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. 

Crafting Up A Storm

Here recently I have been crafting up a storm and  made quite a few handmade items I thought I would share. I am not a strict, make everything by hand kind of worker by any means. I do however feel that making certain things by hand, especially tools, or items that are meant to connect with a spirit puts the worker closer to the energies that they wish to work with during the process. So if you have the chance D.I.Y a few things, you and your work will be better for it.

Cleansing Broom: I was inspired to make a broom after reading a soon to be released work on Witchcraft that a friend of mine is wrote                                                  . The broom may not be a traditional hoodoo tool exactly but some practitioners utilize it. Also the symbolism of the broom straw has made it into spells and staple items such as Chinese Wash.  The broom part itself came from a dollar store, which is one of my favorite places to get craft supplies. The handle came from a branch that I found in the woods during one of the trials that I undertook for Cabal Fang Martial Arts. For some reason it just stood out to me so I picked it up at the beginning of the trial and carried it throughout.  Originally I was going to make a staff out of it so I stripped it of bark, sanded it a bit and oiled it. I had to cut it down some more to make a broom handle. I attached the handle by binding he straw around it with hemp rope and metal wire.

Closeup of Broom

Saint Cyprian of Antioch bracelet:  Made with wooden and metal beads. It is hard to tell from the pic but the round beads are purple which is the color associated with this saint. I also incorporated black beads in there as his day is Saturday. Cyprian of Antioch is known as the Patron Saint of Magicians, Rootworkers, Curanderos, and the like. He is also closely associated with the grimoire tradition so to honor that the purple and black beads total 11 on each side. In addition to the Cyprian charm I included a little bible charm to symbolize the link to Hoodoo.

 Closeup of Cyprian Bracelet

Ancestral Prayer Beads: I used to wear a Tibetan skull prayer bracelet that I got from a Tibetan store in the East Village. That served as my ancestral prayer beads until it broke one day. So recently I broke out the crafts box and made it into a new string of prayer beads that is more personal. Not really rooted in any one tradition. I am calling them the "Blood and Bones" prayer beads.

Ancestor Prayer Beads on the Altar.

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.