Witchery: Sympathetic Magick

For many witches, the various forms of sympathetic magick are some of the most common practices of their witchcraft. Sympathetic magick takes one of two forms, either the form of “similarity” or the form of “contagion”.

With similarity, a witch’s spells, or items used in spells, such as trees, plants, herbs, stones, metals, etc. which have their own specific properties, are applied to a desired outcome for a person, event, animal, place, or thing. The magick is used to apply the intent behind the witch’s spell to work its similarity from the spell toward the exact focus of the spell. Such as, in casting a spell to end a drought, words, actions and intentions are directed, in addition to the items used, to achieve an end to the drought, even as the witch sprinkles the ground around their feet with water.

With contagion, items previously in contact with a person, animal, or place, retain the link they have with the person, animal, or place, such as in the case of hair trimmings, fingernail clippings, or clothing worn by a person, or items owned by them and exposed to their presence for some time. A simple use for contagious magick like this is the use of poppets. The same goes for animals, including their collars (for pets) their bedding or even their remains after they cross over. For places, it is common to use dirt from a specific location in a spell. Stones, plants, and other natural matter typically have, not only a link to the place they were harvested, but also unique properties of their own that must be considered when used in spell casting.

Whether using sympathetic magick for divination, to bring someone safety or something, to locate a lost object, bring an enemy low, or raise a friend from troubles, there are various ways to achieve each desired effect. Finding the right method to suit the individual witch is a matter of personal preference. Some witches prefer to use nothing more than verbal spells or signals from their hands and/or body, while others may prefer to construct a complex magickal working including a handcrafted spell, written on parchment in a special ink, performed inside a sacred circle, at an altar, with herbs, stones,  colored candles, etc. decorated in magickal symbols and anointed with a specific oil that suits their purpose, possibly with other accoutrement designed to strengthen or weave layers into their spell work. Every witch has a preference for each type of spell they cast.

Sympathetic magick has been practiced and its history traced back to many locations all around the world for millennia. From ancient cannibalistic societies who believed eating the dead flesh of their conquered enemies would give them power over the enemies, or even steal the power a specific defeated enemy possessed, to ancient cave drawings of hunting believed by some to be ancient spells cast for luck in the hunt, examples abound. Even the common pagan practice of ritualistic sex to bring about greater fertility for crops and animals is a form of sympathetic magick.

Sympathetic magick has existed for thousands of years and is still practiced by millions of witches, today. As the old adage goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. As such, if a new witch intends to start using witchcraft in their lives, a good place to start is with sympathetic magick.

Poppet Magick: Creativity Poppet

 

Creativity is a handy tool for witches to lay claim to as it helps when creating spells and rituals for themselves. While some witches choose to use the spells of others, either completely, or in part, (which is the reason we share ours here) others choose to create their spells and rituals “from scratch”, as the saying goes. As such, increasing creativity is a good idea for any witch who wants to tailor make spells and rituals to suit their individual needs.

In additional, to spell work, witches often need creativity for many other reasons, sometimes for their career, sometimes for hobbies, or even home and family endeavors outside their spiritual life. As far as I am concerned, enhancing ones creativity is never a bad thing. Such as, creativity in balancing a budget comes in handy for those struggling with money trouble. Creativity in balancing time around a large family’s needs may be crucial in a family with varied interests as any parent with multiple children can tell you. Business owners may need creativity to help develop or grow their business and bring in additional revenue. Creativity on the job as an employee may help solve problems with “out of the box thinking” that leads to a desired promotion. The creativity needed to be a professional artist is fundamental, of course. Therefore, you can see that additional creativity can be of use in pretty much everyone’s life.

A poppet to draw in creativity can be made using any medium. Your creativity in creating your poppet for this particular endeavor will only increased the strength of the spell. Writing a unique parchment spell to include inside the poppet will also strengthen the spell. Create a poppet to represent the person for whom creativity is being drawn, the more creative the design, the better.

• Poppet Idea: Linen or Cotton Material, Clay, Wood, Wax, Paper Mache, Combinations or Other Unique Ideas
• Color: Orange
• Herbs, plants, tree, etc: Carnation, Gingko Biloba, Horehound, Violet
• Metal: Gold
• Stones: Topaz, Turquoise, Sodalite, Rose Quartz, Tourmaline, Petrified Wood, Opal, Blue Calcite, Amber

The only real suggestion I have for this spell is to go all out in the decoration of the poppet. Be as unique as possible, as creative and ornate as you can imagine. The focus on the creativity you intend to draw and inspire, even while creating the poppet, will also translate into power as you contemplate ways of designing it, what to include inside it and what to use as a base for the poppet. If you are brave enough, use multiple mediums to complement each other, such as a Paper Mache head on a carved body with clothing created specifically to suit the poppet. You may choose to sew the body and make clay representations for the face, feet, and hands. Whatever you decide, make it unlike any other poppet you have ever constructed or even seen. Exercise your creativity to draw more creativity, the ways of the witch will win, if you do.

Poppet Magick: Get a Job Poppet

At one time or another, every witch needs to find a job. Even during the times when we have jobs, it may happen that a friend or family member needs one. We may decide we want to find a specific new job. These uncertain times are maddening and we want to put an end to our suffering and the suffering of others without steady employment. As witches we can build poppets to help find just the right job we want, or even build poppets to help a loved one find a job.

Poppets designed to help find a job can be made of cloth, as they are simple to create and long lasting. They can be reusable should the job not work out to the satisfaction of the job searcher.

• Poppet Idea: A natural weave cloths works wonders for this purpose
• Color: Gold
• Herbs, plants, tree, etc: Gravel Root, Job’s Tears, Lucky Hand Root, Meadowsweet
• Stones: Carnelian, Chalcanthite, Malachite

Cut the poppet to represent the job seeker. Make certain the shape reflects the job seeker and decorate it with embroidery, paint or draw matching features on the doll with ink. You may stuff the poppet with a selection of the herbs and stones listed, as well as the hair, fingernails, etc, from the job seeker. You may add scraps of clothing the job seeker has worn inside the poppet, or dress it in remnants to build a link to the person seeking the job, be it the witch or a loved one, keeping your concentration on the person getting a job as you work through the poppet creation.

If you want to anoint the poppet with spell oil for interviews, or speak a short spell to specifically name and visualize the job the seeker wishes to have it will add strength to the spell. You can add a written parchment spell using Dragon’s Blood ink to empower the spell further and sew the parchment inside with the other stuffing.

Adding gold or green ribbon, stitching a list of requisite job functions, a specific “want ad”, or a list of qualities the job seeker has to offer to the poppet, add another layer. As always, each witch should use his or her best judgment as to what needs to be added to the poppet to bring about the greatest success.