#chaote

So, you’ve just started diving into the world of the diviner. Spells, readings, charms and talismans: it’s all super cool and you’re really excited. Awesome! Be excited! Fuel your interest and knowledge - but keep in mind all of these things require time and energy.

I feel like a lot of people, myself included when I first got started, want to dive right in and do all the things. They start running with a bunch of cleansing and banishing spells, do 27 tarot spreads a night for the first week, then try to load up a bunch of personal spells on top of it. 

Suddenly they hit a brick wall. The spells stop working like they did in the beginning. They begin feeling the burnout. They keep asking themselves “What am I doing wrong? It was working so well before. Maybe this isn’t for me.” This doesn’t only apply to new diviners, many seasoned people of magick are often guilty of the same thing if they have a burst of energy.  It isn’t so much that something was done wrong, just that it overloaded their energy flow. I’ve seen perfectly awesome spells thrown out as they were perceived as “not correct” or “not functioning” only because they were performed during a burnout- especially banishing, protection and cleansing rituals.

Instead of throwing around spells at everything that moves, identify a few important things. Is the goal of this spell a true need of mine, or simply something I want? Am I willing to dedicate the proper amount of time and energy to see this spell through? Am I willing to make any sacrifices to see this through?

As a practical example, I recently bought my first home (I’ll get back to this in a later post). My first home happens to have a pool. I know that I’ll need to clean it regularly, maintain the chemical levels, and occasionally relocate any critters that happen to wander in. Am I going to do these things every single day? Of course not. If I did, I wouldn’t have the time or energy to actually enjoy the pool. So instead, I set a loose schedule. The beginning requires a lot of attention and work, but then only every few days I would check and maintain the chemical levels. Maybe once a week, I deep clean the filter and bottom of the pool. Only if absolutely necessary would I need to relocate a critter or two. Then down the road, I’ll decide to add a water feature, or a new pool toy.

The same applies to magickal practice. Once you have found your base level of understanding, you don’t need to power through spells for the rest of your life. Not every day has to be “magically enhanced”, in fact it may be better off without. Every couple of days, throw a general tarot reading as a spot check. Once a week or so, do some deep meditation to clear out the depths of your psyche. Wandering spirits aren’t always bad, and most go away on their own, so only banish if you need to. If you identify something that you need, consider taking traditional routes before casting a spell for it. The more energy you store, the more energy you’ll have to spend on something you really need.

By employing these types of practices, you’ll start to find that you are able to cast powerful life-altering magick for better or worse. Am I saying to stop writing every neat spell you come across down? Absolutely not! Just keep them off to the side. Maybe when you really need it, you’ll look back and find it and have the true energy and drive to cast it successfully. 

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By Ghia Vitale

“The fire of passion and the power of prayer will defeat evil! I’m Sailor Mars, of the red high heel!”

As a Chaote, I believe any form of media can be a valid source of spiritual wisdom as long as it resonates with you. Sailor Moon is no exception and it has impacted my witchcraft practice significantly.

Sailor Mars has always been special to me. It’s not just because I had a crush on her, either—she fascinates me as a character. When she isn’t fighting for justice, she’s living her life as Rei Hino, a student in junior high school. Her entry in the Sailor Moon Fandom Wiki suggests that “Ray of Fire” is a literal translation of her name.

Sailor Mars embodies Mars perfectly. She has an assertive, fiery personality and doubts the leadership abilities of Usagi/Sailor Moon. She isn’t afraid to wage war when it’s necessary. When you mess with her, prepare to face Mars’ red hot temper. She exemplifies so many personality traits of Mars that once I actually opened my first occult book at 12, I read the description of Mars and already felt familiar with its energy. Watching her work with fire inspired me to cultivate my own abilities.

Sailor Mars is the most spiritual of all the sailor scouts. As Rei, she lives and works at a Shinto shrine called Hikawa Shrine. She runs the shrine with her grandfather and serves as a miko. (“Miko” is a Shinto word that refers to a shrine maiden.) She developed her psychic powers by directly working with the Sacred Fire at the shrine. Although working with the Sacred Fire empowered her, others viewed her behavior as strange and avoided her because of it. This makes me relate to Rei more than the other sailor scouts: As a high school freshman, I lost some friends once they found out I practiced witchcraft. Others thought I was weird for pursuing the occult and stayed away from me.

While fighting, Sailor Mars throws Ofuda at youma (which is a Japanese word for “demons” and refers to enemies in Sailor Moon) while commanding evil spirits to disappear. These are Japanese paper charms with scriptures that are good luck. You’ll find them at shrines all across Japan. Seeing Sailor Mars work with these charms awakened me to the magickal power of writing symbols on paper and burning them.

Since then, I’ve designed a lot of personalized sigils that I charge/manifest with fire. Sometimes, when I’m meditating with a piece of paper in my hand, I’ll feel like how I imagine Sailor Mars does when she’s focusing her energy. When I actually set the paper aflame, I feel like I am throwing my own psychic Mars Fireballs.

You know how witches have familiars? Well, Rei has 2 guardian crows named Phobos and Deimos after the 2 moons of Mars. These crows provide her with insight, assistance, and empowerment. Crows have always occupied a special place in my heart, but I didn’t start working with crow energy intensely until my third year of college. Eventually, I decided to create my own crow servitors!

I programmed these crow servitors to help me send and receive psychic messages more efficiently. I gave them their own names: Shadow and Whisperer. These servitors did exactly what I programmed them to do. I even frequently “felt” them perched on my shoulders. As a result, I began appearing in my college friends’ dreams much more frequently and getting “hunches” that turned out to be true. 

The best manifestation I got from these crow servitors was when I was out birdwatching with my ornithology class. At one point, I saw 3 crows fly down from the sky. Then I casually mentioned to my peers that 3 crows are supposed to signify marriage according to that old crow-counting rhyme/poem. That night, I found out that someone close to me said “yes” to a proposal. I believe that seeing those 3 crows foretold this event. That spot-on omen proved to me that I was doing something right by incorporating Sailor Mars’ magick into my witchcraft practice.

Anime has a lot of valid witchy wisdom. I used to think my interest in anime was weird, but looking back, I must admit that Sailor Mars was a great role model for me as a young witch. I wouldn’t be surprised if more people cited Sailor Moon as a force behind their fascination with magick when they were young witchlings as well. 

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Here’s the scoop about me: I’m Ghia Vitale, a writer and senior editor at Quail Bell Magazine. I’ve been practicing witchcraft for around 18 years now. I was recently included along with 13 other witches in a Bustle article about our favorite witchy media. I’d recommend checking out this article to learn about some other ways Sailor Moon resonates with me as a witch. Thanks for reading!

Ghia Vitale is a writer and senior editor at Quail Bell Magazine. She is also a queer witch/feminist harpy/otaku who lives on Long Island. She has been practicing witchcraft for about 18 years. For more updates, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.