While I was browsing through the Book of Shadows, I noticed something that I never thought of before.  
It was not to tell anyone of the spell you have cast until it has been fulfilled.
Now, I have only cast a few, very few spells during my life, and they have all come about swiftly and fully.  It was always in my gut that it was bad luck to tell people of your spell.  I don't remember reading it before this.  
Can somebody tell me the back-ground to this?  
                                                                              marigold

Spells are really just the movement of energy, and if you tell people what you are doing, then their thought energy could effect the spell. � If they disapprove, or think you are silly �for thinking you can cast spells, �or even if they want to help, their energy can knock your energy askew, and mess the whole thing up.

Makes perfect sense.  I knew in my gut not to tell people about a spell, but I needed somebody to explain why.  Thanks, Rainbells

Even in my Christian walk, Rainbells and Marigold, I don't share certain things I am praying or believing for because I don't want their negative energy interfering.  People mean well, but most Christians don't have a clue how to pray.
They could pray the wrong way, not knowing what I am needing and just mess the whole thing up, so I keep it just between me and my God unless I know for sure someone believes the same way I do.  
Most times when I pray for someone, I don't know what they are truly feeling or going thru, so I just ask for whatever need is in their lives to be met.   I am very careful to speak only positive when praying for someone.  

I know this is different from what you were speaking of but I just wanted to say I agree with you.  

Blessings,
Amethystone

Energy is energy, Christian, witch, makes no difference.  It's all the same stuff to the Creator, so it's just as well to keep things to yourself.   Or between yourself and your God/Goddess.

I agree  :roll:  somethings are best left only for myself and Goddess    I find life is more balanced

bri

i agree. as a secondary, side reason to keeping it on the hush, telling people you're casting spells might land you in the nut house...best to keep that to yourself.

i'm just sayin'...

although just joking about it, i suppose the mere mention of anything of the sort WOULD attract an unusual amount of attention your way, most likely most of it skeptical. I'm sure it was much more of a rule set in stone during times of witch hunts, huh?

What about Christians who say to us Pagans things like "I'll pray for your soul", believing that it will somehow save us from what they believe to be a bad ending. Do you think that can have negative consequences?

I've always kept it to myself as well, not because I knew it was important to do, but because of my own intuitions. My husband walked in the house last night and saw me sitting at my ancestor altar, and asked what I was doing. I guess he thought I was casting a spell of some sort, and I said, I'm just hanging out with mom and dad.

What do you think about the idea of keeping a record of your spellwork? Many people (including myself) do so as a means of studying which types of magic are most successful for certain purposes. My spellwork has changed a lot since I was a teen. Back then I used to cast it off to the winds, but within the last decade I've started to keep copies of it to see if there are ways I could improve on them somehow. I see it as a series of experiments, from which to learn, about myself and the energy I contribute to the arrangements, and the arrangements themselves. So back to the question, do you think keeping record of spellwork has any chance of disrupting the work, esp. if someone should find and read it?