Well, this looks comfy

I have to say, I am loving this. My Mom sent it to me. Before she read what it was she said,

“Oh! What a beautiful little neighborhood,”

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

To be fair, this looks better than anything we have in Florida. We just might have to talk to the local funeral director and God of the dead about ownership prices.

– M

The Jade Buddha

Wonderful isn’t it?

I promised I would talk about this as soon as I had the chance. And I finally did. So what exactly happened the day I brought the Buddha statue and the Guardian Lions home with me? Something weird. I knew something was off. And in hindsight, I should have listened to my gut.

But I just ignored it as me being paranoid or looking too deeply into something. My friends always say that about me. And they constantly tell me to chill out. But as I tried to perform the cleansings on them, they kept being blocked. I just assumed that they had heavy residual energy from whoever owned them before. 

The objects weren’t evil or impure or whatever. But they were Haunted.

The Old Neighbor

Old Woman Praying by
Matthias Stom Dutch

late 1630s or early 1640s

So according to my Aunt, she was friends with a wonderful older resident. A few years ago this woman died of natural causes. I think she said it was cancer. Before the woman died, she gifted the Jade Buddha and Guardian Lions to my great aunt. It was as a way of saying thank you for always looking after her. 

Now my Great Aunt is a Christian and doesn’t believe. But she didn’t want to disrespect this woman and shun her gift. So instead, she kept it in her home in a place of honor. Kudos for my great aunt! But it looks like the older resident didn’t leave. Apparently that elderly old woman was still watching over my aunt from beyond the grave.

While attempting to cleanse the statues, I discovered her presence within them. I kept trying to force the energy out. But whatever it was, it would not leave. So I realized this wasn’t the standard run of the mill imprint. This woman was living inside of her Buddha and Guardian Lions. 

I hadn’t sensed her because she was so dormant, that she might as well not have been in those items. It was only after I took them to my house and started trying to cleanse them that she woke up. She had been protecting my great aunt all this time. But eventually she “fell asleep” so to speak because there was no danger. 

Communicating with the Dead

From Witchcrafts Artisan Alchemy

I communicated with her soul once I realized there was person in those statues. I explained to her that my great aunt gifted them to me because I study and partially practice Buddhism. And that she believed they would be better off with me. Instead of just being a home decoration. She agreed, but was worried about my aunt.

 I told her I could cross her over. And that once in Heaven, she could become a powerful guardian spirit and could return to my Aunt’s house with greater power. And greater ability to aid her. She agreed and I performed a simple crossing over ritual with a candle. She entered the light. 

And the next day, I confirmed with Bone Casting that she was well and now watching over my great aunt. Acting as her new spirit guide. All’s well that ends well right?

Family

A family dinner
by MotionAge Designs

Blood doesn’t always mean family. Sometimes family is the one you make. Your tribe, your people. Those whom you stand by and who stand by you. Even in death. 

There is also an old Spanish Spiritualist saying,

“What my eyes can’t see, my dead see,”

Meaning what I can’t sense, they will. And they will tell me about it. My Christian Great Aunt has a new spirit guide officially added to her guides. Whether she believes that or not. Moving on, I was finally able to cleanse the statues. 

And this time the ritual took. I then began blessing them and calling the spirit of the Buddha to enter his image and live there. I also did prayers for the Guardian Lions to enter their own statues. So now I have extra house hold spirits. Extra family to watch over me. 

I placed the Buddha and his Lions upon my Buddhist shrine.  

And for the elderly woman, I took several stones. I cleansed them. And enlivened them for her and put them on my shrines outside. That way whenever I do religious rituals, I am feeding her spirit along with the spirits and Gods I work for. That way she will never become forgotten or unnamed dead. 

And she will grow stronger with each offering. As a reward for her kind heart and generous spirit. And now I keep this Buddha statue and the Guardian Lions. As a way to honor her good deeds.

Ritual & literal death in 2023 : Otura Niko strikes again

It looks like the long winter goes on, as death continues to reap the living. After the intense period of the Super New Moon in Aquarius, we have all been left shook. New Moons are times of the dead and bad luck. But a Super New Moon is like Mother Nature was on her period and flushed all the nasty negative shit out. And you better watch out that you don’t get swept in it too. s

As mentioned this year we are in the sign of Otura Niko, the Foreman of Death. And this year is full of death in every which way. My friend just lost his other friend to a car accident. I had to perform a ritual to cross him over last night. And there is the incident of the dead woman who was attached to a statue I had gained.

The irony is that the signs of the spirits are all saying the same thing : drop your to-do lists, relax, be present. Don’t worry about the next thing to do. It’s kind of hard to do that when you have friends and family dying off. Or when you have to constantly watch your ass to make sure the sky isn’t falling. I have a headache.

But not a normal headache. It’s more like a spiritual headache. And I need a pill that lasts the whole year.

Oya the Orisha who escorts the dead to the Cemetery

How Orula became Otura Niko, the Foreman of Death

The God Orula divines to see the future

Since writing about Otura Niko, I got curious and wanted to know more about it. I had never heard of this sign before. And I wanted to trace its origin. I think I found the possible origin. Translated from the original Spanish article here.

In the land of Yewe Inle, there was a time when there was a terrible drought. Everything was a great disaster. It was then when the main kings met with the Obá Ikú (king death), Elegua, and Iroko to deliberate in an assembly. The result of that assembly was that everyone should do Ebó. The last three, as they had no money for the Ebó, decided to ask Oba Ikú for twenty-four coins, he accepted.

But with the condition that they pay him back within three days. They formally promised to do so. When the three days passed. Obá Ikú went to Elegba’s house to collect. He found him sitting in the doorway of the house, he refused to pay.

Obá Ikú bashed him with his cane and killed him. And made a hill of crab land (Ilekan) and buried him there. Together with his hand of Ifá, he sacrificed a rooster for him, and said:

“From today onward, you will be the Orisha (God) Elegua,”

Elegua by Tony Volpone

Obá Ikú continued to the house of Iroko. And found him in the heart of the mountain. He asked for his money back. But he refused. And so Obá Ikú took his cane and killed him.

Throwing two majá that Iroko had in his room, two white jars, and killing a white chicken, he sang to him:

“IROKO DILOYU, IROKO DILOYU, BABA IKU EGUN LAYE, IROKO DILOYU,”

(ROCO DILOYU, IROCO DILOYU, FATHER OF DEATH CURSED IN LIFE, IROCO DILOYU)

And he said to Iroko,

“You will become an Orisha, everyone will worship you,”

The Iroko Tree, the IFA Tree of Life

And at that moment a sacred tree rose, which is the Iroko. Obá Ikú sent an envoy to Orunmila. Who by now had made his daily divination and saw the Odu (text) Otura Niko. So he performed an Ebó, feeding his ancestors along with the land and his Ifá, and he prepared a large casserole of ajiaco.

Otura Niko becomes a child when Obá Ikú arrived

An Orula baby doll

Orunmila invited him to lunch, when they finished Obá Ikú thought: 

“I killed Elegba and Iroko, I must now finish with Orunmila as well,”

Obá Ikú raised his scythe to land a blow to Orunmila. But he dodged the blow of Obá Ikú. Who then pursued him tenaciously. And while he was escaping, Orunmila performed sarayeye (cleansing by rubbing a sacred object on the body) using the stick known as Espanta Muerto (frighten the dead). A cleansing to keep him safe from death.

And he arrived at the river. Out of fear, Orunmila leaped into the River. But Obá Ikú absorbed the river to catch him. But Orunmila still escaped. Then Obá Iku, disheartened, walked away.

Leaving Orunmila the victor. The river continued its normal course. And Orunmila came out of the water singing:

“IRE IRE WANWAN LELE ASHE IFA”

(GOOD LUCK WANWAN LELE DIVINE GRACE OF IFA)

Then Orula transforms into a child, to avoid being recognized and starts crying. He stands at the foot of a laurel bush, which had a lot of curujey (West Indian tufted airplant) on top and continued to cry. At that moment he meets two women who were passing through. They prepared a jar and opened one of the jugs. And filled it and leaves, some plants and placed the child (Orunmila) inside and took him to the house of Olodumare. One of them suckled him from her breast. 

She was called Aiyé (life).

Kneeling Yoruba woman and her baby from Discover African Art

When they arrived at Olofin’s (GOD’s) house, the child surprises everyone by speaking to Olofin and tells him that he wants Aiyé to take him home. She rejects this, but because it was a direct order from Olodumare, Aiyé accepted and took him. She prepared a mat next to hers. When night came Orunmila returns to her in his normal adult state and says: 

“I am Otura Niko and now I am your husband. With these transformations I defeated Obá Ikú. Because I am the foreman of the Egun (dead). But never reveal this secret to anyone,”

Orula

The woman was engaged and they lived happily. Where the fame of Otura Niko began to spread throughout that land. 

After some time,

Shango, Egun, and Oshumare come to visit Otura Niko. To receive them all worthily, he tells his wife, Aiyé, to cook great delicacies. She replies in front of Shango: 

“I have no time,”

Then Otura Niko threatens her. And she mocks and insults him, saying:

“You are only great because you are the foreman of the Egun (dead) and capable of shape shifting,”

At the moment, Otura Niko took his Irofá and ran after her. She was on her way to Olofin. But before arriving, Otura Niko caught up with her and gave her a blow from his Irofá and killed her. Then he said,

“I killed you for violating your oath,”

(You see, his power was in that he had become the foreman of the dead. And apparently, no one knew that. Nor that he was such a mighty shape shifter. To know the secret was to share in the power. And I suspect that Orunmila also didn’t want Iku, the Orisha of death, to know the secret of his survival).

Shango and Orunmila

Immediately, he made a pact with Shango. Also giving him the secret and the ashé (power) of Otura Niko. He took Aiyé and buried her. Then he put his Ifá next to her tomb and gave 2 black chickens to the spirit of Aiyé. Along with his Ifá. 

And put the chickens with Ekó to Egun. They lowered the vultures and ate them. Letting him know the power of Egun that he had. 

Prayer of Otura Niko, Otura Ogbe 

“Otura Niko adifafun iku alashona oumbo wa ni eshu ishonshon oba lele iroko oba lele orunmila ore lawa oba iku yen ore amaiyekun belele iya lele lokua ariku omi orunmila oun sede otura niko umbo atefa ni egun agboran iku agboran olofin yewe inle oba iku onika ododo sekun iroko segun gbogbo iya kalalu elebo owunko elebo moyeni iku orunmila akue ye akualosiña iya laye oba iku,”

(Otura Niko, the death of our child’s mother, is the God’s faith, the king, the king, the king, the king of death, the king of death, the eternal friend of the mother, the king of heaven, he is the king of heaven).

It’s unknown if Otura Niko was named after him. Since he ritually becomes the “foreman of the dead” after this. Or if the Odu (text) already existed prior to him taking on this title. But that doesn’t really matter at this point. As the Foreman of the dead, Orula is immune to death.

He’s also shown to be a masterful shapeshifter. So he could take on any variety of forms and escape Iku. And foreman is another term for supervisor. Perhaps it even means he could command the dead in this form. Or command Iku to leave him be.

I’m not sure yet. I have to ask my Babalawo about his knowledge concerning the text. And see from there what happens. Take care of everyone. And as usual, be safe.

– M

The Eggun or dead, looking at their own corpses on a battlefield

The Spirit of Death is loose in the year 2023 : Otura Niko

Yes this is a year ruled by Obatala and Oshun (or by Exu and Oxum if you practice Quimbanda). But the sign of the year is what seems to truly be reigning this year. Already, it seems that the Ajogún are on the move bringing with them misfortune and death. Yesterday, my friend got into a car accident. A little while later, I learned that my great uncle had died suddenly. 

Between yesterday and today, some of my magical charms for protection against death, started to become overwhelmed. I had to call on the spirits to reverse whatever it was that was sending death this way. And I had to cleanse, re-bless, and recharge all of my charms. And right now as I am writing this, I found out that my neighbor whom I always talked with, died from a heart attack recently. Either just before or after New Years.

From Fine Art America

 I didn’t want to ask the date because that’s disrespectful and insensitive to his poor wife. But it was recent. So either just before or just after New Years. This year is not a good year. It’s not a year that we should all be cheering for. 

It is the year of Otura Niko, the Foreman of the Dead. 

Friends, things are only going to get worse from here. Before in 2020, COVID was the force used by the Ajogún to spread terror and disharmony. But this year they are mixing the tactics up. Now it’s more like a mix of 2020 with 2019. In 2019 it was more personalized attacks sent to different people. 

Personal problems. And 2020 was a massive problem that struck us all. This seems to be a hybrid of both those years. It has all the force if not more, of 2020. But disseminated in ways that will effect us directly. 

A friend of mine who has mixed white and native ancestry told me something recently. Now his magic is strong. He works with indigenous spirits. And when my ass has been in danger, he’s protected me. But he has this thing. 

He says odd numbered years are bad luck.

Plague of Flies

And he had the feeling before I even knew it, that this year would be bad. And now here we are. But it gets worse. Last month a fellow blogger named Librarian of the Multiverse had also had a conversation with me. That she sensed that death would be coming this year as well. 

In my head I was like, fuck because that’s really what we need now. Maybe it is. Because clearly humanity refuses to awaken from this walking coma we’re all in. I wonder if we have fallen so deeply asleep that the Ajogún have seen us as easy prey. That we’re being targeted now because they see us as dumb sheep that are easy to take out. But now I want to move on to something else.

The Divination (letter of the year) says to stay away from lakes and rivers and even rain water. A friend of mine who is a seer told me something that spooked me. You see, she had no idea what the letter of the year had said. I didn’t have the time to tell her. But she said that something is in the water.

That something is in the water that’s going to kill people this year. No, she’s not a nut job. No, she doesn’t normally say stuff like that. For the very first time in my life, I understood the true meaning of the term “my blood ran cold”. Because I felt ice in my veins hearing her say that.

I feel a rising death wave like in 2020. But this one is worse. Part of me feels like I’m on a roller coaster. I want off of and I am screaming my head off into the void. But no matter what no one is going to save me.

So with that said, I think I am going to give you all a simplified version of the Ebbos or karmic cleansings for this year. Along with some additional advice that may come in handy. 

The Ebbos given for this year include animal sacrifices. Which I am against. But I also understand traditions and what not. 

I am no one to judge my people and how they follow the ways of the ancestors. I just don’t like or agree with all the ways of our ancestors. I don’t always follow those ways. I actually considered saying nothing for fear of being rebuked by other Santeros saying I am “exploiting our religion”. 

Or some other horseshit that the zealots in my faith come up with to silence dissent. 

My spirits and my Orisha do not care about whether or not I kill an animal. They accept fruits and vegetable offerings. But they also accept cooked animals. In other words, instead of giving them an animal that is being sacrificed and discarded I give them food. If the Ebbo asks for a roaster, I go out and find a cooked roaster. 

It’s not impossible to find. There are some animals that are sacrificed in Africa that don’t exist here. So with divination and research I find what they would accept and grant them that dinner. In places that are sacred to them. I also add the fruits and vegetables anyway as an added offering.

If blood is what they want that isn’t a problem either. There are butcher shops that are willing to grant the meat and the blood. As long as they get paid they don’t care. Again, this is how I do it because my Gods and spirits allow me to. Because my Orisha allows me to. 

Do a divination, meditate, and find what works for you. And if any Santeros out there have an issue with how I approach our faith, I don’t care. It has served me well up until now. And until they (the Orishas) or my spirits tell me otherwise I will continue. I am accountable to them, not to you. 

Now the offerings in IFA, you can skip because that’s for the order of IFA. The practitioners of IFA divination and magic under Orula. I am going to give you a simplified version of the regular Santero offering. A medium rooster and seven colored strips. 

The seven colored strips symbolize the Seven African powers. The other ingredients are only for Santeros. So this simplified version is to ask the Seven African Powers for help. Tie them into different parts of the house. Such as door knobs and in windows to ward off death.

In fact consider making a bracelet of these seven strips for yourself. As an amulet. The cooked roaster is the sacrifice that will empower the charms. They will work against death. Which will be very important because there is an article I wrote which is about charms against death. 

In addition to that :

– Honey for Oshun, Brandy for Eshu, Incense or anything holy for Obatala because he’s the King of Heaven. And because Santeria is mixed with Catholicism, Christian things like blessed white candles or incense for him will do.

– And you could get another roasted chicken for Orula, his wife Odu, and the spirits of IFA and ask for their blessings and protections. If you approach them with respect, they won’t care what faith you belong to. 

Leave these offerings at a crossroads with three pennies for Elegua so that he will send the offerings to the Orishas. Also this is very important, to a point even more important than the offerings mentioned before.

Offerings for the dead

Praying before the tile of the dead in Santeria

You need to use any form of protection the dead can give you. Sacrifice to your ancestors. Light candles and incense to them, give them Hades Money, etc… don’t be stingy. And if you don’t already have an ancestor shrine to them, now is the time to make it happen. Because our primary protection comes from the dead.

And also our non human spiritual guides such as Angels, Nature Spirits, etc..we need all of their protections. So when you have a chance give offerings at a cemetery to Oya. 

– Nine Purple Grapes

– 9 Red Roses

– Nine Pennies

– A Bottle of Red Wine

For her and for all the dead. You don’t have to enter the cemetery. Oya brings the dead to the front gates. Leave the offerings there and she will share it with the dead. Ask them and her for protection and blessing. 

And for mass purification in all its forms. And dedicate that entire cemetery to her and the Gods of the Dead. You should feel different. As if something negative left your body when you pray to her. When you are done, leave a candy offering to Elegua in his Eshu form. 

And ask him to send these offerings to Oya and the dead. And then leave without looking back. 

Now it’s important to also work within your own religion. If you don’t believe in Santeria but want protection, research these Deities and find someone in your own religion who matches them. For instance, if you’re Christian, the Archangel Gabriel is the Messenger of God (Elegua is the Messenger of the Gods) and he’s one of the Angels of Death. 

So he’s perfect for this. And instead of a crossroads or all these offerings, you make a massive donation to your church for him in Jesus name. And Jesus died and rose again. So any offering to him works. And he’s the intercessor between humanity and God which makes him a messenger as well. 

Any offering you give to him, give with an open heart and perfect love. If you’re Hindu, do this with Ganesha. And look up who the God of the Dead is. One you are comfortable with and work with them instead. If you are Celtic, work with Morrigan. 

She hangs out at the crossroads and she’s associated with the dead. There’s so many options out there. Protect yourself well. But most importantly of all is this.

– Personal offerings to your spirit guides

Whoever your guide is. A God. An Angel. A Faerie. A Ghost. As well as all of your ancestors.

Whoever it is, divine with them and ask what they want and keep giving it to them all year long. By feeding your spirit guide, you are keeping yourself safe. And sacrifice to your loved ones Spirit guides as well. Even do it for your pets. I am.

Finally, I leave you with this. These were special warding rituals I did when the pandemic hit. They kept me and my family safe at the height of the pandemic. We survived 2020 without getting the disease. Even though my Mom is a healthcare worker and she had to enter places that weren’t safe. 

Meanwhile people around us were dropping dead. Even those who were supposed to be safe. This protected us. So please, read this old blog carefully. And adapt the rituals for what’s happening now.

Angry with the Gods – My Blog during the 2020 Pandemic

Just like on that blog I will keep you updated on events with updates here. Do offerings to all those spirits and Gods. And make the same kinds of charms. Do the same things I did back then. Just adapt them to whatever fresh hell we are going to suffer this year.

– M

The Noumenia : Day 1 Hekate’s Deipnon

I have been meaning to write about the ancient monthly lunar festival of the Noumenia for a few years now. But I have never really had the time to talk about it. Today I am taking time out to write an article on how I do it. I will mark the areas that are my own inventions to my personal ritual. That way you know what’s real and what isn’t.

I’m warning you now. This is going to be one of those long, drawn out articles. And my opinion is in it. And you may not agree with everything I say. If you’re one of those people who get butt hurt, slowly walk away now.

If you find long drawn out articles boring now is your time to go. If you have no patience for them, now is your chance to go. If you triggered by anything involving necromancy, souls of the dead, or really creepy pictures, now is your time to go. Okay? We good? I hope so. If you have any questions regarding any of this you can always comment below.

Today is the first day of the three day festival of the new moon of the ancient Greeks. The first day being Hekate’s Deipnon or “feast”. It’s done once every month near the end of the full moon. Now, the Greeks calculated New Moons very differently than we do. In my case, Hekate showed me via divination when to do it.

How I calculate the New Moon

I go online and I find when it’s the fourth or last quarter of the moon. She told me that was the new moon. So the festival starts the day before at sunset. Why? Because for the ancients of several cultures, the day ended and began at sunset. Sunset was their version of midnight.

So the day of the new moon technically starts at sunset the day before.

House Cleansing (Traditional Deipnon Ritual)

Before the Deipnon even starts, Hekate does a cosmic cleansing. She takes all the negative or dirty energy everywhere to the crossroads to be destroyed. A cleansing for all of creation. So likewise we must do the same. You have to clean your home as thoroughly as possible.

Remove every speck of dust that you can. And throw all the garbage out early. In the old days, you would put all the dust and dirt into a cloth sack. Then go to a cemetery and dump all the dust there. So that Hekate could remove the negative energy in your home and send it to die at a cemetery.

But the cleansing isn’t just a physical one. You should always do a spiritual cleansing as well. Cleansings in general actually. On every energetic level. Even cleanse the physical energies themselves.

I also recommend doing the laundry.

Folk Magus and Spiritual Worker Matthew Venus and his friends doing a cleansing

Finally cleanse yourself and your pets. Make sure that all the negative energy stays out of all of you.

Avoid going out like the plague if you can help it. Imagine the pandemic lockdown and do that again, but for just one night. Try not even to order out. Whatever you have to do, get it done before sunset. Now I know that not everyone can do that.

But if you plan ahead and do activities around the Deipnon, you can do things that work for you. I take up to a week of preparation for it. Instead of doing it all the same day as tradition dictates, I break up into days. One day is for the laundry. The next is the house cleansing.

And if I want I can take another day for the spiritual and magical cleansings. I do this all before the actual day so that when the day comes I am not overwhelmed. Another part of the tradition that you may or may not want to follow is : paying all your debts. Debt is considered a sign of negativity. It’s almost like a vacuum of sorts.

So the ancient Greeks choose this time to make sure whatever money they owed was paid back. As an offering to Hekate. Paying your landlord, roommate back, anyone you have a financial debt to. By paying it back you were cleansing yourself. It was a form of expiation.

Expiation

The Rites of the Priestess for Hekate. Notice it’s actually a modern room. But just because we live in modern times, doesn’t mean our Gods can’t appear to us in our modern houses as they did their own temples thousands of years ago. For a God worshipper of any tradition, the home is the first and central temple.

This is also a time for an expiation of negative energy. Forgiveness of sins is one of them. I personally pray to Hekate before the Deipnon and ask for forgiveness of things I have done wrong. I also ask her to guide me. Even if it was by mistake.

This again has to do with the spiritual side of the holiday. The cleansing of the home. And of the self. The removal of all bad or sinful energy. Although Hellenic practitioners don’t call it “sin”.

We focus on all bad energy, not just things that we believe our against our own morality or that of our Gods. A lot of bad energy you may have in your house probably isn’t even yours. You’re exposed to it every day. Dirty energy on the streets. Stressful energy at work.

People throwing the evil eye at you or even the evil tongue by speaking against you. Or other forms of curses. Or maybe you visited a place that was unclean in the energetic sense. A cemetery, a crossroads, a haunted house. Sometimes even a neighborhood full of nasty people is enough to contaminate your own energy.

And negative energy attracts negative beings. Like the dead who would normally be gathered on Hekate’s Deipnon.

Emptying the Kadiskos

A Kadiskos

Zeus Ktesios is an avatar of Zeus. One of two of his household aspects. In this form he is the bringer of plenty. He is the “Zeus of the Pantry” and keeps the kitchen well stocked. The image above is an example of his idol, the Kadiskos (small bucket) and how to make one for yourself.

Essentially, every Hekate’s Deipnon, the jar is emptied. You toss the food and what’s inside into the earth. Specifically a place close to your home. Because this is a way to “seed the earth” with prosperity. Good luck to come to you.

You wash it out and clean it nice and good. Then the next day at Sunset at the Noumenia, you refill it again. Until the next Noumenia festival. When you refill it you do prayers to Zeus Ktesios asking for prosperity and abundance to grow in your home. Then you place his idol in the pantry, sealed.

It’s a living good luck charm. Because Zeus is inhabiting that vessel and bringing the luck to you. Meanwhile your prosperity grows as “spiritual crops” everytime you empty it into the Earth near your home.

The Feast on the Crossroads

Don’t get caught on a crossroads after dark

Hekate doesn’t normally call forth just any ghosts on the crossroads in her Deipnon. Hekate specifically brings with her all the ghosts of murder victims and suicides. And I can tell you personally that isn’t all. Even regular people who died regular deaths but were nasty in life come back as dark, nasty, ghosts.

The type of Ghost that could easily be confused with Demons sometimes.

The Feast of Hekate on the Crossroads is meant to pacify the spirits. They eat a nice hearty meal and as a result they feel satisfied and don’t bother humans. But you see, I live on a crossroads already. One that is mystically charged because of all the people who come here to my neighborhood to leave offerings for the Orishas. Or to leave behind completed spells.

It’s why I don’t pick up the trash where I live. Any brown paper bag could have who knows what inside of it. I have seen large bags of used jar candles left on the sides. Sacrificed animals. And even broken Saint statues that were left as offerings to the crossroads.

So having a dark ghost come once a month to eat is not a good idea. We already have lots of nasty residual energy left behind from all this stuff. So as a fellow Santero and magic user, I do mass rituals to clean this stuff up spiritually. It occurred to me that now I had to do something about this as well. So I made a slight alteration to the ritual.

Timing and Crossing over the Dead

Leaving the shadows to enter the light

First you need to check your phone for sunset in your time zone. About an hour or so before sunset try to go there to leave the offerings. Tradition states you go at Sunset to leave the offerings. I say, I am not going to a spiritually changed place full of dark miasmic spirits to get ganged up on just to feed them. I do what I call a timer spell or timer prayer.

This part is very important : You have to wash your hands with Lustral water before giving the offerings. The Greek Gods will not accept offerings unless you are clean spiritually. Normally we take a bottle and draw a letter “A” on it. And offer it to Apollon Noumenia. Apollo of the Noumenia festival who acts as a cleanser.

The holy water is blessed in his name with a single bay leaf. You burn the bay leaf to bless the water. Be careful because the bay leaf turns into a mini fire cracker when set a blaze. You toss it into the water as it burns and say,

“Ekas, ekas, ostis alitros,”

(All things wicked out of the water!)

Then let the half burnt bay leaf stew in the water. Releasing it’s essence into the water. Leave it there maybe for four minutes. Then take it out. You have yourself some Lustral waters.

Tip : Keep the half burned bay leaf. It’s blessed and you can use it for anything now. From protection amulets to good luck talismans. You can even use it as a seal of protection you tape behind a door.

Now to the offerings.

I ask a God or spirit to “activate” the offering at a specific time even though it’s already at the area. They seal its energy so that until that time, it can’t become an offering. I have watched and noticed that in most cases before the appointed times, the food isn’t even touched. And in rare times when it is, it doesn’t effect the ritual. Being eaten by an animal ahead of time just means that part of the ritual was done.

The physical part. But the spiritual version of the food remains at the offering place. And the animal or animals often act as an intercessor for the dead to cross over. The offerings for Hekate are as follows : Cheese, Bread, and Raw Garlic as well as red wine if you can. If not grapes will do.

A Necromancer in black robes using a candle to give light to the dead

So one of the things I agree with Christianity on, is the use of funerary rituals. Ensuring that the dead are properly protected and kept safe in the afterlife. People are under the mistaken assumption that once you’re dead, that’s the worst thing that can happen to you. No, it isn’t. There’s a lot worse things that can happen.

The wrong religious ritual could trap you in a time-space limbo of sorts. The lack of any ritual could mean you wander the world aimlessly. Hungry and alone. Cold and without rest. There’s a reason a lot of hauntings by ghosts are violent.

Imagine the torment of being hungry, without being able to die of hunger. It just keeps getting worse and worse and worse without the sweet release of death. Because you’ve already died remember? And imagine that as a spirit you literally have no rest. If funerary rituals are done right, even if the spirit is conscious of all things, they are still in a resting state. But if nothing is done for you, you wander the spirit world sleep deprived for eternity.

Until you lose your mind and become a violent animal. One that attacks living humans without reason or remorse in order to lash out. A spiritual madness brought on by the lack of true rest. There’s a reason a lot of ghosts become angry when they’re awakened from deathly sleep. And usually by some idiot doing a ritual the wrong way or trying to control forces that can’t or shouldn’t be controlled.

Or by someone who has no scruples and is using magic to control a spirit and force it from its rest. But I digress. In my necromancy I actually do something different. I don’t summon the dead. I have my own Ancestors and non human spirit guides to aid me.

No, what I use my necromancy for is the opposite. I cross the dead over. I use my shrine at the crossroads for the roaming, unnamed, and forgotten dead. My offerings there constantly cross them over. But on certain holy days it’s stronger.

When I do my offerings to Elegua, Hekate, and other Crossroads Gods, I ask them to share them with the dead and help them. So I do a kind of Pagan mass for the dead. Sometimes I use Orphic hymns in my work. I believe it’s a necromancer’s job to aid the dead. Not manipulate them.

Not enslave them. But to serve and protect them. I have been told by friends that this is extremely naive. And yes it’s true that most modern necromancers seem intent on using ghosts like toys. Forgetting or ignoring that these are still human beings.

Some even abuse the spirits of dead animals. Which disgusts me to no end. So I do a Hellenic version of the Catholic Masses and the Hungry Ghost Festival of Buddhism. I bless food before I offer it up.

Mass at the Crossroads

Attendant Spirits or Spiritual Guides in nature

All Gods have attendant spirits. Specifically they all have Priests in the spirit world. Some are dead people. Others are non human priests who lead their worship services on the other side. I like to work with them.

Take the food and do an incantation over it. Ask the prayer spirits or priestly spirits to bless the food with all the prayers of all creatures who need their help. That way, the food can be charged as a proper offerings to the Gods. They get something out of it besides just the physical offerings. I also infuse my own prayers into the food.

And sometimes I place them in plastic containers on my shrines to absorb the prayers I send. And the prayers of my guides. This has a double purpose. It’s not just sending worship to the Gods. It’s also connecting to them so they can help us. Because they will hear the prayers when taking the food.

And will reply with help. Then I perform a shorter ritual the next day over the food. And I wave my left hand (receiving energy) over it and pray,

“My Gods, please bless this food with your own power. So that as the spirits feast upon it, they will feast upon the food and drink of the Gods. Let them become enlightened by the food and cross over to where they must go,

Yammas,”

Normally I perceive the food as becoming heavier. Charged with divinity. Like a Pagan version of the Christian Eucharist. The food becomes the body of the Gods. And when the spirits possess or influences an animal to eat, they are eating divinity.

Not only does this cross them over immediately, but it also creates what I call a Prayer Bridge. A bridge between the Gods and their creations. The Gods eat by also influencing the animals. But they absorb the prayers. When the spirits eat, they absorb the divine power of the Gods.

So both work together. When you are charging the food on your shrine, this can also act as a cleansing. Ask your guides to take everything bad out of your home and into the food. Bad luck, curses, bad relationships, anything you want or need to get rid of. Even diseases.

Now go to the crossroads like I said, an hour or so before sunset. Just to be on the safe side. Take a portion of the food and separate it for Hestia. Drop one portion for her and say,

“Hestia, Goddess who is first and last and gatekeeper of all Gods, intercessor, intercede on our behalf with Hekate the Queen of the Crossroads and Goddess of Magic and All the Dead. I leave this offering to you and to all the Priestly Spirits that they may come here with you and attend to this ritual with Hekate,”

Drop Hestia’s offering near where Hekate’s will be. She will appear with her own priestly spirits. Then, before you take Hekate’s food, right before you leave the food at the crossroads say,

“Queen Hekate, may you bless this food and make it your Divine Ambrosia for all the dead. May the dead go wherever they are supposed to go. And to whatever religion, God, or land, or wherever else. And may all of their uncrossed relatives no matter who or where, be invited to cross over and enjoy this feast as well.

Yammas,”

Now drop Hekate’s food in the crossroads. Then drop the final portion for Hestia and the Priestly Spirits and say,

“Hestia, intercessor of humanity before the Gods. Goddess of home and hearth and bringer of fire, ever virgin, I call to you to prepare this ritual to be activated at the very moment of sunset. Please ensure that the spirits of the dead go here and no where else. That they may only enter the crossroads of all countries and the cemeteries and any liminal spaces you deign fit for use. Watch over us and protect us and guide these souls to Hekate along with all the Priestly Spirits,

Yammas,”

Yammas for those wondering is the Greek word for cheers. It’s how you end a prayer. Our version of “Amen” in Greek practice. Now you turn around and do not whatever you do, turn back for any reason. If you do, the negative energy you left behind will come back at you.

Or a negative spirit may follow you back home.

Final Cleansing

Lustral Waters

This is also very important : you have to ground and cleanse after going to the crossroads. Because those are naturally dark and unclean places. And you don’t want that energy following you home. So before you get home, you need to be cleansed. For this we go back to the Lustral Waters we talked about before.

You keep the water you dedicated to Apollon Noumenios (the bay leaf water) inside a container called the Khǽrnips. This can be any kind of water bottle or pitcher. Make sure it’s something that’s easy to carry. Now you take it to the crossroads with you and you pour it over your head and face. And wash your hands with it too.

You can pray out loud or in your head saying,

“Water of the Gods, keep all that is impure out and away from me,”

When you feel lighter that means you are or have been cleansed and blessed. Now you can go home. Do this whenever you are praying to ancestors or doing any kind of cultus to a God or spirit of the dead.

Honoring the Ancestors

Ancestor shrine

Deipnon also means you celebrate the spirits of your own ancestors. This part of the celebration is in doors. At your own personal ancestor shrine. You give them their usual offerings and you pay them your respects. While also asking them to protect your home from evil spirits. You can charge their offerings with a blessing of the Gods as mentioned before.

This will feed them and make them stronger. And they can use the offering to pray to the Gods and connect to them. They will guard and ward your home while you feed and honor them. But it’s also a nice time to spend at night at home with your people. Maybe read to them, dedicate a poem to them.

Tell them about your month. And ask for their guidance. This is also a good time for meditation and divination. Planning projects and other things with the ancestors. And remember, when you’re done praying, cleanse with the water.

With the dead we typically don’t cleanse before offering to them. But we always cleanse afterwards. I do it before and after in the case of my ancestors. You can also do protective prayers before and after to be on the safe side. Also, I don’t know if this applies to farm stores in other places.

But farm stores in Miami have Cheese bread. Cubans love it. Take some heated cheese bread. Then add garlic seasoning to it. And you got yourself a creative and tasty offering for Hekate.

She loves it. Before that I also used to make her grilled cheese sandwiches cut into triangles. Upside down triangles are sacred to her. I added the garlic seasoning and again she loved it. You can make your offerings modern and creative.

And if you don’t have those three basic ingredients offer to her whatever you do have. Regular bread, crackers, etc..sometimes I have given her fruit and or cake. I gave her an all chocolate offering once and she had a field day with it. Remember this isn’t some stale old idea. Gods are living sentient entities.

Sometimes you have to introduce them to new stuff.

Sometimes instead of food what I offer up is money. Quarters usually. They aren’t exactly like Ancient Greek coins but they are close enough that she’s willing to take them. And the dead can use money to buy things in the afterlife as well. There’s a whole tradition called burning Hell Money for the dead to help them.

So that’s it! That’s how you celebrate the first day of the Noumenia festival. Tomorow I will write about the actual Noumenia day.

– M

Mesolithic child burial contained bed of feathers, arrowheads and a dog or wolf

An incredible Mesolithic burial of a child contained enlightening grave goods that speak to ancient ritual interment practices. Artefacts made of …

Mesolithic child burial contained bed of feathers, arrowheads and a dog or wolf

Fascinating practice of the Ancestors!

The Dead Received : St. Mark’s Eve Results 💀

Ghost in a church by Shanta4

This year I did not divine on the Eve of St. Mark. Apollo came to me in a vision clad in black and told me there was no need. They would be revealed to me in a few days. And sadly he was right. Because by the next day (St. Mark’s Day) it was revealed that my uncle’s wife has an aunt who had a massive stroke.

And she’s expected to die. Yesterday I was told by my uncle that my great uncle was also hit by a stroke. We were told he’s expected to die within a matter of hours. Despite all of that, I am not upset. Mostly because I wasn’t too close with either.

But also because after my grandfather’s death predicted by St. Mark’s Eve, I am not scared or shocked anymore. It would have to be someone really close to me. Maybe that’s callous but it also happens to be true.

From Remsphoto

The shadow of death has fallen. In conjunction with Lord Hermès entering his retrograde. And with St. Mark and St. George who I believe are riding the winds in a sort of invisible wild hunt. The energy is changing all around us.

A reaping in Spring is what I call it.

When my relatives pass I might not be able to do readings or magic. It all depends on my emotional or spiritual state. I am also going to ask my high priest what is or isn’t allowed during mourning. For the ancient Greeks, there was a 13 day morning period in which the Gods could not be worshipped. The reason for this is because we are spiritually and energetically unclean during that time.

Not because we are “unworthy” but because death is a powerful negative force. And it leaves a temporary spiritual taint even in people surrounded by death. That lasts at least that long. For the Romans it was 9 days.

Chthonic Hermes (Hermes Khthonios)

I am not sad but I do feel numb. So much death and so fast. Last year there was no one I knew who was going to die at that St. Mark’s Divination. So it’s been at least a year since I didn’t lose anyone. And lately I’ve been thinking about my pain.

And how to make it stop. I keep thinking about going to therapy again. Maybe I should. I think I need to refresh my brain. And truthfully what I really need is a vacation.

A real fucking vacation. Maybe Cuba. Go there and visit the Sierra Maestra mountains and meet the indigenous people there. Get a cleansing done. Visit the other spiritual people there.

Or Haiti. I have dreamed of Haiti since I started practicing Voodoo and Hoodoo. Since I have worshipped the Loa. And even had a strange dream about going there that had a lot of religious significance. I feel like Haiti is as much home as Cuba is.

Write my stories again. Gods know I would love that. If only I could fucking afford it. I just need a day off. A real day off.

At this point the dead have more of a vacation than I do. Hermes is their tour guide. How sad is that?

I have decided to do shadow work again. It’s been a long time since I confronted my shadow self. I need to listen to him again and see what the root of my problems are. And also apologize to him for not being the best caretaker. I care about everyone else but not me.

I think things were better when I was selfish. Then I didn’t need to care about anyone else. Just me and whatever I wanted. I look back on my earlier life. And I started thinking : I may not have accomplished much but damn it I had some fun.

More fun than I’m having now. Ever since I became Mr. Save the world I don’t have as much fun. You know there was a funny fortune cookie that once said,

“Nostalgia is realizing things weren’t quiet as bad as we thought before,”

Or something like that. I wonder if I will look at this time with nostalgia. I have a feeling of impending doom almost. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. The waiting is killing me. And what’s worse is thinking I am crazy for waiting for something bad to happen that might not happen at all.

I need a cruise….whoops, sorry Charon not that kind of cruise

Sorry for being Emo. Its annoying as hell I know. But I can feel a mass reaping coming on. Maybe it’s the war in Ukraine or maybe it’s something else. Either way now is the time to prepare and do rituals and prayers to ward it off.

If you are into apotropaic magic now is the time to do special rituals to protect yourself. I would also recommend special cleansings. Since both Saints Mark and George’s feasts passed recently I think I will appeal to them. Well that’s all for now. Take care of yourselves is all I can say.

I have to go Adult and actually treat myself good (damn it)

– M

Moving For the New Year

From left to right Hestia, El, and Elegua. Just three of many Household Gods I worship

It’s been a while since I informed you of everything that was happening. Well, for those who don’t really know much about my personal life here it goes. I had to move back in with my mother because she needed the help to pay the bills. And well let’s just say I needed a lot more room than my modest bachelor accommodations. So we moved again.

God I hate moving. I really do. I hate the packing. The workload put into it. The unpacking.

The signing of new contracts etc.. Well actually the unpacking has some good to it. Hearing the voices of the Gods and your spirits. As they teach you where they would like their shrines placed. Poseidon is now blessing my bathroom. Zeus has his serpentine idol guarding my front door with charms wrapped in a red string for Haphaistos.

Elegua has his coconut. But I am waiting to set up a proper shrine for him behind the front door. And soon Hestia will have her fire altars in the kitchen as before. El (Yahweh) will have his own Judeo-Christian Altar soon with his Bible. As the Gods settle into their new temple, many blessings will follow.

A depiction of Zeus Meilichius, one of the Giant Serpent forms of Zeus. Also a household version of the God.

The Gods have already begone the harmonization process. I can feel the new home starting to take shape.

First Stage : Cleansing

Elegua, the Yoruba God of the Crossroads, protector of home and threshold, and messenger of the Gods. Also a master of magic. He often appears as a small boy. He is the Prince of the Yoruba religion.

First I had to spend a week doing a healing and a cleansing of the space. The people who lived here before were a bunch of dicks. All their negative energy was still around. I had hoped to be able to clean the house with one big smudging with Quita Maldicion (Take Away Curses). And some Church incense to bring in good energy afterwards.

But by the time these people finally left I had run out. They made their own move as inconvenient as possible for us. So, I improvised. My Godmother in Santeria had spoken to me a long ago of the importance of Sarayeye. This is a cleansing with a magical or spiritually charged object.

Such as a bundle of plants, an egg, a stone, or something else. It’s used to absorb something negative from a person. While also replacing the bad energy with positive, holy energy to restore balance to mind, body, and soul. Other spiritual groups have used a similar technique on objects. Like using Crystals or salt to clean other objects.

In this case I was cleaning a place.

I used a coconut which I charged with holy water and cascarilla. Then I walked around the house, from the very back room to the front door. I rolled it on the walls and then on the floor. Then I placed it behind the front door and asked Elegua to absorb everything bad that had ever happened in that place. The cleansing took place for seven days.

I could sometimes feel waves of energy, being drawn to that coconut. A nasty sickly energy. And I even had vague impressions of arguments. I learned later that the couple who lived here had gotten a divorce. And the guy who was supposed to have moved out since last month kept breaking his promise to leave.

He tried to stay here by finding a roommate. Even though he was supposed to have left. He didn’t care that he was screwing over a family. Which is why it took three months to finally move. I tried not to let it bother me.

I prayed to Nemesis and asked her for one favor : If this cocksucker reneges on his promise for the third time, may he also lose the apartment and have no where to go. He did it for the third time. And while I wasn’t sure if we were to have this home or not, he was forced out. He couldn’t find a roommate. He left the place dirty on purpose.

And his soon to be ex wife was even ruder. When my mother tried to use the gate access code, apparently the machine was still tied to this woman’s phone. My Mom apologized and asked if she could be let in that she had just moved to their old apartment. This lady hanged up on her. Like she was not worth speaking to.

Yeah, that was one of the best and strongest intuitions I had about people ever. I knew they were nasty without even having to see them. That never happens to me. Usually I have to meet people to get a sense of them. But these two really were so negative and disrespectful that even before I set foot in this apartment I could feel them in the ether.

But I digress.

I performed the sarayeye on myself and dog as well as my mother before I used it on the house. And I asked for all bad vibrations and energies from the previous months of the year to go. Two birds with one stone. After the seven days, I burnt incense to Elegua. And I threw the coconut into the crossroads.

Sacrificing the bad energy to the spirits there. Now I was really ready to get to work.

Second Stage : Dedication

Hestia (Ἑστία) the Goddess of Home, Hearthe, and Fire. The intercessor of the Greek Gods and humans in worship and offering.

Next, was my weeklong dedication ceremony. Now there is a big difference between blessing a house and dedicating it to the Gods. When you bless a house, how long it stays blessed depends on you. You have to constantly keep it blessed. With holy waters and oils or even smudging at least once a month for good measure.

Because if you don’t, the blessing will eventually erode away. Leaving the house as it was before it was blessed. Also, a blessing is nothing more than a protection and a positive charge for the home. Something to bring in good luck. And sometimes it can be a dedication for lay people and regular worshipers.

But what is a dedication?

Dedication of a Temple or Church

A temple room with Idols of the Orishas with their offerings before them. From the Facebook page Santero en la ciudad y edo de mex

I know all of you at some point have heard of “holy ground”. Or even the older way of saying it which is “hallowed ground,”. Essentially this is ground that is blessed. Now you’re probably thinking,

“But M, blessing the ground of your house isn’t the same as a dedication. You said so yourself, so what gives?”

And you’d be right. Blessed grounds can be done by anyone. But, truly hallowed ground is something only a Priest or Priestess can do. Now I am not going to dazzle you with bullshit nor claim that I have fifty initiations and a priest title. I was part of a group, a Guild of Gnostic believers.

We were folk magicians and students of the occult. And the main tenant of our group was this : all believers are empowered to be priests of the Gods. And more importantly, that being a “high” priest or priestess wasn’t something limited to a small elect. All people have this as a natural right given to us by our Gods. The only limitation is whether we are moral and responsible enough to rise to the task.

We were all of the same rank. And we worked as a council to make decisions. Of course we mostly used divination. Whatever the Gods and spirits told us to do, we did. Sort of takes a lot of the decision making process out.

When you hear your Gods, there’s no reason to have so many debates. The few times we had to make decisions was due to things that directly had to do with the human side of religion. Like what types of rites we should use to draw power from the Gods. Of specific timings and place of gatherings. But anyways, we studied and covered the differences in consecration by level as well.

A dedication is a type of consecration for a temple or church. It means that it’s being specifically dedicated to a God, Goddess, Saint, or powerful spirits that a religious order serves. And the ritual is an invitation for that being or group of beings you serve to live there. That it is in effect the home of those spiritual entities. And that you are a partner, not only working with them, but keeping their home nice and tidy.

This is in no way servitude. Spiritual beings either can’t or simply won’t come down in physical form to clean a house. That doesn’t happen in real life. But the human ally lives here and has direct access. Conversely, there are things our entities can do for us on the other side that we can’t do.

But it’s as much their home as it is ours. And therefore, they do that work for us. It’s a symbiotic relationship. And contrary to the monotheistic notion of religion, it’s a partnership rather than a master-servant relationship. My mentors have taught me long ago that the Gods and their children do not seek for us to be their slaves.

In fact depending on the religion or culture, they may even want us to be equal with them. A good parent wants their child to grow up to become independent and free. If a parent tries to keep you co-dependent to them forever, they’re not good people. They have some serious character flaws. You share in the gifts of your spirit family.

The possessions and wealth of that house. In ways what you actually become is a caretaker of the property. And in exchange the spiritual beings who care for you will protect you and offer you anything they can.

You get to reap the benefits of the temple because you are caring for it on behalf of a spiritual being. And so you are paid in blessings and splendor to do the work of that God, Saint, or spirit. So, the dedication brings holy beings to a place to live in. Gods are the sources of all holiness and energy. And Saints and spirits radiate that energy in greater quantities than most people do or can.

So when their household avatars enter a house it’s like a small holy bomb going off in all directions. Everything is soaked in divine energy. And it never goes away for as long as you live there. Obviously, you still need to do your upkeep of the place and daily worship or veneration. But overall they stay there.

And their presence keeps the place well charged with their divinity. Without you needing to renew the dedication the way you would have to renew blessings of a home. I will say that at least in the case of the Catholic Church, when they dedicate a church, they usually celebrate the anniversary of when it was dedicated. As a way to give thanks. And I suspect that also adds greater divinity to the place.

That is the best spiritual security system you could ever have. Because it means that the divinities bring down their own guards. Their own attendants. Their own magical traps to protect the place you dedicate. Independent of what you do to ward it afterwards.

Now, in the old days I did an overly ceremonial dedication with magical charms. It was complicated as hell and lasted a week. Now it still lasts a week, but I have trimmed down all the ceremony. I rely on household offerings to call the Gods, Saints, and spirits I work with to enter. I entice them here.

Sort of like leaving food to lure a dove. I make sure that I verbalize, visualize, and set my intention that the ritual offerings are to bring the divine beings forth. To invite them to come down and eat. To stay, to drink, even to sleep in the home. Little by little I invite them even to decorate the area.

Usually by telling me how I am to set up a shrine. And on the last day I do a more simple offering which seals the deal. A sort of agreement for them to stay. One where I promise to attend to them. Something like the contracts I had to do with my landlord where I signed.

And once done the power floods the house briefly, I just know it’s hallowed ground now. Not merely blessed grounds. Whatever you use to ward the place yourself, is empowered by them. So your guides now have extra help. Which is what I did.

Now I was ready for the next step.

Third Stage : Calling your Guardians Home

The spirits of nature

I was guided by my guardians to do this. Guardians can go anywhere. And they automatically live in the home with you when you move in. However, this is a way of firmly entrenching them in the home. Making them the guardians of the place.

There are several reasons for doing this. One, it gives them total domination over the household and its affairs. They are able to help you keep unwanted spirits out. Because they can control the small, spiritual universe of your home. They wouldn’t even have to fight.

They keep out an enemy spirit by sheer force of will alone. From that point on, they become a part of the Genius Loci or spirit of a place. So appealing to your spirits also means you can ask them for favors regarding your home. Like a type of household saint almost. If you move, they will simply detach themselves.

Or even say “As I pack my things, you are to leave this place behind with me,”. And the place will release the bond as well. Once that happens, your guardians will rule over the place.

Fourth Stage : Unpacking, worship, veneration, and intuitively placing sacred items

My bathroom shrine to Poseidon

One thing I learned the first time I moved by myself was that the Gods and spirits guide you psychically. Through intuition they tell you where they want their images to be placed. Where each shrine should go. Where altars should be erected. And finally, where the talismans and amulets and other magically charged items are to go.

Sometimes they do this through feelings. Other times through thoughts or outright visions. And sometimes you will even hear voices in your mind guiding you. Or it could be all of the above. Including dreams.

I remember one time I had left some items on a crossroads as a decoration. To honor Elegua and his spirits. But they sent me a dream that let me know : they wanted my junk off of their property 😂. So the next day I went there and cleaned it all off. And that’s where I am at right now.

Setting up my shrines. So far the most complete shrines are the bathroom shrine of Poseidon.

Some of the household guardians

Household Spirits of the Home and Hearth

On the left, I use that wooden carving of vegetables to be vessels for my plant spirits. Some of my guardians are actually plants. On the right, I use that pig to represent the Sow Goddess Hen Wen (old white). I couldn’t find a white pig image, so I made due with this one.
From left to right : The Laughing Buddha, hanging from him is a red string of prosperity that has a tea pot representing Home and Hearth Gods, a Tibetan Buddhist Bell with the face of the Buddha engraved in its hilt, a fancy clock to represent the Goddess Anna Perenna, two palm trees to represent the Goddess Asherah and the Goddess Sophia, my sister left images of the Virgin Mary along with a candle burning, and finally, a candle snuffer with the image of the divine lotus engraved in it.
The Staff I use isn’t just a typical Witch Staff, it’s an idol to the Serpentine and Household avatars of Zeus Meilichius and Zeus Ktesios. The red string with charms represents his son, Haphaistos the Black Smith of the Gods. They guard our front door and bring in only good.

We’re still unpacking and getting everything done. But so far, life is good. I’m even doing my rituals again. It’s time to unwind, relax, but then get back to work. So, see you everyone.

The Halloween Moon in the sign of Aries

There’s something very strange this year’s Halloween

To say this year is weird is an understatement. It feels like a bridge between one era and another, Trump and post Trump. The Pandemic and us trying to undo it. Like a slow recovery from a long disease. And it’s fucking annoying.

But it seems to be going on overdrive as our year draws to an end. The energy lately seems poisoned. At least through some of my friends and associations. Something odd is going on. I plan to do a separate divination on that at a later time.

For now I am going to focus on the Full Hunter’s Moon in the sign of Aries. The Hunter’s Moon is a warrior’s moon. So add Aries to the mix and you have a semi violent lunar event. I say semi because I am sure many annoying people out there will talk about how it revitalized their lives. Or they experienced it differently.

Or it gave them energy and blah blah blah you must be morning people so no one gives a fuck what you think. I’m not sleeping well and I am grumpy as hell. Can you tell?

The God of War is kicking my ass right now. So perhaps this is happening to a whole mess of other people. Here are the cliff notes version. The God of war is all about self control and self discipline. Taking control over your own life.

This is something that he and his siblings all have in common with their parents Zeus and Hera. The ability to take control of one’s destiny. Of one’s life. Unfortunately, that also means you have to face the issues in your life that are after you and going at you. And that part is me speaking.

I didn’t get that from any article. My experience with Aries is that sometimes he causes conditions similar to a retrograde that causes turmoil in your life. Nor everyone feels that way. Some people find themselves energized by it and they’re jumping up and down happy ready to take on the world. I hate those people. Those people tend to be sports people or socialites or whatever the fuck.

And they tend to be so damned optimistic that you just want to strangle th- oops sorry. I feel like I’ve entered the dark side of the force. Anyways, I’m doing my best to go through it. Because for whatever reason the higher powers are sending shit my way. And not all of it is mine.

All Hallows

This also happens to be the Halloween full moon. So we have a triple aggressive power here. A chthonic pulse which has been slowly growing since August. And is building up to a magical explosion. Now what that explosion is? I have no idea.

Mostly because everyone has a different path to take. And also cause Aries is a God. So good luck trying to find out his secrets and plans. This is also a time for power reclaiming rituals and ceremonies. Lord Aries wants you to re-examine what does and doesn’t work in your life.

And then, to get rid of it. Burn it in the ceremonial bonfire of the soul. Destroy it so completely and utterly so that you can get out all the things you need to get out.

Let the Fire of the Ancestors burn brightly within you

It’s time to work with Chthonic Aries and the dead. Now, we don’t have any of his old names or titles as far as I know because it has been lost to time. But there are ancient accounts that say he was considered a God of the dead on the battlefield. And that the blood of the dead satisfied him. So in this way we should we honor him.

Lots of Greek Gods had a Chthonic aspect. It would be weird if he didn’t. Because the primary function of a soldier is to kill people in war. Using Bombs for peace is like fucking for virginity as the hippies say. Although I have heard that there is an aspect of him as a God of peace.

So it’s not totally unheard of. As a blood red warrior he takes us down the path of destruction. So that from that destruction we can rise again. This moon is as important as All Hallow’s Eve is. It’s the moon of our ancestors.

The moon of our blood and our kin. Here are some more articles on the moon to read. From Cherokee Billie these two articles. Article 1 and Article 2

From the New York Post comes this article.

And from Paradise Lost this article.

It should also go without saying, that all about tough love. So my advise is, enter a deep meditation and actively work with him and this moon phase. And start destroying crap you don’t need and severing ties you shouldn’t have. For that I actually do have two recommendations: Shadow Work, immediately followed by a Hoodoo Cut and Clear Ritual. And maybe a healing and cleansing ritual bath after it.

That way you replace what you have destroyed in favor of something better. With that said, I have articles here on how to do these things.

Shadow Work for Beginners

Here are some more tips on shadow work

Now I use the term “Cut and Clear” because it’s popular. But that’s actually a modern phrase that isn’t tied to traditional Root Work. It’s always been called “A Clearance” or something else. All it is, is removing negative ties that hold you back. Bad relationships, bad luck, bad things you may have done etc…So I recommend doing a clearance after each shadow work.

Why? For the same reason you take a bath after a work out. Think of the Shadow work as an exercise routine. And the cleaning up after as personal hygiene. It’s all to be clean of what you are working towards removing. In fact you can actually combine the healing bath with a clearance and do them both at once.

For that I like to use herbal soap. My Godfather in Santeria makes them. I like Rue Soap. Rue has all sorts of magical powers associated with the breaking of hexes. And warding off of evil.

So to me it’s perfect. For you, something simpler or stronger may be needed. It all depends on you. But here is a simple advise on how to do it. You should be good.

Also give Aries an offering of food. Just make sure you have washed your hands in holy water before you do it. And give the first and last part of the offering to Hestia before you give him his portion. That way she will sanctify the offering and bring it to him. Be well my friends.