Olokun, one of the Orishas of the Ocean. His Sopon or vessel contains actual water blessed for him, my Godmother in Santeria once cleansed me with water she personally blessed in Olokun’s name.
Tonight is Hekate’s Deipnon, and I figured I would write this. I was also asked to write this by a client who needed her home and personal space cleared of negative energies. After I took a heavy curse off of her. The following is a ritual I came up with from various practices. But I made this ritual neutral so that it can be used by any religion and any God.
Idols come in both genders or can appear genderless
In Ancient Greece they used sacrificial animals, people, food, or even idols called Pharmakoi. The idea was that they were vessels that retained the bad energy. And that when you sacrificed them, you were killing the bad energy. So the first part of this is a Pharmakos cleansing. You’re trapping the bad energy into a vessel.
You have to map out where you are going to go. For instance you need to know every nook and cranny in your house. Every corner. If you have an attic, start there. And make sure you go to every spot in your property and home.
Ending in the basement as well as outside your prosperity. You have to pray, or chant, or do a spell. And you command all negative energy and bad spirits to be bound to the vessel. You do this while you are walking around. The vessel is a sacrifice that soaks up all of the bad energy around.
You also rub yourself, all members of the house (including pets) with the vessel. This is done so that any attachments or bad vibrations can be drained into the vessel. You’ll know it’s done because you will feel the property be instantly lighter. And you and those around you will feel lighter as well. If this was a bag of garbage, toss it into a public dumpster or community dumpster ASAP.
And say that no one will be harmed by this bag. That you consign the dark energy to its own dark world never to return. To be bound to chaos forever. Chaos meaning the primordial void. Then turn around and walk away without looking back.
If it was food, you need to go to a crossroads, railroad, or body of water, even a pond will do. And call upon the spirits of those places (in the name of your God/Goddess) to remove the bad spirits and energies. And that as the animals eat the food, they will not be in danger. That they will destroy the negativity. Again turn around and walk away.
Position your car so that you don’t have to turn around to face the spot when getting inside. You don’t want to look at the area even by accident. Make sure you can leave and leave fast without turning around. The reason for this is that all the negativity will go to you worse than before if you do. Or worse, you might see the spirits that are going to take away the bad energy.
Which can be dangerous by itself. Another possibility is you will see the bad spirits that you bound and they will be freed instantly to haunt you. Make sure you leave the proper offerings at the site for the spirits or God you called upon. Go home.
Part 2 : Casting Aspersions
An Asperger also known as an Aspersorium or Aspergillum, a device used to cast aspersions of holy water. This Aspersorium comes from Rowan Morrigan
The term “casting aspersions” comes from this. It’s a form of cleansing with holy water. You basically flick holy water on the walls. On the ground. On anything and on everyone even pets.
That’s what casting aspersions actually means. This is to bless everyone and everything the water touches. So with the water you blessed with your own prayers, bless the home. You will need an Aspersorium which is a fancy word for an object that you can use to flick the holy water with. The church uses fancy metal devices or even brushes or small buckets to do this.
But any object will do. You cast the aspersions from the outside in. From the front and back yard. Call on your God or Goddess and their spirits to protect and bless the property and dedicate it to them. Say,
“I dedicate this home to be your divine temple. This I holy ground and only that which you allow can enter,”
Bless the outside in. And enter the front door and bless the house from the basement all the way to every nook and cranny up into the attic. You should feel another wave of relief come upon you. Make sure you flick the water or asperse it everywhere.
Sometimes I even use the cap from the plastic bottle I keep my holy water to asperse everything. If all else fails just use your hand. You will feel the wave of relief hit and once that happens you will know the dedication ritual is done. Granted some people don’t choose to dedicate their houses to their Gods. Instead they just do normal blessings.
I’m just not one of those people. My house is a temple to the Gods. I want them to live there. Sure the upkeep is a little more stressful but ultimately it’s better.
Part 3 : Reclaim your Authority
Think of your Will as a personal forcefield. And as a reality altering force. Your enemies, including evil spirits, have no power over you.
With this part, walk around with a holy item that represents your faith after the cleansing.
Used Horse Shoes are powerful talismans and can represent many religions and folk practices, from El Tarot De Yemaya (the tarot of Yemaya occult store)
And command that any unwelcome or negative spirits need to go. Command them to leave in the name of your God/Goddess/Gods. And say that only the Gods and their divine spirits can be in your home. Do this to reinforce and reassert your control over the home and property. It restored the natural barriers that exist to keep bad spirits out.
And it also re-empowers them to keep things out you don’t want.
Part 4 : Warding
From the Sacred Signs Archive drawing sacred symbols or hanging up magical charms is a common method of protection
This part is a long term project and it’s not something you can do in one day or night. You go through the process of learning special prayers. Or getting or making amulets to ward off negative energy. Or talismans to bring protective energy. Also drawing symbols or writing special words or letters of power is important.
You have to research your own religion. Or your culture and heritage. And find out what is useful in keeping bad influences away. This will increase the power of the dedication and/or blessing.
Welcome to the first Random Links of the New Year! Today is the birthday of the Magician John Dee. The Founder of Enochian Magic. The personal occult advisor of Queen Elizabeth. And a powerful Divine Magician, a Mage who gains powers from holy beings such as the Angels. And his birthday coincides with Friday the 13th this year.
I had written a blog about that a few years ago but I can’t remember exactly when that happened. So to start off, here is an amazing article by Icy Sedgwick on John Dee. It includes an image of the varying crystal that supposedly was granted to him by the Archangel Uriel. By the way Icy is an amazing author who has written the Necromancer book series. A really dark version of Harry Potter.
I freaking love it! So please check out Icy’s books!
John Dee and his friend and colleague Edward Kelly, the Angelmancer and Scryer who would receive visions from Uriel via a crystal ball. Behind John Dee you can see the spirit of a woman. Most likely a shade of the dead conjured by them both from a cemetery. To read more on that and also on Edward Kelly’s necromancy for here
These passages are from Dee’s Monas Hieroglyphica (1563), a work in which Dee provides an explanation for his famous Monad symbol. In Latin he’s showing the Monad Sigil is actually the combination of the signs for the moon, sun, elements (+) and finally fire. Which would explain why it has its own magical powers. It’s because of all the power is already contained within the sigil itself.
The Rune Soup interview on “John Dee and the Empire of Angels”
The God Odin, appears as a Tomte in his incarnation of Oski, the wish fulfiller and giver of gifts. One of many ancient origins for the modern day Santa Klaus.
Santa Klaus is a mystical figure in every way, shape, and form. Like the Grim Reaper, he’s an amalgamation of various spirits and Gods. While the reaper represents death, Santa Klaus represents unbound life even in darkness. But who or what is Santa Klaus? This is a subject that will take many blog posts across many years. But I can start that process now.
Today we are going to explore at least three major influences of Christmas. Namely Odin in his two incarnations as Oski the giver of gifts and leader of the Wild Hunt. The Spirits, and Yule.
Yule is Nordic, not Celtic
Mjölnir, the Hammer of Thor, surrounded by the Jul or Yule Goat on both sides. By Fereshdhe Sehhati
Now I am going to say something that has confused a lot of people. Yule is not and I repeat, not a Celtic holiday. It is purely Norse. The Druids observed four Sabbats. And Yule wasn’t one of them.
Yule is a completely Norse holiday. So why do so many people think it has to do with Celtic culture? Well there’s three reasons for that. One is that there is a celebration of Winter Solstice done by the Druids every year at Stonehenge. And many conflate winter solstice with Yule. Then we have Wicca which is a very new tradition.
Created by Gerald Gardener, Wicca was originally a mix of Brythonic traditions. Then other European traditions were added including those of the Norse. So the four festivals of the Druids, plus Yule was used to create the wheel of the year. That’s where the confusion comes in. I have zero problems with Wicca.
So don’t get it twisted.
The last reason, is that the Norse migrated to other parts of Europe. Many of their mixed descendants practice a hybrid version of their culture. One with the original cultures their indigenous ancestors had, and the Nordic culture of their Nordic ancestors. So there’s a sub group of Nordic Celts. Even in America, a man in a Wiccan coven I was once in, spoke to me of this.
He said that Nords and Celts are like family.
The Shetlands in Scotland, celebrating a Nordic-Celtic holiday called Up Hella Aa or Up Helly Aa in 2001.
The meaning of Yule
Yule shrine showing an image of Yggdrasil the Universal Tree of Life
Now the word Yule has different definitions according to different sources. What keeps getting repeated is that it means “wheel”. And it’s related to the wheel of the year. Others claim that Yule is based on one of Odin’s names. Jólnir, meaning “the Yule one” or “Yuler”.
But that’s a title for him that seems to come from the word Yule. It doesn’t explain what the word actually means. I had to consult a few language dictionaries before I could answer that. The best source I found says it’s a proto Germanic word meaning “joke” or “play”. And that the word jolly comes from this.
So Yule is a time for merriment and play. Which explains why the word Jolly is used so much in Christmas. So if this is true that would more or less mean that his name Jólnir more or less means “the merry one” or “the playful one”. This is just me theorizing. I don’t speak the old Norse language.
So I have no idea if what I believe is true. It just seems like logic to me. If you believe that his name comes from wheel, then it would mean the wheeled one. Which doesn’t make much sense. Of course it’s also a strange name for the leader of the Wild Hunt but oh well.
He’s a warrior God. Maybe hunting evil spirits is fun for him.
Yule Spirits
For people in Norway and Sweden, Yule is a time of the Faeries. Mischievous Faeries like the Yule Lads who go around stealing things. Destroying property. And in some cases eating the flesh of humans. The Yule Lads are said to be the children of the Demon Witch, Gryla.
They go around eating your food. Or stealing your money. And generally causing discord because they have nothing better to do. However, it also had more familial connections. Yule was the time when Norse worshippers believed their dead returned to Earth.
Which is why many people believe winter is the time when the dead return. In fact there is a fascinating tradition in England since the Victorian era where people tell Ghost Stories in Christmas time. A tradition I continue because I love a little Halloween in my Christmas. I believe the dead return in Winter time also. Here’s a great article by Cryptoville on that called The Ghosts of Christmas Past.
Wraiths of the dead returned to Earth
What’s interesting here, is that in modern times the Celtic Samhain is seen as a feast of the dead. And many people who practice Brythonic traditions have incorporated that belief into theirs. Maybe that’s also from Nordic influence. Among the most famous Yule spirits are…….
Santa’s Elves
Oski, the God who grants wishes and gives gifts, an incarnation of Odin, in the form of an Elf or Tomte
The most well known of the Yule Spirits are the Swedish Tomte or “homestead man”. Also called the Nisse in Norway. These are Elves associated with the winter time. Nisse is believed to come from the name of St. Nicholas. But others say it comes from the word niðsi (“dear little relative”).
And these creatures are the reason Santa Klaus looks the way he does. The way he is portrayed in blue, red, or green clothing as well as the cap he wears, is due to Oski’s appearance as an Elf. The Homestead Man or Dear Little Relative is akin to a house elf. Only these faeries only live on farms. Like all household fae, they protect and bless the home owners.
They range from half the size of a man to the size of a child. They have super strength surpassed only by other supernatural creatures. If a farmer treated the Tomte living in their home well, they would be blessed for life. And anyone fool enough to harass or injure a farmer who had a guardian Tomte or Nisse, was in for a surprise. The homestead fae would stop a thief with their superior strength.
Or perhaps hex a nasty neighbor. Or go over to that neigboor’s house and start a haunting.
Don’t fuck with Faeries
The Tomte could become a powerful spirit guide. Even talisman to the person who knew how to work with them. You had to give them proper offerings of porridge with butter, milk, cream, or honey. Or any sweet and sugary substance you could find. And then make your request of them.
They would often sleep with the farm animals to protect them.
But also out of love for them. They would assist the farmer in the chores. And make the crops abundant. Some of the Tomte may be the dead reincarnated as nature entities. This seems to be a trend in a lot of cultures.
Jólnir in the form of a Tomte. This Tomte doll even has one eye just like the All Father himself. From Grimfrost
Eventually, the Tomte were paired with the Yule Goat. This may even have been an animal that was sacrificed in ancient times. But eventually, the Yule Goat was a goat made of straw that was ritually burned at Yule. The origin is that Thor had a chariot pulled by Goats. And Thor is also one of the origins of Santa Klaus.
But we’re focusing on just one origin at a time every year. Later the Tomte became Santa’s helpers. In fact, some traditions have them going from house to house with the Yule Goat. Giving gifts to children instead of Santa himself.
There are also stories of Odin riding his eight legged horse Sleipnir to watch over his people.
The many faces of Odin. Of course we also have Krampus up there
YuleMonth
Yule Being
So I’m going to say something that will throw people into confusion. But it’s the truth. The month for Yule is actually two months long give or take. It starts in mid November. But doesn’t end until the first weeks of January.
If you notice, this is why the Orthodox and a few other people celebrate Christmas in January. That’s why I have “Christmas in January” as the tags in some New Years articles. Some people have a mini Christmas. My own people, Cubans, have the Three Kings Parade in January. It’s a mini Christmas or after Christmas that takes place in the new year.
Los Tres Reyes Mages (The Three Magi Kings) Parade in Miami, Fl. On Calle Ocho (8th Street).
And children believe the Three Pagan Kings will come to their houses baring them gifts.
Later it was changed to December and early January. But if you want to be traditional, the mid week of November is the first week of Yule. At least according to the ancient Germans. And then more or less a week or two weeks into January is Yule Month’s end. That’s what the Venerable Bede, a Saint, English Monk, and Historian said.
He witnessed the rituals himself allegedly. And he wrote about the Matronae on Modrenecht as well. Which lends credence to him being a good source.
Yule Blót
Enter the Hall and Hail the Gods! Yule as it was celebrated in the ancient times
This is a Midwinter festival. Which means people are starving. And they need to keep warm. Many animals including boars and livestock were killed. Their blood was poured into vessels called HlautbolliorBlótbolli.
With twigs, they would sprinkle the blood all over the temple. On the idols of the Gods. And on the pedestals. Even themselves. This is a form of purification known as aspersion.
Then a fire was started in the middle of the temple. And the flames would be used to cook the sacrificed animals and begin the feast. But there were also sacred kettles with the ale being placed over the fires. Then came the toasting. This blót was performed by offering up drinks in the honor of spirits or Gods.
Or even living people. The first toast is for the God Odin so that the King would have victory and great power. The second toast is to the Sea God Njörðr and his son Freyr the God of the weather, fertility, peace, kingship, and pleasure. This is for good harvests and for peace. The next toast is for the King himself, and finally the minni or memorial toast for departed family and friends.
The minimum that Yule lasted was for three nights. However, the holiday would not end until all the food and drink was finished. Which means it could span several nights.
Heitstrenging
Swearing an Oath on a holy pig, from a German article on Yule
Other rituals were followed on Yule. Such as Heitstrenging (oath swearing). This was a social-political and religious practice. Basically, you take a sacrificed animal, or a drink. And you swear on that drink or animal that you will do something.
And it becomes a binding social contract on your honor. If you don’t fulfill it then you had no honor.
Good luck trying to form any alliances in the future. On Yule it was usually done on a Sonargöltr, or “holy pig”. Freyr is known to have had a divine animal known as the sun boar.
As mentioned before, the Shetlands in Scotland have a Nordic-Celtic heritage. They don’t end Yule until the Up Helly Aa festival. It means “Up Holy Day All”. There’s actually many of these festivals happening in different parts of the Shetland’s. But they mostly follow this formula.
Many people carry lit torches. The people known as Guizers are dressed as Vikings. There’s an honorary “Jarl” or Earl who is leader of the event. The group sings the Up Hella Aa song till they get to the place where the replica Norse longship is.
Look at that beauty!
This ends with the ceremonial burning of the Viking Galley. Thus marking the end of Yule for the Shetlands in Scotland. This new year it’s Tuesday, the 31st of January. The lyrics to the Up Hella Aa song are as follows.
Up-Helly-A’ Song
Words by J. J. Haldane Burgess, M.A. Music by Thomas Manson
“From grand old Viking centuries Up-Helly-A’ has come, Then light the torch and form the march, and sound the rolling drum: And wake the mighty memories of heroes that are dumb; The waves are rolling on.
Chorus –
Grand old Vikings ruled upon the ocean vast, Their brave battle-songs still thunder on the blast; Their wild war-cry comes a-ringing from the past; We answer it “A-oi”! Roll their glory down the ages, Sons of warriors and sages, When the fight for Freedom rages, Be bold and strong as they!
Of yore, our firey fathers sped upon the Viking Path; Of yore, their dreaded dragons braved the ocean in its wrath; And we, their sons, are reaping now their glory’s aftermath; The waves are rolling on.
In distant lands, their raven-flag flew like a blazing star; And foreign foemen, trembling, heard their battle-cry afar; And they thundered o’er the quaking earth, those mighty men of war; The waves are rolling on.
On distant seas, their dragon-prows went gleaming outward bound, The storm-clouds were their banners, and their music ocean’s sound; And we, their sons, go sailing still the wide earth round and round; The waves are rolliing on.
No more Thor’s lurid Hammer flames against the northern sky; No more from Odin’s shining halls the dark valkyrior fly; Before the Light the heathen Night went slowly rolling by; The waves are rolling on.
We are the sons of mightly sires, whose souls were staunch and strong; We sweep upon our serried foes, the hosts of Hate and Wrong; The glory of a grander Age has fired our battle-song; The waves are rolling on.
Our galley is the People’s Right, the dragon of the free; The Right that rising in its might, brings tyrants to their knee; The flag that flies above us is the Love of Liberty; The waves are rolling on,”
I personally celebrate Up Hella Aa as the end of Yule. So by now you must be wondering : How the hell am I supposed to incorporate all of this into my practice? I know what you mean. Seriously, should I sacrifice the animals myself or go to the butcher? Can I swear oaths over a holy vegan hamburger instead of a holy pig? And can I burn my ex’s car as a bonfire instead of going to a holy temple?
Well! These questions and more are about to be answered!
How I celebrate Yule
What I do is come as close to the original rituals as possible. But simplified. And in a way that is adapted to urban life. As well as not making a hole in your pocket. Part of magic is symbolism.
Symbols hold great power. We begin with the temple. That’s any sacred space you have. It can be your home. A sacred place in nature.
Or any place you can use. The most important thing here is to have idols of the Gods. If you can’t afford them, then print a massive picture out with the Gods in it. Seriously, you don’t need a wooden or stone idol. All you need is a representation.
Before I could afford actual idols, I used pebbles and other stones that I blessed for the Gods or spirits I worked with. They were easy to carry around. And unless someone knew what they were looking at, no one would have any idea that these were idols. So no insane anti Pagan relatives. No nosy neighbors.
And no enemy practitioners who would curse them or stain them with bad energy against you. That’s why I am against taking pictures of my real idols and places of magic I go to. Instead of a sacrificed animal, I offer up food as a sacrifice. Meat is what the Norse Gods typically like. And they do like blood.
So that I leave to you. You can ask for meat from a butcher and ask for the blood as well. Kept in a bottle which will act as your Hlautbolli or Blótbolli. Then pour libations of blood all over the idols. Or if you are outside, everywhere with a stick and the idols.
I wouldn’t recommend it on yourself though. Blood borne diseases and all. Or, you can do what I do. Use holy water. They drink too, not just eat.
So bless water in their name and asperse with that instead. The type of food you eat is optional. You can try to eat a Norse diet of meat. But if you’re vegan I think it’s more important to dedicate the feast to the Gods. The point here is faith and intention.
The Gods will see if you have good intentions or not. Don’t just offer to them like it’s nothing. Sometimes a simple tea light burned with faith, is more important to the Gods than a thousand fancy Viking feasts done by a wealthy person.
And if you are some asshole trying to gain their favor for money and power and not their love, good luck achieving anything. They will find you unworthy.
And the only things attracted to those feasts will be negative spirits. False beings pretending to be the Gods. Just like when Christian extremists do worship to their Deity. But end up attracting the same demonic entities that they seek to drive away. You can do bonfires, hearth fires, or chimneys, or light many candles.
Beeswax candles. As pure as possible. You can even order special candles dedicated to Norse Gods. You can buy more than one or just light a really big candle. Even a plain candle will do.
A candle from Etsy dedicated to Odin, I can’t find the link now
It doesn’t have to be a fancy one like I mentioned. You can also burn incense to them. Now you can drink Ale or really any kind of alcohol. They love alcoholic drinks in general. But if you don’t like alcohol then use a drink you do like.
I use water and sometimes mead if I can find it.
The important thing here is to dedicate it to them. And to do the special toastings. Now as a left leaning person, I am against the idea of human monarchies. So I don’t toast asking for “victory and power” to any King. Unless it’s one of the divine or semi divine kings of old.
Like Arthur, Solomon, etc..I do toast instead to political leaders I support. I toast to leaders of Black Lives Matter chapters. I toast to Antifa as a whole. I also toast to activists. I do on occasion toast to the power and victory of certain heads of state in countries I support.
Right now I toasted to Odin to give “power and victory” to the President of Peru against the coup regime. I do the second toast exactly as described. Asking for peace and good harvests. When I mention harvests, what I’m really saying is prosperity as a whole. For all.
Well, except my enemies.
The next toast goes to the political leaders I like and support. And the final toasts are the minni or memorial toasts to loved ones lost. Then I also make nightly offerings in the evening to the Nisse or Tomte. I call for their help in daily matters. I use Yule as my “wishing season”.
In which I conjure the Tomte in the name of Oski to appear to grant my wishes. I have a whole ritual personal to me. Which I can’t disclose for the same reason I don’t disclose images of my idols or magic places. Then I continue until Up Hella Aa where I burn an effigy of some sort. If you can you can order an effigy to burn online, do it.
Even something made to look like a Viking ship. Or even a regular boat to burn. Be creative. You can adapt these to be either solitary, or to add friends to come over and have feasts with you. And to work the rituals with you as well.
After all, these were originally celebrations with many people. And of course burning protective candles to keep yourself safe during the Wild Hunt. Which for me in my personal opinion, lasts longer than just the Winter Solstice. I personally believe that in November, Odin and the other Yule Beings are doing the job of keeping us all safe. In fact, keep burning the candles until Up Hella Aa at least.
And use the protective candles to ask Jólnir for his protection. On Up Hella Aa I do one more fire night with candles and a final feast for the Tomte in Odin’s name. And ask Odin as Oski for a great New Year. I try to go all out and give the Norse Gods the largest meaty dinner I can give. I have a stone shrine outside that no one knows is a Pagan shrine.
And I leave all their food there. When people see me they think I am feeding the cats. Which I am doing that also but that’s besides the point. Again, you can make this into a friend or family gathering. You don’t have to do it alone.
But you can if you want to.
Worship of Oski, Oski’s Day
A shrine dedicated to Oski
Before Yule, is Oski’s Day. Most people celebrate December 6th as St. Nicholas Day. But worshippers of the Norse Gods have begun to reclaim it for Odin. In this form, Oski listens to the petitions of people. And grants their wishes either directly or indirectly.
As part of the celebration, people exchange gifts. They also light candles and bake traditional baked goods associated with Yule. In fact there’s a whole array of foods just for Yule called the Julbord. Which is a bunch of Christmas foods and sweets for this time of year. Ale poured in libations to Oski.
And of course prayers, and songs.
The Dark Side of Yule
The Wild Hunt
But not everything during Yule is merry. As mentioned before, winter is a time of the dead and of the Fae. According to A Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek, this was the time when all manner of spirits were said to be loosed upon the world. This unfortunately also means evil spirits are out and about. Jólnir and his forces would hunt them down in what is popularly known as the Wild Hunt.
And drive them back into the other world. But at least these were just spirits being driven away. The worst supernatural creatures, were the ones who had physical bodies. It was said that during this time, several physical revenants returned as well. And the worst of them was the Draugr.
Draugr
Meaning “again walker.” These entities are members of the dark dead. They can be aggressive if they aren’t resting well. It was said if a person died on certain days like Yule, they would not rest well in the grave. But other reasons a person became a Draugr was if they were murdered or committed suicide.
Or were not given a proper burial. Such as not being buried on holy ground. The worst of them were evil witches and wizards in life. Evil magic users normally come back as something worse in death. And they would arise as these corporeal revenants.
Basically, these are Norse zombies. That’s an over simplification but it’s the easiest way to explain it. They are one of the most powerful revenants though. They are all said to be sorcerers who can control the weather. These are just some of their powers.
They can do a great many things. And they have the power to curse. But despite this, not all Draugr are the same. Not all Draugr are the people who died. Sometimes they’re evil spirits possessing the corpses of the dead.
Other times they really are the person who passed away. But are angry for some reason, leading to their aggression.
Now, the first legends I heard claimed that the Draugr could not be killed by weapons formed by men. That only a hero who was strong enough could wrestle them to the ground and kill them. However, the video above mentions plenty of times when weapons did kill them. When heroes killed them by decapitating them with swords. Then burned the body to ashes.
And separated the ashes into different bodies of water. So either they can be killed by weapons. Or the hero’s can make weapons kill the Draugr. These were the creatures said to be out tonight. And Jólnir was hunting them.
So tonight while you’re out feasting, raise a toast to the All Father and the Norse Gods. And remember to leave offerings for Oski and his Tomte. And ask for many blessings in this new year.
Hurricane Ian was the fifth most powerful storm in terms of speed to ever hit the US
The first time I had ever written an It came with the storm story was due to a hurricane that hit Honduras. The story was so fascinating and strange, I took time to transcribe it and translate it into English. I never thought I would end up creating a series on this. But here we are. And to make it stranger, it’s about something that happened here in Florida.
People say that “things” come with storms. That a storm is a doorway into another world. And spirits can hitch a ride on them to our world. That’s why the story from Honduras I translated didn’t surprise me. If anything it reaffirmed the old tales.
But most people don’t think anything like that could happen here in North America. The US and Canada are considered too modern for such superstitious fancies. Are they now? I’d argue there’s just as much strange activity in the Americas in our age as there is in our countries. And a series of such things happened during the Hurricane. So this is the story of, possibly, Florida’s Wild Hunt.
A Door Between Worlds
Some believe that storms or other weather phenomenon can bring things to this world. Picture.
For many years there have been stories of portals in the sky. Opening at odd times and showing strange lights. And that can happen even under normal weather. Storms can tear into the dimensional fabric even more. How this is possible is unknown.
Science dictates you would need the power of a small star just to power a small worm hole. Although a spiritual being is an entity of a higher universe. And in theory they could conjure up power at a greater level at their finger tips. Is that what’s happening here? Do they just call up a storm with their power?
Or do they hijack an already existing storm? We may never know.
What is known, is that many people have reported strange things happening in storms. Even seeing strange things. Specifically during hurricane or tornados. In Ancient Times, Gods and spirits traveled the skies on storms. Which leads us to the Wild Hunt.
The God, Arwyn Pen Annuvin (Arwyn of the Inworld or inner world) leading a Wild Hunt with his ghostly dogs. From the Celtic Oracle by John Matthews
Essentially, the Wild Hunt is a Supernatural Hunting Party. Sometimes in the sky, or sometimes even on Earth. Wild Hunts very. Some are led by Faeries, and other are led by the Dead. Some are led by Gods and Folk Heroes.
Everyone from Odin, Arwyn, and Arthur have led Wild Hunts. Sometimes they’re led on land with wild dogs.
Wild Hunts were normally considered bad by most non magical people. Because it was believed the Hunters were pursuing evil spirits. And people were scared that witches were astral projecting as spirits to join the Wild Hunt. (1) Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact it sounds like good fun!
And they appear in almost every culture. From Polytheistic religions to Monotheistic religion.
A Wild Hunt in Heaven, with Satan being cast out
The Hoofs on the Roof
But this time my family and I didn’t have to go through this. The storm went to Central Florida. A strange place to go to. The people there were so sure they would be missed, that even the authorities slacked off. Big mistake.
The Governor and local leaders didn’t bother issuing warnings to the populous until it was too late. And no one could do anything about it. And the storm roared forth. Like a giant wave of pain and darkness upon the land.
In addition to what you are seeing here, entire roads were either flooded or blocked by debris. But I won’t spend more time on this post on that. Instead I will talk about the strangeness. There was something weird about this storm.
Something the other storms never had.
The feelings in the air was just eerie. It wasn’t even Samhain yet and it felt like the dead were in the air. Some people think that when certain events are going to happen, spirits gather. Is that what was happening here? I wondered as I was throwing the trash out in the days preceding the landfall of Ian.
Many heard it across Florida
For many days we had all been feeling as if someone stepped on our graves. I prayed like crazy and left offerings wherever I could hoping we would be okay. In addition to all the weirdness we were all feeling in Miami, the storm seemed to be alive. I mean storms change courses all of the time. They are alive to a certain point.
But this was different. It seemed like it had a destination it was mapping out. And when it finally touched ground wreaking all that devastation, people talked about their experiences. A lot of people said it sounded like a freight train was hitting their houses. That’s to be expected.
Most hurricanes actually sound like that. Or they have this really deep whistle in the air. That’s how it was for me when I was a kid during Hurricane Andrew. It also sounded like the lightning was actually falling on the road. And it felt like a flood was about to crash through the barricaded front door of my house.
But then, weird stories started to come out of Central Florida. A few people were claiming that they heard what sounded like horse hooves running atop their houses. Now when I heard this, for some reason I felt this electric shock. Like that feeling you get when you know something. I felt like this was a sign of the Paranormal.
But just because I have a feeling doesn’t mean that I am going to come out and say “it’s the Wild Hunt,”. Obviously, that won’t ever be proven by science. What I can do is draw on my paranormal training to try and debunk what I believe. If I can disprove it then than means there’s at least a possibility that it’s nothing paranormal. And I would have to adhere to that unless I have proper proof.
I studied everything I could find online on storms.
Jana Houser standing next to the Rapid X-Pol radar instrument, a new type of rapidly-scanning mobile radar system, during a storm chase on 8 May 2012. Credit: Jana Houser via AGU from this article
I have been waiting since Ian and after Ian. I researched with the mind of someone who doesn’t believe in shit. Who believes there is a reasonable explanation for what happened. First I assumed it was that the storm sounded that way. So I looked up Hurricane sounds.
And while many articles and videos show that they can sound like freight trains or have those same whistle sounds I have heard, nothing about horse hooves. Nothing anywhere. And I used multiple search engines including DuckDuckGo. Nada. Zip.
Zilch. Next I tried psychology. And I tried to reason that because there is such a large farming community in Central Florida, people there reasonably associated storm sounds with sounds they might hear every day. Sounds they were used to. At first I went with that explanation.
But then I realized, that’s BS. We have many farms here in Miami. There’s a place called the Redlands. It’s an agricultural district with mostly wealthy families living there. Gigantic mansions and properties you couldn’t imagine.
Sometimes I just go there to watch the big houses and to buy fruit from the farms. And even in Miami, there are smaller farms and urban farms. Heck it’s not even outside of the normal to see random wild animals and farm animals in the city streets. I have a chicken that somehow made it into my apartment complex. We all feed her.
And I looked at the reports. None of the people who heard the horse hooves had farms. They were all regular people who lived in houses. I’ve probably been to more farms than they have. So it couldn’t be that.
And if living or being near farms would make us believe hear “horse hooves” in a hurricanes I would think we would associate those sounds the same way too. We have had hurricanes for years. And no one here or in any other part of Florida mentioned the hurricanes sounding like horse’s hooves. So that’s a bust too. After all this time researching and attempting to debunk it, it came up empty.
The only other explanation is Oh the Hurricane just happened to sound that way this time. Which is lazy thinking. I have heard half cocked bullshit explanations like that by skeptics and cynics alike. They always end up creating the most idiotic explanations and then pass them off as reasonable ones. I remember a Sheriff tried to tell a family that witnessed a UFO, that they had seen a large owl and became “hysterical,”.
And what’s worse is that the same BS is used by skeptics for that case. It’s a woman and her kids so they have to be hysterical. I am so tired of people who think that way. It’s a lack of intellect and just lazy reasoning. If you can even call it that.
Point is, there was nothing to debunk it outside of lazy reasoning and speculation. None of which holds up to scientific scrutiny. So it’s just as likely that it’s something paranormal as it is non paranormal. So debunking was a dead end. Time to do what I do best.
As the description from the article says, the Gods of death, sleep, and dreams were considered Gods of Prophesy. Normally I call them and other beings to give me dreams to tell me about stuff. But right now I can’t. I lost a friend and am mourning his death. According to Greek tradition that means I have a 13 day mourning and purification period.
But my Druid Master has told me the Tuatha dé Danann have no such restrictions. But instead of a God, I decided to call the spirit of a Druid Seer. I thought this would be a nice concession to all sides of my magical life. After all, as a British witch once told me,
“Why call Gods to know or do things when your dead Aunt Tilly or one of the Fae can easily do the same? If not better?”
So I spoke to an old friend……Fedelm.
A depiction of Fedelm in the Celtic Oracle by John Matthews. She had blond hair that was braided, with black eye brows. And this was supposed to be what she wore.
Fedelm is a dead Druid poet and prophetess. She had exceptional powers when alive. And many people believed that her black eye brows were the sign of the triple iris. Showing that she was meant to be a Seer. Among her many powers is Imbas Forosnai.
A sort of trance state. Where one calls down the Gods to ask for answers to questions. I haven’t read about it in years. But I believe you need a triangular stone and raw ham and cheese that you chew in your mouth. Then you place the chewed up ham and cheese on the stone.
You put this behind the front door. And either sleep or enter a light lucid dreaming state. There you talk to the Gods and inquire what you will. Fedelm was a master of this ability, and probably didn’t even have to do this ritual all of the time to gain answers. She could predict anything at any time.
Even in death, a Prophet’s connection is strong. One would argue it’s even stronger. So I gave her an offering at my shrine for the dead. Invited her to come visit me. And went to bed.
My dreams were weird as fuck. It was like being in Woodstock. Sometimes in my sleep I was awake enough to know that I was talking out loud. Then I woke up and tried to piece together what I was dreaming. I remembered some bits.
I ignored the ones which were obviously my subconscious. But I paid attention to those things that were out of the ordinary. I dreamt of a tidal wave made up of people. But there was no water. Or rather there was.
They were hiding in the water.
In non-corporeal form. And yet they were still able to influence the physical world. I saw them rise up and create the storm from beneath the waters. They were restless. Some were just angry and wanted to destroy things.
And their faces were deformed. Some died of suicide and others of COVID. They were railing against the world. It’s not fair, I felt them saying. It wasn’t our time yet!.
And they just fused into this collective mass of dark water. And I could see lightning inside the water too. And hear many angry voices roaring from within it. And that’s when I woke up. My heart beating and me drenched in sweat.
I felt like I was there. Somewhere in the ocean. Like I had to be quiet so that I wouldn’t catch their attention. It was one of the most intense and fucked up visions I had ever had. Like these were people who died in 2020 and onward till now.
Or from the many suicides that happened in the pandemic. I waited, calmed down. And for the next few days I put it out of my head. And when I felt I was calm and centered enough, I tried normal divinations. And they all confirmed in one way or another what Lady Fedelm had told me.
Of course this is magical “evidence” for myself. I can’t expect any of you reading this to believe. And I’m sure other magic users in Florida have different opinions on the subject as well. But I know, and many of us here in Miami who felt it know, Ian wasn’t a normal Hurricane. Something did come with the storm.
I declare that September is early October and that therefore NOW is the time to begin Halloween until the third of November and beyond lol. So here we begin.
I haven’t done these in a while. But I am so glad to have the energy to do it again! So here we are. Tonight is a rare planetary alignment.
Rule of the Gods
From left to right : The Roman Gods Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus
This information comes from Magical Recipes Online. Apparently this is a 666 portal. The 6th day of the 6th month of the year resulting in 6 (2+0+2+2= 6). According to the article, these numbers align with the planets on Monday. Now even though the names of the Planets in Western Culture are of the Roman Gods, it could apply to other Gods as well.
For instance in Santeria it would Elegua, Ochun, Shango, Obatala, Iku for Kronos, and Olofi for Uranus. The point is the rulers of these cosmic forces are aligning tonight. So it’s necessary to work with them. To pray to them. To ensure that we can channel these energies for good.
Most people think of using power for themselves. Don’t do that tonight. Tonight think of humanity, the other non human animals, the trees and stones, and soil. The very air in fact. And call for a regeneration.
Ask your Gods whatever blessings they deem you are worthy of.
Numerology
This number is super misunderstood by a bunch of people thanks to Christian thinking. I’m not saying that it doesn’t have at least one demonic connotation or definition. But most of the time the number is actually positive, image from this video
In China, 666 is the number of Prosperity. It brings great wealth. And many Chinese businesses utilize the number. In conjunction with special shrines to get more customers and make more money. I first learned of this after working in a restaurant for a Chinese business woman here in Florida.
Hell, it’s even used in Gamer Slang in China. And some people pay extra just to have those numbers in their personal phone number or license plate. So starting with that, it’s a vary prosperous number. And will bring blessings to everyone. So perhaps give offerings of six pieces of food, with six candles, and six incense sticks.
It’s a simple offering that can be used as a ritual to focus your intent. And to spread the healing energies and good things everywhere.
It should be also noted that some associate the number 6 with the Goddess Venus and the literal planet Venus (others believe it’s the number 5). Venus rules over love, prosperity, healing, peace, harmony, stability, and fertility. Mercury opens the Road for us. But it’s Venus, who is the second to first Deity in the line up, who brings us these things.
Astrology
The alignment extends towards the month of June. The best time to watch the alignment of worlds is thirty minutes before sunrise. June is also the month of the highest spiritual light. Because it’s sacred to Juno, the Queen of the Roman Gods. So all of this brings blessings into the astrology.
Astronomically speaking, this type of event hasn’t happened since 2004. Tomorrow, the waning crescent moon will also be a part of the alignment. So now is the time to do all good workings. And let the Gods bless you as they will.
This is on the Saturn, Mercury, and Neptune Reyrogrades
From Pandora Astrology
That’s enough for now everyone. The only thing I will remind you is that the world will become extra liminal. This alignment will thin the veil of it hasn’t already. So protect yourself well. Spirits will try to trick you.
Tonight is the Blood or Flower Moon. Combined with the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse. Here’s some info for you.
All magic will be stronger during this time. For good and for bad. Good and evil spirits wander the places. So beware. Also, pregnant women and women in their periods should not be outside.
According to my Godmother in Santeria, women who are pregnant and on a period are susceptible to spirits. And indigenous witches in Peru actually state that a woman in such conditions becomes liminal during this time. Like a walking doorway absorbing all energy. Wear red strings to avoid the evil eye and harmful spirits. And only be outside to ask for wishes.
Or to do magical work you know you can handle. This is a lot of power accumulated from just a few days. Don’t let yourself get in over your head.
When will the Eclipse start?
9:32pm EST
When will it peak?
12:11am
When does it end?
At 12:54am and then the moon should be normal by 2:50am
Now is the time to charge charms and holy waters and oils. Necromancy and Astrological magics will be stronger. So will summonings and vanishings. Another good art to practice is divination. But be careful since a lot of nasty spirits will try to mess with you.
Lemures or Larvae. The dark souls of the ancestral dead
As if the festival of the Lemuria wasn’t already chalk full of some strange, and often dark mystical energy. The Gods have chosen to make it more bizarre by making the final day of the Lemuria land on a Friday 13th. I have mentioned this holiday before. But I haven’t really gone into full detail about it started or why. So here we delve into the background.
First I need to apologize. The holiday started on Monday. But I couldn’t find the time to write. It’s on May 9, 11, and the final day being the 13th.
Romulus Haunted by Remus?
The Twin Boys destined for greatness, and tragedy sadly. Here with their adopted mother, the She-Wolf Luperca
The story goes back to Romulus and Remus. After they did all of their great heroic deeds, they decided to build a new city. It was their time. They wanted to prove that as with all things in their life, they built everything with their own two hands. They returned to the Seven Hills and went to work on building what would be Rome.
But soon after they began to quarrel. Romulus wanted to build the city on the Palatine Hill. While Remus wanted to build it over the Aventine Hill. When they couldn’t come to an agreement, they decided to let the Gods choose. Remus saw six birds that represented good luck.
But then his brother saw twelve. Which he claimed was proof the Gods choose the Palatine Hill. When he was creating the walls of Rome (some sources say a trench) his brother Remus criticized the work. Then obstructed the project. And finally, he skipped over the walls to mock his brother and the city.
Romulus entered a rage and murdered Remus.
Romulus killing Remus
By the time he realized what he had done it was too late. He buried his brother. But soon after the first Romans began celebrating a holiday called the Remuria. It’s believed that Romulus instituted the festival himself. Probably on the advice of Oracles.
Now I can’t back that up all of the way. That’s just speculation on my part with what I have read. But it makes sense. The whole holiday is about using an exorcism ritual to drive away dark ancestral spirits. He probably feared the return of his brother.
And as you will soon see, it’s also a holiday about removing guilt.
What are the Lemure?
A Lemure or Larvae is the angry spirit of the dead, every family has at least one. Toxic souls that are upset either because of how they died. Lack of proper funerals, burials, and/or rituals. Or lack of offerings by living relatives. They are similar to the Dybbuk of Jewish lore and the Causas (Causes) of Puerto Rican Sanse.
Or the Eggun Buruku of Santeria. Or even the Hungry Ghosts of Buddhism and the Preta of Hinduism. All of these are just names for the dark dead as we commonly call them in Santeria. Souls that go so deep into the darkness that some of them don’t even resemble humans anymore. The Preta for example are cannibalistic.
You can pretty much find a variation of a dark or mutated soul of the dead in every culture. Under different forms, species, and names.
Also being forgotten or unnamed can lead to them achieving this state. Some even due to the lack of funerary rituals. In Catholicism they have something similar called an Anima Sola (lonely soul). This is a person trapped in Purgatory as an unclean soul. Waiting for God to take them to Heaven. But without the proper rituals that could take an eternity.
In Latin American folk magic, these dark souls are called upon in magic. In exchange for prayers and masses done in their names, they will do favors for the humans who pray for them. It’s said that these purgatorial ghosts can tell you the locations of graves. Lost treasures. And they can grant certain wishes.
It’s not uncommon for women to call on female Anima Solas for love spells and magic. While male Anima Solas are usually called upon for financial security. All you have to do is to burn holy candles and do masses for them. This should be done before and after asking for their help. If you don’t, they will retaliate.
But you should always be careful when asking the spirits for help. Only work with spirits you trust. Who will never screw you up.
Some Anima Sola are violent
And spending so much time in Purgatory is enough to drive them insane. Those who do become insane, turn into the darkest and angriest spirits. And to make it worse, Purgatory is a giant oven of purifying fire to make your sins go away. To clean you before God. And it hurts as if you had gone to Hell.
Purification of the Anima Sola
Only special rosaries and masses can soften the purifying flame and eventually set them free so they can enter Heaven. Such a place would be the perfect grounds for an angry or dark spirit to be. And what all of the stories have in common are that these beings live in a dark world between worlds. A dimension where it isn’t exactly what Christians would call hell, but it definitely isn’t a paradise either. In some cases you could end up there if the wrong rituals are performed.
A fellow blogger had once told me a messed up story about how a Buddhist woman was trapped in a limbo like state. Because her Christian daughter gave her a Christian burial instead of a Buddhist one. The daughter had nightmares of her poor mother alone, in the darkness of an endless labyrinth. Until she spoke to a Buddhist Priest and the proper rituals were followed. Then the dreams stopped.
All of this is to give you a hint and a range of what dark souls are like. And how one can be violent while another is peaceful and scared. Sometimes even looking scrawny and hungry. Looking for help. Of course some of them are just evil bastards.
People who enjoyed hurting others and causing problems or sufferings. And they intentionally stay in places similar to a limbo or purgatory to avoid punishment (if you believe in that). Or maybe not punishment. But to avoid being sealed away in the spiritual world so they can keep haunting or bothering the living. Now as I said before, a Lemure is not always an evil spirit.
Just a dark one. Toxic due to its death or from some circumstance that keeps them in such a state. But each Lemure or dark soul or whatever should be judged according to four things :
1) What kind of dark soul they are?
Maybe instead of a Lemure they are a Jewish Dybbuk or a Preta.
2) Their intentions
Are they good or bad? Do they desire peace and help? Or do they want death and destruction?
3) Their culture
What is normally done to the specific dark souls and what do elders of certain traditions say about them?
And finally
4) The country they are in
If it’s a Preta in a country outside of India, chances are it’s connected to a local family or community. Maybe someone who recently passed away. Or someone who is ancient and follows a family where ever they move to. But either way, they’re in another land. There are rules they must abide by under the local spirits.
Indigenous spirits will always have more power than foreign spirits. And therefore the foreign spirit will have to keep their hauntings or activity in line with whatever local spirit rulers command. That being said, you can call on a local spirit for help battling a dark soul. This should help you gain the upper hand.
When the exorcisms were performed, the Father of the family placed his thumb between his fingers. And washed his hand with pure, clean water (maybe holy water). Then he placed uncooked black beans in his mouth and began spitting them all over the home.
Then in Latin he would chant,
“Haec ego mitto; his redimo meque meosque fabis,”
(With these beans I redeem me and mine)
So this ritual was one part expiation of sins and one part exorcism. He would do this nine times without looking back. The belief was the Lemures would take the beans and thus the sins. But they were in the house already and looking back meant they could attack. The next thing he would do is to beat on pots and pans and say,
“Ghosts of my Fathers and Ancestors, be gone!”
This would also be done for nine times which meant the ritual was complete. Only after the ritual was done could he look back.
The use of beans to confuse spirits or force them to count them until dawn is something still done today. And for more than just ghosts. Vampires and even the hag (demon witches) or werewolves of lore are also warded off by them. In some stories even nature spirits. But this ritual actually used them to remove sins as well. To cleanse away any reason the Lemures would have to be angry at the family.
And the use of noise to scare away evil spirits or spirits in general is another ancient practice. And still used today around the world.
Now, as for Friday the 13th, no one really knows what the origin was. I have written about it maybe once when it coincided when John Dee’s birthday. Since I don’t really have any new information I won’t go into it here.
Plus I have given you an eyeful with this post.
What I will say though, is that many witches consider Friday the 13th to be a day of good luck. And more importantly, a day where our powers are actually stronger. My Godmother in Santeria dedicates this day to prosperity work. As well as to cleansing and removal of curses. I do as well.
Though in my case I do past life healings and other work for clients on this day. My necromancy is also stronger on this day. And I use it as a mini version of Halloween to be able to speak with the dead. And gain information as well as to pass messages on to others. All kinds of magic is done on this day.
I focus on the darker energies of nature for healing. Another great thing to focus on is the use of Magical Oils. Like Lucky Friday the 13th Oil which is used as a talismanic potion for good luck. There’s also Friday the 13th Banish Evil Oil which is used as an amulet against evil. Then of course my favorite : Black Cat Oil.
The ingredients being Black Cat hair, iron fillings, bay leaves, sage, and myrrh. This one is my favorite since it is multi use. And it uses the energy of a black cat for magic. The ingredients are simple. But effective.
Now because the Lemuria falls with Friday the 13th this year, it’s a good time to do karmic cleansing and expiation of sins. The added power of this day will grant an extra kick to all sorts of rituals. But especially to curse removals and negative energy removal. And healing in conjunction with Mercury Retrograde. Which happens for the purposes of correcting problems and mistakes.
Speaking of Astrology, we have some interesting astrological events happening as well.
Super Flower Moon & Lunar Eclipse in the Sign of Scorpio ♏️
Sunday May 15th will be the Super Flower Moon of May. The moon will become visibly red. This symbolizes the blood of the Earth. Fertility, sexual energy, birth, and did I mention sex? Yeah be careful. You don’t want to wake up pregnant.
Or find out you’re gonna be someone’s father before you’re ready to. Fertility is at its strongest now. May is always fertile. But this just adds more power to it. I can’t help but think of a woman’s period.
This is a time of both life and death. Negative energy removed so that life can be possible. To make that theme stronger, we have the Eclipse in Scorpio making an appearance. Eclipses reveal hidden things. Either occult secrets or secrets about ourselves.
Combine that with a Retrograde and the remnants of the Lemuria and Friday the 13th energy. And that’s a lot of occult power that may not entirely be controllable. This is a time for Talismanic magic. I mean that in the original Astrological term. Talismans were originally medals with zodiac symbols on them.
Charged with the signs powers through special ceremonies. That’s where the name comes from. From the Arabic tilsam which means “graven image”. Being the image of the zodiac sign. Those were the original talismans.
You can create your own talismans. Not with images but with charms that will absorb the power and energy of these days. That way you can use them for whatever magic you seek to use later. But beware, don’t over do it. Try doing your magic so that you charm specific items for specific days.
Don’t over do it and then get an over powered charm that will blow up in your face when you try to use it. For Friday the 13th and Lemuria I will charm the bones of my dead familiar spirit. From midnight until dawn the 14th it will soak up all that energy. Meanwhile from the 15th to the 16th I will be charming something else for that energy. What I still don’t know yet.
I’ll probably bless an oil or something. Well, letting you all know ahead of time so that you can plan and do your work now. I hope this was useful. I’m sorry it took me so long to write about the Lemuria. But I have been busy doing the rituals myself.
Plus there’s another Roman holiday that is in May and has to do with the dead called the Rosalia for dead soldiers. So yeah, busy as hell. See you all later.
All manner of Spirits, evil, neutral, and some good wander the night
The feast of Saint George the Dragon Slayer is normally a good Feast. But on the Eve or vespers of a Saint’s day, evil spirits and evil witches gain their strongest powers. It’s their way to mock holiness. But contrary to popular belief it isn’t just evil spirits out tonight. All sorts of beings are out.
Werewolves
Werewolves are out and about on this night. Some of them are good and others are bad. Some of them are shape shifting witches who learned to transform. Some are people who were cursed. And some gained an ability from a relative to enter Wolf form.
Who knows what they’re up to tonight? At least the Romanian version of Werewolves. In North America they’re active on St. Mark’s Eve not St. George’s Eve.
The Blutbad Holly Clark, from the Tv series Grimm. It basically means “big bad Wolf”
Will-O’-the-wisps
A Ghost Orb from Malaysia
Then of course we have Will-O’-the-wisps also known as Ignes Fatui (giddy flames). Also known as Ghost Lights and Corpse Lights. These are spirits that take on the form of the classic ghost orbs you have probably seen or heard of from television. Not only do they exist in European culture. But also in some indigenous American cultures.
But not all Will-O’-the-wisps are ghosts.
In Mexico they are normally Hags or Demon Witches. Practitioners of black magic who delved so deeply into the darkness that they became demons while still alive. In death they get even stronger. This is not to be confused with the title of Hag used by some Covens. This specific hag is not a human witch.
Hags in the form of fiery Will-O’-the-wisps
It refers to a whole class of formally human witches who became demons or demon-human hybrids through sinister practices.
But most of these lights are associated either with Faeries or with deceased human souls. The main belief in Europe, is as follows. When Saint George’s Eve comes around, the dead, and even spirits associated with treasures (which includes a few demons) will appear as flames or lights. These lights will then hover around places where there’s buried treasure. Really brave (or greedy) people will venture out at night hoping to find such spirits.
And then either dig up the treasure then and there. Or mark the place somehow to find it again the next day.
Corpse Lights, spirits of the dead in Orb form
Granted, this is a dangerous practice because the spirit could kill, curse, or even possess the would be treasure hunter. Something I recommend is to never steal treasures from spirits. My Native Shaman had been haunted by a spirit who buried money with her dead father. We never knew how they acquired this money together. But we figured it probably wasn’t legal.
But we let his soul stay with that money. My family had a similar run in with the spirit of a dead land owner from Spanish colonial times. The house they lived in had previously been his property. But the treasure was under some kind of Boulder. And no matter what was done, the rock wouldn’t break.
Not even with drills. My grandmother who practiced magic, correctly concluded that the treasure would never belong to us.
A Faerie creature with its ball of light behind it
Some of these spirits are dead pirates or road thieves who buried their treasures prior to death. Perhaps even being captured and hanged before they could enjoy their stolen bounty. Or sometimes regular people who hid their treasures to feed their families later. But had died before revealing their locations.
The Moroi are a type of Vampire that falls under two distinct categories. One is a physical psychic vampire that drains the energy of the living. The other is a non-corporeal Ghost Vampire. Much like the Asian Hungry Ghost, feeds on the energy of living creatures. Moroi are often the subjects of debate.
In one story they are mortal Vampires. In another a vengeful ghost who feeds off of energy. Sometimes the Moroi are said to be demonic spirits who possess the living. This includes animals such as Bears. Living Vampires also become undead Vampires in death.
This is probably why the Moroi appears as all three types of creatures. In death they may have the option to become a regular parasitic ghost. Or a demon.
Their Parents
StrigoiMort are a type of witch vampire. In fact the word itself is actually for witches. Simply it has become so associated with these vampires that extra terms have been added to tell the difference. From the Latin word Strix for witch. Italian Strega.
And Slavic Shtriga. In order to differentiate from a human witch or wizard they use different terms. Such as Strigoi viu, or Strigele, living strigoi or living witch. The undead vampire witch are called Strigoi Mort or dead witch. In Romania dead evil witches tend to become vampires.
However, it’s all confusing. Because some argue that a Strigele is like a Moroi. That it is unholy and will become a vampire witch in death. But to me that’s just Christian bias. They think witches are all satanic.
Obviously not all Romanian Witches become these creatures. There are several types of benevolent witches that use sorcery to fight these creatures. And even create talismans and amulets for protection. In several legends, Romani people (Gypsies) have played key roles in fighting and defeating vampires and other demons. There are legends of Gypsy vampire hunters as a matter of fact.
But that’s a rabbit hole for another day.
Strigoi Mort are immortal and also have magical powers. They are said to control the Moroi. Some legends state that the Moroi are the living children of two Strigoi who mated. So these vampires are interrelated. Why the immortality isn’t passed on isn’t explained.
Because they are also witches, they have a wide variety of powers. From invisibility to shape shifting. The Strigoi are thought to originally have come from Dacian religion. The belief that these are condemned souls. They were unworthy to enter the heavenly Kingdom of the God Zalmoxis.
And thus spend their eternity as vampires. From the Dacians, the Romanians inherited these creatures.
Conspiracy
From LP Bestiary
It’s said that the forces of evil meet at the boundaries of their cities or towns at sunset. These could be vampires, evil human witches, evil werewolves, or straight up fallen spirits from hell. Here they plan and plot what they are going to do to people until next St. George’s Eve. The Vampires steal life essence from people and animals to power themselves up. When doing this, they also steal skills or abilities the animals or human has for themselves.
For instance, if they feed on the energy of a venomous snake, they will produce the same venom. And the poor snake is left with nothing. If they feed on a computer programmer, they will gain his or her knowledge of programming. And the knowledge will vanish from the minds of their victims. And still yet it can be something else too.
Let’s say your talents are something else. Maybe you have a special charisma with someone of the opposite or same sex. This vampire can take away your charm for themselves to mate. And you’ll be as charming as a penny on the road.
“May.—I found that my landlord had got a letter from the Count, directing him to secure the best place on the coach for me; but on making inquiries as to details he seemed somewhat reticent, and pretended that he could not understand my German. This could not be true, because up to then he had understood it perfectly; at least,
He answered my questions exactly as if he did. He and his wife, the old lady who had received me, looked at each other in a frightened sort of way. He mumbled out that the money had been sent in a letter, and that was all he knew. When I asked him if he knew Count Dracula, and could tell me anything of his castle,
Both he and his wife crossed themselves, and, saying that they knew nothing at all, simply refused to speak further. It was so near the time of starting that I had no time to ask any one else, for it was all very mysterious and not by any means comforting.
Just before I was leaving, the old lady came up to my room and said in a very hysterical way:
“Must you go? Oh! young Herr, must you go?” She was in such an excited state that she seemed to have lost her grip of what German she knew, and mixed it all up with some other language which I did not know at all. I was just able to follow her by asking many questions. When I told her that I must go at once, and that I was engaged on important business, she asked again:
“Do you know what day it is?” I answered that it was the fourth of May. She shook her head as she said again:
“Oh, yes! I know that! I know that, but do you know what day it is?” On my saying that I did not understand, she went on:
“It is the eve of St. George’s Day. Do you not know that to-night, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?” She was in such evident distress that I tried to comfort her, but without effect. Finally she went down on her knees and implored me not to go; at least to wait a day or two before starting.
It was all very ridiculous but I did not feel comfortable. However, there was business to be done, and I could allow nothing to interfere with it. I therefore tried to raise her up, and said, as gravely as I could, that I thanked her, but my duty was imperative, and that I must go. She then rose and dried her eyes, and taking a crucifix from her neck offered it to me.
I did not know what to do, for, as an English Churchman, I have been taught to regard such things as in some measure idolatrous, and yet it seemed so ungracious to refuse an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind. She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she put the rosary round my neck, and said,
“For your mother’s sake,” and went out of the room. I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am waiting for the coach, which is, of course, late; and the crucifix is still round my neck. Whether it is the old lady’s fear, or the many ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual.
– Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Abraham “Bram” Stoker’s Dracula
Things to watch out for
Beware of the things that hide in the deep shadow
There will be an influx of Calling Ghosts or Calling Spirits. This is an umbrella term for paranormal entities across a wide spectrum that are well known for calling out your name. Sometimes they even make themselves sound like people you know, women and children or animals in trouble. This is all to lure you away to a secluded spot for nefarious purposes. Don’t fall for it.
In Cuba we’re even warned to never answer a voice calling your name unless you know who it is. During this time, there are vampires who call out your name to try and get you to answer. Avoid being outside especially on the road or sidewalk. But as stated before, this is a time when evil spirits congregate and plan out what they are going to do for the rest of the year. So watch out.
This is the first Eve of Saint George. But there’s another in May. So be prepared. The best way to protect yourself is with garlic which wards off evil spirits. I use garlic salt.
Best of both worlds. Spirits try to enter homes through every nook and cranny. Vampires for instance can enter through keyholes. So make sure you have warded your home and yourself. If you think all of this is old superstitions and nonsense, then good luck.
– M
Sources :
1) Vampire Universe : The Dark World of Supernatural Beings that Haunt us, Hunt us, and Hunger for us by Johnathan Maberry (2006)
Adventures of A Mage In Miami 