Match Magic
Match magic is a versatile and easy sort of spellcrafting. Unfortunately, fire is a necessity so this is not for people who can’t light matches.
The basic concept of match magic is that the matchstick is charged with intent. Then, the match is burned to release the intent so the magic can go do its work. As the match burns, watch the flame to divine the success or manifestation of the spell.
1. Getting prepared
The only thing you really need are wooden matches. Lighters do not work for this particular kind of thing because the main focus is on charging and burning the wood, not the fire itself. I can find a box of 250 large wooden matches for a dollar here.
When you hold a lit match, the match cannot burn all the way down (or you will really burn your fingers!) This may lead you to feel like the entire spell has not been released. There are three solutions I have found and perhaps one will resonate with you depending on your beliefs:
a. Mark a line on the match with a pencil, and put the intent only on the burning end. When the flame reaches the pencil mark, blow it out. All the intent will be released without your fingers being burned. b. After the match is lit, carefully and firmly grasp one end with a pair of tweezers. This will allow the entirety of the match to burn, releasing all the intent. c. Recognize that the bit of unburnt match left over works to ‘ground’ the magic in your life, helping keep the intent attached to the physical plane as it goes about and does its work in the ethereal or astral.
If you choose, you may watch the match burn down in order to divine the success of the spell, or the path it will take during manifestation. The shape of the charcoal may also give you a clue as to the success of the magic. However, in order to read the omens in the flame, you should have a good understanding of what a regular, mundane match looks like when it burns. Get your box of matches and decide on a few things:
Will you be holding all your matches perfectly horizontal, or vertical, or in some other fashion?
Will you be holding the match with your fingers or some other tool?
How long will you allow each match to burn?
Ensure that you are wherever you are likely to do your match spells most often (it may be over an altar, or for me, my desk). Turn off any fans in the area, close windows, and generally reduce any drafts as much as possible.
When you have an idea of how you want the little ritual to go, light about ten uncharged matches in your working area and carefully observe how they burn. Note how high the flames tend to go, how quickly the flames move along the match, in what way the wood curls when it is burned, et cetera. Carefully save these burned matches (you could also take a photo) and use them as a control group to compare against your magical matches. You may or may not notice a distinct difference between how your plain matches compare with your magical ones; my magical matches tend to burn in a corkscrew shape and the flames often reach much higher.
2. Understanding the nature of match magic
Match magic is not a big kickass sort of spell. It can be powerful and forceful, but it is more like a paintball gun than a cannon. The wood itself can only hold so much energy, and the energy is released quickly instead of through a long, steady burn. This is really more like quick fix-it Band-aid magic than anything else. Here is what I have found match magic to be appropriate for:
Motivation
“Get me through the day/this class/this meeting”
Quick fix for anxiety, although only for a short amount of time
A nudge for someone to do something
Gaining focus for a task ahead
Because the matches burn so quickly, they are also appropriate for on-the-go devotionals or to add quick power to an existing spell. Many of us will leave tea lights on an altar to empower something; if you cannot leave a tea light burning, charging and burning a match may be a sufficient substitution.
Here is one paradigm explanation for how match magic “works”: Wood is good at holding magical intent and charge. The physical item is also excellent as a focus point. As you gather power, you can store it in the match. When you intuit that you have collected enough energy for the magical task at hand, use your magical willpower to imprint your intent on the raw energy. After you ‘stamp’ your intent in to the energy, the match is now a self contained charm. However, we want the magic to move ahead of us and around us in order blaze the trail for our success. When the match is lit, the energy is rapidly released and goes on its merry way.
The fire in this spell is transformative; full of changes. It transforms our intent in to reality; it releases contained energy in to flowing energy; it converts one situation in to another.
3. Charging the matches
Do not bother using your own energy for this kind of spell; you can actually get the energy within the match quite dense, and you may end up draining yourself. Instead, call upon an external energy. If you ground with a root system, you can call upon the powers of the earth to work for you. If you can gather energy from the space around you, do that - you can also use energy stored in crystals, or whatever other method you typically use for raising spell-energy.
In this spell, your energy is the wheel, not the clay - call upon energy from something else and use your magical reservoir to shape it.
Before you begin, ensure you have a simple statement of intent. The statement is probably better off being positive instead of negative. Here are some examples:
POSITIVE:
I will get all of my homework done today
Laura will skip class today
That dog will be silent today
NEGATIVE:
I will not be sleepy
My bills will not come in the mail today
John will not call me today
Hold a single match in your hand (marked with a pencil if that is how you prefer to do it). Call energy to you and direct it in to the match. At first the energy may be very thin and in a cloud around the matchstick. Compress the energy down until it is all contained within the wood. Draw up and compress more and more energy until you feel you have gotten enough. The matchstick may seem to be glowing very brightly, if you can 'see’ energy, and if you can feel energy the matchstick may make your skin feel quite weird. Using your magical will, keep the energy within the matchstick contained. Simultaneously use your will to stamp your statement of intent in to the energy, forming it and molding it so it is programmed to your will. If you don’t get what I mean, just imagine that the matchstick is full of all this raw, smooth energy. Then mentally shout at it until you intuit that the energy is programmed.
After this, you may wish to do a sealing action (“so mote it be”). Then immediately light the match and hold it in the same way you did during your practice runs. Watch the match burn and see if you can determine how the spell will go. Blow the match out when it is time and keep or discard the charcoal and leftover wood however it feels right to you.
If you wish, call appropriate and relevant energies instead of just using whatever. Air energy is appropriate for focus and mindfulness, while Mars energy is appropriate for acts of aggression.
Because the spell is released with fire it will by nature be quick to take effect and quick to burn out. Keep that in mind while writing up your spells.
