The magical upheaval of rebirth is a profound and transformative experience that has been revered in various cultures throughout history. It represents a fundamental shift in consciousness, a shedding of old patterns and beliefs, and a reawakening to the true essence of one's being. The journey of rebirth is often described as a profound spiritual awakening, where individuals experience a deep sense of connection to the divine and the universe. It is a process that involves moving beyond the limitations of the ego and tapping into a higher consciousness. During this transformative process, individuals often face challenges and obstacles that test their resilience and determination. These challenges can vary from emotional and psychological struggles to physical and material hardships.
This interesting and unusual castle, with a massive D-shaped tower, is not very well-known now, and worth a visit – but not on dark and stormy nights.
Another favourite place, Traquair House is alleged to be one of the oldest houses continually inhabited in Scotland, with a history stretching back some 900 years and having welcomed 27 kings or Queens. In the current climate of cross-faction play, restrictions on race selection have significantly diminished, affording players the freedom to choose the race that offers the most potent racial abilities for their Mistweaver Monk.
These challenges can vary from emotional and psychological struggles to physical and material hardships. However, it is through these difficulties that individuals are able to cultivate strength, wisdom, and compassion. One of the key themes of rebirth is the concept of surrender.
Clay magick: Creative casting for the artistic witch
One of the first things you learn about casting spells is that you must have the will to manifest your desires, and you must direct enough energy for the idea to move into reality. I have learned that my spells are most effective, and often work quicker, when my passions are ignited as I cast the spell. I don’t mean that I passionately want the spell to work — if you are willing something to happen then you already want it passionately. What I mean is that the casting process is one of my passions. I am an artistic witch, so casting creatively ignites my passion for the creative activity, and is heightened by the exhilaration of doing magick. A number of activities could be categorized as creative casting, but today I want to share my favourite method of creative casting: Clay magick.
I love clay, you can make so many different things with it! Cell phone stands, jewellery holders, beads, even home decor! With clay, I can combine creativity and casting- an art witch’s favourite crossover (well this art witch at least!). The versatility of clay is only as limited as your imagination, so clay can be used to creatively cast spells for any intention. To help you get started, I will share some of the ways I use clay magick in my witchcraft practice: devotional art, enchanted beads, protection for your altar and sacred space, and healing magick.
To help you choose your clay, or the paint to decorate the sculpture once it is baked or dried, I have included a table of the magical attributes commonly associated with colours based on information I gathered from themagickalcat.com and witchepedia.com.
Sculpt offerings as a part of your devotional practice
Author, witch, and Priestess of the Morrigan, Stephanie Woodfield defines devotional practice as the art of honouring and connecting with a deity. She brilliantly outlines how to develop a devotional practice in her books Dark Goddess Craft and Celtic Lore & Spellcraft of the Dark Goddess. She establishes general steps one would take to develop their practice, but encourages readers to establish a connection with the deity by choosing offerings of personal significance. Deities often favour certain herbs, foods, or drinks, but most would much rather receive an offering from you that has sentimental value over their established preferences. Offerings are given for a number of reasons: Appreciation, respect, as a bargaining tool. Common devotional offerings are liquors or spirits, wine, milk, food, herbs, and incense. While these are effective offerings, they would not even come close to the effectiveness of an offering you spent time meticulously moulding, carving, blending, scoring, — in short, sculpting something from clay. I can feel a major difference between the energy in response to generic offerings of herbs and incense to the response for an offering I made with my own hands.
In my own practice I have just started working with Mercury, so as you can see I’ve made a candle holder that is in the shape of the planetary symbol with colours that are associated with the Roman God. When making a sculpture as an offering to initiate a relationship, I suggest you create something that is associated with the deity you will be introducing yourself to. If you are creating an offering as a token of gratitude for a favour you will be asking, or for a blessing you have received, you could create something that symbolizes what you desire or what you’ve received. When the offering is an acknowledgement of the deity’s power, sculpt something that you associate with that quality. For example, I sculpted a torc (a Celtic neck piece worn by leaders or royalty) out of clay as an offering for the Morrigan, to tell her how I admire and respect her regality, as well as associate her with honour.
This should be fun, meaningful, and crafted with care. While sculpting, keep the intent in the forefront of your mind. That energy will go into the clay, so you will not have to charge it before giving it as an offering. Once the clay is baked (or hardened if you used air drying clay), and painted or embellished to your liking, then it is ready to be taken to your altar and offered to the Divine.
Enchanted beads
You could enchant beads for any magical purpose, but I like to do so with practical purposes that are helpful from time to time. For example, I have a necklace with a bead enchanted to bring me courage and confidence, so I can approach a prospective client without feeling nervous. I have beads that ensure added protection whenever I wear the anklet they are on. I have beads on a headdress that enhance my psychic abilities, for times when I can’t seem to focus but really need to perform divination to help me deal with a dilemma. The bead shapes, colours, and sometimes inscriptions are all in correspondence with the intent.
Once your bead is dried or baked and the paint is dry, you are ready to charge the bead with your intent. I like to cleanse the beads first by wafting them through sage smoke, and then through incense smoke to bless them. (Dragons’ blood is my favourite, but other popular choices include frankincense, myrrh, rosemary, or cedar.) If you wish, cast a circle in the manner you are accustomed to. I only cast a full ritual circle if I am enchanting a bead with the energy of a deity. I hold the bead in my power hand, and see the intended purpose in my mind. If the bead is for protection, I will see that a protective bubble of energy surrounding me when I put the necklace bearing that bead around my neck, or I’ll see myself standing tall and confident when the bead is to be charged with courage. I hold that image in my mind, and allow the energy of the intent to build in my body. When the energy has filled my body and is radiating with power, I will send the energy down my dominant arm, out of my palm and into the bead. When I see that the bead is glowing with the intended energy in my minds’ eye, I will put the bead on my altar to be blessed by my Matron deity, and then will ground and release any excess energy buzzing around in my body.
Protective Altar Pieces
Most altars are adorned with a protective symbol of some form: the pentacle, a cross, a triskelion, to name a few. Since I am partial to Celtic witchcraft I have a clay triskelion above my altar. When crafting your protective symbol, you may wish to evoke your Patron or Matron deity because the protection would be much stronger when the altar piece contains the energy of you and a god. Use colours that make you think of protection, barriers, and safety in general. I chose blue and purple, for both physical and psychic protection. You could create a disc with the shape carved out, or you could roll the clay into thin pieces and make the shape alone. It is your altar, so do whatever you think will work best.
Just like the protective beads, the altar piece should be charged after it is baked and, if you so choose, painted. I suggest charging the piece periodically, such as once a month or every three months. To help the piece retain energy you could use copper wire as a frame for the shape. Copper is a great tool in witchcraft, because it is a conductor for energy. If you create a closed circuit with copper wire, as in the wire touches end to end, the energy will continue to circulate. I made a copper circle and then pushed it into the clay disk, then I rolled thin strips of clay to lay over the disk in the shape of the triskelion. Some sources say that if you create a closed circuit with copper or some other conductor, the energy will continue to circulate and will never need to be recharged. That very well could be true, but I never did well in science class, so to be on the safe side I charge my pendant every Blue Moon.
Healing magick
You have several options when using clay for healing magick. You could create a talisman in the shape of a heart, a person, or another shape that represents the ailment, and charge it with a healing intent. You could make a pendant and inscribe a symbol or a charm of a healing spell. Healing magick is exceedingly difficult, and it takes a lot of power to heal a human or an animal. I have successfully cast one healing spell in my life, and I did so by using a poppet.
Poppet magick is often associated with hexes, but it is an ancient practice that can also used for helpful, good magick (probably much more than it is used to curse anyone). About six months ago my mother went to the doctor for chronic back pain and discovered that she had a herniated disk. The doctors told her that it could heal on its own, but if it didn’t she would need surgery. Not wanting to go under the knife, she came to me and asked me to cast a healing spell. I spent weeks researching various methods, and ended up adapting a spell from Celtic Lore & Spellcraft of the Dark Goddess that used poppet magick, blood magick, and I called on the powers of the elements, as well as a deity (Morgan le Fay, a guise of the Morrigan). I had just started sculpting, so my poppet barely resembled a human. It had a head and four limbs, so it was good enough. I took a bit of my mothers hair, and had her put a few drops of blood on the dolls back. I had scooped out a little hole where the heart was, and that was where I tucked her hair, and had my mother put another drop of blood. When you use a clay poppet, you could put hair, nail clippings, a drop of blood, or any other magical ingredients in the heart of the doll, and cover the hole with clay.1 I first cast a spell linking the doll to my mother. I had symbols of the four elements at the corresponding corners of my altar. I wafted incense over the doll to blow away the injury in the eastern corner. I waived the doll over the flame of a candle in the southern corner, to burn away the pain. I sprinkled water over the doll in the western corner to wash away the injury. Finally, I laid the doll in a container of earth from my property, so that the earth will absorb the injury, and heal my mother.
Creative casting
Clay magick provides many ways to sculpt your desires into reality. While I only addressed a handful of ideas – beads, offerings, statues, poppets – there are many more ways to work clay into your magical practice. The number of options is only as limited as your imagination. I’ve made divination stones, protective wall decor, offering bowls, and that is just in the past week.
You are a creative person. (Yes, I am talking to you!) You can try out one of the projects I have described, but what I am really hoping for is that my ideas have inspired you to come up with even more creative ways to incorporate clay magick into your practice. When you add the fiery heat of passion to any activity you add to the quality – and in this case you increase the chances of creatively casting successful spells.
- for more advice on poppet magick, try http://www.earthwitchery.com/poppet-magick.html [↩]
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rest in my grave, where I’ve no rested yet, and never will I trouble the house mair till the day o’ doom.’
Individuals must let go of old attachments, beliefs, and identities in order to make room for new possibilities. It is through this process of surrender that individuals are able to break free from the chains of the past and embark on a new, liberated life. The magical aspect of rebirth lies in its ability to transform individuals from the inside out. It is a process that goes beyond superficial changes and touches the core of one's being. Through this transformation, individuals are able to align themselves with their true purpose and express their most authentic selves. Furthermore, the magical upheaval of rebirth often leads to a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for life. Individuals who have undergone this transformative experience often report feeling a renewed sense of wonder and awe for the world around them. They develop a heightened awareness of the interconnectedness of all things and a deep appreciation for the beauty and abundance of existence. In conclusion, the magical upheaval of rebirth is a deeply transformative journey that holds the potential for profound spiritual growth. It involves surrendering to the process of transformation, overcoming challenges, and stepping into a new, more authentic version of oneself. Through this process, individuals are able to tap into their true essence and experience a deep sense of connection to the divine and the universe..
Reviews for "Embracing the Unknown: The Magic of Rebirth"
1. John - 1 star
I found "The Magical Upheaval of the Rebirth" to be extremely disappointing. The story was convoluted and lacked any real substance. The characters were one-dimensional and had no depth or development. The writing style was also weak, with awkward sentence structure and a lack of descriptive language. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and well-written fantasy novel.
2. Sarah - 2 stars
"The Magical Upheaval of the Rebirth" fell short of my expectations. The plot had potential, but it was poorly executed. The pacing was inconsistent, with moments of action followed by long stretches of dullness. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the characters. Additionally, there were numerous grammatical and spelling errors that detracted from the overall reading experience. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book to others.
3. Alex - 2 stars
I was hoping for a captivating and enchanting read when I picked up "The Magical Upheaval of the Rebirth," but sadly, it failed to deliver. The storyline felt disjointed and lacked coherence, making it difficult to follow the events. The world-building was minimal, leaving me feeling disconnected from the setting. Additionally, the characters were poorly developed and lacked depth, making it difficult to form an emotional connection with them. Overall, I was disappointed by this book and would not recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre.