“Spells for an Age Of Mobile Phones”
By DONATELLA LORCH (NYT)
Published: July 14, 1996
Have you been sitting by the phone, pining for a call from that special someone? Try casting a spell instead. All you need is a touch of oregano, some fennel, dill and caraway seeds. Add to that one cotton ball (it might be a good idea to invest in a whole box for future use). Shape the cotton ball into the initial of the person you want to have call. Place it under the phone. Sprinkle the spices around the phone. Imagine the person picking up the phone and dialing, and you should soon be hearing from that person.
It could happen in 10 minutes, or it may take a couple of days, according to the instructions in “The Supermarket Sorceress,” a paperback of 75 simple spells and enchantments (St. Martin’s Press, $8.99).
It seems the days of “eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog” are long past. So is the era of the Inquisition and of ugly old hags with warts and crooked noses. Witchcraft and spells can now be at everyone’s fingertips. Shop Rite, Key Food, the Grand Union — they have it all. You just have to believe, which in itself might warrant a spell.
Want to lose weight? It could be all you need is celery and hot sauce. Bewitch your date with garlic, plum tomatoes, olive oil and basil.
“The spells are like car keys,” said Lexa Rosean, the author of the paperback, which came out in March with 25,000 copies in print.
Ms. Rosean, 37, with flaming red hair and green eyes, said she is also a witch, as well as a high priestess and a psychic, and is the head of one of hundreds of covens, or witches gatherings, in New York. These witches belong to the modern movement of Wicca, a reconstructionalist matriarchal religion, and modern witches like to be seen as healers. To become a witch, tradition dictates that you study for one year and one day under an initiated witch.
Ms. Rosean says her witchcraft is not about experimenting with the powers of evil, but about empowerment. She says she draws her spell recipes from an eclectic mix of practices: Greek, Roman, gypsy, Jewish, Christian and medieval, sprinkled with a great sense of humor.
After more than a decade of working magic with incense, oils and Traditional herbs, Ms. Rosean said, she explored the simpler methods and ingredients of ancient spells for her book. She tested new ingredients – substituting vanilla extract for tongue of dog, for instance, which is none other than wild vanilla leaf.
To test the book, a reporter spent $16.99 to buy the ingredients for three spells. First up, the phone spell. The mission was to entice a former boyfriend, who had been out of touch for months, to call.
Will this work on his land line or his mobile phone? It doesn’t matter, Ms. Rosean said.
But the signals apparently got crossed. He sent a fax that arrived several days later.
Whether the outcomes of the other spells were successful is unclear. A Spell for the safe delivery of a sister’s baby seemed to work. The delivery went fine, but the baby was born with fluid in his lungs and spent seven days in the hospital’s intensive care unit. (The baby is now fine.)
Then there was the “freeze your enemy” spell, in which the name of a Nemesis is written on a piece of paper, which is placed in a small container filled with water. This goes into the freezer. This is meant to make sure no one harms you. (So far so good.)
Ms. Rosean apparently has her share of satisfied customers. Some people have been coming to her for years to get spell recipes. She said she often receives calls for made-to-order spells.
A lot of the spells involve “mercurial herbs,” Ms. Rosean said. “They’re about communication,” she added. “I eat a lot of anise to break my writer’s block. It actually helps.”
(The reporter made a note of this.)
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
By DONATELLA LORCH (NYT)
Published: July 14, 1996
Have you been sitting by the phone, pining for a call from that special someone? Try casting a spell instead. All you need is a touch of oregano, some fennel, dill and caraway seeds. Add to that one cotton ball (it might be a good idea to invest in a whole box for future use). Shape the cotton ball into the initial of the person you want to have call. Place it under the phone. Sprinkle the spices around the phone. Imagine the person picking up the phone and dialing, and you should soon be hearing from that person.
It could happen in 10 minutes, or it may take a couple of days, according to the instructions in “The Supermarket Sorceress,” a paperback of 75 simple spells and enchantments (St. Martin’s Press, $8.99).
It seems the days of “eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog” are long past. So is the era of the Inquisition and of ugly old hags with warts and crooked noses. Witchcraft and spells can now be at everyone’s fingertips. Shop Rite, Key Food, the Grand Union — they have it all. You just have to believe, which in itself might warrant a spell.
Want to lose weight? It could be all you need is celery and hot sauce. Bewitch your date with garlic, plum tomatoes, olive oil and basil.
“The spells are like car keys,” said Lexa Rosean, the author of the paperback, which came out in March with 25,000 copies in print.
Ms. Rosean, 37, with flaming red hair and green eyes, said she is also a witch, as well as a high priestess and a psychic, and is the head of one of hundreds of covens, or witches gatherings, in New York. These witches belong to the modern movement of Wicca, a reconstructionalist matriarchal religion, and modern witches like to be seen as healers. To become a witch, tradition dictates that you study for one year and one day under an initiated witch.
Ms. Rosean says her witchcraft is not about experimenting with the powers of evil, but about empowerment. She says she draws her spell recipes from an eclectic mix of practices: Greek, Roman, gypsy, Jewish, Christian and medieval, sprinkled with a great sense of humor.
After more than a decade of working magic with incense, oils and Traditional herbs, Ms. Rosean said, she explored the simpler methods and ingredients of ancient spells for her book. She tested new ingredients – substituting vanilla extract for tongue of dog, for instance, which is none other than wild vanilla leaf.
To test the book, a reporter spent $16.99 to buy the ingredients for three spells. First up, the phone spell. The mission was to entice a former boyfriend, who had been out of touch for months, to call.
Will this work on his land line or his mobile phone? It doesn’t matter, Ms. Rosean said.
But the signals apparently got crossed. He sent a fax that arrived several days later.
Whether the outcomes of the other spells were successful is unclear. A Spell for the safe delivery of a sister’s baby seemed to work. The delivery went fine, but the baby was born with fluid in his lungs and spent seven days in the hospital’s intensive care unit. (The baby is now fine.)
Then there was the “freeze your enemy” spell, in which the name of a Nemesis is written on a piece of paper, which is placed in a small container filled with water. This goes into the freezer. This is meant to make sure no one harms you. (So far so good.)
Ms. Rosean apparently has her share of satisfied customers. Some people have been coming to her for years to get spell recipes. She said she often receives calls for made-to-order spells.
A lot of the spells involve “mercurial herbs,” Ms. Rosean said. “They’re about communication,” she added. “I eat a lot of anise to break my writer’s block. It actually helps.”
(The reporter made a note of this.)
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
