spellmakernovitiates

what do to when your spellwork develops tolerance...

...Nothing. You do nothing because that isn't even a real situation.

This was the title of a website page on Voodoo that I read today. You can probably hear me hitting my forehead from where you are reading this. 

And I felt awful for the people that read that and truly believed that to be something that could really happen to their case. Basically it broke down like this:

When you start adjunct work you only needed 1 candle. Then after a while, you needed 2 candles. At the end of the story the main character was up to 24 candles and then he was finally able to reach his goal.

24 candles. 24 CANDLES!! Can you imagine having 24 red mummy candles burning!? Like, do you still use just one incense cone with that many candles? 

But with all kidding aside, I can see how someone would believe that when their spellwork hits a plateau of sorts, their spellwork has built up a tolerance. When work starts to get like this, there ARE a few things you can do when you get to this point.

1. Look at mixing up your petition a bit. Just like anyone else, your HD's higher self can get tired of hearing the same thing over and over and over if it is something really basic and without detail " Johnny loves Susie. Johnny wants to see Susie right now." Put everything you can into it. 
2. Mix up the products that you use. I love using different products to help me reach a goal. Sometimes instead of one long petition, I will write 2 or 3 smaller ones and rotate them every few nights. This is a personal preference though, because sometimes if my petition is too long, I will start to lose focus.
3. Work on something else. There are times when you are pushing for something so hard that you might actually be smothering the work. Try and see if there is another area of your life that you can work on. There is usually always something that needs a little tweak. 
4. Consider doing some service to the lwa and get their advice. This is something that you can do for free, and often times it helps you get clarity
5. Do healing work for yourself. I have found in the past that I can get really frustrated if I have been working on something that is taking longer to come to fruition than I'd like. That is when I always know I need to do some healing work for myself.
6. Get moving. I heard that food is the most abused treatment for depression and exercise is the most underused one. Even if you aren't depressed, getting active always makes a difference. If you can get outside and get 20 minutes of sunshine each day, you will notice your mood changing because you are getting your vitamin D (this should be 20 minutes without sunscreen and exposing as much skin as possible).

What are some ways you can come up with to help when you are feeling stuck?

Love and light,

Khouzhan Delilah

www.spellmaker.com

Oh The Humanity!

I was driving somewhere this weekend. Have you ever considered that, without thinking about it, other cars on the road seem to be these mindless big blobs on the road? They stop, they go, they get in my way, and I get myself into the stream and go along.

I was driving and noticed something on the car in front of me. There were fingermarks in the dust of the hatchback, marks from closing it. Fingers that belonged to a person, the driver. It suddenly made me realize the humanity of the other driver, and that of all the other drivers and their passengers on the road.

There is a saying, and I found an attribution to Barbara Piasecka Johnson, heiress to Johnson & Johnson, “There are only four hundred people in the world, and all the rest are extras.” She meant the Fortune 400, but I’ve heard the saying among friends, and with different numbers. We meant that we only specifically knew a set number of people and the others were bystanders, set dressing, extras in the movie that is our life.

It doesn’t take much to change someone from an extra to a credited player, and some slip back just as quickly. But then there are reminders that humanity is all around us. Every day I try to remember this more, and hope it leads me to making the world a better place, one small bit at a time.

 

Love, Khouzhan Lucy

www.spellmaker.com

 

Image courtesy of EA at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Black History Month

 

Every year I learn new things, from friends posts to facebook and from the programs that our labor union puts on at work. Do you know that Voodoo ties into some events of black history?

The most significant is the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1804. A Vodou ceremony at Bwa Kayiman was the place where plans were first made for the revolt. François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, pictured above, was an important leader who trained the men to be warriors. It was the first successful slave revolt and formed the nation of Haiti.

New Orleans had a unique set of laws regarding slavery, Code Noir, which was passed by the King of France in 1685. One of these was that slaves were given Sundays off. They were also required to be Roman Catholic and Voodoo practice was illegal. They took the opportunity to gather for music and dancing and a marketplace in Congo Square, which was a good cover for Voodoo ceremonies. By the early 19th century the ceremonies not only were open and known, they became an attraction famously lead by Marie Laveau.

 

Love, Khouzhan Lucy

www.spellmaker.com

Closer Relationship with the Lwa

I’ve practiced Feng Shui for over 15 years and recently I was gifted with advanced training, which has prompted me to take another look at my altar room.

One simple thing you can do, even if you don’t know anything about Feng Shui, is move your altar, or set it up, in the southwest area of your home. If you’re using one room, or don’t have a compass, you can use the right rear corner of the room. This is your relationship direction.  If you know Feng Shui, and know your personal best directions, you can set up the altar in your personal relationship direction – for example, my personal relationship direction is West.

Do you want a closer relationship with your Met Tet, or any of the Lwa? Set up their altar in this direction with the intention of getting to know them better. This will help you deepen and strengthen your relationship with that particular Lwa. This is the perfect time to set up an altar for Erzulie Freda (if you don’t already have one); you can get to know her better, sit with her and cry together, ask her to help you with a particular relationship, work with her to learn to love her even more, or learn to love yourself again. Putting an altar to Erzulie in your Relationship corner will enhance any relationship work you do with her.

Love and Light,

Khouzhan Echo

www.spellmaker.com

9 misconceptions about Voodoo

9 misconceptions about Voodoo 

(hint: does anyone know why I used the number 9?)

1. Voodoo magick is either black or white. Actually, it is more "grey." There isn't white magick or black magick in the typical way that we think about it. 
2. Voodoo dolls are not to make people your slave, do your evil bidding, or even cause death in the person the magick is directed at. It is not true that what you do to the doll will instantly happen to the person (thank God, because back in the day, I fell asleep with mine and its arm fell off!). The doll is a way to reach the higher self of the person. The higher self is that pure part of them that is uninhibited by daily life and can listen to what you are petitioning for.
3. We don't have zombies. Well, my black Pomeranian is named Zombie, but that is a different story
4. It's evil. No, it isn't. See #1. As long as you are justified in your "revenge" work, then you are fine. It doesn't backfire and there isn't a law of three like in Wicca. 
5. It is very similar to Catholicism due to the Lwa correspondence to the Saints. Note: there are not the same, but similar.
6. There are three types of Voodoo- African (where it all began), Louisianan, and Haitian
7. We believe in one God
8. Is it real? HECK YES IT'S REAL!! But not the way that Hollywood would have you believe it. It is a religion. Ok, so is the flying spaghetti monster religion, but this one dates back thousands of years..and we don't wear strainers on our heads.
9. We are at the mercy of the spirits and we make then do our evil bidding. Sigh. We leave offerings for the Lwa in return for them working on our petitions. They do not serve us, but we do do service to them. Which they appreciate. It also helps to build a relationship with them as well.    

If you'd like to know more, check out the FAQ from spellmaker.com here FAQ

Love and light.

Khouzhan Delilah

 

Prayer Ritual to Erzulie Freda

Valentine’s Day may be over, but here at Spellmaker we’re just getting started! We want you to have love every day of the year.

Please join us Join us on Sunday, February 28 at 2:00 PM Eastern (1 PM Central, 12 PM Mountain, 11 AM Pacific) for our ritual to Erzulie Freda.

While Erzulie Freda is thought of in terms of love, remember that any Lwa can be petitioned for any need. Erzulie’s way of healing is to take away pain, as she takes it on herself. Her financial prowess is usually about extras rather than making the monthly bills, but we all know that money is a necessity to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. Besides romantic love, we can ask Erzulie to sweeten challenging relationships, whether it’s friends, family or in the workplace. She can even help you make a better impression in a job interview!

 

Love, Khouzhan Lucy

www.spellmaker.com

Busy Weeks

 

What a couple of weeks coming up!

Monday is Chinese New Year. Need some renewal? Baron Samedi is the one for that. Spellmaker has a number of different products to serve him, and one of my favorites is The Baron’s Purple Bath.

Tuesday is Mardi Gras, the last day of Three Kings season. It was a short season this year! It’s  great time for the Three Kings ritual, triple power to work on whatever you need.

Next Sunday is Valentine’s Day. Whether or not you can celebrate with your sweetheart, share it also with Erzulie Freda. Boost your intentions by setting up something for her. The decorations are easy to find!

The Monday after is President’s Day. General Ogoun is the one to honor that day, especially to ask for his wisdom for world leaders.

 

Love, Khouzhan Lucy

www.spellmaker.com

 

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net