Kate West - The Real Witches’ Book of Spells and Rituals

Element

An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Element is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Published by Element 2003

Copyright © Kate West, 2003

Kate West asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Text illustrations by Chris Down

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBN: 9780007151110

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN: 9780007374403

Version: 2015-12-14

This book is dedicated toSteve and Taliesin,with all my love .

‘ Now we are together once more, let it always be so.Blessed Be .’

Cover

Title Page THE REAL WITCHES’ BOOK OF SPELLS AND RITUALS KATE WEST

Copyright COPYRIGHT Copyright Dedication ONE: Witchcraft and Magic TWO: Rites and Rituals, Spells and Magic THREE: Casting the Circle, and Other Frequent Rites FOUR: Moon Workings FIVE: Spells and Magics SIX: Magical Resources SEVEN: Sabbat Ritual EIGHT: Rites of Passage NINE: Rituals of Initiation TEN: Writing Rituals and Creating Spells APPENDIX ONE: What Witchcraft Really Is APPENDIX TWO: Terms and Definitions APPENDIX THREE: Further Reading and Points of Contact KEEP READING Index Thank Yous About the Publisher Element An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk Element is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd Published by Element 2003 Copyright © Kate West, 2003 Kate West asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work Text illustrations by Chris Down A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication. Source ISBN: 9780007151110 Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2016 ISBN: 9780007374403 Version: 2015-12-14

Dedication DEDICATION Dedication ONE: Witchcraft and Magic TWO: Rites and Rituals, Spells and Magic THREE: Casting the Circle, and Other Frequent Rites FOUR: Moon Workings FIVE: Spells and Magics SIX: Magical Resources SEVEN: Sabbat Ritual EIGHT: Rites of Passage NINE: Rituals of Initiation TEN: Writing Rituals and Creating Spells APPENDIX ONE: What Witchcraft Really Is APPENDIX TWO: Terms and Definitions APPENDIX THREE: Further Reading and Points of Contact KEEP READING Index Thank Yous About the Publisher This book is dedicated toSteve and Taliesin,with all my love . ‘ Now we are together once more, let it always be so.Blessed Be .’

ONE: Witchcraft and Magic

TWO: Rites and Rituals, Spells and Magic

THREE: Casting the Circle, and Other Frequent Rites

FOUR: Moon Workings

FIVE: Spells and Magics

SIX: Magical Resources

SEVEN: Sabbat Ritual

EIGHT: Rites of Passage

NINE: Rituals of Initiation

TEN: Writing Rituals and Creating Spells

APPENDIX ONE: What Witchcraft Really Is

APPENDIX TWO: Terms and Definitions

APPENDIX THREE: Further Reading and Points of Contact

KEEP READING

Index

Thank Yous

About the Publisher

Merry Meet, welcome to The Real Witches’ Book of Spells and Rituals!

Magic really does work. It’s not a myth or imagination. It may not yet be scientifically proven, but it does work. Magic is all around us and is practised by almost everyone, even though they may not realize it! Crossing fingers, touching wood, ‘kissing it better’, wearing a Saint Christopher for safe travel, making a friendship band, blowing out the candles on a cake or dropping a coin into a well and making a wish are all acts of magic. The practitioner may not really believe in it, and so it may not fully work, but it’s still magic. The difference between these magics and the magic of Witchcraft lies in the fact that Witches do it with intent, focus and balance – they believe it will work and it does.

But why does anyone want to use magic? Everyone seeks control of their lives; from the youngest toddler to the oldest wise woman, we all want a say in what happens to us. Magic was more common in times past when we were still close to our native beliefs. It may have been driven underground and turned into superstition for a while, but now it is returning. In a world where just about everything is overlooked or controlled, by laws and people outside our personal influence, we are now remembering and returning to the old ways of taking personal control of our lives and our world, and of making the changes we seek in them. The Craft gives us the ability to do the former and the skills to work the magic to do the latter.

In the Craft we learn:

* Self-development and understanding.