Have you ever attended an art opening or book reading and hit it off with the person seated beside you? You meant to exchange business cards, but one thing led to another and now you have no way of getting in touch. It’s time for some magical intervention. Try this spell and you will soon be bumping into each other at your neighborhood coffee shop.
At your local metaphysical shop, buy two body-shaped candles. (One should be shaped like your own body; the other should be a woman’s figure if you want to reach out to a woman, or a man’s figure to communicate with a man.) When you have the appropriate candles, set them on your altar. If you can’t find any with the desired shapes, use two pink candles instead.
The god Mercury prevails over communication, speed, mental clarity, and fun. Traditionally, he also escorts the dead to the afterlife. All things yellow and citrus can bring forth Mercury’s bright presence, which will help you in all your interactions with friends or potential friends. Try these surefire ways to make contact.
On a Wednesday, burn three yellow candles. Anoint yourself and the candles with lemon and neroli oil. Meditate on the flame and breathe deeply, filling your lungs with the fiery citrus scent. Holding both hands out, palms up, say:
Charging a candle imbues it with your intention; the candle can then be used with any spell for enhanced results. While picturing what you want to achieve, anoint the candle with the scented oil of your choice. My favorite oil is “vamber,” which is a combination of vanilla and amber. Remember that your level of clarity and concentration will be reflected in the candle’s power.
You can further charge the candle by scratching your desire into the wax. I use the thorn of a rose for this, and you can write words, although many witches use symbols—a heart, a dollar sign, or a number, for example.
Most of us have had problems giving up on a relationship. This ritual will help you let go. Perform this ritual during the waning moon, when things can best be put to rest. Gather:
Black string
A symbol of your ex
Scissors
Tie the black string around your waist and attach it to the symbol of your ex: a photo, a memento, or a lock of hair. Take the pair of scissors in your hand, and prepare to use them by saying:
Bygones be and lovers part,
I’m asking you to leave my heart.
Go in peace, harm to none.
My new life is begun.
Cut the string and toss away the memento. You will feel freer and lighter immediately and will begin to attract many new potential paramours.
This spell can be used to meet someone new or to bring on a new phase in an existing relationship. On a Monday morning before dawn, light one pink and one blue candle. Touch each candle with lily, freesia, or jasmine oil. Lay a lily on your altar with some catnip. Place a lapis lazuli stone in front of the lily, and a glass of water atop a mirror. Chant:
Healing starts with new beginnings.
My heart is open, I’m ready now.
Today, a new Love I will meet.
Goddess, you will show me how.
So mote it be.
Drink a cup of hot honeyed cinnamon tea that you stirred counterclockwise with a cinnamon stick. Sprinkle the powdered version of this charismatic spice on the threshold of your front door and along your entry path. When the cinnamon powder is crushed underfoot, its regenerative powers will help you start a fresh chapter in your love life.
The Friday before the new moon—Venus’ Day—is the perfect time to create a new opportunity and clear away relationship “baggage.” Place a bowl of water on your altar. Light two rose-scented pink candles and a gardenia or vanilla-scented white candle. Burn amber incense in between the candles. Sprinkle salt on your altar cloth and ring a bell, then recite aloud:
Hurt and pain are banished this night;
fill this heart and home with light.
Ring the bell again. Toss the bowl of water out your front door, and love troubles should drain away.
This is the witch’s high holiday of love, observed on April 30 with feasting and ceremonial ritual. The Celts of old made this day a day of wild abandon, a sexual spree, the one day of the year when it is okay to make love outside your relationship. After an all-night pagan lovefest, May Day is celebrated with dancing around a beribboned May Pole. You decide how you want your Beltane to go, just as long as it is a fully sensual experience with food, dance, sex, and lots of laughter.
Ideally, you will celebrate Beltane outdoors. But if you are indoor-bound, at least serve the food and the drink on the floor and insist on bare feet and comfy clothes. Serve an ambrosial spread of finger foods with honeyed mead (available from some microbreweries), beer, and wine. As you light incense, set out a few dozen white, red, and green candles and arrange spring’s new flowers: daffodils and narcissus.
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...
