Love spells

[gurlygurl2004]

Hmmm, I was just on the magick and rituals board and one of the posts was about other pagan paths allowing to put a love spell on a particular person which is a no-no in Wicca as the first post pointed out. Would a Christo-Pagan, or Christian witch suggest this?

[LacyRoze]

I, personally, don't believe in love spells. I think using a spell to make someone love you, well, it's not really them loving you with all their heart at all. I believe if it's meant to be, it will be. This of course is just my personal feeling ...

[David19]

I'm not a Christian witch (or a Christian for that matter) but i think you can (i haven't read the bible but i don't think it says not to use love spells), i think you should follow your will (whatever it is, as long as it doesn't leas to pediphilia or anything).

Also, i can't remember the name of them, but i've heard of Spanish witches who are Catholic (i think) and believe that God is both good and evil, (they're also polytheistic, i think they accept other gods exist) and they believe that you should know about all types of magic.

Anyway, i'm sure other people will know more.

[fareeha]

I haven't worked much with Christian-based spells, although I have studied the subject to the nth degree. I know that Southern Italians and Sicilians who practice Benedicaria and Stregoneria are very much Christian and use magic and spells in everyday life, including love spells. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, as long as you're not forcing someone to love you. But influcing someone? Using divine help to get a certain person's attention? I don't think there's any harm in that. Everyone could use a little nudge now and then. :)

It's not so much that these people consider themselves Christian Witches but that they have been using this folk magic forever, and it is a way of life. They see no disparity between believing and and following The Lord, Jesus, and the Holy Mother, and practicing magic. (Personally, I don't either.) It is a tool given to us by the Divine.

I suggest that you go have a gander at this site: http://rueskitchen.com . It has a lot, and I mean a LOT, of information about traditional Italian folk magic, which is Christian-based and has been somewhat maligned by the likes of...well, we won't name names here. There's all kinds of goodies to poke through, including tons of spells.

Also look at this article in particular: http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/entry/italian_benedicaria/

Anyways, sorry about the novel. This topic just really sparked my interest.

[LordHelmet]

Wicca is generaly against mind control, because it is a matter of hurting another freedom by taking they're free will.

Christianity is generaly against hurting other people and I doubt talking away someones God given free will is an exception.

However a good love spell doesn't work this way. A love spell to cause someone to like you when they don't naturaly probably isn't gonna get much for results. Trying to create love where it doesn't exist with just a spell just isn't gonna happen.

Some love spells are designed to help you meet people who are right for you and help you hit it off with them. I call these Matchmaker spells. These spells can be very effective.

Some spells, or usualy exercises, enhance a relationship by dealing with bad influences and problams with it. Depending on how well you do this it can be very effective and helpful.

Some spells enhance your attractivness or how you're percieved by your affected audience. This is not mind control, it's a vanity spell.

Some spells enhance the psychic and emotional connection you share with another person. In fact good sex commonly works this magick without your knowing. This effect can be increased with tantric techniques and other sex techiniques like them.

All of these forms of sex magick should be entirely compatable with Wicca and I don't see any reason why christianity should have a problem with them.

[mtpathy]

i don't believe any kind of spell is inherently bad or negative
its the intent behind the caster that makes it so.
i practice left-hand,and have always practiced this ever since
i first found magick,but my intent behind using it is positive, and
because of this i found conjuring "negative" egregor from self
can help in discovering the path of bliss.
but if you asked the everyday person "pagan",about this they would
color left-hand as a practice to hurt others when thats just simply
not true.

[LordHelmet]

What's this 'Left Hand'?

[fareeha]

Some love spells are designed to help you meet people who are right for you and help you hit it off with them. I call these Matchmaker spells. These spells can be very effective.

Some spells, or usualy exercises, enhance a relationship by dealing with bad influences and problams with it. Depending on how well you do this it can be very effective and helpful.

Some spells enhance your attractivness or how you're percieved by your affected audience. This is not mind control, it's a vanity spell.

Some spells enhance the psychic and emotional connection you share with another person. In fact good sex commonly works this magick without your knowing. This effect can be increased with tantric techniques and other sex techiniques like them.

Ah, well said. I'm not too keen on the term "love spell". It has some negative connotations, whether real or imagined by me. I suppose what I posted before falls into one of these categories mentioned above. Thanks for defining this so well!

[gurlygurl2004]

What's this 'Left Hand'?

It's considered black magick. Usually paths such as chaos magick, Voodoo, etc.

[woodlandfairy]

It usually comes back to bite ya. I would want the persons love to be of free will, not conjured.

[David19]

It's considered black magick. Usually paths such as chaos magick, Voodoo, etc.

I'd just thought i'd say that Vodou isn't black magic, it's a religion, although i think magic is a part of it (not sure how big though), although i think i read on the www.religious tolerance.org page on Vodou that there are some practicioners who focus on the 'darkest' magic, while others focus on the most 'positive' and others are a mixture (which, while i'm not a Vodoun is probably what i'd describe myself as, since i don't think i could just use one 'type' of magic regardless of what religion i was).

[fareeha]

Hi David. Yeah, I was going to say the same thing about Vodou, but I didn't know how to make it sound not snarky.

There are a lot of priests (Houngans) and priestesses (Mambos) in Vodou who practice both types of magic, the benign and the not-so-benign. This is referred to simply as "serving with both hands" (if I remember correctly).

[David19]

Hi David. Yeah, I was going to say the same thing about Vodou, but I didn't know how to make it sound not snarky.

There are a lot of priests (Houngans) and priestesses (Mambos) in Vodou who practice both types of magic, the benign and the not-so-benign. This is referred to simply as "serving with both hands" (if I remember correctly).

Yeah, i think that's right, there's a class here on Mystic Wicks, and the teacher (Semicivilizedman) would probably know more about it :).

[mtpathy]

It's considered black magick. Usually paths such as chaos magick, Voodoo, etc.

All magick has a affect,just like if you throw a stone up it will come down.
wether your placing magick on your surroundings,on another person, or on
yourself.
That space thats being taken up is part of the whole, therfore it affects
those individuals that see that part of space as being of themselves.
Both hands "black & white" of magick create and manipulate.
Just because you choose to say that you do white magick,or magick that
you see as being constructive. dosen't mean that it's constructive for
everyone that takes up that space within the whole,Only that you didn't
see that woman get fired or get hurt and quite her job,when you cast
your "getting a job" spell,and you took her place.
Or that you didn't see that fight that ruined and ended the 5 year relationship
only that your "finding love" spell worked.
The only form of magick that i have ever personally found to be pure is when
one places magick on themselves with the intent of having a better life,or to
put themselves within a better situation.
This way the space your changing is of yourself,you do however still affect
the whole through the individuals that are within your surroundings,but ive
found this affect to be through your own actions and rections to them and
your surroundings,which is something that can be conciously changed by
you'r own force of will and intent.
There isn't "imo" a such thing as white magick,theres just magick done with
good intentions.

[Ninjakitten]

I don't think that any Christian spell that affects free will would work. Even Godde doesn't do that, even when someone asks Him/Her to. Why would He/She give that kind of power to a person? Now a spell that would draw love into your life is a different matter. I think that could work, but you may find that the person you "want" isn't a part of that. You may also find, though, that a side effect of such a general spell may also open your eyes to the reality of how much "love" the object of your affections would actually give you and drive you to make better decisions on who to go after (ie, the energies may actually help you find the right person, and it may not be the one you wanted affected by a spell).