Inside-out love spell

Do you remember the true love spell young Sally Owens summons up in Practical Magic?

Amas Veritas

He will hear my call a mile away.

He will whistle my favourite song.

He can ride a pony backwards.

He can flip pancakes in the air.

He'll be marvellously kind.

His favourite shape will be a star.

And he'll have one green eye and one blue.

The Golden Circle

It's almost Valentine's Day (again) and I'm tempted to go against everything I've ever read and perform a little love magic. Now if only I could find some dove's blood ink and a dead man's ring... kidding 😉

Inspired by Simon Sinek's book "Start With Why," my love spell or ritual is inside-out because rather than starting with WHAT I want, I'm starting with WHY I want it. Technically, Amas Veritas is an "un-love" spell. Young Sally's WHAT is a dream guy who doesn't exist and her WHY is because if he doesn't exist she'll never die of a broken heart. Spoiler alert: It doesn't work because he turns out to be very real - pancakes in the air and all!

Sinek says the most inspiring people and organisations, the ones who really go the distance, always start with WHY before they move to HOW and finally WHAT. I don't think he had finding love in mind when he came up with The Golden Circle diagram but hey, if it works, it works!

For this ritual, you will need:

+ a pen

+ paper

+ a quiet place

+ time

+ the willingness to stop and really listen to what your heart wants and why 💖

Optional extras: candles, incense and the Practical Magic soundtrack.

Start by drawing or printing out the golden circle diagram. Let's assume your WHAT is to meet someone, fall in love and be loved in return. Standard stuff. Not good enough! You want that can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of love, right? Right. Take 3 big, deep yogic breaths and ask yourself WHY you want to find love. Chances are it's not something you think about every day so take your time and let that shit marinate. Make it real by writing it out in the inner circle. My WHY is to be seen and loved completely. Be honest and sit with whatever comes up for you. Never judging, only trusting.

Next, write down in the middle circle HOW you will start to realise your WHY or HOW you can prepare now to show up for that kind of love. My HOW is to start loving my family and friends fully in the way I know I'm capable of doing and to not underestimate them and to lean on them as a support system.

Finally, write out or revise your version of WHAT it is you want in the outer circle.

When you're done, read over what you've written and thank yourself for listening. To seal the invocation, start to trace a finger in a clockwise direction around the inner circle. While you do so, close your eyes and repeat 3 times: Heart of mine, I hear your why. Do the same for the middle circle, saying: I start showing up for that kind of love and finally, the outer circle: What I want exists and it will go the distance. And so it is!

Here's Simon's TED Talk if you're interested. I truly believe his discovery can and should be applied to anything and everything.

Happy starting with why and let me know if you give it a try!