Love

It's truly sad to think of how many people are desperately seeking love - usually in all the wrong places. They'll look for it in the eyes of strangers and at bars and parties; they'll search it out on sidewalks and in the frozen foods section of grocery stores. Thoughts of love may consume their entire lives at the expense of everything else. When they do find it, love is all too fleeting - an intimate dinner, a few nights of erotic heat, a series of phone calls and lunches. Then, just as they feared, the end. Their world is crushed. They can't go on without love. So they renew their search, knowing that somewhere they'll find their ideal mate.

Love is a drug.

We must make changes within ourselves to find love. If we don't love ourselves we certainly can't expect others to do so. If we don't have our own lives together we can't bring someone else into them. If we have nothing to offer another person why should they bother to offer themselves to us?

Psychology? Sure. Thought is a form of power. Our lives are pools of energy. By changing our thoughts we change our lives, creating new energy patterns, attracting other needed energies.

If we program our lives with love, love will be returned to us. If we put our affairs in order and take an active interest in our lives, they will run more smoothly. If we cultivate interests - those unconcerned with love or our jobs - we become richer persons with much more to offer to others.

This is a simple technique. Live your life fully in whatever manner is within your means and interests. Discover yourself so that you can share this with others. Continue to meet new people of both sexes. Keep looking, of course, but know that you can wait until the right person comes along.

In the meantime, perform this spell whenever you see fit. When you feel yourself starting to fall back into your old love-obsessive attitude, work this magic. When you ache and pine for past relationships, work this magic. When you feel you can't go one for another day without a love in your life, work this magic.

Then let it work its magic on you.

Petals of Love

Only two magical tools are required for this ritual: a small mirror and fresh flowers. They can be daisies, carnations, violets, lilacs, or gardenias, but roses of any color are best. If you do use roses, remove the thorns from one of the stems.

Buy or collect seven or eight stems of the chosen flower. If cutting them yourself, thank the plant for its sacrifice in any words or actions that you see fit. Remember - nature is a power source. Magicians respect it.

Perform this ritual when you are quite alone and won't be interrupted. Take the phone off the hook, don't answer the door - give this time to yourself.

You may be dressed in normal clothes, those you sleep in or nothing at all. Do whatever feels most natural.

Place the flowers in a large vase or bowl. Nearby place a small mirror in a position so that you can see your face within it. Sit or kneel comfortably before the flowers. Remove one flower from the vase. Stroke it over your head, your hair, your ears. Move it up and down your cheeks and chin. As you do this, open yourself to the loving energies the flower is radiating out to you.

Close your eyes and brush their lids lightly with the flower. Say these words:

Move the flower lower. Smell its rich scent. Drink in its aroma. Let it fill your soul. Say:

Open your eyes. Move the flower away from your head and above it. Say:

Lower the flower to your heart area. Stroke it up and down, soothing it, letting its energies melt into yours. Say:

Move it down to your stomach. Press it gently against your skin or clothing. Say:

Still holding the flower in your hand before you, gaze at your reflection in the mirror. Say these or similar words:

Place the flowers in a spot where you'll see them several times a day. If possible, wear or carry the flower you've used in your ritual. When it begins to wilt, bury it in the Earth, thanking it for its energies.

And be prepared to receive as well as to give love.

The Truth About Witchcraft Today ©1999 by Scott Cunningham and Llewellyn Publications. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be printed or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from Llewellyn Publications except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.