A little claws-and-teeth work - on a shoestring

A year ago, I bought the three big, thick volumes of Hoodoo – Conjuration – Witchcraft – Rootwork by Harry Middleton Hyatt.

The arrangement of this book is actually fairly confusing. It seems to be mostly arranged according to the materials used in each spell [or "rite," as Hyatt prefers to call them]. When you're looking for a particular kind of spell – enemy work, love work, etc. – it helps to know what each kind of material is most commonly used for.

Lately, for reasons of my own, I've been looking for good old-timey spells to – how shall I put this? – shut certain enterprises down. Herewith, a few choice methods:

• Take a photograph or symbol of said enterprise and lay it face down on top of a glass of water. Surround it with a circle of nine black candles – they don't have to be very large – and stick the candles with pins. Light all the candles; do this every day for nine days.
  
  
• If you have no black candles to spare (as I do not, at the moment), take some cotton twine or thread and tie a knot in it. Put some turpentine on it and read the 22nd Psalm over it (the first 8 verses should suffice!). Repeat every morning until nine days have elapsed; you will have a nine-knotted string, each knot dressed with turpentine. Go to your target's house, office, or place of business, and place the string behind the door. His efforts will come to nothing.
  
  
• A simple trick that can be used for good or ill: take seven matches – wooden kitchen matches would be easier to work with – and cross them. You will probably end up with a vaguely teepee-shaped pile. Pour niter on them – also known as saltpeter, sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate – make a wish, and set the whole thing afire. Repeat every morning until seven days have elapsed.

I don't usually do this kind of work, but these are desperate times.

My first and last comment on the 2008 presidential campaigns

I've been following the campaigns obsessively for the past few weeks. Before that, I was cowering under the bed, as I usually do when I have to face other people's bad news.

Yes, I have a lifelong allergy to bad news. It's gotten so I rarely read the papers and insist my husband wears headphones when he watches the news.

But I gotta say: my husband had the headphones off a few nights ago when Obama was explaining why we need some kind of economic rescue bill ASAP; in calm, measured tones, and in detail. And I realized I was able to relax when Obama was talking about our troubles.

• When McCain talks, I hear an old white man demanding my vote.
• When Obama talks, I hear a wise man explaining how everything's going to be all right.
  

I'm just sayin'.

A palindrome for your heart

It starts out grim, but be brave for a minute or so and you will be rewarded.

(Thanks to Brian Smith at the Beautiful Heresy blog.)

Cleaning the mess out of your house

I'm talking about spiritual cleaning, not about actually shifting dust bunnies and spiderwebs. To do that, you simply sweep/mop your house from back to front with some good strong herbs, such as you find in Lucky Mojo's Van Van for instance. Unfortunately, my husband is allergic to the main ingredient, so I used Henry's Grass Oil, which is very similar to Chinese Wash, another fine old cleansing formula. I also added their lovely Crucible of Courage Oil, and a little of my own "CSI."

Well, it was the most thorough job I've ever done – it's amazing what a bigger, better-arranged living space can do for you! And I have a feeling that this property, or even just this house, is a luckier place than my old one was, because the difference was incredible! Last night, you see, I was having a lovely poverty tantrum. Today, ever since I did that job, I know I've got money strictures and health problems – and yet I haven't a care in the world.

Just so you know. Lots of great classic spiritual cleansing formulae at Lucky Mojo – and check out New Orleans Mistic, too – go and try some!

The Merry Old Land of ... Willits

... not "Oz."

Well, we have arrived, and spent the past weekend unpacking things. I almost miss having a produce store and drugstore across the street, but it's more than balanced by friendly neighbors, attentive (in a good way) landlords, and an actual piece of forest on the property. We have a view of farmland from our bedroom window. We have space to put a dining room table – something we haven't had for years!

When we landed in Willits on Friday night, our son and daughter-in-law hosted us to a magnificent dinner: we pulled our propane grill out of the moving van and they adorned it with a buffalo tri-tip, of all things – so by guess and by gee, we cooked it just right, somehow. We got to crash at their place, after spending a few hours cleaning up after the previous owner of our new place. We smudged the house repeatedly.

The previous owner left a lot of nice things behind, so we left messages on her cel phone to make sure whether or not she was coming back to get them. No reply, until I asked my daughter, the only tobacco-smoker in our family, to do a little old hoodoo trick: write her name on the next cigarette she smoked.

We got hold of the lady within half an hour.

So, yeah, I'm gloating today, and will be for a long time to come.

I'll be able to take calls tomorrow, or maybe even this evening. The phone number is here; scroll down to "Miss Michaele." I'll be keeping the 510 phone number for a while so as not to confuse everybody; the listing went up just before I moved. The Hoodoo Foundry Phone is a VoIP line, so I can have any area code I want and use that line no matter where I'm living, as long as I have Internet access.

Moving Day

Well, we found a little mobile home in Tie Dye Town Willits, CA, where my son and his family live. They've been nudging us for years to move up there where they could help us with connections and labor and things. This month, we finally got the chance. The money has changed hands, the papers have been signed, and we'll be planning our garden and shopping for seeds and tie dye next week. And waiting to sweeten your luck, of course.

This is the place.
Here's the official Willits website.

A simple "go away happy" spell

Not traditional, but it ought to work:

Say you're in a relationship that really ought to be winding down. It's time to move on, but you don't want storm and drama. Not because you're selfish, but just because you don't want her (or him) to be unhappy.

Make a name paper which includes her/his full name, your full name, and a petition such as "go away happy," "go in peace," or something similar. Inside it, place a pinch of sugar and some Blessing or Peaceful Home Incense Powders, and fold it away from you. Burn the paper with the incense in it. The Peaceful Home incense makes it clear that pain is not your intent.