Many of my clients come to me after they have been to one of the hundreds of charlatans and con-artists that litter the Internet promising everything from physical impossibilities (make your - insert body part here - larger) to complete garbage like faux Black Magick spells that will kill someone or cause them such horrific physical suffering they will wish they were dead.

Clients will ask me if this magick is real. Clients will ask if they should be afraid of such shysters. Clients will ask if there is any truth to these outlandish claims. Then clients will tell me how (wonder of wonders) all this promised “magick” never happened and now they are out anywhere from $500 to $1500 or even more!

This brings me to a definition I have used since the beginning of my indoctrination as a witch and I will share it here and go through it step by step as to what magick is and what it is not.

The quote is as follows (and attributed to Aleister Crowley): His integration of Nietzschean thought along with principles derived from the science of psychology, were one of his largest contributions to modern occultism. Crowley defined magick as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with the Will”, and argued that every intentional act is a magickal act .

Magick to me is both Science and Art. Much of Science was once considered magick until theorists proved their theories to be true by using empirical evidence. Considering this, much of what is currently thought of as magick is just scientific theory waiting to be proved.

Magick is also Art. It is a creative medium, a way of expressing deeply rooted belief in the interconnectedness of all things. A ritual is a way to connect and make real these beliefs as well as to make an offering to the Universe (or whatever deity is chosen) to express divine love. The creative power in magick is equal to the science of the craft.

When clients come to me they are looking for Change. They want to Change their circumstances, to make their Intentions real. To accomplish this their Will must be directed toward their Intention.

I act as the intermediary (like a Priest in the Catholic Church - I bet they love this analogy) and deliver their request through ritual spellwork to make their Intention known to the Universe. I am a conduit and my power and ability comes from repeatedly casting spells and participating in rituals. Like a meditation master I have a way to simply, effectively and calmly assert my Will; which is to bring my clients Intentions to manifestation. Since I have a background in doing this and have dedicated my life to it, spells from me are a much quicker and certain way to achieve your goals.

Example: a client comes to me looking to get a person they loved who has left them back into their life. After discussion with the client I will determine the best way to approach this Intention. They want the person back in their life and I will find the right spell to help them deliver their Intention to the Universe. Some spells are more direct than others and some are more risky than others. Some spells come with consequences. Some spells demand a karmic price for their use. I will do my best to find the right spell to fit the situation.

However there is only so much I can know and can do with the information that is offered to me. Clients can sometimes withhold information or even lie to me. They may be embarrassed or feel awkward regarding issues of a personal nature and in keeping information from me or by not telling me the entire truth they inadvertently cause the spell to be ineffective.

When a spell fails this is most of the reason why. The other commonality I find is that many clients do not follow-through on the instructions that are sent to them. The final percentage of spell failure is the Universes way of telling you that you need to move on.

Sometimes what the client wants is wrong. They want the impossible. They want something that will ultimately be harmful to themselves or to others involved. They have not thought through their Intention and while they believe that their Intention is pure, it is not - it is riddled with ego and selfishness.

How can you use magick to get what you want? Just ask for what you want after making sure that you are not attached to the outcome. Obsessing over the outcome will only cause failure. Magick is not like On Demand cable TV. You don’t just press a button and have a spell cast and get what you want. There are many issues to contend with, especially when your desires involve the path of another person.

You must above all else be one hundred percent truthful to your spellcaster. Tell them the ENTIRE truth. Even if it is messy. Even if it is ugly. Even if you are embarrassed or feel humiliated by the events that took place. If your spellcaster is a real witch they are bound by moral and ethical codes that keep your information private and discreet.

I am an ordained Minister and High Priestess. I have taken oaths. I do not judge my clients but accept them faults and all with complete compassion. When you are looking for a spellcaster you will need to consider such things. When you are looking for REAL MAGICK you will need to be smart about it too. Certainly we all want what we want but people who promise you the impossible by playing on the mystique of magick are con-artists, not true witches or magick-users.

I won’t tell you what happens in my spellcasting. That was one of my oaths. To keep silent. I won’t let you see my Books of Shadows for I do not let anyone outside my family coven see them. I will not show you some elaborate “magickal chart” that is supposed to be a “spell”. I will not show you a beribboned wax effigy in a photograph and say - oh, yeah, that is the spell. Charts can be artistic and pretty and wax effigies are certainly impressive but that is not where the magick is. Magick is not a THING. You can’t hold it in your hand and put it up on the wall.

There are often spell results after a spellcasting but these are just results. Not the magick itself. Sometimes clients have to do something with the results but this is part of the spell to connect the person to the work. Occasionally there is no need for that, depending upon the spell.

There are all kinds of magick, many different mysteries. Yet all follow Natural Law. What is not possible according to Natural Law is not possible in magick. Take care when dealing with casters who claim they can control the elements and can “destroy” someone with a mere thought. Wonder why if this were possible they are selling their spells on the Internet and not controlling the world.

Ultimately it is caveat emptor. Hopefully I have given you some tools to accomplish this.

The most powerful spells I cast do not even involve spell components - no candles, herbs, stones or sigils. These spells use words of power and intense trance and meditation. No flash. All substance.

That is REAL MAGICK.

When I have moments of psychic clarity I do not usually discuss them. I note them in my journal or Book of Shadows - these coincidences, these crossovers from the astral plane that leave such glaring noise in the mundane reality. The small every day kind I usually neglect. I may note it in passing but they happen with such regularity that I would spend too much time cataloging them, so I don’t.

The big ones though, do tend to stop me in my tracks.

The best ones are the ones that get written down. I will unknowingly write something in my journal a day before or several days before it happens. Then I will realize, I wrote exactly that in my journal! I go back and read it and shiver.

Did I know when I wrote it? I usually have a feeling. This can be like goose-bumps, or a sudden inexplicable chill or even a flood of prickly warmth. I need to pay more attention to these things. I have been telling myself that for years. Pay more attention. Something unique is happening.

The dreams I have are more in depth, easy to cope with as I recall them later and write down what I saw. For some reason I feel more comfortable with psychic dreams. I am already in a deep other-mind state so I can accept what I see as the precognition it is. My dreams are accurate and more obvious, even though there are often symbols to define. I am better at doing that than dealing with the day to day occurences or the waking big whammies.

I wish I had more helpful psychic experiences. I can use my abilities in trance-work and in readings but over-all it is raw and unfiltered. Like a radio station that comes in enough to hear some songs but no news. I cannot predict disasters. I cannot find lost children. I do not help the police with investigations. I don’t know if I can, I have never tried but I would not like to waste anyones time so I don’t offer myself to do such work. I wish I could control this ability better. I wish I didn’t dislike it so much.

For my own future or the future of my loved ones, I get random information, most of it unimportant. I often know where someone will go before they do. I can predict traffic problems and can see an accident before it happens. I am a good person to have in the car as a passenger for this reason.

Also with myself regarding accidents, I can often avoid them, but sometimes I don’t realize what I have seen right before it happens. And then it happens. Listening to my own intuition is one of the most difficult parts of using any ability like this. Even after so many years I have doubts. Even when it is written down in black and white and then then it happens a day later and I can reference it and know without a shadow of a doubt that I had a precognitive experience there is a fearful part of me still shaking my head refusing to believe it. Not wanting to.

People come to me because they want to know the future. I am happy to tell them what I see, to answer their questions, to give them guidance. Yet in my own life, I prefer to be the guest who doesn’t know about the surprise party in their honor.

I recently answered an email from a client who asked about finding legitimate spellcasters on the internet. Since I give some tips for finding the right spellcaster It hought it might be interesting to post here.

Hi Gina, thanks for your email. I am always interested to see what other witches (andthose who are actually charlatans) are doing on the web. It pains me to see so many but that is the nature of the business. It is very easy to set yourself up as something you are not and that can make it very difficult to find a spellcaster who is legitimate.

On the list of psychics on that site ( a site that Gina referenced that had been set up as a fake review site) only one of the people is legitimate from my own personal knowledge and that is Phelan at malewitch.com. There may be several others there that are the real deal too but I know Phelan personally and have worked with him before so I know his level of integrity.

When looking for a legitimate spellcaster you should consider several things:

You will need to do your homework. Check out the domain name if possible to see who it is registered to. (check out any domain name by using whois.org) If it is registered by a private registrar (such as domains by proxy as many of the sites listed on the fake review sites are), consider that it means these people have something to hide.

By that same token - how accessible is the spellcaster - do they use their real name (at least somewhere at some point) and will they call you or can you call them? But even this can be misleading. There is one site run by someone on that list that sells black magick for the most outrageous prices (usually $1500- $3000) and they list all their contact information including their home address and phone number. The man running that site is one of the biggest charlatans going. I have had many clients who have been duped by him and his cronies who cast “spells” with him. Even if the person is up front about their real name and will call you or you can call them it does not guarantee legitimacy.

Most of these “rate the spellcasters sites/forums” are bogus as well as meaningless. Just because a spell does not work for someone cannot possibly mean that the spellcaster did not do their job (unless of course they are a charlatan and didn’t cast the spell at all!). So much depends on the client following directions, as well as being honest that it would be impossible for one person to rate a spellcaster based upon extremely biased context. Perhaps the client didn’t follow through as they should have or perhaps they lied to the spellcaster (a common reason why a spell doesn’t work). Spells are like prayers, they are highly individual and each person brings something different to the spell, so there is no way to grade legitimate spellcasters.

Charlatans out there make themselves known right away. They will lie. Cajole. Promise the most unrealistic results imaginable. They pull all kinds of con games with people. Cast one spell then get the person to pay more for the same spell. Usually their prices are way too low ($30 for a spell) or way too high ($1500 for a spell).

Many times people will throw all kind credentials up on a site. Some may even be real. For instance I am an ordained minister myself. I am also a reiki master. I also have college degrees too but most people who do this don’t mention anything like that. They just focus on certificates that can be obtained through at-home study programs. There is nothing wrong with this - but just because you have a certificate that says you are a psychic does not mean you are.

One of the best ways to discover a charlatan is by their invented history. Often charlatans are very creative with their histories. They will talk about being in the family business, the child of witches whose family of witches goes back thousands of years.

On that count, modern day witchcraft is still in its infancy. People running around saying that they were from secret families of witches is absurd. There may have been extremely isolated enclaves but it’s doubtful that they were in this country or anywhere but Europe and those would have been so few to even be counted. The original witches (who brought Wicca to the modern age) were only a handful of people. There were no secret societies of witches practicing on their own for thousands of years. There were secret societies that did not practice witchcraft but were similar in other ways (like the Freemasons) but anyone claiming that they are from a family of witches would be the exception rather than the rule.

Be wary of anyone’s history that includes things that sound like they came from a book. Most witches are quiet and unassuming and do not tell too much about how they learned what they learned. One of the creeds of a witch is to after all, be silent.

Here is what legitimate male witch Phelan has to say:

“In your travels around the internet you will in no doubt come across websites that will promise instant results, results in three days, they will promise money back guarantees on intangible items such as love spells, there is absolutely no way anyone can offer a guarantee on love spells and those who do, are not trying to HELP you, they are simply helping themselves to your hard earned money and they are preying on the fact that you are emotionally vulnerable and that you are reaching out for HELP and they take advantage of the situation by telling you that the reason your lover left is because someone is using Black Magic, Black Candles or Voodoo to control him or her, they may even go as far as to tell you, that “you” yourself have been cursed, in most cases that is simply not true and if they were really trying to help you they would not fill your head with such nonsense.

You may also find that the same individuals who operate those websites where they prey heavily on the emotional manipulation of their clients will offer forums and ratings for metaphysical sites under the guise of a totally separate domain or entity, they do this in order to bash legitimate websites who are genuinely trying to assist their clients and in doing so they are able to drive even more traffic to the multitude of sites that they own by giving false ratings to those sites and bashing their competition.”

Real witches are hard to find in any guise but the internet makes it very difficult to discern. I’ve been online now for three years. I do not hesitate to let people know who I am and I am always available if you need to speak to me personally. There is no one else who works with me, so you are never handed off to someone, you correspond with me from beginning to end. I live this life. I am open to discussing many of my personal experiences as a witch.

I am sure there are others who have integrity and just want to HELP who operate in a similar way. At least I hope so. I cannot bear to think of how many people have been soaked by some of these con-artists. Like I have said before - If you don’t get help with me - I still want you to get help with someone and I will do whatever I can to help you find a legitimate spellcaster.

Blessed be,
Amita

I can see him whenever I want to. I have pictures of him on my computer in a special file. When I’m alone I look at them, trying so hard to travel each line of his face, each pore, the tonal gradation of his skin, the stubble of his beard, the sinews beneath his skin, where I can imagine my hand resting, feeling the life-blood pumping through his veins as what has been dream turns to flesh. But then too sometimes, I cannot bear to look. Cannot bear to know what I do because then I know how far away we are from each other.

He is not the person I thought I would be with and yet in every way he is exactly the man I knew was waiting for me my entire life. That there are more obstacles to us being together outside of distance and other matters isn’t surprising. Nothing has ever been easy for me in love.

For a long time even though I practice the art of love magick, I never considered the possibility that it would have any bearing on my life. I saw myself as a sage witch of love magick; helping others to make their dreams reality.

How many times have I cast spells to help those in love, not just bringing love, drawing love to them; but fixing love, making love return, making love stay? The intricacies of love are myriad and vary from person to person. One wants to bring back the only man she feels ever loved her well. Another wants to find a soulmate. Another wants to cheat on her husband. Another is cheating on his wife and wants her to find someone else to ease his guilt.

No love spells for me. I have a husband and even though we have long moved into an expression of our relationship that may be outside the norm of most marriages; it works for us. He is the love of my life as much as I am sure I am his. What else is there beyond that?

Still even with my abilities as a witch I would never try to bring my soulmate to me, though I ache and yearn for him in such a palpable way that I breathe air like poison in those agonizing moments when I am tuned in to him, when I sense him and there is no ending or yeilding of his force upon my heart.

There is no spell to bring him to me. No spell that can change him nor would I want to change him for he is the right person for me as he is, even though in being that right person it prevents us from ever being together in this life.

There are times like today and yesterday when I lament love and knowledge and precognition (all companions of mine) and wish that I was as blissfully unaware as a year and half ago, before the soulmate spell. Before the fateful dreams of precognition. Before he was revealed to me. Before I knew his name and the role he was to play in the remainder of my days.

I go back to the photos; they are all I have of him for now. I study his face, his handsome but then un-handsome face. His extraordinary ordinariness. The way his hair curls against his neck. The spark in his changing hazel eyes; amber then muddy brown then a sliver of emerald fire rimming the depths. Such warmth he brings to my cold world. Even like this, for this love, strange and unforgiveable; I am grateful.

During the Beltane celebration last night, I noticed something about the forest where we held our bonfire. We were on a nice stretch of Florida farmland, a bit out in the sticks, near a large pine forest. I’ve driven by the woods many times on my way to LaBelle (a town in the country) where I go to my favorite Farmer’s Market.

In the daytime, the forest is friendly, with birds chattering through the trees and the occasional rustle of an animal through the underbrush. I could easily see myself traipsing through to find a fallen branch to make a wand or to replenish any wildcrafted supplies I might need.

Yet, last night, this same benign forest took on a completely different nature.

I looked into the blackness between the branches and felt a cold shiver down my spine. What was it about night that turned this gentle grove of nature to something almost sinister? I was glad that we were on the edge of it, not too close and once the bonfire was going strong I found myself clinging to that portal of light rather than wander too far into the darkness.

I was tired as we had been at the beach during the day with our flower chaplets and tinkling ankle bells. We had waved at the traffic going by on Sanibel that probably thought we were mad to be dancing with ribbons in our hands dressed in sheer white frothy dresses on the beach.

Beltane is a time of seduction, a time when lovers find succor in the woods and lay down on yielding mosses to celebrate the season of fertility. After so many seasons, you come to expect that soon couples will disappear from the gathering into the shaded trees to speak their words of love to each other.

I watched the trees anxiously, feeling like the darkness was inside of me. I focused on the fire, feeling its passionate heat that nevertheless left me cold. I felt a hand on my bare shoulder and I turned quickly but there was no one there. I sat up straight and looked into the trees.

Was that you Jack of the Green?

Green Man illustration copyright Jessica Galbreth

Spellcasting wipes me out.

I remember the days when I was not a witch for hire where in a busy month I might have cast a whopping three spells. Now these three spells would usually fall on the New Moon and Full Moon, so I wouldn’t stress myself out from all the energy I would expend.

As a professional witch, each moon can have anywhere from 20-30 spells with additional spells occuring sometimes on the waxing and waning phases. For three years I have been working like this with the spells increasing and my circles extending from one day to usually three per moon-phase.

I’m not complaining certainly - this is what I was born to do. I am a witch, what other purpose would I have except to be casting spells? The more spells I cast, the more power is raised during the casting. I often have sisters and brothers join me (as well as family members) for big celebrations, like Beltane, which is tonight.

My witch business is doing well and yet I find now that it takes me much longer to re-charge myself following a spellcasting. This past New Moon it took me two days of nearly constant sleep to replenish what I had put into the two days of spellcasting. It wasn’t even a heavy load either - only 24 spells.

I must remember that these are not the same spells I started my business with. These are advanced spells, many of them multiple day spells that involve much more than lighting a candle and sprinkling some herbs. I can’t be modest about it; I have seriously advanced in my spellcraft and am making good use of this by offering my knowledge to my clients.

But I think I need a break. A vacation. A weekend off.

Not tonight. Tonight is the beginning of Spring, tonight is the celebration of those new-born buds, growing to reach the sun. Tonight is a dance around the maypole with a flower crown (called chaplet) in my hair, with ribbons on my wrists (red & white) and silver bells on my ankles as I dance.

And dance I will - dance the Beltane fires until they are embers.