A Protection Packet For Travel

Since I've been doing so much traveling of my own, I thought I'd write a little bit about conjure for travelers.

A great 3 ingredient packet for travel I like:
-Comfrey
-Mugwort
-Rue

First, one of the most traditional roots associated with travel is comfrey. It can be added to packets or hands, and carrying it on you will ensure your travels are safe and worry-free. Next, fresh mugwort leaves are used to line the shoes to prevent fatigue, and dried they are carried for protection not just physically, but spiritually. The psychic uses of mugwort are so popular and talked about that sometimes people forget about its use in travel. Finally, rue. I. Love. Rue. It's so powerful and protective, keeping off negative forces and spiritual attack.

If you wish, you can add additional things, such as a St. Christopher charm (patron saint of travelers) or salt.

Now, once you've returned home and you've turned into a lazy purring housecat because your hosts spoiled you so much... hmm, I'm still figuring out how to fix that :D

Wooo! Back and Ready to Blog!

Whew! I hope 2014 is off to a great start for everyone! I feel like I haven't sat still in ages, between New Years parties (yes, plural!) and traveling. I just got home yesterday and I am ready to get back to working on the blog! Look forward to new posts starting tomorrow :)

Busy Busy Busy

I've been slacking off on blogging lately, I know. I'll be able to sit down and write proper posts when things slow down after the holidays.

Until then, I hope everyone is having a wonderful time and has a great new year!

I Love Demeter

From the people who brought you Dirt:

Awesome. Demeter's scents are all amazing. Apparently Holy Water came out in '09 with Rain and Thunderstorm (<3), but I didn't notice it at the time.

Best Demeter fragrances? Snow, Thunderstorm, Pure Soap, Lavender Martini, Poison Ivy, Baby Powder, Condensed Milk, Cannabis Flower, Red Poppies... ok, pretty much everything they make. Even Dirt smells good, just like real, fertile gardening soil. I just wish Demeter's formula lasted more than two hours.

Bone Reading Nonsense

I'll make this post short and sweet. Hey, I tried.

1) Casting the bones is not done with fucking chicken bones. I don't care who taught you this online, or what book you read it in, or what "hoodoo course/class" you learned it in. It's done with opposum or raccoon bones. These two animals are said to "walk between two worlds", this and the spirit world. The information divined from the bones is provided by one's ancestors, which is why these animals with strong ties to the spirit world are used. Not friggin' chickens. The ancestors may more easily physically manipulate the bones and affect the way they fall. Which brings us to the next point...

2) Bone reading is almost nothing like tarot/other cards, runes, or crystal gazing/scrying. You can't just decide to learn it. In real life, in real conjure, there are very, very few people who read the bones. I've never met anyone who does it, everything I know, I know from older family members and workers. Here's what I know: It's mostly a family tradition, and only taught to one or two members of each generation. The bones are passed down in the family and readers are generally middle-aged to older. The reader doesn't just interpret the bones like tea leaves, it is a process of communing with and receiving information from their ancestors.

3) This is what no one wants to hear, but they need to hear it. You are not just entitled to whatever you want. You are not just entitled to learn conjure. These online marketers who are willing to teach anyone anything, so long as they have the cash, are poison. No, it isn't "great" that they're bringing "hoodoo" to a new generation. They're selling a dressed up patch-work of second-hand information, mix 'n match pagan/Asian/African Traditional religions, and a culture of product dependency. It's just so arrogant and disrespectful to treat other peoples' cultures and beliefs like a buffet, where you can just load your plate up with whatever looks good.

Doing everyday folk magic--such as carrying a buckeye for good luck--is one thing, but when one assumes they have a right to learn things so deeply rooted in the blood and ancestry of the people who practice it, they have absolutely crossed the line.

4) This style of bone reading is unique to conjure/hoodoo. It seems that many people online think it's acceptable to mix and match conjure and ATRs "because it's all African". They go and "learn" other forms of bone divination and still call everything they do hoodoo. Here is a great article explaining the harm caused by this, as well as how to spot everything-but-the-kitchen-sink frauds.

Hoodoo is not Vodou/Santaria/Palo/etc "minus the religion" or "just the magic". It is a separate folk-magic and healing practice that is a combination of mostly African American, Native American, and Scots Irish influences.

5) Lastly, if someone is teaching or providing fake chicken bone reading, think long and hard about just how authentic the rest of their work is. A silly "certification" means nothing.

Cultural appropriation and deceitfulness are never ok.

(I wanted to include a link to Dolly Parton's "These Old Bones", but the only quality video on youtube no longer exists.)

Free Book Friday - Folk-lore from Adams County Illinois by Harry Middleton Hyatt

Folk-lore from Adams County Illinois was the first book published by Harry Middleton Hyatt. It's written in roughly the same format as Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork, with informants identified only by numbers. FFACI's information is concise, and Hyatt does not converse with his informants. In some ways, I like this hands off approach better. Hyatt only occasionally makes notations, usually to point out that a certain statement is contrary to the general consensus, or that a certain belief is only held within a single ethnic group (you'll see what I mean).

By 1936, hoodoo had spread out of the south and curio catalogs, such as King Novelty Company (based in Chicago), were changing the nature of conjure. I think a lot of people look at the title, see that it's about "folk-lore" and folk-lore from a Midwestern state at that, and pass it by. FFACI is full of conjure, there's love and luck work, healing, hands/mojos, there's even entries on the infamous black cat bone. Give it a thorough read-though. There's also quite a bit similar to mountain folk lore/magic and powwow.

I've only been able to pick at Hyatt's HCWR series here and there, and the lucky bastard who owns the set no longer lives near me. Something that bothers me about Hyatt is that he puts conjure/hoodoo and witchcraft into the same category. They are opposed, it's witch-doctor vs witch.

Some informants don't come right out and say that they're talking about witches, not conjure workers, but they make it REALLY REALLY OBVIOUS that they mean OTHER PEOPLE. You know, THOSE OTHER PEOPLE, WINK. WINK. And Hyatt's all oblivious. And then other people do talk about witches, and they still get thrown together all the same. The people online who read Hyatt's work like it's some kind of conjure Bible see this and think it's ok to call jobs "spells" and to call conjure "witchcraft" just because of a modern redefinition of the word.

Anyway, just keep that in mind. Another thing I want to point out is that Hyatt makes note of three groups of people, "Irish", "German", and "Negro". All statements unattributed to one of these three groups are simply made by "white people". Basically, the Irish-Americans, German-Americans, and blacks he met had beliefs and practices unique enough that he felt their heritage should be made note of.

There Are Walking Dead Scratch-Offs!

Where have I been? I know, I know. I just usually don't play scratch-offs. Let me rephrase that: I don't play scratch-offs. I never think to buy them.

As far as I can tell, only a few states get these cool scratch-offs. If you live in or close to any of the states that have them, and you love Walking Dead as much as I do, get your mojo workin' and snap up a few.