Not So Wicked Witch Event - Creating A Spell By Felita Daniels

Creating a Spell – Kill the Procrastination and Complete my Projects

Before writing my novella Justice for an anthology I researched spell craft. Writers really do want to get it right when plotting their stories and sharing characters who might be from diverse cultures, careers or ways of life. I was intrigued by the process.
I think we’ve all been exposed to ways of focusing on improving our lives in some way.  Most have heard of The Secret or words like affirmations. There are a ton of self-help books to help improve how you feel about yourself and your world around you. Even James Clear’s book Atomic Habits teaches an approach to improve the results you get by creating strong habits. How do you bring about change in your life? Set goals and make a list of action items to get there? This is, in a way, announcing your intentions. Focusing on what you want and what steps you need to take to get there.
In spell craft they use the word manifesting. Manifest what you want to have, or not have, in your life. Then they also build a ritual of sorts to define what they want to come about and announce it to themselves and the universe. This is commonly known as ‘casting a spell.’ There’s lots of lingo and obviously there’s whole books written about the subject.  I don’t want to leave the impression that dancing in the woods, naked at midnight is what gives the spells their power. There are tools you can use when you cast your spell and even the timing of when you perform your spell. But the paramount ingredient for a spell’s success is the intention of the person casting it. The power comes from within. The witch is where the energy originates from and focuses to achieve the spell’s results.
One of the ways I understood this was that we all breath. In and out, through our nose or mouth, sometimes we’re conscious of what we are doing like when we are doing yoga or meditating, but other times we aren’t even thinking about the fact that we are breathing.  We just naturally know how to breathe and don’t have to focus. We all have this manifesting energy in each of us.
But think about when we blow out a birthday candle. We direct our breath and force to the candle. We pucker up and basically point our breath to the base of the flame.  This is how the tools and timing come into play. The tools, herbs, timing, crystals all just add a little ump by helping the practitioner to pucker their lips and direct their energy to a certain goal. The color green is associated with money in the USA. Thus, a spell for abundance could take advantage of this symbolism and utilize a green candle. Pink has an association with fertility and forgiveness. Blue is used for healing.
Timing can also add umph to your spells. The waxing moon phase helps you to take action and manifest something into your life.  The waning moon phase is more about decreasing, removing, or stopping something. Even days of the week are associated with certain themes. Success is associated with Sundays, waxing moon, or blue moons. The best time for healing is Thursday or Sunday, a full moon or blue moon.
I was having trouble working on a particular project. Now, I’m a grown woman.  I know perfectly well that I’m not going to get this multi-step goal met if I don’t even start it.  Or if I do one thing and then avoid the project for two or three weeks, I’m not going to get anywhere fast.  To top it off, I knew very much when I was procrastinating.
I felt it was time to try to build or craft my own spell for this situation.  Now one of the first things is that you have to really zero in on what you want to happen, what results are you shooting for. More importantly, why. What outcome do you really want? This is serious stuff, spells gone wrong make up many stories. Spending a day or two kicking around thoughts before you even start pulling the words and items together is worth the effort. How was I procrastinating? That was easy to identify. I was spending too much time either watching TV or on Facebook. The harder question was why was I doing this?
For the writers out there, are you seeing some parallels? Outlining before you start writing helps to see if there’s enough conflict, spice and moving parts.  Is this complex enough to be a whole novel? Or is it a short story?
One thing I pulled inspiration from was a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin.
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
I wasn’t under a strict deadline on the project.  It was a self-assigned type of thing. But at the end of a day when I hadn’t made any progress on it, and only wasted time on Facebook I felt I had really let myself down. I mentally beat myself up for not being productive. This wasn’t being kind to myself either.
“To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.” – Robert Marley
Another thing I grasped upon was from Glennon Doyle
“The secret is to not allow the fact that you can’t do everything keep you from doing something. 
Something, then rest.”
This was similar to a Mark Twain thought…
“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”
I was getting down to the nitty gritty now of what approach I wanted to take. Rhyming is another of those things that increases your bang for your buck. I’m not particularly good with poetry.  But I cobbled a little bit together looking at some other spells and also writing some starting sentences and then looking up words that rhyme with _____ using Google. You always want to personalize your spells to you and your situation.
I wanted to start with gratitude. Working on a higher frequency is when manifestation happens.
I’m grateful I have the resources to write this book.
Should I need to improve my craft, I know where to look.
Steady progress with the ease of water gently flowing.
I witness my words on the page and progress growing.
Release doubt and unease from my mind,
My slow state I leave behind.
Procrastination, I command you to leave me today.
Magic of night, magic of day banishes all roadblocks away.
Empty now all negativity
And leave only action and clarity.
I work with speed upon my deed.
With only the highest good and harm to none
This is my will, let it be done.
 
This is tricky spell as it is doing two things simultaneously. I’m directing gaining productivity but also sending away the procrastination. In witchcraft if you want something done quick, you use fire. I will be utilizing two candles. A blue one as this color represents stimulated thinking, clarity, and concentration. This candle I will anoint with cinnamon and use sandalwood to cleanse it. Cinnamon for concentration and Sandalwood for productivity. These can be small, even birthday candles or tealights can work here. But do practice safe use. You may not have a cauldron. But a safe container such as a metal bowl or large candle holder will work. Ashtrays are also appropriate here.
I will use a black candle to banish procrastination. It will be anointed with banishing oil. Pepper, salt, rosemary, and clove are the main ingredients here. I will also take a small piece of paper to represent the things I want coming and going. For procrastination I will draw a TV screen and Facebook logo. This doesn’t have to be illustrated level art.  Just something that represents the thing to you.
For the progress angle, I’ll draw a picture of a computer monitor as I type my novels with a computer.  I will also draw a picture of a book – showing the completion.
For the ritual portion I will light the candles thinking about what they represent and what future I want to come about. Freedom from self-recrimination and pride in my actions resulting in progress.
I’ll recite my spell three times.  When speaking the lines about the progress I will focus my attention on the blue candle. When banishing procrastination, I’ll focus on the black one. Then I will pick up the respective paper representations and light them from the appropriate candle and place them in the fire safe container and watch them burn to ash.
I will reflect on the freedom I will feel when the problem is gone, and I can create a product that makes me feel proud.

About The Author
 
Felita Daniels is an emerging mystery author. She grew up reading all the classics. Her flagship series is The Anthony Group novels. The Case of the Sad Sons and the The Case of the Cheated Charity. She’s already working on The Case of the Bankrupt Bar due out in 2025.
 
Writing Rachel and Artemis’s novella Justice has been a treat, and she has more up her sleeve for these two.
Find out more about her writing at
 
https://www.facebook.com/authorFelitaDaniels