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.

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.

Evening Primrose: Mother's Little Helper

Picture from this site.

(Note: Evening primrose is not related to primrose aka cowslip, but interestingly enough they share some of the same uses.)

Few plants are as beneficial to mothers as evening primrose. It feeds families, calms fussy kids, soothes irritated skin, and perks up bone-tired mamas while also providing them relief from breast pain and PMS. It is a quintessential moon plant (Doctrine of Signatures post in the works), good for emotions, women, healing, the home, and family. In the evening, the sweetly scented flowers open and appear to softly glow, which lends to one of it's common names: night candle.

Talk to your doctor before taking evening primrose oil supplements or giving them to kids. Every part of Oenothrea biennis is edible, and it grows abundantly all up and down the east coast of the US. There are over 100 species within the Oenothrea genus, so proper identification is a must when wildcrafting.

Some magical uses:

-Sew into kids' pillows, add to their baths, or rub the oil into their skin to help make bedtime easier. Can be used alone, or with other calming herbs such as chamomile and lavender.

-Evening primrose is able to grow in sand, rock crevices, and even cracked blacktop. It really anchors itself in and is almost impossible to uproot. Use in any works that involve strengthening family ties ("roots"), peace in the home, keeping a husband at home, and house blessings.

-Evening primrose oil can be used as a carrier oil when making condition oils. I like to use some in any formulas that relate to the home (including fidelity) and formulas for women.

Here's a personal oil recipe of mine. I call it "Mama Bear":

-Rosemary, for domain in the home, protection, and Papa Bear's fidelity.

-Fennel, for quick thinking, courage, and protection. To prevent seizing up with fear or panic in case of an emergency. Fennel is also strongly linked to mothers because of its use in stimulating lactation.

-Angelica, for female power, protection of the self and kids, love/marriage ties, and health.

-Evening Primrose Oil as carrier.

-Piece of dried Evening Primrose root.

Use about 1/2-1 teaspoon of each herb, chopped and ground, per 1 oz of oil. It's up to you whether or not you want to add a drop or two of the corresponding essential oils in addition to each herb. I don't.

Pray to Spirit and state your petition. Take your time and really speak from the heart. I like to include Psalm 23 in everything I do, and I also pray for Spirit to empower the spirits of the herbs and roots. As you add the ingredients, address their spirits with your needs, and bless them with the sign of the cross in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Pray any additional Psalms, Biblical passages, or prayers you find meaningful and appropriate.*

Because of the rosemary and angelica, it's best not to wear this on the body if pregnant. Try using it on a doll baby instead. Using it to anoint candles, feed hands, or anything else where you're only using a little bit on your fingers is ok.

*Everyone works differently, this is just the way I was taught. I'm sorry, I am nodding off here (literally) trying to finish this post, I really hope what I'm writing makes sense.

The Greatest Conjure Book in the World: Lust Dust

I thought I'd kick off my TGCBitW series with something a bit unexpected: a recipe for a powerful seduction formula.

I'm telling you guys, read the Bible! It's full of powerful secrets, like what I'm about to reveal to you. Every time you see a plant or resin mentioned, sit up and pay attention!

Proverbs 7:8-18 - Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

Psalm 45:8 - All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

Song of Solomon 4:12-15 - A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed^. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

A few quick notes before we continue:
1) True cinnamon (cinnamomum verum) and cassia (cinnamomum cassia) are in the same family. Much of what is sold as cinnamon is actually cassia. Both are warm and spicy, but true cinnamon is lighter and sweeter and cassia is a bit smokier. They can be used interchangeably, though I prefer to use cinnamon. I will sometimes use cassia, or a combination of the two, for love work that leans more towards passion and seduction. Click on the smaller image under the main one in this article for a visual comparison.

2) Aloes refers to aloeswood/lignum aloes/agarwood (aquilaria malaccensis), and is harvested from trees infected with a certain type of fungus. Aloeswood has been so overharvested that it has become endangered. There have been efforts made to create special sustainable aloeswood farms, which is both a great investment for impovershed farmers throughout Asia and a big step towards preserving the species. Please do not buy any aloeswood that is not sustainably harvested. Aloeswood is expensive, the sustainably grown stuff even more so (much of the less expensive stuff comes from poachers) but no species should suffer just so you can save a few bucks.

3) This is all based on my own original research and experience. If you share it around, please give me credit and link to this post.

Onwards!

This specific combination is mentioned twice in the Bible, and the combination is included with other love plants and resins in the erotic fourth Song of Solomon. In Proverbs 7, it is used by a femme fatal of a prostitute who can lure in both weak-willed and strong-willed men. Psalm 45 is a love song which describes a very righteous king as smelling of the same combo on the day of a royal wedding. There is some real power in this formula:

-Aloeswood is an aphrodisiac, no question, but it also has a lightly binding effect, which I would liken to lady's thumb. It is also quite entrancing, literally. Aloes has been used for centuries to aid meditation, bringing the mind into the trance-like state that is sought after by practitioners. You know how two people can be in a noisy, crowded room, but they don't notice the world outside of each other? Aloes, when used in love work, is like that.

-Cinnamon and cassia are used to heat-up and give spice (no pun intended) to love. Like I said above, I prefer the hotter cassia (or a blend of both) for lustier work, but you can use either one. The sweeter of the two, cinnamon, because it is so good for money-drawing, has the added benefit of getting the other person to be generous with their money/want to spoil you. I mean, make sure you specify that you would like that when speaking to Cinnamon, don't just assume. It's sweetness can give it a leg up on cassia when seeking the love of someone reluctant or with whom you're not already involved.

-Myrrh is interesting. While it's certainly used for love and seduction, it's also used for purification, peacefulness, and dark works. It is quite compelling. The seductive and compelling properties of Myrrh are what we're asking from it in this formula.

So with this formula, you have something that ignites desire, compels, and entrances. I call it "Lust Dust". 

In addition to using it for incense, it can be prepared as a dusting powder by combining the powdered ingredients with talc. If you wish, you can add some orris root (Queen Elizabeth root) powder as a scent fixative and even ask it to aid the mix

Some people seem to think that talc is only used as a filler, but it does serve a purpose. If you try to dust yourself with just powdered herbs and stuff, they will easily brush off. Talc soaks up the moisture on your skin, helping the powder to stick to it. Most stuff offered by marketers has way too much talc in it, you only need a bit.

When praying over this Lust Dust, I like to use Psalm 23, the above selection from Proverbs 7 as well as lines 21-22, Psalm 45, and Song of Solomon 4. That is the basic structure, I'm not going to tell you exactly how I do it because praying and petitioning and invoking are things no one should ever take a paint by numbers approach to.

Incense and Goodies

I picked up some incense at the farmer's market yesterday, and today a few things I ordered online arrived early. Yay!

First up, the incense.

I picked up some of the house-brand incense sticks in opium and jasmine.

Opium poppies and jasmine share something in common: they're both flowers that can be used for psychic work and love work.

The opium poppy, aka bread poppy, (papaver somniferum) is my favorite flower. It's power rests in its alkaloids, such as codeine and morphine. If you've ever used prescription opiates or heroin, then you know exactly how powerful poppy's effects are. Poppy seeds are frequently used to cause confusion, especially in court cases where you want witnesses all confused and unable to give a good testimony or you want the other side to get confused and slip up. Both poppy seeds and flowers are used to stuff pillows for restful sleep and/or psychic dreams. When one is really high or heavily sedated on opiates, it's not uncommon to go into frequent catnaps which are filled with incredibly vivid dreams. This is where we get the term "pipe dream" from. I used to keep a large dried poppy pod for use as a natural rattle. It's use in love work is also heavily tied to it's psychoactive nature. If your goal is to have someone who's doped up, dreamy, and easily led, poppies are the way to go. Think of the one witch in Four Rooms (played by Ione Skye) who entrances Tim Roth's character.

Yeah, I use "love work" a bit broadly.

Now if you really want to seduce, look to jasmine. Jasmine has been prized for centuries for it's gorgeous scent. Indeed, one of my two favorite perfumes, Fracas, is full of jasmine and other captivating white florals. One thing about jasmine that makes it especially great for seduction (and this is directly tied in to its association with psychic work) is that it releases its fragrance at night. Yes, jasmine is another great choice for dream work and other psychic endeavors.

There's one more flower that I know of which is used for both love and dreams, and that's hibiscus. Try combining the three.

Next up is a little obsession of mine: Incense matches.

These are AWESOME. I can light my candles and have incense going and not even need to look for a lighter or matches because the incense IS a match? WHAT? Genius.

I got jasmine and patchouli, and I already own frankincense, cinnamon, french vanilla, "Egyptian Goddess", and musk.

Everyone either loves or hates patchouli. I blame the people who don't wear deodorant and just drown themselves in the stuff for the strong hatred many claim to have. More than once someone has ranted about patchouli, how even a whiff of it makes them sick, only to be surprised that the perfume they'd complimented me on contains patchouli. Then again, it's impossible not to love Fresh's Cannabis Santal, my other favorite perfume.

Patchouli is a powerhouse, it can be used for almost everything. It can be used for seduction, money, uncrossing, and domination. It has a very commanding, even overpowering, nature.

I'm going to have to do proper posts on these items, but I also received in the mail: more Florida Water, more aloeswood power, and both frankincense and myrrh essential oils. I have the latter two in resin form, but I wanted these for oils and skincare.

As you can guess, my room smells incredible right now. Funny, I can be surrounded by all this but all it takes is a tiny bit of Glade to send me into a crazy painful, aura-accompanied migraine.

DIY: Orange Oil Lamp

Oil lamps have been used in conjure a lot longer than candles. They're cheaper and more practical than candles, especially for ongoing work. You can add to them and modify them over time and really grow their influence. If you're interested in more lamp work, I have another DIY oil lamp post coming up which I think even die-hard candle addicts will love.

A friend of mine showed me how to make these. I mean, in conjure we just use glass oil lamps, but how amazing is this? These orange lamps are especially great for love and any kind of attraction, be it money, luck, or love. I just love sweet orange, it's so sunny and bright and clean. I am never without orange zest, orange blossom water, orange blossoms, and even orange blossom honey.

MATERIALS NEEDED:
-One orange
-Knife
-Oil, either olive or some kind of vegetable oil
-Grapefruit spoon (optional)
-Herbs, roots, dried flowers, minerals, condition oils,etc
-Personal concern(s), petition paper (optional)

1) Begin by slicing your orange in half, being careful not to sever the column of pith that runs through the middle. This will be your wick:

2) Remove the top. Either peel it first and eat the fruit or, if you've a steady hand, carefully separate the peel from the fruit with your grapefruit spoon. Some people make a lid with the top, a bit like a jack-o-lantern, but I didn't include that in this tutorial.

3) Next, scoop out the fruit in the bottom.

Remember to keep your "wick" in tact. Scoop out all the wet flesh, especially everything surrounding your wick. This is where having a grapefruit spoon really comes in handy. Be careful not to puncture the peel.

4) Set it to dry for about an hour. If you try to fill and light it too soon, it will be too wet to light. If you are really impatient, I guess you could just snip out the pith wick and stick in some cotton wicking.

(I evened up the sides after I looked at this picture.)

5) Add your herbs, roots, oils, etc, and fill with either olive oil or some kind of vegetable oil, taking care to leave about 1/2" of space between the top of the oil and the brim. Don't overload it with "stuff", you don't want a mass of roots and herbs that will catch fire and turn your lamp into a fireball. I have included cassia, myrrh, Queen Elizabeth root, sugar (a bit), and two appropriate condition oils in mine. You can add personal concerns such as a piece of a strand of hair or a drop of bodily fluid, but I never advise loading petition papers into candles or open lamps. Place them safely underneath. You can always write your petition directly on the orange or carefully carve it into the peel, like a candle.

6) The procedure of starting a lamp is not too different from starting a candle. You still say your prayers and speak to Spirit and light it when it's ready. Try using long-handled matches or a utility lighter as it takes a little bit to get the wick going.

 (It's not actually an inferno in there, that's just the reflection off the oil.)

That's all there is to it! For safety reasons, you should never leave an oil lamp burning unattended, but... you can place them in a large metal tray with at least 2" of sand for safety. I wouldn't leave an orange lamp burning unattended even with sand, however. While warmed orange peel smells amazing, burnt orange is horrible.

Turkey Bones

With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd do a quick write-up on the use of turkey bones in conjure.

Most everyone in the United States knows all about the wish-bone and the wishing ritual. Some people hang the whole wishbone above their door like a horseshoe for good luck. I've also heard of girls hanging wishbones above their doors to discover their future husbands, with the first man to walk through the door being the one. I assume this would be done on New Year's Eve or maybe the night before May 1st like many other "husband divination" methods call for. Turkey bones are also used in love work.

Let me first explain something about using bones. Bones are a link to the spirit world. When working with bones, they are not lifeless objects. When you work with turkey bones, you are calling upon the spirit of Turkey to help you. When we work with spirits long-term, we "feed" them to keep them strong and working for us. You can feed them with either some whiskey, Florida Water or similar cologne, oil, or a sprinkle of corn meal.

If you're a woman who wants her man to be more passionate, more attentive, and just stupidly enamored with her, turkey bones are the way to go. You can keep them under your bed. (I really recommend this over the cruelly obtained coon dongs marketers buy wholesale from the horrific fur industry.) You can hide them in your man's home, under his front steps where he walks, in his car. You can even keep one in your purse so you always have one around when the two of you are together. Taking this a little further, turkey feathers are sold in craft stores cheaply, dyed all kinds of vibrant colors. You can get these, trim them, and use them to write petitions and love letters.