Cleansing & Banishing Week 3 : The Subtle Sorcerer

Female Jinn,
by Cjb1981
This was drawn on 9/11, 2023 of all dates.
Perhaps it’s fitting

Here we are. The final stage of the account helping that idiotic family. I really wanted to smack all of them in the face. And I swear if that moronic husband in the family kept opening his mouth, he was going to lose his teeth. So let’s finish this chapter of me working for morons again.

If you want to see the chronological decent into my case with this family, the first account is here. And the second account is here. This is the third and final account.

Spiritual War

Angels Vs Jinn,
during the Jinn War

If you read the first two accounts, you know that this was a pain in the ass. It’s a pain in the ass even to write this. I still mentally and emotionally tired recalling this and writing it down. The spirits helping me had succeeded in driving out the last of the fallen bastions in the house. Mr. Hippie is I call him, helped me ward everything.

He had a really strange experience in the house that initially made him question his sanity. He had seen a doppelgänger of the father of the family. Walk right in front of him out of no where. And vanish into the bathroom. He really did believe it was that man.

Only when he walked after him to ask him if the rest of the family was okay, did he realize no one was there.

So whatever skepticism he may have had of me before, was gone now. Now he believed. He ran down to me shaking like a leaf. At this point I just got tired of the bullshit. So I called on the Angels.

In fact I should have done that from the very beginning. I went to a spiritually clean place. And I did my own version of a burnt offering. With a bonfire made by the hippie and a roasted animal. We burned the animal for Adonai.

Again, this creature was already dead. We asked the butcher for the most recent animal. One who still had all the blood.

Adonai likes blood with his offerings. I felt a presence come down like a ball of lighting. I knew it was Adonai sending his Holy Spirit through the fire and smoke to eat. Then I did a Bibliomancy and asked if my sacrifice was accepted. The Archangel Metatron said it was.

And I asked if they would send down Angels on our behalf. Metatron responded,

“No sooner have you asked this, than the Lord of Hosts shall send down his luminaries to bind the Jinn with fetters. And drag them into the dark abyss. But this family will need more,”

I asked him out loud.

“What do I do?”

“Speak to the child,”

I already knew what he was talking about. The girl who I suspected was behind this whole mess. The one the family seemed to not want to discuss. I felt the ball lighting depart once the flames had finally died down. We took the remains of the animal offerings to a cemetery.

And we left it there with proper offerings. Specifically I had Mr. Hippie dig a hole under a tree that was tipped over. Apparently when the hurricane winds came here last time, it partially ripped this tree from it’s roots. The animal was buried underneath. And the tree was forced back on top of the grave.

To act as a marker. It was was hard to do. Even small trees can weigh a ton. But finally we got it done. In the Torah, remains of offerings had to be taken to graveyards or wastelands.

I blessed the animal ghost in the name of Asherah, or God the Mother. And by the time we got back to the house, things were better. We walked around the house. But I couldn’t feel anything. Even he said it felt like someone had used bleach to clean the home.

I did a divination with the Bible but Metatron stopped me. He told me what I already knew. His troops had swept the home clean as promised. I technically didn’t have to cleanse the house. Because his angelic flame burned everything out.

But just in case, I did a cleansing with lavender oil. I blessed the house. And then I used an ancient Sumerian barrier. Christians aren’t the only ones who use sealing prayers. And due to these beings being middle eastern, I used the oldest sealing I could find.

“Talisman, talisman,
boundary that cannot be taken away,
boundary that the Gods cannot pass,
barrier immovable,
which is opposed to malevolence!
Whether it be a wicked Utuq,
a wicked Alal,
a wicked Gigim,
a wicked God,
a wicked Maskim,
a phantom, a spectre,
a vampire,
an incubus,
a succubus,
a nightmare,
may the barrier of the God Ea stop him!”

Incantation against Demons,” from Book of Shadows

For this, I used incense to create the etheric barrier. Since the Sumerians believed some evil spirits, traveled by wind. Wind is both corporeal and incorporeal at the same time. I used the incense stick as a wand to command the directions in the name of Ea. I also asked that once here, anyone living here be they animal, human, or even animistic spirit, be protected and shielded.

That way nothing could enter the Dream world either. We cleansed and washed up. The Dumb ass husband called to see how much longer this would take. Apparently moving to the hotel didn’t work all the way. They slept better.

But were still being harassed. I took the phone away from the hippie and said,

“You can come in today if you like. Just finished erecting the last barrier for your home,”

The condescending dipshit laughed, and asked who talks like that.

“Anyone with an ounce of education. That’s why I don’t fit in with most people in Florida. You clearly don’t have that problem,”

He started to curse over the phone until his wife took it away. And I gave her the good news. She was ecstatic. So were the others. I could hear this moron whining and complaining at the other end of the room.

And his eldest told him to be quiet that at least I got the job done. I kind of chuckled to myself. This guy isn’t even respected by his own kids. He’s that much of a douche. I wanted to leave and go home.

But they wanted me to stay for one more night just in case. Even El Douche wanted that. He tried to pretend to be calm. But I could tell he was still shitting bricks being in his own home. So I agreed and slept on the couch.

And this time, the family dog did stay with me. That made them all smile. And a look of relief washed over the husband. As they walked around the house, they seemed to expect something to jump out at them. But were always relieved when nothing did.

They said it also felt quieter. That they heard noises similar to foot steps before. But they thought it was the house settling. Now they didn’t even hear that. Lord Metatron had done his work at the command of Adonai.

Now it was time for the uncomfortable part. I asked the family to sit down. And I said,

“Before I say anything. I need all of you to be honest with me and tell me what the hell was done by her,”

I pointed at the girl.

“I know you know, that this started with her. And I sensed it by myself. And then it was told to me by the spirit who cleaned your house today. So please tell me what it is. There’s no point in lying or doing cover ups,”

The husband fixed his wife a nasty look. Not because of me. It was more of an I told you so look. So I thought, it was your idea to hide this from me, not your husband. Now I understood why he was so aggressive and stressed all the time.

It wasn’t me. It was his misplaced anger towards his own wife. Still, he kept his words to himself. Instead he waited for her to speak.

“We didn’t think it was necessary to say out loud,”

(I tried to keep my mouth shut but)

“Lady, are you fucking shitting me? Imagine someone telling General McArthur they needed him to fight a force of invaders. But didn’t specify who they were. Or telling a doctor you’re sick, but not saying what the symptoms are. You had me chasing my own ass this whole time when you could have simply told me what was going on. And you!”

I pointed to the Hippie.

“You knew this whole freaking time what was happening didn’t you? And you didn’t see fit to tell me,”

He looked away from me.

“Now stop evading the question and answer please,”

Now the husband had this big shit eating grin on his face. It’s as if he wanted to say all those things before but couldn’t. Now he felt validated. I could tell, he was going to hold that one over her for a very long time. Good luck trying to win an argument with him now.

Despite the tension in the room, it felt good to know I was going to get the truth. So finally she explained. And man what a doozy this one was.

A Ghost Hunt Gone Wrong

From the article,
Protecting Florida’s Historic Cemeteries,”
via
The Florida Trust

Florida has an epidemic. One the whole country is suffering. Disrespect to our old cemeteries. To our graveyards. To our tombs and places of rest.

There’s a whole number of cemeteries in Florida that have been abandoned. And our local government is shit. They don’t even care about the living, much less the dead. It’s the price we pay for so called “freedom” under our mini Republican oligarchy. They didn’t mention the name of this cemetery.

Although I could probably guess which one they went to. It’s a historic black cemetery. Sacred especially to the Haitian community. It isn’t just famous because of how old it is. It’s famous because it’s falling apart. Graves are cracked wide open.

Exposing the bones of the dead. And to make it worse, there’s people who take advantage of this to perform rituals in the cemetery. Haitian Vodou. I practice American Voodoo (religion) and Hoodoo (magic). But I also make sure I respect all the spirits. And people shoving magical spells into open graves is not respectful.

I doubt they even leave proper offerings at these sites. I’m just an amateur necromancer. There’s still so much I have to learn and have not done. So I am not an authority on anything. But I view Necromancy as a divine obligation to the ancestors.

To protect them. To aid and help them. That’s why I am studying death midwifery. And working with ancestral spirits. I can’t fathom using people, even if they’re dead, like they don’t matter.

And doing so in a way that hurts their living families too. And sadly, that’s where I have to say that education begins at home. Because that was how this whole mess got started. This girl and her friends wanted to do a ghost hunt at this particular cemetery. They knew no one would be there.

And decided to go in the late afternoon. From 4pm till sunset. They figured they had less chance of bumping into someone that way. And they didn’t want to be caught out there at night. Now cemeteries are naturally liminal places.

But being there in the waning hours of light is pretty stupid. There are times of the day and the night that are Liminal. Where the whole world experiences a break with normal reality. And things can pass from place to place seamlessly. In Santeria, from sunset until dawn, these are the hours of the dead.

That’s why rituals and magic are forbidden at night time. Unless you’re trying to curse someone. There are some magics that are okay to do. But the Yoruba people in Nigeria, see it as a time when you cannot be involved in such things. Because it isn’t just the dead who roam the night.

But the spirits of evil. And your magic could attract, or become perverted by such spirits. So imagine being at a cemetery, a crossroads, or even the woods at night. You’re right at the gates of the spiritual world as they are opening up. And to make it worse, she was actively communicating with the dead.

Without protection. Without special prayers and rituals to act as a filter. Just bare bones naked in the spirit world. She might as well have been wearing neon lights and carried a sign announcing her presence. It was near sunset.

When they freaked out at a voice. They didn’t think it was a ghost. They thought it was a living person in the cemetery. That voice was loud. They said the voice and manner of speech sounded like a southern African American woman.

She and her two friends hid behind a tomb stone. And waited for whoever it was to go. It was then that they noticed there was something off about that voice. They couldn’t actually understand what she was saying. They said it sounded like a “vocal intonation”.

But they didn’t know where it was coming from. Or what was being said. Only that it was unsettling. They moved out of that cemetery slowly. But they heard something behind them.

Like someone was crushing a piece of tombstone under their foot. When they looked behind them there was nothing there. Finally they said they heard movement all around them. And they made a break for it. And when they turned around for the second time, they saw a dark shadowy silhouette of a woman.

Soon after that, things started happening to all three of them. Little things at first. Things accidentally falling and breaking. Arguments with friends. And horrible nightmares the three seemed to share.

Her friends ignored her out of the blue.

And she also saw and dreamt of this woman as well. The rotted woman as I have come to call her. The Ghul. I had asked if there was anything else that needed to be said. She said no, that was everything.

I needed rest. So I decided to do that. But also to explain the situation as I had seen it. I told them everything you have already read about in my other posts. They looked to the hippie for confirmation. He told them all he had witnessed as well.

I had mentioned how she tried to trick me into letting her in through the door. The hippie freaked. I forgot I never told him about that. He now knew he wasn’t being paranoid that night. That something really had been trying to get inside the house.

He confirmed to them that he had felt that. And stayed on guard all night. He looked at me nasty.

“Ah I see, the only who isn’t allowed to hide pertinent information is me,”

He fucked off after that. So now, the husband was finally convinced I wasn’t full of shit. Too many things I knew. And none of them had told me a single thing. The girl was silent.

And looked very humiliated. She was expecting a yelling. Instead, I told her we all needed some sleep. We’ll find out the truth in the morning.

Revelations

How to make a scrutiny mirror,”
from Sacred Wicca

Next day, as soon as the Hippie cooked for us all, I got my ass out of there. They kept trying to guilt trip me that I wasn’t done yet. I informed them that to finish my investigation, I needed to be in a more controlled environment. So I left.

I rested for most, if not all the day. Ate light, food that would be considered sacred. Watched tv. Got my mind off of everything. The Terminalia had come. And all the really serious magic work was over.

I needed to wait for the night to come. Once I was well aligned, I took out my scrying mirror. To find out what the fuck was going on. And eventually I came to several conclusions. Chief among them, the spirits in the mirror reminded me that West African Vodoun, is often mixed with Islam.

The mystical variants of it like Sufi Islam. Fuck me. The woman was a Ghul as I had suspected. And the dark spirits the tree protected me from last time, were Ifrit. Those are a type of Jinn who live in the underworld.

There seem to be two different kinds of Ifrit. One version, are the original fallen jinn of Iblis. They have charred black skin due to the fires of Hell when they fell. But some humans who are murdered, come back from the dead as Ifrit. The exact process isn’t fully detailed.

But it’s mostly believed that the Ifrit sense the deaths of people. They know who is murdered. And they go to the bodies of the murdered dead. And attempt to curse their souls. So that they will become Ifrit.

Another interesting thing. The spirits in the mirror told me that Beelzebulb is the lord of the Ifrit. I did some independent research. There is nothing in books that confirm he is in charge of them all. But indeed, Islamic Demonology states that he is an Ifrit himself.

I remembered the black demonic flies on the first night who attacked me in my dreams. I remembered what his name means, “lord of the flies”. And I have been told before by spirits that Beelzebulb rules the dead. That he is a necromantic demon. Almost nothing online supports that.

I only found once source that confirmed it. And now I can’t remember where it is. But the spirits have never lied to me. And it all fits. Especially if Islam says he’s an Ifrit.

It stands to reason that he’s not just a demon of plagues and diseases. He really does rule the dead. After all, what transmits infectious disease faster than a rotting corpse? So far it all fit. I think someone left a cursed item in that cemetery. Or God forbid actually cursed the entire grounds.

Maybe offered up those souls to the demon. Combine that with an amateur ghost hunter. A broken down and possibly hexed cemetery. And all this happened around sunset. The time when the dead start to rise. Something kept echoing in my mind.

I heard a word, Māntrik. The word was familiar. It took me a while to realize I had read about it before. It took me forever to find the article. Because I kept spelling Mantrik without the ā.

But finally I found it. Here’s the best article on them. From the spiritual research foundation.

“The subtle-sorcerers (māntriks) are the topmost echelon in the hierarchy of ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.). They are forever working towards their goal of establishing their supremacy, (i.e. an order of unrighteousness) in all the subtle-regions as well as on the Earth region (Bhūlok). To achieve this, they are engaged in subtle-battle with the highest evolved beings from all the positive regions, including Satyalok. They work through the medium of other types of ghosts whom they use as slaves. They have an excellent subtle communication infrastructure in place wherein all the various types of ghosts are interconnected.

The moment any (evil) ghost is in need of spiritual black energy, it is automatically provided by the next order of ghost and so on. It is only towards the end, if the highest slave ghost is at the losing end, that a subtle-sorcerer would come into the picture. And that too only a lower level one and only in the capacity of providing more black energy. As subtle-sorcerers are an elite class of (evil) ghosts, they do not bother affecting average human beings on Earth region. Subtle-sorcerers reside in the regions of Hell from the 2nd region onwards.

Subtle-sorcerers are very cunning and highly skilled in scheming. They can get any activity done just by concentrating on the relevant thought during meditation. They strive constantly to establish total control on people in places that are conducive for furthering their objectives. Knowledgeable in illusory (māyāvi) science : They generate their illusory forms through meditation.

  • Subtle-sorcerers can acquire any form depending on what they are trying to achieve and how much they plan to expose themselves. They can also manifest in the physical form and take human or animal form.
  • Due to their immense spiritual energy they radiate an aura about them that is similar (equal) to that of a Saint,”
Subtle-sorcerer,” from the Spiritual Research Foundation in India
The description of what some of them look like, based on psychic descriptions

So I went back to the mirror and asked,

“You’re saying the Ghul is also a subtle sorcerer?”

“Yes” the spirits whispered.

Now the high level haunting made sense. This wasn’t your typical spirit. They picked up a damn Māntrik at that cemetery. It’s a place that such creatures would use as a base of operations. And they spend all this time engaged in spiritual warfare.

In Hindu demonology, like the demonologies of many religions, human souls can become demons. And Jinnis in Islam can be either of human or non human origin. So the Ghul was once a human. And in death it also achieved the status of a Māntrik. These may seem like contradictions.

Because these are two different religions, but spirits in the region can belong to several faiths. They’re indigenous spirits after all. But why would something so high, be involved with regular humans? I asked that question. And I saw an image of dark shadows that were trapped in vessels of some sort. I couldn’t tell what they were right away.

But I had one thought.

“Did they take something from that place?”

I heard them say yes. I checked the time, and I had been staring into the mirror for two hours. It was time to stop. It’s very dangerous to do this for too long. I dismissed the spirits.

Cleansed the mirror with an infusion of holy water and mugwort. As two of my former masters had taught me. I smudged the house clean. And did aspersions of holy water everywhere. I grounded and cleansed myself.

Then did a final cleansing with a uncrossing bath. When I got out, I felt like a thousand pounds had left me. I took copious notes on the whole thing so I wouldn’t forget. Then I headed for bed. The hippie texted me,

“Yo! You haven’t been in touch all day,”

“That’s been on purpose. I needed to relax and regenerate,”

He took a while to text back. I was about to turn the lights off when he did.

“We need to know that you finished,”

“No I haven’t. And I need them to stop riding me. Don’t you think I’ve done enough already?”

Now he was quiet. And let me sleep.

New Day

Yeshua or Isa (Jesus) driving out the Demonic Legion from the possessed man in the graveyard. It sort of looks like an Ifrit. Image is from Liberty Cygnus

Next day I woke up at 12pm. They woke me up. Being annoying as hell. I ordered breakfast. And took out my dog.

They called again.

“You people really have never heard of email or text have you?”

“Look we know you’re stressed but they just want closure,”

“You got time to listen?”

“Uh sure,”

“Are they there with you?”

“Yes” said the mother out loud. So I was on speaker. This family really annoys me. So they wanted closure, I gave it to them alright. After I got done explaining everything, I could hear a pin drop on the other side.

“So my breakfast is here, and I need to eat. Talk to you later,”

I clicked that phone hard. And turned my phone off. Basically forced them to have to email. And I took my sweet ass time doing it. Finally, around 4pm I emailed back.

Asked them if they had found whatever it was the children brought back with them from that cemetery. That was what the dark spirits were using. They kept trying to get me on the phone or even back there. Hard pass. They kept saying they took nothing.

I did a minor divination with simpler tools. And asked simple questions. Namely I asked,

“Did they take objects with them?”

The divination didn’t make sense. They kept saying that they had taken spirits with them. But without an object, how would they have taken a spirit? They weren’t witches. Or psychics. They were mayo as hell.

Then a thought entered my mind. Probably from the spirit I was asking,

“Are you saying they captured entities using a recording device?”

The divination then said,

“Devices” and “many”. Fuck. So this time I called the hippie from someone else’s phone. And I told him not to put me on speaker or tell them shit. Then I told him to ask the girl and her friends whether they used recording devices.

Without asking, he informed me that they did. And one of them had a picture of the strange silhouette that they saw before they left.

“Destroy the machines,”

“But their phones,,”

“They got money, they can afford it. They need to do a binding ritual with a preacher from a church. He has to bind the entities inside the objects so they can’t escape. Then destroy them. Smash them with hammers.

And state that as the cursed objects are smashed, they cannot return. Their tether to this world is broken,”

“How will their pastor do that?”

“If he’s any kind of religious authority, he will more or less have a prayer or some training in spiritual warfare. He’s got to bind the objects first. It’s the same thing they do when destroying any cursed object. Send the remains to be melted down somewhere afterwards.”

“Where are we going to find someone to do that?”

” That’s your problem. I’ve told you what you need to do. All of you then get blessed by the priest. And go to church for a while. You should be fine.”

That was the last day I had spoken with them. I recently got a message from them. They said it all went away as soon as the pastor (who did know the rituals) had bound the objects. In many cultures, spirits can be captured on film. As in literally.

It’s why many people don’t allow pictures of themselves to be taken. In really old cultures, the dead and other things could be trapped on film. Or even in audio recordings. One kid did a ghost box session with an app on his phone.

The girl didn’t know that one until she finally contacted them. The other one had been snapping weird images on her camera. And she herself had recorded everything on her phone. With the voice captured. I warned her against saving any of this shit for evidence.

So three phones were smashed to hell. But it all stopped. It’s not enough to destroy a spirit vessel. You have to bind the spirits so they don’t seek revenge once it’s done. The spirits were released and banished.

And the family got blessed. The Pastor had gone to their homes and done another blessing on top of mine. No biggie. That’s always good. They nailed wooden crosses on all corners of the house.

And added holy oil to the doors and windows. And it was done. Nothing came back to bother them. The Pastor was kind of annoyed they came to me for help. But I think even he knows he wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without help.

None of us have seen the rotted woman ever again. And now I’m trying not to help anyone ever again. I don’t know how I allowed myself to get wrapped in someone else’s bullshit. Again. I just don’t fucking learn.

Oh well, the Hippie paid some of my debts for me. And he said he was no longer skeptical. That now he would learn to protect himself. So all in all, not bad all the way. At least something good came of all of this.

Cheers,

– M

Random Links of the Day : Eclipse Edition

The eclipse comes this Monday, April 8th. I have to say that I usually love eclipses. They’re great for recharging amulets. Banishing spells. Exorcisms.

Basically anything that would require some force. But something about this eclipse is troubling me deeply. And I can’t put my finger on it. I read the cards and the Gods reminded me of what my Godmother in Santeria reminded me of. That natural phenomenon like full moons and eclipses or planetary conjunctions are doorways.

Openings to the spiritual world.

Watch it live on YouTube here

Normally, this is a good thing. I welcome eclipses. And messengers from the other side. But I feel really bad about this one. The spirits told me to beware of bad spirits coming through the eclipse.

A Conjunction of Darkness : Eclipse, New Moon and Mercury in the sign of Aries, and Mercury Retrograde on April Fool’s

Eclipse Art

Mercury Retrograde started on April Fool’s Day. Which added more power to the God Mercury in his reaper aspect. Mercury has always been a trickster. So this just makes him worse. He was playing tricks on everyone.

But then we also have the dying of the moon. And it’s happening at the exact same time as the dying of the sun. Because on the 8th of April, this Moon’s Day we have a curious phenomenon. A total solar eclipse combined with the New Moon. A total solar eclipse is symbolic of the Sun God’s dying.

The Sun in the reaper aspect. The Moon is also exalted on Máni’s day. Máni being the Nordic moon God. And New Moon’s and Lunar Eclipses are the moon in its reaper aspect. So this rare “double death” as it were, is almost like twins dying.

Máni and Sol the Deity of the sun, are siblings. Twins and even regular siblings, can act as doors into the spiritual world. With one looking inward and the other outward. Like a double gate. So I think the bad feeling I am getting is that.

The exact time of the new moon is at 2:23pm. The eclipse follows the new moon.

And to make it worse, it’s a new moon in Aries. Aries is a fire sign. And Mercury itself is in the sign of Aries and will remain so until May 15th. Not all of it is bad however, according to magical recipes online,

But also a warning,

There are many supernatural beings across cultures who try to end the world via eclipses. It makes me wonder if something like that is out there right now. Maybe not literally end the planet. I doubt somehow that is going to happen. But bring forth more chaos and destruction.

Another warning : all barriers including the veil are going to drop. Now how much they will drop I don’t know. But if you live near a crossroads or a cemetery or any body of water you should take extra precautions. Because all of those are naturally portals. Same with hills and mountains.

But regardless, here’s the random links for this day

In Mesopotamia, being the King could be deadly. Especially during an eclipse

Total Solar Eclipse April 8th

SOLAR ECLIPSE AND LUNAR ECLIPSE DATES FOR 2024

THE REAL DIRT ON THE GREAT APRIL ECLIPSE

Exploring the Solar Eclipse

MARCH WEATHER FORECAST WITH 2024 ECLIPSE OUTLOOK!

Don’t tell Icarus: Hanuman Tries to Eat the Sun

Video – Eclipse Lore – New World Witchery

Sun 101 : A Look at the Sun ahead of the Eclipse

Eclipse Images Throughout History Capture Shock and Awe

Planetary news this week: The euphoria of shattered paradigms

CRYSTALS FOR THE NEW MOON IN ARIES

Sunday inspiration for the total eclipse: Here’s to something new

Symptoms of the Solar Eclipse

Why the Eclipse Equals Doom in so many Stories

Free Total Eclipse Pre Show

Five Monsters Messing with the Sun and Moon

Solar Eclipse Folklore, Myths, and Superstitions

Eclipse Lore | New World Witchery

How to View an Eclipse Safely

So I am going to start blessing and re-warding ahead of time. But in the meantime, I am going to post these random links

The strangest, scariest eclipse myths throughout history

Fiery Folklore: 5 Dazzling Sun Myths

Mars is causing whirlpools on Earth, and it bothers scientists, what would this mean about the future of our climate?

Eclipse History: Total Solar Eclipses in the United States

Eclipse Images Throughout History Capture Shock and Awe

Podcast: Total Eclipse of Our Hearts

The 1922 Eclipse Adventure That Sought to Confirm the Theory of Relativity

Was the First Eclipse Prediction an Act of Genius, a Brilliant Mistake, or Dumb Luck?

⬆️ This one bothers me a bit. It presupposes that the ancients were all stupid and wouldn’t have been able to even predict a damn eclipse

Why Doomsayers Think the Eclipse Will Bring Disaster to Illinois

Stephen King, Shakespeare, and Many Writers Agree: Eclipses Are Doom

The Atlas Obscura Crossword: Eclipse Special

Eclipse Day!

Indigenous Solar Eclipse Stories From Across Turtle Island

Behold Rahu, the Beheaded Asura, and Other Eclipse Monsters of Yore

The Halloween Full Moon and the Lunar Eclipse in Taurus! Astrological Forecast for October 2023

⬆️ (My old blog post from last year)

Harnessing the Power: Exploring the Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse in Witchcraft Rituals

Burnt Offerings : A Dark Cleansing Fire of Scorpio

and

Major Reaping for the Earth this Thursday : Solar Eclipse, New Moon, & Mercury & Juno Retrograde

and

The Superbloodmoon Eclipse Wednesday May 26, 2021

⬆️ Old Blog Posts, but still relevant to a dark conjunction

Teaching Kid’s about the Solar Eclipse

Eclipse Folklore | The Hutchinson News

8 Ancient Myths about the Eclipse

Indian myths and superstitions around the solar Eclipse

Myths, Stories and Historical References of Total Solar Eclipses

ATLAS OBSCURA’S ECLIPTIC FESTIVAL

How will the April 8th Solar Eclipse effect your pet?

The Magician’s Notebook – Let’s talk about Eclipses

April Predictions

Death by Eclipse and other coronal curiosities | The Victorian Book of the Dead

New Moon April 8, 2024 & Solar Eclipse

How a Total Eclipse Alters Your Psyche

Preparing for the solar eclipse

Total eclipse 19ºAries, April 8.

Astro-Tourism’s Dark Delights

Total solar eclipse forecast shows who has best chance for clear skies on April 8th

Total solar eclipse guide 2024: What time it is, where the path of totality is, how to watch it safely and more

It’s Happening: Total Solar Eclipse 🌞 Predictions

500+ Perfect Spots to watch the eclipse

The Deadly Role Eclipses Play in Film

How Invasive Moths Improved 19th-Century Astronomical Illustrations

Where to experience the 2024 Eclipse in Arkansas

Something Huge Appears to be Buried Under the Antarctic Ice

Immerse yourself in the eclipse at the Farm Sanctuary for animals!

Book a stay at a small place in the Farm Sanctuary

Planetary news this week: Mercury retrograde and the time between eclipses

Sunday inspiration: Sharpen your resolve at the Libra eclipse

The Best Way to Watch the Solar Eclipse

Eclipse Magic

Ludger Sylbaris’ Doomsday Prison

The House of Nicolas Flamel

The Beans That Foretold Death

Planetary news this week: Portals of insight at the Equinox and lunar eclipse 🌎

A Century of Eclipse Watching, in Photos

Watching it live from Orlando, Florida

The Golden Age of Eclipse Maps

Take an Epic Ecliptic Road Trip

The first film of a total solar eclipse

7 Great Eclipse Books to Inspire You

The Zodiac and the Eclipse

The Squirrels That Ate the Sun and Other Eclipse Tales

I leave this with a final eclipse legend.

The Frog & the Moon

Painting by,
Kristina Lim

The folktale tells of a giant frog that tried to eat the moon. This in reality is how the people of Laos explain a lunar eclipse. The disappearance of the moon is taken as a bad sign. So the people made a great effort of frighting away the frog from the moon. They fired their guns into the air and made as much noise as they can.

The frog is then frightened by the noise. And it releases its grip on the moon and it is restored to its original shape. The story comes from the Frog and Moon blog.

Night everyone,

– M

Eclipse Map

Random Links of the Day : Holy Week Edition

An actual image of a Catholic Wizard in Croatia

Yes there are Christian wizards and witches. And it’s a long standing tradition. You can find them anywhere in the world. Even among Protestants. And yet the more conservative branches of Christians are always talking about not using magic.

So as a Christo Pagan I figured I would dedicate this week’s post just to Abrahamic Magic!

Swing that incense baby

Don’t practice witchcraft! Said the old Wizard in his regalia swinging the magic incense back and forth……

Before I do, let me say this : I am a Christo Pagan. So my views are not 100% the same as others. There are Christian Magicians who absolutely are Monotheist and are even Priests or Deacons in multiple denominations. But they’re monotheist. They wouldn’t agree with most of what I believe.

They would agree with me on the mystical nature of God and his spirit beings. Be they Saints, Angels, or even the nature spirits that some Christian mystics believe in. That goes back to Hebrew culture about mysterious entities in the Earth God created alongside humanity. Not angels or demons but something else entirely. So I do not claim to represent everyone.

Some people mentioned here aren’t full witches per say. They are spiritualists and mediums of the Christian tradition. But I would still call them magic users of some sort. I’m just randomly adding links on here to things and people I find fascinating.

The Emergence of the Christian Witch | History Today

Witchcraft and Christianity: An Intriguing Intersection

Recognizing (The Long History Of ) Christian Witches may be the key to Diversifying the Witch Community

Doesn’t she look like she belongs in a secret order?

Lecture 6: Renaissance Magic – Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Jewish Magical Practices and Beliefs | My Jewish Learning

Incantations, Spells and Adjurations | My Jewish Learning

Ancient Jewish Magic – Jewish Studies – Oxford Bibliographies

Enochian: John Dee, Magic, and the Language of God

JOHN DEE’S ANGELIC CONVERSATIONS AND THE ARS NOTORIA – Springer

The fantastic Dr Dee: angels, magic and the birth of modern science

Practical Angel Magic Of Dr John Dees Enochian Tables Tabularum Bonorum

John Dee and Edward Kelley’s Great Table – Teresa Burns and J. Alan Moore

Not meant to be shade,
but come on it’s on the nose isn’t it?

Bringing Catholic Magic Back | Jonathan Ryan – Patheos

The Magic of Catholicism: Real Magic for Devout Catholics by Brother Ada Augostino

THAVMA: Catholic Occultism and Magic in General (one of my favorite blogs)

Esoteric Christianity – The Spiritual Life

The Esoteric Christian Tradition – Chicago Gnosis

Secret Teachings of All Ages: Mystic Christianity

The Magical Power of the Saints: Evocation and Candle Rituals by Rev Ray T. Malbrough

Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. ️ Your Body, Mind, Spirit Resource Since 1931

Edgar Cayce | Psychic Readings, Prophecies & Dreams | Britannica

Collection: The Edgar Cayce Readings | Edgar Cayce Foundation

Cayce, Edgar | Edgar Cayce Foundation

Johannes Trithemius: The art of drawing spirits into crystals

Johannes was a powerful Benedictine Monk and Magus. Sadly not very known. But he is proof of the long history of Christian witches.

The Art of Hiding Information – Johannes Trithemius’ Steganography

Magus: The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa

Trithemius, Johannes | SpringerLink

Trithemius and the Legend of the Wild Hunt – De Gruyter

Black Abbot · White Magic | Scarlet Imprint

Select Writings of Johannes Trithemius (1462-1516) – Esoteric Archives

The Jewish Alchemists: A History And Source Book – Raphael Patai

Alchemical Manuscript By Ancient And Mystical Order Of Rose Cross

The Line Between Knowledge and Magic Is Thinner Than We Think

Frater Acher — Paralibrum.

PDF Steganographia (Secret Writing), by Johannes Trithemius. 1500.

Johannes Trithemius, Archmage of Secrets | by David Morris – Medium

Introduction to ‘Goethe, Faust, and Science’ seminar.

That’s all for now,

– M

Some notes on practical religion : Preserving your food offerings

I wrote this as a small side note in my previous post about the faerie house I built. And a bunch of people reached out to me and said I should write more about that. Everyone from novices to more skilled elders (who know way more than me) wrote. This is an example of what I call practical religion. How to practice easier and more efficiently.

Basically, work smarter and not harder.

So here’s an example : preserving your food offerings. Or any other kind of offering that can go bad. In this case, I put my offerings all inside an old medicine pill bottle. I re-use these bottles for offerings. Such as small fruit.

Or even wine or water for libations. Easy to store.

They keep the items fresh. Protect them from bugs. And also protect your nose from the offerings beginning to rot. They fit great with your altars and shrines. And you can carry them in your pocket. 

That way when the time comes to place the offerings in nature, you don’t attract attention to yourself. When no one is looking I go to a secluded spot. Usually one of my outdoor shrine-altars. And I quickly toss them out of the bottle to the appointed spot. Then put the bottle back inside my pocket. 

Same for liquids like water or wine. Just make sure it’s properly sealed. Pill bottles are more or less for liquids. They can leak. I should also say that you can buy empty pill bottles online at Walmart for $11.95. 

They’ll ship it to your house. Of course for me it’s just easier to walk to a Walmart and get it there in person. I think it’s a waste of money (if you pay shipping) and time to wait for the mail carrier to get you the pill bottles. You can also buy labels for your bottles. In this bottle, eye of newt. 

In this other bottle, dragon fly tail. And so on and so on. You can also go to the Bottle Store and order any kind of recycled bottles you want. If an offering is too big, use zip lock bags. Again you can order those anywhere.

The container store is also a good place to get them.

Don’t make it hard on yourself. You don’t need an infestation of roaches in your property to prove your devotion. My last neighbor who practiced Santeria did that all the time. It was gross. I was the one who introduced them to using sealed bottles and bags. 

I was taught to do that by Wiccan friends. They taught me that you don’t need fancy sticks and idols to do practical magic. Some of them used their emails as their “book of shadows”. So that their families would never find physical copies of them. Prove your devotion by being creative.

It’s more fun too,

– M

The Faerie House

Sheelah Ni Gig,
The Celtic Hag or Crone Goddess,
Image via Etsy

I actually wrote most of this on Sheelah’s Day. And yesterday. I was tired as hell. And I had already posted the random links of the day. So I figured I would wait till today to post this.

Both yesterday and today something interesting happened. I was blessing some idols to hide on the property of the apartment complex. I spent a lot of time in the sun today. I felt a surge of energy around me when I walked outside. Like someone else was laughing and dancing around me.

But from the other side of the veil.

It was one of the elemental spirits I’m friends with here. I mentally wished him a happy Sheelah’s Day. This one was an immigrant spirit. One of the Celtic beings who followed the Irish and other groups into this country. He (or is it an it?) sort of looked like this.

I think it was a male spirit. But one that looked like the Sheelah. I started feeling that odd buzzing in my head. Which usually happens when Fae are tuning into me. It’s kind of how they “talk”.

And I began to remember the post about helping the Fae have a home. But I felt like there was something else that I missed. What did I miss? I asked. I had a lot of signals. And it gave me a headache.

So finally I decided to do an offering of fresh, cold water to a tree. And then I asked them to show me the way. To tell me what it is I needed to know. So I went about the rest of my day doing offerings. And I went to my earth and astrology shrine on the balcony.

I was gifted this white translucent candle box.

There was a large green candle in it originally. A jar candle. But I’m burning that for Queen Asherah, the Great Creatrix. God the Mother, who was renamed “the holy spirit” along with her daughter Sophia. Or Chokmah in Hebrew.

I’ve been doing a major spring ritual for the Great Queen herself. And for her daughter. Then I added Gaia and the Virgin Mary and a whole host of other Goddesses. Mostly to do a massive healing on me after the events of the battle with my last client. And yes I worship Mary as a Goddess.

And the Saints as either ascended spiritual masters (who are ascended dead). Or as Demi Gods. Because I have Catholic readers. And I know a lot of you are gonna get triggered by that. Getting back to my point, I saw the empty candle box.

And I remember the outdoor shrines or saint houses as I call them. That you find outside many households. Not only in Florida, but wherever there is a large Catholic population.

I found this image originally on Pinterest but then I read the caption and saw that it originally came from Crows of Arroyos blog here on WordPress.

I tried using it as a place for Gaia to use as a throne. But she didn’t like it. She let me know that it felt like a prison of sorts. She’s the creator of the Earth. The living source of all nature.

Just like Asherah.

She had no interest in being stuck inside of a glass case. But then it hit me……now I knew what I was missing. All my outside shrines were protecting and giving shelter to spirits. But I forgot to give hospitality to the earthly spirits who visit my balcony. Which leads me to today’s post.

I had written an post titled spirits need warmth and love too. I talked about how the Tuatha Dé Danann were preparing me to truly be a caretaker for the land. By learning from them, I have grown closer to nature spirits of various cultures. As you might remember, I had read a post from the British Faeries blog. About whether or not Faeries feel the cold.

There were many techniques and traditions for doing this. The original tradition, was if a storm came, you had to abandon the main room of your house. Then go to bed early. So that the Fae would have a place to sleep if a storm came in. And they couldn’t get home on time.

The Irish extended their hospitality even to the spirits. The Tuatha let me know that I needed to do something similar. What I learned was that many people would also hang mistletoe over their doors. And the Fae would transform into their energy or spirit forms. And enter the plant.

That would be their resting place until they could reach home.

A sprig of mistletoe from the Temu shopping app

So the Gods spoke to me. And said I needed to do something like that for the local Fae of the spirits of the Niiji. The native or First Nation people. I knew what to do almost immediately. I cleaned the candle holder.

And I began to add magical prayers to it. A few holy incantations stating that it was now a house for the spirits. Be they Ghosts, Fae, or any other type of spirit who needed a home for the time being. That it was only temporary. Only the Fae who already visited me as well as my spirit guides could stay there permanently.

I had a magical stick that didn’t really fit in with my usual works. I couldn’t use it as a wand. And it didn’t work as a normal totem. It was too wild. But it wanted to come home with me.

So last year I took it. I figured I would find some use for it. I now designated the stick as a totem for the spirits outside. I took a feather from a shrine to one of the Orishas (Yoruba Gods of Nigeria). I promised that I would replace the feather with a new one.

If this God would only lend their ashe (divine grace) to the totem for the spirits outside. The Orisha said yes. I also gave this Orisha a gift as an offering in the meantime. They were very happy. I should state that magic feathers belong to all cultures.

Not just Niiji. It really pisses them off when some white guy wants to learn about,

their culture and the magic feathers!

So this feather I added to the totem was African magic. Because Hoodoo is a mix of different forms of magic and includes some Niiji magic, the Niiji spirits didn’t mind. Yoruba magic uses a lot of magic feathers. Druids too actually. In my research I learned that a lot of Druids made masks and even cloaks from the feathers.

From whatever birds they had in their natural surroundings. So after finishing the incantations I set up the Faerie House.

Gaia and the Faerie Shrine

The thing is, it was pointed out to me that the candle holder would rust. With all my daily water offerings. That’s not counting the rain. So I had to move it away to where there was more shelter. It made sense.

After all this is supposed to be a place where they would be dry if it rains. Also while Gaia is one of the Queens of the Earth, she isn’t Niiji. So I moved the shrine to its own space.

Too many libations, but my plants love that shit. So do the Fae usually

The first of Fruits from trees of the land. The staff of the complex pluck them out of the trees. To have a nice treat. I wrote some things in practical ways to practice religious ritual. I realize now that I wrote a lot about this without intending to.

Clearly someone wanted me to share this. So I put this little section aside. If you want to skip all the lecturing, please do. And move on to the images of the shrine.

Some notes on practical religion

Anyways I put my offerings all inside an old medicine pill bottle. I re-use these bottles for offerings. Such as small fruit. Or even wine or water for libations. Easy to store.

They keep the items fresh. Protect them from bugs. And also protect your nose from the offerings beginning to rot. They fit great with your altars and shrines. And you can carry them in your pocket.

That way when the time comes to place the offerings in nature, you don’t attract attention to yourself. When no one is looking I go to a secluded spot. Usually one of my outdoor shrine-altars. And I quickly toss them out of the bottle to the appointed spot. Then put the bottle back inside my pocket.

Same for liquids like water or wine. Just make sure it’s properly sealed. Pill bottles are more or less for liquids. They can leak. I should also say that you can buy empty pill bottles online at Walmart for $11.95.

They’ll ship it to your house. Of course for me it’s just easier to walk to a Walmart and get it there in person. I think it’s a waste of money (if you pay shipping) and time to wait for the mail carrier to get you the pill bottles. You can also buy labels for your bottles. In this bottle, eye of newt.

In this other bottle, dragon fly tail. And so on and so on. You can also go to the Bottle Store and order any kind of recycled bottles you want. If an offering is too big, use zip lock bags. Again you can order those anywhere.

Don’t make it hard on yourself. You don’t need an infestation of roaches in your property to prove your devotion. My last neighbor who practiced Santeria did that all the time. It was gross. I was the one who introduced them to using sealed bottles and bags.

I was taught to do that by Wiccan friends. They taught me that you don’t need fancy sticks and idols to do practical magic. Some of them used their emails as their “book of shadows” so their families would never find physical copies of them.

The Shrine

These are mostly pictures.

Enjoy!

Shrine wall

The wall of the shrine was decorated by family. I gotta admit they added a nice touch.

This was once an in door shrine. With crystals, semi precious stone, hag stones, regular rocks, and shells I use for magic. They told me they wanted them for their faerie house. I hadn’t realized they were already lining up for the house. Figured I would have to do a ritual or something.

What can I say? They love shiny stuff. And then there was this.

They chose this spot for their house. It took me a while to figure out what they wanted.

It’s a tree house. I practically facepalmed myself to death. Of COURSE they would want a tree house. The pot was once dried, empty earth. It suddenly has little green plants in it again.

I had watered it before to no avail. Originally, my sister had brought a plant that died there. I blessed the poor thing’s soul. Purified the spirit of the plant. They’re using it as a bed to take a dirt nap now.

The above plant is being used by them as another section of house. The candle holder is a house but more like a front door to this complex. They’re telling me they want either animal statues or bones to represent the animal spirits. An image of a dead native person to represent the local indigenous ghosts. Problem with that, is that I have to do some more research.

And I doubt I will find an image of someone from the local First Nations. It’s not like stuff like that grows on trees. Or perhaps there is a traditional representation for ancestors of the Niiji. Particularly Florida’s Miccosukee. But for the moment the immortal spirits of nature have their home.

I’ll update you all on my progress.

– M

Happy Sheelah’s Day! Random Links of the Day : European (UK) Edition

Today I am doing a special random links of the day, for our friends in the United Kingdom. From England to Ireland. I know the UK is way bigger than that. But I would spend years trying to find something from every square inch of the land. But since I have so many readers from Europe and a few other places I figured I would dedicate this to you.

As a sort of love letter. Some of my favorite Irish and English writers. Or people who aren’t necessarily European but follow a pantheon associated with the United Kingdom in some fashion. But first, I’m happy to share this news with you today! From our friends at History of Ireland,

Site logo image

Read on blog or ReaderStair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

#OTD – In the old Celtic calendar, today is Sheelah’s Day.

Stair na hÉireann

March 18

In the old Celtic calendar, today is Sheelah’s Day. In ancient Ireland, it was an annual festival to honour the fertility Goddess known as Sheela-na-gig. Naked Sheela-na-gig figures appeared in Irish churches constructed before the 16th century, but most were defaced or destroyed during the prudish Victorian age.

According to some sources, the origins of ‘drowning the shamrock’ have also been traced to this date. In the eighteenth century, William Hone reported on the celebrations surrounding Sheelah, who has been variously identified as the wife, mother, or other relative of St Patrick – noting that, the people of the day ‘are not so anxious to determine who ‘Sheelah’ was, as they are earnest in her celebration. All agree that her immortal memory is to be maintained by potations of whiskey.’ At the end of the day, the faithful would then take their shamrocks and drop them into their respective glasses before downing the contents.

Why a Goddess Pilgrimage?

Faery Fauna III : Horses

Golden & Silver Apples : Divine Feminine Fruit

The Magician, Spring Equinox, Hares, and Mercury

Happy Spring/Autumn Equinox, Folks!

The Strange Account of the Cry of the Banshee in 1887 – The Victorian Book of the Dead

A Spring Meditation by Sara Wright of Feminism and Religion Blog

Spring Equinox and Magpies

Spring Equinox in the Ancient Irish Calendar

Fairy songs

⬆️ From the Old Farmer’s Almanac which you can read about here.

Brigid’s Garden: Brigid Champion of the Poor

Swans, Birds of otherworldly enchantment

Inclusivity and Faeries

Do Faeries feel the cold?

Dame Alice Kyteler, a Medieval Witch

Let’s talk about Animism

Irish Superstitions

The Traveling People

Winters in the world : a Journey through the Anglo Saxon Year book review by Neptune’s Dolphins

Dancing with the Good Folk

The above video comes courtesy of Hidden History on WordPress.

Celtic Mythology : The Five Guardian Trees

Rathcroghan, Cruachan Aí

The town where the feast of Samhain originated from in Ireland (this is why I love this blog)

Fáilas

One of the four cities of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the ancient Irish Gods

The Giant’s Grave

Sheela Na Gig Project

The Sheela Na Gig Project is an attempt to collate information about Sheela Na Gigs in the UK

Donn Fírinne

The Dark One

The Superstitions of the Sailors (one of my favorites)

Historic Graffiti and Protection Marks on Worcestershire Churches

Site logo image

Irish Myths

Is The Banshees of Inisherin Based on Irish Folklore?

I. E. (IrishMyths.com)

Brittany’s Tormented Tailors

To Break a Spell and Lift a Curse

Both of the above are from : Bonjour From Brittany

Dion Fortune with Professor WHAM

Ash Tree Month in the Celtic Tree Calendar

Ash Tree Buds

Source: tree2mydoor.com

Osatara Ritual

(okay so Ostara is technically Germanic rather than from the UK, but the Celts and Germans had a lot in common and many Wiccans and other traditions celebrate Ostara as well)

Vernal Equinox loading…

purpleraysblog

March 18

*

Happy Vernal Equinox! A Time for Renewal and Celebration of New Life!

As the Equinox arrives on March 20th in the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of Spring and has long been revered as a time of regeneration and rebirth in nature. This sacred moment brings a harmonious balance of day and night, light and darkness, prompting us to seek balance in all aspects of our lives, including the nurturing of both feminine and masculine energies.


In many ancient traditions, spring is linked with the East direction, where each sunrise signals the dawn of new beginnings. It fills us with renewed optimism, inviting us to embrace fresh opportunities and positive energies. As we emerge from the quiet introspection of winter, it’s a time to kindle our inner light and focus on nurturing the seeds of our dreams and aspirations, ready to blossom into fruition.


Let us commemorate Mother Earth’s renewal and our personal growth by honoring the light within each other, engaging in purifying rituals, lighting candles, making offerings to the Earth, and mindfully appreciating the emergence of new life. Together, let’s celebrate the beauty of new Life!


❤ Rivers in the Ocean ❤

Landscape Stories by Nemue Brown

Brigid’s Garden: Brigid the Healer

Eostre and Easter

Pioneering with Birch

The Medicine, Magic, and Spirit of Trees: A Druid’s Garden Guide

Can you really learn Druidry?

The Three Realms of Celtic Cosmology & the Zodiac Wheel

Everyday Druidry and divination

Wild Daffodils

Stonehenge Spring (Vernal) Equinox. Managed Open Access: 20th March 2024

Ancient Roman Mosaic Found in England

Let’s Talk About Changelings

By Maranda Wabik

Children and the Fae

Annwn – A Land of the Living or the Dead?

THE WICCAN CALENDAR: OSTARA (SPRING EQUINOX)

Embracing the Spring Equinox and the Mystical “Worm Moon”

The Three Stages of Wizardry (Part 1 of 2)

Cat Mint, Growing Mushrooms, Cycle of our seasons, and spring risotto

Blooms of Blodeuwedd

Druidry and the equinox

This last addition doesn’t have anything to do with the UK but I thought it was fascinating regardless!

Miriam Speaks by Janet Maika’i Rudolph

Well that’s all for now!

From Spanish,
“Happy Night, may the silence of the night whisper to you dreams of hope”

– M

Imbolc/Candlemass/Candlemas 2024

It’s finally hear! Imbolc! As well as its Christian equivalent, Candlemas or Candle Mass. The Mass of Candles. Just like Imbolc, Candlemas is the best time to bless things. Especially candles. Priests will bless candles with incense and holy water.

To impart special blessings upon the candles.

All Hail the Queen

I use both holidays not only for this, but to bless special charms in general. Currently I am getting ready to bless these.

When these egg shells gain their full power, I’m going to crush them into a powder. In Santeria these powders are called Cascarilla. The blessed egg shell powder is used for a variety of magics. And can even be used as an extra ingredient to empower a spell. Cascarilla is always used for positive purposes.

Like healing. I’ve never heard of them being used for curses.

This year’s Brídeog

I also made my Brídeog or little Brighid. My Imbolc idol for Brighid. As is custom, I walked around the house at sunset. On the day before the Sun entered 15 degrees in the sign of Aquarius (this year the day before was February first). In tradition, a person used a torch to walk around the outside of the home.

I used a lighter instead. It’s easier to hide what I’m doing. In the past I used candles or incense sticks as the torch. With this, I can click the lighter on and off when someone shows up. It still gets the job done.

Although when people see the doll, they freak out.

The bed on which Brighid will sleep tonight

I remember I was caught making a Brídeog a few years ago. Mine are basically poppets that I can make from what’s on the land. Sticks and vines sometimes. It didn’t have a head yet. But as soon as he saw it he turned pale as hell.

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. Like I said in my last blog post, people assume magic dolls are always going to be for hurting a person. You never ask someone who has a Saint statue if it’s to hurt anyone. Or an image of a man being tortured to death on a cross in clear agony.

Noooooo but those scary ass corn dollies and poppets? It’s El Diablo!

This year I dressed the idol with specific elements. Part of the decorations represented are for Oya. The Orisha (Yoruba God) of storms and winds, the market place, and guide of the dead. She’s also a great warrior. And she brings great prosperity.

Oya’s favorite color is purple. But rainbow colors are also sacred to her.
My candle for Oya and the Virgin of Candelaria

It’s said that windy storms, especially thunderstorms, are actually her dancing the skies. She lives in the market place because she loves human activity. So commerce naturally falls under her. However, she’s also the Orisha who can protect us from Iku, the Orisha of Death. And since then, she leads souls to the front gates of all tombs.

Oya’s feast day is the feast day of Candelaria (Candlemas). Which is February 2nd. During this time, Santeria visit cemeteries. And do special offerings to her at the front gates. They also do these things for the honor of the dead.

Asking Oya to bless them.

Then we work with another incarnation of the Virgin Mary. Oya and other Gods were often synchronized with the Virgin Mary. Or other Saints. So when the slaves came, new aspects of the Saints arose. Including a new aspect of the Virgin Mary appeared.

La Virgen de la Candelaria. Or English, The Virgin of the Mass of Candles. Candlemas.

La Virgen de la Candelaria

This African aspect of Mary, is said to be Oya in her Christian disguise. Even the colors seem to point to her. I only half way agree. I think this is the Virgin Mary. But because so many people combined her and Oya together, she took an African form.

Gods often do that when they get adopted into other cultures. And I do see Mary as a Christian Goddess. Not just a Saint. She’s even called “the queen of heaven”. Which is a Pagan title in many cultures for a Mother Goddess.

Images from :
Ashe Pa mi Cuba

Mary has often taken different forms across cultures. Appearing as Native, Asian, or in some cases her traditional middle eastern form. So I do a lot of Hoodoo and Santeria during this time. With both her and Oya. Specifically I do a combination of African and Christian necromancy.

It’s a good time to talk to the ancestors. But I’m also talking to the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Brighid and her people, the Tuatha Dé Danann

I am watching shows with Brighid. I put her to sleep now.

The fire of Brighid, doesn’t it sort of look like the sacred heat from Catholicism?
Covered Brighid in her own blanket. The Romani woman watches her sleep

And I’m about to recite our favorite poem. Candlemas by Alice Brown. And listen to some Irish poetry. I lit seven candles in honor of Brighid. Two of those candles were for Oya and the Virgin herself.

All in all, it’s been a good day.

Saw this the other day, normally I use regular candles. But this is perfect for Oya
The Tuatha Dé Danann,
image from
Art Station

Well, time for bed everyone. Take care,

– M

Saving Greene

Today I was looking at my Balcony Garden. Basking in the warmth of the sun, which is something I almost never do in Florida. Usually we hate the damn sun. It burns our skin. And not all of us go to the beach.

My idol of Queen Gaea, Mother of the Universe, Oldest of all the Gods

Some of us appreciate the beauty of the swamp and all its creatures.

Florida Tripper‘s Image

If you look deep into Florida, there’s more than just beaches and cities. There’s the country. Which carries a beauty of it’s own. The beauty of the water and the earth interposed with one another. The Union of Land and Sea.

Image from MaKeleLele

My garden was reminding me of all the creatures who live here. And I thought of my old friend Greene. This story happened a couple of years ago. The day was unusually chilly for South Florida. Like now.

I was taking my dog out one morning. I found him half frozen on the ground, Greene. Except Greene was brown. He could barely move. And he was breathing so hard I thought he was dying.

He was an Anole lizard, a cousin of the chameleon.

They’re usually light green, but he was brown and his feet were the color of Ash. I snapped a picture of him and sent it to my sister. She studied to be a vet. I was told by her that he wasn’t going to die. He was just cold.

And would thaw out. Just to leave him there. But everything inside me told me not to. Fuck it I thought. I guess I’ll be the idiot to carry a frozen lizard home.

Not Greene, but it certainly looks like him when I found him years ago. Image from here.

I put him on my terrace. At least there he would be safe there from other animals. Bugs come there if I turn the light on so he’d have food. And at least he wouldn’t be alone. I keep cardboard boxes of all sizes just for this occasion.

I raced home to get a small box. I fitted it with a small mat of sorts. Then I tried to put him inside. But he was so scared, he climbed out the other side of the box. The Adrenaline made him turn his usual color right then and there.

I just stayed there and spoke to him while my neighbors thought I was bat shit crazy.

“If you don’t come with me now you’ll die. I need you to trust me,”

(Yeah, I’m sure that made them think I was less crazy)

He looked at me as if saying Yeah right, you’re one of them. You can’t be trusted. It started raining cold water and I said,

“I’m not leaving without you, so you better get used to my pretty face,”

The God Agemo

The God Agemo the wise chameleon image from Reddit.

He stood there appraising me for 5 minutes. I wondered what could be going on in his mind. I remembered an old story from Yoruba culture. The God Orunmila was friends with the wise Chameleon, Agemo. Agemo helped Orunmila many times. So I prayed to Agemo to help me get this little guy in the box.

Then I suddenly thought, now is the time, get him in. I put him inside. He tried to run but this time he ran inside the box. I sealed the other side. Leaving the open portion for air.

This time he stopped resisting. I asked my animal guides to protect him. As I walked with him in the box, it seemed as if he were resting. I don’t know if he trusted me finally. Or was simply too exhausted, or both.

I positioned him in a corner with a bucket blocking the chilly wind. He opened his mouth and that large balloon thing some lizards have beneath their neck popped out. I half imagined him cursing me with his breath. I put more carpets all around him to keep him warm and offer more protection from the winds. And then I used some healing work for him.

But most importantly, I left it in the hands of the divine ones. I slept warily that night hoping he would be safe. I prayed for the Sun in Florida to pierce the gray skies. Something I never did. I just wanted him to be okay.

I kept remembering him heave air into himself so deeply. I had dreams of him fighting for his life. I couldn’t even get a decent night’s sleep. I hoped beyond hope for this little creature to live. The next day I was caught off guard by something.

I lost my job so I had time to sleep in. I actually wasn’t too upset about losing it. It was a shitty job with shitty pay. And now I got to relax and enjoy sleeping longer. I drank my Cuban coffee.

I decided to get an hour or two of extra sleep only to hear my phone’s ping that I received a text. My Mother snapped a picture and said.


“Look, he’s okay now,”

I don’t have the old picture of him anymore. But this is what he looked like.

The image was originally from the Orlando Sentinel, but the article doesn’t exist anymore. Instead I have the URL from the image.

I couldn’t believe it. I had to run to the terrace to make sure. And yes there he was. Not only did his color return, but he was mobile now.

I left him be. Didn’t want to scare him off before he was ready to go. The box was still out there for him. And the Sun was shinning through the gray though I continued to pray for the clouds to keep parting and the sun to shine to heat everything up. My prayers were answered.

He seemed to be okay physically. But the way he was sprawled out on the table he had climbed, something was wrong. At some point we had even gotten him dead crickets. Finally, a friend told me they were hunters. And preferred live food.

So I did a trick she taught me. I placed a single banana slice on the table when he wasn’t there. And let it rot to attract flies. When the flies came, he showed up and ate them. Then he ate the banana.

The next morning he began to get his bearings. He stayed for two days. Finally, he left for his true home. My family saw him leave.

I don’t know what Agemo did. But I know that Greene survived when I thought he would die. He’s a tough little guy. I know the spirits guided me.

And the Gods blessed me. And for those who say they didn’t, that it was just me working hard to save him. You didn’t see him that day. I have seen plenty of frozen lizards since then. Just a few years ago we had iguanas falling from the trees in Florida.

They were perfectly fine. When I saw Greene, I expected him to die. He looked like death. I have never seen any animal look like that. Except for animals in their last days.

I know the medicine of the spirits of Florida and the Yoruba people of Nigeria were with him. And with me. Thank you Divine Ones. I wonder every so often, what became of my little friend.

Praise be to Orula
The Twin Thunders or Little Thunders. At least what I could get as a representation of them. They’re Deities I pray to for rain. They also make some badass holy water
Image from here
Not every Nation believes in Wakan Tanka (Great Mystery). Everyone has their own spirits, but I do.
The Agemo Dance (Video)

– M

Imbolc for Brighid : How to Make a Witch’s Effigy or “Poppet”

All the Imbolc images are courtesy of the Celtic Lady Blog

The connection between dolls and the supernatural is not a new idea. Everyone has heard of voodoo dolls, which can supposedly stand in for the target…

So this article here caught my attention

How to Make a Witch’s Effigy “Poppet”

I thought I would add it to this little mini article I made. The problem here, is that people always think of Voodoo dolls or Poppets in terms of evil. No one ever talks about their use in white magic or nature magic. For instance, most of the time when I make Poppets, or use African Dolls (not Voodoo, but from Santeria) they are used for religious purposes. For instance, in the feast of Imbolc which is Celtic (Christian Candlemass) we have the Brídeog.

Brídeog is an idol of the Celtic Goddess, Brighid. We make one for her every February. It’s made of straw or corn husks or whatever you can find. And you welcome her spirit by walking around the outside of a house with a Torch. Now in modern times, what I use is an incense stick or a lighter. 

Candles are a pain in the Ass. And they attract attention. I sort of flick the lighter on and off. And hide the doll in something while I walk. Then I utter an incantation at the door,

” Bridean, Bridean, thig an nall ‘s dean do leabaidh”

Translation :

” Bríd (Brighid), Bríd, come over and make your bed ”

And then I place her doll near a fake fire place in a makeshift bed. I light seven Candles in honor of her. Because in the old days young women would choose an “Imbolc Queen” from among themselves. And they would wear a stick crown with seven candles in them that were lit. I use the stick holders from burned out incense sticks as the candles at the very top of a Brídeóg or “Little Brighid”.

One of my Brídeóg effigies from 2019

During the Eve before it’s actually Imbolc (for the ancients, midnight was almost always at sunset, not 12am) Brighid was said to inhabit that doll and bring blessings upon the household. Meanwhile the doll actually absorbs all the bad energy out of the home. And then, we go the next day to a body of water like a river or a pond. Or a canal. And we leave the doll at the edge near the water.

She takes the bad things away from us.

During the night of Imbolc, we read poetry to her Doll. And just plain have a really nice time together. Sing songs. Basically it’s a night to relax and enjoy not just spiritual life, but human life. Of course holy fires are important for warding away bad spirits. 

Specifically either bonfires or hearth fires. So of course we do our religious worship. But it’s done in a chill way. At least originally it’s like that. Many modern practitioners make a lot of these holidays overly ritualized.

Like even more so than our ancestors did. I suspect it’s the feeling of needing to connect to our higher powers. You could always do the Imbolc celebrations with your children. Imbolc, like Yule was a time of caroling. People went from house to house singing songs.

And begging alms for the poor.

The girls or sometimes boys and girls would carry the Brídeóg in procession while they sang to her. They all wore white with their hair unbound. Afterward, you could feast in your home. The Brídeóg was set in a place of honor, and put to bed with lullabies sang to her. After dinner there would be dancing.

And reading and any activity the family finds enjoyable. Also you have the Imbolc Queen. Where one of the girls would be chosen to wear a thorn crown with seven lit candles in it. You could give all the girls a crown with candles that has been lit but were put out. Also there are arts and crafts activities like making Brighid’s crosses and shields.

Or make Strawboys with hats to accompany Brighid. And straw masks. Basically it’s a day for arts and crafts. You could mold the day to however you like it. I need to point out that this is my research, I am not a Druid.

I do not have the authority to speak. I am a novice in Celtic Polytheism. Do not take my word for it. Take everything, from everyone, with a grain of sand. Cheers,

– M

The 2024 New Year’s Report : The Most Violent Year yet?

The Tuatha Dé Danann (Irish Celtic Gods) Vs. the evil
Fomorian Giants

I think you can tell by the title of this report, exactly what 2024 is going to be like. And it will not be good. Now anyone can say,

“Well of course! We got like two wars going on at once!”

Not really. We have always been at war. We are stuck in an endless war loop. War, sadly, is what drives the American economy. Not innovation.

Not scientific discovery. War. Guns. The death and blood of children. You think the government and businesses give a shit about kids in Gaza dying? They don’t even care when kids in school in America are dying.

Not as long as those semi automatics make them money.

Of course the Liberals are just as hypocritical. They claim they’re against violence. While they send huge packages of aid to an illegal coup regime in Ukraine. Or they send Israel money to butcher whole families. They don’t give a fuck.

But I digress.

There is a massive spiritual tremor on the other side. It seems as if the Earth is ready to open up wide to swallow us all. As if ready to take us to our graves earlier than expected. Let’s start with the Feng Shui report.

The Spiritual Drought

From the world atlas article :
What Are The Effects Of A Drought On The Environment?

In this Chinese New Year, the world will enter the year of the Wood Dragon. And with it, a massive imbalance in our world. Too much earth, and not enough water. That’s the ruling theme for this year. The world is not being nurtured by water.

Too many dreams are being sacrificed in the name of what we think is practical (a perversion of the earth element). Or what we think is reasonable. And we’re not nurturing each other or ourselves like we used to. Grounding is great. Earth is great.

Earth lends power to all of us. It makes us invincible in any almost situation. Especially battles. The problem is, we have too many battles. Too many of us are stuck in defensive or offensive strikes.

Normally, I would say this isn’t bad at all. Because most of the time, people lead a sedentary life style. Too many are wasting their energy and time on social media. On pleasure. And on feel good stuff.

Especially this time of the year. So I was happy with the more aggressive magma energy of the underworld stirring our world up. More and more people becoming conscious and educated on things they weren’t before. And no longer standing for it. No longer being passive.

But if there’s no water, you’re grounding with desolate earth. And your soul becomes desolate as well. In resisting the cement of the establishment, we’ve all entered overdrive. Even after we broke our selves free (or free enough). I have felt it too.

I don’t think we should stop resisting evil. Far from it. But it’s time to change tactics. We have already used our raw power to break free from sedentary state. From the cement of apathy and ignorance.

Now it’s time to wash what’s left of the cement from our bodies. Gently. To flow with water. Bruce Lee actually talked about this many times.

Yin and Yan

Imbalances are cured through spiritual counter balance. What this means is, spend the first six months of the year meditating only with water. Then, on month 7, you can re-incorporate the Earth. This should balance you out. Ask your spirits how this is to be done.

Something wholesome and loving for the new year

You could also work with spirits of water. Or spirits who are associated with water. Learn to redirect your energies towards nurturing yourself. And your dreams. Just don’t totally lose yourself in the water either.

You don’t want to accidentally create a new imbalance.

The strength of water, is also it’s weakness. It opens up your mind to visions. Which is why Neptune Retrograde is good for spirit work. It even allows you to enter the spiritual world. However, that’s also its weakness.

Too much water, leaves you ungrounded. And then your mind floats the same way the air signs do. When the astrology is ungrounded. So if you notice that water energy leaves you ungrounded like that, don’t wait to re-incorporate the earth. Everyone reacts differently.

Lucky Colors & Their Meanings

According to the flying stars site, the lucky colors of this year are : blue & black (wealth), white, gold, & silver (intelligence), red (support and authority), green (recognition of your talents), and finally yellow (fostering of good allies). Wearing each of these colors is supposed to personally stabilize your energy for this coming year. Next we talk about who the ruling Chinese God of this year is.

The Tai Sui of 2024

General Li Cheng

Every year the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Chinese God, chooses someone from his court to rule that year. He has sixty divine generals. And one of those generals is anointed as the Grand Duke of the planet Jupiter. Jupiter you see, is seen as a planet of wealth and power across cultures. In Rome, Jupiter was the Supreme God.

So this is a very important planet in Astrology. Even astrologies from different cultures. Whatever God or spirit is in charge of this planet, is very important. And obviously very powerful. So it’s important to stay on the good side of whoever will be in charge.

For this year, the being in charge is General Li Cheng.

The sacred direction of the Tai Sui this year is going to be the South East direction of your house. That is the direction where the wood dragon spirit will be. So that direction should be kept quiet at all times. Don’t ever face that direction. Because doing that is a challenge to him.

You should burn incense or candles and leave fruit offerings to both the Tai Sui and the Dragon. Divine with your spirits or ask a specialist on the best way to do this. The sign of the dog directly conflicts with the Tai Sui. So anyone born under that sign will be afflicted. The sheep and ox are afflicted indirectly by the Tai Sui.

Taken directly from the website :

Now that sounds good and all. And it is don’t get me wrong. But there is a down side. One, if the Jade Emperor chose him to rule us this year, that means there is going to be a massive overhaul. Imagine having a forensic accountant audit you.

Making sure that all accounts are balanced. Now this is for our own good. We need balance. And we desperately need to redo how we are living our lives. So that’s a good thing.

And he will give us support.

But remember that a Mercury retrograde is kind of like that too. We have our lives in an upheaval to change something we wouldn’t change on our own. So there’s no telling what kind of upheaval there will be this year. We are being told that good leaders will emerge to rise up and help us. But over all I think you should learn to rely on yourself.

Because for some signs, leaders won’t help at all.

Ruling Orishas : Elegua and Oya Rule the Year (Letter of the Year in Cuba)

According to the Babalawos in Cuba, the ruling Orishas (Yoruba Gods) of this year are Elegua. And Oya as his companion. Which depending on how you look at it could be fruitful, or bad. Just like the ruling Tai Sui. He’s a good God.

But whether this year is good or bad depends entirely on us. Because it seems like all the Gods across the pantheons are looking at us under a microscope. The Gods are issuing decrees and judgements. And it isn’t enough to be a good person to get blessings. We need to work for it.

Wishing on a star isn’t going to make your life suddenly get better. They want us to get off of our ass and get to work. Now here are the Pros and the Cons as I see it.

Elegua is the God of the Crossroads.

A master of magic. And one of the wisest and strongest of all Orishas. He usually takes on the form of a young man or even a child. Don’t make the mistake of thinking he is powerless. Because he isn’t.

Elegua in his Child God form

Even the other Gods made that mistake once.

Because he rules the Crossroads, he has a direct effect on destiny itself. He can both open and close your roads. And redirect you onto another path altogether. Like Hermes basically. Depending on whether or not you’ve done what you’re supposed to do in life, you’ll either have a really good year.

Or a really fucked up year. Elegua is an Orisha who can grant you luck in everything. And open doors to everything. But he can just as easily close your doors. And make your life a roller coaster.

Now let’s look at his companion Orisha.

Oya in her incarnation as the Orisha of Storms

Oya is the Warrior Orisha of storms, economic prosperity, and she’s the gatekeeper of the dead. In Brazilian Quimbanda and Candomble she also rules destiny. She doesn’t live with the dead. That’s actually a common misconception. She escorts the dead to the front gates of cemeteries and tombs.

And then leaves them there. So that the Gods of the dead can send them to where they belong. She actually lives in the market place. All market places. Flea markets, malls etc..pretty much almost any place where there is commerce.

She won’t be in a bank or Wall Street though. She specifically likes market places. I think it’s the human to human interaction with vendors. She’s very sociable. But don’t piss her off.

She’s not some dainty princess. Far from it. She’s a warrior. And once even shape shifted into the form of a man to fight along side her husband Shango. This is why one of her epithets is “the woman who wears pants to make war.”

She can give you all the money and power in the world. Or she can take it all away. She can shield you like a mother protecting her child. Or she can slay you like the tyrants she has slain before. The fact that she magnifies Elegua’s influence means you need to tread carefully this year.

But like I said, some people really will reap the benefits of this year. If you have relatives who only speak Spanish, who would like to read the letter of the year in Spanish, it’s here. Otherwise let’s get to the translation.

Letter of the Year : Irete Otura (Irete Sulla)

Trickster
By Nezala

Let’s start with the sayings.

– From King to a Slave

– The Rioter destroys everything

– Olofin cannot bless he who has no head

– King’s head, child’s brain

– Secret Service & Military Service

– Obatala blessed the young Awós (Babalawos or high priests of Orula) for their Ashe (divine grace)

– Ignorance makes of a free man a slave

– Don’t ask of another what you cannot fulfill

– A mother is not just one who gives birth, but also raises

– The Eye of the Father protects the child

– Life does not move with the movement of death

– Luck and Fortune are suspended in the air

– The Awó transcends life because he knows the right path

Because one of the articles I am citing is already in English, I am just going to copy and paste the advice here :

Predictions

These are the predictions based on the sign. Including the story behind the sign.

Ifa warns about the importance of caring for children, even within the home itself, to avoid negative and harmful situations that could put them at risk. They should not be left in the care of third parties.

In another sense, the letter of the year 2024 invites the general population and the authorities to be alert about a possible increase in crime rates and the consumption of alcoholic beverages and narcotic substances, especially by young people, which, could cause significant damage to society.

Crime prevention this year is essential. People who travel or move from one place to another are recommended to be careful with their belongings to avoid becoming victims of theft.

At a social level, Ifa invites all people, regardless of their beliefs, to promote respect for differences to avoid unnecessary conflicts that will only bring loss in general, “

On Religion

With respect to the practitioners of the Yoruba religion and its Afro-Caribbean variants, maintaining their customs has always been the fundamental pillar for the survival of this religion, therefore, Ifa indicates that the revelation of liturgical secrets should be avoided at all costs. . A call is made for discretion and protection of the religious legacy inherited from our ancestors, to guarantee the prevalence of our customs.

Furthermore, young Babalawos are urged to intensify their religious education so that they become increasingly capable and continue to improve themselves within this cult.

Among the most appropriate foundations to receive during this year are recommended:

Asojano and Oduduwa, to strengthen stability and firmness, both physically and spiritually.

On love

Ifa in Odu bawá 2024 on a sentimental level invites deep reflection on the part of individuals, both at the couple level and at the family level. Marriage breakups, abandonment of wives and children may increase. On the other hand, it is important to analyze the consequences of our actions, the management of our emotions and the importance of values ​​such as: respect, loyalty, fidelity and, above all, love and family unity.

On Economics

The letter of the year 2024 on an economic level invites us to make decisions with maturity and intelligence on a financial level, so as not to end up being a victim or slave of our own decisions. It maintains that the correct use of all resources will be the best alternative to prosper. In that sense, it reiterates that, like the year 2023, this will be an opportune period for the development of agribusiness and the use of land.

On Health

Enjoying a good physical and mental state is decisive for human beings, therefore, keeping ourselves healthy and in optimal condition is one of the main concerns that Ifa has when it advises us, especially when determining a letter that will govern an entire year.

To keep our health strong during the year 2024 Ifa recommends taking care of the skin; Avoid activities that may cause damage to it or expose yourself to the sun indiscriminately.

It is also necessary to pay attention to any signs of neurological or cerebrovascular malfunction. Cases of suffering from conditions such as autism spectrum disorder or down syndrome may increase.

With respect to women, Ifa points out that they should pay attention to the functioning of the lower abdomen, perform preventive checkups and attend to any warning symptoms to avoid future complications.

What you should not forget in the year 2024

  • Avoid excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages or psychotropic substances.
  • Be careful with eating breaded or covered foods.
  • Respect must be a fundamental pillar of society (both from minors towards elders, and from elders towards minors).

History or Pataki of Irete Suka

The turtle and the dog lived together and bathed in the river every day. The turtle confessed to the dog that she took the longest baths.

When the turtle swam in the river, she returned to the house through a secret cave, ate the food, came back and said to the dog:

“Friend, you don’t know how to bathe, I do take long baths.”

When they arrived at the house, the turtle claimed that it was a thief who stole the food. The dog, tired of all this, went to see ORUNMILA (the Orisha of Divination and Magic), who made him Osode, seeing this Ifá and sent him EBO (a special ritual to change a person’s destiny, usually for protection). The dog did the EBO and told him to place the wax doll in the middle of the house and wait.

When the girl came in and saw the doll, she said:

-You came to steal and so did I. She gave him the first slap. As her little hand was caught, she told him:

– Let me go, you came to steal and so did I. He slapped her the second time and her other hand caught, “

Since he couldn’t let go, as soon as the dog returned from bathing in the river he discovered that the turtle was the thief and since then they have lived separately, “

Orixa Regentes (Ruling Orishas) according to Quimbanda and Candomble

In Quimbanda,
Exú rules the year with Omulú

I’m going to say something that pisses the religious fundamentalists off. I don’t care. Exú and Omulú are the same as Elegua and Babalu Aye in Santeria. I am tired of hearing people being accused of being “soft polytheists” or whatever other hotshot for telling the truth. Both religions were created by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. They have the exact same pantheon.

Theres only two differences. One, Quimbanda seems to be more pure. They have or remember Orishas we don’t have and don’t remember. Somehow slaves in Brazil kept their traditions more in tact than those in Cuba could. And their Revolutions were second only to the Haitian Revolution.

The other difference is that they speak Portuguese and we speak Spanish. So instead of Eshu like we say it, they say Exú. And instead of Babalu Aye they say Omulú. Imagine you and another group of people worship Jesus right? But one group calls him Yeshua and you say Jesus. So now what? Are they both different people because his name is in two different languages? Silly right? Same here.

I am not saying they are 100% identical as a religion. We do have many things in common. And our Deities are one of those things. At least the main ones. Now, the divinations tend to yield different results.

But sometimes they mirror each other. Or have something in common. Strangely enough that does happen here. First, we see that in both cases, the main ruler of the year is the Crossroads God Elegua/Exú.


Exú/Elegua in adult form

Which also means he is magnifying the effects of whoever is with him. Which in this case is a spot of bad luck. Because it’s Omulú or Babalu Aye. The God of both disease and cures for disease. And that’s the second commonality. The Cuban letter of the year mentions Asojano.

That’s another name for Babalu Aye. And if you remember, they pointed to diseases on the rise this year. Especially abdominal diseases in women. And that we need blessings from the Gods Asojano and Odudawa. So the predictions they have seen are close enough to us.

Let me stop right there. Let me share the Brazilian letter of the year here for anyone who is Brazilian. Now onward with the predictions.

Predictions

The Spirit of Disease, This is not a Yoruba spirit. This spirit comes from the Suk of Mount Elgon in Western Kenya. But we are talking about disease here, so I found the image fitting, taken from

“5 Creepiest African Myths & Legends”

A translation from an Elder in Quimbanda and Candomble, her name is Mother Dai de Oxossi, from the Umbanda terreiro Egbè Ofá N’la,

“The year 2024 will be ruled by Eshu, and we will feel the influence of Omulu and Oxalá at certain times,”

(Oxala is Obatala in Santeria, the King of the Gods. It should be noted that besides Omulu aka Babalu Aye, he is the other God you call upon for health).

“The whole world context coincides with the lines of work, with the regencies of these Orishas,”

Why will 2024 be ruled by Eshu and Omulu?

Some traditions consider certain elements to point to the influences of the orishas over the years.

Day of the week

January 1 will fall on a Monday in 2024. And Monday is pointed out as the day of Eshu, the Orisha who initiates everything in Umbanda (he does this in all Yoruba religions).

Mondays are also pointed out as Omulu’s day, which can still be called Obaluaê.

The Answer in Numerology

The sum of the numbers two, zero, two, and four (2+0+2+4, depending on the year 2024). This gives us the number eight, a number that is related to Omulu in some situations. In Santeria it’s Obatala who rules that number as well as the number 24. It’s interesting to see how both of them have their numbers mentioned.

One of them, for example, is the eighth month, August. A month which the day of this Orisha (August 16) is celebrated. According to Astrology influencer Alef Poffo, who describes himself as a Numerologist and Umbandista, the year will be ruled by Saturn in Astrology. And this planet is associated with Omulu.

“Saturn, which will be ruling 2024, has many characteristics that are attributed to Omulu (…) the year will be ruled mainly by Omulu,” he says in a video posted on his TikTok profile on Tuesday (12).

That’s going to bring us some conflict and troubles this year.

What does it mean for 2024 to be ruled by Eshu and Omulu?

The Orishas are Divine entities of African religions that are represented by nature and divided as masculine and feminine forces. In some religions, they are also understood as beings who help humanity to live on the planet. Thus, Eshu is understood as the Orisha of Justice.

“Eshu is the movement, he is the orisha of justice, he is the executor of karmic justice. He who owes pays, he who deserves receives. We infer a difficult year, but one of choices, possibilities, important decisions, paths. Eshu is the lord of the crossroads,” says Oxóssi’s mother, Dai.

Omulu, on the other hand, is considered one of the most feared orishas because he is associated with healing, but also with disease.

“There will be illnesses, not only from Covid-19, which we have gone through and will probably still go through,”

Umbanda player Alef Poffo adds in his video:

” Omulu is the lord of life and death. Omulu is also very connected to the land, and the land is linked to the idea of harvesting. The harvest only takes place with the planting. What have you been planting? “

In other words, what you have reaped, you shall soon sow.

Trouble for Zodiac Signs

Please pay attention. If you were in the following. It comes from the China Highlights.com site.

“Recent/upcoming years of the Dragon are 2024, 2012, 2000, and 1988. If you were born in one of the years, then you are a Rabbit. You will experience your zodiac birth sign year (benmingnian) in 2024, which is considered bad luck,”

So expect the ride to be particularly bad for you. The sign of the Dragon, Goat, Dog, and Ox are also considered unlucky this year. Because they directly oppose the ruling Tai Sui. The luckiest zodiac animals are Monkeys, Roosters, and Pigs. Anyone falling under those signs should experience good luck.

The same article mentions important things you should do on specific dates. And other important tidbits and details you may need. Another important thing I wanted to bring up. There are days that are lucky or unlucky for cutting your hair. Most Westerners don’t know this, but there are days where it is bad to cut your hair.

Why? Because hair is on the crown of the head. And the soul lives in the mind. This is actually a common belief among the ancients. Even in Yoruba religion, we are cautious with who touches our heads. Even barbers, because evil sorcerers and spirits can attack the soul directly through the head.

It’s the chief center of power for the whole body. So evil spirits and certain types of bad or enemy witches, will attack that area first. That’s why you shouldn’t just allow anyone to touch your children. Or you. You don’t know with what intentions they are doing this.

Now, we aren’t going to delve into the intricacies of this. There’s too much information and cultures to cover. This specifically comes from a Buddhist text. Tibetan Buddhist. So every year there is an updated calendar done by Tibetan Buddhist Monks.

These calendars detail exactly when the spiritual essence of a person is weak. So you actually need the extra hair as a natural shield. Cutting it on the wrong day, opens your mind chakra to foreign influences. And bad spirits, who will see you leaking your energy through that chakra. And go after an easy meal.

The good news is, even after a hair cut, it only takes about a day or so for the mind to adapt. It can adapt the flow of its own energy to the new hair length. And as long as you aren’t being attacked that day by someone, you’re good. And the flip side is, cutting your hair on good days brings prosperity. That means you’re opening your soul and mind up to prosperous energies.

Which it will naturally feast upon. The calendar for these days is here.

Zodiac Signs

Image from GreetingsAndWishCards.com from an old 2020 Zodiac article

Now, for positive stuff about your signs. And opportunities you can read this article instead. Now for a mix of good and bad info go there following. This is a Feng Shui Astrology Calendar which means it balances both concepts with the zodiac signs of each person. For some it will be bad.

For others, good. Speaking of good, the normal Feng Shui calendar for this month is extremely good. And this is a normal Buddhist calendar for important spiritual days in January. It tells you who is in charge of what day. And the special kinds of rituals you should do for success.

Astrology

First we start with the information of Astrologer Lynn Hayes.

On January 2nd, Mercury turns direct (thank the Gods). However, it always takes around two weeks for things to go forward again. You’ll feel it go direct for real on Jan 13th (Monday). January is the month for everyone in the sign of Capricorn. And the planets Venus, Mercury, and Mars are in Capricorn.

Aries and Aphrodite had a tumultuous relationship. But it was a passionate one. And it’s in the sign of Capricorn. The Sea Goat. Which is a sign of hard work.

Which probably means hard work in the field of communication between lovers. Aries rules the Earthly aspects of farming, animals, and nature. Not just war. Aphrodite rules over water as well as prosperity. The Sea Goat is half fish and half goat bringing water and earth into the mix.

Acting as an intermediary between the two. Hermes (Mercury) is a God of Communication. Aries (Mars) the God of War is the lover of Aphrodite (Venus). So this means that Hermes is somehow strengthening their connection this month. Because of Capricorn, this is a time for the creation of projects.

Jupiter has also gone direct since yesterday. And that will also take time to fully go direct. As in almost till the end of January. But once it does, it will rain prosperity for those who seize it and recognize it. Mars will be in Capricorn during the Capricorn New Moon.

Which brings combined blessings with Jupiter now direct.

The New Moon is on Jan 11th (Sunday). And it’s sort of like a retrograde. Not exactly a retrograde, but it is a sort of course correction. A change for your life. Because it’s connected to fate.

There’s a few more things to add, but it’s honestly a lot. I just focused on what I thought was the most important. To read the rest go here.

Here’s some more astrological predictions for all Zodiac Signs here.

The Full Moon and Astrological Calendar for January by Lady Beltane is here. And here we have Planetary news this week: January 1-8, 2024. Also from Lynn Hayes. Here we have the Tarot for each of the Zodiac signs this year.

From the flying stars website,

You can read the rest of their prediction here. I don’t want to take away from their website. You can just read it there. Next we have the Paht Chee Forecast for 2024 – Year of the Wood Dragon.

And again, we are seeing the same thing from the Letters of the year, pop up in Chinese Feng Shui.

Sound familiar? Doesn’t sound like this year is going to be all that good. We need water. Desperately this year. Click on the link up there to read the rest of the predictions. Next we have the The 24 Mountains Stars of 2024.

The Mountain Stars are powerful in Feng Shui. The very moment or even the days leading up to the Chinese New Year in February they start to effect us. Click the link above to see what you need to do to increase your luck. Finally, are leaving Period 8. The era of the number 8.

And we are about to enter Period 9.

The above link describes this in more detail.

It should also be noted that in Western Numerology, the number 9 is slow, but long lasting prosperity. The Nine Periods each last for 20 years. So it’s time to take advantage of this number and gain our power. But it will also be a more tumultuous period. Possibly marked by Revolutions.

But it’s also a time of prosperity. So it depends on who and what will be effected.

General information

Okay, so this here is very important. It’s the list for all Retrograde planets in 2024. Lady Beltane provided that for all of us. And there’s a retrograde survival guide in there too. Be sure to use it.

The Farmer’s Almanac also has a list of Mercury Retrograde dates. This comes from the Peculiar Brunette and also is a good to know for the new year.

This one here is a really cool blog post made by Lady Beltane. It’s for people born in January. When you click on any of those dates, they link back to Wikipedia articles. So you can see what happened on certain dates. Or what holidays you are connected to.

For astronomers, we have the Night Sky for January. For weather watchers there is the Long Range Weather Forecasts.

Here we have Seven Unusual Traditions to usher in the New Year. Thanks to Atlas Obscura. Also from Atlas, In This Seaside Town, the New Year Brings a Battle With the ‘Witches of the Sea’. That was a really cool article and New Years tradition.

Here from the Farmer’s Almanac we have THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2024: HOLIDAYS, FUN FACTS, FOLKLORE. For those who love birth stones and birth flowers we have JANUARY BIRTH FLOWERS: CARNATIONS AND SNOWDROPS.

From his private letters to a friend

– M

Sources :

1) Lucky Colors to Wear in the Year of the Wood Dragon 2024

2) Tai Sui 2024 – General Li Cheng

3) Your Luck & Lucky Symbols for the Year of the Wood Dragon 2024

4) Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) 2024/2023: Feb. 10, Animal Sign Dragon, Horoscope

5) Flying Stars in January 2024: Sum-of-Ten Indicates Great Productivity

6) Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) 2024/2023: Feb. 10, Animal Sign Dragon, Horoscope

7) Good & Bad Days to Cut Hair for January 2024

8) Flying Stars in January 2024: Sum-of-Ten Indicates Great Productivity

9) Feng Shui Astrology for January 2024

10) Significant Spiritual Days for January 2024

11) Planetary Illuminations for January 2024 🌎

12) The Full Moon and Astrological Calendar for January

13) Retrograde planets in 2024

14) Seven Unusual Traditions to usher in the New Year

15) New Year Brings a Battle With the ‘Witches of the Sea’

16) THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2024: HOLIDAYS, FUN FACTS, FOLKLORE

17) Night Sky for January

18) JANUARY BIRTH FLOWERS: CARNATIONS AND SNOWDROPS

19) LONG-RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS

20) Letter of the Year 2024 (Original Spanish) Elegua and Oya are the Protector Orishas

21) Letter of the Year 2024 for Cuba and the world (Irete Suka) English Translation

22) Qual orixá vai reger 2024?

23) Flying Stars Chart of 2024

24) Paht Chee Forecast for 2024 – Year of the Wood Dragon

25) The 24 Mountains Stars of 2024