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Nowadays used to raise the Cone of Power, this old dance may be used alone or in full coven. It is better if the Drawing Down of the Moon has gone before, for then the Gods shall fuse with the energies raised in the ecstasy of the dance and thereby accomplish your will.

All join hands to form a ring about the HPS. Heads turned left and eyes tightly shut, will a flowing river of power about the circle, moving from one through the next, from man to woman and woman to man, about the circle without beginning or end, gathering strength as it goes.

When the circle is set thus, in motionless intensity, the HPS begins to clap to the rhythm of the heart-beat. And upon this signal all open their eyes and step widdershins; slowly at first but with a quickening step as the HPS quickens the beat of her clap, until three rounds are complete. And this must be accomplished smoothly and without awkwardness.

Now change direction and dance deosil to the Witches' Rune or some other tune; slowly at first, but faster and ever faster until, the Power being at its peak, the HPS shall release it crying: "Down !", whereupon all shall fall to the ground to sit in a circle facing in. Thus also was the Cone of Power raised of yore.

This is a time of the rebirth of the root cultures of many peoples. Ancient wisdoms that were lost or obscured by the power shifts of history are now coming into light through many channels. Native people are discovering their rituals, their myths, their shamans. The advances of technology are adding to this wave of discovery in many ways, such as through media and communication.

The image of the witch is at the root of our cultural past. To embrace and affirm this aspect of ourselves is to tap the power of tradition, longevity, and cellular memory. Once we understand ourselves, harmony sets in. In preparing for your spell, first do some serious thinking about just what the image of the witch means to you. Make a list of all her/his qualities, her/his powers; her/his names, how she/he looks, what she/he wears, thinks, feels, etc. See her/him in your minds eye with as much clarity and detail as possible. This spell should be cast three times, at the new, full, and dark of the month.



Ingredients:

Large piece of parchment paper

Pen

Two purple candles

Moon Oil (Recipe)

Power Incense

A small moonstone



Arrange your altar. Carve moons into your candles and anoint them with oil. Anoint yourself as well, on brow, heart, and hands. Seat yourself comfortably and light the candles, saying:

With this flame, I awaken the Witch within me.

Light the incense. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for a while, relax, and let go. Bathe yourself and your aura in white light. Keep breathing deeply and slowly as you begin to sway and weave, letting your body move into a circular motion. Empty yourself of all distractions and anxieties. When you feel flowing and peaceful, let your imagination fill up with images of your inner Witch. Take up the parchment and pen and make a sketch of her/him (don’t worry about style or quality; the simpler the better).

Write your impressions and ideas beneath the drawing. Set this up between the candles so that it is facing you. Take the moonstone and clasp it to your heart. Keep breathing and weaving as you fill yourself with the image on the parchment.

Draw the Witch image into yourself, see her/him multiplied a thousand-fold, vibrating in every cell of your body. Repeat the following incantation three times:

I am willing to be different and strong

I am willing to be different and beautiful

I am willing to be different and free

I am willing to be different from patriarchy

For this difference

Is the same Sameness With the Non-Linear World of Magick The Goddess Her forces My dreams The moon My feelings My creativity My passion My deep love Of all creation… And the only conforming I need to do is Forming Creation For I am form and I am forming to universal law and therefore must survive… And even though I may at times Feel alone And misunderstood I will remember That I have sisters and brothers out there Who are learning to be free Like me And that I am not alone But all One And that free women and men Were respected And loved And will be again And will be again And will be I will it to be I will it to be And so doth it be Forever And ever So be it Blessed be



As you repeat this chant, let your words flow rhythmically as you weave and sway, let your voice create melody. Improvise; make new words if you feel inspired.

When you feel complete, slip your parchment beneath the altar cloth. Give thanks to the Goddess and God and snuff out the candles.

The moonstone is to carry at all times. Keep it in your pocket, under your pillow, or wear it in a pouch. Whenever you feel the need, hold the stone and rub it with your thumb in a circular motion. Think or say:

I am safe

I am me

All is well

Blessed be.

Tell no one of this spell until it has come to fullness. Even as you feel your powers strengthen, it may be best to maintain silence. Be DISCREET about sharing your magick.

What is magick? Forget all the fallacies and stereotypical pre-conceptions taught to you out of fear and ignorance and approach this question with an open mind. You will probably find it is not what you have been taught to think. Magick has been defined as "The art and science of causing change to occur in conformity with will *1" which could be put more simply as making desired change happen; or as "energy tending to change"; a definition I use is "magick is conscious evolution through directing energy". This does not really explain magick though, so I will try to elaborate on these phrases without jargon.



An aim of magick is to train the mind by harnessing and making more consciously accessible such higher faculties as intuition, inspiration and the creative imagination, and by drawing on the power of the unconscious - to try and use more than the 10% of our brain's capacity that we do.



Magick assumes belief in, or rather experience of, subtle energies. We can only see about one seventieth of the light spectrum, yet what we cannot see still affects us - such as x-rays and ultraviolet light. Similarly, magick is about focusing more subtle, non-physical energies, and directing them to create change. To go about this requires experience, and training to improve

the power of the mind, and specifically, the will.



Acts such as meditation, breath control, voice work, body work, visualization, drama, ritual, and others, are all designed to improve our body and mind, to better sharpen us and balance us, and to enable us to perceive and wield more subtle energies.



In the same way, an individual is as strong as their will, and the more balanced and integrated a person is, the stronger their will (note, this is

Probably one of the main reasons why so many magicians have experience of counseling and/or psychology, recognizing the help these processes can give, both through training and experiencing them. This also acts as a removal of farcical social stigma often attached to these processes).



Practicing magick tends to act as a deconditioning mechanism and can be a subtle process, the longer you practice, the more you change and the

Unnecessary inhibitions, stigmas, guilt’s and sin complexes that society builds in are removed. This has the effect of releasing their energy into

the psyche, where it can strengthen the individual.



The more physical side, such as yoga, bodywork, dance and massage, also removes the tension held in the body as body armor, and releases this and

removes energy blockages which impair full efficiency and may result in illness.



Possibly the major difference between magick and many of the religious paths to spiritual growth is that magick is more dynamic, and places the emphasis on you to work for change - there are no gurus in magick, rather there are fellow students with different perspectives and experiences - we learn from each other, as in other areas of life.



Magick tends to work a lot with symbols, as these are the language of the unconscious, and this is an area of tremendous power to tap. Symbols have many functions, and one of these, released through magick, can be the ability to confound the ego and the censor mechanisms, and enabling us to perceive more subtle truths, or experience direct revelations. Although we may not be able to fully explain how symbols work, we know from experience

that certain symbols seem harmonious with certain types of energy.



For example a magician may tell you that if you want to attract love you should wear green, and rose perfume, perhaps wear copper, like a bracelet or necklace, etc. These are all things attributed with Venus, who is associated with love, and so the principal is one of contagion - sympathetic magick, or making something happen by working with items linked to it. This is one of the oldest and most commonly practiced forms of magick. Working with the symbols of a type of energy does seem to attract that energy.



A cautionary word here, magick is often seen as a way to hidden powers, and entered for the wrong reason, the "I want sex, power and lots of money"

Syndrome. Now there is nothing wrong with these things in themselves, but when you do magick you will discover that you tend to get what you need

Rather than necessarily what you want.



When you do magick you generally use techniques to alter your state of consciousness and raise energy, and then direct that energy to create a desired result. The channel that energy takes as directed by your altered state of consciousness is not necessarily the path you might expect in your

normal everyday state. Magick does bring you power, yes, but it is power over yourself, not other people. It is the power that is important, to grow

and to create positive change.



This does not mean there is anything wrong with using magick to gain more physical things, there is nothing wrong with doing a ritual or spell to get

a job, whereas trying to make a specific individual go to bed with you would be wrong. Magick is very much about intent, and if your intent is to get

work, you are not imposing on people, whereas if you were trying to make somebody do something that they would not naturally do, you are imposing on

their will.



If you did a ritual to attract love without specifying a person, but opening yourself to the opportunity to meet someone where love may arise, and to feel more attractive and better about yourself, you are not imposing, you are trying to create positive change.



Magick is a commitment to yourself, and it requires determination, perseverance, strength, openness to change and absence of rigidity, a love of life (including yourself), and a desire to grow and fulfill your potential. It may be that you already have all these qualities and do this already without calling it magick - magick is not about labels, and those who think and talk as if it is unfortunately put some people off. Magick is

learning about the natural flows of energy in the universe, and working in harmony with them to effect positive change, both in yourself and in your environment.



Some people ask why magick is spelt with a 'k' on the end. This is to distinguish it from magic, associated in the popular mind with illusionism

and prestidigitation, stage magic. Magick is not about illusion, it is about creating real change, and the 'k' signifies this. K is the eleventh letter

of the alphabet, i.e. the one beyond ten. Symbolically this is very powerful, as we work in base ten, and eleven represents the unseen, or

Hidden energies - the subtle energies of magick, eleven is considered to be the number of magick.



Magickal training and experience bring forth the energies of the unconscious, and so it is no surprise to see that symbols become more important as you develop, providing not only the language of dream and the unconscious, but also helping create a more flexible perception grid of the universe. To grow spiritually, it is vital that you remain flexible and do not become dogmatic, rather that you are open to experience and willing to question your ideas and beliefs as a result of those experiences.



Magick can be a painful process. It is not easy to maintain the discipline and honest self-critical approach all the time. It can also be hard work dealing with the energy released without being knocked off balance sometimes. The important thing in these cases is to remain honest and keep at it. Nobody said magick was easy! It takes a lot of practice and hard work and pain, but the rewards are spiritual and mental growth, the joy of life

and the beauty of unconditional love. Beyond the limits there are no limits!