Tips for Working With Animal Spirits

In my last post, I spoke out against the cruel source of many of the zoological curios sold by marketers for use in conjure/hoodoo. (Just in case I wasn't clear, I am not opposed to zoological curios obtained responsibly.)

How can one work with animal spirits in more humane and positive ways? There are lots of possibilities. Remember, even if you're "just" using something like a coon dong for money luck, you are still, in fact, working with the spirit of that animal. Animal spirits, just like plant spirits and, really, all spirits, will be much more willing and much more generous with their powers to people who have forged good relationships with them. If you start out that relationship by callously buying cruelly/irresponsibly obtained curios, you are obviously off to a bad start.

-Connect with responsible hunters. Offer to buy the pieces you seek from them. They'll more than likely be thrilled to get some cash for their scraps. Avoid trophy hunters and fur-trappers, who only kill for the hide and discard the rest.

-Buy vintage, and I mean real vintage. Don't readily trust online sellers who claim to be selling vintage bones, teeth, fur, rattlesnake rattles, etc.

-Buy authentic Native American goods. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 made it illegal to mislead consumers by presenting non-Native American made goods as if they were authentically Native-made. If a manufacturer wants to, say, sell a line of dreamcatchers, they may do so, but if they label them "Native American/American Indian/Indian Dreamcatcher" or attach a specific tribe name, like "Ojibwa Dreamcatcher", they are in violation of the act. Don't let this lull you into a false sense of security when shopping, especially online. Check out the Buy Native campaign.

-Find ways to work with wild animals. Set up things like bird houses and feeders, bat roosts, and hummingbird feeders. You may bless them beforehand and tell the spirits that in return for their help, you will maintain and care for the shelters/feeders. I will write more about the uses of hummingbird feeders in a future post.

-Construct a spirit altar. You can either have a general spirit altar, a specific spirit altar for animal spirits, or even an altar for a single spirit. Decorate your altar with pictures, statues/figurines, a glass of water, things associated with the animal (for example, fresh or dried flowers which are known to attract hummingbirds), and maybe even Biblical passages that mention the animal if appropriate.

A neat way to honor animals spirits and build up your altar(s), while helping real wildlife, is to "adopt" an animal through charity. Both World Wildlife Fund and Defenders of Wildlife offer these great packages where, when you symbolically adopt an animal, they will send you a plush of that animal, pictures, a certificate of adoption, info sheets, and other things.

For example, if you work with Hummingbird (I know, everyone online seems to prefer the Spanish name, La Chuparosa), how sweet are these plush versions?

Or maybe you work with Bat or Wolf?

Whatever you choose to do, just be responsible and ethical.

EDIT: I forgot to mention another great method.

-Incorporate symbolic elements, such as metal charms, small figurines, pictures, and plants associated with the animal. Take my silver Hummingbird charm, for example:

Check out places like Michaels and A.C. Moore for inexpensive charms and pendants. I got my sterling silver Hummingbird charm from Michaels for under $4.

Hardware Store Conjure

It kills me that marketers sell stuff like red brick dust for up to $4 per small bag... and that people are willing to pay for it! There's nothing special about what they're selling; you can save yourself a ton of money by shopping at your local hardware store.

BRICKS
Bricks are anywhere from dirt cheap to free. Half the time, you can find a few just lying around your neighborhood. If you can't locate any spare bricks, they can be had for less than $.50 at your local hardware or home and garden store. To pulverize, simply wrap in a tea towel and smash with a hammer. Next, pray over the brick dust for protection. Easy, and you aren't paying such an absurd markup. There's also something to be said for doing the work yourself. You can't just buy $100 worth of products, not build any relationship with the spirits or do any real work, then just "shake 'n bake" and sit back, demanding to be catered to.

MAGNETS
 Magnets, some people love them, others hate them. I personally love them. Don't let anyone teach you that using magnets is "wrong", you're got to spend time with both lodestones and magnets and get to know their spirits. That's another thing, some people teach that magnets are "bad" because they're not alive and don't have a spirit... again, that is someone's personal opinion. Some people like magnets ok, but still prefer the more gentle pull of lodestones. I am not one of those people! I've even come to love the small rare earth (neodymium) magnets, which pack quite a punch.

Magnets still need to be fed the same as lodestones. You can get a metal file and some iron, like a small piece of rebar or something, and make your own iron dust. In this case, I wouldn't blame you for just buying either the pre-made stuff or magnetic sand (iron granules).

SQUARE-CUT/MASONRY NAILS
I think these nails are just lovely, and you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for them. Something I haven't really seen online: some people make crosses with them (representing the nails of crucifixion) and wear them for protection.


OTHER NAILS
All "coffin nails" are made, meaning that they weren't really pried from coffins. Some marketers just rust up some iron nails, a few bury their nails in a graveyard to rust, but a few do bury their nails at a paid grave. Paying up to $1 per rusty nail is just way too much. And, personally, I have a real problem with graveyard work being farmed out. It feels like... spirit pimping.

I've personally found that I like working with copper roofing nails for protection work. Those coming into conjure from European pagan or Wiccan backgrounds sometimes have a difficult time with separating the strong association they have between copper and love work (copper is a metal of Venus). In conjure, we primarily use copper for protection. This comes from the West African influence, where copper has been used for centuries for protection and to promote health. See below for more about copper.

CANDLES
 Household candles and citronella candles. All the bells and whistles of colored wax candles, figure candles, novenas, and 7-day candles are nice, but they are all modern conventions. Household candles are what old workers used, if they burned candles at all. In my family, it's always been either household candles or novenas. I've branched off into the other types of candles, but I still primarily use household candles because that's how I was taught.

Besides keeping the biting bastards at bay, citronella candles are great for protection and turning your luck around. Obviously, you have to pray and work them, but that's the same with all conjure tools. I really like how some companies have been putting out citronella candles with additional scents, like lavender. Every one I've seen was made with real essential oils, rather than artificial fragrance. I like this because you can really get specific with your needs. Citronella-cinnamon, just for one example, is perfect for increasing business luck. Burn it outside, where customers enter.

SULFUR, SALTPETER, ROCK SALT
All are available in the gardening department. Saltpeter (potassium nitrate,  NAo3) will be branded as "stump remover". If you buy a bag of rock salt, make sure you are actually buying salt (halite, NaCl) and not calcium chloride.

COPPER
If you're the creative type, you can use copper wire, coil, and fittings to make protective amulets, jewelry, altar pieces, and even pieces to go in protection hands. Some people wear copper to protect against rheumatism. If you work with the rod/staff/wand, you can craft a very nice one from slim copper pipe. Cap one end and affix a small quartz point to the other.

BROOM/WHISK
Natural, not nylon. I feel like the use of the whisk is slowly being forgotten about, people online only want the black chicken feather ones if they even want one at all. A whisk is used the same way as a broom, only it is more commonly used to sweep a person. I keep my whisk right by my bed, sweeping myself after arguments, nightmares, or whenever I feel I need cleansing. Broom straws can be added to baths and floor washes.

SAND
It is technically illegal to remove sand from a beach, so consider purchasing it to preserve our beautiful shorelines. Look for any broken bags and ask if you can buy them at a discount. You'll usually only have to pay about $1-$1.50. Sand is great for burning incense on charcoal, since it absorbs the heat. You'll want about 2" of sand in a heat-proof container. For those of you afraid to let candles burn while you are not home, get disposable aluminum trays and fill them with sand. Should any candles tip over or glass crack, the sand will prevent fire and catch any mess.

LIVE PLANTS, SEEDS
Look, even if you live in an apartment, you can still at least take care of a small cactus or succulent. How are you supposed to work with herbs and roots when you've got no connection to their spirits? Learn to care for plants, speak to them, and listen. You can even grow many of your own supplies. Trust me, a rose bush or rosemary plant that you've personally nurtured and built up a relationship with will be that much more willing--and therefor powerful--than some dried herbs bought in bulk.

QUEEN ELIZABETH ROOT
What? Yes! Only seasonally available. Bulbs for spring are sold in late summer/early fall for planting. What you're looking for is Bearded Iris (iris germanica). You can either plant some and harvest the extra rhizomes each year when it's time for fall dividing, or you can use just use them out of the package. If you're after queen elizabeth root, you will absolutely benefit from planting it around your house and working with the live plant in addition to the root.

CERAMIC TILES
For hot incense censors.

There's lots more useful stuff at the hardware store (mirrors, twine, chain), so take your time to really look around and keep an open mind. The people who sit there and say "Oh, I'd rather just order it all online, it's more expensive but it's sooo much easier" are, in my opinion, not doing real conjure and not worthy of the gift of conjure. That saying about God helping people who help themselves? That's what conjure's all about. You have to want it and you have to work for it. Put in the work, while saving yourself some money, and you will be surprised by your results.