A Practical Guide To Witchcraft And Magic Spells Part 4

Helios The Greek G.o.d Helios, known to the Romans as Sol, was regarded as the Sun itself. He ascended the heavens in a chariot drawn by winged snow-white horses to give light and in the evening descended into the ocean. Homer wrote: 'Drawn in his swift chariot, he sheds light on G.o.ds and men alike; the formidable flash of his eyes pierces his golden helmet, sparkling rays glint from his breast and his brilliant helmet gives forth a dazzling splendour. His body is draped in s.h.i.+ning gauze, whipped by the wind.'

He is especially a.s.sociated with the life force and renewing health and energy.

Horus Horus was the Ancient Egyptian Sky G.o.d, represented as a falcon or a falcon-headed man. His eyes were the Sun and Moon and his wings could extend across the entire heavens. He was frequently a.s.sociated with the morning aspect of Ra, the Sun G.o.d, and wors.h.i.+pped as Re-Harakhte. The son of Isis and Osiris, he is often depicted as an infant on his mother's lap and together the parents and child form a trinity.

Horus brings clarity of mind and purpose and the ability to seize upon an opportunity, and is effective for uncovering secrets, deception and illusion.

Lugh Lugh, the Celtic 's.h.i.+ning one', who gives his name to Lughna.s.sadh, Celtic festival of the first harvest, was the young solar deity who replaced the Dagda, father of the G.o.ds, as supreme king. He was a.s.sociated with sacrifice, as the Sun King who was reborn each year at either the mid-winter solstice or the spring equinox.

Legend has it that when Lugh arrived to join the Tuatha de Danaan, he went to the palace of Tara and asked for a position in the court. (The Tuatha de Danaan were the ancient Irish G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses, literally 'the tribe of Danu', who was the creatrix G.o.ddess.) He said he was a carpenter, but was told that the company of G.o.ds already had one.

Lugh then declared he was a smith but again was told that the deities possessed such a craftsman. He then announced that he was a poet, then in turn a warrior, historian, hero and sorcerer. Each position was filled. Lugh then demanded whether any one person could perform all these tasks as he could. As a result, he was admitted to the Tuatha de Danaan and eventually became their leader.

You can invoke Lugh especially at the time of Lughna.s.sadh, for the reaping of benefits sown earlier in the year, but also at any time for adaptability, versatility, innovation and originality.

Deities Of The Moon Invoke these for gentle increase, power and banis.h.i.+ng energies, fertility, intuition, magick and dreams.

Arianrhod Arianrhod is a Welsh G.o.ddess of the full moon and also of time, karma and destiny. She ruled over the realm of the Celtic Otherworld, called Caer Feddwidd, the Fort of Carousa. Here a mystical fountain of wine offered eternal health and youth for those who chose to spend their immortality in the Otherworld. She brings inspiration, renewal, health and rejuvenation, and is a focus for all magick, as she is a witch G.o.ddess.

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Diana Diana is the Roman counterpart of Artemis, and because of her strong a.s.sociation with the Moon in all its phases, is a G.o.ddess of fertility as well as love. Like Artemis, she is G.o.ddess of the hunt and a virgin G.o.ddess, but can be invoked in her role as an Earth G.o.ddess and as protector of women in childbirth. Her beauty and hunting skills make her a perfect focus for the pursuit of love, especially from afar.

Myesyats Like the lunar G.o.ddesses, Myesyats, the Slavic Moon G.o.d, represented the three stages of the life cycle. He was first wors.h.i.+pped as a young man until he reached maturity at the full moon. With the waning phase, Myesyats pa.s.sed through old age and died with the old moon, being reborn three days later. As he was the restorer of life and health, parents would pray to him to take away their children's illnesses and family sorrows. Other sources have a female version, Myesytsa, a lovely Moon maiden who was the consort of Dazhbog the Sun G.o.d, and became mother of the stars.

Myesyats brings healing and family harmony.

Selene Selene is the Greek G.o.ddess specially a.s.sociated with the full moon, sometimes forming a triplicity with Diana and Hecate, the twin sister of Helios the Sun G.o.d. Selene rises from the sea in her chariot drawn by white horses at night and rides high in the sky in her full moon.

At the time of the full moon, she is invoked by women for fertility and by all who seek the power of intuition and inspiration.

Mother G.o.ddesses Mother G.o.ddesses are for fertility, abundance of all kinds, female power and all rituals for women.

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Astarte Astarte is the supreme female divinity of the Phoenicians, G.o.ddess of love and fertility, a.s.sociated with the Moon and all nature.

Invoke her for power and wisdom, seduction and pa.s.sion as well as fertility.

Cerridwen Cerridwen is the Welsh Mother G.o.ddess, the keeper of the cauldron and G.o.ddess of inspiration, knowledge and wisdom. She is a natural focus for rituals involving all creative ventures and for increased spiritual and psychic awareness. Invoke her for divination and especially scrying and for all rituals of increase.

Ceres Ceres is the Roman G.o.ddess of the grain and all food plants. Her daughter Proserpina was taken into the Underworld for three months of the year by Pluto, causing Ceres to mourn and the crops to die. This was the origin of winter.

Through this, she is seen as G.o.ddess of fertility and abundance, as well as a deity of the natural cycles of the year. She represents loss and is a focus for rites concerning grief and mourning, with the hope of new joy ahead for women and especially for mothers. Her Greek counterpart is Demeter.

Demeter Demeter, the Greek Corn G.o.ddess or Barley Mother, was the archetypal symbol of the fertility of the land. Demeter is often pictured as rosy-cheeked, carrying a hoe or sickle and surrounded by baskets of apples, sheaves of corn, garlands of flowers and grapes.

Like Ceres, she mourns for her lost daughter Persephone for three months of the year and so is another icon for those who are feeling sorrow or loss and for maternal sacrifice. But she can be invoked for all matters of abundance, for reaping the benefits of earlier work or effort, for all mothering rituals and as a protectress of animals.

Innana Innana was a Sumerian G.o.ddess, known as the Queen of Heaven, who evolved into the Babylonian G.o.ddess Ishtar. Innana was G.o.ddess of beauty, abundance, fertility and pa.s.sion, famed for her loveliness and her lapis lazuli necklaces. She was the first G.o.ddess of the morning and evening stars, a legacy that has pa.s.sed to Aphrodite and Venus.

Like many of the Mother G.o.ddess icons, she descended into the Underworld annually to face and overcome many trials, to bring back to life her shepherd G.o.d consort Dumuzi.

Ishtar Ishtar, the Babylonian version of Innana, also descended into the Underworld each year to restore her consort Tammuz to life. She was a fierce G.o.ddess of weapons and war. In Ancient Babylon, a sacred marriage took place each year between Tammuz and Ishtar. This was celebrated at the festival of Akitu, or Zag-Mug, which marked the rising of the waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates and the coming of the spring rains, to bring fertility, at the spring equinox.

Like Innana, she is a G.o.ddess of fertility, restoration, renewal, birth and the life cycles; she also represents power with responsibility and necessary sacrifice for future gain, but above all transformation.

Isis The Egyptian G.o.ddess Isis is the most powerful and frequently invoked G.o.ddess in formal magick. She is mother, healer and the faithful wife who annually restored her consort Osiris to life, thus magically causing the Nile to flood and fertility to return to the land. She is the patroness of magick and spell-casting, having tricked Ra the Sun G.o.d into giving her his secrets. Some accounts say she was taught by Thoth, G.o.d of wisdom and learning.

Her cult spread throughout the Roman Empire and she remained in Mediterranean lands in her guise as the Black Madonna, holding her infant son Horus, until the Middle Ages. She is sometimes represented as a vulture, in which form she appears on amulets (protective charms) with an ankh, the symbol for life, engraved on each talon. Isis demonstrated the power of maternal protection when she hid Horus in the marshes from his evil uncle who would have destroyed him.

Deities Of Marriage These deities can be invoked in rituals concerning the family and the home.

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Frigg Frigg was the Viking Mother G.o.ddess whose jewelled spinning wheel formed Orion's belt; as patroness of marriage, women, mothers and families, she can be invoked for all rituals concerned with families and domestic happiness. She invited devoted husbands and wives to her hall after death so that they might never be parted again and so is G.o.ddess of fidelity.

As Ostara, G.o.ddess of spring, she was known among the Anglo-Saxons and is remembered in the festival of Easter as a fertility G.o.ddess and bringer of new beginnings.

In her role as Valfreya, the Lady of the Battlefield, Frigg recalls the Northern tradition of warrior G.o.ddesses and offers courage to women.

Hera Hera, the wife-sister of Zeus, is a the supreme Greek G.o.ddess of protection, marriage and childbirth whose sacred bird is the peac.o.c.k. She is a powerful deity of fidelity and is called upon by women seeking revenge upon unfaithful partners.

Hestia Hestia is the Greek G.o.ddess of the hearth and home, all family matters and peace within the home. She is a benign, gentle G.o.ddess and so can be invoked for matters involving children and pets.

Juno Juno, the wife-sister of Jupiter, is the Roman queen of the G.o.ds, the protectress of women, marriage and childbirth and also wise counsellor.

Together with Jupiter and Minerva, the G.o.ddess of wisdom, she made up the triumvirate of deities who made decisions about humankind and especially Roman affairs. Her month, June, is most fortunate for marriage and, like Hera, her Greek equivalent, her sacred creature is the peac.o.c.k. She is invoked in s.e.x magick as well as for all matters concerning marriage, children, fidelity and wise counsel.

Parvati Parvati is the benign and gentle Hindu Mother G.o.ddess, consort of the G.o.d s.h.i.+va and the G.o.ddess daughter of the Himalayas. Her name means 'mountain' and she is a.s.sociated with all mountains. She and s.h.i.+va are often pictured as a family in the Himalayas with their sons Ganesh, G.o.d of wisdom and learning, and six-headed Skanda, the warrior G.o.d. She is invoked for all family matters and those concerning children and by women in distress.

Vesta Vesta is the Roman G.o.ddess of domesticity and of the sacred hearth at which dead and living were welcomed. The Vestal Virgins of Rome kept alight the sacred flame in Vesta's temple and this was rekindled at the New Year, as were household flames. Vesta can be invoked in rituals centred around the element Fire.

Father G.o.ds The Father G.o.ds represent authority, channelled power, benevolence and altruism, n.o.bility of purpose, expansion and limitless potential.

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Dagda Dagda, the Father G.o.d in the Celtic tradition, was also called Eochaid Ollathair (Father of All) and Ruadh Rofessa (the Red One of Knowledge). He was the first King of the Tuatha de Danaan, the Irish G.o.ds, and it was believed that he performed miracles and saw to the weather and the harvest.

Dagda was lord of life and death and the primary G.o.d of fertility. With his huge club, he made the bones of his people's enemies 'fall like hail beneath the horses'. With one end of the club, it was said, he could kill nine men with a single blow and with the other could instantly restore them to life.

His great cauldron was handed on to his daughter Brighid (Cerridwen in the Welsh tradition). In some legends, Dagda is a.s.sociated with Balor, the Sun deity of the Formoiri, enemies of the G.o.ds, who was slain by Lugh, the young solar G.o.d, at the Battle of Moytura, thus representing the ascent of the new Sun.

The death of the old order, as a necessary requirement for the new, is a central motif in spirituality and so Dagda can offer a focus for rites of pa.s.sage where change is necessary, but not necessarily welcomed.

Odin Odin is the Viking Father G.o.d, known as the All-Father, G.o.d of inspiration, wisdom and poetry as well as war. Odin was desperate to acquire the wisdom and knowledge of the older order of giants. He traded one of his eyes for wisdom and obtained the knowledge of the runes, the ancient symbols of spiritual knowledge, by sacrificing himself on the World Tree.

Odin can be invoked for magic and divination, especially for casting runes, for inspiration with words and oratory, for expansion of horizons and for male power magic. If Frigg is also invoked, the energies are more balanced.

Deities Of Change These deities may be invoked in rituals involving not only change but also good fortune.

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Oya Oya is the African G.o.ddess, also known as Yoruba, who rules the winds and so controls the winds of change. She oversees trading and the marketplace, and brings good fortune to all honest traders and those who work with finance. She is very powerful, described as an Amazonian warrior and life-giver with dominion over the storms. She can be invoked at times of change and for all matters of employment, commerce good fortune and taking control of one's destiny.A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magick Spells.

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Lakshmi Lakshmi is the Hindu G.o.ddess of wealth, beauty, joy, pleasure and good fortune.

At Divali, the Hindu autumn festival of light, lamps and candles are placed in windows so that Lakshmi will look in and endow prosperity upon the family. Rangolis, or coloured patterns, are painted on floors and walls to attract her. Rituals to invoke her usually involve candles and use gold or jewellery as a focus for her benevolence.

Deities Of Power These G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses bring psychic self-defence, protection, righteous anger against injustice, also change, regeneration and survival.

These deities are very powerful and should only be invoked in their most positive aspects for the purpose of defending the weak and never for revenge or personal anger. Experienced witches call on them only rarely and with the purest intent under the law of threefold return. The exception is Bellona, who is a benevolent and effective focus for female power and courage.

Bellona Bellona is the Roman G.o.ddess of war, the female counterpart of Mars whose chariot she drove into battle. She is especially good for women's a.s.sertiveness and self-confidence rituals. She carries a sword and wears a helmet.

Kali Kali, the dark side of the Hindu Mother G.o.ddess, came into being when s.h.i.+va, the husband of the Mother G.o.ddess Shakti, taunted her for her dark skin. In fury she carried out rituals until her skin became golden inside. Shakti then shed her black outer skin like a snake and it formed the avenging destroying persona of Kali. Kali is depicted with her four arms holding weapons and the heads of her victims, her tongue lolling out, and covered in blood, signifying her power over life and death. She is often pictured dancing on s.h.i.+va whose body she trampled on, destroyed and then danced on once more to restore him to life.

Kali is invoked to remove fear and, it is said, to bring bliss to her devotees, and so she brings protection and regeneration after sorrow.

Persephone Persephone is the Greek maiden G.o.ddess of transformation, daughter of Demeter and G.o.ddess of spring and flowers. She was abducted by Hades, G.o.d of the Underworld, and became Queen of the Underworld for the winter months, returning to the Earth as the light-bringer in spring and so representing the cycle of death and rebirth. She is especially powerful in rituals by or for young women, especially those who have suffered loss or abuse, and also for mother-daughter relations.h.i.+ps. She is sometimes regarded as a symbol of grain.

Proserpina, daughter of Ceres, is the Roman form of Persephone.

Sekhmet Sekhmet is the Ancient Egyptian solar and lion G.o.ddess created from the eye of Ra. She is sometimes pictured as a woman with a lion's head and so is a good to evoke for courage, righteous anger, protection of the vulnerable, psychic protection and the correction of injustice. As an avenging G.o.ddess, she should be used only as a focus for positive rituals, for, like fire, her innate power can blaze out of control.

s.h.i.+va s.h.i.+va, or Siva, is the Hindu G.o.d of both creation and destruction, good and evil, fertility and abstinence. With Vishnu and Brahma, he forms the trinity of the modern Hindu G.o.ds. He is the Lord of the Dance who, it is said, will one day bring about the destruction of the world.

His symbol is the phallus, representing creative power, and many Hindus regard his benevolent, creative aspect as predominant. s.h.i.+va has three eyes, represented by the Sun, the Moon and Fire. His third eye allows him to see inwards and also to destroy whatever it looks on. He was not one of the original Vedic deities but became one of the supreme G.o.ds, according to legend, at the time when the universe consisted only of water.

Vishnu and Brahma were arguing about who was the greatest G.o.d when a great pillar of flame appeared between them. s.h.i.+va appeared from within the flaming pillar, which was symbol of his masculine power, and the other G.o.ds bowed before him.

Invoke s.h.i.+va for animus power, potency, survival and male rituals.

Shakti Shakti, or Matahdevi, is the female energy or power of s.h.i.+va. Her name is also used for the wife of any Hindu G.o.d. She is the Mother G.o.ddess and, like s.h.i.+va, creator and destroyer in her different aspects.

Shakti provides the energy that activates s.h.i.+va's male divine power, and her life-giving force animates other G.o.ds in difficult tasks. Although there are several other Hindu female G.o.ddesses, they all form aspects of Shakti and often their ident.i.ties merge. One of Shakti's forms is as Parvati, the gentle mother. Shakti is potent for all rituals of women's power, especially when they must take the initiative, and she is easier to work with than Kali.

Triple G.o.ddesses The Triple G.o.ddesses are for lunar magic and moving from one stage to another in the life cycle.

Brighid Brighid, the Celtic Triple G.o.ddess, is patroness of smiths, poets and healers and has the longest enduring cult in Ireland, which merged into that of the Christian St Bridget of Kildare. Her name means 'high one' and she is sometimes seen as three sisters, daughters of the G.o.d Dagda, the Divine Father, or as the triple-aspected maiden, mother and crone. She is invoked in fertility and healing magick and also for creativity, especially involving the written word. There are a number of sacred wells throughout England, Wales and Ireland dedicated to her or her Christian counterpart.

Deities Of The Environment Invoke these deities for rituals involving all aspects of the environment and for healing the planet.

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Gaia Gaia is the all-embracing and all-nouris.h.i.+ng G.o.ddess of the Earth. It is said that she supplies in her bounty all the necessary plants to cure any disease and, in spite of human pollution, she constantly heals and renews the planet. She is also a G.o.ddess of marriage.

She is the natural focus for all green rituals.

Tellus Mater Tellus Mater was the Earth Mother of the Romans, the alter ego of Ceres, the grain mother, and guardian of the fertility of people, animals and crops. However, Tellus Mater is also the mother who receives the dead in her womb to comfort and restore and so, like Gaia, she is a excellent G.o.ddess for all green magick and rituals for healing pollution or deforestation.

Wophe Wophe, or White Buffalo Calf Woman, is the sacred creator woman of the Lakotas and other peoples of the American Plains. Legend says she fell from a meteor and as she began her Earth walk, she was discovered by two young Lakota scouts who were hunting for buffalo.

She wore a pure white buckskin dress, her long hair flowing behind her like a sea of corn. She sang into the souls of the men that each should act on his thoughts. Eagerly the first, not recognising her sacred nature, hurried towards her and a white mist covered them. The sound of rattlesnakes was heard and when the cloud lifted, there were only the bones of the young man. She told the other to inform the elders of the tribe that she would come to them next morning with a great gift for the people.

A huge ornate ceremonial tepee was erected and in the morning she entered, carrying a special bundle on her back and singing a holy song. The men kept their eyes lowered when she entered, as she had instructed. She unfastened the bundle and took from it the buffalo calf pipe, which is still the most sacred religious object of the Lakota today.

The woman instructed the men in how to smoke the pipe, which in its smoke symbolised the visible Spirit, in the bowl Mother Earth and in the stem Father Sky, so that it might be used for prayer offerings to her and for bringing peace to divided nations. On her visits she also taught sacred ceremonies for restoring balance and healing to both Earth and people. She then set off to leave the camp, walking towards the West.

When she reached the outskirts, she rolled over on the ground and was transformed into a buffalo, changing colours several times. Finally, she changed into a white buffalo calf, rarest of the species, promising that when she was seen again she would restore harmony to a troubled world. The people followed her teachings, the corn grew, the seasons continued to flow in succession and they were hungry no more, as buffalo became plentiful.

By the end of the nineteenth century, however, there were in reality fewer than 200 buffalo left, where only years earlier it was estimated there had been several million. In the summer of 1994, a white buffalo calf was born in Jamesville, Wisconsin. As the prophecy had told, the white buffalo has changed its colours since birth, going from white to black to red to yellow and back to white. Since each colour represents one of the four directions, the buffalo is seen by many Native Americans as a symbol of the rebirth of hope. One visionary interpreted the birth of the white buffalo calf as signifying that the human race will be united, in spite of differences in creed and colour, and join together in peace.

Wophe is therefore an important symbol not only of the revival of the Native American wisdom, but also of healing and reconciliation of all people and of the land and all its creatures.

Deities Of The Male Principle These deities are for the hunt, instincts, willing sacrifice and ecstasy.

Cernunnos Cernunnos, meaning 'horned one', was a generic term for the various Horned G.o.ds of the Celtic tradition. The G.o.d dates back to the shamanic figures portrayed on cave walls. Cernunnos was lord of winter, the hunt, animals, death, male fertility and the Underworld, and was sometime portrayed as a triple or trefoil G.o.d, an image later a.s.similated by St Patrick with his emblematic shamrock.