The Witch’s Imagination
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Danae Moon Thorp, author of the new Becoming the Witch.
My book Becoming the Witch: The Art of Magick takes you to the origins of witchcraft and explains why spells work. It also takes you to the power of the imagination.
I have cast so many spells over the years, and I am always amazed by how something so simple can be so powerful. A spell enchants, embraces you in a type of faery glamour, and bestows a spiritual kiss that takes you out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. We all have a different idea of what the word “extraordinary” means. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as “unusual or remarkable.” I believe a spell takes you into the unusual and that the effect is remarkable.
During a spell you make contact with the invisible world: the realm of energy. To get there you often begin with the physical, items and symbols you can see, touch, smell, hear, and sometimes taste. This may change from spell to spell. Examples are the presence of the elements; candles; incense; water and salt; and tools of magick, like the wand, athame, chalice, and pentacle. Symbols, the written word, sound, and charms are also of the physical world. Like keys, these tangible items unlock another dimension where you weave divine energy around your intention—the purpose of the spell. This is where the invisible becomes very real to you, the witch.
So when you cast your circle, imbue it with vibrant energy. “See” the symbol as flickering flames or flowing water around you. When you light the candle, imagine the circle as well as your heart and mind illuminated. “See” the sun in the flame, imagine your intention as words, and then visualize the words in the rising incense smoke or give your wish to a “bird” to take to the sky gods. When you anoint your heart with water, imagine the moon rising above you, and when you sprinkle salt on a charm, feel “tree roots” from your feet moving into the earth below.
A witch is an artist. The four elements and your beautiful tools and charms unlock the imagination—the portal to the extraordinary. Through this portal you become as one with your invisible sacred world and a change within you will take place.
Our thanks to Danae for her guest post! For more from Danae Moon Thorp, read her article, “The Simple Beauty of Witchcraft.”
