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12th C. Herbal
Invocation
'Earth, divine Goddess, Mother Nature
who generates all things and brings forth anew the sun which you have given to the nations; Guardian of sky and sea and of
all gods and powers....through your power all nature falls silent and then sinks in sleep. And again you bring back the light
and chase away night and yet again you cover us most securely with your shades. You do contain chaos infinite, yea and winds
and showers and storms; you send them out when you will and cause the seas to roar; you chase away the sun and rouse the storm.
Again when you will you send forth the joyous day and give the nourishment of life with your eternal surety; and when the
soul departs to you we return. You are indeed duly called Great Mother of the Gods; you conquer by your divine name. You are
the source of strength of nations and of gods, without you nothing can be brought to perfection or be born; you are Great
Queen of the Gods. Goddess! I adore thee as divine; I call upon your name; be pleased the grant that which I ask of you, so
shall I give thanks to thee, Goddess, with due faith.
Hear, I beseech you, and be favorable
to my prayer. Whatsoever herb your power does produce, give, I pray, with goodwill to all nations to save them and grant me
this my medicine. Come to me with your powers, and howsoever I may use them, may they have good success to whosoever I may
give them. Whatever you grant, may it prosper. To you all things return. Those who rightly receive these herbs from me, please
make them whole. Goddess, I beseech you, I pray as a suppliant that by your majesty you grant this to me.
Now I make intercession to you all
your powers and herbs and to your majesty, you whom Earth parent of all has produced and given as a medicine of health to
all nations and has put majesty upon you, I pray you, the greatest help to the human race. This I pray and beseech from you,
be present here with your virtues, for She who created you has Herself promised that I may gather you into the goodwill of
him on whom the art of medicine was bestowed, and grant for health's sake good medicine by grace of your powers. I pray grant
me through your virtues that whatsoever is wrought by me through you may in all it's powers have good and speedy effect and
good success and that I may always be permitted with the favor of your majesty to gather you into my hands and to glean your
fruits. So shall I give thanks to you in the name of the majesty which ordained your birth.'
A Spirit-Summoning
Spell
To create an incense portal for
summoning
the ancestor spirits from the otherworld, you will need an altar complete with pictures and items to honor them. In a strongly
protected
circle, place lavender, cinnamon, and wormwood on the coals. Call out only to benevolent and loving ancestor
spirits by saying:
Blood of my blood, you spirits
of love,
Come from below and from above;
Entities loving who wish me well,
Come to this circle when I sound the
bell.
Intone a bell three times and
welcome the ancestors’ spirits. Afterwards, ring the bell seven times to send them back through the portal so you can
close your circle.
By: Edain McCoy
Al-Uzza
The Mighty. Goddess of love and fertility.
Al-Uzzah rules birth, death, marriage, springs, warfare, raids, grain, the
Zodiac, the change of the seasons, the course of heavenly bodies, and Venus as the morning star. The many variant spellings
of her name include Al Uzzah, al-Uzza, Al ëUzza, Al Uzza, ëUzza, and Uzza. Her titles include The Great One, The Propitious,
and The Venus of Mecca.
Al-Uzzahís symbols include an acacia tree, a cluster of acacia trees, three
samura palm trees, and the stone in the Ka'aba at Mecca. Green, her sacred color, was adopted by Islam as its sacred color. The
acacia is her sacred tree. Grain and Syrian rue, the harmala plant, are also sacred to Al-Uzzah. Granite and meteorites are
her sacred stones. Her sacred animals include the cow, lioness, and snake. In her aspect as Mari (also spelled Meri), she
is a sea goddess. Meriís title is The Fish, and dolphins are sacred to her.
Invoke Al-Uzzah for fertility, battle, marriage, riches, astrology, oracles,
love spells, seasonal magic, the fertility of crops, killing or taming wild beasts, and guidance in adventures. Invoke her
as Mari for sea spells, and to protect seafarers. Al Uzzah received blood offerings in ancient times, sacrifices of humans
and animals. She was also honored with visitations, pilgrimages to the places where her trees stood, or where her stone stood
with a canopy above it.
Aphrodite
Born
of the foam. Goddess of beauty and sexual love.
Aphrodite rules love, sexuality,
sensuality, desire, gardens, marriage, fertility, war, victory, affection, trysts, brothels, aphrodisiacs, pornography,
voyeurism, exhibitionism, Nature, promiscuity, female beauty, physical beauty, the sex act, carnal love, sexual freedom, love
affairs, sexual encounters, and death in-life. She is the matron of courtesans and prostitutes.
Aphrodite is also called Aphrodite
Antheia (of the flowers), Aphrodite Areia (warlike), Aphrodite Acraea (of the height), Aphrodite Camaetho (bright-haired),
Aphrodite Cnidian, Aphrodite Cytherea, Cyprian Aphrodite or Aphrodite Cypris (of Cyprus), Aphrodite Doritis (bountiful), Aphrodite
Erycina (of the heather), Aphrodite Euploia (fair voyage), and Aphrodite Schoenus (of the rush basket). Her many titles include
Immortal Aphrodite, Golden One, Aphrodite of the Gardens, Aphrodite of the Mandrakes, Aphrodite of the Goats, and Eldest of
the Fates. She is also Aphrodite Anadyomene, She Who Rises from the Waves; Aphrodite Epitymbidia, She Upon the Graves; Aphrodite
Melaina, the Black One; and Aphrodite Pandemos, Goddess of All the People. Pythagoreans called her Dual-Triple Goddess, and
Christians called her The Number of Sin.
In her sexual aspect she is called
Peeping Aphrodite, Aphrodite the Courtesan, Aphrodite of Brothels, Aphrodite of Streetwalkers; Aphrodite Philommedes, Lover
of Genitals; Aphrodite Androphonos, Man-Slayer; and Aphrodite Porne or Pornos (for the whores), The Titillator. As Aphrodite
Urania or Aphrodite Ouranos her titles are Sky Borne, The Heavenly One, and Queen of the Mountain. Aphrodite of the Flowers
is her springtime aspect, and Aphrodite Camaetho is her summer or autumn aspect.
Hesperus is Aphroditeís star. Salt,
especially sea salt, is her jewel. Six is her number, the hexagon is her shape, and a magical girdle is her tool. Her colors
are pink, white, blue, green, and scarlet. Her sacred herbs are cinnamon, marjoram, rose, rowan, poppy, mandrake, myrtle,
quince, and orris root. Apple and cypress are her sacred trees. Heather is sacred to Aphrodite Erycina. The goat, leopard,
tortoise, ram, bee, and dolphin are Aphroditeís sacred animals. All fish are sacred to her, especially cuttlefish, sturgeon,
tunny, and the periwinkle, scallop, and sea urchin. Aphroditeís sacred birds include dove, partridge, sparrow, swallow, swan,
goose, sea mew, and all sea birds. The owl is sacred to Aphrodite Camaetho.
Aphroditeís symbols include scallop
shell, spiral conch shell, mirror, honeycomb, and hexagon. The hexagon, called the Flower of Aphrodite, can be used as an
amulet for the safe delivery of a baby. Aphrodite was depicted as a beautiful woman, naked or wearing jewels, fine gowns,
and golden slippers. In some traditions she is considered to be androgenous, or to have a beard. Her feast days are February
6, February 14-21 (Festival of Aphrodite), and July 9 (Aphrodisia of Aphrodite Pandemos). Honor Aphrodite at Beltane; honor
her as Aphrodite Urania or Aphrodite Erycina at Midsummer.
Invoke Aphrodite for attraction,
passion, beauty, victory, fertility, lust, battle, regeneration, eroticism, love spells, physical beauty, sex magic, sexual
freedom, sacred prostitution, sacramental promiscuity, and the sanctity of marriage. She can also be invoked for attracting
love, taking lovers, protecting sailors, flouting convention, falling in love, increasing self esteem, surviving marriage
to an unsuitable mate, and for loving and leaving a man. Invoke her as Aphrodite Antheia for flower magic, and as Aphrodite
Urania for spiritual love. Invoke Aphrodite of the Gardens for farming and garden magic. Invoke her as Aphrodite Porne or
Aphrodite Pandemos for carnal love.
Aphrodite is most powerfully invoked
wherever the ocean foams up. The Great Rite is an appropriate offering to her, because the mating of humans is said to delight
her. Sacred prostitution was practiced at some of her temples. The Temple of Aphrodite
at Paphos gave lumps of salt and phalluses to pilgrims. She was worshiped as the Queen Bee on Mt.
Eryx. There, her priestesses were called melissae (bees), and the high priestess
was called Bee
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