5 - Counter Magic And Protection

Don't delude yourself. The minute you set foot upon the path of witchcraft, a call rings out in the unseen world announcing the fact of your arrival. And sooner or later you are going to have to confront the problem of protecting your friends and yourself from the magical bolts that will undoubtedly be slung at you by less friendly practitioners. Supernaturally induced bad luck, whether occasioned by the casual glance of someone's evil eye or a more potently organized attack, is always the result of an unconscious blind spot in the victim's deep mind, either created by or played upon by the attacker. The mischief this works is technically known in the craft as binding the victim's soul or deep mind, thus rendering him considerably more accident-prone than he generally is.

This is so unless, of course, the magical shaft is one specifically directed at achieving a specified result, such as gnawing stomach pains or instant loss of hair, in which case the attack is definitely something more than a mere casual overlooking, and should not be treated as such.

Magical "overlooking" of the general type, ill-wishing, let us call it, can be guarded against with a special overall field of witch power, which acts rather on the analogy of a blanket insurance policy. This is accomplished by fortifying yourself and your home with charged protective power objects known as amulets. These are similar to the power objects encountered on a previous page save for the fact that they are charged solely with the intention of inducing a state of harmony, generosity, expansiveness, security, and optimism in the deep minds of those in their vicinity. That frame of mind most likely to lead to lucky breaks occurring in fact.

Most novice witches carry luck amulets of this sort as a matter of course, and usually hang a good selection of them around the house for good measure. They can be constructed from any number of substances - animal, vegetable, or mineral. The ones mentioned in this section are all of a mineral or vegetable basis and rely mainly on contact with that third witch power you are about to be introduced to: the earth itself.

To the witch, the Earth archetype represents the source of all sustenance, healing, and fertility. The magical symbolism of the Earth is similar to that surrounding those classical deities concerned with domestic and agrarian affairs, especially the female ones, such as Ceres, Vesta, Egeria, Ops, Cybele, and Rhea; the great Earth mothers, in fact. Many witches refer to the Earth power as Hulda, Erda, or Hertha. Our words "Earth" and "hearth" are derived from the last two names.

Hertha is so closely related to Habondia that these two goddesses are often related to one another in magical legend as mother and daughter, thus tying in superficially with the old Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. However, many modern witches consider Habondia and Hertha to be but different aspects of the same power, which they refer to simply as the Goddess.

It was Mother Hertha that you invoked as the third power in the Planetary Spell of the last chapter.

As a beginner witch who intends to pursue the path, it is essential that you place yourself and your home under some sort of protective spell from the outset. There are a good many amuletic spells for doing this. Here are two of them. The first is suitable only if you happen to live in a house as opposed to an apartment.

On the day of the new moon, purchase a fresh hen's egg. The fresher the egg, the better - a fertile one is best of all. That midnight, observing your usual discreet precautions, kindle a Tellurian Incense in your thurible (see end of chapter) and place salt and water in your cup, clearly pronouncing these actions to be "in Hertha's name."

Now, holding your Athame in your right hand, the egg in the other, tread a path three times deosil (clockwise) round the outer perimeter of your house or property, concentrating hard on Hertha's image and strongly invoking her either by simply chanting her name to yourself or by using the following incantation:

Hertha, Great One, Mother of all life,
who gives birth to all
and renews her Lord the Sun each day
who bestows himself on all men equally;

Guardian of sky and sea, all powers and potencies,
through your might alone all nature falls silent
then sinks into sleep.

You bring back the light to dispel the darkness
only once more to cover us most safely with your shadows.

You in whose hand rests everlasting chaos,
even wind, rain, and storm,
at whose word oceans roar;
who chases away the light and stirs up the tempest
and at whose whim sends forth joyous day again;

Ever faithful Sustainer of all life,
when our souls depart, they fly to your keeping
thence to return yet again.
Rightly you are called Great Mother of All,
for you conquer by your name alone.

Source of strength for all men and gods
without you naught is born nor perfected;
I call upon you, ruler of creation;
I call upon you as divine,
I call upon your holy name,
Hertha, be pleased to grant that which I ask,
protect this house and home
and all who live therein,
so shall I always thank you with due faith.

Hertha herself may be visualized as a dark, statuesque woman of mature age, robed in russet and green and bearing in her arms a sheaf of golden corn dotted with scarlet poppies. About her ankles and forearms twine green serpents, and her full dark breasts are exposed in the manner of the queens of ancient Egypt. Her lambent eyes are of dark gold; above her high coif of iron-dark hair she wears a square crenellated crown, like four towers bound together. These are the four castles or Watchtowers of witchcraft that stand at the four quarters of the world. Beneath her feet lush vegetation springs. Behind her, in the mountainside, a giant cavern yawns. Great masses of creeper trail over it in places like a curtain. The autumn air is heavy with the scent of new-mown hay, and bees drone lazily in the distance.

With each step of your ritual, see, in your mind's eye, your feet leaving blue, glowing footprints of witch power on the ground behind you. You are surrounding your house with a giant protective circle of light!

When you have finished your circumambulations (hopefully without encountering mishap such as arrest by the local police for loitering), you should seal the egg into a previously prepared and exorcised black box cushioned within by some dark fabric - a piece of your discarded clothing is ideal. This box you must now bury deeply and permanently, either as nearly under the threshold of the house as you can manage or beneath your hearth, if you have one. You will probably have to pry up a loose floorboard for this. Failing these things, simply wall the box up in the house somewhere, in the attic or preferably the cellar. The important thing to remember here is that the egg must be incorporated into the basic fabric of the house, if not the foundations.

Wherever you decide upon, you should first exorcise the spot with your Earth incense and salt and water. Then place the box in the space provided, calling upon Hertha three times to protect your house from all misadventure and to bless all those within it with harmony and good fortune. Having done this, spit thrice into the hole, and then proceed to fill it in solidly and permanently.

By performing this ritual, you will have placed your house within Hertha's care. It is in fact the vestige of an ancient sacrificial earth ritual, and can be considered most effective in matters of blessing the home, and protection generally. In the past, ritual witches would use this process to bless pastures and ploughed fields as well as individual homesteads.

Similar in effect, but considerably different in approach is the Square of Saturn Spell. This is a talisman as opposed to an amulet. It makes use of a Cabalistic magic square similar in kind to your square of Mercury, but entirely different in composition. Actually, the powers of Saturn and Mercury are radically opposed in nature, Mercury being the airy sky principle of intellectual matters, Saturn, the earthy and chthonic principle of material things. The method of making your square of Saturn is thus: Choose a Saturday on or just after the new moon, and at either 8 A.M., 3 P.M., or 10 P.M., kindle a Tellurian Incense in your thurible, and place salt water in your chalice. Exorcise a piece of talisman paper by fire and water, and with your pen and ink of art, divide the paper up into nine compartments.

Now, slowly and deliberately fill in the squares with the appropriate numbers, beginning with number i and ending at 9. With each number, as in your square of Mercury variety.

Concentrate on Hertha's image and chant a phrase which suggests the Earth power to you. This can, again, be composed of a list of the goddesses' names such as "Rhea, Ceres, Hulda, Vesta" or simply "Hertha, bless this house and all who live in it," or even a stanza from a poem which evokes the feeling of safety, protection, or prosperity, such as the Hertha invocation already mentioned or any other verse you care to choose. It need not be directly connected with the home. If it is, so much the better.

When you have completed square 9, turn the paper over and draw a very simple plan or sketch of your house, surrounding it with three concentric circles, drawn clockwise and beginning with the outermost. Repeat your jingle with each circle. This pictorially represents the magical security of your home. Cense and seal with the triple cross and "So mote it be!" and fold the paper into a packet, tying it firmly with red ribbon, knotted thrice. As with your egg, conceal it immediately in a consecrated place in Hertha's name, making it part of the structure of your home.

These two devices, the egg and square of Saturn, should suffice to cover any everyday contingencies such as occasional bursts of hostile vibrations set up by the family rows over the dinner table, or those set humming by casual "overlooking" of the envious next-door neighbour or visiting friends (probably totally unconsciously on their part).

However, being great magpies and pickers-up of unconsidered trifles, many witches like to reinforce the protective earth currents by hanging other devices such as holystones and sachets of protective magical herbs at strategic points around the house: the hearth, threshold, over windows and doors, in attics, cellars, and, of course, over the beds. Witch balls, horseshoes, keys, and other iron objects are also looked on with great favour; iron implements such as the latter are, however, stronger stuff, partaking more of the nature of items of defence rather than beneficence. Similarly, the irreplaceable pentacle, used as a door symbol, also comes under this defence heading. But more of these later.

The English holystone itself bears ample witness to its country of origin's preoccupation with the art of pun making, even at an early age. The amulets themselves are in fact simply stones with holes in them. But (and this is the important part), in order to be effective amulets, they must first have been formed by natural process, that is, the erosion of wind and water; and second, they should also be found by the user rather than bought. Certain flints are often best for this; these are quite common in some types of terrain, and can often be sought for on ploughed fields or pebbly beaches. On discovering a holystone, you must pick it up, declaring as you do, that your action is being performed "in Hertha's name." The stones should be hung or placed as near your hearth as possible. Failing that, if you live in an apartment and neither possess a hearth nor, in spite of your burgeoning witchly image, feel inclined to have one installed, simply hang them in the room you happen to spend most of your time in - den, kitchen, maybe even bedroom.

As in the case of the egg, don't pass the holystone through fire and water; no purification or charging is necessary. It is an amulet, not a talisman, and is used au naturel, straight out of the Earth.

Magical herbs of beneficence will be dealt with at the end of this chapter, so I will now move on to discuss the witch ball. This amulet can take two forms. The more fanciful, and less traditional, is that of a hollow glass globe about the size of a medicine ball, silvered on the inside and resembling nothing more than a giant Christmas tree ornament. The rationale behind its use is similar to that of a fascination gem. It is generally hung centrally from the ceiling of the room in which you spend most time or, alternatively, in the front hall, "guarding" the main entrance to your home. You can often find such witch balls in antique shops, as at one time they became very popular among wealthy nonwitches, providing as they do handsome ornaments with which to replace the inevitable chandelier.

However, the second variety of witch ball is the truly traditional one. This is simply a fisherman's hollow glass net-float. As this is again an amulet, not a talisman, it should be the real thing. It receives its "consecration," or magical charge, during its actual use in fishing. These floats are usually made of green bottle-glass, and again, may sometimes be discovered in junk or antique shops if you are persistent in your search. They should also be hung up "in Hertha's name."

Before leaving this general magical protection section, I should mention briefly a few of the more popular portable amulets which may be worn by the budding practitioner. Most witches usually collect a formidable arsenal of these over the years, wearing them singly or in various combinations as the mood strikes them. The witch pendant and ring will generally serve as your main protective devices, talismanic in this case, but you may combine their effects with those of the following amulets if you so wish. Personally I feel it unwise to pile amulet on amulet indiscriminately as many do, certainly without trying them singly first. That imposing figure of a witch hardly able to manoeuvre under the weight of a hundred different amulets, witch jewels, and symbolic knick-knacks is nowadays, an all too common sight in occult circles, I'm afraid. At the best it seems to betoken a certain lack of faith in one's own sustaining witch power, somewhat giving the game away to those that have eyes to see!

Even as a beginner, you should try to restrict yourself to carrying not more than one amulet at a time (excluding your witch jewel). This will allow you to experiment with its effectiveness. As your powers develop, you should learn to rely less and less on portable "batteries" of this sort, however. Finally, you will be able to discard all such artificial aids, relying completely on your aura of witch power to ward off any bad vibration or hostile current.

Portable Amulets

The cross-stone, also known as staurotides, is, in fact, a crystal of ferrous aluminium silicate or staurolite, which occurs naturally in orthorhombic form (a crystal possessing three planes set at right angles to each other). In fact, the crystal is formed in the shape of a three-dimensional Greek cross or solid cross of nature; symbolically, this indicates the seven mystical dimensions of space, namely north, south, east, west, the abyss above, the abyss below, and the holy centre. Herein lie the seeds to the complex Cabalistic Ararita formula. The amulet should be suspended in a red cloth bag tied with red thread from the neck of the bearer, again laying him "under the spell of Hertha's protection."

Also considered a potent earthly amulet is the image of the hand making the phallic "sign of the fig," fist clenched, thumb thrust between first and second fingers, carved in nephrite (jade), amber, coral, jet, carnelian, or any other fascination gem, again suspended in red from the bearer's neck in Hertha's name; an old iron key will also serve the same purpose, being similar in its sexual implications.

Elf-shot, ancient flint or stone arrowheads of pre-Celtic "Pictish" origin, have always been considered highly potent by witches in matters of protection, the manner of employment being no different from the preceding items.

Last, but by no means least, there is the famous siderite. This is a stone made of magnetic iron oxide, otherwise known as lodestone or magnetite. From time immemorial siderites have been treasured by witches, and if you were to try to choose between wearing one of these as opposed to one of the preceding four, I would counsel you definitely to decide on the siderite. Though slightly more complicated to manufacture and maintain, many witches find it well worth the effort.

By the light of the full moon (the window must be open if you perform this ritual indoors), place the lodestone on a piece of talisman paper which in turn covers your workbook. Now consecrate it with as many drops of Sabbat oil (see Chapter 7) as there are years in the prospective bearer's life, plus one extra dab for the present year, chanting the following quaint formula with each touch:

"May Hertha bless thee [N] with all her might and main."

See the drops of oil glow as they touch the stone, infusing it with witch power. Then tie the stone loosely in a red flannel or chamois leather bag bound with red ribbon with the sealing words "So mote it be." I say "loosely" because every full moon the bearer is going to have to remove the siderite, and after dipping it in a glass of water and drying it, sprinkle on it a small pinch of iron pyrites dust or iron filings "in Hertha's name." This is known as "feeding the stone." The siderite must be worn around the neck or carried about in the pocket.

In the past, male practitioners would often carry this amulet about with them suspended close to the genital organs, traditionally this being said to increase the sexual vigour and potency of the bearer. In this instance, the Horned One was involved in conjunction with Hertha in the initial consecration. However, in these days when a large family seems more an encumbrance to be guarded against than encouraged, this doesn't seem quite so popular a device as it once did.

Finally, before I embark upon detailing methods of magical defence as opposed to countermagic generally, we should mention that all-important subject of familiars.

The Witch's Familiar

As a practising witch, you realize you are going to have to possess a familiar. Don't get alarmed, though. This does not mean you will necessarily have to saddle yourself with a pet such as a dog or cat if you don't want one for whatever reason. There are several different types of familiars, or magistelli, to give them their more correct title. Magistellus is Latin for "little master," and the word is often used by witches strangely enough to designate one of their small, magical servants. The term "familiar" is one coined by the ecclesiastical authorities during the persecutions, implying merely an intimate friend or servant.

Basically, there are three types of magistellus. There is that which is used as the coven "totem" animal, mentioned earlier in connection with the symbolism of the witch bracelet. This symbolic animal form is decided upon at the formation of a coven by mutual agreement among the members and after much introspection and divination. The chosen totemic animal form or forms, for there may be several, is then ritually "assumed" by coven members during the chain dance at the Sabbat itself, and also should they at any time wish to indulge in the practice of "sending for the fetch," commonly known as astral projection.

Omens and auguries of coming events may also be drawn by the seasoned practitioner from the appearance on the scene of one such specimen of a coven totem, a grey bird maybe or a large black cat. Part of this witchlore may have filtered out in the past and now be responsible for the common public beliefs about lucky or unlucky black cats crossing one's path, and so on.

The second type of magistellus in a witch's repertoire is simply the aforementioned pet animal with whom one enters into an emotional rapport. Should the animal be of the same species as one of the coven totems, then of course it takes on an added witchly significance. If you own a pet you may wish to make use of it as a power object. By charging it with a curse or blessing, as the case may be, specifically directed at someone, that person on coming into contact with the animal will discharge the spell and receive the full impact. Be wary of your witch friends' cats or dogs - be sure you are wearing an amulet of some sort before you cosy up to them!

The third, and to the individual witch, most important type of vigilant robot, programmed solely to watch over the mentioned earlier in Chapter 1. This may be a demonic entity such as Vassago, who has been "bound" to some magical instrument such as a show stone or mirror, permanently or temporarily. It may also be an elemental creature formed by the combination of your witch power and some natural phenomenon. This type of magistellus becomes the protective spirit or Watcher, a magical guardian for the home. They take time to formulate, but really can prove to be of tremendous value. For unlike the general Earth spells which are effective to guard your home from general bad vibrations, to guard against out-and-out magical attack, a magistellus is ideal; it possesses a definite will of its own, the entire aim of which is to protect the house and those that dwell in it from all offensive sorcery. As such, it is really a magical type of vigilant robot, programmed solely to watch over the safety of the home. A sorcerer's watchdog, in fact. Two simpler types of magistelli of the elemental variety you should be conversant with are made from plants.

The Mandragore and the Alraun

Traditionally, you should seek for a mandrake (to give it its English name) of the opposite sex to your own. This isn't entirely necessary, however, the main concern being that when you find one, you carve it to represent the sex opposite to your own.

There are two genera of plants which traditionally go by the name of mandragore: The Mandragora officinalis which belongs to the class of Solanaceae, and the English mandrake, white bryony, or Bryonia dioica, belonging to the class Cucurbitaceae. Solanaceae is the family which includes such plants as the tomato and potato, while the Cucurbitaceae include the cucumber and the gourd. Also among the Solanaceae are included such old-time favourite witch poisons as dwale (deadly nightshade), enchanters' nightshade, and the devil's-apple, or Datura stramonium. The latter is better known in the United States as Jimson weed. Mandragores may be made from the roots of all these, but great care should be taken as they all can be extremely poisonous. The English mandrake (white bryony) is preferable for this reason, and just as traditional.

Here is the method of preparation:

On a day when the moon is waxing, preferably just after the new moon, sometime between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox, look for your mandrake in a hedgerow or piece of wasteland. That night, making sure you are not observed, draw a deosil circle with your Athame around the plant and, using the knife as a digging implement, loosen the earth around the root. Without injuring the main section of the root, gently draw the plant from the soil. You will probably have to tug quite hard, and you may even hear the traditional "groaning" of the root as it leaves the earth.

You must now trim the foliage of the plant off the main stem, leaving a small piece of root adhering to it. This you should replant where you took the original mandrake from.

The major portion of the root you must take home and, with your Athame blade, carve on it the features of a doll the opposite sex to your own. While you carve, repeat over and over some such phrase as: "Guard this home in Hertha's name."

The carving should take the form of an accenting of salient features of the root. You must then replant the root in either a churchyard or a place where two paths meet or cross. This ensures maximum potency. Failing either of these two locations, any patch of soil convenient to you will do. Prior to replanting, you should again draw a deosil circle in the soil. Now for the next lunar month, twenty-eight days from when you initially uprooted it, you must water the plant regularly. Some witches use a mixture of distilled water and blood, others that of distilled water and milk. In either case the distilled water should predominate over the other liquid in a proportion of about twelve parts to one, making thirteen in all.

When the lunar month has elapsed and midnight is approaching, draw your circle around the spot where the root is buried and dig it up again with your Athame. You will find, if you are lucky, that most of the carving scars will have healed over with new bark, and your mandrake will appear to have actually grown in the shape of a mannikin.

To complete your operation, you should clean the root and either dry it thoroughly in a heated oven containing the smoke of vervain leaves or pass it daily through an incense smoke of vervain burned in your thurible. The latter method takes about three months to complete since the root dries very slowly. If you can't obtain vervain (Verbena officinalis), the lemon-scented variety of garden verbena works just as well.

When all is accomplished, keep the magistellus in a place as close to your hearth as possible or in the room you use most.

The other type of magistellus I propose to discuss is the alraun.

To make one of these, the purpose of which is identical to that of the mandragore, you must first find a witch tree or quickbeam. In Europe this is known as a rowan or mountain ash. Witch lore holds its wood to be most powerful in matters of countermagic, and it is traditionally the wood from which the stake for dispatching vampires was made.

The world tree of Teutonic legend, Yggdrasil, is considered by some authorities to have been the rowan, which ties in with the Cabalistic notion of its being the original tree of life.

Traditionally, the alraun was a device used by warlocks rather than witches. The time of year for its composition differs in no way from the mandragore. You must first seek out your rowan tree, and on the night of the waxing moon, draw a circle around it deosil with your Athame, declaring your intention to compose an alraun in Hertha's name. Having done this, water the tree for a full lunar month with the same mixture as used for the mandragore, mentally selecting a reasonably thick branch for carving and declaring your intent each time you do it. At the end of the month, you must sever the selected branch with your Athame, and carve it into a small female image, anything between five to twelve inches long, using a similar spoken charm as the mandragore one while you work away at it. When you are finished, cure the image in vervain smoke. Now to complete the operation, you must sleep with the alraun in your bed at the full moon, looking to it for that night, as the old books put it delicately, "as your wife." Enough said.

Like the mandragore, the alraun should be enshrined near the hearth to complete the spell and initiate its protective activity.

Magical Defence

As a newcomer to the field, you will need to get to know some of the signs which can prove to be sure indicators that some form of definite occult attack is in operation against you.

Apart from unpleasant vibrations and general miasmas of hostility or fear, the symptoms of a magical attack can range from extremely severe, recurrent nightmares, through runs of unbelievably bad luck, psychosomatic disturbances and allergies, often accompanied by poltergeist manifestations, to outright cases of lunacy or even sudden death. In the case of the latter, even countermagic won't avail you much.

Of course, all of these things, bar the poltergeist phenomena, can, and in the case of the nonwitch, generally do have a definitely nonoccult basis. As such, it is always best to consult a regular doctor or psychiatrist before automatically assuming any form of magical attack. But should you actually have been informed in one way or another that you are being made the target of a sorcerous onslaught (and this is quite likely to be the case if you recall what was said in Chapter 1 about laying the groundwork for an attack), then you won't have too much trouble figuring out where the mischief stems from when any of the aforesaid symptoms begin to manifest themselves.

If you are a practising witch, you must expect the occasional fracas from time to time. You may possibly even enjoy it - at least it gives you a chance to flex your magical muscles a bit.

The first really telltale signs are the periodical nightmares and general sense of evil in the air. The dreams will generally have a specific motif repeated ad nauseam with minor variations on the theme. As a witch, your first step will be to determine their nature, if possible, and what their period of occurrence is, if any. Usually, if they are in any way magically induced, they will correspond in some way to the phases of the moon, usually reaching their peak at new rather than full moon.

Generally speaking, the nightmares themselves won't be the magical attack but rather their cries of help to your conscious self from your deep mind, which is the real target for all the bolts of dark fire. Should the attack worsen, then of course the deep mind's pleas for attention will become more frenzied, and you may begin to discover you are experiencing waking dreams or hallucinations. These can take the form of many different types of sensory delusions ranging from the visual pink-elephant variety to aural and olfactory ones. The latter may take the form of disembodied voices, snatches of music, a high-pitched whine or tone (in the past referred to by occultists as the "astral belt") and imaginary odours of varying degrees of pungency, usually fetid in the case of an attack. In fact, all the signs of a "bad trip" without an occasioning drug or naturally occurring personality disorder. Should you be fortunate or unfortunate enough to also possess free-floating witch power of the type manifested by so-called materializing mediums, then you will also begin to be the target of such apparently malicious poltergeist phenomena as disappearing objects, mysterious breakages, inexplicable outbreaks of fire and the like. All the signs of a traditional haunting, in fact.

Persistent runs of misfortune are often taken to be signs of a well-lodged curse, but they are more often than not self-inflicted by the victim's own deep mind for some devious reason, as already mentioned in Chapter 2.

Of course, if you are solemnly informed by a malevolent rival that you are about to be magically strafed, and your bad luck promptly begins from that time onwards, then you would appear to be a fool to ignore the more obvious root cause, in favour of some nebulous theory concerning an obscure self-destruction wish. Actually, really skilful practitioners tend to divine their victim's psychological weak spots, and then play upon their fears, aiming their attack precisely at those deep-mind blind spots where there is already a built-in self-destruct mechanism ready to be triggered. The most deadly attack is the least suspected one.

The main thing to avoid in all occasions of suspected magical attack is abandoning one's judgement to overriding fear. The descent into paranoia is one of the main pitfalls for many otherwise very competent witches. Probably one of the best ways of guarding against this is to let one of your witch friends handle the situation for you, with the express instructions to exercise as much scepticism as possible. It is to this fellow-practitioner that you must turn also for the relevant divinations, for these are the first practical magical steps to be undertaken under the circumstances. To divine the nature and if possible the source of the hostility should be your purpose here. The pendulum, Vassago, and the rune sticks are possibly the best methods to employ. Tarot and the I Ching can also be used.

Generally, you will find a magical attack to be motivated by one of two factors: lust or hate. However, in these days of more readily available sexual gratification, the first factor has faded very much into abeyance, save in such barbarous institutions where chastity is still enjoined. Hate, on the other hand, is still with us, alas in no lesser degree than in the Middle Ages, judging by evidence presented in the various news media.

A would-be magical antagonist of more-advanced calibre will often indulge in the luxury of enjoying attack in person, so to speak, by formulating his witch power into a definite "shape," and then transferring his consciousness to it. The shape is then sent forth to accomplish the witch's will. The shape, fetch, or wraith is often animal in form, the type being dictated either by analogy with the ensouling emotion of the projector or, on occasions, being that of the coven totem.

This process of "sending forth the fetch" is identical to that of present-day practices of astral, or etheric, projection. The fetch itself may be perceived with the inner vision of the victim or, on very rare occasions, with his physical eyes should he or the antagonist be in any way a "materializing medium." This is the basis for the legends of the werewolf and the vampire. Both of these creatures represent the materialized witch power of the practitioner through which he acts using the shape as a vehicle for his own consciousness.

In cases of the legendary werewolf, the ensouling desires of the projector would be those of destructive rage, while in those of the equally famous vampire, incubus, and succubus, they would be lust.

The artificially produced fetch differs from the magistellus or Watcher only in that the witch transfers her consciousness to the former and not the latter, and that the first relies solely on witch power and the powers of the deep mind, while the latter usually involves the implications of some further exterior agency, whether of demonic or elemental nature.

Tradition has it that when a habitue of "sending forth the fetch" happens to die, the vampire or werewolf personality can live on as a self-perpetuating robot, a psychic fragment of the original owner, maintaining its existence by feeding upon the magnetism of the unsuspecting living while they sleep. This witch practice has given rise to that body of lore known as lycanthropy, complete with all its traditional methods of dispatching such creatures - wooden stakes, silver bullets, and the like. Should a projected witch fetch assume any degree of materialization, it can in many cases be as vulnerable as the sleeping body of the projector itself, often transferring any wounds inflicted upon it back to its parent body by means of the process of repercussion. Because of the difficulty in accomplishing the projection, and the perils involved subsequent to a materialization, sending forth the fetch is generally regarded as a work for the more advanced practitioner.

However, if you wish to study it more fully, the elementary rudiments of projection can be gleaned from any of the current books on astral projection that are in print at the present time.

When you are reasonably sure you are the victim of a recurrent magical attack (and they usually are repeated), aspirins and laxatives having availed you naught, you must at that point set about the task of working out an adequate system of defence, using your own countermagic to weather the storm and, if possible, turn back the thrust.

You can rest assured that night will be the time most favoured for the attack, and if you have observed the rhythm of the occurrences, you will probably be able to gauge sufficiently when the next attempt is likely to be made. Now we arrive at another most important rule of witchcraft. In matters of occult warfare, passive defence is the most effective type of retaliation.

When a witch mounts a magical attack, if it happens to misfire or if the victim is in any way adequately protected, as they say in the craft - "An the witch bide the issue!" - the home of lost curses is right back where they came from, the sender herself. So if you can arrange to be ritually well-defended at the time that the dark spell is being cast, the spellbinders will, in fact, be conjuring to their own destruction. Advanced practitioners try to avoid the recoil by enveigling other, less-advanced members of their coven only too glad to try their hand at a bit of cursing, to do the actual dirty work for them: a well-known expedient in all fields! Regardless of any feelings of compassion for who actually "bides the issue," however, you should proceed with all your means of defence as surely as you would board up your house if it stood in the path of a hurricane.

The magical attack will usually begin any time after sundown, so you should have your preparations ready well before. Consult an astrological ephemeris, nautical almanac, or your local newspaper for the exact time the sun actually sinks below the horizon.

Your main defences are going to be the grand magical circle and the pentacle of protection. You will also employ the magical power of iron and protective herbs extensively, plus one or two other little devices; all your Earth amulets and magistelli will, of course, be working overtime.

First, you must see that the victim or victims all bear upon their breasts the pentacle of protection. Here is the manner of its construction:

The Pentacle of Protection

On a Tuesday or Saturday midnight, with the moon waxing, cast and purify your regular circle, using an incense of either pure dragon's-blood resin or one compounded of one part church incense, one part lignum aloes, one part powdered alum, and five drops of Cedarwood oil. Then take some of your talisman paper, and from it cut three four-inch squares. Exorcise these with fire and water.

Then, with your pen and ink of art, draw the following five-pointed star on the first of them. (See illustration.) You will see that it is a more complex version of the one in your workbook and is sometimes called the pentagram of Solomon. Having drawn the figure as carefully as you can - it will probably be easier if you rule it in lightly in pencil first, using a pair of compasses to construct the circle - proceed to fill in the magical symbols and words, starting at the top point, working around clockwise and finishing with the centre. As you write each magical word, chant it deliberately out loud in combination with the following charm:

• 1. "Be ye far from us, all hostility, deceit, and illusion, in the name of Abdia!"
• 2. "Be ye far from us, all hostility, deceit, and illusion, in the name of Ballater!"

and so on.

When you have finished, repeat the process, this time using your Athame to trace over the star and the symbols above the paper, in your witchly imagination seeing them burn in the air with spectral blue witch fire.

Now take your second piece of parchment and draw on it the six-pointed star, or hexagram of Solomon, as in the illustration, inscribing the T-shaped cross in the centre last. This cross, referred to by witches of the last century as the triple tau of the arch Mosms, is a variant of your triple sealing cross.

----

Pentacle of protection, comprising,

1. The secret seal of Solomon
2. The hexagram of Solomon
3. The pentagram of Solomon

----

Combined with the hexagram and the six minor taus, it is regarded by witches as an extraordinarily powerful talisman of protection.

When the ink has dried, retrace the inverted triangle [upside down traingle] with salt water from your cup, chanting these words:

"So therefore he who would govern the works of fire must first asperge with lustral water of the loud resounding sea."

Then with the thurible, trace in the air above the star the upright triangle, chanting:

"And when after all the phantoms are banished, thou shalt perceive that holy formless fire, that fire which darts and flashes through the hidden depths of the universe: Hear thou the voice of fire!"

Finally, retrace the whole star yet again with the Athame, this time in silence, visualizing the symbol glowing in blue light.

The design on the third piece of paper must be written with your pen of art in blood - your own or that of a beefsteak, chicken, or lamb chop from the supermarket again will do. You should wipe your pen of art carefully free of all ink before you embark upon this. This last design is known as the secret seal of Solomon and traditionally was the symbol by means of which the seventy-two lords of the demons or Djinn were imprisoned in a brazen vessel by the magus-king and sunk beneath the ocean. They were later released, providentially it seems, by certain Babylonian wizards. The legend probably stems from that of the drowned Nephelim.

When you have drawn the symbol and let it dry, retrace over it with your Athame, charging it strongly with light and conjuring with these words:

Bound, bound, bound be all demons and
powers of adversity from the
north, south, east, and west!
Bound, bound, bound be all ill-wishers and those that
practise violence against the bearer of this!

Bound, bound, bound shall be all;
bound and sealed from N [witchname], son of M
[parent] and L [parent].

Bound and held subject to his will.

Having completed all three designs, sandwich the last, the secret seal, between the pentagram and hexagram, which should be facing outwards with their stars visible. Then, with exorcised needle and red thread, sew neatly around the four edges to combine all three papers into a permanent packet. Over this you must then chant the following words as you hold it in the incense smoke, the tip of your Athame blade pressed against it:

O Pentacle of Power,
be thou fortress and defence to
[N] against all foes, visible and
invisible, in every magical work!

While doing this, strongly visualize the blue fire passing down the Athame blade to charge the pentacle.

Finally, complete the ritual by drawing the triple cross in the air with your Athame, and sealing with the words "So mote it be!"

A small wallet of chamois leather or red silk should now be made to contain the pentacle, which in turn should be sewn to a red cord or ribbon to be worn around the neck of the bearer. In this manner the pentacle can remain concealed. In certain demonic conjurations (similar to that of Vassago), the pentacle may then be removed and exhibited to the four quarters or to the gaze of the manifesting entity.

If you organize a coven, you will have to also prepare a round metal plate, pewter or copper or even aluminium, on which is simply engraved or painted a five-pointed star or pentagram; this is used in a similar way to an ecclesiastical "paten," and bread, cakes, or salt to be used during the Sabbat are placed on it. It is also confusingly referred to as the pentacle, but on this occasion refers more to the pentacle-disc or coin represented in the suit cards of the minor Tarot arcana. It is also a direct descendant from the Lia Fal of pre-Celtic lore, but has picked up Cabalistic overtones through the ages, still in tune with its earthy symbolism, however.

Cabalistically, it refers to the final "Heh," last letter of the Tetragrammaton, the supreme Cabalistic word of power. In any case, it must be prepared by water and fire in Hertha's name.

To return to our beleagured witch group, however. Having hung your talismanic pentacles about your neck, you should proceed to draw around yourself the grand magical circle. In principle this is identical with the regular variety, save for the fact that it utilizes certain invocations as well as the usual line of blue light.

Before casting your circle, make sure you have with you all and any amulets you require during your vigil, including your magistellus. Though during coven practice the circle can be left and reentered without impairing its efficiency; when used as a means of magical defence, this is quite out of the question, serving as it does a completely different function, namely, that of keeping hostile currents out rather than acting as a lens to focus power within. So decide carefully on what you will need. Articles of extra clothing, pillows, cigarettes, food, and water are also to be considered. Make sure that everything is not only clean, but exorcised with fire and water before you introduce it.

Mark out your circle with masking tape as usual, and draw your triple circle of light with the Athame. Then exorcise the ground as usual with water and fire, using a Tellurian Incense in your thurible. Now, in addition to demagnetizing the ground within the circle, you are going to employ a magical guard at the four quarters. This magical guard, or watch, passed into Christian practice through the ages, being transformed into that night spell known as the Black Pater Noster:

Four nooks in this house for holy angels,
a post in the midst, that's Christ Jesus,
Lucas, Marcus, Matthew, Johannes,
God be in this house, and all that belongs us.

Or as the God-fearing Victorian child knew it:

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
bless this bed that I lie on!

The archangels and evangelists here represent the Christianized regents of the four elements of the wise: Michael and Mark of fire; Raphael and John, air; Gabriel and Matthew, water; and last, Uriel and Luke, earth.

However, you as a witch will bypass these later accretions and return to the old-style symbolism, namely, that of the four Watchtowers of the world. Some occultists trace their use solely back to the nineteenth-century Rosicrucianism of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, others to the experiments of the Elizabethan magnus Dr. John Dee. To a witch, however, they are a direct representation of the four "castles" of pre-Celtic lore, which are said to stand at the

four corners of the world. Each castle or watchtower is referred to one of the elements, that of the east to air and childhood; south to fire and youth; west to water and maturity; and north to earth and old age.

Witches sometimes refer to the north as the "abode of death," and the watchtower of the north is sometimes known as the "glass castle." Glass is here symbolically analogous with unbreakable adamant, and this "Land behind the North Wind" refers to that vast abyss of death through which we all must pass before being reborn into the world of men again. It is also, of course, a direct reference to the vitrified towers of the elves. Your magical implements, or "weapons," may be assigned to the various Watchtowers, but here opinion differs considerably as to their correct assignation. Many witches tend to use the Cabalistic identification of the rod to fire, sword to air, pentacle to earth, cup to water. 

The cup seems to be about the one implement about which no one is in any doubt. More traditional, perhaps, is the concept of the sword of fire, rod of air (sometimes an airborne arrow or spear), cup or cauldron of water and pentacle, plate or shield of earth. These are directly analogous with the four magical treasures of pre-Celtic lore mentioned earlier; In later Celtic myth they became known as the Sword of Nuada, Spear of Lugh, Cauldron of Ceridwen, and the Stone of Fal. (The latter, incidentally, is said to be none other than the Stone of Scone which at present reposes under King Edward's throne in Westminster Abbey.)

The way to invoke the Lords, or dominant entities, of the four Watchtowers is thus:

Place one of your lamps of art at the east just outside the circle boundary and light it; then taking your wand in both hands, raise it high above your head, close your eyes and slowly and powerfully chant an invocation to the powers of the air such as the following:

All-wise Eagle, Great Ruler of Tempest,
Storm, and Whirlwind, Master of the Heavenly
Vault, Great Prince of the Powers of the Air,
be present we pray thee and guard this circle
from all perils approaching from the East!

As you do this, strongly imagine a wind from the east begin to blow on your face, steadily increasing as you repeat the spell. Similarly, through your closed eyelids be aware of a light from the east beginning to shine in your face. Be aware of the rising of the wind, and hear the sound of the creaking of the branches of the world tree, that tree of knowledge upon which the Lord of Wisdom hung for nine stormy nights; hear the beating of those mighty wings! All those present with you in the circle, should they be witches, must also maintain the same visualization as you chant. Relinquish the wand, and move clockwise to the south now, lighting a lamp of art there. Take your Athame in hand and raise it high above your head. As you do, visualize the sun above your head, blazing with midsummer intensity. Suddenly, form the burning orb, a "fiery sword," a searing bolt of lightning cleaves the baking air, forking toward the south side of your circle, answering the summons of your uplifted witch blade.

See a pillar of incandescent fire spring up at the circle rim! Hear the thunderclap crash in your ears as you cry the words of summoning to the Fiery One! Feel the heat radiating from him as he takes up his watch in the south.

O thou Lion, Lord of Lightnings, Master of
the Solar Orb, Great Prince of the powers of Fire!
Be present, we pray thee, and guard this circle
from all perils approaching from the south!

Again all present should accompany you in your visualization.

The powers of the west should be invoked by the chalice, here representing the elemental power of water.

Sprinkle a few drops of salt water from the chalice to the west and, as you do, see a mighty, glass-green sea open beneath your feet. Low over the waters hangs the full moon. Feel the cold mist rising from the waters and listen to the eddy and swirl of the currents, the lap of waves upon the" shore.

O thou Serpent of Old, Ruler of the Deeps, Guardian of the Bitter Sea, Prince of the Powers of Water, be present we pray thee and guard this circle from all perils approaching from the west!

Finally, passing to the north, light the lamp, and taking in hand the pentacle-paten (not the pentacle of protection which you are wearing around your neck), close your eyes and sprinkle a few grains of salt from the disc on the ground outside the west of your circle. Chant the spell. As you do, feel the earth begin to tremble and rock beneath your feet, ever more powerfully, increasing in magnitude and finally thunderously splitting asunder, gaping open before you in a yawning chasm!

Black Bull of the North, Horned One, Dark Ruler of Mountains and all that lies beneath them. Prince of the Powers of Earth, be present we pray thee, and guard this circle from all perils approaching from the north!

Finally, return to the centre of the circle, and facing east, standing with your legs wide apart, extend your arms on either side of you and close your eyes; then chanting the sealing words "So mote it be! "As you do, visualize a brilliant rotating wheel of fire within your own breast, throwing out spears of scintillating light in all six directions: to the north, south, east, west, up, and down. By visualizing thus, in this particular stance, with your arms and legs flung wide apart, you are representing the magical five-pointed star, or pentagram. This is a symbolic enactment of the fact that within you the four elemental powers are reconciled by one special principle, the so-called alchemical quintessence. This is the holy centre, or "stillpoint of the wheel." The indestructible part of you. You may also at this point chant the Hebrew word of power, "Ararital !" (*)

Your last step in the ritual will be to place your mandragore or alraun just within the circle perimeter to the north, with its head pointing north, towards the place of greatest darkness.

You may then settle down for the night to weather the magical blast.

The worst type of attack you are likely to encounter will be quite adequately dealt with by this circle. It is unlikely that any more magical working will be required of you from within your psychic fortress, so you can safely sleep in peace, confident that your magic circle is ample defence.

----

[*] Which signifies "The One; principle of His unity; The principle of His oneness. His changing form being One!"

----

The only practitioner who would in theory be able to pierce the defensive boundary is one of extremely advanced powers, and as such he would probably be well beyond the need of having to resort to anything as ill-advised as a magical attack on his own. A whole coven maybe. That is another matter. There seems to be folly as well as strength in numbers. From the non-human point of view, supernatural entities such as shades of the dead or demonic intelligences appear to have very little interest in the human race, especially the last-mentioned class of beings. They generally only become involved in magical warfare when summoned and directed specifically, and as such their power is limited strictly to correspond with that of their invoker. So the circle and watchtower formula will still prove effective. And finally even with the combined forces of a demonic entity and a whole coven working against you, the circle will still hold together in all probability, such is the sloppy and dilettante attitude to coven practice generally these days. As I say, it requires an extremely clever and powerful practitioner to break through the watchtower seals, and quite frankly one such as this will have long passed the stage where bouts of magical fisticuffs still hold any appeal.

The grand circle should only be used at the height of the attack. As you can see, it is physically very limiting and places you completely incommunicado from the outside world save for the use of a telephone, which incidentally should be on your list as one of the things to take with you into the circle. Should you step over one of the lines in the circle, it immediately releases the magical force field you have so painstakingly erected, and leaves you instantly susceptible once more. It is lucky that occult attacks usually take place at night for this very reason. During the day, when you will quite naturally wish to be out and about, you may merely draw an imaginary circle of blue light about you deosil in the air with your Athame and chant a few words of intention to the effect of:

I [N] hereby surround myself with this circle of protection across which no hostile power dare set its foot.

This will generally remain effective for twelve hours or so, and then should be renewed. Should your adversary decide to actually visit you in person to deliver his curse, you must make sure that one of the following old traditional measures has been taken.

First, paint or draw pentagrams, pointing outwards, on your doorsteps; charge them with your Athame and then cover them with the doormat. Then nail either horseshoes or horns upward over any entrance to your home.

Or hang an old knife or sword on the front and back door, surrounded by a wreath of bay leaves.

Or hammer three iron nails (traditionally "taken from a coffin") into each of the doors, two below, one above, in triangular formation.

Or beneath your doorsteps bury a witch bottle, a bottle stuffed full of bent nails and pins.

The use of iron is very important in matters of occult defence as you can see. It appears to have a definite "jamming" or "scrambling" effect on any magical signal when used with intention. It is partly for this reason that iron, and indeed any metal, is usually rigorously excluded from the dress of the candidate in magical initiation rituals where a definite transmission of power is required.

Should you know that either you or your enemy is particularly gifted as a materializing medium, you should also take the precaution of placing a small saucer of very dilute nitric acid or vinegar in every room at the time you expect the attack to take place. The acetic solution seems to have the power of absorbing alien witch power in some manner, and thus preventing unpleasant materializations or poltergeist phenomena. If you haven't the time or wherewithal to do this for some reason, an old standby is to halve some onions and place a newly cut half in every room; this appears to have a similar effect. Don't make the supreme mistake of eating the onions afterwards, though. Get rid of them immediately!

Finally, should someone come to you with a suspected attack and be unable or unwilling to undergo the inconvenience of using these complex protective measures, a very simple and sometimes effective expedient is the Rowan Cross Spell.

Tie two small twigs of rowan wood together to form a cross, using red thread or yarn, chanting these words as you do, and mentally charging it with light:

By this cross of rowan,
I [N] forbid all adverse and hostile forces
entry to the house and home of [bearer's name]
I forbid you his flesh, and blood, body and soul.
I sternly forbid you entrance to his mind, fears,
and strengths until you have traversed every
hill and dale, struggled through every stream
and river, counted every grain of sand on every
shore, and enumerated every star within the night sky!

Then hang the cross around the bearer's neck with these words:

About thy neck this cross I place,
cross of quickbeam, cross of grace;
may it safely guard thy way
and keep thee safely night and day.
Heed this charm, attend to me;
as my word, so mote it be!

Finally, some information about traditionally protective magical herbs and recipes. Before beginning, however, here are a few general observations on plant lore that, as a witch, you should know about.

More and more witches are tending to grow their own herbs, protective and otherwise, these days. Apart from the pleasure one may derive from the pursuit, it does ensure that one can obtain the required ingredient in a pure form, and picked at the right phase of the moon. Should you wish to do this, even if it be merely in a planter or window box, you should try to observe the following conditions:

If you are planting an herb of which the end product will be the root, do this at the dark of the moon, when it is waning. On the other hand, those herbs you intend to use for their leaves or flowers should be planted during the waxing moon.

When you wish to pick your herbs, do this in the moon's quarter which corresponds to the type of magic you intend to use them (see Chapter 1, under "Magical Times and Seasons"): bright for constructive witchcraft, dark for destructive.

Whenever you wish to compose a sachet powder or incense with whatever intent, you should plan on using something like the following routine; it is known as trituration.

First, assemble all your ingredients.

Sachet powders generally contain two types of these: the "agents" and the "base." The latter often contains an herb such as orris root, patchouli leaves, rose petals, or some pulverized wood base such as sandalwood, lignum aloes, Cedarwood shaving, and the like. These should always be well mixed and ground in your pestle and mortar, before adding the agents. The first of these are the flower essences or perfumes of the recipe. They should be ground well into a portion of the herb powder. Now any gum resins such as frankincense, myrrh, or benzoin should then be added to the remaining herbal mixture, and likewise powdered as finely as possible.

These two powders should now be mixed together, and the oils or other liquids added last (honey, wine, blood) and mixed in thoroughly. Should the oil be in very small quantity, is can be dissolved first in a small amount of pure alcohol which is then mixed in, thus providing a greater blending power.

The resulting compound should be allowed to steep at least overnight, and extra quantities of the base added if the result remain too liquid. Completed incense and powders should always be stored in well-stoppered, nonporous bottles, labelled distinctly, and protected from bright light at a moderate temperature.

Here are four examples of different types of compounds which you can make. They are all germane to this chapter, they are in fact herbal amulets of beneficence.

First, a herbal mixture which may be placed around the house in sachets or suitable containers, and is both fragrant and traditionally beneficent (it also incidentally makes an acceptable Halloween gift to bestow on those who appreciate such matters):

To a selection of dried protective herbs of your choice, add two quarts of rose petals. Place in a covered, nonporous container with one pound of table or ground rock salt to remove any excess moisture for three weeks or so. At the end of this time, sift the salt out of the mixture, and place on one side. Now take two ounces of powdered orris root, and grind in one ounce of gum benzoin and three ounces of brown sugar. Add this to your herbal mixture, and mingle freely.

Finally, take one ounce of pure alcohol (failing that, brandy will do) and mix in four drops of essential oil of your choice. Pour this onto your dry mixture, and mingle it well together. Leave overnight to steep.

Similarly, a home protection sachet can be prepared with the following ingredients:

Powdered orris root 8 parts
Pulverized sandalwood 6 parts
Powdered lavender flowers or leaves 4 parts
Powdered patchouli leaves 2 parts
Powdered cloves 1 part
Powdered pimento 1/2 part
A drop of musk or civet essence

Tie it up as usual in white cloth with red yarn or ribbon, "in Hertha's name."

Finally, a Tellurian Incense for any of the Earth Spells referred to on the preceding pages:

Either

Dried powdered juniper wood 3 parts

Or

Cypress raspings or leaves
Gum myrrh or tincture of myrrh 2 parts
Powdered orris root 1/2 part
Powdered patchouli leaves 1 part

(or a few drops, patchouli oil)

Powdered sage 1 part

Reduce finely by trituration. Should you wish to make incense cones instead of loose grains, add 1/4 part saltpetre and enough patchouli or myrrh oil to make a thick paste. Model the cones by hand and let them stand to dry.

Before you embark on any complex operation of witchcraft, such as demonic conjuration or necromancy, purists will always advise that you take the purificatory bath beforehand. In all cases of bewitchment, this is also to be advised, especially before entering the grand circle, or before going to bed in the evening. The composition of these baths varies a great deal, but an excellent one can be made thus:

Dried rosemary 7 parts
Dried lavender 7 parts
Dried basil 4 1/2 parts
Dried vervain or lemon verbena 2 parts
Dried hyssop 1 part
Dried valerian 1 part
Dried sage 1/2 part
Dried fennel 1/2 part

To these herbs, add half again as much cooking or table salt. When you wish to bathe, after tying up a handful of your mixture in a small muslin or cheesecloth bag, cast it into the water chanting such words as you use for your water consecrations, or the following:

So therefore he who would govern the works of the fire must first asperge with water of the loud, resounding sea.

Failing this combination of herbs, you may use either hyssop and salt or sweet balm and salt to almost equal effect. Finally, here is a list of other magical protective herbs to be used either singly or in combination in your rituals and sachets:

Holda (elderberry) (berries or flowers to be gathered at midsummer)
Madwort (alyssum)
Marjoram
Dragon herb (tarragon)
Angelica
Fennel
Bay laurel
Asafetida grass
Holy thistle herb (replace after seven days)
Bishop's-wort (betony)
Garlic flowers
All-heal (mistletoe) (May be carved into ring or bracelet)
Dog roses
Arum lilies
Benet, holy herb, or avens (geum urbanum)
Lucky-hands (unexpanded fronds of male fern - Dry-opteris filix mas - dry over Sabbat fire)

And last, but by no means least, those most powerful of all herbs which from time immemorial have been held potent against sorcery of all varieties:

Trefoil, vervain, St.-John's-wort, dill,
Hinder witches of their will!

(Trefoil is simply a three-leafed plant of any type, such as clover.)

Should you wish to soothe the fears of those who suspect bewitchment, it should be comparatively easy for you to concoct a protective potion from edible herbs, such as by steeping a little powdered angelica, marjoram, bay, and fennel seed in some hot wine, chanting a few suitable words of benediction and reassurance, charging it strongly with your witch power.

On the other hand, should you suspect bewitchment by means of a power object or philter, you can resort to the following technique:

If you have a sample of the bewitched substance or the wax doll itself, your task is made comparatively simple. If not, you will have to content yourself with a sample of the blood, hair, urine, or saliva of the actual victim. Failing even that, you will just have to rely on the strength of your pyramid powers alone. With the moon waxing, cast your circle and bind or anoint with your samples (if you have any) two twigs of broom plant tied together crosswise. Then, on a piece of your talisman paper, draw with your pen and ink of art a simple image of the person you think has bewitched you, and on the breast write his name. Name the figure with fire and water (as in your Vassago ritual, using your Athame to write the suspect's name in the air above the image). If you don't have any idea of who was responsible, just name the drawing "He who has wished me ill." Then burn both the cross and the paper in your thurible with these words:

Three blows hast thou dealt;
by evil heart, evil eye, and evil tongue.
These same three blows be thine own reward!
by fire and water, earth and air,
and that which binds and governs them
I charge thee, touch him not!

With the last words, draw a pentagram above the flame with your Athame blade, and stab the centre with your blade, charging the star with magical light. This is known as banishing.

If the means of bewitchment is that of a power object such as a voodoo doll, conveyed into the presence of the victim, then simply remove the pins, if there should be any, and exorcise the image with fire and water. Obliterate the name of the victim inscribed on it if there is one, and rewrite that of the attacker instead. The doll will be impregnated with the maker's magnetism, so it in turn makes an excellent object link with him! Name it thrice with his name, asperging and fumigating it as you do so; then recite your countercharm:

"Three blows hast thou dealt by evil heart, evil eye, and evil tongue; these same three blows by thine own reward, etc."

Again banish with the pentagram. If it is a clay image, finish by breaking it in little pieces, crushing the pieces up into dust and flushing the dust down the toilet or burying it in the earth. If it is wax or cloth, simply incinerate it, and again flush the residue away or bury it deep in the earth. Should the imagined aggressor indeed have tried to cast the spell, the countercharm will cause it to rebound with unerring accuracy, inflicting upon him those things he wished upon his victim, but only to the extent that he himself would have been able to initiate. If his curse would have been ineffective to begin with, then it will be ineffective in the rebound.

Finally, should you be confronted by a really bad case of haunting caused by bewitchment, asperge and fumigate the four corners of your home with one of the following incenses, using your usual exorcism formula of fire and water, and opening all doors and windows beforehand. This has a practical as well as a symbolic meaning, as you will see when you try the fumigations for yourself!

Exorcism Fumigations

1. Calamint
Peony
Mint
Palma Christi

2. Simple gum asafetida

3. Jumper
Rosemary
Hemlock (plant, not tree, very poisonous)
Sloe
Frankincense or pine resin
Dried garlic

4. Myrrh
Frankincense
Hellebore
St.-John's-wort
Sulphur

5. Myrrh
Sulphur
Red Sandalwood
Rotten apples
Wine galls
Vinegar
Red wine lees
Arsenic

The last three incenses are somewhat poisonous as you can see from their composition, and great care should be taken with them. Personally, I would advocate the use of one of the first two mentioned, but the last three are traditional, and as such you should definitely know about them even if you don't actually put them to service.