In our angel message for today we had received the card God Box from Doreen Virtue’s Angel Therapy Oracle deck.  In it we talked about creating a vessel for giving up your needs, worries and prayers to the Divine.  I have used this method for the last few years and put together a wonderful Goddess Box and have since created a method of making one.  Here is for you to use as well to create your own Goddess or God Box for the use of working along side the Divine in working to release things that are no longer serving your highest good and for working to bring those things that you most desire into your life.

For centuries in various cultures the use of prayer boxes, often in the form of jewelry, has become an honored tradition.  The use of community prayer boxes is a well known tradition in the Catholic and Christian faith where people of a congregation are able to write out their need for prayer and add it to a box which either a few individuals or a whole prayer circle will work on for those in need.  We can create a variation of the prayer box to fit our needs, either as individuals or for covens or circles.  You can call it a prayer box, petition box, or as I’ve always called it, a Goddess box.  It depends on a few variations of how you craft it and your intentions when crafting it.  As I share this process with you, if you decide to work with this, make the changes that you feel you need to for your own beliefs and traditions.  I will be addressing this from the perspective of working specifically with the Goddess, so if you wish to work more with the God or just the Universal energy, you can make those changes.

 

A Goddess box is a physical box, one crafted with intent, designed to be a place to drop written prayer petitions.  Petition magick, as we’ve talked about previously, is a wonderful way to work simple spells of intention, and the Goddess box becomes an aid to petition magick, as you’ll see through the process.  So we’re going to start with talking about crafting a Goddess box.

 

You’ll need a few items to get your started:

• A plain wooden craft box.  These are available at arts and crafts stores all over or you can use an old cigar box, an old jewelry box, or anything of the sort.  We’re going to be completely changing it’s appearance so be sure that whatever it is you wont mind stripping it down, painting it, etc.
• Paints, markers, and related supplies.  We’ll talk about colors in a moment.
• Stickers, stamps and craft paper.
• A piece of parchment or other paper.  Pick something that you find visually appealing but something that you will be able to write on where the writing will stand out.
• A small sachet of offering herbs.  We’ll talk about this in a moment.
• An image of a Goddess.  If you’re working with a God, than an image of whatever God  you wish, or other spirit or entity that you wish to call on to work with you.  This can be an animal spirit guide that you pray and meditate with, or even an otherworld entity that you work with in this way.  The idea here is that whomever you dedicate this box to is someone that you have worked with before, either in prayer, meditation or magick, who you are completely comfortable in going to with requests for help and aid.
• A stone or crystal.  Again, we’ll talk about that in a moment.
• A small stack of slips of parchment or other paper and a pen.

 

First let’s talk about our intentions.  The purpose of this box is to create a place to hand over certain problems, cares and needs to either a specific Goddess, God or spirit ally that you are confident and comfortable in working with through prayer, meditation and petition work.  What you’ll be doing with your box is writing down your needs and placing the slip of paper within, along with speaking words of prayer and offering, to your chosen deity or spirit, asking them to help you find a way to resolve your problem.   What we’re doing here is asking for a door to be open, a way to be shown, and in a sense laying our problem in the lap of the Goddess and asking for her guidance in gaining a solution that may be eluding us.

 

Keep this in mind while crafting your box and also keep it in mind when deciding who, if anyone specific, you wish to dedicate your box to.  Consider this intention when picking out your colors and images for the box as well as when picking out the stones and herbs for the small offerings that we’ll be keeping within the box.

 

Creating an offering sachet – This is a simple step in the process of making the box and one you can either do first or last, it’s up to you.  Gather together either a white spell bag or a small swatch of white cloth and white string or ribbon for tying it close.  Pick two or three herbs that you can place inside that are used for offerings or that have the properties of thanksgiving.  A few suggestions include tobacco, blue corn, desert or white sage, copal, cedar, or lavender.  If you’re going to be working with a specific deity or entity that you know prefers something specific, then use that in your bag.

Fill the bag with the herbs and tie it closed.  Hold it in your hands for a few moments, directing white light and your intentions of blessings and thanksgiving into the bag.  When you feel that the bag is full with energy, you can set it aside.  It will be going into the box when it is completed so keep it in a safe place in the meantime, like your altar.

 

Picking stones–  Again, keeping in mind your intentions and the purpose of the box, we want to pick a stone to keep inside that is associated with something such as prayer, meditation or even directly problem solving.  The way that I personally work with the stone is that I place it on top of the petition slip when I place it inside the box.  You can do this if you feel so drawn to, or you can just leave the stone in the box as an aid to the work being done.  A few suggestions for stones to use include quartz (clear or rose), danburite, fluorite, amethyst, or lapis lazuli.  Take your time in picking a stone and really decide what energy you want the stone to add to the box.  For example with the lapis you can call on its properties of truth and awareness to aid you in seeing the truth in a situation and clearing seeing the solution, where as you can use the powers of transformation and intuition held in danburite to help your prayer needs.

Once you have picked out a stone and acquired it, properly cleanse and charge it with your specific intention and then place it on your altar with your sachet until it is time to add it to your box.

 

Crafting the box – This is the part where you get to really be creative.  You do not need to be a great artist to do this; this is part of why we have stickers and printed images to help us.  If your box you’re working with is something that is going to be recycled from a previous incarnation, take the time to do any stripping of paint or finish that you may need to.  Some things you can paint right over, but if you have something that has a shiny or varnished finish, you’ll need to strip it first otherwise your paint will either not hold at all or will chip quite easily.

Take some time to pick out colors that either reflect on you or your ally you’ll be dedicating the box to.  You can use colors appropriate to specific deities, use the colors of the elements, or just use some off your personal power colors.  Paint the box in whatever way you personally desire.  There is no right or wrong way to do this, so be creative.  Paint the inside as well, either using a solid color or do something that you might find personally magickal and empowering, like painting sigils and symbols inside it to protect and empower your work.

Allow the pain to dry overnight before moving on to adding any stickers, paper or printed images.  Depending on the type of paint and the surface of the box you may wish to add extra glue to stickers since the adhesive may not hold.  Add a picture of your chosen deity or ally to the top of the box and embellish as you see fit.  A written dedication will be going on the inside of the box top, so you don’t need to add anything like that on the outside unless you wish to.

When you are done, set the box aside and again give it at least overnight to ensure all glues and adhesives have dried.

 

Writing your dedication – On a piece of parchment paper, in your own handwriting, you are going to create a dedication that will be placed on the inside cover of the box.  This can be a prayer, chant or blessing that you will recite each time you place something in the box.    The following is a modification of what I have inside my Goddess box.  You will want to modify this to fit your specific box.  Write out your drafts and get your wording as you want it on notebook paper first and when you have settled on what you wish to say, write it on a piece of parchment cut to fit the inside lid of your box.

I dedicate this, my Goddess box, to the Lady of love, mercy and healing.  Whatever I place inside this box I place at the feet of the Goddess.  I ask the Goddess to nurture my needs and take care of me in my time of struggle.  Within this box I place my hopes and fears, my dreams and anxieties.  When I close the lid I know that they are now in the hands of the Goddess and she will guide me and show me what to do next.  With this box I put trust in my inner knowing and in the Goddess.  With this box, I foster a connection to the Goddess within and without.  So mote it be!

Once the paper is dry, do any additional decorative steps you wish with it (e.g. aging the edges) and then firmly glue into the lid of the box.

 

Dedicate your box – For this next step you may wish to wait for the full moon or you can do it any time you wish.  Gather together your box, slips of parchment and pen (these items will be kept inside the box at all times for easy and quick access), your crystal and your sachet.  Bring them into sacred space and lay them out on your altar or work space.  If there is a specific deity that you will dedicate the box to, evoke them into your space letting them know you are dedicating this special magickal prayer object to them and you wish for their blessings up it.  You may wish to smudge the box with sage or cleanse it with all the elements and present it to the four directions as well to ask for their blessings as well.

Once you have presented the box to the deity/ally it may be dedicated to, or to the archetypal God/Goddess aspect, add your sachet, presenting it as well with words of intention, and then add the stone, again with words of intention.  Add in your paper slips and pen.

 

Where to keep your box – You can keep your box anywhere that you wish, but try for a place where it will be out of reach of children and pets and where it will also be out of reach or sight from prying hands and eyes.  This can be a great items for those of you that may need to keep your items somewhat hidden because of issues with family or roommates and it can easily blend in with other trinkets, decorations or jewelry boxes depending on how you have chosen to adorn it.  You can always just keep it on a corner of your altar if you wish.

 

Working with your box – If you have a specific need right now, take a slip of paper and write it out.  Hold it in your hands, sending your intentions, desires, hopes and worries into the paper.  Recite your dedication/prayer for help to your ally.  Place the paper in the box and then pick up your sachet.  Hold it for a moment and draw on some of the energy of offering and thanks from it and then direct that energy to your ally, then return the sachet to the box.  Close the box and leave it in it’s special place.

Once a solution to your need has been found, or things have worked themselves out, say a thank you to your ally and either send energy from your offering sachet again or leave another appropriate offering on your altar or at the box.  Take your slip of paper from the box and, using a fire-proof container or cauldron, again say thank you, solidifying that your ally helped you and that you are thankful, and light the paper.  Toss it into the container, allow it to burn down to ash, and then toss to the winds knowing that your problem is solved, resolved and gone from you.

 

Maintenance of the box – This box will become a living magickal tool for you if you use it regularly.  You will want to recleanse and recharge the crystal periodically and you’ll also want to replace the herbs from time to time as well.  When you do this, allow this to also be a time to change these items as well.  If you want to try a different stone, do it then or use different herbs in your sachet.  Listen to your intuition or even ask your God/Goddess/spirit ally what they would like.

This is a wonderful and simple tool to work with and one that you can really personalize to express your love of your specific patron deities or your closest of magickal allies.  Make it more than just a place to put your problems, but an expression of your dedication to your path and the change that you desire to see in your life when you work with it.

Here are a few pictures of my own box from when it was originally crafted several years ago.