There is one central idea that you must remember when using any magical tool…

you are the magic

Magic doesn’t come from the tool. The tool focuses your intention.

Because of this, it is extremely important to have a clear energy when working with these tools. That is why I always suggest meditation.

If you have a practice of meditation, you will be able to clear your energy rather quickly. If you do not meditate regularly, do a whole clearing meditation before using these tools.

If you bring funky energy to this work, you will get funky results, and they will be magnified.

I do not recommend any attempt to impose your will on other’s lives. It is better to draw their energy to you.

Here is why:

If you manage to change someone else's Karma, you may have to spend the next two or three lives stapled to them.

If you are doing protection work, what will succeed is just not to let the energy through to you. There is no need to punish anyone sending it. Release the need to punish and let the laws of karma take care of it.

That said, there are some things that you will want to remember when working with these tools.

You must begin with the energy of the Chakras. Chakra colors are the ones that will apply to the energy work you are doing. Whether you are using minerals, gems, candles or wands, you will want to use the energy of the colors as described in the Chakra page.

I have lists of minerals and their traditions meanings, for example. Notice how that blends the energy with the Chakra of the same color.

To affect romantic love, for instance, you will want orange (naval chakra because we are generally talking about passion and pair bonding here) It will also need some green for the heart and its unconditional love energy. Then you might think of the Throat for communication or the Root for security, adding blues and reds.

Colors are very important because they are vibrations and different vibrations affect energy differently. They are quite real, not just a representation.

Tools that you make yourself are going to be the most effective. You can put a wand together with just a twig wrapped with yarn in your chosen colors. It needs to have your energy in it. You could always add a clear quartz crystal to the tip of a wand with some copper wire, or any pet mineral to the wand... feathers are good too, wrapping in leather brings the energy of the animal... but those things are not absolutely necessary.

You can wear a medicine bag with polished stones in the colors of the energies you are focusing on. Or you can sleep with it under your pillow.

I cannot suggest strongly enough that you not use these tools unless you have real clarity.

Strong emotions work against clarity. It is not that they are not powerful, but any kind of energy work you do from strong emotion has a way of coming back in unexpected ways. They are not always pleasant.

It is possible to pack a lot of energy into these tools before you use them… in this area emotions can infuse a bit of energy.

You can do this by adding some personal representation of the desired result into the tool. A photograph, a bit of hair, herbs and oils are often used. These things focus your intention.

Sleeping with the tool under your pillow or under your bed will also infuse energy. It helps you to focus the intention into the subconscious, but be sure that the subconscious is in accord with your conscious wishes before you do this.

One way to keep from making any karmic errors is to always ask for this or something better. This allows the universe to bring you what would really suit you best.

There is an old wife's warning," Be careful what you wish for." Asking for this or something better can soften that kind of lesson from the Universe.

Tools that you make yourself will always have more power than tools you buy. You can’t just buy a wand and shake it around and expect the world to change.

It is a process, ceremony. And preparation for the ceremony is part of the ceremony.

A ceremony without focus, concentration and intention is just a little drama that won’t accomplish much.