Reversing candle

A client of mine needs a reversing candle right now, but there are none of those nifty half-and-half ones to be had in this lovely town.

So I made one the old-fashioned way.

The process moved much quicker than I expected, so we begin with the program already in progress:

I melted some yellow wax in the oven, sprinkled it with money herbs, and rolled these green candles in it.

Here you can see a closeup that shows a little of the yellow wax.

Next, I broke up some black wax by cutting up a small taper.

The purpose of cutting up the taper - on the diagonal, mind you - is to free it from the wick, which I discarded.

Next, the wax is laid on a foil-lined cookie sheet, which is placed in a 350°F oven.


Five minutes later, the wax is removed from the oven and sprinkled with harsh protective herbs. The green candle is rolled in the wax.
Voilà - a black-over-green reversing candle to "bounce back" financial bad luck, back to its source.

Cleansing: what, how, why? Part 1 of 2

Well, I delayed this post because I was chasing a literary reference, and I'm not prepared to read all of Karen Armstrong to find it.

At least I think it was Karen Armstrong (in The Great Transformation) who said that, back before the Bronze Axial Age, sin didn't really mean evil conduct or have much to do with morality at all. It really meant "anything that got between you and the experience of divine power" - or, in more concrete terms, "anything that spoiled the ritual." Offering a badly prepared sacrifice was a sin; killing somebody was a good reason to run you out of town.

In the old Levitical holiness code, "uncleanness," including such ordinary events as menstruation, wet dreams and childbirth, had to be atoned for ritually. Now, I was taught to include hyssop in many uncrossing and cleansing tricks, because of the strong Biblical association with cleansing. Note the reasons given for cleansing with hyssop: mildew, a death in the house. Uncleanness, once removed from the sufferer, transferred itself to the priest, who was unclean only until sunset.

In short, these common occurrences were "disturbances in the force," if you will, which required a trained expert (a priest); not the same thing as cackling narcissistic evil, not at all.

And yet the Holiness Code of Leviticus includes "Love your fellow as yourself."

There is more, much more, to be said about it, but I haven't digested it all yet. More later, I promise.

Is it dementia, or philosophy?

Well, I'm finally old enough to lie about my age, so I've been coming to terms with little gaps in my memory, of the "where did I put my keys?" variety.

And I've always had a touch of hypochondria, so I've been entertaining dark thoughts of Alzheimer's, diabetes side effects – "Why, yes, Paranoia, I'll be happy to pour you a fourth martini. And your little Black Dog, too."

But I think it's something much more benign. While I was washing dishes, I was deep in meditation on inchoate thoughts about the connections between blame, responsibility, purification, sin, moral failures ... and what the Bible word translated "sin" used to mean, back in the day, and why sacrifices actually worked to ...

You see where I'm going with this? I can't remember why I left the living room and went into the bedroom, because I'm trying to figure out how spiritual purification baths work.

I really am thinking hard about this subject, too; watch this space.

"Don't let her wash your clothes!"

One of my clients told me that her husband was taught that – "Never let a woman wash your clothes!" Why? Because she can put stuff in your laundry!

You can even work this trick on yourself, whenever your spiritual cleansing, luck, or prosperity need a touch-up.

It's a fine old time-tested method for influencing people, and the easiest way to do it is to put things in the laundry rinse water. A few drops of oil, some bath salts dissolved in water - it's easy.

Especially in This Modern Age, when you can soak a washcloth in it and pop it into the dryer, just like a dryer sheet; or pour it into a Downy Ball, walk away and forget it.

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.)