Keying Your Magic Tools for Personal Use

I recently started wearing this fabulous pewter dragon bracelet as part of a spell I launched. I very much wanted the energies of the dragon as part of my magic spell, so the bracelet was a perfect match.

I have received a lot of comments on the dragon bracelet, especially since we are in Cancun, Mexico for five weeks and this is not the usual "tourist-type" jewelry.

Several people have asked me why I wear the bracelet and how I use it for my magic practice. This fascinates most people endlessly, and they are eager to get their own talisman or amulet from our online store as soon as they get home to the States.

I'm delighted that others are as fascinated with the bracelet as I am, and while I definitely want them to enjoy the same kind of dragon magic I'm getting from the bracelet, I warn them that just having the bracelet isn't enough. The bracelet, like any magical tool, has to be "keyed" to a person's unique energies so that it works for them. Otherwise, it's just a bracelet.

How to Key General Magic Tools
There are specific ways to key the tools for each of the four elements (Air, Fire, Water, and Earth), but if you want to use a general magic tool, like my bracelet, there is a very simple way to "key" it so that it works with your personal and unique energies. Here's how:

1. Put the object in your dominant hand (usually the hand with which you point or write)

2. Hold the object and flow energy into it. If you want to use the tool for a specific purpose, flow images or thoughts about that purpose through your hand as well. I sometimes also chant a spell verse while doing this.

3. Continue with this process until the magic tool feels "charged," warm, or tingly. At that point, your magic tool has been keyed to your specific energy, and will work for you personally.

This generally works well for any general magic tool. For the specific tools associated with the magical elements, including the Firebowl, Wand, Athame, Chalice, and Plate, there are more detailed keying instructions since these tools are designed to handle much more magical energy. These tools can also be used many ways for different magic rituals and operations, especially spell work, banishments, blessings, and cleansings.

To learn more about how to key and use these tools, check out our ebooks on each tool in our online store.

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Do You Have an Unwanted Spirit in Your House? What to Do

Do you keep losing your keys and other small objects? Hear cabinet doors slamming in the middle of the night? Is something causing your dogs to bark at nothing at all?

If so, then you may have one or more unwanted spirits in your home. This is not unusual, nor anything that you need to particularly fear. Many times spirits who have not "moved on" hang around a house, either because they are familiar with the house or simply because they like something about the house.

For instance, when we moved into our current house, we would often see a spirit sitting in an old barrel chair in our living room, particularly during our morning meditations. When we described this spirit, a very thin old man wearing jeans and a red checkered shirt, to one of our neighbors, we discovered that he used to live in our house. He simply "hung around" during meditations, liking the feel of the barrel chair. Eventually, though, he made my wife uncomfortable so we gave the very old chair to the pastor of a church. The spirit of the old man never returned.

What to Do if You Have a Spirit in Your Home
So what should you do if you have an unwanted spirit in your home? There are multiple options, none of which are difficult or scary. You might try one of the below options.

1. Learn to Live with the Spirit
Our neighbors live in a very old farmhouse, which is inhabited by a spirit who is mischievous rather than dangerous or harmful. He likes to slam kitchen cabinet doors at night, when the house is dark and quiet. What do our neighbors do? Nothing too drastic. When they hear him banging the doors, they just yell "Stop that!" or "Cut it out!" Oddly enough, that's all it takes to keep him quiet. Since he doesn't get up to any other kind of trouble, they leave him be the rest of the time. Most spirits don't like yelling or loud noises, so this often works when a spirit is up to naughty tricks.

2. Talk to the Spirit
Many spirits have no idea that they no longer have bodies and are "hanging around" where they are unwanted. If you can see, sense, or feel the spirit, then you can talk to him or her. You hold a conversation with a spirit just as you would with another person. There are two main differences. First, some spirits are quite "down tone" and may not respond to you right away. Don't worry. Just keep asking questions and talking to the spirit until you get a response. Second, the spirit's "answers" may sound like a voice in your head rather than an actual voice. This is perfectly normal since the spirit doesn't have a body, so can't speak out loud.

Once you engage the spirit in conversation, start asking questions about the last lifetime in which the spirit had a body. Ask for a name, the time period in which he or she lived, and other relevant details. Finally, bring the conversation around to the happiest time the spirit can remember in that lifetime. This memory of a happy time should bring the spirit up the tone scale, and allow him or her to move on. You may want to help the spirit by asking him or her to move on, or offer to help him or her find a new body (in a tree, cloud, or rock, for instance).

3. Banish the Spirit
This option is a last resort, and should only be used if the spirit in your home is really bothersome or harmful. While these kinds of spirits do exist, most spirits are relatively harmless. One way to discover whether a harmful spirit is inhabiting your space is to cut a clove of garlic in four equal sections, and place one section in each cardinal direction in your home. If the hearts of the garlic cloves turn dark within 24 hours, then you do indeed have a darker spirit cohabitating with you. At this point, you will need to either do a banishment or have someone do a banishment for you. Shamans, magicians, and other spiritual practitioners can do this using a keyed athame and electric blue energy.

Explore these three options if you have an unwanted spirit living with you. As discussed earlier, most of these spirits are fairly harmless, and will move on if you simply ask them to leave. Good luck!

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/piccadillywilson/212999782/