I’m wondering what your thoughts are about preforming magical operations, or spells when a person’s health is compromised. Can health issues negatively affect magic? And if so, should a person refrain from preforming spells until their health is better, or are there some techniques someone could use to get around this?  ~ C.

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Performing magick when ill can be tricky for a number of reasons.  It requires the careful monitoring of your energy to ensure you don’t overtax your already weakened system.  It can violate the natural give and take that occurs when you’re sick — you’re supposed to take time for yourself when you’re sick, so what are you doing still trying to give more to someone else?  And if you’re doing a healing spell, you also have to concern yourself with bleedover to them (from you) and bleedover to you (from them) — you don’t want to be passing illnesses magickally.

By the fact that you asked me if there were ways around it, I will point out that (a) you already intuitively knew the best answer and (b) also recognize that it’s not going to be feasible for you to resist doing a working every time you’re ill.  That’s the way of any middle path — knowing the best answer “as a rule”, and also knowing and preparing for the times when you have to break that rule.

My first suggestion is to remember that the Gods are more powerful than any one of us.  Call for reinforcements.  Ask the Gods to work a miracle.  Ask your Angels for assistance.  Need is a powerful attractive force.  If you truly NEED to do a spell, then NEED can supply that extra energy that you’re lacking.  Obviously, I’m saying here that you shouldn’t do whimmy “Just Cause I Want It” magick when you’re sick.  That’s like saying you’re going to drive to your favorite restaurant across town when you have the flu for a sit-down meal just ’cause you feel like it.  Makes no sense right?  Well, doing magick for stuff you just “want” when you’re sick makes NO BLOODY SENSE!  If it’s a NEED, the magick will draw from a different energy core.  It will still drain you, though, but there are times that working the magick and releasing the Need also releases the Stress and sometimes that alone can relieve the illness.  However, when you turn something over to the Gods and ask them to intervene, you are calling upon a Source — the SOURCE — and this doesn’t drain you, doesn’t tax you, and doesn’t require you to guide the magick to its necessary conclusion.  It does require you to surrender though, and since some people have trouble with surrender, there’s also…

Spellwork.  My suggestion is to do spellwork when you’re feeling good, healthy, vibrant.  You can make spells up in advance for protection, healing, peace, stress-relief, and many other things.  Concoct the spell completely except for the final step of naming the person for whom the spell is being worked.  Charge it, wrap it, set it aside.  When you need to pull it out to do the spell, it’s ready to go except for the final “aiming” part.  Think of it like you making a bow, an arrow, a bowstring, and having them all on hand.  When the time comes to fire the arrow (ie, you have a target), you’ll have everything ready to go and all you’ll need to do is set up the bow, nock the arrow, draw, aim, and release.  That’s a lot easier than a to-do list of make bow, make arrow, make bowstring, then all the aiming and firing stuff, don’t you think?

Health issues can negatively affect magick — mostly in the terms of how much energy you are able to put forth into a working and then the after-effects upon you from the exertion.  Being grounded helps, calling for reinforcements (the Gods, etc) helps, working when you’re healthy and being pro-active helps.  There are ways around it.  But think of it like dealing with any long-term illness or permanent injury.  Most people with a mitigating circumstance or condition can find ways to do what they want to do and need to do regardless of any limitation.  It’s about modification, planning, and sheer willpower.

But then, we’re Witches, right?  We can handle that!  *smile*

Photo by Eddi 07 (via Flickr).