Valentine's Day: A Day of Love and Magic!

Nothing warms the heart like love ... and at no time is love more evident than on Valentine's Day!

Valentine, known as the patron saint of all lovers, has a rich and varied history.

According to some accounts, Valentine was a bishop during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius II. It turns out that Claudius needed more young soldiers, and thought married men were too attached to their families, thus making poor soldiers.

To solve this problem, he banned all marriages. The bishop Valentine continued to marry young Romans despite this edict. It is believed that Valentine was executed by the Romans on February 14 ... so this day has become one of lovers and Valentine has become the patron saint of these lovers!

Want Some Love and Magic in Your Life?
Valentine's Day is the perfect time to attract love into your life with a little bit of magic. If you love the ornaments of love, then you might want to check out this "Love Spell Vial Necklace," pictured above, from Michele (a.k.a. CraftyChick101):

See the Love Spell Vial Necklace here

This wonderfully whimsical vial is filled with dried Lavender and Yarrow, both of which are known for their abilities to attract love into your life. Whether you want to find your soul mate or just fill your life with love, this vial necklace is a magical yet discreet amulet that keeps love close to your heart!

Love Spells
For those who want to know more about love and love spells, read this blog post on attracting your soul mate without "binding" anyone against their will:

Do Love Spells Work?

Perhaps this Valentine's Day the combination of the Love Spell Vial and a well-crafted spell form the perfect magic ritual to call love into your life!

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Photo credit: CraftyChick101

Why There are No Muggles, Only Magicians

Are magicians born or made?

Good question. Lots of people ask this question.

Answer: Neither.

Sorry to disappoint all you Harry Potter and Charmed fans out there, but magicians are neither born nor made. In other words, there is no division between magicians and non-magicians. Everyone has the power and ability to be a magician and to practice magic. Everyone!

Magic is the birthright of every planetary citizen. That means you.

Why There are No Muggles
The reason there are no muggles is the same reason that every single person on this planet can practice magic. Here's the reason: magic is nothing more (and nothing less) than following the laws that govern the universe. It's as simple as that.

For instance, once you learn how to use the four magical elements that form this universe (Air, Fire, Water, and Earth), you can do a lot of powerful magic rituals. Here's just a short list of things you can do just using hand magic and the four elements:

• psychic communication
• heal sprains, bruises, and more
• safely get rid of anger, anxiety, and depression
• divine the future
• put up energy and psychic shields

And yes, any old person on the planet can learn to do this kind of magic, nothing to do with magical parents or anything like that. Past lives can give a person an additional magical boost, however. For instance, if you studied magic in your last 17 lifetimes, chances are that the knowledge will come to you much more easily, and your magic will probably be more powerful than that of the average Joe.

Everyone Can Be a Magician
So now that you know that there is no division between magical and non-magical people, there's no excuse not to practice magic. The key word in that last sentence is, of course, "practice." Magic is an art and a science, and like everything else, if you want to be good at it, you need to practice.

Start small, with some daily magic rituals or with our home study courses. We also always have new teleconference courses starting. Check out these resources and see what kinds of magic rituals tickle your fancy:

Free "Real Magick" Ezine
Magic Ebooks
Magic Home Study Courses
Magic Email Courses
Magic Article Library
Current Teleconference Magic Courses

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garethfordwilliams/ / CC BY 2.0

Grounding Magic Rituals: The Power of Hematite

Are you feeling a little neurotic or out of sorts? Maybe feeling both wired and tired at the same time? It sounds like you need a grounding magic ritual to restore your balance.

These days it isn't unusual for people to be feeling a little crazy. The magical date, somewhere around 2012 is coming up, the economy is going up or down (depending on when you tune into the news), and people are being hit hard with all kinds of crazy events.

If you need balance in your life, now is the time to get grounded, magically, with some magic rituals that connect us with Earth energy.

Using Hematite for a Simple Magic Ritual
Hematite, like the Apache Tear, is a grounding stone that easily "pulls" and attracts energy, making it the perfect magical tool for grounding out unwanted energy. Hematite has long been known as an excellent stone for energy work, energy rebalancing, and it's powerful attractive force.

If you're feeling a little crazy, all you need to do is this simple magic ritual, which dumps all that crazy energy into the hematite stone.

1. Hold the hematite stone or wand in your dominant hand (the hand with which you point).
2. Flow unwanted energies into the hematite stone or wand. This is not a thinking exercise. Just will it and it will happen.
3. When the stone feels tingly or warm, you have grounded the unwanted energies into the stone. The magic ritual is complete.
4. Wrap the stone in a natural material, like cotton or wool, to store it safely.

You can do this simple magic ritual many times a day. A hematite stone or wand can usually store energy from this kind of magic ritual for about a month. After that, you need to cleanse the hematite to prevent the unwanted energies from coming back to you. Many magical practitioners bury their stone in the Earth for a moon cycle to cleanse it.

Others use a four-element cleansing with the firebowl and chalice. Either way, it's nice to have a couple of hematite wands handy so that you can use one as you cleanse the other. I have found that carrying a hematite wand carried in a velvet bag is a very effective yet discreet way to do this magic ritual.
Enjoy!

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The Magic of Willingness

How much do you LOVE it when you sit at the feet of a guru and he tells you that the secret to a happy life is something you totally don't do well? Like care more, or love more, or let go, or ... I know, wish for world peace?

I used to absolutely hate that. You?

Enter Willingness ...
Luckily, one of my spiritual teachers along the way taught me about the magic of willingness. He used to say to me, "You don't have to let go right now. You just have to be WILLING to let go. Can you be willing?"

Maybe I could be willing. I wasn't sure.

His response? "OK, if you're not sure you can be willing, how about being willing to be willing?"

Now any idiot can do that. I was willing to be willing to let go. And guess what? The Universe took care of the rest. Circumstances and situations changed, over time, without my even realizing it. I woke up one day and realized that something in me had "let go" of the situation with which I had been struggling.

Change happened while I wasn't looking ... all because I had been willing to be willing to let go.

Why Willingness is Magic
So what makes willingness such powerful? After all, just being willing to be willing doesn't sound like a lot of effort. In fact, it's kind of like slacking off. You don't have to care or love or let go or want world peace. You just have to be willing. Is that slacking or what?

Yup, that IS slacking, and therein lies the magic of willingness. When you focus on willingness, you take your attention away from whatever situation is bugging you and put all your energy into willingness. This is exactly the "crack in the doorway" the Universe is waiting on.

Once you have managed to drag your attention away from the situation, the Universe can get to work. It can do what it does best: magic, miracles, that kind of stuff. Why? Because you aren't wasting time worrying, fretting, and basically focusing on what's not working. So then, by Law of Attraction, you make room for the Universe to bring you what you DO want.

Silly But True ... That's Magic for You!
Silly, I know, but then again, most of magic is very, very simple when you get right to it. Magic is nothing more and nothing less then following the operating laws of the Universe. When you do that, you get magic. When you don't, you get ordinary life.

So if you want a really, really simplistic magic ritual, check out the magic of willingness. Or even the magic of being willing to be willing. It really helps when you've got something you just can't let go of, no matter how hard you try. Just be willing to be willing ... be willing in your heart ... and the magic happens.

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/libertinus/ / CC BY 2.0

Magic Rituals for Communicating with Sylphs and Other Elementals

Sylphs are wonderful magical allies to call upon in these times, when the world is topsy-turvy and you need immediate information to make quick decisions. Sylphs are the magical elementals associated with the element Air.

Sylphs are living beings made of pure air, and they specialize in communication and knowledge. That makes them very handy to have around in this day and age.

More About Magical Sylphs
A sylph is a living being, pure air, 3 to 18 inches in height, twisty in shape, and can be seen in dust devils or swirling smoke from cigarettes. They are clumsy and curious like young kittens, and hang around people a lot. Watch for sylphs around light objects like tinsel on a Christmas tree. You may also experience them as a light brush on your face. They are very quick, like to dart around and to move in spirals.

Sylphs love to communicate. They are very quick with short attention spans so you must be in their state to converse with them. It's best to communicate with mind because the spoken word is too slow. When you're traveling, you can talk to sylphs to get weather and road reports.

A Magic Ritual to Help You Communicate with Sylphs
So how do you communicate with a sylph? It's pretty easy. You follow a magic ritual similar to that of calling upon angels. Here's how:

1. Sit quietly and close your eyes, if possible.

2. Think the words, "I request the help of a sylph for [state your reason]."

3. Wait a second and the sylph will be there, though you may not be able to see it.

4. Quickly communicate your request with a thought, such as, "I need a weather report on the next 50 miles of this road. Thank you advance in for your help." Appreciation in advance of the sylph's help is key.

5. Wait a few more seconds. The sylph will return quickly with your answer. The answer will be a thought in your mind, possibly in your own voice. Don't dismiss it, trust it.

6. Thank the sylph again for its help.

The key to communicating with sylphs is to use your mind rather than spoken words to communicate. Sylphs are fleeting creatures with short attention spans. Your mind communicates much faster than your mouth, so "think" your requests when communicating with sylphs.

As always, appreciation is key when working with powers and beings in magic rituals. Always thank the sylph after you make your request and after you receive your response. The more appreciation you express, the better the results of your magic ritual.

You can also communicate with other elementals associated with Fire, Water, and Earth. These are salamanders, undines, and gnomes. The communication methods are different, and each serves a different purpose. All are useful to have as magical allies. You can learn more about each magical element as well as their associated elementals in our Four Element home study courses.

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wurzle/ / CC BY 2.0