More free readings

Well, I had a good time at Cafe Sorriso this weekend (see previous entry for location, hours etc). Saturday afternoon, I read for the owner, his mother, and a young lady who worked there. I spoke to the owner about some basic guerilla marketing and to the young lady about being in charge of her own spirituality.

The next day I read for the young lady again -- I'd left a couple of questions unanswered -- and for another lady who turned out to be the new owner of Cafe Sorriso.

But the place was quiet -- too quiet. So if you're in San Leandro next weekend, drop by. I'll be there Saturday and Sunday mornings, from 10 am to about noon.

Want a free reading? Read on

Well, today I dressed myself with my favorite fragrances – Attraction, Money Drawing and Steady Work – just before I dropped by the Cafe Sorriso in my hometown this afternoon, and asked to speak to the owner or manager.

A man pointed me toward the nice Korean lady behind the counter, so I asked her: "How do you feel about offering free Tarot readings to your customers?" Well, her English is kind of seldom, so she called the man over. He vaguely knew what Tarot was, but not "up close," so to speak. First he wanted to know, "What's in it for you?" Then he wanted to know what a Tarot reading was, exactly, so I gave him a four-card spread. (His first card was the Three of Pentacles, reversed – and when I asked, he said business was "not great.") So we had a nice long talk about spiritual things in general, hoodoo and what it is, and a little about what it ain't, and especially about openmindedness. "I'm really interested in all of this," he said.

So, yeah, I'm offering free Tarot readings at Cafe Sorriso on Saturdays, starting tomorrow from 2 pm to about 4:30. It is, as the reviews at the link state, quiet and friendly. By all means, drop by if you're in town.

Try the green tea latte, too; it's fantastic.

Oh my Lord: or, Slater, Please!

All right, I got my hands on the Slater Formulary, the online version that doesn't actually give you the proportions for everything. But that doesn't matter, and I'll show you why. Here are a couple random formulas:

Zawba Powder
Brown [That's the color you are supposed to add]
Vanilla powder
Thyme
Wintergreen
Almond
A special blend which is used to create dissension between lovers and very close friends. Sprinkle on those individuals you wish to cast a spell upon. This is a black magick blend.

The hell! Vanilla has long been used for love; thyme to keep money in your house and bring peace of mind; almond - well, I was taught to use the oil as the base for magical oils because of its mild fragrance and long shelf life. It stands for God's vigilance and swift response, according to Wikipedia. Wintergreen's magical attributes add zap to your love, money and sexual life. Yeah, I can see the dissension now:

"Dammit, I love you more than you love me." "No, I love you more!"

"B*tch! What part of 'buy municipal bonds' don't you understand?"

Yeah, that's gonna work really well.

Let's try one more:

Shoe String Root Powder
Vetivert
Patchouli
Sprinkle around the home to protect the inhabitants against death. Also brings extreme good luck to those who play cards as it invokes lucky spiritual forces.

Well, the latter might be true: Some people use vetiver for love; patchouli works for love, money and protection. But how the hell can he call it "Shoe String Powder" and not include any Devil's Shoe String? That's one of the best protective herbs I know.

Slater's either yankin' your chain or talking through his hat. I'm just sayin.'

Another kind of two-color candle

Well, that nice Road Opener candle I burned a couple weeks ago wasn't a perfect burn, after all; the glass was a little gray when I looked at it closer.

So, rather than buy another vigil light - I don't like the way they burn the first couple days; they need constant attention because the quality of the wax has gone so far downhill in the past few years.

Rather than buy another of those, I say, I bought a nice freestanding orange taper - one of those two-inch-thick pillar candles, melted some green beeswax and sprinkled some herbs on it, then rolled the candle in it. Et voila!

I didn't invent this method; Miss Cat Yronwode teaches it to her students. Though I haven't seen her demonstrate it, she describes it well enough for me to produce the results you see here.

Mommy, what does "vibration" mean?

When magic workers or New Thought folk talk about "vibrations," it can be confusing to the materialist who visualizes a sound wave on an oscilliscope. How can "a higher vibration" change one's life? What a confusing way to put it.

Here is a little illustration. Note that the higher the pitch, the more complex the "landscape" on the metal (?) sheet laid over the speaker.

(BTW, TURN DOWN YOUR SPEAKERS; this demo gets extremely shrill.)



This kind of complexity can mean two things, depending on how optimistic you are:

• More variety of opportunity, or
• More rules to learn and negotiate.

Even "more rules" is not necessarily a bad thing, once you remember that knowledge is power.

Well, my family and I have big plans these days, and what better way to start than with a Road Opener candle from Lucky Mojo? I dressed this candle under the guidance of Dara Anzlowar during the Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Workshop last week. And I must say, it's been burning sluggishly and reluctantly until yesterday. I've had to tweak it every couple of hours, poking deep holes in the candle with a chopstick to allow the flood of melted wax to run off, so the wick had some room to burn. There was a big old wall of wax on one side, too, like a big old Thou-Shalt-Not.


That is, until yesterday.


Since yesterday afternoon, that candle is burning as prettily as you could wish. Nice robust flame, glass absolutely clear.

Also, my husband's doctor called us about a couple hundred dollars' worth of insurance snafu that we just discovered; they are going to straighten it out.

And – here's the weird part – I'm still struggling with some of my oldest fears. But now my effective "pacifiers" have dwindled down to two. I can't eat about it any more and feel better; reading science fiction doesn't soothe like it used to. No, I have only two pacifiers left:

1. Plan your work.
2. Work your plan.

Master Class

Well, I spent the most incredible weekend with my wonderful Lucky Mojo classmates and teachers!

Saturday, May 3, was the annual Hoodoo Party and Birthday Bash (for our teacher, miss cat yronwode), where people you only know by their e-mail address and literary style :-) got to talk shop for as long as 12 hours!

For nearly all of my life, I have been a shy person, especially in crowds. I carved out a pretty comfortable niche being the wallflower at parties. But not that day. I drifted from small group to small group, from conversation to conversation, sharing all the brain candy that was going (Matthew 13:52, more or less :-)). You know, just like a normal person. I guess it is, in a way, an emotional or spiritual or maybe even a magical growth spurt.

Sunday, May 4, I attended the Hoodoo and Rootwork Workshop at the Home of Truth in Alameda, California. This workshop was a set of master classes in magical technique. The teachers were experienced and gifted rootworkers: cat yronwode, of course, Dr. Kioni, Dara Anzlowar, and Tanisia Greer. I was eager to attend the sessions on Astrology for Rootworkers and on Spiritual Footwashing, both new to me. The other workshops were devoted to general principles of candle magic and the making and blessing of mojo bags -- and here, too, though I have several years' experience in these two areas, I learned a number of important things.

So, I'm still flyin', but not in a psychedelic hippy-dippy way; my course is straight and true and the travel is easier than it has ever been. I spent an hour or so this evening doing some of the best altar work I have done in months. The candle I burned on the road opening honey jar left a little bit of wax in the shape of a horn of plenty; the mojo bag I charged and blessed tonight was dancing with excitement over the candle flame.

And I'm about to get a separate phone line for Hoodoo Foundry, thanks to Vonage.com and Amazon.com.