Spell Jars and Making Magic

Sometimes, it feels like the magic begins to happen before the magic happens.

I’ve been creating a bunch of things for the shop recently, and one of the things that I’ve been really excited about are spell jars. While one could make an amulet in really anything that will carry them, the aesthetic of a little jar filled with herbs, stones, and stuff really seems to be popular. I’ve had a selection of little jars for this project for a bit, but it takes me a little longer than most to actually get to a project. 

Now that I’m hitting my stride with creating and enchanting, my brain is really shooting out ideas. Well, not just my brain.

Spirits are a big part of this process as well. 

Let me explain my process yesterday for creating the spell jars that I made. 

Josh and I were talking about boring financial stuff at the beginning of the day, as one does when they own a business. It was a Thursday, the day of Jupiter, and that made it a good day to think about any business enchantments that might help us along. So, I decided to break out my copy of “Financial Sorcery” by Jason Miller. 

You know. As one does. 

While looking through the book (one that is helpful both in business magic as well as some solid basic financial advice), it struck me. I should make a Jupiter spell jar. An amulet for abundance, gravitas, and luck is something that people would generally like. 

When making my spell jars, I start with figuring out what materia I will be putting in the jar. I like usually putting in a talisman or sigil on paper rolled up, putting in a little bit of a stone or some dirt, then adding three herbs (I am fond of working with the number three magically). 

The sigil I wanted to use was a sigil of Jupiter that Jason makes available both in his financial sorcery book and his Advanced Planetary Magic write up in one of his courses. I cut up some papers and get drawing, all while chanting a suggested mantra for Jupiter that is in Jason’s book: Iovis Optimus Maximus (in English, Jove, another name for Jupiter, most great and most powerful). 

Next is the stone. I want something to draw in success, so my mind immediately goes to something magnetic. I go for the magnetic sand in the shop. I feel my spirits give me a Nope. They direct me to the magnetic hematite rings. I say hematite, but natural hematite can’t be magnetized (as I understand it). If it can be magnetized, it’s actually a man made hematite. Still does the grounding work of hematite, so it’s still a good seller at the shop. With the magnetism, though, it really wanted to be part of the spell jar that I was making. 

Sigh.

So, instead of using easily accessible magnetic sand, I begin the process of breaking up a ring into small bits that will fit in the tiny jars that I am filling. Because I feel led to do so by my helping spirits. While the extra bit of work might have seemed extraneous, I feel my body start to slip into a more magical consciousness. The magic had begun. Whether it was triggered by the focused drawing of the sigil while chanting, or just my spirits ready to create some magic, I don’t know. I just know that I was “doing the thing.” My body started to move to an internal beat as I added the crushed hematite bits.

Next on the list was the herbs. I usually use three. I get the message from my helping spirits to use four. Thinking that there might be some synchronicity, I look up the traditional astrological number association with Jupiter. It’s three. I double check with my helping spirits. They want four herbs.

I shrug, and decide to trust them. I head over to the herb shelf and begin to look for Jupiterian herbs to add to the jar. I know off the top of my head that both oak and dandelion have Jupiterian connections, so I grab them. Lemon balm and cedar grab my attention. Both are traditionally considered Jupiterian, but they have very different vibes. I love it! That will work nicely. 

To add an extra bit of abundance, I add a little bit of a dollar to each jar. The next astrological hour of Jupiter was coming up, so I readied my space. In Jason’s book, he had a Jupiterian invocation that I wanted to tweak and use to bless the jars. Following it was a continuation of the blessing, invoking four Roman goddesses that were compatible with Jupiter work. 

Ah! There’s the four. Perhaps it was an herb each for these goddesses. Victoria, embodiment of Victory and Triumph. Concordia, the embodiment of Harmony. Libertas, the embodiment of Liberty. Abundanta, the embodiment of Abundance and Prosperity. The way that he presents the blessing in the book was reminiscent of a system that he teaches in a Hekateaen class that I have taken with him, so I took the blessing from the book, changed its focus to blessing the jars, and leaning into the mandala system that he mentions in both the book and his class. 

When it was the right time, I grabbed “The Big Book of Magical Incense” by Sara Mastros to look at her recipe for a Jupiter incense. If you are into creating loose incense mixes, I really suggest this book. It’s fantastic. I mixed up something similar to her recipe, all while chanting the Jove chant. Working with what I had in the shop, I made an offering of a homemade coffee vodka, incense, and a candle as I blessed the jars. I sealed the jars with purple wax (purple being a traditional color of Jupiter).

I felt like it needed to “cook,” so I left the room and let the spirits do their thing. I’m pretty happy with the results. 

So far, I have only two spell jars ready for sale here at the shop. I will have them online later this week, if you're interested in buying one. I have the Jupiterian one that I made which I’m calling By Jove! I also have one that I’ve made for Boundaries and Protection, using a SATOR square, black tourmaline, yew, mullein, and myrrh. I really dig that one. 

And today? Today, on the day of Venus in the hour of Mercury, I will be making a jar called Grace’s Glamor. I’ve only added the three of cups card from tarot (from a very tiny deck) and pyrite, as well as harvested some wild flowers that are drying presently, but I can feel it starting to pull in some juju. 

Magic is a weird, non linear process. 

Oh! As an addendum, I used the Jupiter incense today for the shop. I was quite pleased with it. I think I am especially in love with hyssop. I have decided that it needs to be in my clearing incense blends, as it does such a great job with purification work. Josh also enjoyed it, and has claimed the remainder for his room during his readings today.