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So I recently had a conversation about the representation of Papa Legba in American Horror Story. In the opinion of any of the practicing voudousaints I know (myself included) seeing Papa steal babies and send souls to the underworld was just heartbreaking and so SO inaccurate!!!

Papa Legba, our dear, wonderful, big and benevolent Alegba is loving, playful, helpful anVoodoo.

I must say I loved the incomparable Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau in AHS! I don't think there is another actress alive who could have portrayed the famous Voodoo Queen of New Orleans as well as Angela! She was strong, regal, noble, fierce and compassionate-just as I imagine the real life Madame Laveau would have been! 

So-the AHS depiction of Papa was unfair-but several other popular shows over the past decade or so have depicted hoodoo, voudou and santeria accurately. And in some cases, tv shows have shown that this practice is the deeply spiritual and healing practice we know and love!

In Corazon, a Criminal Minds episode, we see a Santerian priest who helps Dr. Spencer Reid,banish his mysterious headaches. As Spencer works with a team that hunts down serial killers, the priest warns him that his work is causing the problem because of the violent nature of the victim's deaths.

In an episode of Blue Bloods, Detective Danny Reagan visits a Voodoo service where he witnesses a young man being healed of a possession. The same young man is depicted as having dressed in a Baron Samedi costume for Halloween.

In the show Bones, Dr. Temperance Brennan is shown in New Orleans helping identify bodies after the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. She visits a Voodoo shop in the famed French Quarter and encounters a very helpful voudousaint who works as an orderly in the morgue and educates her on voodoo.

And of course I would be remiss if I didn't mention the many references to hoodoo, goopher dust, red brick powder, graveyard dirt, and even our fantastical Baron Samedi, in the Supernatural series. 

If you are interested in seeing some Voodoo come to life on TV for your viewing pleasure I highly recommend any or all of these television episodes:)

Tis the season of grinning jack-o-lanterns glowing in the night, when we fell like a haunting haint or a bone chilling skeleton could creep up behind us at any moment.

As Halloween has grown in popularity, so have the ready made decorations in every store. This was not always so! Years ago, those of us who are mad for this spooky holiday had to really rely on our own creativity to create a memorable display or costume for Halloween.

I, for one, am really a purist when it comes to Halloween. What I mean is-I love the classics. Carved pumpkins, ghosts made from old white sheets or curtains, and all manner of witchy things, like black pointy hats, bubbling cauldrons, and flying brooms.

I get that same sense of satisfaction whenever I work with my spell kits here at home. Our beloved and wonderful Mambo Sam has done much work on my behalf, and I am so thankful for that. But- there really is a feeling I can only get from working magic myself. Whether it is with one of my cosmic voodoo egg kits, a doll, or one of our wonderful 9 day spell kits, there is a gratification there that only true magic can give me.

Just as I love dispersing garlands of leaves, orange and black candles, and spiderweb galore when creating a Halloween atmosphere all by my little self, I do so love to work my own bit of magic.

If you have ever been in doubt that you can work with any of our beautiful kits, I can only give you my own experience…and I say, give it a try! You have so so much to gain. Ayibobo!!

Hello there readers! I hope everyone is having a wonderful spooky season and a fabulous fall. I wanted to talk a little bit about a favorite stone of mine, known as Jet. 

 But I’d like to preface this post about how much of a blessing it is for me to write for you all on this blog. In the consideration of writing this article, as is often the case, I found that there were some messages that I needed to hear very much. I once heard that in order to keep healing oneself that you had to give healing away and in the past several days I have again been shown by the grace of my beloved ancestors, the lwa, and the grace of God that that is indeed true! 

 So-back to what this article’s star, Jet. This shiny and silvery stone  is associated with the root chakra, or the red chakra at the base of your spine, and with Capricorn energy. Jet is extremely grounding and can also be called lignite. It is not a mineral, but it's actually made from fossilized wood. Jet historically is a very popular stone for jewelry, and archaeologist have found jet jewelry dating back to pre-christian 

Britain. Jet jewelry also surged in popularity during the Victorian era, as it was used in mourning jewelry. Mourning culture was, of course, quite popular since Queen Victoria of England went into mourning when she lost her dear husband, Prince Albert and retained the black garb of a widow for the remainder of her life. Popular culture if the day followed suit.  

So why am I writing about jet? Aside from the fact that I have had a burning desire to begin wearing the stone , it goes along with the theme of Halloween and Samhain, not just because of its association with mourning death, but also because it is very good for cleansing and healing grief. What's more is that jet can take feelings of depression and unproductiveness and transform them into strength to move forward and onward. It can take the very things in life that have knocked us down and empower us to utilize our strength to funnel the emotional energy into energy that will fortify us in life’s journey. 

 One thing I really love about wearing jet jewelry is that the stone itself is extremely lightweight. I think that adds to its mystique as well, since when one is grieving, you often feel so very heavy. Lignite jet will actually burn if you set a flame to it, and is quite actually a type of coal. As a lifelong lover of cauldron Magic, and a native of the hard coal region of Pennsylvania, that really is a delightful quirk for me about this amazing gemstone.  

So, if you are looking for a new gemstone to usher in the Halloween season and work magic in the vein that fire destroys and yet also  creates, jet may be just the very gemstone that your little heart has been seeking! 

Hello there! I hope everyone is having a wonderful October!!

The days are getting cooler and the nights are getting longer as we approach Samhain, Halloween and Fet Ghede.

When the dark half if the year arrives, it truly does give me an appreciation for the ancient pagan practices of honoring the forces of nature that allowed humans to survive and thrive.

The sunshine, the rainfall, the growth of crops and the lives of livestock were important because human life literally depended upon having those things!

In the colder months, we nurture plans for the future and hope that growth will return, all will be renewed and that endings make way for rebirths.

In any and every pantheon, from the loa in Haiti, to the Gods and Goddesses in ancient Britain, Egypt, Rome and Scandinavia, natural forces played a huge part in daily living.

In our first world environment we can get so removed from realizing how important the health of the planet truly is. I feel like the preservation of that earth to human connection is a part of why we “witchy” people experience the calling to pursue these old paths to spirit!

We are, all of us, healers in some capacity, striving to do our part to keep the bonds of nature and mankind strong and beautiful.

I was so saddened by the news that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away today at Balmoral Castle. As she was 96 years old, she has been the Queen of England for all of my life. I can still remember waking up early on my family's summer beach vacation to watch Prince Charles marry Diana as the Queen stood by, an ever present fixture on the world stage. 

In the mind of a little girl, these fancy people from across the pond who still lived in a palace and rode in horse drawn carriages were a larger than life tribute to a romanticized bygone Era. The United Kingdom was a faraway place from the movies where fair maidens danced in pretty gowns donning sparkling crowns and handed out floral favors to brave handsome knights.

It's funny that as you grow older and realize that all people are fallible humans, even parents, teachers, and yes, the Queen, I came to appreciate the little quirks I saw in Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth. She loved her corgis so well, I thought, because they had no "royal" expectations of her. Her pups just wanted to love her and be loved back, as all wonderful dogs do. I loved the Queen's Greatest Generation attitude of duty and dignity, and her dry, thoroughly English sense of humor when I watched clips of her. 

I still hope to make it to visit jolly old England one day, and I am sorry I never got the chance to catch a glimpse of England's longest ruling monarch with my own eyes. But her lifetime of service to her people will be the stuff of history now, and she will be remembered always. 

May Queen Elizabeth's family find solace and peace during this time of profound worldwide grief and keep their memories of her as mother, grandmother and great granny forever close to their hearts.

For my part, Queen Elizabeth II will always remain a proud and beautiful figure of 20th and 21st Century mythology, and a stalwart reminder that in life, the most sage advice is, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, keep calm and carry on.