Glamour

Most people I would wager don’t think of magick or spell work when they hear the word glamour. The modern usage of the word just doesn’t imply images of a Witch chanting over their latest brew. Yet, so much of our everyday practices of trying to make us appear glamorous originate in magick practice.

Perfume and make-up have been attributed magick properties for millennium, and for good reason. However, these things, in of themselves, are not what puts the edge of this metaphorical knife. Glamour according to magickal practice is the purposeful use of magick towards affecting one’s appearance and impression towards others. It is a practice that has fallen by the wayside and little discussed. Yet, it is there if one digs a bit.

Confession time. I regularly employ magick along these lines. In fact, the very first spell I learned as a young teen with CoR, was glamour magick. I, however, don’t use it in regards to interpersonal relationships. Nope, I have ethical issues with that. I do use it for my career.

Glamour is not a guarantee to success and in of itself will fail without the proper display. Just remember that glamour makes the impression being given just a bit stronger. It does not bend, dominate, or control another’s Will under that impression. Though there are magickal practices that are designed for that, glamour is not one of them.

Glamour is like putting icing on a cake, start with crap cake and it’ll only be crap cake with icing, but if you start with a good foundation, then the icing enhances the experience.

The cake in these instances is how one dresses, talks, and carries themselves. It is the face you put on for the world. The Witch, by use of glamour makes this face stronger. Say you are going to a job interview, no amount of glamour is going to help with the appearance of being a professional if one shows up for it in flip-flops, swimming trucks, and no shirt with the scent of whiskey about one. Crap cake that is. However, show up with the attitude and clothing to support, then the glamour will help to smooth out any rough bits.

The methods of glamour I employ come from Southern Conjure but can easily be adapted. Here is one, though with research many others can be found.

Start with a bath, a basin bath. The bath needs to have cleansing elements as well as properties that you wish to imbue. I’d give you a recipe but I think that’s cheating. Bathe before sunrise with an up-stroking motion. When you are done, drip dry. Can’t go rubbing the work off now can we? As the sun is coming up, go throw the basin water away from you over your shoulder towards the east. This is splashing the intent upon the day with the rising sun*.

When it comes time to dress for the occasion the use of condition oils and powders comes in to play. Rub the feet with Success or Prosperity Oil. The feet are the foundation upon which we walk and are highly susceptible to magickal influence. If you are a women and plan to wear make-up, a bit of the same oil can be mixed in with the liquids, or you can take a similarly propertied powder and sprinkle a bit in the powders. Not much though. If make-up is not a choice being made then one can dust themself very lightly the powder. In addition, mojo or charm bags can be concealed in one’s underclothing and taken as an aide. Being the Witch that I am, I also like to have a specially dressed candle and condition incense lit just before heading out, for me this pulls everything together nicely.

What methods of glamour have you used?

Boidh se!

-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

*Note: In conjure there are many ways of getting rid of bath water, this is one and not a very common one at that.