by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle
“My grandma is in the hospital. Please send healing!”
After putting out such a call for healing, some people find my response annoying. For while I know there are a lot of ways of praying and sending good thoughts, I practice Witchcraft. So when I agree to “send healing,” I mean magick beyond simple well-wishing. That means I need some specific information:
- What is her full name?
- Where does she live?
- How old is she? Or what is her birthdate?
- Got a photo?
These are basic things to make a meaningful connection. Can the all-wise divine mind root out the subject of our well wish to Jane’s grandma? Probably, but it’s not the most effective method of operational Witchcraft. Jane might have two grandmas. If you practice psychic work, you’ve probably tapped into the wrong person at least once, and you can do the same with healing. Ideally, I’d like something the recipient has touched, which is why I keep items of friends and family to attune to them for meaningful healing magick. When a student of magick asks for healing but doesn’t offer that info, I often think they are not really asking for magick, so I don’t offer majick. If they do ask, the recipient goes onto an altar, gets a candle, has a working or perhaps their own shrine with a photo, healing crystals, and plant spirits.
Other important questions to consider:
- Did they ask for healing?
- Did you get permission?
- Are they taking steps to heal?
While we have all asked others for help when in a panic about a loved one, it is good to know that they are open to it. If not, depending on the system you work in, either you are sending the healing and they are rejecting it or you are forcing it on them. There are ways to check in and see if they are open when you don’t have verbal confirmation, including practices such as Higher Self communication or dowsing. Some systems, like Reiki, have built-in fail safes, but most don’t. It’s hard to rally the troops of spirit allies for someone who doesn’t really want that kind of help. At best, you waste time and energy. At worst, you are messing with their fate pattern.
I don’t always involve myself in mass calls for healing. I often think depending on the systems involved and the ethos of the practitioners, the mass effect can be overwhelming or can create conflicting energies. Sometimes too much healing can be hurtful. I have a friend who reported a covenmate in a coma rose from it long enough to say the magick was too much and that it was killing her. She died soon after that. The healing was sent with the best of intentions, but on some level, it was not working.
In days past, you might ask a coven or lodge or group with a cohesive group mind to work the magick or coordinate a few small groups. But the idea of many individuals and groups working uncoordinated at the same time was unheard of. Experienced magicians will harness this new modern phenomenon by putting forth a channel to collect and guide mass healings for themselves or loved ones.
Sometimes I check in and get the message “while you want to help, this one is not for you.” When we have a lot of other magick in process, we can’t give it our 100%. We should let others do it, and when it is our turn, we will know.
There is also a difference between spells setting magick for the final outcome, spells continually sending healing energy, and evoking spirits to do the healing. When folks say I’ll light a candle during surgery, that is too late for me. I want the candle spell done for the healed outcome far before the surgery. The more time the spell has to work, the better, guiding you to the right surgeon, hospital, and day and time. Continual energy during a crisis can help if nothing else is being done, but I would rather be set up for success. Likewise when calling upon the spirits, I want to give them as much preparation time as possible. I believe in instantaneous and incredible results, but I prefer gentle synchronicities to get the result I want. Heroic cures often involve dangerous conditions.
So keep these things in mind when you put out the call for healing for yourself and others. Are you sure what you are asking? Have you given everything you need to make it happen? Is your request prepared and serious? If not, think more deeply about what support you need and want and consider the best way to get it.