The Mindful Migraine

As Christmas draws near, the phrase ‘white magic’ keeps popping up in reference to a wintery wonderland shared with family and friends. In Australia, however, it’s Summer, so there’s not a snowball to be seen.

As such, the kind of White Magic that has been on my mind of late, is a little different. Fair warning, today’s post might ruffle some feathers – but stay with me – curiosity and an open-mind is needed these days, perhaps more than ever.

The White Magic I’ve been thinking a lot about is the sort that is traditionally considered ‘good magic’ rather than the supposedly malevolent form of ‘black magic’.

One of the most famous ‘good witches’ comes from L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900 (so old!))… her name was GLINDA (Good-Linda!?!):

[Image source: Glinda – Wikipedia]

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Of course, the black versus white, good versus evil polarization is a massive over-simplification… in fact, the White Witch in C.S. Lewis’ storybook “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” (1950) was positively wicked (even if her Turkish Delight was sweet). As WillfulWitch.com points out, at its worst, the stereotypical binary thinking of black-and-white / bad-and-good risks demonizing entire cultures whilst adopting unhelpful colonial baggage associated with power and prestige.

Labels aside, I like the idea of surrounding myself with as much positivity as possible so decided to go online and investigate White Magic.

As soon as you turn towards magic, the mind does start to go towards all things pagan, wiccan, fictionally-fantastic, or heretical (depending on your upbringing). If you don’t overthink the idea of witches and warlocks and the whole who-doo-voo-doo witchy-poo stuff too much, there is plenty of value to be had in the inquiry…

But if it is sounding too woo-woo for you, feel free to have a day off reading, and I’ll see you again soon. Take care, and stay well, L xx

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If you’re still here and interested, here’s a little of what I learnt and liked about White Magic (and the links to the sites where I got the information).

According to WiccanBrew.com, white-witchcraft is ancient, possibly dating back to at least the priests of ancient Egypt, and then travelling through time via everything from astrology, numerology, herbalism and more.

WitchCraftisan.com notes the Habits of a White Witch include:

• respecting Nature (because the divine resides there),
• understanding the value of silence (and the wisdom and intuition you hear when you are quiet and on your own),
• clearing energy (by guarding their energy (and boundaries) and knowing that positive energy builds more positive energy),
• accepting responsibility (and recognizing that your intentions and your actions have consequences),
• respecting the beliefs of others (they follow their own path AND they know that everyone else’s path is personal and justified),
• knowing that we are mere humans (none of us is anything more or less, we are each as (im)perfect as another),
• only using good magic to cast spells (your ideas and actions should never harm others, and everything you do should be as selfless as possible).

The top 6 points sound like the equivalent of ‘be a good person’. The last point, however, I accept is slipping closer towards the woo-woo-voo-doo that makes people like me a little nervous (remember that I recently graduated with a PhD, so I like my source material to be as scientific as possible).

Nonetheless, I went to see if I could find a ‘healing spell’ for migraines – and I actually found several…

The first site I found included a recipe for a healing herbal tea which was made with everyday items such as coffee, honey, ginger and peppermint. My first concern was trying to imagine the flavor of all the ingredients mixed together, but as I kept reading, the references to putting it all in a cauldron and stirring 50 times clockwise started to make me feel a bit edgy, as did the long list of disclaimers for all the people who should NOT be drinking the magical brew.

OK, so I’m not on board with clockwise-cauldron-coffee (hence no clickable-link) but am so thrilled for you if you’re a fan and it has worked on your migraine pain in the past.

[Disclaimer – I think it’s important to remind readers that this is NOT a medical website – please speak to your doctor before making any adjustments to your healthcare plan.]

Another website crafted a “cute little migraine spell jar” filled with essential oils and glitter, then topped it with a wax seal. They recommended you shake it when you feel a migraine coming on, whilst invoking guidance from your preferred deity.

This sounds safer than the tea, and I’m a huge fan of aromatherapy and using essential oils to calm pain (especially peppermint and lavender – read more here), and I’m also a believer in saying affirmations, prayers or manifestations to get you through pain-patches (as I’ve written about here). The only thing I’m confused about is how to get the healing benefits of the oils if they’re behind a wax seal. I guess just knowing they’re in there helps… but for me, I would make the concoction and keep the jar openable so that I could smell it as required whilst saying some positive messages to myself about how healing IS possible.

A third site was a little confusing, but had an activity that involved writing the word MIGRAINE on a piece of paper, and then as you chant a rhyming poem with lines such as “migraines stink” (there suggestion not mine), you slowly cross out the word migraine while imagining the pain disappearing. Once the word is covered up, place a crystal in the middle of the paper and scrunch the paper up around the crystal.

This one reminded me of the banish-bucket that I used when my daughter had nightmares (we got her to draw her fear and then put it in an old ice-cream container which we hid on top of the fridge – read more here). I don’t mind the idea, but I would be tempted to take the crystal out and concentrate on throwing the scrunched-up paper away to really reiterate that you want migraine to be gone-gone-gone.

The fourth site I found was TeaAndRosemary.com which offers up the “Healing Water Enchantment”:

“Hold the glass of water between your hands and say whatever you most need. For example:

My migraine is gone and I am full of health.

Close your eyes as you say these words and focus on putting all of your energy into the water. Raise as much energy as you can (I raise energy through my feet from the earth and send it out through my hands) and picture the outcome that you want. Do this for at least 2 minutes. // Once you have enchanted the water, drink it within the hour for optimal results.”

So it’s basically a combination of mindful intentionality, manifesting, and the sort of energy awareness I do in Tai Chi. Put together, it’s a little bit outside my normal life, but I’m OK with that… I might just give it a go…

There was one other site that I visited that was similar to my “Make a Healing Mandala” post, but my computer was screaming “NOT SECURE” when it opened (why it let me get that far I’m not sure) – but before I hurried to close it, I grabbed a little look; it can be paraphrased as follows:

Chronic conditions are chronic – spells don’t cure chronic conditions – their goal is to help improve the quality of your life by managing symptoms and increasing the efficacy of your medical treatment.

It’s an important place to end – I don’t have a problem with turning to the simple ideas of White Magic as an alternative treatment. Medication alone is unlikely to make your migraines vanish – you need to change you whole-life attitude. In the same way that some doctors might still consider Acupuncture, Art Therapy, or Prayer to be “alternative” it doesn’t hurt to keep your options open and look for ways that work for you.

As an author on Migraine.com says about her use of crystals (that might have to be another whole post!): “As with any non-traditional treatment, crystal therapy has its detractors, its doubters. Some believe that any positive effects it may have are merely placebo effects. To me, it makes perfect sense that the vibrations of the crystals can interact with our bodies in gentle, healing ways. For those of us who are experiencing the pain, nausea, and other migraine symptoms that crystal therapy can help, does it really matter how it works as long as it works without harming us? I think not.”

BUT – I would caution you to remember that alternative approaches should not completely replace traditional medical treatment – always be VERY careful about any treatment suggestions that include eating or drinking anything that might trigger allergic reactions or interfere with your medication.

I’d also say that I do NOT fully understand the ways of the Universe, and as such, I would suggest you always be careful where you place your time and energy, as I do believe in the idea that energy flows where attention goes – so keep your curiosity positive and kind… and at the risk of sounding kooky, I genuinely believe you shouldn’t mess with the dark side (see my experience with Tarot cards for example)… we’ve got enough issues in our lives without accidently adding hexes, jinxes or curses to the mix!

Take care how you take care of yourself, Linda xx

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[PS – double disclaimer time – please don’t take medical advice from people on the internet – me or anyone else – ALWAYS speak to your healthcare providers for information specific to your individual conditions and situation.]