The Spellcaster's Source Hoodoo and Voodoo Witchcraft Blog of Talia Felix

  I've posted about chakras before. I might have even mentioned them in my books . Chakras are so ubiquitous you don't even think about them -- you see chakra candles at Whole Foods, chakra gemstone necklaces at art fairs, you can buy Wiccan athames with chakra symbols on them  and chakra smudge kits . As of this writing, the #1 search result for the word "chakra" on Google is a Healthline page . Chatting with a Nepalese-born clerk at a local shop, he was describing to me anxiety symptoms and termed the sensation as "hitting right in the heart chakra." Didn't even need to explain what that was. I happened to take a Sanskrit class at age 12 and I'm sure I was exposed to the word chakra there and thus aware of the Hindu origins of the term. I cannot be sure everyone who utilizes chakra magic/energy is aware of that origin. It's a Sanskrit word meaning "wheel" and also applies to a sort of discus weapon used in antiquity, which the Hind...

Antoine Wiertz was a popular Belgian artist of the 19th century. He painted a variety of subjects, many of which were perfectly pleasant , but the ones for which he is best known are dark subjects like a trainee witch , a vanitas and a premature burial.  He was successful in his lifetime and has a museum in Brussels dedicated solely to his artwork. One of Wiertz's most famous works was a triptych called, in English, The Visions of a Guillotined Head .  Sadly the original painting is now in poor condition (Wiertz wanted a paint that would resemble the matte look of a fresco, and to this end he created a paint medium which did not hold up well with time.) The art style is meant to resemble the works of Peter Paul Rubens .  But perhaps more interesting than the painting itself is the story of how the artist did his research into what it's like to be decapitated. I have translated from the original French given in a 19th century catalogue of his paintings. Vi...