Scott Cunningham > Quotes

“We are not on this planet to ask forgiveness of our deities”
― Scott Cunningham, Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“Magic is natural. It is a harmonious movement of energies to create needed change. If you wish to practice magic, all thoughts of it being paranormal or supernatural must be forgotten.”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“In truly understanding the Goddess and God, one comes to understand life, for the two are inextricably entwined. Live your earthly life fully, but try to see the spiritual aspects of your activities as well. Remember—the physical and spiritual are but reflections of each other.”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“That perhaps is at the core of Wicca--it is a joyous union with nature. The earth is a manifestation of divine energy. Wicca's temples are flower-splashed meadows, forests, beaches, and deserts. When a Wicca is outdoors, she or he is actually surrounded by sanctity, much as is a Christian when entering a church or cathedral.”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“Wicca's temples are flowered-splashed meadows, forest, beaches, and deserts.”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“Weeds can be good friends; they're just herbs with different names.”
― Scott Cunningham, The Magical Household: Spells & Rituals for the Home

“Magic isn't the empty parroting of words and actions; it is an involved, emotionally charged experience in which the words and actions are used as focal points or keys to unlock the power that we all possess.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic

“Earth is our mother. It’s as fertile and nurturing as farmland; as moist as soil and as dry as sand. In its physical manifestations (such as stones), earth represents the densest of the elements.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic

“birch twigs, and a willow binding. The ash is protective, the birch is purifying, and the willow is sacred to the Goddesss. Of”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“Magical visualization is actually positive imagining.”
― Scott Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen

“Personal power is raised (through tightening the muscles), focused with a goal (through visualization), and released to bring that goal into manifestation.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic

“Yellow is an excellent color for those involved with divination. Purple is favored for those who work with pure divine power (magicians) or who wish to deepen their spiritual awareness of the Goddess and God. Blue is suited for healers and those who work with their psychic awareness or for attuning with the Goddess in her oceanic aspect.”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“We cannot and must not give love to others before we have respect and love for ourselves. Except out of compassion or pity, who would love us if we don’t even like ourselves?”
― Scott Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen

“Red: Maintaining health, bodily strength, physical energy, sex, passion, courage, protection, and defensive magic. This is the color of the element of fire. Throughout the world, red is associated with life and death, for this is the color of blood spilled in both childbirth and injury. Pink: Love, friendship, compassion, relaxation. Pink candles can be burned during rituals designed to improve self-love. They’re ideal for weddings and for all forms of emotional union. Orange: Attraction, energy. Burn to attract specific influences or objects. Yellow: Intellect, confidence, divination, communication, eloquence, travel, movement. Yellow is the color of the element of air. Burn yellow candles during rituals designed to heighten your visualization abilities. Before studying for any purpose, program a yellow candle to stimulate your conscious mind. Light the candle and let it burn while you study. Green: Money, prosperity, employment, fertility, healing, growth. Green is the color of the element of earth. It’s also the color of the fertility of the earth, for it echoes the tint of chlorophyll. Burn when looking for a job or seeking a needed raise. Blue: Healing, peace, psychism, patience, happiness. Blue is the color of the element of water. This is also the realm of the ocean and of all water, of sleep, and of twilight. If you have trouble sleeping, charge a small blue candle with a visualization of yourself sleeping through the night. Burn for a few moments before you get into bed, then extinguish its flame. Blue candles can also be charged and burned to awaken the psychic mind. Purple: Power, healing severe diseases, spirituality, meditation, religion. Purple candles can be burned to enhance all spiritual activities, to increase your magical power, and as a part of intense healing rituals in combination with blue candles. White: Protection, purification, all purposes. White contains all colors. It’s linked with the moon. White candles are specifically burned during purification and protection rituals. If you’re to keep but one candle on hand for magical purposes, choose a white one. Before use, charge it with personal power and it’ll work for all positive purposes. Black: Banishing negativity, absorbing negativity. Black is the absence of color. In magic, it’s also representative of outer space. Despite what you may have heard, black candles are burned for positive purposes, such as casting out baneful energies or to absorb illnesses and nasty habits. Brown: Burned for spells involving animals, usually in combination with other colors. A brown candle and a red candle for animal protection, brown and blue for healing, and so on.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic

“If you’re consciously psychic at will, you won’t need divination.”
― Scott Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic

“Eggs, like our politics and morals, now come prepackaged.”
― Scott Cunningham, Magic of Food: Legends, Lore & Spellwork

“The Wiccan ideal of morality is simple: do what you want, as long as you harm none.”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“to be happy This requires a round mirror and a photograph of yourself taken in happier times. The photograph should include no one but yourself. Prop the mirror so that it stands straight on its edge. Next, place the picture on a nearby table, the wall, a chair, or on some other object. The picture should be reflected within the mirror. Allow the mirror to reflect the photograph for at least three minutes. During this time, recall those happier days. Immerse yourself in them. Don’t allow your concentration to waver and melt into a sea of tears concerning your current state; keep your mind firmly fixed on those happier days. Now, sit within the mirror’s reflection, i.e., between the mirror and the picture. Stay there until your sadness truly blossoms into happiness. Repeat as needed.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic

“Preparing a Mirror for Magic It’s best to perform some type of short ritual before using any mirror for magical purposes. Since mirrors are ruled by the element of water, we’ll use water to purify them. The process is simple. Do this ritual at night. You’ll need a vessel of some kind that’s larger than the mirror (a bucket, a large bowl, a bathtub, even a pond, river, or the ocean). Dip the mirror into the water. As you do this, say: What was here . . . Lift the mirror from the water. Say: I wash away. Do this thirteen times, each time completely submersing the mirror, then completely removing it from the water. If the moon is visible in the sky, hold the mirror up to receive its rays for a few moments. Dry the mirror. Holding it in your hands, say these or similar words: You are now a tool of magic. Assist me in my rites! Next, wrap the mirror in blue or white cloth and store in some special place until you have need of it.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic

“Rousing, Programming, Releasing, and Directing Energy[.] This is the heart of magic.”
― Scott Cunningham, Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects

“The basis of herb magic—and all magic—is the power. This power has worn many names and forms through the centuries; at times even its existence was kept secret; at others it was common knowledge. The power is that which generated and maintains the universe. It is the power that germinates seeds, raises winds, and spins our planet. It is the energy behind birth, life, and death. Everything in the universe was created by it, contains a bit of it, and is answerable to it.”
― Scott Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

“Magic is, in a sense, true individualism, for it allows us as individuals to take control of our lives and work to improve them.”
― Scott Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic

“Magic doesn’t produce miracles; it produces needed changes.”
― Scott Cunningham, Magic of Food: Legends, Lore & Spellwork

“The practice of magic is not evil or destructive–-Witches and folk magicians, through timeless rituals, are only drawing upon natural energies found within the earth and our bodies to create positive, life-affirming change.”
― Scott Cunningham, The Truth About Witchcraft Today

“Kielteisen magian harjoittajaa uhkaavat monet vaarat. Magia saattaa hyvinkin toimia, mutta edessä olevan rangaistuksen ankaruus kumoaa saavutetun hyödyn vääjäämättä.
Yksi magian periaatteista on se, että sen harjoittaja saa aina takaisin samaa mitä on itse antanut. --- Kielteisen magian harjoittaja saa vastaansa pelkkää kielteisyyttä, joka lopulta tuhoaa hänet.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic

“Destroy not life save it be to preserve your own.”
― Scott Cunningham, Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“The Goddess gives birth to a son, the God, at Yule (circa December 21). This is in no way an adaptation of Christianity. The winter solstice has long been viewed as a time of divine births. Mithras was said to have been born at this time. The Christians simply adopted it for their use in 273 C.E. (Common Era).”
― Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

“Herb magic is the utilization of the energies contained within herbs to create positive transformations. This practice doesn’t solely rely on plant power to create these changes, though. The magician sends energy into the herbs from her or his own body. The two energies (human and plant) are mixed, given purpose, and sent forth to their magical goal.”
― Scott Cunningham, The Truth about Herb Magic

“By hill and wind,
by flame and brook,
by shining moon and sea,
I place a bind
upon this book
that it return to me.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic

“Magic is many things to many people. To me, magic is the movement of subtle, natural energies to manifest needed change.”
― Scott Cunningham, Magical Aromatherapy: The Power of Scent