Charms/Chants: Charms, Chants, and Power Phrases are spoken spells. They liter our legends and fantasy stories, though considered to be the original Charmed One is the Goddess Carmenta of child birth and prophecy who was attributed with the creation of the Latin Alphabet. Charms and Chants do not always rhyme, though rhythm itself was used in less modern times for the purpose of being "as the gods above" who were often said to have voices like great harmonies, speaking rhythmically. (I confirm this to be true through my own experiences, though I'd love to hear of yours as well). Writing your own charms or using the charms of others are both acceptable. When using words of power, make sure they are powerful to YOU! It's important that you actually feel the words you speak in order to manifest. Words are not simply powerful because someone before you thought them to be. Words are powerful when they arouse your spirit.

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Amulets: The official definition of an Amulet is a naturally formed object which is naturally imbued with power. The Lucky Rabbit's Foot is a natural Amulet, an object that doesn't necessarily need altering to be powerful. However, it is common to 'create' amulets from natural objects by way of etching sigils and words into the object to add to it's natural power. Examples of an amulet would be a naturally formed image within stone, an animal part consider to be powerful, a root grown into a naturally formed powerful pattern, etc. It is often that Amulets are confused with Talismans which will be explained next. Below are examples of an Amulet:

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Talismans: Often confused with an Amulet as eternally displayed by companies selling their wares, a Talisman is usually an object created under very specific planetary correspondences including types of metal, perfect timing, magickal sigils, and even the numeric squares of planetary bodies according to it's purpose. Talisman creation can be a long and intricate process, and I'm sure that's why most people prefer to purchase them instead of make them. Below is an example of a Solomon's Seal Talisman, and also the inscription of the alleged Talisman of Catherine de Medici's. It is said that talismans are best made of the metal ascribed to the planet whose influence is desired, and when this is not possible to use parchment or paper of the planetary or elemental color.

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Candle Spells: These can be as simple or as difficult as we want to make them. In it's simplest form, it's common to choose a candle color corresponding the spell's purpose. We may etch into the wax preferred symbols, names, etc and light the candle while speaking our intention letting it burn completely down. The candle is a versatile spell tool in that it can be place nearly anywhere. I often place candles in about an inch of water depending on the spell. This can be done by melting the bottom just enough to drip and sticking it to the center of a small dish, then pouring in the water. It's useful where emotions need control. "Dressing" candles is also a common practice that has origins within Hoodoo & Folk traditions. One must choose an oil fitting of the spell's intention, apply the oil to the candle (after inscription) as shown in the video below. Many stop there, and others prefer to roll their candle in dried herbs according to intent. Creating a Candle Spell is as simply as lighting the flame, or as interesting as an intricate ritual combining your candle process with a full casting and heartfelt verses. Now the video below is for a specific purpose, but the process is shown well. You may find variations of this process from others, so of course try it out and see what works well for you. I prefer to roll my candles on a plate of herbs which is just a little less messy.

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Mojo/Sachets: The most common objects in Hoodoo and Fold traditions is the Mojo Bag. We witches have grown fond of the spell sachet as well, and they are so versatile there's no wrong way to create them really. With a list of correspondences, a Spell Sachet can be created quite easily by choosing a corresponding color for cloth, and adding ingredients from your correspondence list. Consider adding appropriate timing for creation as well, and while creating them is fairly simple, what to do with them is the fun part! Sachets can be created with the addition of a taglock (something belonging to the person you aim to affect), in which case these should be placed close to the target but always hidden. For other more general attraction or warding sachets, these can be kept in your purse, somewhere hidden in the home, or vehicle. Once you've received your intended hope, they can be buried or thrown in a moving body of water (unless they contain something harmful to those who live in the water). Some also advise burning old sachets, though I tend to associate this with reigniting whatever the sachet was for, so I choose my burning moments wisely.

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Poppets: Creating Poppets is a lot like creating Mojos & Spell Sachets. Poppets are usually made to represent a person or situation in the same way as an effigy, though Poppets are also typically filled with herbs, stones, and a taglock. Depending on it's purpose, it is kept and tended to through Pantamimic Magick, or it is affected/altered by you physically through Sympathetic Magick. We can think of the infamous Voodoo Doll in the sense that whatever you do to it is how it is affected in reality (the situation or person). It's just as easy to create one for love, and to treat it with love every day as if it is the love you are hoping to create in your life. My favorite poppet is the Vexing Poppet. At least once a year I will create a Vexing doll with stones and herbs meant for absorption of negativity. I give it all my frustration, emotional and physical pain, and situations I dislike... And then I beat it to death, scream at it, stomp it and basically kill it before I bury it in a graveyard. Below is a picture of last years Vexing Poppet in progress.

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One other Kind of Poppet is known as a Spirit Doll. They are also Called Obeas or Wangas and they are Poppets said to be inhabited by a Spirit. Creating Spirit dolls becomes a great way to have a physical manifestation of a Spirit you want to keep close to you, and as a way to petition for a specific thing such as luck, success, or love from the spirit you've made a doll of. Below are examples of a Spirit Doll. They are typically meant to be made in the image of the Spirit you want it to embody.

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Mirror Spells: Mirror Spells aren't as talked about as they could be. You know, every time we find a Mirror spell it's nearly always aimed reflecting what is affecting you back to the sender. But mirror spells can do all kinds of things when we use our imagination. What can we reflect? What about the love we give to others that never gets returned? Maybe all the money we shell out to bills, food, and other people that should find it's way back to us? What about that dear friend your sick of seeing taken advantage of? In this sense, mirror spells become a powerful way to bring more of what you want into your life, or the lives of your loved ones. What I suggest to create a different kind of mirror spell is to use a corresponding colored paint or sharpy to draw a sigil, symbol, or word of what you're wanting to attract. Then place a photo of the person you want to reflect it toward. You can either bind them together with a colored ribbon, black tape, or use a charged and dressed candle to seal the edges of the picture to the mirror. You would then want to (either way) Burn a dressed and charged candle over the top until it burns out. Create your own variation to attract what you want, and share it!

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Petitions Papers: This is a wonderful Hoodoo Tradition that can seem quite daunting when learning all the "rules", but it's basic premise can be applied to a general working of Sympathetic/Pantomimic Magick. Common traditions say to use brown paper, torn by hand (not cut with scissors unless working enemy tricks or driving two people apart). There are a few different ways to write a petition, the two most common being that of a prayer and plea for what you seek to a specific spirit, or to literally write yourself over another person or situation in the right manner. For Example:

• Write a person's name backwards an odd number of times to jinx or send them away.

• Write something you want 3 times to bring it toward you.

• Crossing a person with your influence by writing their name an odd number of times, then writing your wish over those names the same amount of times crossing over (not in the same direction).

• Write your name an even number of times, and write your wish encircling the names from first letter to last without lifting your pen from the paper.

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Petition papers can seem difficult to formulate, but I like to make things simple at times so when wondering how many times to write something, I will consult my personal correspondence list or consider what numbers mean within numerology. I would then choose timing according as well. I've heard of others using specifically colored inks to cross over black ink for whatever you're choosing to 'cross' or dominate. There are some great sites dedicated to explaining Petition papers so research will greatly serve you if you wish to stick with tradition. As for what to do once your paper is written, oils are chosen to anoint the corners and very center of the paper, corresponding herbs may be added to the center, and then the paper should be folded and kept on the altar. When folding a petition paper, you'll want to fold 3 times toward yourself as you slightly turn the paper each time when bringing something into your life. If you are ridding yourself of something, you'll fold the paper away from yourself 3 times in the same manner. I hope this is helpful and interesting!

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Food Spells: Yes, you read that right. Food spells are some of the most ancient spells. One of the most famous Love spells of ancient times is to put a spot of your fresh menstrual blood into the meal or drink of the man you want. But food spells don't have to be that disgusting to be effective. What I'm referring to is Kitchen witchery in which you can become more aware of the herbs and spices you use in your cooking, as well as the practice of drawing sigils and charging your food before eating it. It's fairly self explanatory at this point and when we use our imagination we can bring magick into every single meal we take in.

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Liquid Spells: These refer to herbal teas, and even crystal elixirs. While I practice both forms of energy and spell work, I will not be sharing them. I wanted to mention this for simple awareness of something you may want to explore, but I'd rather not be responsible for someone poisoning themselves. Elixirs are fairly simple to create, as are teas so if this interests you do some research!

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Powders: Ritual and Spell powders are lots of fun, and very powerful as well. Of course I should mention that if you plan to make powders you'll want to get a few dust masks to keep handy! I grind all of my powders by hand with my mortar & pestle, so covering the snout is usually a good idea. However, there are electric grinders these days so it's not necessary anymore, but I still prefer to but my actual energy into the creation of things. Powders can be made out of herbs that correspond to your purposes, and also a great many other things you may discover after researching Hoodoo traditions. I make eggshell powder from dried eggshells and those are used for protection, and as a substitute for sulfur in some cases. Using powders can be as simple as burning them on a charcoal tablet, throwing them in a fire, throwing them at the ground, (don't tell anyone I said throwing them at people! lol), etc. But they can also be used to pinch and drop onto a surface in specific patterns like sigils and writings. They can be used to dress candles, and they can even be used to dust petition papers. You really can do almost anything you can think of with powders. One of my favorite little tricks is to grind frankincense tears into powder and pinch it out over a burning candle. It creates large sparks in midair so be careful if you try this at home!

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Needle Pushing: While this is essentially just a fun idea I wanted to include, I mention this because it's rarely ever mentioned in spell work. Needle pushing works great with Candle Spells, and the idea derives from an old form of telling time where one pushes a needle into a candle, and when the candle drops they'd know how much time had passed. Using this in spellwork can prove effective when you need a candle to burn for a certain amount of days, or time. For example, you can use needles or pins to mark each day's burning time. Let the candle burn until the needle drops off, then extinguish the candle until the next day. Check the Divination page to find out how to use this simple idea to divine answers as well!