hair if you like. If you have an item of the person’s clothing, wrap your poppet in it, or copy any identifying marks like tattoos or scars onto the poppet’s body.

Most importantly, repeatedly TELL the poppet who it is they represent. You can say something along the lines of “I have made you, and you are John Smith”, or whoever you are doing the spell for.

You can also add magickal or astrological symbols to the poppet, with paint, sewing or even markers. The possibilities are endless.

Poppets can be used for healing, for love, for money, for banishing, for revenge, to get a job – you name it, you can make a poppet for it. It’s simply a matter of figuring out what your goal is, and the best way to achieve that goal. The only limitations to poppet construction are your own imagination and creativity.

Sample Poppet Ideas

To Gain Employment

Material: Green or Gold satin.

Herbs: Chamomile, Clover, Ginger, Jasmine, and Pecan.

Stones: Snowflake Obsidian or Sodalite.

Create the poppet to represent yourself, and as you are working on it, think of all the positive attributes you have that would make you attractive to an employer. Another option would be to make a poppet representing the employer, and tell it why it would be in the company’s best interests to hire you.

Healing

Material: White cotton

Herbs: Lemon balm, carnation, ivy, and pine.

Stones: Bloodstone

When making this poppet, make sure you indicate on it what you are trying to heal, whether it is a sore leg, a bad case of lice, or even a broken heart. Focus all of your energy on the idea in question.

Love

Material: Red silk

Herbs: Rose petals, parsley, and peppermint.

Stones: Barite

You can make a poppet to represent the object of your affection, or make one to represent both you and the other person. If you are trying to draw a specific person to you, you can use pink or red cord to bind the poppets together. If you are simply trying to attract love to yourself, but you don’t have a specific target in mind, make sure you think about all the things that make you desirable to a potential lover.

Note: For some reason I could not get the pattern to display at the right point in this posting so I will put it into another entry to post the same day. Thanks for understanding.

A Short History of Poppets

So here is a short history of poppets. I have been thinking a lot about them and there use. I have a cousin who's husband has cancer and he is quite young. It is his second go around with cancer and I have been wondering what I could do. And it came to me to make a poppet for healing of his cancer. So I have been looking for ideas on what to use as far as fabric, herbs, stones etc...and how to really empower this poppet to serve its purpose. Here is what I have found out. I will also let you know what I decide to use for mine.

When most people think of a poppet, they automatically think of the Voodoo doll. While the Voodoo religion is certainly the most well-known culture to use the poppet, the use of sympathetic magick goes back thousands of years. In fact, in 1100 BCE, the many enemies of Pharaoh Ramses III of Egypt (which included the women of his harem and a treasury official) used wax images of him to bring about his death.

The ancient Greeks often used sympathetic magick in love or defensive spells. Christopher Faraone, Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago, is one of the foremost authorities on Greek magick today. Faraone states that Greek poppets, called Kolossoi, were sometimes used to restrain a ghost or even a dangerous deity. They could also be used to bind two lovers together.

The Greek tragedian Theocritus refers to melting and burning wax dolls in Idyll 2, The Witch (Pharmakeutria), which was written around 270 b.c.(3) He describes the ways in which Simaetha, who has been dumped by her lover, Delphis, attempts to lure him back to her with magic. At the same time, she tries to make him forget any woman who might be a potential rival. Simaetha was quite a busy girl.

The idea of wax dolls has carried on throughout the centuries. When Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, was married to a perfectly awful gentleman who would become King George IV, she apparently spent many hours forming wax dolls of her husband and jabbing them with pins. There is no evidence as to the effect this may have had on George, but when Caroline decided to scamper off to a villa in Italy and shack up with her Italian lover, George didn’t protest. The royal couple remained married but lived separately until Caroline’s death in 1821.

In West African magick, a doll called a fetish is used. The doll is actually possessed by spirits, and represents the spirit to the doll’s owner. The fetish contains magickal power, and is carried by its owner either on the body or as an amulet. Slave owners in North America were permitted to hand out a death sentence to anyone found in possession of a fetish.(5) Small wonder, considering that the owners didn’t understand anything about African culture – and subsequently feared it.

In Voodoo itself, or Vodun, the use of poppet magick became popular in New Orleans after the end of the Civil War, although sources disagree as to whether poppets are used at all in Haiti, the home of the Vodun religion.

The Voodoo Museum of New Orleans even stocks a variety of dolls in their gift shop. This appears to be a bone of contention among practitioners, some of whom are trying to get away from the “serpent rite and pins-in-the-doll” rituals.

Raymond Buckland recommends the use of poppets in healing spells, and maintains that even the sticking of pins in the poppet can be used for good. He states that if treating someone who experiences back pain, the pins can be inserted in the poppet’s back. After concentrating on a healing ritual, the pins – representing the pain itself – would slowly be drawn out of the poppet. In other words, the sharp pain would be drawn out of the target’s body.