Rituals for Magic and Meaning. Cerridwen Greenleaf

energies that you can use to further your intention and promote your purpose. I depend on Wylundt’s Book of Incense, which I consider to be the ultimate reference for excellent information about essences and properties of incense. It contains an enormous amount of information in regard to loose, cone, stick, and cylinder incense. It also tells you how to work with herbs, which part of a plant to use, and hot to gather, dry, and store the plants. The following is one of my recipes for an incense to use to cast a circle.

      Circle Incense:

      2 parts myrrh

      4 parts frankincense

      2 parts benzoin

      1 part sandalwood

      1 part cinnamon

      1 part rose petals

      1 part vervain

      1 part rosemary

      1 part bay leaf

      1/2 cup orange peel

      This incense will significantly aid the formation of the sphere of energy that is the ritual circle. A fine grind of all the ingredients is the key to good incense, so you should add a mortar and pestle to your list of tools if you intend to make a lot of incense. A blender or food processor is a more modern approach that may save on time and elbow grease, especially if you are making a large batch of incense for a group.

      Clearing Incense:

      1 part sandalwood

      3 parts myrrh

      3 parts copal

      3 parts frankincense

      This is an optimal mixture of essences to purify your home or sacred working space. Negative energies are vanquished and the path is cleared for ritual. Open windows and doors when you are burning this clearing incense so the “bad energy” can be released outside. It is also advisable to use this clearing incense if there have been any arguments or other energetic disruptions in your home. You can recreate a sanctuary with this incense.

      Dream Incense:

      2 parts rose petals

      2 parts cedar

      1 part camphor

      1 part lavender

      6 drops tuberose oil

      6 drops jasmine oil

      This mixture will bring on psychic dreams. If you set up a bedroom altar, place this incense in your censer and allow the scented smoke to imbue your sleeping space with its unique energy before you drift off. Prophetic dreams may come to you and, even better, you will remember them!

      Chalice

      The chalice—another vessel symbolizing the feminine, the Goddess, and fertility—is a goblet dedicated specifically for use on your altar. Holding both physical fluid and the waters of our emotional body, it is connected to elemental water. Place your special chalice on the left side of your altar with all other representations of the energy of the female and the Goddess. A grail is also a chalice. Legend tells that the Holy Grail brought life back into the decaying kingdom of Camelot and restored Arthur and his people to health, giving rise to the rebirth of England itself. On your altar, your chalice can hold water, mean, wine, juice, or anything that has been blessed. It can contain holy water for consecrations and blessing rites. At the end of many ritual ceremonies and sabbats, it is customary to toast the deities with a hearty ale, cider, or wine and thank them for being present. After the circle has been opened, you can pour the contents of your chalice into the ground outdoors as an offering to benevolent entities.

      Wand

      A magical wand is a powerful tool used to cast the circle and invoke deities. Like an athame, a wand focuses, projects, and directs energy. Because it gathers and stores magical power, a wand is wonderful for healing and can also be the device with which you “draw” the shape when you cast the circle. If possible, find your wand in a serendipitous manner. Draw it to yourself through attraction. A wand makes a mighty gift. It may, however, be more practical and expedient just to purchase your wand. When you do this, purify it, cleansing off the energy of the shop, so it is truly yours. Before you race off to the nearest metaphysical five-and-dime, take a walk in the woods. You may very well find the wand of your dreams waiting there for you on the forest floor. Some folks favor “live wood,” like cherry, willow, or oak branches that need to be cut off the tree. I prefer fallen wood that Nature has already harvested. Some folks like to ornament their wand with magical metals, such as copper, gold, or silver, and encrust it with gems and crystals. The most important determining factor for any wand is how it “feels” in your hand. You will know when you have found the right one.

      Keep your Muse Close

      Any time an imaginative person feels her creativity is blocked, or if she feels uninspired, she can call upon a muse. Whether you’re passionate about growing plants, painting, or writing music, you can stay in touch with your muse by using a special tool that will draw her to you with sweet-smelling smoke of sage.

      Sage is hardy and sun-loving, so keep a pot of it on the windowsill. There are very simple steps to take to create a sage wand to use when you need inspiration. First, you will want to create a tight braid of materials. This braid will consist of a long fennel stalk, a twisted bundle of sage, long sticks of incense (I prefer cinnamon), and purple (for power) and gold (for money) string or thread. When you are about to embark on an artistic activity, simply light one end of your wand and gently wave it around your head to clear your environment. Your mind will be cleared in the process, freeing the way for creative ideas. A little sage smoke goes a long way, so you will not want to burn the entire wand at once. Keep a cup of water or a small bowl of earth on hand to extinguish your wand when you are done.

      Making the Tools of the Magical Trade

      Just as you can design your own rituals, you can create your own ritual accessories and tools. Your intentions and personal energy are the driving forces behind the enchantments you create, and the same is true of crafting magical tools.

      Charm Boxes

      Native Americans, Greeks, Celts, and Egyptians all used magical boxes during ceremonies and for storing sacred objects. Christian religions followed suit—the famous biblical Ark of the Covenant was, in fact, a magical box. Spell work during medieval times involved boxes for love, health, fertility and home and in the fields, prosperity, and changes of luck. In more modern times, a young woman’s “hope chest” contained her wishes, intentions, and materials for a happy marriage.

      You can make charm boxes, also known as spell boxes, very easily. A job spell box should contain aventurine or peridot stones, patchouli incense, green candles, and ferns. You can make a psychic spell box with cloves, rosemary, and amethyst and quartz crystals. A good love spell box contains a pink candle, rose petals, two pieces of rose quartz, and two copper pennies. These are just some of the examples; more suggestions are in the appendix in the back of this book.

      Mirrors

      Throughout time, people have been looking for answers in mirrors, gazing balls, pools, and even using bowls filled with ink to peer into another dimension. Primitive people used obsidian and other shiny rocks to communicate with spirits. Surfaces that are shiny, smooth, and reflective have always lent themselves well to scrying and other intuitive work. Because of their use in scrying, mirrors came to be seen as magical portals to promote psychic awareness to other worlds.

      It is possible to create your own scrying mirror and empower it with energy and intention in a variety of ways. First, find a round mirror with a frame that will make it easy to apply crystals or other objects with glue (I like to use wood or plastic). The frame should have a lot of surface area on which you can affix your magical objects. There are many objects that are suitable for your mirror. If you collect sea glass or shells and pretty rocks, those will suffice. If you don’t have any objects on hand, visit a rock shop or a New Age store. You can purchase seashells and fifty to a