Living Well Spell

Ingredients
grains and seeds

....Ops is the goddess of sowing and reaping. So if you feel you've been dealt a bad hand, that you deserve more out of life, try getting even by getting opulent. Grains and seeds are the most sacred to Ops. The knuckles of the hands are very pleasing to her and in ancient times these bones were used to form the sacred rattles used in her processions. The most powerful rite to Ops involved touching the earth. So powerful was this ritual and the superstitions around it that during the medieval inquisition, many church fathers had witches lifted and carried to the prisons. It was believed that if the feet of these witches even so much as touched the ground, they would be empowered by the magic of their Goddess. I offer this simple, yet powerful ritual to summon the goddess Ops into your life so that you may live exceedingly well and therefore exact the best kind of revenge.

Stand outside under a full moon. Remove your shoes and stand barefoot upon the earth. Reach down into a bag you have brought with you and fill your hands with seeds and grains.* Pour them upon the earth to form a circle around yourself. Bend down and touch the earth with palms facing upward so that your knuckles are touching the ground. Chant:

I surround myself with the goodness of Ops,
with prayer that she give me bountiful crops,
Ceres, Aradia, Rhea,
O sacred Bona Dea,
by all the names that you were once known,
by the power of my knucklebone.
O greatest goddess of Earth, Ops, hear my cry,
let my fields prosper under your watchful eye,
bestow your opulence unto me.
Grant me your blessings, so mote it be.

Note: this spell is also recommended for farmers. It should be performed twice a year, December 19 and August 25, which are the sacred days of Ops.

* Poppy, pine needles, and bee pollen are also sacred to Ops. She loves the sound of cymbals, if you would like to use them with your chant.

--Lexa Rosean Power Spells 2002 pp. 42-43.
Myth's Notes:

Lexa Rosean's Power Spells is an interesting book. A lot of its witchcraft has something of a Wiccan slant, but this text is a book of magic, not Wiccan religion. Rosean stated, "Witchcraft, the old religion, dates back to pre-patriarchal times. All the patriarchal religions have elements of the matriarchy varied within them. In a way, no matter what your faith, using witchcraft is just a way of getting back to your roots. Connecting with Mother Nature, the goddess of the earth." (p. xvii) People interested in magical techniques, such as seeking a raise through baking bread, should read Rosean's Power Spells.

Rosean's concept behind this spell was: don't hex the jerks around you, but don't let these oppressors drag you down with their malfeasance either. Living well can indeed be the best revenge.

I have made one small change--with apologies to Lexa Rosean. I substituted the Goddess name "Aradia" in the spell's chant for the name, "Cybele". The purpose for this substititution was not simply to be able to include this spell in this collection--after all, the spell was dedicated to the Etruscan-Roman goddess, Ops, and I would be willing to include it for that reason. I, as a matter of personal choice, would never invoke Cybele's name in ritual. True, she is certainly a powerful and primal deity (see "Goddesses Dictionary"), but I am simply more comfortable invoking Aradia.


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