• Hello everyone! Sister Bridget’s blog today is about the Pink Moon! I know a lot of you “old timers” use the Pink Bubble Meditation that I posted last year quite a bit. But I thought that perhaps some of the newer people don’t know about it and it seemed like a great day to repost it. I can’t think of a better time to do the Pink Bubble Meditation than during the Pink Moon! 🙂 Happy meditating!


    Post Reprint:

    Hello everyone!  Have you attempted meditation?  Meditation has been around for centuries and is used for many different manifestations of life:  health, love, anger management, relaxation, etc.  There are literally thousands of ways to meditate and assist in the manifestation of your goals. 

    In spell work we are often trying to attain a particular goal:  It may be love, money, a job, etc.  Whatever our reason for doing the spell work, adding in some creative meditations can certainly be a way of assisting your situation.

    Over the upcoming weeks, I would like to share with you some of my favorite meditation techniques. I hope you enjoy them!  The meditation technique below, the "Pink Bubble Meditation", is a wonderful meditation to use if you are working with our favorite love lwa, Erzulie Freda or working with pink candle magick or any other love magick.  🙂

    Love, Mambo Sam

    Pink Bubble Meditation Technique

    This meditation is simple and wonderfully effective.
    Exercise:

    • Sit or lie down comfortably, close your eyes and breathe deeply, slowly, and naturally. Gradually relax and feel this meditation taking you deeper and deeper.
    • Imagine something that you would like to manifest. Imagine that is already happened.
    • Picture it as clearly as possibly in your mind. Now in your mind’s eye surround your fantasy with a pink bubble; put your goal inside the bubble. Pink is the color associated with the heart, and if this color vibrations surrounds whatever you visualize, it bring to you only that which is in perfect affinity with your being.
    • The third step is to let go of your bubble and imagine it floating off into the universe, still containing your vision. This symbolizes that you are emotionally ‘letting go” of it.
    • Now it’s free to float around the universe, attracting and gathering energy for it’s manifestation.

    Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain 1978

  • Our Niece, Need, and Petitioning!

    Hello everyone and Happy Birthday, BCM, (you know who you are!),
    Several years ago, before Matt and I got married, I met his niece for the first time. She was pretty young then, I think 5 years old. As luck would have it, she had just finished watching an infomercial for The Magic Bullet. I am sure most of you know what that is, but in case you don't, it is a small mixer/food processor type thingy – you know chops, whips, blends, all of that.

    Anyway, she was enchanted with this machine and proceeded to tell me all about it, in great detail, and why I NEEDED it. She did not tell me why I should want it, or even how much fun it would be, or anything like that. She explained to me (she is very smart) why I needed it. In fact, she told me several times within the conversation, you need one. Everyone needs one. You need it for your kitchen, etc.

    Well, I have a Magic Bullet, thanks in total to her, and use it all the time. LOL. By the time she finished convincing me, I thoroughly believed I needed it. I use it all the time and maybe I didn't actually need but I really enjoy it and am glad I have it.

    I was telling this story of why I got the Magic Bullet to someone recently. As I was telling this person it occurred to me that this would be a great way to petition in some love spell cases! Convince them that they NEED you; sell all your good points and how wonderfully fun and beneficial they are. 😉 Petitioning in such a way to tell a person why they need you in their life might, in some cases, be more effective than telling them why they want you in their life. It depends a lot on the kind of person that you are working on!

    This might be especially true if the person you are working on is a practical person. The kind of petitioning that reminds them that they need you in their life, just as you need them, might be just the trick!

    So next time you are petitioning with your spell kits or adjunct work, "magic bullet" those petitions and let's see what happens!

    Love, light, and peace,
    Mambo Sam

  • Using Your Love Doll with Other Products!!!

    Hi everyone! Happy April Fools’ Day! LOL. Of course none of my clients are “fools” so this is not a day for you. 😉

    As we continue talking about adjunct work, I wanted to cover the usage of your love doll (deluxe or regular) with other products.

    The love doll is one of the most effective products that you can use for your love case. Just the love doll itself, even without using it in combination work, is a powerful tool for communicating directly with your HD (Heart’s Desire, what we call the person you are working on). The doll becomes a direct pipeline right to your HD’s Higher Self.

    So of course, when you combine using the doll with other products, that ups the efficacy of BOTH of those products! 🙂 One of my favorite combinations of work is the love doll with the Cosmic Voodoo™ Healing Egg. In most cases, something needs to either be healed within the relationship you are trying to have or perhaps themselves. When you combine using the Healing Egg with your Love Doll, you are really doubling that healing power.

    For instance, if the person you are doing your spell work on has a fear of commitment; that is something that we would consider needs healing. By setting up both your Cosmic Voodoo Egg ritual AND your love doll ritual at the same time, you are bringing the level of power WAY UP THERE!! 😉 Many things in a relationship that you might think would not necessarily be considered something that needs healing actually can respond to healing! What if your HD has a “wandering eye” towards others partners? You can actually work on that with “healing” their desire for others! (Now that kind of healing would definitely call for combination work!)

    Is your HD someone you don’t seem to be able to depend on? You could use your Egg and Doll combination to work towards “healing” them of being undependable! So the trick is to look at what you might consider negative traits in your HD and consider those as maladies to be healed.

    Another great way to use the love doll in combination is with various image candles! Using one image candle to represent you and one image candle to represent your HD, and using that in conjunction with your love doll is great! You could do this red, white, pink, or even green image candles just depending on what you are trying to accomplish! For example: Let’s say that you want to mend some heavily negative events that have happened between you and your HD. Setting up your love doll, then using a white image candle for you and a white image candle for your HD, getting everything going, and then petition that all that negativity be removed from BOTH of you and especially then from your HD (using the doll). This is especially useful if you feel like you have perhaps gotten mostly past the negativity but your HD is harboring more than you are. It will help you, but you will be putting more of the energy toward your HD since two of the three products will be aimed at your HD. 🙂


    Now of course you have all now been introduced to our new sex magick products! Using the sex magick candles with the love doll is a great way to enhance the sexual energy work greatly. If your sex life is flagging or even non-existent with your HD, then using the doll with the sex nmagick will certainly boost things. Also, using this sexual energy in combination with the loving energy of the doll brings the relationship energy to a highly intimate level, right where you want it!


    There are, of course, many other ways you could use the love doll in conjunction with our other products! 🙂 If you are unsure how to do this, please talk to your caseworker. If you have some other ideas of adjunct work, please leave a comment below! I would love to see your ideas, too!


    Love, light, and peace,

    Mambo Sam

  • Are you Depressed?

    Happy Tuesday, everyone! Very often clients come to me and tell me that they are depressed. Of course we all go through days, maybe weeks, where we are depressed about something. Let me first say, if you feel you are clinically depressed or unable to cope, please, please seek professional help. Obviously, I am not that kind of doctor and if you feel hopeless and helpless, please seek help locally.

    Okay, so besides that I think sometimes we forget the simple ways to combat depression. Now, of course, you could do a Milk of Damballah™ White Bath or use other cleansing type products such as white candles, etc.. However, sometimes just the very simple act of lighting a white candle, doing some deep breathing, and allowing yourself to relax and spend some time just "being" can help greatly! Not all successful "helps" are complicated! 🙂 I very often recommend to clients keeping a few white image candle kits around in their own gender just to use on occasions when they feel sad, depressed, low in energy, etc. It is a fairly simple way to boost yourself!

    I also found an article that outlined 10 simple ways to fight depression. It's funny, most of it you will have already heard, I had! BUT, it was still just nice to see it in a simple list as a reminder that if we are depressed, sometimes just taking a few simple measures will get us "over the hump" of a bluesy day.

    —Article–

    "10 Tips For Fighting Depression "

    I’ve done a bit of research into fighting depression recently and I’ve put together ten brief tips for fighting depression, leaving medication out of the list (excepting vitamins), as it doesn’t work for everyone. Most of these tips are probably common sense but it’s sometimes hard to think rationally when you’re depressed, and thus easy to forget.

    Get sufficient sleep. I’ve always burned the candle at both ends. It’s a flaw of being a type-A, driven, workaholic personality. Lack of sleep multiplies the effects of depression. If you can’t get a full 6-8 hours each night, try 15-30 minute catnaps through out the day. I’ve tried implementing Steve Pavlina’s attempt at polyphasic rhythm-based sleep, but I can’t quite pull it off yet. I have however been very successful in using Pzizz’s two free 15-minute energizer audio MP3 recordings for power naps several times a day. It’s unbelievable how much these help. I’ve also successfully been using binaural beats to positively affect alpha, beta, theta, etc., brainwaves. (More on that in the future.)

    Reduce stress. Stress can be invisible and subconscious, and it can come from guilt about a variety of things, personal and professional. For example, as I write this article, I’m suffering from guilt for not working on client projects, which I’ve been unable to do for most of the day. That means I have to make up for this lack tomorrow, which in turn induces anxiety. It’s tough, stressful cycle. If you don’t keep stress under control, it can induce productivity-grinding panic and anxiety attacks. Naps, a walk around the neighbourhood, and exercise can help alleviate the effects immensely. Remember: you cannot learn effectively with stress weighing you down. Sometimes, practicing detachment from your worries will solve your stress.

    Get sufficient exercise. It’s not just a matter of getting blood flowing, though that’s part of it. But getting outside and getting sunlight and fresh air is important because it rejuvenates you. If you work at home like I do, this is especially important. I find that despite being a hermit thinker type, physical activity makes me feel great during times of depression. Blood flow and adrenaline seem to stave off the worst effects. Though it’s sometimes hard to remember that exercise or keeping busy helps.

    Meditate. Meditation can be an effective means to reducing stress and thus depression. It can also help you to become aware of what is causing your guilt, your stress, and often help you achieve some detachment from those “problems” you cannot do anything about. In short, it helps you achieve perspective, to see where to focus your attention. I’ve been meditating on and off for about 20 years. (I’ve done over 10,000 hours of meditation, part of the requirement of becoming a Buddhist monk, though not all under a “master”, which disqualifies me.)

    Add some colour to your wardrobe. Tough for me, an ex-goth who still wears mostly all-black, but all dark clothes all the time increases the effects of depression. Colour stimulates positive feelings. I find blood red or a hunter green shirt helps me. Some people prefer yellow, orange or peach, or prints or paisleys. You can also add colour to your life through art therapy.

    Eat properly. You know eating properly applies all the time but it’s even more crucial for those suffering from depression. I find grains, nuts, and fruit help me, and staying away from fried foods and refined carbs. I have a friend, a gifted classical guitarist, who ends up in the hospital every three or four years because of the massive amount of fast food he eats nearly every single day, and without vegetables at that. (He’s had around three meltdowns in the decade or so I’ve known him, and hasn’t worked in that time.) Even a fresh submarine/ hoagy/ rocket with lots of free toppings (i.e., veggies) is better than fries, gravy, burgers and pizzas several times a week like he has. (I’m not knocking them, as I eat them, but not every day.) Seek out healthy snacks or make your own, eat nutritious foods and add colourful vegetables and leafy items.

    Take your vitamins. Learn your E, B, Cs. And Zinc, Folic acid, iron supplements, etc. Poor diet robs us of many absolutely essential nutrients. If you are not going to change your diet, whatever your reason, at least replenish those nutrients.

    Drink water. The proper amount of fluids helps keep your skin from getting dry in the winter time – the “season” in seasonal depression. It also helps clear out some of the toxins in your body. And by the way, it’s NOT 8 glasses per day for everyone. The proper amount is based on your body weight, age, activity level, and other factors.

    Add extra lighting. Research shows that adding some warm, bright lights helps fight the effects of depression. You don’t have to spend $150+ on special lamps; just increase the wattage in some of your light bulbs. Also, fluorescent lights are less bright than they appear. Try to replace them if possible.

    Smile. It’s not a guaranteed nor permanent cure, but it does help sometimes, if you can maintain a smile for a few minutes. I watch The Comedy Network (Canada) sometimes, as laughing helps – at least temporarily, like chicken soup sort of helps a cold. Remembering to do so is key, so you may need to tape some visual reminders to your mirrors or computer, etc."

    ————End of Article———————–

    Here's wishing you all a happy day!!
    Love,
    Mambo Sam

  • Some Ideas About Combination Work!

    Happy Monday, everyone!
    Lately it seems that a number of you have had some questions about combination work. I suppose first off, we should talk a little bit about what combination work actually is.

    What we here at Spellmaker term combination work is when you are working with adjunct work, such as candle magick kits, voodoo doll work, Cosmic Voodoo™ Eggs, etc. These are products that are generally used to enhance, strengthen, or work on details during or after one has used the regular Cosmic Voodoo™ spell kits.

    So what I would like to do is go over a series of ways to use certain products over the next few days. Feel free to ask any questions you have simply by commenting in the comment section below. 🙂

    So today I would like to talk about the Red Mummy Candles. Most often we recommend that these candles be used to open up communication between yourself and someone else, or perhaps even two people that you would like to communicate better with each other. For instance, let's say that you have a man in your life who doesn't get along well with your children or your children don't accept him in your life. In that case, you could use the Red Mummy to petition for that man and your children to open up communication between themselves, separately from you, to build their own relationship.

    For the most part, however, we use the Red Mummy to help us with communication between ourselves and someone else. So that is great! However, you can also use that Red Mummy in combination with, for instance, a white gender candle(appropriate to the sex of the person that you want to work on) to petition away negative energy from a bad argument, or any other type of negative communication you had with a person. If you need a person to "forget" a bad incident between you, then you can use the white male or female candle along with a Red Mummy to facilitate that.

    The Red Mummy could also be used with your love doll to open up communication between you and the person you love – to make that communication loving and sweet and romantic.

    Since communication is KEY to any and all relationships, using the Red Mummy in combination with almost any of your other adjunct products can help bring about the type of communication you want and help insure that you get that perfect dialogue going with that someone special.

    In many instances, you could use, for instance, two white image candles – let's say you are a male/female couple – one white image candle to represent you, one to represent your intended, and also use the Red Mummy. In this way you can petition to open up that communication between the two of you, stating HOW you want it to happen, WHEN, and WHAT is the nature that you want the communication to take. You could also use it with a red set of image candles, pink set, etc., depending on what kind of communication you want: Positive where there has been something negative happening to your communication with this person (use white candles with the Red Mummy. Romantic where things have been cold (use the pink candles with the Red Mummy). Passionate and loving where loving communication has been at a stalemate (use the red candles).

    I am sure you can think of many ways yourself to use the Red Mummy; just think in terms of communicating with that person you want to be with! I would love to hear the creative ways some of you have come up with to use the Red Mummy in combination with other products. We talked a lot about this in class. Have any of you used those techniques? How did it work out for you?

    If you are confused on how to use this kind of combination work, please ask your caseworker! They are there to help you! 🙂 It can be a little tricky trying to use more than one product at a time in combination with each other, but it can be done. Just ask if you need help with it!

    Love, light, and peace,
    Mambo Sam

  • Erzulie’s Oil and Incense!

    Greetings everyone!  🙂  Hope you are having a beautiful Wednesday!



    Of course as most of you know, we did our wonderful Valentine’s Ritual to the beautiful Vodou love goddess, Erzulie Freda. We love doing this ritual every year for everyone!


    This year was a little bit different in that we offered a special one-day ritual pack that you could do at home when we did the ritual here at the office. That ritual pack is still available, by the way, because it is the kind of ritual you could do anytime!


    MANY of you asked about the oil and incense that was included in that ritual pack and asked if we would carry it separately. Although it was originally our intention just to have it for the ritual pack, since so many of you asked, we are now offering it separately.


    The Erzulie’s Love Apple™ Incense was a huge hit with all of you! 🙂 It is really wonderful and the smell is just divine. So we are now including it with our other incense offerings. Right now, it is available just on the Erzulie Freda Page, but we will be putting on the other pages soon.


    The Erzulie’s All that Glitters™ Love Oil was a great hit with you, too. Many of you have asked if you could use it with your Voodoo Sex Magick products that we are now offering. Yes, you can, and you can also use the Erzulie’s incense with your sex magick.


    If you are confused on how to use these products (or any other product, for that matter), please talk to your caseworker!


    Love, light, and peace,

    Mambo Sam

  • What Does Spring Mean to You?

    Happy Monday, everyone!

    Another spring is upon us! What does that mean for you? 🙂 (And that is besides sneezing, runny nose, and itchy eyes! LOL.)


    I love spring and for me it always mean “renewal.” I try to think of new ways to look at things – where can I seek a fresh perspective on an old problem? Are there projects that I abandoned and might still be worthy of finishing? What about my attitude? Might I need an attitude adjustment coming out of the winter and into the spring sunshine?


    This is just such a wonderful time to think about renewal, rebirth, cleansing, getting a fresh start, etc. Sometimes this is a great time to get a “fresh start” even on something that you have been working on for a long time!!


    For instance, have you been doing spell work on a particular subject for what seems like a really long time? Sometimes we begin to lose perspective on that subject because we have been working at it for so long. We may have been doing so much work on it that we are now just going through the motions of the work! That is something to be on the look out for!!!


    If you have been doing your spell work for quite awhile now and you aren’t quite where you want to be, I suggest taking a little break from your work! Unless you are in the middle of one of the Creole Voodoo™ spell kits that you have to do nine days in a row with, it isn’t a bad idea sometimes to take a little break!


    For some people, just taking a few days off of working on that particular goal can bring about fresh perspective, renewed energy, etc. It can be helpful during that break to perhaps do a little bit of work on yourself – some cleansing with something such as the Milk of Damballah™ white bath, white male or female candles,, etc. can renew your spirit, resolve, and vigor greatly!!!


    It is just as important to keep yourself fresh and renewed in your spell work as it is to continue to work towards your goal. If you are worn out and feeling sort of “autumnal” – perhaps doing some spring cleaning on your spirit might be just the thing to shake your energy and your case up!


    Love, light, peace, and Happy Spring,

    Mambo Sam
    Greenborder

  • Feed Hungry Children – Great American Bake Sale

    Hello everyone!  In the spirit of St. Joseph's Day (see yesterday's post, please), I would like to bring to your attention, the Great American Bake Sale!  This is a really cool way to help feed hungry children.

    I found out about this on the Food Channel Network and checked into it.  The set up for this is really great in that you sign up to hold a bake sale in your area and the proceeds will benefit community programs that feed children.  But what is really great is that you can also sign up to hold a "virtual bake sale."  That is such a great idea, isn't it??  Most people may not have the time to actually put together a bake sale and host it in their community.  However, if you do the virtual bake sale, the Great American Bake Sale website helps you build your own little web page and offers a function where you can email your friends and family and ask them to contribute to your virtual bake sale. 

    If you think about it, even if someone can just contribute a dollar or two to your virtual bake sale, all those dollars add up!

    If you can host a bake sale in your community, or even host a virtual bake sale, you can offer that as a service to Les Lois.  Remember especially the lwa such as Erzulie Freda, Maman Brigitte, Baron Samedi, Papa Loko, Erzulie Dantor, Ayida Ouedo, Ayizan, and others are very concerned with the welfare and protection of children.  Doing any kind of participation in a program such as this can certainly also be a service to our beloved lwa while making a difference in American communities where hunger in children is a huge problem.  We have a tendency to think that hungry children just exist in third world countries where it "isn't our problem." 

    But if as Americans, we think that all American children are well fed and well taken care of, I am sorry to say that we are wrong.  Thousands of American children go to bed hungry and homeless every night.  I was appalled to hear that right here in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and we are not a huge city), they estimate 4,500 children to be homeless right now!!!  It is unfathomable to me that we have ONE homeless child in America, but the statistics are both staggering and alarming.  Participation in a program such as Great American Bake sale can help.  Don't be fooled into thinking that you are "just one person" and cannot help!  This particular organization has a set up to allow everyone to do something in an easy and pretty quick way!  🙂

    I am working on setting up our Sheer Goddess Great American Bake Sale page and I urge each of you to do the same.  It only takes a few minutes, it doesn't cost anything to participate (especially if you choose to do the virtual bake sale option  – then it will only cost you some of your time), and the rewards of your participation will feed a child.  Light up some candles, call upon your favorite lwa, and tell them what you are doing as a service to them and your fellow human beings.  :-)  

    If you cannot participate, I will be publicizing our Great American Bake Sale page and taking donations for a virtual bake sale over the next couple of days.  :-)  Like I said, even if you can only donate a dollar or two, it will add up!  As for my local gals and guys - Matt, Berkeley, Debie, Travis, Eshita, Eileen, Cindy, Darla, Jeanne, Ronda…and whomever I forgot,  you know who you are – haha – we WILL be doing a real bake sale coming up soon!  So start getting your recipes on! 

    Love, Mambo Sam

    Woman_breaking_eggs_over_bowl_md_clr

  • Happy St. Joseph’s Day!

    Hello everyone!  Today is St. Joseph's Day!  For those of you who were in chat class with me, you might remember that we discussed St. Joseph's Day!  This day is celebrated widely in New Orleans and other cities, especially those with large Italian populations.  Beautiful St. Joseph's Day altars are built with begged or borrowed materials and the food that is placed on the altar is then given to charity.

    For those of you who have done the Lots-o-Luck Spell Kit, you might remember that there are beans in there called "habas."  Those are the fava beans which are mentioned below in this wonderful article about St. Joseph's Day and now you will know why those beans are in your kit!

    Also, for Vodouisants, St. Joseph is syncretized with Papa Loko (Loko Atisou), the male lwa who presides over Houngans and Mambos.  Papa Loko is considered the "first Houngan" and it is from Papa Loko that the initiates take their asson (sacred rattle).  So just as St. Joseph is considered as the father of Jesus Christ in Christian religions, Papa Loko is considered the father of initiates in the Vodou religion.

    This is a holiday rich in religious tradition for both Catholics and Vodouisants.  But religion is not the primary focus for this holiday – the idea of feeding the poor is!  So if you can, do something today to help feed someone needy.  If you can't do it today, that's okay, too, because St. Joseph Altars will be up through this weekend.  :-)  So get out there and feed someone!

    Please enjoy this article.  It is very well-researched and historically correct!

    Love, Mambo Sam

    St. Joseph's Day Altars
    by Anna Maria Chupa

    Background
    Stjoseph1  St. Joseph's Day altars began as a custom brought to New Orleans by Sicilian immigrants. The tradition of building the altar to St. Joseph began as far back as the Middle Ages in gratitude to St. Joseph for answering prayers for deliverance from famine. The families of farmers and fisherman built altars in their homes to share their good fortune with others in need. The tradition grew to a more public event on St. Joseph's Feast Day on March 19. Today the individuals who work on the altars are fulfilling their own promises to St. Joseph "to share their blessings with those in need."(2) Without exception, the altar workers explained that they contributed to the altars not for their own purposes but 'for St. Joseph' or for a family member or friend.(5)

    One tradition entails begging for the supplies to build the altar. The altar must not incur "any expense nor any personal financial gain."(2) As an act of devotion to St. Joseph, supplicants would promise to build an altar should their sons return home from war safely. Part of the personal sacrifice involved was the act of begging for food.(5)

    Although there are perishable foods on the altars, a large portion of the breads, cookies and cakes are wrapped so that they may be given to charities after the altar is broken. The altar is broken after a ceremony which reenacts the Holy Family seeking shelter. The ceremony is called Tupa Tupa "which in Italian means Knock Knock." Children dressed in costume "knock at three doors asking for food and shelter. At the first two they are refused. At the third door, the host of the Altar greets them and welcomes them to refresh themselves."(2)

    Butler's Lives of the Saints lists St. Joseph as the patron saint of Families, Working Men, Social Justice, and the Church. St. Joseph is also the Patron Saint of the dying.(3) Following the blessing of the altar on the afternoon of March 18, visitors are invited to leave written petitions to St. Joseph or donations for the poor. The Mary's Helper Newsletter invited people to mail their petitions for the altar in the event that they could not visit personally.

    Spiritualism and Vodun Connection
    Stjoseph3 My own journey to the St. Joseph's Day altars began while I was conducting research on Spiritualism and Vodun in New Orleans. In my search for more information on Damballah, an African spirit who came to be associated with St. Patrick and with Moses in the syncretized Vodun of new world contexts, I also saw frequent references to St. Joseph. Spiritualist churches who honored Black Hawk as a patron spirit of social justice simultaneously honored St. Joseph and Moses in prominent positions on their altars.

    The Mary's Helpers Newsletter makes an interesting connection in the interpretation of Joseph as a deliverer. "It was told to the Israelites in the Old Testament, 'Go to Joseph,' if they wanted any favor or benefit, referring to the Joseph of Egypt. 'Go to Joseph,' is the advice and counsel given to every Catholic who wants a favor and believes in the sanctity of the Holy Family."

    More on Sicilians in New Orleans
     ers of The Greater New Orleans Italian Cultural Society (GNOICS) built their first altar in 1967 "on the front steps of the St. Joseph church on Tulane Avenue."(4) In 1978, the altar location was moved to the Piazza D'Italia, primarily because inclement weather in previous years made the outdoor location on the steps of St. Joseph's problematic.(Chupa:98) Piazza d'Italia is located on "300 Poydras, to the rear of the American Italian Renaissance Foundation Museum and Library building."(4) In 1998, the Altar was prepared under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bertucci who have been involved with the altar preparations since 1967. The GNOICS altar has since been reestablished at St. Joseph's Church.

    The concentration of Sicilian immigrants in New Orleans explains why this tradition is almost exclusive to this southeastern city. Whereas most immigrants from Naples "settled in New York and other cities along the eastern seaboard" the Sicilians "sailed from Palermo and landed in New Orleans. Between 1850 and 1870, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there were more Italians in New Orleans than in any other U.S. city. By 1910, the population of the city's French Quarter was 80 percent Italian. Today there are 200,000 Americans of Italian descent living in New Orleans and its suburbs, making Italian Americans the largest ethnic group in the city."(4)

    Symbols in the St. Joseph's Day altar
    St_joseph_alter Many of the altars we visited were constructed in the form of a Latin cross with two additional tables running parallel to the length of the cross. This tripartite arrangement refers to the Trinity. A statue of St. Joseph or a picture of the Holy family is usually at the top of the altar.(1)

    "All of the items on the altar — food, candles, medals, holy cards and fava beans — are blessed by a priest in a special ceremony the afternoon before an altar is 'broken.'" That evening people may visit to pray and leave petitions. Donations are collected for the poor."(1)

    Over the doorway a fresh green branch is placed to indicate that the public is invited to participate "in the ceremony and to share the food."(1) The specially prepared breads on the St. Joseph1s altar make take many forms. As this custom is observed during the Lenten season, and the tradition was begun in Sicily where fish and shellfish were more common than meat, decorative breads in the form of shellfish are common. Other symbolic imagery specific to Joseph might include tools used by a carpenter (ladder, saw, hammer, nails) as well as sandals, lilies and a staff. Some of the breads are prepared with a decorative interlace and filled with figs, alluding to the fig orchards of Sicily.(1)

    Breads and cakes may also take the form of more common Christian symbols, i.e., the Monstrance or Spada which holds the sacred Host; the Chalice, which refers to the consecration of the Bread and Wine at the Last Supper; the Cros
    s (crucifixion of Christ), Dove (Holy Spirit), Lamb, Fish (Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Fisher of Men); and Hearts (Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary. A heart pierced by a dagger also refers to the grieving mother or Mater Dolorosa and may bear the names of recently departed loved ones.) A Crown of Thorns and Palms refer to martyrdom and symbols of eternal love.(1)

     Wine bottles on the altar represent the miracle of Cana and the twelve whole fish represent the twelve apostles and the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Other images specific to Sicily include grapes, olives and figs referring to the orchards and vineyards in Sicily. Two prepared foods that are commonly seen on the altar include the Pignolatti and the Pupaculova. The Pignolatti are fried pastry balls joined together in the shape of a pine cone representing "the pine cones Jesus played with as a child." The Pupaculova is a baked bread which encloses a dyed Easter egg representing the "coming of Easter."(1)

    Bread crumbs or "Mudica" are served as a seasoning over the Pasta Milanese on St. Joseph's Feast Day and symbolize sawdust.(1) The food served to the public on St. Joseph1s Day is a reenactment of a promise made to St. Joseph for delivery from famine. "Small bags are given as keepsakes to all who visit the altar. Each bag may contain a blessed medal, holy card, fava beans, cookies or bread."(1)

    The people we spoke to had several interpretations regarding the appearance of lemons on the St. Joseph's Day altars. Citrus fruits are common in the orchards of Sicily. One woman said that it was good luck to "steal" a lemon from the altar leaving hidden coins behind for the poor.(5) Several women told us that a lemon blessed on St. Joseph's altar will not turn black and is a symbol of good luck.(6) Another woman said that the lemons are for young married women who want to become pregnant. Still others mentioned that during certain periods, the lemon was a luxury so its appearance on the altar is a way of returning ones good fortune to others.(5)

    Artichokes figure prominently in the food served and when they are available in abundance, stuffed artichokes may also appear on the altars. In 1998, because artichokes were so scarce, they were not seen on the four altars we visited. In 1997, the artichokes were plentiful.

    Perhaps the most ubiquitous symbol to be found on the altar is the lucky Fava Bean. "The gift of a blessed bean is the most well known of the customs associated with the St. Joseph's Day altar. During one of Sicily's severe famines, the fava bean thrived while other crops failed. It was originally grown for animal fodder, but because of its amazing resilience, it became the sustaining food of the farmers and their families. The dried bean is commonly called the "lucky bean." Legend has it that the person who carries a 'lucky bean' will never be without coins. The fava bean is a token of the St. Joseph's Altar, and a reminder to pray to St. Joseph," particularly for the needs of others.

    –End of Article–

  • Workplace Etiquette Article

    Greetings everyone!
    Many of you petitioned for new jobs or getting a job during our Sobo Ritual yesterday. In the spirit of “it has already happened” I am going to assume that many of you who are not working will be working soon!

    In doing Get a Job spells for many people over the years, I have noticed that when they tell me the story of what happened on their last job(s), they often have little insight into why they were unable to keep a job. 🙂

    This article came across my desk and having had more than a few management jobs in my life, I felt like this was a good one! So many of us walk into the workplace with little or not cognizance of what we should or should not do! Even for a seasoned professional, a little reminder never hurt.

    Since I know many of you out-of-work folks will soon be getting a job here is an article by Rachel Zupek!

    Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com writer

    Some people are men and women of few words — to work in an office with such people is a blessing. Most workers, however, are stuck in a workplace where they hear about everything from a co-worker’s baby-making plans to his estranged relationship with his father.


    Talking about such topics might be OK to share over cocktails with your best friend — they are not OK for the workplace. Because people spend more time at the office with co-workers than anywhere (or anyone) else, some workers have trouble drawing the line between business and friendship, says Susan Solovic, co-founder and CEO of SBTV.com, and author of three books, including “Reinvent Your Career: Attain the Success You Desire and Deserve.” “It’s a social environment as well as a work environment. However, you must remember: While you can be friendly and develop a good rapport, business is business and friendship is friendship.”


    These days, your job security is unstable enough as it is. The last thing you need is to make an off-the-cuff remark that gets you fired (or shunned from the likes of your co-workers). To help keep your career on track, here are 10 things you should never say or discuss in the workplace:


    1. “That’s not my job.” When you boil things down, everyone does things that “aren’t their job.” If everyone complained that a certain task wasn’t in the offer they signed, the labor force would be in more trouble than it already is. If someone asks for your help, take it as a compliment. He or she obviously values your input or thinks your skills would be good fit for the task. Not only will it help earn good office karma (you never know when you’ll need help from other colleagues), but it never looks good to only do the bare minimum. And no boss wants to hear those four words!


    2. “I don’t mind helping you with that.” (With a fake smile pasted on your face.) There’s nothing worse than someone who offers to help and then complains about it later. If you take on a task with a smile but don’t really want to do it, your help is as good as no help at all. When you work without enthusiasm, it’s never your best effort. Plus, don’t say you’ll do something if you have no intention of actually completing the task or you’ll earn a reputation as an unreliable person. Your colleagues are relying on you, so your decision not to follow through impacts their jobs, too.


    3. “Don’t tell anyone I said this, but … ” Anytime you start a sentence with that phrase, you’re asking for one thing: The recipient of your knowledge to, indeed, tell someone you said that. If it’s really a secret, keep it to yourself. Whether you know someone in the office got pregnant by the mail guy or you found out what the boss makes, you’re going to get credit for spreading the news. Plus, if a co-worker is gossiping with you, most likely he or she will gossip about you.


    4. “I haven’t gotten a raise, EVER.” Since most employers base salary increase on productivity (not longevity), asking for a raise based on how long you’ve been with the company or how long it’s been since your last one will tell your boss only that you want more money — not that you deserve it. Instead, prove the raise is merited.


    5. “I’m so … stressed out/busy/sick of working here.” Constant complaints about your workload, stress levels or the company will quickly make you the kind of person who never gets invited to lunch. If you don’t agree with company policies and procedures, address it through official channels or move on.


    6. “I have insert weird, gross or inappropriate medical condition here .” Nobody cares about your aches and pains, the weird fungus on your foot, your infertility woes or the bad gas you got from eating Chinese food last night. To your employer, your constant medical issues make you seem like an expensive, high-risk employee. And to your co-workers, you seem like an attention-seeking hypochondriac.


    7. “Whom did you vote for?” or “What religion are you?” The old adage that you shouldn’t discuss politics or religion is as true today as ever before. People have strong, passionate views on both topics and you may alienate a co-worker or be viewed negatively based on your views in a way that could impact your career.


    8. “I got so trashed last night …” It’s perfectly fine to have fun after work, but don’t brag about your drunken escapades to your boss. The fact that you showed up for work despite still recovering from a massive hangover might be impressive, but it means nothing if you spend the day recounting your activities versus working. Not to mention, sharing that information makes you look unprofessional and unreliable.


    9. “I don’t have time for that.” In case you didn’t realize, everybody’s busy. If your boss asks you to do something, chances are it’s not really an option. If your main concern is accomplishing the task on time, be honest and tell that to your boss. Mention how busy your schedule is but that you can accommodate the request if some other projects are rearranged. You’ll show that you take each assignment seriously and only want to turn in your best work.


    10. “I just bought a $1,000 watch for the boss.” While the spirit of keeping up with the Joneses is alive and well in the workplace, constantly sharing how much you spent on gifts, meals or outings will only have others annoyed. Not only will it seem like you’re bragging, but you don’t want others speculating on the lifestyle you’re living — or if you’re



    End of Article


    Love, light, and peace,

    Mambo Sam