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

The earliest mention of Arabka Soudagar oil that I can find through Google Books is in 2003's Candle Therapy: The Magical Guide to Life Enhancement . The first I ever heard of it was in Judika Illes's book of 5,000 Spells.  However, as an incense it is listed (as Arab-Ka Soudagor) in the 1974 book Famous Voodoo Rituals and Spells. The name is probably from the Hindi phrase, Arab Ka Saudagar , which according to an online translator means "Dealers of Arabia." It appears to be a case like Has No Hanna , where a foreign word used for a perfume name was corrupted. I'm being led to think it originated as an incense, for  Mysore Sugandhi sells a rose scented blend under the brand name Arab Ka Soudagar . This brand of incense dates back at least to the 1960s if not before. The package artwork features Arabian merchants leading camels packed with goods, and is written in a font that can easily let the words Arab Ka be misread as Arabka.  Alternate spellings for t...

The Covenanter's Prison in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh -- said to be the most haunted place in the world. (Photo copyright 2013, Talia Felix.)

An 18th century poem by James Grainger about the sugar industry and the keeping of slaves, provides a white man’s description of an “ Obia ” spell used to keep from being struck by “a conjurer’s snake-mark’d staff”: “Fern root cut small, and tied with many a knot Old teeth extracted from a white man’s skull; A lizard skeleton; a serpent’s head; These mixt with salt, and water from the spring, Are in a phial pour’d; o’er these the leach [doctor] Mutters strange jargon, and wild circles forms. Of this posesst, each negro deems himself Secure from poison; for to poison they  Are infamously prone: and arm’d with this Their fable country demons they defy.” -- James Grainger, The Sugar Cane.  A footnote to the poem elaborates: “The negro-conjurers, or obia men, as they are called, carry about them a staff, which is marked with frogs, snakes &c. The blacks imagine that its blow, if not mortal, will at least occasion long and troublesome disorders.”

There is an old tradition in New Orleans, if you ever make your way to the St. Louis Cemetery #1. There is a tomb in front of which one often sees offerings of flowers and candles, and the structure is covered over with X shapes scratched or drawn on the walls. This is the tomb of the famous Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. History -- written largely by whites who didn't approve of her practice -- has claimed she began as a hairdresser who learned secrets about her wealthy clients, and passed herself to them as a fortune teller and magician. Recent scholarship finds no evidence of her having been a hairdresser, and instead it appears she married, and was subsequently widowed, at a young age. She then took up with a man descended from French nobility, whom she couldn't legally marry because he was white and she was black, though she stayed with him for many years, had children with him, and technically it is his family's tomb she's buried in. She was apparently...

A hoodoo spell adapted from a spell at Dr. E's Blog . You need: Pullout candle -- yellow preferred Glass Candle Casing (blank) Gold Glitter Magnetic Sand Success Oil House Blessing Oil Paper and Pen Tape or glue (for securing paper to glass) Knife, pin or nail (for carving candle) Gloria Incense Yellow candles are used to represent many things, including items of value, like the house you're after. So that's why we're recommending that color here. You can also use any other candle color that seems suitable, or white can be used to represent anything.  Begin by carving onto the pullout candle the things you want in a home -- this includes things like price, amenities, location... when I did this for myself I included traits like "washer/dryer" and "attentive landlord." As Dr. E says, reach for the stars and you'll be able to get most (but probably not all) the things you hope for. (For example, I did not get a place that h...

When I was writing the book that became Conjuration , I kept careful track of my citations from the various libraries I visited and online resources used over the several years I spent gathering my information. Then, when I was ready to print the book -- I felt like an idiot when I discovered a few of my citations were either missing or improperly recorded! I ended up making a note in the bibliography about that matter, that there might be a few things where the citations couldn't be found... instead of having to delay the book in hopes that the might eventually be rediscovered. I'm happy to report that today I came across the note for one of those lost citations! I had mentioned in the book that sigils had been used in African magic since at least the year 1800, but couldn't seem to find my source on that. I finally happened upon a note I scrawled down on a paper that apparently got separated from the rest of my notes -- "1800, 'A Treatise on Sugar' Benjamin ...

A lot of people who cast love spells do so with an inherent fear that it might 'backfire.' They expect this. They buy their spell and want to know what will happen if the spell backfires . Most people who hold this belief seem to consider it something akin to the 'karma' rule of magic, wherein it's perceived that magic or certain types of magic are bad or evil and that they will cause bad or evil to come back on the person who uses them. Not all magical systems believe in this, and not all practitioners of magic believe in this. Most reported cases of backfiring I hear, sound to my nonbelieving senses to be either unrelated accidents or misfortunes that just happened to occur shortly after a spellcast and are attributed to 'backfiring' (these are things like broken appliances, failing job interviews, minor accidents or injuries -- stuff that has nothing to do with love or the love spell) OR, the spell producing unintended negative consequen...