Spells and Ceremonies

Spells and ceremonies are both important components of magic as practiced by most traditions and solitary practitioners. Each has its own place in the world of magic, and both are important for the proper bringing about of the will the practitioner wants to work upon the world.

A spell is a magical recipe that is designed to bring about some sort of physical effect in the real world. They are usually performed alone or in very small groups, and usually have a relatively small intent.

A ceremony, on the other hand, is also designed to bring about a real effect, but is performed on a grander scale, generally with a larger group and strict rules for how things are to work and protections that are to be placed. A spell may take up a single page, or even a couple of lines, in instruction. Ceremony is more like an elaborate play; it requires a long setup, special preparation, and even a script in order to be carried out properly.

Spells are most often used by Wiccans and solitary practitioners of all sorts. They are designed to bring forth smaller effects on the world: to make someone notice you, to make cleaning the house easier, to heal a cold or a headache. For the most part, a spell has a very direct, though very small, physical effect on the world. For larger effects or for transformative causes, a ceremony is likely to be necessary.

Ceremonies can also be practiced alone, but almost always require serious preparation both mental and physical. Ceremonies tend to take place in particular places: an altar, a special grove, a prepared room. They also are more likely to have elaborate implements that must be used in the course of the casting, like athames, cups of water, and fire. In most magickal ceremonies, the ingredients will include fire, water, earth, and air, so as to invoke all elements. It often also requires an invocation of the four directions, and in Western tradition may ask for the angels of the four directions to watch over the circle. Because the powers being worked with are more powerful than in spells, a ceremony will also require some sort of protection to be cast before any powerful magic is evoked.

You may see many different types of ceremonies worked. Some involve the Great Rite, the ritual sex between the priestess and the Horned God or something like that; the sex may be real or symbolic. When someone is grievously ill, ceremonies may be conducted to either heal them or help them pass more easily to the next world. Very large ceremonies have been conducted to bring about world peace, with no discernable effect yet – but then, one must be careful what one asks for. An annihilated world is pretty peaceful, too.

In any case, you should learn first about spells, and ceremonies can be studied later. There is less will-working in spells, and it’s easier to work with them than with ceremonies; besides which, ceremonies can be dangerous for beginners who don’t understand how to put up protections.