Spiritual Living 101 - Creating a Magickal Crocheted Item

There are many ways to incorporate magick into your daily activities. If you crochet, you can work magick and spells right into your stitches to attain effects for yourself or others.

I have been crafting since the age of 5, and I've been Pagan since I was 18. It's no surprise that there came a time when I wanted to bring my faith and my art together. I know there are other methods out there for magickal crafting, but I'm going to share my method with you here.

The first thing you need to think about when doing magickal crochet is the goal you want to accomplish. Are you making a piece that will heal, ease sorrow, bring money, etc.? Have a clear goal in mind for your magickal working. Next, choose a project that suits itself to the goal. For instance, a blanket would be good for an emotional healing or comfort spell, and an amulet bag might be better for general healing or confidence. Choose your project and goal carefully before you proceed.

When it comes to a magickal item, you need to use with the right materials. You don't have to go to great expense, but you should make sure that the materials fit the purpose of the piece. Try to use yarn or thread that has the right "feel" for the end result. (For instance, if you're trying to bring comfort, a soft yarn would be good, is you're trying to bring strength, a tougher material may be better.) Also, think about what colors you associate with the magick you're working. If you're adding beads or other decorations, use ones that associate themselves with the goal you're looking to accomplish.

Now, for my method, I choose patterns that have only one or two types of stitch and don't require precise counting. Complicated patterns don't seem to work well for me when I'm bringing magick into it. Often, I create the pattern on my own rather than following one in a book, or I work a pattern that I have done often enough to have it memorized. You don't want a lot of other thoughts in your head while you're working, so simple is best.

I work my magick into each stitch or set of stitches by chanting in my head as I work. For example, I want to heal myself, and I'm doing a pattern that has chain 4 loops. Since my hook will make 4 motions, one for each chain, I chant "I am healthy now". Each movement has a word associated with it. Every chain 4 completes the chant. If I'm doing sets of 2 double crochets, my hook again makes 4 movements. The first dc is "I am", the second dc is "healthy now".

Sometimes I double the chant for added effect, For example, 2 dc will be "I am healthy now" and the ch 4 will be "good health is mine". You can choose the chant to fit the number of movements in your stitching and the purpose of the magick. This is why a simple, repetitive pattern is key. The words allow you to count without numbers, and the repetition sets the chant and its purpose in your mind.

As you work, try to make sure you're not under any negative influences, and keep your mind set on the chant. Don't allow other ideas or words to come into your mind, as they can affect the magick in the piece. Scattered personal energy will reflect in the final work, and it may not perform as expected. This method may seem a little odd at first, so try it with some non-magickal chants first until you get into the flow of it. Once you have it down, you can work magick into just about anything you can crochet.