Tag Archives: sacred places

Spells For Travelers- A half finished system

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I get the sense that with my writing on here, I am tending to come across as having much more of an idea what I am talking about than I really do.
My actual practice is really quite a wild mush of trying things out. Picking up new activities, dropping old ones.

Early next year I am setting off to explore Europe and possibly the rest of the world. As such I am in the process of putting together a system of protective travel sorcery that I can carry with me/perform on the road.
So to give you good folks a more rounded view of my practice I am going to post now what I have come up with so far in my research.

And will post again a more polished version of the system in a few months when I have put everything into practice.
I personally find the exploring new ideas, and trying new techniques to be at least half the fun of the whole magical operation!

Carrying the Gods with me
So my first line of defense is simply that of holy protection. I have the benefit of practically all the gods I work with having travel connotations!
I will be making offerings and saying prayers before I leave and at various times during my travels, as well as carrying tiny statues, or representations of Them.

Archangles
As far as I have found so far Raphael seems to be the Archangel to go to with matters of travel.
BUT I quite like the idea of invoking a bunch of them and asking each to protect from their given direction.
Will have to mull over which way to go, or if I do both perhaps?

Psalm  121
A prayer from the good book.
This psalm apparently has a long history of use in the tradition of using psalms as spells.

Commit to memory and use as a spoken spell when feeling threatened? Or perhaps write down and carry as a written spell.

Swallow’s Blood
Swallow’s blood (a magical recipe, no bird killing) is said to comfort and protect travelers.

Dragon’s Blood
Red sandalwood
Rose petals
Jasmine
Orrisroot

Dry and powder the above botanicals and use to fumigate travel clothes, bag, self, and any travel charms.
My main issue with this one is that red sandalwood is endangered- I am thinking of using paprika as a substitute as it has similar colour and properties.

Garlic and Mirror
There is a spell where you simply rub a garlic clove onto a small mirror and place it under your bed.
This one I am a bit on the fence about. Maybe if I take a small travel mirror, I could use this technique to charge it up every now and then.

Compass Rune

Compass Rune

I don’t know why this wasn’t the first thing I thought of when I started coming up with ideas for charms.
I’m aware enough of its historical ambiguity to not get it as a tat. But as a small “doodle”, somewhere on my bag, for instance. Gold!

Condition Oils
I will probably have to make simple versions of these when I get over there, as I can’t see customs being too please with bottles of oil and botanicals!

But I think a money oil, a protection oil, and a luck oil (van van?) would be the way to go. Could even mix them them all together into one little bottle after making the to save space and for ease of application.

Then simply anoint self daily or as needed. Could also be used on belongings and surroundings.

Working with the Spirits of Place
Here I am talking about invoking… the places you are traveling through? to be your guides and protectors.

So start big. I will begin with invoking europe as a whole. Then making offerings and asking  the blessings and aid of europe.
Then get smaller, invoke the country, then the region, then the city or town, then the specific building/park/whatever.

If the very land beneath your feet is on your side, then you are at a big advantage!

I would suggest visiting power sites as a way to deepen the connection with the land. Also make offerings to the nature/land spirits, spirits of the roads and crossroads, and any wandering spirits in the land.
Basically get everyone on side!

Eyes
Eyes are great, paint them on your bag, hang them off it as charms, doodle them on your skin.

Eyes everywhere. Eyes to watch, Eyes to guard, Eyes to alert, Eyes to find.

Blessed Padlocks
I will be blessing my padlocks by the God of Thieves himself. A little engraving and a short prayer that all thieves be kept away, and all my belongings stay with me.

 

So that is my layered system of travel charms/spells/deals as far my research as gone so far. I will likely change a lot of things. Add in, take out, rethink.
I will also be creating a mundane protection system to compliment this sorcerous protection system. Cover as many bases as possible for ultimate safety!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greening up your Practice

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Very cool post over at Adventures in Animism on greening up your rituals/practice.

Some things Heather says in the post I don’t fully agree with, or think she takes maybe too far. Other things are exactly spot on. Either way her blog always makes me think! Being that ‘paganish-ness’ is basically the only thing I have in common with her, her blog really helps me look at things from a strongly different world view!

Is ‘being green’ a big part of your practice? After reading the post from the above link are there any parts of your practice that you feel you should rethink or change?

Or do you have any ideas for other ways of greening up ones practice?

The city is holy too!

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As I was walking from my bus stop to work today, I happened to walk through the park. I tried to focus on being fully in my body and so have a small spiritual experience.
But as I left the park and entered the busy streets of the city that surround it, I noticed my spiritual awareness shifting back to “everyday mode”.

This annoyed me somewhat as I do not see the city as a place where the sacred cannot live. I have realised that this is because many sects of paganism have a strong “nature good, city bad” mind set.

This is a mistake.

Nature is amazing and huge, and awe inspiring. But so are cities.
A beavers dam is a created thing, yet we still call it natural. So why does the thing created by man become unnatural?
Just look at the many wonders that surround us in this modern world! How can these giant things, that we have found a way to create, be anything but awe inspiring?

Any pagan will be the first to tell you that the gods are both kind and cruel. That nature will as easily kill you as care for you.
What they never seem to realise is that the same can be said of the modern world and technology! Or they realise it in their minds, but ever seem to carry an emotional repulsion of the “evil modern world”.
Sure with all our scientific advances we seem to be doing an amazing job of screwing up the planet. But, for instance, no one sane is going to complain about the medical miracles that used to be unthought of.

It seems foolish to me to complain of the negative areas of technology, while exulting our gods for being both always kind and always cruel.

The gods have not been banished to the dewy meadows and pretty glades- though they can be found there.

They live also in the crush of the crowd, the dazzling lights, and the concrete labyrinths of our cities.