Summer Desires
I'm feeling the growing light encouraging me to step more fully into my own light as we get closer to Summer Solstice. My herbal ally for this journey is St. John's Wort which blooms at the Summer Solstice and has served to drive out illness and evils worldwide for centuries. The flower has been placed at the statues of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and Christian saint to invoke protection through Light. It affects our serotonin levels, which impact our ability to feel happiness, and it works as a nervine. The red spots on Saint John’s wort’s foliage are said to mimic the stigmata and the oil turns red like the blood of passion. St. John's Wort reminds us that it is our Light that leads us to our greatest work in this life.
I find happiness and joy when my life is full of magick in nature and my work is centered on bringing a magickfull life to a wider audience. But that can be damn scary in a world where people get scared and intimidated by the word spell and are inspired and comforted by the word prayer. Even though they are essentially the same thing. I have been denied work because a potential client read my website and saw my books were about magick. I have been ridiculed and challenged at book signings and radio interviews. I have been recalled from giving a speech at a public school and told to pick up my books because the board found my Teen Spell Book. I have had family members refuse to talk to me when articles about my writings have been published. Not to mention the fear memory of persecution.
So let's move onto the Light and clear the muddiness here. In a prayer you seek a connection with the Divine and in this holy conversation you typically ask for something that you dearly want and sometimes, you simply express your gratitude. Commonly you find a quiet space, you may clasp your hands, get on your knees, close your eyes or cast them heavenward - you do whatever makes you feel closest to the Divine.
In a spell, you also find a quiet space and take a posture in which you can to feel a close spiritual communion with the Divine. From this sacred place, you ask for something that you dearly want.
Perhaps the difference is a spell is considered an act of co-creation. In a spell you are speaking to a Universal Divine Being as well as the Divine Nature within You. Symbols are brought in that represent our connection to the Divine in All Things with sacred items that represent the four directions and this thing you want: the color yellow for courage, stones for strength, a picture of lovers, a feather for freedom, etc. We use rhymes that speak directly to the right side of our brain - the creative side that sees no limitations and speaks in the world of symbols. Often the spell is timed with the natural cycles of life, for example, during Spring we might ask for a boost of energy for a new project and during a Dark Moon we might ask to have peace with quiet and learn how to balance rest with doing-ness. A spell is a prayer in 3D. It is a Divine Play with All the World to Create a Magickfull Life of Our Choosing. The etymology of the word spell is simply to "cast your word." You send out your pure, strong Word with the symbols and timing that emphasize your intention.
