Scott Cunningham Quotes

We are not on this planet to ask forgiveness of our deities

Magic is natural. It is a harmonious movement of energies to create needed change. If you wish to practice magic, all thoughts of it being paranormal or supernatural must be forgotten.

In truly understanding the Goddess and God, one comes to understand life, for the two are inextricably entwined. Live your earthly life fully, but try to see the spiritual aspects of your activities as well. Remember—the physical and spiritual are but reflections of each other.

Wicca's temples are flowered-splashed meadows, forest, beaches, and deserts.

That perhaps is at the core of Wicca--it is a joyous union with nature. The earth is a manifestation of divine energy. Wicca's temples are flower-splashed meadows, forests, beaches, and deserts. When a Wicca is outdoors, she or he is actually surrounded by sanctity, much as is a Christian when entering a church or cathedral.

birch twigs, and a willow binding. The ash is protective, the birch is purifying, and the willow is sacred to the Goddesss. Of

Magical visualization is actually positive imagining.

Earth is our mother. It’s as fertile and nurturing as farmland; as moist as soil and as dry as sand. In its physical manifestations (such as stones), earth represents the densest of the elements.

Magic isn't the empty parroting of words and actions; it is an involved, emotionally charged experience in which the words and actions are used as focal points or keys to unlock the power that we all possess.

Personal power is raised (through tightening the muscles), focused with a goal (through visualization), and released to bring that goal into manifestation.

The Wiccan ideal of morality is simple: do what you want, as long as you harm none.

If you’re consciously psychic at will, you won’t need divination.

Weeds can be good friends; they're just herbs with different names.

Chaos will always have its day.

Eggs, like our politics and morals, now come prepackaged.

Every chain letter is a veiled psychic attack—Scott Cunningham

Yellow is an excellent color for those involved with divination. Purple is favored for those who work with pure divine power (magicians) or who wish to deepen their spiritual awareness of the Goddess and God. Blue is suited for healers and those who work with their psychic awareness or for attuning with the Goddess in her oceanic aspect.

Destroy not life save it be to preserve your own.

We cannot and must not give love to others before we have respect and love for ourselves. Except out of compassion or pity, who would love us if we don’t even like ourselves?

Rousing, Programming, Releasing, and Directing Energy[.] This is the heart of magic.

Magic doesn’t produce miracles; it produces needed changes.

Magic is, in a sense, true individualism, for it allows us as individuals to take control of our lives and work to improve them.

The practice of magic is not evil or destructive–-Witches and folk magicians, through timeless rituals, are only drawing upon natural energies found within the earth and our bodies to create positive, life-affirming change.

Kielteisen magian harjoittajaa uhkaavat monet vaarat. Magia saattaa hyvinkin toimia, mutta edessä olevan rangaistuksen ankaruus kumoaa saavutetun hyödyn vääjäämättä. Yksi magian periaatteista on se, että sen harjoittaja saa aina takaisin samaa mitä on itse antanut. --- Kielteisen magian harjoittaja saa vastaansa pelkkää kielteisyyttä, joka lopulta tuhoaa hänet.

Gregg Cunningham once said, “There are more people working full-time to kill babies than there are working full-time to save them. That’s because killing babies is very profitable while saving them is very costly. So costly, that large numbers of Americans who say they oppose abortion are not lifting a finger to stop it. And those that do lift a finger to stop it do just enough to salve the conscience but not enough to stop the killing.”8

The basis of herb magic—and all magic—is the power. This power has worn many names and forms through the centuries; at times even its existence was kept secret; at others it was common knowledge. The power is that which generated and maintains the universe. It is the power that germinates seeds, raises winds, and spins our planet. It is the energy behind birth, life, and death. Everything in the universe was created by it, contains a bit of it, and is answerable to it.

to be happy This requires a round mirror and a photograph of yourself taken in happier times. The photograph should include no one but yourself. Prop the mirror so that it stands straight on its edge. Next, place the picture on a nearby table, the wall, a chair, or on some other object. The picture should be reflected within the mirror. Allow the mirror to reflect the photograph for at least three minutes. During this time, recall those happier days. Immerse yourself in them. Don’t allow your concentration to waver and melt into a sea of tears concerning your current state; keep your mind firmly fixed on those happier days. Now, sit within the mirror’s reflection, i.e., between the mirror and the picture. Stay there until your sadness truly blossoms into happiness. Repeat as needed.

Preparing a Mirror for Magic It’s best to perform some type of short ritual before using any mirror for magical purposes. Since mirrors are ruled by the element of water, we’ll use water to purify them. The process is simple. Do this ritual at night. You’ll need a vessel of some kind that’s larger than the mirror (a bucket, a large bowl, a bathtub, even a pond, river, or the ocean). Dip the mirror into the water. As you do this, say: What was here . . . Lift the mirror from the water. Say: I wash away. Do this thirteen times, each time completely submersing the mirror, then completely removing it from the water. If the moon is visible in the sky, hold the mirror up to receive its rays for a few moments. Dry the mirror. Holding it in your hands, say these or similar words: You are now a tool of magic. Assist me in my rites! Next, wrap the mirror in blue or white cloth and store in some special place until you have need of it.

Red: Maintaining health, bodily strength, physical energy, sex, passion, courage, protection, and defensive magic. This is the color of the element of fire. Throughout the world, red is associated with life and death, for this is the color of blood spilled in both childbirth and injury. Pink: Love, friendship, compassion, relaxation. Pink candles can be burned during rituals designed to improve self-love. They’re ideal for weddings and for all forms of emotional union. Orange: Attraction, energy. Burn to attract specific influences or objects. Yellow: Intellect, confidence, divination, communication, eloquence, travel, movement. Yellow is the color of the element of air. Burn yellow candles during rituals designed to heighten your visualization abilities. Before studying for any purpose, program a yellow candle to stimulate your conscious mind. Light the candle and let it burn while you study. Green: Money, prosperity, employment, fertility, healing, growth. Green is the color of the element of earth. It’s also the color of the fertility of the earth, for it echoes the tint of chlorophyll. Burn when looking for a job or seeking a needed raise. Blue: Healing, peace, psychism, patience, happiness. Blue is the color of the element of water. This is also the realm of the ocean and of all water, of sleep, and of twilight. If you have trouble sleeping, charge a small blue candle with a visualization of yourself sleeping through the night. Burn for a few moments before you get into bed, then extinguish its flame. Blue candles can also be charged and burned to awaken the psychic mind. Purple: Power, healing severe diseases, spirituality, meditation, religion. Purple candles can be burned to enhance all spiritual activities, to increase your magical power, and as a part of intense healing rituals in combination with blue candles. White: Protection, purification, all purposes. White contains all colors. It’s linked with the moon. White candles are specifically burned during purification and protection rituals. If you’re to keep but one candle on hand for magical purposes, choose a white one. Before use, charge it with personal power and it’ll work for all positive purposes. Black: Banishing negativity, absorbing negativity. Black is the absence of color. In magic, it’s also representative of outer space. Despite what you may have heard, black candles are burned for positive purposes, such as casting out baneful energies or to absorb illnesses and nasty habits. Brown: Burned for spells involving animals, usually in combination with other colors. A brown candle and a red candle for animal protection, brown and blue for healing, and so on.

How did shamans capture or discover this power? Through ecstasy— alternate states of consciousness in which they communed with the forces of the universe.

Unlike some religions, Wicca doesn’t view deity as distant. The Goddess and God are both within ourselves and manifest in all nature. This is the universality: there is nothing that isn’t of the gods.

The Wiccan ideal of morality is simple: do what you want, as long as you harm none. This rule contains another unwritten condition: do nothing that will harm yourself.

Magic is the practice of moving natural (though little-understood) energies to effect needed change. In Wicca, magic is used as a tool to sanctify ritual areas, and to improve ourselves and the world in which we live.

Magic is natural. It is a harmonious movement of energies to create needed change.

Every second of each day we’re creating our futures, shaping the courses of our lives. Once a Wiccan takes full responsibility for all that she or he has done (in this life and past ones) and determines that future actions will be in accord with higher ideals and goals, magic will blossom and life will be a joy.

Wicca’s temples are flower-splashed meadows, forests, beaches, and deserts.

When we lose touch with our blessed planet, we lose touch with deity.

Wiccans are comfortable in communicating with animals, plants and trees. They feel energies within stones and sand, and cause fossils to speak of their primeval beginnings.

If we want to change course, it’s as simple as ABC. We just get Roger Chaffee’s tracking network to send up a state vector and a couple of other things to Dave Scott’s computer, which feeds pointing commands through Dick Gordon’s instrument panel to Donn Eisele’s controls, which cause Walt Cunningham’s electricity to power Gene Cernan’s engines, which fire, to get us out of Bill Anders’s radiation zone into the position called for by Buzz Aldrin’s flight plan. The rest of you guys must be loafing!

Relax your body slightly. Inhale through your nose to a slow count of three, four, or five—whatever is comfortable. Remember to allow the air to fill your diaphragm as well as your lungs. Retain the air, then exhale to the same slow count.

Cunningham, a UCLA guard from 1959 to 1962 back on campus taking classes toward a doctorate with plans to become a college professor,

had accidentally walked into history as the first college coach of the player on a path to change amateur sports forever. On the 1965 morning that changed everything, Cunningham was getting breakfast in the Student Union when he spotted his former coach eating alone at a table. He asked to sit with Wooden and ended up in a

conversation that included the news that the Bruins had just lost the freshman coach. Wooden offered Cunningham the job before the end of the meal. A high school junior varsity coach in Ohio tried to land what had suddenly become an unusually attractive role, in the program coming off back-to-back national championships, on the team

with a historically good freshman roster, but Cunningham had already been hired. The best Wooden could offer was the chance to scout UCLA opponents and help Cunningham with the newcomers, an invitation Bob Knight declined.

Wiccan ritual usually occurs on the nights of the full moon and the eight days of power, the old agricultural and seasonal festivals of Europe.

First off, make sure you won’t be interrupted during your religious (or magical) rite. If you’re at home, tell your family that you’ll be busy and aren’t to be disturbed. If alone, take the phone off the hook, lock the doors, and pull the blinds, if you wish. It’s best if you can ensure that you will be alone and undisturbed for some time.

My favorite purification bath sachet consists of equal parts of rosemary, fennel, lavender, basil, thyme, hyssop, vervain, mint, with a touch of ground valerian root.

Green empowers herbalists and magical ecologists. Brown is worn by those who attune with animals or who cast spells for them. White symbolizes purification and pure spirituality, and also is perfect for meditation and cleansing rituals. It is worn for full moon celebrations, or to attune with the Goddess. Orange or red robes can be worn to sabbats, for protective rites, or when attuning with the God in his fiery solar aspect Black robes are quite popular. Contrary to popular misconceptions, black doesn’t symbolize evil. It is the absence of color. It is a protective hue and symbolizes the night, the universe, and a lack of falsehood. When a Wiccan wears a black robe, she or he is donning the blackness of outer space

Wiccans don’t perform destructive, manipulative, or exploitive magic.

Pentacles are also hung over doors and windows to act as protective devices, or are ritually manipulated to draw money owing to the pentacle’s earth associations.

Catholic priests use “magic” to transform a piece of bread into the body of a long-deceased “savior.” Prayer—a common tool in many religions—is simply a form of concentration and communication with deity.

Although we honor and revere the Goddess and God, we know that we’re free souls with full control and responsibility of our lives. We can’t point at an image of an evil god, such as Satan, and blame it for our faults and weaknesses.

Holistic aromatherapy is a complex art in which essential oils are massaged into the body or inhaled in order to produce the desired physiological, mental or emotional effect. The art of aromatherapy lies in proficiency in massage, wide knowledge of the properties of essential oils and in their use in treating specific conditions. Conventional aromatherapy can't be mastered from reading a few books and buying a dozen or so oils.

Magic is many things to many people. To me, magic is the movement of subtle, natural energies to manifest needed change.

Magical aromatherapy utilizes three forms of aromatics: fresh plants, dried plant materials and essential oils.

In its essence, magical aromatherapy is the process of visualization, inhalation of the scent of an essential oil or a plant, and the programming of personal energy.

Harm none. This, the oldest law, is not open to interpretation or change.

Ensure that your actions are honorable, for all that you do shall return to you threefold, good or bane.

Don’t let teaching rule your life. It can be one aspect of it, and an important, fulfilling aspect, but it shouldn’t become the sole purpose of your existence.

The name Lebanon is derived from the Akkadian word lubbunu, incense.

This isn't an academic history of mystic cottages, but a practical guide to transforming your life and living space.

The test of magic's success is time, not immediate eye-popping results.

A powerful church, linking bathing with older Pagan religions, taught that cleanliness was kin to evil, causing Western Europe to suffer through centuries of abysmal body odors.

Rituals provide us with easily understood, vivid demonstrations of our goals and needs. They are more than powerful psychological boosts, for they set energies in motion, which is the essence of magic.

On waking in the morning, try to make your first words pleasant, for this brings good fortune for the entire day.

Salt was so sacred in ancient times that the Romans revered Salus, the Goddess of Salt, Prosperity and Health.

Clairvoyants or psychics who can be consciously clairvoyant do not need to use divination.

Salt…Energies:…stopping psychic awareness

For those of us who are unable to be consciously psychic when the need arises, divination is the next best thing.

The future isn’t mapped out in advance; our lives aren’t unfolding according to some divine plan. We are creating our futures every second of every day. Our lives are the results of our decisions. Just as we determine our futures, other persons can influence our lives as well if we allow them to. Universal forces ebb and flow, adding their energy to the shape of tomorrow.

The goal of all magic, occult paths, and mystical religions is the perfection of self...You are improving the world and helping to heal it of the terrible ravages it has suffered at our hands.

Positive thinking is one example of the power that the mind can have upon the world. We know that the telephone, airplane, electric lamp, and everything humans have created began as thoughts. The thought was held (concentration) until it could be put into manifestation (creation). In a similar way, we hold a thought (the need), and while doing this, use the emotion and the knowledge to bring our need into manifestation (creation).

A magical life isn’t one spent solely on spellcasting, herb collection, and chanting. It’s one in which the subtle but real energies of the earth are sensed with wonder; in which we feel the cycles of nature transforming us; in which we, as human beings, respect the unknowable forces that shape our world and give us life.

The elements emerge from akasha, the immutable, changeless source of all energy. This is the realm of potentiality—of promise, of paths not yet taken, of unformed galaxies, of outer space.

Folk magic is just that—the magic of the people. It’s never been too complex, if only because these people didn’t have time for fancy magic. Their rituals reflected their simple, subsistence farming lives.

Beauty isn’t in the eye of the beholder, it’s a reflection of our feelings about ourselves. When we dwell on our “defects” (no human body is perfect), we lessen our inward and outward beauty.

As long as you follow the nine guidelines listed in this chapter, your spells will be as effective as any that have ever been written and performed….1. Determine the spell’s goal. 2. Determine the element involved. 3. Determine the materials to be used. 4. Determine the best time (if any) to perform the spell. 5. Compose the rhyme or words of power. 6. Draft the spell in writing. 7. Finalize the spell. 8. Gather the tools. 9. Perform the spell.

Wicca doesn’t solicit because, unlike most western religions, it doesn’t claim to be the one true way to deity.

It [this book] is designed for the solitary practitioner, since finding others with similar interests is difficult, especially in rural areas.

The Wiccan ideal of morality is simple: do what you want, as long as you harm none. This rule contains another unwritten condition: do nothing that will harm yourself. Thus, if you as a Wicca abuse your body, deny it the necessities of life, or otherwise harm yourself, you’re in violation of this principle. This is more than survival. It also ensures that you’ll be in good condition to take on the tasks of preserving and bettering our world, for concern and love for our planet play major roles in Wicca.

Wicca is a religion that utilizes magic. This is one of its most appealing and unique features. Religious magic? This isn’t as strange as it might seem. Catholic priests use “magic” to transform a piece of bread into the body of a long-deceased “savior.

We don’t bow down to the deities; we work with them to create a better world. This is what makes Wicca a truly participatory religion.

This is a book of folk magic—the magic of the common people.

To perform effective magic, three necessities must be present: the need, the emotion, and the knowledge.

Too often, magic has been elaborated with ritual to the point of absurdity; something easy was looked upon suspiciously by those who were taught pageantry and stylized ritual.

Braiding is, in itself, a magical act.

More than one spell has been cast while a woman pretended to check her makeup.

Herb magic is the utilization of the energies contained within herbs to create positive transformations. This practice doesn’t solely rely on plant power to create these changes, though. The magician sends energy into the herbs from her or his own body. The two energies (human and plant) are mixed, given purpose, and sent forth to their magical goal.

What’s different in herb magic is that we ourselves are the source of electricity. When we “plug into” an herb, we’re stimulating it. We’re setting its energies into motion. This is what makes herb magic effective. We don’t simply fling roses and lavender in the air; we work with the herbs by sending them power, to stimulate their own powers, to make our needs manifest.

Therefore be as the river willow that bends and sways with the wind. That which remains changeless shall outlive its spirit, but that which evolves and grows will shine for centuries.

It isn’t wise to put our hopes, dreams, and energies into physical objects. This is a limitation, a direct product of the materialism fostered upon us all our lives.

Natural magic (the practice of using the forces of nature coupled with the powers of our minds and bodies) has always been a part of the human experience.

By hill and wind, by flame and brook, by shining moon and sea, I place a bind upon this book that it return to me.

If we look closely, we’ll discover that magic is living, and that living is a magical process. Nothing separates them; they are one.

The Wicca as described here is “new.” It is not a revelation of ancient rituals handed down for thousands of years. This does not invalidate it, however, for it is based on time-honored practices.

In Wicca, as with every religion, ritual is a means of contacting the divine. Effective ritual unites the worshipper with deity. Ineffective ritual kills spirituality.

There is not, and can never be, one “pure” or “true” or “genuine” form of Wicca. There are no central governing agencies, no physical leaders, no universally recognized prophets or messengers. Although specific, structured forms of Wicca certainly exist, they aren’t in agreement regarding ritual, symbolism, and theology. Because of this healthy individualism, no one ritual or philosophical system has emerged to consume the others.

Magic is the projection of natural energies to produce needed effects. There are three main sources of this energy—personal power, earth power, and divine power.

Read as much as you can, discarding negative or disturbing information.

Know that using the Power for harm is a perversion of life itself.