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Lesson 17: Color, Candle and Sympathetic Magick To Gel a spell As I have said before, I love props and accessories in my spell workings. And Silver points out what I believe is the reason why. These tools "allow you to focus on something physical." Visualization is not my strong suit. I can hold a picture in my mind for a little while, but then its gone. By using the props, they enable me to hold my focus longer and provide a center point for when my thoughts begin to stray.
Why can't we use creative visualization all the time?
Silver gives us plenty of reasons why creative visualization doesn't always work. For me, it's usually the "creature of habit" that gets in my way. I am a very "set" person. Notice this doesn't mean organized, just ask my fiancé. I drive the same route to places I go often, I have the same morning routines, and I hate it when my routines are messed up. That is one of the reasons why I have trouble.
Keep in mind that Silver doesn't say its impossible for creative visualization to be used more often, just that there are obstacles that have to be overcome first.
Color
Color magick is probably one of the simplest and widely used forms of magick there is. Silver provides us with a nice, brief, explanation of how color is truly waves of light, and how their vibrations can have an effect on the human senses. This is important to remember as you begin to study this type of magick, especially if you are like me and prefer to know how things work.
The list that Silver provides is the one that I refer to most often when using color magick. It is not an all encompassing list by any means, but it generally serves the purpose of being a good reminder for me when I need to freshen up on what color is for what. I suggest that you copy that list down and keep it in your reference book/Book of Shadows. If you use color magick much at all, I guarantee you will want this list handy.
How effective is color magick?
Again, this depends on the person, but I don't know of anyone that has used color magick that would say it's not effective. Its simplicity and convenience make it a very appealing form of magick.
Energy in color
It is a scientific fact that color is energy. The only difference is we tend to utilize that energy to it's fullest extent, allowing the various energies to have more of an affect on us.
The Aura
I like what Silver points out about the process of learning to read the Aura. When I first started studying the Aura, and mind you I'm no where near adept yet, I felt like I should see something, and I didn't. So I was frustrated and didn't progress as quickly as I could if I would have remembered this little gem of wisdom.
Home color exercise
This is the first writing assignment for this chapter. I'm not going to alter it one bit. I think you will be amazed at what you can learn from this exercise.
Candle Magick
Silver gives us a brief list of the tools we will need to begin practicing candle magick. I think that might be one of the reasons I was drawn to this form of magick in the first place. It is not expensive and the tools are generally easy to come by.
Dressing Candles
The suggestions made here are precisely the one's that I use, so I'm not able to expound much. I will say that while I am dressing my candle, I'm beginning to ground myself and prepare for the working I'm about to do. This seems to help when it comes time to actually work the spell itself.
Just how good is candle magick?
There are probably millions of stories like this one that decree the effectiveness of candle magick. But, like any other system, it's only as effective as you make it.
Variety
Every circle that I'm involved in has a ton of candles, and usually a fire going if we are outside. Our entire group just loves candles. Some of the candles serve a distinct purpose, such as the Lord and Lady or Corner candles. Others are there purely for light.
Lighting, Extinguishing and Disposing of candles
Now, this is where Silver and I differ. Personally I believe it doesn't matter what I light a candle with. If I can, I actually prefer matches. I think it just seems more "ancient?" for lack of a better word.
But we again come back to agreement on the extinguishing part. If I don't have a candle snuffer handy I'll wave my hand until it goes out. Some may think this is similar to blowing it out, but I find it still works.
I tend to use short candles that will burn away completely when doing a spell that I don't want to save the candle. This saves me having to bury it. I'm open about my faith, but where I live it would be hard to explain why I'm digging a hole and burying something :).
Candles and sympathetic magick
As you know, if there is any area discussed that I haven't practiced, I tell you as much. Sympathetic candle magick, as described by Silver, is one of those places. So, I'm going to leave this section to the expert. If any of you have had experience in this area I would love to hear about it. Please send a note to the egroup so we can all benefit from your knowledge.
Using personal effects in magick
Having something personal from the individual you are working magick for will greatly enhance your ability to assist them. It's not an absolute must have, any more than candles and other tools. But when working magick for someone else, you obviously want the spell to take hold or else you wouldn't be spending your time and energy on it. So anything that can aide in that work is worth the time to obtain. It is also a way on ensuring that you have their permission. If they ask you to do something to help them and then they give you something personal, they are probably receptive to your intervention. Likewise if they refuse to give you something, you may have to question whether or not they truly trust you and want your assistance.
Tattwas and Doll/Poppet Magick
I have never worked with these, and honestly the first couple of times I read through this it didn't appeal to me all that much. But for some reason it's kind of jumping out at me right now. Maybe I need to do something with them????
Spells to Bind
I've been reading and reading this section, trying to decide what to add. Honestly, I'm not really comfortable adding anything. My personal belief, and this is just my opinion, is I never do binding spells. Why on earth would I want to bind something? I'd rather extinguish it, set it free, etc. So, if you feel the need to use binding magick, you'll have to refer to this section because I don't feel it would be appropriate for me to add anything here.
Summary
There are many ways to practice magick, and this chapter dealt with two of my favorites; candle and color. When used properly these simple tools can lead to great magickal success.
Writing Assignments
1. Describe what each color's magickal properties are. (Hint, this would be a good time to type this up and print it out for your book)
2. Pick one of the forms of magick discussed in this chapter that you want to incorporate into your magickal life, and describe why you choose it, how you feel it will enhance your life, and how you plan to use it.
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