Magic: Knot Spells for Wishes, Winds and Bindings

Knot magic is traditional. Historically it had various forms. One is maritime magic, created by coastal cunningfolk to help sailors and fishermen get a good wind. 

Another method s an easy spell you can do any day to help you get what you wish for. It's extremely versatile. You simply tie three knots and say some words while visualising. Here's a description from the book Every Day Magic - A Pagan Book of Days, published by Moon Books.

Knot Magic: Traditionally, Cornish witches would create wind knots for sailors – three knots in a rope. Sailors would later untie the knots to release the wind: one for a fair wind, two for strong wind, three for a gale. But you can use knot magic for anything you want to wish for. Tie three knots in a rope and say: 

Knot 1: My spell begun

Knot 2: My wish come true

Knot 3: So mote it be

A third form is to use knots as a binding spell with a poppet, or magical doll, to stop someone behaving anti-socially. Make an effigy - a poppet - of the person with cloth or wax or clay, then wrap string around it three times and tie three knots. State that you bind them to stop their bad behaviour. If you wish to undo the spell, simply untie the knots and say that you release them.

You can view the book Every Day Magic: A Pagan Book of Days on Amazon and it was published  seven years ago, in November 2022.

I am also the author of Pagan Portals - Poppets and Magical Dolls, which you can also view on Amazon.

Please note: I earn commission from some links.

Other previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/11/books-seven-year-anniversary-for-every.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/10/spellcraft-making-what-you-desire-come.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/06/community-book-every-day-magic-reaches.html

Marsh Meadows Wishing Tree - What Do You Think?

This is a photo of the Wishing Tree in Marsh Meadows, Henley. The photo above and the others on this post were taken recently by someone who reads my blog.

They said: "As I was walking along the river I saw this, the Wishing Tree, and thought of you. It's in a park near the weir where they have planted several healing trees but someone's really gone to town with the ribbons on this one! I include the little plaque that goes with it."

I must say I have mixed feelings about it as the practice of tying ribbons - or clouties - to trees is extremely controversial in the pagan community.

The problem is that ribbons will not rot away unless they are made of natural, biodegradable fabric - and many aren't. Man-made materials, especially plastics, are harmful to animals. Also, if there are too many ribbons tied to a tree, the excess weight can damage it and man-made materials will stay there and constrict the branches as they grow. If you are going to tie a ribbon to a tree and leave it there, even where it is permitted, please make sure it is natural fabric.

On the other hand, I do think ribbons like these can look very pretty and there are many traditional tree-dressing folk customs around the world.

I did some research too. The Wishing Tree was dedicated by Val Stoner at the Autumn Equinox 2017 as a community project in the hope that people would make wishes for the higher good. The tree was adopted by the town council, with councillor Kellie Hinton saying it was 'a lovely project'. You can read a news story about it here.

So, on the plus-side, I can see that the local council and community clearly love the tree and have embraced its purpose. The tree itself is a sycamore, which is hardly an endangered type. In my garden I am constantly having to weed sycamores seedlings out of places I don't want them. If this tree gets a little damaged, it will hardly be irreplaceable.

But what do you think?  Do leave a comment.

Links and previous related posts
https://www.henleyherald.com/2017/09/26/wish-upon-tree-marsh-meadows/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/04/event-numinous-clouties-transformed-in.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/03/what-not-to-do-at-sacred-wells-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/12/folklore-early-december-and-tree.html

Divination for the Day: Count Your Blessings

I'm having a bit of a stressful time. My cat isn't well, I'm anxious about the looming deadline for my MA dissertation proposal, and my washing machine broke down for the third time this year and flooded the kitchen floor. I thought I could do with just a little magical help to stay positive so I decided to draw a card from my Ask and it will Happen deck.

This is a set of divination and wish cards that I haven't used for ages. However, one of my resolutions for 2019 was to make more use of divination sets I own, but aren't my regular ones.

The card I got said to count my blessings and the longer description on the back said: "Flow your energy into the good things around you; it puts the other things into perspective."

The idea with this set of cards is that you put the one you drew for the day into a holder built into the lid of the box, then put it where you can see it so it reminds you of the action to take. I think this one is working. Every time I feel my stress levels rise, I am going to remind myself that at least I do have a good local vet, my washing machine is insured so the repair will be covered, and I am still enjoying my MA course overall.

I also have many other blessings, even if they are things I normally take for granted like a roof over my head, enough money to buy food, and a supportive partner. When I feel my stress levels rise, I am going to take a deep breath and let my energy flow into those thoughts, then just do my best to tackle the problems of the day.

You can view Ask and it will Happen on Amazon.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/01/weekly-divination-callanish-sacred.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/03/divination-two-of-wands-from-fairytale.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/11/review-ask-and-it-will-happen.html

Candle Magic: A Spell for Springtime Wishes

Here is a lovely but simple candle spell that is perfect to cast at the time of Imbolc or at any time in early spring - although really you can do it whenever you like. It is intended to help your wishes and dreams come true. You can work the magic alone, with your partner, with a group of friends or as part of a springtime ritual.

You need:
A floating candle for each person (or a tealight candle and a glass candle float)
A glass bowl or a cauldron of water

Everyone taking part should scratch their wish on the bottom of a candle, light it and float it on the water. When all the candles are lit, chant three times:

Fire and water
Kindle and flow
Bring life to our dreams
And let them grow.

If you like, you can dance around the cauldron too.

Enjoy watching the candles burn down, perhaps while enjoying some good food and drink.There are more candle spells in my book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic, which you can view on Amazon.

Other related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2016/05/candle-magic-tricks-to-make-tea-lights.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/02/candle-divinations-and-little-magic-for.html

Magical Dolls: Folklore, Wishbones & Strange Toys

If you are having a roast chicken for your Sunday lunch it is traditional for two people to hold the wishbone between their little fingers and make a wish while snapping it. According to folklore, the one who gets the larger part after it breaks is set to have their dream come true. In Britain, the wishbone is sometimes called a “merrythought”.

I learnt an interesting piece of doll-related trivia about that at the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green when I was researching for my book Pagan Portals – Poppets and Magical Dolls. The Merrythought toy company, which was founded in England in 1930, has a wishbone as its emblem.

Next to that curious bit of information, the Museum of Childhood also has some strange dolls made out of animal parts, including one fashioned from a lobster claw. That might seem a bit gruesome to our modern tastes, but at least it was using every part of the animal and letting nothing go to waste after a meal.

I will be doing a free launch event for my book Pagan Portals – Poppets and Magical Dolls at Treadwell’s Books in London on July 14. If you want to pop along, you can reserve a place here: https://www.treadwells-london.com/event/signing-poppets-and-magical-dolls/

You can also view the book at publisher Moon Books’ website: http://www.moon-books.net/books/pagan-portals-poppets-magical-dolls

The Museum of Childhood is at Cambridge Heath Rd, London E2 9PA. You can visit the website here: https://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/06/magic-books-effigies-poppets-enchanted.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/07/doll-candle-magic-spell-to-get-rid-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/07/magical-dolls-football-mascots-lucky.html

Sussex Folklore: A Twin to the Wishing Face?

Many years ago I went on a quest to find the Wishing Face - a little goblin’s head set into a flint wall opposite a St Margaret's Church in the village of Rottingdean, Sussex. You can see it in the photo at the top of this post. According to folklore, if you rub his nose and make a wish it will come true.

I originally learnt about the Wishing Face from the book Where Witchcraft Lives by Doreen Valiente.

Then last week, quite by chance, I think I found the Wishing Face’s twin – in the Battle Museum of Local History. In one of the cabinets was the little head pictured right. The label said it was an unidentified small face in clay, but I think it is so similar to the one in Rottingdean that it might have been made at around the same time – maybe even by the same artist.

According to Doreen's book, the date "1306" used to be inscribed in the cement under the Wishing Face, but that wasn’t there any more when I visited in 2010. Also, his name seemed to have changed from the Wishing Face to the Wishing Stone in a description at the church.

I wonder if there are more little clay goblin faces to be found in Sussex?

You can view Where Witchcraft Lives on Amazon.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.battlelocalhistory.com/battle-museum.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/09/quest-to-find-wishing-face.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/07/doreen-valiente-books-now-available-on.html

December 25, a Full Moon and a Wish for Peace

There is a full moon on Christmas Day, December 25. I know this has been quite widely discussed on pagan groups, with some pointing out that in the modern pagan Wheel of the Year, December 25 is not as important as the Winter Solstice on 21 December, but for most people I know the bank holiday is still a day of celebration. It is also traditionally a day to wish for peace.

During the First World War there was famously an unofficial truce along the Western Front on Christmas Day, 1914. Soldiers from both sides went into no man's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, where they exchanged food and gifts, played football and sung carols.

The pictures right and below have nothing to do with WWI - or even with Christmas to be honest - but I was reminded of what they show by a friend this morning. The photos are of an African Tree of Life fashioned out of guns after a civil war in Mozambique had ended. After the war, guns were exchanged for farming equipment and four artists created this amazing tree out of discarded weapons - a beautiful symbol that wars and conflicts can end, that life goes on, and that human creativity is a powerful force. You can see the African Tree of Life in the British Museum.

The actual moment of the full moon on December 25 is 11.11pm Universal Time (the same as GMT). It would be a perfect time to get outside and make a big wish. Is world peace and goodwill to all too much to ask for? Let's give peace a chance...

Links and previous related post
http://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/uk/london
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/galleries/africa/room_25_africa.aspx
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/09/green-london-tibetan-peace-garden-in-se1.html

Pagan Eye: Kusu Island's Wishing Well & Wishing Tree

These beautiful photos were sent in my Mini, who said: "I recently visited Kusu Island in Singapore and captured these photographs of the Wishing Well and the Wishing Tree. This is a tranquil island well known for its sandy lagoons and beautiful beaches. Moreover, there is an interesting folklore attached to this island. Kusu Island means 'Tortoise Island' in Chinese, so called because of a legend where a magical tortoise turned itself into the island to save two shipwrecked sailors.

"Each year during the ninth lunar month - sometime between September and November - thousands of devotees flock here for their annual Kusu Pilgrimage in the hope of good health, peace, happiness, good luck and prosperity. Popular Chinese temple Da Bo Gong was built by a wealthy businessman in 1923 and houses two main deities: Da Bo Gong and Guan Yin. The former is widely regarded as having the power to bestow prosperity, cure diseases, calm the sea and avert danger, while Guan Yin is known as the 'giver of sons'.

"On top of a rugged hillock stand three holy shrines to Malay Saints, or Kramats, built to commemorate 19th century pious man, Syed Abdul Rahman, his mother Nenek Ghalib and sister Puteri Fatimah. Many devotees climb the 152 steps to pray for wealth, good marriage, good health and harmony. The shrines are also popular with childless couples because of their strong links to fertility."

Mini added: "Devotees try to hit the three bells inside the well with coins to make their wishes come true. Also, they tie a symbolic red string around a piece of folded paper containing their wish, then hurl it high into a 'Wishing Tree'. It is believed that the higher up the tree you wish lands, the higher your chances of having it come true."

They are lovely photos and very appropriate as Chinese New Year is celebrated this weekend. Thanks very much for letting me use them Mini, and for providing so much information about them!

My Pagan Eye posts show photos that I find interesting - seasonal images, pagan sites, events, or just pretty pictures. If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself.

Note: The photos on this post are copyright Mini and are reproduced here with permission.

Links and previous related posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusu_Island
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/02/lam-tsuen-chinese-wishing-trees.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/trousers-of-change.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/07/pagan-eye-roman-temple-of-fortuna.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/01/pagan-eye-koala-in-tree.html

Blue Flowers for a Blue Moon in August

Here's a collage of all the beautiful blue flowers I could find to photograph this month - to celebrate the fact that August 2012 is a month with a blue moon in it.

And that blue moon is today.

In England, 31 August is the day of the full moon and there was also a full moon on August 2. Most months only have one full moon, and most years have 12 full moons, one each month. Sometimes, however, a year has 13 full moons in it - and the thirteenth moon is a blue moon.

Now, there is some disagreement as to which of the 13 moons is the blue moon. Some say it is the fourth moon in a season, others say it is the moon closest to Lent, but many people nowadays say a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month.

The saying, "Once in a blue moon" means a rare event, so a blue moon is always good for spells and magic that are a little out of the ordinary. Is there something you've always desired but thought was unobtainable? If so, wish for it tonight and your dream might come true.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/12/once-in-blue-moon.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon
hhttp://pagancalendar.co.uk/

Solar Eclipse this Sunday, May 20 - My Birthday

The solar eclipse this Sunday, May 20, is one that has special significance for me - it is on my birthday. For those living in England, this isn't a particularly important eclipse because it won't be visible from any part of the UK. Also, it isn't a total eclipse. It is what is called an annular eclipse, when the moon appears slightly smaller than the sun so doesn't cover it entirely - a ring of light appears to shine around a black sphere.

Nevertheless, when I realised there'd be a solar eclipse actually on my birthday in 2012, I felt I ought to do something exceptional to mark the occasion. I checked where the eclipse would be visible from; places including China, Japan, Canada, the USA and Mexico.

Wow, I thought, Mexico! I could take a holiday to Mexico and watch the eclipse over the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá. That really would be the birthday experience of a lifetime. I had time to plan the holiday. I could do it if I emptied out all my savings and borrowed a bit on plastic.

But I'm not going - and that was a conscious decision. Money has been tight ever since I took redundancy last summer and have been trying to make a living from freelance writing. I'm getting paid work, but not enough to afford a second foreign holiday after going to see the Northern Lights this spring. I decided to be sensible. But with the eclipse taking place in just couple of days time, I'm wondering if it was the right decision. Maybe I should have just booked an eclipse tour and paid the bills later.

But it doesn't serve any useful purpose to spend time getting depressed over regrets for what might have been. It is better to concentrate on what I'll be doing instead - apart from having a birthday party with my lovely friends in a London pub, that is.

Solar eclipses always happen at the time of the new moon, which I have found to be a good time for scrying using a dark mirror or other forms of divination. An eclipse is generally a better time for inner journeying than for travelling somewhere in the real world - unless that somewhere is a good place to watch the eclipse, I guess.

This eclipse occurs when the sun is in Gemini, which has to do with communication - words, writing, discussion and, nowadays, the internet. Maybe this eclipse, on my birthday, is a time for me to take a good look at what I really want to do as a writer; and use a birthday wish to make my dreams come true.

Links and previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/05/book-of-magic-eclipse-magic-workbook.html
http://www.eclipsemagic.co.uk/html/about_mani.html
http://www.eclipsemagic.co.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_May_20,_2012
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/11/eclipse-new-moon-and-dark-mirrors.html 
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/07/solar-eclipse-myths-and-meanings.html 
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/01/solar-eclipse-god-time-for-change.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/01/pictures-of-northern-lights.html

A Bubbly Spell For Happiness

The idea behind this spell is that by sending happy thoughts out into the world, you will find more happiness in the world. All you need is some bubble mixture and the ability to visualise things that make you happy.

Go outside with your bubble mixture - ideally on a sunny day. Before blowing any bubbles, picture clearly in your head something that makes you feel good - it could be cupcakes and icecream, playful kittens, a rainbow after a storm or walking along the shoreline on a sandy beach - anything that fills you with joy and delight.

Then, imagine you are sending those happy thoughts into the bubbles as you blow them. Do this for as long as you like, with as many joyful images as you can think of. As the bubbles burst, happiness is released into the world, where it will grow.

Some time in the future you will  find a big bubble of happiness returned to you as something tangible in your life as a result of this spell. But don't go looking for the results. The secret of finding happiness is that it can often appear when you least expect it.

There is a famous song I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, and the chorus line goes:

I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air,
They fly so high,
Nearly reach the sky,
Then like my dreams,
They fade and die.
Fortune's always hiding,
I've looked everywhere,
I'm forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air

You might think that the words are rather the opposite of the spell for happiness. That's sort of true - but it is a matter of perspective. The poem suggests that the bubbles of our happy dreams "fade and die"; whereas if you imagine that you are releasing them and sharing them with the world, then they don't die at all, but live and grow. And by desperately "looking everywhere" for fortune, it is easy to overlook or take for granted the simple pleasures of life that are present all around us, that can brighten our days and make the world a more magical place.

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_forever_blowing_bubbles
http://www.geekparents.co.uk/how-to-make-bubble-solution-and-bubble-wands/

Easy candle wishing spell

For this spell you need just a tea-light candle, a box of matches and a sunny day.

Although you can cast the spell at any time when the sun is shining, I think it is perfect for a bright, clear morning in spring.

Here's what you do:

Stand facing a window through which sunlight is shining, or where you can see the sun in the sky. Strike the match and hold it in one hand, while holding the unlit tea-light candle in the other and look out of the window (do not stare directly at the sun, however, as that can harm your eyes).

Think clearly of what you wish for, then say:

All I ask on this bright sunny day
Is send the wish I want my way.

Light the candle with the match, then blow out the match and put the candle in a safe tea-light holder and let it burn right down.

For safety reasons, you shouldn't leave the candle unattended. Personally, I like to place it near me while I get on with my work or chores of the day, so that I can glance at it from time to time.

There are more ideas for candle spells in my book Pagan Portals - Candle Magic, published by Moon Books.

Links and previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/spells-to-find-new-job.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/05/sea-purification.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/spell-for-springtime-wishes.html
https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-portals-candle-magic

Lam Tsuen: the Chinese wishing trees

The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees is one of the most popular shrines in Hong Kong. The site consists of two banyan trees near the Tin Hau Temple in Fong Ma Po Village, in Lam Tsuen.

During the Lunar New Year, both locals and tourists make wishes there. Traditionally, they wrote their wishes on paper tied to oranges and threw them up to hang in these trees. It was believed that if the paper successfully hung onto one of the branches, their wish would come true.

The picture above shows a re-enactment of this tradition at the Chinese New Year celebrations in London's Chinatown last weekend.

Colourful beanbags with tags explaining the history of the Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees were handed out for people at the festival to try to throw on the tree. The tags were also printed with wishes for such things as wisdom and prosperity.

I had a go, but my beanbag sadly landed on the ground - guess I'll have to find my luck in other ways.

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lam_Tsuen_wishing_trees
http://www.chinatownlondon.org/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/02/festival-of-week-chinese-new-year.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/01/spell-for-springtime-wishes.html

A spell for springtime wishes

Here is a beautiful but simple candle spell that is perfect to cast at a full moon or in early spring - although you can do it at any time if you want to. It will help your wishes and dreams come true in the year to come.

You can work the magic alone, with your partner, or with a group of friends. All you need is a floating candle for each person and a bowl of water - or a cauldron.

Everyone taking part should scratch their wish on the bottom of a candle, light it and float it on the water. When all the candles are lit, say:

Fire and water
Kindle and flow
Bring life to our dreams
And let them grow.

Afterwards, enjoy watching the candles burn down - perhaps while enjoying some wine and good food.

Candlemas or Imbolc, on February 1 or 2, celebrating the start of spring, is a good time to cast this spell, or do it at any full moon. There are more candle spells in my book Pagan Portals Candle Magic, which you can view on Amazon.

The picture shows a set of12 white floating candles with a four-hour burnavailable from Amazon

Links and previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/full-moon-and-signs-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/01/celebrating-imbolc-start-of-spring.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/01/imbolc-celebrating-start-of-spring.html

Making New Year's Resolutions

Most of us enter the New Year resolved to change something about ourselves. We often make one big resolution that falls by the wayside a few weeks into January.

If you want to make New Year's resolutions that really work, here are a few suggestions that can help.

Ian Henderson, a coach and professional speaker, says that to make your resolutions stick you need to answer five questions.

1: What do you want?
This must be specific (measurable) and focused on what you want to do or have rather than what you don’t want or don’t have.

2: Why do you want it?
This is the biggest question and gets to your real motivation. You need a big why or your efforts will fail at the first test. Your why might be that to continue causes you so much pain that there really is no alternative. It may be that what you are looking to achieve is so powerful for you that you will do anything to get it. The bigger your why, the easier the how is. Without a big enough why, the how becomes difficult.

3: Does your goal fit in with who you are as a person?
To be successful it must connect with who you are as a person and what you strongly believe in. If it does not, you will find ways to sabotage your efforts to change and you will be making the same resolutions again next December 31.

4: How will you do it?
This is about taking committed action. The good news is that your actions don’t need to be revolutionary. Break a big goal into smaller, achievable targets. Lots of small successes built on each other can make a big change over time.

5: When will you do it by?

"As soon as possible" does not appear in any diary. Putting a date on your goal increases your focus.

Ian's system would work best if you have a big, specific resolution that you want to make.

Another way of keeping focused on your goal is to use something like medium Joanne Gregory's set of inspirational cards Ask and It Will Happen, which I reviewed recently.

Ask and It Will Happen is a set of 52 motivational cards designed to help you keep focus on what you wish for, with messages suggesting helpful ways of going about getting what you want.

The way it works is very simple. You make a wish, write it down, then draw a card to get a message about how to help your wish come true. Having drawn your card, you can slide it into a specially designed easel frame that forms the lid of the box the set comes in. You can then meditate on it or leave it where you can easily see it as a constant reminder.

The set of cards can work well with any wish, but could be particularly good with New Year's resolutions.

My own favourite way of making resolutions is to write down at least 10 things I want to do or achieve over the following year. This was recommended to me by an extremely accomplished friend a few years ago - she told me her list of resolutions often has as many as 50 different things on it.

The idea behind this is that with a lot of goals you have a good chance of achieving at least half of them by the end of the year. I find it works quite well. In 2009 I achieved five out of ten ambitions and in 2010 I managed to achieve seven out of ten.

Here are my ten resolutions for 2011:
1: Interview at least six people for A Bad Witch's Blog
2: Visit another six places with pagan or occult significance and write about them
3: Continue to read at least one book relating to paganism, magic or folklore each month
4: Write about mooncakes and at least three other magical or seasonal recipes
5: Learn more about astrology and write about it
6: Buy - or make - the perfect ritual robe
7: Walk a London ley line
8: Publish a complete ritual for the full moon on my blog
9: Run another competition on A Bad Witch's Blog
10: Make at least one improvement to A Bad Witch's Blog

If you make one big New Year's resolution or a list of 50, I wish you the very best of luck in achieving all you want in 2011.

You can contact Ian Henderson via email at ian@ianhenderson.co.uk or visit the website http://www.ianhenderson.co.uk/. Ask and it will Happen (pictured above) is published by Cico Books.

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/11/review-ask-and-it-will-happen.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2007/12/new-year-resolutions.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/01/resolutions-successes-and-failures.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/new-years-resolutions-successes-and.html

Review: Ask And It Will Happen

Ask and It Will Happen,by stage medium Joanne Gregory, is a novel idea of a set of inspirational cards designed to help make your wishes come true.

Most people make a wish sometime in their lives and there are two theories about what you should do after making one.

One is that after you cast your spell and send your intent out into the universe, you should try to forget all about it and just allow the magic to happen.

The other theory is that magic works best if you help it on its way with plenty of positive thoughts and practical effort in your everyday life.

Ask and It Will Happen uses that second approach. The set of cards, with an accompanying explanatory book, are designed to help you keep focus on what you wish for, with messages suggesting helpful ways of going about getting what we want.

Publisher website, publisher Cico Books says of the set on its website: "Joanne Gregory brings together the power of tarot divination and intention-focusing techniques to guide you through the process of manifestation, helping you to create the life you want just ask and it will happen! Each of the 52 channelled affirmation cards gives a powerful, insightful message and helps you ask the cosmos for what you need. The accompanying book explains the detailed meaning of your message card, along with the key principles of cosmic ordering, such as the laws of attraction and karma."

The way it works is very simple. You make a wish, write it down, then draw a card to get a message about how to help your wish come true. Having drawn your card, you can slide it into a specially designed easel frame that forms the lid of the box the set comes in. With the card so placed, you can meditate on it or leave it where you can easily see it as a constant reminder.

Examples of the kinds of message on the cards include: "Anything is possible", "It's not what you have but who you are" and "You can change your world". The backs of the cards offer short explanations of the sayings and a full colour book provides extra insight into each card's meaning.

Attractive, stylised images on the cards show symbols like flowers, birds, hearts, keys, gifts and restful scenes that are designed to reinforce the message and generally make you feel good. The cards and frame are pretty enough to use as an ornament on a desk, to keep you inspired throughout the day.

But is a system for reinforcing a wish better than just letting the magic do its thing on its own?

Personally, I think that if you are wishing for something like, for example, your dream job, then you need to put a lot of effort into it yourself - whether that is getting the right experience and qualifications, writing a winning CV and a great application letter, improving your networking skills or just being more aware of opportunities.

Magic can help, but getting the right attitude to bring about what you want is important too. This set of cards is a lovely and unusual way of combining wishing spells with psychological tools to bring about personal change.

Ask and It Will Happen has an RRP of £12.99 and is in the same series of cleverly designed boxed sets as The Crystal Tarot.

Links
Ask and It Will Happen
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/10/review-crystal-tarot.html
http://www.cicobooks.co.uk/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/10/review-crystal-tarot.html

A quest to find The Wishing Face

The little fellow in the photo above is called The Wishing Face. This little goblin-like figure is a carved stone set into a flint wall opposite a church in the village of Rottingdean, Sussex.

According to folklore, if you rub his nose and make a wish it will come true.

I learnt about The Wishing Face from the book Where Witchcraft Lives. This was written in 1962 by Doreen Valiente, who wrote much of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows, and has recently been republished by The Centre for Pagan Studies.

What I particularly like about the book is that it is about the history and surviving practices of witchcraft and magic in Sussex - an area I love and frequently visit.

For me, the book was the perfect reading material while I was on holiday in Sussex last week, and it inspired me to try to find this mysterious magical stone for myself.

Where Witchcraft Lives was written about 50 years ago, so I was a little worried that The Wishing Face would no longer exist, but a little web browsing assured me the little fellow has not been lost.

According to the website for St Margaret's Church, he is set "in the wall which surrounds the garden of The Elms, about twenty feet beyond the little arched door in the wall".

And, indeed, that was where I discovered him although, despite the accurate description, it took a bit of searching to spot that stone among all the other nobbly stones in a very long stone wall.

However, the little goblin has seen a few changes over the years. Doreen's book mentions the date "1306" being inscribed in the cement under him, but that doesn't seem to be there any more. Also, his name seems to have changed from The Wishing Face to The Wishing Stone, and the ritual surrounding the wish making now includes turning around three times after saying what you want.

Deciding to err on the side of caution, I adopted the new custom and turned around three times quickly when making my wish - despite the strange glances this earned me from passers-by.

I suspect Where Witchcraft Lives will travel to Sussex with me whenever I return there, and I will search for more of the places it mentions to see how they have changed since the book was written. I do love a magical quest.

Links
http://www.stmargaret.org.uk/index.php?link=13
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/09/charge-of-goddess-conference-2010.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/07/where-witchcraft-lives-book-launch.html
http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/?p=2573
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/08/ghosts-and-grails-of-lewes.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/09/day-for-doreen-valiente.html