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So recently Sister Bridget held a voodoo veve'workshop. If you have the time, I would highly recommend attending the next one!

In the workshop we took an in depth look at the veve', or voodoo symbol of Papa Alegba!

As you may know, Papa is our gatekeeper to the spiritual realm. I heard lots of really cool observations about Papa's veve'. For me, I see his cane, and I see a wrought iron scroll pattern, much like a fence or gate you might see around an old home or cemetary.  Very apt for this spirit who is THE keeper of the keys to reaching out to les Lois!!

Another great observation I heard was that part of Papa's veve' looks like a pineapple. In the days when many men went out to sea for extended voyages, the pineapple became associated with welcome because returning seafarers would place a pineapple on a fence post outside their homes. It signalled that the man of the house was present and it was proper to call on the family.

I always wondered why Papa seems to favor a little pineapple jelly jar I use in voodoo services for his water glass!

If you would like to check out this super informational workshop it is going to be posted on youtube. Our lovely Mambo Sam makes an appearance during the lesson and it really opened my eyes to just how intricate and intimate voodoo veve's are. 

Well it is finally Autumn in Pennsylvania and although we are being deluged wuth rain, I am super excited that fall is at last here.

I have always loved the idea of the balance of the Autumn equinox, equal parts day and night, and the questions it beings up in my life.

For example, my penchant to work through lunchtime, or before I have breakfast, or until I am so famished that the first fast, usually bad for me food I see when I finally DO stop looks like dinner.

But lately I HAVE been making sure I stop no matter how  busy I am to make time to eat. And ya jniw what? The world didn't stop spinning. I feel alot better, no blood sugar crash, and I am alot nicer when I don't allow myself to get hangry.

Balance is not just about food for me, either. It's about work vs relaxation, sleep vs awake, even positive messages vs negative. The world has been a scary place the past couple of years and we are constantly bombarded with bad news. So, I have culled my social media to things that are happy, such as a cat page, a page about the Green man, and a few carefully chosen groups that are all about positive growth and messages. It really has done alot to balance the bad vs good in my active awake brain and my subconscious.

So, in this season of balance, I am looking forward to fostering some new healthy habits to balance oit my life-body mind and spirit. Happy Mabon everyone! 

Recwntly I got hooked on a reality show. Now, I pride myself on not buying into reaality tv. Except for cooking shows, I usually get annoyed with the drama. But I got hooked in-of all things-Naked and Afraid. Not because I wanted to see nude men in my tv or changed my mind about drama. It was really because the locations are wild, such as the Amazon Rain Forest, or the African savannah. But a surprising thing came out of my new obsession.

I have always known that an attitude of gratitude is important. But watching people literally not have the clothes or shoes on their backs while sleeping on the insect covered ground in a swamp with no clean water or food really opened my eyes to the million little things I take for granted or even complain about.

Is this now going to cure me of my dislike of reality tv? Lol…not likely…but my little binge watch truly had more profound effects than I would ever have believed possible. It reminded me just how lucky I am every day. 

So I have been having a bit of an identity crises lately. You know, I was never one of those "popular" kids during my adolescence. I wore alot of black, didn't like the same music as my peers and tended to befriend fellow oddballs because I felt so different myself. 

During adulthood, that kind of feeling is suppossed to fall away. And it did. Well at least some of it anyway. Still, I struggle with other humans. It's not that I don't relate to them…it is the sneaking feeling that they don't relate to me. 

And then enter the advent of social media. And people who have friend requested me. Many whom I knew way back when but never really knew. Folks I have worked with at various jobs, neighbors, family of friends I have met over the years. 

And still, I often get the feeling that I am just present on some people's facebook lists to provide an audience and be one of a collection of likes. Very few friends like or comment on my posts (to be clear, I post very little and it is never really personal stuff). And sometimes I still find myself feeling a little left out-like no matter what i do I don't feel "popular" and I wonder if people like me. 

But then the wisdom I have come by honestly in life kicks in. I remember the things I value in life. My close friends, my family, my spirituality. Those people that did not not and have not fallen away through dark days of loss, grief, illness and personal and professional loss. 

And I realize-these are the people who consistently like, love or comment on my stuff. And as for the rest of the folks-and I mean no harm-but I can honestly ask myself-how much do I like them? As in-is anything going to change in my life because they did not comment on my facebook post or like my meme?  And I know my answer. So, I am spending less time on social media these days. And qorrying less about who likes me and more about what do i like that I see. I am leaving the rest. And I think I will be better fo it.

In Service, 

Khouzhan Morgan

Here in Pa the weather is cooling down. I am not complaining-Fall is the season I wait for all year and I can never  get enough of the chilly crisp mornings, the cool evenings just cold enough for a blanket or sweater, and the beautiful foliage of the trees.

I am most relaxed in this season, as if I can finally exhale and smile. Maybe it's the healing work I've been doing, but the change of season is most welcome.

I will be glad to get back in the kitchen again, which I strenuously avoid in the muggy heat of the summer.

Autumn always inspires me to create. It reminds me of who I was last year, who I am as a result of the work I have done and also been blessed to receive through the prayers and counsel of others,  especially Sister Bridget and Mambo Sam. And it also reminds me of who I aspire to be. It makes me feel ok about being a work in progress, as we all are, and lets me settle into the peace of enjoying the process. Ayibobo! 

1. Any service made with a good heart and pure intention is acceptable.

2. It is not necessary to spend alot of money to make a voudou service. Just a glass of cool water and some lovely words can be a service!

3. The spirits do want to help you! You can speak plainly and not make your requests super formal. Good manners are appreciated, but aside from that, the lwa really are listening.

4. Don't second guess your guidance. If you feel like you got a message or feeling, be confident that you did!

5. The lwa will also send you signs. Songs, animals, flora and fauna, or many other things can seeve as signs that the spirits are working on yoir spells. Believe them!

6. Nothing bad will happen if you make a mistake. The lwa are benevolent beings and not malicious in any way.

7. The lwa love animals, and children. So if your dog eats an offering or your little tyke spills your glass of water or your cat walks right through your altar set up, the spirits understand! I had a little yorkie who went nuts any time I made service to Papa Alegba!

8. Treat the lwa just as you would a friend. Be kind, welcoming and open. The rewards will be many.

9. The lwa love music, so don't shy away from playing them songs, playing music on an instrument or even  singing for them! 

10. Above all, take the pressure off and have fun getting to know the beautiful, magical apirits of voudou. They are here, ready and willing to listen and help! 

Recently, I saw a meme on social media that truly resonated with me. It said something to the effect of "almost everything can be fixed if it is unplugged for awhile-even you."

It was a very timely bit of wisdom because due to a sidden health crises I was forced to really cut down to the bare minimum of activities in my life for a while.

Doing this made me stop and think about just how often I chide myself for not doing more, doing "better" or doing it all.

Slowing down also made me painfully aware of how often I try to double and triple task. As if taking the time to be mindful about things is just  a wasted opportunity to get more done.

It brought me back to years ago when I was speaking with a friend who had spent time in a Buddhist Monastery. I recalled him describing how he was tasked once with picking up pine needles in the forest. A futile and never ending job for certain! But the idea was that the process was the task-not the result.

So I am trying, really and truly, to inject more mindfulness into my life. To stay in the here and now and bot be so caught up with being in a rush, beating myself up and giving credence to my inner critic.

It has been difficult, and yet, there is a zen beauty in focusing only on each task at hand. I have to remind myself often to focus, to slow down, to remember that this is what I need to be doing for the good of my physical health.

And you know-I feel like the psychological and spiritual benefits of this slow down might be a latent benefit of this new process-or maybe, just maybe-the true and genuine reason for it.

In Service,

Khouzhan Morgan

So… August. The last real month of summer, the first tawny hints of fall in the sunshine that fades just a bit every day. I see little hints of autumn, like back to school posts on social media, Lughnassadhrolls around with its theme of the first harvest, the golden grains of bread, and even the trees of the forest seem to peak. It is as if the earth knows the wheel is turning, and change is in the air.

August truly is one of my favorite times of year, because the light and breezy relaxation of summer kind of mingles with the busy, bountiful, expectant fall about to emerge. For me, it's like trying to pick a favorite child. I love them both, and they both have a vibrant beauty and an amazing energy. 

What season would you choose? 

In service, 

Khouzhan Morgan

So, lately I have been doing some work on myself. I mean-we are always works in progress but I have been working in some particularly deep issues that are super uncomfortable and kind of, well-yucky.

I will likely never be able to express how much my practice if voodoo has heloed and healed me in this lifetime.

And I tend to go all in-I wear stones associated with things I am working on, do energy work, reading, etc.  And one thing I have noticed is that as I delve deeper into looking at things, I tend to want to work deeper into my voodoo practice and try different things and sometimes things that intimidate me a little or ALOT!!

It reminds me of being in certain Wicca circles that worked with darker or more intimidating deities as a 20 something. Sometimes I could not be very effective because, quite frankly, I was a little afraid.

But as I work on myself I notice that the energies I want or even need get deeper. I went from wearing rose quartz, to craving stones with a darker vibration, like apache tear, to rid myself and process through the dark, the onto golden healer as if to lift that vibration up. Until finally I crave the stones from the oldest, most ancient parts of the earth like smoky quartz from the himalayas.

I can only want these stones because I am ready for them. And being ready for them took some time and effort until I was ready. I HAVE TO BE READY.

And so it is, I see this sometimes with cases where an HD seems to be processing slowly, days and weeks may creep by. And it may be some things your HD needs to work through that is slowing up the work a bit.

But I think too we need to look inside and be sure we are ready as well! Maybe you are afraid to be happy because you grew up with parents who stayed unhappily married. Maybe you are afraid that your morning grumpiness, your habit of eating cookies in bed, or even that extra few quarantine pounds is gonna ruin the deal for you and your hd when you finally get together. And sometimes you have to work through an issue so it does not have the power to break you, or the relationship.

So I guess my moral, if I have one is-don't give up on your case just because it is running a little long or slow. Don't give up on your HD just because he or she needs to work through some tough issues in order to be with you. But most importantly, under any circumstances don't give up on yourself. Don't cheat yourself out of opportunities to become better, clearer, stronger and more the YOU that can only be revealed with time and effort. You are so deserving of it!

In service,

Khouzhan Morgan

So I have recently had several discussions with people about what to do with things that are "left over" from doing spellwork.

One thing I often encourage clients to do is to use oils in whatever way they can. Doing love work? Wear some attraction oil as a little perfume, dab it on a plain candle if your HD is coming over, or id you can, put that oil somewhere where he or she will touch it!

Burn a cone of incense from your cosmic voodoo love egg or voodoo deluxe love doll when your HD is stopping by. Doing money work? Put some of that money drawing oil on your wallet, or wear some to work if you are hooing to get that promotion.

A very wise Mambo once said " a little magic is hetter than no magic at all" and these "little" things can add up and really add to your success in any case. Plus-you are using magical things you already have, therefore getting lotsa bang for your buck and you are already familiar with the energy of the product! Try it and see!

In Service,

Khouzhan Morgan