The Day Everything I Thought I Knew About Magic Changed And how being poor led to my greatest discovery about magic — ever...

Spring, 1995

Dear Willow,

Today was such a momentous day. I thought it would be magical. And it was… just not for the reasons I expected.

After wanting a magical book for what felt like ages, I was finally able to purchase one. It was perfect: a big, heavy, thick spell book - specifically written for solitary witches. It was perfect.

When I got home, I found some quiet time and space and searched through the spells it offered. I chose the one I wanted most first. And read through the ingredient and tool list. The very long list….

I had a few items on the list— but most were nowhere to be found in my apartment. I had some candles, but not the right colored ones. The candles, it felt to me, were the most important part to “get right” for the spell.

Looking again at the list, I was so disheartened. I would need a full shopping trip to get all of these items. And it looked like about $100— a small fortune at the time.

…After hardly being able to afford the book, $100 in ingredients was clearly out of the question. (And all just for one spell to do one time!)

I was sad, disappointed, frustrated. I finally had what I thought would unlock real magic for me. But all I seemed to have was a list of reasons why I couldn’t.

I took a deep breath, and continued reading the spell. I read the steps. Then I read the notes at the bottom. The author—bless her for this—wrote things like:

If you don’t have this color candle, you can use white.
If you don’t have this herb, you can use that herb.
You don’t need to use my words; you can use your own.

I read those words over a few times, processing what I was reading… And that, dear friend, is when everything changed.

Everything that I thought I knew about magic changed—forever.

And if the magic came from me, then none of these other things— ingredients, tools, elements, circles, ritual, incantations… NONE of them were necessary.

By finally acquiring a real spell book, I thought I had what I needed to perform all the magic I could think of.

What I found instead, was the secret that would lead me on a journey to discover how to make the magic come from me, to create, transmute, and transform reality at my will.

   Until the next moon,