The Witch's Heart Read online

  The cover sigil is formed from five hearts rotated to the five directions, creating a heart pentagram. Five is strongly associated with Venus and love in traditional magick, while seven (for the seven-pointed star in the center) is associated qabalistically with Venus. The hearts create a flower-petal design that resonates with the nature-magick imagery of the book.

  {sigil design by Christopher Penczak}

  About the Author

  Christopher Penczak is an award-winning author, teacher, and healing practitioner. As an advocate for the timeless wisdom of the ages, he is rooted firmly in the traditions of modern Witchcraft and earth-based religions but draws from a wide range of spiritual traditions—including shamanism, alchemy, herbalism, Theosophy, and Hermetic Qabalah—to forge his own magickal traditions. His many books include Magick of Reiki, Spirit Allies, The Mystic Foundation, and The Inner Temple of Witchcraft. He is the cofounder of the Temple of Witchcraft tradition, a not-for-profit religious organization to advance the spiritual traditions of Witchcraft, as well as the cofounder of Copper Cauldron Publishing, a company dedicated to producing books, recordings, and tools for magickal inspiration and evolution. He has been a faculty member of the North Eastern Institute of Whole Health and a founding member of the Gifts of Grace, an interfaith foundation dedicated to acts of community service, both based in New Hampshire. He maintains a teaching and healing practice in New England but travels extensively lecturing.

  More information can be found at www.christopherpenczak.com and www.templeofwitchcraft.org.

  Llewellyn Publications

  Woodbury, Minnesota

  Copyright Information

  The Witch’s Heart: The Magick of Perfect Love & Perfect Trust © 2011 by Christopher Penczak.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

  Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

  First e-book edition © 2011

  E-book ISBN: 9780738729015

  Book design by Rebecca Zins

  Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

  All illustrations by the Llewellyn Art Department except for tarot cards in chapter 4 from the Universal Tarot deck by Roberto De Angelis (reprinted with permission from Lo Scarabeo), pentacles in chapter 7 by Jackie Williams, and the Handfasting card from the Well Worn Path deck (illustrated by Mickie Mueller) in chapter 9

  The astrological chart in chapter 9 was created using Matrix Software ©1994 Big Rapids, MI

  Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

  Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

  Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to current author websites.

  Llewellyn Publications

  Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

  2143 Wooddale Drive

  Woodbury, MN 55125

  www.llewellyn.com

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Love,

  well made, can lead to liberation.

  —The Mahabharata

  Special Thanks

  Special thanks to the following people for their advice, stories, and support: Adam Sartwell, Steve Kenson, Rosalie and Ronald Penczak, Alixaendreia, Bonnie Boulanger, Joe and Doug at Otherworld Apothecary, Dorothy Morrison, Sandi Liss, Chris Giroux, Rowan, Kris, Dave, Ellen Dugan, Lisa Dubbels, and Laurie Cabot.

  Contents

  Introduction

  One} What’s Love Got to Do With It?

  Two} Magickal Partners

  Three} The Ethics of Love, Lust, and Romance Magick

  Four} The Quest for Love

  Five} The Patrons of Love and Romance

  Six} The Love of Nature

  Seven} Love Spells, Charms, and Potions

  Eight} The Power of Lust

  Nine} Magickal Relationships

  Ten} Be Careful What You Ask For . . .

  Eleven} All Magick Is Love Magick

  Bibliography

  Introduction

  The Witch’s Heart is the third in a series of simple books designed to bring life’s magick to both the Pagan and the non-Pagan communities. Originally structured to be a line of easy-to-understand how-to books based in the traditions of Witchcraft, the series has evolved beyond the steps of what to do and explored the “whys”—the philosophies behind the magickal topics they cover—with both practical steps and life lessons to help the reader truly integrate the ideas in each book and live a more fulfilling life.

  Both in my own life and in watching the lives of my teachers, friends, and students, I’ve found that people are fascinated when you make it publicly known that you are a Witch. Sometimes they are frightened, but even those who are scared of the Witch’s initial archetype are also interested in what secrets you might have. Invariably, they want to know how your secret knowledge can ultimately better them and their own lives. The three areas they ask the most about are protection—how other people’s “negative” energies can be affecting them and their health; money—with all its job- and career-related questions; and of course the most asked about topic, love—the secrets to finding the right partner and how to save a failing relationship. To help answer these questions in a more in-depth manner than the time allotted to a simple tarot reading or afternoon tea, I’ve created three books. The first is The Witch’s Shield to answer questions about protection. The second is The Witch’s Coin for exploring money magick and the philosophies behind prosperity. Now, in this third volume, we will focus on the mysteries of love through the teachings of The Witch’s Heart.

  Witches have long been associated with the power to induce love in others through spells, potions, and charms to bewitch and beguile the heart. Much of the world’s folklore and fairy tales center around the power of love spells, and while most people relegate all magick, including love magick, to childhood fantasy, there is still a part of those of us who are old romantics that holds on to the idea and the hope that the power of love spells can be true—and even more, that we shall find the right spell and with it find the love of our life.

  Love plays an important part in traditional magick. One of the thirteen blessings the goddess Diana gives Witches, through her daughter Aradia in The Gospel of Aradia, is “to bring success in love.” Yet is that blessing to bring success to other people through spells and charms or to have a healthy religion, a spiritual tradition that brings out the virtue of love and makes healthy, happy relationships a part of its wisdom? By applying the lessons and philosophy of Witchcraft, are we able to find and sustain love for ourselves or are we granted the power to create love for others? While I think it’s quite possible to do love magick for other people, I think the Goddess’s true blessing is in making and sustaining our own love, starti
ng with ourselves. Self-love was the key for my own spiritual development on this path.

  Learning magick brings with it a promise of love magick. If I’m capable of making things happen in my life through magick, and I want a good, loving relationship, I should be capable of creating that as well. Though the road can be hard, the promise of successful love magick is real. Thousands of Witches have found their heart through the Craft. I found my partner through a love spell that I will share with you. The philosophies of magick and Witchcraft have guided us in both creating a healthy and happy romantic life together and sustaining it as it has evolved over time, in new and different ways. On my own quest for love, I made a lot of mistakes, both magickally and mundanely. I’ve been honored to guide and teach many others who eventually have met their loves and life partners, and they too have made detours along the way.

  The magickal philosophies of this book have guided my own counseling practice of singles and couples as an ordained high priest in the Craft. Over the years, I’ve performed numerous handfastings (Pagan wedding ceremonies), counseled those going through separation and divorce, and focused on the healing work to be done around matters of the heart through tarot divination, magickal healing, and spellcraft, regardless of marital status. Some have been specifically Pagans and Witches. Others have found me because they don’t fit into traditional religions and communities. While these ceremonies and spells are part of my trade as a magickal minister, they are all informed by the deeper spiritual principles found in our practice of Witchcraft. Each situation is unique, and while the principles are constant, the rituals and charms are tailored to the individuals in need. Often the remedy is not a charm but deeper healing work through intensive counseling and introspection. I’ve found that no matter where we are in the journey of life, we can each dive deeper into the mysteries of the heart and find the magick of Perfect Love and Perfect Trust in our lives. That is the true blessing of love magick.

  The Witch’s Heart is a compilation not just of love magick to attract someone special into your life, but of the ideas and philosophies that prepare you to be ready when you do find someone and how to sustain it to be the love of your life if you so choose. I hope these ideas benefit you as much as they have benefited me.

  Blessed be,

  Christopher Penczak

  [contents]

  one

  What’s Love Got to Do With It?

  When doing any form of magick, if you expect success in your working you should have a clear understanding of your magickal goals. If you are going to attempt any love magick, you should probably have a thorough understanding of love. What is love? How would you define it? If you can’t describe what you want, it’s hard to get it with magick, yet for most of us love is an ineffable concept. We know it when we feel it, but trying to put it into words is like trying to put the ocean in a teacup. However, to do successful love magick, we must do just that impossible task.

  For a magician, the word love, in English, is an imprecise term. Other cultures with a better understanding of love have different terms for different kinds of love. It’s not that modern English-speaking people don’t experience all these types of love or understand them, but with our limited vocabulary, we don’t take the time to think about them or about what we really mean when we say the word love.

  Generally, we think of love as an intense emotion, an affection or tenderness for someone or something. Yet the quality—the “flavor,” so to speak—of that love depends on the type of relationship. The love between parents and children is different from the love between siblings. Some would go as far as to say that the love between mothers and sons, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and fathers and daughters is different. One type of love is not better than the other, just different in terms of how it feels and its role in our society.

  The love between family members is different from the love between two passionate sexual partners. We use the term make love to denote sexual intercourse, yet sex and love can be two separate things. You can have sex with someone and not really love them or have an emotional connection, and you can love someone and never have sex with them. Romantic love can be unrequited and never consummated through sexual union, but it is still romantic love.

  There is love between friends who are not sexually involved nor related by the bonds of family. Because of the relationship we have developed together, we can all have friends who are like family, or simply friends whom we love and adore. Each of our loving friendships will be different and unique from one another, because each person we are friends with is unique.

  We use the term love for when we really enjoy something or feel we really need something. I love chocolate. I love music. I love walking in the woods. But my love of chocolate, music, and walking is different from my love for my mother or my love for my husband. Yet we use the same word, making it difficult to truly understand the depth of different loves.

  Love is also considered to be one of the highest spiritual achievements beyond the personal sphere. Many mystical traditions aspire to unconditional love, or divine love. It is a love that is not based on the personal world, but on the impersonal world. Nothing you do or say can take away this divine love. Mystics can see the universe as being made up of, or held together by, this divine love. Mystics who have embodied this type of love and compassion are considered saints, gurus, and masters. They are holy people, for they have lived a life of divine love and modeled it for others. Modern Witches call this love Perfect Love, the love the Divine has for us, for we are divine. What we might call “imperfect” love, or personal and attached love, is also divine yet fully human, and it is in the experience of any love in the human world that we get a glimpse of the perfect divine love. All love can lead us to the Divine.

  The most important key to understanding all forms of love, including divine love, is self-love. You must have self-love and self-esteem before you can really have true love for anyone or anything else.

  Cultures with a greater understanding of love as a force, as an energy, usually have a greater understanding of magick. The ancient Greeks were one of a number of cultures that had specific names—eros, phileo, agape, and stergo—to differentiate kinds of love. Understanding the way they see love in an ancient Pagan context and the divine connotations attached with each type of love can help us understand love better and know exactly what we want to create with our own love magick.

  Eros—Sexual or romantic love. Eros was a divine force for life, usually paired with Thanatos, the death force, and personified into the son of Aphrodite, giving us the first image that would later develop into our popular notion of Valentine’s Cupid, taking its name from Eros’s Roman counterpart and portrayed as a beautiful youth with wings and a bow and arrow, “shooting” others to inspire love. In modern Freudian psychology, it is used as a term for the libido, the urge for sexual pleasure and self-preservation.

  Phileo—To have affection, not necessarily in a sexual sense. It can refer to the love that comes with a sense of brotherhood.

  Agape—A word rarely used in ancient manuscripts, but when it was, it denoted family or spousal love or the love of a particular activity. Sometimes it was used in reference to divinity, as it was used in a Greek title for the goddess Isis, Agape Theon—“beloved of the gods”—and later adopted by Christians to denote Christ’s divine, unconditional, voluntary, self-sacrificing love. It is also referenced in forms of modern ceremonial magick.

  Stergo—A parental love, used for the love of a parent for children or the love a ruler has for his people. Stergo is how some people see religious or divine love from a parental divinity. Today this is typified by the image of the biblical Father God of Judeo-Christianity. To the mystic and Witch, however, divine love, Perfect Love, is beyond stergo.

  Is it any wonder why, for most of us, love is this great quest we spend so much time on, and why so many people feel unfulfilled? We have
a romantic, “troubadour-esque” vision of love, and that vision clouds not only what we think about relationships and marriage, but it colors our idea of love with family, friends, and the Divine, creating unrealistic expectations with very little root in nature or history. Looking to the ancient magickal cultures gives us a larger scope of love and expands our view of the many types of love in the context of magick and in life. For the purposes of this book, most assume that love magick is seeking a romantic or sexual love (eros), but it’s hard to talk about such love without touching upon these other concepts. While they are all different, there is a reason why we use one word as a translation: to show how they are all connected.

  As a modern Witch, I learned that love is the ultimate source in magick. Most Witches believe that what you do returns to you in some way, often known as the Law of Return, or Boomerang Effect, and all magick is fueled by intense emotion, which can be the source of our magickal power. Any emotion will work to propel a magickal intention, but the quality of emotion you use will color your results. Magick done in anger or spite manifests with angry and spiteful qualities, and such qualities can return to you. I have learned that the best magick is fueled by love—not just personal love but unconditional and Perfect Love, divine love. If you make that your focus, regardless of what purpose you are casting a spell for, it will manifest and return to you with the qualities of divine love. You will have a greater chance of not only getting what you want, but of getting what you need and having it manifest in the most perfect and pleasant way possible. If love is also a term used for divinity, a force flowing through us all, then it truly is the ultimate source of our magick and the binding force that connects us all to everything and everyone.

  Preparing for Love

  In most traditions of magick, one must be prepared for the magick. In some Wiccan and ceremonial traditions, there are rites of preparation and purification before performing a ritual. One might take a ritual bath, be smudged in incense smoke, meditate to clear the mind, or be scourged to purify the spirit. Then specific clothing (if not working skyclad, or nude), jewelry, and specific oils and perfumes are used. One is then considered duly purified and prepared for the act of magick.