Tag: voodoo

  • 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

  • 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

  • #MotivationMonday

    MM5 (2)

  • #MotivationMonday

    Mm88

  • Day to Remember.

    911remember

     

     

  • The Famous Red Mummy Candle!

    The Famous Red Mummy Power candle magick kit.

    Redmummytrio

     

    This kit is used particularly to help gain control over a situation. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean trying to control the person in question. However, PROPERLY DIRECTED control can be very useful. This candle is especially useful if you are feeling helpless and out of communication in your situation. This candle can be used to help facillitate contact with your heart's desire, i.e., "controlling" the situation so that you run into each other, or that s/he suddenly thinks of a reason why s/he needs to contact you. It can also be used to help control an interfering party to get out of the situation. 

    Candles are located here and the candle burning service is located here. 

  • Happy Birthday, Marie Laveau!

    MLBD

  • Cousin Azacca!

    Azacca

     

    Hail to our dear Cousin Azacca (Azaka, Azaca)!

    Sometimes considered one of the simplest lwa, he brings a good nature and warmth into life. He is syncretized with the Catholic saint, St. Isidore the Laborer, sometimes called St. Isidore the Farmer. This is not be be confused with St. Isidore of Seville — this is a different person altogether! This makes perfect sense as St. Isidore was a simple farmer, and his feast day is May 15! 

    Since Azacca is one to make all things grow, this May feast day is a perfect time to honor him. He is such a good natured and easy going lwa, he is always considered one of the family, hence the "cousin" moniker. He is, of course, the lwa of agriculture, farming, all things to do with planting and growing. He is a wonderfully hard worker, a peasant, nothing sophisticated about him. I always consider Azacca sort of an everyman. He loves good profit, good girls, and good food! 

    He doesn't care much for "city folks" and is extremely down to earth and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty with honest work. He will have little to do with anyone with a pompous or condescending attitude. Azacca appears barefooted, in denim overalls, carries a straw bag, wears a big straw hat, and is rarely seen without his pipe and smoking tobacco.  He should serve as a reminder of our roots and our dependency on this earth for our very survival!  He is the ultimate conservationist living off the gifts of nature.

    He loves a good song and has a penchant for the being the town gossip. He is often the quiet observer, taking in all the doings around him, saving the knowledge for later when he can use it to his best advantage. Azacca knows who is who in the zoo! He generally will have all the info on who is dating whom, who is trying to swindle whom, and all the details that people sometimes try to hide! When possessing someone, it is not unusual to have him start telling everyone's secrets! Luckily for those who have something to hide, his voice is gravely and rough and he is somewhat hard to understand.  However, if you suspect someone is keeping a secret from you, do a service to Azacca and ask him to reveal that secret to you and watch what happens.

    He can, however, be very suspicious and does not always seem to want to give his favors easily. If you motivation for calling upon him is less than honest, he may refuse you.  However, usually he can be won over with some white rum and a plate of boiled corn. For the most part, he is a good-natured lwa. He is entertaining when he appears at ceremonies, singing you songs about how he would he would rather take charity than steal, all the while "stealing" everything he can get his hands own, usually while he is dancing in his unique fashion! These things are then returned to the distracted owners with everyone having a good laugh at his humorous antics.

    He usually will be found in a corner of any party where there is food, voraciously eating his food, looking with suspicion at anyone who might eye his plate. He is a greedy eater and drinker with little in the way of table manners. But this is easily forgiven because of his good nature and good humor.

    He is also is generally seen as the brother of Ghede. Author Bob Corbert writes, "There are interesting similarities between the sophisticated Ghede and the more bumbling Azacca, as though a younger less sophisticated brother were imitating a more secure older brother. Like Ghede, Zaka loves his food. But, unlike Ghede, he is rude and voracious in his eating habits, often running away to hide with him food and eat it quickly."

    As the lwa of agriculture and plant life, it is natural that Azacca is also an herbal healer. He is said to carry his healing herbs in his djakout (a straw shoulder bag) and is often called upon when there is sickness in a family. In Louisiana, animal fat candles are burned for him and bread is offered to him when someone is ill.  He is said to sop up the illness with the bread from the melted fat from the candles and eat it, thus curing the patient! 

    We here at Spellmaker.com call upon Azacca in many ways. We call upon him to "grow" things for us, even though they may not be considered the usual way to call on our Cousin! We call upon him to grow love between two people, to help people "grow" their finances, etc. He has always responded well to these petitions and we certainly can suggest that it is a wonderful way to broaden this powerful lwa's scope in your life! Look at your goals from the perspective of wanting them to grow to be big, beautiful plants and call upon Azacca to help you make that happen. 

    Of course, it probably goes without saying that he is also particularly wonderful to call upon if you are planting this spring. Pour a little rum into the ground around your garden and ask Azacca to help that garden grow! We make a mixture of corn and boiled peanuts and spread it around our garden for him. We just leave it there to mix with the soil and help the plants grow better.

    No matter what you are trying to grow in your life, May 15 is the perfect day to offer a feast to Azacca! Set up a small altar using his colors and offerings: A piece of denim makes the perfect altar cloth for him, yellow and green candles, a container of dirt, small gardening tools, etc. Spend some time thinking of what plants need nurturing in your life garden and ask Azacca to nourish them and help them grow! Ask him to renew and rejuvenate any wilting plants and cut out all the weeds!

    Azacca Stats: 
    Feast Day: May 15
    Saint Syncretization: St. Isidore the Farmer
    Colors: Green, yellow, brown – earthy colors.
    Foods: Avocados, corn, peanuts, beans and rice, strong coffee that is highly sweetened with sugar, yams, sugar cane and cane syrup (pour it all over his food and he will love you for it!), heavy breads, coconuts and coconut candy.
    Drink: Light or white rum (kleren).
    Offerings: The above food and drink, a straw bag, a straw hat, pipe with pipe tobacco, small gardening tools. We usually put a container of rich earth, something like nice potting soil, on an altar to him. Later on, put that dirt in your garden!  Azacca and your plants will reward you.

    In Service, 

    Mambo Samantha Corfield 

  • Love Potion #9 – Recipe!

    Lovepotion92009

     

    At: http://www.spellmaker.com/potion9.htm

     Love Potion #9

     * 9 oz. sweet red wine (or use cherry soda, cherry Kool-Aid or cherry juice for non-alcoholics)

     * 9 basil leaves

     * 9 red rose petals

     * 9 cloves

     * 9 apple seeds

     * 9 drops vanilla extract

     * 9 drops strawberry juice

     * 9 drops apple juice

     * 1 ginseng root, cut into 9 equal pieces (or use 3 powdered ginseng capsules)

    You also need:

    * 9 pink votive candles

    * Cheesecloth

    * Wooden Spoon

    * airtight contaner to hold the potion (big enough for at least 10oz fluid)

    By the light of 9 pink votive candles, put these nine ingredients into a cauldron on the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month of the year. Stir the potion nine times with a wooden spoon, each time reciting the following magickal incantation:

     LET THE ONE WHO DRINKS THIS WINE

     SHOWER ME WITH LOVE DIVINE.

     SWEET LOVE POTION NUMBER NINE

     MAKE HIS/HER LOVE FOREVER MINE.

     Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it  simmer for nine minutes. Remove the cauldron from the heat and allow the  potion  to cool off. Blow nine times upon the potion, bless it in the names of  The nine love goddesses: Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Hathor, Nephthys,  Aphrodite, Venus, Freya, Arianrhod.

     And then strain it through a cheesecloth into a clean container.  Cover and refrigerate it untill you are ready to serve it to the man  or woman from whom you desire love and affection.

    **(Do not  allow anyone other than your beloved to look at, touch, or drink the love potion.)

    ~~

    A word of warning: This potion is extremely potent and should be used  with caution. Its results have been reported to be very intense, long-

     lasting, and often difficult to control or reverse. So please be absolutely  sure before you give it to an intended lover that he or she is the right

     one for you and vice versa. 

     

     WARNING: Webmistress accepts no responsibility for effects or consequences of casting spells found on this Website. Cast spells responsibly.

     

  • Papa Legba!

     

     

    PAPA LEGBA

    Legbaveve

    Article by Mambo Samantha Corfield

    Our dear Papa Legba (Papa Alegba in New Orleans Voodoo) is probably one of the most popular lwa (Vodou spirits) ever.  His ability to open doors, smooth roads, and in general help us get things done is legendary!  He can create possibilities, help you choose the right path in your life, and bring order to chaos!  Personally, I call on him whenever I am lost (which is often, I have no sense of direction) and even when I need a parking space.  🙂

    While he has many aspects or "personalities", his major function in both Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo, is to be the intermediary between the other lwa and humanity. His presence at the spiritual crossroads will give or deny permission to speak and interact the lwa. (Although I have to say,  I don't really recall him ever denying permission, though I suppose he would if he felt it was necessary!)  He is invoked in spell work and ritual using many analogies:  To open the gate, to open the door, to lift the veil, etc., between our human world and the spiritual world. He is always the first and last spirit invoked in any ceremony, because his permission is needed for communication between us and the lwa.  He opens and closes the doorway. 

    One of his most remarkable traits is that he is known to speak, understand, and translate all languages.  Through him you may speak to the lwa in any language.  If the lwa you are speaking to doesn't understand your language, Papa Legba will translate for you!  Just ask him!

    Papa Legba can also facilitate communication between yourself and someone with whom you are having difficulties being understood.  Let's say that you are using, for instance, our Red Male Image Candle kit to communicate some loving ideas to "Johnny".   Now you know Johnny pretty darned well and know that he doesn't always accept new ideas readily.  Simply call on Papa Legba to "translate" your petition words into words that Johnny will understand.  Calling on Papa Legba for a task like this is extremely easy.  Just talk to him:  "Papa Alegba, please translate for me.  Help Johnny understand what I want him to understand."   It is just that simple.  You don't have to even be extremely clear in what you need from Papa Alegba.  After all he is the "universal translator" – he KNOWS what you are talking about even if you aren't quite sure.

    He is such a fun character:  Often portrayed as a kindly old man, he is funny, loving, silly, and known to be a trickster.  Some people believe that he purposely plays tricks on people malvolently.  I have never found this to be true of those who serve him and those who call on him for help!  Perhaps some of his "tricks" are misinterpreted.  I believe, however, that many times people think something is attributed to Legba that wasn't him at all, but just happenstance.  At any rate, he is extremely helpful and powerful in Vodou magick and in all my years of working with him, he has never played any kind of trick on me that was mean or hateful. 

    Papa loves certain items that you should have if you desire to serve him:   A crutch or baton or walking cane; three pennies; a silver whistle (like coaches use); small toys; keys of any kind (don't throw your old keys away – give them to Papa); a straw knapsack or some kind of straw bag; a straw hat and, of course, a pipe with tobacco and a bottle of rum!  If you are setting up an altar for Papa, you want to have as many of these items as possible.  His altar cloth should be red and white or red and black or red/white/black.  He is traditionally served on Mondays.  Offerings can include rum, cigars, red beans and rice, plantains, smoked fish, chicken, and candy.  Haitian tradition includes goats and black roosters, but we aren't too likely to have those kinds of offerings here and he understands that – stick to the basics and he will be happy!  Dogs are sacred to him.  If you have a dog, s/he will usually show interest when you are calling upon Papa!  Many clients have told me that their dogs went a little bit crazy when Papa was called upon; a sure sign that he is around. 

    In Africa, his counterpart, Eshu, is a god of prophecy and taught people how to interpret oracles and readings (corresponding with the "translator" aspect of Papa).  Often he will appear as an old man on a crutch or with a cane, wearing a broad brimmed straw hat and smoking a pipe, or sprinkling water.  Because of his position as 'gate-keeper' between the worlds of the living and Les Mysteres he is often identified with Saint Peter who holds a comparable position in Catholic tradition and, of course, is depicted holding keys. . But he is also depicted in Haiti and New Orleans as St. Lazarus, or St Anthony of Padua. Using Catholic Saint candles to honor Papa Alegba is perfectly acceptable.  

    So, however you serve Papa, doing so is always a rewarding and fun experience.  Try it!