On the 29th of February I had the singular pleasure of casting a spell that I can only cast once every four years. The last time I cast this spell I did not offer it to clients but friends and family only. It changed all of our lives over the next four years so much that I desperately wanted to share the spell with as many clients as I could. The downside was that the spell is very involved and I could offer it to only a handful of clients.

Spells of this nature have incredible inherent power because the timing occurs infrequently. It adds an unprecedented amount of energy to the working that is simply not available at other times. I have a small selection of spells like this - usually ones that can be cast once per year. I do have several spells however that I have never offered to the public which I call Millennial Spells.

Since the start of the millennium there have been specific days of incredible power - 01-01-01, 02-02-02, 03-03-03 and so forth. These dates will not be repeated in exactly the same fashion until 1000 years has passed and the dates read the same, only it will be 3001, 3002, etc. My decision to offer the spells I have for these particular dates was fostered by my mother who suggested that instead of keeping such magicks close to the vest that I open it up to giving as much of it as I could to as many as I could.

This requires a leap of faith for me because spells on such dates are extremely fatiguing if I do the working for more than a few clients (or friends and family). I don’t know yet how I will work this out - there must be a way to channel as much energy as possible without draining myself into sickness. This is a very real concern which is why I often have limits on how many clients I can offer a spell to.

After the Leap Year Spell it took several days for me to recover. I was completely exhausted. The spell was about 8 hours long, very time intensive (for one single spell) and required me crafting items for the results during the spell. When it was complete; the fire was smoldering in the fire pit, just embers and I watched a cloud covered sunrise. I was depleted and yet felt an incredible sense of peace at having completed such powerful energy work on that special day.

Stay tuned to hear more about my first publicly offered Millennial Spell which will be cast on 08-08-08.

Yesterday was the New Moon. I celebrate every moon phase since that is when I do my casting. I dedicate each casting to the Goddess and feel her presence with me as I do so. Right now I have needed her more than usual.

This New Moon for me was about more than just casting spells. For me it was about recognizing the fact that my old life is gone and a new life awaits. I’m not ready just yet to accept this of course - it is still too early and grief is still too fresh. Yet at least I know that at the end of all this darkness there will be light.

I have been working on my Altar Room for months now. I have been doing rituals mainly outside while getting all the altars set up in that room. Over the holidays I had to use the room for gifts etc, so I put a hold on completing it. Now the room holds many of my husband’s belonging including his guitar which I simply cannot bear to touch or take-out of the case. For now the rituals must be done outside then which suits me fine since sometimes I can hardly breathe when I am in the house.

When I cast spells I go “between the worlds” and right now this is a very good place to be. I already feel such a sense of unreality as it is but to go to a place that is neither here nor there is a great comfort to me. “Between the worlds” there is no sense of time or place. Often I don’t even remember too much of what went on during the time I was there but I will notice immediately that many hours have passed and everything I needed to do is accomplished.

Lucy has been adding her energy to the work I do in the house before I go outside to cast. She is not an especially curious cat (which is good since right now I have witchy things all around the house!) but she likes to see what I am doing and will sit patiently with eyes the size of saucers watching me in my crafting.

Occasionally she will stretch out a paw while I am doing calligraphy or mixing oils and powders, just to let me know that she is interested and as a witches cat she is happy to offer her energy to whatever I am doing.

I had many firsts the last couple of days since all the heartbreak and tragedy. I was able to travel. I was able to go to a restaurant. I was able to see my father too; who came to visit with his wife. I spent some time alone with him which was  precious to me. It was the first time I had been alone with him in 17 years. I wish I could see him like that every week.

Magick keeps happening. Thank Goddess! The magick of my new little kitty; the magick of such wonderful caring clients, friends and family and the magick of being able to go on.

I’ve been doing this spell for over a dozen years.

Traditionally I begin the spell by gathering the items needed and then sit quietly in meditation before I cast. Sometimes I have my family around for the spell, other times I do it myself.

I get out my ceremonial cauldron(that is the BIG one!) and light a nice low fire in it. This is where I will burn the envelope and results from last year’s spell. I add some of the sacred herb mix (a combination of herbs unique to China), burn some special Chinese incense and enjoy the fire for a bit with a cup of strong Chinese black tea.

I then burn the results, which alight quickly and leave nothing but a trace of ash on the wood. I take out the ash at the end after the fire has cooled and blow it to the winds.

Once this is complete I move back to the altar room to finish the preparation for the new spell.

I copy the Chinese characters that are used on aged parchment using a Chinese calligraphy brush and red ink. I add a special “chop”(my chop is a Chinese antique that was sent to me by a friend in China, it is made of jade) to the outside of the brightly colored envelope and write the names of those who are participating in the spell. The spell is then cast and the results are sealed and placed above the entrance to my home where they will stay for one year.

I’ve had clients who have purchased this spell every single year that I have offered it and they tell me that since they have been using the spell things have gone better for them than any other time in their life.

The Good Fortune spell certainly doesn’t prevent bad things from happening. Bad things will happen, that is yin and yang and there is nothing to counter that. However the Chinese believe strongly in getting as much good fortune on your side to counter-balance the bad things that occur in everyday life. So something unfortunate may happen but the Chinese believe that as long as you have specific elements to keep good fortune in your life, ultimately you will be ok and much better off with their protection and assistance.

I completely agree and know that since I have incorporated more Chinese Magick into my life and used feng shui; it really has made a difference. It won’t stop you from getting sick or from someone you love dying, but it will help you to heal faster and to cope better with your greif. We all need that kind of assurance.

Plus the upside is that it does actually open the door to opportunities that you may have missed and that allows good fortune to settle in and make a home with you. A year is a long time for a spell to continually work its magick but this is a very ancient and special spell and I am proud to be able to cast it for family, friends and clients.

Today is the full moon.

Yesterday was Friday the 13th a day notorious for Bad Luck. Now this is especially if you are a Knights Templar since this was the day the edict passed from the Pope to have them all arrested and hanged or burned at the stake. So definitely not a good day for them. But the rest of us? Especially witches?

Since 13 is an important number for us, Friday the 13th has always been a very fortunate day. For this reason I looked long and hard to find a great luck spell to offer that would be cast on Friday the 13th and would be good until the NEXT Friday the 13th (which is about a year away). I found the perfect spell and offered it to my clients and last night had a wonderful casting that created the charms that are the most important part of the spell.

However yesterday it came to my attention that perhaps I had been a Knights Templar in a past life because from the moment I awoke yesterday everything seemed to be going undeniably WRONG!

I had issues with a close friend on the phone that left me sad. Then I discovered from one of my clients that some fly by night charlatan had ripped off entire portions of magickrituals.com and posted them as their own site. It can difficult to manage your copyrights and trademarks but I cannot abide infringement and will always police my materials to the fullest extent. Still it is utterly disheartening to discover that you have been infringed upon.

There were still more “unlucky” occurrences; that ended with my site’s host being offline for a number of hours last night. What a day this had been for me. I didn’t want to leave the house!

And then, as if by magick - things suddenly revealed themselves to be luckier than I expected.

The issue with my friend was actually a load of my mind. I felt lighter and happier and more at peace. Another problem turned out to be a great blessing in disguise. Even the copyright infringement was positive in that it made me realize how much more diligent I need to be. It also made me feel very good that I have such wonderful clients who look out for me!

Finally even though my sites were down they are back-up now and on much faster servers so that is a good thing too. Ultimately Friday the 13th turned out to be a great day for me!

Perhaps luck is ultimately a matter of perception?

I don’t know for sure but until the next Friday the 13th I will be holding my little charm very tight!

To me it is almost humorous, but you would not believe how many people email me and ask me if I am REAL. Of course I know I am REAL in the sense that I am sitting here typing these words on a keyboard or that two nights ago I was standing in my circle casting spells or even this morning when I poured myself a cup of herbal tea from herbs I had grown myself. Of course I am REAL!

Unfortunately this is part of the game in a world that is filled with charlatans and con-artists. I have to work extra hard to PROVE my REAL-NESS.

It is very difficult for charlatans to prove that they are real. They conceal their true identities on whois; they use stock photos of people and pretend they are the spellcasters; they make up back-stories or steal them from legitimate psychics or spellcasters (big note here: PSYCHICS DO NOT CAST SPELLS! Only witches cast spells!) and these are just the most glaring examples.

There is a different kind of spellcaster who is also not a REAL witch. I am sure you have seen these sites where it actually is a real person and they are selling their spells for $20 and they promise the world and more for this price. They may even mean well but it is unlikely that they are really casting spells. Trust me - to cast a spell for $20 is like losing money - that is if you actually cast the spell.

Casting spells is exhausting work. It takes a great deal of time and it drains energy from you so much that it often takes me a couple of days after casting to recover. To do this for only $20 would be like torturing yourself for nothing. And how effective will this spell be if the only worth to the caster themself is only $20? Consider this seriously before you go to a junior-grade witch who does not even value their own services.

So who is REAL?

There are several I know for certain for I have communicated with them directly, know them in person or have worked with them. Most of them do not offer spell services however, they just sell products for witches and shamans. But they are out there these REAL witches.

Here are some tips to tell if your witch (or spellcaster is REAL):

• Check the domain to see who it is registered to. Domains registered to an actual human being and not hidden by a proxy could mean there is a REAL person behind this. People who have nothing to hide do not mind using their true information when registering a domain name.
• Don’t waste your time going to so-called “review” forums or boards - these are actually owned by the con-artists themselves though they often let people post some real details to give it legitimacy. There are better ways to determine if your spellcaster is on the level.
• If your spellcaster uses a witch-name find out what their real name is. For instance, I was not born with the name Amita Dragonspell. And it is very easy to discover my REAL name because I do not hide it.
• Once you find their real name then google them. It will tell you a lot if they are a REAL person.

I have other entries that tell you more about how to find a legitimate witch. I don’t give you this information because I want you to choose me (though you can’t go wrong since I am a REAL witch!) rather that I do not want you to be ripped off.

Now to be fair even a REAL witch has spells that fail. That is just part of the magickal universe. It is important to realize and understand that there are no guarantees in the natural world. Any one who offers you a guarantee for the spellcasting services or tells you that their success rate is 97 percent or some absurd percentage should be avoided. Magick is not a commidity that can be tracked into a percentage of success nor is it a product that can be guaranteed like a toaster.

I always use this adage to explain to my clients the nature of magick: magick is simply science that has not been proven. So as a witch I am similar to a Medical Doctor in my experience and services that I offer only my science is as yet unproven.

Like a Doctor you pay me for my expertise. Doctors go to school for many years to become Doctors. As a witch I have basically been in “school” learning mysteries and being educated in the use of herbs, oils, crystals, forms of divination, high magick and pagan belief systems for the past 20 years.

When you go to a Doctor you are hopeful that she has something in her expertise and background; a knowledge, that will help you to heal. She cannot guarantee your healing however. Nor can she allow you to pay her only if she can actually heal or cure you. That is just not the way it works.

A REAL witch will do her (or his) best for you. Like a caring Doctor we will do whatever we can within our expertise to help you. I have taken an oath as a witch but also as a Buddhist and these oaths are as important to me as every breath I take.

Investigate your witch and you will FIND the REAL ones stand out.

To me summer is the most magickal time of the year. People seem to move about as if they are in a dream. There is much communing with nature; going to the beach, having cook-outs, going on picnics, the kids playing outside until the fireflies are out. This is such a time to celebrate earthly pleasures. It is difficult to feel unhappy when there is so much beauty and magick around.

I try to stay positive even in the face of adversity and negativity. I focus on my Buddhist teachings and my relationship with the Goddess and ask for her help when I need it. My patron Goddess is Green Tara and when I need her I speak this mantra:

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha
pronounced: Aohm Tah-ray Too-tah-ray Tour-ray Swah-ha

Tara (whose name means “star” or “she who ferries across”) is the female Bodhisattva of compassion. In Tibetan, Tara is known as “Dölma” (Sgrol-ma), or “She Who Saves.” In particular she represents compassion in action, since she’s in the process of stepping from her lotus throne in order to help sentient beings.

Lately I’ve needed her quite a bit and have found myself saying her mantra during the day just to take comfort in the sacred sound that calls her. Often I also pray to her at the end of the day when I write in my journal. No matter what happens on the material plane I know that the blessing of the Goddess is with me.

Tara would love the summer and would welcome the magickal thinking that is inherent when we get close to nature.

How can you make the summer more magickal, even if you are not a witch or Goddess-worshipper?

Take off your shoes and let your bare feet feel the grass and earth. Be careful of fire ants though! We have those here in Florida!

Take a moonlight bath on the Full Moon. This does require being naked so make sure the neighbors are asleep! Bask in the moonlight - howl if you feel like it. This is good to do with an intimate partner, trust me! Being naked in the moonlight is quite primordial.

Remember that everything will be all right. No matter what happens, no matter how difficult the mundane world is, you are all right, you will be all right and you are loved. That is the most magickal thinking of all.

The Blue Moon approaches and it is deeply significant to your friendly neighborhood Suburban House-Witch. The last Blue Moon was two and half years ago and at that time I cast a very powerful Blue Moon only wish spell. I was simply stunned by the results that my clients and family had. We were so thrilled by it but were also a little disappointed in knowing that it would be nearly THREE YEARS before the spell would be cast again! Talk about waiting for the magick!

Well here we are on the cusp of that Blue Moon (which is actually two different astronomical occurences - a second Full Moon in a month as well as the 13th Full Moon in a cycle.) which is the second Full Moon in a month. I have many clients who are taking advantage of this super-charged wish spell.

http://www.magickrituals.com/bluemoonspell.html

However for those who have considered it and then decided not to participate I urge you to do so. This is one spell that I am even taking advantage of and I usually reserve all my spellcasting power for clients. I just cannot pass this up and really neither can you! This spell and perhaps maybe a dozen other time specific spells that I know of are the kind that no one should miss. It is like the fates are aligned for good fortune.

You get one wish. So you need to make it a good one. And it can’t be one of those multi-leveled wishes that rambles off into a thousand directions wishing for love, money, a Lexus, etc. It has to be a pure wish - right from the heart. It may take some practice to write the perfect wish. But once you get it - you will know it and then you are that much closer to your wish being granted.

I was watching CAMELOT several nights ago, thinking about how incredibly young Richard Harris was (and so handsome!) in 1967 (before I was even born) when Vanessa Redgrave playing Guenevere turned out one of the big song and dance numbers, “Lusty Month of May”.

To non-pagans, they would probably think it just had to do with it being Spring and there being an amourous spark in the air. Yet for pagans everywhere May is the month of Beltane; May is the month to celebrate lust, love and fertility, to dance around the maypole with flowers in our hair and stoke the Beltane bonfires on the night of Beltane Eve. For witches, the lusty month of May is a very real thing!

Truthfully it is more difficult to enjoy Beltane the way it should be enjoyed (with a partner of course) when one is practicing as a solitary, which is what I am doing at this point in my life. Though I do always have my pagan-centric family around; some of them are not often here on the high holidays.

The Wheel of the Year gives us eight sabbats all together, four major and four minor and it seems like every other month there is some kind of celebration. In my family we agreed to celebrate Midsummer, Yule and Beltane only as major holidays and to take the rest as ritual days instead.

Since it was only two of us this Beltane we kept it low-key. We had a lovely night ritual in the backyard with some candles that a friend of mine had created for us. Then we just sat quietly in the glow of the nearly Full Moon and talked about what this past year had brought us.

Tea heals everything and so we celebrated the Goddess each with a cup of tea. I could feel her love from the heavens above; feel her agreement with our choice to enjoy our quietude.

The next day was my Full Moon casting which lasts usually for three nights. It is as streamlined as humanly possible but still drains me of a great deal of energy. I am usually in recovery mode for days following and so this weekend I am laying low; only doing some readings and taking it easy.

I must recharge myself for this May is very special - it is the May of the Blue Moon which only occurs every two and half years. For me this outshines even Beltane for I know the power and joy that this particular moon brings. I am eager to see what incredible gifts this Blue Moon will bestow.

I hope you will join me!