Never let the hand you hold, hold you down..

in the past year

Disney stock dropped 45%

Amazon stock dropped 50%

Meta (Facebook's shell company) stock dropped 65%

Bitcoin value dropped 65%

Tesla stock dropped 69%

Queen Of Dusk, Digital Painting

but one thing that really stuck with me was a part where the author speaks with (I believe) a child psychologist, and they talk about sexuality of teenage girls. one thing the psychologist mentions is that, when talking about sex, sexual attraction, etc, girls will frame it in terms of how they look, rather than how they feel when asked about their feelings (emotional and physical): “I feel like I look sexy, I look hot, etc,”. from the onset of experiencing sexuality, etc (which really means, going back to childhood, because girls are really bombarded by objectification from the time they’re tiny), girls are already alienated from their own bodies and sense of what feels good, right, or okay.

A lil powerpoint of book recs!!!

 “Wherever there are Africans, or people of African descent, there is magic.”- Faith Mitchell

 My calling to rootwork is ancestral. However, I unfortunately I have yet to encounter elders in my life to apprentice under on this plane of existence.  Coming up, I didn’t know other people who identified themselves as rootworkers/hoodoos/conjurers etc. Being a scholar (among other identities), my entry point into hoodoo began with books, archives, and scholarly journals. As a result, I was able to garner a wealth of information as to what hoodoo is and isn’t, which recipes (old school hoodoos don’t cast ‘spells’) to use for what, to be able to engage in an intangible mentorship with the elders that came before me. All of these things have informed how I move through the world and grow stronger in my practice.

    As a result of a White spiritual hijacking of African Traditional Religions and Africana Magico-Spiritual practices (i.e. hoodoo), the vast majority of the information about hoodoo on and offline has been authored by white people, so much so that they have become the face of hoodoo (similar to white women and yoga). 

    For those of us who are looking to grow and learn from other Black practitioners, here is a working list of books. This list consists solely of non-fiction texts, however, there is a lot to learn from novels as well, perhaps I’ll create a part two some other time. 

Please hit me up if I am missing anything or if you have a personal connection with these texts, I’d love to be in conversation. 

Many of these mentioned texts can be found online for Free.99. 

Also, sorry this is a long ass post. 

My Personal Favorites:

   1. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms & Practical Rituals - Luisah Teish

 2.  Of Mules & Men- Zora Neale Hurston

3. Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing

4. Mojo Workin: The Old African American Hoodoo System- Katrina Hazzard-Donald

5. Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition- Yvonne P. Chireau

6. Secret Doctors: Ethnomedicine of African Americans by Wonda L. Fontenot ( I think this one might be out of print but much of it can be found online via Google Books) 

Honorable Mention: Tell My Horse- Zora Neale Hurston

 Ok, so this is one of my absolute favorite texts though it doesnt discuss American hoodoo. It focuses on Haitian Voodoo and Jamaican Obeah. However, there is a lot that can be learned from this text and how African magico-spiritual practices are indeed “scientific” as opposed to mere superstition. 

Additional texts that I haven’t gotten to reading yet or are simply not in my favorites (no shade, no tea):

7. Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies - Faith Mitchell

8. 365 Days of Hoodoo: Daily Rootwork, Mojo and Conjuration- Stephanie Rose Bird

9. Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs- Stephanie Rose Bird

10. A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit - Stephanie Rose Bird

11. African American Folk Healing- Stephanie Mitchem

12. Faith, Health, and Healing in African American Life (Religion, Health, and Healing) - Stephanie Mitchem ED. 

13.  God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia - Cornelia Walker Bailey

14. Rootwork: Using the Folk Magick of Black America for Love, Money and Success- Tayannah Lee McQuillar

15. Voodoo & Hoodoo: The Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners- Jim Haskins

a spell to ease the passing of spirits and mourning from their loved ones. 

🌿 gather a clock, a mirror, a window, rosemary and a cloth.

🌿 perform in the house where they lived, if you can, in their room

🌿 cover the mirror, stop the clock, lay it over the covered mirror

🌿 sprinkle rosemary over it, for kind remembrance

🌿 leave it by their window, open the window if you can. 

Hello lovelies!

Losing a family member can be very hard and it can take a lot out of someone both physically and mentally. Over the past few months I have been trying to figure out how to contact those loved ones who meant so much to me and my family but I find that my body and my mind struggles to produce the energy for such spellcraft. I am by no means a master spellcrafter but I hope this spell can help those of you who may also be feeling lost or confused about life or wish to find closer and get answers to unsolved questions. 

What you need:

1 white candle (taper candle/fake candle are my preferences)

Protection Prayer

Divination Prayer

Name of the person you wish to contact

Window (optional)

Photo or Trinket of departed (optional)

Music, crystals, offerings (optional)

Preparation:

Since this is a sleep spell I urge you to use your safe judgement, I have a safe place I can leave the candle burning all night without worry but also I have found that fake candles work just as well! I also do my whole night routine before this spell, including all my night meds. 

What to do:

X - I light my candle or turn on my fake candle, and move on to sound: because of my night terrors sleep in silence and while usually I’ll watch cooking videos at night I do this spell I try to put on visual documentaries - Moving Art on Netflix is a lovely background noise but sometimes I’ll also put on dramas like The Borgias. 

X - Say the protection prayer and make sure to include the family members name in the prayer and call on the gods to guide and help the person to you. 

*Note: Use as much of a name as you can, for example: “I ask for ____, father/mother of ____, grandfather/grandmother of _____, husband/wife of _____ to visit me tonight.” This helps make sure that your invitation is direct as possible as not to allow negative spirits into your home and dreams.

X - Lay down in your bed and close your eyes, begin to talk to your family member and explain the situation that needs clarity, thank them for making the journey and for any advice they decide to give.  Also talk to the gods, and thank them for protecting you and your family member and for guiding them here safely. Since this is a spell about family I reach out to the gods I am devoted to because they are -in a sense of the word- part of my family, however if you would prefer to reachout to gods of travel/protection or gods of divination specifically that is 100% allowed and encouraged!

(This can get emotional, especially for a recent passing, the first time I reached out to my Abuelo I cried for 20 minutes, but it felt good and I knew was just talking to him and he was comforting me even - if I couldn’t hear his voice.)

X - After you explain everything to your family member and the gods, open your eyes again and take a moment to yourself. Make sure you are 100% relaxed and ready for the night and then say the divination spell. Then, if you so choose blow out the candle and head to bed. As you fall asleep try once again to say thank you to the gods and those who have passed for their guidance. 

The Next Day

X - I have found that those how have passed deliver messages in riddles and poems, I recommend writing down what you can remember and figuring out what parts of the dreams can represent aspects of your life.

Important: 

 “Wherever there are Africans, or people of African descent, there is magic.”- Faith Mitchell

 My calling to rootwork is ancestral. However, I unfortunately I have yet to encounter elders in my life to apprentice under on this plane of existence.  Coming up, I didn’t know other people who identified themselves as rootworkers/hoodoos/conjurers etc. Being a scholar (among other identities), my entry point into hoodoo began with books, archives, and scholarly journals. As a result, I was able to garner a wealth of information as to what hoodoo is and isn’t, which recipes (old school hoodoos don’t cast ‘spells’) to use for what, to be able to engage in an intangible mentorship with the elders that came before me. All of these things have informed how I move through the world and grow stronger in my practice.

    As a result of a White spiritual hijacking of African Traditional Religions and Africana Magico-Spiritual practices (i.e. hoodoo), the vast majority of the information about hoodoo on and offline has been authored by white people, so much so that they have become the face of hoodoo (similar to white women and yoga). 

    For those of us who are looking to grow and learn from other Black practitioners, here is a working list of books. This list consists solely of non-fiction texts, however, there is a lot to learn from novels as well, perhaps I’ll create a part two some other time. 

Please hit me up if I am missing anything or if you have a personal connection with these texts, I’d love to be in conversation. 

Many of these mentioned texts can be found online for Free.99. 

Also, sorry this is a long ass post. 

My Personal Favorites:

   1. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms & Practical Rituals - Luisah Teish

 2.  Of Mules & Men- Zora Neale Hurston

3. Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing

4. Mojo Workin: The Old African American Hoodoo System- Katrina Hazzard-Donald

5. Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition- Yvonne P. Chireau

6. Secret Doctors: Ethnomedicine of African Americans by Wonda L. Fontenot ( I think this one might be out of print but much of it can be found online via Google Books) 

Honorable Mention: Tell My Horse- Zora Neale Hurston

 Ok, so this is one of my absolute favorite texts though it doesnt discuss American hoodoo. It focuses on Haitian Voodoo and Jamaican Obeah. However, there is a lot that can be learned from this text and how African magico-spiritual practices are indeed “scientific” as opposed to mere superstition. 

Additional texts that I haven’t gotten to reading yet or are simply not in my favorites (no shade, no tea):

7. Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies - Faith Mitchell

8. 365 Days of Hoodoo: Daily Rootwork, Mojo and Conjuration- Stephanie Rose Bird

9. Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs- Stephanie Rose Bird

10. A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit - Stephanie Rose Bird

11. African American Folk Healing- Stephanie Mitchem

12. Faith, Health, and Healing in African American Life (Religion, Health, and Healing) - Stephanie Mitchem ED. 

13.  God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia - Cornelia Walker Bailey

14. Rootwork: Using the Folk Magick of Black America for Love, Money and Success- Tayannah Lee McQuillar

15. Voodoo & Hoodoo: The Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners- Jim Haskins

Oya, Yoruba orisha of wild storm winds, is the personified tropical hurricane. She has the power to blow away all impurities, leaving a fresh, cleansing atmosphere in her wake–ideal for those who wish to begin a situation completely anew. Oya is also the only orisha who maintains contact and control over the dead; use this ritual following any sort of unsettling ghost contamination. This is a complex full night’s ritual, with an extensive list of ingredients. It simultaneously provides space and personal cleansing.

The spell requires:

Nine ribbons, each in a different color, long enough to go around your waist while you’re sitting, with an additional nine inches spare (choose any colors but be sure to include maroon, purple, and brown)

Nine additional ribbons, each in a different color

Nine small, purple eggplants

One bottle of red wine

A bottle of dark rum

A cigar

Nine coins of any denomination

Wine-colored flowers

White candles

Sea salt

Soak the eggplants in the red wine.

Divide the nine main ribbons into three groups and make a braid from each. You will have three braids.

Braid these three together to form one large fat braided belt.

Tie the additional nine ribbons around the belt so that they will fall around your hips when you wear the belt. Set the belt aside.

Drain and dry the eggplants.

Pierce the top of each eggplant.

Run one ribbon through each and tie each eggplant securely to the braided belt, consciously knotting your desires.

Take a mouthful of the rum and spray it onto the belt.

Light the cigar and blow smoke over the belt, all while petitioning Oya to grant your desire.

Although this part of the spell is most powerful performed in the nude, do whatever is comfortable for you: tie the belt around your waist. Whirl and twirl through your home, visualizing all negativity entering into the eggplants.

When you feel that the cleansing is complete, take off the belt and place it inside a plain brown paper bag, together with nine coins.

Take this package to Oya’s home, the cemetery, and leave it at the gates. This is best done at night. If you can, without attracting undue attention to yourself, rattle and shake the gates. Make your presence known. Tell Oya why you’ve come and what you need.

Return home via a different route.

Light the white candles in the bathroom. Run a tub with warm water and add the sea salt to the water. Bathe and relax.

Put on clean clothes and go to bed in clean, fresh sheets.

May my ancestors continue to guide and protect me

May Elegua open the doors of opportunities and remove obstacles from my path

May Ogun give me courage to overcome my problems and defeat my enemies

May Oshosi bring Justice and Balance to my life

May Orunmila bestow his wisdom upon me

May Obatala bring peace, tranquility and harmony to my life

May Babalu Aye heal my body and soul

May Olokun grant stability to my being

May Yemaya renovate and refresh my life with the powers of her waters

May Chango give me the strength to fight and win my battles

May Oshun fulfil my dreams of love and riches

May Oya bring with her the winds of change and prosperity to my realm,

The fact that a 12-year-old has to take the initiative…

On Sixth Anniversary Of Flint Water Crisis, Flint Still Has No Backup Water Source

Flint, MI–On the sixth anniversary of the Flint water crisis, Flint is again in the midst of a crisis.

Six years after the disastrous switch to the Flint River as a source of drinking water for the city, which led to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease and toxic levels of lead leaching into the water, the city remains in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act for not having a reliable secondary drinking water source.

Mayor Sheldon Neeley sent a stern message to Flint city council Monday to, “finish the job,” referring to the 21-inch diameter, five-and-a-half-mile pipe, that would connect Genesee County’s water system to Flint. The pipe would ensure that should the current system, which pulls Lake Huron water via Detroit, fail, Flint would have a readily available source of water.

As of now, the only backup source the city has are water reservoirs, which would only supply residents with drinkable water for a matter of days. If anything, such as a major line break or any other unpredictable event that could compromise the city’s water, it’s unclear where Flint would go next once the reservoirs run dry. “The results could be catastrophic,” Neeley said.

The city, per federal law, must have a secondary source of water. The proposed project would be paid for by an Obama era bill, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act. The act authorized $100 million in funding for “Flint, Mich., to recover from the lead contamination in its drinking water system.” According to the EPA, $87 million of that money has not been spent.

The proposed backup system was due to be completed in December of 2019 at a cost of $14.7 million in federal funds. On Monday, the council again voted 4 to 4 delaying construction.  A majority vote of six would be needed from the nine-person council to reconsider the contract before they could revisit the project.

Metawork Terminology Series: [ Energy Work ] [ Astral Work ]

These definitions are not put forward as the only possible meanings, they are simply based on my own experiences and personal definitions. Like my other two posts, there are no citations because these definitions are based on my own experiences and may or may not describe the experiences of others.

BASIC SPIRIT TYPES & CLASSES

Spirit - An organized cluster of energy with at least some level of sentience that has an energy body and in most cases also an astral body. Spirits generally do not inhabit physical bodies unless they are possessing an entity with a physical body, are attached to a vessel, or are reborn as a spirit incarnate.

Vessel - A physical container that helps a spirit manifest on the physical plane.

Spirit incarnate - Any living being with a physical body (usually a human being) whose energy and astral bodies would be classified as a non-human spirit. This most frequently occurs as the result of a non-human spirit being reincarnated as a human, which is how the spirit became incarnated in a physical body.

Spirit species - A variety of spirits who all share many common traits in their general appearance, energy signatures, and other features. Spirits of the same species will generally be able to produce offspring that carry most of the same traits as their parent(s).

Class of spirit species - A broad grouping of many spirit species that are interrelated in terms of their energies and morphological features. They may also possibly share cultural, linguistic, political, regional, and other commonalities.

Deities - A class of spirits who are powerful beyond the scope of most other spirits and who have control over forces in a specific area or the entire universe on a macro scale. (friendly reminder: these are all my personal definitions, not universal ones)

Nature spirits - A very broad class of spirit species that relate to the forces of nature. I consider plant spirits, tree spirits, fae spirits, land spirits, and many elemental spirits to all be types of nature spirits.

Fae (faeries) - The faefolk are a sub-class of nature spirits. The many different fae species have a wide diversity of outward appearances, but they are all distinguishable by the common aspects of their energy signatures that every fae species shares. Fae energy is a specific combination of nature and pure magic energy. Some live on Earth’s physical plane while others reside in any of the many different fae realms across numerous astral planes.

Land spirits - A sub-class of nature spirits who are very closely associated with a certain territory and primarily live to protect that land.

Night spirits - A class of spirit species that are aligned with the nighttime. They are often classed as “demons,” but many are actually just various species of nature spirits. Usually but not always quite dangerous.

Parasite - A class of spirit species who are energy feeders and prey on certain entities as their hosts. Often warded and protected against.

Human spirits (ghosts) - The deceased spirit of a human being. All human spirits are a part of one single spirit species.

Ancestral spirits - A class of spirits who are the ancestors of an entity either from that entity’s current lifetime or across other lives. Typically, the terms “ancestral spirits” and “ancestors” refer to a person’s human ancestors from their current lifetime.

Twin flames - Two entities with energy signatures that are identical, almost identical, or so interrelated in some fashion that they clearly are two halves of a whole. Twin flames being reborn during the same lifetime seems to be rare.

SPIRIT WORK

Metawork - The practice and discipline of the three highly interrelated fields of energy work, spirit work, and astral work.

Spirit work - The practice and discipline of sensing, interacting with, or commanding spirits. A sub-field of metawork. This is not necessarily a type of witchcraft, but can be referred to as witchcraft when spirit work is incorporated into someone’s witchcraft practice. Closely associated with hedge craft. Many other types of magical traditions that are not forms of witchcraft also include spirit work.

Ancestor work - The practice and discipline of working with ancestral spirits. A sub-field of spirit work.

Conjuring - The act of bringing a spirit to a specific location. Conjuring encompasses a wide variety of different methods which can range from voluntary such as using a beacon of energy to request a spirit’s presence to involuntary which magically force a spirit to manifest at the target location.

Banishing - The act of sending a spirit away from a certain area (the opposite of conjuring). Banishing techniques can be voluntary such as communicating or negotiating with a spirit for them to leave or involuntary when magical methods are used to forcefully remove the spirit against their will.

Binding - The act of using magical means to control a spirit’s behavior in some way. Binding is frequently used to ensure that a spirit remains connected to a vessel, but it can also be used to keep a spirit in a general location or prevent them from transgressing certain predetermined rules. It not uncommon for binding to be completely consensual between spirits and spirit workers.

Possession -  When a spirit inhabits and/or takes control over a physical body that is usually controlled and inhabited by someone else. To some, this term implies that a spirit with harmful intentions has forced control over a human being, but in many religions, spirit possession is welcomed and invited. Whether or not being possessed by a spirit is a negative thing usually depends a lot on the specific context and the spirit involved.

Spirit adoption (reverse adoption) - When a spirit wishes to become a spirit companion or live and work with a spirit worker and voluntarily chooses to do so. Adoptions are often facilitated by a spirit adoption center or shop.

SPIRIT ROLES

Spirit spouse - A term usually used to describe a human spirit worker’s spouse who is a spirit or a deity.

Spirit companion - Any spirit and spirit worker who have established some kind of meaningful relationship and who wish to use this term to describe that relationship.

Spirit guardian - A spirit who has taken on the role of protecting something or someone. I typically use this term as a generic way of describing a spirit who spends a lot of time and energy looking after a person or another spirit. It is not uncommon for people to have spirit guardian(s), and sometimes a spirit companion may also wish to act as as a guardian.

Thoughtform - Any spirit who was created by a spirit worker through magical means (whether purposefully or accidentally). “Tulpamancy” comes from the Tibetan word tulpa that relates to practices within Vajrayana Buddhism, so this is not a secular spirit work term that is appropriate for general use.

A spell in two parts: a banishment to protect yourself from someone who has hurt you in the past, and a hex to be triggered should they try to breach the boundaries you set up. Created because I have reason to believe that an abuser from my youth has moved to my current city of residence.

THE SET UP

🏮 Perform during the waning phase of the lunar cycle at sunset. A Saturday is preferable.

🏮 You will need: an incense stick (dragon’s blood if possible), salt, black pepper, garlic, thyme, some twine/string/yarn, iron nails, paper and pen, a small offering, water that is preferably from a running source such as a river, bay leaves, nettles.

🏮 You’ll also need a poppet or representation of the wrongdoer you are binding. It can be as simple as a paper cutout with their name on it, or as complex and personal as you’d like.

🏮 As always, adjust and experiment to suit to your own craft, path and situation.

THE SPELL

🏮 Cleanse. Wash your hands thoroughly.  Light the incense. Imagine the smoke creating a protective barrier around yourself.

🏮 Create the poppet or representation of the person you are binding to the hex. Make sure to channel as much of them as you can into this representation, as well as the wrong they’ve done.

🏮 On a separate piece of paper, write a list of your terms. These are the conditions which they must not break, or else the hex will trigger. For example: “They will not look at me.” “They will not speak to me.” “They will not think about me.” “They will not cross me.” Always finish with the final condition: “They will never hurt me again.”

🏮 Take the twine/string and begin reading the conditions of the hex that you wrote aloud whilst tying knots into it. Tie a knot for every condition in order to seal it in as you read it aloud.

🏮 Fold up the list of conditions and tie it to the poppet with the knotted twine. Place the poppet down on a surface and sprinkle a mix of ground up salt, black pepper, garlic and thyme around it in a circle.

🏮 Lay down the iron nails around the poppet so that they “pierce” the circle, points inwards towards the poppet, one for each condition on your list. You can place a charged crystal at the head of each one for additional power if you wish. These are your hexes: you may rub spices or whisper malice into them as you will.

🏮 If it hasn’t already, focus on the binding of the hex until the incense stick goes out, layering up the energy. You may also use this time to focus on cleansing, healing, and moving on from the soon to be banished wrongdoer.

🏮 Lay out the small offering. I would recommend a shotglass of vodka, a egg cup of rice, or a tobacco cigarette. Depending on your path, the preferred offering may be different or an offering may be completely unnecessary.

🏮 Go to sleep. Let your mind be emptied of the one you are binding.

🏮 When the sun rises, the offerings will have served their purpose. Clean them away as appropriate. Then lift the poppet from the circle and dunk it in a jar of the water, followed by each of the nails. Add bay leaves and nettles. If it’s safe, you can detach the list of conditions and burn it instead of dunking it with the poppet.

Non-toxic means it won’t hurt if you /ingest/ a little. It doesn’t mean anything in regards to /Burning/ and then /inhaling/ the vapours and smoke! 

If you want to add sigil magic to your smoke, there’s So Many better ways to go about it.

✨Write or carve the sigil into whatever you’re going to use to light your joint. On your lighter, or carve it into a (natural wax, lead-free wicked) candle.

✨ Write it on a piece of paper, then tie your hemp wick around it, use the wick to light your joint, and then, (in a fire-proof container) let it continue to burn down to the paper with the sigil on it. 

✨Write a sigil on your paper tip, on the inside, where it won’t get hot enough to vaporize.Though I’d still stay far away from inks here, and stick to pencil, or better yet, a natural ink like fruit juice, coffee, wine etc. 

✨trace the sigil into your ground herbs before rolling