I’ll admit that when it comes to magick, at this stage in my witchy game, I’m kind of a broken record. It’s not that I’m not open to new things…I sure as shit am and I’m always looking for something new to try…but I also know what I like, and I know what works for me.

I get asked a lot, “What’s a go-to spell that I know will work for me?” Well, I don’t know what will work for you; there are a lot of factors that play into magick that works. From the tools and ingredients, you use to your level of belief in your magick to how much you genuinely want what you’re working for, all of these things will make or break your magick. So a spell that I know for sure works for me may…or may not…work for you.

I like to say that it’s not the spell but the witch that makes the magick because the only tool needed for successful magick is you. Yes, I just called you a tool. You’re a massive, unmistakable, and necessary tool…of magick! ? gotcha!

 

So what is a “go-to” in magick?

This is a spell or ritual that you can shift and adjust to work with whatever needs you have at any given time. It should be something that you don’t have to overthink about something you don’t need to spend weeks writing, planning, or gathering supplies for. It should be something you feel confident with, something you can wake up that morning knowing you need to use and before the day is out, have a spell confidently completed (or at least in the process if you like longer work). Think of it as “your specialty” so to speak.

I’m going to share with you my go-to for everything, but I also wanted to give you some ideas of how you can work to find your own go-to since mine may not be for you.

 

1. What magick do you love?

This is important, you have to do what you love. Doing magick, you don’t enjoy or aren’t comfortable with, either because of something energetic or spiritual or simply because you don’t like to do the physical acts required, will never work for you. Even though you may hear others talk about how powerful they find blood magick to be, if you’re completely freaked out at the thought of doing anything with blood, it’s not going to be the magick for you. So start with what you like to do no matter what anyone’s outside judgment may be of it.

 

2. How much and what kind of effort do you like putting into your magick?

That might sound a little weird, so let me explain. When I say “how much effort” I’m talking more about how much time you want to spend working on a spell. Some people feel that the more time they have to work something, whether that’s spending hours on it in one sitting or working it over a period of days, they get more from the experience and have better results. Other people will find that intense, short bursts of highly focused energy works better for them. And with the “kind of effort,” we’re talking about the actions you’ll take. Do you prefer to spend hours in meditation or hours crafting the perfect handmade from scratch blend of oil and incense to use in your spell?

 

3. What tools do you usually have on hand or can get quickly on short notice?

This is something that I find with newer witches I work with get really stuck on. You might find a great sounding spell that requires a specific type of herb or candle that you think will be great in a spell you want to do but the only way to get it is to order it online, and it is only gathered or crafted when someone orders it. That means you’ll possibly have to wait a few weeks or even longer to get your supplies. Obviously not ideal, but if you know you want this to be part of your go-to, you’ll just need to stock up and have it on hand. So start with overall, what do you keep handy or can get quickly?

 

These three things are indeed the core of figuring out your go-to magick. Remember that the key is for this to be something you can use for anything. You want to have a basic structure that you can then plug in the specifics like herbs, candle colors, and more importantly, your intention.

 

My go-to is candle magick, but one particular kind of candle spell. A sigil candle.

This is basically sigil magick but using a candle as the tool for activation rather than firing a sigil or doing a lot of the other types of activation work that many people like to use. I create the sigil, carve it into a candle, dress the candle, work the energetic and intention portion of the spell, light it, and away it goes.

My process is something like this…

• Determine the need/goal/intention.
• Create a sigil based on that intention.
• Add the sigil to my Book of Shadows. I keep my sigils for reference, and on a rare occasion, I will reuse a sigil in a spell, which usually means I’m doing a candle spell like this again.
• I pick a candle color that’s right for the intention.
• Carve said sigil into said cleanse candle.
• Pick incense, oils, and herbs that are right for the intention. If I’m using loose incense, I’ll sometimes just use the incense in place of the herbs for dressing.
• Anoint the candle with oil.
• Roll the candle in herbs and pack herbs into the carving.
• Light incense and bless candle in the incense.
• Place in a holder and charge with energy (I’m partial to using chi balls and the like for this).
• Light the candle.
• Use any chants, invocations, mantras, and meditations needed/desired for the spell.
• Set it and forget it…well, to a point since I don’t want to burn down the house, but you get the picture.

 

The last part, for me, is the critical part. If I don’t just let the magick go, I’ll sit here and always look over my shoulder all day at my altar and watch my candle. But at the same time, I still check in on it from time to time because I want to look for any possible signs of how the magick is going based on how the candle burns.

But this is my go to. This is what I do any time I need to do magick and I need to it be something that I can just take out, work up, cast, and be sure will do the trick for me. Without fail, this works for me, sometimes within a matter a day or two and other times things just need more time. But I know that any time I work this spell, it’s going to do what I need. (Note I didn’t say what I “want”…that’s a whole other cauldron of mugwort to unpack another day.)

 

Now it’s time for you to find your go-to! What magick do you love and what is your go-to? Do you have one, or is it time for you to create one?