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.

 

Bay Rum (Stop Putting Bay Laurel in It!)

Forget all those nasty, medicinal aftershaves: a good bay rum is spicy, herbal, and refreshing. This is on my "classic male scents" list, along with Creed Green Irish Tweed, Creed Silver Mountain Water, and 4711/other eau de colognes. When your grandpop came home from from the barbershop, he probably smelled like either bay rum or EDC.

The "bay" in bay rum does not refer to bay laurel, so you can ignore all the ridiculous recipes you'll find online calling for bay leaves as an ingredient. Instead it refers to Jamaican bayberry (allspice). Also, you can't substitute allspice berries for allspice leaves. It really is better and cheaper to just buy a bottle of the real deal rather than to whip up a batch of boozy spices from a fake recipe. Although, if anyone were to procure the proper ingredients and mix me up a batch made with Sailor Jerry.... oooh.

Bay rum is used for cleansing and healing. You can cleanse candles and workspaces with it, add it to baths, add it to washes/scrubs. Roots and herbs are sometimes soaked in it to make special formulas. Sometimes for healing it is rubbed on the body, downwards from head to toe, to cleanse away and pull the illness off the person. For example: To draw out a fever, mix it with cool/ice water and rub the person downwards with a clean rag while praying. Repeat every so often until the fever breaks.*

If you mostly use Florida Water to cleanse, consider switching to bay rum. It's, at least in my experience, more traditional to conjure, and the prices are stable. Florida Water keeps getting more and more expensive for no good reason. Well, I think I know why. "Hoodoo" has been a fad (ugh) for the past few years, and all the internet crowd wants is Florida Water. I mean, I got turned onto Florida Water too, it smells nice and it used to be cheap. But I refuse to pay $7-$14 per bottle when I can get bay rum for $3-$7.

The easiest brands to locate in brick and mortar stores are Superior 70 and Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum. Burt's Bees used to make a good one, but I'm pretty sure it's discontinued. Try pharmacies (especially Walgreens), Dollar General, and Sally Beauty Supply.

Don't let the light shade fool you, it's pretty good.

*all my standard disclaimers apply... healing should always be a partnership with your medical doctor

4711 - The Original Eau De Cologne

I must confess: I am OBSESSED with perfumes and perfumery. Scent is our strongest memory and emotional trigger. Whenever I'm not feeling well, I dig into my perfume collection for something to perk me up. (Right now I've got the flu, but I'm awash in Chanel no. 5) Andy Warhol once said that perfume is a way to take up more space, and indeed, various spirits are associated with filling rooms with unexplainable scents. Since Andy Warhol loved perfume so much, he requested to be buried with a bottle of Estee Lauder's Beautiful... I imagine that's what his spirit would smell like. Anyway, the point is, perfume is special.

4711 has such a wonderful, nostalgic scent. Produced in Cologne, Germany for over 200 years, this is the original echt kölnisch wasser. 4711 is responsible for "cologne" becoming a generic term in perfumery. Hoyt's and Florida Water are less-expensive stateside interpretations of this fragrance, to give you an idea of the scent. Several members of my family have owned this, it's such a classic. When I think of conjure perfume, this is the first one to jump to my mind, followed by Hoyt's, and then Bay Rum. Florida Water is honestly at the bottom of the list. Like I've said before, FW is something I picked up later in life.

4711 is used just like Hoyt's. You can wear it for luck (especially gambling), anoint hands/mojos with it, add it to baths/washes/scrub water, soak herbs/roots in it (such as High John) to make special formulations.

 I once read that Pete Townshend used to snort 4711. I think that's fabulous.

If you can get your hands on a vintage bottle (pre-1980's) the scent is superior, but the new formula is still pretty good. Though not traditionally used in conjure, Roger&Gallet's Farina Eau de Cologne is closer to the original smell. In the "Most Expensive" category is Chanel's Eau de Cologne, which outlasts any other cologne I've tried. Guerlain's Eau de Cologne Imperiale is another classic cologne you can check out. (I only list all these for any die-hard cologne fans)

If you love 4711, they've been putting out several variations of it in recent years with their Acqua Colonia line:

Aloes/Agarwood/Oud Oil

I haven't tried them yet, but Eden Botanicals looks very promising. They have 5% dilution agarwood oil, sourced from cultivated trees, for very affordable, low prices. They have pure agarwood oil too, but it's expensive and so concentrated that if you've never worked with it before, you're better off trying a dilution first.

I'm Such a Sucker for Packaging

Doesn't Egyptian Magic cream look like something out of an old curio catalog?

I dig the CEO's name:

And yes, I love it. I just wish they sold smaller jars for travel.

The St. Anthony Chant

Whether looking for a lost TV remote or a kid who's wandered off in the store, this little chant is a simple trick to help you find a missing object/person in a hurry.

St. Anthony, 

St. Anthony, 

please come around. 

Something is lost

that needs to be found.

Keep chanting until your search has ended. You won't have to chant long, St. Anthony works very fast. Remember to thank him afterwards.

I Suck At Blogger

I never added a way for people to follow my blog. It's fixed now. Although, now I can't lie to myself and say the lack of a subscription button is the only reason I don't have any followers.

My Four-Leaf Clover (And How to Find Your Own!)

This is the largest four-leaf clover I've ever found. I keep it pressed in my copy of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. It's very common to keep them pressed in Bibles.

The placement in (the second) fourth chapter was by chance, believe it or not.

Now, my dad taught me that four-leaf clovers are only lucky if you find them by chance. This is a very common belief. Thankfully, I found this one when I was getting out of my car and had this behemoth just staring me in the face.

Others feel that a four-leaf clover is always lucky, so if you wish to go hunting for a lucky charm of your own, here are some tips:

-Make sure you're actually hunting around in clover. Look-alike species include wood sorrel and oxalis.

-Look in patches of white clover (that's what mine is). It's the species most likely to produce extra leaves. White clovers have white flowers. The leaves of white clover can be oval or heart-shaped and they have a single faint, jagged, horizontal band of pale green.

-Once you find your four-leaf clover, keep looking. There's usually a few mutations in the same patch. Mark the location and return to it every so often.

-You can also dig up the four-leaf clovers you find with a few of the clovers around them and replant them together in a cluster. The closer they are together, the more likely the mutation is to be passed on and spread. (I can't guarantee the luck of farmed four-leaf clovers.)

You might think if four leaves are lucky, 5 or 6 leaves must be extra lucky. I mean right? Wrong. If you find a clover with extra leaves, you're supposed to pluck off the extra leaves, possibly even leaving them at a crossroads or casting them into a moving body of water. Then again Fry's seven-leaf clover was extremely lucky...

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most leaves ever found on a single clover was 56.

Syrup

 

I just love retro packaging.

People used to use the syrup from preserved fruit.

 I do the same, both with fruit I've canned myself, and canned fruit.

Guys, it's time to break free from the honey jar madness. Honey jars are not some traditional, ultra-powerful trick that's been used for over 100 years... they're something made-up by a marketer a few years ago which have exploded in their popularity. When the honey jar work was first posted, people were only really using them for love, reconciliation, family, in-laws. Now I see them being used for every single thing, even domination and success in school work. Some people don't even want to learn anything else!

Honey is slow-running and comparatively expensive. 100+ years ago, it was even more expensive, most all of the people practicing conjure could not afford it. My great grandmother and a few other farmers in my family kept apiaries, so I do have a certain fondness for honey, but honey was never used so wastefully as it is in a honey jar. You don't need a whole jar of the stuff to sweeten people! Honey is really not appropriate for many long-term goals. Since honey runs slow and gets thicker over time and in the cold months, it holds things and makes them stick. If you try doing a honey jar for riches, you aren't going to grow your wealth exponentially. You'll really just sweeten money to you for a bit and then hold what you have.

One of the sites with instructions for creating honey jars lists a few different sweeteners that can me used, and on this list they've put molasses. When I first read that, let me tell you my mouth fell open and I actually said "Nooooo!" out loud. Molasses can be used to curse, it is the worst possible choice for this type of work.

I was taught to work with sugar and syrup. I roll candles in sugar all the time. In fact, I have a post on sugar coming up where I'll talk about a little trick only I use. Mama Starr at Old Style Conjure was the first to put the truth out there about sweeteners, she's got a great article on her site you should read.

Syrup is awesome to use. It's sweet, viscous, and cheap. It doesn't matter whether it's real maple syrup or just flavored corn syrup, it's all sweet. Many people also used the syrup from fruit they had preserved. Canned fruit in syrup is really cheap, you can use the syrup strained off of that as well.

I like to drizzle a little on a candle and then roll the candle in herbs, then drizzle a little more around the candle on the plate. When doing jobs that utilize fruits or red onions as containers, you can add syrup to give them extra sweetness. You can stand a taper up in a small bowl or teacup of sweetened condensed milk and syrup. There's just so much you can do with it.

If you don't normally keep canned fruit around and you want an "excuse" to strain off some fruit syrup, here's my recipe for ambrosia salad. Drain the syrup well.

Dr. Trixie's Ambrosia Salad

-2 cans of mandarin oranges
-1 can of pineapple chunks
-1 jar of maraschino cherries
-Shredded coconut. Most people use dried or toasted, but I try to use fresh.
-Only a dollop of sour cream if you must add it. And never yogurt!
-Splash of Grand Marnier. This is my secret ingredient: people rave!

Easier than easy. Just combine everything in a large bowl and stir together. One of the most delicious parts of Christmas time!

It also always reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas movies:

 

"I noticed that you have not tasted any of the ambrosia salad I made especially for you."

I also found a great recipe online for true, old-fashioned violet syrup. (I love violet candy.) This would be amazing for love and reconciliation work. It's simple to make, too! This recipe can be adapted to make other edible flower syrups, such as rose and lavender.

St. Philip Neri: Trickster Saint

"Let me get through today, and I shall not fear tomorrow."-St. Philip Neri

As you can probably see from the title of this blog, I have a special connection to the trickster spirits. I am blessed to have been "adopted" by them. 

From Catholic.org:

"Humility was the most important virtue he tried to teach others and to learn himself. Some of his lessons in humility seem cruel, but they were tinged with humor like practical jokes and were related with gratitude by the people they helped. His lessons always seem to be tailored directly to what the person needed. One member who was later to become a cardinal was too serious and so Philip had him sing the Misere[*] at a wedding breakfast. When one priest gave a beautiful sermon, Philip ordered him to give the same sermon six times in a row so people would think he only had one sermon.

Philip preferred spiritual mortification to physical mortification. When one man asked Philip if he could wear a hair shirt, Philip gave him permission -- if he wore the hair shirt outside his clothes! The man obeyed and found humility in the jokes and name-calling he received" 

LOL <3

Here's the wiki article. 

Look at that Pomeranian. Do you die? :D

St. Philip Neri is awesome to work with when either the joy has just run out of your life, you feel anxious, or you're depressed and uninspired. He will also come to your aid when you need to soften a humorless grump or knock down some cocky bastard who's harming you or other people. An example of the latter would be a supervisor at work who is him/herself lazy and incompetent, but who holds you back by being harshly critical of your performance when reviewing your work with higher ups in an effort to make themselves look good by comparison. He can also be called upon to handle a gossiper.

He's usually depicted wearing orange and gold vestments--how appropriate! I would suggest orange or yellow candles. You don't actually need herbs or special products when working with the saints, all those saint oils and incenses are just made-up, non-traditional, and marketer driven. I'm not saying that you can't make a saint oil to work with a saint if you wish, I'm just saying they are absolutely neither traditional nor necessary. All you need is prayer and maybe some blessed olive oil.

As far as offerings go, candles, a glass of water, lilies, and either a book of jokes (which he was fond of in life) or print-outs of some good ones. This should go without saying but... keep 'em clean, he is a priest! I don't have him on my altar yet, but when I set him up I will totally get a little Pomeranian figure for him :)

Word of advice: Do not tell him you are a perfectly good person or that you are totally innocent. You must be completely honest and humble when approaching him, admitting that you are neither perfect nor without sin. St. Philip Neri can be very, very serious when it comes to humility. The "I'm totally the victim here, I don't deserve ANY of this" (despite you also having said hurtful things) act won't fly with him.

(Note: He is not one of the dozen of so saints traditionally worked with in conjure. I am sharing my own personal experience.)

Tragedy! (Edit: Now With Audio Aid)

Today we mourn the loss of my beloved, authentic van van oil. I have no idea how the bottle got this strange hole in it :( Just this morning I had an idea to dilute it to stretch it out a bit until I could buy some verbena and the other herbs and oils needed to make my own. This was purchased from a spiritual shop which is no longer in business, so I can't get another. The smell was just transcendent, I will be devastated if I can never match it.

There's something I'd like to educate everyone about. Ok, Van Van is so named because the Creole pronunciation of vervain (verbena) sounds like "veah vahn"†, and this was eventually corrupted into "van van". Some people know this, some don't. It baffles me why the people who know this don't put vervain into their formulas... it's the name of the damn oil! Even the people who fancy themselves grand high masters of hoodoo (yeah, el oh el) leave it out.

Now, some forward-thinking merchants have realised that you can't have Van Van without the van van, and have attempted to fix this. The problem is, every. single. one of them, that I've seen, uses lemon verbena. Lemon verbena is a completely different plant. I guess I can see the logic, if the formula has lemongrass, it must also call for lemon verbena. Lemon verbena was also very popular in turn of the century perfumery. However, it was expensive and rootworkers weren't working with perfume compounds, they were working with mostly wildcrafted and culinary plants.

Lemon verbena wipes your slate clean and sweetly attracts new things to you, especially in matters of love. Bees and butterflies absolutely love this plant! There is a lot of misinformation about lemon verbena going around, with people thinking it's a crossing herb due to a certain person with a big following misinterpreting the mechanics of a break-up job. But I guess that's what happens when you shamelessly plagiarize and try to pass yourself off as a real conjure worker. (Oh, I should stop.) Anyway, lemon verbena is best used situationally. Some things just cleanse so strongly that they pull everything off.

Verbena, on the other hand, has quite a long history of magical and spiritual use. There's the famous True Love Powder*. It was said to have been used to dress Jesus' wounds. It has been used to protect against vampires, witches, ghosts, and other evil creatures. It's mainly used for love-drawing and protection from evil and jinxing. Unlike lemon verbena, verbena is great to use on a continuous basis.

 A good Van Van recipe should look like this (sorry, I never measure, but remember that ingredients are always listed in order of quantity, greatest to least)
-Verbena
-Lemongrass
-Citronella grass (NOT the leafy plant sold as "citronella")
-Palmarosa
-Vetivert

You can use only herbs, but it's difficult to find citronella grass and even more difficult to find palmarosa. At least incorporate as many herbs as you can. You can get everything you need very cheaply from PennHerb and Edens Garden. I have not found undiluted essential oils at a better price than Edens Garden, I'm starting to build up a nice little collection. The Biblical Set (Frankincense, Myrrh, Spikenard) is wonderful, and a great money-saver to boot.

 †Edited to add: I remembered that Google Translate has a text to speech feature, so I checked to see if Louisiana Creole was on its language list. Sadly, no, but the word's pronunciation in Haitian Creole is nearly identical, give it a listen. LA Creole just has an almost inaudible "r".

*Earliest mention I remember seeing of the verbena-mistletoe-elecampane formula is H. U. Lampe's "Famous Voodoo Rituals & Spells", copyright 1974. MANY authors have plagiarized this great little book since its printing, including the certain person I mentioned above. ;)

White Florals

From top to bottom: Osmanthus, gardenia, orange blossom, jasmine, magnolia, white rose, tuberose.

"White floral", especially in the perfume industry, refers specifically to heavily perfumed white flowers. While they each have specialized uses, as a group they have a lot in common. While florals are associated with love, purity, fidelity, attraction, and marriage. Because of their purity, they can be added to any type of cleansing/uncrossing bath or oil.

Osmanthus- Because of it's fruity apricot tones, and the fact that it grows on an evergreen, I like to incorporate it in marriage and fertility works. Remember: fertility doesn't just mean physical female fertility, it can mean monetary fertility and, in this case, emotional fertility.

Gardenia- Ugh, I really need to plant myself some gardenia this spring! Gardenia is great for peace and bonding.

Orange blossom- The marriage flower. Because of it's associations with purity, it is used in wedding ceremonies to represent chastity and fidelity. Use for marriage, fidelity, and faithful love.

Jasmine- I've written about jasmine before. It's seductive, but not raunchy... though you can certainly make it very naughty just by combining it with a few things ;) It is also used for psychic work.

Magnolia- Magnolia in general is used for fidelity, and the blossoms are great for keeping the love strong even during hard times.

White Rose- The purest of pure. Because roses have thorns, which repel evil, white rose is an ingredient in many uncrossing formulas. White roses are also protective and they represent pure love.

Tuberose- Velvety and sensual, tuberose draws attention in a physical way, you know where you suddenly just really want to touch someone's arm or brush their hair back. Great for when you want physical affection.


If you are a fan of white florals, I cannot recommend enough one of my favorite perfumes of all time, Fracas by Robert Piguet

EDIT: Fracas has a bit of a cult following and it's been worn by many awesome ladies. Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Edie Sedgewick, Courtney Love, Madonna, Sophia Coppola, Dita Von Teese, and Iman are just the ones I can name off the top of my head!

I'm not sure how many newcomers know this, but you can work with your personal perfumes/colognes, you're not limited to Hoyt's/Florida Water/Jockey Club/whatever. You can pray over them for whatever it is you wish for them to do (look for ingredients that match up to your intent, of course). You can offer a spray or two of them in a glass of water to spirits. Even better if you can get scents your ancestors wore when they were alive. You can use them to feed hands/"mojos". The only thing I would caution is to look for fragrances made with real essential oils as opposed to synthetics.

Confession: I've Got Marilyn Monroe On My Spirit Altar (Edited to Add Pic)

I've got three altars, one for my ancestors, one for all other spirits, and a special one I won't name here. If I had the space, I'd keep a few more, such as a special one for Coyote and his fellow tricksters.

Anyways, yes, Marylin Monroe, along with a few other people who've inspired me, has a place on my spirit altar. I keep her picture, a small bottle of Chanel no. 5, a small bottle of Fracas, and a tube of red lipstick on it for her. She gets a glass of water and the occasional candle. I've never petitioned her for anything, this is just my way of showing gratitude to her for the joy she's brought me through her films and writing. I've always felt such a strong connection to her.

This is one of the pictures I use.

 I think sometimes people forget that honoring and thanking the spirits is the most important part of spirit work. The spirits are not gumball machines, they are beings with thoughts and feelings. Everyone knows that one "friend" who only drops by when they want something... don't be that guy.

Are there any people who've passed on to whom you are extremely grateful? Perhaps an author or musician or even a human rights activist. I've known a few people with beautiful, heart-felt altars devoted to Martin Luther King Jr. Even if you don't put together an altar, just leaving out a picture, a candle, a glass of water, and maybe some flowers once in a while is a great way to give thanks. Pray to Spirit that they know peace and happiness.

Some advice:
-Your ancestor altar should be dedicated to your ancestors only. Friends may go on a general spirit altar.
-An altar need not be complex! A cross, a white tablecloth or doily, pictures, a bible, glasses of water once a week or so. Many homes have "ancestor altars" but they have no word for them... it's just the special place for pictures of those who've passed on.
-Never put a photo of a living person on an ancestor altar. If your only photo is a group shot, scan it and crop the image.
-Add things your ancestors or spirits like(d). Cigarettes, snuff, dip, coffee/tea, whiskey, wine, fresh or dried flowers, perfume/cologne, honey, books, poems, prayers, Bible verses. If all you have is a glass of water, that's ok.

Free Book Friday!

Two of my favorite things, books and free stuff! Many great books are in the public domain or published online by the author. I will never link you to anything put up illegally, and I will only link to .pdfs, never files that must be downloaded. I don't know about you, but I care about my computer ;)

Without further adieu, this week's title is "Secrets of the Psalms" by Godfrey Selig

This is a great introduction to working with the Psalms and it's one of those book that has come to be a "conjure classic". The Psalms are so important to conjure work, sometimes just the earnest praying of a particular Psalm is all that is needed to do a job. Many of the healing Psalms include instructions to anoint with olive oil, proving that you don't need any fancy condition oils to work powerful magic.

Remember not to limit yourself by the "suggested use" of each Psalm. For example, Psalm 23 is listed only as an aid to receiving messages and omens in dreams. Other Psalms's ascribed uses leave me a little puzzled. Read each of the Psalms, learn and understand what they are saying, and their uses will become clear.

Some Psalms have instructions to copy them down on real parchment. While you could substitute parchment paper, a more traditional substitute is paper from a brown paper bag, torn on all sides.

Enjoy!