#colour magic

[coven-of-genesis]

Colour magick

Color magick is a form of magic that utilizes the energetic properties associated with different colors. Each color is believed to have its own unique vibrations and correspondences, which can be harnessed for various intentions or spells.

It's a fascinating aspect of occult practice for those interested in harnessing symbolism and energy in their magical workings.

Here are some common associations for different colors:

1. Red: Often associated with passion, love, strength, and vitality. It can be used for matters of the heart, courage, and energy.

2. Orange: Represents creativity, enthusiasm, and success. It's used for motivation, self-expression, and attracting opportunities.

3. Yellow: Linked to intellect, communication, and clarity. Yellow can be used for mental clarity, confidence, and boosting intellectual pursuits.

4. Green: Represents growth, abundance, and healing. It's associated with matters of prosperity, fertility, and overall well-being.

5. Blue: Associated with peace, calmness, Certainly! Color magick is based on the idea that colors have distinct energetic vibrations and correspondences that can influence our thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

6. Purple: Symbolizes spirituality, wisdom, and transformation. It can be used for spiritual growth, psychic abilities, and seeking higher knowledge.

7. Pink: Often used for matters of love, compassion, and harmony. Pink can be employed for romantic love, self-love, and healing emotional wounds.

8. Black: Symbolizes protection, banishing, and mystery. It's used for absorbing negativity, protection, and working with the shadow self.

9. White: Represents purity, clarity, and spiritual enlightenment. It's often used for purification, meditation, and connecting with higher realms.

10. Brown: Associated with stability, grounding, and nurturing. It's used for matters of stability, home, and connecting with nature.

Remember, these associations can vary depending on individual beliefs, cultural traditions, and personal experiences.

When using color magick, it's important to trust your intuition and select colors that resonate with you and your specific intentions. Additionally, combining colors in spells and rituals can amplify their effects.

[attichaos]

Colour Magick Correspondences & Ideas

*longer read*

Pretty easily applied for both beginner, closet and experienced practitioners alike! Can be used in most areas of mundane and magickal life (with some ideas listed below).

White

→ Cleansing, clarity, blessing, healing, innocence, truth, connection to spirits or the spiritual world, divine connection, consecration, dream work, psychic connection, purity, rest, moon magic, angelic work, devotion, harmony, prayer, peace, purification, universal truths. White can also be used as an all-purpose color for your intention when the color you want is not available.

Black

→ Banishing, transformation, uncrossing, endings, domination, protection, reversing, repulsion, freedom from evil, cursing, cloaking, sophistication, security, emotional safety, closure, breaking patterns, grief, mourning, absorbing, removing, trapping, encasing, the unconscious, mystery, shielding from the evil eye, *similarly to white - as black is an absence of colour it can be used for any colour if you don’t have them available* - personal opinion

Red

→ Passionate love, energy, action, attraction, sexuality, magnetism, will, force, anger, fire within, courage, warmth, lust, drive, pleasure, vitality, vigor, excitement, desire.

Orange

→ New opportunities, new ventures, new beginnings, change of plans, encouragement, opening the way, removing blocks, physical comfort, warmth, security, ambition, creativity, courage, optimism.

Yellow

-> Optimism, prosperity, happiness, good luck, attraction, success, confidence, visibility, fame, self-esteem, communication, concentration, focus, inspiration, intellect, logic, memory, knowledge, learning.

Green

→ Prosperity, abundance, wealth, generosity, money luck, career, growth, fertility, gambling luck, business, a good job, harmony, balance, healing, self-love, altruism, universal love, contact with fae and nature spirits.

Blue

→ Reconciliation, harmony, peace, kindness, healing, ideas, intelligence, wisdom, loyalty, sleep, meditation, communication, creativity, dream work, trust, blessings, calm, forgiveness, truth, bliss, inspiration, fidelity, honesty.

Purple

→ Healing, calming, tranquility, spirituality, meditation, pacification, cooperation, sensitivity, compassion, empathy, selflessness, empowerment, controlling, commanding, mastery, power, ambition, achievement, charisma, luxury, expansion, psychic ability, spirituality, authenticity, truth, transformation, insight, justice, wisdom, politics, divination, ESP, intuition, wishes, influence.

Pink

→ Romantic love, friendship, soul mates, sweet feelings, emotional healing, heart connection, affection, family love, admiration, physical tranquility, nurturing, warmth, youthfulness, healing grief, compassion, forgiveness, beauty, unconditional love.

Brown

→ Justice, balance, grounding, court cases, legal matters, being down-to-earth, practical matters, seriousness, reliability, support, stability, safety, earth, nature, animals, home, nostalgia, basic needs being met, balance.

Grey

→ Neutrality, neutralizing, invisibility, working in “gray areas,” anonymity, hiding from others, working in-between worlds, secrets, occult and arcane wisdom, reversing, uncovering mysteries and secrets, lifting curses, undoing prior spell work.

Silver

→ Dreams, intuition, psychic work, courtesy, honor, moon magic, rhythm, cycles, divination, illusions, glamour spells, wisdom.

Gold

→ Prosperity, fame, luxury, generosity, optimism, wisdom, enlightenment, victory, sun magic, confidence, life force, power, attraction, magnetism, vigor, charisma.

*highly recommend Madame Pamita’s Book of Candle Magic - covers colour magic especially in relation to spell work with candles.

Ideas

→ candle magick

→ glamour magick - also wearing/makeup using a colour which corresponds to the property you desire (good for closet witches)

→ sigil magick

→ craft magick

→ kitchen witchery - eg. Putting a specific colour food dye in a cake or drink etc

(Essentially anything you want!)

Merry meet,

Atti <3

[lilianasgrimoire]

Colour Magick

Colour magick is using the colour spectrum and the intention of each colour to invoke its magical response. You can place items of different colours around your home to help create different energies. Colour Theory, especially in marketing, shows us that using certain colours can affect: 

Moods 

Thoughts and Impressions 

Feelings 

Each colour on the spectrum has a certain vibrational frequency. By using Colour Magic in your Witchcraft, you can invoke and attract whatever vibration you need for your spell work. 

Candles & lighting 

Clothing & accessories 

Food 

Makeup 

Home decor 

Sigils 

Crystals 

Bath rituals 

Colours & Their Associations

Red – Passion, courage/strength, lust, anger, grounding energy, love, intense emotions 

Orange – creativity, success, justice, opportunity, ambition, energy, stimulation 

Yellow – inspiration imagination, knowledge, confidence, focus, joy, memory, divination 

Green – Nature, healing, fertility, growth, abundance, renewal, balance, wealth, luck 

Blue – peace, truth, wisdom, patience, healing, communication, forgiveness, travelling 

Purple – Royal, insight, influence, authority, spirituality, emotion, fluidity, expressiveness 

Pink - Affection, friendship, self-love, intimacy, forgiveness, romance, unconditional love 

Brown – Home, animals, stability, family, grounding, endurance, strength 

Black – Dignity, protection, banishing, binding, transmutation, control, elegance, power 

Grey – Stability, contemplation, neutrality, glamour, shielding, self-defence, dreams 

Silver – psychic ability, memory, intuition, treasure, luck, the moon, femininity 

White – Innocence, purity, illumination, cleansing, spirituality, truth, harmony, all purpose 

Gold - Intuition, finance & fortune, happiness, the sun, masculinity, luck, power, success  

[thewitchywitch]

Quick Witch Tip 5

Use friendship bracelets as an advanced form of knot magic. Each knot seals the intention into the bracelet and you can use colour magic in conjunction with this to really layer up your intentions

[stargazer-sims]

I saw @changingplumbob and a couple other people doing this. Nobody tagged me, but it looked cool so I thought I'd try it. The challenge was to have this site generate a palette based on your name.

My real name is Sapphire, so it's probably no surprise my palette looks like this:

I also decided to do one for my dog, because... why not? Her name is Sailor, and this is hers. I'm kinda in love with it:

[thewitcheslibrary]

Colour magic

Colour magic is a component of many magical traditions since colours have specific connections. However, keep in mind that certain traditions may establish their own correspondences that differ from those listed.

When it comes to employing these correspondences, be imaginative and think outside of your usual comfort zone. You may have a variety of candles, coloured paper, altar cloths and fabric, ribbons, or even ink on hand to employ in different magical workings.

Spells and incantations should be written in the proper colour or on comparable coloured paper. You may use stones, plants, or flowers in whichever colour you like. If you meditate or perform chaka energy work, you can visualise yourself surrounded by light of the colour you require for your magical works. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Red-

Red is associated with boldness and health, as well as sexual love and passion. It can be useful in spellwork. Use red lipstick to kiss your partner, fill a red cloth pouch with herbs to improve your sex life, or light a red candle before a difficult task to give yourself a little additional bravery. If you participate in sports or other competitive activities, wearing anything red under your uniform might boost your confidence.

Red is also connected with war and strength, so if you're ready to engage in physical or mental combat, red may be a helpful colour to have; imagine yourself bathed in a great crimson glow before marching into battle. Red is also related with the root chakra. As a result, it is linked to our sense of stability as well as our interactions with the physical and material worlds.

Magic uses: Love, physical energy, health, willpower, Passion, courage, strength, intense emotions

Pink-

Pink represents friendship and pure, innocent love. Have a crush on someone but aren't quite ready to ignite the flames of passion yet? Use pink roses or other flowers to convey your message. Dress in pink to make new acquaintances. Burn a pink candle to invoke emotional and spiritual healing magic, or to foster a new relationship.

Magic uses: Romance, spiritual awakening, partnerships, children's magic, Affection, friendship, companionship, spiritual healing

Orange-

If you're working for attractiveness and encouragement, incorporate orange into your magical endeavours. Light an orange candle to attract fresh chances into your life; if you desire excitement and adventure, wear something orange that will catch people's attention. Orange is a colour of creativity and self-expression, therefore utilise it while performing magical rituals connected to concerns like writer's block, or if you're an artist who feels like your muse has been suppressed recently. Because orange is connected with the sacral chakra, it represents both sexuality and emotion, particularly our ability to form emotional relationships with others.

Magic uses: Adaptability to sudden changes, encouragement, power, Energy, attraction, vitality, stimulation

Gold-

Gold is related, as one might expect, with money prosperity, commercial ventures, and solar connections. Hang gold colours around your entryway to attract money, or burn a gold candle for workings that will help your business succeed. If you want to give your profession a magical boost, wear gold jewellery or keep a piece in your pocket. Gold is also beneficial in situations concerning the law, courtrooms, and the justice system; if you are waiting for a judgement in a civil action or a criminal case, tuck a piece of gold paper inside your shoe before entering the courthouse.

Magic uses: Success, health, ambition, finances, good fortune, divination, Inner strength, self-realization, understanding, intuition

Yellow-

Yellow is an excellent colour for persuasion and protection. It's a bright, cheery colour that promotes happiness - and when people are happy, they're far more inclined to see things your way! Yellow is associated with self-empowerment due to its affinity for the solar plexus chakra. A person with a strong solar plexus chakra has a good mix of self-confidence and self-control.

Magic uses: Communication, confidence, divination, study, Intellect, inspiration, imagination, knowledge

Green-

As you might expect, green is associated with financial wealth and money, but it is also firmly linked to fertility magic. Green also corresponds to the heart chakra. It is our emotional centre, which allows us to love others and receive love in return. Forgiveness, romantic love, compassion, empathy, and platonic love are all centred in the heart chakra, thus use green for spellwork including these topics.

Magic uses: Prosperity, employment, fertility, health, good luck, Abundance, growth, wealth, renewal, balance

Light blue-

Light blue is connected with magic, including healing, patience, and understanding. To promote wellbeing and good health, sew a sachet or pillow packed with therapeutic herbs or crochet a baby blanket out of blue flannel cloth. If you have a sick buddy, write their name on a blue candle before burning it. Another wonderful suggestion is to give them a pack of blue socks.

Blue is also the colour of the throat chakra, which serves as our communication centre. It's what allows us to be honest and open with the people in our life. Our capacity to trust and be trustworthy, to speak truly and fairly, all stem from the throat chakra, therefore utilise light blue if you need to get to the bottom of a problem or establish channels of communication.

Magic uses: Well being and good health, communication r better communication spells. Healing, psychic ability, harmony in the home, understanding, Peace, truth, wisdom, protection, patience.

Dark blue-

If your magical practice involves despair and emotional weakness, dark blue is the colour to utilise. Dark blue, or indigo, is associated with the brow chakra, where many people think our Third Eye is placed. Our ability to self-realize, to develop our psychic powers and empathic skills, is linked to the brow chakra, as is our ability - and desire - to recognise, admit, and then let go of emotional baggage, thus employ dark blue in workings of this type.

Magic uses: Healing, psychic ability, harmony in the home, understanding, Peace, truth, wisdom, protection, patience

Purple-

Purple is the colour of royalty, and it represents ambition and strength. Wear a purple tie or scarf as an accessory if you know you'll be at a business meeting where there may be disagreement. Purple or violet is related with the head chakra in several metaphysical systems. This is the part of ourselves that is concerned with our connection to the Divine, the Universe itself, and our capacity to understand our role in the big scheme of things. If you're doing magic to strengthen your connection to the deities of your tradition or path, utilise purple.

Magic uses: Spirituality, wisdom, devotion, peace, idealism, Divination, enhancing nurturing qualities, balancing sensitivity

Indigo-

The spiritual connotation of the hue indigo is commitment and sincerity. Indigo is an extremely dark blue with hints of violet. In the ancient world, lapis lazuli was one of the earliest stones mined and used in jewellery. It was a positive hue that was thought to shield the deceased from evil in the afterlife.

Magic uses: Emotion, fluidity, insight, expressiveness, Meditation, clarity of purpose, spiritual healing, self-mastery

Brown-

Brown can be used in projects involving the environment or animals. If you need to reconnect with the natural world, light a brown candle or carry some brown dirt in your pocket. A sigil, which is also connected with home life and stability, can be created on your door or threshold with a brown marker or paint. Inscribe spells or charms on brown paper; sandwich-sized lunch bags are ideal for this!

Magic uses: Endurance, solidity, grounding, strength, Balance, concentration, material gain, home, companion animals

Black-

Use black in magical workings involving negativity and exile. If someone bothers you, jot down their name on a sheet of paper. Burn the paper around the edges with a black candle, telling them that you are burning away any hostility, desire, jealousy, or other sentiments they may have towards you. Burn as much of the paper as you can, leaving only their name, and then bury it. Another alternative is to put their name on a black balloon, load it with helium, and then carry it far away before releasing it into the sky.

Magic uses: Dignity, force, stability, protection, Banishing and releasing negative energies, transformation, enlightenment

White-

White represents purity, honesty, and our connection to the divine and higher selves. It should be noted that in candle magic, many Pagan traditions allow for the use of a white candle instead of any other colour. Use white for workings that involve harmony and peace, the consecration of magical equipment, blessings, and purification.

Magic uses: Peace, innocence, illumination, purity, Cleansing, clarity, establishing order, spiritual growth, understanding

Silver-

Silver symbolises reflection and truth, intuition, and lunar connections. If you need to undertake any full moon scrying or any other type of activity involving psychic development, dreaming, or astral travel, use a silver candle. Because of its lunar ties, silver is associated with women's secrets, the tides, and pregnancy.

Magic uses: Wisdom, psychic ability, intelligence, memory,Spiritual development, psychic development, meditation, warding off negativity

Grey-

Grey is often connected with stability, calmness, and composure. Grey stones signify something long-lasting and sturdy. It is also a colour linked with knowledge gained through ageing. Because of this, some people link grey with ancestral representation. Grey can also be connected with loss or depression, and it can affect the mind and body by eliciting disturbing feelings. Because grey is a combination of black and white, its meaning varies - deeper hues closer to black can be more enigmatic, while lighter shades closer to white can be more enlightening.

Darker colours, such as charcoal grey, invoke the power of black but lack the negativity associated with black, whereas light greys share some of the traits of white. Grey is considered a colour for both men and women. Light greys are regarded feminine, whilst dark greys are considered manly.

Magic uses: Stability, contemplation, neutrality, reserve, Complex decisions, binding negative influences, reaching compromise

[fernthewhimsical]

Colour- and Art magic in Rainbowmancy

Colour Magic

Colours are kind of the rainbow's thing, so it makes sense that colour magic is an important part of Rainbowmancy. There are many, many lists of colour correspondences out there, and I am of the opinion that these are more powerful if they are your own, so I won't make a list of colours here. (Although I will share if asked, of course!)

With Rainbowmancy there are two ways you use the colours of the rainbow: as a whole, and the individual colours separate from each other. I mostly use the colours of the rainbow as a whole, or in the case of queer witchery, the colour meanings of the Gilbert Baker pride flag. Some ideas on how to use colour magic will be discussed below in Rainbow Magic.

Art Magic

Humans are creative beings. Cave paintings, story telling, beaded jewellery, art has been with us since the beginning. What art is and is not is a very broad discussion that I will not go into right now (but I do have thoughts). But what about art magic? To describe art magic and all it can do would be a whole essay on it's own. But to give a short explanation I can not describe it better than Molly Roberts:

"Art magick is art as the spell- the means of expressing intentions, desires, wishes and experiences. Art magick can be a means of attracting or manifesting, but art magick can also be entirely about the process- it can be cathartic, healing, or meditative. The making of the art is the ritual itself. I’m often pointedly asked what the difference is between art magick and crafting or scrapbooking. Frankly, on the surface- there isn’t a difference. Paint is paint. An art journal is an art journal. A project becomes art magick when it the project is tended to with a devotion, given significance, and imbued with layers of meaning for the art witch. There is an animistic dimension to art magick. This layering of meaning- the act of making something special with our love and attention, the sanctification of your creating, is the essence of enchantment." Source: Molly Roberts

So what about art magic and Rainbowmancy? Well, painting, drawing, digital art, clay; these are all techniques that often use a lot of colour. Colour magic and art magic can go hand in hand in this regard, and like colour magic, you can focus on the individual colour of the rainbow, or the rainbow in its entirety. With music the diatonic scale has seven notes, which can be linked to the colours of the rainbow: C-red, D-Orange, E-Yellow, F-Green, G-Blue, A-Indigo, B-Violet. A Rainbowmancer can use these notes to create rainbow symphonies, or simply resonate each not in sequence. Dance is a wonderful art that can be adapted into art magic and rainbowmancy. Dancing with rainbow scarves, silk fans, or poi are amazing ways to get the rainbow magic to flow. And let's not forget fiber and fabric arts such as embroidery, knitting, crochet, quilting, and sewing can be used as powerful tools to embue items with rainbow energy.

[Part of a Rainbowmancy series, masterpost here]

[kenzxo111]

The Evil Eye & Hamsa Hand

Hi Friends!

Today I want to talk about The Evil Eye. It is a symbol that is seen almost everywhere and can be found pretty much anywhere, but do you know the meaning and history behind it? it is very important we know the stories behind these symbols. I wanted to share some info on this topic because a lot of people don’t know the actual history and importance of these symbols and why we use it in our witchcraft/spirituality lifestyles.

There are many names for The Evil Eye symbol.

The Evil Eye

Nazar

Ayin Ha’ra

The Evil Eye is over 5000 years old and can be found in all major religions. It is said that this symbol protects it’s owner from evil spirits. The Evil Eye can be worn as jewelry or placed in a home or vehicle.

The Evil Eye has roots to Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Kazakh, Indigenous, Peasant religions and other folk societies. In my opinion it is VERY important to know where these symbols originated and it’s uses in other religions.

So let’s dig a little deeper into that!

The Evil Eye is not specific to any one religion or culture, but it is seen all over the world. With that being said, anyone can wear it to help protect themselves from negative harm.

The Hamsa Hand is another symbol you might come across with The Evil Eye. The Hamsa Hand or Hand of Fatima is an ancient Middle Eastern talisman. In all religions it is a symbol of protection, protection from harm against The Evil Eye and brings goodness, abundance, fertility, luck and good health. The one thing to be aware of is that there is a lot of religious meaning attached to The Hamsa and is can be culturally insensitive to wear it without knowing what the symbol means. Normally you will see The Evil Eye in the center of The Hamsa Hand. In all it doesn’t matter what religion you believe in you can wear it, but you must learn about the symbols history and stories regarding its importance.

There are also many different colours of The Evil Eye and their colour meanings are very similar to colour magic correspondents.

That’s all my basic info on The Evil Eye and The Hamsa Hand and if anyone has anything else to add feel free to comment 😊

[thefatfeministwitch]

Shades of Magic: Aura Colours

Shades of Magic: Aura Colours

One of my favourite manifestations of colour magic is in the reading and analysis of our own personal aura. The human aura is a strong electro-magnetic field, and an extension of our energies, be it strong or weak, fair or otherwise, light and bright or dull and dense. It is a band of energy that surrounds us, a life energy that can be sensed around every living thing, plants, trees, animals,…

[witchyligea]

Colour Magick

As a beginner witch who writes her own spells and has lots of colourful things at home, I thought it could be useful to learn about colour correspondences. However, colour meanings often depend on culture so I decided that digging deeper into why those colours represent such things. I'm going to make individual posts on each of them except orange because I hate that fucking colour. If I ever use orange in a working it won't be for a kind one and I will burn it. When I'm done I'm going to write something general about what I found and link all the colours. If anyone checks my profile and only sees this it's because I am both busy and lazy. I'll take my time.

[renaes-ramblings]

Now for a discussion on refracted light

Because who doesn’t love a rainbow? Colour magic is one of those things you can employ on a daily basis. It is magic you can do quick and easily or take longer with and use it as part of more in-depth practise. I am going to focus more on low spoons colour magic in this post. What is colour magic? Colour magic is utilising the correspondences of various colours to manifest your…

[coven-of-genesis]

Colour Magic Basics

Black - Protection, Banishing, hex breaking, binding, safety

Grey - shielding, self defence, neutrality

White - Peace, purity, cleansing, truth, can be used in place of any other coloured candle

Red - passion, fertility, bravery, lust, strength

Orange - success, uplifting, joy, intellect, adaptability, thoughtfulness

Yellow - focus, intelligence, logic, clarity, new ideas, willpower

Green - money magic, good luck, earth magic, prosperity, healing, growth

Teal - healing, imagination, spiritually, wisdom, sophistication, tranquility

Blue - inspiration, healing, balance, wisdom, loyalty, forgiveness

Purple - meditation, higher self, guidance spiritual power, divination

Magenta - action, adds speed to spell, enhances other colours

Pink - friendship, romance, self love, happiness, honour, unconditional love

Peach - simple joy, strength, peace, truth, love, creativity

Brown - stability, decision making, material wealth, emotional balance

Gold - prosperity, wealth, success, intelligence, energy

Silver - persistence, truth, inner conflict resolution

[illustoryart]

GNU Sir Terry Pratchett ❤️‍🩹

[captainfantasticalright]

In 1985, one of the only persons interested in an interview with a “new” writer called Terry Pratchett, after his publication of the Colour of Magic, was one Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman was writing for Space Voyager at the time. "The Colour of Pratchett" was the name given here:

It ran exactly one page inside the June/July issue of that year. The interview took place in a Chinese restaurant in London.

Here is Neil many years later holding that issue. You can see it here if you want. Warning: extremely emotional video.

Neil arrived wearing a grey homburg hat. “Sort of like the ones Humphrey Bogart wears in movies” he later wrote. (Before saying that in fact he did not look like him, but like someone wearing a grown-up’s hat). Terry Pratchett, photo courtesy of one @neil-gaiman, was in a Lenin-style leather cap and a harlequin-patterned pullover. At this point, Terry was already a hat person, although not that hat.

Terry offered Neil this : "An interview needn't last more than 15 minutes. A good quote for the beginning, a good quote for the end, and the rest you make up back at the office"*. (Terry Pratchett had worked many years in journalism by this point ).

But the meeting went terribly well. The two of them realized they had "the same sort of brains". So well indeed, that in 1985, Neil had shown Terry a file containing 5282 words, exploring a scenario in which Richmal Crompton's William Brown had somehow become the Antichrist. Was a collaboration in the cards as of that moment? Not really. But Terry found in Neil someone to whom he could send disks of work in progress and to whom he could pick up the phone sometimes when he hit a brick in the road of his writing.

Terry loved it and the concept stayed in his mind. A couple of years later, he rang Neil to ask him if he had done any more work on it. Neil had been busy with The Sandman, he had not really given it another thought. Terry said, "Well I know what happens next, so either you sell me the idea or we can write it together". **

And as you know, unless you’ve been living in Alpha Centauri, the rest is history. That was the beginning of what would become William the Antichrist and later would get the name Good Omens:The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. (Title provided by Neil Gaiman and subtitle by Terry Pratchett).

From the introduction to William the Antichrist: “In the summer of 1987 several odd ideas came together: (..)I found myself imagining a book called William the Antichrist, in which a hapless demon was going to be responsible for swapping the wrong baby over, and the son of the US Ambassador would be completely undemonic, while William Brown would grow up to be the Antichrist, and the demon would need to stop him ending the world. The unfortunate demon, whom I called Crawleigh, because Crawley was a nearby town with an unfortunate name, would have to sort it all out as best he could.

It felt like a story with legs.

Terry took the 5,000 words, and rewrote them, calling me to tell me what he was doing and what he was planning to do. The biggest thing he was going to do, he told me, was split the hapless demon into two characters – a would-be-cool demon in dark glasses (which was, I think, Terry’s way of making fun of me, a never-actually- cool journalist in dark glasses) who had renamed himself Crowley, and a rare-book dealer and angel called Aziraphale, who would embody all the English awkwardness that either of us could conceive.”

William the Antichrist being a direct inspiration of the 1976 film The Omen. If the baby swap had just been a little bit messier and the kid had gone off somewhere else he would have grown up as somebody else. “And then there was a beat and I thought, I should write it, it will be called William the Antichrist” says Neil. ***

“The first draft of Good Omens was a William-book. It was absolutely in every way it could be a William book. It had Violet Elizabeth Bott, it had William and the Outlaws, it had Mr. Brown”.

Over time they realized that they would have more creative freedom if they in their own words filed off the serial numbers. William and the Outlaws becoming Adam and the Them.

But the spirit of Just William was never far away.

The joy for Neil was to construct “perfectly William sentences”. The one when Anathema tells Adam that she has lost the Book, and he tells her that he has written a book about a pirate who became a famous detective and it is 8 pages long… that’s “a William sentence”.

Good Omens was also inspired by a particularly antisemitic moment in The Jew of Malta and John le Carre's spy novels. (Neil’s ask)

“When we finished the book we estimated that the words were 60% Terry’s and 40% mine, and the plot, such as it was, was entirely ours.”

(Here are some slides of mine where I go into some other details concerning the origins of Good Omens).

*Quote: from Terry Pratchett A Life With Footnotes by Rob Wilkins, but said by Terry of course.

** All the quotes, facts listed here : see above.

***all other quotes by Neil Gaiman from various interviews and asks I’ll link.

[barawrah]

beloved

[aislynndmerricksson]

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Brent Weeks’ The Black Prism is a thrilling fantasy novel that brings readers on a journey through a world filled with political intrigue, magic, and complex characters. The story is centered around Gavin Guile, a powerful Prism who is able to harness all of the colours of light to cast magic spells, unlike regular drafters who can only use a few, or just one colour. Gavin’s world is turned…