Many who are new to Witchcraft want spells to use. As I have emphasized on other pages, the most potent spell is the one that is created by the practitioner. But how do you do that? Spell crafting *is* a craft, and like all crafts the only way to learn and hone your skill is by trial and error. Here is a simple guide line for crafting effective spells.

The first thing to do is ask yourself is if a spell is actually necessary. Not everything in life requires magick, and it's not something that should be abused or used frivolously. It's best to try and deal with a situation as best you can before casting a spell.

Keep in mind that spells don't work on their own. It's your personal power that makes them effective during and after the spell. Sitting around expecting a spell to work makes it a futile effort. If you perform a spell, you must also take action to make it effective. If you cast a spell to attract love into your life (not a particular person!) and sit around hoping they knock at your door, don't hold your breath. Just as doing a spell to protect your home and leaving all the doors and windows unlocked, it defeats the purpose of the spell. Now that I've made that clear...on to the spell :)

Determine Its Purpose - What *exactly* is it for? Think about this carefully and be very specific. 'I need protection', is not a clear purpose. What do you need this protection for? Travel, walking through a dangerous neighborhood, your home..etc? Each need is different.

Once you have clearly determined the purpose it's time to start putting the spell together. The first step is to decide what materials you need. You will find references to candle colours, moon phases, herbs, and elements throughout the site to help you decide what is right for the spell. How many materials you use is entirely up to you. An effective spell can consist of no tools whatsoever. Go with your instincts and what feels right for you.

Now that you have decided what your going to use it's time to start drafting the spell itself. I suggest that you write down a full explanation of the purpose of the spell, why you are doing it, and what you want the outcome to be. This is especially important for beginners as having your own words in front of you brings added clarity and highly personalizes the spell (which is a good thing). Read this as you begin the spell.

During any spell or ritual chanting is used to raise power. Compose an appropriate chant, preferably one that rhymes.

Now it's time to put the finishing touches on your spell. Read it through carefully and make any changes or additions. Be sure to include any actions (burning a piece of paper), moon phase, and preparations, such as a purification ritual, you may wish to do before the ritual.  Remember that this will be going into your Book Of Shadows, so it's important to keep a record of when it was performed and so on.

Once this is done, it is time to cast your ritual circle. See the other pages in this section for an example of casting circles.
 

Copyright © 1997 - 2006 A Witch's Cauldron. All rights reserved. NO information or graphics on this web site, may be copied and displayed on the internet. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of copyright laws. Please report violations to Celeste.