I’ve been trying to trace back to where this idea that all spells must rhyme started from but it’s hard to find a primary source. I strongly suspect that most of the concept of rhyming spells started with the Wiccan Rede. Certainly it does appear to be primarily a Wiccan thing. However if any witches with a better historical background than myself have any insights to offer on this I would be interested to delve into this a bit deeper.

That said, whatever the historical relevance the fact remains that spells do not have to rhyme in order to achieve their desired effect. I speak from my own knowledge and experience on this but I’ve thrown it open to debate in a few circles to get different perspectives and most of my contemporaries tend to agree. Now admittedly I don’t tend to move among many Wiccans (If we have any Wiccans reading this it would be interesting to get a viewpoint from you) so possibly this is more related to Wicca than witchcraft per se but the general consensus among those I have spoken to does seem to be that spells don’t need to rhyme.

I see the verbal side of the spell as being very important because putting intent into words helps to focus the intention behind the spell. Spells can be completed with no articulated element and this works very well for some witches but I find that the concentration involved in helping me pinpoint the expression of my intent into words helps me focus on what it is I want to achieve. The trouble with rhyming is that often the sense of the words is sacrificed in favour of the rhyme. This can lead to the intention not being as precise as it could be if the words of the spell were selected solely for their meaning rather than for the purpose of the rhyme. I see spell working being closer in similarity to a legal contract than to a poem. The details need to be clear, time bound and with no room for ambiguity.

Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Chant-of-Swans-381096907

QUESTION - Is it possible to cast spells without noticing you are casting, like subconsciously casting? I find when I get intensely angry bad things I can't explain happen. I'm not intentionally casting though I don't try to wish harm on anyone but people who I've become intensely angry with seem to have weird things happen, like the last 3 shops where the vendor either tried taking advantage of me because of my circumstances, or lied to me point blank, have closed next time I saw them. Or when my father through forgetfulness locked me out of the house, for the 3rd time in the month suddenly felt like cold water was in his eyes followed by a headache despite no water being there, or the guy who robbed my client, (an old deaf woman was arrested on a completely different set of charges). I'm concerned if I subconsciously cast without trying when in highly charged emotional state, I might do harm to others, or myself, frankly a loose cannon is somewhat dangerous, and it’s not like I raise my voice or throw things, many people describe me as the kindest person they know and almost never angry, and even civil, and polite when explaining why I am disappointed with their actions.

My girlfriend (also Wiccan but in the closet with her family) also has an intense rage and swears that a couple days ago after her boss called her in to work on her day off, the papers on her desk caught fire by themselves, and she swatted them out.

I'm somewhat concerned and am wondering if there is some way I can inhibit unintentional casting if that's even possible.

ANSWER – I’m a big believer in the art of subconscious casting. I know too many witches who are honest about the spells they have pulled off with no deliberately channelled intent to question whether it can be done or not. In fact I would go further and suggest that a lot of what we attribute to “luck” is actually a subconscious manipulation of events. I have certainly noticed that my own life kind of falls into place even when I haven’t put any specific organised effort into spell work.

If you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. Magic at its grass roots is the application of intent to bring about change. The stronger the intent, the more likely the magic is to succeed. That’s not to say a structured focus doesn’t play a part but I would certainly agree that a powerful undirected intent can bring about tangible results without needing the structure of formal spell work.

A lot of witches comment that their spell work is at its most powerful when bringing about changes in their own lives and I would agree with this. You are always going to have more of a vested interest in your own life than you are in the lives of others and this is naturally reflected in the results that spell work brings about. This falls in with the concept of subconscious casting and the idea that day to day emotions and intentions can play a part in shaping the life of the witch.

However I also think it important to have a balanced approach to what is and is not subconscious casting. Too many witches go down the route that everything in life is magically influenced but this is equally as daft as the cynics who don’t believe in magic at all.  The balance is the understanding that many things that happen genuinely are down to coincidence. It would be dangerous to assume the belief that everything that happens in life is in some way influenced by yourself as a witch. Chances are you get your fair share of coincidence the same as anyone else. And also, looking at the example you give in your question, the results you seem to obtain tend to be against people who aren’t very nice to start with. My point being that if a shop keeper screws you over, chances are he has screwed a lot of other people over too so it is unsurprising that his business has gone bust. Same with the bloke who robbed your client – he’s hurting other people so chances are that at some time somebody is going to turn round and hurt him. I’m not saying I’d discount subconscious casting but I am saying it is important to view it with perspective and not make the assumption that everything results from it. It’s important not to discount the rational explanation for the sake of the magical explanation. Try applying the law of Occam’s Razor (The simplest explanation is usually the right one….)

You seem worried about the results of subconscious casting and I agree that a certain amount of caution is advisable. However to me the biggest danger is being unable to perceive the balance I discussed above and falling into the trap of seeing everything around you as the result of magical influence. Firstly this has the obvious danger that a person would start to believe themselves omnipotent (and that wouldn’t end well) and secondly it would bring about a lot of unwarranted guilt which would be very self destructive.

Having said I believe in subconscious casting I’ll explain further that I actually believe it would only be effective to a certain degree. To pull off big results you’d need to be focusing the intent. Any force is at its most powerful when directed to a point and magic is no different. So although subconscious casting will bring about some results it won’t bring about results that you should fear. By that I mean you won’t accidentally kill or maim someone!

I also think it is important to remember the nature of magic and how it works. I always like the analogy of the Web of Wyrd. Your intent touches one point of the web and then moves along many strands and threads before the final influence of that intent is known. It is a myth that magic has a linear effect, it doesn’t. It has subtle and sometimes hard to perceive consequences. In the example of your girlfriend’s boss’s papers catching fire, I would personally say this is too linear a reaction to be magically influenced. I’m not saying not possible as a result of magic but I am saying unlikely.

In terms of what you can do to prevent negative subconscious casting, well I think you are already doing some of it. You describe yourself as a kind and polite person so I think it very unlikely that your nature would bring about results totally at odds with the kind of person you are. You are also aware that it appears to be the emotion of anger that inspires subconscious casting so my advice would be to defuse this anger when you feel it starting. Equally try to look at things from other people’s perspective. It is a lot harder to be angry with someone when you have put yourself in their shoes and looked at life the way they see it. Basic relaxation meditation may also help to calm you. But most of all learn to walk away from situations and people that generate an angry response in you.


Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Magic-52120974

This is an interesting question and one which has been asked by another witch whom I know will have given it a lot of thought before asking. 

To me and to most witches the name is a very personal link to a person.  It works in much the same way as a tag lock to anchor a working to the intended target. A lot of folk lore and mythology about witchcraft plays on the concept that the name is very important and indeed some witches do choose to use a pseudonym, sharing their true name with only a trusted few.

The question today probes at the heart of what a name actually is. If we read our Shakespeare he informs us: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” - the implication being that the essence of a person is not captured simply by naming them. Basically the Bard is saying it doesn’t matter what we call somebody, they are always that person.

But are they? I’m not at all sure I agree with him. A name need not necessarily be a consistent identifier.  In the computer age where we are all required to have multiple log ons for social media, networking etc it is quite common to have more than one identity. We use different names to interact with different people and even to a certain extent to express different parts of who we are. A name change can be a very useful way to separate the ‘work you’ from the ‘home you’ for example. This isn’t to say that one of those names is real and one is fake, they just relate to different parts of who an individual is as a person. When casting it is likely that a witch is targeting a facet of the person represented by the name we know them as. So if we are trying to make “Work Jo” less bossy it might be counterproductive to cast at “Joanne” who may be an entirely different person outside the workplace. The name we know her as is the name that establishes the link to the person we are casting toward.

It’s hard to pin down the definition of what a true name might be. It could be argued that the real name is the birth name but I find that to be too simplistic. Why would a name somebody else has chosen to give you be more valid than a name you use regularly and self identify with? If anything I would say the name chosen by the individual has the better claim to be the true name. Many people reject their birth name over a personal preference. If “John” has always been known as “Dan” -and everybody knows him as Dan – can we really say John is his real name just because it happens to be on his birth certificate? I have to say if I was doing a working on Dan/John I’d be far less interested in the name he was born with and far more focused on the name he has built up a relationship with and which (most crucially) he believes to represent who he is.
I think for me, rather than getting bogged down with the accuracy of what may/may not be the “real” name I am interested is using a name that will strengthen the link between the person and my working. If I know somebody by their nickname and all my relations with them have been formed around that nickname then it would throw me completely to start casting using a name I don’t associate with them. It is the association in the mind of the caster (not the objective reality) that will strengthen the power of the intent used in the spell work. 

What I would do when casting is cover all possibilities. I’d phrase it something like “The person I know as ‘Work Jo’ who is also known by her full name Joanne…” This makes it as clear as possible exactly who I am targeting. However - in summary - my preference would be for the name I know the person as. I’d be more than happy casting at ‘Work Jo’.

Incidentally as a bit of an aside, this kind of thinking explains why you can’t hide behind a false name when annoying a witch. Dan may think he’s safe provoking a witch who doesn’t know his birth name is John but Dan can be assured that the spell cast at his assumed identity will work just as well. 
Aha Dan… better not go around annoying witches!

Image http://www.freeimages.com/photo/decorative-red-rose-1332477

Question – I want to banish an abusive person from my life/family/home. Which ritual spell should I try? The person is my mother’s boyfriend who has in the past been very abusive both emotionally and verbally and once even physically to me and to her. I have tried to get the cops and protective services involved in the past but they never do anything about it as they claim there isn’t enough proof. My Mom hasn’t left him because he pays the bills and she is on disability. Living in this house is like living in a war zone with all their constant arguing and screaming and recently my Mom has even found out that he has been cheating on her. She always claims she is going to leave him but never does. Do you have any suggestions?

ANSWER - I do have some banishing suggestions, yes, but before we look at those I think you need to consider the practical solutions here too. You say you are between 16-20 in your full question and I do believe there are protective services who will take you seriously if you are a minor living under the threat of physical or verbal aggression. If you are at school, college or university your first step needs to be your teacher or personal tutor. You should also have access to counselling facilities in education faculties and they should be able to help put you in touch with the right people. 

I’ve had a look at some of the groups in the United States who may be able to offer support – please do check these out before undertaking any spell work. Magic is an effective tool but it is never more effective than when used in combination with practical and mundane techniques. Any witch who overlooks the practical solutions is limiting the extent of her own power. Simple things work.

Links for support help groups in the US:

The Hotline
Child Help
Help USA

I’d also suggest you have a full and frank talk with your mother. Her feelings aside, does she know what this relationship is doing to you? She may not realise how unhappy this home situation is making you. She may be happy to stay for her own sake but unwilling to make you as unhappy as you obviously are. But she won’t know unless you tell her. If she is still unwilling to leave then have you any alternatives? Have you aunts/uncles/siblings/grandparents you could go stay with for a while? Perhaps if your mother knew you this is affecting you so much that you are even considering moving out then it might give her the shove she needs to leave him.

In terms of using magic to help this situation – it isn’t really banishing spells that you want. What you really need in my opinion is a working to make him feel very uncomfortable in the house - almost for the house to become so oppressive he cannot bear to live there any more. An ideal working would get the house to reject him. What I would do is to get a representation of him (should be easy enough if you live with him, a bit of his hair stuck into a lump of plasticine will make an ideal personalised poppet). Then be creative - get a small cardboard box and mock up a rough model of your house. Name the house, write the address on it and set up a clear link in your mind that your model is a true representation of the house. Place the poppet inside the house and then tie a piece of rope (or even a belt) loosely around it, Every day refresh your visualisation of the link between the model house and your actual house and tighten the fastening round the house a little more. Focus your energies into imagining the house becoming smaller and darker and increasingly more oppressive. Keep repeating and refocusing.

I'd also suggest that to support the above you mark the house in a territorial fashion as belonging to yourself and your mother. Usually anointing the house door ways is the best way to do this. Dilute blended urine (with added fresh herbs if you are worried about the smell) is ideal for this. However in your situation as you are targeting a specific person I would focus on marking the areas he sees as belonging to him (favourite chair, office etc...). As you smear your fluid concoction on visualise yourself staking a claim on what he sees as his areas. Focus on the image of him leaving the house and feeling he no longer belongs.

Finally you could consider a working to sever the relationship between this man and your mother. I'd do this almost as a reversal of a handfasting. Take a piece of ribbon and tie at one end a representation of him and the other end a representation of your mother. Visualise the ribbon as a symbol of the link between them. Then sever the link. How good this spell performs is dependent on how strongly you visualise the link and the breaking. I'd also caution that many relationships limp on even when the link is broken so be aware of the danger that this may make things worse but not necessarily get rid of him... 


(Quick note here to handfasted Pagans - can you imagine how well this spell would work if someone got their hands on your actual handfasting ribbon, lol. Good idea to keep that somewhere safe!) 

Image  http://www.deviantart.com/art/abuse-74239173

Question - This guy, a so called friend stole from my children and I’m really angry at the situation. What has made me even more mad is he got away with it and is basically laughing in our faces. I want revenge on him for stealing from my kids. How do I handle this situation?

ANSWER - Trigger warning – arachnophobics may not want to read all of the hex suggestions.

I suspect if you asked some witches this one they would discuss karma as a natural consequence of his actions. I think there is some truth in this, not from the perspective of an all seeing all knowing set of balancing scales but from the principle that if you go through life screwing over everybody you meet, chances are that someone is eventually going to do it back to you. You could wait and let someone else give him his payback but I agree that is neither as satisfying nor as immediate as gunning for the miserable man yourself. 

I’ll just say a few cautionary words about revenge first though before we get into specifics. Vengeance is a bit like hatred, once it gets inside you it can be as destructive to the person pursuing the outcome as it is the person on the receiving end. I’m not saying turning the cheek is always the answer, I’m a firm believer in personal responsibility and taking control over our own lives.  However you will not emerge unscathed yourself if you pursue revenge.  There will always be a part of you that knows whether rightly or wrongly that you caused misery to someone else. Make sure it really is what you want to do before doing it. I’d also ask anyone contemplating revenge to consider what they believe gives them the right to pass judgement on another person. Again, I’m not saying it can’t be justified – I believe that it can be but I also believe you need to be able to morally justify to yourself why you are doing it.

I’m often dubious about revenge as it is very hard to understand where another person is coming from sometimes. People can act from necessity, desperation, a genuine belief they are doing the right thing etc. Not every “bad” act is borne from hate or malice. Sometimes people do bad things for good reasons. When revenging yourself on someone you need to be certain you are in possession of all the facts and satisfied that they really did act from malice and not for more justifiable reasons.

Revenge spells to me are all about the bounce back. When I revenge myself on somebody I use their own energies and intent against them. I do this so I can be certain that my actions are appropriate and proportional to theirs and that I am not going too far by harming them far worse than they ever did/intended to do to me. Any working you do should (in my opinion) have the caveat that the outcome of the spell will not be greater than the original harm. To use a silly example it would hardly be appropriate vengeance if I caused someone to lose a hand because they stole my biro. I’d work specific wording into the spell stating that the outcome will not be greater than the original action.

The above is a personal view incidentally. I know quite a few witches who’ll get you back twenty fold for acting against them! People have different views as to what is morally acceptable but as always when answering on here, I go with my own personal judgement.

The most common spells associated with the “bounce back” factor are mirroring or reflection spells.   The mirror is used as a way of deflecting the malicious intent and bouncing it back onto the sender. There are various ways you can do this but my own preference is for something visual. I’d take a photograph of the unfortunate perpetrator and place it in front of a mirror. I would then visualise the negativity and malice coming out from the person and directed into the mirror. I would then very simply visualise the malice being reflected out of the mirror and back onto the individual. 

You could easily substitute another reflective surface for a mirror (tin foil always works well).
If you have access to the person’s house you could charm a mirror to reflect the person’s intention back at them. This can be surprisingly effective as every time they stare into the mirror thinking about their hate or desire to hurt someone else the intent will be cast back at them.  A spell like this is very much determined by the personality of the person it is being cast on and as I said above, this makes it proportionate. If they look into the mirror and think good thoughts there will be no consequences, if they look into the mirror on a regular basis with hate in their hearts there are going to be some nasty surprises in store for them. (Charming the mirror is all about stating your own intent for the mirror to act as a reflection for not only the visual image but for the thoughts and emotions of the person. Don’t get too hung up on the spell wording, just hold the mirror in your hands and explain out loud the function you need it to perform. The power of the spell comes from your ability to articulate clearly in your own mind what effect you want to achieve.) 

In your specific situation I’m getting the impression you want the satisfaction of seeing this bloke hung out to dry… I see no reason why a little hexing shouldn’t be employed here. The trick with hexing is to genuinely believe the person deserves the negativity you are throwing at them. If you dither or a part of you feels sorry for them you won’t pull it off. You don’t have to hate but you do have to want to hurt them for the spell to be effective. There are probably as many ways to hex as there are witches doing it but what I’ll do is document a few of my favourites and they might give you some ideas.

1. Hexing through dreams. If you know what a person is frightened of then it can be very effective to project an image of that into their sleep. You’ll hear of witches “sending the bugs” and this is essentially what they are doing – magically implanting the suggestion that a person’s bed is filled with crawling insects. Ideal if your target happens to be an arachnophobe! This can be achieved quite easily with the use of insects and a poppet, it can be achieved by summoning spider spirits or even by the simple psychology of the repeated phrase to spark their own subconscious mind.

2. Illness. Whenever I am ill I always take the opportunity to infuse the illness into a stone (simple visualisation of transferring from me to object) which I then seal in a jar. This stone can then be placed in the immediate environment of the person I wish to sicken.

3. Physical harm. Poppets are best for this – you can sting them, burn them, boil them, drown them... You won’t pull off death results (it’s possible but very rare) but a good blast of anger energy will harness you some nice physical symptoms. I particularly enjoy stuffing a poppet with itchy old Rue and knowing they will be uncomfortable and itchy. Elevating the temperature of a poppet can get good results too. Stick them in the freezer in Winter (also works for slowing someone down) to make them cold and miserable or stick them in the over in Summer to ensure they can’t get cool in the heat.

That’s my magical advice. On a practical note I’d get in touch with Citizen’s Advice if I were you and make sure you are getting every single penny off him that you are entitled to. Hit the mercenary little git where it hurts which in this case I suspect is his wallet!

Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/mirror-321988697

I was going to reply to this one privately with a polite yes of course but it occurred to me that it might add some value to the site by popping on as a question as well. I think there are some truly fabulous witch blogs out there – many of whom have very different goals to my own and many who share some really informative and interesting things that I imagine would interest most of us. I am always happy to add these quality blogs to the list of Witch blogs I maintain on my site. If anyone does have a site they feel may be of interest to the readers of the Witch Path Forward community please do drop me a line at deguwitchrose@witchpathforward.com with the details and I will be glad to add to the list. I’m also happy to promote any on topic pages on Facebook or Twitter as well. You can make contact on Facebook via the Witch Path Forward page or the handle on Twitter is @Witchespath. (You are welcome to follow my personal Twitter account @deguwitchrose but be aware this isn’t exclusively confined to tweeting about witchcraft).

As for the person asking the original question – I’ve uploaded your blog link to the site and look forward to having a read myself in more depth soon.