Ok, so I get a lot of shit for calling low level spells weaker or low level, so here's a guide to actually crafting powerful spells.
What you need to know right off the bat is that you're layering powers on each other, and if you draw on more powers, you generally get better results. Now, there is some level of balance to this, as doing too much can muddle the intent of your spell, but the "too much" threshold is going to be something you learn to use intuition to find for yourself.
So, let's begin! Here are components of your spells to layer on top of each other
The most basic, your ingredients: what are the correspondences of your oils, waters, herbs, candles, and stones?
The time you do it: what day are you doing it? What phase is the moon in? Where are the planets? What day of the week are you doing it?
Location: Are you doing it in the woods? Near a river? Can the light of the moon touch you? What cardinal direction are you facing?
Visualization: While I don't believe intent alone is the driving force behind all magical works, that doesn't mean mental pursuits during your spell work are worthless. Visualization can be an incredibly powerful layer in your spells. What does the magic you're controlling look like? What is it doing?
Who you call on: Will you petition deities, spirits, ancestors, or fae for power? How will you do this?
Symbols: What shapes are your stones? Did you use runes or alchemical symbols? Did you make a sigil? How are your symbols incorporated into the spell?
Energy: Where are you getting the power for the spell? Yourself? The earth? A charged crystal? The spirits you petitioned?
Repetition: How many times has this spell or ritual been done before? An old spell has a lot of power behind it due to the sheer amount of times it has been used. Additionally, how many times do you perform an action or speak an incantation in the spell?
Incantation: what are you saying? Are you speaking to an entity or the earth itself? What language is the incantation in? Is the language related to who or what you're petitioning or is it just the language it was first written in?
Numbers: How many ingredients are you using? How many times will you perform an action? How many crystals/flowers/spoonfuls/candles/etc will you use? Numbers have correspondences.
Colors: Colors have correspondences too. What color is your candle? Your ink?
Tools: What tools are you using? How have those tools been powered or charmed? What have you used them for previously? How old are they? What energies power them?
Traditions: What traditions are you using? Where did the correspondences you use come from? If you're mixing traditions, do those traditions mix well? I do some amount of brauchery, and it doesn't play well with other traditions.
Order: What order do you do things in your spell? Which way do you stir? Do you petition spirits before the spell or during it?
And finally: intent and will. Yes, I'm not a fan of this stuff because tumblr sees it as the end all, be all. However, your intent will guide the way the spell goes, and your willpower is going to get you through anything tricky. YOU have to have the power and knowledge to make the spell work. If you're in a place that is specifically yours (like your house) you have sovereignty and your willpower will decide whether or not entities in the area respect that sovereignty. I could talk for a long time on this but I won't because this passage isn't the whole point of the post
To conclude:
Hopefully this illustrates why a cup of tea isn't the greatest spell when it only includes ingredients and maybe some intent. I know I probably didn't get every component you can add to a spell, but hopefully I got most of it.
Hope this helps someone out there!
