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The Basics of Tools and Rituals
powers that go unused. My work complete and the circle closed. So
let it be.
As well as the elements there are other powers that can be invited to lend
their power to the circle. The four dragons – one for each of the elements
–
are thought by many to be too powerful to work with. And even
those who do ask them to attend magic making only do so when they
are making powerful magic.
Wiccans usually only summon the four dragons if there is a
handfasting or an initiation into a coven to be done. Or perhaps if a
major issue with serious implications for all members is being discussed.
And when they do summon them, the dragons are treated with
enormous respect.
The Guardians of the Watchtowers can also be summoned. Again there
is one for each element. Their purpose is to guard the elemental forces of
each direction and as such they have tremendous power in themselves.
Again they should only be summoned for very special occasions and
when they are called upon, the circle that is cast must be inside a square
so that each Watchtower has its own corner to sit on.
Wiccans often ask the Guardians to attend initiation ceremonies. Doing
so gives the novice a huge advantage. From then on the Guardians will
be aware of who the new Wiccan is. They will watch over and protect
him or her and if that person summons them in the future they will be
quicker to answer the call than they would from someone unknown to
them.
There are also many deities who can be called upon to assist in magic
making. Many spell weavers believe in only one god and do their magic
in his or her name exclusively. Others call upon the power of many
deities, using the name of one or other of them in their incantations.
There are Celtic gods such as Sucellus, the god of agriculture and Gaulish
ones such as Rosemerta, the goddess of fertility. The Irish pantheon
includes Brigit, the goddess of healing, and the Welsh one Branwen,
the goddess of love and beauty and the equivalent of the better-
known Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Roman deity Venus.
These latter two are among the most famous of their respective
pantheons and are among the most popular deities in whose name magic
is done.
Egypt, as befits the land where spell casting was probably first practised,
has an impressive list of gods and goddesses who are still believed by
many to lend themselves to 21st-century spell weaving. They include
Amun, the supreme god and Anubis who weighed the souls of the dead
in a balance, against a feather. If the soul was heavier than the feather,
the dead person’s evil deeds in life banished him to eternal damnation!
Norse gods include Skadi, the goddess of death and hunting and Ostara,
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