Tag: love spells

  • Make an Ancestor Altar Cloth!

    Make an Ancestor Altar Cloth

    Ancestor Cloth
     

    An ancestor altar cloth is something you can make any time of the year, although it can come in particularly handy for Samhain/Fet Ghede, when many people choose to perform ancestor-focused rituals. This project can be as simple or as complex as you like, depending on your time constraints, creativity, and crafting skills.

    You’ll need:

    • A plain white or cream-colored tablecloth, or other piece of fabric
    • Fabric pencil
    • Embroidery floss and hoop, or fabric markers
    • A genealogy of your ancestors

    A few notes here, before you get started. There’s no hard and fast rule about how to do this — it’s a craft idea that is very personalized. Do what works best for you. If you’re handy with a needle and thread, you can embroider the cloth – it will definitely last longer that way. If you’re not confident about your stitching abilities, you can use fine-tipped fabric markers (keep in mind that this option may limit your ability to wash the altar cloth if it gets dirty or stained during ritual).

    As to your genealogy, you can keep it simple if you like, or if you’ve never done any genealogy research. You’ll need the names of your parents, of their parents, their grandparents, and so on. If you want to include your children, you can do that too.

    Start by putting yourself in the center, and writing your name carefully with a lightweight fabric pencil — these wash or brush off easily when you’re done. Branch out, including your parents’ names above you, one on each side. Using lines to connect everyone, gradually add the names of your ancestors. You can even include dates of birth and death, or place names if you have the room.

    It’s best to do all of this in pencil first — or better yet, use Post-It Notes, one for each ancestor’s name – to position people around the cloth. If you know the names of lots of ancestors on one side, but only a few on the other, it can start looking lopsided pretty quickly, unless you’re able to rearrange people (this is why sticky notes are great).

    Once you’ve figured out everyone’s placement, add the names in fabric pencil until you’ve included as many people as you like. If you’re going to embroider the names, work from one side to the other, just to keep things simple — you may even want to do different branches of the family, or different generations, in alternating colors. If you opt to use fabric markers for the final work, be careful! Stitches can always be picked out, but markers are permanent.

    Keep in mind that the very act of creation is a magical one, and you can utilize the crafting of this altar cloth as a ritual in and of itself. Particularly if you're stitching, there's a very meditative aspect to the creative process. After you’ve put everyone’s names on the fabric, use it as an altar cloth for rituals involving ancestor work.

  • St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day!

    Hello!

    Below is a short video about St. Francis. He is quite near and dear to our hearts hear at Spellmaker, due to our love of animals! The video is short but informative! I hope you enjoy it. 

    Love,

    Sister Bridget

    PS – Did you know St. Francis was canonized just TWO years after his passing? Now you do! 

    Fast Facts: St. Francis of Assisi

    • Known For: Patron saint of animals
    • Also Known As: Francesco (or Giovanni) di Pietro di Bernardone
    • Born: c. 1181 in Assisi, Italy
    • Parents: Pietro di Bernardone, Pica de Bourlemont
    • Died: Oct. 3, 1226 in Assisi, Italy
    • Notable Quote: "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

     

    Prayer to Saint Francis of Assisi, for Our Pets:

    Good St. Francis, you loved all of God's creatures. To you they were your brothers and sisters. Help us to follow your example of treating every living thing with kindness. St. Francis, Patron Saint of animals, watch over my pet and keep my companion safe and healthy. Amen.

     

     

  • Librans and the Wolf!

    Librawolf

  • New Moon in Libra!

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  • Librans and the Raven!

    Libraraven

  • Sunflower Magick!

    Sunflowermagick

  • Erzulie Freda! By Mambo Sam

    Erzulie Freda

    Image of Erzulie Freda Dahomey by Saundra Elise Ziyatdinov.  

    Erzulie Freda is the Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo goddess of love. A gracious, luxurious, and refined lwa (Vodou Spirit), Erzulie epitomizes femininity, love, passion, and is called upon for favors regarding one's love affairs. However, Erzulie Freda is love of every kind; she is not limited to romance. She is often misrepresented as petulant and never being able to be satisfied. This does a gross injustice to this beautiful spirit. The fact that she often dissolves into tears is misinterpreted as her being dissatisified with what is given to her. That is not it at all; she dissolves into tears because she knows that no amount of material wealth can make up for the lack of love and spirituality in one's life. So even though she is often served in luxury, upon appearance at Vodou rituals, she is often wracked with tears eventually. It is important to remember, also, that she cries so that you won't have to. Another misrepresentation of Erzulie is that she is flighty and unable to stay with one man. This misinformation comes from the knowledge of her three marriages; once to Ogoun, once to Agwe, and once to Papa Legba (a belief in our New Orleans tradition; in Haitian tradition her third husband is Damballah). The three gold rings that most Erzulie altars have on them represent these three marriages. However, we must remember that these three marriages probably took place over lifetimes. It is sometimes hard for us to conceive of the many lives of the lwa and how long they have been with us!  

    Serving Erzulie Freda

    As with most lwa, she is a complex spirit having lived many lifetimes to evolve to her present state. She, of course, has happy, wonderful, flirty appearances, also. She does love refined things and wants to drink the finest champagne and eat the finest foods (especially delicious sweets and chocolates). She loves frilly, girly things and dresses in beautiful clothes of silk and lace. She loves diamonds and gold..anything that represents wealth and finery! She knows these things do not make up for the sorrows of life, but enjoying these things eases the pain for many of us! Erzulie is no different!

    Many people are afraid to do service to Erzulie Freda if they don't have much money. That is such an injustice to her! Yes, she loves refined and expensive things; that is not in question. However, just because you don't have a lot of money does not mean you should not serve her. We are firm believers that any service done with a good heart and doing the best you can will be well received. 
     

    Luxury can be a state of mind and an environment can be luxurious without being expensive. So first start thinking of the space that you will be doing your service in. If you purchased the one-day ritual kit or plan on doing the ritual as written on the website make whatever area you will be doing your service in as lovely as you can! Even if you temporarily use one of your own bed sheets as an altar cloth, that is okay because you can spray your perfume on it and make it something special. Set the mood for the ritual with any candles you have and put on romantic music or tune your radio to a soft rock or other type of station that plays the kind of music that would set the mood for romance. Do you have jewelry? You can put it on the altar and "give" it to Erzulie! That doesn't mean you can't wear it! Of course you can, but if you dedicate it to her, then you have given her something wonderful. Do you have old magazines lying around? Cut out pictures of beautiful things – jewelry, clothes, perfume, etc. Make a simple collage out of them and put them on your altar for her!

    In Service, 

    Mambo Sam

  • Apple Magick!

    With Mabon just around the corner, now is a perfect time for apple picking and to incorporate this wonderful bounty into your magick! 

    Apple Magic

    Apple tree orchard during the harvest.
    Photography René Bosch / Getty Images

    Because of its associations with the harvest, the apple is perfect for Mabon magic. 

    To include apples in your magical spells and rituals, consider adding them to your fall altars, placing them around your home in bowls and baskets, or cooking some of your favorite apple dishes to serve at mealtimes. Use the wood from an apple tree to craft runes, Ogham staves, or a wand or staff. If you're lucky enough to have a bit of land for planting, consider adding a few apple trees to your property; they'll start producing fruit when they're a few years old, and you can take advantage of their magic all year long!

    Apples have always been popular tools for foretelling the future. There are a number of traditional methods in folklore for seeing who one's lover might be.

    • Peel the apple, keeping the peel in one long piece. When the peel comes off, drop it on the floor. The letter it forms is the first initial of your true love's name.
    • Wait until midnight and cut an apple into nine pieces. Take the pieces into a dark room with a mirror (either hanging on the wall or a hand-held one will do). At midnight, begin eating the pieces of apple while looking into the mirror. When you get to the ninth piece, throw it over your shoulder. The face of your lover should appear in the mirror.
    • If a girl has more than one potential lover, peel an apple and pull out the seeds. Place a wet seed on your cheek for each boyfriend. The last one left stuck to the skin represents the suitor who is the true love.

    Source: learnreligions.com

    learnreligions.com/the-magical-energy-of-apples-2562299

  • Learning/Study Charms!

    Learnngstudy3-1

    These charms are hand made by myself, then consecrated by both Mambo Sam and Parran Matt (That is right – they are triple consecrated!) to help the wearer get the most of their study time and prepare their best for test taking. Also helpful for test taking anxiety! They are easy to obscure – wear them on the included necklace around your neck under your shirt, or put them in the included carry case and keep it in your pocket (Or ladies – perfect to fit inside your bra!) Have it with you while studying at the library and also on test day. A great back to school gift for your favorite student! Only $15.95 BEFORE the sitewide  25% sale discount is applied at checkout! www.spellmaker.com/amulets

     

     

     

  • John the Conqueror Root Bag – History!

    Highjohn (1)

     

    John the conqueror root bag – History

    The best reference for good stories, I think, is Zora Neale Hurston. I think you would enjoy her writings (if you haven't read them in the past)!

    The root itself, named after the slave, John is, of course: High John the Conqueror (ipomoea purga) or "Jalap" and is a mainstay of African American magick, the root of this morning glory is named for a slave who refused to be servile. High John's ability to fool his master inspired many stories; he's considered a representative of African trickster gods.

    Historians say that he was a black slave whose real life has been questioned in detail (some thought is that he was a fictional character developed by slaves to empower other slaves and give them hope). At any rate, real or fictional, the job was well done as he was an inspiration to slaves who wanted to rebel against their masters but could not do so openly. "John" was said to be the son of an African king and although he was a slave he never became subservient. His apparent cleverness at tricking his master supplied a great variet of stories with a very clear moral ending. If he was a real being, he soon acquired some of the characteristics of mythical trickster figures like the Native American Coyote, the African- American Bre'r Rabbit, and the West African deity known variously as Elegua, Legba, and Eshu. He gave — only to take away. He bet — and never lost. He played dumb — but he was never outsmarted. The reputation of High John is so great that, as recorded by the folklorist Harry Middleton Hyatt in the 1930s, just reciting the words "John over John" and "John the Conqueror" is a powerful spell of magical protection against being hoodooed.

    According to Nora Zeale Hurston: "There is a story in which High John tells the people, "What we need is a song." . . . "It ain't here, and it ain't no place I knows of as yet. Us better go hunt around. This has got to be a particular piece of singing." She describes how John got the slaves to leave their bodies behind on the plantation while their souls went searching. They had to "reach inside yourselves and get out all those fine raiments you been toting around with you for the last longest." John brought them "a great black crow. The crow was so big that one wing rested on the morning while the other dusted the evening star." Riding on this crow, the people had many adventures, visited Hell and Heaven, found their song, and returned to the plantation. John told them, "Don't pay what he [Massa] say no mind. You know where you got something finer than this plantation and anything it's got on it, put away. Ain't that funny? Us got all that, and he don't know nothing at all about it. Don't tell him nothing. Nobody don't have to know where us gets our pleasure from."

    And Muddy Waters (and I think someone else, I can't remember) recorded this song:

    MY JOHN THE CONQUER ROOT

    My pistol may snap, my mojo is frail

    But i rub my root, my luck will never fail

    When i rub my root, my John the Conquer root

    Aww, you know there ain't nothin' she can do, Lord,

    I rub my John the Conquer root

    I was accused of murder in the first degree

    The judge's wife cried, "Let the man go free!"

    I was rubbin' my root, my John the Conquer root

    Aww, you know there ain't nothin' she can do, Lord,

    I rub my John the Conquer root

    Oh, i can get in a game, don't have a dime,

    All i have to do is rub my root, i win every time

    When i rub my root, my John the Conquer root

    Aww, you know there ain't nothin' she can do, Lord,

    I rub my John the Conquer root

     

    In Service, 

    Mambo Sam