It happens sometimes that a spell will not manifest in the way that you hope or plan on. It may be that it happens differently or not at all and this causes some frustration. There are several important things to consider if your spell is not manifesting the way you expected or hoped.

• Make sure you give it enough time. If you are ready to throw in the towel after only a few weeks, you are not giving the magick enough time to work. Depending upon your situation, magick works at its own pace. You must give it time. Something may not have come together in the time-frame you expected but then a couple of week or perhaps a month later it does and you’ll think – oh, there it is. I always tell my clients to give any spell at least 3 months.
• Consider the obstacles that you are addressing within the working. You can cast a spell for prosperity but if you are unemployed you will need to be working toward remedying that. The spell will not deposit money in your bank account for nothing. Spells need you to be pro-active with what you can and will do to help yourself. If a spell is cast that involves the free will of another person you need to accept that there is a “unknown” in the spell, because you cannot know (or plan on) how a person with free will is going to react to a spell or working, or even what their own personal obstacles might be in coming together with you. This is why it is best that if you are casting spells for love that you have confidence that the other person truly has feelings for you (or could if motivated appropriately) because that gives the spell the right energy to work with.
• Know thyself. This is important too because you might be going after something (or someone) that truly isn’t right or good for you and since spells are esoteric (not scientific) they work with universal energy and power that wants to take care of you and your place in the cosmos. Think of magick as always ultimately doing the “right thing” for you, no matter if you think that is what you want or need. When I cast a spell for you I will direct toward your goals and desires and you will use your focused will and intention to create that end, however the Universe plays a part in guiding you toward what it knows will be right and good for you. Keep this in mind. You have no idea how many spells I have cast for clients who thought they wanted something specific but it turned out the Universe gave them something different and they come back to tell me that ultimately the Universe knew better than they did what was right for them. In this sense often a spell can lead you to a new possibility that you never even thought of.
• Keep an open mind. Because spells can and will manifest sometimes in unexpected ways you must keep yourself open to whatever happens. Because it is not science there is no way to plan on what your particular manifestation and results will be. I can cast the same spell for ten different people and get ten different results. You are unique and your situations and concerns are too. Keep yourself open to possibilities that could actually be better than anything you ever dreamed.
• Sometimes it is all about timing. You may love someone but they are not open to love at the same time as you. It may be that there needs to be some time to change the situation, along with the right spell. Situations that go back and forth where you see manifestation and movement but then suddenly it seems to go backwards a bit is dependent upon the unknown. It might take a different spell or simply just a little time for the spell to connect. Be open to using readings to find the right time to cast a spell.
• I work with my clients until they are satisfied and do everything within my power to help when spells are not manifesting in the way they hoped for or expected. Most clients find their spells manifest within a certain time-frame and have the manifestation they are looking for. In rare cases I will even cast additional spells if needed and do readings and rituals to help clients who run into issues with manifestation. As long as they remain open and willing, no working is abandoned.
• Know when to let go. This is mostly in the case of love spells, since other spells usually are cast on the client and not another person. Even if a spell manifests somewhat they way you hoped but for some reason you are still not getting exactly what you want, learn to let go of what you desire and be open to something else. It does not mean letting that person go necessarily (though sometimes this might be the best thing for you) but it means change your perspective on the situation and adjust your thinking about things to get better results.

By all means if a spell is NOT manifesting do not wait a year to tell me this! Sometimes I will get an email from an old client a year or two later and they will tell me that their spell didn’t work out they way they had hoped. The energy at that point has well dissipated (unless its a long-acting spell) and I would need to begin again. Understand that in magick we have a sympathetic relationship – you help me to help you.

Ask questions! That’s what I am here for, to help you get the best possible results from your spells. We can make magick together!

Friday the 13th is this Friday May 13, 2011. This is a great day for witches because of the significance of the number 13. Traditionally a coven had twelve members with the 13th member being the Goddess or God – or in more modern circumstances the High Priestess or High Priest. Nowadays covens usually have many more members than thirteen but here is some witchy folklore (and general superstitions regarding the number thirteen) on the  number and how it applies to witchcraft.

Why is the number thirteen so sacred in Wicca? The number has quite a few correspondences and meanings.

First, there are thirteen lunar months in a year, give or take. (A “year and a day” is thirteen canonical months of 28 days, and one day, which works out to 365 days.) Second, by Qabalistic gematria, thirteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew words for love and unity. Love is the force which draws individuals together into one unified whole.

In Pythagorean analysis, one way of understanding the meaning of prime numbers (thirteen is the seventh prime, though mathematicians tend not to count one as a prime) is to regard them as transcending by one the composite number immediately preceding them. Thus, thirteen is one greater than twelve, and therefore transcends the concepts inherent in the number twelve. Twelve is often held to represent the completeness of the world.

There are twelve signs of the zodiac, representing a balanced structure of aspects. There are twelve solar months in the year, one for each sign. Twelve is the product of four – representing the establishment of a permanent structure, and three – representing the synthesis new truth from two polar opposites. Thus, twelve, the establishment of a structure which reconciles opposites, represents the worldþ the realm which is rich enough and large enough to encompass everything under the sun, even if they are opposed to each other. It also represents the world as the realm where entities do not exist in pure states, but must contend with and somehow adjust to the presence of their opposites. Thirteen is the prime which transcends this concept. It contains the resonances of twelve within it, yet there is the unit which remains above and outside the concept.

Thirteen is the traditional complement of a coven. This worked out to six working couples and one leader. The leader-plus-twelve unit is a very old tradition. We see it in the story of Jesus and the Disciples, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, even Judge and Jury in American and British law. So thirteen is the number of leadership in the world. Yet, it must be understood that this is not leadership by force. Thirteen is the concept of striking out in a new direction and leading by example. In olden days, among Europeans, it was possible to count as high as twelve without taking off one’s shoes. Ten fingers, two feet. Thirteen represented uncharted territory, that which was outside the area made safe and secure. This is one reason why thirteen has been regarded with some trepidation.

Thirteen can also be regarded as the sum of various numbers. In Wicca, the five fold salute is actually comprised of eight kisses, since there are two feet, two knees, and two breasts. Eight and five is thirteen. Eight is also important in Wicca, since there are eight paths to the center, eight festivals in the Wheel of the Year, and eight ways of raising power in circle. There are five things one must have before one can practice the magical Art. These are: Intention, preparation, invocation, consecration and purification. There are five elements, each given to one point of the pentagram. Five also represents the four elements plus spirit, or the four directions plus the Holy Center.  (credit: Karl Lembke)

• The human menstrual period occurs in a typical woman every 28 days, and this in many ancient cultures suggested a connection between thirteen and women. The association of thirteen with bad luck may be a vilification of the “female” number.
• According to another interpretation, the number 13 is unlucky because it is the number of full moons in a contemporary year, but two full moons in a single calendar month (mistakenly referred to as a blue moon in a magazine article of the 1940s) only happens about every 5 years.
• Early nursery rhymes stated there were thirteen months in a year because of the natural moon cycle that was used to count the lunar year. In England, a calendar of thirteen months of 28 days each, plus one extra day, known as “a year and a day” was still in use up to Tudor times.
• It was suggested by Charles A. Platt writing in 1925 that the reason 13 is considered unlucky is that a person can count from 1-12 with their 8 fingers, two thumbs and 2 feet, but not beyond that, so the number 13 is unknown, hence frightening, hence unlucky. This idea discounts the use of toes or other body parts in counting.
• In Scotland, there is no gate 13 in any airport, instead there is a gate 12B.
• Inside of a Lufthansa plane with row numbers going straight from 12 to 14.
• Some airplanes skip a row 13, going straight from 12 to 14.
• Some tall buildings have resorted to skipping the “thirteenth floor”, either by numbering it “14″ or as “12a”.
• Some streets do not contain a house number 13.
• In some forms of motor sport, for example Formula One, there is no number 13 car.
• In many cultures, getting married on any day of the week that falls under number 13 is highly discouraged.
• There is a superstition that should thirteen sit at a table to dine, one will die in the next year. This prompted the formation of The Thirteen Club to debunk it.
• The legion with which Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon was the Legio XIII Gemina or the 13th legion.
• The Code of Hammurabi, a collection of laws created ca. 1760 BC, does not contain a thirteenth law.
• The College of William and Mary claims 13 priorities, or achievements of the academic world, which they accomplished before any other university or college in the United States. For example, William and Mary was the first college in the US to establish an honor code. A marble plaque commemorating these 13 priorities hangs on the exterior wall of the Wren Building, the nation’s oldest academic building still in continuous use. Today, the Wren Building houses the college’s Religious Studies department.
• The Apollo 13 spacecraft malfunctioned after being launched on April 11th at 13:13 CST, forcing it to return to Earth without a landing on the moon and imperiling its crew.
• After 13 years of being the richest man in the world, Microsoft Corporation chairman Bill Gates lost this title, according to Forbes magazine’s 2008 list of the world’s billionaires.