“Charging” a candle means instilling it with magical intent. A candle that has been charged fills your personal space with the intention of all four elements.
Once you clarify your intention, cleanse your candles by passing them through the purifying smoke of a cedar bundle or some incense. This stage is especially important if you have purchased new candles for your rituals from a store or metaphysical shop. Cleansing will rid the candles of any odd energies they may have absorbed from other places or people.
Essential elements for this ritual are one candle of your favorite color, a candle holder, copal or cinnamon essential oil to represent spirituality, paper and pen, a ritual knife, and any visual aids you may require, such as photos, tarot cards, or a drawing of a deity you have made or found specifically for this ritual. Carefully select a representation of a deity with whom you feel a connection or who you believe will be benevolent toward your intention.
The “body” of the ritual refers to the act itself. It will further your intention if you carve related symbols and power words into your candle with the tip of your knife. Anoint the candle with the essential oil you have chosen. Dressing the candle with the oil from top to bottom adds the influence of attraction to your spell. Conversely, dressing the oil in the opposite direction, from bottom to top, adds banishing power to your spell.
With this blissful combination of oils, you can summon the spirit of love and harmony any day of the year. Amber, rose, and sandalwood essential essences create a sensual scent that lingers on your skin for hours.
This ritual permeates your handmade massage oil with passion. Your intention and intuition add a lovely and loving magic to your time together. Gather the following supplies:
These essential oils are excellent choices for anointing lamps as well as yourself. If you are anointing yourself, you need to use a carrier oil; dilute one part essential oil with three parts carrier oil. I recommend almond oil as it adds to the sensuality without overwhelming the other scents. Before a tryst, take a hot bath and then anoint yourself after you step out of the water. Slather the enchanted essential oil over your entire body and rub it into your skin. You are now ready for a lust-filled evening.
Essential oils are highly concentrated extracts of flowers, herbs, roots, or resin extract, sometimes diluted in neutral base oil. Try to ensure you are using natural oils instead of manufactured, chemical-filled perfume oils; the synthetics lack any real energy. Also, approach oils with caution, and don’t get them in your eyes. Clean cotton gloves are a good idea to keep in your kitchen for handling sensitive materials.
You can avoid any mess and protect your magical tools by using oil droppers. While you are learning and studying, find a trusted herbalist or the wise sage at your local metaphysical shop; usually their years of experience offer much in the way of useful knowledge you can use to your advantage. I have included as much as I can in this at-a-glance guide to oils. These essential oils are excellent choices for anointing lamps as well as yourself:
Cinnamon is energetic, spicy, and warm. It stimulates the mind as well as the body.
Ginger is vigorous and revitalizing and heightens desire and comfort.
Jasmine sparks sensuality and inspires feelings of positivity, confidence, and pure bliss.
Lavender is soothing, calming, nurturing, and relaxing.
Orange is a light, citrusy oil that restores balance and liftsmoods, enhancing playful emotions.
Rose brings youthfulness, enhances self-esteem, aidscirculation, and relieves tension.
Sandalwood is a woody aroma that relieves tension andrelaxes tense muscles.
Ylang-ylang’s sweet, floral aroma is used as an aphrodisiac;it is relaxing and reduces worry and anxiety.
Have a girlfriend get-together and mix up a batch of this magical salve. This oil is redolent with the properties of the four directions, which are the source of all power. This oil will contain your combined energies and can be used during subsequent rituals.
Lavender is for the east, representing mental clarity and ideas.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...
