Dark Goddess Craft

by Stephanie Woodfield

  Creating a House Guardian

  by Edward Rickey

  There is a tradition within Western ceremonial magick of creating semi-intelligent entities to carry out the wishes of a magician. Some call these golems or egregores, but in our case we will be using the technique to create a guardian to protect an area, specifically one’s home or living space. This idea is slightly modified from the original in Donald Michael Kraig’s book Modern Magick.

  The first thing to do is clearly define what you want this creature to do. In my case, I lived in a very bad neighborhood, with drug dealers, prostitution, and break-ins, but it was the only place I could afford at the time. What I needed was a guard dog of sorts, but I couldn’t afford to buy and keep an actual dog where I lived. So I created a guardian to fill the job.

  Find or make a talisman to house your guardian. It will be the focal point from which the guardian will operate, its physical anchor to the world and the place it will go when it is not active. I made a dream catcher and added some decorations to it that signified the characteristics the guardian will have. Try a shark tooth, stones like tiger’s eye, and so on. These help build up the abilities of the guardian.

  The next part is to place the talisman in the area you’d like to protect. I determined the weakest place was the front door, so I hung it on the wall near the door, which is also a place I see every day in order to connect with the guardian. Yours might be a window, bedroom, or living area. The choice will depend on your specific environment and the threat you think is most likely.

  Having done this, now comes the actual magic. You will need to visualize this guardian. Is it two legged or four? Does it have fur, scales, feathers, claws, teeth? All these things you need to choose, but don’t choose something so hideous or scary that it would frighten you or your guests if they actually saw it. More than once my particular guardian has been seen by others. If you have trouble visualizing this, trust that if your ability to visualize were stronger, you’d actually see it, and know that it is real even if you have trouble seeing it in your mind’s eye.

  Your guardian should have the intelligence of a dog or cat or some other pet. Not too smart to become dangerous, but smart enough to do its job and make decisions.

  Now, give it a name, a simple name that only you know and will always use to refer to it. Let it know that you are its parent, its pack leader, its creator, and the one who will feed it. Let it know that it is the guardian’s job to protect the home, the lair for both of you, any who live there, and any invited guests. Anyone else not permitted is to be chased away.

  Now let it do its job. In your mind, greet it every day as you would a pet and say goodbye as you leave. Treat it as a living being and communicate with it. Does it have needs? Wants? The more you commune with your guardian, the better your rapport with the being you have created will be, and the easier it will be for you to work with it. Feed it magical energy regularly. The kind of energy should be the same energy that martial artists call chi or ki, and giving it to your guardian should not deplete you. Direct it to the guardian or to the talisman, whichever is easier.

  Should it become necessary to undo the guardian, remember that you created it and you can undo it. Reverse the process of creation. Visualize removing its features one by one and slowly absorb those parts back into yourself. Then, disassemble the talisman, thanking the guardian for its loyal service.

  Remember, this is a servant to you, so use it wisely.

  On-the-Go Ward

  For this ward you will need to create a sigil or bind rune that you will use as your trigger to activate your ward. Instead of hanging fuzzy dice in your car, you can hang your ward from the rearview mirror. Alternatively, the ward could be kept in the glove compartment or another area of the car. Just be certain it does not obstruct your ability to drive safely. Your ward can be as Witchy or mundane as you like. The current ward in my car is a crow feather on a string with some decorations, but for a long time I used a small stuffed Grumpy Cat toy that a store had been selling to hang in a car. It worked just fine despite its mundane appearance.

  The bind rune or sigil should be something personal that you create specifically for the purpose of your protection while traveling. It doesn’t have to be complex, just have meaning to you.

  Hold your item and see it infused with a white light and your will. See a sphere of protection circling your car, sending bad drivers away from you, and keeping you safe on the road. I like to add a layer of thorns just behind that sphere, sending anyone who might take or mess with things that are not theirs far away. When that image is clear in your mind, draw the bind rune in the air over the item. Say these or similar words:

  I am safe and I am protected

  When you get in the car, draw the rune in the air or see it in your mind to add energy and activate the ward. This can be done every time you drive the car or whenever you feel it is needed.

  Cursing

  Cursing, with the assumption that we have good reasons to do so, includes ridding yourself of a problem person, breaking a curse directed at you, and calling for justice to be done for a person’s wrongful actions. As we are looking specifically at the defensive side of cursing, the following spells can be used as a means of magickal self-defense.

  Modern Version of a Curse Tablet

  Curse tablets can be found in the archeological record throughout the Greco-Roman world. Numerous examples have been found at the temple of Sulis Minerva in Bath in England, and almost a hundred curse tablets were discovered in a nearby temple dedicated to Mercury at West Hill, Uley. Curse tablets sometimes only had the name of the person being cursed along with some descriptive things the curser wished would happen to their enemy. Many called on certain gods to assist in the delivery of the curse. In most cases the tablet was made of soft metal, rolled up, and either buried in the ground, left in a temple (in some cases being nailed to temple walls), or put in bodies of water. Lead was popularly used, although there are examples of curse tablets from Egypt that were written on clay and either smashed or buried. These tablets were sometimes used to give the dead rest or final peace, especially for those who met violent, disquieting ends. When placed at gravesites, they usually petitioned the gods to punish the person who was guilty of causing the deceased person’s death.2

  For this spell, you will need a sheet of thin metal and a pencil. For modern purposes, you could go down to your local hardware or building supply store and purchase lead sheets. Lead is toxic if ingested or inhaled, and the poisonous quality of it does make sense if you want someone’s shenanigans or bad behavior to stop. Although if you plan on disposing of your tablet by leaving it in a body of water, lead is not the best idea because it can contaminate the water. Using lead in a bottle spell (see page 34) can be quite effective though. If you do choose to use the material, wash your hands thoroughly after handling it and keep it away from pets and children. Thin sheets of steel, tin, or another metal are just as effective and easily purchased at hardware stores.

  Although pencils no longer contain lead for obvious safety reasons, I still like using them to write on my tablets for the aesthetics, but you can use whatever medium you prefer to write with.

  Cut the metal so that it is about one to two inches wide and three to five inches long. It should be big enough for you to write on without running out of room. You do not have to write a great deal on the tablet—just the basics. The assumption here is that you have a good reason for asking that a person cease harassing you or be sent away so they will no longer harm or trouble you or others. This also means you accept the consequences of the exertion of your will. Banishing someone, stopping someone from doing you harm, and cursing in general don’t fall under the category of harm none in my mind. It is exerting your will to obtain a result, a result that can be messy for the person it is being directed at. That is something you need to be comfortable with.

  Before writing on your
tablet, invoke the deity you wish to aid you in your work. Pour an offering of wine or other spirits, and then praise the deity for the qualities you wish to help you in your working. For example, if I were calling on Badb, I might say,

  Badb, Battle Crow, you who strike fear into the hearts of the wicked

  I call to you to witness and aid in my work

  If I were petitioning Ereshkigal, I might say,

  Ereshkigal, mistress of the underworld, you who judge the dead

  lay down your judgment here, bring justice, and aid my work

  Next, take your tablet in your hands. You can use the following as an example of what you might write on your tablet:

  (Name of deity), I petition you to (curse, bring justice, bring retribution)

  onto (name of person)

  If you like, you can include a reason or a description of the outcome you wish to occur. Hold the tablet in your hands and see the outcome you desire coming to pass. Your visualization and the energy you put behind your will in this is what is important. When you are done, pour another offering to the deity you are calling upon to help you complete your task. Bury the tablet away from your property, preferably at a crossroads, or throw it in a body of water.

  War Water Curse Bottle

  War water is essentially iron rust suspended in water with other ingredients, which can vary depending on the person creating it. Sometimes called Mars water, it is most likely a European contribution to Hoodoo but no less effective. Mars, besides being connected to war, was also connected to iron. Instead of leaving the war water in the vicinity of the person troubling you, you can use a curse tablet as a proxy for that person and place it in the war water.

  You Will Need:

  ½ cup hibiscus flowers

  Water

  Mason jar

  Old nails

  ½ cup vinegar

  Urine

  1 egg white

  Handful of Spanish moss

  Curse tablet (see page 32)

  First, steep the hibiscus in 1 cup hot water. You can use more water depending on the size of the jar you are using. An old mason or canning jar will do. Pour the water in the jar and add the rusty nails. Add ½ cup vinegar and the urine. Urine can be used in spell bottles to mark one’s territory and for getting someone to back off and stop bothering you. It doesn’t have to be a large amount; a small amount is fine. Add the egg white and Spanish moss. Spanish moss grows on trees in the South. It rots especially well in water, giving the water a swampy look and smell, and has become a common ingredient in some versions of war water. Alternatively, you could use old leaves, swamp water, or whatever kind of moss grows locally to you.

  As discussed in the curse tablet instructions, lead should be handled with care. Due to its toxic nature, if I do use it, I put it in a bottle spell. Bottle spells can be used for banishing people or getting them to stop bothering you. Use the spell on page 32 to create your curse tablet, and then put it in the jar instead of burying it.

  Bury the jar away from your property.

  Turning Another’s Power against Them Spell

  by Edward Rickey

  The theory behind this spell is the idea that anyone casting a curse or harmful magick creates a link for the magic to flow. That link, like a wire or cable between the caster and victim, can be used cleverly to siphon off the magical energy from the source. That energy is turned away from causing you harm and can be redirected back toward the source, used for other magic, or stored away to charge your later magical workings.

  You Will Need:

  About 2 feet (60 centimeters) of natural cordage, twine, or string

  Bowl of water and a towel to place under it

  Scissors or a knife

  Convenient container

  Begin by creating whatever magical workspace fits with your tradition and experience. The actual construction of the workspace must fit your needs and provide you a space to work in undistracted. Turn off all distractions, such as phones, computers, and televisions.

  Next, tie the ends of the string together to make a loop that you can grasp and pull through your hands, like you’re reeling in a cord, wire, or fishing line. You should be moving the cord like you’re pulling something toward you in one continuous motion. Enough of the cord should dangle down that you can drag it through the water bowl.

  When ready, place the loop in your hands with the bottom dangling in the water, so as you rotate the loop around, the top moves toward you and the bottom drags through the water, cleaning it.

  Begin moving the loop, seeing the connection between you and the other party as a magical cord, glowing and electric. This is the energy that person is sending toward you, and in your hands is the wire it’s traveling on. Begin to pull the cord as if you are pulling the energy toward your hands and chant,

  When you push, I shall pull

  Where you strike, I will move away, drawing you deeper in to my grasp

  Your power is mine to move as my own

  Water cleanses it; now it is mine

  As the cord passes through the water, really see the water washing away the negative intent and just leaving the string as a crackling live wire of magical energy. See the energy pulled from the source into the loop, and when the time is right, cut the cord, saying,

  And now I cut myself free!

  The cord may now be used to effect whatever magic you want, saved for a later time, or burned as you see fit.

  Flush It Down the Drain Curse Breaking

  If you need to break a curse, the obvious question is, how do you tell if some nasty energy has been sent your way? Before you do a curse breaking, it is a good idea to do some divination about the situation. If you are sensitive to energy, you may just get a nagging feeling that something isn’t right or there are just too many odd, disastrous coincidences that seem to be happening to you. Another way to see if someone has been messing with you is to do some journey work. Sit quietly and see a thread of energy in front of you. Imagine the thread represents the problems or bad feelings you have been experiencing. You pull on it like a string, and then, with it in your hands, you follow it to the other person it is connected to. Magick, even a curse, is energy, and when someone sends something nasty (or nice, for that matter) our way, it connects us to their energy. Usually, if you follow this thread of energy to its source, you can get a good idea of who the problem person is. But does that mean that person cursed you? Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes even nonmagickal people who have very strong wills that can effectively send negative crap into our lives. Regardless, this spell will send back harmful energy to whoever has sent it.

  You Will Need:

  Water

  Bowl

  Salt

  Small cloth or face towel

  Finger pricker

  Pour the water in the bowl, add a few pinches of salt, and stir it in with your finger. Call on whichever deity you wish to work with to do this work, and ask them to bless the water for you. Then, take the wash cloth, dip it in the water, and run the damp cloth over your forehead, arms, and feet, seeing all negative energy attached to you washing away and dissolving. Then take the finger pricker, prick your finger, and let a few drops of blood go into the remaining water. Say,

  Blood for blood

  What was sent to me I send right back

  I wash away its influence

  I send it down the drain

  Let it return from whence it came

  May the evil they have sent me infest them like a plague

  May their own evil fill them

  I close the door and slam it shut

  No harm can come to me

  The way is barred forever more

  Stir the water with your finger in a counterclockwise motion. See the energy spiraling away from you as if it is being flushed down a drain. See it returning to whoever sent it to you and spiraling back into
them. I visualize it going into their solar plexus. This energy was born from them and sticks to them like glue; it’s their own mess to clean up, not yours. You are just sending it back.

  When you are done, flush the water down the drain or dispose of it off your property. Thank the deity you called on and leave offerings. Also listen for any advice they may give you about protecting yourself in the future.

  [contents]

  * * *

  2. John Gager, Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 19.

  4

  The Process of Transformation

  Although the term “dark goddesss” is a modern one, the common thread between the gods we give this label to remains the same. They are beings who instigate and navigate us through change. They use destruction as a catalyst. They are liminal deities and the teachers of hard truths. Whether they are helping us change something about ourselves or leading us through the greatest process of change, death, these deities all rule over transformation of some kind. And in order to truly understand them, we must understand the process of transformation itself.

  As painful as it is to have some things in our lives torn down, sometimes it really is for our own good. It’s human nature to hold on to things for too long, to cling to the things we know even if they are poisonous to our very being. For the most part, we don’t like change. And the unknown terrifies us, because there are no guarantees. When we meet dark and dangerous gods, there are no guarantees who we will be at the end of our journey through the dark.