Before You Cast, Three Questions You Need To Ask Yourself

1) Have I done everything I can to resolve the situation without magic?

Try all the mundane methods of attaining your goals before resorting to spellcraft. If you want a job, send out your resume before you break out the green candles and patchouly. If you want to meet someone special, try reading the personals or signing up for an adult ed class before you reach for the aphrodisiacs. If you’re having conflict with someone at work, try talking to them about the problem before you go looking up binding spells. As one experienced witch put it to me, “this way, you can be sure that your intentions are pure.”

2) Will this spell harm another, or bend someone’s will to mine?

Please refer to the Wiccan Rede. Witches do not cast spells meant to harm someone else. Nor do they cast spells on other people without their permission, no matter how honorable their intentions. There’s a good reason for this: harmful and meddlesome spells have a nasty tendency to backfire on the people who cast them.

When you’re watching someone close to you suffering, it can be hard to consider the situation objectively. One reader asked me about spells to help alleviate anger. When I dug deeper, it turned out that spellcraft was entirely inappropriate. If possible, discuss the matter with another trusted pagan friend. If there’s no one around to consult with, try asking someone in the chat room or the Forum.

3) Am I prepared to accept the consequences of this spell, whatever they might be?

Think long and hard about this one. As I’ve said before, you may cast a spell with the best of intentions, but end up with unexpected consequences. Meditate a bit on it before you decide to cast the spell. Talk to other witches and see if there isn’t a better solution.

Either way, your spell has a better chance of success if you fully “own” it, and anything that results from it. The best way to avoid unforseen consequences is to follow the guidelines set out above — and, most importantly, to cast the spell with love in your heart. Making magic is a powerful and transformative experience. In the midst of the spell, you become the subject, and you become the result. Make sure that what you’re asking for is something you’d like to become.