Plant Spirits and Conjure

One thing that I have noticed to be sorely missing from most of the books on Hoodoo and Rootwork is the concept of plant spirits. I honestly don’t know if animism part of the rootwork tradition, but it is safe to say that it is part of both the African and Native American roots of conjure. Most of the conjure books that I come across make it seem as if the simple fact of throwing some dried herbs into a red flannel pouch and then consecrating it is enough to make a powerful mojo hand. In My opinion this is far from being the case. I always like to say we call it rootwork because the roots do the work!

When our predecessors would have gathered their herbs and roots for working or medicine they would have addressed the spirits of each individual plant letting their intentions being known in the process. I feel that this is something that many modern workers have neglected while allowing their ego to believe that all the power in their working comes from them alone. To me a proficient conjurer is successful because of his skill with working with the spirits and not as much because of personal power. Knowing which energies are best suited for a particular situation, how to call them forth and then direct them toward their task is what a conjurer does.

There is no set way for someone to honor the plant spirits so I encourage each worker to devise their own. My ritual is pretty simple. I set all of the items out on the altar and then hold each one in my hand individually and talk to it. I address the spirit, let my desires be known, and then ask that the spirit reawaken and bring energy by to the plant for the desired purpose. I then set that plant on a plate and feed the spirit with a few drops of rum (whiskey also works fine). After all of the plants have been laid out on the plate and given offerings I set out four cups of water around the plate in a “cross” shape. I add a dash of spearmint water to each cup which is used as a way to thank spirits for their service and light a tea light in each cup. Let that sit over night or at least until the lights have burned out and then use them for whatever they were charged for.

Address and honor the spirits and I promise that you will see a dramatic improvement in your workings.

Ancestral Skull Fetish

Recently I crafted an Item for my ancestral altar that I wanted to share here. I had a paper mache skull that I bought around Samhain that ended up just sitting around in my crafts supplies. So my ancestors wanted me to make something for their altar so using their guidance I crafted the skull into a centerpiece.

First I painted it white using acrylic paint. Then to darken the eyes, nose, and jaw area, I crushed up charcoal that had been used to burn offerings on the altar. Adding some water to the dust I made a pigment and applied it by hand. Then I decided one other pigment was needed for this piece, blood. Whenever I make blood offerings to spirits (a topic for another blog) I use a lancet device. I guess I am a bleeder because I can get a surprising amount of blood from one finger prick. Five pricks later and I had added some additional designs including one that is mean to call forth the spirits of the dead. I then placed offerings of Yew needles (For calling ancestors), Hellebore root (for necromantic energies), and tobacco. After a quick consecration is was ready for service on my altar.

I often enjoy the creative process of making fetishes and amulets. I seem to learn so much more about the energies that I am working with and the forces that I want to harness by approaching them artistically and letting inspiration take hold. I am glad that I listened to the spirits and created this piece.

Path of the Poison Taster

Usually when someone finds out that I do client work that includes hexing I am confronted with a question about karma. “Aren’t you afraid that it will come back on you?” they’ll ask. The simple answer to that is would be no, because I don’t believe in any form of karma or cosmic judgment or retribution of that sort. That does now mean that I feel that hexing work isn’t without its dangers. I have come to compare the practice of hexing to that of a poison taster. Eliphas Levi touched upon this in his “Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie.” When he wrote:

“There is a story of a jealous and infamous man who, toavenge himself on a rival contracted an incurable disorder and made it the commonscourge and anathema of a divided bed. This atrocious history is that ofevery magician, or rather of every sorcerer who practises bewitchments. He poisonshimself in order that he may poison others; he damns himself that he maytorture others; he draws in hell with his breath in order that he may expel it by hislungs; he wounds himself mortally that he may inflict death on others; but possessed of this unhappy courage, it is positive and certain that he will poison andslay by the mere projection of his perverse will.”

My personal opinion is that hexing can and is spiritually poisoning by nature. To accomplish this task one usually calls in (invokes) and brings forward (evokes) dark, chaotic, or destructive energies. If an individual isn't already acclimated to these types of energies, or skilled in how to deal with them, there can be adverse effects to the worker. Many paths attempt to offset the possible side effects by following up a hex with a spiritual cleansing. I liken the practice to that of a poison taster because I feel that with experience and practice one can become immune to this type of poison. The sure fire way to develop immunity to something is through exposure in some form. Through the practice of ritual invocation a sorcerer can gain deeper insight into these potentially dangerous and powerful energies. I would recommend that they do this before they call on the forces for hexing work. Many people try to avoid the darker forces at all cost due to deeply instilled fear but finally turn to them for the first time when wish to strike out at their enemies. Usually at that point fear combined with guilt and preconceived notions create the self fulfilling prophecy called karma.

The darker natural forces can play just as pivotal a role in one’s personal development as any other forces. It’s beneficial to work with these forces outside of your typical hexing and curse works, thus contributing to one’s spiritual growth while building a much needed immunity if the need may arise for you to use their more destructive aspects. Much the same way as people shouldn’t take a martial art simply for the sake of being able to kick someone’s ass (unless you joined the Cobra Kai Dojo!). You do yourself a disservice by not working with the darker forces for their wisdom that they hold while still learning to kick someone’s ass if need be.

"invoke often" Aleister Crowley

Getting My Hands Dirty

St.Balthazar recently had a post on his Gnostic Conjure Blog about the magic of dirt. Like most Hoodoo practitioners I keep a little bit of graveyard dirt on my altar just in case I need it. But I don't utilize dirt in my conjure as much as I could. After reading this last post I was inspired to think of a place in the city that I would want to use dirt from. I rarely do curse work but recently have had just cause to do so. I wanted to collect dirt for a spell bottle and could think of only one place in the city that would be perfect. That place is called the "Site of Suffering".

During the Civil War Belle Isle in Richmond, VA was used as a confederate prisoner of war camp between 1861-1865. Over 30,000 soldiers passed through the prison. Due to poor conditions they died by the hundreds. The site has become known as the Site of Suffering. I was in the area last night at a local club when my friends decided to call it an early night (1:30am for me is still early). So I went back to my car grabbed some supplies and made the 1 1/2 mile walk to the isle. I made a quick offering to the spirits of the Isle, gathered my dirt and got out of there. I may be trained in physical and psychic self defense, but between the homeless squatters and restless spirits I didn't want to linger too long.

So this dirt is going in a bottle with a certain someone's name in it. They know who they are....

Wood Witch: A Wilding Workbook Blog

I am working on blogging on a consistent basis. In the meantime check out the Wood Witch Blog. My friend Modred has been blogging his book "Wood Witch: A Wilding Workbook". It's an interesting read. Check it out!

The Spider and the Green Butterly

I recently picked up a copy of "The Spider and the Green Butterfly: Vodoun Crossroads of Power" by E.A Koetting and Baron DePrince from Eternal Ascent Publications.I have been very interested in Vodoun lately and trying to get my hands on any good books I can find. Being familiar with author E.A. Koetting's LHP work from his book "Works of Darkness", I was confident that I would find some good practical information on the practice of Vodou. The book did not disappoint in that aspect. Most of the books that I come across on vodou are usually just glorified hoodoo books with a few Veves (sigils of the vodoun Lwa spirits) thrown in for good measure.

The Spider Green Butterfly excels in the fact that is does provide practical information for tapping into the Vodoun current on a non-initiatory level with effective and powerful results. From consecration, altar setup, working with veves, and some formulas and powders that are not for the faint of heart, you get a good amount of information to get you started. The book also gives excellent background info on the history and practice of vodoun in Haiti. If you are looking for a primer on Haitian vodou this is a great start. Just know that it is far from being a complete system and the book makes it clear that this is in now way a substitute for true initiation into the current. It may also be argued that the info presented here is not necessarily traditional Haitian vodoun in the purest sense. There is no talk of setting up an ancestral altar, but there is talk of the Qlippoth and hints to the Tunnels of Set. It seems to me that the methods here are a mix of trad Hatian arts along with some inspiration from La Couleuvre Noire and the Voudon Gnostic system of Micheal Bertiaux. The book focuses heavily on the Darker more Left Hand path aspects of the vodoun system as a path of power, also it does not shy away from the use of animal sacrifice in ritual (and gives no substitutes) so this tome may not be for everyone.

The only gripe I may have with the book is the typical bravado that comes with works of a darker nature. You have the obligatory warnings of "Don't try this unless you are prepared to possibly pay with your sanity", ad nauseam . This is something I have come to expect and can look past. Granted these warnings are very necessary when dealing with the Lwa to my understanding. All in all this is a great book to get started in connecting with the current, but prepared to have much to discover with the help of the spirits, as well as in your own research.

Before you light that candle...

I spoke with a young man recently about the powers of the spirits of Goetia and the Forces of Darkness in general. He wanted to know why is that many grimoires and modern occult writers promise that you can have all of your desires by using the spirits? If it were true wouldn't everyone being evoking demons and living the good life? Well in my opinion most modern occult writers especially of the darker paradigms are in the business of selling books and need some eye catching quote on their dust jacket. Self promotion is the name of the game. It's also very possible that they are greater magicians than myself (they would probably agree) and thus have better results and are living the dream. The young man was seeking the usual money,women, and "power". One thing I feel someone new to sorcery should consider is that there are many in this world that have one or more of these things and do so without ever uttering a single incantation. So one would do well to research the practical real world methods that are used to achieve these goals and then back it up with magick if need be. Magick and especially evocation should not be an excuse for laziness in my opinion. If magick alone could make a person filthy rich I wouldn't be writing this blog right now. I would be in the club "making it rain" and thanking Belial!

Do work son! That is all..