Recently we’ve had some wonderful comments on the blog from Miami Magus, who has shared considerable insights into traditions I know little or …
Mage in Miami
My friend Nimue Brown of Druid Life made this amazing compilation post of my blogs. Wanted to share it with all of you! I am so happy and blessed that she did this. She’s one of the great bloggers and writers on here. And she took the time out of her busy schedule to share my blogs with her readers. Please subscribe to her blog as well! 😃
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.
The Gods have already begone the harmonization process. I can feel the new home starting to take shape.
First Stage : Cleansing
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Fun fact, Mikael (Me-Kah-yel) in Hebrew means “Who is like God?”. So the battle cry in Heaven was also the Archangel Michael’s name. It was meant as a double insult and a taunt to his fallen brother Samael (“The Poison of God”). This day is closely related to the Harvest Festivals. In fact it’s sort of a Christian Harvest Festival.
It’s a Christianized version of Alban Elfed. (1) The theory is that the medieval church, assigned the cross quarter days to the Archangels and to the four writers of the gospels. In an attempt to convert worshippers of the Old Gods i.e. Pagans. Or at least that was the belief.
Michaelmas is close to Alban Elfed. So people began assigning almost the same types of rituals or ways of celebration to Saint Michael. And out of that curious Amalgamation of religions, a fascinating new tradition was born. For instance, this is believed to be the day Satan was cast out of Heaven. And that he fell into a patch of blackberries and cursed, spat, and urinated on them (2).
So that they can only be eaten before the harvest and never after. This is also why blackberry pie is one of the traditional foods to eat on Michaelmas. The flower of Michaelmas became the Aster. (3) Which is believed to have some power of resurrection (at least in this tradition). It was renamed, the Michaelmas Daisy.
Faeries also came be to be identified with Michaelmas. Especially the butterfly winged Sylphs. Possibly because being an aerial spirit made it easy to identify them with Angels. But that’s just speculation at this point.
The visiting of holy wells and drinking holy water from those wells was also prominent. And that’s important to note, because this was done in a lot of traditions in the United Kingdom. (4) In Western Scotland, Struan which is a type of toast was made for St. Michael and blessed in a mass. Straun was also blessed in a special mass in memory of the dead and given to the poor (5).
Michaelmas, a great recipe for Christo Paganism
While I am aware that this is the Christianization of a Celtic Polytheist holiday, I do also worship Jesus. What I am is sort of hard to put into one single label. I suppose you would call me a Gnostic Pagan. Of course I don’t entirely agree with other Gnostic Christians. But this mystical sect of Christianity acknowledges all Gods.
And the Priests in their churches often worship many other Gods and practice magic from many traditions. They don’t call themselves Christo-Pagans because they believe all Gods are part of the same family. And that there is not one, but many Supreme Gods out there. That even the Christian God has parents. And so they are the closest to my theology that there is.
They believe all religions come from the same source. That in the beginning there was no religion, just occult knowledge or gnosis from the Gods. Later humans created religion and it all went to shit from there. That’s why they are called Gnostics. From Greek gnōstikós (“those who know”).
Those who remember the true origins of the Universe. Before humans divided ourselves into different factions. Before we forgot the sacred knowledge of our Gods. So I celebrate the traditional Alban Elfed as best as I can. I read up on some of the traditions and I try not to replicate them.
But to use the knowledge of how they were celebrated to sort of make a more modern version. I don’t eat the same foods. But I do make sure I have a nice dinner with family and give thanks. And then a few days later Michaelmas comes. And I honor St. Michael with harvest type foods.
Things that remind me of a harvest. I lay it on an altar outside for him and the spirits of the land to feast. I also pour libations for him. Burn candles and incense, and also do my own Gnostic Mass for him. The Altar is a stone that looks like a table.
It’s my outside version of a St. Joseph’s Table. I pay St. Joseph three pennies under his stone table for him to send my prayers to Michael. And then I continue until the next day. Michaelmas is celebrated first in the Eve (September 29th) then it continues until the next day. I also break curses for clients on this day.
And I spend the day making specialized holy waters. I also make and bless charms. And I meditate with the Angels and with the Saints. I ask for guidance, perform divinations, and a bunch of other things. I also spend a lot time doing blessings.
I also use this festival as a time to protect myself from the wild spirits that come out during winter. Many believe that Winter is the time of the dead and of darker or wilder spirits that are set free. That doesn’t always mean “evil”. But even spirits we see as friendly might not understand they are hurting you or causing some kind of harm. Rituals were done to placate the spirits and get them to calm down.
I use this holiday as a way to ward myself and my loved ones before the winter times come. And before anyone says anything yes I know. Samhain as a feast for the dead is a modern custom. But my intuition tells me that it’s still a time to be careful. That dark things still roam the cities at night during this time.
Much of the articles out there mention the same things I have here. I am just giving you a condensed version that’s easier to read here. The only thing I left out is that goose is traditionally eaten at Michaelmas. But that’s a tradition that is quickly dying out. Also, poor geese!
Sorry everyone, I’m trying to become a vegetarian. Not only for my own health but for the animal’s sake. All I can say is that it’s harder than it looks. Especially because I don’t have a coach to help me do this. But anyways, happy feast of Michael and the Guardian Angels!
Sources
(1)
September Lore by Shirley Two Feathers
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
~ I dedicate this to one of my favorite bloggers on here, Ferrebeekeeper. Be sure to follow him on here. I reblogged one of his posts before this one titled “Haint Blue” ~
A question that I often get from people (and was asked recently on this blog) is : how do I make or acquire my charms? What kind of charms are they? What functions do they possess? Etc.. I made such a large reply that I decided it would be better as a blog post. I am going to work it out for you here. First, we’re going to cover how it works for a client. I get the request either by email or someone messages me on some other social media for a service. Most of the time, people want Seances, spells done for them, and other services.
But sometimes I get that rare client who shows initiative and actually wants to do the work for themselves. They tell me what they want : a Talisman, an Amulet, or something in between. Talismans (Arabic Tilsam or Tilsamen, “graven image”). This is a charm that attracts a specific power or energy or spirit. Other times they want an Amulet (Latin : Amuletum) .
An Amulet is a charm that wards off or expels a power, energy, or spirit. They tell me specifically what it is they want. A talisman for success or even peace. Or an amulet to make them “invisible” (energy wise) from an enemy. I do a whole process of asking the person what their religious background is.
What they’re comfortable with.
Why they need the charm they need. A lot of times they’ll tell me it’s personal. In which case I inform them that I need to know what to call forth in order to bless the charm. If they still say no, I’ll do a ritual to call an Angel, Faerie, a Ghost or whatever else I sense I need to call. Then I tell them what the client needs and I ask them to connect with the Gods of this person’s ancestors and also the God (or Goddess) the client worships personally.
Or at least falls under if the person is non-denominational. The spirits then leave and come back within a few minutes or sometimes a few hours with new spirits. These new spirits will tell me what I need and how to bless it. They normally guide me to research and study the culture they are from and specifically how to perform the rituals they like. Sometimes this takes almost a month, with me going online, reading books, or even talking to a folklorist or two for research.
All of this, of course, costs. There’s a lot of work that goes into how I do this.
I make sure the ritual remains true to the spirit of the religion and culture it comes from. I of course work with what I have and can do. But the spirits usually don’t care. And for those who do care, I end up having to buy extra stuff just to do it right. When I get what I am blessing it for, I end up knowing what the person wanted anyway.
Of course I start saying in the blessing “for whatever so and so needs” to protect the privacy of the client. It’s a pain because I like to be exact. But it can be done. This was the case with one of my last clients. He never told me what his religion was.
Or what he wanted the charm to do. But he was desperate. I did the ritual and what came back were Jinnis. It turns out he was a student of the Koran. The Jinn and Jiniri (female Jinni) helped me consecrate a stone charm for him.
I had to find a pure black rock from the Earth they said. I was like,
“Am I going to have to buy a shovel? How on Earth am I supposed to find the damn thing?”
They told me I needed to listen to advice. So I did. The next morning when I was walking my dog, there it was. A pure black stone in the ground, just beautiful. I actually wanted to take it for myself.
What’s interesting about the stone, is that there were no markings on it. It didn’t look as if any animal had dug it up. It looked as if the stone was being pushed to the surface from below the dirt. I’ve passed by this same spot dozens of times. There was never a stone there that I could see.
It was said that King Solomon knew spirits who told him where he could find precious gems. Or semi precious stones all over the Earth where no one else could find them. I wonder if that’s what happened here.
I took the stone. And I blessed it with verses from the Koran, and some other things. Then placed it in a see through charm bag and sent it to the client. At first when I told him it was a stone he was like, “I’m paying for a rock?” I told him about the Jinnis and he suddenly got quiet on the phone. That’s when he told me he has recently converted to Islam.
And that they were told magicians could talk to the Jinn (he didn’t believe that). I then spent the next half hour explaining to this guy that not all Jinnis are Shayateen (Satans, demons). And I asked him why he told me he was agnostic. His answer was that he was too ashamed to admit he was going to a Pagan for help. Whatever the charm was for, it worked well enough for him to give me double what he originally promised to pay.
I sometimes make actual charms from whatever I can find. Like bottle caps or stones in my area. Or I get charms from the Romani who own a magic shop down the road from me. The shop is also a folk temple of St. Sarah the Egyptian or as they call her Sara Kali or Sara La Kali (Sara the Black). I bless them for a week and a half using rituals from whatever faith I am working with at the time.
I especially make various forms of charm bags.
From Hoodoo Gris Gris bags to European charm bags and even inventions of mine like my Exorcist charm bag. I use that one to drive away malign influences. I also use magic sticks used in Santeria and Palo sometimes as the charm. These are woods that come from Yoruba country in Nigeria which are imported to Cuban magic shops here in the US. Sometimes to African American businesses for Rootwork. At othertimes I will use jewelry to contain a spirit instead.
It all depends on who I am working for. I also make spirit infused charms. But those are special. And I don’t normally make them because the clients usually don’t need anything that strong. I hope all of you have enjoyed this look into my process.
As always, you can contact me by email at hyoseif13@gmail.com by twitter @MiamiMagus or on Instagram by turtle_island_is_the_land_name
Adventures of A Mage In Miami 