Middle Earth Magic: Inspired Ideas and Seasonal Spells for Your Enchanted Life

I grew up on a farm in West Virginia and learned much about herbs, trees, animals, gardening, foraging  and so much about nature. I incorporate this wisdom I learned from elders in my family into my spellwork. When I finally left the farm, I majored in Medieval Studies, my attempt to emulate my idol, J.R.R. Tolkien. All these influences led me to my own blended brew which I call "middle earth magic," containing a mix of the modern and the time-tested "old ways." 

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New Year, New You: Metamorphosis and Transmutation

Here is a personal ritual I recommend for the New Year, whether it is Samhain (October 31, All Hallow’s Eve) or Saturnalia (December 17-24). It can also be performed any time you feel the need for renewal or personal reinvention. Like a caterpillar, we can burst out of our old form and shed old skin. Old habits that no longer serve should be released. If drinking alcohol, for example, has become a problem for you, let go, find a Twelve-Step program, and let miracles happen in your life as you release the old and welcome the new. We must let go of the past in order to look to the future. A well-timed ritual can be the process by which you let go of that past. It formalizes the act and marks the time of entry into a new present and new future.

 

 Start with a ritual bath, or this Inspirational Immersion, to cleanse yourself.

 

Immersion

 At the day’s last light, pour a bath. As your run the water, pour drops of bergamot, rosemary, vetiver, and eucalyptus oils into the steaming waters. Bathe in the gathering dark. As darkness begins to fill the room, meditate and pray for positive change in your life. Know that this is the day your life will surely change forever.

 

 

Metamorphosis Ritual

 Choose a place in your home or wherever you feel secure to do this deeply personal ritual. Allow it to be dark. You are in the dark cocoon and about to burst out into the light. Cast your circle of change by moving clockwise around the room three times. Notice as you walk that you can feel the darkness increasing. You are creating a magical space in which you will work for your desired change.

 

 Stand in the middle of the circle and speak aloud what you want to get rid of in your life. Speak the truth from the safe center of your sanctuary. Close your eyes and turn to the east. Now, using creative visualization, call up the element of air. Picture a piece of the day sky filled with clouds and the night filled with stars. This is the element of air. Wait until you feel its presence fully entered in the circle and speak aloud:

 

I face the east; I am air. I call upon the powers of the sky and the stars to aid me now.

 Now turn to the south and visualize a flaming red ball of sun, which is fire, heat, and life. You will know the element of fire is present by the heat you feel in your circle. Speak aloud:

 

I face south; I am fire. I call upon the powers of flame and heat, the passion of fire to help me through. Burn away the old, my former self.

 

Now turn to the west and visualize the waters of the world, oceans, rivers, creeks, and lakes, all merging into a single drop of the holiest water. Speak aloud:

I face the west. I am made of water. I call upon the powers of water, more powerful than any stone. I ask the waters of life to cleanse me and purify me, ready me for total change.

 

Now face the north and visualize the green of the earth, the soil and seeds of change. Speak aloud:

I face the north. I am grounded in this earth. I call upon the powers of earth, our planet, to give me the strength to change.

 

Stand still in the center of your circle and feel the energies of the elements, the powers of the four directions, and the strength of nature’s helpers. Relax into this energy and allow visions, ideas, and inspiration to arise. Welcome new feelings and sensations. You should be open to experiencing new patterns of thought. Thinking in a new way is one way to shed your old skin. Now begin to move and stretch in your circle of magic. Reach up as high as you can, and bend and bow as you emerge from the cocoon of your old self. Breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling slowly and fully. After ten breaths, you should being to feel a buzzing sensation at the top of your head. This is the signal that you have arrived at a new level of consciousness. You have shed your old limits; your transmutation is complete.

 

Walking counterclockwise, retrace the steps of your circle. As you walk, speak your gratitude to the elements and the directions, taking care to give thanks for all the help you have received during this circle of change. Your circle is now open.

 

As you go through the next few days, reflect on your new feelings and impressions. New people will come into your life. New opportunities will arise. You have given yourself the gift of new life. Enjoy this new post-metamorphic phase of change and treasure it.

 

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    Cerridwen Greenleaf has worked with many of the leading lights of the spirituality world including Starhawk, Z Budapest, John Michael Greer, Christopher Penczak, Raymond Buckland, Luisah Teish, and many more. She gives herbal, crystal and candle magic workshops throughout North America. Greenleaf's graduate work in medieval studies has given her deep knowledge she utilizes in her work, making her work unique in the field. A bestselling author, her books include Moon Spell Magic, The Book of Kitchen Witchery, The Magic of Gems and Crystals and the Witch’s Spell Book series.  She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.  

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