Getting Mad? 3 Magical Rituals to Avoid Flaming Out

The mortgage payment is due, the kids have gone nuts, and the dishwasher just leaked water all over the floor.

Feeling mad or upset yet?

These days there seem to be endless reasons for us to lose our tempers, everything from small annoyances (like the cell phone battery dying in the middle of a good chat) to the really big stuff (like job loss).

But wait, don't flame out! There are simple magical rituals and solutions to help you avoid getting mad or, if you are already mad, to keep you from staying mad.

3 Magic Rituals to Keep You from Flaming Out!
There are actually many magic rituals that help deal with the "fire energy" of anger, and here are three of my favorites: the ground out, the Apache tear, and the big burn. Fun stuff ... and useful, too!

#1: Ground Out Your Anger Magically
This magical ritual involves large appliances, like your refrigerator or your stove. Whenever you are angry, run over to your refrigerator, smack both palms on it, and just flow that "mad energy" right into the fridge. It will chill you out, quickly.

Now why does this work? This magic ritual works because anger, volatile as it is, is nothing more than one of the four elemental energies of the Universe: fire energy. The Universe is comprised of air, fire, water, and earth energies. Anger is just fire energy. The reason anger doesn't feel good is because when we are angry we have an excess of fire energy. It literally blows our circuits, which doesn't feel so great.

So when you flow all of that energy into a large appliance, like your fridge, you are magically dumping that excess fire energy into a safe, grounded source that can handle fire energy. Once the excess fire energy has left your body, you feel more balanced, and you will no longer feel angry. This also works with other grounded electrical sources such as light switches and electrical outlets, but don't try this on sensitive electronics like computers or radios. You will fry them in an instant! This is a fun magic ritual so give it a try the next time you are flaming mad!

#2: Send Your Anger to the Half Worlds with the Apache Tear
The Apache Tear, also called Grandmother's Tear, is the black obsidian stone, also called volcanic glass. Magically, the Apache Tear is known as a doorway to the half-worlds, a place from which you can move anywhere in time and space. While you can't get into the half-worlds with the Apache Tear (you need a black mirror for that), you can send any unwanted energies, like anger, into the half-world through this stone.

All you have to do is hold the stone in your dominant hand (the hand with which you point) and flow all of your anger into the stone. With this magic ritual, the stone will send the fire energy of your energy into the half-worlds, where it will be recycled again. Remember, anger energy isn't a bad thing, it is just an excess of fire energy. Fire energy can and is easily re-used in the half-worlds.

The beauty of the Apache Tear is that it is a doorway, not a storage receptacle. That means you can flow energy into this stone over and over without being afraid that it will store up your anger and, at some point, overflow. Pretty nifty, right? With other stones used in magical rituals, like hematite or quartz crystals, energy gets stored in the stone, and the stone has the be magically cleansed periodically. You don't have that kind of problem with the Apache Tear.

#3: The Big Burn Magic Ritual
I love this one because it matches the energy of anger so well: it burns! Plus, it's really simple to do, not to mention highly satisfying. All you need for this magic ritual is a pen, some paper, some matches, and a safe place to burn stuff (sometimes a giant metal cauldron works great!).

When you are mad, sit down and write everything that is making you mad. Pour it all out on paper, as fast and furious as you can. Write as many pages as necessary, and feel free to repeat yourself as many times as you want. There's no limit. Write until you literally run out of steam.

Now for the good part of this magic ritual--the big burn! Grab your papers and matches and move to the spot where you can (safely) burn the papers. Before you light up, take a moment to do whatever you need to move the anger out of you. Ask for help from angels, ask for guidance, or just have a moment of silence. And then, light up the papers and watch your anger go up in smoke. You can light each sheet individually (that's what I like best), or wad up the whole mess of papers and light the entire thing.

Whatever you do with this magic ritual, enjoy the heck out of it. Be safe about your burning, and then enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! It's not often that we have permission to do somewhat destructive acts like this, so go ahead and milk it for all it's worth!

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Cleansing Rituals: A Basic Smudging Ritual

What is smudging? Smudging is the burning of certain herbs and using the resulting smoke to cleanse people, places, or objects. The smoke attracts the negative energy and sends it heavenward, where the negative energy simply becomes fire energy. Any smudging ritual is a form of fire magic, and is one of the most common cleansing rituals. It's a great place for beginners to start practicing cleansing rituals. All you'll need is a smudge stick (we recommend cedar and sage).

Cleansing Rituals: Choosing What to Burn
Whether you are doing a smudging or another type of cleansing ritual using a firebowl or incense, you will need to understand the elemental makeup of various herbs, resins or incense that you will be burning. This will allow you to pick the appropriate one for whatever type of ritual you are performing. Different kinds of incense, herbs or plant resins are chosen to create specific effects. Every type of incense, herb or resin has a particular scent or way of burning that can be classified by element. For instance, general-purpose incenses are usually high in Air and Fire, while incense candles are usually high in Water.

Always test herbs, incenses and resins yourself to determine what elements they represent. Many incense change drastically when they are burned in a firebowl. To test, burn a little piece in your firebowl, then smell the scent and watch the smoke. You can use these guidelines to determine the elemental makeup.

General Purpose Elemental Mix:
Have a good mix of the four elements, usually higher in air and fire. Good for general use and emergencies.
Smoke - Moderate amount of smoke, tending to rise and spread moderately rapidly. Smoke leaves a slight bluish haze.
Scent - Some "edge" or "stickiness" in the scent.

Air Element:
These are often pale in color, containing lots of white or transparent material. Good for studying as they will keep you awake and can be used to remember dreams.
Smoke - Rises quickly and dissipates rapidly, has a very light smoke that leaves the air relatively clear afterward and does not leave a blue haze.
Scent - Delicate, fast-rising scent or no odor.

Fire Element:
Often red, orange, or yellow. Good for studying as it will keep you awake. Can be used on gloomy days to liven up the energy.
Smoke - Light or moderate amount produced that rises quickly, and is red or yellow in color. It spreads rapidly and leaves a slight bluish haze.
Scent - Sharp scent that tends to "bite" the nasal passages and sinuses.

Water Element:
Often pink, blue, dark red or brown material that often feels damp. Useful for meditation, introspection or to remember dreams.
Smoke - Thick smoke that rises and spreads slowly then dissipates slowly.
Scent - Often has a fruit or flower scent or a heavy, sweet, wet, thick and cloying scent that lasts for days.

Earth Element:
Often brown or green and useful for stabilizing an area.
Smoke - Tends not to rise, but to "boil" out and settle to the floor, spreading slowly.
Scent - Heavy, not sweet, not wet, "earthy" scent that can last for days. Also dry with a slight "edge" to the nasal passages and sinuses.

Smudging Ritual
Smudging a person is one of the most important cleansing rituals and a good one for beginners to start with. Here's how to do it.

• Light your smudge stick and get a good column of smoke coming off it
• Start at the person's crown and circle the person clockwise 
• Use your breath or a feather fan to push the smoke toward the person 
• Anywhere the smoke bounces off, go over the place again until it sticks 
• Have the person breathe the smoke in lightly at the end

To smoke an object, dangle it in the smoke. Smoke an area such as where you will do a tarot reading, by circling the smudge stick or sweetgrass clockwise over the area. A smudging ritual can be used anytime you need to clear negative energies from yourself or others, such as before rituals, when feeling down, or after a negative encounter with another person. Some people smudge themselves everyday before mediation to prepare themselves to go into their sacred space.

So next time you need to "clean up" or give yourself a lift, grab a smudge stick and do this simple smudging ritual.

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Ritual Magic: A Daily Ritual of Fire Magic to Release the Unwanted

If the New Year has brought about awareness of something you would like to release from your life (something that's been bothering you or something no longer needed), a simple daily ritual of fire magic can help.

Ritual Magic: Finding a Firebowl
First you will need a firebowl and firebowl ingredients. When choosing a firebowl, look for one that is made of brass, cast-iron, ceramic or a hard hardwood. It should be 4-6 inches in diameter and 4-5 inches deep. It should also be a shape that is easily held with one or both hands and light enough to carry in one hand if necessary. Make sure your firebowl is of a shape that will be stable when placed on a flat surface. The shape of the bowl should also be curved-in and flared back out at the top rim to promote "columning" of incense or smoke.

Ritual Magic: Firebowl Ingredients
Fire Clay
To use your firebowl you will need to fill it with ground fire clay or clean, fine sand. Non-scented cat litter (which is ground clay) works well as long as it does not have chemicals or deodorants in it. Put 1-2 inches in the bottom of your firebowl as an insulator to protect the firebowl itself, your hands and any surfaces from the heat.

Charcoal Disks
You will also need some self-starting charcoal disks. These can be purchased from religious supply stores or online (we have them in our school store too). Round charcoals with bowl-shaped depressions in the middle are the best to use. There is a kind with pie shaped depressions, but we find these do not work as well.

Matches
You will need wooden or paper matches to light your charcoal. The scent and energetic side-bands associated with butane and other petroleum products change the fire-band you are working with so don't use lighters to light the charcoal disk.

Other Ingredients
You will need to collect or purchase pine resin to burn on the charcoal disk as well as finely ground or rubbed sage. If you collect sage, you can grind it in a blender or coffee grinder. You also need to collect some finely chopped or shaved wood chips or tree bark. This is used to insulate the charcoal from the pine resin or incense that you burn in the firebowl and to facilitate the burning of the materials you use in your firebowl. You will sprinkle the shavings on the charcoal and then put the pine resin and sage on top of it. The last thing you will need for this exercise is a Sun Yellow utility candle. Make sure it is pure sun yellow  colored without any orange tones to it. An unscented candle is best to use.

Ritual Magic: Charging the Firebowl
Charging your firebowl programs it for a specific purpose. Since magic is a precision science, charging your firebowl for certain operations makes it more effective by stating the intended purpose and programming that into the tool. Charging is not an invocation or prayer to spirit-beings or deities, just a program. Here is how to charge your firebowl.

1. Stand or sit in the South facing North with your firebowl and materials in front of you.

2. Light your Sun Yellow utility candle with a wooden or paper match.

3. Light another wooden or paper match from your candle flame and use this to light the charcoal disk. The disk will begin to spark within seconds. If the charcoal is old or damp, you may need to use metal tongs to hold it over the flame for several minutes or light the top of it in the center of the bowl-shaped depression. Most of you will realize that once the disk is lit, you don't touch it with your hands, but for beginners who have never used one before we like to add this word of caution – It is hot, just like a charcoal on a BBQ grill.

4. Once the charcoal sitting in your firebowl is lit, pull Sun Yellow energy from your utility candle into yourself and blow it out onto the disk.

5. Add the wood shavings onto the charcoal, then the pine resin and finally the sage.

6. Wait for it to produce a good column of smoke and add more sage or resin if needed.

7. A voice of command should be used when saying the charge verse. The verse will vary according to what you are programming the firebowl for. Here is a basic firebowl charge verse (used for a house cleansing) and then some substitutions you may want to use in creating a verse specifically for this exercise depending on what you are releasing from your life.

"Fire and Air where you are cast,
Let no spell nor adverse purpose last,
Not in accord with me!
Cleanse these walls and cleanse this space,
Far from here send baneful trace!
Thus my will, so it be!"

This charge verse is obviously for doing a cleansing of a room, house, ritual magic circle or some other space. Some substitutions you can make to suit your purpose include:

• Cleanse these tools and cleanse their space (instead of Cleanse these walls...)
• Cleanse these people and cleanse their space (when clearing negative energy from yourself or others)
• In place of "spell" or "adverse" or "baneful" you can substitute anger, grief, trauma or any other applicable term. For example lines could be changed to "Let no fear nor sickness last" or "Far from here send cancerous trace". Just be sure when applying substitutions of words that you do not disturb the rhythm of the original verse.

Ritual Magic: Fire Magic Daily Ritual
Now that you have your firebowl and know how to charge it, you are ready to begin the fire magic daily ritual to release what it is that is bothering you or that you find no longer serves you. Everyday write on a small piece of paper what you want to release. Charge the firebowl, and then burn the paper in the firebowl. This works because "Thoughts are things and words have wings." In other words, writing things down makes them more material, more real. Burning the paper changes the unwanted item into simple fire magic, fire energy, with no negative charge. Sometimes you may have to repeat this ritual for 3, 7, or 11 days before you see change. Be sure to record results in your Book of Shadows to ensure you notice any changes. Magic often happens but we sometimes fail to see the changes.

The firebowl is just one of the magical tools that can help you bring ritual magic into your life for a variety of purposes. You can learn more about using magical tools in our online Basic Magic Class or specifically more uses for the firebowl in our Firebowl - Cleansing Tool Ebook.

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