The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book: Rituals, spells, and sacred objects for everyday magick

by Skye Alexander

Overview

What's the difference between white and black magick?

Will a spell really bring love into my life?

Can I practice Wicca without joining a coven?

The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book, 2nd Edition uncovers the fascinating history and allure of witchcraft, cutting through common misconceptions, myths, and stereotypes. This easy-to-read guide explains the real-life rituals, practices, and symbols of this ancient practice in everyday language.

Bestselling author Skye Alexander, a witch and long-time practitioner of magick, introduces you to everything you need to practice Wicca, including:

• Blessings, prayers, and meditations
• Coven rules and practices
• Kitchen witchery and hearth magick
• Journeying to other worlds
• Shapeshifting
• Magickal jewelry and stones

This step-by-step guide provides magick instructions for you to try at home. Learn how to use knots to release magickal energy, why witches value the kitchen and cauldron, and how to create magickal potions and charms. Discover this spiritual community and connect with your inner witch!

Skye Alexander is a witch, New Age enthusiast, and educator. Known worldwide, she was filmed for a Discovery Channel special performing a magick ritual at Stonehenge in 2001. Skye is the author of more than two dozen nonfiction and fiction books, including The Everything Tarot Book, 2nd Edition, The Everything Spells and Charms Book, 2nd Edition, The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need, and Naughty Spells, Nice Spells. She lives in Kerrville, TX.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781598694048
Publisher:	Adams Media
Publication date:	08/01/2008
Series:	Everything�
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Skye Alexander is the award-winning author of more than thirty fiction and nonfiction books, including Your Goddess Year, The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need, The Modern Guide to Witchcraft, The Modern Witchcraft Spell Book, The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire, The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot, and The Modern Witchcraft Book of Love Spells. Her stories have been published in anthologies internationally, and her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. The Discovery Channel featured her in the TV special, Secret Stonehenge, doing a ritual at Stonehenge. She divides her time between Texas and Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Top Ten Ways Wicca and Witchcraft Can Help You     x
Introduction     xi
And Harm None: Philosophy and Ideology     1
Which Is the Witch?     2
Different Strokes for Different Folks     6
Good Witch, Bad Witch     7
Immanence, Interconnectedness, and Community     9
Heaven and Earth     10
The Next Generation     13
Folklore and Superstitions     14
A Brief History of Magick and Witchcraft     17
The Old Religion     18
Witchcraft in Europe     19
Witchcraft Outlawed     21
Witchcraft in the New World     24
Witchcraft's Rebirth     26
Wicca and Witchcraft Today     29
The Divine Realm     31
One Deity or Many?     32
The Divine Feminine     35
Goddesses and Their Attributes     37
The Divine Masculine     40
Gods and Their Attributes     42
Honoring and Invoking Deities     44
Other Spiritual Entities     45
The Wheel of the Year     49
Samhain     50
Winter Solstice or Yule     51
Imbolc, Brigid's Day, orCandlemas     53
Spring Equinox or Ostara     54
Beltane     55
Summer Solstice or Midsummer     57
Lughnassadh or Lammas     57
Autumn Equinox or Mabon     59
Meditation and Visualization     61
What Is Meditation?     62
How to Meditate     65
Different Types of Meditation     69
The Importance of Meditation in Magick     70
Creative Visualization     70
Journeying to Other Worlds     73
Sacred Sounds: Prayers, Affirmations, and Incantations     75
Prayer     76
Prayers and Magick     79
Chanting     80
Chanting and Magick     83
Affirmations     86
Affirmations in Magick     88
Incantations     88
Incantations in Magick     89
Sacred Space     91
Establishing Sacred Space     92
The Circle     94
Protocol and Practices     96
Casting a Circle     97
Squaring the Circle     98
Creating a Permanent Circle     102
Altars     102
Your Personal Sanctuary: Auras and Sacred Psychic Space     103
The Four Elements     105
The Cornerstones of Creation     106
Earth     106
Air     108
Fire     110
Water     112
Spirit: The Fifth Element     114
Elemental Beings     114
Tapping Your Own Elemental Power     118
The Plant Kingdom     121
Green Witchcraft     122
Divine Flowers and Plants     124
Petal Portents     126
Druid Tree Magick     127
Magickal Herbcraft     128
Spellworking with Scent     129
Plants and Sacred Space     133
The Mineral Kingdom     135
Mineral Magick     136
Gemstones     136
Magickal Correspondences and Properties of Stones     139
Magickal Jewelry     142
Crystals     143
Magickal Uses for Crystals     145
Metal Magick     149
Shells, Fossils, and Rocks     152
The Animal Kingdom     155
Human-Animal Relationships     156
Familiars     156
Spirit Animals, Power Animals, and Totems     158
Animal Messengers     160
Animals in Dreams     162
Animal Imagery in Magick     165
Shapeshifting     167
Magickal Symbolism     169
Color     170
Colorful Candle Magick     173
Fabric and Materials     175
Shapes as Symbols     177
Shapes and Numbers in Spells and Rituals     180
Sigils: Secret Magickal Symbols     181
Dream Symbols     182
The Witch's Tool Kit     183
The Role of Tools in Magick     184
Wand     186
Pentagram     187
Athame     188
Chalice     188
Cauldron     189
Broom (Besom)     190
Candles and Incense     191
Knots     192
Other Tools     193
Keeping a Grimoire     194
The Art of Spell-Casting     195
Ethical Spell-Casting     196
Sympathetic Magick and the Law of Similars     197
Forming Your Intention     198
Choosing Components for Spells     201
Adapting Spells     203
Creating Spells from Scratch     204
Creating a Magickal Environment     206
Letting Go     208
Portable Magick Spells     211
Choosing and Combining Ingredients     212
Charms     214
Amulets     217
Talismans     219
Fetishes     221
Knots and Numbers     222
Travel Magick     223
Rituals     225
The Purpose of Ritual     226
The Wiccan Ritual     226
Key Features of a Ritual     227
The Seasons of the Witch     232
Lunar Rituals     235
Rites of Passage     237
Designing Your Own Rituals     238
Divination and Oracles     239
What Is Divination?     240
The I Ching     241
The Tarot     243
The Runes     246
The Pendulum     248
Scrying     249
Other Methods of Divination     250
Caring for Oracles and Other Divination Tools     251
Astrology and Numerology     253
As Above, So Below     254
The Birth Chart     256
Magickal Talents of Each Birth Sign     258
Moon Signs and Magick      260
Using Moon Phases to Time Magick     261
Other Celestial Events     262
By the Numbers     264
Using Numerology to Read the Future     265
Sacred Sites and Magickal Places     267
Sacred Places and Sacred Spaces     268
Sacred Sites Around the World     269
Tuning in to Earth Energies     271
Sacred Architecture     274
Creating Your Own Sacred Site     274
Elemental Energies in Your Site     278
Where to Go from Here     281
Covens     282
Finding a Coven That's Right for You     285
Joining a Coven     287
Forming Your Own Coven     289
Solitary Practice     291
Living a Magickal Life     292
Glossary of Magickal Terminology     294
Resources and Further Reading     301
Index     303