Hello Occulties,
Thank you, first of all, goes out to everyone who participated in the contest! :) The winner has been chosen, and though a few persons thought I would announce them by name, I will just say "Congratulations, D!" And since the person who won does know who they are....that's all the information you are getting. ;)
As I did get A LOT of questions, I will try to post as many as possible here and in the next entry...however, your entry may not appear, as I can't post all of them. :(
The winning question IS:
Q. I've heard that psychics can "see" the future, but a caster can "change" the future. How do casters "manipulate energy" to change the future?
A: Although I am sure there are several answers to this very well-stated question, this is my 2 cents.
Everyone has an etheric body (aura,) as well as a soul, and is animated by electricity. Right now you have an electric charge making your brain work...this is medically proven. The earth and the universe are similarly energetically charged. A spellcaster simply draws the energy from the universe or earth (or from an item or just from their own energy reserve,) into them and manipulates it by their own mental will. Now, the aura can be changed with focus of the mind (will,) if you wish to make it appear different, despite the fact that we all have auras which display our status by default (if you are not focusing to change its appearance,) and its my opinion that the electric/energy charge which keeps YOU (or anyone) alive and your aura on you, is also what we use to attract, manipulate, and send energy to impact the present or future. Its not really something that is easily explained with out having experienced it... I guess if you asked me how I did something, I'd just say I pulled the energy into me and then shot it back out when I had instructed it to do what I wanted. I also work up energy, and put it into things like candles and mojo sacks and powders...
If you wanted to try this, best I can tell you how is to take any mundane object, and sit with it in both hands and start thinking strongly about ANYTHING. Try to feel the energy come out of your hands and into the object...you will notice it starts to feel full... A friend of mine showed me a trick where he charged a shoe of mine with energy in this way...and when the shoes began to wear out, the one he charged was still looking a lot better than its mate. ;) So...you should try to manipulate energy on your own and you will soon find it is sort of like talking...you can explain medically how you talk, but it is hard to explain exactly how it feels or how you know what words are coming out, etc, to someone who had never experienced themselves talking. Moving energy is very natural and normal when you are accustomed to it.
One exercise I learned some time ago (like 15+ years ago, lol,) was to take both your hands and gradually move them together, palm to palm, trying to sense the energy between them. When you get to about 1-2 inches of distance between both palms, you may notice a slight "change," as if you can sense there being energy between them. This is similar say, as to when someone is standing behind you. Even if the have crept soundlessly, (and with no smell or other feature to alert you,) you will be aware of this presence. This is your energy sensing their energy.
Again, if you can become accustomed to SENSING energy (yours and the energy of other beings or items,) you will soon be able to manipulate it by force of will and use of concentration. Once you can manipulate the energy and will it, then you (or anyone) can influence the future...
Phew... I hope I answered that, but if it didn't make sense or it wasn't thorough enough, please tell me...that was a lot to write! :)
Q. Do you ever experience any unusual occurances when you are casting spells? Anything that freaked you out, made you laugh.. scared the heck out of you?
A: Not so much as one might think, but there have been some instances, I guess...
One of the more interesting things I had happened to me (and a client fave as far as stories go,) was that I was spellcasting on a particularly difficult reconcilation issue of my own. The spell in question was something where I needed to cast for approximately 24 or so hours, and this was "at the end" where I had some spellcandles burning on a plate - and a stoneware/mock porcelain plate which, if you read the rest of the story, is why Miss Cat tells you to use metal plates in your spells now, lol. I had the 2nd set in there (I had to use 2 sets to keep the spell candles going for 24 or so hours,) and these candles were burnt into a puddle, but still with pretty big wicks. I can't honestly remember why I was near the spellcandles, other than that I was living in an apartment and burning the spell candles in the kitchen...so I was probably getting food or something. The next thing I know I hear this loud CRACK and an explosion noise...as something goes whizzing by me. I flopped a belly flop right on my floor. When I realized no more "gunshots" (which is what it sounded like,) were coming my way, I got up (about 10 seconds.) I look around... I had managed to explode the spellcandles' plate, wax had gone flying, and (hooray for a kitchenette,) part of the plate blew up my TV...or at least had given it a pretty solid crack and it was useless...blown up is an exaggeration with the TV. ;)
Needless to say, in that instance the explosion was a positive sign - it "blew up," the target's resistance, and he returned to me. :)
Since several of my stories are more about how I learned fire safety the hard way, even though always concientous thereof, lol...and that's nothing to do with the question being asked (though many of them are the funnier stories,) I'll leave you with that one...it is a favorite. :)
Q: If you cast a love spell during a new moon or full moon will the spell have a stronger outcome - and being as it was cast on the full or new moon will the spells energy feel or manifest stronger on or around the dates of the next new or full moon?
A:It depends.
I don't use Wiccan spellwork, or really European spellwork, so with me, it doesn't often matter what the moon is doing. :S I am actually more concerned with what the sun is doing (solar-based tradition,) than the moon because I use African-based spellwork which is less dependant on lunar-based correspondences. In European-based spellwork, their spells are more lunar-based. A major misconception propegated by the pop-Wicca movement is that ALL spells require some sort of lunar-based correspondence...its not true. ;)
However, if you are using lunar influences, or using a spellwork dependant on said influence, this would depend on the aim of the love-spell. If it is a spell to initiate a new relationship or bring someone back you would want to use moon when it is in the 1st quarter (I hope I have my moon cycles right in re. to that number,) to the 2nd quarter, meaning from new to half-full. If you were using the moon to your advantage in re. to keeping something with you or keeping an influence strong, the 3rd quarter (half full to full,) is the best to use for this type of spell work. 1st and 2nd quarters are used to bring something to you. As the moon begins to wane, the 3rd quarter is best for reducing the influence of something or weakening its influence, and cursing, and then 4th quarter (Half full to new or "black") is best for destroying something, banishing it, etc. Often in lunar based trads, it is apt to manifest within one moon cycle or so, IMHO...though some report that negative work (3-4 quarters,) tends to manifest on the new moon, and pos work (1-2 quarters,) tends to manifest on the full. This is not my experience.
I do not recommend casting a love spell on a new moon. I was always told in lunar based trads to never cast a love spell on the day before, the day of, or the day after the new moon, and to never cast a spell to bring anything to you during those days either. ;) I would say actually, though, the day AFTER the new moon is the day to cast...
In regards to the full? I don't honestly think it is helpful to use the full moon because you are using the "growth" of the moon to bring growth to your spell. I did once read that you should also not use the day before, day of, or day after full, to bring something to you... but... I'd say, you are using the growth of the planet (satellite, whatever,) to bring something to you, so to use the full moon simply would not be as effective as using the day AFTER the new moon to bring that thing to you. For example, when I use solar energies, I often start at dawn, and use the power of the rising sun to aid my spellcraft...plus that happens every day, so its really convenient, lol. ;)
Q: How important is timing of menstrual cycles (for the petioner or target) when beginning reconcilliation work? I have heard that if a new cycle has started (ie the person has already had a period since the breakup) it is much harder to get results. What are your thoughts?
A: As this was a recent topic of a well-known radio broadcast starring two well-known rootworkers, I forsee my a** being handed to me for saying this... ;) BUT, I beg to differ, and I disagree with the idea that reconcilation magic/k is always or often easier before the female has had her next menstrual cycle as in before the menses and after the last time of intercourse. Now let me explain (already seeing the "Oh no you didn't's" in the back, hee hee.)
The obvious thing here to start with is that menopausal women and gay men also have love affairs that do break up and may need to be reconciled. Last I checked, neither menopausal women nor homosexual gentleman have a menstrual cycle, aka a period. If you ladies past your time of menstruating are bleeding vaginally, this is either endometriosis (runs in my family, too, and you have my sympathies,) or another serious medical problem...and if you gay gents are having periods...well, where you got a uterus is beyond me...and also transgendered persons? They feel love...last I checked transgendered people are also without a period...So...where do they fit in? Well, I'm getting to that. ;)
As best I can deduce, this is where this idea came in... If the woman had sex with her man (hetero relations right now, sorry my audience members who are ladies that like ladies, we're gettin' to you too,) the day her period had ended, and he ejaculated within her, we can assume that if the man in question walked out the door (and broke it off,) the moment he put his pants on, that his semen is still within her vaginal passage and will be for a few more days.
Now, many years ago, before we understood this completely, we probably believed that the semen absorbed into the uterine lining, even if it did not travel into the fallopian tubes to await the ripened ova (egg) of the female. We now know that the cervix, which is at the end of the vaginal passage and is the "Door to the uterus" is covered with a mucus plug. This plug ensures none of the sperm enters into the reproductive organs (uterus into fallopian tubes,) to fertilize an egg. If the mucus plug covering the opening of the cervix does not in any way thin as it does around ovulation, the spermatozoa will die within the vagina in a few days, and will be expelled by the natural cervical secretions (sometimes called vaginal secretions,) which are the female reproductive organ's natural method of cleaning itself. They will then no longer be present in the vagina or within any part of the female's body. Now, if the female is ovulating, the sperm may find enterance into the uterine cavity. Assuming our female is using birth control, or that her egg is not viable for fertilization, even now, the spermatozoa will fail in their duty to fertilize the egg, and will be expelled by the vagina, most likely before menstruation. So the idea that "part of the man," is within the womb or vagina after a certain amount of days (assuming there is birth control of some form, a pill, etc,) is false. The sperm die and are expelled. If they were not, they would easily die within the reproductive cavity and probably cause horrible infection. Thankfully our Creator saw fit to make the vagina a self-cleaning device, thus why you have moistness and secretions in your vagina even if not sexually aroused.
Okay, *hands some barf bags out to the sensitive,* now that we've covered semen in vaginas 101, let's go back to what I was saying about how people used to believe that the semen remained in the vagina and absorbed into the uterine lining. Since it was known that the egg implanted itself into the uterus and then a baby was born, it would only seem fit that sperm would do so as well (though they do not.) Further, as many ladies know, a baby is made prior to you "missing your period," so obviously in the days before all of the nifty contraceptives we use now, there was a chance the man had fertilized an egg, therefore leaving some part of him within you.
This meant, when we erronously believed this, that the gent was "in you," and therefore easier to do work on.
A similar concept is the feeding of menses to your man to keep him tied to you. However, this means the gentleman is "eating" part of you, and therefore IS absorbing you through the process of digestion. He is not expelling you (well, all of you, some is becoming part of his body thanks to digestion,) like he would a suppository.
Further, there are several fertile lesbians and are we to say that their sexual aides or their saliva or finger sweat (sorry, being graphic,) in some way is absorbed vaginally like semen? I mean, they have periods...so what do they do about ejaculate? Nothing - there is no semen in that vagina, my friends.
What would be MORE appropriate to say is that working reconciliation spellwork on someone is best done within the first mooncycle after you break up because THAT is when they are MOST LIKELY to change their mind on their own anyhow.... I mean, with lesbians, gay men, non-menstruating females and the transgendered people why is it that fertile ladies and hetero men would have to adhere to this? Certainly non-menstruating women are as important to their partners as menstruating ones, are they not?
I say, if you were about to have your period, and he left you, don't even worry about this. I can think of one of my own personal cases of reconcilation where we were BOTH so cheesed off that reconciling him wouldn't have worked for 4 months AT LEAST after we broke it off. The idea is to do it as fast as you can to try to influence the person when their feelings are still somewhat indecisive. As for the period thing... I dismiss it as archaic... To me, spellwork is really just an unexplainable science in many ways, and science has disproved that we absorb the ejaculate into our vaginas/uteruses/fallopian tubes, and has proved we expel said ejaculate unless an egg is fertilized.
So, IMHO, do the reconcilation spell as fast as you can - this is the idea, and the right one. Go after the target when you can have that person still be "tender" from the break and more apt to change your mind. Disregard the period stuff... I'm living proof that semen can live a very long time in a vagina (thank my mom for telling me this, but apparently my dad had relations with her 5-6 days or something prior to ovulation,) but that doesn't mean semen is creeping about in there for 3 or 4 weeks. ;)
Alrighty, more question's a coming...this was a lot for me to get done today. ;) I expect to have the 2nd part of this article done no later than Oct 8!
Best,
~Cat
Wow, when I first started doing spells, I would feel exhausted after and would immediately take a nap. I wondered at the time if it were related to the work, or just a coincidence. Thanks, Cat!
Posted by: Me | October 20, 2007 at 11:56 AM