Necromancy Oil Part 3: The Altar

This update is a bit delayed since I have been busy with client work and other projects. I exhumed the oil and the skull from the mock grave that I made for after making weekly prayers and offerings of whiskey and tobacco. Once I cleaned everything off I went about setting up a working altar. I decided to place the altar between my ancestral and Santisima Muerte altars. 

I am usually very minimalist when it comes to altars and this one was no exception. Besides the skull and oil, I have two white candles (dressed with van van oil), a water cup, incense burner, flower vase, cauldron, two crow wings,small white cross, and a sickle tool that I made from an antique blade and two found bones I received from a friend. 

After making my weekly offerings and prayers to my ancestors and Her most Holy Death, I conducted a simple rite to call upon the spirits of the unnamed dead. I feel very confident about this work and am happy with the way it turned out. I will be doing some experimenting with the workings for myself before involving the dead with my clients. I look forward to learning more about this form of working, but from research and the spirits. 

                                               

Necromancy Oil Pt. 2 :"A funeral for a friend"

New year, lets get right into it! I would wish you a happy new year, but ultimately that's up you isn't it?


After sitting for a week, with me shaking it on a daily basis the oil smells amazing. The tobacco really made a difference in the aroma. I strained it through some cheesecloth into another bottle, added some yew and cypress wood to finish it off, corked and sealed it with black wax.

I would prefer to bury this in a cemetery, but that was not at all practical at this time. So once again I took part of Moloch's suggestion and buried the oil on my property and created a "grave" for it. I placed the oil bottle in a coffin box that I had, and surrounded it with purple fabric for cushioning. Purple is also a color significant the work as well. Doesn't look purple in the pic, but trust me it is. I also nailed the coffin shut with 9 nails. These will come in handy later as "coffin nails" for spell workings.

I also acquired this ceramic skull that I plan on utilizing with my necromantic altar, and will be burying this in the grave as well.

On Sunday morning before sunrise I set out to start this work. I first lit lights on my ancestral altar and asked for their protection, and did the same thing with Santisima Muerte. Then set off to work armed with a bottle of whiskey, a cigar, a rose, some Florida water, a cross made of cypress twigs, a book of catholic prayers (seen on the altar in the first pic) and a tea light. The grave was already dug, so  first I cleansed it with the Florida water. I laid the skull in the ground first and bathed it with three good sprays of whiskey from my mouth, and three puffs of smoke from the cigar. Next I repeated the process with the coffin. Let me just say, if you start your New Years day off smelling of whiskey and cigars and it has nothing to do with a party the night before, you just might be a conjurer. I put the still lit cigar in the grave as an offering to the spirits of the dead. I then laid the rose in the ground as well and said a few words in honor of the spirits that I was calling upon. I ended by burying the contents, adding the cross, doing the three more sprays of whiskey, and lighting the candle. While the candle burned I recited the following prayer:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.

Amen. 

I originally started this working on a new moon, and plan to work it until the next full moon. So the items will remain interred until then, and I will be making offerings of whiskey, tobacco, and flowers at the grave each Friday until then. Once the skull and oil are exhumed I have one last ritual planned to finish the process. Stay tuned until then. 

Yuza-Yuza/Necromancy Oil Pt. 1

I have been feeling the draw to work with the dead, and after establishing a relationship with my ancestors for some time, and getting experience with cemetery work, I am confident that I am ready. Recently I decided to experiment with “Voodoo Sorcery Grimoire” (VSG) by Brujo Negro and his method for utilizing the spirits of the dead in spell work.  The text mentioned a blend known as Yuza-Yuza Oil, which is a powerful oil used for calling the “evil spirits of the dead” for hexing purposes. He puts Yuza-Yuza in the same category as Yula perfume, Black Arts, and Crossing oils as far as hexing potency is concerned albeit with a more necrotic energy. I decided to look up more information on this oil and make some for myself.  First thing I had to do was track down a recipe.

I didn’t have to look far, as it turns out Yuza-Yuza is listed Herman Slater’s formulary.  The oil is listed as thus:

Black

Myrrh

Cypress

A dreaded mystical oil blend used for calling the spirits of the dead.

Very Dangerous. Never use in jest. Also for casting hexes.

On the surface this seems like a pretty simple oil with only two ingredients and the instruction that it be colored black.  In context both Myrrh and Cypress make perfect sense to be included in a necromantic oil. Both are associated with the planet Saturn which is the planet associated with such works, and in regards to voodoo is connected to the Lwa Baron Samedi (Saturday). Myrrh has a long history of being connected to funerary rites, and was even used by ancient Egyptians in the process of embalming mummies. Cypress wood earned the folk name “Tree of Death” for it’s long association with dead, and because it’s wood was used in Egypt to build coffins. So here we clearly have the necromantic element present in both ingredients, and while I wouldn’t necessarily classify them as being known their  powers in hexing, their Saturnian energies can be used as such. So while the VSG mentions it solely as a hexing oil, it seems that it is more so used to call forward the spirits of the dead, but can also be used for hexing as well. Brujo Negro says that he learned of the formula from his course work with now defunct International Guild of Occult Sciences (IGOS). I however was not able to find any alternate recipe for the oil, and asking around a few message boards didn’t turn up much in the way of information. With that being the only recipe I could find, the next step was to gather the materials.

Myrrh is pretty easy to get, cypress however was going to be the adventure. I did a search for cypress trees in Richmond and found one planted in the historic Hollywood Cemetery. I have hung out here before (what goth kid in this city hasn’t at some point?) but have not done work in there before. So, with a flask of whiskey and bag of shiny pennies I set off to the cemetery. I first made my customary offering at the gate and asked for permission to enter. Using the iron key on my necklace as a pendulum, I got my confirmation I went to work. Since Hollywood Cemetery is a tourist they have maps available for self guided tours of both graves of note, and the plant life there. Also, much kudos to the woman in the office for not giving the guy in a black trench coat and fedora even the slightest odd look for buying tour maps of a cemetery in the rain. With this being my first time working I had to make my way to the first burial in the cemetery to honor the Baron before gathering my cypress. I made my way to the tree and gave offerings and asked for permission to gather what I needed. I have to admit that even though I have been at this at a while, it is hard not to feel like a crazy hippy while having a conversation with a tree. With cypress leaves, bark, and a few twigs in hand I made my way out of the cemetery ready to make some oil. Or so I thought….Duh Duh Duh!

As I mentioned earlier I asked around a few message boards and groups about Yuza-Yuza oil. I only got replies on one group and that was Brother Moloch’s Guild of Sorcery on Facebook. One set of replies was from someone that just wanted to say that all of the Herman Slater recipes were “pulled out of his ass”. He knows this you see, because the oils and powders that he bought from Magickal Childe way back in the yesteryear of 1985 didn’t work for him. Fortunately Moloch had something actually helpful to add to the conversation as he always does. He even gave a recipe and instructions on how to make a necromancy oil. This reminded me that I don’t necessarily need to  follow a recipe to the letter and should go with what the spirits have to say on the subject. After a conversation with my ancestors and a bit of research I came up with my own blend which was one part Yuza-Yuza, a bit of Moloch’s and a dash of Ash. Trust me a dash of Ash is all you really need. My recipe is as follows:

Myrrh

Cypress

Tobacco

Patchouli

Yew Needles

Hellebore Root

I set out to make this oil in the hour of Saturn, so 3:30 am Dec, 25th (Yes Christmas morning. Happy belated birthday Yeshua Ben Yosef) I sat down to begin my work.  If you are familiar with planetary days and hours you know that the next planetary day does not begin until sun up. I chose this time because it happened to be both the hour of Saturn and the true witching hour. I sat down at my altar, lit a black candle in honor of the planet, burned some myrrh, and began to combine the ingredients into a glass jar.

I used a pestle to combine everything a bit and then poured some sweet almond oil over it all. After saying a few words in set the jar in a box that I put all of my oils and other objects in to charge and will let it sit there for at least a week to let oil get the essences and scents of all of the ingredients. 

If you noticed this was titled as part 1. That is because I have some other rituals planned to empower this oil, so stay tuned true believers because there is more to come....

5BS #5: Goofer Dust.

Goofer Dust is one of the most potent and dangerous powders used in the practice of conjure. The word goofer is said to derive from the Kikongo word "kufwa," which means "to kill".  Goofer dust is quite literally a killing powder. It works slowly over time eroding the targets health and all other aspects of their life. It is deployed in a manner of different ways such as, foot tracks magic, bottle spells, used to snuff out candles, and even love spells. The ingredients for the dust vary according to a practitioner's personal style. The main ingredient is a base of graveyard dirt. Some gather this dirt from the graves of criminals and persons known to be violent within their former lives, Not everyone does this however. Cemetery work and gathering dirt is a very delicate process and is not to be done lightly or without proper instruction.This is not something that I will go into detail about within this post.

Other known ingredients are usually used for their symbolic or potentially poisonous natures, such as sulfur, snake skin or sheds, black salt, dried feces,bone dust, and iron filings. I think that the presence of iron filings within the formula points to the true origins of how this powder was originally prepared and empowered. While iron has been associated with both good workings such as repelling evil, and in negative aspects such as being referred to as the "Bones of Set" in Egyptian folklore, it has one interesting use that makes sens in regards to goofer dust. Iron bars are used around cemeteries to keep the spirits of the dead within it's confines. The same material could be used to keep spiritual energy trapped inside the powder as well. A spiritual energy that would be attached to the powder both from the graveyard dirt, and also from bone used within the powder as a base for a particular spirit to work through,  Essentially goofer dust when made in the traditional sense is far more necromantic then it is given credit for today. It is "conjure" in the purest sense of the word. Or perhaps it would be better to say it is a healthy mix of necromancy and pharmakos. 

Originally this was planned as a tutorial on exactly how to create this powder. I have sense been informed by my ancestors that this is not knowledge for me to give away completely at this time. I do feel that I have given enough information for one to continue their research and go about the process of creating their own mixture if they so choose. As always I can only urge that you cast responsibly. 

I want to thank everyone that has made this series of postings a success. I appreciate all of the love that I have been getting from readers via both Facebook and Twitter. I means a lot to knowing that people are reading and learning new things to add to their own practice. You all certainly make the work and effort worthwhile. 

Want a limited edition, hand painted box containing all of the items in this series crafted by Brother Ash ? Click (Here)

With Regards,

Bother Ash

"You must have the Devil in you to succeed in the arts." Voltaire

"Don't quote me boy cuz I ain't said shit." Eazy-E

My Ancestral Altar

I can't believe that I have blogged this long without talking about the importance of having an altar to your ancestors. Shame on me!

The practice of honoring one's ancestors goes back as far as man can remember and spans all cultures. The spirits of our ancestors are always near us and continue to watch out for, guide, teach, and care for us. The shared knowledge and energy of those that have come before us is always available to those that seek it. This is why it is important for practicing sorcerers to have an altar dedicated to, give regular offerings, and converse with their ancestors. Chances are if you have been drawn to the magical arts that someone in your family along the line also practiced even if you aren't aware of it. Having the spirit of practitioners that have passed on is of obvious benefit to someone performing magic on a regular basis. As one of my ancestors said to me, "What we know, you know. What we can do, you can do". That pretty much should tell you all that you need to know about the importance of maintaining this relationship. Our ancestors have love for us, and do what they can from the other side to ease hardships in our lives. Once you have a relationship with them you will be able to tell when they have had a hand in nudging things in your favor. They lend their hands in all aspects of life such as money, success, love, peace, and protection. They do this even if you aren't aware of them. However honoring and giving thanks to them for what they do certainly makes them more inclined to work on your behalf. I know that some workers send their ancestral spirits on certain tasks and then hold off on feedings and offerings until the task is complete. I don't prefer to work this way myself. I draw upon their energies and knowledge to utilize in my own workings.

Ancestor Altar Covered

Setting up your altar is very simple and personal process.  The altar cloth should be white as should the candles. I keep on white candle, and one reed to symbolize the bond and importance of blood. There should be at least one glass of fresh water that you change every week. Some keep one large glass of water surrounded by 9 small glasses. I don't have room on my altar for that, so I don't.The altar can also be decorated with pictures of your family that have passed on, and items that that they preferred in life (personal items, bibles, etc). One can also include items that represent the cultures and ethnicity of your their ancestors.   You can set it up on a table, dresser, or anywhere that you see fit. Some keep their altars in the living room so include their ancestors in their daily life. I keep mine in the altar room. Do what you think is best.

Close Up Detail of Altar

I personally don't have a lot of close ties with my living family so I don't have access to pictures and the like and I prefer to keep my altar simple. So I have one red, and one white candle, my Ancestral Skull Fetish (see earlier post), a coffin shaped incense burned that I made, and two offering glasses. I also keep my altar covered with a patterned fabric with a skull floral pattern that I use as a head wrap during workings. That is pretty much it. I will be adding a cross soon as they asked for that.  I always keep one glass of fresh water and use the other for offerings of rum or whiskey. They really like whiskey, but I ran out and substituted rum today which I always have on hand. For incense I burn Mayan copal resin on charcoal and also burn a cigar in their honor. I blow some of the smoke onto the skull from the cigar. You can also offer favorite foods, drinks, and even music to your ancestors. Once the offerings are given I proceed with a simple invocation and follow that up with communication via pendulum, or some form of divination. This is the invocation that I use:



We hear your whispered voices speaking words of wisdom into our unconscious minds. Your whispers awaken our dreams, our hearts, our desires. You who are our ancestors who once walked upon the earth and were part of our shared life eternal, we praise you with all that is sacred in our lives.
You who planted the seed of knowledge, you who sought inner peace, you who claimed your love for the Gods and Goddesses of old, we give you honor and praise your name.

Grandmother, without you I would not be here. Grandfather, without you I would not be here. People that have come before and gone ahead, without you I would not be here.

I give you honor and praise your name. We ask you for guidance, for you have the power of knowledge. You have been born in us, part of our being. We draw upon your strength so that we may move ever forward. Your footsteps, we follow as all children will. You are our family and with all the love in my being, I give you honor and call your names.

Ancestors, I praise you with the earth in my palm. I praise you with the fire in my heart. I praise you with my breath as I give offerings to your greatness. I praise you with the blood and water of life within my body. I call forth for you with honor for all eternity.

I believe that originally found that through the Moloch Sorcery site, but have no idea where it originates from. I like it, but free to write your own or just speak from the heart. When working with your ancestors heartfelt offerings, and sincerity are what is really important. It's not about protocol, but honor and reverence. Talk to them, have honest conversation with them and be prepared to really listen to what they have to say. You will be glad that you did.


With Regards,

Brother Ash
"You must have the Devil in you to succeed in the arts." Voltaire
"Don't quote me boy cuz I ain't said shit." Eazy-E