Wahya Circle
Tuesday Techniques

Beginning Practicum
Basic Craft: Bells

Bells are powerful tools and have been for some time. Learning about them is important on many Paths from around the world, and can be a productive addition to your personal practices.

GLOBAL USE IN MAGICK
Bells are associated with many “superstitions” and the Divine. Their sound is often symbolic of creative power. On many Paths, their shape is symbolic of the Female force and the Celestial Vault, or Sky Vault on some Paths. The sound vibrations created by the ringing of bells have been believed for centuries to possess magickal and/or spiritual power amongst all Paths.

Bells are used in countless Rites. In Craft and Paganism, small hand bells may be rung during rituals to enhance harmony and augment power.

In African religions and Voudon, bells and dancing are used to invoke various forms of different Deity.

Shamans have long used magickal bells in their rituals to banish malevolent spirits, going so far as to wear a “jingle bell” on their clothing. They are even known to utilize the sound of bells to change the energy of a home.

In Folk Magick, the ringing of bells drives away “evil spirits”, negative energy, even the Evil Eye. This is especially profound when performing a house blessing where other Elements may cause damage to the property.

As stated above, bells can be attached to clothing. They can also be worn as talismans (unless what they are made of is naturally Protective, then they are amulets), tied to children or some pets (not recommended), and hung from the necks of horses, camels, cows, asses, and other animals important to a community or home.

As fertility charms, because they can be enchanted, bells have been worn on human phalluses in certain rites. Sometimes, bells are even said to have curative powers of Healing. For example, medicine can be drank from them. In the Middle Ages, bell ringing was believed to clear the air of disease and was even prescribed by some doctors. Remember the Shamans?

In necromancy, bells also have been used to raise the spirits of the dead and call upon the Fae, even though that is opposite of the previous uses. Tone is everything! Basically, it all boils down to YOUR personal Intent for it, AND IT'S TONE.


SUPERSTITIONS
Since 5CE, Christian church bells have been ascribed a special magickal potency to combat often self-perceived evil and to chase off the “wicked” spirits that lurked on every church threshold. But, did the Church think of tone?

In the Middle Ages, on nights when Witches were believed to be about doing their “nefarious” reckonings, such as Samhain (All Hallows Eve) and Beltane (also known as Walpurgisnacht), church bells were rung to keep the Witches from flying over a village. If the tone was deep enough, it actually helped these ceremonies and Rituals the townspeople were so afraid of.

They also turned out and added to the noise by banging on pots and pans and ringing their own bells. These sounds didn’t help so much, but it certainly bathed the people in a multitude of sounds!

With that stated, many Practitioners simply feel that those who were torch-erred during the many trials that followed, were actually ‘compelled’ by this inflicted pain they endured and were not ‘confessing’ at all about any effects of “bell ringing” and damages it did to their practices. Regardless, we know the origin of “bell ringing” was not of the Church.


SUPERSTITIONS
A superstition held by Medieval Europeans was that of their church bells sounds traveling to Rome on Good Friday; everyone stayed inside so as not to witness their flight from the belfries. If they only understood energy better! It was believed that a bell that was not rung and missed the Good Friday pilgrimage brought bad luck to the community.

”We often fear what we do not understand.”

Another popular superstition was that thunder and lightning storms were believed to be the work of witches and church bells rung at an approaching storm could dispel it. My what power Practitioners had back then!

It is also said, that when death occurs, the tolling of bells helps the departing soul on its way to next Journey, Heaven, etc and prevents “malevolent” spirits from interfering with that process. Now, THIS ONE they “got right”. Again, it all depended on the tone and vibration of the bell. Many indigenous and Practitioners alike utilize this technique around the world to this day.


BELL KEEPING
On the Christian Path, bells are baptized, named for saints and in some cases, ascribed human characteristics.

In some Wiccan practices, they are named for the Divine Feminine being called upon.

On even more Paths, bells are cleansed and cleared of energies that manifest during their creation, or energy that may have attached to them, as they are often passed down from person to person.

This bell cleansing is usually done by Element Fire through a lit candle; or Element Air through smoke, via incense or burning local herbs or woods. It can be covered in cloth and buried inside of Salt or Element Earth. Bells can even be submerged into consecrated or blessed Element Water for altar placements.
Do what you FEEL if you choose to utilize sound in your personal practices!

BELL SPIRITS
With these prescribed humanizations, some bells are said to talk, ring on their own, and sweat blood at the invasion of their community.

Shopkeepers hang bells over their thresholds, not so much to alert them to the entry of customers but to keep perceived evil spirits from entering their premises. Many Hindus, as well as others, still continue this practice of Spiritual Safety. #WitchesBells

 
NECROMANCY
Mentioned as necromantic above, The Necromantic Bell of Giradius
Bells have been used in rituals for summoning the dead for at least a thousand years. One such necromantic bell is in fact that of Giradius.

Eighteenth-century French instructions specified that the bell be cast from an alloy of gold, silver, fixed mercury, tin, iron and lead at the exact day and hour of birth of the person who intends to use it. (Necromancy is VERY specific in its magickal practices when viewed through a Goetic or Hermetic lense.)

On certain Paths, the bell is often inscribed with various astrological symbols and the magickal words of Adonai, Jesus, and/or words such as Tetragrammaton. (Solomonic) The workings of the Necromantic Path go on to say, “the bell is to be wrapped in green taffeta and placed in the middle of a grave in a cemetery. It is to be left for seven days, during which time it absorbed certain vibrations and emanations from the departed. At the end of a week, the bell is properly “cured” for necromantic rituals.”

WITCH BELL: CALLING SPIRITS & CHANGE
Every time a bell rings, it indicates a change in the fabric of the Universe.

Wind chimes twinkling outside a person’s home tells them of shifting air fronts and a possible storm.

The otherwise silent feline, another alpha predator, who wears a bell around its neck reveals its presence with a jingle to a woodland creature. We ask, is it now going to lose a meal for a feral, or is it a “toy” for a domesticated pet that is being shewed away?

A doorbell rings, announcing a guest. Bells also ring to mark the changing of the hour. Or, when your floor has been reached in an elevator. It even signifies class change in most modern schools.

Bells do not only point out physical changes in our realities in Matter though. Their sound also marks an energetic change in Spirit too. There is something about the simple ringing of a bell that changes the energy of a space. Shamans, or Medicine People, know this. This can be felt when an Officiant, a priest or priestess, rings a bell to move their flock or coven from the mundane to the magickal, or during the ringing of a funeral bell.

What does a bell say to YOU? Do you have a bell? Where did it come from? Have you cleansed and dedicated it?

Beginning Practicum
Historic Bell Uses

CLEANSING ENERGETIC SPACE
Ring a bell to cleanse the energy of a room. This is thought to also attract beneficial energy and repel non-beneficial energy. You can do it both before and after rituals.

SPIRIT INVOCATON
The ringing of a bell can Invoke a Spirit Ally. Bells can also be used to call the spirits at each of the Elemental quarters when casting a circle/creating sacred space for a ritual, if that is the Path you walk.
#NoTwoPathsAreTheSame

NECROMANCY
As mentioned previously, spirits of the dead have also been associated with bells in the form of funeral bells, which is a long-held tradition that spans the globe for MANY Paths. If you wish to summon the spirit of a specific person, you can use a dedicated bell to communicate with them. Some keep bells on their Ancestor Altar for this exact purpose. (Reverend Richoz keeps an old Christmas bell on her Ancestor Altar that was passed down from a Grandmother.)

SPIRITUAL BANISHMENT
On Samhain for example, people ring bells to banish those perceived as “evil” or unwanted spirits. The sound of bells is thought to banish perceived malevolent spirits because they cannot be near the beautiful sound of the bell(s). This is why bells are sometimes called “devil drivers.”

SOUND SEALING MAGICK
After spell work or magick, there is something that makes many Practitioners feel their work is “complete” and they are ready to ignite what they have done. Ringing a bell shifts the energy from “working” or “almost there” to “done.” For this reason, it is perceived as sealing in spell work and magick with the ringing of a bell.

CELEBRATION
Bells are also connected with Saturnalia, Yule and other sabbats on various Paths. It exists in many cultures, for many different celebrations ranging from “ringing in the new year” to a festival feast. Even for Winter Solstice, the ringing of bells is thought to bring back the Sun.

PROTECTION
Bells can guard doors in your home. In Ancient Rome, people hung tiny bells and wind chimes called tintinnabulum on the gates of their homes and temples. These bells were sometimes found hanging from the figure of a man with a huge, erect phallus, which was thought to magickally wield off the Evil Eye, hence Protection. You can enchant bells to be protectors or to bring cheer to your home every time they ring.

ATTUNEMENT
Your personal energy can be attuned with the pitch, or tone, of a bell. The sound and vibration can reset errant energy and can help you get back to your base-line frequency.

“Singing bowls” work in the same vibrational fashion. Sometimes, when people hear bells ring or bowls sing, they may feel as if something inside of them is too. That is because the sound that bells create is a sound vibration, which is a form of energy. Because everything vibrates, bells have resonated with people for millennia.

CISTRA, NOT A BELL; SISTRUM:BELLS
In Ancient Greece, around 100 CE, the ringing of sistra (cymbals) was even thought to dispel disease. In Book 5 of Moralia, Plutarch said, “The sound of these sistra averts and drives away Typho [typhoid fever].” Tonal healing is also though to clear away energetic blockages.

CONNECTING WITH DEITY
Bells are sacred to a handful of Deities. In Ancient Egypt (around the 3rd millennium BCE), it was an important part of Isis and Hathor’s worship and had connections to birth. “Sistra had erotic connotations, and by extension, alludes to the creation of new life.”

The Roman Deity Jupiter also was connected to tintinnabulum. Augustus dreamed of Jupiter lamenting the lack of worshippers at his temple. Upon waking, he immediately hung little bells around the temple for Jupiter.

LIMINAL SPACES
Many Practitioners use a bell to induce meditation, or liminal/Shadow/Ego work. The sound can center and bring the mind into Focus. This is one reason why monks use bells to call to duty, or service, of their Divine. There are a few other liminal examples of bells that can be found around the globe.

Divination 101
Cartomancy - Bell

The Fool is the only tarot card of the past that is traditionally with a bell. In French suited tarot decks of times ago, that do not use the traditional emblematic images of Italian suited decks for the suit of trumps, the Fool is typically made up as a jester or bard, reminiscent of the Joker often included with the standard 52-card deck.

The Fool as a Jester is depicted in several different decks as a man wearing a hood or jester’s hat with several bells attached. He gazes up at the sky (or forward), blissful, while sometimes he is seen with one of his feet hovering in the air, caught in the moment, or he is seemingly stepping off a cliff.

With a foot in each world, he is a representation of the liminal. He represents the leap into the unknown: the end of one Journey and the beginning of another. He is also considered the beginning and the end of the Major Arcana. This echoes the liminal nature and change associated with the bell.

Correspondences 101
Adding Bells to Practice

As previously mentioned, bells are used on many Paths. If you are going to enlist the aid of a bell, it is good practice to ensure that the bell itself is cleansed, warded, and protected – you do not want anything tapping into that power that can undo your magickal workings. All witching tools can do as much harm as good, intentional, or accidental when they are not consciously thought of, or when we are not “mindful”. Above all else, make sure it aligns with you… “FEELS right”.

A typical way to begin incorporating bells into your Craft is to infuse them into any ritual that you are comfortable with. You may even use one in prayer or in a moment of contemplation at your altar if you have one. The most primal and versatile use of the bell – and what many of the below suggestions come down to – is simply another manner of physically channeling energy, giving it shape and direction.

PROTECTION
“Passive” bells such as wind chimes or small bells attached to belongings you do not want disturbed are a good starting point. They will scare off some forms of spirit all by themselves, especially if appropriately blessed, charmed, or enchanted or cursed, via its aligned Practitioner.

Gently tolling can draw energy into a ward or circle you are forming and enforce its protective properties, or for a simple cleanse, letting the sound travel to every corner of the area you are protecting. It’s a little more “cutting” than a smoke or incense cleansing, which is viewed as more “gentle” forms of cleansing. Both have their uses though.

Harder tolling is typically one of the most powerful ways in which to enforce a banishing for those that use it. However, some do recommend you “know what you are doing” before you go bashing about with noise. Again, it depends on what Path you choose to follow and how YOU feel about it.

As far as wind chimes, they can let you know if something is passing through or if there is some unusual energy afoot – and, yes, it may also just be letting you know that it is a particularly breezy day, but that is Craft for you!

DISCERNMENT
Bells can have quite the effect on your perception and awareness. Ringing and then stopping, listening to the silence left in its wake, can bring you new perceptions or make things you had previously missed more obvious. Let it attune your mind and senses to something new, whether that is in your thoughts or something with a little more presence. Shadow. Ego. Self. Magick. Visualize traveling with the sound, taking heed of the energies it touches and disturbs. Take note of the echoes – you will learn what they mean with experience.


CONJURING
This can be as simple as calling good energies to witching tools, spell jars, tarot decks, crystals, altars and shrines, your favorite shirt, anything at all. With spirit work, it can truly help to magnify your “calling”. This can range from gently bringing your latest offering to the attention of your friendly neighborhood house spirit – all the way to trying to catch the attention of something more. Be mindful, however. Bells can be considered pretty powerful tools and a call that is too loud is not good for all spirit work practice for the spirit worker’s own sake. It can really help coax something out of hiding if you are gentle with it, or cause something to rise that is only responding to the fervor of your ringing. Take note.

COMMUNING
Some use bells to mark the beginning and end of a ritual. An altar bell can be used to invoke the Divine/Gods/Goddess/Ancestors. Very simple forms of communication via bell work are sometimes better than anything too complex – “come here” and “stay away” have already been covered, and other than that they can serve as greetings or signals of a start or end of some practice or ritual, the opening or closing of a door, etc. They can also serve as a warning or a litmus test regarding spirits, a signaling of your presence and awareness, lack of fear, or willingness to defend – but be prepared to deal with whatever responses this may garner.

BINDING
Bindings are where you most often see that Path specific (clockwise) circular motion of the bell, embodying the meaning of the spell. This can be a simple binding to seal a spell or charm or enchantment, or a spirit-binding. Spirit-binding is considered strong, Willful, magick. Some view it as not holding the autonomy of spirits in very high regard, or working against their “Free Will”. However, sometimes situations arise that call for it, and not all bindings are unwilling. Far from it – and some spirits are dangerous when unbound. Covens sometimes lose the ability to raise a cone of power as a group if they are unbound. If you are an animist (believing that all things, including inanimate objects, contain a spirit of their own), consider gently nudging a spirit back into its physical form a sort of semi-binding, and that can be useful.

Tuesday WJ2

General - Journal - Book of Shadows

SUBMISSION: NONE



EMAIL
Three Circles Medicine™
Please utilize the above email link
IF NO BUTTON IS PRESENT
to receive full Submission credit.