Why Love Spells Do--and Don't--work

Love spells are simultaneously some of the easiest and most difficult spells to cast. Here are some of the most common reasons why they do and don't work, along with a bit of friendly advice for the curious, just in time for St. Valentine's Day!

Why Love Spells Don't Work

Motives. Are your motives for casting a love spell truly loving? If you're casting a love spell to ensnare or enslave another person, to "bind" them to you, then your spell will fail miserably...as will your search for true love when you do decide to pursue it. Your love spell should be cast to work on both of you, to create circumstances and possibilities for love between you. Working a spell as a one-sided affair is not the way to do it.

Concentration. Even though love spells are easy because love is natural and easy to stir, concentration and proper thought projection is essential. Find a quiet, comfortable place to cast your spell. Make yourself as comfortable as you can: light candles, incense, put on some mood music. Create the emotion you want in your spell. Keep distracting thoughts, worries, or painful memories of love out of your mind. Your spell is as much for you as it is for your intended subject!

Symbols. Hearts, roses, and other symbols are synonymous with love...but they might not be to you or your love spell subject. Maybe you're allergic to roses, or little lacy hearts just look silly to you. Your own symbols of love mean more in a love spell than "classic" symbols. Using symbols that have no particular meaning to you

Timing. The energy of the Moon—especially a Full Moon—is all about love and romance, and you're overlooking a powerful love spell tool if you don't put the Moon to good use! Avoid love spells when the Moon is waning (growing less full) because the Moon's seductive powers are waning with it. Even if you have to put a love spell off until the moon is waxing (growing fuller), the addition of the Moon's energy to your love spell is worth the wait!

Why Love Spells Work

Love is Natural. Love is easy to stir in ourselves, and this makes love spells easier to cast. Love is easy to think about and is likewise easy to do when it comes to casting love spells.

Love is Positive. Hate spells, like the classic "voodoo doll," are loaded with negative energy that we just naturally don't want. To use such items, we have to make a conscious effort to work up the hate in ourselves, not feel innately guilty about it, and project that hate onto others. Love is a far simpler task. It's natural, it feels good, and it feels even better when others want it from us.

Love is Reciprocal. Love spells work for those who want it, and those who do will think more about the spells they're about to cast. They'll also think in more realistic terms about love and use symbols that are mutually effective. If your love spell doesn't work, chances are your heart wasn't really in it.

Advice for First-Timers or the Merely Curious

You don't really need to cast a bona-fide "spell" to work a little love magic.

Create love symbols of your own, because their meaning to you will show. For example, wear your favorite "love" color—it'll make you happy, it'll make you walk more confidently, and you'll project that whether you mean to or not. A happy, confident person attracts the positive energy of others.

Do a little homework. Look up lists of colors, fragrances, and foods that attract and inspire love. Some of these include red, of course, for passionate love and pink for sweet love. Avoid black under most circumstances because its connotation is that of hidden agendas and domination. Fragrances to consider include warm vanilla, sensuous amber, sexy sandalwood, and frisky freesia. Foods historically known as "aphrodisiacs" include tomatoes (cherry tomatoes, in fact, are called "love apples"), herbs such as basil and rosemary, chocolate (a little sweetness goes a long way!) and roast duck (Morrison, 1971). On a more suggestive note, many fruits and vegetables resemble human genitalia, and these are definitely on the aphrodisiac list.

Set a mood. Set a mood in your home, and that mood will go with you whenever you leave. Setting a loving mood for yourself whenever and wherever you can will help to attract the love from others that you wish to have in your life. If you begin by treating yourself well and treating yourself to some simple love luxuries, you may find that you won't need a love spell after all.