Magic to the People

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The first time I cast a money spell I was disappointed with the results. I thought I would win the lottery. No sooner had I cast it and left the apartment than I found some change on the sidewalk. Less than a dollar. I laughed: is that it? No, it wasn’t. Over the rest of the week though serendipity, chance and accident I repeatedly gained a little extra money here and there. An unexpected discount, a random gift. One restaurant gave me a meal on the house.

It was little stuff, but I was a college student. It helped.

Over time I learned to make stronger money charms. I started putting them on cards, so they can easily be carried anywhere and last longer than a week. They make a big difference.

But what if you can’t afford one?

That’s why I’m founding Magic to the People, an open-door workspace to provide magic ceremonies at no fixed cost. Drop a dollar in the hat, have a seat, tell me your problem—our promise is that no one is turned away. We’ll figure out a solution and I’ll do your ceremony on the spot.

I believe we can change our lives. Magic is a tool I use to do that. And with Magic to the People, it will be more accessible than ever before.

To make Magic to the People a reality, I need your help. We’ve launched a funding campaign on Indiegogo, and I’m turning to all altmagic fans to spread the word. When you donate, you’ll get all kinds of cool perks including art and magic spells.

Have a look at Magic to the People and see for yourself.

Please, share this campaign, tell everyone you know and help us get the word out.

Custom Enchanted Art: Refuge

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Copyright 2012 Drew Jacob

One of the best part of being a magician is the chance to help people realize their dreams. I recently completed the piece above, called “Refuge.” The client initially wrote to me:

My husband and I are looking for a home to buy. We live outside of the DC area, and as you can imagine real estate is incredibly expensive. So, we could use a spell to find a great house, at a great price, in a great location…

I love this kind of spell because there’s a clear goal, and yet it’s open enough that the spell can work in many different ways.

After some discussion with the client, I figured out that the most important thing to them was a sense of peace, both in the house itself and in the process of getting it. So far their adventures in real estate have been stressful and demanding, and they want to be able to relax and know they have the right place.

I decided to combine sigils for Change, Good Fortune and Peace into a single symbol. Once the paint was dry I cast several different spells on it. The goal is that it will continue to radiate peace and refuge on the wall of their new home long after the paperwork is signed.

The client wrote back to me when she received it:

The spell banner arrived today.

We LOVE it.

Last night we put in an offer on another house, since our first deal fell through. We are not the only ones making an offer, so when the banner arrived, we placed it on our altar with the house listing sheet and our offer paperwork.

It gives us peace of mind knowing that the spell is doing its work, and that everything will unfold as it should.

I can hardly wait to follow up with her and hear how it goes. Maybe she’ll invite her magician to the housewarming party?

If you’d like to add magic to your life, try out a spell panel of your own or a smaller spell card.

How To Change Their Life at Christmas

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What do your relatives really need this Christmas?

A sense of safety. More income. Some peace in their lives. But you can’t give these things as gifts—can you?

To an extent, I believe you can.

Magic is the art of ritual. True magic is not flashy. It’s subtle. It claims to adjust the odds, and make things work out in your favor.

It’s also a lot of fun.

No one knows how magic works. Some people think it’s just positive thinking. Others say there’s something invisible. I don’t know the answer, but I know this: when you hold a handmade magic spell in your hand, you will feel it.

And it makes an awesome gift.

The Gift of Real Magic

I paint sigils with a mixture of potions and gouache. Each magic sigil is ritually enchanted for a purpose you choose. Recently I’ve created sigils to help people at work, to boost income, to protect the home and to help with relationships.

For a gift, I’d recommend a spell for protection, financial success or (my personal favorite) luck in love.

Do these spells work?

I believe they do. I’ve used them successfully for 15 years. I’ve cast hundreds of spells for friends and clients, and they’re happy with the results.

When you give someone one of my spells, they receive a beautiful handmade piece of art that practically glows with good juju. Long after the holidays are over, it will keep working tirelessly on their behalf.

It’s a gift that will always make them smile.

Spell Panels

Handmade paper, tattered edges, and a vivid magic sigil made to order. The one shown here helped bolster my client’s willpower to break free of a bad situation. The bright color and captivating sigil are my trademark: these charms will get your attention.

Each panel measure about 8″ tall.

How it works: Hang them anywhere to cast their spell on those who live or work there.

Unframed—$54. Carefully shipped and arrives ready to be mounted + framed. Free shipping. [Buy Now]

Framed—$89. Arrives in a classic dark wood frame, ready to hang. Free shipping. [Buy Now]

 

Spell Cards

Painted over playing cards once used for fortunetelling. These little spells are perfect because they’re portable.

How it works: Put one in a pocket, a purse or a book. The spell automatically affects whoever carries it.

It never hurts to have a love spell in your pocket!

Spell Card—$38. A gift they’ll never forget. Free shipping. [Buy Now]

Two Cards—$64. One for you, one for them? Free shipping. [Buy Now]

Set of Four—$98. Name any four spells! Give the gift of magic. Free shipping. [Buy Now]

Not sure? Let’s talk about magic. I can help you figure out the perfect spell to send to a loved one (or for yourself). Email me at drew@roguepriest.net.

How Do You Make a Custom Magic Spell?

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Detail from a custom magic spell.

Custom orders are my favorite. When you order a magic spell I can tailor the magic specifically to your need. This can make it incredibly direct and meaningful for you, and gives me a chance to help solve a problem—which is what magicians do.

But where do we start?

Your Personal Mage

When you order a custom piece I’ll have questions for you. The most important thing to me is to understand your problem perfectly, so that everything I do directly addresses your situation. For example, let’s say you order a money spell card. I might ask:

+  Are you employed? Are you hoping to get a new job? Are you actively searching, or just getting started?

+  Do you have a business? What kind? What’s holding your company back?

+  Is there a specific need for money right now, like an unexpected expense?

+  What else have you tried?

We’ll email back and forth as I gather details about your situation.

Designing an Enchantment

The next part is tricky. I have to take all your answers—everything you want—and distill it down to a single, clear purpose. To get results, magic must be precise.

This happens to be a specialty of mine.

I will spend time in meditation on your spell before I name its purpose. I will whisper to my familiars. Together, we create a single, short purpose for which to enchant. I’ll send this to you to make sure you approve. Most clients get surprised at this point, because the purpose speaks to them.

Here’s an example:

Not just clarity in your personal life, not just an inner eye. You want the awareness to see far outside your situation and so you can change it.

An alchemical eye for an alchemical mind.

The client approved this purpose and I created her custom spell panel, the Alchemical Eye.

Casting the Spell

Once we know what spell we’re casting I set about designing it. This means choosing the right potions to mix in the paint, but far more important it means designing the sigil itself.

My artwork is designed around a key magical sigil. These designs aren’t invented whole cloth. I draw on a lexicon of traditional magical symbols that have been used in many cases since the Middle Ages. These include traditional geomantic, astrological and alchemical sigils as well as early modern variants. I may also work in the names of spirits, spirits’ personal sigils, or letters from the written purpose of your spell itself.

Each of these has to be woven together. Two, five or a dozen sigils and letters combine to make your unique symbol. I do this partly by consulting my familiars and partly through sheer artistry. I might sketch thirty or more sigils before finding the right one. When it’s right, I know it immediately: it leaps off the page.

Then I start painting, and prepare the offerings for the enchantment ritual.

Real Magic Spells

A real magic spell is something you feel when you look at it or handle it. It will have a noticeable effect, a certain energy radiating off of it. The pieces I make are not trinkets or dollar store charms. They are handmade vessels of magic.

If you want to order your own spell, I offer two kinds:

Spell Cards

Small enough to fit in your pocket or hide in a book. The spell goes with the card wherever you take it. You can even give it to someone else and they’ll get the benefit.

[Order] $38 (free shipping)

 

Spell Panels

A potent glyph radiates magic over your home. Handmade paper, tattered edges, and a vivid magic sigil made just for you. Makes a great gift for someone you love. Fits a standard 5 × 7″ frame (not included).

[Order] $54 (free shipping)

It’s a pleasure to be your magician.

Renaissance Magic in Harry Potter

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Many real-world magicians adore Harry Potter, an enthusiasm I don’t happen to share. But I do appreciate the rich level of detail and lore that populates his world, and apparently so does the National Library of Medicine.

The NLM has launched a traveling exhibition that highlights the many layers of historical science and magic in the Potterverse. Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance, Science, Magic and Medicine explores connections between Potter magic and:

…Renaissance traditions that played an important role in the development of Western science, including alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy.

The exhibit has sections on potions, herbology, monsters, magical beasts, fantastic creatures, and—of course—immortality. (I would suggest to exhibit curators that monsters, magical beasts and fantastic creatures are all one categoy, but I wasn’t consulted.)

Unfortunately the exhibit appears to be mostly large panels of information and images, no fun artifacts to look at. But it’s traveling to a huge number of locations through 2014; if it’s near you it might be worth checking out.

Has anyone seen this exhibit? Was it any good?

Need a little magical help? Order spell card and put magic to work.

Samhain Special: Discount on Custom Spells

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It’s been a busy month. I just dropped down in New Orleans. The city burns with magic. This is where the enchanted atelier will be at least till spring. Then the road calls again. But for now the chanting will resume.

This week is intense. I’m unpacking art supplies from my travels and attending a lot of ceremonies. That means that any custom orders will take longer to make than usual. So, I’m sweetening the deal.

Through November 7, all custom orders will be discounted!

Spell cards:/  The perfect size to put in your pocket. Hand painted and enchanted on reclaimed vintage playing cards. Normally $38 now $32! Name your purpose.

Spell panels:/  Enchanted art for your home or office (see picture above). Painted and enchanted on handmade paper. Arrives unframed but ready to fit a standard 5 x 7″ frame. Normally $54 now $45! Name your purpose.

When you order, I’ll email you discuss your purpose in more detail. Each of these is a bespoke piece of art tailored to your exact need and enchanted with traditional spells.

This special is only around one week. Order quick! They make wonderful gifts for friends.

Who Took Their Hand Off the Wall?

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Photo credit: Bibliojojo

In earliest days people made art in caves. At first they traced their hands on the wall. This was communal, fun. Anyone can enjoy tracing their hand.

Who was it that wanted more?

Did one man paint a hand without putting his on the wall? Did he just copy the shape of the hand-prints? The others would have laughed. It probably wasn’t very good. You got the thumb wrong.

How did he learn to do it better? By making hand after hand? Amusement became anger. He wasted wall space, and precious pigment.

Maybe he practiced just with hands, or maybe he tried an elk right away. How many hours, days, did he practice his shapes? It took him away from his foraging and the hunt. Did he lose their respect? He’s lazy… he’s good for nothing. He’ll never feed his family.

Did his mate leave him for someone more popular, someone who hunted more?

One day, two hundred births later, the art would be respected. Children would want to learn, old ones would cast spells on the walls. Here is your spear hitting home, do you see? This icon will bless you.

But he never lived to know it.

Was he happy, or an outcast? Or did his happiness come from being an outcast?

Oh patron god of artists, I salute you: give this man his home, his blood flows on my brush, his pain I know too well, he is a god, he is a god, he is a god.

(And more likely, I suspect, he is a she.)

Want an icon for your cave? Order a spell card and add magic to your life.

Incinerated and Dispelled

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Midnight came and the fire burned high. One by one the smoke washed over them, the flames leapt up. Paint, paper, hours of chanting and ceremony: it vanished in the light.

Yesterday, two lovely people rushed to buy two lovely scrolls, the Conjuration of Lugh and the Scroll of Escape. These pieces are on their way to their new owners, intact and safe.

The rest of my magic scrolls were laid out with offerings of incense, flowers, oak leaves, whiskey and red wine and were sacrificed in flame. May they be to forever.

For the next two months I’ll be creating mainly spell cards, which are small enough to carry in your purse or pocket. However if you have an idea for a custom order, I may be able to find a place to work on it during my travels. Email me (drew@roguepriest.net) and find out!

Thanks to all who have purchased a scroll or card in the last few weeks. It’s an honor to enchant for you.

Burning Magic Scrolls

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The time has come. Tonight at midnight I’ll spread the coals in the stove. Feed them my magic scrolls one by one.

The spirits will be delighted.

If you want to rescue a scroll from this fate you have 16 hours to do it. It’s the last day of the 101 sale, so you’ll get a huge discount too.

Two scrolls will survive the holocaust, and will be marked up substantially starting tomorrow. The reason is that I’ll be traveling the next two years, so I have to leave them with an assistant to handle shipping.

I wonder if any scrolls will get a last-minute reprieve? I’ll keep an eye out for your order. Check out the scroll gallery and see if there’s one you want to adopt.

10 More Good Magic Blogs

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When I started altmagic I bemoaned how hard it was to find good magic blogs, and I scoured over 400 to find the best few to follow.

That was months ago, and since then I’ve found a handful more. Some were linked by other magicians, some recommended by readers and some I came across through a little bit of everyday conjuration.

Here’s the best in the second wave of magic-related blogs I’ve found. Take ‘em in and savor.

+The Valentines // Black magic, rock and roll, sex. Simply the most entertaining and thought-provoking magic blog I’ve seen. Don’t miss the Sutras on the right-hand side.

+The Sassy Sibyl // Melissa is one badass oracle. Magic and divination are two different subject, but she has to be included here. Frankly, there’s no other fortuneteller I’ll trust to read my future. And her blog posts are tops, like the linked one about Hello Kitty tarot.

+Magic SEA // Or, Magic South-East Asia. What a refreshing change from all-Western magic blogs. The post linked here dives right into it, giving numerous Asian rituals to call back a runaway wife (!). I’ll admit I’ve never had a client ask for that one – though I’ve helped some wives run away. I’m totally engrossed in this blog.

+The Eyeless Owl // A broader look at the study of unusual phenomena. I’m generally against lumping magic into a sort of all-freak-flags-fly parapsychology label, but I’ll admit I’m taken by some of the articles here. The linked one focuses on the ethnography of magic and how skeptical anthropologists explain their experiences in the field.

+Heavens Within Earth // Essay-style posts with an insight borne of practice. AIT is another of the growing number of practitioners who blend Hoodoo and Western Ceremonial and leave the horizons at home; you could call this movement Western Magic II (because 2.0 is getting tired). Also, the only place I’ve seen the phrase: “commence with the ‘not giving a fuck’.”

+Frater Barrabbas // A Western ceremonial magician with highly practical tastes. The Frater tends to write incredibly honest, clear pieces on specific areas of his magical practice. A treasure trove.

+Scarlet Imprint // This is a commercial blog for Scarlet Imprint publishing house. But, like, magicians need eye candy too, right? Their limited run grimoires are stunning works of art. It’s worth a look.

+Eye of the Sorcerer // Moloch’s streaming, sometimes aggressive style makes me grin. This is all in, a mage who revels in maging. Linked is one of the better posts on spirits that I’ve read.

+Asterion’s Occult Art // A fellow artist who makes magical designs. We’re very different in style, as you’ll see.

+American Warlock // Titles in red deco font, Google ads in your face, and a busy stock-photo background. (And no RSS feed?) Believe me, I wouldn’t subject you to it if this guy didn’t have some damn interesting things to say about the practice of ritual magic (and how it’s taught).

For more, see my original list of 10 other good magic blogs. Do you have others to suggest for the list? (Shameless self-promotion is welcome.)

Ready to add magic to your life? You can now order magic spell cards and feel it for yourself.