When spells go bad
Hello,
Every act of magic is an act of communication.
We actively participate in synchronicity every time we cast a spell - we "spell out" a dense set of symbols and meanings and energies, cast that spelling into the soul of the world (the collective creative unconscious)...
... and because the universe truly cannot resist making poetry with rhymes and puns and fancy metaphors in reply to our "opening gambit" ...
... some set of events then invariably unfolds that poetically "rhymes" with the symbols and meanings that we communicated.
It may not be a set of events that we totally like, however ;)
Why?
Because we ourselves are always the most important "element" or "symbol" in a spell, and the unconscious set of meanings and desires that we attach to ourselves, will always be reflected perfectly by the result we get.
The tricksy thing about spellcasting is that the communication that we send is rarely entirely conscious.
Don't get me wrong, any kind of spellcasting is a step above and beyond mere passive muggle muddling through life - it's a deliberate launching of intent, which produces results.
But if we notice that things go a bit awry with our spells (whatever forms they take - whether we're simply writing New Moon wishes in our journals, visualizing success, or dressing in full ritual regalia to invoke Ishtar)....
... it helps to get actively curious about what exactly was the communication that we *actually* sent in order to be able to properly interpret the response that manifests.
When I first began regularly spellcasting it amazed me how I always got "half" of what I asked for.
Like, some years back I cast a spell for a wonderful new lover - and what turned up was a man in my life who was wonderful in a lot of ways but also pretty damn twisted...
... when I reflected on this and was super-honest with myself, I could see that the Anima Mundi, the soul of the world, had responded perfectly to my real desire...
... which was to feel controlled and possessed, addictively hungered for like a junkie hungers for heroin ;)
.... And this fulfillment of what I was unconsciously asking for had shown up in the form of a new lover because I had used all kinds of traditional Venusian / "love" elements in my casting - roses, basil, hearts, Venus sigils etc.
Because I know that spells always work, I see them as one of the golden routes to enlightenment, i.e., making the unconscious, conscious.
Of course, they're also a great way to make life more interesting, period.
So here's my suggestion for today - If you want to know what you "really" desire in your shadowy unconscious - a quick way to do it is to cast a spell and see what shows up...
... and then while knowing that spells always work perfectly - calmly, deeply ask yourself: "what does this result teach me about what my real desire was all along?"
best,
Carolyn
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