Introduction: Ilyssa

Hello folks! My name is Ilyssa, and I'm the other resident witch here. I'm a Pagan and a Witch, and like Thea, I consider Witchcraft to be a part of my spiritual path. I started walking this path eleven years ago when I was eleven years old (there's gotta be some numerological significance there!). I began as a Witch, only doing spells and honoring the elements sort of offhandedly, and added the Pagan spirituality later on, when I was about fourteen or fifteen. I worship both Sekhmet and Dionysos (which makes for very interesting rituals); Sekhmet called me in October of 2008, and Dionysos not too long after! I consider myself to be a Fire witch, since that's the element that I work with the best (and the most!).

That being said, candle magic is my strong point, and with the help of herbs, stones, oils, and all sorts of magical goodies, I tend to have my strongest and most immediate effects when I use it. I very much enjoy making my candles look pretty, although I don't always do it consciously! Sometimes they just come out that way. I'm a big fan of sympathetic magic, and I enjoy using the principle of "like attracts like" to my advantage. For example, if I want to sever ties with someone, I'll create two candles (one for each of us), tie the candles together with a ribbon, and then cut it. Afterwards, I'll cauterize the ribbon with a lit match to prevent the connection from re-forming. I also very much enjoy using shiny things as talismans, often using a combination of candles, herbs, oils, and stones to charge them up with energies that I need.

Again, much like Thea, I don't believe that you have to go bankrupt in order to create effective magic. I used to believe that you needed all sorts of mystical, "special" props in order for my magic to work, but I've found that cloves from the grocery store work just as well as cloves from the local Pagan shop. Do I enjoy using stuff from local Pagan shops? Of course (and I'm a HUGE proponent of supporting your local Pagans!), but sometimes I just can't afford it, and that's where the supermarket comes in handy. Remember: you don't have to break the bank to be magical!