Barrie Dolnick

Love is an emotion in its simplest sense, and to some, love is the essence of God or Spirit itself. Whatever your belief is about love, there are many ways you can express it and many ways to enjoy it. It is both foolish and cruel to restrict the amount of love you have in your life, whether you are focussed on giving love, receiving it or within the blessed balance of the two. Love is honorable, dignified, simple and divine. We spend far too much time trying to figure it out and not nearly enough time participating in it.

Love is not a commodity. Love is not rationed, it is not limited, and it is not something that should be jealously guarded.

Most of the spells in this book address the subject of romantic love, but there are many more kinds of love. To be in love with someone is not the same as loving someone. You can love your dog as much as your lover, but you'll be quick to point out that is expressed in an entirely different way.

Your capacity to love is endless. It can be as large or as limited as you decide. Most agree that feeling love, whether in giving or receiving, is highly pleasurable and rewarding. If you care to increase the amount of pleasure in your life, you may like to cast spells for love in general. Love is not just partnership; the more you practice with love and clear through your access to love, the more love is available to you.

Love is not without its risks, however. You may find it hard to actually open yourself up to loving because you'll be afraid of the responsibility and the risk of hurt. There is no guarentee that you won't feel pain or cause pain in your quest for love. You may get hurt; you may hurt someone else. This is part of the deal. You don't have to be devastated, and you don't have to cause pain recklessly. The pleasure of love can and usually does out weigh the risk of pain. Fear of pain will be a very dull jail cell if you allow it to rule your life. You may not get hurt if you don't get into love, but you certainly won't feel the pleasure either.




Accustom yourself continually
to make many acts of love,
for they enkindle and
melt the soul.

-Interior Castle
Teresa of Avila