All right, I’ve been gone for a while so I’m going to try to clean out what ABW’s I have sitting about. Let’s get started!

I’ve had contact with someone now I’m locked in spiritually i feel like I’m transitioning thru colors. Green n Gray already. I don’t understand how I know but I’m hereditary. I don’t have a teacher or know where to start.

Bossy C.

This isn’t a bad question but one I do get with some consistency. The problem is less burdensome than it appears so let’s break it down.

Chances are usually better than not that you are not bound to anyone, especially at such a new stage. It is probably just nerves. While there are spooktacular stories of being bound to someone in occult, it is not always actual bindings. The telltale-sign? How new the person is to the occult. While there are cultural beliefs of binding to others which are verily legit, it’s less “You bumped into them in the market, now your soul has been deadbolted and soldered to them for ever and ever” and more, “You developed a bond which is a bit resistive to breaking – but can be broken through relatively simple and mundane ways.” If it were someone more neck deep in magick, then it could be possible bindings (which can also still be broken). But new? Naaaaaaah, not likely.

Color magick is pretty important but different colors can mean different things to different people. For example, I’m American, so I can associate red with anger. My friend in France? It’s yellow. Which can confuse me because I, as an American, associate yellow with fear. But another one of my friends on the other side of America would rather associate white to fear, and yellow to wistfulness. This means I can’t really say for sure what the colors you feel mean because I could say “jealousy and indecisiveness” but be waaaaaaaaaaaaay off the mark. This is where your Book of Shadows/Disk of Shadows (BOS/DOS) comes in and and a reference guide on color magick (I have suggested several books on my site, I tend to suggest Where to Park Your Broomstick by Laura Manoy most) and work it out yourself for accuracy. If you’re hereditary, that’s also a good place to start as well if there are any source materials to work with.

Basically, the best place to start is with a book and your BOS/DOS. I wouldn’t get too wrapped up about the guy, either.

Hello, this is all new and foreign to me. I have been through a lot of shit in my life and I have found a sigil that means a lot to me. It is the treachery returns to the betrayer sigil. If I were to get this tattoo is is just symbolism or does it automatically become a charged sigil?
– Damon H

The quick answer is: don’t do it.

If you have no idea what the hell you are doing, simply abstain until smarter – always a good rule of thumb in magick. Getting sigils (especially from the internet – Tumblr is the worst offender I’ve found so far) can be a cool thing…until you are reminded that it’s a bonding magickal symbol. Magickal symbols probably shouldn’t be tatted anywhere on your person unless you’re a 150% scholar on the thing you’re getting. It could be the symbol is from a culture and you’re about to be super disrespectful (like getting a Hindu deity on a part of the body deemed disrespectful, like a leg or back), the symbol can tether you to the meaning of whatever you got, for good or for worse (and guess which part of the binary gets me “Plz help” emails), or it loses meaning to you or you found it was the wrong symbol all along (think of people who get tattoos that they think means “strong, willful” and it actually means “moron”).

Even the sigil you mentioned could be a wildly different symbol from what I’m thinking of…because a lot of cultures have different sigils. A lot of them. It could be the Voudon version, the Latin version, there’s even a Wiccan version (I don’t always take that version seriously (see: Tumblr) but it does exist).

You’re breathing intent and effort into the sigil and fastening it to yourself, literally. It’s probably not smart. Just get a tat of something else that signifies the same thing and is not a sigil or religious symbol.

Hi just wanted to start by saying that I love your writings. You are very eloquent, and as a fellow research nerd (art history grad student) I love how you stress research/reading.

My question is two fold (and slightly predictable, sorry). I read your stance about love spells and it makes so much sense. I’ve been hesitant to try any for a lot of the reasons that you mentioned. I saw that you said spells to get a date were easier. I was wondering if you could point me towards the direction of some such spells? I am moving across the country this summer and would love to date more in my new city. I am also a woman with a disability and would love a little boost in getting dates. Any suggestions you have on where to start researching for a safe spell (don’t want a stalker either) would be great!

I was also wondering if you knew of any resources for spells for the differently abled? Or how to adapt spells safely? I’ve read a lot about grounding through connecting your bare feet to the dirt or taking cleansing baths to prepare for spell work which isn’t an easy option when you have a mobility impairment. Anny thoughts you have would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!

-Kels

For spells about relationships, there are several in Where to Park Your Broomstick by Lauren Manoy as she has a pretty decent chapter on it. As well as general “Magick 101” for anyone starting magick. All spells carry risk, though. There is no spell I can think of, even the super positive ones, that are 100% risk-free. Doesn’t exist. There are plenty of low risks (like the super positive spells) but there aren’t any no-risk. Spells backfire, go flat or deeply awry. I remember once casting a small money spell for $87 dollars when I was a teenager – that exact amount – because of a concert I wanted to go to. I got the $87…and literally nothing else. Like, no money was coming my way – it got tied up somehow, fell through or it was a huge hassle. Basically, the spell took the intention to be “I want $87…and that’s all the money I’ll need for the rest of time.” Really simple spell and it backfired marvelously. Again, no such thing as a no-risk spell. Even if you did correctly, something can still go topsy-turvy. So that means you could still get a stalker-type with even a “I just want a date” spell. Not as likely as a super controlling one but it is still a possibility.

It’s easy to adapt for disability because you’re still touching the ground somehow. I don’t do the “bare feet on soil” because living in the city, you’re not super likely to find a place good enough or safe enough (no broken glass or dirty needles on the ground). There are other ways to cleanse yourself that doesn’t use baths. Just modify as you go with whatever works best. It’s the point of the action, not the action itself.

can u get me out of this binding and protection from a dreamscape witch and other forces negative to me. they say im the reincarnation of king tut…

– Skylair G.

Ah, another binding question but with a tad more nonsense. The nonsense:

A “dreamscape” witch – yes, different entities exist on the astral plain but this sounds more Narnia than anything

Reincarnation of King Tut – Seriously? This is right up there with Cleopatra, Cesar and other historical figureheads most commonly touted in Western lore. If you think you’re one of these people, chances are stupidly good that you’re not. There can not possibly be that many King Tuts, Cleopatras and Ceasars, walking about. Just not.

This also is another “gimme gimme” request, nothing substantial. Chances are very strong that this person is mainly stressing themselves with their own thinking – there isn’t a real issue, just reading into shadows in the window.

If I tie a picture around a piece of meat and bury it. What happens to the person on the picture?
– Pearl

Behold, an actually stupid question. If you’re going to dabble in magick: don’t. If you don’t like someone and learning is too time-taxing for you, just be old-school confrontational about it.