Warnings to the Wise

Because any actions you take of a spiritual or magickal nature can have such a large–and sometimes unexpected–effect on your life, I like to try to forewarn people.  In the future I will write more detailed articles on each of the items listed in this article.  For now, I’m just going to throw out highlights on subjects you should be aware of for both spiritual and magickal endeavors.

#1.  Meditation.
When some people first begin meditating, they do not realize they can separate their spirit from their physical body.
For those who find two of their three selves separated during meditation, the experience can cause a minor (or major) freak out session.  Even if it only happens for the span of a heart beat–freak out city!
Then, there are those who do not protect their spirit (and body) from coming into contact with unwanted entities that exist in the non-corporeal realm.  Again, not a pleasant experience if this were to happen to you and you weren’t expecting it (and had not protected yourself from it).
*  The average person probably doesn’t have to worry about this event happening to them.  Very few people are strong enough–on an energetic level–to spontaneously separate spirit from body during a meditation without intentionally trying to do so.  However, suppose you are one of those “few” and just didn’t know it?  So, always, always, always be aware and in control of where your spirit is drifting off to during meditation.  Protect yourself spiritually.

#2.  Before you try to perform any ritual, know how to protect yourself.
Magick works! 
When you perform rituals (aka: spells), you are using physical tools to guide and redirect the non-physical flow of energy; to cause a shift of something in the physical realm.
*  In a sense, anyone who performs rituals is partially entering the spiritual realm.
*  The “wall” that separates our physical world from the spiritual world is kinda thin.  You perform a ritual and you are creating an opening in that wall.  The opening allows all kinds of nasty little entities to come through into the physical realm.  Those lil evil spirits will then attach themselves to you and begin to redirect your life in negative ways you never thought possible!  So first order of business before attempting to cast any ritual, know how to create a protective circle and know how to dismantle that circle!!!

#3. There are all kinds of “quick spell kits” available for people to buy these days.
If you were wanting to lose weight and I handed you a pill and said, “here. Take it.  It will make you lose weight no matter what you eat!”  You don’t know what is in the pill, what the side effects are, and you only have my word that it is just going to make you lose weight.  Would you swallow the pill?
Quick spell kits are like that.  Everyone wants a quick fix.  Cool.  Why take a cross-country trip in a horse and buggy if a private jet is available, yeah?  So, I understand the inclination to grab that quick fix.  But…if you do not have the knowledge to understand what you’re doing and you just follow the short directions included in the quick spell kit?  There may just be some side effects you do not want to deal with.  And, if you do not understand your role before, during, and after a ritual, there is a better than average chance the outcome will be the opposite of what you were wanting to achieve!

#4. The spoken Word is extremely Powerful!
The words you speak help to create your life and life experiences.  The words others speak about you also help to create your life.  When it comes to performing a ritual, the specific words you use during that ritual are of the utmost importance.
It is important to understand and be aware of how the words you speak on a daily basis as you go about your life have a very powerful effect on what you do and do receive in life and, on the outcome of any rituals you may perform.

I am constantly coming into contact with people who “speak into existence” that which they do not want for themselves (and others).  My left eyelid practically starts twitching with the need to make them aware of what they are doing.
Here are examples that either you yourself say or you hear others say, on a regular basis:
* “I can’t lose weight.  Nothing I try works!”  (and your cute lil chunky butt could be given the Holy Grail of diet pills & guess what?  You would not lose one single ounce!)
* “I hate my job.  I need a new job! I hate coming here!”  (And at some point you are going to lose that job!  If you haven’t prepared, you’re going to be freaked out when it happens!)
* “He’s cheating on me.  I know he’s cheating on me!”  (and…guess what?  Even if he’s not cheating now, you keep making these statements and it is going to happen!)
Just in reading the former three examples I’ll bet you can pull up memories and find where you complained (or worried) out loud about something and then later that exact thing happened.   So stop now.  Retrain your mouth before you create anything else you do not want.
Now.  How does the aforementioned warning relate to performing rituals?  Well, when performing rituals you are told to use well-thought out, specific wording.  The reason for this is because the words you will be speaking are going to be helping to direct the energy you will be gathering and building upon during the ritual.  Your words will become a command; an order for energy to travel in a specific direction.  The direction the energy travels will create the change you will later see in real life.  If you are not clear and specific in your directions, the outcome of your ritual will be wonky.
Additionally, if you are specific in your wording during the ritual but then you later make statements that negate the order you gave during your ritual?  You have just sabotaged your ritual efforts and possibly created the opposite outcome.  In which case,  you would have just been better off had you never performed the ritual.
*** Last but extremely important warning here: Never, ever, ever talk about your ritual with ANYONE.  Like, no one.  I seriously cannot stress this warning enough.

#5.  Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe.
You can use whatever word/wording you want–Energy work, Candle work, Visualization using incense and candles, Ritual, Spell, yada, yada.  I think I’ve pretty much heard every term and description there is.  Call it whatever you’d like to call it but let’s take the tuxedo off of the pig here, shall we?
When a person focuses their energy, visualizes, stares at a candle flame and projects energy outward….they are doing a ritual, aka: a spell!  Speaking only for myself, I use the Olde name–ritual. This term just feels right to me.  However, I do know I am performing what most people would term as a ‘spell.’ 

The people I’m addressing here are the ones who would tell me, “Well, I haven’t done any spell work, but…I have been doing some energy work on him…”.  And when I hear this, my response is, “uh-huh…sister, you call it what you want, but that’s a spell.  You can dress a pig up in a tuxedo and pretend it’s not a pig but, when that pig gets nekked, it’s still gonna be a pig!” (I’ve lived in the South too long.  Can you tell?)
So, if you are the type of person who has issues with another person who ‘performs spells,’ then you have absolutely no business doing any kind of energy work, candle work, visualization work, or whatever other term you may try to use to avoid owning the fact that you are doing a spell!

#6.  Using a ritual to force another person to do __________.
It is becoming more and more popular to either perform a ritual or have someone else perform a ritual in order to make someone else do something.
* May I first say: Karma.  She’s a bitch.  She is a BIG bitch! Whenever a ritual is performed for the specific purpose of forcing another person to do something you want them to do, you are messing with their Free Will.  If that person did not, in some way, give you permission to mess with their free will?  Well, as Boss Hogg was known for saying, “there is gonna be consequences and repercussions.”
* Second, you are energetically tying yourself to that particular person and their Fate–their Life Path–for this life (and maybe, the next Incarnation, as well!).  So months or years down the road, what happens if you either want to sever ties with this person or they severed ties with you?  Do you know that you will still feel tied to them; even after they are no longer physically part of your life?   YOU will be unable to “move on” as the other person does.  Why?  Because you tied yourself to him/her in a much more serious way than a mere marriage certificate.  You tied your spirit to theirs.  Unless undone with another ritual (that you better pray works!), you could be tied to that person for years, and yes, even decades.
* Third, if your ritual is for romantic purposes, do you really want a man (or woman) that you have to force to be with you?  And if you are of the mindset of “yes because if he/she will just be with me, they will fall in love and want to be with me on their own.”  Okay.  Now.  Come back to reality.  If one goes to the extent of forcing another to their Will through rituals, then one is also prone to excessive worry, doubts, negative thinking, and insecurity.  So saying:  you may be able to be with that person via that ritual, but will you ever have any peace of mind?  Will you ever feel secure with them?  If you believe your answer is yes, then cool.  On with the ritual!
* Fourth:  a little known fact.  It is something that people who have knowledge and experience in casting rituals know but most of the people who pay to have rituals cast for them do not know–you can perform a ritual to make another person do something.  But the effect is not permanent.  The compulsion this other person feels will wear off.  So you have to keep doing the ritual, forever and ever, amen.  Plan on it.

Okay, I think that’s it for now.  But I reserve the right to add to the list whenever I happen to remember another warning (as I invariably will since I am so bad at remembering every thing I need to tell people all at one time!).