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

  Why ghosts wear clothes or white sheets instead of appearing in the nude Shane McCorristine , Newcastle University When you think of a ghost, what comes to mind? A ghastly, mouldy winding-sheet? A malevolent pile of supernatural armour? Or a sinister gentleman in a stiff Victorian suit? In 1863 George Cruikshank, the caricaturist and illustrator of Dickens’s novels, announced a “discovery” concerning the varied appearance of ghosts. It does not seem, he wrote : That any one has ever thought of the gross absurdity and impossibility of there being such things as ghosts of wearing apparel … Ghosts cannot, must not, dare not, for decency’s sake, appear without clothes; and as there can be no such thing as ghosts or spirits of clothes, why then, it appears that ghosts never did appear and never can appear. Why aren’t ghosts naked? This was a key philosophical question for Cruikshank and many others in Victorian Britain. Indeed, stories of naked or clothesless ghosts,...

The desert is a peculiar mistress. She offers beauty that steals the breath and danger that stops the heart. New Mexico, my home, is no exception. It’s a land where legends and reality often blur, where the line between truth and myth is drawn with a shaky hand. It's a place where old women swear centipedes crawl under your fingernails and eat your heart. It's not just a story whispered to frighten children but a genuine belief held with the fervor of religious conviction. Old New Mexican women of Spanish extraction will scream in horror at the sight of a centipede, not merely for their swift-moving many-legged terror, but because these women honestly think that the bugs are deadly, murderous creatures. In the arid sun beaten expanses of New Mexico, I remember my own grandmother, a woman of strange, deep-set, and often confused beliefs, who would warn us against these nightmarish creatures. Rollie-pollies (pill bugs) she would say, were the same as centipedes. Now it is general...

Anton LaVey, the dark lord of the Church of Satan , is one who you'd think had no time for scientific skepticism. I mean, this is the guy who codified Satanism and spread the gospel of magic and mysticism! Well, hold on to your torches and pitchforks and don't run him out of town just yet, because when we crack open the history books, we stumble upon a side of LaVey that'll make your head spin. (Was that devilish pun intended?) Picture this: Howard Stanton Levey, born on April 11, 1930, with a penchant for the occult and a résumé that reads like a carnival thrill ride. From joining the circus to playing the piano in nightclubs, his journey led to the founding of the Church of Satan on April 30, 1966. But here's the twist — beneath that sinister exterior, LaVey had a bone to pick with the wool-pulling "occultniks" who chugged down irrational claims like it was Kool-Aid at a cult meeting. He was actually the voice of reason in a sea of supernatural chaos. Now, t...

Those who have been following us here at the Spellcaster's Source blog for a long time might find some of their favorite old posts about general magic , free spells , witchcraft articles and so forth have disappeared from the web.  For a few years I've been trying to tidy up the blog, which has been online since 2009. It's been through different iterations of my main website, from Talia's Tarot to Lucky Temple to Hoodoo Online . As requirements to make the witchcraft blog "mobile friendly" also had the unfortunate effect of making it more difficult to search through the posts, there was good reason to simplify the content. It had built up over 600 separate posts at its peak, with no good way to search through them except by keyword. Originally I intended to delete nothing, but only to merge posts about similar subjects so they'd become easier to find.  However, as I've been going through everything, I've been finding more and more old posts that w...

Let's start by acknowledging that the debate around cultural appropriation can be quite polarizing. Personally, I believe that some arguments against cultural appropriation can sometimes feel like a step backward toward segregation, albeit under the guise of "protecting cultural integrity." However, regardless of where you stand on the issue, it's important to address misconceptions that often arise. One such misconception involves smudging and smudge sticks. Some believe these practices are exclusive to Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and that others using them is a form of appropriation.   Some people have therefore expressed outrage at the notion that witchcraft or herbalists have "appropriated" smudging from Native Americans. Yet, anyone who is concerned about the matter must know this: -- "Smudge" is an English word. It is not the native term in any of the tribal languages for the so-called smudge ceremony . Rather, it is how the English ...

Elephant Journal offers ways to unblock your chakras.  It also offers a handy list of the problems you may experience in the company of a chakra blockage: 1st: weight problems, eating disorders, constipation, sciatica, arthritis, knee problems 2nd: impotence, frigidity, uterine/bladder/kidney problems, lower back pain 3rd: ulcers, diabetes, digestive disorders, muscular problems 4th: high blood pressure, respiratory problems, heart and lung problems, feeling heartbroken 5th: colds, thyroid problems, ear/hearing problems, sore throats, speech problems 6th: blindness, headaches, nightmares, eye strain, blurred vision 7th: depression, alienation, confusion, boredom, apathy, feeling disconnected or disjointed In addition to the techniques which the Elephant Journal suggests for correction blockages, there is also the Ishtar Technique for fast unblocking , and various Chakra Kits for removing blockages.

Dragon Dreams Jewelry has posted an interesting little excerpt about precious stones from the works of St. Hildegard . Some pieces: The devil abhors, detests, and disdains precious stones. This is because he remembers that their beauty was manifest on him before he fell from the glory God had given him, and because some precious stones are engendered from fire, in which he receives his punishment. By the will of God, the devil was vanquished by the fire into which he fell, just as he is vanquished by the fire of the Holy Spirit when humans are snatched from his jaws by the first breath of the Holy Spirit.  [...] they contain many powers and are effective for many needs. many things can be done with them—but only good, honest actions, which are beneficial to human beings; not activities of seduction, fornication, adultery, enmity, homicide and the like, which tend toward vice and which are injurious to people. The nature of these previous stones seeks honest and useful effect...

There is an interesting old article about King Novelty/Valmor Products on the blog PlanetBarbarella . Valmor aggressively promoted the idea of romantic love with its products – not only would its skin brighteners and creams help deliver the man of your dreams, but perhaps marriage and a better life. According to author Juliann Sivulka, the advertising concept helped Valmor “successfully re-package Anglo-Saxon 19th century ideals and gender roles.” New mass media wasn’t just influencing white Americans, but African-Americans as well. Valmor came out on top, its dominance of the black cosmetics industry “signaled the end of an era (that) promoted beauty as a means of racial pride and “adjustment.” There’s no written explanation why Neumann decided to do all the artwork for Valmor Products himself – probably because it was too expensive during the 1920’s and ‘30’s to contract another company or artist to do something he could do himself.  It goes without saying Neumann’s ...

There is a wonderful article here about Powwowing, a practice that has probably had more influence over hoodoo than it's given credit for. Particularly interesting is the part about the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses (sometimes called the "Hoodoo Bible.") Powwowing: A Persistent American Esoteric Tradition by David W. Kriebel, Ph.D., explores the practice of powwowing, an enduring tradition of folk healing and magic in America, particularly within Pennsylvania Dutch communities. This tradition, rooted in a blend of Christian faith and folk medicine, has managed to persist from its European origins to contemporary times, despite modernization and skepticism. Powwowing, also known as Braucherei, has its roots in medieval European healing practices, which were brought to America by German immigrants in the 18th century. These settlers, primarily of the Pennsylvania Dutch community, integrated their Christian beliefs with folk remedies, forming a unique system of healing. ...

I had been looking for information about the use of oil lamps, and came instead across this clever little method for making an oil burning lamp, in a jar! In hoodoo style magic spells , oil lamps are used like candles for setting lights on petitions. The lamp oil is mixed with conjure formulas and other magical ingredients in order to work its power. They are popular in regions where the weather is often too hot for wax or fat candles to be kept without danger of melting in storage. These lamps are essential tools in Afro-Caribbean magical practices, as well as American hoodoo traditions that have been influenced thereby. Known for their versatility and effectiveness, these lamps are used for communication with spirits, protection, command, and manifestation. Their construction and use combine practical elements with deep symbolic significance, making them central to many rituals and spells. Their ability to burn various oils and wicks, combined with additional magical ingredients, ...

Quack Doctor has some scans from an old newspaper reporting a case of death by "live things."  So called live-things is an old folk illness, known to be both caused and cured by hoodoo, in which animals (usually of an unpleasant nature, like insects, lizards or snakes) would be mysteriously put into a person in such a way that they would continue to live inside the human tissues, and would ultimately cause death the death of their host. Nowadays few people report this as a problem and hardly any hoodoos claim to be able to cause it, and as for curing it -- usually a legitimate practitioner would recommend going for hospital treatment in the case of any such trouble. Improved medical technology is one reason for this shift, as diseases which in past times seemed mysterious (like restless leg syndrome or tumors) can now be pinpointed to a more precise cause. Additionally, it seems some old timers used this supposed "curse" as a con job -- the apparent 'removal...

(Originally from Metafilter ): Walking down Zürich's Lindenhofstrasse, you might stop in surprise by a relief depicting two men and a woman, draped in gauzy robes, each one calmly carrying their own severed head. There is no explanatory sign. Don't worry, though: Felix, Regula and Exuperantius are just the city's cephalophoric patron saints.

In 1919, everyone wanted a copy of the deluxe edition of Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, but not because it was bound in vellum with real gold lettering. It was because of these grim and gorgeous illustrations by Harry Clarke, which added an extra dose of horror to Poe's already terrifying tales. i09 features some excellent illustrations from this book -- they're like Edward Gorey meets Aubrey Beardsley, except even more goreiffic.

There are some practitioners that say a time limit for the achievement of the goal should be decided upon for any magic spellcasts. This has the primary benefit of preventing a person from wasting years on a hopeless cause. It also has another useful factor; I am copying here what was written by John Chow (whose main concern seems to be a blog about making money online, but nevertheless provides advice that can apply anywhere.) Giving Yourself An Out Do you know how to tell a successful person from a unsuccessful one? The easiest way is by the language they use. When you talk to a successful person about his goals, he’ll tell you what he plans to do and when it will be done. When an unsuccessful person talks about his goals (assuming he even has one), you’ll hear something along the lines of, “I hope to do this someday.” Here’s a clue for all you losers out there; someday never comes. You know why a person with a loser’s mentality always uses words like “someday”, “I hope” or “...

Now this story just shows, for those who complain they can't get some personal concern or another, how there is always a way where there is will... Nigerian Prostitutes Sell Sperm A commercial sex worker, who gave her name simply as Joy, told our correspondent that the semen found with some of her colleagues were secretly taken away after they had sex bouts with their patrons. In an attempt to extract the semen from unsuspecting male "clients," she said, commercial sex workers exhibit extraordinary care and sex appeal, attributes which, she further claimed, caused many men to lose their guard. As soon as the man gives in fully to the pleasure of the illicit affair, she said, the prostitute moans and screams wildly in fake ecstasy thereby setting the stage to carry out her mischief. But where the male "client" refuses to succumb to the trappings of the fake expression of passion, she said, the girl would rub fetish powder on her nipples and offer t...

A cosmogram is a flat geometric figure depicting a cosmology. Some of them were created for meditational purpose. Mandalas are the best known cosmograms, but similar diagrams, known as schema, were also used in western Europe during the Middle Ages. Many cosmograms feature a circle and a square, or a circle and a cross. The circle may represent the universe, or unity. The square or cross may represent the Earth, the four directions. The centre may represent the individual. Many diagrams featuring circles and squares or crosses may be interpreted as cosmograms, although they may not be intentionally created as such. Here's a link to a page all about Kongo Cosmograms with some interesting info. ...One of the major functions of the cosmogram of Kongo, to validate a space on which to stand a person or charm, remains in force in certain Afro-Cuban religious circles.[see the section of the "Ken Brown Interview" when he speculates that Levi Jordan imported slaves from Cuba].Kon...

Return Lover spells are a common request at  Hoodoo Online  -- probably the most common. Many folks, sadly, make such messes of their relationships within the first few weeks after the breakup that by the time they resort to magic, it's already too late.  Reading this advice can help bring back a lover more easily by avoiding dangerous mistakes. 1. Do not initiate contact with the target, and if contact can be avoided altogether that is best. This should go on for 1 - 2 months, after which you can begin to gradually reestablish communication. 2. Work on improving yourself. 3. Do not be needy, depressed, nagging, obsessive or otherwise negative. 4. When contacting your ex-lover, only speak of positive, happy things, and avoid bringing up the past. Steps 1 and 3 are frequently violated immediately and repeatedly by distraught lovers. If you are guilty of committing these for an extended period it will be a lot harder for things to cool down enough to reest...

A sort of visual aid to the book Mules and Men : some footage shot by Zora Neale Hurston in 1928, the same period when she was gathering information for the book. http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/130052.html Hurston's Crow/Buzzard song:

I come upon people from time to time wanting advice for what to do about unpleasant neighbors -- usually stuff about letting their dogs use other folks' lawns as toilets or problems with spreading gossip. However, here is a list of bad neighbors you can be glad you don't have: The 7 Most Insane True Stories of Neighbors from Hell . In there we've got a lottery winner who liked to run a racetrack on his property and launch fireworks over the neighborhood causing a safety hazard, a woman living "in the center of a metropolis of shit-eating rats just to piss off a couple of old people", and a guy who framed his neighbor for murder for not helping him move a motorcycle. What to do if you have terrible neighbors of any description? Well, if they see to be targeting you, you can start by sprinkling Peace Water around your property and laying pinches of Master Powder in the corners of your land (if your land isn't square or rectangular you can just guess where a ...

Mute the speakers before visiting this one, folks. The midi looping in the background is really obnoxious, but the article content is rather interesting. http://www.demonbuster.com/root.html While the article is mainly an "introduction to rootwork for non-believers" deal, and apparently is part of some larger site trying to convert Christians, there are some interesting accounts of real cases and how they played out. Excerpts below: "While I don't believe in voodoo, the mind is a powerful thing," Sills said. "If you believe in it, whether or not it's real, it has an effect. He recalled a striking encounter with root work that demonstrated its ineffectiveness ... but also left a shred of doubt. More than a dozen years ago, when he was a police detective in DeKalb County, Sills said he participated in a mass raid on the old numbers racket called "the bug." He and another officer went to serve a warrant on a woman ...