Match Magick and Quantifying Wishes

[Moon1ight]

This is not about finding your perfect match nor is it about winning matches in a tournament– rather, it's about doing magick with wooden matches :D 

When lighting an enchanted candle, I always feel that I should do something with the match too, and so I usually charge it with a very general "All goes well" intent. This is in line with the idea that, when wishing for something specific, one should add that it will come about "in a good way" – so that one doesn't gain money via the unexpected death of a loved one, to use a typical example.

However, once we know that we can charge a match with magick, this naturally raises question of what else we can do with that. A quick search turned up that this idea is in fact known: https://stormbornwitch.tumblr.com/post/117680752007/match-magic – "The basic concept of match magic is that the matchstick is charged with intent. Then, the match is burned to release the intent so the magic can go do its work." – awesome!

Normally, I'm a proponent of the empty hand, but sometimes adding a physical component is pleasant, and a match seems like a very accessible option for that.

The author mentions that "When you hold a lit match, the match cannot burn all the way down (or you will really burn your fingers!) This may lead you to feel like the entire spell has not been released." When starting with this, I actually had this feeling. However, I found a better solution than the text proposes – I use long matches. These allow me to switch my grip to the burnt (and cooled off) first quarter of the match (not gripping the match head as it can stay hot for longer), and let the match burn completely. Mine have like 9.5 cm, which is a weird number. I thought it's something "proper" in inches, but it's like 3.7 in, and I don't think they could be much shorter for this to work. I'm careful to do this over a fireproof surface, as the burning side could theoretically break off and fall down, though it doesn't happen in practice. It's up to you whether you'd interpret this as a bad match or a bad omen ;)

I have a an intuitive approach to charging a match with intent, which is quite similar to what the author says:
"Hold a single match in your hand [...]. Call energy to you and direct it in to the match. At first the energy may be very thin and in a cloud around the matchstick. Compress the energy down until it is all contained within the wood. Draw up and compress more and more energy until you feel you have gotten enough. The matchstick may seem to be glowing very brightly, if you can 'see' energy, and if you can feel energy the matchstick may make your skin feel quite weird. Using your magical will, keep the energy within the matchstick contained. Simultaneously use your will to stamp your statement of intent in to the energy, forming it and molding it so it is programmed to your will."

Then I light the match and here the author suggests to "watch the flame to divine the success", but I actually prefer to keep the charging going and to enjoy the feeling of magick until the match is completely burnt.

So much for the "Match Magick", but what do I mean by "Quantifying Wishes"? Let's say I want something specific to happen. Then I might do one such match spell per day until it occurs, and thus quantify how many matches it took to fulfil a specific wish :D If something is highly important and urgent, I'll obviously not be content with only a few minutes of magick per day, and will rather keep empowering my intent for longer periods. However, for something with no hurry, this seems like a good way to add it to all the other things in my daily practice.