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by Sylvana
I am known to be very talented at money magick -- at manifesting things in general, including money. My best friend lrecalls a story about when I was all but totally broke. Every so often, at that point, I would get a check from the phone company. I'd go to my mailbox, and there would be a check for $25 or $50! Now, the phone company usually wants money; it doesn't usually give it to you. I happily cashed the checks, though. It seems like wherever I have been in my life, any time I really needed something and asked, I got it!
From this varied career of mine, I've concluded: Think of yourself as rich, and you will be! Assume you have everything you need and the universe is just waiting to grant your requests. There is nothing but abundance that goes on forever... plenty of everything for everyone caring to partake of it. You have only to put in your order and get out of the way! I have taught this philosophy to others with varying degrees of success throughout the years. It seems like those who need to learn it the most have the hardest time getting it.
The first thing I like to tell people about doing prosperity magick is that everything that you think you know about money and abundance is most likely wrong. I am not talking about intellectual knowledge; a lot of us have done some work in this area, and we know what we're supposed to be able to do. Doing it effectively is sometimes next to impossible, however!
So you need to get the concept of suspending disbelief and do it for the duration of this article! Are you with me here? You need to know (for the purposes of this article) that affirmations alone, while nice, will not change much about who you are or how you operate in real-life circumstances. What you need is a concrete change in how you look at, what you believe about and how you deal with, spend, save and acquire money and other forms of abundance and prosperity.
Many people spend a lot of time working too hard, for too many hours and years, taking home too little money for their efforts, resenting the hell out of their jobs and bosses and never really getting anywhere. They worry if they will ever have enough and what will happen when they run out, and they're constantly concerned about the dollars and cents of everyday life.
As witches, we know (or should know!) that you get what you put energy into. Guess what you get if you constantly worry that you will not have enough money? Not enough money! That's right, by focusing your energy on how little you have and how much you need, you create the very situation that you are afraid of! Duh! Most of us have had our worst fears come true, and you know what I am talking about!
So, what do you do then, is the question on your mind, right? See, I am psychic also! You must change your ingrained habits where money and prosperity are concerned. These things can be changed; it takes some conscious effort on your part, but the results are worth it. It's kind of like exercise -- no one wants to do it till they get into the habit. Then it makes them look and feel so good that they almost cannot go a day without it.
To make these changes, you must look at what you truly think about money, what you believe true about it and yourself, how you feel about it and whether you believe it is good or not. I know this sounds silly, but many people in our culture believe money is evil, bad and wrong. Most of us have heard that cliché that "money is the root of all evil," and we grow up in our culture believing this. We think people who do have riches are wrong and bad, and we wouldn't want to be wrong and bad, so we think we can never have riches. Your underlying thoughts and feelings are incredibly important when it comes to the subject of money magick, because you are very powerful and your will invariably will win out over your desire.
If you want to create an environment of prosperity, emulate what you desire. When you see Bill Gates in the media, for example, stop thinking (or worse yet, saying), "That jerk! He has all that money, I hate him!" It is much more effective to say and think things like, "Gee, I'd like to be just like Bill, so I could be wealthy and could afford to be more independent and generous" -- or whatever you'd like to do or be. Embracing that which you desire works better than despising it. The more you resist something (say, poverty), the more of it you get! The more you can get "into the flow" of prosperity, the better for you!
Another part of my philosophy says that if you get money you are not open to having because you do not believe that you deserve it, you will get rid of it very quickly. This result is common with people who make fast money in negative ways, say by drug dealing or other crimes, and also when someone who has been poor wins the lottery or inherits a large sum. This windfall money seems to disappear faster than ever, because the recipients think they don't deserve it. To make money magick work for you, you have to realize first what blocks you (such as this kind of belief), figure out a way around, through or over the obstacles and then go about the business of acquiring the money or whatever it is that you want.
Just attempting to resist poverty, for example, will not make you more affluent. In fact, it will only make the situation worse. As I say earlier, I think of money and prosperity as a flow. It is like the tide, going out and coming in. You make some money, it comes in, and then you buy something or pay bills and it goes out. The good thing in this pattern is that when the money goes out, it creates a vacuum, to be filled again. Money must come back in, just like the tide. In nature, when something ends, something else begins, and the tide is a good metaphor for how I see energy moving.
A lot of people do money magick only to be upset the money doesn't appear right away. I see two things wrong here for most witches I know. First, they are much too attached to the outcome of their magick and so they effectively prevent it from working. This is what I call being in your own way!
Second, they do a bunch of magick, and it all lies in a queue, coming in a bit at a time, but they're expecting the thing they did yesterday to happen tomorrow, when what they did two weeks ago is just now beginning to manifest! Sometimes they also don't keep track of what ways the energy comes back to them. Keeping track is important also -- noting down results helps support your belief in your own magick.
You might know some powerful witches that can utter a word and have the skies open around them, but for most of us mortals, things take the teensiest bit of time (at least!) to manifest. If you can trust that it is coming, that it is on its way, you'll be much better off and probably get a lot more of what you ask for.
Another thing to realize is that we can often manifest a thing without having to go through the money step -- focus on getting the thing itself, rather than the money for it. For instance, suppose you say "I want enough money to buy a used car." Your next step is to decide what car you want, what model, color, options and so on. Find out the range of prices that the car sells for, and look at the ones for sale. Focus on the car itself, rather than on the money part. Do not worry about the money. I have found that if you commit to something, the money will show up, or the thing will occur in such a way that you don't need the money -- like someone will give it to you. Or someone will sell it to you for a ridiculous price. I have had this happen several times in my life!
There are a few other small points. I learned from my Santeria friends to kiss and bless my money as I spend it. When I send it away like this, like an old friend it will come back to me. I also cannot stress enough the importance of lighting candles with intention and burning your money (or a small piece or facsimile). I use fake or play money symbolically all the time for this. Like attracts like. I leave my purse open most of the time because I want money to be get in as well as get out. I have given my last change to someone on the street at times just to get that flow started again.
The most important thing I've learned over the years is that money and prosperity are not hard or complicated to understand or create. It's energy just like everything else; we give it its meaning. If we understand it's no more than paper with ink and numbers on it, it gets easier and we get much better at it.
A couple sample manifestation rituals follow, one for money and one for a lover (since it's Beltaine!). These formats can be adapted for love, money or something else entirely.
Now to create wealth in your life!
You want more prosperity? You want a new job, a new place to live or a new car? You can create these things by manifesting based on my formula. But don't let your old belief systems stand in your way.
The following supposes you want to buy a car -- you can substitute any other item you want. Before the ritual, decide what car you want, find out the range of prices and look at a few. Focus on the car, not the money for the car.
Set up for ritual in your usual way, except make sure to have, in addition to what you normally use:
Assemble everything, cast your circle and meditate on your desire. See yourself driving the car, feel how good it is to get what you want. You deserve it! Smell the car scent; feel the breeze through the window. Feel how relaxed and happy it makes you to drive your new car knowing you got it easily and with right action. When you have a good sense of your purpose and intention, you can take a few deep breaths to breathe it into yourself and open your eyes.
Now anoint the candles and objects with oil, anoint the money and write your intention on the money with the green pen. Be clear and state that you want the car easily and effortlessly for the best and highest good of all. When you have finished anointing, light the incense and the candles one by one stating your purpose each time, something like: I now manifest my great new car, quickly, obviously and rightfully. Whether from near or far, it comes to me. Here it is! So mote it be, and so it is!
Each time you speak, visualize the car in your driveway or you driving it. Write on the money the make, model and color of the specific car you want. Also, write on the green paper the date, time, moon phase and intention of the ritual and fold it in half. Put it away to keep on your altar to remind you later.
Then pass the money through the smoke of the incense, and ask that the incense carry your intentions to the far reaches of the universe. Pass the money through the flame of each candle asking blessings of all elements, passing it through the green candle flame for power and the symbolic car candle flame to attract the car. Then light the money with the last candle and put it into the cauldron or bowl to burn, chanting: My desire, come to me, as I do will, so mote I be! My new car, come to me, as I do chant, so will it be!
Chant till the fake money is burned up. Put the energy into the object representing the car and place it on the altar as a focus for the energy to come back to. Ground any excess energy, and let go of your desire, knowing your wish will be fulfilled soon. Close the circle and eat and drink a bit.
Then go and do something nice for someone to get out of your own desire and head. Community service is always good for your karma and for your magick as well. In the following days, go about your business, watching for and being aware of the manifestation of your desire; pay attention to how it manifests, and watch for opportunities without obsessing on the result. Be open to allowing yourself the freedom and prosperity that you so richly deserve.
Meditate to determine what it is that you want or need. Be as clear as possible, sifting through the things in your head, down to the core thing that you want. If you want a new lover, romance and sex, for instance, say, "I want my true and rightful lover to come to me now, easily and obviously. I want (him or her) to recognize me and me (him or her), with little effort and only clarity, love, peace, joy and attraction." (Or whatever you want!) Do not ask for a specific person, and always include "for the best and highest good of all" to keep a positive energy spin on it.
For this ritual you will need, in addition to the usual ritual gear that you use:
Write or carve your name on one white candle; write "my lover" on the other. Write or carve "perfect love and perfect trust" on one of the pink candles, "perfect sex" on the red candle. Dress the candles, and anoint the ritual objects with the body fluids and oil. (If you want to be very successful, you may use the red candle as a masturbatory object.) Cut the pink paper into hearts, and write your required criteria for a perfect lover on them, things like age range, location, availability, philosophy and so on
Cast your circle in your customary way, invoke elements or quarters and do an invocation to a specific god or goddess, or both, complementary in energy to your ritual purpose. State your intention. With the red ribbon, bind the white, pink and red candles all together at the bottom, with the stem of the rose, so that the rose is at the base, as the illustration shows.
Light your incense, saying: O smoke of desire, carry my wishes to (him or her).
Light the white candles one by one, and state that one represents you and the other represents the perfect lover for you. Light the pink candle and say: My lover and I open our hearts, minds and bodies to one another, as we move toward one another in time and space, getting closer each day till we are as one.
Light the red candle while saying: My perfect lover and I are in union physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually now and into time. As we join our hearts, minds and bodies, we are one.
While looking at the rose, read off the qualities on your list, saying: My perfect lover is: smart, attractive and sexy to me, attracted to me, emotionally available and so on, whatever your list has. When you're done, fold the paper in half and tuck it under the candles.
See the person as already having appeared and as if they are already your lover. Feel as though you are already paired with this wonderful lover. Finish by having a sip of wine or juice and a bit to eat, then ground the energy and close the circle. Write a poem on one of the pink hearts, date and address it to "my perfect lover, whoever you are." Keep this in a safe place to look at later.
Burn these candles for an hour each day for seven days, while meditating and repeating all the statements you addressed to your lover.
When the candles have burned down to the rose, take the rose petals and strew them in your bed. Your lover will appear within a week.
Good luck, and keep working on your manifestation abilities. Honing them is a process. With practice, you'll get better and better at manifesting what you want! If you keep it up, you'll soon have everything you ever longed for... and that's another article!
Sylvana SilverWitch is high priestess of Sylvan Grove, writer, artist, psychic reader, counselor, SM practitioner and educator, pleasure activist and a professional tattooist and piercer. She is available for classes on many subjects. Call (206) 608-9908 for more information, personal consultations or tattoo or piercing appointments, or write sylvanas@juno.com.