Before you proceed:
In my framework of magical thinking, the magician is part of an ecosystem of spirits.
Within this system, the magician seeks to establish meaningful connections grounded in mutual trust, respect, curiosity, and playfulness.
In the following ritual, you will put your shadow into an egg. Once hatched, the egg will contain an oracle that will guide you forward.
The ritual
Part I: the shadow
On an evening where you feel particularly moody and grim, take pen and paper and start journaling in a notebook. Make sure not to write on the back of the page(s). You may go back to your teenage years. What are your biggest regrets? Are there any moments of shame? Or maybe guilt? What about recent years? What has led to your current mood? Don't censor yourself. Write down things you haven't written down in a while. When you feel ready, rip out the page(s) with a certain force. Make sure you see the jagged edge (the "teeth") of the ripped-out page.
Next, fill a bowl of water and place the bowl on your altar or in the place you do your magical work. Rip the pages into pieces the size of finger bones and let them fall into the water. You will see that the pieces float. Gently dip your shadow thoughts in the water. Bathe them. Gently. You may add petals of a flower (I used a yellow tulip). Leave the mixture on your altar for a few days. Stir occasionally with a wand.
Part II (a few days later): the egg
If you are lucky enough to have sunlight falling into your room touching the bowl, you will know when it is time. For me it happened three days later. Gather a piece of string and (optionally) some long sticks (I used bamboo, but branches should be fine). Take the straps of paper and flower petals and gently press them between your palms into a ball the size of an eye-ball. Make sure no pieces of paper or petals are left behind in the water. Now tie the ball together with a string (see photo for reference). Optional: you can also craft a mobile (see second photo) to give more stability. The idea is that the "egg/eye-ball" will hang in the wind/sun for a few weeks until it becomes solid like a stone. The additional elements in the reference photo are made out of the dried peel of a grapefruit.
Part III (a few weeks later): the oracle
In the last part of the ritual, you will "peel" the egg. Make yourself comfortable: burn some myrrh, put on music, gather some ingredients/spices/herbs that are dear to you. I picked a piece of dried flax, more flower petals, a small jar with melted snow, grave dirt from my grand parents, a piece of a broken sculpture of a deer, ashes of a burnt sigil, cinamon. Put those ingredients aside for now.
Take 4 pebbles or clear/rose crystals and form a diamond: North, East, South, West. Inside this clear surface, peel the egg. You will need to press your thumb(s) into it and pull it open the way you could open an artichok or a fig. Raise your awareness and select 4 pieces of paper that have drawn your attention. Those pieces will not be bigger than a finger nail, and contain syllables, letters, or parts of words. Once you picked 4 pieces, place them one by one near one of the crystals. Inside your work space, leave the rest of the "egg", and add your ingredients the way you would bake bread. Sprinkle cinnamon, grave dirt, blessed water or whatever substance or ingredient you selected. This may get messy. (see the reference drawing for how this could/should look like).
Meanwhile, read the syllables/words/letters out loud and let them coil like a serpent, like an enchantment, between gibberish and mantra, until sentences start to configure. Learn them by heart, say them, whisper them, repeat them, write them down. Decrypt the signal. Be the archaeologist of your own soul. If needed, you can rearrange the pieces, if you feel like South needs to be East. The ingredients are meant to inspire & enhance your senses and intuition.
When all of a sudden you feel like you "have it", write down the full oracle. Read it a few times out loud.
When it feels right, you will have goosebumps, shiver, smile or receive another bodily signal.
Clean up the mess from your altar, put your crystals and ingredients away.
Now it is time to light a candle, read the oracle one last time, thank the gods/spirits you work with and glow in silence.
You have transformed your shadow into a ray of light that will guide you forward.
The notebook scraps (fragments of shadow):
North: (alil) mage to geth possessions I money as
East: (te) self le to give
South: (ty) any own xept
West: rgive n ant
The oracle (light):
(N) "Little mage,
to get possessions
(such as money)
(E) let go of the Self
(S) and you'll own
scepter &
(W) (her) given hand."
In my framework of magical thinking, the magician is part of an ecosystem of spirits.
Within this system, the magician seeks to establish meaningful connections grounded in mutual trust, respect, curiosity, and playfulness.
In the following ritual, you will put your shadow into an egg. Once hatched, the egg will contain an oracle that will guide you forward.
The ritual
Part I: the shadow
On an evening where you feel particularly moody and grim, take pen and paper and start journaling in a notebook. Make sure not to write on the back of the page(s). You may go back to your teenage years. What are your biggest regrets? Are there any moments of shame? Or maybe guilt? What about recent years? What has led to your current mood? Don't censor yourself. Write down things you haven't written down in a while. When you feel ready, rip out the page(s) with a certain force. Make sure you see the jagged edge (the "teeth") of the ripped-out page.
Next, fill a bowl of water and place the bowl on your altar or in the place you do your magical work. Rip the pages into pieces the size of finger bones and let them fall into the water. You will see that the pieces float. Gently dip your shadow thoughts in the water. Bathe them. Gently. You may add petals of a flower (I used a yellow tulip). Leave the mixture on your altar for a few days. Stir occasionally with a wand.
Part II (a few days later): the egg
If you are lucky enough to have sunlight falling into your room touching the bowl, you will know when it is time. For me it happened three days later. Gather a piece of string and (optionally) some long sticks (I used bamboo, but branches should be fine). Take the straps of paper and flower petals and gently press them between your palms into a ball the size of an eye-ball. Make sure no pieces of paper or petals are left behind in the water. Now tie the ball together with a string (see photo for reference). Optional: you can also craft a mobile (see second photo) to give more stability. The idea is that the "egg/eye-ball" will hang in the wind/sun for a few weeks until it becomes solid like a stone. The additional elements in the reference photo are made out of the dried peel of a grapefruit.
Part III (a few weeks later): the oracle
In the last part of the ritual, you will "peel" the egg. Make yourself comfortable: burn some myrrh, put on music, gather some ingredients/spices/herbs that are dear to you. I picked a piece of dried flax, more flower petals, a small jar with melted snow, grave dirt from my grand parents, a piece of a broken sculpture of a deer, ashes of a burnt sigil, cinamon. Put those ingredients aside for now.
Take 4 pebbles or clear/rose crystals and form a diamond: North, East, South, West. Inside this clear surface, peel the egg. You will need to press your thumb(s) into it and pull it open the way you could open an artichok or a fig. Raise your awareness and select 4 pieces of paper that have drawn your attention. Those pieces will not be bigger than a finger nail, and contain syllables, letters, or parts of words. Once you picked 4 pieces, place them one by one near one of the crystals. Inside your work space, leave the rest of the "egg", and add your ingredients the way you would bake bread. Sprinkle cinnamon, grave dirt, blessed water or whatever substance or ingredient you selected. This may get messy. (see the reference drawing for how this could/should look like).
Meanwhile, read the syllables/words/letters out loud and let them coil like a serpent, like an enchantment, between gibberish and mantra, until sentences start to configure. Learn them by heart, say them, whisper them, repeat them, write them down. Decrypt the signal. Be the archaeologist of your own soul. If needed, you can rearrange the pieces, if you feel like South needs to be East. The ingredients are meant to inspire & enhance your senses and intuition.
When all of a sudden you feel like you "have it", write down the full oracle. Read it a few times out loud.
When it feels right, you will have goosebumps, shiver, smile or receive another bodily signal.
Clean up the mess from your altar, put your crystals and ingredients away.
Now it is time to light a candle, read the oracle one last time, thank the gods/spirits you work with and glow in silence.
You have transformed your shadow into a ray of light that will guide you forward.
The notebook scraps (fragments of shadow):
North: (alil) mage to geth possessions I money as
East: (te) self le to give
South: (ty) any own xept
West: rgive n ant
The oracle (light):
(N) "Little mage,
to get possessions
(such as money)
(E) let go of the Self
(S) and you'll own
scepter &
(W) (her) given hand."