Why Doesn’t my Spell Work?

By Isabella @TheWandCarver

Instagram:  @iseabail_witchwriter

This is not a question relegated to baby witches.  As many of you know, the very first spell you create and perform could be a winner… many times it is, and it gets you well and truly hooked into witchcraft.  Whether you were 5 years old like me at the time or 50 years old, if you are beginning your road to spellbinding and sorcery, you were a baby witch at some point in time… and if the first spell worked, no doubt you felt you had the knack and it would all be plain sailing from there. Eh eh. No. Not always.

So, why is it that sometimes, subsequent spells fall flat?

Planning

1. Divining for the “go ahead” from the Universe
2. Aligning with the right day and time for a spell
3. Moon Void-of-Course

Television makes it all look really simple… you watch old episodes of Charmed or watch films like The Craft and it seems all you need to do is cook up some potions to throw at a problem in your kitchen or just do a lot of blood-letting and trying to be good when there is always that “one”…. But good really does win the day, doesn’t it? Not always. So…

1. Divining for the “go ahead” from the Universe

If anyone is going to send you the help you desire, it will likely come from the Universe.  One thing I try to do before I commit myself to gathering up a lot of things – sometimes expensive things – to work up a fabulous spell is to “divine” for the seal of approval from the Universe.  You can draw tarot cards or cast runes, or even dowse with a pendulum if you prefer.  Ask the Universe if this desire of yours is necessary to your well-being. You are looking for a yes or a no but sometimes you also get the reasons why it is or is not for you.  Take it or leave it, it is up to you. But if it is not in your best interests, and the Universe does not agree, it could be a good reason why some spells fail.

2. Aligning with the right day and time for a spell

So easy yet so overlooked.  King Solomon devised the well-known Table now known to all as the “Table of Planetary Hours”, which is related to the working of the planetary Spirits.  These planetary relationships he codified in the forms of magical squares, which represented the consciousness of their respective planetary entities, as well as their tiny conscious representatives known as the planetary spirits, whom have been actively performing their evolutionary work in the solar universe since an uncountable long time. So, each planet has a numerical value.  It is why Neptune’s symbol looks like a 2, Jupiter’s number looks like a 4 but the rest do not look like numbers at all, although they are each assigned a numerical value. Mars’ number is 5, Saturn’s is 3, Uranus is 1, the Moon is 9, Venus is 7, Mercury is 8, and the Sun is 6. Yes, I could have put these in order.

I won’t go into explaining the formula for the magickal squares, but there are books such as The greater Key of Solomon : including a clear and precise exposition of King Solomon’s secret procedure, its mysteries and magic rites, by Lauron William De Laurence [it is also on Amazon.com – I checked!] and reference sites to learn more about how to choose the right day and hour to do a spell.  For instance, any spell to do with wealth is best done on the day of Jupiter [Thursday] during the hour of Jupiter. Unless you are doing a spell for Business for which you would do your spell during a Sunday and the hour for the Sun.  And there is a perfect website to help you to quickly choose the right time and planetary hour day and hour to perform a spell

3. Moon Void-of-Course

Haha… no, the Moon does not disappear like some have thought. She merely goes for a little rest sometimes which can be as little as a few minutes to a few hours.  I’m not going to tell you that no spell will ever work during a Moon Void-of-Course but many witches’ having gone before me have written they think it unwise to do so.  We always like to practise on the side of safety when we need a spell to work, therefore, here is how you can check this little phenomenon before you settle down to do the business.

Now, for a few little things you might have missed…

Enchanting

How do you enchant your herbs, spice, flowers, crystals, and any other items you may be planning to use in your spell jar, mojo bag, or witch bottle?  Maybe “How do you?” is not the right question but “Do you?” is more to the point.  In days gone by, back when many the witch or cunning person was Christian, everyone sang psalms or litanies as they harvested their herbs or flowers for a spell or healing work. Often, they might even place them on the local church altar and pray over them.  There were also times of the morning, day, or night at which they were to collect their needs. Even to collect water for making mead had to be collected during a very early hour of a morning or it would not be worth drinking. So, I am told.

Witches nowadays may or may not go to this trouble, I do not know.  My Nana probably did to some degree but never made a big show of it.  But here in the 21^st century, most witches do “enchant” their herbs and such before using. Personally, I just hold whatever I need to enchant in my power hand – right handed, me, and say my enchantment [mainly consisting of what the herb, etc is known to do best] to it to strengthen its power.  I don’t want the herb to forget what it is there for after all. Seriously, you do want to call to the Spirit of anything you wish to empower for its use and help in your spell work.  I say my enchantment nine times.

To Circle or Not to Circle

I am not much of one to cast a circle to do spell work inside of.  I do not knock it for others, but it seems a bit more Wiccan to me than I identify with.  Not to say that I have not cast the odd circle to perform a spell but if I’m honest, the one or two spells I did cast in a circle did not work.  Does that mean casting a circle could be your problem? Not at all.  It could just have meant in my case that I put too much emphasis on the ritual than the intention of my spell.  But I learned from this.  All you can do is learn from each time. 

Intention, Intention, Intention

You can do all the above, my darlings, and still fall flat on your sweet witchy faces if your intention is not strong enough.  We each have our own ways of building intention and I do not think that talking about how I do so will help you.  Still, I think we may all agree that to strengthen your intention could benefit from some of the following:

1. A strong desire for a certain outcome
2. Writing down what you expect and want
3. Meditating on what you need and or want
4. Meditating and listening to the answer you receive from the Universe,
5. Focus more intention into your spell than fancy ritual

And, if all falls into place, you may have yourself a winner. Still, if at any time you receive a message, a feeling, anything that makes you feel it is not a good thing to do, it is alright to walk away from the spell.  You DO have the power to make things work, however, some things might be better left alone.  Have the wisdom to accept that and the courage to walk away. 

I hope this has been of some help.  Blessed spellcasting to you and warmest blessings to all whom this way wander x