Planetary Spells & Rituals
Page 13
Fear is a prevalent force, and it’s natural to have fear arise when the body is out of alignment. It’s easy to overreact and become frightened when the body is not in working order, or is afflicted with a new and uncomfortable sensation. When approaching a situation of physical healing, it’s important to take spiritual and physical steps to encourage the healing. Remaining happy and optimistic may be challenging, but these feelings can greatly help in realigning the body. It’s also key to remember that the body is designed to rebalance itself when misaligned; our body is designed to continually regenerate to proper functioning. In the case of long-term illness, one can work with their circumstance to come to the healthiest place possible for oneself, even if it’s medically impossible to do things that others take for granted.
May this spell aid in the process of healing and realignment, whether on a large or small scale, and encourage the body to reach its utmost state of health. Feel free to practice this spell or a variation of it as often as you’d like.
Stepping Back & Further Application
Before performing a spell of this type, make sure you’re taking every step you can toward bettering your situation. Are you using herbs, teas, and tinctures? Have you consulted a Western doctor, naturopathic doctor, or other health professionals? Are you receiving massage, acupuncture, chiropractic work, or other alternative healing methods? If not, please do; one’s physical health is too significant to avoid proper care.
Consider the life lessons the illness or injury is trying to teach you. Karmically, we encounter various challenges in life as mechanisms for learning deeper truths. Is the Universe trying to force you to pay attention, break certain cycles, or reroute the path you’re taking?
Much of the time, ailments of the body are direct reflections of spiritual and emotional imbalances. Because the physical body is the most dense and palpable aspect of our complete self (other bodies include the emotional body, mental body, astral body, etheric body, and so on), illnesses and imbalances can naturally influence other levels and manifest on the physical frame. Consider unhealthy aspects of your thought patterns, including fears, habits, and neuroses, and work on changing them in order to better your physical health. Additionally, try to discover if there are deeper physical causes for the ailments (including diet, physical strain, and substance use), and work on changing them accordingly. Put yourself first.
Supplies
• a brown candle
• a stick of patchouli incense
• 1 cup of steeped chamomile tea
• an array of plant or tree roots, fossil stones, and petrified wood
• 1 stone each of aventurine, bloodstone (or carnelian), hematite, malachite, and selenite
• any combination of the herbs boneset, Low John root, gingko, mandrake, oak (leaf, bark, or acorn), and skullcap
• a muslin bag
Notes
• The “tapping of the cortices” used in this spell is something that originates from the BodyTalk™ system of healing, and is designed to help the whole body “communicate” by tapping on the brain and the heart” the two major engines of the physical frame. For more information, visit www.bodytalksystem.com. (Thank you, Shari, for introducing these cool techniques to our Coven!)
• This spell should be performed at night, outside on the grass if possible.
• For added effect, drape a very long, black veil type of cloth over your body during the ritual.
Procedure
Begin by casting a circle, calling the quarters, chanting, or raising energy as you normally would, performing protective exercises, and altering your consciousness. Clear your mind, bring focus to your breath, and meditate for at least a few minutes. When ready, begin the spell.
Light the candle and incense, placing one on either side of you. Cup your hands over the cup of tea and say:
Herb of health, water of life,
enter this body, enter it now!
Place all the stones, fossils, herbs, and such in the muslin bag. Lay on the ground and place the bag on your body, either at the point of the ailment or on your chest. Close your eyes and repeatedly whisper the following chant:
Spirits of fortitude, spirits of healing,
enter this space”enter me now!
When you feel surrounded by these forces, place your hands on the bag and imagine all the energies of the tools being absorbed into your body. Keep this visualization throughout the ritual.
Take deep breaths. With each exhalation, imagine yourself going deeper and deeper into the Earth. See the dark Earth taking the illness from you, absorbing it into itself and replacing the energy with the regenerative health of the soil.
During this process, imagine the various levels of your physical body, including the skeletal system, the muscular system, the nervous system, and the organs throughout. Imagine each of these individually, each receiving and absorbing the healing power of the living Earth.
Spend quite a bit of time on this visualization and emerge from it when you feel the time is right. When you start to come back to your physical body, feel it aligning all the newly received health. To assist in this energetic assimilation, “tap your cortices” by performing the next two steps.
Using the tips of your fingers of your dominant hand, tap the back of your skull repeatedly for about 10 seconds. Afterward, tap your sternum (heart area) repeatedly for about 10 seconds. Take deep breaths while doing this.
Repeat the process by tapping a little ways up on your skull from the place you just tapped, and then tap your sternum again, both for 10 seconds. Continue this process until you reach your brow area, which should take about 5 repetitions. Once finished, tap one side of your head (just above the ears) for 10 seconds, followed by tapping the sternum, and do the same for the other side of the head.
Take a few deep breaths to assimilate the energies, and declare 10 times:
I am formed in perfect health.
Give thanks to the Earth and the spirits of health and healing, and close the circle as you normally would.
The following spell is for leeching toxins from the energetic body, and it will actually aid in leeching impurities from the physical body simultaneously. The odd thing about this spell is that the practitioner is to be covered in cow dung. That’s right: cow dung. Though it might be tempting at first to call “bullshit,” one must first realize the immense healing properties of the holy cow’s excrements.
The average Westerner might be appalled and disgusted by such a thing as utilizing the feces and urine of a bovid (a class that includes the cow, bull, yak, and ox). In truth, using bovine excrements is a regular practice in many parts of the world, most notably India. Hindus worship the cow for a number of reasons, viewing the animal as a most venerated creature whose life-giving powers are virtually endless. Lord Govinda is seen as the one who watches over the cows, and the Vedas cite the cow as the mother of all living beings. In addition to the animal’s ability to give milk, assist in farming and travel, and become domesticated, its excrements have long been cited for a nearly endless list of uses.
In Ayurvedic medicine, cow urine is used for a number of ailments and is often viewed as a general “cure all.” Being a natural antiseptic, regularly putting the urine on the body as a tonic can clear up skin conditions including acne, psoriasis, and dandruff. The burnt ash of the dung is frequently used for the relief of mouth pain (and is often put in toothpaste), and is smeared upon the body by Indian Siddhus (ascetic holy wanderers) for purposes of divine communion. Internally, cow urine is used“with an astounding rate of documented success”for anything from cancer to impotence. Bottled cow urine can be purchased from a variety of online sources, but fresh is better. Because cow dung is easier to come by, we’ll be using it for this spell.
The poop of “organic,” grass-fed bovines is ripe with minerals and is, believe
it or not, a sterile substance when fresh”after all, it’s only digested grass. However”and please note this”most cows in America, for example, are not grass-fed. Instead, they are given a variety of genetically engineered corn, by-product, and chemical feed; their excrements would not be safe to use. For more information on proper poop use, see the Notes section.
The cultural uses of bovine dung are plenty. For starters, the manure is used as fertilizer in many parts of the globe. It also makes a great binding agent for constructing natural houses and huts, and is an insulator and insect repellent for the home. The dried dung is also used to create fires for heat and cooking food. On the skin, organic bovine excrements are used to cleanse and detox, and can be used as a poultice on specific areas of the body.
For our purposes, we will not only be detoxifying the physical body (to some extent, anyway), but will be exorcising built-up astral impurities. Energetically, our auras (and I say this term with as little “New Age” emphasis as possible) collect vibrations around us and can store energies accumulated over time. Many physical body healers emphasize gunk, cracks, or stains on the auric (or etheric/energetic) field, which they see as contributing to physical ailments. If you feel that you could use a serious aura cleansing and are ready to take up the noble challenge of being sacredly shat upon, I highly suggest this ritual.
Stepping Back & Further Application
If you’re preparing for this spell, odds are that you have a significant energetic blockage you wish to remove. Feel out your etheric field. Determine where exactly this energy is residual (many carry build-ups of energy around their head and shoulder area, or around the heart, stomach, or hands). For what reasons has this compacting occurred? Perhaps you used to live in a dark, threatening, or energetically dense area that you now wish to “rebirth” from. Maybe you’ve had negative experiences in the past that still impact your energy and behavior. Or maybe you have a physical ailment and can feel the concordant blockage on your etheric field. Perhaps you have become more negative, pessimistic, bitter, or cold over time and wish to instead become more loving, playful, carefree, and kind again.
Whatever the case, if you’re in need of a deep energetic cleanse, this spell can assist. Be sure to follow up on this cleansing outside of ritual to make certain that the energies you’re cleansing do indeed continue to wane.
Supplies
• a wand of dried sage
• 1 brown candle and 1 blue candle
• dried or fresh bovine dung
• a large empty mixing bowl
• a large bowl of warm water
Notes
• Because the dung of most bovids is not safe for bodily contact, the practitioner has a couple options. One can track down organic, composted cow manure fertilizer designed for gardening, add water, mush it into a paste, and smear this on the body. If unavailable locally, some online retailers sell this (such as Vermont’s www.moodoo.com)—just ensure that it’s organic and from grass-fed bovine. Alternatively, one can find local cow dung and burn it to ash in a fire. By adding a nonchemical burning agent (like grain alcohol), one can ignite the cow pie and transform it to ash. This ash is safe to use on the skin and is not an uncommon practice in many indigenous parts of the world.
• Considering the sacred place that cows hold in Hindu belief, contemplate your own relationship with the cow in our own society. Is it one of compassion or the propagation of injury (such as consuming its meat and milk from factory farms)? Can you easily journey to a farm or ranch should you wish to observe the cow’s gentle, awe-inspiring nature (and even gather some manure)?
Procedure
Begin by casting a circle, calling the quarters, chanting, or raising energy as you normally would, performing protective exercises, and altering your consciousness. Clear your mind, bring focus to your breath, and meditate for at least a few minutes. When ready, begin the spell.
With the sage wand, smudge the area thoroughly after casting the circle. Light the candles and strip naked. If you’re using dried dung, use the mixing bowl to blend it with the warm water to form a paste.
Using either the organic cow manure mush or burnt ash, spread it all over your face, neck, chest, arms, legs, back, hair, and everywhere else you can. Give particular attention to areas of the body that are imbalanced, either physically or astrally.
Once covered as much as possible, boldly state:
I reclaim my untainted self!
This astral pollution now shall flee!
Cleansed is my body, inside and out!
Meditate on the impurities on both your etheric and physical bodies. See the impurities being channeled into the dung, forced out of your body and adhered to the excrement. Perceive your body getting heavier and heavier”more and more weighed down by the impurities channeled in the dung.
When you feel energetically heavy, declare your intentions. Say out loud the things you are cleansing from yourself. To seal the spell, turn one of the candles upside-down and let a small amount of wax drip on both of your palms and the bottoms of your feet.
Close the circle as you normally would and take a good long shower. Afterward, smudge yourself, dress in fine clothes, anoint yourself with oil, have a drink, or do anything else to center yourself in your newly cleansed body.
According to Buddhist philosophy, sensation (experiencing) can lead to craving (desire), which can lead to clinging (attachment). Being but three spokes on the Wheel of Samsara, these particular points speak a universal truth: addiction and attachment have the potential to occur as a result of simply experiencing something.
Desires for anything in life can be healthy if exercised mindfully; it’s only when one becomes dependent on”that is, addicted to”a thing that problems arise. To feel as though we can’t function without something (aside from actual necessities like food, water, and shelter) is to enslave oneself to the earthly plane. With these energetic chains on the body, it becomes more and more difficult to reach beyond this world to higher forms of consciousness.
Addiction comes in countless forms. Drugs, liquor, tobacco, sex, gaming, food, self-mutilation, and so on. Because we live in a culture of blatant gluttony and hedonism, it’s no wonder that so many people just want “more, more, more,” never fully being able to sate the demon of desire within. Keep in mind that unhealthy habits of mind are also detrimental expressions of addiction. Though this spell doesn’t concern thought patterns specifically, one must notice destructive, habitual thoughts that are clung to, even unconsciously.
With the realization of addiction, a desire to break the dependency is often simultaneously cultivated. Many people don’t know the steps to take in ceasing addictive behavior. There is no one right way to beat addiction; everybody’s constitution is different. Various programs offer different numbers and types of steps to recovery, and many are specific to the substance. Every substance we encounter affects us differently, even if the way in which it impacts us is subtle or unnoticed.
For a person kicking a habit, determination is key. Monitor your behavior and see how you react to cravings. Prepare for difficult situations. Discover methods of satisfying those cravings with healthy substitutes (meditation, jogging, painting, yoga, and so on). Find a support unit. Reward yourself for avoiding the substance. Be honest with yourself. With time, effort, and energy in the right direction, an addiction of any magnitude can be broken. May this spell jump-start the process.
Stepping Back & Further Application
Addiction represents the seeking of relief from the mind. Using a substance is an easy way to escape the mind temporarily. Eventually, the addict must either succumb and be destroyed by the addiction, or seek sustainable relief through another method. This requires the dependency on the substance to be released.
For what psychological reasons do you find yourself dependent on one thing or another? Exactly how unhealthy is th
is addiction”and how unhealthy can it become?
This spell will not instantly break you of any addictive craving. Instead, it can be a step in the process of healing. If your addiction is strong enough, seek out local recovery programs like Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, and rehabilitation centers. Seek out a psychiatrist who specializes in the field of addiction. Read all you can on the steps to breaking threatening habits, and follow through with diligence. Find a support group and don’t give up on giving it up.
Supplies
• a black candle
• a round incense-burning charcoal disk and sand in a dish or censor
• a loose incense mixture of powdered catnip, dragon’s blood resin, and mugwort
• bat’s blood ink and a paintbrush
• 2 all-natural, unbleached pieces of paper
• 10 feet of all-natural twine (like jute or hemp)
• a handful of graveyard dirt (“graveyard dust”) or its substitution (see Notes)
• something to represent the habit to be broken (see Notes)
• about 1/2 ounce rue
• a shed snakeskin
• 1 small piece each of amethyst, chrysoprase, and orange calcite
• a piece of jet or charcoal
• any combination of the herbs eucalyptus, frankincense, High John the Conqueror root, ivy, licorice root, and black pepper
• scissors
• honey
• a fresh, organic grapefruit cut in half, plus a spoon to eat it with (adding raw sugar or honey is okay)
Notes
• The substance to be used in the spell can either be the substance itself (like a cigarette with its filter removed, a pill, a splash of alcohol, your own sexual fluids, a video game instruction sheet), or it can be something biodegradable to represent the substance (like a drawing of a video game controller on a piece of paper).