Tag: vodou
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Fet Ghede/Ancestor service!
If anyone would like to share images of their Fet Ghede/Ancestor service, we would love to see them! We may even share them (with permission and anonymity, of course!) in our next newsletter! If you would like to share, please send to Faith at customerservice@spellmaker.com
Ayibobo! -
Crafting with Mambo! Apple Garland!
Welcome to
Crafting with Mambo!
An apple garland is really easy to make. You can make it any length you wish, and it makes your house smell good in the process – and magical apples are everywhere by the time Fet Ghede rolls around. You'll need several large apples of any color, lemon juice, dried bay leaves, scraps of fabric, some pine cones, cinnamon sticks, raffia, and florist's wire.
Start by peeling and coring the apples, and then slicing them horizontally into circles about 3/8" thick. Fill a bowl with the lemon juice, and place your apple slices in it. Allow them to soak for about ten minutes – this prevents them from turning brown and discolored. Remove the apple slices from the bowl and pat them dry with a paper towel. Bake your apples for about six hours at 200 degrees. If you like, before baking you can dust them with a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Once your apples are completely dried out, the fun really begins. Using the florist's wire, begin stringing the apples. The wire should go straight through the apples, but if you have trouble, make a hole with a toothpick. Between every few apple slices, string some bay, and add a pine cone here and there. You can also alternate the apples and bay leaves with bows made from your fabric scraps.
Make your garland as long or as short as you like – or until your kids get bored – and then knot each end around a cinnamon stick. Tie a piece of raffia around the ends as well, and then drape your garland on your wall, across your mantel, or over your front door.
Another variation on the apple garland is to make a smaller length and then bend it into a circle, forming an apple wreath. Tie a piece of fabric – or bend a leftover bit of florist's wire – to the top so you can hang it on a nail or hook.
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Fet Ghede and the Fiery Power of the Phoenix!
Fet Ghede and the Fiery Power of the Phoenix
By: Khouzhan Morgan“The fire is a symbol of transformation, burning away the old and making way for the new.” ~Unknown
Hi there readers and welcome to the Fet Ghede issue of the Universal Messenger!As we celebrate Halloween, Samhain and the Voodoo New Year, we can take the time to reflect on this last 365 day trip around the sun.
You may wish to look back on this past year; what goals have you achieved? What projects have you gotten underway or completed? If you did not meet some goals, how can you increase your chances of success?
These undertakings can be big or small; the most important thing is that we have an awareness that we can change, grow, and evolve. Take a few moments to reflect on this and realize what an amazing human you truly are! Adulting is hard, but ya know what? Magic can make it better!
If you burn a cauldron, bonfire, or heck even have a fireplace, it is a great time to write things down on a small paper or leaves and burn them, offering prayers of thanks for all the spiritual help you have received towards your undertakings. It is also a great time to decide on some goals for the next leg of the journey and request guidance and assistance in achieving them!
The element of fire both destroys and creates and is such profound symbolism as we light up the night and enter the dark half of the year.
Take out some pictures of friends and family members (of the human and animal variety) and spend some time chatting with those folks. This is a great time of year for divination, and an excellent time for receiving guidance from our deceased loved ones. Pay attention to little “flashes”- like the scent of perfume or a certain food, a familiar sound or song, or even a word or phrase that enters your mind, as that is often our beloved ancestors reaching out to us from beyond the veil. The ancestors are most often more than happy to help us as we continue to navigate our day to day workings. And now, when the veil between worlds is thinnest, it helps us hear those messages from beyond loud and clear.
It is also a great time to honor our passed loved ones with things they enjoyed in life, such as a certain beverage or snack, or whatever treats brought them joy here on earth.
This can be as elaborate as an entire table filled with goodies or just a simple cup of tea with a deceased loved one. Remember it is about connection not perfection!
Just be sure to include some cool fresh water for the spirits to travel through, light a candle in their honor and you are all set! (And yes it sure can be the light if your jack o lantern if you like!)
Remember, Mambo Sam and Sister Bridget are both available for readings to help clarify any questions you might have along your magical or mundane journey! I cannot count the number of times my ancestors chimed in during a reading with one of those amazing ladies!
As always, honoring our lineage is the most important thing we can do in the practice of voodoo. We honor who we are and who we will become by honoring where we have come from. We show gratitude for our roots and in turn, we branch out and grow so we can to reach to new heights! And les Lois, our wonderful and benevolent voodoo spirits, are here for it!!
Baron Samedi and his consort Maman Brigitte will be here to escort us when we make the final transition to the other side, and this season is their party! They love offerings of coffee, hot peppers and rum. And although Baron and Maman preside over the cemeteries and departed souls, and can sometimes be a bit rowdy, they are also wise beyond measure and can be counted on for assistance in all things- especially healing, legal and financial matters.
No need to be afraid! Baron and Maman cross easily between life and death. And through so many “deaths” that we experience- of jobs, relationships, and yes, sometimes, those we love-they can then guide us to resurrection.In truth, the most potent lesson I have received from Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte is that although I would experience many deaths, I would also be given graciously many opportunities for rebirth. And like the Phoenix who rises from the ashes, so we too can continue to regenerate our lives and allow our own little lights to shine.
At this sacred and wonderful new beginning we wish you all a fantastic Fet Ghede, a Happy Halloween and Samhain blessings and look forward to helping your inner fire burn bright in the coming new year!Ayibobo!
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Happy Halloween!
Hope you all had a Wicked good Halloween!
Love,
Mambo Sam and Parran Matt