A Guide To Spellwriting
INTENT The intent of a spell is its end goal, what it will do, specifically. Overall, intent can be vague, with “love”, “binding”, and “luck” all good examples. When writing a spell, though, we want to get more specific. What about love? What about luck? Perhaps instead, “increasing self love” or “making dice rolls in tabletop RPG’s more favorable” instead. This is to give the spell caster something specific to focus energy on, and to make it very clear to the universe what we want to happen.
TARGET The target of a spell is who or what the spell will take effect on. Is your target one specific person? A family? A city? A country? The world? Yourself? A pet? A plant? Your favorite pair of shoes? Knowing the target helps us further focus our energy, and really pinpoints where we want to see our spell take effect.
TIMING Is there a specific time of the year, month, week, or day you want your spell to take place? Are you using a specific day of the week’s intent? A moon phase? A specific sort of weather? How will when the spell is cast effect the outcome? Will it effect the outcome at all?
LOCATION Where will you cast the spell? Do you want to be at an altar? Can it be on the go? Should it be a natural setting like the forest or the beach? Will the location of the casting impact the outcome?
MATERIALS What will you use in the spell? Your spell can have as many or as few materials or ingredients as you wish, and you can have none if you like. Each spell item and ingredient should have a purpose, and support your overall intent. You’d not want a money-associated ingredient in a love spell without first checking why that’s there, and making that clear in your spell. If we throw it in at random, we could end up diluting and muddling the intent, or worse, end up attracting someone who only wants us for our money!
PREPARATION Do any of the materials need to be prepared or placed in a certain way before your spell? Do you need a tarot card propped up, a candle carved, or a circle cast? Do you want to be freshly bathed before your spell? Do you want to fast for a day before your spell? Why? How do you want your space and your self prepared for your spell?
METHOD Here is the actual spell! How are you going to cast? Generally, the idea is to build up (raise) energy focused on your intent, then cast that energy away, aiming it at your target, but this is the place to get really creative, and you can throw that idea out the window should you choose. Do you want a jar spell? A knot spell? A full ritual? A single word? How will you get your intent out into the universe? How will you focus your spell on your target? Moreover, consider how you’ll end your spell; firmly make it clear where the spell-casting ends, and the spell is officially cast.
GROUNDING You may want to include a method to return to normal after a spell, and re-settle your energy, especially if things get intense with your spell, or a lot of energy moves around. Your grounding method can be as complex as a full on grounding exercise, or as simple as watching a funny video and having a snack. How are you exiting the spell-casting mindset?
DISPOSAL Now that your spell is done, you may have physical items that need to be disposed of. After all, we can’t just have ashes and herbs laying around forever. When describing how to clean up after a spell, specifically consider if anything needs to be kept for the spell to continue working. After that, focus on how to dispose of each item in an incredibly earth friendly manner. Remember that salt is awful for nature, and will prevent plants from being able to grow, that glass and metal and plastic are NOT biodegradable, and that not all that is good for humans is good for animals. Don’t be a jerk to the earth and the universe right after asking it a favor!
SAFETY!!!! No matter what you do or don’t do of the above, be sure to be safe! If summoning any entities, be sure to know how to banish them should they become problematic. If using fire, utilize fire safety, and never abandon something even if it’s only producing embers. If using something sharp, utilize the safety circle, and ensure no one is within reach of the sharp edge. There is NO EXCUSE to neglect safety when spell writing, and it should always be considered, especially in spells you’re sharing with others. One can never assume that everyone else knows all they do!
