Things Your Local Ethical Witch Will Not Do For You

Good Afternoon My Witchy Readers,

Although many of my regular readers already know about the ethics a witch is obligated to abide, there are always new readers who just don't know the truth. I was recently browsing on the Internet looking for some magickal websites and I saw some Satanic sites listed.  I started looking at them to see what kind of information they were sending out and it was a bit sad to see they often use the term witch.

In my opinion, a Satanist is just that, a Satanist, not a witch. Semantics aside, I saw so many websites and now full YouTube videos teaching people how to conduct black magick spells and as always, in the dark realm, they promise the practitioner the world! They promise, not just that you can become wealthier than anyone else, get any beautiful man or woman you want (regardless if the person wants you! Eeewwww, can we say stalker?) But, they promise that you can destroy your enemies, bring harm to others, and wreak havoc wherever or whenever on whomever you want.

All I can say, is simply scroll down social media lately. There is so much anger, hatred, prejudice and blame being thrown around, that if any of the above were real? The world would implode as all of these angry, hell bent people gave into their childish temper and did spells to bring down everyone else. But, if you will look around you, you'll see this is not the case. Sadly, these websites and videos cater to those who feel helpless, hopeless, and so very unhappy with their life, that they feel in such misery only by sending out more misery and hurting others can they themselves be healed. This attitude borders on the fringes of mental instability.  I strongly advise, if you see yourself in these words above, that you seek out competent psychiatric help.

By this time you are asking, but what can my local witch do for me when I have an issue or problem?

Well, let's discuss what a witch that follows ethics and has a care about their karma and others and what we can and cannot do.

• We cannot instruct you as to how to change others in your life. As much as you absolutely feel you are right and they need an attitude adjustment. That is not up to you and crosses a boundary. You can only change yourself, you attitude and if the people or person is so uncomfortable to be around, you have free will. You can divorce them, move, get another job, or do spell work that will help you step up to another level and deal with them in a better way. 

This one issue above is probably the stickiest one to come into my store or classroom. Over the years I have had students, and customers leave Enchantments never to come back, simply because I would not teach them how to manipulate others. Many times, it would have only taken the student/customer to voice their issue to the person in question, but they prefer to do it behind their backs in a sneaky, magickal way which equals black magick. That never works the way the practitioner wants. It always comes back in a bad way to the one who cast the spell.

• If a person should dabble in black magick and becomes embroiled in their own nasty magick, pretty much a curse they intended to send to another, but it always wraps around the practitioner, a witch cannot undo this. I once had a  customer who had gone to a 'witch' and together they cast a love spell on a man this woman wanted. Good news! She got him. Bad news! When the relationship ended badly, a short time later, he became he stalker and had physically attacked her several times, almost killing her twice and she spent the rest of her days in hiding. I haven't seen her in a number of years now. But when she did tell me the story, she really wanted to undo the spell. Unfortunately, while I wanted to help her, she was cursed by her own magick to live out the consequences. 

• We will also not lie to you, at least the Witches of Enchantments will not. I cannot speak of any other witch or to their own agendas. But we insist on being honest with a customer or client, even if it negates a sale. For instance, someone might want to clear their home of negative energy so we recommend they smudge with a desert smudge stick. It will indeed clear the stagnant, negative, frenetic energy out of the building. Yet, if the people that live there are constantly angry, miserable, depressed and sad, the negative energy will build up again. 

Magick can and does change a person's life for the better, but it is up to that person to do the work necessary to make those changes. Look at it this way, you decide how you wish your life to change and magick simply greases the wheels to make the change smoother and more easy to accomplish. 

• We cannot tell you how to cast a spell that would manipulate another or cause someone to fall in love with you. Ah, but our love spells work very well. The key is you cast the spell and only see yourself, happy, loved, cared for. You are not allowed to visualize another, as that may negate the right person coming into your sphere. In addition, we will not advise you on how to get an ex lover to return. That would have to be done with their permission. We are not allowed to cast spells on another without their full knowledge and permission. 

 

• We also will not heal you. You need a doctor for that. We can sell you magickal stones that will help you on your path to healing your body, mind and spirit, but that is as far as we are allowed to go. 

• We do not bless people or things they bring in. We may be Priestesses but we are not Catholic Priests. We feel that you, yourself, are far more effective with charging or blessing your object. 

• We will not proclaim you a witch. That is a personal choice and if you feel you are and wish to call yourself one that is fine by us. We do not pick and choose who we think are witches or not. That is a totally personal choice. 

• No, we will not cast a spell on your wife, husband, ex lover or boss. But we will chuckle along with you simply to be polite as we have heard that request far too many times. 

• We cannot tell you what or who you were in a past life. That is up to you to explore with a past life regression. It's important to know, others also cannot do this. If someone comes up to you and without your asking tells you that you were an Indian Princess in a past life, or something about your future, or that a loved one that has died has a message for you, get away from them. A professional witch or psychic does not approach a person without their permission. Yes, a psychic may indeed have a message for someone, but they may not be in a place to hear it. It is up to them to seek out this information. 

• When we meet you, no we can't tell things about you, your future or what you will be eating for dinner that night. Perhaps if we were doing a reading for you, we could tune into it, but when we are not doing readings we turn off that channel, simply so we can function and do what we wish to do. 
  

• We do not cast spells for people. We will show you how to cast a spell for yourself, as it will be more effective when you do it. We also will not take money for spell work done. We charge for spell kits that you take home and do yourself, but we cannot be bribed to do a spell for another. 

• We also will not choose a magickal stone for you. We encourage people to touch the stones and crystals and choose the ones that feel best to them.What feels right for us may not be right for you. 

You might have noticed a pattern so far. We teach people how to use the magick within them as that is the secret for effective magick. There is a reason that the industry of witches doing spell casting for others fell by the way side years ago. The spells cast just did not work.  Especially when money exchanged hands. Unfortunately, the Internet has brought this scam or con back into living existence because it is so easy to promise a helpless, hopeless, in some cases desperate person everything they wish for, only for a fee. The money is sent and indeed, maybe a candle is sent to them or a bar of soap or something of the like, and when the customer realizes nothing in their lives have changed, the website is no longer accessible or the email address is permanently disabled. 

If you wish to dabble in magick, please stop by our store and talk to one of the Witches of Enchantments. You will get realistic, truthful magickal advice and we will not lie or lead you on. If we can help you we will try, if it is a situation where magick will not work, we will tell you. 

Have a magickal week! 

Peace and Happiness

© 2010-2016 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Let's Discuss 'Grounding'

Good Afternoon,

Today I want to talk to you about 'grounding'. It can be called by other names but many magickal practitioners call it grounding. Many times it is done at the end of the ritual, by putting our excess energy into the ground by placing our hands on the ground, into the altar by placing our hands on the altar, some will even lay on the ground or on a bed to help ground the energies that may have built up during a ritual.

But, the concept of grounding I am going to discuss today, is a little different. Rather than just placing your hands on the ground for a moment or two after a ritual, try going out and with bare feet sit or stand or walk on the ground, dirt or grass, not concrete or asphalt, but actual ground for 15-30 minutes. Do this every day if possible.

No equipment is needed, no incantations or candles burning, no special words needed, just put your skin in contact with the earth. It will help ground your physical, emotional and spiritual energies. It will help calm you, balance your emotions and clear your mind and help you focus. People claim to experience many physical changes with better health but try it and see for yourself. There really is something to the concept of a "tree hugger", the idea of a witch deep in the forest inside her witches cottage working magick. Well, you can get that magickal feeling without moving into the depths of the forests, by finding a piece of earth and lay on it, stand on it, sit in a nice comfortable chair and place your bare feet on it. You will notice a difference.

As I write this, I am reminded of a trip I took last September to New York City with friends. We  went into the city for dinner and a concert, and got into the city early so we walked around the west side of Manhattan for a few hours. As we walked along, we passed a walled area that on top of was a small section of green, real grass. The area couldn't have been more than a dozen or so square yards of grass. Very small from a suburban concept.  But every inch of grass was taken up by people laying or sitting, just enjoying the sunny autumn day. But I found it funny in a way that people that didn't know one another, but were as close as they could get, just to have a piece of the earth, the grass. Truthfully, that was one of the only pieces of grass I saw in the city. We didn't go to Central Park, but on the West side of Manhattan those people were engaged in grounding, even if they didn't know it.

Try grounding, this is the best time of year, as in winter it is more difficult to enjoy this pastime. There are other ways of grounding in the winter time and we can discuss those as we get closer to that time of the year. Let's not rush things!

Grounding is a simple, yet effective way to bring needed change into your life. You don't need to make everything ritualistic, complex and difficult. The best magick is that which is done easily, naturally and which flows out of you only to flow back in. This is one of those types of magickal activities that you can do which is easy, beneficial and will make a difference. Of course if you wish to meditate while doing this, that is great.

If you do choose to add to your grounding experience you may choose to hold some semi precious stones. Good ones for this grounding practice would be green agate, moss agate, leopard skin jasper, mugglestone, and tiger's eye are all good choices.

If outside, if you like incense, you may choose to burn a stick of your favorite incense. Use the time to sense your energy as it flows through your body and feel it flowing deep into the ground and feel it flow back into your body, returning back and forth.  Imagining, visualizing the energy flowing into the ground and then slowly flowing back into your body.  Do this for 15-30 minutes a day.

Do this for a week or so, and for many, it will become something you start to look forward to doing as it makes you feel so good afterwards. Give it a try and Happy Grounding! Ms. Faith



Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2016 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

The Witches Pyramid - New and Improved!

Good Afternoon,

Advanced magickal practitioners have heard of the Witches Pyramid, To Know, To Will, To Dare and To keep Silent. Yet, as things progress and times change, so should we. Modern practitioners have added another layer to the pyramid and that layer is To Go.

This pyramid is important to consider and think about should you be interested in "picking up the broom stick" and walking the path of the witch. Let me start by saying a scared, weak, fearful individual will not succeed on this path unless they work at making many changes. As much as our religious freedoms are protected in this country (the United States), it is a foolish witch that thinks everyone will be warm and welcoming once they find out about her/his beliefs.

My research has shown me that the Witches Pyramid's origins originally called it the Four Pillars of the Witch, as well as the "Magician's Manifesto" out of hermetic teachings as well as "hermetic quatemary".  Of course these older titles all reference the pyramid with only four layers, whereas today it has been given a fifth.

Many beginner students of witchcraft and magickal studies either never learn of the Witches Pyramid, or if they do, they quickly read about it and then set it aside, more interested in other aspects of the magickal world. But, in truth, the more you sit and study and think about these layers, or 'lessons', if you will, of the witches pyramid, the more your magickal world will open up and develop.

The base, which is also the foundation and largest layer of the pyramid is "To Know". Think of the construction of an actual pyramid. No matter how big or small, if the base were not the largest piece, considering it's shape, it would topple over. This is true, as far as I am concerned with magick. To Know is not a suggestion, but an absolute necessity. Seriously, if you don't wish to, or won't spend the time to really learn the magickal principles, the scientific principles of magick in all it's aspects, then stick to blowing out birthday candles once a year on your cake and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, there are those in the 'magickal world' who simply want to dress Goth or Bohemian, witchy if you will, dance around under a full moon (usually with wine or other liquor involved, burn a candle and call themselves witches, and that's pretty much the extent of it. That's O.K. for them, and you also if that's what you want to do. And you can call yourself anything you'd like.  But, for those who wish to live the life of a witch, to be and live and exist as a magickal being, there's more work to be done. To Know, speaks of the learning, studying and practice that is required of the witch. You simply must know your craft. The study and practice is also called 'The Craft of the Wise", and witches were at one time called the "Wise Ones". This should still hold true today. Be sure you are casting circles, writing down in your Book of Shadows, following the esbats and the Sabbats, casting spells, working with the Goddess and God, all of this and more is part of living a magickal life. Those that live this way know, it is not a dress up party, it is not a temporary play, it is their lifestyle, it is the life of a witch. 24/7. If you are not there yet, do not despair, you will get there. Keep practicing and it will happen. This layer corresponds with the element of Air which governs the intellect and knowledge.

To Will - This is the next layer of the pyramid. And this one is more about the magickal manifestation you will achieve as you practice and live the life of a witch. To create needed change in your life by using your magick. By using your will. Now, I don't mean you force things to happen by forcing your will upon the world. No, I mean you use your magickal will, when you cast a spell, cast a circle, conduct a ritual, work with the Goddess. We never force our will on anyone or anything, we magickally extend it in the areas we need it to go. And, by doing so, by sending it out, it returns back to us, with our magickal goal manifested.  This layer corresponds with the element of Fire which governs discipline and courage.

To Dare-  This next layer is again important and can be one of the most difficult layers for the practicing witch. The times when you  might be challenged about your beliefs, or have your practice and lifestyle scoffed at or misunderstood. Sometimes it is beneficial to spend a little time explaining to someone how they might be mistaken, and again others it is best to just give them wide berth and care not if they misunderstand or don't wish to know the truth. Sometimes it can be daring and difficult to simply walk away, and realize it is not your purpose to correct the entire world as to their misconceptions. To realize that some people don't wish to hear the truth as the misperceptions, rumors and lies are so much more sensational and they are vested in their erroneous beliefs. Another aspect of the layer of daring is to be strong enough, brave enough and sure enough of yourself to cast strong, confident spells with self assurance. Weak intentioned, half hearted, uncertain energies mixed into your magick will manifest the same for you. You need confidence, empowerment and daring to create effective magick that really works for you. This layer corresponds with the element of Water, which governs emotions and asks us to focus on our emotions and work our magick with balanced emotions.

To Keep Silent-  This layer hearkens back to the time when any mention of magickal workings, spells or ritual would not only have the practitioner arrested and hung, but friends, family even simply acquaintances could be put to death because of association with the witch. You simply did not speak of the magickal world and if you did you knew how dangerous it was, even when speaking about such things with your own immediate family. This layer has changed over the years and now there are many opportunities and times when one should speak out and help educate those who wish to learn and understand our ways. So the term 'To Keep Silent" should now read "Know when to speak and when to keep silent" and follow through accordingly. This layer corresponds with the element of Earth. Strong, steady, silent and supporting. But for the magical ones, even the Earth speaks when one is able to listen.

To Go - This fifth level has been added in more modern times. This level corresponds with the Spirit, while the other four levels correspond with the physical world of the elements. This last level encourages the magickal practitioner to go forth and change their world and the world around them with their magick and magickal practice. To go forth and practice, study, and live the life of a magickal person. For all of the magickal study and contemplation is really of no use if one doesn't go forth and use the knowledge you've acquired to help change your life for the better and the world around you for the better.


Each and every layer discussed here can be further explored and delved into much more deeply than the brief description I've given each of them, but that is work for you to do. It would be an excellent idea to have a few pages in your Book of Shadows dedicated to the Witches Pyramid and your own personal insights into these concepts, as you contemplate and notice how each one manifests in your life and magickal practice.



Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2016 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Understanding Your Responsibilities as an Empath

Good Afternoon My Witchy Readers,

I am not going to start this discussion by asking you if you are an Empath or not, pretty much everyone is. An Empath is the root word of empathy. Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. An Empath is just that, a person who is sensitive to the feelings of others around them.

The reason I didn't start by asking if you are an Empath or have empathy is, unless you are clinically psychotic, you are and you do. Everyone is born with this extra sense. Actually, it is one of the reasons our species has survived as long as we have. Having that extra sense to 'feel' the energies around you can and does warn us of danger so we can get out of harm's way, helps us bond with loved ones so we can procreate and perpetuate the species. It helps keep us alive, safe and happy.

I have met people who have introduced themselves to me as "I am an Empath!" and I kind of wait a moment for the sound of thunder. Haha, but seriously, to me, it is the same as saying "Hi, I am a human!" also, no thunder. It's lovely that you know this, that you are an empath, as many people don't. But .  .  .  it is what you do with it, that is key.

You see, there are two sides to the Empath coin. On one hand, you absorb the energies and feelings of those around you, you process them and for some people they actually will take on the sense of feelings from the other person. If the person is sad, or happy, or excited or depressed you might feel a sense of those feelings for a while yourself. That is the receptive side of things. Bringing the feelings of another person into yourself.

But there is another side of this con. It is the projective side, the energies and feelings you project into the room you walk into. When you walk into a room are you smiling, happy and full of energy and light? Or are you grumpy, stand-offish, with a leave me alone attitude? Maybe you simply come into a room neutral? That is possible. But if every time you walk into a place, where you work, your home, a place you spend time with others look at their reactions. Are they happy to see you? Or are they hesitant and stand-offish? What we send out we receive right back to us.

I'm not talking about one person who may be dealing wit their own issues. But if everyone seems to have the same reaction, every time? Then they are reacting to your energies you are putting forth. Working as a witch, we deal with the energies of just about every thing around us. Every natural thing, from herbs, stones, crystals, foods, people, animals. Everything that is a natural being.

We work to sense the energies around us, and then use that information in ways that can help us achieve our magickal desires. It all comes down to energy. The energies around us. Yet, as much as we use the energies we find around us we must be responsible for the energies we send out.

In our society today there is a lot of undesirable energies we may encounter.  We may encounter people who gossip, speak badly about others, try to cause drama or trouble with their words, people who lie or do other non-loving actions. We, as beings of light, magickal people, we are understandably repelled by those energies. The one thing people who come to this path often fail to realize, is they may be sending out these negative energies themselves. Simply 'picking up the broomstick' and stepping upon the magickal path does not make you Glinda the Good Witch of the North.  No, work is required for you to strip off those un-desirable elements, and to change bad habits, to stop looking at the world through negative eyes. Work is necessary to stop yourself from being jealous of others, of having personal low self-esteem, to directly face your 'shadow' self and bring yourself into the light.

Simply calling yourself a witch, will not do this. I have been on this path for a long time and I have met many, hundreds if not thousands of magickal people. Some are indeed, true beings of light, and some simply wear the witchy clothes, talk about the spells they have cast and continue to be unhappy, un-magickal, unenlightened and mundane people. Don't get me wrong, you can call yourself a witch and continue to be all the things you were before you discovered witchcraft, but that is just using words and not living the life altering and life enhancing lifestyle of the witch.

You create your reality. In turn, you create the magick or lack thereof in your life. Only you. No one else. You cannot walk this path and then point fingers of blame on that one or those over there or your teacher or your spouse, your children etc. for your life not being as you wish it to be. It is all up to you.  There will be, of course, those who will continue to cast blame on everyone other than themselves, but they simply do not get it, or even understand what it is all about, to live a magickal life.


Peace and Happiness, Ms. Faith






© 2010-2016 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.