• BELTANE! A Time for Renewal.

    Hello, everyone!

    Happy May to all. Spring often brings about a sense of renewal in us.  The trees, birds, and earth itself seem to be coming out of their long winter's sleep.

    One of the rituals performed on May 1 is burning a fire for Beltane.  Of course, this is also considered "May Day" and is known by other names as well.  It is a ritual stemming from Old Gaelic tradition and is celebrated by many Wiccans, Pagans, and other spiritual groups.  It is about renewal, protection, fertility,asking for abundance in crops, safety for our children and animals, etc.  It is a fun holiday and can be simple, as ours was, or can be much more elaborate (next year, we hope!). In my opinion, you don't have to be any particular religion to benefit from this cleansing and protecting ritual!

    Parran Matt and I did the ritual part as the High Priest and Priestess and Sister Bridget was the May Queen.  It was simple but powerful with a ritual fire for Beltane.  We said our parts and walked around the smoke of the fire to ask for protection and prosperity for ourselves and all those we know and love.

    I had mentioned that if people saved their ashes, I would tell them how to use them and here I am to do that!

    There are several ways to use these ashes.  After reading the list, you might think of some creative ways of your own.  I would love to hear them!

    1.   They are used are for protection.  Putting the ashes around the ground of your home.  It just takes a little bit.  Sometimes they are used on one's body – just rubbing a little bit around your heart area if you are going into a dangerous or scary situation is said to help protect you. It can also be put around areas where you keep animals.

    2.  The ashes are used to encourage growth.  People scatter them in the garden, potted plants, yards, and fields, anywhere that you want to encourage growth.  This growth can also be in the form of luck, having enough food, providing for your family, etc.

    3.  They can also be used to encourage spiritual growth.  A little bit can be put in a bath or even mixed in with some kind of oil and anoint yourself with the oil and ashes.  If you are a Vodouisant, or like to use Spellmaker oils, you can definitely mix a few of these ashes in any of our oils that would be used to encourage growth of any kind.

    4.  If your fire was big enough that it left you coals, you can use those coals in magickal writings, veves, wards, drawings of magickal symbols, etc. Commonly, the coals used for writing would be used for petitions in love, life, luck, abundance… rarely is the word "money" used at this time.  Mostly it is "abundance, plenitude, bounty" or some similar word. 

    5.  Some people like to save a coal and put in a little bag and use it as a protection charm year round, returning it to the Beltane fire the next year.  Then they get another coal from the new fire, and so forth and so on.

    6.  It isn't uncommon to even mix a little bit of the ash into a big glass of water and drink it.  This is said to encourage protection from hexes, enemies, and illness.  At one time, these ashes were used as medicine, put into wounds, etc.  They are said to aid in fertility.  Please use common sense if you are going to imbibe the ashes.

    7.  What are your ideas?  If you bear in mind that these ashes are meant to cleanse, protect, and represent renewal, you might find some very creative ways to use them yourself!

    So there are some ways to use your ashes!  I also wanted to mention that one should not mix up this tradition with the Catholic tradition of getting ashes on your forehead on Ash Wednesday.  That is about repentance and humilty.  Actually, there are lots of ways that different ashes are used in spiritual rituals – might expand on this topic later!

    Peace out, kiddos,

    Mambo Samantha Corfield, www.spellmaker.com

    P.S.  Look for our mighty stag in the pictures!  You can barely see him! LOL

      Beltanehome

     

  • Why do we need spiritual protection?

    Hello everyone!

    Very often people will ask me about protection charms, spells, oils, rituals, etc.  We have many things to use for protection at www.spellmaker.com! 

    However, sometimes when I ask them do they mean physical or spiritual protection they ask me, "Do I need spiritual protection?"  YES!  We all do.  Sometimes I think we need it now more than we have ever in the past.  The world is a changing place, and right now, I am not sure that it is changing for the better. (Might have to have a whole post just on that!)

    Spiritual protection is something we can all benefit from!  Mean people, negative people, negative energies, evil spirits (though that is the least of it usually, mostly it is humans we need protection from, even ourselves!), self-imposed negativity, lack of confidence, low self worth… all of these types of things harm us.  Spiritual protection can help us battle those things! 

    One of the items we use is a spiritual protection charm.  It is consecrated on the points of the great power couple lwa, LaSiren and Agwe. 

    Every so often, we change out the designs of the charms – truthfully, the design of the charm is inconsequential, though we always want them to look nice! The power in the charm is what we do to it here to make it work for you AND what you do to it when you get it to make it powerful.  Our team efforts, yours and ours, is amazing! :) 

    Anyway, we recently changed out the design of our spiritual protection charm – it is a beautiful stainless steel mermaid! I don't know how long this design will last – we use a small manufacturer who doesn't always have the same designs.  But we enjoy the personal attention from them and love to support small business!

    Spiritual protection is important… it can be complicated or it can be simple.  Sometimes that depends on your circumstance and how much negativity you are encountering. 

    The Spiritual Protection Charm is simple, beautiful, and a great place to start with spiritual protection!

     (Please note that the picture on the website might not have been updated yet, but it is the mermaid shown below, while supplies last!)

    Best to all,

    Mambo Samantha Corfield, www.spellmaker.com

      PAC236

     

  • Red Underwear and Grapes

    Hello everyone!  Wow, it's hard to believe that the new year is upon us.  For some, 2007 may not have been a great year and it is certainly time to let it go.  There truly is something magickal about the dawning of a new year!   If you allow it, every year can dawn with a new sense of purpose and enthusiasm!  If you think about it, all over the world, millions upon millions of people are celebrating this chance at a new beginning.  That is a great energy to tap into.   

    I love some of the New Year's customs from around the world:  In Mexico, and some other cultures, people are sure to wear red underwear on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day if they want to find love in the new year (or keep the love they have).  In Brazil, Venezuela, and some other countries, they eat 12 grapes, one at a time, for each chime on the clock at midnight.  With each grape they eat, they make a wish for the new year!  It could be the same wish for each grape or a different wish for each grape.   

    In many countries, and this of course will appeal to all of us Vodouisants, people make a doll or some kind of effigy that usually represents an old man.  He could be any size; some get very elaborate and are the size of a grown man, others are quite small, the size of a doll.  In this old man they stuff letters they have written explaining what they want to let go or get away from themselves.  Hurts, traumas, and negativities from the prior year, etc., are all writtten on paper and stuffed inside the man.  Then, at midnight, he is set on fire and all the negativities of the prior year are burned to ashes and let float away.

    Actually, many cultures have this same tradition, some at different times of the year.  Here in New Mexico, we have the burning of Zozobra (Old Man Gloom) the second week in September.  This is held yearly in Santa Fe and certainly is something to see!  The tradition is very similar to the one described above with people putting all their petitions in Zozobra and then he is set on fire!  It is a pretty big spectacle and draws thousands!

    If you have pain and sorrow that you are harboring from this year, why not do some sort of ritual at some point between New Year's Eve and the first couple of weeks in January?  It could be as simple as burning a candle and focusing on a new start to something as complex as making your own little "Zozobra" and burning away all the hurt and negativity that you have experienced.  Make a fresh start!  Sure, all of us are looking for a fresh start every January, and maybe that has never worked for you… yet!  Just because something hasn't worked yet doesn't mean to stop trying! 

    Love to you all,
    Mambo Sam

    Happynewyear

  • Punching the alien.

    Insp_diplomacy_preview

    Happy Monday, everyone!

     I hope that each and every one of you had a great weekend.  :-)  Okay so besides the obvious humor of the picture above, it really did get me thinking a lot about how some of my clients approach their spell work.  Nice folks have a tendency to do "nice" spell work – I never see them punch the alien in the face! Unfortunately, that doesn't always get the best result.  Sometimes the alien needs a punch in the face. Now of course I am speaking metaphorically, but all the time I get Heart's Desire letters that are so sweetly and nicely written but I don't feel the fire, the passion, the real HEART'S DESIRE.  In other words, sometimes I think your petitions are written just too politely.

    Now that is not to say that a politely, nicely-written petition won't work, but every once in awhile, if your case is a difficult one, you might need to punch the alien in the face!  Get stronger in your wording, don't be afraid to shout from the spiritual rooftops what you want, how you want it, and when you want it.

    Polite always has a place in this world.  However, sometimes, you need to be stronger, get grittier, and down and dirty and tell us how you really feel. 😉

    Love,light, and peace,
    Mambo Samantha Corfield
    www.spellmaker.com

  • 2013 CYBERMONDAY SALE IS ON!

    CYBER MONDAY SALE! 25% off all eligible items (which is nearly everything!) and for returning customers (and you know who you are!) 35% off your special page!

    Order now! This sale lasts only one day! The sale includes readings with myself! So stock up and save!

    www.spellmaker.com

    Love

    Mambo Sam

  • The Poor, Misunderstood 7-Knob Candle!

    Greetings everyone! I hope your week is going great!

    A very traditional magickal candle is the 7-knob candle. This candle, in one form or another, has been around for maybe thousands of years! I once saw a documentary about the Egyptian pyramids (well I have seen probably thousands of those LOL), and they found remnants of a "knobby" candle in a burial chamber!

    However, I do find that many people get confused on exactly how to use a 7-knob candle and wonder exactly what you can accomplish with it! 😉

    Now, technically, this candle is called a "7-knob Wishing Candle" and traditionally has been used to make 7 different wishes towards the same situation. You make the wish, burn that knob. When that knob burns down, you can then make a different wish (or perhaps even the same wish again).

    You can also use this candle to work on different aspects of a situation. For instance, let's say that you are doing love spell work and you have a somewhat complicated situation. You could use the 7-knob candle, using each knob of the candle to ask for relief or change in one part of the situation. Let's say you have an intruder to deal with, fear of commitment, the HD has financial problems, his children don't like you, he works too many long hours, etc., etc. Maybe these aren't all huge problems. Maybe some of them are just annoyances. However, you could use, for instance, a red 7-knob candle for a love situation (or even a trio of them if you have a lot of issues within your relationship) and petition for change for a different thing on each knob. Also, as I mentioned above, you could repeat petitions within the same candle, say, doing three knobs on him stopping him from spending time with the intruder, two knobs to make him feel more attracted to you, one knob petitioning for his children to like you, and one knob just to ask for peace in your relationship with him. 🙂

    Obviously these candles are not going to replace regular spell work, however, whether you have petty annoyances in your relationship or even more serious complications, these candles can help you in a lot of different ways!

    The same goes for other situations such as financial ones: You could use one knob to petition for a raise at work, one knob to help you budget better, and so forth and so on!

    So if you are looking at a situation in your life and thinking, "Gee, there are a lot of issues here" – you might be in the market for a 7-knob or two!

    Love, light, and peace,
    Mambo Samantha Corfield
    www.spellmaker.com

  • Stop the Nit-Picking! 😉

    Happy Friday, everyone!
    It is no surprise to our seasoned clients here at Spellmaker that we are major proponents of recommending that people take as many "real-world" measures as they can to repair their relationships as they do "magickal-world" measures. 🙂

    So many times clients will tell us that they are fighting all the time with their intended, or they don't see eye-to-eye, or they are conflicts in their relationship that they just don't seem to be able to resolve. I really liked this particular article that I am linking you to because while it technically has to do with tips for a good marriage, I could easily see how this article could be applied in part to a relationship you want to have or even to a non-romantic relationship.

    A lot of articles and so-called relationship gurus seem to think that everyone has been born with some semblance of knowledge of how to sustain a relationship. From what Parran Matt and I see everyday, that just isn't so. Some people need to start from square one and rethink how they approach relationships. I see people making the same mistakes over and over again with little insight into their own role in making a happy relationship.

    No one article is going to solve someone's relationship problems, but education about what makes a happy relationship can help you in both the real world and the magickal world. 😉 It can help you to know what you want and how to keep it when you get it!

    Feel free to comment on the article!

    WebMd Guide Article – click here!

    Love,light, and peace,
    Mambo Samantha Corfield
    www.spellmaker.com

  • Love and Anger revisited.

    Hello!

    As I find myself busy with thoughts of the holidays, I somehow keep coming back upon this article I wrote a couple years back. That means someone, out there right now needs to see this! So, as I am off to peel some potatoes,  I offer you this read 🙂

    Love

    Mambo

     

    Are You in Love and Angry?

    Greetings everyone!  As you all know, of course, working with clients who are doing our love spells gives me a great opportunity to be privileged enough to see the inner workings of many, many relationships. One thing that I see a LOT of are people who are actually very angry with the person upon whom they are doing love spell work!!  🙂

    Now believe me I am not saying that their anger is unwarranted!  Quite often they have been dumped in a very unceremonious way, getting hurt, remaining hurt, feeling no resolution for their hurt.  Of course they are angry!  Many times they are in contact with this person and still get hurt by them and thus the anger grows.  But here they are trying to do love spell work which by its very nature requires that you approach it from a standpoint of unconditional and pure love!   How on earth does one resolve that?

    Many people have chosen to do white candle magick kits and the Milk of Damballah(tm) white bath to help them release and remove the anger so that they may continue on with their love spell work feeling cleansed of that anger.  But what about that underlying, I-have-tried-and-I-just-can't-get-rid-of-this anger? You probably know and feel deep down inside that the anger your are feeling towards the person you are doing love spell work on is somehow degrading that very work!  In fact, sometimes it gets so bad in people that they get on an endless cycle of being angry with their HD (Heart's Desire) and then being angry with themselves for being angry with their HD and then being angry that they are angry! 

    Sometimes this can just go on and on especially if they are in contact with the HD who continues to needle them with either a new relationship, or continued criticism, or other negative behaviors.  Just because you love them doesn't mean you are not affected by their negative behaviors!  Your resentment of these behaviors can have a definite negative effect on your love spell work!

    If you feel you are in this situation then I do encourage you to acknowledge what is happening and then take as many measures as necessary to help alleviate as much of the anger as you can.  Look, we are human, and most of us are not Mother Teresa, so you can only do the best you can!  The abovementioned white candle magick and Milk of Damballah white bath are definitely the standard tools for removing negativity and certainly do work for quite a number of people.  The Pink Bubble Meditation is helpful to use to release that anger and send it away from you!

    Another choice is doing the Baron's Purple Bath. One of the many uses of the Baron's Purple Bath is to take negative things away and bury them!  Along with that, you can ask that your own love for this person be resurrected to its full feeling once that anger is taken and buried away. In this way, you will again have the FULL POWER of your love to put into your spell work.  Remember, the great and powerful Baron Samedi is not just the lwa of death, but of life – burying and resurrecting are his forte'.  Asking him to bury your anger, hurt, and resentment and replace them with fresh and invigorated love, forgiveness, and positivity is sure to not only make you feel better, but to strengthen the power of your love spell work!

    Love, Mambo Sam

     

  • A Thankful Time.

    Hello Dear Ones,

    I would like to take a moment this morning, before we each get caught up in holiday prep chaos,  to say how thankful I am for all of my wonderful friends who make my days a true joy!  I am grateful for each and every one of you! Please enjoy your holiday, and your time with friends and loved ones.  Take time to savor the small things about the big holiday. Those are the things great memories are made of.

    Much Love,

    Mambo Sam

    The Thanksgivings

      by Harriet Maxwell Converse
    Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer

    We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here

              to praise Him.

    We thank Him that He has created men and women, and ordered

              that these beings shall always be living to multiply the earth.

    We thank Him for making the earth and giving these beings its products

              to live on.

    We thank Him for the water that comes out of the earth and runs

              for our lands.

    We thank Him for all the animals on the earth.

    We thank Him for certain timbers that grow and have fluids coming

              from them for us all.

    We thank Him for the branches of the trees that grow shadows

              for our shelter.

    We thank Him for the beings that come from the west, the thunder

              and lightning that water the earth.

    We thank Him for the light which we call our oldest brother, the sun

              that works for our good.

    We thank Him for all the fruits that grow on the trees and vines.

    We thank Him for his goodness in making the forests, and thank

              all its trees.

    We thank Him for the darkness that gives us rest, and for the kind Being

              of the darkness that gives us light, the moon.

    We thank Him for the bright spots in the skies that give us signs,

              the stars.

    We give Him thanks for our supporters, who had charge of our harvests.

    We give thanks that the voice of the Great Spirit can still be heard

              through the words of Ga-ne-o-di-o.

    We thank the Great Spirit that we have the privilege of this pleasant

              occasion.

    We give thanks for the persons who can sing the Great Spirit's music,

              and hope they will be privileged to continue in his faith.

    We thank the Great Spirit for all the persons who perform the ceremonies

              on this occasion.

     

     

     

  • Take a Break

    We are always so serious when we petition Papa Legba. We ask him to 'open the path', 'help me communicate with…', etc.  Why not take just one session with Papa and ask him to bring you some roll-around-on-the-floor, knee-slapping, laugh-until-you-can't-breathe FUN?  What a great stress reliever that is!

    Love and Light – and Fun,

    Khouzhan Echo