Readers’ Questions in the New Year
Hello and Happy New Year! Any interesting resolutions? Well, to kick off this year, here’s the Q & A today.
When casting a circle, should I use a athame or wand? I have a wand, but do I need a athame too?
Earth Wolf
This is something that is entirely up to the solo practitioner or coven. It isn’t essential to have both, however some feel more comfortable utilizing both. The athame as well as a wand is merely a focus conductor of energy. That which you can use with an athame can also be utilized with a wand.
Dear Witch Hazel,
I have a couple birthmarks that I have had since I was born. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about them. The first one is on the right side of my stomach and it looks like a bird. It has the full wing span and the side wiew of the head you can see the beak of the bird also. I have one at the base of my right thumb and it looks like an ant. And then there’s two on my left hip; one is light in color and about 3 inches below it is one that is brown. Is there any special meaning to these? I have been wondering about these my whole life.
Thanks,
Loretta Roundtree
It sounds like the Gods may have blessed you with your own totem animals. Look carefully at the birthmark to see if you can decipher just what type of bird it is. After you have established that, do a web search for totem animals to find and learn about your guides that have been with you since you were born.
Do you know which chemicals in commercial underarm deodorant are hazardous and should be avoided?
Is there a safe alternative to commercial underarm deodorant? Thanks, Phil
Most commercial products have a small margin of toxicity to most. In some cases, an individual may become allergic to one chemical over another, which would best be determined by an allergist.
An alternate type of deodorant would be the solid rock crystal type sold in some health food stores. It is hardened mineral salts that will stop odor from accumulating however it won’t do too much for wetness.
If wetness and odor is a problem and you have developed an allergic reaction, by all means, go to an allergist or dermatologist to get relief. If excessive perspiration is an issue, there is a prescription antiperspirant called Drysol that you can ask your doctor about. Life is too short to walk around in the “pits.”
We also received a response in regards to binding, which was brought up in the November column, by a reader who believed this to be “black magick”:
What makes a binding spell negative magick is that it involves the manipulation of free will. Love is something that everyone would consider
positive but nevertheless most love magick spells qualify as black magick because those spells involve the manipulation of free will.
Getting back to the article, what Alicia could do is a protection spell. Not only would the protection spell protect you just as well at the very
least but the caster won’t have to deal with any negative kickback. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’st be surprised if any protection gained from
casting a binding spell goes away as the negativity returns back to the caster of the binding spell(which is what happens naturally).
The other day someone made the point that “At least the gypsies knew what they were talking about when they said ‘I’ll put a curse on your whole
family!’” When something like a binding spell is directed at someone it can “splatter” to everyone around the intended person&3146;s environment. By
environment this can include living space (roommates, someone living next door in an apartment building), someone you have a relationship/close friendship with, people you have a past life link with, relatives living around you, etc. There would also be negative consequences as the negativity from any “splattered” returns back to the caster of a binding spell.
So if a spell is really needed (meaning Alicia can’t do something a lot more simple such as avoid the negative person and that the person is truly negative rather than Alicia making a poor/inappropriate judgement that the person is negative when that’s not the case – reasons why my contact at Spellbound, Vinnie, used to say “Before you do a spell do a divination!”) then a protection spell should suffice. Otherwise Alicia is just doing something to avoid something negative that results in negativity when the kickback sets in.
Thank you for such an extensive discourse, however, the “binding” spell per se was indeed a protection spell. Done in such a way, it merely allows the one to no longer be in the presence of the one who is experiencing the difficulty. Matter of fact, the “bully” no longer has an active interest in the person any longer.
As far as black magic, magic is neither black or white but solely of the will of the practitioner.
Similarly, electricity is neither negative or positive, yet when left unchannelled, such as in a fierce storm that creates fire from random lightening bolts, it can be perceived as “bad” but merely just exists on its own.
Thank you for taking the time to write in. Do drop a line with your questions. Due to the large volume of mail I receive, I can not give personal e-mail responses nor answer every question, but do not be discouraged. Your question could turn up in a future column. Take care. |
