I've been thinking about money a lot lately. There's the "gosh I need more money" type thought, of course. But I have also been thinking about physical money; coins and dollar bills. This week I started scrutinizing my pocket change for hidden treasures, and it led me to thinking about coins as objects, and as the subject of spells.
Naturally every witch for hire offers a money spell. I imagine money and love are just about the only two things people ask for magical help with these days. We don't often have to ask for a good harvest (although that's probably the historical version of "more money").
One element many of these spells have in common is the moon. A good example of this is collected on the Spells and Magic website. It advises you to "fill your cauldron half full of water and drop a silver coin in it," then position the cauldron so that moonlight falls into it, while you perform a small ceremony.
The connection between the moon and silver coins is an old one, part of ancient lore and myth. (And of course a key element in Neil Gaiman's book American Gods.) The moon looks like a silver coin in the sky, and its light is silvery.
(Of course these days if you want to take "silver coin" literally you will need a quarter or dime minted in 1964 or earlier. Modern coins are made of nickel-plated copper.)
One interesting philosophical difference I note between money spells is what you do with the money after you perform the spell. Out of the spells I found, about half of them have you keep the money. The other half instruct you to either spend it or give it away.
(Keeping the money signifies "money as an item to be hoarded," whereas spending it signifies "money as a commodity in flow." Although keeping the money probably makes more sense, it seems a bit miserly. I find the idea of giving money to get money more appealing to my Inner Hippie.)
Green is another common element, for obvious reasons. (I wonder what spells are like in countries outside the U.S., where the currency isn't green?) Green threads and string and yarn are frequently part of the money ritual. Occasionally the author will specify that a green candle should be lit. More often, a green herb is included as well.
Surprisingly, the color gold, salt, and the sun make only rare appearances in money spells. All three of these things have been traditionally connected to wealth and prosperity in the past. (Think of the leprechaun's pot of gold coins, just as one example!) In fact I only found one spell which used these elements. It has you set out dollar bills, sea salt, and polished stones in the sun for at least three hours. Then you spend the money, and give away the stones.
Regardless of the spell's details, any spell worth its snuff specifies that it be performed on a Thursday. This is because Thursday was originally the namesake of Jupiter, ruler of wealth and power. (Although English has named the day after Thor, it retains its Jupiter roots in the Romance languages, being Jeudi in French, Jueves in Spanish, and so forth.)
Naturally every witch for hire offers a money spell. I imagine money and love are just about the only two things people ask for magical help with these days. We don't often have to ask for a good harvest (although that's probably the historical version of "more money").
One element many of these spells have in common is the moon. A good example of this is collected on the Spells and Magic website. It advises you to "fill your cauldron half full of water and drop a silver coin in it," then position the cauldron so that moonlight falls into it, while you perform a small ceremony.
The connection between the moon and silver coins is an old one, part of ancient lore and myth. (And of course a key element in Neil Gaiman's book American Gods.) The moon looks like a silver coin in the sky, and its light is silvery.
(Of course these days if you want to take "silver coin" literally you will need a quarter or dime minted in 1964 or earlier. Modern coins are made of nickel-plated copper.)
One interesting philosophical difference I note between money spells is what you do with the money after you perform the spell. Out of the spells I found, about half of them have you keep the money. The other half instruct you to either spend it or give it away.
(Keeping the money signifies "money as an item to be hoarded," whereas spending it signifies "money as a commodity in flow." Although keeping the money probably makes more sense, it seems a bit miserly. I find the idea of giving money to get money more appealing to my Inner Hippie.)
Green is another common element, for obvious reasons. (I wonder what spells are like in countries outside the U.S., where the currency isn't green?) Green threads and string and yarn are frequently part of the money ritual. Occasionally the author will specify that a green candle should be lit. More often, a green herb is included as well.
Surprisingly, the color gold, salt, and the sun make only rare appearances in money spells. All three of these things have been traditionally connected to wealth and prosperity in the past. (Think of the leprechaun's pot of gold coins, just as one example!) In fact I only found one spell which used these elements. It has you set out dollar bills, sea salt, and polished stones in the sun for at least three hours. Then you spend the money, and give away the stones.
Regardless of the spell's details, any spell worth its snuff specifies that it be performed on a Thursday. This is because Thursday was originally the namesake of Jupiter, ruler of wealth and power. (Although English has named the day after Thor, it retains its Jupiter roots in the Romance languages, being Jeudi in French, Jueves in Spanish, and so forth.)
Photo credit: Flickr/AMagill