Preparation for working Magick during Sabbats and Esbats.

For some people, Sabbats and Esbats are simply occasions to hold rituals to honour the Goddesses and Gods. This is true, but for most witches, these are also times to work magick. The Craft is all about working magick, and these special occasions are full of energy to intensify the outcome.

However, the work we do in preparation for spells and rituals is often more important than the spell or ritual itself. Magick is really intention that becomes manifest. The more intention you put into your craft, the more magick you can manifest.

If a witch simply buys a book and reads a spell out of it, the magickal outcome will be limited. However, if that same witch were to take the spell from the book, study the words of the spell and their meanings in depth, personalize the spell and create a ritual with the appropriate correspondences to reinforce the intention, then the spell would be much more powerful. That is because every action in preparation of the spell increases the intention.

The universe is always listening to you. As you prepare for your magickal work, the universe is studying your thought and actions. The more the universe sees you focusing on a goal, the more the universe wants to help you accomplish it.
Our spells and rituals sit on the foundations of our efforts and intentions.

Personally, I like to visualize preparation for working magick as taking a spiritual hike. You can take a path that someone else created up a small hill and when you get to the top of the hill you will feel a small sense of accomplishment. However, if you prepare and plan for months to climb a mountain that nobody else has ever climbed, when you get to the top you will not only have a sense of accomplishment, your efforts will have changed history.  The universe sees and supports those efforts.

A commonly understood concept in the witch community is the Witch’s Pyramid. It speaks to the four fundamental stages of working Magick: to know, to dare, to will and to be silent. You will note that the first stage is to know. If we are to be successful in magick (and not have it backfire on us) it is important that we know what we are doing.

To Know
If you want a spell to work correctly and powerfully, learn as much as you are able to and apply this knowledge to your daily life. Seek truth in all things and keep an open mind. Be prepared to listen to other perspectives, read other perspectives and challenge your own beliefs. We are all learning and the more we learn the more we can do.

If you are new to the craft, be patient with the learning stage. Nobody would think it wise to hand over complete control of the household finances to an infant. However, as that child grows and learns they gain skills. Over the years they will learn to read, and do math. They will gradually take on more responsibility, maybe they will have an allowance, or a part time job. They will start taking on obligations and eventually they will have a home where they are responsible for the finances. 

Preparing for magick is similar. I would never encourage a new witch to just jump into complicated spell work. Take your time to learn the fundamentals and work your way up. You will get there.

Once you have studied and prepared, it’s time to DARE… more on that in the next blog post...