Today is the birthday of famous Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, the man behind the famous “Pavlov’s dog” experiments. We have a magical parallel to Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiments that we can examine.

Pavlov found that whenever the dogs saw an object or witnessed an event associated with being fed, they would begin to salivate. Well, the same thing happens to us during our preparations for ritual and magic. When we establish a routine of lighting a certain incense or repeating specific opening prayers and invocations, it sends us into our magical mindset.

Today, examine if you already have any of these routines, and maybe out[1]line them in your Book of Shadows. If you don’t have any such routines, today is a good day to think about beginning to develop them.