Preparing for Magick: The Witches' Pyramid

Most rituals and spells would fail dismally if the mind, will, body of energy, and physical body were not properly prepared. One of the ways in which this can be done is with the Witches’ Pyramid. There are several versions of this, but essentially, the Witches’ Pyramid has a base, four sides, and an interior. The base of the Witches’ Pyramid is knowledge; its interior is love. The four sides are:

• imagination;
• will;
• faith; and
• silence.

The Base of the Witches’ Pyramid – Knowledge

Magickal knowledge can come from so many places. It can come from books. However, books on magick and related topics must be selected carefully. Any book that promises to teach the control or manipulation of others should be discarded. Many books are full of spells and rituals, but some fail to address topics like how magick works, the ethics or hazards of magick, or the principles of magick. It's best to search for books that have detailed information on how to perform magick, and not simply a list of ingredients and steps for spells.

Knowledge can be gained from talented teachers. Look for someone who has used magick to enhance their own life and the lives of others. An ethical teacher will offer spiritual guidance, but will not dominate or control. He or she will never ask for sexual favors, but will expect their students to work hard for what they want. Most ethical teachers will not charge money for apprenticeship, but it is common to charge for public seminars or workshops. It is also not unreasonable for a teacher to expect to be compensated for materials and possibly their time.

The greatest teacher in magick is nature. There is an infinite amount of wisdom to be found on the highest mountains, the bluest oceans, and the greenest glades. For the magician who is open to receiving its message, nature can be the greatest of spiritual teachers.

The First Side of the Witches’ Pyramid – Imagination

In order to manifest something in magick, you must be able to imagine it first, to clearly visualize the end goal with clarity. You must be able to see, taste, smell, hear, and feel all the details of the intended spell or ritual. Moreover, you must be able to see all the steps necessary in completing the spell, both magickally and mundanely.

Being able to do this will require skills in the art of visualization. These can be developed in many ways. Meditation is effective, but it can be even simpler than that. Read a book, and practice visualizing every bit of what is described. Take moments from the past day and recreate them using only visualization. For the creative magician, developing the powers of the imagination presents no problem at all.

The Second Side of the Witches’ Pyramid – Will

When discussing the power of will in a magickal sense, it does not refer to desires or whims. Instead, it is the True Will, what really matters to the Higher Self. It is easier to raise power for something that you feel passionate about, and this is what True Will can identify, for it is fire, heart, and passion. Before true magick can be created, you must know what it is you truly want.

The other side of this coin is what is called the Focused Will. Once the True Will has identified the goal, and it has been visualized to its fullest extent, the Focused Will must pursue it. All of the energy that the Focused Will can muster, which is considerable, must be channeled to this one thing alone. This focus will allow true magick to happen.

The Third Side of the Witches’ Pyramid – Faith

Faith in yourself, in your magick is crucial. For the Focused Will to truly pursue a goal, there must be a foundation of belief that it is possible to work magick in the first place. This belief takes both time and experience to build. Start small, setting goals that are easily accomplished. As these things become a reality, confidence and belief will start to bloom.

The Fourth Side of the Witches’ Pyramid – Silence

The idea of silence in magick can have several meanings. Keeping silent about magickal workings does help avoid needless disbelief and even harassment from others; the true magician has no need to boast about their spells and rituals anyway. Silence, both within and without, is also necessary to become still enough to both sense and use the currents of psychic power that move around you everyday. So silence is an important part of the Witches’ Pyramid in more than one sense.

The Interior of the Witches’ Pyramid – Love

Magick that flows from love is simply more effective than that which flows from hatred. All things are connected, and love honors and cherishes these connections; hatred refuses them. Most everything in magick can be approached from a feeling of love and generosity, if you are simply willing to do so. Setting aside anger and fear is never an easy thing to do, but it will enhance the power and quality of your magicks.

These six things — knowledge, imagination, will, faith, silence, and love — comprise the Witches’ Pyramid. Master these principles and the power of the Pyramid and its qualities will answer to the magick within.

Foundations of Magick: The Dangers of Magick

Magick is not any more or less dangerous than anything else in life. Though there are many dangers relating to magick, and almost all of them are located within the mind of the practitioner. It is so easy to fall into certain dangerous traits, but with a little knowledge and foresight, and an understanding of magickal ethics, these can be avoided.

The Psychological Dangers of Magick

Almost all dangers, at least those relating to magick, are psychological in nature. The most common danger comes with the realization that magick is an extremely powerful tool, one with limitless possibilities. It is not uncommon for the green magician to feel a rush of power than can lead to a sense of omnipotence. When it comes to the practice of magick, believing that you’re infallible can lead to a great many problems.

Some people are prone to paranoia, and magicians are not immune to this. Occasionally, a magician will decide that they are being spied on or even attacked by some black magician who’s out to get them; this is simply not the case. Paranoia has no place in the practice of true magick.

There are also those people who get so wrapped up in something new that they lose touch with reality. This can also happen to magicians. They become enraptured with the possibilities that magick presents, and they lose sight of the necessity of the physical world. Perhaps they even begin to deceive themselves into believing that everything they think is reality. This can be avoided by keeping in touch with the real world, not losing touch with friends and family, and continuing with the more mundane activities of life. Even the most powerful magician needs to remember to cook dinner.

Becoming dependent on magick also happens to a few practitioners. Some people just want to find a magickal solution to everything. While magick may be able to help, it isn’t always the only, or even the best, answer to every problem. This is easily avoidable by simply using magick as a compliment to mundane activities, rather than a possible substitute.

Other Dangers of Magick

The earth will not open up and swallow you whole, but there are some real dangers of magick that every potential magician should be aware of. The most common is an imbalance of energy caused by one of two things: using up too much energy, or having an excess of magickal energy circulating the body.

Using too much of one’s own personal energy reserves can easily leave one feeling drained and exhausted. This should not be an issue, because there is energy everywhere, in every blade of grass and every breath of air. Draw what is needed and ground the excess. If the excess energy from a spell or ritual is not grounded, it remains in the body, and can have some interesting effects. If you feel as if you’ve had too much coffee, you can’t fall asleep, or have an unexplainable headache after a spell or ritual, it’s likely that you have too much excess energy. This can usually be solved by meditation.

Magick, like any other activity, has its risks. However, most agree that these risks are easily minimized and controlled though the application of correct magickal ethics. One should never let the potential risks prevent them from exploring the magick within.

Foundations of Magick: Ethics and Magick

For the most part, those choosing to work magick want to work magick with some kind of ethical guideline, some type of balance. This is all to the good, because whatever is done always comes back to the practitioner. Realizing that there are ethics involved in the practice of magick is the first step in avoiding the dangers of magick.

Magickal Ethics and Responsibility

The greatest ethical principle concerning the practice of magick is taking responsibility for one’s own life. It is the acknowledgment that everything in that life is there because of a choice that has been made, usually by the practitioner himself. These choices may have been made subconsciously, but they have been made nonetheless.

These choices relate to every aspect of life. Every decision made regarding relationships, career, family, spirituality, thoughts, and material matters are a direct result of choice. You have made your own bed, so the saying goes.

The Wiccan Rede and Causing Harm

There is much more to magickal ethics than simply taking responsibility. There are certain laws and principles that govern the ethical practice of magick. There is the Wiccan Rede, as an example, which states, “An ye harm none, do as ye will.” In plain language, this means that whatever one does, it must not harm anyone, including yourself; the idea of harm includes the physical, emotional, and mental. Everyone and everything is connected. Harm to one does harm to all.

There are many forms of harm, and it can be difficult to avoid them all. However, one of the most difficult things to resist, and the thing that can sometimes do the most harm, is to interfere in the lives of others. As a result of this, most ethical practitioners will not perform magick for anyone without first obtaining their informed consent. If someone does not want the help that magick can offer, it would be wrong to force it upon another individual.

The Threefold Law and Magick

The Law of Return, sometimes called the Threefold Law, basically states that what is send out returns, or like for like, to phrase it another way. This means that if one were to send out a curse, then he or she would likely end up cursed as well. Send out love, and love returns. Acting out of love and compassion, no matter the situation, is much safer, in the long run, than acting out of anger or vengeance.

There are many models for ethics and magick, such as the Witches' Pyramid. The application of ethics to the practice of magick is an important factor when deciding to follow a magickal path. The connection that is made between the subconscious mind and the Higher Self will depend, at some point, on the moral compass of the magician. Truly embracing magickal ethics will only serve to enhance the magick within.

The Sabbat of Ostara: The Egg and Ostara

It is unlikely that you will find a symbol more connected to spring than the egg. It is an archetype of life, death, and renewal, embodying all that is the Spring Equinox. The idea of rebirth in the spring is a recurring theme in most of the spring festivals around the world, from Ostara to Easter.

How Did the Egg Come to Symbolize Spring?

In ancient times, symbolism was derived from the close observation of nature. Before the advent of the home refrigerator and the arrival of a truly global marketplace, food was truly a seasonal commodity. One of the commodities available through the spring and summer was the egg.

The laying of an egg is controlled by sunlight. When the retina (the part of the eye that captures light) of an egg-laying hen is stimulated by sunlight for a period of twelve consecutive hours of light, she will lay eggs. When this stimulation has ended, the hen will cease to lay eggs. In ancient times, the only light man had access to was fire, and fire is not strong enough to fool the retina of a hen. Only natural light would work, and it was only between the Spring Equinox and the Fall Equinox that there was more than twelve hours of light. Therefore, fresh eggs were only available for six months of the year.

It would be hundreds of years before the science of a hen’s retina could be fully understood, but the pattern was easy enough for anyone to discern. Hens would begin laying eggs at the Vernal Equinox, the festival of fertility and rebirth. At the Autumnal Equinox, the festival of death and rest, hens would case laying eggs. This cycle meant that eggs were a natural symbol of new or returning life.

How are Eggs Used to Celebrate Spring Around the World?

Eggs are commonly used for ritual or symbolic purposes, and also for decoration. In many areas, such as west-central Africa and remote areas of Eastern Europe, eggs are buried near cemeteries to encourage reincarnation. This practice also occurs in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States.

In many parts of Asia, eggs are dyed red and offered at funerals or births. It may seem odd that the same gift offered for birth would also be given for death. However, ancient thought saw life, death, and rebirth as different points on the same cycle. They were connected, and this connection endures in the modern era.

Ukrainian traditions regarding eggs abound. Eggs dyed a bright yellow, often called krashanka, are eaten to celebrate the rebirth of the sun around the time of Ostara. The more intricate eggs, decorated with bright colors, that so many people recognize are often called pysanky. These beautiful eggs are used as talismans of fertility, protection, and prosperity.

Easter eggs are a common practice. While generally made to entertain children, there is a deeper meaning behind these ‘Eostre’ or ‘Ostara’ eggs. They honor the return of light to the earth, invoke the powers of fertility, and celebrate the idea of reincarnation. Easter eggs, along with the Easter Bunny, are a holdover from a previous time, and are still enjoyed throughout the world today.

The egg has been a symbol of life, death, and rebirth for many thousands of years. The connection of the egg to the celebration of the Vernal Equinox is also important to the modern Wiccan festival of Ostara, and many egg rituals exist today that rely upon its power.