If you’re looking for love this Valentine’s day, many people, including Catholics, are resorting to methods other than swiping on dating apps to find their true love. When all else fails, some are resorting to superstitions and magic.
The search for true love is a primordial instinct in man, and the quest for it has been known to drive people to extreme measures, including calling upon occult powers to bring about the love they seek. And at this time of year, these extreme measures are on full display!
For example, this site offers a variety of magic tactics to attract love. First, they suggest trying a releasing ritual that begins with smudging your space, making a list of everything you’re afraid of that is connected to love, then rub the list all over yourself to “put your energy into it.” Next, blow three times on the paper, which allegedly releases your fear onto the paper, then burn the list and flush the ashes down the toilet. Finish the ritual with another smudge.
Or, if that doesn’t work, try a ritual bath. This is considered to be “a way for you to put yourself in alignment with your goal of transforming your aura with herb, flower and root allies” (whatever that means.) Begin the ritual by smudging the space, then soaking in a tub for 25 minutes or longer while visualizing yourself in a happy relationship. “To magnetize your aura for love you want to use things that correspond with Venus like sweet and sexy smelling oils like jasmine, red or prink rose petals, sensual herbs like damiana, rose water, and so on.” It is recommended that this bath be taken consistently at least “once a month for maintenance, 3 days in a row.”
Another site I visited encourages people to resort to love spells, but reminds them that putting spells on someone should always be done with the highest ethical standards in mind. (How is that even possible?) “Instead of attempting to dominate someone’s will, focus on spells that enhance your attractiveness and confidence, naturally drawing the right person towards you.”
One of the recommended spells is known as the “Crush Spell” which allegedly makes your “energy” look more appealing, thus opening up opportunities for interaction with your intended. The only thing you need is a piece of rose quartz to use as a love charm (rose quartz supposedly represents attraction). Hold the rose quartz in your hand every morning and envision your crush noticing you. Then whisper to the universe, “Let our paths cross with joy and mutual respect if it’s meant to be.”
Others aren’t so careful about tampering with one’s free will, such as this love spell that uses a ribbon to magically attract the beloved. Simply take a red or pink ribbon and two other objects such as candles or gloves or any other paired items that you are emotionally connected to, then use one to represent yourself and the other to represent your love interest. Tie the two objects with the ribbon by making invocations such as, “as I tie these gloves together, may my dream lover come closer to me.” Every night, move the objects closer and closer to each other while reciting your invocation. Once the objects are touching, leave them sit for a week, and voila! Your love is yours!
TeenVogue ran an article a few years ago touting the power of love magic. This witchery requires the spell caster to draw up a proper petition that clearly states their intentions toward their “crush.” After the letter is written, it is to be burned so that the energy from the ashes is released into the universe.
However, the author gives the following warning: “Sometimes spells don’t work because we desire people for the wrong reasons. Simply put: You can’t make a person fall in love with you. As stated above, the feelings in the relationship must be mutual. If they are not, then the magic will fall flat.”
Which raises the question, if the person is already interested in you, why do you need a love potion?
The quest for love is a mighty one and various cultures have come up with their own superstitious rituals to attract the one they love.
For example, this article describes customs in various countries associated with New Year’s Eve that are used to attract love into their lives in the new year.
For example, several Latin American countries share the superstition that if one wears red underwear on New Year’s Eve they’ll attract love and romance into their lives.
In Columbia, some people believe walking around the block with an empty suitcase on New Year’s Eve will help them attract travel opportunities that will lead to meeting someone new.
The Danish people believe jumping off a chair on New Year’s Eve will bring good luck in matters of the heart for the new year.
In Scotland, the “First Foot” tradition involves the belief that the first person who walks into your home after midnight on New Year’s Eve will bring good luck. For those seeking love, if this “first foot” should be someone tall and dark-haired (which symbolizes strength and good fortune) you’ll be lucky in love. Some households cheat by inviting someone tall and dark-haired to walk through their door on New Year’s Eve!
Catholics aren’t immune to these types of superstitions. As this blog explains, some believe that if a young woman wishes to marry, she should say a prayer to St. Agnes and perform a series of rituals on the eve of her feast day (January 21). These rituals include things like walking backward up a flight of stairs or transferring pins from one pin cushion to another before retiring. If she does so, she will see her future husband in a dream that night.
Instead of resorting to sorcery and superstition, why not resort to the Author of Love, Jesus Christ, and the many saints who exemplified the selfless love He came to teach us?
St. Valentine is the perfect example. There are many unconfirmed legends about this martyr, such as how he secretly married couples so husbands wouldn’t have to go to war, and how he healed the blind daughter of a pagan jailer on the day of his execution and left her a note signed, “Your Valentine.” But the greatest testimony of how worthy this saint is of our trust when it comes to matters of the heart was his willingness to sacrifice his life for the Lord of Love.
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