Abundance Ritual

For this spell, you need:

• 1 small crystal quartz
• 5 small garnets
• sea salt
• Pouch
• Paper

The Earth is full of abundance and vitality. You can tap into this abundance for yourself. You can have abundance and prosperity and love. You should have all the good things life has to offer. The best things in life are often very simple to get.

Make a list of 5 things that would improve your life. The list can include small changes to very large changes.

Put the 5 garnets and 1 quartz crystal in the pouch along with the list of changes for your life. Sprinkle 3 pinches of sea salt into the pouch. Carry the pouch with you for 3 days. During the 3 days think of what you have written on the list.

On the 4th day take 1 garnet out of the pouch and give it to someone you like. Tell that person "I have a lucky stone for you. Good luck!"

Do the same thing on day 5, 6 and 7.

You have now given 4 people a "lucky stone". If you sincerely wished each person to have "good luck", the changes in your life will start to happen.

Keep the pouch with the list, 1 garnet and 1 crystal quartz and the salt until all the changes occur. Then bury the remaining garnet and keep the crystal quartz as your "lucky stone".


Good Luck!

Copyright © 2006 Amerindea.com
This spell may be reprinted if credit is given.

When you see a swallow

It is said, that when you see a swallow for the first time in a new year it is an omen of wealth. You're supposed to rub the money in your wallet while watching the bird, in order to ensure wealth in the future.

The Swallow Tattoo

Because I have uploaded information on the Swallow as a totem, or power animal, I thought it might also be a good idea to post information about the swallow tattoo, and the significance of it.


Having a swallow tattoo is a creative way of expressing yourself. If you are going to get one, you may want to understand what it means first. The symbolism of the swallow tattoo is cause for controversy and confusion.

Possessing a swallow tattoo symbol used to be a sign of status among sailors. The meaning behind it was that swallows, supposedly, protected the sailors from harm on their journeys. However, a similar version of the story is that, if the sailors did die at sea, the swallow would protect their soul and carry them to heaven. Either way, the meaning is similar. It was a great comfort, as well as a status symbol, to sailors out at sea.

According to legend, after sailing for at least five thousand miles, a sailor could get a swallow tattoo symbol put on his chest, to mark the occasion. This gave him a great sense of honor and achievement. A longer version of the legend is that, when he had traveled over ten thousand miles, he was entitled to get a second swallow tattoo on the other side of his chest.

Getting a second tattoo gave sailors an enormous sense of pride and accomplishment. It also served as a sort of pictorial resume. Since traveling by ship was very dangerous during that time. Thus, it was a sign of an experienced sailor who could be counted on in a crisis. Sailors with two swallow tattoo symbols on their chests, instead of one, were especially sought after. It meant that they had weathered many storms and gotten through many challenges. Therefore, any captain looking for new crew members was always happy to see a sailor with two swallow tattoos on his chest.

Here is one story of the origin of the swallow tattoo: there was a ship named the swallow, the men had a mutiny and the original seven mutineers had swallows tattooed on them so that they could identify each other. Out of this, two things happened:

1. The authorities heard of this identification and searched for the seven sailors who got swallows.
2. Their friends got swallows tattooed on them and lied about being one of the original seven to throw the authorities off the right trail.

To a sailor the swallow means a "safe return home". Seeing a swallow is the "first tsign that land is near." Swallows are known to travel far distances out to sea during migration and would rest on boats close to shore which gave early mariners the first sign that land was indeed close by. The horizon is 12 miles from a boater's standpoint in the ocean (more if higher up) and swallows fly further then 12 miles out. The swallow is also known as a sparrow and was worn by the famous pirate "Jack Sparrows".

The story also goes that if a sailor with a swallow tattoo drowns; the swallows come down and lift his soul to the heavens.

The swallow is a noble bird, with a rich history. It is a symbol of honor, faith, love and hope. To sailors in olden days, it represented everything from luck to loyalty. It served as a reminder of family, friendship and honor.

In modern times, the sparrow has come to have many, sometimes quite different, meanings when worn as a tattoo. Here are some of them:

• Swallow tattoos are associated with loyalty and fidelity - swallows choose a mate for life and will only nest with that bird and no other.
• They carry a message of hope, when sailors saw a swallow they knew that land was near.
• Freedom.
• It's a symbol of good luck for adventurers and travelers who will always find their way home. The swallows return home to San Juan Capistrano every year. So the tattoos were used to say that you will always come home.
• They are a sign of loyalty and pride.
• The swallow tattoo is a sign of enduring life, love and hope. It represents enduring courage and happiness.

There also seems to be a small connection to music. Some people connected swallows with a love, respect and appreciation for music. Much like the swallows always returning to San Juan, their home. The tattoo can represent always being home when you're within the music.

Before you run out and get a swallow tattoo, you might want to consider the following. Here is what one person shared about his grandfather's swallow tattoos:

"I grew up in a bad area in Australia and a grandfather of a friend of mine came from England. He was a very hard man and the whole family was very tough and underworld related. I remember being a kid in their house when the grandfather was there and I asked him what his tattoos meant. He looked down on me with a hard face and said in a thick English accent (they moved to Australia in the 70's) "It means I can walk into any pub and put my hands on the bar and if anyone would want to fight, then I would fight them". He was a big guy and I had heard rumors of him tearing people apart. So I guess that they kind of mean courage, strength and loyalty. Oh yeah he was also a "Teddy Boy" in England, but I am not so sure what that is."

Depending on where you grew up, and the places you hang out, swallow tattoos can also mean:

• "Live long and live hard".
• Swallows on the back of the hands are supposed to give you faster hands, such as in a fight or at work.
• The swallow tattoo in England means "these fists fly".
• If they're on the backs of the hands, it means you'll be faster and stronger in a fight. it's mostly in Great Britain and Australia though.
• In terms of jail house tattoos, the bluebirds, swallows or sparrows can stand for white supremacy or white power.
• In Great Britain, the swallow tattoo on your hands means you've earned your 'wings' in a UK prison, i.e. you have been inititated into male-male sex rituals.
• Swallow tattoos on a man's hands and neck originated in British prisons from the term 'jail-bird'. They indicate that you've gone to prison and done your 'bird'.
• In Scotland it usually signifies a spell in the infamous Bar-L or Barlinnie prison in Glasgow.
• The swallow's wings are so long that the bird never reaches the ground. It always flies high above everything else on earth. Prisoners are known to tattoo themselves with a swallow when they leave prison as a symbol of freedom.

Swallow Song

Come wander quietly and listen to the wind
Come here and listen to the sky
Come walking high above the rolling of the sea
And watch the swallows as they fly.

There is no sorrow like the murmur of their wings
There is no choir like their song
There is no power like the freedom of their flight
While the swallows roam alone.

Do you hear the calling of a hundred thousand voices
Hear the echo in a stone
Do you hear the angry bells ringing in the night
Do you hear the swallows when they’ve flown?

And will the breezes blow the petals from your hand
And will some loving ease your pain
And will the silence strike confusion from your soul
And will the swallows come again?

By Richard Farina, 1964

Swallow Lore

The swallow is symbolic of hope, fertility and renewal of life. Another symbol of the love goddess, Venus, the Roman’s believed it was extremely unlucky to harm a sparrow. Further, the Roman’s believed the swallow to be a totem bird to mothers in sorrow as it was said the swallow embodied all the young, innocent’s who died during childbirth.

This totem heralds the arrival of summer and brings warmth and protection to your home. It also tells you to pay close attention to conversations – are you saying more than you should? Are you listening closely to what others have to say? Swallow also brings a warning to not let small things get to you – don’t let the mundane activities of life take up all you time and prevent you from moving forward. Rise above the small stuff and you will gain a better perspective on your life. The key is objectivity.

During the Old Kingdom, swallows were associated with stars and therefore the souls of the dead. Chapter 86 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead specifically instructs the deceased on how to transform into a swallow. In Spell 1216 of the Pyramid Texts, the pharaoh describes how he has "gone to the great island in the midst of the Field of Offerings on which the swallow gods alight; the swallows are the imperishable stars." The imperishable stars were those near the North Star that never seemed to rise or set, and therefore were "constant".

The swallow also appears in paintings of the solar barque as it enters the underworld. The swallow is usually shown on the prow of the boat. In this context, the bird appears to be an announcer of the sun's approach.

In Egyptian love poetry, the swallow declares the dawn of new love.

A "swallow" is a bird, which makes its appearance during spring. The expression "one swallow does not make a summer" is usually used as a sort of warning. You are telling an individual not to become too happy about something; you are advising him to err on the side of caution. You are asking the individual not to get too excited just because a couple of good things have happened; there is still a long way to go yet.

This is another one of those expressions which became popular thanks to Aesop's fables. According to the story, a young man sees a swallow on a warm winter day. Since swallows are usually seen only during spring, the young man thinks that spring has arrived. As a result he sells his winter coat and then proceeds to drink with the money he has made. A few days later, it becomes extremely cold again and the young man shivering in the cold realises that one swallow does not necessarily imply that summer has arrived. Other expressions which have more or less the same meaning are "one grain does not fill a sack" and "one actor cannot make a play".

Swallows speak to us about partnership. Swallow pair monogamously (having only one partner). And so when the swallow wings its way into our thoughts it's time to focus on our relationships. Swallows ask us what we have we done for our partner lately. Pay a compliment, run an errand (out of kindness, not obligation) or offer assistance without being told. As Celtic animal symbols, the swallow also bends common gender roles. The males are the one to start the nest and they sing lovely songs to woo their mate into their freshly made roost. We can take the same cue from the swallow by going outside of our conditioned gender roles.

Swallow - The swallow, like the bluebird, is a symbol of hope. As a nautical tattoo design, the swallow has been sometimes mistaken within popular culture for the bluebird, and the two very different species of birds - the Barn Swallow and eastern Bluebird, to be exact - have quite similar colouring, with bright accents of blue and and orange, verging to both red and yellow. In ancient times, the swallow was associated with the 'imperishable' stars and the souls of the dead. According to Greek legend, secret texts told how to transform into a swallow, something the ancient deities liked to do. It was also a totem bird for sorrowing mothers who had lost a child. To kill a swallow was very unlucky, as the swallow carried the souls of children who had died.

Interestingly, both good luck and bad are attributed to the swallow. It heralds the coming of spring and happiness, poets praise it, and it appears on the flowering peach branch in classical Chinese painting. In Egyptian love poetry, the swallow sings of the first signs of a new love. For some, it’s a symbol of fertility and renewal, a harbinger of good and a symbol of transformation. For the pilgrim to Mecca, the swallow is the symbol of constancy and faith, and is said to fly to that holy city each year. Swallows mate for life, and therefore represents fidelity and loyalty, but in Japan, it can be a symbol of unfaithfulness. Some legends warn of a swallow flying through the house, since it brings tidings of displeasure from the gods, and likely foreshadows bad luck. In China it symbolizes daring, danger and a change for good in the future.

For more than a century the swallow has been a favorite tattoo motif for sailors. It’s often a sign that land is near. During migrations that can be thousands of miles in distance, swallows are known to travel far out to sea, but would alight on boats when close to land – a welcome sign for the sailor hoping for landfall. It’s a tradition for sailors -- after logging 5,000 miles at sea -- to sport the swallow tattoo. Two swallows proclaims 10,000 sea miles. And a swallow with a dagger through its heart is a memorial for a friend lost at sea.

Gypsy Life - Not As Romantic As It Sounds

A pipe-smoking mother tends to her children in a rather windswept Romany encampment on the Epsom Downs, circa 1910.

Children at a Gypsy encampment at Epsom help with the laundry chores the day before the Derby, circa 1935.

A makeshift tent in a gypsy encampment on Hurtwood Common Surrey, Jan 30, 1934.

Gypsy women and a baby in an encampment overshadowed by gasometers and strewn with rubbish, July 28th, 1951.

Gypsy children play in squalid and overcrowded encampment at Corkes Meadow Kent, July 28, 1951.

A Romany woman cooks dinner in an iron pot hung over an open fire at the Corkes Meadow encampment in Kent, July 1951.

A Romany woman combing her sons matted hair outside her tent in an encampment on Corke's Meadow Kent, July 1951.

A policeman inspecting a license at a gypsy encampment on Kings Moor near Tenby, May 1935.

London missionary and friend of the gypsies William Larmour talks over problems with elders of tribe in the Corkes meadow encampment, overshadowed by gasometers and strewn with rubbish, July 1951.

Galician Gypsy Encampment, Wandsworth 1911

A Romany family on the steps of their caravan at the Corkes Meadow encampment in Kent, July 1951.

Mrs Robert Matthew, an MPs wife campaigning at a gypsy encampment, October 1951.

An old Romany turns his hand to the traditional Romany trade of tinkering (scrap metal dealing) at the Corke's Meadow encampment in Kent, July 1951.

But it wasn't all rubbish, squalor, and hard work. There was family, fun, freedom, and fresh air too.

Famous Spanish dancer Antonio with some Brtitish gypsies, October 1956.

A family of gypsies sitting outside their caravan on an encampment at Brook Farm during the fruit picking season, September 1942.

Father and son have a talk, July 1951.

Grandmother Eyres keeps eye on the children whilst mother prepares supper on gypsy encampment in Surrey. Despite their lifestyle, the Eyres family was a prosperous one, owning several plots of freehold land, circa 1946.

A boxing match in progress between two gypsy boys on the Corkes Meadow encampment in Kent, circa 1951.

A young Romany woman in an encampment on Corkes Meadow, Kent, July 1951.

Optimum Times For Specific Spells and Rituals

Here is a small list of the optimum times of the day, the month, and even seasons of the year for specific spell work and rituals. This short list is intended as a spell enhancer, and is not the be all end all of when to work your magic. There is no WRONG time for magical spells and rituals. The important thing is to have fun and allow the zee energy to flow through you.

Times of the day:

• Sunrise: purification, business, success, study, travel, employment, breaking habits, guilt, jealousy, healing disease, conscious mind
• Midday: magickal energy, physical energy, strength, protection, money, courage
• Sunset: breaking addictions, weight loss, banishing, misery, pain, anguish, negative habits
• Night: beauty, dreams, phsycic dreams, awareness, sex, spirituality, purifcation, love, friendship, peace, releasing stress.

Phases of the Moon:

• Waxing Moon: beginnings, health, beauty, fertility, physcic awareness, positive magick.
• Full Moon: all positive spells, protection, love, healing, money, travel, purification
• Waning Moon: banishment, disease, negative thoughts, jealousy, hurt, renewal
• New Moon: New ventures, new beginnings, love,romance, health, job hunting, exploring and understanding our angers and passions.

Seasons of the Year:

• Summer: love, marriage, friendship, beauty, courage, fire magick, strength, protection, magickal and physical energy
• Spring: healing, air magick, ecological rituals, fertility, finances
• Autumn: money, employment, water magick
• Winter: earth magick, introspection, meditiation, magickal exercises, banishing, seeking past lives

Weather Conditions:

• Lightning storms: This is a period of intense energy. All spells cast during storms will be empowered. Protection rituals are ideal.
• Rainstorms: Purifcation, love, compassion, friendship, beauty rituals, releasing guilt and jealousy
• Snowstorms: gentle magick, purification, emotions, letting go of love
• Heavy winds: travel spells, study spells, breaking addictions

Moon Water Tonic

Tonic waters containing the energies of the moon embody very powerful healing benefits that bring about integral balance and wholeness throughout the body, mind and soul. Clear quartz crystal catalyses the absorption of lunar energies as well as amplifies the healing benefits.

Wait for a clear night, preferably on or right before the full moon. Put your crystal in a clear glass and cover with one cup of purified water. Check an almanac for the exact time of sundown on the day you have chosen.

At sundown, place the glass out of doors in a moonlit place (cover the glass with clear plastic wrap). Remove the glass at dawn. The water is now filled with lunar potency. Drink the moon water every morning to prepare your body, mind and spirit for the stress of the day.

Hello Auntie Moss

Auntie Moss has come to stay with us here at Gypsy Magic. How cool is that?

Who is she and where did she come from? She is a wonderful little old village witch who got a really bad rap from Ursula LeGuin in her Earthsea book "Tehanu." The description in the book reads like this:

"Aunty Moss was a dour creature, unmarried, like most witches, and unwashed, with greying hair tied in curious charm-knots, and eyes red-rimmed from herb smoke." She was further described as, "unpredictable, unreliable, incomprehensible, passionate, ignorant, sly, and dirty."

The one thing said about her that was true is "she was following her heart, it was a dark, wild, queer heart, like a crow, going its own ways and on its own errands." What the book neglected to say was that she is a wise and wonderful witchy woman who has never steered me wrong.

Lucky for us, I was able to find an actual picture of her, and she did graciously agree to be of help to those of you who ask for advice and insight. You'll find her at the bottom of the page (here at Gypsy Magic). Go ahead, scroll down, ask her something, you know you want to!

New Beginnings

For this spell, you need:

• 1 amethyst cluster
• 2 crystal points
• 1 bag of sea salt
• Black Bag
• Black votive candle in candle holder and matches
• Candy or something sweet to eat

You can make a new start any time, but some times are better than others. When the moon is new, she lends her energy to new beginnings.

The first month of the New Year is also a wonderful time to have a new beginning. The New Year is a strong and special time to wipe the slate clean. You can release all the old negativity. Get rid of old grudges and grievances.

Doing the ritual within twenty days of your birthday is also a powerful time. The time of each person's birth has special power for that person. Now is the time for your happiness. Now is the time for you to have more love. Now is the time for you to have more abundance. Now is the time for you to have more luck.

Now is the time for YOU!

Start the Ritual

To clean the amethyst cluster and quartz crystal points, boil 3 cups of water. Add 1 teaspoon of sea salt. When the water is cool, pour it over the amethyst cluster and crystal points. Let the cluster and points dry in sunlight. If you can't put them outside you can place them in a window where the sun will shine on them.

To give extra strength to the ritual clean your home before doing the ritual. As you clean think that you are "sweeping out the old negativity". Bathe with strawberry soap or bath gel. Dress in dark colored clothes.

Place the amethyst cluster, quartz crystal points, sea salt, candle and holder, matches, bag and the sweet in a basket or bag and carry them in your right hand to the room where you spend the most time in your home. This can be the living room, den, kitchen, bedroom or any other room that you use most often. Take the items out of the basket with your left hand and place them on a table that you have already cleared and cleaned.

As you light the candle say:

I light the fire that burns the old
This fire burns away past regrets
This fire burns away past hurts

Take a pinch of sea salt in your right hand and toss it over your left shoulder and say:

With this salt I banish negativity
With this salt I refuse old hurts
With this salt I get rid of sorrow

Take the amethyst cluster in your left hand and say:

The power of abundance flows to me
Health, love and protection flow to me
I feel the power of abundance in me

Take both of the quartz crystal points in your left hand and say:

I hold all I need in my hand
The River of abundance is in my hand
Health, love and protection is in my hand

Eat the candy or sweet and say:

Only the sweet flows in my life
Only the good flows in my life
Only the best flows in my life

Let the candle burn out. Place the amethyst cluster where you will see it often. Put 1 crystal quartz point in the most southern corner of the room, with point pointing to the south. Put the other point in the bag and keep it with you or put it somewhere safe.

Now begin that wonderful life you deserve! This ritual may be repeated every 3 months to reinforce the good flow. Enjoy your new life!

Copyright © 2006 Amerindea.com
This spell may be reprinted if credit is given.

Colors And Their Meanings

• Black: The meaning of the color black is mystery and protection.
• White: The meaning of the color white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion.
• Gray: The color gray is an unemotional color. It is detached, neutral, impartial and indecisive - the fence-sitter.
• Gold: Gold is the color of wealth, success, achievement and triumph and status.
• Silver: The color silver has a feminine energy; it is related to the moon and the ebb and flow of the tides - it is fluid, emotional, sensitive, mysterious, soothing, calming and purifying.
• Magenta: Magenta is a color of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life.
• Pink: The color pink represents compassion, nurturing and love. It relates to unconditional love and understanding, and the giving and receiving of nurturing.
• Turquoise: The meaning of the color turquoise is open communication and clarity of thought.
• Purple: The color purple relates to the imagination and spirituality. It stimulates the imagination and inspires high ideals.
• Indigo: The color indigo is the color of intuition, perception, and the higher mind, and is helpful in opening the third eye.
• Blue: The color blue is the color of trust and responsibility. It also brings distance and a wider point of view.
• Green: The color green is the color of balance,harmony and growth
• Yellow: The color yellow is the color of the mind and the intellect.
• Orange: The color of adventure and social communication. Orange offers emotional strength in difficult times.
• Red: The Meaning of the color red is energy, passion and action. It is a warm and positive color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive.

Found at: Empower Yourself With Color Psychology