Tag: voodoo

  • Poem for today.

    …is by Elizabeth Barrett Browning 🙂

    Hope you enjoy!

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

     

    The Sweetest Lives

    The sweetest lives are those to duty wed,

    Whose deeds, both great and small,

    Are close-knit strands of unbroken thread

    Where love ennobles all.

    The world may sound no trumpets, ring no bells;

    The book of life the shining record tells.

    The love shall chant its own beatitudes

    After its own life working.

    A child’s kiss

    Set on thy sighing lips shall make thee glad;

    A sick man helped by thee shall make thee strong;

    Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense

    Of service which thous renderest.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Carnelian — maybe it’s an Ogoun thing?

    I have always been attracted to Carnelian.  I have quite a few pieces, and have received it as gifts as well. Maybe it’s an Ogoun thing?

    Carnelian is a powerful Sacral Chakra Stone. It increases personal power and physical energy, gives courage, and boosts creativity and compassion. Wearing or carrying Carnelian can enhance vitality and will, providing higher energy needed when approaching new projects and dreams. Ancient Warriors wore Carnelian around their neck for courage and physical power to conquer their enemies.  Mentally, Carnelian focuses analytical capabilities, and aids meditation by allowing deeper concentration and keeping out interrupting thoughts. Carnelian is useful in making decisions by keeping us focused on the here and now and not on past experiences. Carnelian calms anger and grounds you in reality, while keeping you aware of unconditional Love permeating the Universe. Carnelian encourages initiative and determination. Carnelian lends the courage needed to help overcome difficulties and defend a cause. It promotes idealism, a sense of community and pragmatism.  Carnelian is a crystal of action, overcoming procrastination or indecision. It encourages one to stop waiting for dreams to appear, and stimulates the courage to embrace change and Divine Will to begin to make one's highest goals happen. On the home front, Carnelian is useful to keep on hand, especially for the do-it-yourselfer, to prevent accidents. It is also used to protect the home from theft, fire and storm damage.

    Cleanse and charge your Carnelian by holding it under running water, and then placing it in the sun.

    Love

    Sister Bridget

      Carnelian

  • Twelve Acts of Kindness.

    Hey!

    Happy Monday to you all!

    Random Acts is a non-profit organization that does many good things thoughout the year. Right now they have a blog series going called Twelve Acts of Kindness. Today is day three, I think. Their suggestions are simple, yet uplifting!

    Day one – Clean Up Your Act : Know of somewhere that needs a little kindness in your area? Volunteer to help with neighborhood clean up or just pick up litter around the office or your school. A little work can go a long way and you never know who you might inspire to lend a hand.

    Day two- Don't Forget Yourself : During the holiday season, it can be easy to forget to be kind to a very important person – you. December tends to be a busy month, and sometimes we overcommit to projects, parties or obligations to others. Sometimes we just aren’t feeling up to all of the festivities; we’re missing a special someone, can’t be with everyone we would like to spend time with, or feel like the end of the year comes with pressure we just don’t need. Even at other times of year, it can be hard to remember to take time out for yourself, and tough to remember that everyone sometimes feels down or just not good enough. Do what you love for others. Love knitting? Or maybe you’re a crazy good artist? Start a project that will help others like knitting blankets for a homeless shelter or offering to donate your awesome painting skills to a charity that helps children at risk. It’s a great way to have fun while spreading kindness. Helping others actually can make you feel better; it’s a great treat to realize how much you mean to others, and just how much you have to offer. At the same time, don’t always feel like you have to go out of your comfort zone – sometimes it’s an act of kindness to yourself to stay in and watch a so-good-it’s-bad movie, curl up with one of your favorite books while drinking some cocoa, or recapture your childhood and play with some paper dolls.

    Day three – Spend Time with a Senior : All of us, someday, will be old. Ancient. Into our dotage. But for many elderly people, this is the start to just the latest chapter in their lives. A time for thrilling experiences with new people. For others, it can be very lonely. This year, why not spend some time listening to the incredible wisdom of senior citizens. Volunteer to paint their nails, bring home a load of groceries, or make a special surprise like balloon animals or a new knit blanket. Just visiting will let those special seniors in your life know you care. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy visiting!

    It is not too late to join in the Kindness 🙂 Bookmark Random Acts and check back! Even if you can not make one of these idea, perhaps you will find inspiration to make up an act of kindness all your own. Keep it simple. The simplest ideas can have the most meaning!

    Get out there and be kind!

    Love

    Sister Bridget

  • Punching the alien.

    Insp_diplomacy_preview

    Happy Monday, everyone!

     I hope that each and every one of you had a great weekend.  :-)  Okay so besides the obvious humor of the picture above, it really did get me thinking a lot about how some of my clients approach their spell work.  Nice folks have a tendency to do "nice" spell work – I never see them punch the alien in the face! Unfortunately, that doesn't always get the best result.  Sometimes the alien needs a punch in the face. Now of course I am speaking metaphorically, but all the time I get Heart's Desire letters that are so sweetly and nicely written but I don't feel the fire, the passion, the real HEART'S DESIRE.  In other words, sometimes I think your petitions are written just too politely.

    Now that is not to say that a politely, nicely-written petition won't work, but every once in awhile, if your case is a difficult one, you might need to punch the alien in the face!  Get stronger in your wording, don't be afraid to shout from the spiritual rooftops what you want, how you want it, and when you want it.

    Polite always has a place in this world.  However, sometimes, you need to be stronger, get grittier, and down and dirty and tell us how you really feel. 😉

    Love,light, and peace,
    Mambo Samantha Corfield
    www.spellmaker.com

  • Angel Stones – Angelite !

    Hello,

    I seem to be in the mood for things that come out of the ground 🙂 Maybe its because the weather is turning, and I am spending more time indoors. I do find myself looking more and more at my ever growing box of crystals. I have had an affinity for a select few lately so I looked them up. Turns out they are each a stone said to be connected with the Angels and the spirit realm (of course!)  The first stone is a very pretty blue known as Angelite :

    Angelite is a stone of Intuition, Communication, and the Higher Self. It works best with the upper chakras (Throat, Third Eye and Crown).  Looking at the lovely blue color, we can see its connection to and support of the throat chakra right off J Angelite is very good at helping people speak their truth, when they would otherwise have difficulty. It can help the wearer facilitate communication in relationships and groups, and can be very helpful in both the workplace and personal settings
    in this regard. Also, as the name suggests, Angelite has a connection to the higher realms, facilitating angelic and spiritual communication. For these reasons, Angelite is sometimes referred to as the “Messenger Stone”. Holding a piece in your hand during meditation can help both increase and clarify the guidance that is received.

    It is a very soothing, peaceful, and uplifting stone quite helpful during times of transition. It is a stone that carries great compassion within it. This quality makes it a wonderful stone to aid the carrier with issues of forgiveness.  Angelite is one of a group of higher vibrational crystals that can assist in smoothing the way for vibrational shifts, awareness and ascension. Angelite heals and clears the Throat, Third-Eye, and Crown Chakra, and sends energy to the Soul Star Chakra that lies 6 inches above the head.  The higher vibrations sent to these chakras allows for greater spiritual growth, enhanced intuition, and clearer communication.  Angelite’s ability to unblock the upper chakras clears the area to allow for the influx of higher vibrational information coming into the auric field, to be processed by the lower chakras. Angelite  can be used during meditation to enhance the meditative state, and to clarify issues in one's current situations as they arise.  By depositing inspiration from guides, guardians and/or angels into the chakras, Angelite allows them to be integrated into the whole, even after one is done working with the stone. 

    Angelite is a fairly soft and porous stone. Be careful not to get it too wet (do not submerge it in water). Avoid the use of salt water or strong chemicals for cleansing. If you feel the need to cleanse the stone, leave it out in the moonlight on a bright night, or wrap it in a sturdy cloth and bury it in the Earth for 24 hours.

    Tomorrow…..Seraphinite!

    Love

    Sister Bridget

     

     

     

     

     

  • Earthing.

    Have you ever heard of “Earthing”? Up until 2 days ago, I had not. I happened to notice a link to an article as I scrolled through my Twitter feed.  Turns out, it is basically the practice of connecting with the Earth, and feeling better.  Sounds pretty simple, right? Admittedly, when time and weather permit, and I get to spend time in my back yard, sitting on the ground under my favorite tree, I do feel happier, calmer, more relaxed. And naps under said tree, well, they are the best. I got to wondering if there might be any evidence to back up the article I had read, and I did uncover some interesting reading. I tried to provide links to full text articles, so you could read for yourselves if you so desired.

    This is a link to a pdf of an introductory article on Earthing  co-authored by Dr Oschman.

    http://74.63.154.231/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/understanding_earthing.pdf The conclusions

    ”Earthing reduces every measure of stress we have used in our studies.”

    ’The most important health benefit of Earthing is providing the body with abundant electrons from the Earth. The scientific research and hypotheses related to Earthing point to a major impact on the inflammatory process as a result of this electron transfer.”

    “We do not describe Earthing as a "treatment" or a "cure" for any disease or disorder. Instead, it can be said without any equivocation that the human body evolved in contact with the Earth and needs to maintain this natural contact in order to function properly.”

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3576907/ Links to a study which you can read for free on Pub Med Central that states there “were measurable decreases in cardiovascular risk factors after 2 hours of grounding.” However, for you science minded folks, the sample size for this study was 10.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15650465 “Results indicate that grounding the human body to earth ("earthing") during sleep reduces night-time levels of cortisol and resynchronizes cortisol hormone secretion more in alignment with the natural 24-hour circadian rhythm profile. Changes were most apparent in females. Furthermore, subjective reporting indicates that grounding the human body to earth during sleep improves sleep and reduces pain and stress.”

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/ A pretty comprehensive review article on the subject, not terribly long and the full text is available for free. The conclusion —  “The research done to date supports the concept that grounding or Earthing the human body may be an essential element in the health equation along with sunshine, clean air and water, nutritious food, and physical activity.”

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21856083 “Earthing generates immediate changes in electroencephalography (EEG), surface electromyography (SEMG), and somato-sensory evoked potentials …..Earthing significantly influences on the electrical activity of the brain. “

    I think the statement that struck me most was this:

    “the human body evolved in contact with the Earth and needs to maintain this natural contact in order to function properly”

    Seems so simple and so true.  Naturally, there is a commercial element that has cropped up to help “promote” this practice. Earthing shoes, sheets, chairs, matts, etc. To me, adding more “stuff” seems to defeat the whole idea, which seems pretty simple – Go out and connect with the Earth!  

    I am glad that I clicked on that link in my Twitter feed J I think I know a little more than I did a couple days ago. And the next time I nap under my favorite tree, I will feel a little less guilty when I wake up.

    Love

    Sister Bridget

  • Stop the Nit-Picking! 😉

    Happy Friday, everyone!
    It is no surprise to our seasoned clients here at Spellmaker that we are major proponents of recommending that people take as many "real-world" measures as they can to repair their relationships as they do "magickal-world" measures. 🙂

    So many times clients will tell us that they are fighting all the time with their intended, or they don't see eye-to-eye, or they are conflicts in their relationship that they just don't seem to be able to resolve. I really liked this particular article that I am linking you to because while it technically has to do with tips for a good marriage, I could easily see how this article could be applied in part to a relationship you want to have or even to a non-romantic relationship.

    A lot of articles and so-called relationship gurus seem to think that everyone has been born with some semblance of knowledge of how to sustain a relationship. From what Parran Matt and I see everyday, that just isn't so. Some people need to start from square one and rethink how they approach relationships. I see people making the same mistakes over and over again with little insight into their own role in making a happy relationship.

    No one article is going to solve someone's relationship problems, but education about what makes a happy relationship can help you in both the real world and the magickal world. 😉 It can help you to know what you want and how to keep it when you get it!

    Feel free to comment on the article!

    WebMd Guide Article – click here!

    Love,light, and peace,
    Mambo Samantha Corfield
    www.spellmaker.com

  • Love and Anger revisited.

    Hello!

    As I find myself busy with thoughts of the holidays, I somehow keep coming back upon this article I wrote a couple years back. That means someone, out there right now needs to see this! So, as I am off to peel some potatoes,  I offer you this read 🙂

    Love

    Mambo

     

    Are You in Love and Angry?

    Greetings everyone!  As you all know, of course, working with clients who are doing our love spells gives me a great opportunity to be privileged enough to see the inner workings of many, many relationships. One thing that I see a LOT of are people who are actually very angry with the person upon whom they are doing love spell work!!  🙂

    Now believe me I am not saying that their anger is unwarranted!  Quite often they have been dumped in a very unceremonious way, getting hurt, remaining hurt, feeling no resolution for their hurt.  Of course they are angry!  Many times they are in contact with this person and still get hurt by them and thus the anger grows.  But here they are trying to do love spell work which by its very nature requires that you approach it from a standpoint of unconditional and pure love!   How on earth does one resolve that?

    Many people have chosen to do white candle magick kits and the Milk of Damballah(tm) white bath to help them release and remove the anger so that they may continue on with their love spell work feeling cleansed of that anger.  But what about that underlying, I-have-tried-and-I-just-can't-get-rid-of-this anger? You probably know and feel deep down inside that the anger your are feeling towards the person you are doing love spell work on is somehow degrading that very work!  In fact, sometimes it gets so bad in people that they get on an endless cycle of being angry with their HD (Heart's Desire) and then being angry with themselves for being angry with their HD and then being angry that they are angry! 

    Sometimes this can just go on and on especially if they are in contact with the HD who continues to needle them with either a new relationship, or continued criticism, or other negative behaviors.  Just because you love them doesn't mean you are not affected by their negative behaviors!  Your resentment of these behaviors can have a definite negative effect on your love spell work!

    If you feel you are in this situation then I do encourage you to acknowledge what is happening and then take as many measures as necessary to help alleviate as much of the anger as you can.  Look, we are human, and most of us are not Mother Teresa, so you can only do the best you can!  The abovementioned white candle magick and Milk of Damballah white bath are definitely the standard tools for removing negativity and certainly do work for quite a number of people.  The Pink Bubble Meditation is helpful to use to release that anger and send it away from you!

    Another choice is doing the Baron's Purple Bath. One of the many uses of the Baron's Purple Bath is to take negative things away and bury them!  Along with that, you can ask that your own love for this person be resurrected to its full feeling once that anger is taken and buried away. In this way, you will again have the FULL POWER of your love to put into your spell work.  Remember, the great and powerful Baron Samedi is not just the lwa of death, but of life – burying and resurrecting are his forte'.  Asking him to bury your anger, hurt, and resentment and replace them with fresh and invigorated love, forgiveness, and positivity is sure to not only make you feel better, but to strengthen the power of your love spell work!

    Love, Mambo Sam

     

  • A Thankful Time.

    Hello Dear Ones,

    I would like to take a moment this morning, before we each get caught up in holiday prep chaos,  to say how thankful I am for all of my wonderful friends who make my days a true joy!  I am grateful for each and every one of you! Please enjoy your holiday, and your time with friends and loved ones.  Take time to savor the small things about the big holiday. Those are the things great memories are made of.

    Much Love,

    Mambo Sam

    The Thanksgivings

      by Harriet Maxwell Converse
    Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer

    We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here

              to praise Him.

    We thank Him that He has created men and women, and ordered

              that these beings shall always be living to multiply the earth.

    We thank Him for making the earth and giving these beings its products

              to live on.

    We thank Him for the water that comes out of the earth and runs

              for our lands.

    We thank Him for all the animals on the earth.

    We thank Him for certain timbers that grow and have fluids coming

              from them for us all.

    We thank Him for the branches of the trees that grow shadows

              for our shelter.

    We thank Him for the beings that come from the west, the thunder

              and lightning that water the earth.

    We thank Him for the light which we call our oldest brother, the sun

              that works for our good.

    We thank Him for all the fruits that grow on the trees and vines.

    We thank Him for his goodness in making the forests, and thank

              all its trees.

    We thank Him for the darkness that gives us rest, and for the kind Being

              of the darkness that gives us light, the moon.

    We thank Him for the bright spots in the skies that give us signs,

              the stars.

    We give Him thanks for our supporters, who had charge of our harvests.

    We give thanks that the voice of the Great Spirit can still be heard

              through the words of Ga-ne-o-di-o.

    We thank the Great Spirit that we have the privilege of this pleasant

              occasion.

    We give thanks for the persons who can sing the Great Spirit's music,

              and hope they will be privileged to continue in his faith.

    We thank the Great Spirit for all the persons who perform the ceremonies

              on this occasion.

     

     

     

  • Take a Break

    We are always so serious when we petition Papa Legba. We ask him to 'open the path', 'help me communicate with…', etc.  Why not take just one session with Papa and ask him to bring you some roll-around-on-the-floor, knee-slapping, laugh-until-you-can't-breathe FUN?  What a great stress reliever that is!

    Love and Light – and Fun,

    Khouzhan Echo