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Author Topic: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?  (Read 13220 times)

hyacinth

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I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that? I don't want a spell to lose its power if my husband accidentally chucks part of the materials I used in the trash. I'd also end up with a surplus of old spell materials, which we don't have the room for.

And yet tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?

Thank you.

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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2011, 08:06:06 am »
Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that.

The purpose of some spells is basically to create what is basically an amulet/talisman that holds the spell. In that case, you do need to keep the item, but the rest of the spell materials? Generally there is no need to keep them.
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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2011, 09:34:47 am »
Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that? I don't want a spell to lose its power if my husband accidentally chucks part of the materials I used in the trash. I'd also end up with a surplus of old spell materials, which we don't have the room for.

And yet tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?

Thank you.


The only spellwork I've done leaves minimal remains. Candles burn down, potions are consumed or otherwise used up, slips of paper are burned. Should I care about the empty tealight tin or the pen that I saved for spellwork but has finally run out of ink? I think not. Once the spellwork is done, they are mundane objects that belong with the rest of the rubbish. To me, spellcraft is all about focusing intent through ritual and then releasing it, so whatever is left behind no longer matters.
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monsnoleedra

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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2011, 10:56:45 am »
Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that? I don't want a spell to lose its power if my husband accidentally chucks part of the materials I used in the trash. I'd also end up with a surplus of old spell materials, which we don't have the room for.

And yet tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?

Thank you.


I personally think it depends upon what type of spell and how its created.

If it's a typical fire and forget type spell then it doesn't matter.  The material used is more for focus and nothing else.  Once done and released the material componet is just trash.

If its something used for transformation then I think the material become more important.  In such an instant i'd competely allow the material to be consumed in the spell.  Usually for transformation type spells I personally use fire as the means of causing the transformation so all componet pieces would be feed into the flame to release all the energies of the spell.

For prosperity, protection, fertility type spells I think it important to keep the active componet that the spell is attached to but also the construction componets in proximatey to the final result.  In that case it becomes almost sympathetic magics where to see it is to recreate it.

In some instances it might be used something like a witches bottle.  All the componet parts are sealed together and placed in an out of the way or hidden spot to perform its tasking.

SonofPan

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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #4 on: September 04, 2011, 03:16:46 pm »
Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work.

 
I think this is a great question, as it is something that has gone through my mind afterwards because I love to conserve as much as I can but not at the cost of my spell succeeding. I also like a lot of the responses. I myself try to keep as much as I can to use again if I can.
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buttercup

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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2011, 10:52:15 am »
Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that? I don't want a spell to lose its power if my husband accidentally chucks part of the materials I used in the trash. I'd also end up with a surplus of old spell materials, which we don't have the room for.

And yet tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?

Thank you.

 I guess it depends on what tradition you are speaking of and what type of magic you are preforming.  In hoodoo most leftovers are taken to the cross roads thrown into the center of the road, you turn around, don't look back and take a different way home.  Sometimes you bury your work in graveyards or target's houses.  

Depends really, for witchcraft usually you bury it, the candles that is and the herbs I throw outside to return to nature.

Also forgot to mention that in Hoodoo when working with the ancestral altar, you throw away offereings to the dead into the trash, as it is said that the offerings will decompose as the dead do.  Or you can take it to the crossroads or throw it up against a tree, always never looking back!

puppydangerous

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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #6 on: September 06, 2011, 04:39:11 pm »
Quote from: hyacinth;17748
tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?


Once an item has been used in magic, it acquires a 'charge'. This charge stays with it even after the intent of the spell has been released.

These items can be kept sometimes, but they should be kept separate from your everyday stuff. If you have a cup you've used, then it should go on a shelf away from the regular drinking cups- otherwise every time someone uses it they'll get a dose of the magical charge.

Once items have been charged, it also makes it easier for them to absorb energy. This means if the item is being used, it's going to become charged with whatever energy the person using it is putting out. The energy charge can become 'confused', or change in reaction. It's possible to accidentally make something with 'bad juju'.

So it shouldn't be somewhere that it's going to be at risk of being tossed or used. You should designate an area for your magical items, and keep anything charged there. You can also create a barrier around this area, and set the interior so that it prevents leaks/magical contamination.

Usually, if there is something specific that needs to be done with the remains it will be mentioned in the spell. Sometimes things need to be buried in a specific place, for instance.

Otherwise, it's a question of what it was used for. An elemental candle, for instance, can be kept and re-used.

In general, if you're using a spell element to absorb energy that you don't want, then that needs to be removed and grounded at the end of the spell (otherwise it's just like filling a trash bag and then leaving it in the house instead of tossing it out).

If you're absorbing energy that you want to stay in the house, then the item should be kept.

Some items can be stripped of the magical charge and used again.

Resetting an item energetically can be done in several ways. Two of the easiest are freezing and salting.

Freezing works on certain types of energy. When a pendant, for instance, has absorbed a lot of energy it can be frozen for a day or two to remove it. Many other items also react well to being frozen.

Since it's so easy, it's a simple starting point. You should trust your instinct, if it still feels 'icky' or charged after being frozen then you should move to something stronger.

Salt is a basic magical cleanser, and many items can be cleaned and reset by burying in a container of salt.

There are other ways as well, just look for cleansing rituals/spells.

Certain things should be cleansed only rarely. Your ritual tools, for instance, will absorb a charge each time you use them. This charge makes them more powerful, so you don't want to remove it.

However, eventually your tools may become 'toxic'. When this happens, they can be stripped of their charge. This will set them back to energy neutral, where they were before they became ritual objects. Though they are no longer toxic, they also are no longer magically charged, so if they are to be consecrated you'll need to do it again.

 
 
When it's time to dispose of magical items, how you go about it depends on the item, your system, and your situation.

The normal ways to dispose of magical items are burning, burying, and releasing in running water.

Burning releases the energy of the item, so unless you want that in your house it should be done somewhere else, preferably in a circle that surrounds only what you're burning, to keep the energy from depositing back on you.

Burying can happen just about anywhere, though again it should be somewhere that the energy isn't going to cause problems. Most people think of crossroads, under oak trees, in gardens, etc, but it can go anywhere that there is dirt.  
 
Running water doesn't just mean streams and rivers, your tap is running water, as are gutters along roads. So you can safely release things that need to go into water down your drain or into rainwater runoff.

Livia Indica

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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #7 on: September 07, 2011, 09:06:53 pm »
Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that? I don't want a spell to lose its power if my husband accidentally chucks part of the materials I used in the trash. I'd also end up with a surplus of old spell materials, which we don't have the room for.

And yet tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?

Thank you.

 
Another vote for burying thing here. I usually burn up or bury things. It just seems to make sense to let Mother Earth take care of things.

Liadine (dragonflyeyes)

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Re: What do you do with spell materials after you're done casting the spell?
« Reply #8 on: September 07, 2011, 11:51:48 pm »
Quote from: Livia Indica;18498
Another vote for burying thing here. I usually burn up or bury things. It just seems to make sense to let Mother Earth take care of things.

 
I'm the same. If it's biodegradable, natural, and small, I either toss it in a local creek or bury it in either my garden or a local forest (I'm lucky enough to live next to a watershed forest, so I have some options). Whatever seems appropriate.

Anything larger or not biodegradable is disposed of in a more appropriate way. I don't like tossing spell materials in the garbage, but I haven't found a better way to get rid of things that have no business being buried or tossed into a creek.
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Nerys53

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Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that? I don't want a spell to lose its power if my husband accidentally chucks part of the materials I used in the trash. I'd also end up with a surplus of old spell materials, which we don't have the room for.

And yet tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?

Thank you.

Whatever I want to dispose of I burn in a fire in the garden. I have a steel fire basket I use for this. Usually once a month I do this. Mostly herbal bits some papers etc so it is always very fragrant.:)
« Last Edit: April 29, 2014, 04:02:53 am by Nerys53 »

Kylara

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Quote from: hyacinth;17748
I know some spells depend on making or using materials to hold onto, but I feel like that implies keeping the materials is part of what makes the spell continue to work. What do you think of that? I don't want a spell to lose its power if my husband accidentally chucks part of the materials I used in the trash. I'd also end up with a surplus of old spell materials, which we don't have the room for.

And yet tossing everything once the spell is done feels strange too. Does it even matter? Have the objects helped to release whatever energy necessary during the spell, and now they are done?

Thank you.

 
I have mainly seen three types of spells with ingredients:  first are the kind where the ingredients are used up in the spell, the second is where you are making a talisman or focus item that is kept to be used in the future, and the third is where something may be made or created, but it is not meant to be kept (often this one will have instructions in the spell as to what to do with the stuff you make).

If I am doing a spell that is making a focus item that is to be kept, I tend to keep these items in special places, not somewhere that my husband or son will come across them and toss them out (especially if they are writing on paper which is the most likely to get accidentally deemed trash).

If I just have leavings from a spell (incense ash, candle wax or other things that can't be reused), I throw them away with intent.  Typically I will decided how I want to release them (bury, flush, trashcan...it depends on what they are made up of), and then say a little prayer or blessing over them.

Spells that you make something but don't need to keep it may require a bit more thought.  I've made little string dolls or other little charms that were not meant to be kept around.  I tend to bury stuff like this or place it somewhere wild.  If the spell doesn't specify how you should deal with the items made (or if you are making your own), then I just kind of tailor it to the purpose of the spell.
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