Category: Articles
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Royal Stars and Watchtowers: The Astral Element of the Circle
In the magick circle, we have representation of the four elements, the sun, the moon, and the earth. But notably missing is the representation of the sky/stars. Or so I thought. While researching for another project, I came across the notion of the Royal Stars, an astrological and astronomical concept used by the ancient Persians…
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The Three Passwords: Gaining Admission to the Magick Circle
The passwords to the magick circle are seen in the Gardnerian first-degree initiation ritual, when the dedicant is challenged before entering the circle. When the dedicant answers with the two passwords they are given beforehand, Perfect Love and Perfect Trust, the priest (or priestess, depending on who is officiating the initiation) responds with a third…
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Wards: Protections and Suggestions
I first heard about wards in an epic fantasy novel by Melanie Rawn. She described wards as spells which were tied to a certain place and protected the area through magickal suggestion. Other people have argued with me on this view, saying that wards are protective spells that make people uncomfortable or repel them from…
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Circle/Wheel: A Crash Course in Circle Symbolism
I’ve quoted him before and I’ll quote him again. Author and teacher Ivo Dominguez Jr. remarked in his book Casting Sacred Space: The Core of All Magickal Work that “In its fullness, a Circle can contain a richness so complex that if all of Wicca were lost except for the way to cast a Circle, and…
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Paperback Grimoires: An Annotated Bibliography of Recommended Intermediate Books
Categories: ArticlesTags: reading listsPaganism is mainstream enough that there are books available on nearly every topic of interest in major bookstores. And if there isn’t a book available yet, someone’s probably writing it. That is great progress from fifteen years ago when I was seeking to advance my knowledge and become more than a beginner in the Craft.…