In days of yore, people often made their own inks, thus imbuing them with a deeply personal energy. They simply went to the side of the road and gathered blackberries or pokeberries from the vines that grew there. Often a bird flying overhead will supply a gift of volunteer vines best cultivated by a fence where they can climb, making berry-picking easier. When it comes to matters of the heart, contracts, legacy letters, and any document of real importance that you feel the need to make your mark upon, an artfully made ink can help you imbue your writings with power. This spell is best performed during the waning moon.
Gather the following for your ink recipe: a vial or small sealable bottle, dark red ink, 1/8th cup crushed berry juice, nine drops of burgundy wine, apple essential oil, and paper. You will also need one red candle.
Throughout your practice, make sure to maintain a sense of personal abundance and acknowledge the great spirit within you. Be grateful for your body and for your health. Stand in front of a mirror, preferably naked, and drop all self-criticism. Concentrate on your real beauty and envelop yourself with unconditional self-love. Wrap your arms around yourself as you say:
Nature is the ultimate creator. At a nearby gardening store or hardware store, get an assortment of seed packets to plant newness into your life. If your thumb is not the greenest, try a wildflower mix or poppies, which are extremely hardy and will grow quickly and spread, beautifying any area. They reseed themselves, which is a lovely bonus.
On a new moon morning, draw a square in your yard with a “found in nature” wand, a fallen branch. Apartment dwellers can use a planter on a deck or a big pot for this ritual. Each corner of the square needs a candle and a special stone. I get my stones at new age bookstores, which often have the shiny tumbled versions for as little as one dollar. Mark the corners as follows:
Using almond oil is a simple way to attract money, and it can be employed to ease the discomfort of financial stress. Dress some green candles with a drop or two and burn them every day—this simple ritual will make a substantial difference. Almond oil works quickly because it is ruled by Mercury, the god of rapid change and communication, who operates in the realm of air.
Are you going to an interview, meeting an artist’s representative, or speaking to your new editor? Clearly, you will want to make the best impression when launching this important new relationship. To ensure that you start on the right footing, gather the following ingredients: oranges, an orange candle, a glass of orange juice, vanilla beans, vanilla incense, and pumpkin seeds. All of these contain the properties of sharpness, intelligence, and clarity.
In the first light of morning, light the orange candle and the vanilla incense. Eat half of the orange and five pumpkin seeds, drink the orange juice, and watch as the glow of sunshine fills the room with the radiant energy of the orange sun. Chant:
Here is a beautifully simple way to attract money and blessings to you and your circle. Be sure to pass on some of the good fortune that has shone on you in order to keep the flow of abundance in circulation. This ritual is most effective performed at midnight on a full moon. This ritual is intended to be performed in a group, so you will need to gather together companions with whom you are spiritually in tune. Ask each of the participants to bring a green candle with their name scratched into the wax. Find the biggest green candle you can get and light it at the stroke of midnight.
Ask each ritualist to step forward and say their name, lighting their candle from the large one. Pray aloud:
You should not be surprised to find another Thursday prosperity spell in this chapter, as this is the perfect day for invoking wealth and success! On any Thursday, or optimally, one occurring on a new moon, light your altar candle at midnight and burn frankincense and myrrh incense. Make an offering of a golden fruit such as apples or peaches to Jupiter, and anoint your third eye with a corresponding essential oil, such as myrrh, frankincense, apple, or peach.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...
