Witch Balls: Holders of intention

Briefs and Brooms usually focuses on justice, and often that means looking at the ugliness that shows us there is a need for justice. It is easy for me to forget that magik can be . . . magical!

Witch balls allow focusing energy and intention. The round globe is continuous and a perfect container for long-term vision. Hanging in a window, the ball shows off beautiful selections of herbs or other materials and emits beautiful scents as the sun's warmth come through . . . a reminder of intentions set yesterday or months ago!

My first three witch balls were made on a whim. I had three globes from a chandelier. A little research refreshed my memory on the use of witch balls. One ended up packed down with herbs for protection, one with general prosperity herbs, and one with fun reminders of a friend who moved away (herbs associated with her ancestral path). They hang in my window today, and are a focal point--spurring discussion about my craft.

Later, I made a witch ball as part of a course. This ball incorporated a piece of money (prosperity), a charm, a written intention, and herbs. The ball was smaller and more portable, of the "Christmas" variety. Today, its lavender scent encourages me as I write and plan.

This weekend, I introduced witch balls to a new crowd--planning to take this modality on the road to a party, I realized it would be attended by children. I packed down a supply of beads, sparkles, and fun supplies for kids. The results were amazing as the kids dug in, eager to exhibit their creativity. I told them to pack the balls with things that made them feel happy--and they did!

One packed her ball to the brim--it was so heavy, I had to design a reinforced holder rather than relying on string:

Larger charms that didn't fit inside the balls were tied to the outside!

True to my heart, several chose purples for their balls--here, two bffs made nearly-matching balls:

Stickers can further embellish the exterior of the balls!

The flurry of hands as the kids worked was amazing; they thought of new ideas and reached for new colors and shapes more quickly than I could replenish supplies!:

Beads, glitter (the big kind, so the parents wouldn't kill me), ribbon, stickers . . . .

Making a witch ball is easy and can be fun and profound. 

On my own, I begin with gathering some of my favorite materials and setting an intention. I then add materials charged with my intention and, if possible, associated with the qualities I seek. Some of my favorite herbs are listed here.

Fun add-ins include essential oils like bergamot for attraction or lavender for cooling out. These can add to the scent and intention of the herbs. Written intentions (in corresponding colored ink or on corresponding papers) can add to focus. I even have one ball that includes a folded piece of money--for prosperity! 

Although making the ball can be meaningful when done alone, it is fun is groups (as the above pictures prove). If you would like to "Witch and Wine"--making witch balls or other crafty tools in a group, contact me via personal message.

For those who are more solitary, here's a partial list of supplies to get you started (wine not included!):

Balls or shapes (try fun shapes or designs!):

Don't forget fun fillers and add-ins!:





Nice scents enhance the balls (be sure to leave the top unsealed or otherwise provide ventilation):
Don't forget pretty ribbon or string to hang the ball!:

Spelled Success!

Spells are tricky! It can be hard to see the work being done, the desired outcome, and timing as outcomes of magik. Often, the spell is cast and an outcome may take weeks or months to manifest--sometimes by design, sometimes because our timing is not the same as the universe's timing.

This past week though, I got to see a spell come through perfectly . . . on time, unexpected, and as requested. If drive-through windows at fast-food restaurants were as efficient as the universe was this past week, they wouldn't need those spaces for people to pull off and wait for orders! In my case, my fries were hot, fresh, and perfectly golden.

The spell was cast on August 21, the solar eclipse, with the intention of bringing truth to light. The supplies and incantations are set forth here.

In less than two weeks, a person who slandered me, the target of the spell, retired. The joy was complete and immediate, with friends making such dramatic declarationa] as that the person "can't hurt you anymore."

In gratitude, I provided Hekate and the other gods on my altar) with some apple and a lit white candle.

This is, or is very close to, the statue of the goddess on my altar:




I cannot find an image of the apple I use, but an apple cut in half horizontally will reveal a pentagram inside.

I keep a small, hollow wooden apple--something like this one:



Hekate (and other gods and goddesses) are always at work! Magik is one way of communicating with them . . . and they do answer!

Vegan Chicken Foot Correspondence

What's a vegan witch to do when the spell calls for chicken's foot?

Well, I'm cursing a human, not a chicken. So, I went for human feet! The real thing isn't super legal and can really inconvenience the donor, so I went with this:



Watch this space for the actual curse! It's a doozy!

(If you click on the link above, I get a bunch of money.)

Solar Eclipse Magik - See the Light Spell

Old diagram of a solar and lunar eclipse from a French text.

Even the most mundane people have become fascinated with the August 2017 solar eclipse--it is a spectacle in terms of infrequency alone.

In my own magickal system, I have decided that the rarity of the solar eclipse corresponds with the rarity of justice. Bad law can take a long time to undo. In 1857, the Supreme Court approved segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson. The case was overturned in, arguably, 1954, with Brown v. Board. Anyone familiar with the planet from which we will be viewing the eclipse knows that the civil rights cases are largely a dead letter in 2017, but Brown still has symbolic value in overturning Plessy and perhaps providing a goalpost of decisional thought to which the courts will one day choose to return.

It took nearly 100 years for the second of these two seminal cases to overturn the first, and the current solar eclipse is the first of its kind for nearly 100 years. NASA has a good (if ethnocentric) overview of historical events around past eclipses along the "track" of the coming eclipse: NASA Eclipse History, The changes between the last eclipse and this have been . . . astronomical. 

I have decided to incorporate this rarity and the view of an eclipse as a full year in a short time to complete a work calling for an unusual circumstance: for a public figure to take back a public attack on me. However, you could do work for a positive outcome in a difficult pending case, for an enemy to relent, or for a complete reversal of power and fortunes.

Here are materials for a similar working, if you want to bring about a similar transformation.

Ingredients:

Dolly - I am using a corncob one similar to that pictured in the successful Shut Up and Scratch Spell here. By luck, I stored my corncob a bit too well and it is turning rancid from having moisture locked in--which coincides with the rancidity I feel currently affects my target and needs to be removed. You can make your own, purchase one for magik,

or even buy an inexpensive fashion doll as advocated by Dorothy Morrison in her wonderful (soon-to-be-reviewed here) book

Herbs - I have decided to make my own special blend that has worked in the past--very hot pepper (ghost pepper from my garden), black pepper, cumin (these will be applied around the tummy to inspire a feeling of discomfort and feet to inspire a feeling of needed action). I will first soak the belly down to the feet in commercial hot sauce. Then, I will use witch's salt (likely, my own blend of lavender and salt) around the mouth and head to inspire truth-telling

Candles - candles used in this spell will be all white, bringing truth and light where there has been slander 

Intention - my intention will be for the party to feel upset and discomfort, knowing the true horror of what he has done, until he is compelled to retract the statement. So mote it be

I am not a chanter, but some might find words they want to use. Utterly Wicked, above, has many good suggestions.

"I Saw the Light" is an old hymn written by Hank Williams, Sr.--no proponent or example of the changes we need in our world. However, my grandfather, a true fighter for justice and truth, often played and sang the song. May this eclipse cause the many bleak, vile forces prevailing today to see the light and change or be brought to light and repudiated, sent back to haunt the sad eras of history to which they belong.