A Modern Witch’s Guide to Spell Casting

An essential practice of any witch is knowing how to cast spells. A spell is nothing complicated or even just reserved for the realm of magic, it is a simple prayer or a wish. Anytime you have either prayed, wished for something, or even wanted something very much, that is you casting a spell itself! The only major difference with a wish and a proper spell is the energy and power that is put into casting the spell as well as a ritual used to direct that energy into the spell. Most spells are done through rituals on her altar or during esbats. For someone who is just beginning to learn about witchcraft, they will eventually want to learn how to cast a spell. Casting a spell is rather simple and not complicated like how the media portrays it. The most important things that a witch must have throughout the spell casting process are intention, integrity and faith.

How To Start Casting a Spell?

Before you begin the spell casting process, the first thing you want to do is narrow down what it is you want to cast. For example, do you want to cast a protection spell? If so, what kind of protection are you looking for? Emotional? Health? Physical harm? You cannot be vague with what it is you are wanting to cast; it has to be more specific; otherwise, the spell will not work. When creating the spell you want to cast, you need to think about the direction that the spell will take, and then figure out what the specification of the spell is. Let’s consider a flu, virus, or any sickness; for witches that want to protect themselves from catching this virus, the direction is protection, and the specification is health protection from the sickness. With this clear spell in mind, you are then ready to begin the spell casting process.

What Will I Need To Cast My Spell?

Now that you know what kind of spell you will be casting, it’s time to gather the ingredients you need in order to prepare the spell. When crafting your spell, you will need to gather items that symbolize the specification of the spell you are casting. For example, if you are casting an “increase savings account” spell, then you will need items that symbolize growth, abundance, and value; so in this case, you want to gather: a seed which symbolizes the potential of growth, a bundle of the currency you wish to increase to symbolize the abundance of this item, and one silver and one gold candle to symbolize the value of wealth. You don’t need to get too carried away and get many things, just a small list of symbols associated with the spell you are wanting to cast. Here is a provided list of types of spells and the symbols connected to them:

Protection: white and black candles, shell of a living being no longer using the shell such as a snail or crab, blessed/moon water, healthy foods such as apples, bananas and oranges, rosemary, bay leaves

Money: Gold and silver candles, bundle of currencies, seeds, fruits and vegetables that grows in abundance such as garlic or tomatoes, allspice, marjoram, mint

Love: red candles, strings, ribbons, fruits of any kinds to show fruitfulness of a union, blood, roses, jasmine, marigold

How Do I Write a Spell?

Now that you have gathered all the ingredients necessary for your spell, it’s time to write out the spell. The most effective way to cast your spell is with your words. It is said that the words of humans are so great, that they have the power to manipulate their surroundings such as stopping nature, creating disasters, etc. Words alone have so much power that it is for this reason that most witches write their spells for the casting. When writing your spell, you have to write exactly what you want with a few words, too many words can dilute the potency of the spell. Continuing from our previous example, when writing the spell for an “increase savings account” spell you need to be precise and direct with the words you write. In this case, we would write:

“May my saving’s account increase”

This directly states the purpose and intention of the spell with not too many words and with precision. This is but a simple and easy way to write your spell. Another more complicated but effective way is to write a sigil. A sigil is an intention written into the form of a symbol that is given a charge of energy, similar to that as talismans, paper cranes, prayer beads, etc. Here is a photo of the sigil we created for the money spell we have written.

When writing your spell or sigil, you want to take your time with it, do not rush in writing it. Remember that anything you do toward or with something, you leave a residue of your own energy; so by taking your time and writing the words slowly, you apply more of your own energy and magic into the spell that you are writing. Keep in mind that when you write your spell, it does not need to be on any specific type of paper, any will do. We would recommend that you write your words and sigil onto a blank page with no lines or margins so that nothing has the potential to corrupt or change the structure of the words.

Another thing to prepare for your spell casting is a chant. A chant will help build up your magical energy and begin to charge the spell. You want to make sure your chant is filled with the intention, the result, and a rhythm. For the purpose of our money spell, this is our chant:

Money comes, money goes,

Such is how the cash flows.

May the words I speak make my wealth multiply,

My treasures and riches shall magnify.

With this seed that I plant,

Shall my chants of wealth grant.

How To Cast My Spell?

Now that you have everything ready and prepared, the time has come to cast your spell. The type of action you perform for the spell is very important, as performing the wrong action may cause adverse effects (wrong actions are actions that represent the opposite meaning of your intention such as burning objects when you are casting growth type spells). The actions you perform are done in front of your altar in a circle, another spell might involve you baking something or creating a magical meal; or another spell could just take place in your witch’s garden! In the case of our money spell, we would NOT want to burn anything but the candles as burning represents destruction, erosion, and decay. What we would want to do are actions that signify growth such as planting the seed we mentioned as well as anything with the effect of growth. With the action you have in mind ready, now begins the casting. (Quick reminder: depending on the type of spell you are casting, make sure to cast it in accordance to the cycle of the moon. If the moon is waxing, this is the perfect time for anything related to growth, while if the moon is waning, that would be the perfect time for anything related to removal.)

Perform your spell as you would a ritual or esbat in front of your altar. Cast your circle and begin the process. First, light the candles that will be used for this spell (it can also be the candles you use for your gods). Lighting the candles will invoke the energy of either the gods or elements you are calling upon. The next step afterwards is to begin reciting your chant. When reciting your chant, do not rush the speech, take your time and properly enunciate every word of your chant while maintaining rhythm. After doing this for a few minutes, begin the action that you will do while continuing the chant. In this case, while chanting, you would plant the seed used into a small pot/container filled with fresh fertile soil. Make sure that the spell you wrote is inside the circle. Start forming your cone of power through your chanting (or your dance if it is part of your spell) and direct it to the object that will be bonded to your spell; whether that is your words, ritual object, or sigil. Expel all your energy while visualizing the spell, do not let your vision of your accomplished goal waver. Continue for a few minutes after the action has been performed and then slowly transition to silence. Let yourself enter a state of meditation and allow the energy you invoked to swirl around the circle for a moment before you snuff out the candles and close your circle. With this, your spell has been cast.

What Happens After Casting My Spell?

After you finish casting your spell, you need to keep the connected objects to your spell safe and taken care of. For most, you want to take extra care of the spell you wrote and place it somewhere safe. In our case, not only would we keep the spell safe, but we would also need to make sure the seedling is taken care of and watered every now and then to ensure that it grows. In terms of knowing whether or not your spell works will depend on the coming days and weeks. You will not immediately know if your spell worked, you have to allow the energy of the spell to take its place and wait. A common mistake that most witches make after casting a spell is obsessing over it working or not. This is a form of negative energy that will interfere with the magic of the spell, and thus result in a failed spell. The best thing you can do is to leave it be and not think about it, let nature take its course. You will find out if your spell was casted right through time; time will tell if the spell you cast worked or failed. 

If the spell does fail, do not fret! Take this as a learning experience. High-ranking witches did not become powerful at the beginning, they had to make multiple mistakes with casting spells before mastering this skill. If your spell did not work, then take a moment to think about why it did not work. Were you stressed during the casting? Did you use the wrong objects? Did you accidentally make a mistake through the whole process? Was there something distracting you like dogs barking in the distance? Think back and write down all the things you did that you believe could have interfered with your spell casting. After writing down those points, start preparing for the next time you will cast a spell. If, for your spell, you were calling upon a deity, a spirit or a personal god or figure to help, you have to be considerate of how they wished to be called upon. study their mythology and folklore to know and understand how they wish to be worked with. Did you have any elements that could have offended the god or spirit that you were wanting to work with? Another important element to remember is that magic is something that increases the odds of an outcome working in your favor. meaning if you cast an abundance spell but are not applying to any jobs, don’t have any way for the gods or spirits to actually help you, or you have no channel for money to come in, it will not work. Even if the spell has a one hundred percent chance of working, one hundred times zero is still zero.

Now that you have all the basic information about spell casting, it’s time to get started. You can use the money spell we provided in this guide to start your spell casting. Remember, each spell you cast should be unique to you and you alone, it’s good to follow guidelines; but ultimately, you are the one casting the spell. Feel free to experiment to your heart’s desire. We wish you great success in casting your spells. Blessed be.