You thought you found the perfect spell.  It seemed to sum up exactly what you wanted to accomplish.  You followed it to the letter and thought you did everything right ... but nothing happened ... or worse yet ... it backfired and your situation is even worse now.  What went wrong? Did you use the wrong words, light the wrong color candle or was it just a bad day to cast a spell?  The answer may be - NONE OF THE ABOVE! 

We often receive email from readers who are afraid to even attempt a spell.  One reader recently wrote "Even after reading books on Wicca, I still hesitate to do a simple spell or ritual for fear I could do something horribly wrong without realizing it."  Another wrote "I don't want to hurt anyone, and am afraid to just experiment with spells on my own." Below are a few tips that should help ease these fears and increase the success level of any spell you do.

Most people put a great deal of importance on the words used in a spell.  However, with so many different languages and all the ways we have to express ourselves, would the Divine truly be concerned with the specific wording used?  Is there really a need to speak the exact same words that someone else did?  A successful spell is actually based less on the words we write or speak, and more on the thoughts and feelings that those words generate.  When words inspire intense feelings within us, they become very powerful.  Whether we are casting a spell, or just quietly asking for assistance, how we FEEL when we send our thoughts forth can greatly influence the results.  It's important to use words that help us visualize what we want and how we will feel when we've experienced the outcome.  The stronger our feelings are and the more often we send them out, the greater and faster the response is likely to be.  This reaction is also referred to as the Law of Three and/or the Law of Attraction. 

Unfortunately, this Law of Attraction can also work against us. For example, according to the bestselling book The Secret, if we just ask for more money or better health, we are actually saying to the Universe, "I am broke" or "I am not well" and I don't have what I want or need."  Instead of hearing our verbal request for what we want, the Universe is tuned in to our feelings, which in these examples could result in even MORE lack or challenges being drawn into our life! 

To avoid this we should make sure we are visualizing and feeling what it's like to already HAVE what we are asking for.  Most spiritual paths teach that whatever we ask for, if we truly believe it's possible and can experience the feeling of already having it, we WILL receive it.  If we want to improve our finances, health or relationships, we can best accomplish this by sending thoughts and feelings of thanks to the Universe for what it is helping us achieve.  We can rest assured the Divine is reading our feelings and the Universe is hard at work drawing these things to us! 

Below are a few other positive tips we received from our readers:

~I have found that when I do protection spells for those I feel passionate about, they tend to just keep going indefinitely.  Others only last for a few minutes, probably because I didn't have any deep feelings about it one way or the other.  (This is a good example of how much your feelings can influence a spell.)

~Visualization helps a lot.  If you can clearly see the outcome you want, it infuses the spell with your passion and lends a direction, sort of like following a map.  (This sends a clear picture to the Universe too!)

~ It's a good idea to always include the phrase "may this spell harm none and the end be for the highest good of all concerned.