Authored By: Dr. Oswald Widdershins, D.Div. (Unaccredited as far as we can tell.)
This will serve as a rough introduction and guide to “magical spells” and “rituals” that one may find useful. Unlike other “grimoires”, with their over-the-top tone and dramatic prose, I will structure this simply as a research guide for curious individuals who seek to create their own spells.
In order to understand this essay, I will first need to explain what “magic” truly is, and the theories which surround my understanding of it.
Within the universe, there are the laws of nature and the laws of divinity. These are the two fundamental magical forces within existence. There is no such thing as “black” magic, nor “white” magic. The rituals and powers one gains through magic come only from either the Natural Law or the Divine Law.
The Natural Law, or “Natural Powers”, consists of forces which exist within our universe. Mathematics primarily makes up the core of Natural Law, as mathematics describes the relationships, ratios, cycles, geometry and patterns through which the material universe operates.
Those who practice Natural Law are often described as “druids”, “witches”, or “warlocks”. These practices deal with the material realm.
In the most basic sense, if you can see it, hear it, smell it, taste it or otherwise experience it as part of this universe, it belongs to the material realm.
This materialism also extends to “spirits”.
By material, I do not necessarily mean that something must possess flesh, mass or a physical body. Rather, I mean that it exists within the universe and remains subject to its natural laws. A spirit, therefore, may lack a conventional physical form while still remaining a natural phenomenon rather than something transcendent.
Ancient ancestors of many European peoples followed spiritual “deities” which represented material concepts. Examples include gods of fire, health, trade, fertility, war and the sea. These forces are located within, or emerge from, the material realm.
The Divine Law, also referred to as the “Heavenly Powers” or “Divine Powers”, is the antithesis of the Natural Law.
These powers originate beyond the material realm.
The best example of this is the modern depiction of YAHWEH, the “God of Heavenly Hosts”. When one thinks of “Heaven”, they typically imagine a different “plane of existence” than the one we inhabit. It is from such an immaterial realm that the Divine Powers supposedly originate.
Divine Law is therefore not primarily concerned with objects or concepts contained within our material plane. Those who practice the Divine Powers are usually considered “priests”, members of the “clergy”, prophets or other religious practitioners who use ritualistic prayer as a means of empowerment.
These two powers are opposed to one another.
For approximately two thousand years, the immaterial has been the clear victor.
With the rise of Christianity and Islam, alongside the development of Judaism—which I dispute should be understood as a truly “ancient” religion in its modern form, and instead view as emerging from the transformation of older Israelite polytheistic traditions—the religious landscape of the West shifted heavily towards the Divine Law.
The fall of the so-called “pagan religions”, and indeed their near-total destruction, caused a corresponding decline in the understanding and practice of true Natural Powers.
I believe many modern magi have become far too focused on the immaterial. This is largely because of how dominant the Abrahamic faiths have become in the West, and because of philosophical traditions associated with concepts such as the Platonic Forms, which will be discussed later.
While Natural Law and Divine Law are fundamentally different, practitioners of either will still need to perform “rituals”.
To those who follow Natural Law, these rituals may be understood as spells or spellcraft. Those who follow Divine Law may instead understand ritual as prayer, invocation, sacrament or religious ceremony.
Ritualcraft is an essential component of magic and may empower the practitioner in a variety of ways.
Firstly, we will examine how a ritual might appear within the Natural Law.
A basic scrying ritual will be described below. Later, this can be contrasted with a ritual belonging to the Divine Law.
I am a follower of the Natural Law, and I will most certainly be biased towards it.
Items Required:
- A single candle.
- A handheld reflective mirror, preferably the colour of obsidian.
- A dark, solitary room.
The items required for a basic scrying ritual are relatively mundane and easy to acquire.
Firstly, the supplicant will enter a dark, solitary room, preferably one with only a single entrance and exit.
They will light one candle.
The position of the candle is important.
To see the future, the supplicant will place the candle behind the mirror.
To look backwards into the past, the supplicant will place the candle behind themselves, so that the light originates from behind their body.
While sitting in darkness, the supplicant will hold the mirror before their face.
The supplicant may use whatever method they prefer to clear their mind of conscious thought. This is essential. If you remain engaged in constant inner dialogue with yourself, the ritual will fail.
As the supplicant clears their mind and gazes into the mirror, images may begin to flutter into their consciousness without deliberate control.
Many beginners will immediately break their concentration when this occurs. Indeed, novice magi often become excited upon experiencing these first uncontrolled images.
This excitement disrupts the ritual.
With practice, however, the images will last longer and appear with greater clarity.
Such is an example of a novice-level ritual within the Natural Law.
The psyche is not immaterial, as one might initially believe. It is instead a phenomenon belonging to the material universe.
By clearing conscious thought, the practitioner becomes more closely attuned to the patterns and chaos of the surrounding universe. Through ritual, that chaotic life force is focused through the psyche of the practitioner.
The power of the ritual therefore comes primarily from mentalism.
The strength is ultimately your own.
The force being manipulated through this ritual may be personified as a deity, as our ancient ancestors frequently did, but the existence of the force does not necessarily imply the existence of a conscious being.
The spiritual force may be real.
The god may simply be the name we gave it.
The Philistine Review 
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