A Magical Message from the Raven and an Offer from Me

Do you ever sit outside in the middle of a thunderstorm and feel the absolute magic of the world crackling through the air? I just did. We had a cloudburst here in Colorado and I absolutely reveled in the thunder, lightning, rain, and wind. And then, at the very end of the storm, the Magic happened ...

... a Raven, my animal totem, swooped in and squawked a magical message for me to share with you!

The Magical Messenger
The Raven is one of the keepers of magic in this world, and it had a message for me and you today. It told me that I must share as much magic as I can with as many people as want it.

Get Magic in Your Mailbox Here

As you may know, at the Esoteric School we put out a twice monthly ezine and a twice weekly blog, all filled with magical tips and techniques on how you can use magic to change, improve, transform, and enlighten your life.

Now the Raven demands that I share even more with you ...

Magic in Your Mailbox: A Sneak Peek at Basic Magic
We have a comprehensive 32-week Basic Magic course coming up in September. Prior to the start of this class, we give all the students pre-class magical exercises to prepare them for this rigorous course. These exercises are given exclusively to students who have already signed up and paid for class.

Now, as the Raven has asked, I am giving them to you. I will email these 21 exercises (one per day) to all those who ask. Not only will these exercises give you a sneak peek at what goes on in the Basic Magic course, but they will lay the foundation for you to experience life in a new magical and mystical way.

Get Magic in Your Mailbox Here

Your Questions About Magic Answered
What's more, during these 21 days I will personally answer any serious questions you have about these exercises and the magic contained in them (only fully formulated questions, please!). That's not something I do very often, but for 21 days I am happy to do so. The only caveat is that I will publish your questions and my answers to the entire group of people who want to take part in this magical experience. That way I everyone gets to learn, and we all advance as a group.

Got It? Good! Here's How to Sign Up
If you're ready to take part in this magical mystical experience, to play with some fun magic, and to get your sneak peek at Basic Magic, sign up for this 21 day "Magic in Your Mailbox" course by clicking the link below. But sign up soon because the first exercise goes out on Tuesday, August 11, and the signup offer expires on Friday, August 14!

Magic in Your Mailbox

In Magic,
RavenWindStar (a.k.a. Alan Joel)

Enchantment in Zion

Greetings from Enchanting Zion National Park!

I'm taking a short break from blogging to be with family and re-inspire myself in Zion. The nature spirits are strong here, as is the Earth energy. Rest assured, the blog will resume in early August. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying communing with nature, sky beings, earth beings, and the rest of the hierarchy. I'll also be catching up with much of the email that has come in the last few weeks that I have not had time to answer or blog about. See you in August!

Why Storm Spirits Dislike People

I'm sitting here enjoying an absolutely lovely flash-bang thunderstorm, and remembering a long-ago conversation I had with a storm spirit. Back in the early days of my studies in magic and shamanism, I was given the assignment to go out and communicate with a nature spirit, be it a spirit of tree, rock, or sky.

Being naturally of an excitable temperament myself (being a triple Fire sign, astrologically), I chose to communicate with a storm spirit. I waited until a particularly heavy storm hit our area, then went out to have my first person-to-storm chat. The results were startling.

The long and short of the conversation was that storm spirits don't much like people, and with good reason. During my chat with the storm spirit, I raised the issue that the spirit seemed quite angry and aggressive. The storm spirit replied that it was a bit angry, especially with people, because most people didn't like storms and didn't want them around.

I replied that this wasn't entirely illogical, since storms could be inconvenient, causing a lot of destruction and wet. The storm spirit huffed about that, I can tell you! He said that storms were a necessary part of the ecosystem, and that people didn't properly appreciate their role. Storms cleanse the air and the land, and distribute water where it is needed. He added that it took a lot of force to do all of this cleansing and moving of water. He, like most storm spirits, was fast-moving and very direct. He didn't have a lot of time to chat.

The biggest reason he disliked people, he said, was because most people talked about him but not to him. He said many people were quite negative about storms, in general, and cursed them. Unlike the people of ancient tribes, who properly appreciated the role storm spirits played in the ecosystem, modern people only see the inconvenience of storms.

The storm spirit and I ended the conversation on good terms (he was in a hurry to move on). I discovered a new appreciation for storms and the spirits who create them. I've since had several more conversations with storm spirits, some of which were even in the process of forming tornados. In my experience, storm spirits start out angry. They like to clobber the landscape and be aggressive, but once you get them talking they tend to lighten up. And you have to talk fast, because storm spirits don't have a lot of patience for idle chatter. They are all about action.

If you want to deepen your connection with the world of spirits, storm spirits can be interesting conversational partners, when you can make yourself heard. If you do decide to try communicating with storm spirits, be sure to hail them out loud and welcome them. Since these spirits are used to be cursed rather than welcomed, don't be surprised if your first greeting is met with a salvo of wind and rain. Just hang in there and keep shouting out your greeting until the spirit hears you. The conversation is sure to be a revelation!

Learn More About Spirits, Magic, and Shamanism
We invite you to browse our articles and our online store filled with books, ebooks, home study courses, and other magical goodies!

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Photo credit: Alta tensione - High voltage

How to Cast Stronger Magic Spells -- Part III

In my previous two articles in this series, I highlighted the importance of writing clear Directors and Limiters for your spell and choosing the right symbols for your spell. Paying attention to both of these will help you cast stronger magic spells. In this article, the third in the series, I cover the basics of cleansing yourself, your tools, and your space when it comes down to casting your spell.

The Importance of Magical Cleansing
Casting a well-written spell in an area filled with junky energy is like dining on a fine meal in the middle of a dog pound. It's totally incongruous and starts the spell off on the wrong foot. Don't do this!

Magical cleansing is important for every aspect of your spell, including yourself, your tools, and your space. Most magical practitioners develop, over time, some kind of cleansing ritual that helps them prepare to launch a spell. The bigger the spell (or the more you want the spell to accomplish) the more important it is to do a cleansing ritual.

Cleansing Yourself Magically
As a being, you are a Spirit with a body and a mind. Before launching a spell it is important that you cleanse all of these three parts of yourself. Personal cleansing is, well, a very personal matter, and you should give some thought to how you want to do this.

Your personal cleansing might include a meditation to settle the mind, an invocation to your personal guides and totems to support your Spirit, and a lovely scented bath to cleanse your body. Some people also like to cleanse themselves with the smoke of burning sage and pine resin, plus consecrated water. Other people like to use essential oils and candles. Once you have cleansed yourself, consider clothing yourself in special ritual garb for launching your spell. Choosing clothing in colors relevant to the purpose of your spell always helps. For instance, if you want a lot of power, choose a Fire color, like sun yellow or bright red.

Cleansing Your Tools Magically
To cast a strong magic spells, your magic tools need to be clean of junky energies. Consider what tools you will need to launch your spell. Will you need a scrying bowl, an Athame, a Wand, a firebowl, or a crystal? Then consider how you will cleanse your tools. For instance, some magicians store their crystals in pewter boxes to keep them clean. Others dunk their crystals in consecrated water or bury them in a garden for a moon cycle to cleanse them. If you are going to use a Wand, decide whether you need to cleanse it by pulling it through the smoke of burning pine resin and sage. However you cleanse your magical tools, make sure they are clean and laid out before casting your spell.

Cleansing Your Space Magically
Creating sacred space is one of the most important factors in casting a strong spell. If you are going to be using one room in your house to launch your spell, such as your altar-room, be sure to four-element cleanse it before launching your spell. This includes smoking it with burning pine resin and sage, as well as flicking consecrated water on the walls. In addition, some practitioners like to cleanse the space energetically with their athame, sweeping the area clean of any junky psychic residue.

As with all magical acts, take your time and be sure to cleanse yourself, your tools, and your space thoroughly and carefully before launching your spell. A spell cast in a clean environment will encounter far less resistance and produce better results.

Want to Know More About Magical Cleansings and Tools?
Learning how to use, cleanse, and maintain magical tools like the Wand, Athame, Chalice, Place, and Firebowl are important to proper spell work. If you want to learn more about these tools and how to use them, check out our ebooks on the subject.

Magical Tool Ebooks from the Esoteric School

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How to Cast Stronger Magic Spells - Part II

This is the second in an article series on how to cast stronger magic spells. In Part I of this article series I outlined three principles to help magical practitioners clarify what they want their spells to do and not do, resulting in a stronger spell. In this article, I focus on the importance of gathering the appropriate symbols for the spell.

Choosing the Right Symbols for Your Magic Spell
One of the keys to casting stronger magic spells is choosing and using appropriate symbols. In spell work, symbols are not just for decorative purposes. Symbols are actually like doorways, and they access the power of the thing they represent.

For instance, we often use the symbols for the four elements of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth in our spell work. Take the Air symbols. Air can be symbolized as clouds, gusts of wind, or a Wand, which is the magical tool for the element Air. The clouds or gusts of wind symbolize Air on the mundane or ordinary level, while the Wand symbolizes Air on the spiritual level. On the ordinary level, the element Air is associated with thinking and communication. On the spiritual level, Air is linked with enlightenment and spiritual understanding. If I want my spell to increase communication between distant family members, I would use the cloud symbol, since the spell is for ordinary world-level communication. If my spell is for increasing opening up my spiritual horizons, I would use the Wand symbol.

And how would I use these magic symbols? That depends on what kind of spell I am casting. For instance, if I am casting a single candle spell, I would carve the symbol on the candle I will use to launch the spell.

Gathering the Symbols for Your Spell
Since symbols access the things they represent, they are really doorways to great power. Knowing this, it becomes obvious that choosing the right symbols for your magic spell has a lot to do with the power of your spell.

A magician preparing a spell is a lot like a mother preparing for the arrival of her baby. Your spell is your baby. When you start gathering the symbols, litanies, and other tools for your spell, it's similar to a mother preparing the nursery for her baby. If you take the same amount of care preparing your spell as a mother does preparing for the arrival of her baby, you will cast a much stronger magic spell. Plus, you'll enjoy the process more!

If you have a long-term spell, consider using a talisman or touchstone as a symbol for your spell. Check out the wide variety of animal, fairy, angel, and tribal symbols in the online store to use as talismans and amulets.

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Photo credit: Fairy Child ~ Amy Brown Inspiration ~ Explore