Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects

by Scott Cunningham, David Harrington

Overview

Feel the energy that flows through everything you do. Tap into that power! Carve a symbol, dip a candle, mix fragrant herbs, sculpt clay, and make your life all that you want it to be. When crafts are used to create objects intended for ritual or to symbolize the divine, the connection between the craftsperson and divinity grows more intense.

This second edition of Spell Crafts, the much-loved and oft-read guide to magical handwork, features new illustrations and a new preface by David Harrington. Learn how to create and use all of the following:

• Magical simmering potpourris
• A beaded psychic mandala
• Clay pentacles, plaques, and runic dice
• A shaman's arrow
• Sand paintings
• Corn Mother
• A magical spell broom
• Protective hex sign
• Witch bottles
• Flower garlands
• Spell banner
• Magic mirror
• Prosperity trivet
• Wheat weaving

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780875421858
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Publication date:	09/08/2002
Series:	Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

Scott Cunningham practiced magic actively for over twenty years. He was the author of more than fifty books covering both fiction and non-fiction subject matter; sixteen of his titles are published by Llewellyn Publications. Scott's books reflect a broad range of interests within the New Age sphere, where he was very highly regarded. His seminal work, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, is one of the most successful books on Wicca ever published. He passed from this life on March 28, 1993, after a long illness.

David Harrington lives in Chula Vista, California and has a long-term interest in the mysteries of household magic.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction
There are many types of magical tools. This book doesn't include instructions for the crafting of knives and swords, censers, wands, and other tools of ritual magic. We wish to make that clear
right from the beginning.

It is, however, a guide to the creation and use of magical objects of a different nature. It's a book of craft merged with magic; of works of the mind and hand as well as of power. Within its pages lie instructions for creating a wide variety of unusual magical objects for an array of purposes—together with their ritual uses.

Magicians have always known that tools crafted with their own hands are more powerful than those made by others. During the creation process, specific energy can be placed within the object
to enhance its effectiveness. This is the essence of spell craft: creating and empowering objects during their construction (or directly afterward) for a specific magical purpose.

Magic is no great mystery save to those who have never investigated or practiced it. It's the natural process of moving energy from within ourselves (or within natural objects) to create positive change. In spell craft, some of these changes are physical (clay is shaped; yarn is wrapped; herbs are mixed). Other changes are internal (personal power is directed toward a goal) and external (the magic's goal is manifested in the magician's life).

Spell craft may seem to be a new idea, but it's as old as the day when a human first shaped a natural object to fulfill a spiritual need. The timeless magic that we've presented here still speaks to our kind. It calls to the innate human urge to create. Spell craft nurtures our need to shape natural materials as well as our lives into new and pleasing forms. It also links us with our ancestors, who lived in a far smaller, less complex world of forms and energies.

In taking up these spell crafts today, we can use the techniques of earlier times to bring order and happiness into our lives.

Spell craft is, therefore, unique. Still, it's as old as the hills, the stars, and the moon. The rhythms of crafters echo those of the universe and the multitude of cycles that swirl around us.

May all your crafts be magical.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition xiii
Preface xv
Introduction xvii
part one: beginnings
1 The Magic of Hands 3
Magical tools, union with spirit, laying on of hands, wearing of rings, movement of natural energies, imbuing crafts with energy, vehicles of power
2 The True Meaning of Craft 9
Crafts as divine revelation, link with spirituality, charms, religious symbols
3 What Is Magic? 13
Goal of magic, working magic for others, magical energy, three types of magical energy, spells and rituals, magical visualization, rousing, programming, releasing, and directing energy, clockwise motion, collection rituals, having a magical attitude, some basics of magic
4 Empowering Your Crafts 27
Determine your magical need, the best craft and project to fulfill needs, natural materials, gathering supplies, energizing and using the project
part two: the ways
5 Magical, Simmering Potpourri 33
Using simmering potpourri to effect magical changes, love simmering potpourri, money simmering potpourri, protective simmering potpourri, purification simmering potpourri, psychic simmering potpourri, magical power simmering potpourri
6 A Psychic Mandala 41
Magical jewelry, wampum, beaded psychic mandala
7 A Pentacle, Protective Plaque, Runic Dice 47
Uses and significance of clay, tools, procedures, money pentacle, home protection plaque, employment plaque, divination dice, symbols
8 Ojos and a Shaman's Arrow 61
Divine symbolism, Huichol Indians, health and well-being, god's eye, shaman's arrow
9 Sand Painting 69
Navaho shamans, materials for sand painting, sand painting for a peaceful house, a healing sand painting, a prosperity sand painting
10 The Corn Mother 79
Reverence of grains, Yucatan, Plains Indian tribes, the Corn Mother, making the Corn Mother
11 Tapers of Power 85
Fire making, magical significance of fire, magical uses of candles, the wax, money candles, other types of spell candles
12 A Spell Broom 95
Uses of brooms, round brooms, purification broom
13 A Protective "Hex" Sign 101
Origin and magical properties of hex signs, Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs, meanings of colors used in hex signs, hex sign designs, creating a six-pointed star hex sign
14 Spell Banners 109
Spell banners as magical objects, creating the spell banner, symbols for banners
15 Spell Bottles 115
Witch bottles, house protection spell bottle, money spell bottle, love spell bottle
16 Flower Garlands 121
Flowers and plants as personal decoration, Hawaiian leis, a love garland, a protective garland
17 A Prosperity Trivet 127
Mosaic decoration, ancient uses, mosaic trivet
18 Spell Potpourri 133
Historical uses of potpourri, finding the ingredients, storing the potpourri, using the potpourri, replacing the potpourri, mixing the potpourri, money potpourri, protection potpourri, love potpourri,
psychic potpourri, healing potpourri, courage potpourri
19 A Magic Mirror 139
Awakening psychic awareness, making a magic mirror, using a magic mirror
20 Spell Boxes 145
Mystical properties, Pandora's box, the box itself, preparing the box for magic, the job spell box, a love spell box, a psychic spell box
21 The Powers of Wheat 155
Rituals of sacrifice and thanksgiving, Harvest Maiden or Corn Mother, corn dollies, the materials and tools, preparing the wheat, circles of power, health corn dolly (five-straw plait)
part three: the tables
Colors 169
Shells 172
Herbs 174
Stones 175
Feathers 176
Woods 178
Appendix: Mail-Order Sources of Craft Supplies 179
Glossary 183
Bibliography 189

Interviews

Spell Crafts by Scott Cunningham and David Harrington asks you to see your hands as wondrous vehicles of power. Then you can understand the magic you can imbue into crafts such as mixing fragrant herbs, sculpting clay, and weaving wheat.

What Spell Crafts wants you to understand is that the act of making any object with your hands can be magical. From the collecting of materials to make your desired object, to the basic crafting, final shaping, charging, and use, you will discover that the entire project can be magical.

Making a craft with your hands can be more than a manual art. Creating an item is also a connection with your inner self; a tool you can use to alter your life. This skill can be mastered by anyone who has a willingness to learn and a deep desire for self-transformation.

In Spell Crafts, magic and craft merge. The work of the hand melds with that of the mind and spirit. By using this book, your desire to use your natural skills, and a devotion to the divine, you can make magic! Get Spell Crafts today.

Editorial Reviews

Spell Crafts by Scott Cunningham and David Harrington asks you to see your hands as wondrous vehicles of power. Then you can understand the magic you can imbue into crafts such as mixing fragrant herbs, sculpting clay, and weaving wheat.

What Spell Crafts wants you to understand is that the act of making any object with your hands can be magical. From the collecting of materials to make your desired object, to the basic crafting, final shaping, charging, and use, you will discover that the entire project can be magical.

Making a craft with your hands can be more than a manual art. Creating an item is also a connection with your inner self; a tool you can use to alter your life. This skill can be mastered by anyone who has a willingness to learn and a deep desire for self-transformation.

In Spell Crafts , magic and craft merge. The work of the hand melds with that of the mind and spirit. By using this book, your desire to use your natural skills, and a devotion to the divine, you can make magic! Get Spell Crafts today.

From the Publisher