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I tend to use a fair number of pop culture quotes in my spellwork.  “Make him an offer he can’t refuse,” “The hardest thing in this world is to live in it,” “I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you.”  Why? Because the people whose profession it is to come up with powerful words that stick in your head forever are better at doing so than I am.  Well crafted quotes can trigger deep emotions and connect to deep energies in ways no words I could come up with would ever do.  The story context, emotional cues, and place in popular thought can make the right quote become the best set of “magick words” imaginable.

A spell is, more or less, any deliberate action designed to focus your intent and project it out into the world in order to manifest that intent.  The actions you take in the process of casting your spell are designed to: 1)  focus and energize your intent, 2) direct the intent to your target, and 3) send the intent and energy to the target to manifest.  Arm the missile, target the missile, send the missile.  There are almost limitless forms that spellwork can take and almost all of them use either written or spoken words.

Although words are not a requirement, most spells do involve words in some form or another.  The majority of the world uses words as their primary form of communication; our brains expect words to narrate and explain what we do.  This makes words the natural choice for defining our intent in magickal workings.  In spellwork this is most often done via incantation - the words spoken during a spell; quite literally your “magick words.”  We use words to define and focus our intent, to describe where we want our energies to go, and often as a trigger for sending that energy out into the world.  Quotes can be used in any of these steps if they're appropriate.  For some practitioners, particularly the writers and speakers among us, the incantation can be seen as the magick itself.  Incantations often use archaic language, rhyming, and specific mental imagery to best connect to our core being.  The right quote can do all of those things automatically.  The more points of connection in our minds between the words and actions in the spell and what we want that spell to actually do, the greater the volume of energy we transmit to our working and more easily to boot.  

Using an appropriate pop culture quote can increase the success rate of spellwork without any extra energy from the caster.  A movie quote, song lyric, book passage, etc., can have a lot of power beyond the mere words spoken.  Of course, in terms of using quotes in spellwork, the words are the primary basis of power.  It’s critical that the words of your quote mesh completely with your intent.  It’s better to modify the quote slightly than to use it verbatim and risk it pushing your intent off track.  For example if I wanted to use the quote “Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope,” while petitioning a specific deity I might exchange “Obi Wan Kenobi” for the name of the deity in question.  Further, I wouldn’t want to use a quote spoken in a negative context, no matter how beloved or appropriate the mere words seem, in a success spell (i.e. just about any line from season six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).  Be certain the words of your quote totally and completely mean what you intend. 

Beyond the words of the quote is their context and the emotional weight they carry with you.  Movie, television, and video game quotes are particularly potent when it comes to the weight they carry within individuals and in popular consciousness.  When supported by music, imagery, or movement words become even more powerful as we engage with them more fully.  A pivotal line spoken against the backdrop of striking imagery and powerful music becomes iconic and striking (think “‘Till the end of the line”, “As you wish”, or “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you”).  Then one must examine the personal context for the quote.  Did you see the movie once and kinda like it; does the song lyric get stuck in your head; have you recited these lines more times than you can count since childhood; are they so important to you that you’ve literally tattooed them on your body?  While it might not work as well for someone else, as someone with a deep love of the Iron Man movies in general and Phil Coulson in particular I might use the following quote in a binding spell: "If you try to escape, or play any sort of games with me, I will taze you and watch ‘Supernanny’ while you drool into the carpet."  The emotional power of the movie you watched over and over during the best summer of childhood or the album that was the soundtrack for your first love taps deep into our souls and personal power, making their words that much more potent. 

To the immense well of a quote’s personal meaning, you can also add popular weight.  The beauty of pop culture magick is that you can add the power of everyone else who knows and loves your bit of pop culture to its intrinsic power.  How well known are the words of you quote?  Is your quote a bit obscure, but perfect?  Is it from something mildly popular or are the words so ubiquitous that everyone and their grandmothers know them (think “may the force be with you” or “live long and prosper”)?  The qualities of appropriateness, personal weight, and popular weight of a quote can give your incantation a lot more bang for your buck than you might think.

Keep in mind that there can be too much of a good thing.  Using one or two mindful quotes will serve as powerful exclamation points in your spell.  Using too many quotes may have the effects of either diluting their power or muddling your intent as you get wrapped up in your own cleverness.  Better to use just a few quotes as attention grabbing flourishes.  Is it possible to do a potent and effective spell with a ton of quotes?  Of course it is, but it would have to be extremely carefully crafted and probably wouldn’t end up being any more effective than a spell consisting mainly of original language with one carefully curated quote.  Then again, a spell or ritual made up of tons and tons of quotes and references could be a fun experiment if you’re willing to do the work to get it right.  My personal preference is for just one or two quotes because I want my spells to feel like they’re mine: my words, my emotions, my energies.  Using too many words written by others makes me feel like my energy gets diluted.  Be mindful of quote density and be sure that your intent is being expressed as fully and powerfully as it needs to be.

Say your right words and you can enhance the power of your spellwork with the weight of popular stories, their emotional cues, and their place in the popular mind.  The right quote has built-in connections to immense reserves of power both through individual significance and their place in the greater currents.  Used mindfully, pop culture quotes can give your spells an instant and effortless boost in potency and joyfully take your magick to the next level.

Have you ever noticed that none of us perceive time in a consistent way? An hour at the dentist seems to take forever, while an hour-long massage seems to slip by in an instant.

 For me, the past few months have flown by. Since my last post I was excited to be a headliner at Florida Pagan Gathering Samhain 2016, and to be named “Tarosophist of the Year” for 2016 by the Tarosophy Tarot Association.

A few weeks ago I, and a lot of other people, saw the new Ghostbusters movie.  As a child of the 80s I was a wee bit skeptical at first but ended up loving it.  To quote one of my dearest friends, “I didn’t know women wielding proton packs was what was missing from my life.”  Of course me being me, my first thought coming out of the movie was that I just have to work with these characters in my magick - they’re just too awesome not to.  Let’s take a look at the four main characters and explore some of the many ways they can be worked with in pop culture magick.

***spoiler alert - this post will contain spoilers for the new Ghostbusters movie***

Erin Gilbert

Erin is a mainstream academic with a thirst to prove herself, to gain acceptance, and have her work and value acknowledged by those around her.  As a professor, Erin would be an excellent ally to call on for matters of scholarship (study, exams, learning, etc.) as well as navigating bureaucracy (there are few establishments as political and overwrought as higher education) .  Her struggle for recognition also makes her an excellent ally in workings designed to help one gain legitimacy, to be valued for your work, and to overcome obstacles.  I would argue that Erin would also be extremely helpful in workings of self-acceptance and self-esteem.  Throughout the movie Erin struggles with the conflict between being what’s expected of her and what she truly is.  She progresses from hiding her thoughts and values in order to be accepted by the establishment to expressing her true beliefs and taking the risk of really standing up for herself.  Though she can be a little timid at times, Erin is an excellent ally for anyone who has to work in mainstream culture.

Abby Yates

Abby is a significantly less mainstream academic who is willing to take risks and buck authority in order to achieve her goals.  She is bold, passionate, and unapologetic in her approach to life while also being a fiercely loyal friend.  Abby is a fantastic ally for any work that involves going around authority or otherwise subverting the establishment.  She can also be called upon for help standing up for oneself and holding onto the courage of your convictions in the face of adversity.  An unapologetic approach and unhesitant embracing of her own weirdness also make her a good ally in workings of self-esteem and empowerment.  The strong commitment she shows both in pursuit of following her dreams and in support of her friends makes her an asset for workings of endurance, loyalty, and determination.  Abby isn’t afraid to take risks, which can cause problems when caution is needed.  Call on her wisely.

Patty Tolan

Patty is a municipal historian, blue collar worker, and possibly the human embodiment of common sense.  Where many of the other ghostbusters live in a world of theory and academics, Patty’s feet are firmly grounded in the practicalities of everyday life.  Patty is an ideal ally in matters of practical problem solving, creative resource acquisition, and working with people.  Her practicality and resourcefulness also make her an excellent ally in matters of project planning, divining hidden difficulties, and general preparedness.  Her grounding and connections to place also make her helpful as an intermediary in workings to bond with the spirit of place for a given locale.  Her courage and willingness to try new things are well tempered by common sense, making her a very wise helper in determining whether to take a given risk.  Patty may not be as flash as some of the others, but she is the rock that can help you with everyday life.

Jillian Holtzmann

Jillian is the mad scientist of this bunch.  She’s a brilliant combination of Marie Curie, Tony Stark, and Victor Frankenstein; a fearless scientist,  a brilliant engineer, and a mad genius with little respect for safety or the laws of nature.  Jillian is an excellent ally in workings for inspiration, creation, anything involving the manipulation of science or technology, as well as workings to bend the laws of physics.  Where Abby is unafraid to go around authority or bend the rules, Jillian acts as if authority and rules are utterly meaningless and simply does as her brilliant mind tells her.  Call on her when there are no f**ks to be given.  Keep in mind that, while totally awesome, this blindness to caution or safety does make her a bit dangerous and more than bit reckless.

Ellen Dugan's Witches Tarot has become my go to deck and that is a special privilege in my deck collection. I wasn't sure anything could top the connection I made with my Steampunk deck but then the Witches Tarot called to me in a dream (I kid you not) and now it is the deck at the top of my pile. This is a deck I flirted with for awhile before it showed up in my dream. I made googly eyes at it on Amazon and even drooled over the images on facebook but I had not committed to buying it.

Then it happened, it came to me in my dream time. Yes this deck is that powerful, it will communicate to you while you sleep. I dreamed of the cards and each one spoke to me, literally, it was a dream what can I say! The images imprinted themselves on my mind so when I work up I had no choice but to ring my local Pagan Store, Well of the Moon and ask them if they had the Witches Tarot in stock. Of course they did, right!

To be performed during the Waning Moon

You can read my recent list of spell suggestions for the hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls captured by Patriarchial terrorists over at my blog:  http://hecatedemeter.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/fucking-patriarchy/#comments 

Please feel free to add your own suggested rituals, spells, and magic workings in comments.

A few weeks ago, in a conversation on Facebook with several of my customers about negative Spirit activity, one of them asked me which process I used for cleansing and protecting my own home. Since I am a professional Spiritist (professional as in making my living out of it), I get this kind of question almost very day – and I think my answer always disappoints them.