SHIMMER SPELL; My Book of Shadows; S&D Columns

Late last night as I was sat watching one of my Charmed DVD box sets, I suddenly got the urge to do something that I have been putting off for months - that is, to organise all the columns I wrote for Spirit&Destiny magazine, and put them into a portfolio.

When I finished writing for S&D in February 2017, I cut out all my columns and threw the magazines away to make space in my study. Eight years worth of back issues took up a lot of space!  So out the magazines went to be recycled and my columns were put into a plastic envelope folder for safe keeping.  A couple of weeks later I bought a ream of cream card, half a dozen glue sticks and 200 poly pockets; but I still didn't get around to doing anything with them. 

I think that I was procrastinating because I hadn't fully let the magazine go at that point in time.  While I was very happy not to be writing spells every month and while my head and my life had already moved on into psychotherapy writing, my heart was still very much attached to my column.  Spirit&Destiny was such a big part of my life for so many years - eight and a half years to be exact - and I think I needed more time for my heart to release this aspect of my working life. 

I never imagined that I'd stay with S&D for so long.  Initially I was asked if I wanted to write a full page series on my style of pro-active, life issue based witchcraft, but it was only meant to last for six months. Well, the full page series actually lasted for two years and the editors liked it so much, they then made it a permanent feature in the witchcraft section of the magazine. From then on I was their key-stone, highest paid columnist, producing over one hundred columns and writing almost 73,000 words in column inches for them over the years. That's an entire book! 

Other magazine writers copied the format and even though my column was the first of its kind to introduce reader participation, soon rival magazines had their own 'witching hour' column too, so I started a trend!  But I will always have the satisfaction of knowing that I was the first writer to come up with the idea of inviting readers to cast the same spell, at the same time, on the same day. Yeah, that was all me, and this originality is the reason I think the column was so successful for so long. 

A year on and last night I finally felt ready to tackle the portfolio. This took longer than I anticipated, but as I was watching Charmed at the time, I was struck by the similarities between what I was doing and what I was watching - because three hours later, what I had actually created was a witch's Book of Shadows, not just a writer's portfolio.   

Over the years in my column I have covered so many issues;  anxiety, jealousy, success, creativity, love, prosperity, stress, fertility, reconciliation, protection...I could go on, but I won't.  There are also more traditional spells here too - spells to call a familiar or to empower a pendulum.  In some cases I can clearly remember what inspired me to write a particular spell or to give a column a certain theme.  The Protect a Loved One column was based on the fact that my soldier was serving in Afghanistan at the time; the Rite to Remember column was inspired by my own experience of having flashbacks.  There are spells for Truth, Independence and Fulfilment - all values that I hold dear.  

Of course writers always put something of themselves into their work, but I hadn't realised just how personal the column was, until I saw them all together, one after the other, bound together into a BOS, offering a reflection of my life.  My final words for Spirit&Destiny at the end of my last column were "walk away and don't look back" - this wasn't even intentionally written at the time, but it struck a chord with me last night, as that is exactly what I did.  I walked right away, with my head up, and I didn't look back once...until last night...and now all I feel when I look at my collected columns is a sense of pride and gratitude.  

I am proud of every word I wrote for what was then, the top selling MBS magazine in the UK.  It wasn't always easy; there were rough patches and hiccups along the way, but I'm proud of my work with S&D and grateful for the experience.  In my very first column I suggested to readers that they cut out my columns and keep them safe.  I wonder how many of them did so?  Last night I finally took my own advice and I had a moment of insight, because during my time as a Wiccan author I have often thought to myself "Mmm, maybe I should write and publish a Book Of Shadows" .  It was the one aspect of my magical writing that I felt I had left undone.  Not anymore!  Now I know that I did indeed write and publish an entire Book of Shadows - I just did it in over 100 monthly instalments! I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I am proud of my time with Spirit&Destiny and the magazine will always hold a special place in my heart, but now that I have this lovely Book of Shadows created by my very own columns, I feel that I have finally let the magazine go once and for all.  

After all moving on is good for the soul.  

Blessed Be.