Christmas cards were born in the late 1800s. As with all new traditions, there weren’t any established norms. These early card designs were, frankly, weird, featuring mushrooms, dancing frogs, Krampus and more bizarre images. I love these designs because they perfectly encapsulate the chaos that comes when invention, the desire to connect and people’s innate impulse to throw ideas at the wall to see what sticks combine.
I like to view those early attempts to spread holiday cheer with phantasmagorical images as inspiration for putting mundane institutions to work for spellcasting. And I think we should absolutely leverage all of that reckless, joyful energy to our advantage, especially when it comes to our magick.
Consider how correspondence has changed over the last 150 years. Email and social media have replaced letter writing. Bills are delivered electronically. These days your mailbox is more often filled with junk mail rather than anything of value. Think of how you feel when you do get a piece of “real” mail like a birthday card. It gives you a little thrill, a bit of paper serotonin to perk up your day. I have friends who know this and go our of their way to write cards to people, complete with beautiful calligraphy and wax seals.
Taken all together we find a perfect channel for long distance spell casting, particularly blessings. The idea came to the surface recently when my friend moved into a new house. I can’t be there to help her move or bless the space (acts of service is one of my love languages). However, I can send her some magick via mail. To do so, I only had to pick out a card, choose the appropriate colored ink, and the words. Like any other spell or ritual I went through the steps of gathering materials, cleansing the space, performing the spell by writing the message in the card, and then blessing it, closing the space and sending the card off.
Here are some tips for sending your own magick by mail:
- Use the construction “May your …” as the base for your blessings. Add in what you wish for your friends and family. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. A simple, “May your house be filled with love and laughter” is effective.
- Anoint cards with essential oils to boost the magick. Cedar, lavender, lemon or sage essential oils can be mixed with a carrier oil. Don’t overdo it, just a dab will be enough. If you are worried about oil stains on the card you can add the annointing oil to the flap of the envelope.
- Choose cards with designs to match your intention. You can go even further by choosing stamps that will enhance your magick. The United States Postal Service offers designs from flowers, to holidays, to fruits and more.
- Go beyond choosing a specific ink color. Write sigils in the card or include things like pressed flowers or other ephemera.
Get creative with your card spells, there really is no limit to how intricate and involved you can be with them thanks to stencils, stickers, washi tape, stamps, pens, wax seals and the like. The only limit is your imagination.
Originally posted on Patreon March 31, 2022.