Spells and rituals are widely used for many reasons, including influencing events, affecting change in different phenomena, and presenting the illusion of change. In this context, I attempt to create a ritual and a spell that would help me to improve my performance in the next assessment. The test will require students to be mentally sharp and knowledgeable about the content which was covered in the course to succeed. The most common and acceptable approach to passing the test is to study appropriately. However, my magic will contest this conventional mode of rationality by imbuing me with the relevant knowledge and sharpening my mind and memory to a razor edge. The spell will use the law of contagion which asserts that once two objects or individuals come into contact, a magical connection builds and hold them together until some powers are used to break the non-material bond.
I will combine words, objects, and ritual movements to cast the spell. The main items include a candle for activating mental power and knowledge and a scrap of paper. The Paper will have some scribbled prayer or magical words written on it. These statements will be chanted to invoke my ancestral spirits for their intervention and guidance during the assessment. The candlelight will represent success which will be prompted through incantations. The ritual action will entail moving around a burning candle while reciting the prayer. The spell will be cast before the exam and will follow an elaborate procedure. First, I will take my ritual items to an elevated outdoor location (at home or on the school campus) at 1 am on a windy night a few days before the exam. Second, I will take the piece of paper with the prayer and burn its corners. Third, I will light the candle again and start burning the paper. As it turns to ashes, I will hold it high above my head and start chanting the prayer while moving around the burning candle with my eyes closed. Fourth, after the paper burns completely, I will kneel before the burning candle and proceed with the incantations until it diminishes. As it melts away, I will relax my mind and visualize how I will excel in the test and celebrate after completing the assessment. Finally, I will go straight home and dress in my school uniform. I will not be allowed to wash my hands and body until I complete the exam the next day.
I will utilize several criteria to measure the effectiveness of the spell. First, I will assess my physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral statuses to determine their levels during the test. Many students experience mild to chronic distress, fear, and anxiety before and even during an exam. Being nervous is normal and helpful for students when handling an examination. However, experiencing higher levels of these negative feelings might compromise the ability to perform a test and pass it. This natural phenomenon is referred to as test anxiety, and I will use it to measure the effectiveness of my spell. Being extremely nervous will indicate that the magic was effective, while chronic fear and anxiety will show that the ritual did not work.
In addition, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral cues will help to determine the impact of the charm on my performance. The cues include fidgeting, blanking out on the correct answers, freezing up, and forgetting the content covered in the module. Other signs of exam anxiety include feeling unable to answer exam questions and becoming overwhelmed by fear, anger, and depression. In addition, experiencing physical conditions such as sweating and shaking profusely, intense heartbeats, and a sense of “butterflies” in the stomach will demonstrate the effect of the spell on my exam results. Finally, the actual score will provide the most reliable measure of the effectiveness of the magic.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Magic Prayer
Appendix 2: Burning Candle
Appendix 3: Taking a Kneeling Position
