Being a Wizard Means Having Patience

My magical training starts with a wonderful book, “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard,” by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. I’ve only been reading for a few weeks, but each time I turn the page I want to devour every tiny bit of information all at once. I want to do every exercise, find every magical tool he lists, and know everything already. Becoming a Wizard doesn’t work like that. In order for your mind to adjust to magical workings, the information needs to be digested slowly. I reached a point where I was completely exhausted from trying to take in too much at once and have since slowed down. I’m now reading a little more passively, only trying a few new things at a time. I started with trying to see people’s auras, and it took me a couple of days before I could see my boyfriend’s. I still have trouble seeing anyone else, but I hypothesize that’s because it’s awkward to stare at strangers long enough for my eyes to adjust. Over time, with practice, I’ll be able to instantly see anyone’s aura on demand. If you start to feel frustrated with your pace, take a deep breath and possibly a break. Maybe try moving onto another area of magic – there are so many! But never give up; have patience.

Being a Wizard Means Being an Eternal Student

My Magical Training

As part of my magical training, I’ve been writing in a paper journal nearly every single day, sometimes more than once. I recommend everyone to at least jot down the date, your mood, and the weather, if not a detailed account of your day. It’s helpful to know what’s happened in your past in order to interpret trends and therefore make positive changes in your life. However, that is another lesson for another day.

In this series, I will be sharing my notes about what Magic is, or what being a Wizard means. Almost every day I have a revelation, and I add this to my own personal definition. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me; I’m extremely interested in other’s ideas, which leads nicely into the topic of this article!

Being an Eternal Student

A Wizard (or Witch) never stops learning or taking in information. If you feel like you know everything there is to know about a subject, well, chances are you’re wrong, but you should move on to another one. I recently started embroidering because of my magical studies, even though as a kid I was directly opposed to anything in the nature of sewing. This coming Spring I plan on helping my mother in her garden to learn more about planting and the cycle of growth, even though as a kid I was even more directly opposed to dirt and bugs. After years of only knowing one subject fairly well (English, literature, writing – and I don’t claim to be an expert in any of those, much as I’d like to be), I’m finally branching out and asking the universe to impart new knowledge on me. Never stop expanding your mind!

Tarot 101 | Choosing A Deck

The First Lesson

Our first lesson is how to choose a Tarot deck – you can study as much as you want, but if you don’t have a deck in front of you, it’s rather difficult to put your study into practice. We’ll save the history of Tarot for a later lesson.

It isn’t easy, choosing a Tarot deck. There is an old wives tale spread by the almighty “They” that says your first deck should be given to you as a gift. Others go as far as saying a Tarot deck won’t work AT ALL unless it’s given to you. Personally, we don’t ascribe to either of these beliefs. A gift Tarot deck can have extra energies, especially if you are connected to the person who gifted them to you, but the real special connection should be to the cards themselves.

That Special Connection

NOTE: Tarot cards are a tool, not the vehicle of divination.

The deck commonly considered the standard and starter Tarot deck is the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.  It’s full of beautiful symbolism and is necessary to study for all those who plan to take Tarot seriously. If you’re out there just to have fun with this (like we are) then you don’t need to bother with the Rider-Waite. So which should you choose?

Like all tools in magic, it needs to feel right. We’ve both been through many Tarot decks before settling on the ones we use now (Sorcerers Tarot for Joey and Celtic Dragon Tarot for Rhiannon), and it’s possible that we may find ones later on that we connect to even more. Tarot is built on symbolism, and symbolism thrives only in the mind of the one interpreting it. Some of you may find great satisfaction in the Rider-Waite, but it is our own experience that a deck with your interests will be a lot easier to connect with.

We recommend you go to your local magical bookstore, or even Borders or Barnes & Nobles, and start looking through as many different sets of cards as you can. You can look online as well but it’s hard to find full decks to look through. Most stores that sell Tarot cards have display decks for your perusal.

Just remember that it’s most important you connect with the deck you choose. If the cards don’t speak to you when you pick them up, then it’s not likely you’re going to get much out of them when you’re first starting out.

If you already have a deck you want to start with, that’s fine. Buying Tarot cards you connect with is a commitment but feel free to change decks as you learn. You may see things in the cards of one deck you’d never see in another. Tarot decks, like human beings, have attitudes and temperaments and if you clash with the one you are working with, it can make learning how to read them REALLY difficult.

A Test Exercise

Here is something you can try if you’re looking at a deck and you’re not sure if it’s a fit for you. Joey has done this at Borders and at Pyramid Books in Salem, Massachusetts, many a time.

Take the deck in question and shuffle it a few times.  Have a simple query in mind while shuffling.  Ask the cards do describe you.  Once you are finished shuffling lay out three cards.

The first card should describe you as other people see you.

The second card should describe you as you see yourself.

The third card should describe something hidden about you.

When interpreting these cards don’t – I repeat, DON’T – use the book of definitions that comes with the deck. These are traditional interpretations for the cards, but we’ve found that they rarely have to do with reality. We’ll get more into how to interpret the cards in a later lesson. For now, we want you to look at the images in the cards and if they don’t fit your personality, or if they don’t describe anything about you, then they are probably not the right cards for you.

For this interpretation you want to look at the cards and let them tell you what they mean. What is your emotional reaction to the images in the cards? How do they feel to you? Do the images tell you a story? These are the most important things to look for when choosing Tarot cards. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t feel connected to any particular deck at first because it takes practice to let interpretations come to you naturally, but if you don’t start now, you’ll never get better! Good luck and we hope you find your perfect deck easily.

Home Cleansing

Cleansing your home is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family.  It doesn’t take much effort – it can be very involved if you want it to – and it’s the easiest form of magic.  Our homes are very often the physical representations of our current mindset, and magic depends on a clear mind.  In order to have a clear mind you have to have a clear space to work in.

I’m not going to tell you to set up an alter, light a candle, get smudging sage – or any other tool – for the purpose of cleansing your space.  I’ll have another article about magical tools and their uses soon.  All I want you to know right now is you don’t need any of them.  The tools I do mention in this article are entirely optional.  If the only thing you do is wander through your home willing it to be purified, then that is all it will take.  Tools are simply symbols.  Imagination enhancers.  Use the ones you like.  There are many tools for magic, because there are many different kinds of magical practitioners.

If this will be your first experience with magic, then I’m very much excited for you!  Magic is a wonderful way of expressing your creativity.  It is complimentary to any religion, for magic has no god(s), yet it is endorsed by all of them in one form or another.  Prayer is the most common form of magic in the United States.  Prayer is a petition to the universe (or whichever god you believe in) for assistance.

Growing up Catholic, I was introduced to a simple cleansing ritual very early on.  When you walk into a church, you dip your fingers into a small bowl of holy water and do the Sign of the Cross.  This little ritual is meant to cleanse the mind, heart, and soul of a believer before taking part in whatever ritual is planned in the church for the day.  Anyone can perform a cleansing ritual.  You need no special training, nor do you need to have ever practiced magic before.

Cleansing with water is very common, and it will be a tool in the cleansing ritual I describe below.  Again, if (for any reason) you cannot or choose not to use any of the tools I use – or even if you want to add a tool, because it helps you focus – that is fine.  More than fine, in fact, it’s encouraged.  Let’s move on to how to perform a cleansing.

A Cleansing Ritual – Preparation

For the ritual I’m describing here, all you “need” is:

• A small bowl
• A sprig of pine (or your favorite herb, tree, plant – or even your fingers!)
• Water (tap water is fine)
• Salt (table salt is fine)

Pour some water in the bowl and hold the salt in your hand.  Close your eyes and try to clear your mind.  Imagine a fiery glow surrounding you, the salt, and the bowl of water.  Sprinkle the salt into the water, and stir it into the water with the sprig of pine.  With that done, you’re ready to start the cleansing.

The Ritual

Carrying the bowl of salt water (holy water) and the sprig of pine, walk around your house and see in your mind all the negativity covering the walls, floors, and furniture.  I usually imagine them as great black splotches.  If you have a hard time “seeing” with your imagination, feel it!  Use any and all of your senses to imagine what the negativity is like around you.  Don’t be discouraged when you don’t sense the negativity in your home.  Especially if this is your first magical act.  There may not be any negativity in your space.  It’s highly unlikely that is the case…unless someone else has been nice enough to cleanse for you regularly.  You’ll get better at sensing the energies around you as you continue to practice magic.

Use the pine to sprinkle the water (lightly of course, you don’t want to ruin any of your nice things) all over your home.  As you do this, imagine the water hitting the negative energy and dissolving it.  Try not to miss any room in your house, but if you can only go into certain rooms, or others you live with don’t appreciate magic – keep it to yourself and the places you are allowed to go in your home.

Protecting You Home (Optional)

Once you’ve cleansed your home, the next thing you might want to do is put up some form of protection from negative energy coming back.  There is no way to completely stop negativity from creeping it’s way in.  You bring it in yourself with the stresses you carry, and others will bring it in as well.  Though, there is something you can do to stop it from coming in of it’s own volition.

Get a small white candle.  A tea candle is nice for this.  Light it, and walk around your house once more.  This time, imagine the light of the candle casting a shield everywhere in your home.  Let it cover the walls, floors, ceilings, and even all your possessions.  You don’t need to say anything while doing this or the cleansing, but if you feel so moved by all means let it out!

Be Thankful

Gratitude is one of the most important elements to all magic.  You’ll hear others talk about this element as Spirit.  Thankfulness is the heart of the universe.  It’s the power behind every act of creation, and essential in the working of successful magic.

After your ritual is complete, go to a solitary place in your home for a moment (it doesn’t have to be that long), and just say ‘thank you.”  You can meditate if you choose, or perform another magical ritual with your newly cleansed home.  The important thing here is to feel the gratitude.  Your home will thank you for making it a better place, why shouldn’t you thank the universe for giving you the power of your imagination to make your home more comfortable?

Also, have something to eat and drink after you are done the ritual.  Magic can be very draining – especially for those who haven’t practiced much of it.  Like all new activities, you’ll need rest and recuperation from any magical act you perform.

A Final Note

This cleansing ritual is just the beginning of a series of articles Rhiannon and I are titling “Practical Imagination.”  If you are new to magic, then you’ll find valuable advice here.  In this article we’ve only demonstrated a simple ritual, but haven’t given you much detail on magic and how it works.  As this series progresses we’ll get deeper into how magic works, and how you can use it to make your life a bit more like the fantasy stories we so love hearing.

For now, I wish you luck and much love.  If all goes according to plan, we’ll be posting at least one of these articles a week, so I’ll see you next time!