My Successful Spell Gone Wrong

At one point in time, we were all baby witches. Full of excitement of our new found path and power. A lot of us (or maybe just me) o into our first spell work not really sure what to expect, but eager about it. The very spell I casted at the tender age of nineteen taught me the reality and dangers of magick; the Notch a Day Candle Spell. 

The Notch a Day Candle Spell was the first spell added to my personal Book of Shadows and a go to spell all these years later. The sad part is that I learned about this spell from a book that I don’t remember the title to, nor the author of it. How this ritual is worked is taking a candle (I usually use white) and mark three to seven notches down the side of the candle. Then write your will or need on a small piece of paper and place it under the candle; at the same time each day for three to seven day you will light the candle. Deep focus and visualization is needed in this rite, you must see and feel your will happen just as you want it to. Only allow the candle to burn down one notch each day.

During the time of my discovery of Witchcraft I was also interning at a local hospital. I worked multiple floors but in the end the physical therapy rehab ward became my home. The unit was magnetically locked and there was a single door; one way in, one way out. The door could only be unlocked by the press of a button at the nurses‘ station. This is important information for later. 

For more experience, I was taken off the physical therapy ward to work the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for a month. When I returned to the rehab floor, there was a patient there we will call “Gene”. Shortly after my temporary transfer to the PICU, “Gene” was moved into the rehab floor, so he could learn to walk again. He was in a motorcycle accident and sustained a severe internal frontal lobe brain injury. The slow healing head injury was the cause of his physical and mental instability. This was no tragic accident. About a month prior “Gene“ was driving his motorcycle drunk and running from the police. He lost control of his bike and crashes into a tree.  

Often after his physical and speech therapy, I would sit with “Gene” as he showed me a photo album full of pictures of his wife and two daughters. One day as “Gene” was flipping through the pages of the photo album, he came across a picture of himself. He sighed deeply and pointed to the photo, “There is a picture of an idiot.” He said to me. He flipped to the next page and a picture of his two girls. He then broke down in tears because in that moment he had forgotten their names. I had a lot of sympathy for him. I believed that if he was given a second chance, he would would become a better person. The next day I prepared the Notch a Day Spell. My chant was:

                                                                Heal his mind,

                                                                Heal is heart,

                                                                So “Gene may have,

                                                                A fresh new start.

Each day I meditated and focused; each day the candle flame burned lower and lower. I was dedicated to what I was doing even though I wasn’t really feeling anything and wasn’t sure if I was suppose to feel anything. I was visualizing “Gene” sitting in his wheelchair and then he getting up on his know. In my mind’s eye he walked down the hallway and was able to open the locked door on his own. On the other side of the door, his wife was waiting for him. She was there to take him home. Of course this was all meant to be metaphorical. “Gene” was not yet capable of standing up on his own; let alone walking. The door was magnetically locked and could not be manually opened by pushing on the door. His wife just happening to be there when he opened the door, was not likely. To me, this scene in my mind was not meant to be literally. 

Then, Tuesday happened and opened me up to the reality of magick. From that moment onward made me not believe that magick is real, but KNOW it is real. That day started off like all the other and I had no reason to believe that anything would be different was I set up my spell work. I lit my candle and closed my eyes; my visualization was vivid in my mind. During this time, I felt a change within my energy and my physical being. There was a growing pressure on my chest; I felt a vibration ringing in my ears. I must admit I was scared because I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I suppose instinct allowed me to push through my discomfort. Then as the candle’s flame reached down to the notch, I felt all the built up pressure in my chest release all at once. I let out an involuntary grunt at the sensation of the weight being lifted off my chest. I was startled by what happened and I quickly put all my things away and tried not to think about what happened. 

The following day I got ready to go to the hospital for my shift on the physical therapy ward. Nothing else unusual happened since wrapped up my spell from the previous day. So, I had not way of knowing that my whole outlook on the world was going to chance forever. As I made my way toward my ward I encountered a maintenance worker taking apart the door to my unit. I asked him what happened and what he said to me sent a wave of electricity throughout my whole body. He explained that they have been working on the door all night because the previous day a patient was able to open the door on his own. They had to find out why the magnetic lock failed as it was a major safety issues. 

When I walked onto my unit I looked into “Gene’s“ room and again surprised that his bed was empty and all his personal belongings were gone. I asked the charge nurse where he was. She said to me that yesterday afternoon “Gene” suddenly got up from his wheelchair, walked himself down the hallway to the exit door. The nurses had to d=hurry because when he got to the door, he just pressed on it and the door opened. The only thing that saved “Gene” from possibly getting injuries is the fact that his wife was on the other side of the door. She had worked out getting a private therapist and caregiver and was there to take him home. 

After I got home that night, was able to meditate on the events of the past couple of days. I was given a very blunt lesson from the Universe that magick is very much so real. It is not something to be taken lightly and does have the power to alter reality. For better or for worse. In my case I refer to this experience as my successful spell gone wrong. It worked beautifully, just as I visualized it would. That was the problem, If everything didn’t unfold as it did, “Gene” could have gotten very hurt. The nurses could have been injuries as they struggle to get “Gene“ back in the ward. Since my internship ended shortly after this, I wonder if they were able to fix the door. Or was is doomed for randomly malfunction. Could the spell I casted over ten years ago still have unintentional negative side effects to this day? I’m sure I will never know the answers to these questions as I moved out of state. 

Let my successful spell gone wrong be a lesson to everyone...me mindful of your power. Be mindful what magick is truly capable of. As the old saying goes...The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.