Before I even begin this one, I’m going to say - don’t stress. Casting your first spell can be one of the most intimidating things when you’re first starting out on your path. The issue, I think, is that when we see spells or rituals in pop culture it can seem to be this massive thing. Perfect rhyming words, uncommon herbs with fancy names, 1700 candles that have been anointed by a High Priestess with sigils carved into them. However, like the rest of your path, performing your first spell doesn’t have to be spot on the first time, and believe me, it won’t.
You will forget things. I did, and that’s okay.
You might find it odd. Again, totally fine!
You might even decide half way through that you’re not happy with the way you thought you were going to perform the spell, or the way the books said to do it isn’t really your jam.
All of the above is 100% okay.
To perform your spells, you don’t need the biggest crystal ball, strangest sounding essential oils or an assortment of expensive tools. Use what you have at your disposal and what you feel comfortable working with.
By the end of this post, I aim to get you feeling more confident in taking those first steps or giving it another go.
Let’s start with the prep work. And yes, most spells will take some prep work. Of course, you can go for it on a whim when the fancy takes you, however, if you’re feeling like this is something you want to do, check in with your emotions first. What is it that is making you want to do the spell? Successful spells require a clear mind and calm. If you are angry, sad, overly excited, etc, it can throw the spell off balance.
You’re going to need a pen and paper. Come up with a clear and concise statement in your mind that sums up EXACTLY what you want your spell to achieve. It is so important to make sure that your wording explains the purposes clearly.
Think of a spell like a genie - if you don’t make the wish exactly as you want the results, the genie can find loopholes and you may not get the desired result.
REMEMBER - MAGICK TAKES THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE. By this, I mean that Magick will find and follow the easiest route it can to bring what you have called out for into your life.
For example, if you want to do a spell to bring in more money and it’s very vague, it leaves a lot of leeway. You could do the spell, and within 2 days to get a call from your manager that you’re getting a pay rise! FAB! However, you get 1p for more an hour. You’re bringing in more money, but 8p a day probably isn’t going to make much of a difference. You were thinking a little more than that right?
When my friend and I do spells together, if we’re trying to draw in something, we always state that it harms none. We’re not Wiccan, but, we don’t want anyone to get hurt just so we can draw in a bit more dolla. Ya know? You can also add this in as well!
You will also want to make a list of anything you want to use to enhance your spell.
If you want to get really particular, you can research the best day to perform the spell you want to do and set a date with yourself to complete it.
Assuming you’re ready to move forward straight away, you’ll want to gather everything you need and set the tone. If it is accessible to you, feel free to light some candles, dim the lights, put on whatever music on gets you calm and feeling magickal. Don’t feel like you need to be listening to a fantasy theme either. Although magickal, if listening to Lo-fi hip hop, trap or metal gets you in the zone, go with that.
Your next step is going to be calling in the corners (also called Casting a circle). From here on out, it gets a little bit more experimental for you. I and many, many good books and give you a fantastic explanation of how to do this, however, as I’ve said above, eventually, you will find a way to make it personal and comfortable for you. The purpose of this step is to create a protective barrier around where you’re going to be making magick and to work with the assistance of the elements in your work.
Starting with the east corner (this is how I’ve always learned but some also start with the north) work your way around clockwise calling in each of the elements. (Moving clockwise is associated with drawing thing in.) You can use your finger, athame or wand to draw this energetic circle or if it's more comfortable for you, you can visualize it in your mind. This is something I do personally and even like to visualize the element in action as I call in that quarter. For example, at each corner, I will picture the most incredible version of that element I can think of. For water, I picture a waterfall and lagoon, for fire, a volcano and so on.
Tip - If you only have a small area you can do this, you only need to visualize the circle big enough for you to be able to sit comfortably in which any bits you’d gathered together. It doesn’t need to be a whole room.
Element and correspondences:
Air - East - Yellow - Feather/ incense - Sylphid
Fire - South - Red - Candle flame - Salamander
Water - West - Blue - Water - Undines
Earth - North - green - Salt/ crystals - Gnomes
Note - Casting a circle in this way isn’t everyone's jam. However, it is a great starting point and habit to get into, which as I said can be adjusted to suit the person casting in the future. Check out my post of casting a circle for full details on the above step.
When you feel a connection to each of the elements and your circle, physically or mentally drawn in complete take 3 deep, cleansing breaths to calm your mind and release any tension you might be holding. Giving yourself some time to the center is super helpful when performing spells, especially if you're new to it.
Now, you’re ready to start your spell. Try and follow this as you’ve planned it, however, please don’t stress if you realize you forgot something and have to step out of the circle to grab it. You can use your wand, athame, fingers or visualization to create a vertical “cut” in the circle to step through, sealing it behind you if you need to step out and repeat this to step back in. It’s incredibly important that if something doesn’t go quite as you expected it to, that you’re not hard on yourself about it. Not only is this just good practice for your own personal self-care, but it will also help you keep you in that centered and steady-state of mind that is key for performing Magick.
Once you’ve completed your spell, close the circle by releasing the corners, picture each of the elements freely moving away from you. Going anti-clockwise(anti-clockwise if associated with releasing/banishing), thanking any spirits, elemental, ancestors even just the universe. It’s always good to send a little thanks out into the universe.
Before tidying away your things (if you have time to do so before) write down how you felt the spell went, how it made you feel, what you might do differently next time, what (if) you learned anything. If you’re in a position where you have to get you to spell things tidied away as quickly as possible so no one sees’s do this first, but then make time for writing. It’s just easier when it’s all super fresh in your mind.
And there you have it, your spell is complete. The energy of the spell will continue to manifest itself and do its thing and all you need to do is take some time each day after the spell to focus on what it is you’re trying to draw in/ banish/ whatever it was.
I Hope you’ve found something useful in this post. I had loads of fun writing it for you.
