i've been doing my own, highly symbolic form of the craft for i'd say two years. but after reading ms. cabot's book i learned that all magic should really be done in a circle, which is cast on a space to sanctify it for a spell. a circle, cast correctly, creates a timeless space that reaches into the higher plane and can access the unmanifest energy there and shape it into things. if you've heard of the secret and the law of attraction, you should be familiar with this process. this is the foundation of witchcraft: working with energy that is unseen. and this mostly deals with balance. most of the craft is working with the understanding that all things cycle between extremes that are actually on the same spectrum. witches know that sometimes things are good and sometimes they are tough but that both good and tough are important. watch a bird sit on a wire sometime. they maintain their height and balance by constantly adjusting their feathers, head and legs small amounts to counter the swaying of the wire and the blowing of the wind. witches make small adjustments to their environment to counterbalance whatever is going on in their life so that both extremes are honored and balance is maintained.
alot of counter balancing the energy of unwanted things is prep work. this can be somewhat like a shot. if you dont want the itis, you put a little bit of itis in your system so it knows it and knows how to fight it off. for example, in protection spells, it's good to use a pinch of graveyard dust so that death is present but not overpowering. keeping death near you, in a friendly capacity, will usually keep death away from you. i know it's a paradox, but you know how i love a good divine paradox. so i keep a rock from my favorite graveyard in my car to ward off accidents. another example, say you want to fireproof something. you might spend a little time burning small pieces of fabric or wood or whatever it is you want to save while concentrating on drawing all the burning energy that ever could happen to that thing to be drawn from that future, that reality, into this one, now, in this measured, contained gesture and that be it, forever. do this in a circle. I call this displacement. witches work with energy and the work they do is taking energy from somewhere and putting it somewhere else. like in candle magic, done properly, a candle's ongoing light energy is transformed into energy for a desire or purpose of the witch. magic is a bit like having found these universe knobs and learning how to work them, in what direction they go, how much is enough, and why you turn them in the first place. but it's all great and delicate work, too much of anything leads to bad infrastructure. for example, i put plant grow stuff on my roses but when they bloomed the flowers couldn't hold up their weight and their petals stuck together. witchcraft is like plant food, you don't know how it will grow. always ask the gods for advice and listen to the wind and scry with the birds and hear the small voice inside and call for only the most correct and beneficial energies to come into your circle and you should be fine. i may talk about how to cast a circle later but for now, HOORAY FOR WITCHES!
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