This is the ability to use the energies of the correspondences, your own energy and that of the universe & direct it towards your goal. As you charge an object, the energy is initially coming from you. So how does one go about directing energy? Try this:

From within yourself, visualize a bright light, maybe blue for a healing spell for the baby bird you pictured above, that must have fallen from the nest. Visualize this light and imagine it forming within yourself, centered between your chest and stomach. Let that light grow and expand. Use your emotions!! Feel it!Then direct it up through your body, down your power, or what we call your projective arm, out your fingertips (or through your athame or wand) and into whatever you are trying to heal or charge. In this case, you are sending healing energy out to the bird. Feel it leave your body as a burst of energy rushing from you. See it enter whatever you are working with. Watch as it swirls all around your little patient.

When charging objects with this energy, you will visualize the energy flowing through your projective arm and going into the item you are using. For example, when using candles during your work, you may light them and see your energy flow from your arm into the fire and onto the candle. And if using a stone as well, take it & pass it through the misty smoke coming from your candle. Feel your energy flowing into the stone as you pick it up and pass it through the smoke. Burn incense, oil, herbs etc. whatever you feel will help you direct your energy. While you direct that light, that energy, you will be visualizing your intent with as much feeling as possible.

It is important to understand that magick is energy flow coming from the spellcrafter. It is not power. All spells create a tangible connection between the items of correspondence used and yourself. When you work magick, be specific, but be careful!

If you do a spell for money, be sure that you visualize the money coming, but not at the expense of another! Now we are almost finished. It is a good practice to turn everything over to the Creator, and ask that your workings take a path that is for the good of all involved. To do this, you merely use your own words to say so. You may also write a spell beforehand if you wish. This often provides that extra dash of charge necessary for your goals to be accomplished.

Meditation, visualiztion, self-hypnosis, energy direction and concentration are the essential ingredients to working any magick. Without them, you can do nothing. The Altered State of Consciousness that you must reach is an intensive one that is done step by step from the very beginning of your choice to do magickal spellwork. Anything that interferes with your ability to concentrate and control the high energy state necessary to perform magick should be avoided. Remember that Magick is the manipulation of energy; a thought is a form of energy and a visualization is an even stronger form.

Your visualization is used to further intensify and direct your will. It will lead to the method by which you control the magickal energy you have produced. You must know what you want. You must see it, hear it, smell it, taste it. But most of all, you must feel it. And then it is up to you to direct it. To do this, you begin your altered consciousness as early as possible, meaning as soon as you first begin to prepare. Even choosing your correspondences can aid in increasing your energies if you will let it. That is actually their purpose to begin with.

(Example: Begin your visualization process as you do the things I have written about below. Even do them as you choose your magickal place. For this chore, you can visualize yourself performing magick and receiving what you wish for.)

Doing magick involves many steps especially as you are learning. It becomes easier the more you practice and the better you learn it. It is important to have no distractions. Choose a place to work that is comfortable, peaceful and secure, a place that you can call yours where others won't invade your privacy. Distractions can destroy the best of intentions. This must be a place where you can do your meditation and visualizations without interruptions.

Before you begin your magick, always gather together your correpondences and your tools. Actually everything you use is nothing more than a tool to help you set the mood and get into the proper mindframe. There is nothing magickal about these things. The tool is not magickal. You are!!

BUT...when these tools are used properly, they can help to trigger the creative side of your brain and elicit primitive responses from deep inside you. They help to lull the "logical" side of your brain into conformity. Consider the purpose of your ritual and choose your tools accordingly. If your magick is to be a healing, then the tools should make you feel calm and peaceful, but also powerful. They should represent a healing. (As you choose, you should be visualizing.)

Just before a ritual, we generally prepare by doing a cleansing. Prepare yourself by any means necessary (and safe) to cleanse and purify. Some people fast, some follow a particular bathing ritual, and some use self-denial or sensory depravation. There are many ways to prepare for a ritual. The choice is up to you. Whatever gets you in the mood. ( But as you do this, you should be meditating and visualizing.)

Whatever you decide to use, this will set the energy that you will be using into motion so be sure to do your meditation and visualization!!

Once your purification process is finished, you are ready to begin. Go immediately to your special workplace. Many use music to set the mood during this phase of spellwork. In fact, new research has shown this to be an excellent idea. So if you wish to do so, begin it now.

As you use your oils, candles, incense, herbs, or whatever tools you have chosen, you should begin to further intensify the energy that you have already set into motion. Be sure to keep visualizing and maintain your focus throughout this period. The more you do this, the more powerful your energy becomes. Your entire purpose depends on how well you can visualize it and direct it. Good luck and Blessings to you!