Creating a Flawless Magic Scheme

Like I promised, this post is dedicated to helping you plot out a magic scheme. Let's start with the obvious question: Why do you need one?

Honestly, you might be able to get away with making it up as you go along...but that's a big MIGHT. There's a lot to be said for having internal consistency. Not to mention that once your readers become fanatical about your work, if they spot a mistake, they will tell the world about it—and that's a smutch you definitely don't want on your record. You will be much better off to spend half an hour creating a believable scheme for your magic. Not to mention that the scheme is half the fun of the book!

If you're thinking of including witches in your novel, you probably have a good idea of how you want them to be able to cast spells. If so, all you need to do is make sure you write down those rules somewhere and follow them! For those of you who are a little bit lost, here are some ideas:

-Spellbooks. Witches can only cast spells if they read the spell out of the spellbook (or memorize it). The book may or may not list the ingredients needed for the spell. The book may or may not be written in some ancient language. The spells may or may not rhyme. And the witch may or may not need a wand in order to cast them. But in this scheme, some sort of incantation is used. 

If you choose this one, be sure to write down all the spells you use in the book, and make them of varying complexity. It would make sense for the more complicated spells to produce the most drastic results, right?

-Ancient language. Or incantations that don't need spellbooks. If the character has a good grasp of the ancient language and all he or she needs to do is speak the right words to make the spell come to life, this is the scheme you want to use. But if using an ancient language, you need to make sure you know said language better than your reader—write down those words! Decide if the ancient language needs grammar or if the witch only needs to speak words associated with the outcome he or she desires.

-Runes. Whether your character needs to draw these runes in the air with a wand or on a hard surface with chalk, in order for a spell to be cast, certain runes need to be created by a witch. Often, the shape of the runes does not need to be mentioned in the novel. If you do, make sure to keep a log of which runes work for which spell. 

-Inner power. Many times, this is the magic scheme for the character. Witches have varying degrees of power, which means that the powerful ones are able to cast more powerful spells. However, if you decide to use this scheme, make sure that the magic your characters use takes a toll on them appropriate to the magnitude of the spell. 

-Sacrifice. As with blood mages or evil witches, sometimes they need to sacrifice something living in order to steal its life force for use in the spell. Often, this has no toll on the witch himself, but the price for the magic is taken out instead on a third party, the sacrifice. Sacrifices can be made of animals or of humans.

-Harnessing faeries or demons. Sometimes, the power of the witch is not to cast spells, but to call forth creatures such as faeries or demons and force them to perform spells on the witch's behalf. If so, make sure you know which faeries can do which spells, etc. and how long the witch is able to keep them in the mortal realm.

Of course, there are many ways other than these on which you can base your magic scheme. This is just a guideline, to prompt ideas of your own. The main thing is that magic takes a toll somehow. It must have a cost or your characters would be akin to gods (and trust me, there's a problem there). Lay down rules of what can and cannot be done through magic—for instance, reviving the dead. And most of all, have fun with it! 

Next week, I'll be welcoming L. K. Below back to the blog as she talks to you about her upcoming story, His Familiar Touch, and the witches she uses in it!

Clara.

Witches, Part 4: Modern Witchcraft

Now I've come to the closing of my miniseries about witches. If anyone feels I have left anything out or if my information is flawed, feel free to comment below, or contact me at c.hanoux@hotmail.com. With that being said, let me introduce you to what I consider to be the four main parts of modern witchcraft:

1) Haitian Vodou or "Voodoo"

This religion is largely misunderstood, thanks to Hollywood. It is a religion largely associated with spirits. Many illnesses and afflictions are believed to be the possession of malignant spirits, and in order to cure the sick person, the spirit must be purged. More information on how to do this can be found here. 

Louisiana Voodoo is different from Haitian Vodou, although it was influenced by the latter. Information about Louisiana Voodoo can be found here. For the purposes of witchcraft, I'm going to focus on the spells. There are two main ones for Louisiana Voodoo: the "cure-all" and the Voodoo doll. The cure-all is a form of spell which provides a solution to all problems. While there are many different recipes for a cure-all, the one listed was as follows:

Mix jimson weed with sulphur and honey. Pour the mixture into a glass and rub that glass against a black cat. Then sip it slowly. 

A voodoo doll is also not what Hollywood portrays it to be. It is used to bless people, not curse them. Sticking pins into the doll was to pin pictures, etc. to the "person" symbolizing spirits which would influence that person's life. There were four different things which could be influenced in this manner: love, power and domination, luck and finance, and uncrossing (which I take to mean removing bad luck, a malignant spirit, or a curse on the person).

More information about Vodou can be found:

At the Wikipedia page

At New Orleans Mystic (.com)

At the Witches' Voice 

2) Hoodoo

Hoodoo is described as a "magiobotanical art," meaning that practitioners of hoodoo use plants and herbs in their spells. Not only are plants used, but often parts of animals and/or human urine, semen, or menstrual blood is used in these spells. A very comprehensive guide to hoodoo can be found here, or of course at the Wikipedia page.  The first contains not only an overview of hoodoo, but also a list of "spells."

3) Shamanism 

Shamans, also known as "Medicine Men" or "Witch Doctors" are very spiritual people who seek to cure others of ailments. These men are able to commune with spirits and control them. For instance, shamans are reputed to be able to cure anything from infertility in women (cured by finding the soul of the soon-to-be-born child) to curing a scarcity of hunted game (which is solved by finding the souls of the animals and releasing them from their hideouts). 

Shamans are also able to see visions, often influenced by the spiritual world, and some say they can use the spirits of animals in order to transform their bodies into these animals. This is potentially a seed for the shifter lore I will shortly be speaking of. 

Some useful sites on shamanism include:

The Wikipedia page

The Crystalinks site

Shamanism by Wyldkat

Sacred texts on Shamanism

The Reiki-Shamanism site (contains information on healing in Shamanism)

4) Wicca

Wicca is a very peaceful religion, focusing on "White" magic. A site on "Black" magic can be found here. White magic means that these spells should be used only for good, not for harm. One source even suggested that any spell cast for harm would rebound on the caster three times over (that's Karma for you!). 

Wicca worships a Goddess alongside God. Before casting a spell, they appeal to both deities for guidance. Some spells also ask for help from the elements (North, South, East, West, corresponding with Air, Water, Fire, and Earth). For more information about these elements or elementals, look here. These spells often use incense and candles, the colours/scents of which correspond to the flavour of the spell (white for purity, black for protection, etc. Take a look here for more information). While the spells often involve a sacrifice, killing animals takes no part of it. "Sacrifice" in those terms means giving up something you hold dear—for instance: a ring, a letter, etc. It has to be something that you would will miss, or the sacrifice is not strong and the spell will fail. After the ritual or spell is complete, you must return that sacrifice to the earth (bury it). 

For more information on Wicca, check out these sites:

The Wikipedia page

Wicca.com

About the religion

A list of spells

If you're looking for information about the history of witches, try the Malleus Maleficarum by Montague Summers. 

For those of you still bouncing on the edge of your seats from the first part of this series, join me on Wednesday, when I'll be talking about creating a believable scheme for your magic.

Clara.

Witches, Part 3: Tarot

Hello all! It is my great pride and pleasure to sit down with tarot expert and fellow author L. K. Below!

Lindsay: Well I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I'd be happy to help explain it to you.

Clara: So tell us a bit about the art. How easy is it to do?

Lindsay: Well that depends on how committed you are to it. Every tarot deck has 78 cards to it, each with its own separate meaning, which changes again if the card happens to be reversed. Not only does a reader have to learn the different meanings, but he or she also needs to learn how to read the cards in different positions—because the meanings of the cards are also dependent upon the surrounding cards. Fortunately, there are books (my recommended choice being It's All in the Cards by John Mangiapane) which help to decipher the meanings of the cards. 

Clara: Maybe I should go back to the beginning. What's the first thing we need to know about tarot?

Lindsay: Tarot is a form of divination. Like I said, there are 78 cards to a deck. The deck is divided between the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana are the powerful cards, the "trump" cards, if you will. These are the cards that you commonly see in movies; The Hanged Man, The Devil, The Priestess. There are 22 of these cards, numbered from 0 (The Fool) to 21 (The World). 

The Minor Arcana resemble the deck of common playing cards. There are four suits: Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. Each suit has 14 cards: an ace, the numbers 2-10, and then the "royal" cards—a page, a knight, a queen, and a king. What makes these royal cards different from the rest of the Minor Arcana is the way it can be interpreted. Like the other cards, it has a general meaning. However each of these cards also represents a person in the life of the Querent (the person the reading is for). This person can be a friend, family member, or it can even represent the Querent himself. 

Now, of course I am describing the Rider-Waite deck, which is the most common deck used. However, there are hundreds of decks available, each with different representations of the symbols in the original deck, and therefore each with different meanings. To learn them all would take longer than my lifetime, that's for sure! I hope you don't mind if I generalize and use the most popular deck. 

Clara: Not at all. Walk us through a typical reading.

Lindsay: There is no such thing as a "typical one." Each reading is tailored to the individual. 

To start, the Querent would have to think of a question. He or she would not tell me this question until the end, and only then if they desire. They can choose to keep it entirely to themselves. The question has to be specific—and not a frivolous one. If they sit at my table for advice on whether to dye their hair blue, I advise they patronize a hair salon instead. The question can be about themselves or about someone else. However, it does need to have a time frame. For instance, the Querent can't ask, "Will I die?" First of all, because the answer is yes (we all die), and secondly because it has no time frame. A proper question would be, "Will I die in the next two months?" And in fact, that is a lie. Because the second rule of asking a question in tarot is that the question be an open-ended one. Yes or no questions cannot be asked, because the cards don't spell out the answer like that. They describe scenarios, but they don't have mouths to ask questions. Examples of good questions are: "What will happen in my love life in the next two years?" "What opportunities does a career with this company hold for me?" or "How will the next two months change if I decide to move to such a place?" Once the Querent decides on a question, it is time to move on to the spread. 

There are many different spreads for a tarot reading. The depth of them depends on the number of cards used. The most common for public readings is the Celtic cross, which has 11 cards in it. The simplest is the 3-card spread depicting the past, present, and future. As with tarot decks, there are hundreds of different spreads. A good place to look them up is this website or www.tarotspreads.com. 

As soon as those factors are decided, the reader can move on to the reading. This begins by the Querent shuffling the cards as he or she thinks of their question. The reader never shuffles after the Querent has finished. Instead, he or she turns over the top cards as needed in the spread. From there, they have to interpret what they see, in order to answer the Querent's question. After I answer it to the best of my ability, I always give the Querent the option of telling me his or her question, so I can tailor the answer better. However, I never ask beforehand, in case knowing the question should cloud my eyes and instead of reading the cards, I would try to tell them what they want to hear. 

Clara: Is there anything else we should know about tarot?

Lindsay: It depends on who you ask. I have laid out the basics of the art. Other useful websites include the Wikipedia page and this website. 

Depending on who you talk to, you will get different answers on things such as why the cards work, etc. The most committed people will tell you never to insult your cards. By keeping them with you, they are attuned to you, and will show the truth, which according to some will be lessened if you insult them. To tell the truth, that is the reason I still use my first pack exclusively, even though I collect other tarot decks. Insults to the cards include frivolous questions by Querents (not to mention it's a waste of your time), and monopolizing the cards, or asking for money in return for the reading. 

I once read the most amazing historical novel by Anne Stuart involving tarot. It was called Prince of Swords. Unfortunately, I think it is out of print now, but if you can get your hands on it at a library or yard sale, I definitely recommend!

Clara: Well, Lindsay, thank you for agreeing to answer my questions on the subject. 

Lindsay: Thank you for having me.

Clara: You can find Lindsay's romantic fiction under the pen name L. K. Below. Visit her at www.lbelow.com or follow her on Twitter at @LBelowtheauthor. 

But before you go,  Lindsay, I have to ask: are the rumours true? Are you planning to write a book involving tarot?

Lindsay: Well, you heard right, but unfortunately, it won't be romance. The novel currently under way is for a young adult audience.

Clara: You know I had to ask. Thank you again for coming—and thank you to everyone who joined us!

Clara.

Witches, Part 2: Inborn Abilities

Good morning and welcome to the second part of my mini-series on witches! (Yes, I'm very chipper for so early on a Sunday morning.) Today I'm going to speak a bit about inborn abilities, or what I like to call the subtler form of witchcraft. These are abilities such as ESP/clairvoyance, etc. which make up a part of what I like to call Magic Realism. These sorts of abilities are, in my opinion, a lot more believable to the reader than magic in which spells or incantations are used. A lot of spooky things happen in real life, and therefore believing that someone is just a little abnormal isn't such a stretch, if done properly. But let me get down to dissecting them.

1) Clairvoyance

This is such a broad term. After all, most forms of being psychic fall under this heading. However, let me dissect it further. Clairvoyance, I describe as: 

Clairvoyence: psychic ability, included but not limited to the following: seeing the future, seeing the past, aura sensing, and mediumship. 

Mediumship, I will speak of separately. As for the others, let me address them here. 

Seeing the future and/or past is often done in the same ways. It can be done through dreams, through "hunches" or gut feelings, or through visual or auditory hallucinations (visions) —which are sometimes triggered by touching objects and/or people, by overhearing bits of relevant conversation or being close to key people , or by nothing at all (and the latter are usually hailed with headaches, interrupting daily life). 

Aura sensing or aura reading is the ability to sense a person's energy, usually their moods. This can be done, again, through "hunches" or gut feelings. Or more commonly, it is done through visual effects. The clairvoyant can see these auras, meaning they take shape, colour, density, etc. Sometimes, the reader can also sense auras on recently dead bodies or auras which have rubbed off on other people. 

Here are some relevant websites in regards to clairvoyant abilities:

From the Spiritual Science Research Foundation

www.psychic-experience-for-you.com

From www.unexplainedstuff.com

And of course, the Wikipedia page 

2) Mediumship

As most of you know from shows such as Ghost Whisperer  or Medium, mediumship is communing with the dead. This can be done through a Ouija board, through a séance (which, contrary to popular belief, is not possession by a spirit), or often seen in fiction, a medium is able to see or hear these spirits and relay their messages to the public. 

3) Astral Projection

While I have never read a romance featuring astral projection, I thought I might as well cover it, in case someone else would like to write one (and if so, I would definitely like to read it!). For those unaware, the astral planes are said to be the planes of existence that spirits sometimes go to after death, although with careful practice, humans are able to leave their corporeal bodies behind and explore these realms. 

There are seven layers to the astral plane. The lowest level is much like Earth as you would see it, although it is also said to be cluttered with thoughts, ideas, etc. made "physical" on that plane. The closer you get to the seventh, or highest level, the more these ideas and even buildings drop away, and you would see Earth as it would be without technology and houses. 

The key to astral projection is to leave your corporeal body asleep while you explore, but some sites caution that you do not allow anyone to touch your body. If so, you may not be able to return. 

Take a look at this fantastic site for more information on astral projection.

This coming Wednesday, it is my great pleasure to sit down with tarot expert and fellow author L. K. Below to pick her brain! I hope you'll join me then!

Clara.

Witches, Part 1

The easiest sort of witch for research is one that you create yourself. Yes, you do need a coherent scheme to your magic (and I'll get to that later), but in the meantime, you can choose to have magic behave any way you'd like it to. 

Is it generic? Or an aptitude that some people have but others don't? Or maybe the possibility exists within everyone. 

Is it done with runes, charms, incantations, or only with the power of the mind?

How did this magic come about? Were the witch hunts of long ago actual witch hunts? Did Merlin (or some other famous witch) exist?

These are all questions you will have to ask yourself when the time comes. My post summing up this short series on witches and witchcraft will help to nudge you in the right direction (if you don't already have some ideas floating around in your head) but in the meantime, why not take a look at some of the books of these popular authors:

No Rest for the Witches, Anthology (MaryJanice Davidson, Lori Handeland, Cheyenne McCray, Christine Warren)

Kresley Cole

Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night

Cheyenne McCray, Magic series. 

Christine Warren 

Fur for All

Wolf at the Door

Happy reading!

Clara.