Author: A Solitary Pagan
Magick, Curiosity, Exploration & Secrecy
Curiosity, exploration and secrecyOne of most interesting characters from earlytimes was Abraham Abulafia (1240–95), whomade available much arcane knowledge, whichultimately formed the basis of Kabbalah.Believing in the divine nature of the Hebrewalphabet, he held that God cannot be describedor conceptualized using everyday symbols. Hetherefore used abstract letter combinations andpermutations (tz...
Defining Magick
IT IS SOMETIMES best not to attempt anydefinition of ancient magic and magicalbelief. However, in any discussion of magicand its practitioners we must take account of aperiod in which the magical traditions ofseveral different cultures coalesced and mergedinto a type of international and evenmulticultural magical practice, with its ownrituals, symbols and words of power. Thisoccurred in the Medite...
Ancient Beliefs and Magick Practices
Ancient beliefs and practices are the mainstay ofmagic. Modern-day spells often have their rootsin ancient rituals and today’s rituals arise fromknowledge of age-old spells.While we might make an attempt at definingancient beliefs as applied to the modern day, nodefinition of magic has ever found universalacceptance, and countless attempts to separateit from religion on the one hand and science on...
Sacred Geometry
SACRED GEOMETRY MEANS different things todifferent people. The artists of theRenaissance period discovered theGolden Mean – a ratio which helped them to construct a perfect picture, calculated as1:l.618034, an ‘irrational’ number. This conceptis still valid today.To the architect, that same ratio – this timecalled a Golden Section – is used to calculate astandard proportion for width in relation t...
The main Feng Shui schools
Over the centuries many different schools ofFeng Shui have developed. The basic principlesare broadly the same, though each school has aslightly different focus. There are three mainschools in existence today:Form SchoolThis school focuses on the features of thesurrounding landscape and the correct use ofthe positioning of buildings – and, in formertimes, burial sites – to gain protection frominau...
Feng Shui
ONE OF THE most important adjustmentsthat we can make as we begin to workconsistently with magic is to theenvironment in which we live and to our ownpersonal space. As we reach an internal peacewe create tranquillity around us, but equallyour environment must nurture us. For thepractitioner this means understanding both ourliving space and our own subtle aura – orenergy field – created by our own ...
Geomancy
THE WORD GEOMANCY (from the Latin geo,‘Earth’, mancy ‘prophecy’) had a differentmeaning in ancient times from that it hastoday and we shall deal with that aspect first. Itwas a method of divination used to interpretmarkings on the ground or how handfuls of dirtlanded when you tossed them, and was thereforethe reading of patterns or signs. Geomancyseems to have appeared as a word in thelanguage use...
Customs Associated with Birth
There are, in fact, several customs associatedwith birth and the surrounding period whichhave survived without people today necessarilyappreciating their magical significance. In Celticlore, the ‘toadstone’ protected the newbornfrom evil spirits and the Virgin Mary nut,actually the seed of the plant Entada scandens,counteracted birth pains. The shell of a seaurchin, known as the ‘cock’s knee stone...
To Protect a Newborn Baby
This spell uses crystals and symbolism. Theblue stone is reputed to bring about harmony inrelationships and to help its wearer to be true tothemselves, and to be able to openly state theiropinion. The blue bead or stone used hereshould preferably of lapis lazuli, which isconsidered a stone of truth and friendship.YOU WILL NEEDBlue bead or small stone with a holeCopal or cedar incenseWhite candleBo...
Protections and Purifications
There are many folkloric remedies for the evileye, ranging from painting an eye on the prowof a boat in the Mediterranean, supposedly tooutstare the sorcerer, to passing a plate filledwith burning coals three times round the headof the victim in India. Iron is always a goodspecific against the curse of the evil eye, as alsoare mirrors or glass beads, which dazzle. By and large it is the idea of en...
Antler Charm
The Antler Charm is a traditional protective talisman, deeply rooted in Scottish folklore and magical practice. Its origins can be traced to rural communities where the boundaries between the natural and supernatural were believed to be thin, and where charms and amulets played a vital role in daily life. The Antler Charm, in particular, was valued for its reputed ability to ward off harmful influ...
Removal of the Evil Eye
YOU WILL NEEDLemonIron nailsMETHOD✤ Drive the nails with some force into the lemon.✤ Visualize the evil eye being pierced.✤ Keep the lemon for three days, by which timeit should begin to rot.✤ If it does not, repeat the procedure.Here you have externalized the difficulty, checked thatthe spell worked and repeated the procedure if not. Youcould then repeat the diagnostic procedure to ensurethat you...