Native language

[Betweentwosides]

Hello everyone!

I was looking for spells that may be useful for me to something, but I can't find any spell in my native language (Turkish).
All of them are in English and English isn't my native language.
Should I continue to translate them into my language as well or?

[SnowCat]

You could translate the spells, and then reword them as needed to be exactly what you need. Spells are a guideline, more than being something that you have to follow word for word.

Snow

[Bychan Wulf]

If you speak English fluent and natural, even if it's not your native language, I think you can use them like that or make small changes in order to personalize them. The Deities understand all the languages, you just have to say what you have to say from your heart and in the language that comes to mind.
English is not my native language either, so I make my prayers, talkings to the Deity and spells in 3 languages as it is easier to make rhymes and it never failed me

[SpiritTalker]

I agree with what's been said...it does not matter what language you use. What matters is that you know what it means. It's your intent, your will, your belief that gives the words power.

[moonraingirl]

Agree with everything that's been said. Use the language that feels natural to you. If you find it hard to pray in English you can translate into Turkish. You can either do it precisely, or even better, get the main idea and create a poem in Turkish that has a similar meaning, but doesn't have to be exact translation.
If English seems natural to you, there's no need to translate.
Just do what feels good for you

[Bychan Wulf]

If you make your own spells,you could also look for ancient words in the language you cast them in. The old words thar are not in the usual vocabulary can make your spells more "special" and you feel more witchy.

[moonraingirl]

If you make your own spells,you could also look for ancient words in the language you cast them in. The old words that are not in the usual vocabulary can make your spells more "special" and you feel more witchy.

This is so true! Praying the rosary in Latin felt very powerful and more spiritual to me. I guess it's because words in my native language are linked to too many "wordly" emotions and experiences, but praying in an ancient language using words that have only spiritual meaning to you makes the experience feel unique and special.

[Bychan Wulf]

Latin makes everything more magical as it is a dead language which is also used in most movies with witchcraft and mostly in those with summonings.

You can find ancient words in your native language too. The pagans that lived in your country before Christianity had their own dialect which can never be lost. Different regions of each country still use those words,without knowing their actual origin.

[Kassandra]

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Turkey is a place that is really rich with magical heritage. I think the advice given on this thread as regards language and magic is very good. Sanskrit is another "dead" language that, like Latin, is very much alive energetically-speaking.




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[Betweentwosides]

Wow, Kassandra! I didn't know that my country has such amazing things like that! How can I find Information about this? I know that before us and before Islam, there was a Religion, which called Shamanism (the same with what we are talking about, I guess)

Also thank all of you for your help

[CleverlyDisguised]

I love Latin and learning Sanskrit would be cool I would think

[moonraingirl]

Wow, Kassandra! I didn't know that my country has such amazing things like that! How can I find Information about this? I know that before us and before Islam, there was a Religion, which called Shamanism (the same with what we are talking about, I guess)

Also thank all of you for your help

I don't know about Turkish neopaganism, but try googling using your native language terms. Such as traditional Turkish beliefs, or google about old traditions you know about and hope that you will get to similar links about things you are not familiar with. Perhaps you will eventually be guided to more extensive literature, forums or podcasts/youtube videos.

Another way would be to start reading your national fairy tales and legends. I'm 100% sure you will discover new things there. There must be mentions of magical creatures and pagan customs.
Also, do you have old authors who wrote about Turkish farmers/pesants? Most old Slovak (my country) literature is about lives of farmers and you can find mentions of old traditions. The question is if you are willing to read classical literature

I just looked at the map and I see that ancient Mesopotamia was close to Turkey. You will be able to find many sources because they were a really famous empire. Maybe you can find similarities with Turkish heritage.

Here is a list of ancient cultures in your area, perhaps you can google "mythology of name of the nation" and see what you get. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_a ... f_Anatolia


I hope you will be able to find more about your national heritage. Maybe you are like me, I didn't even try googling about my national spirituality because I thought I would not find anything. I was only used to English sources and that, for me, never felt right because while I do like and respect foreign mythologies, they will always be foreign to me.

I wish you good luck with finding your roots!

[L.J.Hex]

I have been looking for a topic about this for some time and I will now resurrect this one as it fits the bill.

So, I'm a native Finnish speaker, but for some reason, most spells work for me more naturally in English. It sounds more precise and powerful somehow, which is weird as Finnish language is far more expressive than English. I mean that we have more synonyms for words and even changing the tone of voice a bit changes the expression. Not to mention old language and dialect differences. Not to downplay English language at all, but Finnish is more complicated, slow and varied.

I'm also writing most of my BoS in English. Knowing a bit of my possible past, its no surprise that English for me feels very natural, I learn it fast and often I even think in English. Spells are so easy to write and memorise and way easier to rhyme. Although, there's a huge abundance of spells in Finnish, I could probably find hundreds of them with one google search as there's a lot of them written down. One idea I have is to write spells down in both languages, even though English does not translate to Finnish very easily, the grammar is so totally different.

This is bit weird as usually from what I know, Finnish witches tend to use Finnish language. Our language is very good for spell work too as its rather powerful and can be used in very lively and precise way. But it also takes a longer time. English is much quicker, its easier to say a lot in just few sentences.

I guess I'm a language weirdo or something as I tend to use English more.

[Shekinah]

The Gods, Goddesses, Watchers and Lordes (immortal Divinities) do not assimilate any language, There are billions of languages across the Universe they all are clumsy and lack pristine conveyance of thought. Whatever language you use is only for you to facilitate thought imagery. As in telepathy it is the envisioned thought image that conveys meaning across space-time. Mental imagery is the universal language. The life phenomenon is all entangled by Quantum physical laws. Through entanglement we are ONE at our deepest level as part of Cosmic Consciousness permeating the Field. In magick be certain to envision all that you wish to convey and accomplish. As in Circle casting we speak our ritual jargon BUT the power is in the images we create as we visualize creation of sacred space, drawing power into the Circle, welcoming the Spirit entities, etc. We must first create in our mind's eye that which we intend to materialize in the mundane world.

Religious people have a serious problem trying to pray and wondering why not much is answered. Silent and verbal supplications go nowhere unless the content has emotion and visual expression. There are many "Guided Meditation" audio media available that helps develop the skills of mental visualization. Don't be lazy when trying to touch the mind of the Gods reach out in their language.

[L.J.Hex]

Very insightful input as usual. Thank you Shekinah.

And ditto about words on their own being not much, regardless of language.