Lately I seem to be getting lots of questions about how to contact deceased loved ones. For those of you that don't already know, honoring our ancestors is an extremely important part of New Orleans voudou.

To be honest, I wish it was more customary in American culture to acknowledge the presence of our dearly departed loved ones period. Ancestor service is a huge part of life in many places, such as Mexico, where Dios de la Meurtos or Day of the Dead is the norm each November, or Japan, where family shrines dating back centuries, are kept sacred by the each younger generation.

Speaking to your ancestors can be as simple as just talking to them about life, and ackowledging that their spirit is still with you. It can be polishing a table that belonged to your grandmother and now graces your home, leaving flowers on your Aunt Ella's grave, or making your dad's favorite pie recipe.

You can build a little shrine of your own with pictures, mementos, and even foods, beverages or items they enjoyed in life, such as cigars etc. and spend some time remeniscing or asking for your ancestors help or guidance on a particular matter.

There is nothing wrong or bad about doing this. Our loved ones remain beloved for the rest of our lives, ever living in our DNA and our hearts.

So I guess my 2 cents for today is this; If you would like to speak to your dear family members after death, it does not have to be something spooky, creepy or evil. It can be enourmously comforting, immensely helpful and to be certain, truly magical, on your journey through this thing we call life.

"To understand the living, you've gotta commune with the dead." – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

In Service,

Khouzhan Morgan

                          

 Marie Laveau; A figure of fame, pop culture and the stuff of legend to people who visit New Orleans. Her tomb in St. Louis Cemetary #1 draws thousands of visitors to the Big Easy. She has been immortalized in song, shows and artwork. But who was this woman behind all the mystery?

Marie Laveau,also known as The Widow Paris, after her first husband departed on a sea voyage but never returned, or Marie Glapion,after she remarried, was in life a woman with an immoveable faith, a charitable soul, and the smarts of a hustler. She was a hairdresser by trade and served as a midwife, healer and also a nurse to yellow fever victims in the French Quarter during outbreaks. Marie was also known to pray long into the night with prisoners condemned to death before their execution.

But of course her most famous incarnation was that of a voodoo priestess. She led annual rites on June 23rd, or St. John’s Eve on the shores of Lake Ponchartrain and Sunday afternoon services for those of the voodoo faith in Congo Square. Marie would advise clients who needed her counsel and magical intervention in her home on St. Ann St. (Much like our dear Mambo Sam does for spellmaker.com clients!)

Laveau is still a prominent figure in New Orleans culture,and has a dedicated shrine at the New Orleans Healing Center where people also make requests for the voodoo queen’s intercession for problems. To ask for Marie Laveau’s assistance, it is customary to draw 3 red x’s (red likely being an homage to the red brick dust used to inscribe the wishes on her tomb, which Is no longer allowed) and the X because Laveau was said to sign her name this way),knock 3 times and leave an offering of some sort. Money,flowers,candy or an item of significance to the wisher are all acceptable offerings of thanks when she grants your request. 

Spellmaker.com offers you a unique way to invite Madame Marie’s help into your home with the Marie Laveau House Blessing kit. If you like there is also a free spell where you can see the actual photograph of Marie Laveau’s final resting place and make a wish on the voodoo queen’s tomb. 

In researching Marie Laveau for this article, I was inspired not just by her legendary skill as a voodoo practitioner and Spiritual Godmother to her many children. I was also very moved by her great faith (evidenced by the fact that she ministered to the sick with only the Parish Priest of St. Louis Cathedral during epidemics) and strength. Many credit Marie Laveau with the melding of Catholic Saints and the lwa of Haitian voodoo to give us the New Orleans Voodoo practice we have today. To be certain, her legacy and spirit live on today in the hearts of many. I wish you much love and many blessings if you choose to explore her life and legend. I truly hope you feel as touched by her iconic presence as much as I have been! Ayibobo!

 

      “ That the birds of worry fly above your head-this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair-this you can prevent” -Chinese Proverb

                                        

Hello there and thanks for allowing me another opportunity to share my thoughts! Oh worry-it has has been one of the most passionate pastimes in my life. So today I’m going to talk to you a little bit about it and some things I hope you will take the heart .I am an intrinsically anxious person. As a lifelong klutz I try to make sure I take every possible precaution to prevent me from falling or cutting myself or creating some other type of havoc (like catching my altar on fire) .Didn’t really see that one coming though. Thankfully I was able to put the fire out with no injury to self or property and I don’t recommend sprinkling Florida water on the open flame of a candle. 

I have obsessed over everything from finances to my jobs to my love life-and the thing is I realized that throughout the course of my life so many things were not changed by my anxiety or my worry. As a matter of fact I’m certain that I have choked the magic I worked so hard to create many many times through my tendency to obsessively think about it. 

Now- I really like to fancy myself a person of deep faith. I know there were certain spiritual things I was meant to do in this lifetime and so many circumstances have led me to this path I currently walk. 

I once heard that faith is the opposite of fear. And what is fear? It is imagining something that has not happened ye or nay never happen.  It is  worrying constantly  that  what I have done  in fact did nothing  and just didn’t . If you look in the spellmaker.com archives there is actually a wonderful article by the late great sister Candelaria about how there are really only two emotions -love and fear. I read this article years ago, but it has always inspired me. I tried to remember in my moments of greatest doubt that I can choose to approach and think about life with either love or fear. Sometimes the fear wins. But sometimes in those shining moments of clarity the love comes out on top and I can let go of a situation and its outcome and let things unfold. I don’t need to micromanage every single thing that seems to be happening to either help or hinder me in the situation. For me this is one of the greatest blessings in life. We are so very fortunate  to have the lwa to assist us. Our spirits and our dedicated spellmaker.com family is another. 

For me I know that if I’ve done the work and put my petitions out there those spirits will work out a way to help me that in a fashion that is also  meant for my greatest good. 

So many times situations have worked out after I’ve done a spell. Whether it was due to a nine-day kit, a session with the cosmic voodoo eggs or even a service, so many times problems have worked out in ways that I could never have possibly imagined. Things may not always work out in the way I wanted initially but still events unfold that will allow me  to understand why  things happened and things turned out even better. 

 There is one thing I know for absolute certain; for me, never trying and  not bothering to ask would be my greatest failure. When people lie on their deathbeds they usually regret the things that they didn’t do or the words that they never said. For me that regret would be the greatest tragedy. I came into this world fighting-and I always tell myself that I will only go out that same way. 

So I guess my point is this,really; You can do the work and you can worry less. Asking for something and trying your best really are two things that are well within your control. As for the rest, we have these wonderful gentle the benevolent  spirits who are willing to listen to our petitions and work on our behalf. And you have our wonderful Mambo Sam, Parran Matt, Sister Bridget and spellmaker family to guide you, support you and root for you every step of the way.

In service,

Khouzhan Morgann

 

So about those berries… 

Okay hear me out… I know I posted all poetic and stuff about strawberries and I DO love me some fresh summer strawberries. But this year I'm really diggin the blueberries. Oh and the watermelon…. Ok AND the corn. 

Like alot of you, there are foods that just scream summer to me.  Foods we maybe picked fresh, helped make (champion corn shucker here) or even caught (for all you avid fishermen out there). 

The organic and slow food movement that is so popular right now makes me grateful for this. I am glad that we are reminded that food does not come from a can, a box, or a freezer bag. Food comes from the ground, the trees and the life that bustles around us. 

And although I am eternally grateful for convenience there really is something to be said for knowing those tomatoes came from Aunt Doris's garden or that those zucchini were picked by that rosie cheeked old farmer at the outdoor market. 

Some of these things bring back memories of departed loved ones, or summers spent with childhood friends. 

Sun tea reminds me of my dear Nan's porch on a warm July evening, instilling the knowledge that the beautiful summer sunshine can brew better than any teapot or kettle. Cucumbers remind me of my Grammy and the rows of empty jars washed until they sparkled in the sunlight, waiting to be used for canning so we would have pickles all winter long. 

I guess what it boils down to is this- the bounty of summer reminds me that Mother Earth has ancient, nourishing, sacred roots that lovingly nurture our place in this world… and so do I. 

In Service, 

Khouzhan Morgan

 

Wow I cannot believe it's alread July! Time soon for my annual solar return and more importantly the month we celebrate the wonderful spirit General Ogoun!

Those of you who have worked with some of our products are likely familiar with this wonderful powerhouse of a lwa. The July 4th holiday, with its theme of Independence, fireworks and American flags lets me feel his presence in everything. 

Ogoun's love of flags, the color red, and energy of David v Goliath change seems to be everywhere right now. 

Just a reminder that Ogoun can be called on for immediate protection from physical harm and when you desire great change in a magical situation. That is why you will often see the image of a butterfly around Ogoun altars. He is often referred to as Papillion which is French for butterfly!

Ogoun is a great strategist and is above most everything else, a military man. So when I think of our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who keep us safe and keep the banners of freedom flying all around the globe, I always ask Ogoun to be with them❤️🤍💙.

Happy July, General Ogoun! Ayibobo! 

Recently we had a heat wave here in Pa. Having this kind of weather for several days in a row generally reduces my itty bitty little house to a stuffy little sauna/toaster oven.

The only indoor respite from this kind of weather is to retreat with a cold drink to a dark room with air conditioning and something fun to watch.

It got me thinking about how many movies and television shows contain magic nowadays. I feel like that wasn't always a thing-I mean-it was always my thing-but a thing for more mainstream stuff? Meh-not so much.

Besides that, seeing voodoo/hoodoo on screen is even more of a rarity. It is often portrayed in a bad light, or in a very exaggerated manner.

Still, sometimes the depictions get it right, or somewhat right, and it just makes my heart sing. It makes me happy that this wonderful practice is getting some acknowledgement and exposure. 

Here are some shows and movies that feature voodoo or voodoo themes, good, bad, or indifferent:

American Horror Story-Coven

The Princess and the Frog

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Angel Heart 

Skeleton Key

Criminal Minds-Corazon

Bones-The Man in the Morgue

Orange is the New Black-various episodes with Gloria's backstory

*This is by no means a complete list but just represents shows and movies that I have personally seen. 

I would love to hear about any other depictions of voodoo on screen at morgan@spellmaker.com

Happy Viewing! 

In Service

Khouzhan Morgan

Skeleton Key

Eve's Bayou

Angel Heart

 

So today is the last "supermoon" of 2021 and will be at peak fullness at about 2:40 PM EST.

As a lifelong lover of all things pink, I love that this moon can often have a glow as if viewed through rose colored glasses. 💕🌚🌹What a fitting way to describe that lunar effect on our emotions and the world at large! 🤗

In fact this moon is known as the strawberry moon, the rose moon, and even the honey mead moon. June always did mean the yummiest berries and the most beautiful and plentiful roses of the year here in the northeast US. 

In the latest edition of collecting random facts I learned a little something today. Mead, a medieval  fermented beverage brewed from honey, was the celebratory beverage of choice for wedding feasts. And that the aptly named post wedding couples getaway the "honeymoon" may very likely have received that name because June is traditionally the month for weddings.

It's a great time to charge divination tools, altar accessories and crystals under the glow of the Summer Solstice sun AND the full moon. 

That being said, I should get to that. All this energy has me kind of inspired. And I suspect I know someone who would love some pretty pink roses😉. 

In service, 

Khouzhan Morgan

 

Here comes the Rain Again

At last the glory of summertime is upon us with her long languishing sunny days and her warm nights that brazenly hum with inviting expectation. But today we have cool rain.

I never lament dreary days in the summer. I love the energy of a thunderstorm, the way the downpour sounds on the roof, and the peaceful stillness it affords. Nature makes sure that everything outside keeps growing, and inside it allows my imagination to blossom in solitude.

I love to light candles "in case the lights go out" all the while knowing I am just finding an excuse to burn them.

There is magic there, in the rain, in the isolation, the way water washes over everything and makes it clean.

The misty fog hovers along our rural roads like the whispers of a spirit, beckoning us to uncover what is unknown or even  frightening to us.

Indeed, sometimes we are lucky enough to spy a beautiful rainbow, in all her glorious shades, her colors painting the sky in hope and endless possibility.

I try to "catch" rain water for Ayido Wedo, the rainbow serpent and wife of the great Papa Damballah. I truly believe that these great spirits are like the foundation of the Earth herself. Ever present, solid, and quietly supporting us as we surge- unaware through day to day life. I am so very grateful for them. 

What about nature nspires you to  be fanciful, grateful or magical? We love to hear your stories at customerservice@spellmaker.com.

In service and with love and light, 

Khouzhan Morgan

 

 

 

What inspires you when Mother Nature showers us with the waters of life? Does it bring out the magic in you?