My sister sent this picture to me not too long after January started…….
I have this plastic black shelf. It used to be my main ancestral shrine and underworld altar. But I have a far bigger one. So I used this as my shrine to Persephone and Demeter. For the Eleusinian Mysteries.
It’s part of the shrines of the dead, but it’s also for the living. So it’s an independent shrine. The ghosts who live and sleep there are what I call Green Ghosts. Spirits of the dead who watch over nature. The Fae who live there are nature spirits that live side by side with the dead.
Look who decided to put their cocoon in there for the winter.
Fresh out of the cocoon
I interpret this to possibly mean we are getting an early spring after all. Which would explain the accelerated winter we’re getting right now. The darker forces of winter are being kicked out a little earlier this year. This can also mean that now is the starting point to create something good and positive. Despite all the negative forces around.
Oko (Croatian for “Eye”) a photograph by Marko Popadic, who took this photo the moment the butterfly entered the eye socket of this human skull. It is said that butterflies symbolize the soul. So this could have been the dead saying hello.
” O holy Persephone, leave now the underworld. And become Kore, the maiden of spring, once more. We need you in this world. Now more than ever before,
Recently, I performed a type of Latin American divination. I was able to diagnose a spell on a client. It’s called a Velada (vigil). This isn’t something you’re likely to find on the internet. So instead of adding this to the account I am going to share later, I thought it would be better to write about this separately.
This ritual is done with the picture of a person who is alive. The person either has a disease that no one can determine. Or they have a magical condition. And this is meant to call the person’s soul. What you call their Doppelgänger.
Half of our spirit is already on the other side.
Like our shadow selves. Our higher self or Ori in Santeria. The Ori lives in what you would call heaven. And is connected to your spirit guides. And many other versions of ourselves that live in the intermediate dimensions.
The picture comes to life, almost like a gif before the practitioner’s eyes
The way the vigil is done varies by practitioner. But the picture is always used. It is always a focal point. I have met those who use magic oils and herbs. Special prayers are always used.
Warning : Do NOT burn a candle near the image of a living person
That invites the dead and the forces of death, to kill that person. It’s used in a very nasty ritual called a fake funeral. Which is meant to kill a person who isn’t dead yet. If you need to protect a person or do a healing use anything else. You can even surround a person’s picture with a powder to keep them safe.
Or a line of salt. But never use candles. That’s strictly a funerary use. Or cursing to cause harm to a person. Also the ritual can backfire and kill the spell caster instead.
Sorry I had to mention that real quick.
The purpose of La Velada, is to call forth a person’s higher self. And ask this version of them, What is going on? Why are you sick? Then, wait for the Doppelgänger to answer the question. Usually, you start to see the picture moving on its own. Not the outer edges of it. The image inside.
It starts to look like an old fashioned movie reel with the image moving. And then, it speaks to you. Using its own image to as an avatar for itself. And it will begin to tell you what is wrong with the client. How does a person’s higher self know what their regular self doesn’t? The higher self is more enlightened.
It knows things about life and death and the universe as a whole. Things you don’t know. Couldn’t possibly know yet. Also because it’s up there in the ethereal realms, it sees things you don’t. The higher self therefore is in a better position to see and know what is wrong.
Often times, if a curse is really strong, you’ll get interference. Like something acting as a barrier to block the Doppelgänger from answering. Similar to a gag put on a person’s mouth to restrain them. And when that happens, you do a stronger calling. Then you wait.
See what happens next. The other side of the soul should answer. Because it knows based on the ritual, that this is magic meant to aid, not harm. This is like a life line thrown at a drowning person. So you know something is wrong if they won’t take the line.
I won’t disclose how I do mine. Because as I said, every version is unique to the practitioner. There are some who believe there is a set way of doing things. And some like me who believe it’s flexible based on the magic user. It’s called a vigil because you have to keep watch over the following days.
So you are ready when the living spirit of the client finally appears. Then reveals everything. In some cases the spirit will say it’s a disease and not a curse. And then more or less describe the ailment to you. And from there the person has to go to a medical doctor to handle the rest.
I thought this would be an interesting addition to the blog. Since I haven’t really seen others talk about this in English speaking websites. You might read about it in a Spanish site but that’s it. It’s a well used form of folk magic. Used by everyone from old wise men and women in the country side in Mexico.
All the way to the more modern practitioners in the cities. I haven’t met many people here in the US who apply this type of magic to their work. I thought it was sufficiently spooky for the time. And an interesting practice that I think Spanish speaking practitioners outside of our countries should adopt. Cuba doesn’t (to my knowledge) use this kind of magic.
I learned it from Mexicans practitioners. But I believe others besides Mexicans know how to do this. That’s all for now. I hope you have gained an invaluable tool for diagnosing your clients.
Adventures of A Mage In Miami 