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

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...

Among unpleasant memories of magical practice is an occasion where I shared the circa 1920 recipe for Van Van I had seen in the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum on a hoodoo forum, and got laughed out of the room because it contained rosemary. "Rosemary's for female domination!" This idea has been popularized by Catherine Yronwode, attributing it to stem from a saying "Where rosemary flourishes, the lady rules." ( The same are said about sage and parsley .) H.U. Lampe's 1974 book Famous Voodoo Rituals and Spells might be the source of the information, for he writes: "Where Rosemary Flourishes, The Lady Rules", is an ancient saying. Rosemary is kept under the bed to insure faithfulness. Fore (sic) causing prophetic dreams, Rosemary is dipped into a mixture of vinegar, rum, water, gin, and wine. This is kept near the bed. Before retiring say, "Tibi impero ut quoedam viluero et velim adimpleos et facias." The saying is originally En...

Take a 7-color candle (label is optional, but naturally you should choose something labeled for Good Luck or Blessings if using - photo features an All Purpose candle from Original Botanica ) and after cleaning it with Florida Water and boring 4 holes into the wax in a square or X shape, prepare it with the following: Money House Blessing Oil Van Van Oil Special Oil #20 Gold magnetic sand Yerba Santa Yerba Buena Write the names of your household members on the candle with gold ink before lighting.

When I was a kid in the early 90s, I started developing an interest in perfumes. Neither of my parents used them or liked them, but they wanted to encourage me in my interests, so they would give me whatever samples they came across, and sometimes take me to perfume counters at malls to examine different fragrances. One sample I was given was a tiny frosted glass bottle of Queen of Tibet perfume. It had an orange color, and the scent was what I would now recognize to be mostly musk and citrus. It was one of the nicer samples I had, and I liked the image of the name, so even though I didn't really like the scent the best (I'm more of a tea rose type) I used it when I used perfumes. Whatever company made Queen of Tibet perfume seems to be gone, and it looks like it wasn't overall a very popular scent -- no old bottles for sale on eBay, no references to it surviving in Google Books. Yet as an adult, I was a little surprised to see Queen of Tibet oil listed in Anna...

Let's face it, sometimes the basic dressed candle spell just doesn't cut it. When I needed some serious road opening, I devised this extra powerful Road Opener spellcast. It uses some additional products, not just Road Opener/Abre Camino formulas, in order to provide some much needed oompf . Road Opener, or Abre Camino, is a recent addition to the hoodoo formula list, but it is used to clear the way for happiness and success in one's ventures.  This spell is intended to be done for yourself, but if you want to do it for another person you will need to get them to cooperate with the bathing, spraying, etc. If you have been having very bad luck, you might want to do an additional uncrossing spell before beginning this, to ensure it's not the result of a curse or other spiritual problem. you need: Florida Water Glory Water Everclear or 90% rubbing alcohol lemongrass essential oil citrine (small piece) small spray bottle Road Opener oil Shifting Sands oi...

It's not unusual to find magic spells -- especially Wiccan style ones, or older hoodoo works -- where objects are thrown into a fire and burnt in order to unleash their effect. This is often done indoors in a small cauldron or fireproof bowl that will fit atop an altar.  If you've ever done this, however, you might have found most of your mental energy devoted to simply keeping the fire going and getting your items to actually burn. Common fuels like paper scraps, lit charcoal and piles of matchsticks often don't produce adequate heat to really burn ritual items -- even in cases where the item being burnt is just more paper and dried herbs! Recently I had the disappointment of a spell that requires burning small pieces of onion proving too moist for the pathetic piece of charcoal I had going (which the spell's original author had even recommended for creating the fire.) Not only did the coal make the house stink of lighter fluid, but it wasn't proving an...

From The Petit Albert: FOR MEN As it may come to pass that the woman will become disgusted by the man if he is not able-bodied in the actions of Venus, he needs to take precautions not only for the sake of her satisfaction, but moreover for those secrets that the ancient and modern researchers of the miracles of nature have put to test. He must, they say, compose a balm from the ashes of a stellion lizard, oil of St. John’s wort and of civet, and anoint the big toe of the left foot and the kidney region an hour before entering into battle; and one will be able to go forth with honor and to the satisfaction of his party. FOR WOMEN If the husband finds that his wife is of a frigid disposition, and doesn’t take pleasure in the sport, then he shall make her eat the testicles of a gander, and the womb of a hare, seasoned with good spices, and from time to time some salads which have a great deal of arugula, ragwort and celery, with red wine vinegar.