Category: Spells & Rituals

Working with the different phases of the Moon for attraction or banishing candle spellwork has been a time-honored tradition in many magical beliefs. The Moon, Earth’s “nightlight,” has been a feature of legend and lore in regards to making magic and an accomplice of success in spellwork. It is sometimes believed that even a Lunar Eclipse, that occasional period of time when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, is like “extra innings” in Baseball: the effects of the Moon are amplified and any spell has a little bit of extra power to it. Lunar Eclipses occur even when it is cloudy, raining, or snowy outside, but there are other factors such as the different phases of the Moon that should be taken into consideration as you devise your spell-casting strategy.

Phase 1: The New Moon and Spellwork — Fresh Starts and New Beginnings

New Moons are the harbinger of new and fresh situations, and the magic cast during this time can be quite literal in meaning. When the Moon is barely a slight sliver of light in the sky, it is time to look at our “shadow selves,” examine our darkest fears and self-sabotage, and face our “Uglies” and work to change them — or, at the very least, shhh them and allow them to curl up in the corner. Working with your shadow self is acknowledging its existence and looking at the harshness and terrors of the World in an attempt to figure them out so that you can be brutally honest with yourself, and thus honest with others. It is about utilizing those human qualities such as jealousy, clinginess, and manipulation and dispelling that energy in positive ways — to look for a new job, pay attention to your mate, or set a goal to acquire something of value. It is also time to reconfigure or dress up your altar with fresh flowers and offerings.

New Moon time is also excellent for setting goals and intentions for the next month, until the New Moon comes again. Focusing on the bills? Set a financial goal to stick to during the month to earn more or to spend less so that you get your financial house in order. Are you ready to usher in the love of your life? New Moons are excellent to start to manifest a new love. Another good thing about New Moon energy — letting go of the past and making a clean sweep of negative energy.

Phase 2: The Waxing Moon — “Wax ON!”

During the Waxing Moon — the time that the Moon is getting larger and brighter, but not at that mid-point where the Moon starts to appear to be shrinking — sympathetic magic is best cast. This is the time to work on your self-esteem, your image to others, career matters, and love life. Write specific petitions to place under yellow, white, green, or pink candles with ideas of what you want from your lover (or soon to appear love), career, change in your title, or even a complete change of career fields. Writing is second to the tongue in manifesting, and using definitive statements such as “I will,” “I want,” or “I can” is the best method of achieving your goal, as using phrases such as “I wish” or “I hope” allows the essence of Doubt to manifest — and with your love life and especially your career, there is no compromise. Use the catchphrase of “Wax ON!” to remind you to “bring it on” in matters of manifesting your best life.

Phase 3: Full Moon — Coming on Strong!

Full Moons are the stuff that lore and movies are made of. They trigger the Werewolf and illuminate Dracula’s flight. There is something to a Full Moon that is no joke. Ask any police officer or EMT. (Hah, you could go as far as asking a labor and delivery nurse.) Full Moons are full tilt boogie in matters of emotions running wild; everything is emotionally over the edge. Harness this energy and apply it to any spell you want, as the big bright mirror of the moon sees it all and helps out. Many people take this time to charge crystals in glasses of spring water overnight. Another self-energizing spell is to take a clear glass of spring water, cover it with a sheet of paper (to keep the bugs out), and let it sit overnight outside, basking in the Full Moon light. The next day, drink it as you meditate on what changes you want in your life. Full Moon time is for you to realize your New Moon affirmations or petitions, as you are gearing up to start banishing the negative side of your petitions away. For instance, if you are working on that pile of bills, from the New Moon to the Full Moon, you do spellwork to bring in additional opportunities to make money to apply to the bills, then at the Full Moon time, sit and strengthen your resolve to get through the month and get ready to do banishing work ON THOSE SAME BILLS. Yes, intention work and candle spellwork are two sides of the same double-edged sword. Which leads us to…

Phase 4: Waning Moon — “Wax OFF!”

The Waning Moon, as the Moon is shrinking and becoming darker in the sky, is the time to cut ties with ugly situations and banish them to the edges of the Earth, never to return. This does not mean to throw the lover out the front door, but to banish the ‘uglies’ from your relationship — taking advantage of each other, bad grooming, too many late nights with the ‘boys’, etc. It is also the time to banish self-loathing thoughts about yourself — weight gain, insecurities, “f” boy dates, unfair treatment at work, “dem bishes,” etc. This is the time to tell them “Hey, WAX OFF, man!” Time to remove all negative thoughts, essences, and energy keeping you from a life that you desire. You can cut those ties that bind you to negative people, wishing them the best and that the Universe give them what they dished out, because it always does. Take that pile of bills and tell them to go to H-E-double hockey sticks. Deep clean your altar area and sit and meditate on removing all bad out of your life.

There you have it, a schematic on how to work an entire month of Moon phases and incorporate the Moon’s energy into your spellwork and into your life. If you’re working on a long-term project, like a perfect mate, then repeat, repeat, repeat until they appear right before your eyes.

If this time of year has you spooked, here are some tried and true methods of protection.

1. Place a pinch of salt mixed with red and black pepper at the corner of each room and one at the center -– like the five spot on dice. Pray over it while you lay it down. Then follow up with a pinch at each corner of the house and one at each corner of the property. Replace as necessary, about once a week.

2. Dress the front and back doors and the windows once a week with a few drops of Fiery Wall of Protection oil, or any  protection oil from a reputable, old-fashioned spiritual supplier. With oiled fingers, make a tiny X at each corner and at the center.

3. Place mirrors so that anyone who looks into your windows or doorways gets their gaze bounced right back at them. Some people find Mylar on the windows “to keep out sun and heat” also keeps out the evil eye and bad luck.

4. A line of red brick dust across your doorway is another good old way to protect a house. Just touch it up as needed. You can buy it from spiritual suppliers or just smash up a red brick with a hammer. If you’re smashing up a brick for yourself, you can have a good old time cursing out your enemies. And don’t stop with the mean people you know -— make sure to include “all enemies known AND UNKNOWN.”

5. If you’re any good with potted plants, you can keep a cactus in each window where passersby can look in, so if anyone’s giving you the stink-eye it’ll “put their eye out.”  (My Justice Altar stands beside a window, so I like to keep a vase of thistles there.)

6. Evil eye charms -– they look like little blue eyes made of glass –- will keep your keychain or necklace working for you. Hamsa hands, also called Hands of Miriam, are an old Muslim and Jewish charm which many rely on.

7. Dab a little protection oil on a wet washcloth and throw it in the dryer with the rest of the laundry, thereby dressing everybody’s clothes. And don’t forget towels and linens!

Once your cleansing and protection work is done, I recommend regular use of Lucky Mojo’s Lucky 13 oil. It’s originally intended for gambling luck, but since it contains black cat hair and other things thought to be unlucky — to turn the bad luck into good luck — it’s often used by people who need to end a long run of bad luck.

Summer has come to an end and, for many, that means the children are returning to school. Whether your little ones are in their elementary educational phase or are heading off to college, going back to school could be filled with anxious moments for both the student as well as the parents. Here is a Success in Education Candle Spell to start the school year off on a “good foot.”

INGREDIENTS

One  7-day glass “Novena” type vigil candle in Yellow
One  7-day glass “Novena” type vigil candle in White
One  7-day glass “Novena” type vigil candle in Pink
Florida Water
Oil of Crowning Glory and Success, or Success Oil
Oil of Clarity
Oil of Protection
Photo of Child (preferably in a stand alone frame)
Parchment paper (find at any office supply store) for petition of expectations and loving aspirations for child

NOTE: This loving ritual will be performed in front of the child. You can adapt it if you do not wish your child to participate.

Before the ritual, clean candles (both top of wax as well as outer glass cylinder) with Lemon juice or Florida Water. Let dry.

Write on the parchment paper what goals you want your child to achieve this scholastic year and what promise you will deliver to help the child in their success. Place this parchment paper in center of table or altar.

Anoint pink candle with Protection Oil. Anoint yellow candle with Success or Crowning Glory of Success Oil. Anoint white candle with Clarity oil.

Place framed photo of child in center of table or altar and on top of parchment paper. Place pink candle behind the child’s photo. Place white candle to the left of child’s photo (their left, your right). Place yellow candle to the right of the child’s photo (their right, your left).

Bring child into room or altar area (if you want child to participate). Take good amount of Florida Water and rub/anoint child from head to toes with Florida Water to cleanse. Tell them this is to bless them and to guide them this year.

Allow child to stand before altar or table.

Light candles in this procession:

As you light the pink candle FIRST, say: “With love and protection, I send you to learn how to be an ideal world citizen; to comfort the hurting, to support the weak, to learn to stand for what is right with love and compassion, as I give you love and compassion, so that you can reach your greater good.”

As you light the white candle SECOND, say: “With clarity of thought and emotion, I send you strength to discern good from bad, right from wrong, and to be able to see the best in everyone and the best in yourself.”

As you light the yellow candle LAST, say: “With high hopes for success in school that will translate to success as a productive person in the world, I send you wisdom to know truth from lies, fact from fallacy, and education from misdirection and to be able to learn with zeal and a hunger so you can be well prepared to conquer any adversity and misfortune with logical determination.”

Take the child’s hands in yours and together pray Psalm 23 (“The Lord is My Shepherd”) and then say “Amen” three times.

Leave candles to burn in a safe place or in fire-proof containers such as glass Pyrex pie pans or other non-flammable material. Keep from family or pets tipping over. If fire is a concern, snuff out candle (never blow out) and re-light each day when child is attending to their studies. Once finished, you may recycle glass cylinders and repeat ritual until child achieves the scholastic successes you desire for them.

There are plenty of people who can’t make sense of school — as Marshall McLuhan said, “The medium is the message,” and to these folks it seems like the curriculum is boredom, slavery and disrespect.

It doesn’t mean they can’t learn, or that they’re lazy (though they may veg out from sheer discouragement, if the situation is bad enough). They just need to fall in love with learning.

So let’s treat it like any other love spell.

King Solomon Wisdom is the basis of this work. It has a long tradition of use for school success. Spike your child’s grooming products and the laundry supplies with it. Dress schoolbooks and school supplies, and homework papers, too, if you can get hold of them. (You might also want to add some Crown of Success to the mix. Crucible of Courage, too, if discouragement is an issue.)

That much is obvious, but there’s more:

Treat schoolbooks like they want  attention: Dress them with Look Me Over, Attraction and other such formulas.

If you take your child to school, put a little King Solomon Wisdom on the floor of the car, so it gets tracked  all over school. If they wear glasses, dress the frames with the oils.

A simple mojo bag with Solomon’s Seal root, Star Anise, and Five Finger Grass will help anyone think clearly, understand others, and gain a good opinion by proving their competence.

If your child won’t wear a mojo bag, you can put these herbs in a honey jar with a snip of hair and a prayer that his or her curiosity comes alive and that learning becomes easy and fun.

Some of the oldest spells for school success are quite simple: Sleeping with a textbook under one’s pillow, for instance; or standing on it — putting it underfoot — and praying for mastery.

A love of learning will last a lifetime and be the foundation for all success.

I’ve always felt that early Autumn — more than January 1st — is a time for goal setting and planning. Whether we are in school or out of school, it is a great time to think deeply about what we want to achieve or change and to take steps to put us on the right track. 

Take a few moments to think about that you would like to achieve in the months ahead, or about what needs you want to meet before year’s end. You may even want to write it down along with your thoughts and feelings in a journal.

To help believe in yourself and work toward your goals, take a Green Bath to bring in money, opportunity, and success. 

For this bath you will need kosher salt, wintergreen rubbing alcohol, comfrey, and white sage.

Add the salt, alcohol, and comfrey to a tub full of warm water.   

While you are bathing, focus on your desires. Frame them in the positive and use the sage leaves to scrub your body from the feet up to the head.

When you are finished, focus on your problems going down the drain with the used bath water and rinse the tub with cold water.  

This bath goes great with any success candles you wish to set.

In celebrating Juneteenth (June 19, 1865, end of slavery) we want to remember our ancestors with a special ritual that will honor them and empower ourselves. Keep in mind that your ancestors are a part of your First Line of Defense. In other words, they strengthen your circle of Spirit Guides and Protectors. This is a non-traditional altar set-up that can be done by anyone who chooses to strengthen their ancestral bond. This altar can also serve as a point of contact if you are unable to make frequent visits to a grave site. 

Items needed:

1) Clean surface area
2) White Cloth on the bottom
3) Smaller Green Cloth across the top of the White
4) Beautiful Flowers (Reds, Golds, Blues, Orange, Purples, etc.)
5) 1 White candle
6) 1 Glass of water
7) Photo of Ancestor(s) or something that represents them such as a paper that says “ancestors known and unknown” in a picture frame.
8) If you have dirt or remains from the gravesite of your ancestors, you can place it on the altar as well
9) Acacia leaves (used to contact the dead and open the mind to visions)
10) Frankincense
11) Myrrh

After you construct your altar, arranging the items attractively, create an incense with the Acacia leaves, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Light the candle and burn the incense while you recite the following:

God of the Most High, Creator of All things, I thank you for my Ancestors whom I honor and respect. On this day, I pay tribute to all those who have ascended to the afterlife and that have paved the way for positive change. As they watch and assist me and my loved ones that are still on this earthly plane, I give thanks for all things and pray that our bond will be forever strong. By the Powers that be. So mote it be.

Enjoy!

From the sweetened hibiscus tea of years past to the cotton candy syrup of Big Red, celebrating with red drink has always been a special part of Juneteenth picnics and reunions. A little sweetening magic will keep everyone happy at a festive family occasion.

Use Big Red in the following recipes to bring love, joy, and peace to your holiday. If you can’t find Big Red (local mostly to Texas), use Faygo Red, Strawberry Fanta, or Kool-Aid. And if you really want to go all out, try the following recipes!

Big Red Drizzle Icing

Start with a cup of confectioners sugar and add 1 ounce of Big Red. Slowly adjust with more sugar and more soda until you get a nice consistency. Try as a drip frosting for a 7-Up Pound Cake — replacing the 7-Up with Big Red, naturally!

Big Red BBQ Glaze

To begin, you’ll want a Big Red reduction — over low heat, reduce two cans of Big Red to about 2/3 cup. Combine with a spicy vinegar base BBQ sauce (no honey or teriyaki — the Big Red is sweet enough!). Baste your ribs or other meat for the oven, a gas grill, or mesquite charcoal.

Big Red Pudding Pops

Add a big dollop of vanilla pudding to any popsicle mold, then fill to 3/4 full with Big Red (soda will expand as you freeze it). Add sticks and freeze for four hours. Voila, a special treat for the day!

Sweet Freedom Hoodoo Oil

So what makes Big Red Big Red? It’s NOT Strawberry! Big Red is a red cream soda — and you can adapt its recipe for your very own sweetening oil! Combine a few drops each of lemon, orange, and vanilla essential oils, then add to a red-dyed almond oil. Elements of cleansing, love, and road opening merge in a magical way. Let me know what you think!

With spring finally here, symbols of renewal and life are everywhere. The change in season also heralds the time of Easter, where many celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. One of the symbols associated with this joyous holiday is the palm, laid at Jesus’ feet as he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. This article takes a closer look at this powerful tree and its spiritual uses. 


The African oil palm was used extensively for centuries in the spiritual practices of West Africa and South Africa. Though many of the palm fronds we encounter during Easter come from the Mexican Fan and Date palms, the spiritual applications are quite similar.


In the Bible we find this special tree mentioned several times. We find them mentioned as objects of decoration inscribed on the walls of Ezekiel’s temples. We read of the Israelites encountering them after they left Egypt in Exodus. They are mentioned in the Song of Songs and also in Revelation. From these passages we get a sense of how the palm acquired its reputation for victory and nobility. 


So how can you use the palm in spiritual work? For simplicity, we’ll work with the two types most likely seen on Palm Sunday: the Mexican Fan palm (Washingtonia robusta) and the Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera). If you can get the fronds from a church, all the better.


A fan palm can be used to waft the smoke of your incenses while praying to add power to your rituals. Date palm leaves are ideal for this. Verses of Scripture or words of power can be written on the frond segments for an added effect. 


If you like working with the Psalms, Psalm 92 gives an excellent verse to create wealth, stability and success. Write your name out three times on a petition paper and write Psalm 92:12 over it. Add to it a pinch each of cedar wood, pine resin, and frankincense and fold into a packet. Place this in the soil of an indoor palm tree and keep it by your front door. Every week on watering, pray the Psalm over it.


To make a healing ointment, write the name of the afflicted on two fan palm fronds. Fold it into a palm cross and pray over it each day as it dries. When dried completely, burn the leaves to ash. Mix the ash with crushed Balm of Gilead or a healing herb of your choice, and a little palm or Holy oil. Apply to the person directly (or their dollbaby) until conditions improve. 


Even if Easter is not part of your spring practices, there’s elements of this very special time that can help bring renewal, healing and a victorious life.

Spring is here and the ubiquitous sign of all things Easter is the egg. The egg is a symbol in many different beliefs and cultures, as it symbolizes fertility, new life, or new beginnings. When eggs are shared or used in spring and Easter celebrations, the meaning behind it is joy in a new life or the awakening of the Earth and Nature from a long Winter’s nap. Not only do eggs symbolize that we are in a process of developing ourselves spiritually, but it is said that if you dream of eggs, then it may indicate that you are ready to have a child, or you are “birthing” a new area of your life, and changes to achieve that goal will come to pass.

Many spiritual workers also use eggs as symbolic items in ritual. Curanderos, or shamanic native healers from Central and South America, the United States and Mexico, use eggs as a central part of a limpia, or “cleaning/cleansing”, they will perform for you. Limpias are recommended when you have blockages in your life or if you are experiencing a streak of bad luck, negativity, bad karmic situations, phobias, fears, and in some cases, curses that run through a family from generation to generation.

Many use the egg as a source of divination once the spiritual cleansing ritual has been performed. Some crack open the egg into a clear glass of liquid (usually water) and watch as the albumen, or egg white, swirls and form images that can then be interpreted or “read” in a spiritual consultation. This is for the spiritual worker to determine what form of action to take against the negative energy that is affecting the client’s success. Other cleansing rituals instruct you to break the eggs that were rubbed over your body into the toilet to flush them down and away as a symbolic act of breaking a relationship off with another. Duck eggs have also been employed in rituals regarding a woman’s reproductive health and issues with fertility.

Part of the egg is also used in the form of powdered eggshells, called Efun in the African language known as Yoruba. Efun, or cascarilla as it is known in the United States and Latin America, is used to mark a spiritual circle before a ceremony, as an addition to spiritual baths for healing, cleansing, and protection, and is also applied to certain areas of the body considered entry points for malicious spirits to try to gain possession of a person.

Not only the egg is used in hoodoo, conjure, and magic, but also the chicken. Traditional hoodoo practitioners may have “frizzled” chickens in their yard to ‘scratch’ up any items meant to jinx or “cross you up.” The “Frizzle” chicken is a specialty breed with characteristic curled or frizzled plumage. While the frizzle gene can be seen in many breeds, such as the Pekin and Polish, the Frizzle chicken is a distinct breed in a number of European countries and in Australia. 

Chickens are also used in certain traditions to cleanse as well. Depending on the belief system, a chicken will be ritually cleansed with water, prayed over, then passed over the entirety of a person’s body to absorb any negativity or curse. It is then disposed of in the manner which the belief system dictates, and the person is considered cleaned of the condition.

Many cultures and races have their own stories of the use and meaning of eggs in Spring. Investigate and ask the Elders in your family what they know about the meaning of eggs in your family’s heritage. You may find a story about the Faberge eggs or something even more precious to keep — love and sharing with your family and their stories at a blessed time. 

Happy Spring, Easter, and Ostara!

February…the month of Love, Love, wild and wonderful Love! The month of February holds the feast day of the Patron Saint of Love, Valentine, but also is a very early precursor to Spring. The Sun seems to shine a wee bit more than the previous few months and we can see some very early flowering bulbs such as hyacinth, tulips, paperwhite narcissus and even a few early daffodils peeking through the snow and dirt.

February is a perfect time to consider Love Magic since committed couples have entertained throughout the Holidays, and buckled down to finances and early tax preparation in January. Single individuals have created New Year’s resolutions to focus on becoming one with another, and the onset of Spring (and awakened hormones) is spurring you to create the right Love Magic fragrance to seduce and attract that perfect mate.

The addition of certain herbs, roots, and spices to fragranced oils is a time honored tradition in Hoodoo and Conjure. Wise practitioners know the certain magical and physical properties of their botanicals, and add them to oil to create recipes for any desired effect. Here are some common kitchen products that you can add to any fragrance oil to boost their love drawing power!

Almond Oil: A specialty oil that is found in high-end gourmet shops, it can also be purchased in many health foods markets. Almond oil is light and a good base for creating love fragrances. Many cooks use almond essence as a substitute for cherry flavoring in baking.

Rose Flower Water and Orange Blossom Water: Both good bases for the creation of lighter fragrance colognes; just add herbs and spices for alluring scents to attract love. You can find both these food grade waters at specialty food stores in large Asian and Middle Eastern communities or online.  Cinnamon: Cinnamon, a very common spice and a powerhouse of attraction, is a warm spice, meaning that it contains “hot” components to its structure. Cinnamon creates a fuzzy, cuddly feeling when the scent hits the nose. It softly tells the world that the wearer is near and approachable, ready for that small talk that leads to much longer conversations. It allows others to “let down their guard.” This is why real estate agents suggest placing a Pyrex dish of water and cinnamon powder in a low temperature oven, so that the house will be inviting to prospective buyers.

Cardamom: The favored spice of the Orient, cardamom is used in many Middle and Far Eastern dishes. The exotic scent of ground cardamom alerts others that you are worthy of desire and filled with lust. It tantalizes and intrigues others to come closer and find out who IS this exotic individual.

Ginger: Once a connection has been made, Ginger, either in root chips or powdered form, is the next step in creating fragrances to attract love. Ginger is spicy and “hot,” and in Hoodoo is used to “heat things up.” Its sharper aroma perks up the nose, sending an “I’m here and ready for you” message to the prospective paramour.

Catnip: While you cannot find this in your ordinary grocery store, it is available in bulk form in certain natural foods stores and also at the pet store. Catnip is intoxicating and has the drawing power that makes you enticing and as charming as a gentle kitten in one’s hands.

Red Clover: You may find this in the natural foods section in the form of tea, or again at the natural foods store in bulk. Red Clover is traditionally used as a magical herb for earth-shattering intimate moments between you and your loved one.

Rosemary: Traditionally an herb that empowers women, Rosemary is also used to attract faithfulness and aids and assists in a long term relationship or matrimony. It creates the power of satiety, so that your lover does not need to go searching anywhere else for love.

These are just a few of the botanicals that have been used to attract love and available through many fine hoodoo practitioners. When used wisely in combination, these botanicals aid and assist in drawing someone closer to you for a love connection.