The Witches' Book of the Dead (20 page)

The following spell is a powerful means of using the skull to employ the dead in necromantic magic. I use this method more than any other to send my will into the world. Using the skull to cast spells is documented as far back as the magical papyri of ancient Greece in 200 BCE, so this form of magic has been around for a very long time—and with good reason. It works.

You will need:

• Human skull (or substitute)
  
• Yew wand
  
• Bronze dagger
  
• Pentacle of protection
  
• Chalice of libation
  
• Spirit powder
  
• Spirit incense and burner (see
  appendix A
  )
  
• Honey pot
  
• A spirit rattle or bell
  
• Medical lancet (available at drug store)
  
• Anointing oil (see
  appendix A
  )
  
• A black candle and a white candle
  
• A piece of parchment paper and pen
  

Make sure your tools are set upon the altar of the dead and that your chalice is filled with fresh spring water—
not
tap water. Stand before the altar, and relax yourself into a visionary state (see
chapter 2
).

Ring the bell or shake the rattle to create sacred space and let the spirits know that you are prepared for the work at hand.

Light the black and white candles, saying, in turn,
This black candle shall draw the spirit of [name of spirit] while the white candle shall help [him / her] to usher my will upon the spectral winds
.

Write the name of the spirit you wish to call on the piece of parch-ment paper and place it on the pentacle of protection, saying,
By the power of the written word, I do stir and summon the spirit of [name of spirit]! Come forth and aid me in my task!

Anoint your wrists, heart, throat, forehead, and the crown of your head with anointing oil, saying,
I consecrate myself as a creature of spirit that the spirit of [name of spirit] will come forth and aid me in my task!

Sprinkle the spirit powder in a circle, counterclockwise, around your area of working, including the altar. Say,
This powder shall serve to protect me from all evil and harmful energy. Let no spirit or force enter here with malice and may only those forces who hold me dear come forth!

Take up the bronze dagger with your right hand and trace a circle three times around you counterclockwise and say,
By bronze blade of the ancients, I cast this circle to defend me from all evil and harm. Let only what is true and pure enter this space!

Light the charcoal (or stick incense) and sprinkle the spirit incense upon the charcoal. Raise the incense to each of the four directions, North, East, South, and ending in West before the altar, each time saying,
Let this sacred smoke stir and summon the spirit of [name of spirit]! Make manifest my desires and usher them into reality!

Open the lid of the honey pot and say,
Let the sweetness of honey please the spirit of [name of spirit]. Come forth and aid me in my task!

Using your right hand, tap the crown of the skull three times with the yew wand and say,
I hereby conjure the spirit of [name of spirit] to come forth and aid me in my task!

Now, make the offering. Take the sterilized medical lancet and prick the index finger on your right hand and place three drops of blood on the skull as an offering. You're not using the cauldron to make the offering for this spell, but instead you are making a direct offering of blood to the spirits through the skull itself. Say,
I make this offering of my blood, of my volition, that it may feed you, [name of spirit], of my life force! May you now go forth and execute my will!

With this said, place your right hand, palm downward, on the top of the skull and, with all your heart and will, visualize that thing you desire most. Channel that thing into the very fabric of the Death Current that the spirit you have called will take hold of it and make it real. See it in your mind's eye so strongly that there is no room for doubt or failure. Your goal
will
be achieved. Your
desires
will be had. You
will
succeed! This could be the new job you've wanted. It could be the vacation you've been hoping to take. Or, it could be getting a certain object of your affection to think about you a little more. The dead are fantastic at bringing dreams to the living, so asking the spirits to help a lover to dream of you is an excellent use of this ritual.

When you wish to close the ritual, take up the yew wand with your right hand and tap the crown of the skull three times with it, saying,
I give you thanks, spirit of [name of spirit]! May you depart in love and joy, as you go to complete my task. May you return when I have need of you again!

Place the yew wand back upon the altar and take up the bronze dagger with your right hand. Draw a circle, clockwise this time, around the space three times, saying,
I now release the energy created here tonight. May it join the spirit of [name of spirit] in manifesting what I desire into reality! As rising moon, and setting sun, it is done!

• • •

Ritual: The Graveyard Ritual

The second most-visited grave in America (number one being that of Elvis Presley) is the tomb of Marie Laveau, located in St. Louis Cemetery #1 on the outskirts of the French Quarter of New Orleans. The aboveground Greek revival family crypt where she and many of her family are interred is noted for being covered with X's, drawn in graveyard brick three at a time by those seeking for their wishes to be answered. Marie is an unofficial saint in New Orleans—a Loa, or intermediary spirit of the Voodoo traditions of the Crescent City. When visitors make offerings of rum, flowers, cigars, money, and food, Marie is believed to answer prayers and exert her magical influence from beyond the grave. As Marie Laveau is my personal favorite contact in the spirit world, I keep a statue of her on the altar of the dead at my shop, HEX, and I make an annual pilgrimage to her tomb in New Orleans, where I perform a ritual of offering and rever-ence and ask Marie to aid me in keeping magic alive here in Salem.

You can do this kind of magic just by visiting a graveyard where someone you love or admire is buried. Graveyards are very powerful conduits of the Death Current, for obvious reasons. The best time to visit is at midnight (or, perhaps, at the “soul's midnight” of 3 AM), but the daytime can work as well. If you do go at night, be sure to find a cemetery where you will not be arrested for trespassing. Most are quite strict about visiting after dark, but some are more lax than others. As mentioned in the previous chapter, you should always knock three times at the gate of a graveyard before entering and ask the spirits to open the way to the realms of the dead. You should also come with an offering of food, drink, flowers, or something else
that the deceased preferred in life. If you don't know what that is, bring some of the traditional food for the dead in
appendix A
, or, as mentioned before, an offering of money is wonderful since the poor might later take it and this is pleasing to the spirits.

Leave your offering at the intended grave with respect, reverence, and love and say,
I leave you, [name of spirit], this offering to honor your contribution to my life. May your energy continue to shine down on all those who knew and loved you. I come to you for help with [situation or task]. Please assist me as only you can and help me to change things for the better. Blessings of gratitude!

When you are ready, offer a last word of thanks and leave the grave-yard. As you learned in the last chapter, always exit a graveyard backwards to keep the spirits from following you home!

• • •

Ritual: The Ritual of the Crossroads

The crossroads are among the most magical of places in cultures around the globe. The meeting of roads symbolizes the meeting of worlds and thus the crossroads become a place between the realms of matter and spirit. The Witch goddess Hecate was said by the ancients to guard the places where three roads meet, though she is ultimately present at every crossroads, and one can find offerings to her at such places if you know what to look for. In the Voodoo
traditions of Haiti and New Orleans, Papa Legba (or, as they say in Old Nawlins, Papa Lebas) is the keeper of the crossroads, guarding the way to all other spiritual forces. He is identified with Saint Peter, who can often be seen holding a cross of keys … again the crossroads.

Visit a crossroads at midnight (or at 3 AM), bringing an offering for Hecate and for the dead. This can be as simple as pouring honey wine upon the ground.
Appendix B
contains an expanded list of offerings for Hecate and other deities of the dead. Hecatean priestess Mulysa Mayhem taught me that it is important to invoke the goddess Hecate at the crossroads, for it is she who shall mediate and protect you against those among the dead that would bring you harm.

You will also speak the ancient Greek prayer of protection:
“Aski kataski haix tetrax damnameneus aision.”
The prayer dates back to the time when Diana was worshipped at Ephesus and it was said to be associated with her. Some say the meaning is undecipherable, and some say it means “Darkness, Light, Sun, and Truth.”
²⁸
Whatever this phrase truly means, it has been used for more than two thousand years as words of power to protect against evil. It is one of the greatest of spells.

Stand at the center of the crossroads and enter into a visionary state. Call out the prayer with all the fire of your heart and strength of your will:
“Aski kataski haix tetrax damnameneus aision.”
Do not be a wimp about this. Too many Witches fail in their magic by bringing no life to their words of power. Pour or lay your offering for Hecate on the ground at your feet, and say,
Mighty Hecate, may you guard me here at the crossroads as I call upon the powers of the dead. Bless us in this rite!

Wait a few moments for the energy to shift. You will feel a change in the air when the shades of the dead begin to emerge from the shadows and the Death Current is flowing through the very Earth beneath your feet. When you can feel its power, pour or lay your offering for the dead alongside Hecate's offering and call out,
Let those among you who would aid me in my cause. Join with me now to [task to be done]. Let nothing stand in your way as you bring this to be. Let mighty Hecate bear witness to this bond, so mote it be!

What you have just learned is a variation on one of history's most ancient spells. The crossroads have meaning to so many cultures and traditions that merely to stand in one is to swim in the tides of magic.

• • •

Ritual: A Ritual of Dreams