It’s time to bring all the projects of the past 8 days together.

The altar cloth, altar tile, apple candle holders, pumpkin incense burner, black mirror, clay scorpion, pomegranate juice and oatmeal cookies. Whew, that’s a full altar!

Of course you can set up your altar anyway you like. Here’s how mine came out, with the addition of 2 carved pumpkins. I so wish they had shown up more clearly in the photo; on the right is the sun with swirling rays, on the left is an archangel which is hard to see in daylight but can be discerned much better at night.

Everyone has different methods of preparing for a ritual, casting a circle, calling deities and entities so I will leave that to yourselves and focus on the core of the ritual beginning with the basics of mirror work, moving to types of working and finally ending with the ritual core itself.

I would like to suggest that if you are planning to contact the spirit world or do any traveling, you invoke the assistance of the guardian of your choice.

Basics

The basics of mirror work are the same regardless of the specific type of working (see below) you choose to do.

  • Above all, relax. Focus, but don’t concentrate, this isn’t calculus ;)
  • Look into the center of the mirror, beyond its surface.
  • Do not allow your eyesight to go fuzzy, like it does when you cross your eyes.
  • Do not force the visions. This will lead to false illusions born from what you want to see rather than what needs to be shown to you.
  • One of the first things you will probably notice is the room around you becoming dimmer without your attention.
  • Images will come subtly and gently. The mirror may become cloudy or smokey beforehand.
  • Open yourself to the images and pay close attention to them. Notice details. Sudden smells, sounds and/or tactile sensations are not unheard of. Emotional responses may also be evoked.

Types of Workings

Scrying is asking a question about a particular event, circumstance or individual, present or future, then being open to receiving the answer. The answer will come as an image, still or perhaps moving like an old silent movie. It may be symbolic in nature and should be interpretted y you rather than a book or another person.

Spirit World Contact
Ancestors Many of us have only a vague knowledge of our family tree higher than our parents or grandparents. If you would like to meet your ancestors and perhaps commune with them, begin by hearing your heartbeat as a drum sounding rhythmically in your ears. Feel it pumping blood through your body, the blood you inherited from your ancestors. This could even become a simple chant to help focus attention:

“Your blood is my blood, through blood we are connected.”

In the mirror, see your own face begin to morph into that of your parent of the same gender. Then into the face of your grandparent and so on. The age may fluctuate but will never be far from your own.

Deceased Samhain is said to be the night on which the dead are most accesible to the living. If someone you knew has passed over and you wish to contact them, have an item, photo or symbol that connects them to you on the altar. Focus your thoughts on them, remember your time together and softly call their name. Images may appear in the mirror on their own or your own face may seem to morph.

Spellwork on sabbats seems to have been shunted to the side as of late, especially for solitaries, but magic and Samhain are a natural fit. The energy of Samhain and of the Scorpio Sun are in harmony with ridding ourselves of outmoded behavior, relationships, ideas, etc.

If it is your desire to do so, create a symbol or sigil representing the thing you wish to be rid of. Ignite the representation in the flame of the black votive and allow it to burn in front of the mirror.1 As it burns, watch the flames, seeing the thing disappear just as its representation is doing. Say:

As this burns and smokes away,
I release its hold and sway.
Banishing it from mind and heart
to give myself a fresh new start.
From this moment, I am free.
As I Will, so mote it be.2

Traveling/Trancework is a state in which awareness is extended beyond the material world which leaves us free to perceive and travel to other realms/worlds. Before beginning, decide where you want to go and for what purpose.

Enter a meditative state, feeling your heartbeat slow and your breathing become deep and filling. Allow the flame in the mirror to almost hypnotize you. Images may rise and fall, let them do so until you feel yourself disconnect3. Let the realm/world fill in around you, travel where you intended, do what you intended to do.

It may help to listen to rhythmic music without words, like chanting or drumming. Personally, I like to tell myself a story appropriate to where I am trying to go; on Samhain I might retell myself the myth of the Descent of the Goddess. At some point during the story, the imagined surroundings become real and I get a sensation like I am floating. It sounds weird, I know. I’ve tried to explain how it works and what it feels like to my husband and have seen his face. All I know is, it works for me.

Ritual Core

Once the type of working has been decided upon, sit comfortably before the altar in such a way that your face is reflected in the mirror. Light the black votive candle, place it in the center of the pentagram in front of the mirror. The candle being black, only the flame will be reflected.

Wave smoke from the smoldering incense over the surface of the mirror and direct the mirror to its purpose:

Reflecting surface bring me visions
from afar with these provisions
that I should see just what I should
that everything is understood.
Do now what I ask of thee,
As I Will, so mote it be4

Holding the clay scorpion in your hand, begin to relax and direct your thoughts toward your purpose. Mindlessly work the clay as you allow images to come.

The clay, with its salt and wheat, is a grounding earth energy that will help maintain a thin connection to the material world, which is helpful when traveling or contacting the spirit world lest you be “swept away” so to speak. You may also be surprised at the shape or form that appears in your hand. On a less metaphysical and more practical note, working the clay creates a release point for the twitchy urge many of us are overwhelmed by when attempting to sit still.

When your questions have been answered, your spell work completed, you have met who you sought or traveled well, feel the clay in your hand and bring your awareness back to your physical body. Make an offering of cakes and wine (ok, juice).

Extinguish the votive and close the ritual circle as you normally would.

If the working of the clay resulted in a form you wish to preserve and you used the recipe for clay rather than dough, you may choose to bake it at 250 degrees for 45-60 minutes depending on thickness.

The black mirror may be stored for future use wrapped in a black cloth or if you painted the glass using acrylic paints it can be returned to picture frame status by washing off the paint in warm, soapy water. A bit of scraping may be necessary, but nothing arduous.

1 Burn in a fire proof container, an ashtray is fine and have water handy just in case.
2 Adapted from Dorothy Morrison
3 This may feel like slipping, falling, floating, flying or like the feeling of being pushed forward. Whatever the feeling, it is just shy of physical.
4 Adapted from Dorothy Morrison