Guide to Writing Poetry Spells
By Stephanie Valente
Poems are magic. Reading a good, no great, poem is a certain time of magic. The words wrap and weave around you all on their own. It's infatuating, syrupy, and even intoxicating. It's a bit of glamour for our spirit. It's as if you are enchanted by just mere words.
In fact, poems are so powerful that they transcend ordinary life into something a little bit more. Poems are art. Poems are truth. Poems are fantasies. Poems are wishes. Poems are daydreams. Poems are manifestations. Poems are mantras. Poems are healing. Poems are spells.
So, why not write your own spell? A spell that sounds like, acts like, and there fore becomes a poem?
Weave magic in your everyday life with a personal poem. Cast a spell with a poem. Cover your poem with intentions and sigils. Shout it from the rooftops. Or, tuck your poem into a tiny piece of paper and keep it underneath your clothes, or maybe, even in a locket. How sublime is that? Totally sublime. And, completely entrenched in your own personal power. That's magic.
After all, to muse, to write, to think, to proclaim – that's true magic. What do you need to make or write a spell? Materials and intention. In this case, all you need is the writing instruments of your choice – pen, paper, or pencil and notecards, or your laptop. Whatever feels right and hums with your power.
What to do you want to put out into this world? What are you writing about? That is your intention.
The act of writing your poetry spell is grounding and magical all at once. The words move through your body and spirit. We visualize when we write. We say the words aloud. When you read or recite the poem, you cast the spell all over again. It never loses power. If you chose to share the poem with the world, it gains more power. If you chose to share the poem with only yourself, it gains more power. I think of poetry spells as cyclical, nourishing us with guidance, self-love, and self-reliance. It keeps giving and flowing as long as you let it. Keep flowing.
That being said, let's start a poetry spell with the joy of being. Just being present and existing is a truly wondrous gift. Let's give thanks.
For me, I write this poem (and the article!) with my favorite candle lit and a Brian Eno record in the background. Write without thinking, edit as necessary. In my private ritual, I handwrite the poem until it feels right to stop. I keep the candle lit for the length of a particular spell, I journal about the work and the process, and I take a bath at night with a crystal connected to the poem. I say the words aloud with meaning and intent.
My sacred peaches, with magic writing, do what feels intuitively right for you. Below is my spell poem to give thanks on being:
Joy of Being
i am here: i am sacred, i am love, i am light
i am above and below, i am within and without
i am joy: i am, i am, i am.
Stephanie Valente lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works as an editor. One day, she would like to be a silent film star. She is the author of Hotel Ghost (Bottlecap Press, 2015) and Waiting for the End of the World (Bottlecap Press, 2017). Her work has appeared in dotdotdash, Nano Fiction, LIES/ISLE, and Uphook Press. She can be found at her website.
