Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The AbraMelin Stuff

I have been sending journal updates to the main site and have also created a Wordpress blog specifically for the work I am doing in with the AbraMelin Operation at http://abramelinjournal.wordpress.com/ (in case you prefer Wordpress), but some of the things that are coming out of the meditations and Temple journeys is rather interesting. Because of this I will probably also be adding some of the posts here, but if you want to catch up with everything, go and read through WP blog.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

St. Expedite

If you have ever been on an eGroup or forum that deals with hoodoo, then you would have probably come across people thanking St. Expedite for his quick resolutions in certain matters. This is a standard practice when working with St. Expedite, i.e. to thank him in public. Now when we consider any kind of spirit, they tend to become stronger with energy, and that energy is created by us, the Living, and given to the spirit. In the case of the publicity that St. Expedite gets, I think I can safely say that if you work with him, you will be working with a very strong spirit.

If you are wanting a speedy solution to a problem, or just general financial success, then St. Expedite is your man. The image of him with a cross and a crow underfoot says it all. The cross bears the word “HODIE”, which in Latin means “Today”, and emitting from the crow’s mouth as it is being trodden on (not very animal rights friendly, but it is symbolism after all) is the “CRAS”, meaning “Tomorrow”. What we therefore have is a Saint that says, “Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.” In other words, don’t waste time, if you need something now, stop stalling and pro-CRAS-tinating, and that is what Saint Expedite is all about.

If you would like to work with St. Expedite, you will need three things, a candle, a small container of water and an image of the Saint. The candle to use should be red, although in some cases I have come across, if you are working specifically for financial gain, then you can use green. The water is to feed him as water is used a great deal in hoodoo to attract and feed the spirits. The image you use can either be the picture as displayed in this article, another of him, or a figurine.

Placement of these items are done in a triangle with the candle at the back, the water to the front left, and the image to the front right. Once you have this set up, you are ready to begin your work. Do remember that this will probably become a permanent fixture in your home or on your altar, so consider it long term, not just a single working with the Saint for a single solution or gain.

The first thing to do is make contact and build up a relationship. This should be done over a 9 day period whereby you go to the altar or shrine and say a prayer to St. Expedite. At this point you can include your request and a promise of the return you will give him when the work is accomplished, or you can just decide to make the contact and build up the energy between you.

After the nine day period, you can make your request. Keep doing this every day until you get that which you requested. Once it is accomplished, make sure you give St. Expedite what you promised to give him. If you don’t, then he will take away just as easily as he has provided. One other suggestion. If you start working with him and a couple days later decide it is too much bother, too late. When you start, you had better see it through, or you will start to see things going south, so don’t begin working with St. Expedite unless you are committed.

You can go to him with new requests from time to time, and only then, light the candle and give him the attention he requires to accomplish each task, or you can pay him homage on a daily basis, which in my opinion would be the better option. Keep that energy flowing so that when you do need his help, he is there and ready.

When the task has been accomplished, don’t forget to give him your promise. Some of the things he likes are red wine, flowers and a pound cake, and do remember to thank him in a public manner, which can be done either through forums on the internet or if it was especially big, maybe take out a small ad in the newspaper, but make sure you give him the recognition. This is not only good for him as something he likes and asks for, but it is good for you and everyone who works with him. The more people that work with him, the stronger he becomes, and then we all get what we want, which is why he has become such a popular Saint.

If you really want to pay him homage, then focus your efforts more on a Wednesday, which is his day, and this also coincides with the day of Mercury, making him a Mercurial spirit. Therefore, if you want to work on communication, the writing arts, speedy solutions, and things that denote the work of Mercury, then this is the best time. This also makes quicksilver his metal, and some Mercurial plants or herbs would be peppermint, flax, elecampane, dill, fennel, bittersweet, the leaves and bark or any product of the ash tree, cinquefoil, cinnamon, spearmint, pomegranate, poppy, and sage.

There are quite a few prayers that can be found on the internet to recite when working with St. Expedite, but although I tend to prefer to sit and chat rather than recite something that was written by someone else, and therefore, not my own words, there is one which I have found I like quite a bit.

I come before you, Saint Expedite,
To remedy economic problems in my work and my home.
And to ask for your powerful support.

Saint Expedite, protect my income,
That I may obtain sufficient money for necessities,
And tranquility and joy will reign in my house.

By your grace, Blessed Saint,
I request and pray that I will achieve my desire.

(State your petition)

And I will give thanks for your glorious intercession.

(Now promise to give Saint Expedite a specific offering if your desire is granted)

Amen



Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Start Your New Year on a Clean Slate with Cleansing Water

Until 20th December 2010 I will be running a special on Cleansing Water. This specific item is the same Cleansing Water that I used a few months back and had such incredible results with which can be read about in my blog. What you will receive is a bottle of the water, and a box of stick incense, postage included.

 

This special water is created through the use of fire and water and the invocation of the Divine Name Agala'a, and its effects are very powerful. It's main function is to clear away all psychic attachments that you may have. Now just to be clear, what this means is the following:

 

As we meet people we link to them through energetic connections, and they link to us. Passing between ourselves and them is energy or personal power and so we "share our lives together". Depending on who we meet, some of these links can be negative to us, and they affect our lives badly. One such link is called an ibbur in Hebrew, which translates directly to Evil Eye. In many cases of the ibbur, this can actually be a deceased relative. It is not their intention to halt our lives or cause problems of course, but the attachment they create to us after passing, and the love we had/have for them, causes their energy to fix to us. This attachment causes a hindrance in life and stops our progress. Each time we try to move forward, it is like we are being pulled back, because the ibbur is attempting to direct our lives in a fashion which is not how our life is supposed to go, so we have a tug of war.

 

What the Cleansing Water does is very simple, but extremely effective. Unlike other magical applications to remove links or cords that are not desirable (usually ending up trying to figure out which of the millions of psychic attachments we have are the ones to remove, and not doing it correctly), this formula removes ALL of these attachments. What you have is a clean slate to start again, choose the people you want to continue on in life with and discard those that caused negativity, leaving them behind. Without the negative influences on your life, you can then move forward.

 

If you would like more information on the Cleansing Water, please write to me on mabonis@gmail.com and I will get back to you.

 

The special I am running includes a bottle of the water (enough to use once), a box of stick incense (please let me know if there are any scents that you dislike or find yourself allergic to so I don't include them in your package), instructions on usage, and postage is free, all for only R125. The normal price of the water alone is R150 so there is a huge saving.

 

To order your water now and start your New Year with a clean slate, just email me on mabonis@gmail.com. This special is only running for postage within South Africa. If you are living outside South Africa and would like to order, please let me know and I will see what I can do in regards to international postage costs.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

The AbraMelin Journal

For anyone interested, I am starting the AbraMelin Operation, and I will be keeping a Journal at the HLMS site which will outline my progress. It will also contain a lot of very valuable information about such things as the Body of Light, how to create it and how to move in it, Astral Temples, and a whole lot more.
 
If you are interested, go to The AbraMelin Journal.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Problem with Lotteries

Well I went to play the lotto today and the machine wasn't working, so I decided to leave it. Will try tomorrow.
 
However, many people ask someone who practices magic, "If you can perform magic, why don't you win the lottery?" or "If you can predict the future..."
 
There is a very simple reason for this and it involves Intent. When the lottery is being drawn you have millions of people who have chosen numbers, all wishing that their numbers will be drawn. Imagine if you will a ball with a million threads of energy all trying to get through to be the one...very much like sperm cells on their race to the egg. This is what is happening at the time of the numbers being drawn. Now with that many threads of intent all attacking the same point, how easy do you think it is for your own intent to get through? Think about it for a while.
 
As for predicting the numbers...impossible. The future can change with every split second. As people push their intent forward, this causes an effect, and it alters the outcome. Of course this could be argued from the standpoint of a hard fatalist, whereby it doesn't matter what we do, think, decide or choose, that future is already determined, but that is not the way I see things myself. I believe that the future is decided, and we all flow in the direction of that decision, but we can alter the journey we take here and there.
 

Monday, November 15, 2010

Out of Focus

Hello folks,
 
Apologies for the delay in updates, but I was so busy last week I didn't know if I was coming or going and then I spent the weekend backing up 15 years worth of info and work, swapping hard drives and reinstalling. I now don't have pauses when I am typing, so much better :o)
 
Right, so I did the lotto thing the Friday before last, played the Powerball with 6 games, wore the seal on my arm, touched it and said the right word and played. That night I burnt a red candle on it to represent the colour of the seal (which is actually supposed to be on cherry satin). Results? Nothing, no numbers whatsoever came up.
 
So, Wednesday I went and played again, this time I let the machine choose numbers with a Quick Pick. I went home put the lotto ticket under the seal with a yellow candle on top for Sol and wealth, riches, gold, etc. It got to Friday and I then discovered that the draw had been on Wednesday (I thought it was Tuesday and Saturday for some reason, so *sigh* failed again. I told you I was busy hey?
 
Then I played again on Saturday, did the same, but my intention is to burn the candle from 9PM to 10PM as the lotto gets picked at 9:30PM....I was so tired I fell asleep before 9PM. However, there was some focus there as I got 2 numbers from each set.
 
Ergo, I will try again, use the yellow candle and STAY AWAKE :o)
 
Frith,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Grimoire Seals

I did promise that I would send through the instructions and more details about the experiments that I am doing with the seals and pentacles from the Girmiores, so here it is. The one I will focus on is the 2nd pentacle of Jupiter from The Greater Keys of Solomon.
 
This is really simple, none of that making a circle that can take 2 days and summoning spirits into Triangles and stuff. All you need is a pen, paper and blue candle...and something to light the candle with obviously.
 
The Grimoire says the following about this pentacle:
 
"This is proper for acquiring glory, honors, dignities, riches, and all kinds of good, together with great tranquillity of mind; also to discover Treasures and chase away the Spirits who preside over them. It should be written upon Virgin Parchment, with the pen of the swallow and the blood of the screech-owl."
 
The Virgin Parchment will be the peice of clean unused paper and we don't use such things as pens of swallow and blood of screech-owl anymore, so just a blue pen will do :o)
 
Draw out the pentacle on the paper, don't worry about getting the Hebrew letters perfect, it is not all that important, what is important is doing something that you fill with an intent. Once done, place it on a table top, somewhere where it will not be moved all the time, put the candle on top (might want to use a small candle holder) and light the candle...done. I let the candle burn for a while and then put it out, at least 30 minutes at a time. Sometimes I forget about it and it burns right down and then I just replace it and light it again another day, so you can light it for 30 minutes each day if you like. Don't blow it out, snuff it out, as you don't want the magic to end.
 
Do that for a couple days and see how it goes. There are some aspects which I had or have included that I am not sure would influence the effectiveness, but I don't see why they should. The main thing is that you connect to the intent, and each time you light the candle, you draw your attention to the intent. No need to meditate or do visualisations, rituals or anything of the sort, just connect with the intent by lighting the candle and go about doing whatever else you were doing.
 
I am going to have a go at using one of the seals from The Black Pullet to win at the lottery. May take some experimentation as I am not making a ring and the seal will not be embroidered onto satin. What I will do with this one is to draw the seal on one side of a peice of paper and the ring with the symbols on the other side. When I go to play the lotto I will wear it on my left arm, touch it and say the appropriate word. Then when the lotto is being drawn, I will light a yellow candle on top of it. I will keep you updated as to what happens.
 
Want to also experiment with some more abstract ones such as invisibility. That will take some thought though.
 
Best Wishes,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://hlmagickschool.com - Free Lessons in Magick and Witchcraft
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

15% off The Black Crow

Well that didn't post as well as I hoped it would have. Lulu.com are offering 15% of my new book The Black Crow, so take advantage quickly. Offer ends 15 November 2010.

Disclaimer: Use coupon code LEAF305 at checkout and receive 15% off The Black Crow. Maximum savings with this promotion is $10. You can only use the code once per account, and you can't use this coupon in combination with other coupon codes. Sorry, self-purchases (buying books that you've published) aren't eligible. This great offer ends on November 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM so try not to procrastinate! While very unlikely we do reserve the right to change or revoke this offer at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is against the law to do so. Finally, Lulu incurs the cost of this discount, so it does not impact the Author's proceeds of the book.

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Purchase The Black Crow with 15% off with coupon code LEAF305

Disclaimer: Use coupon code LEAF305 at checkout and receive 15% off The Black Crow. Maximum savings with this promotion is $10. You can only use the code once per account, and you can't use this coupon in combination with other coupon codes. Sorry, self-purchases (buying books that you've published) aren't eligible. This great offer ends on November 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM so try not to procrastinate! While very unlikely we do reserve the right to change or revoke this offer at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is against the law to do so. Finally, Lulu incurs the cost of this discount, so it does not impact the Author's proceeds of the book.
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Saturday, October 9, 2010

...and Horus wept

If we are to believe Aliester Crowley, then this is the Aeon of Horus. A time when the Child rules, the great union of the Mother and Father. This is the time when we put our differences aside, stop our useless bickering, a time when the Goddess dominant and the God dominant eras are no longer, as they come together to understand one another, to live side by side.

And this is the world we present to the Divine Child. A world of war, murder, rape, theft. A world which we have spoiled and ruined, lain waste to and paid no attention to. But Horus does not weep for this world because He knows that Mother Nature will fight back. He weeps for us, as He sees the futures we have created for ourselves.

Is it too late? No.

You can order prints at http://www.redbubble.com/people/redoak/art/6060677-1-and-horus-wept


Friday, September 24, 2010

Michael

I've been wroking on this for a few weeks, but got stumped on the right wing about two weeks back. Just couldn't get it right, so kept redrawing it. However, today I decided enough was enough and worked on it most of the day. Finally got it finished. Oh, it's Archangel Michael :o)

Monday, September 20, 2010

Changes to HLMS

A lot of changes have been made at The Hobthrust Lodge Magick School, and I thought I should let everyone know. First of all, all the lessons and courses are now free, and I am hoping to keep it that way, depending on the response I get and the traffic that goes through the site.
 
Secondly, I have included a Chat facility, a Yahoo Group, and my favourite being the HLMS Community which is a social networking site (but seriously needs some members and activity, especially seeing that it was only launched today...please, I'm feeling lonely).
 
Now, just to make things clear about how the HLMS courses function. There are no exams, projects or certificates. The material you will find on the site is for personal spiritual development, soul alchemy and to perfect your Arts as a Magician or Witch. You are responsible for your own progress and the development you want to attain, and therefore there is nobody who can test you, but you, and there is no peice of paper that will qualify you to become Enlightened.
 
Each course opens into a new window so you don't have to leave the main site, and each lesson or chapter is presented as a web page. I will be creating a paperback version of each course for those who would like to sit down with a book in their hands, but everything is available through the site.
 
So, take a look and have fun - http://hlmagickschool.com
 
Best Wishes,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Your Spirit in a Hand

You may have heard of the mojo bag, which has nothing to do with Austin Powers by the way, although I suppose if you have your mojo, you are quite safe. The Mojo bag is a small material bag that contains particular items to draw something to you or for protection, depending on your purpose. These bags are often referred to as "hands", and the mojo hand is not the only one of its type. We also have Nation Sacks which are specifically for women, and in New Orleans you may find gris-gris, but what I want to talk about are those hands called Jacks, otherwise known as Jack Balls or Lucky Balls.
 
The items that go into a Jack can vary from person to person and conjurer to conjurer, but there are some common elements such as a name paper for the person it is made for, a personal effect, usually a small snipping of the person's hair and some roots and herbs. This is all bundled together into a ball of wax and then wrapped in string, yarn or thread to form a nicely packed ball with a length of the string extending from it. This Jack is then put into a mojo bag and carried with you at all times.
 
But what is its purpose? Everything really, to protect you, to bring you good fortune and luck, all the positive things you could think of. However, the aspect which I became most curious about was the inclusion of the spirit. When constructing a hand, whether it be a Jack or a Mojo, breath is used to enliven it, so either the conjurer creating the Mojo for a client will breath into the bag, or the client, i.e. the person it is designed for will be the one to breath into it. Breath is connected to the spirit. We find mention in various religions and spiritual paths of prana or some other equivalant, which is connected to the spirit. Apart from that, breath is life. By breathing into the hand we breath the "breath of life" into it, which is why it becomes enlivened with the spirit. This spirit we talk about is usually considered the spirit of the person that the hand is intended for. In the case of the Jack Ball we have an account by Mary Alicia Owen in her book published 1893, Voodoo Tales as Told Among the Negroes of the Southwest, Collected from Original Sources. Mary Owens had decided to go to a particularly renowned conjure doctor of the area to have a Jack Ball made for her mentor, Charles Leland, who was at that time overseas in Copenhagen. After creating the ball, the "king" (King Alex, as he was known) spoke to the Jack in the following manner:
 
"Now," said he, addressing the ball, as he dangled it between his thumb and finger, "yo' name is Leland, Charles Leland. Ise gwine ter sen' yo' er long way off unter er master, er mighty long way off, 'cross big watteh (the ocean). Go out in de woods an' 'fresh yo'se'f fo' yo' staht. Go 'long! Do ye' hyeah me? Is yo' gwine? Is yo' gwine way off? Is yo' climbin'? Is yo' climbin' high?"
 
Apart from the purposes of protection, luck and good fortune that the Jack is intended to bring, it is also used as pendulum and can be taken out from time to time and consulted, which is obviously why we also have a length of string which the ball dangles on.
 
However, concerning the spirit that goes into a hand, it may be considered that it is a thought form of some kind and the hand is a fetiche, but this is not necessarily the case, which is why I now bring to Kabbalah. The Lower Soul or Self of a person, as explained in Kabbalah, is called the Nefesh. If you have read any of my other scribblings, you may have come across some where I mention this, but for those that haven't, an explanation is worth repeating. The Nefesh is that part of our soul that operates much of our base instinct and our experiences with the world through the five senses. It is not the rational part of our soul or our being, but it is that which retains memory, and this is the important part in this little discourse. The memory it retains is not only that which you experience on a day to day basis, but ALL memory. It is directly connected to everything in this regard, and can access memory that is past, present and future. Some may call this the Akashic Record, and they would be quite right in terms of the Akashic being that which holds all knowledge. If we can therefore access our Nefesh directly, we have the means to access all knowledge and can therefore become knowledgable of all things, which is where the pendulum part of the Jack Ball comes in.
 
Unfortunately the Nefesh, not being a rational aspect of ourselves, does not communicate with us directly through language, and so we have to rely on visions, dreams, ideas, impressions, etc. However, one of the ways I was instructed to communicate with the Nefesh was via a pendulum. The whole process to create that bond takes about three weeks as I was taught by Jacobus G. Swart, who got the same instruction from his mentor, William G. Gray. Start with week one by sitting in front of a mirror and just talking to yourself. As mentioned the Nefesh experiences the world through the fives senses and so by doing this you are talking to your Nefesh through sight and sound. Once or twice a day just sit in front of the mirror and talk, tell your Nefesh about your day, about any frustrations or just chat as if you were talking to a friend. During week two you allow the Nefesh to communicate with you, and this is done via dream, so each morning note any dreams you had, and if you wake up with the lyrics of a song in your head, repeating over and over, take special note. Quite often this communication will be through memory and so you may find that the dreams are of things which have happened to you, and can get somewhat disturbing at times as it is almost like a cleansing in a way. Just work through it, those memories may be something your Nefesh needs to release to you so that you can deal with past issues. Then, during week three, you take a pendulum and communicate directly with your Nefesh, however, this process needs to be programmed. By the way, by this stage you should have a name for your Nefesh, either given to you by the Nefesh, or one you have chosen and agreed upon by the Nefesh, so you can speak to it directly and call it by name. It is very similar to a child's imaginary friend, which makes you wonder if such a friend is really "imaginary" or whether a child knows something which we have forgotten. Start your pendulum practice by telling your Nefesh which swing is yes, no and maybe. When doing this make sure you tell the Nefesh which is which, and get it to respond. If it gives you the wrong swing when you tell it to give you a yes, then just gently, but sternly say, "No, that was wrong, this is a yes answer" and keep repeating it until you get the correct swing. Then start asking questions, but be careful not to repeat yourself in a testing manner because if the Nefesh decides you are being a nuisance and not trusting it, then it will just shut down and not give you any answers. Don't ask stupid questions like, "Am I male/female?", as you already know the answer to that and the Nefesh will look at you as if you are an idiot.
 
So why am I mentioning all of this in relation to the Jack Ball? The "spirit" that is connected to the ball, in my understanding, is your own Nefesh, and so in regards to it being used as a pendulum, you have what I would consider to be a very powerful tool at your disposal. If I make a Jack for someone, I would actually suggest they go through the process I mentioned above, but unlike a pendulum you may find in a shop and use from time to time, put down and forget about for a few hours or a few days, the Jack is with you constantly, keeping guard, bringing positive things to you. It is like a friend in your pocket, which it really is as your Nefesh is your best friend, it is you after all. So what you ultimately have is an object which has a direct energetic connection to that part of your soul which has all the answers.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Hoodoo and Extra

Last night I performed a Honey Jar spell with a few extras. Now please bear in mind that what I did was not entirely traditional to Hoodoo, but I don't see why we should not be able to add elements of other magical practices in with our own Workings. I may not be able to call it Hoodoo per se, but it gets the job done, and gets it done well.
 
In the morning I had a chat with Papa Legba about the Honey Jar spell. Apart from some things that he told me to do which were more personal to me, he suggested that I create a quincunx, or artificial crossroads in my room and do the spell work in the middle. It was a simple affair of creating five piles of salt, one on each corner and one in the center, and then I proceeded to call him to open the Gates so that I may enter the Temple. Once that was done I went about creating the petition, adding the necessary elements to it and dusting it with the appropriate powder. I folded the petition paper up and then incorporated a Kabbalistic technique of Directing Spiritual Force. Now this is used mostly to draw Spiritual Force or Ruchaniyut from an inanimate object, however it can be reversed to fill an object with a particular intent. So, I breathed in Avir saturated with the intent of the spell and then projected it out along a series of energetic lines from my body, those being the brow, throat, heart, solar plexus, groin and the hands including the fingers. After three such breaths I could feel the energy build up from the petition paper, stronger than I have ever felt it before. Now I don't tangibly feel energy very often, but this was incredibly strong. It was actually pushing my hands away as the energy was building up and intensifying.
 
Following that I put it inside the honey jar, annointed the candle and stood it on top. Whilst the candle was burning, I repeated the process of Directing Spiritual Force and again, it built to an intensity that was tangibly felt.
 
So, in my opinion, although I may not be able to call what I did Hoodoo, Rootwork or Conjure because it diverted from the traditions of that path, the point is that we perform magic to work, and if what I did works better, then so be it. Amen.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Honey Jar Spells

This is probably one of the most popular spells that can be found in Hoodoo practice, the Honey Jar Spell. It is simple and effective and used to sweeten people up to you. So, if you have someone that you want to love you, like you, befriend you, or make them agree with you, then the Honey Jar could be the answer.
 
Simply take a jar of honey, must be a glass jar with a metal lid, if not then get such a jar and decant the honey into that jar, write out a petition, add some personal effects and if you like some powerful herbs, fold it all up and put it in the honey. Then close the lid and burn a candle on top.
 
Of course, things are never as simple as that. When writing out your petition it is suggested that you take a peice of paper, preferably a brown paper bag as that is what was traditionally used, and tear the edges off so that you have no machine cut edges. Then write the name of the person you wish to sweeten up three times on the paper, turn the paper 90 degrees and write your own name three times over that name. Then you need to create a petition, just something short like "let him love me" or "make him/her agree with me" and in a circle around the names start to write this petition in one constant flow, repeating it until you reach the end. This means that you do not lift your pen and all letters must flow into the next. When you reach the end, allow the last letter to flow into the beginning of the first letter you wrote.
 
To this petition paper you add your items. The personal effects can be some of your hair, and if you are doing a love drawing spell with someone else in mind, then you can get some of their hair and cross it over yours and tie them together. If you can't get the person's hair the only thing I know of that will replace this comes from the account written by Mary Alicia Owens when she got a rootworker to make a Jack or Luck Ball for Charles Leland. Because she couldn't get any of his hair as he was overseas, the rootworker used red clover to substitute for the missing hair. However, it is probably best to use the other person's hair or nothing at all.
 
Once you have all of that, you can add some roots and herbs or dust the petition paper with an appropriate powder which you can get from me at Red Mojo (mabonis@gmail.com or info@redmojo.co.za) or if you are not in South Africa, the best place to go is Lucky Mojo. Then fold the paper toward you and speak aloud the petition. Keep folding it toward you and repeating the petition until you can't fold in anymore.
 
Open the jar of honey and take a teaspoon of it, eat it and say, "As this honey sweetens me, so shall it sweeten [person's name] toward me". Do this again two more times and then push the peitition paper into the honey. Close the jar and take a candle of the correct colour; red to sweeten a love, brown to sweeten a judge in a court case, etc. Annoint the candle with the proper oil for your need (available from me), melt it onto the lid of the jar and burn it.
 
This should be repeated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, just replace the candle with a new one each time, until the work is complete. Honey Jar Spells are designed to work slowly, but they can be sped up somewhat by adding cinnamon or ginger. I would use cinnamon in money related spells and ginger in love, but either are fine for whatever cause as they are explained as being "sweet-hot" so you would be sweetening up the target but speeding up the process with the heat.
 
You don't however have to use honey, you can also use syrup, mollasses or even sugar, as long as it is sweet. Some of the older Honey Jar Spells used a box of sugar. In others an apple that had been hollowed out, the sweetner placed inside with the petition and then put into a jar.

Internet and Oils

I have been experiencing severe internet problems and still fighting with iBurst. Hope to get it all resolved VERY soon, but it does mean I am having difficulty updating sites and adding articles. Fortunately, I can email blog updates, so will be sticking to this for a while.
 
I have some new hoodoo oils ready. You can find out more on the Red Mojo Facebook Page or website if you like (the FB Page is probably the best place to go at the moment though). Click on one of the banners above. These oils include:
 
Oil of Abramelin
Blessing
Fiery Wall of Protection
Love Drawing
Pay Me Now
and Revenge
 
If you would like me to perform the candle lighting or spell work for you (as you may not be in a situation where you can do it yourself), then please let me know and we will discuss your particular circumstance. You can email on mabonis@gmail.com or info@redmojo.co.za

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Why I like Hoodoo

Hoodoo crosses cultural and spiritual bridges and boundaries. With all the years I have been studying and practicing spirituality and magic, I have always enjoyed finding the commonalities between the different arenas that exist. Now although I see this within the Hoodoo practices and beliefs, others may not, but this is not a problem, just something I like to observe and may bring up from time to time. So, if I ever make comparitive examples, I am not trying to synchronise other practices into Hoodoo more than they should be, just relating it to other things as a point of reference.

 

My own spiritual, religious and magical practices have developed over the years, forming what has become "My Path", and something I think we should all do. We were created as individuals, even though we belong to Great All Is and are in fact all One, but as livingbreathingthinking people, we have our own minds, our own memories, and so we should be able to decide what we do with them. Having had my main focus on Traditional Paganism and Kabbalah, I find Hoodoo speaks volumes for me, not because Hoodoo is those things, but because of certain aspects that got ingested as it were.

 

Hoodoo finds its roots in Africa, and although I was born in England, I live in South Africa. This is where I call Home, where my feet rest, on African soil. Although my roots are firmly placed in English soil, those same roots stretch across the oceans and the tree above the ground is growing on African Land.

 

I get to put herbs, roots and powders into my mortar and pestle and grind them up, mixing them together and watching the different colours and shades all swirl and mix together. I get to sing to these herbal mixtures, to the spirits and to the Power. Wortcunning at its best. I get to speak with Saints, Loa, Spirits of all natures, Spirits that are closely connected to the Land that I stand on, and they speak back to me. I use my knowledge of Kabbalah to call on the Archangels, which aids in the petitioning of the Saints; and the Psalms, being of Hebraic origin, speak volumes to me. My interest in the old Grimoires comes into play when the use of the talismans and seals is required, and because all of the pomp and ceremony has been removed from such, I can easily relate to this as I like to keep my own practice simple and straight forward. I have never been one to go through lengthy rituals, as Power and Spirit are all around us, waiting for us to just open our mouth and speak with It, or turn our ear to listen. It's simple, plain, but we as humans like ceremony and often tend to complicate things. Not that I dislike ceremony, it can be a very beautiful and powerful thing, but I like the practical approach greatly.

 

What I like most about Hoodoo is the sychronicity between religions and spirituality. Don't forget that Hoodoo is not a religion, and is not a religious practice, but if any practitioner is going to include religion, in the traditional sense, then it would be Christianity. So what we have is a magical practice which causes change in our life and environment, has influences from Kabbalah, European folkmagic, Native American spirituality and African tradition, which is met with Christianity and Catholicism. You may think this is a strange mix, calling on God and the Saints to aid in your magical work, but when you really get down to the roots and bones of any religion, there is a current that flows through all of them. No matter what you follow or believe, you cannot discount the fact that this universe, planet and you came from something, somewhere, a Power or a Force that is everything, an energy that moves through all things. Call it what you like, it is not the gods, the spirits, the loa, or any of those entities that we can contact and speak with, it is something that is in everything which our minds can comprehend and in everything our minds cannot manage to comprehend. This common aspect of all religions is what I like, bringing them all into the same arena and allowing them to talk to one another as friends, brothers and sisters, all children of that eternal Power. Instead, we fight, allow our egos to try and gain the upper hand over our fellow brother or sister, and this Power still flows through us, intermingles with the space between and in and out of both of us, mixing us with each other and everything, making us one, making us whole. Yet we still decide to force our seperation from each other and from that which is all of us. This, I don't like.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Candle Magic

(All pages mentioned in this article can be found at http://redmojo.co.za )

 

WARNING:

When doing candle magic, make sure your candle is NOWHERE near flamable objects. Sometimes things can get a bit rough with the candle and the spirits working on your behalf, and the flame can get pretty wild. Take note of the example picture. This was a standard candle bought at the supermarket that I used for myself, nothing special about it and nothing different from all the other candles in the packet (except for the oil that was used to anoint it, but it burnt normally for the first third of its length).

 

Candle magic is a very prominent feature in Hoodoo practice, from the lighting of properly dressed candles of colours that represent the energy of the work, to glass-encased Novena and Vigil candles, different shaped candles such as crucifix, skull, lovers, etc. and double action candles. What I am going to discuss here is the use of standard freestanding coloured candles.

 

We should of course start at the beginning, i.e. with the colour representation of the candle as you will need to know which candle to use before doing anything else.

 

·         white - spiritual blessings, purity, healing, rest

·         blue - peace, harmony, joy, kindly intentions, healing

·         green - money spells, gambling luck, business, a good job, good crops

·         yellow - devotion, prayer, money (gold), cheerfulness, attraction

·         red - love spells, affection, passion, bodily vigour

·         pink - attraction, romance, clean living

·         purple - mastery, power, ambition, control, command

·         orange - change of plans, opening the way, prophetic dreams

·         brown - court case spells, neutrality

·         black - repulsion, dark thoughts, sorrow, freedom from evil

 

Some people will want to time their candle lighting practice, and some may be a little more particular about this. We find that there are planeatary hours and moon phases that a lot of folk like to stick to. This is a personal affair and a lot of practioners will not bother with this aspect of magic. However, one rule of thumb that does seem quite prominent in Hoodoo candle burning is that a spell to cause increse should be done between the hours of 6 and 12, when the hour hand of the clock is moving upward, and for decrease, when the hour hand is moving downward, i.e. between 12 and 6 (don't look at your digital watch, it won't help :o) ).

 

If you are using the candle to represent someone, then you will want to inscribe their name on it first. I have found that the use of a marker works, but the traditional way to do it is to inscribe using a needle or some other sharp point. Alternatively you could also write out your petition on a piece of paper with the name of the person written several times and place that beneath the candle. If you are using hair, nail clippings or anything of a personal concern, then you can load it into the candle by making a hole and then covering it up with wax.

 

The manner in which you use the candle is to first dress them in an appropriate oil (which you can find in the Red Mojo Curios Store). To apply the oil you would either rub it onto the candle in an upward or downward motion. For any magic that is of a positive or attraction nature, rub the candle upwards, for negative magic such as domination, hexing, and banishing, you would rub downwards. If you want to increase the effects, then also get the powder and sprinkle it on the candle once it has been dressed with the oil, or roll the candle in the powder to make it fix.

 

However, a couple of things to keep in mind when dressing. Do not apply too much oil to the candle or you may drown the wick, and when applying powders, make sure that it does not have any elements that is highly flammable or they could cause the entire candle to set alight. Check the details of the powders first to make sure you can safely use them on your candles.

 

Depending on what you are working toward, some candles can be burned over a series of days, such as money or love drawing, in which case you can snuff out the candle at intervals and relight them the next day. You can place pins at intervals along the candle length and when the pin drops, you snuff out the candle. In some cases you may use more than one candle, such as breaking up a couple where you might want to move the candles further and further apart each day. If you are going to be doing something of a dominating or hexing nature including uncrossing, then do not snuff out the candle until it has burned to the bottom.

 

Whilst the candle is burning it is customary to say prayers, read Psalms or make petitions. You can sit and visualise your desire, but always make sure you do so in the present tense.

 

When you need to extinguish a candle, do not blow it out, rather use a candle snuffer, saucer or pinch it out with your fingers. The reason for this is because it is said if you blow the candle out it means the spell has finished, but if you pinch it out or snuff it, you can return to it at a later stage.

 

Disposing of the remains of the candle depends again on your working. If it is for a positive and drawing work then you can take all the remains, put them in a mojo bag and carry it with you, or bury it in the yard. If it is for a crossing or uncrossing, then placing it on your enemies property or throwing it into a body of natural water that is running away from your home is more appropriate. For more info on disposal of ritual remains, please reading the "Laying Tricks and Disposal" article in the About Hoodoo section.

 

How to interpret the candle is also an important aspect as certain things can happen during the burning that are a little out of the ordinary. Below is a short list of some of the meanings. You can also read the wax remains once the burning has been done, in which case you look at the patterns that were formed, this is called ceromancy. Although there are some guidelines that other people suggest, which you will find below, I have found that the candle can sometimes speak to you and tell a story as it burns, so use your own interpretation of what you see.

 

From the book "The Magickal Power of the Saints - Evocation & Candle Rituals" by Ray Malbrough:

 

The candle emits black smoke when lit: This signals that the candle is beginning to remove negative energy from your desire.

 

The candle emits white smoke when lit: This signals that your prayer will be answered but not without a struggle.

 

A strong or high flame: The candle is working by sending out a large amount of power and strength to manifest your desire. This indicates that your prayer will be answered rapidly.

 

A weak or low flame: The candle is working slowly to remove an obstacle or to bring about positive vibrations. You will have to pray a bit longer and harder to overcome some opposition.

 

A jumping flame: Spiritual warfare may be occuring on your behalf. If the candle is a war-type candle, the person you are trying to affect is fighting back. {some interpret a flickering flame as a spirit presence}

 

If the candle crackles: This is thought to mean that the spirits are pleading your case on your behalf. The louder the crackling, the stronger the opposition against you.

 

If smoke wafts toward you: Your prayer has been acknowledged and will be granted quickly.

 

If the smoke wafts away from you: Perseverence will be needed to achieve your desire.

 

If the smoke turns to the right: You will need to use a bit of patience with success coming from using your head.

 

If the smoke turns toward your left: You are becoming too emotionally involved with the situation and are in danger of subconsciously sabotaging yourself so that your prayer will not be answered.

 

Some additional signs are as follows:

 

If the candle does not want to burn then it usually means some other work needs to be done before this one, such as cleansing yourself or the space you are working in. It could also mean that a different type of spell needs to be used.

 

If the flame splits into two or more flames then the centre or dominant flame represents you. If used for protection then the other flames represent your enemies. If in a domination spell the person is being aided. If it is for love, then it can indicate a division in the relationship and if it splits into three flames in this instance, then there is a third party interfering.

 

If the entire top of the candle catches alight then the spell is being fought off, but will more than likely be successful.

 

If the candle goes out during the burning, then someone was working against you if it was for protection. If for a working against someone then they managed to fight it off and another spell must be performed.

 

If you extinguish the candle flame and it relights itself, then the work is not finished and you need to stay and complete it.

 

But as mentioned, use your own discretion. I did a Pay Now spell and the candle had finished burning to the bottom. I decided to snuff it out and as I was reaching for my snuffer, the candle went out by itself. I took it as the spirits I petitioned telling me the spell was complete and in action, not that the person was fighting against the spell.

 

Now if you are in an environment where you cannot do candle magic, such as in a house where you live with people who do not agree with these acts, or you need to keep it hidden, then you can do some of the spells by burning the candle at intervals and then hiding the candle away. If you are going to do this then let the candle burn for at least 15 minutes before extinguishing it.

 

Alternatively you can get me to do a candle lighting on your behalf. For more info please go to the Candle Service page.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What is Hoodoo?

I am currently creating a new site for Hoodoo, specifically aimed at the South African folk, but not solely of course. This is the article that is going up on the site about what Hoodoo is.

 

With its main roots in Africa, Hoodoo became a mixture of various religious and spiritual practices, and yet it remains non-religious itself. Bringing together Christianity, Kabbalah, European Paganism and even Native American practice, Hoodoo, although labeled as African-American folk magic, has been and still is, practiced by both black and white folk alike.

 

Nobody is certain as to the origins of the word "Hoodoo", although there is a good argument on the Lucky Mojo site (very much worth checking out) that it originated from the Spanish word for “Jewish”. In Palo (a Cuban practice of Central African Mkisi-worship) there are two major groups, Palo Cristiano (Christian Palo) and Palo Judio (Jewish Palo). Although this does not refer to the practice of the Jewish faith, it does refer to the idea of not giving themselves over to Christianity. However, Judio is pronounced hoo-dyoh.

 

Hoodoo itself is a very practical and straightforward Art that incorporates the combination of herbs, roots, oils, and various other things, including sigils and seals found in various Grimoires to make up powders that can be laid as a trick, oils to anoint, mojo bags or gris gris (pronounced gree-gree) to carry with you, or various bath salts, waters, colognes and floor scrubs to cleanse and protect yourself or your home and business. The list of what can be done with Hoodoo is exhaustive, so this very short list is just that, very short.

 

There is some confusion as to whether Hoodoo is Voodoo, and I have to agree with others, no it is not. Although some practitioners may incorporate the Orisha and Loa of Vodou, it is not Vodou itself. In some cases, especially the New Orleans practitioners, they may use the words interchangeably or refer to "Voodoo Hoodoo", however the practice of Hoodoo itself does not use religion, whereas Voodoo does. If a Hoodoo, Root Doctor or Conjurer is going to petition the aid of any spirit, it will be the "Black Man" of the Crossroads, the Saints and a small variety of deceased people who were considered to be powerful in their practice such as Black Hawk, but there is no worship involved in the practice of Hoodoo unless, as I mentioned above, the practitioner is also incorporating Voodoo and giving specific reverence to the Orisha and Loa.

 

However, in the practice of "New Orleans Voodoo Hoodoo", the actual practice of Haitian Vodou is not as fierce. There is no need to go through initiation ceremonies such as Kanzo and so they do not necessarily become mambos and houngans. It tends to be more focused on Creole Voodoo in this respect.

 

As for myself, coming from a European background and being born in England, I tend to stick more closely to the more common Hoodoo practices and do not refer to it as Voodoo in any way. I am also a Kabbalist and Traditional Witch, and so I find the old Hebrew sigils and seals from the Grimoires of Solomon and Co. to be more useful, and will work with the Saints and the Psalms. If I am to call any spirits outside the standard mainframe of Hoodoo, then it will either be the Celtic Gods and sometimes I will bring myself into the presence of the Loa for the simple reason that I live in Africa. Some may feel that this is a mix and match scenario which is not a good thing to do, but if you look into the Voodoo Hoodoo way, then you will notice that this has already been done. The Loa themselves have been associated with various Saints. This was mostly done during the times of the slave trades when Catholicism was being forced upon them. They found similar attributes between their Loa and the Catholic Saints, and therefore used the names of the Saints. If one looks at the Loa we also find cognates between them and the Celtic Gods, in fact, I remember having some very informative conversations with an old Zulu friend of mine where we compared the practices of the Zulus to that of the Celts, and the similarities are astounding. I am sure that spread through Africa, especially considering the wide spread of the Zulu people over the ages. There are many bridges that can be found between all spiritual practices and religions if we are willing to take the time to find them.

 

To give you an example, Chango, one of the Seven African Powers, is a Warrior and the Orisha of lightning, dance and passion and his best known symbol is the oshe, a double bladed axe. Does Thor ring any bells? Of course when we start finding Black Hawk, who was Native American, and various Mexican deities in the general Hoodoo mix, we can see that it is very eclectic in approach anyway.

 

The manner in which Hoodoo Tricks work, although a simple practice, is quite complex. There is a level of Sympathetic and Contagious Magic involved, whereby you either represent your intent through the act of creating a symbolic similarity to the outcome you desire, or through causing the magic to spread from the trick into the person. However, I have found it more complex than that. Having studied various traditions and practices from a variety of Paths, I tend to get a little analytical at times. Some may say that the herbs, roots, and all other items used in the blends contain their own energy which does the work, and although this is true, there is still more to it. When a blend is being prepared, the intent of the Root Worker or Conjurer also infuses into the remedy. I find this probably the most important aspect. I tend to go off into spontaneous song with words and sounds coming out of my mouth that I don't recognise from any language I have ever heard, and it instills a mild trance whilst grinding and mixing the remedies. This spontaneous singing seems to imbue the blend with Power which is synonymous with the intent that it holds. Other practitioners may recite prayers or chant Power Names whilst preparing their blends, but the main thing is the outcome. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and I have had enough proof of the effects of my blends to know that they work. If you go to the Services page you will see a photo of the first love spell I did for someone. Have a look at how the flames begin to twist around each other. They were literally dancing together in a loving embrace.

 

There is a great deal that can be said about Hoodoo and the variety of traditions that are incorporated in its practice, but instead of making this a very lengthy page, I will attempt to cover as much as possible in the associative pages.

 

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Oogy Boogy Demons

Recently on a group some poor soul asked for suggestions and guidance on using a Ouija Board to contact Demons. I say poor soul because the responses that came flying through were purely to ridicule him. He was told that if he is going to do it, then to please get someone to record it so that when he gets ripped to pieces, we can all see.

Is this the reaction of a fool? If you ask my opinion, yes it is. The word “demon” has obvious connotations, mostly in reference to the Christian ideology of a big bad evil thing. However, when dealing with “demons” in magical practice, we find a very different perspective, if we do our proper homework and research.

From Online Etymology Dictionary - http://www.etymonline.com :

“Demon - late 14c., from L. daemon "spirit," from Gk. daimon "deity, divine power; lesser god; guiding spirit, tutelary deity" (sometimes including souls of the dead); "one's genius, lot, or fortune;" from PIE *dai-mon- "divider, provider" (of fortunes or destinies), from base *da- "to divide" (see tide). Used (with daimonion) in Christian Greek translations and Vulgate for "god of the heathen" and "unclean spirit." Jewish authors earlier had employed the Greek word in this sense, using it to render shedim "lords, idols" in the Septuagint, and Matt. viii.31 has daimones, translated as deofol in O.E., feend or deuil in Middle English. The original mythological sense is sometimes written daemon for purposes of distinction. The Demon of Socrates was a daimonion, a "divine principle or inward oracle." His accusers, and later the Church Fathers, however, represented this otherwise. The Demon Star (1895) is Algol.”

So what do we have? A spirit, which could refer to many things; a deity or guiding spirit from the Greek, and even including the souls of the dead, which could include Aunt Agatha; and then moving on to being the god of the Heathens (i.e. my god, and I wouldn’t call him unclean, pure heresay I tell you), and the Demon of Socrates being his own inner oracle. So where is the evil, oogy boogy Christian interpretation?

People hear the words “Ouija” and “Demon” and they immediately rebound back to their good and righteous childhood with prayers to the Messiah before going to bed. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that viewpoint, but I will say it is immensely misguided, ESPECIALLY when coming from people who claim to have done their research and communed with “spirits”. I do think most of these people do not move further than their own skulls, imprisoned in bone that confines the processes and creates illusion. But that is just my opinion and rant.

But let me give you the other side of the coin. A lot of folk think that there is either evil things or good things. Some would posit the idea that the Fae have butterfly wings and the Angels are all love and light. If you think this, then you have not encountered them in their true sense. The InnerContacts, Sidhe, Hidden People, Pale People, Fae…are not always fluffy, in fact they are very seldom are if ever, and the Angels are not always going to smile and give you a muffin. So when dealing with any spirit, whether it be Fae, Angel, Demon, whatever, there are always risks involved. They are not good, nor are they evil, they just are, like people walking the earth that you meet with and encounter every day. Your next door neighbor may be a very gentle and kind soul, but that does not mean he does not have it within himself to kill his family. The key is to educate yourself, which not a lot of people do, and then when ready, go for it. I am not sure whether to say tread carefully through the thorns and bramble, or just start ploughing your way through as fast as you can to get to the other side. That is something you will need to decide for yourself.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Do I Really have to Meditate?

This is a question that crosses the minds of a LOT of people, probably all of us in fact. The answer? Bloody well right you do J I know it is difficult in the beginning and it can be quite boring, not to mention when the Ego Self raises its defiant head and says, “Ag man, just do it tomorrow”. However, meditation does not have to be boring.

 

First off you can do one-pointed meditation, and yes, I know, this can seem extremely monotonous and give you a “throw myself down a pit now” attitude, but if you stick with it, then in a couple months you will see why I said “bloody well right you do”. When your psychic senses start to unfold like a flower, you will be able to See more, understand more, have a much better perception and outlook on life, and if you do any form of magickal practice, you will see an incredible change in your Work. One-pointed is quite simple really, just sit for a period of time, quietly, and breath normally through your nose. Continue breathing in this manner and focus on your breath going into your nostrils and down into your lungs, and extend it down into the pit of your stomach, into your dan dien. Then when you let your breath out watch it as it moves up and out through your nostrils, and just keep doing that. What could be simpler? And you were complaining this would be hard. Ok, I concede, when you first start practicing, it can be difficult as your mind tends to flood with thoughts and you have to keep pulling your attention back to your breath, but keep with it, once or even twice a day and your mind will start to calm down. You will notice that your thoughts do not rush in and out like a train station mulling with hundreds of people in a chaotic frenzy, but will come in one at a time until eventually you can focus on the one thought, that being your breath, i.e. one-pointed meditation. As you continue to practice you will also find that you relax more during the meditation and your breath becomes more and more shallow until eventually it is so shallow that the breath no longer moves down into the lungs, but up into the third eye. More practice on a daily basis and you will start to See, and that continues into other things such as no-breath and then the release of the astral body. Oh by the way the period of time you should sit for can start at 5 or 10 minutes and then build up to longer periods such as half an hour or even an hour. One source I found suggested that you should sit for the period of time equal to your age. I am not sure why but it was an Indian dude J

 

There is also a more active meditation which you can learn from the video or audio files on my HLMS site. I won’t explain it in detail here as it is quite lengthy to do so, just go to http://hlmagickschool.com and sign up for a free trial membership. What I can tell you is that you go through three distinct exercises incorporating breath technique, also another very important aspect of spiritual and magickal practice. The exercises are slightly Kabbalistic in approach, especially the use of the Mother Breath incorporating the three Hebrew Mother Letters, Aleph, Mem and Shin which relate to the three elements Air, Water and Fire, but you can use them universally and in any path. After the Mother Breath you perform Toning and Tuning the Body which is very active and will get you into a very nice meditative and trance state. Finally you perform pore breathing through the hands and build a ball of energy between them. So you see, meditation practice does not need to be boring, and literally anyone will see immediate effects with this particular practice.

 

Some people tend to think that there is no need for meditational practice if you work magick ritually. I have to disagree with that. Meditation opens you up to the unseen world, allows your psychic senses to develop and these aspects are very much needed in magickal work. Also, before performing any Working of any kind, it is a good idea to get yourself into a relaxed, centered and trance state so that your magickal Work is more enhanced. Ergo, most important if you ask me.

 

Well go on then, go meditate, what you waiting for? Ommmmmm mani padme hummmmmm…cough cough.

Pages from The Red Book of Hergest

Now this is a thing of exceptional beauty, the pages from the original manuscript of The Red Book of Hergest containing some of the tales we now find in The Mabinogion.

 

http://image.ox.ac.uk/show?collection=jesus&manuscript=ms111

Profile HTML on Facebook

Now this is a BRILLIANT FB App, Profile HTML. Go to my profile page at http://www.facebook.com/redoak and click on the Profile HTML Tab at the top. So cool. If you scroll down to the bottom of that page you will find a link to the app, and then you can put your own custom page on your Facebook Profile.

Friday, June 25, 2010

New books in from Pendraig

I have received three more books from Pendraig Publishers. Go to the Esoteric section at http://redpathmedia.za.net to find them. These are only shipped within South Africa from Red Path Media.

 

The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill – Robin Artisson’s first book that has been republished. I read this some years ago when it first came out, excellent book full of Old Lore.

 

The Crooked Path: Selected Transcripts – If you were a fan of Peter Paddon’s Crooked Path podcasts, then this is a must. Transcripts from some of the best podcasts.

 

A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk – Now this is an incredible book. It discusses the Cunning Arts and a great deal of Lore pertaining to practice from the British Isles including pathworkings, treading the mill, raising the cone, how to lay a Compass and Plough the Bloody Acre, how to Ride the Dragon, and a great deal more. Definitely my number one selection.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Where Do Elementals Go?

There is a modern idea of working with Elementals and Servitors which states that once they have completed their task they should “return to the source”. In other words, they go back to where they came from. This is basically saying that once they are done, they dismantle or dissolve and allow their energies to go back to the Element or the Magician that they were created from.

In some schools of thought, and I am thinking of the older ones such as Kabbalah, and Elemental does not do this. Once it is created, it exists and remains as such. To tell it to return to source is like asking a child to return to its mother’s womb (and I don’t think the mother would appreciate that). In this case the Elemental will eventually dissolve, allowing its energy to disperse and so it will, in effect, “return to source”, but it is not an instruction that we give it, it is a natural process. An Elemental is constructed of energy and remains an energetic body, much like the Nefesh of a living person. Once the task of the Elemental has been completed, the Magician would normally stop working with said Elemental and so it would not be fed further energy from the Magician or whatever source of energy was set up for it, and because of this it would not be able to hold itself together any more. In the case of a person that dies, the Nefesh will hang around for a while, but as long as it is not being fed energy, it will dissolve and return to the Source. In the past I have also referred to this as the Phantasm, the energy that is left behind which is the Ego, that part of the soul that retains memory. It is that which people channel and speak to, the ghost that walks the halls, appearing as it did when a living person, as it retains the memory of what it once was as a solid physical body.

In the case of an Elemental that was created to protect someone, and once that task was completed, it did not “return to source”, but in fact attached itself to the husband of the woman who it was to protect for that period of time, then it has simply continued its task. The protection may have been for something specific at that time, but the task of the Elemental was to protect. Once the husband came along, the Elemental attached to him in order to keep her protected through the husband. You can’t be upset with the Elemental for not following your instructions, because to the Elemental, it is following them, i.e. protecting the person, all it did was transfer itself to the physical body who would then continue that protection and therefore be able to continue with its job. Of course I don’t know all the small details of this particular case, but am using it as an example of what can happen when you give an Elemental an instruction to do something and it doesn’t go exactly as you planned.

So to conclude this short diatribe, when creating an Elemental or Servitor, I don’t believe it necessary to give it instructions of what to do once it has finished its task. Just let it be and allow it to move back to the Source in its own way and time, just like we do.

Pendraig Books in SA

I am happy to say that books from Pendraig Publishers are again being printing in South Africa by myself. This means that the prices are a lot lower than anywhere else you will find them in South Africa. To order the books, please go http://redpathmedia.za.net

 

Here are a list of the books currently available. The rest of the title from Pendraig will be added over the coming weeks.

 

Horn of Evenwood By Robin Artisson

The Flaming Circle by Robin Artisson

Hedgerider: Witches and the Underworld by Eric de Vries

Sorgitzak: Old Forest Craft by Veronica Cummer

Masks of the Muse by Veronica Cummer

The Forge of Tubal Cain by Ann Finnin

The Crooked Path Journal, Vol 1

The Crooked Path Journal, Vol 2

The Crooked Path Journal, Vol 3

The Crooked Path Journal, Vol 4

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Happy Father's Day

I would just like to say a Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. May you have a relaxed one in front of the TV, in the garden, or wherever you find you pleasure place to be. I got a new journal to start writing in so I will be adding all sorts of interesting and exciting stuff to it this morning.

 

Frith,

Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson

http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com

 

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Reality of Things MRR

I am busy running a Limited Offer of my book, The Reality of Things, as an eBook with Master Resale Rights. What this means is you can purchase the eBook and resell it, keeping 100% of the profits, or give it away for free or as a bonus. I am also putting together something for affiliates. If you are interested please email me on mabonis@gmail.com or go http://realityofthings.za.net

 

This offer is open to everyone worldwide.

 

You can also purchase the paperback at http://redpathmedia.za.net and if you are not in South Africa, there is a link on the page that will take you to the book on Lulu.com.