Bless, enchant, charm or consecrate?

I know these terms aren’t all the same things, but in my mind, they’re similar. Maybe I’m just confused about how or when to use them. Or what to say when I’m going to do them.
I believed consecration is for tools for your practice. Are the others just a verb choice? Are they interchangeable?

How do you use these terms and how do choose what to do and say?

Is imbue a similar term too? Ugh I’m so confused! :sleepy: It’s a normal state of mind for me lately! :rofl::crazy_face:

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I found this for consecrate

This for enchant

And this for blessing

I learn by doing rather than reading, so this may help explain the difference :sparkling_heart:

Imbue means to fill something or someone with a quality or feeling or purpose (intention).

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Thank you :two_hearts::blush::blue_heart:

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Consecrate to me is a cleanse of an item and charging it with the intent for magickal use. Blessing is like a blessing with words or in ur mind. Then charm is to perform magick to enchant an object with certain characteristics. That’s how I think of it

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Thanks :blush::purple_heart::people_hugging:

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Anytime sister :sparkling_heart:

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My personal view, and I may be mistaken, is that several of these words depend on fine details. I’m not surprised you have trouble with them, @Sivonnah .

I agree partially with Tracy’s definition of imbue- a quality or feeling doesn’t have to contain magickal energy, but tends to gather it along the way- like a child imbues a stuffed toy with imagination until it seems to come to life and becomes a companion of the child who loves it.

A blessing comes from a higher level of authority- your deities and your higher self bless something for use on a “lower” level or you give your blessing to a loved one as permission to do what they have been chosen or created to do. This works in Huna because the whole person is giving the injured muscle permission to express a warning to slow down and take it easy.

To consecrate is to decide within yourself to use something solely for a specific purpose. “I’m going to use this plastic container for leftovers” is as much a consecration as dedicating altar space for each of the elements. Your decision, your rules.

Enchanting something gives it the energy to do a certain thing. Imagine Disney’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice for this one. Mickey Mouse enchants a broom to carry water.

A charm seems to be a different thing than enchanting just because there is less focus on one activity… um that’s not quite the right phrase… If I charge a necklace for protection, it isn’t just one aspect of protection. The necklace doesn’t become a wall, like it might in an enchantment. It can act like a lock on a door, a cloak of invisibility, Popeye’s spinach, anything necessary to get the job done. The charm is the job.

How is a charm different from a consecration? In a consecration, I act on the object. My choice, my rules. Someone else might see the object on the counter and proceed to use it differently. The plastic container I consecrate for leftovers may be used by someone else to store small game pieces like checkers or dice. No harm, no foul. However, a charm will work the same if I wear the necklace or if I give the necklace to my neighbor’s daughter. A charm acts on the user.

This was a great question! Thank you for asking it. I hope my definitions help.

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You’ve helped a lot! :hugs::heart: I’m always impressed with your knowledge. Thank you for sharing your wisdom :people_hugging::two_hearts:

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It is confusing, I asked similarly about in what order they should be done.

https://forum.spells8.com/t/whats-the-order/41581?u=artemisia

it was an interesting discussion but it looks like you have received wonderful answers and advice already! :blush:

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This is a great question, @Sivonnah! And there have already been some great answers too :blush:

Out of curiosity, I decided to dig around in my mind and see what my own interpretations for each are. These aren’t meant to invalidate anyone else’s, just trying to organize my own magical terms :laughing:

I would say that to:

Consecrate is to welcome a new tool into your magickal practice. It prepares a non-magickal item for magickal use. This ritual may or may not also include cleansing, charging, and a blessing and/or enchantment depending on the ritual being used.

Cleanse is to remove unwanted negative energy from an object, person, or space.

Charge is to increase the energy of an object, person, or space. Like charging your phone, it involves tapping into a source to add energy that will make the target stronger.

Bless is to add general positive energy to an object, person, or space.

Hex is the opposite of bless. It sends a general negative energy to an object, person, or space.

Enchant (or Imbue) is to add a certain type of energy to an object, person, or space. It may be for protection, luck, etc - the intention is specific (while blessings are left to be more general).

Curse is the opposite of enchant, it adds a certain type of negative/aggressive/attack energy to an object, person, or space. The intention is specific.

As for charm, it’s a more general term - I’ve seen in magical books used to simply mean “spell” (like the Nine Wort Charm). In other contexts, it’s a physical item or symbol like a good luck charm - which may be either a Talisman (a magickal object used to attract positive things) or an Amulet (a magickal item used to ward off negative things).


Again, just my personal definitions - but it was a very thought-provoking exercise! This was a good question, thank you @Sivonnah! :pray: :heart:

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