Having been raised Italian Roman Catholic, one of my remaining connections to my original faith is my relationship with the saints. I am willing to use any magic that will work, and prayers to St. Anthony work!

Though you might not have been raised in or practice Catholicism, it does not mean that you cannot also use the saints in your path. Supplication to the saints for help is merely a crossover from the ancient (and recent) practice of honoring the heroes of myth, as well as remembering and connecting to the beloved dead.

Throughout history, as faiths have shifted, the worship of certain deities flowed into the honor of specific saints, and you can see some obvious similarities between their totems or areas of focus. For example: St. Brigid is the goddess Brighid, a keeper of a sacred flame, St. Ann a representation of Dana or Anu as Mother goddesses, and saints Tathan and Hubert correlate to Cernunnos with the emblem of the Stag.

There are other saints who are more a type of ancestor worship—a way of honoring those who have passed and presumably rose above suffering or showed extraordinary traits during their life.

Over time each saint would become associated with, or the patron of, certain things or professions. They can be patrons of the little obscure things as well as the major life issues: taxi drivers, finding lost items, parenthood, or fighting cancer. After so many years of being a focal point for these specific sectors of our daily life, it’s easy to see how they could gain actual power and influence in these areas. And thus, they can act as a conduit for us should we wish to find a closer connection with the same aspects.

One of my favorite forms of working with saints are the prayer cards that are often handed out during certain services, or can be found for specific patrons. I grew up finding them tucked away in drawers or put on display on specific feast days. On one side is a beautiful image, often of the saint, which enables focus, and on the other is a prayer asking for assistance with a certain issue.

As pagans, we fully understand that prayers and spells are one and the same. They are easy, repetitive mantras that help us build our energy as well as focus that energy toward a specific task or issue. Add the lighting of a candle, in honor or in remembrance, and you have a simple ritual to help you set your intentions.

I encourage you to make your own cards. Conduct some quick research to find a saint who is the patron of a specific issue or profession in which you are looking for assistance—there are several books of saints available in the CotE Lending Library! Or you can choose to create one to a personal deity or element to which you already feel a connection or would like to become closer. On one side, add your own artwork, either freehand or using mixed media such as stickers or pasting on printed images. On the other side write your prayer/spell; this can be one that you came up with yourself, or one found and possibly modified to better fit your path or goals. These cards are easy to carry with you and pull out when needed, or placed on an altar as a reminder of the aspects they represent.

So make a card and carry the saints in your life, for magic can be found in many places and should not be ignored because of its source.