Ah Love! What a wonderful thing, to have Mr. or Ms. Right fall madly in love with you, returning all your emotion, attention, and devotion to you three-fold! It is something we all want to have, something that we wither on the vine without. And if the person we consider the object of our affections doesn't feel quite the same about us...well, what harm could there possibly be in nudging them in the " right " direction, in making them " love " us.

Actually, there could be a lot of harm involved. To cast a love spell to make someone love you is to interfere with their free will, to take away their very freedom to live their life as they see fit. And what do you get in return? Well, you get someone who goes through the motions of loving under your compulsion, but you do not get love. And deep in your heart, underneath all the initial happiness at getting just what you wanted, you realize that this person did not and does not truly love you. This thought will keep festering like an infected wound until it finally destroys the relationship. Now you no longer love the object of your affections, but what if they keep loving you because your spell won't release them? Oh, what a tangled web we weave!

Let me tell you a true story of the kind of injury a love spell can do. A former member of our coven had grown up in a household where magickal practice was part of her heritage. At the age of 14 she fell madly in love with a man a good bit older than herself, and she decided that this was the only man she could possibly love or marry. So she worked a love spell to bind him to herself in this life, and in all lives to come. She took the talisman that sealed the spell and buried it deep in the earth in her backyard. At first she was very happy, for indeed he did fall in love with her and they were married. Three children and some years into the relationship, she discovered that this man she had so adored was both a wife abuser and a child abuser. He treatened her and the children several times with a gun, and sent her to the hospital after beating her over the head with a hammer. Not being a stupid person, our young lady managed to get herself a divorce and left this man. But she can't get rid of him so easily. He phones her, he stalks her, he begs her to come back to him. Nothing that the law can do seems able to sever the bond between them. Why should this be? Well, rememeber that love spell and the talisman in the back yard? Normally one would dig up the talisman and perform a working at undoing the spell, but in this case, her old backyard is now under 30 feet of water in a man-made lake. It is gone for good, but it's effects will be with her for the remainder of this life, and in all lives to come! All because she created a love that did not exist. A pretty dramatic picture of what the Laws of Karma can do if you break the rules and harm another.

Love comes as it will, we should not seek to artificially create it. That which we love today, we may grow weary of and push away tomorrow. When it is the right time and place, the right person will cross our paths, and then the love will be right and beautiful.

But, how you ask can I make the process move along and find myself that Prince Charming I'm dreaming of?

Begin at the beginning, and the beginning is yourself. Look at the way that you present yourself to the world. Are you friendly and outgoing, or always a grouch? Do you take an interest in others, or must you be the only center of attention? Are you so in love with yourself that there is not room for loving anyone else? Or do you feel that you are not worthy of loving? Are you clean and appropriately dressed? You don't have to be stunningly beautiful or richly dressed to attract love, but unwashed clothes or unbrushed teeth can certainly send it scurrying for the bushes. In order to attract love, you have to make yourself lovable, both inside and out.

Ok, you say, I've done all that, now can I PLEASE use some magick! And the answer is, yes you can. You just can't use magic that will compel a specific person to love you against their will. Know that the Gods place someone on this Earth to be our lover and friend in this lifetime. The trick is to find that person, and to recognize them when you cross their path. So there is nothing wrong in working a spell to help you " find the person who will love me ". That is the kind of love spell which will find you the "true love" that you so deeply desire, and which will harm none.

Always remember as you pursue a magical path, that the Gods hold us accountable for our
actions, whether intended or unintended. So don't be blinded by the simple approach of casting a spell at something you want without thinking through the possible consequences of your actions. The price you may later be called upon to pay may be more than the moment's pleasure was ever worth.

Copyright © Lark 1997