Cleansing & Banishing Week 2 : The Rotted Woman

Her eyes, if she had any, were dark like the empty void of space,”

I apologize for not having written this sooner. But I’m still in deep recovery from what was going on in that house. Not since my very first haunted house (that I lived in) have I ever uncovered activity this bad before. So we last left off with me encountering a nasty force in the client’s home. What we discovered was that it seemed to be an entity that was connected to plagues and death.

It took the form of flies in my dreams. I thought that would be the worst of the infestation. I was wrong.

The Spirit Guide

Tree Spirit” by Pauline Moss

I entered the world of dreams again. This time I went a little farther. I felt I still wasn’t getting to the heart of the matter. I entered the dream realm by actual sleep. But I only entered at the surface level.

I felt like I had reached the limit I could go by myself. There was some kind of fire wall in there keeping me out. I had to go deeper if I was to confront and remove whatever this was. I decided to lower my protections. To lower the barrier between my mind and the astral realm.

Let something come attack me. My spirits weren’t too happy about that. But they know me only too well. So instead they advised me on how better to prepare for the situation. And for that, I needed a guide.

So there’s a sort of mini forrest nearby. It’s not a forrest by our standards. It’s a park. With a lot of foliage. But there’s a tunnel like grove of trees there.

“There, that park. Find a parking spot and let’s go,”

My new hippie friend was acting as my chauffeur. This was the closest location to the house.

“Bro, no offense, but don’t you witchy types find spirit guides in the glades? This is kinda low rent don’t you think?”

“There’s energy everywhere friend,” I said. “But if we go all the way to the Everglades, we’re not likely to find a guide who is well versed with this area. What we need is someone from here,”

He shook his head. But I wasn’t sure if he understood. Or if he was still skeptical. We walked into the small grove shaded by the trees. Some lady looked at him (looking like he walked out of an Ali Baba and the 40 thieves movie).

For all of you readers, that comment is going to be so ironic and so telling of the future.

And me just randomly carrying a big ass bag with me. And him a huge water container. She probably thought I was his dealer or something. She would be more scandalized if she knew what we had actually come there to do. I took a water bottle and dropped a libation of pure, clean, water.

I asked the grass to guide me to the right tree. The hippie looked at me like I had lost my shit. Which made me chuckle.

“Bare with me,”

From :
Napi Remeny

I kept hearing the voices of the grass. Leading me all the way to one specific tree. It looked different than the other trees. In fact I could tell that this must be the last of the trees that must have grown here naturally. The others were a newer and non native species.

“We’re here,”

The hippie didn’t like the tree. I kind of understood, because there was something odd about it. It was all withered and alive somehow. Alive almost the way a human can be. I can’t really explain it.

This is what the tree sort of looked like,

An ancient oak tree in Safety Harbor Florida, it’s been here since before European colonization of the land

In Yoruba religion, we’re taught that some trees like the Iroko tree have human or non human spirits in them. Spirits that are separate from the trees themselves or even a part of them. Even Gods could live inside of them. Or Gods that are them. Imagine a tree that was also a God.

I mean it makes sense doesn’t it? The Abrahamic God has appeared as a burning Bush. Or a fire in the sky. Or a voice or even a dove coming down as the holy spirit. Gods can be anyone. Be anything.

Iroko was killed by Iku, the Orisha (God) of death. And Iku cast a spell on him, that brought him back to life. As the first Iroko tree. Our Yoruba tree of life. And a brand new Orisha.

That’s why no one in Nigeria goes near that tree or tries to chop it down. It’s spooky. They say you can hear his voice if you get close enough to the tree. And the Iroko Man will come out of the tree and drive you crazy or kill you. This tree did feel odd.

And the truth was, I couldn’t tell if it was alive or dead by looking at it. I just knew that it exuded a kind of power. So I sat with my spine against the trunk and grounded. And then did the meditation my medicine woman taught me. I entered the spirit world.

Gradually the world around me vanished. And I saw a whole grove full of trees that looked just like this one. Only they were younger. More beautiful. I saw the day the city destroyed the grove.

I felt the sadness of this tree. I was in it’s mind. Experiencing its memories. And then heard it speak.

“How dare you enter the spirit with me? You are unworthy just like all your species,”

I felt anger and grief inside this poor tree. So I replied,

“I can’t debate you on that. Because you’re right. Humanity is unworthy. Except maybe those who try to live differently. I’m not here to grovel. I have come to ask you what kind of offerings you like,”

He/she/it seemed confused. As if it was expecting me to try and hurt it or exploit it.

“It’s true that I have come to ask for help. But I am not here to use you against your will. If you don’t want to help me, simply tell me what you like as an offering. And I will give it to you. And then take my leave,”

I felt an odd vibration. Which I assume means the tree was meditating on it. Then I saw images of what I had brought with me for the tree. The tree was looking into my mind. Seeing what I had brought.

It really wanted a drink. So before it could finish, I asked my hippie friend to feed it water. Till I told him to stop.

“Damn this shit is heavy,” he said. “Was it necessary to bring a damn water cooler?”

(I chuckled at that)

“Yes”, I could hear the tree, “It is,”

I could feel the tree illuminate. I had blessed the water before hand. Infused it with energy and holiness. So that not only would the cool water feed the tree. But also it’s spirit.

And in doing so feed the spirits of the trees and soil there. I performed a serious dedication ritual over the water. Stating that whatever was watered with it, would be dedicated to the Gods and their spirits. And also the original indigenous spirits of the land as well. When all was said and done, I could feel the tree spiritually regenerate.

As if burned flesh were being renewed before my eyes.

Stop,” it said this word with force. With such authority. There was gravity to his command now. It choose the voice of a man to speak this time. Before it was just a myriad of voices. Or perhaps I was hearing it’s guardian spirit.

“Go and feed the others,”

I said to my companion. Though I can’t tell you if that was really me talking or the tree through me. Or some weird hybrid of both. I think I was beginning to annoy the hippie. Not that I blame him. That water cooler was heavy.

He fed all of the trees. I could tell the tree wanted to ask me for the other offerings. But he was kind of embarrassed. He didn’t need to. I had not come to be a leach.

“Brother, I know I annoy you. But do you think you could put the pebbles on every tree. Including this one?”

He said nothing. Just did as I had asked. The pebbles you could get in any dollar store. They’re small bags. Raw stones that people polish down into pebbles.

It’s better than stealing rocks from other places.

I individually cleansed and blessed each bag for a week. And then prayed over them. Asking that whatever God or spirit the trees or places serve, use the stones as avatars. We helped make a tree sanctuary. They would have been happy with the stones themselves. Trees like to be decorated and fussed over.

But this was better. It would allow the spirits and the Gods to transmit whatever help or blessings these trees needed. By acting as the antenna for the divine. As talismans and amulets for them to act. I wanted to bring red mulch as well but I could tell my companion wasn’t in the mood for that.

When it was done, I could feel the divine powers descending from their world. And entering those stones. And simply by being there, the native spirits and the heavenly spirits began to emerge. Meanwhile I prayed outloud. Declaring that as these stones were laid down, this place was now a sanctuary to the Gods.

I could feel the peace there. Though my friend didn’t seem to notice a change. I think he was just tired. I bet he never expected spirituality to be so active lol. I was about to leave the tree behind after saying my goodbyes.

But the tree stopped me.

“You came here to ask for help, tell me what you need,”

Piercing the Veil

He entered my mind. And I felt myself get dizzy. I felt as if he had entered my skull. Going under the scalp itself. Burrowing deeper and deeper into my psyche.

It was a tree root. One massive spiritual tree root. It touched my entire nervous system. Hippie asked me if I was okay. I told him not to pay any attention, just to let me do this.

I felt myself almost falling asleep. But I remained in that level between sleep and waking. Then he stopped abruptly.

“I don’t know why you decided to enter this place. But I will grant you safe passage. Tonight as you rest you will enter the spirit. But you must beware. This won’t work all the way. You need to be on your guard,”

I felt my head bow down in rest and I said,

“Thank you,” and woke up.

“Who were you talking to?” Hippie asked.

“The spirit guide,”

I was tired. That was good. I needed to be tired to enter an exhaust trance. And get to work. I didn’t tell him the spirit guide was the tree.

I wasn’t going to bother telling him that everything is a spirit. We went home and I bathed and cleansed. He made sandwiches for us both. When I finished the cleansing bath, I showered afterwards.

The Rotted Woman

I ate lightly. Then slept on the bed again. Wrapped in a comforter I had brought. I was so tired. I said all of my protective prayers ahead of time.

And put some charms on. I asked my spirits silently in prayer to shield my body while I entered the other side. The hippie came in the room with me.

“What made you change your mind?”

“I think I can handle Casper,”

(Dumbass 🤦‍♂️)

I think he was skeptical of me after today. After all he witnessed me listening to grass and talking to a tree. Must have thought I was a burnout or something. And that nothing would manifest because it was all in my head. Big mistake.

“At least use some spiritual protection,”

He took out a cross from around his neck. I tried not to smile. Okay brother, if you think that’s enough, then enjoy. “Let’s get go to sleep then,” And kick over a bee’s nest while we’re at it. I thought.

The void of dreams

I can’t remember when I fell asleep. Only the vague sensation of leaving my body. The spirits protected my physical form. I took flight into the other world. And I saw the tree.

Actually it was weirder than that.

It looked like a barn inside of the tree. Jesus I thought. This is what the spirit guide really looks like on the other side. This is how big it really is. How much more powerful it is.

It was beyond my power. Beyond my comprehension. We see something on Earth. And we judge it by its size here. By what it can or can’t do in our reality.

Completely unaware of its true power. Of what it truly is. Or what it can do. Compared to this being, I was as insignificant as the minerals in the soil. Probably less than that.

From :
fineartamerica.com

It was night. And I was being ushered into the tree barn. By a man and a woman. They screamed at me “hurry!”. And I flew into the window.

They sealed the window as fast as they could. Though the window was heavier on the inside. Like iron, so they had trouble forcing it down. They were afraid. And after I looked behind me, I could see why they were so scared.

Shadows. That’s the only thing I could think of.

These things were right behind me. And I couldn’t hear them much less see them or sense them. And somehow they hadn’t reached me either. I had no idea who these two people in my dreams were. If they were spirits, or other dreamers like night workers.

But whoever they were, they protected me. And sealed the window shut. I could hear and feel the pounding on the window. But the iron remained unmoved. Then I felt the tree move.

Not physically but some other way. Almost like it teleported. Or perhaps phased out of existence. And the pounding stopped. I knew that we had departed.

Gone elsewhere else. Looking back now, I think the tree sent these people to me. They kept me shielded. I also think, that this wall of shadow people, was what blocked me from entering the spirit world. They must be the soldiers for whatever the master spirit is.

I remember thinking in the dream. The main theme of these spirits seem to always be plagues and dead things. All of this keeps coming up. The same themes. Decay.

Death. Desolation. How did such a white bread family end up with this? The husband is as spicy as mayo. And the rest of the family was so (seemingly) normal it was painful. Then I remembered how shady the family was.

They clearly hadn’t told me everything.

I remember speaking to several spirits inside the barn. The barn looked like an opera house on the inside. And there were lots of people I spoke to. But I couldn’t remember what it was they had told me. What I knew is that the place was a bunker.

Nothing could get inside. When I finally left, I was teleported out. Or rather it was the tree who left me behind. It felt like it teleported without me. I was somewhere familiar.

Little Havana here in Miami. I saw a tall woman, legs so long that I thought they were stilts at first. Until I saw that she wasn’t falling or losing balance. There was something really weird about them. Disturbing, like the legs were only half created.

Leaning Woman Ghost

She looked like Yemaya. But I was dead wrong. This abomination in front of me was not the Orisha Yemaya. That was just a trick to deceive me. And I fell for it.

This thing was able to send spirits to attack me. The attacks lasted days after this encounter. Later I realized from one of my masters that a portal had been opened. One similar to a Quija board. I had a “dream gate” that allowed things to come to me.

It wasn’t inside of me but outside of my body. I had to be put into a meditative state and allow my friends to cleanse me from the inside out. Close the doorway and banish what was there. I was so pissed. But not as pissed off as this thing was.

Once it tried to come back. And found the door was closed. It took me a few days to finally figure out what had deceived me. But I finally got it. It was a Si’lat.

A female ghul. One of the Shayateen. Jinnis who are demonic. Ghuls are snatchers, spirits who lead you into a trap and then take you. After I broke her connection, she tried to come at me again.

The Hippie had some bad nightmares in that room with me for days. And finally went back to the couch. He couldn’t handle the worst of the attack. I’m surprised he resisted as long as he did. I’m not sure I could have without my backup.

This monster forced me into a nightmare she could control.

In Islam demons are not fallen angels. They’re fallen jinn. Islam teaches that angels don’t have free will. So they can never rebel against God. The Jinn were created from a substance called vril (smokeless fire).

And like humans, they can rebel. Their civilization on Earth was misled by Iblis (Satan). Who was the first evil Jinn. He caused a civil war on Earth when God created humanity and declared Adam a superior creation. So he commanded his other creations to bow before Adam.

As a sign of respect towards his new creation. But neither Iblis nor any of the other jinn were happy with this. They felt betrayed by their maker. Furthermore, Iblis scoffed at the idea that Adam was superior. Stating that Adam was made from clay, and thus inferior.

Iblis also known as Shaytan

He claimed their powers alone made them superior to humanity. And so he led a rebellion. He was named Shaytan which comes from Ha-Satan (the adversary) or enemy of God. His followers called themselves the Shayateen (the Satans) in his honor. So he called himself Iblis (The Satan).

The original adversary against God. They led an armed assault against God’s armies. But mighty as they were, they still fell. Angels are naturally stronger than jinn. So they defeated them easily.

Now, not all jinn were Shayateen. But because most of them hadn’t tried to stop Iblis either, God destroyed their civilization. Regular jinn were forced into exile in an alternate earth. The ones who stayed behind, were forced to live in ruins. And other desolate, abandoned places.

Some even live in cemeteries or broken down houses. But the Prophet Muhammad came to the jinn many years later. And preached the Koran to them. So those jinn who were not evil, were given a second chance to enter paradise like humans. And so there are the faithful or good Jinn loyal to God.

The Shayateen

And then there are the infidels that serve Iblis. Among the Shayateen, there are a type of demons called Ghuls. The original ghouls actually predate Islam by thousands of years. They were Sumerian, called Gallu, and were all male demons. Lustful.

Jinn are beings of smokeless fire, they’re master shape shifters, they can appear as humans, human animal hybrids, or in some cases they can mutate their forms like this. The image comes from Harold Davis on his Digital Field Guide website. Titled Spirits of the Night, this is disturbingly close to how some Jinnis have appeared to me. Primarily, demonic jinn

Constantly wanting to mate with human women. But in Islam, some ghuls are female. I’ve heard some people claim they’re the spirits of dead sex workers. And others who say that they are completely non human in origin.

In the original hadiths, ghuls were not human at all. They were a species of jinn called marids. Who were burned when trying to enter Heaven. They became deformed and insane. And their skins were charred black.

The many forms of the Jinn

Other people claim that the Jinn can recruit from among humanity.

So the idea they might be dead women may actually be accurate. Some became vampire-like creatures in death. Many being similar to succubi though not always. And while they are sent to feed on the dead, they can and do feed on the living. The Si’la are referred to as “Hags”.

Which also means they’re witch-like demons. Evil witches. Not good witches. And some are so human like that they can pass themselves off as living people. Even marry and bare children.

Obviously, these female demons are very alluring. They’re said to be children of Lilith. When they feed on living people, it’s usually soldiers dying on the battle field. Or refugees crossing borders. Lots of food for them.

And no one the wiser. They have other ways of luring prey. Often exuding a supernatural pheromone. Which only the most righteous people are immune to. This is how they lead men and women to their deaths.

But like all spirits, and especially Lilith’s children, they have great psychic powers. And they can distort perceptions of reality. Jinn good and bad are specialists in this case. So she must have probed my mind. And saw that I’m a Santero.

Another example of the forms they take

And took Yemaya’s form to fool me. My Niiji friend who practiced magic, was the one who figured her out. He said she was a strange entity similar to La Llorona or the wailing woman. An entity that died in a river somewhere. And then rose from the dead as this thing.

From the Islamic perspective, she could be both types of creatures at once. As for Muslims, all Supernatural creatures could be considered jinn. And a Llorona could fall into the jinn archetype just fine. Ghuls aren’t mentioned in the Koran. But in the hadiths which are the folkloric tales of Islam.

She paid me a visit. And she wasn’t happy with me.

Do you know what a Yurei looks like? It’s a Japanese vengeance ghost. They look like the girl from the ring. I saw something similar to that. Only she wasn’t Japanese. Right from the start the dream was off.

It was in black and white. I dreamed that I was with the whole family and the neighbor. Even the dog was there. I was sleeping on the couch when the family woke me up. There was a radio broadcast warning people to seal their doors and windows.

And not to let anyone in their homes. Because a strange woman and other people were coming. They were knocking on doors trying to get people to let them in. And I think there was mention of hypnotic powers. They used this to sucker people into opening the doors to let them all in.

And that’s when I heard the knock at the door. No one made a sound. Not even the dog. Everyone was petrified inside. Including me.

They were all freaked. But the 15 year old more than anyone. I tried to bury my feelings and not show I was scared. Though I’m sure I didn’t do a good job of it. I walked gently to the door.

I looked through the peephole. And I saw the shadowy silhouette of a woman.

A brunette. Or at least I think she was a brunette. The truth is her hair could have been any color. But it was so pitch black out there I wouldn’t have been able to know for sure. And I couldn’t tell at first if she were a demon or a ghost or something in between.

She was a half rotting corpse of a woman.

This is actually an image of the Goddess Hela I found online, but it was the closest depiction I could find to what this woman in my dreams looked like. Of course the “real” world version of her is more terrifying than a mere picture could depict.

She was beautiful in life. That was obvious from the part that wasn’t rotting. Her lower jaw was either missing or covered in so much blood I couldn’t see it. Couldn’t tell. Or maybe it was the shadow that cloaked her.

Her eyes, if she had any, were as dark and empty as the void of space. She kept talking in this creepy voice trying to get me to let her in. But I wouldn’t. I was able to look through the peephole without putting my feet on the mat. Because somehow she could look inside through the cracks on the door.

And like an idiot I accidentally looked into her eyes. It was as if she were willing me to do it. By planting a suggestion in my head. That I was curious and wanted to see if she could control me. Thoughts I would never think.

My spirit guides spoke in my mind and said 

“She can’t enter because of the hearth cross you placed in the kitchen window,”

It’s true. For this family, I made a hearthe cross. I wasn’t sure why I did it. Basically, in Gemma Gary’s book The Black Toad, I learned that the English witches made crosses from whatever was in their kitchen. They would create and bless a special cross to protect against black magic.

Because the hearthe is the center of the home. So if you ward the hearthe, the home is likewise protected. The one I created is stronger. I put the St. Benedict exorcism prayer on it. Even her hypnotism seemed to be weakened to the point of being nullified.

All she could do was make me look into her eyes. But apart from that, she could t force me to open the door. I suddenly woke up. It was pitch black. But otherwise, I was fine.

Now I had to work. I had the strongest feeling that this “woman” or thing, whatever she was, was at the door that night.

My Hippie chaperone said that he was paranoid that night. He covered all the windows and made sure the doors were locked. He had the odd sensation that someone was watching him. And he was afraid of a burglary. I didn’t tell him of the night’s events right away. He clearly thought it was just regular paranoia.

Divination

My Catholic confirmation Bible. This has been my faithful friend for years. As the pages have fallen off, I use the Bible paper for all manner of spells.

I won’t bore you with the details. I’m sure I do that already. Bibliomancy is a form of divination that uses books to know answers. Specifically, Bibliomancy is the use of sacred books or spell books. Or books on a spiritual subject matter.

So I did a Hebrew-Catholic ritual. Cleansed and uncrossed myself. And asked for divine revelations. I asked what this abomination was that came to me in my dreams. What I got was this,

When I read that, I got all sorts of strange feelings and visions. Concerning the Succubi. Daughters of Lilith. I asked if I was right concerning that this thing is a Si’lat and not just a normal demon. And I got Isaiah 34.

I won’t quote the whole thing. But long story short, it mentions Adonai being angry with nations. And unleashing his wrath upon them for rebelling against them. Which led me to believe someone in this family had done something bad. But then it talks about how he leaves civilizations in total desolations.

Like cemeteries. What really caught my attention was this part.

It’s said that this part of the Bible (according to Hebrew scholars ) isn’t talking about animals. But demons. The main belief is that when Adonai (or any God or Goddess really) abandons someone, they become forsaken. And evil spirits can haunt them. And in the Bible, demons and even angels can sometimes appear as animals or animal headed humanoids.

Which is a common theme in a lot of middle eastern civilizations. A small note from the Hebrew scholars concerning this text.

The “screech owl” is another name for Lilith herself. Because in ancient Sumer, and even Palestine owls are sacred to her. And she frequently takes this form when she hunts for human blood. I got my confirmation that she’s a ghul from that text. But more importantly, I believe this whole thing was alluding to someone pissing God off.

That someone had purposely invited something dark into the house. And that is why I have been having such a hard time driving this shit away. As I continued the Bibliomancy, they began to give me more details. I’m certain the 15 year girl is responsible somehow. She did something.

Spirit of the Night
From
Fine Art America

Concerning the ghul and the dream I had, spirits told me that she projected herself into the front door and tried to enter. But couldn’t because of the hearthe cross. That’s when she tried to get my “permission” in the dreams to enter the home. Because if I allowed her entry there, the barrier would have fallen. But my spirits were with me.

I did a targeted banishing with help from some friends. Including a friend who is a dark mage. Well, calling him a “friend” is an overstatement. We’re allies when it’s convenient. He takes cursed objects off my hands.

He likes to use them for his temple. In this case he helped me extract this thing. He wanted to use it as his demonic familiar. His servitor. He astral projected and hunted her down with his animal guide.

Meanwhile I performed a closing ritual. And I reversed whatever was done to bring this shit in. The hippie kept getting his ass kicked for a week. They kept making him break stuff. At first he said it was just coincidence.

But little by little random occurrences stopped being random. At one point he went outside. And the wire fence started to fall apart. Now you probably think oh well it was probably old and not kept in good condition. You’d be wrong.

The husband in the family is a freak about home repair and decor. And this fence like everything, was kept in good condition. And relatively new. And it only broke in the places where this guy was walking. Imagine that he walked from point A all the way down to Z, and as he walked along the fence, it started to unravel.

Finally, the entire thing fell down. I told him not to walk so close to it. Because whatever was on him was tearing shit apart. And he just told me to stop being superstitious. Then his phone screen broke inside his pocket.

And his hand was bloodied from the glass. He hadn’t felt or heard anything pop. That was enough for him to admit something was off. He finally agreed to do a banishing ritual with me. I smudged again, and cleansed with aspersions of holy water.

We also did a physical cleaning of the house. He managed to repair the fence. And after looking at it, admitted there was no reason for it to fall apart like that. I burned the sage on the abalone shell and prayed,

“In the name of the Great Spirit you are hereby forced to leave this man. Leave his body. Leave his soul. Leave his mind. Do not enter his dreams anymore. I command you to depart, go to the foot of the Great Spirit, who is Lord over all,”

It took a while longer for the evil spirit to leave. But when it did, he said he felt a thousand pounds lighter. And the surroundings also felt lighter. He was so tired he didn’t want to take a shower.

“You should, cause bad spirits love it when people and places are dirty,”

That’s all it took. I gave him some lavender oil to bathe in before showering. And when he came out he was in better shape. His personality went back to being nice and chill. He stopped acting like an ass.

Looking back on it, we both agreed he was being influenced. The banishing was fine. So was the reversal. Now we just needed to do an intervention with this family and see what else was needed. And here I end this chapter of the account.

It was long just to write this. Even longer to try and edit it. I apologize for the typos. But just reliving this in my writings is tiring as hell. I’ll come back with the final chapter another day. Take care,

– M

The Greek Anthesteria Day 1 : Pithogia (Opening of the Jars)

I consider this to be a companion to the Parentalia. Even though it’s a Greek Holiday. Because while both pantheons are different, they are also inextricably linked to each other. There are even some like me, who worship both Gods and work with them together. Nemesis and Fortuna work especially well with one another.

When this celebration begins, I use it as the beginning of the end of the Parentalia. Like the Parentalia, the dead roam the streets. But, they have something else to add. In the Greek Anthesteria, it’s believed that not only are the dead walking.

They believe that the Guardians of the dead, those spirits and Gods that cross them over, are also among us. Particularly the Keres. The Keres are children of the Goddess Nyx, the Goddess of Night. And Erebus, the God and personification of darkness. Especially the night mist.

The people rejoice and drink of the vine,
image from Malvus

This festival is very fun to do. Like the Parentalia, they honored their ancestors. But unlike Parentalia, chthonic Gods could be honored. Dionysus has many underworld characteristics. People often overlook that aspect of him.

But the original Dionysus was called Zagreus. And he was the child of Persephone and Zeus her father. Since Hades couldn’t sire a child, being the embodiment of death and all. He was eventually killed by the Titans in the underworld. Only to be reincarnated as a child of Zeus and Hera.

Dionysus in his cthonic aspect rules this day. And he demands merriment rather than mourning.

Opening of the jars of Wine

From :
Mythcrafts

On this, the first day of the Anthesteria, we observe the Pithoigia or “the opening of the jars”. Last year’s jars of wine are ceremonially opened. The people ward their doors from evil by smothering tar on the door ways. They chew hawthorn and buckthorn leaves to protect themselves from the shades of the dead. Then, they party.

Everyone, including the slaves, have fun.

Businesses as usual is suspended as in the Parentalia. Everything is topsy turvy. Libations are sacrificed to Dionysus. Spring Flowers decorate the rooms of the home. To invite the spirit of spring.

I also personally think that the flowers are a type or cleansing. Flowers and plants are natural cleansers. Not just medically but spiritually as well. I have been shown floral cleansing rituals. Where a faith healer will arrange a bouquet of roses or other flowers in a home.

The purpose is for the flowers to absorb the bad energy. And release the good natural energy of the earth into the home. This provides both a cleansing and a blessing.

Spring Violets,
image from Dreamstime

The flowers would decorate all drinking vessels. As well as children older than three years of age. The first and last day of the festival were both considered bad luck. Hence all the apotropaic rituals. Expiation rituals were also done.

A libation offered at a symposium, image is from a red-figure cup ca. 480 BC

For those who don’t know, expiation is a type of ritual, sometimes involving a sacrifice. It’s where a person will do a ritual to remove sins. Or sometimes bad luck or bad energy in general. Particularly it’s for the redeeming of sins. In Roman rituals I would say it’s sort of the removal of both bad luck and bad energy.

So by offering to Dionysus and the ancestors as well, we’re in effect protecting ourselves from harm. Other than that, this day is just about relaxing. Having fun. And being with friends and family. A perfect companion to the Parentalia.

Cheers everyone,

Dionysus
Olympian Series

Sources :

1) Anthesteria: Ancient Festival of Dionysus, the Wine God

2) The Anthesteria

3) Anthesteria (Greek festival)

4) Celebrating the AnthesteriaBaring the Aegis

5) The Greek Day of the Dead: the Anthesteria of Dionysus

6) Libations And The Ancient History Of Pouring One Out

“Forget the Dead at your Peril” A Parentalia Ghost Story

Animas placate patterns

The sun is setting outside right now. The rays of warmth leave for the night. And while it isn’t chilly in Florida right now, one can sense a feeling of foreboding if you pay attention. The shadows seem extra long this year. Is it a new influx of souls?

Maybe it’s from all the new dead we had from this year and last year already. It actually feels more like Halloween in this Parentalia than it did in October last year. So with that, I wanted to share with you a Roman Ghost Story. It was an event recorded by Ovid in his Fasti.

And allegedly it actually happened. This was one of those few times I was genuinely surprised with a new nugget of knowledge. I had never heard of this account before. This came from one of the articles I used to write my post on the Parentalia. It records an uprising by the dead in the festival due to neglect by the people.

Here’s the account, courtesy of Archeology Online,

I had never heard of this before. But it makes sense. Even good ghosts, can get pissed off. I was inspired to write my own ghost story. I wrote it as if were a legend.

And I call this story…….

~ The Mournful Wail ~

Open the door boy!

The people ran in fear. Even the drunkards and the homeless on the streets ran for shelter. Sealing themselves up in government buildings that had been shut closed for the festival of the parents. The screams of the Romans filled the night all over their city. The Ancestors rose from the tombs at nightfall.

Their anger were like waves of heat in the night. The air was filled with their angry voices. Can you imagine that? An endless throng of shades rising up to haunt the living? Some of them were the military dead.

Arisen to haunt their comrades for forgetting their votive offerings. Some were citizen dead. Most were spirits. Strange confusing creatures. Some were as fog in the night.

Others were spheres of light. Some were shadows. Others seemed to be like water and fire. And some still appeared as humanoid light without discernible features. They were able to float to the top of houses and wail to be let in.

But that wasn’t the worst of them. The roads were being blocked by legions of the angry dead. Some are even reanimated corpses. For then such things happened. What we once mocked in the taverns as silly stories, were now before our very eyes.

It was nothing to laugh about.

The people couldn’t go back to the temples. They were locked up for the Parentalia. Soldiers were trying to fend off the non-corporeal beings at first. Then upon seeing the ones that brought back their rotted bodies. And soiled themselves.

Zombie Legionnaire

Families were locking their doors and sealing the windows. Maybe blocking all exists and entries. Preparing as if for an invading horde. And in a way it was. A horde of our own dead.

But now hearken to me. As I tell you the tale of those brave Romans who fought off the hordes. And saved their city.

Behold, there was once a well known family of farmers. In the countryside they tended to horses and other animals. And were well known to be hard workers. The father Claudius and his wife Aelia were well known for their charity. They even allowed the poor without homes to work in the fields for them for money.

With time their small farm became a mighty latifundium. And they shared all that they had. Not forgetting their humble beginnings. Not wearing fancy clothing as many of the higher classes did. Just the night before, they thought that their worst problem was the war.

And now they and they workers were sealing themselves up in their own home. Closing every single opening.

Why? Why did we waste so much time with war, They were thinking. Why didn’t we pay attention to the ancestors?

The workers and children could hear the animals screaming outside. They didn’t have enough room for all of them. The children began to cry. Claudius, Aelia, and their workers lit candles and torches. And began to illumine the darkened corners of their rooms.

When they were interrupted by a deep, sharp, knock on the front door. And what they heard was both terrifying and disheartening. A terrible wailing.

The terrified household hid behind Claudius. The Paterfamilias (father of the family). After all, the head of all families are the Priests of this festival. The Paterfamilias was putting on a strong face for his family. When another long, sharp, knock hit the door.

And a mournful voice spoke through the cracks. The household could tell someone, a woman, had been crying. Claudius spoke in a stern voice.

“Who dares disturb our rest this night?”

Aelia was not pleased that he spoke. The priests of the temple often warned of the dangers of speaking to strange spirits. Even speaking to your own ancestors could become dangerous if not done properly. He had not long to wait for the answer.

“Claudius, let me in my son. I am so cold. And so hungry,”

Claudius went pale as if all the blood had been spilled from his body. Everyone else in the house is stunned into silence. Even the animals outside can not bare to make noises now.

“Claudius,” she speaks again, “Why did you forget me this year? Why did you make no offerings of bread and wine? Was it too much for you to even visit?”

Claudius couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But it was real. The workers and his family can hear it too. It was his dead mother. He had not heard that voice for many years.

It was a voice he had missed for so long. A voice that once comforted him as a child. He tried to remember the lullabies that she taught him. The ancient magical spells she would sing to protect him. Why hadn’t he paid more attention to the customs?

All he had before was faith that such things could be. What he had behind that door now was truth. A truth more frightening and more terrible than any of the legends could describe.

“Claudius!”, now a deeper voice spoke. And a more aggressive knock assailed the door. “Open up boy!” The voice was far deeper. It was a man. A man who had a stone cold heart in life.

Unforgiving.

He had died when he was just 17. But even on his death bed, he never lost his spiteful tongue. His venom and contempt for life. His stern voice. A voice that demanded to be respected.

Or else. But his father’s old voice when he was alive, was gentle compared to this one. It was the voice of vocal chords that had long rotted past their use. The voice of something that should not have been able to speak. The voice of a spirit reunited with it’s dead body.

It suits him, Claudius thought. He was barely a human when he was alive.

It brought out the venom and bile of his soul more than his old voice did. He wondered how long it would take the Vigiles Urbani to come to their aid. Then he cursed at his own stupidity. The watchmen were probably busy dealing with their own angry ancestors. Another, louder knock hit the door,

“Boy, I have commanded you to open this door…. now,”

The children openly cried now. They no longer tried to be silent. They held onto their mother’s legs for support. And she began to hush them. And place her protective hands on their shoulders.

Aelia was frightened at first. But then she closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. And centered herself. She laid a gentle hand on her husband.

And calmed his tremors. Claudius hadn’t even realized he was shaking before. Or that his eyes had shed tears. She looked deeply into his eyes. He’d always been confident in all that he did.

Perhaps too confident sometimes. But right now the person standing before her seemed as a frightened child. Her heart sank at this. The voices outside kept wailing louder. The winds howled with their voices.

Then she gently squeezed his arm. “Claudius”, she said. That back into himself. As if by art of magic. He gazed into his wife’s loving eyes.

He knew without words what she was saying. She was saying, I believe in you Claudius, now believe in yourself. He smiled at her. He felt his inner strength returning.

“Daughter in law!”, the voice outside screamed. “Let us in Now! Your Paterfamilias commands it!”

Claudius who before was frightened, was now angry. Angry that his household was under attack. Angry at himself and all the other men of the city who had told their wives that they had to focus on the war effort. Rather than taking care of their ancestors. Angry that these people he had taken in from the streets, and now his own family, were in danger here.

And finally, angry that his father insulted both him and his wife. Screaming out commands as if he were still in charge and they were the children.

Silence! I am the Paterfamilias. Not you. You are nothing but a shade of the dead. With a sour tongue and empty threats. And I as Priest of this household, Adjure you by the Gods to be silent,”

The wailing and the wind stopped. The animals outside began to make their noises again. Silently, but calmly. Aelia was always a lot more spiritual than he was. She was the one who often stayed in the temples after every celebration.

Asking questions about the nature of life and death. And how to protect oneself from the spirits. If I survive this, I will strive to be as spiritual as she he said to himself. Something she had told him once stayed in his mind. That every believer is a priest in their own right.

And if you command the spirits, they must obey.

“My family,” he spoke addressing the workers as much as his own blood family, “We must treat them as if they were Larvae (evil ghosts). Go and get the pots and the pans. And begin banging them and making noises all night. Light the torches using carmen (spells). To make the fires holy.

And place them in every corner we can,”

“Where will you go?” Asked Aelia. “To fetch black beans for the rite of expiation,”

Aelia understood now. They performed this ritual in the month of Maius every year. Not the month of Februa. But right now they needed help. The men broke into two groups, one group began banging the pots and pans.

And screaming at the ghosts to leave now. The other, kept the doors and Windows sealed while the Paterfamilias did his work. Aelia began to light the torches. Using a carmen or charm over each of them. Consecrating them as best as she could.

She may not be the father of the family, but she’s still the mother. And she knows much from her priests. Then came Claudius. He studied the door frame. And he noticed a crack, large enough to throw things outside.

First he took salt and then seeds that he had blessed with prayers to Lupercus. And he said,

“Accept these offerings my Parentes, accept them and be comforted, and depart from us,”

He slowly threw the salt and seeds outside of his front door. Little by little he chanted the carmen. His living family made the house inhospitable to the spirits. This would serve a double function. He would comfort the shades and feed them.

But they would bless the inside of the estate and banish the spirits. So as not to encourage them to stay. Outside he heard a sickening sound. It was of long tongues, licking the salt and swallowing the seeds from the floor outside. The fetid stench of those long dead mouths filled the air.

By Savaged Gamer

And it crept through the same cracks in the door. Aelia wished she could burn the sacred herbs. But refrained from doing so. It was not proper to do this in the time of the dead. Claudius understood what his wife was thinking and said,

“Use lavandula infused lustral waters. And wash the floors in the name of Lupercus,”

Aelia smiled. That was the Claudius she knew. Always quick on his feet. She ran to the herbs, took lavandula, and broke them into pieces. She heated the water to strain their essence into it.

Lavandula as you know, is sacred to the people of Rome. It could break curses. And ward off evil spirits. But it was also a sweet smelling herb. It would serve the purpose of consecrating the floor to protect them.

And the smell would blot out the stench of the corpses outside their door. Albus and Alba, their children, looked at what they were doing and had an idea. They would would do the same thing.

“Go get a sprig of unbroken lavandula,” said Albus, “I’ll prepare the water,”

Alba made her own aspergillum. Like the priests. Except the priests use a stick with horsehair to cast aspersions of sacred water. This would have to do. They made their own lustral water.

Copying what their mother had done, Alba and Albus started flicking the waters at the animals outside. Like her father, she used the cracks in the back doors. Begging Lupercus who is lord over all animals, to protect their livestock. The animals started getting quieter. Calmer.

But whatever was out there began to moan in pain. They didn’t like the blessed waters. Whatever was back there scaring the livestock, started to leave. The adults smiled. Not bad for common worshippers.

They would make it through the night. But it would not be easy. The formless shades were flying near the top of the estate. Hovering above them. And creatures who had ensouled their corpus outside the door.

They could hear them outside. Hungrily devouring salt, and pieces of blessed seeds. Now accompanied by small pieces of bread. They long stopped wailing and speaking. The great mob of the dead grew larger.

He cursed under his breath in Latin. The offerings were attracting the other dead. But he couldn’t stop now. Suddenly, he heard a voice from one of the other houses.

“Claudius! Aelia! Can you hear me?”

It was their neighbor Marcellus.

“Marcellus, we hear you!”

He shouted from their door.

“The dead stopped assailing the rest of us. Why are they going to you?”

“Listen very carefully,” said Claudius. “I need you to write down these instructions. And pass it on to our other neighbors. Because I can not keep this going for long,” he stopped as the dead began to complain that he was taking too long.

“I the Paterfamilias adjure you, silence! Or I will cease my offerings,”

Now they all quieted. He began again slowly. And he told Marcellus what he and his family were doing. How they were both warding off the dead and feeding them. He told Marcellus they can keep it up for a longer period of time.

But he needed him to send instructions to the rest of his neighbors of how they could replicate this. Marcellus wrote everything down. And one by one he began to shout to the neighbors. Eventually making a hole in his roof and standing atop a ladder to shout it to everyone at once. He instructed them to also make holes and listen to him speak.

It was safe now, as the formless phantoms from above were at the Claudius and Aelia’s estate. Just one time he was able to give them all the instructions. One by one, each Paterfamilias and their households began to first bless and consecrate their homes as Claudius had done. And then prepare blessed offerings and carmens for the dead. Since Claudius had drawn all the attention to his land, they were able to open their doors and leave offerings on the roads instead.

They screamed to the dead that their offerings were there. In large groups all at once, they began to file out of Claudius’ door way. The Phantoms above too began to leave. Until only his parents and other ancestors were there. That was still too many.

But it was old Marinus who had the best idea. He instructed the Paterfamilias of each household to prepare a large bonfire away from the houses down the roads. They would have to work fast. And exit their homes via the posticum. And take whatever they could find to perform one mass carmen.

They would enchant the fires and command the shades to appear before the flames. And the holy flames would provide them with both warmth and sustenance. And when they had their fill, they would be adjured to depart from the living. Back to their tombs for the night. Because Marinus himself had come up with this idea, he was chosen as the “high priest” for the event.

The old man had no idea how he was going to do this himself.

“You can do it Marinus,” shouted his neighbor Livia. “I know you can,”

Suddenly, Marinus was filled with courage. And more ideas formed in his mind. He exited his own posticum first. Luckily, the old man had the bad habit of collecting things. Like sticks and old dried leaves.

They would be perfect for the fires. He had chanted a carmen over them. Then he was surrounded by the other men.

“Let us begin,” he said.

They began to pile up the wood. Each of them had offerings for the dead they would toss inside once the fire was started. One of them took a blessed torch from the inside of the house to light the bonfires. One by one they began to make sacred fires. Marinus told them,

“Build the fires. I will chant the carmens by myself at first,”

As each of them built other fires away from the neighboring houses, he began to call the dead.

“I call you di Parentes, of all Rome, congregate here before the flames and accept these offerings on behalf of all your people”

He hoped this carmen would be strong enough to attract all the dead everywhere. Vestal virgins were supposed to be doing a collective offering for all the dead. So he asked for just a single virgin to appear, someone young. And from one of the houses, a child of no more than thirteen came to assist him. To pray to Vesta to bless her even though she was not consecrated.

The girl swore in prayer to become a Vestal when all of this was over. If she would just help her now. As the old man summoned the dead, the girl spoke a carmen as she sacrificed the offerings into the fire.

“These old clothes we sacrifice to you. To clothe you in the afterlife. This fire be blessed by Vesta to feed you warmth. These pieces of food and wine we throw into the fire to bless the flame with substance for you,”

She continued drawing on divine inspiration to do this. As Marinus commanded more and more of the dead there. More bonfires were lit. “Come girl,” he said. “This fire is blessed enough for them.

Now we need to do the same for the others,”

They took the rest of the offerings to the second bonfire. And she repeated the ritual. Feeding the flame with blessed offerings for the dead. They did this until all the bonfires, were blessed. And she commanded that the fires should become a common sacrifice for all of Rome.

All of Claudius’ ancestors had now left. They were all by the bonfires. Drinking in the warmth as if it were food. Marinus and the girl had realized all they needed were small offerings to bless a fire. So they began to ration them out to each of the bonfires.

More fires were made. And Aelia had an idea.

“Claudius, join the other Paterfamilias in this work. Take the men with you. The children and I have work to do,”

Claudius raised a brow at this but did not press her for details. The men left. And Aelia, Albus, and Alba had knocked on every single door. And told the women and children, to prepare sprigs of lavandula and vessels of lustral water. The children would also take pots and pans to make noise.

And little by little they all began to make a large enough noise to frighten the dead away. They began to cast aspersions of lustral water everywhere. Blessing the roads and outside of each domūs to create a sanctum. Although the Paterfamilias usually did this next part, the women took bags of black beans. And then began to pellet the dead who tried to linger.

And cast the carmen together,

Haec ego mitto; his redimo meque meosque fabis,”

(I send these; with these beans I redeem me and mine)

The Lemurian exorcism rite. Driving away the angry and dark dead. This made the spirits of the ancestors uncomfortable. When they had gained enough energy from the bonfires, they slowly left. Returning to their tombs.

They had to be careful. Some of the dead were tricky. They tried to stay behind. So the women and children began to investigate every dark corner, every crevice. And secured the areas.

But the formless dead still hovered in the air above their homes. Livia had an idea.

“Let us tie sprigs of lavandula to each place we have cleansed. To ensure the dead do not return to these places,”

Aelia thought the idea inspired. When they had finished warding all of their properties with fresh new carmens, they sent the children back to each domūs. And instructed them to continue making noises. And only to answer the doors if they saw that it was them. The children decided to have one child bang the pots in the house.

And another up a ladder through the holes in the roof. In order to keep watch. And communicate among themselves. Their mothers approved and they did this. Then the children atop the ladders asked for sprigs to be thrown to them.

And using them as scepters, they pointed to the shades above. One child invented a carmen for all of them to say.

“Lupercus, by these sprigs, cast away the shades, send them away!”

As the dead exited the streets, they thanked the living for their offerings. Claudius and Aelia decided to expand to the rest of the city. One by one they recruited whole families to join them. They gave bigger and bigger offerings. And as the hours of the night passed, the dead departed to their tombs again.

The shapeless entities began to screech. And one by one, they flew away. Made uncomfortable by the great carmen spoken by the children. It took long hours of the night before they reached the Vigiles Urbani. When the watchmen heard what they were doing, they quickly sprang to action.

They sent word to all the politicians. To the priests and high priests, and to the Legions. With their help they had finished before dawn. And then began to ward the inside and outside of the city with not just with lavandula or other herbs. But with special amulets blessings of lustral waters.

The entire city was warded now. The boundaries and other liminal spaces strengthened. Cleansings and blessings for Lupercus were given. The Luperci, Lupercus’ priests had apparently already done something similar to all of them. Chasing the dead away with aspersions of blessed waters.

The Luperci
by Ad Maiora Vertite

But they had not thought to do the offerings. They were going to wait till daylight. They were all exhausted. But none of them slept. Instead, all the families, even the children, went to the tombs outside the city.

And gave homage to their ancestors. As had all the families of Rome that day. And at nightfall, there was only peace. Never again sense, had anyone doubted the old ways. Not forgotten their dead kin.

– Finis –

I have dedicated this story to a friend. I won’t mention his name out of privacy. He’s a good man. A great writer. And above all, a brother.

Good night my friends, sleep tight. Don’t let the dead ones bite,

– M

Time to honor the Ancestors this Spring : The Roman Parentalia, the Lupercalia, and St. Valentine’s Day

Romans mourning one of their dead

As of yesterday, Tuesday the 13th of February the feast of Parentalia and the Lupercalia began. And today is the feast of Saint Valentinus. We got a lot to cover so let’s get started.

– The Lupercalia ~

Lupercus himself

The three day Roman festival of the God, Lupercus. Every year I honor him by doing spring cleaning in my home. In his name, I wash the floors of the home with holy water. And I clean out things I no longer need.

Contrary to popular belief, Lupercalia had nothing to do with “pagan sex orgies. The entire holiday, was dedicated to Lupercus. In Greek religion he is often compared to Lycaean Pan or “wolf Pan”. Pan in his lupine form. Of course not everyone agrees they are the same person.

That’s not a debate I am going to have here.

Rites of the Lupercal

Married women led by Cupid toward the Luperci, the Priests of Lupercus

Lupercus is the wolf incarnation of Faunus. A God similar to Pan. During his month of Februarius, he takes the form of Lupercus to drive out the winter spirits. Specifically shades of the dead. As winter for many cultures is said to be the time of the dead.

The Luperci (brothers of the wolf) the priests of Lupercus, would perform purification rituals for the community. They would use holy water to wash clean all floors and homes. Aspersions of water were used to purify and drive away the dead. And the other spirits that appear during winter. Send them back where they belong.

The brothers of the wolf would wear wolf masks.

Romulus and Remus fed by Lupa the she wolf

Some rituals included remembering Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers who founded Rome. And were raised by the she wolf Lupa. Also known as La Lupa Capitolina (the capitoline she-wolf). She’s very popular in Roman culture as a totem of Rome. The Luperci would go to the Lupercal.

Which is said to be the cave at the southwest of the Palatine Hill. Legend says that this is the cave where Lupa was feeding her milk to the twins. Before the shepherd Faustulus found and adopted them. In the Lupercal, the sacrifices of animals were done for the honor of Lupercus and the twin heroes. Usually goats or dogs.

The one and only thing that I could find that sounded like it was “sexual” was a fertility rite.

So in this picture you see an image on the right of men I assume are supposed to be the Luperci. They don’t have the special masks but whatever. The point is just like the more accurate picture, you see them with thongs called Februa which were cut from the flayed skin of sacrificed animals. This is spoken of in the Topography of the Lupercalia by Dr. Krešimir Vuković. The classicist, ancient historian, and philosopher.

Apparently it was believed that if they slapped a woman on the wrist with the februa, pregnant women were protected during child birth. And women that were sterile, would conceive children. That’s it. Yes it was playful because the priests ran around naked and hit anyone they could. It was a fun festival.

And a bunch of people got hit with those februa. But no sexual acts were performed. Let alone “orgies”. This was a holiday for spring cleaning and spiritual cleansing. And a holiday for blessing people.

This holiday goes on for three more days. Ending on the 15th. The reason people mistakenly believe it’s connected to St. Valentine is due to a coincidence. His day just happens to be in the middle of the Lupercalia. But it is not a christianized holiday.

And the original holiday was not about sex orgies. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. No kink shaming here.

The Feast of St. Valentinus/San Valentino/Saint Valentine

Sometimes he’s portrayed as clean shaven. Other times as bearded like right here. I decided on bearded. I’m not going to add the whole history of this man here. Because we have a lot to cover.

I will say that he’s a mystic saint. And he’s actually really good to call upon in magic. For a variety of things. Including,

– Beekeeping

– And all Diseases, including mental disease, epilepsy, and fainting

-Couples especially those are either married or betrothed to be married this also includes love and happiness in marriage

– And Lesbians!

No, it’s not what you think. Lesbos or Lésvos is an island in Greece. So the Lesbians here, are the people of Lésvos. He’s their patron Saint.

Valentinus healing a man afflicted by epilepsy

So here’s a short story about why he’s associated with love. This small history comes from the History of Ireland (Stair na hÉireann) blog.

There are many versions of the Legend of St Valentine. But a few things are known. That he was a priest martyred (as in beheaded) on 14th February. In either 269 AD or 270 AD by the Roman Emperor Claudius II. Also known as Claudius the Cruel.

Among Valentine’s crimes was secretly marrying Christian lovers.

Claudius, being a sexist as well as a tyrant, decided that those pesky women were the reason he was having so much trouble getting soldiers for his armies. His reasoning was that men didn’t want to leave their families, wives, or girlfriends to go to war. (Apparently it never occurred to him that they might not be all that willing to die for an emperor they detested.) So his solution was to ban engagements and marriages. An edict Valentine, who had a warm place in his heart for all lovers, ignored.

Many churches claim to be Valentine’s final resting place. Including the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street in Dublin. According to the story told there, the Saint’s remains were given to Father John Sprat by Pope Gregory XVI. And a shrine still exists there today,”

Relics attributed to Saint Valentinus

Shrine of St Valentine, Whitefriar Street Church

Let’s forget the fact that his feast is almost completely about love and couples. It adds to the chthonic energy already present. Because a Saint is a dead spiritual master. A member of the Mighty Dead. So that adds to the ancestral power of all three of these festivals.

Plus him being an occultic saint, with mystical powers just adds more magic to the next few days. Finally, the Parentalia.

Dies Parentales (days of the ancestors) The Parentalia

Image taken from
Novae Romae (New Rome)

The Parentalia officially started today at 12pm. When this happens, all images of the Gods must be covered. Beginning February 13, it begins a nine day festival dedicated to the ancestors. The Roman people truly revered their ancestors. Almost as much as the Gods.

Most ancient cultures were like that. In our modern world, most of the faiths and communities have abandoned their ancestors. Even the more modern witches are like that for the most part. I was. It took me a while to learn that the spirits must be honored. And not just human spirits or your relatives.

During the Parentalia, there is no worship to the Gods. All reverence goes to the ancestors. All of them. The first part of the ritual was to be done in public.

The Tomb of Tarpeia

From Wikipedia,
Tarpeia the betrayer she betrayed Rome to the Sabines, and they betrayed her in turn

Tarpeia was the daughter of an ancient Roman commander. She was a Vestal virgin. But she was far from holy. She betrayed her own people to the Sabines. Believing that she would receive jewelry payment, she not only betrayed the other virgins to the Sabines.

She actually opened the gates for them to enter the city. When they came in, instead of paying her, they killed her slowly. By crushing her with their own shields. Then tossed her body off of a rock. Which to this day is called the Tarpeian Rock.

The very first part of the Parentalia, was to go to the tomb of Tarpeia. And give an offering to the collective di parentes (dead of the family). On behalf of all of Rome. Traitors and criminals were also ceremonially thrown off the same rock her body was tossed off of. This was seen as a collective sacrifice.

Ancient Roman tombs image taken from Archeology Online

The Mānēs or spirits of the dead, were given offerings at the familial tombs outside the city. Wine soaked bread was one of the most favored offerings. Garlands, salt, sprinkled corn, violets, and wheat was also acceptable to them. Which is kind of weird because salt normally repels the dead. But then again, using spices from the kitchen to feed certain spirits is well documented. The Paterfamilias (father of the family) or head of the family, acted as a sort of high priest of the family.

The Paterfamilias leading the family in veneration to the ancestors, to the far right of the picture you can see the ancestor shrine with small figurines of them

Performing these rituals on behalf of everyone’s ancestors. Presumably I assume that would also mean the mother’s side of the family. But I wasn’t able to find any info online about that. According to the Alchetron site,

” From Parentalia to Caristia all temples were closed, marriages were forbidden, and ‘magistrates appeared without their insignia,’ an indication that no official business was conducted. William Warde Fowler describes the Parentalia as ‘ practically a yearly renewal of the rite of burial,‘ “

Lighting lamps at the tombs was also a good offering for them. So the practice of burning candles to the dead is actually older than we think. For all we know, the church may have adopted such practices from our Pagan ancestors. Every family had their rituals to their dead in secret. And while they did visit family shrines, they also had household shrines.

When they didn’t visit the familial tombs, they would use a red brick as a makeshift street shrine. And leave food offerings there. The dead weren’t just in the tombs. They would wander the streets and re-visit the living world as well. The living also visited the dead in their tombs to have picnics.

From History and Archeology Online,

It reminds me of modern traditions today. With the day of the dead in Mexico. American families who prepare banquets at wakes of their loved ones. Or Southern Appalachian and Liberian families who go to the cemeteries every Decoration Day. Which is the original holiday memorial day was based on.

This is a time of personal meditation. Of contemplation and self reflection. We meditate on our ancestors. On their effects on our lives. This festival is for quiet contemplation.

Trying to reconstruct this feast is hard sometimes. For one thing, the original opening rituals and prayers were done by vestal virgins. And while I have a good relationship with Vesta, I am neither female nor virgin. But I work with gatekeeping and liminal magic a lot. So I explained to her a long time ago, that while I am not a consecrated virgin I wanted to work with her for special prayers.

She accepted. The Gods are reasonable. And they can be flexible with those who love them. The next problem I encountered was I am not in Rome. This is clearly a Roman religion.

Based on the country side and cities. I am no where near the tomb of Tarpeia. So instead I used a shrine to Janus, the God of the double doors. I won’t say where it’s located. But I also use it as a public vault of the dead.

For dead neighbors. But also Roman departed. And random ghosts who roam the streets and need a home can live there. I also have buried dead animals there. Even nonhuman spirits (faeries mostly) who associate with the dead live there.

Especially those who protect the dead.

I usually offer a roasted chicken. But any dinner left over is given to them. Steak, fish, etc..even vegetables and bread. Recently I started leaving them cookies. When all else fails, libations of water, fruit juice, and wine or brandy.

In traditional practice this was an initial offering for all of the dead. And then you focused on just yourself. Problem is, not all neighbors honor their dead. Even in Florida, with all the Santeros and other groups, most people are still in Christian churches. And they have the belief that the dead are fine and don’t need help.

That they’re automatically with God. That they are “protected by Christ”. All this despite the fact that Christian, Jewish, and Muslim lore all mention ghosts. And souls that need help. Or worse, they don’t believe at all.

Which is bad for their poor ancestors who need that love and support in the afterlife too. So my modern practice is split into three : Offerings for the Living, immortal spirits (non humans) to help the dead out. Offerings for the public dead which is everyone. Which I do outside at special shrines. And finally personal offerings at home for my own dead.

Because they do like to have their own rituals done for them. So I honor pretty much any spirit who needs the help right now. And I do it for the community. Sometimes talking to them is sad.

Lonely Ghost
from Fine Art America

They tell me how much they wish their own relatives would help them. But they’re grateful for any help they can get. So I try to go all out for them. I give them feasts. I give them offerings and spirit homes.

And above all, I give them love. Especially love.

Roman memorial tablet, from the article
Numina Romana – Spirits in Roman Religion

The offerings were done daily. And it served a dual purpose. One was to strengthen the blood bond between ancestor and descendant. Specifically the protective powers of the ancestor. And second, it’s an Apotropaic ritual to drive away enemies of the family.

Be it a spirit or a human. Or even disease and bad luck. It ends at midnight in the 21st of February. On the ending feast known as the Feralia. There’s a bunch of stuff that has to do with holidays that end this day.

But for now that’s about it. But first one final thought.

Astrological Forecast

Pluto
Mars

Finally, we have a new astrological update from Lynn Hayes. Mars (God of War) enters Aquarius (Water Bearer) on February 13th (Tuesday). The union of fire and water. Perfect for a Dragon. And then immediately joins with Pluto (God of the Underworld).

Which increases the power of this chthonic time. From Lynn herself,

Now that’s just part of what she said in her newsletter. But I thought it bared mentioning. Seeing as this is a conjunction of the Gods Mars and his uncle Pluto. Happy Parentalia, Lupercalia, and Saint Valentinus day!

Image from the article,
Appeasing the Ancestors: The Parentalia and Feralia in Ancient Rome
Wolf God of Light,
by Rampant-Dreamer
Image from the article,
Parentalia – Imperium Romanum
From,
The Victorian Book of the Dead

– M

Sources :

1) Parentalia – Alchetron

2) Topography of the Lupercalia by Dr. Krešimir Vuković

3) St Valentine | Stair na hÉireann

4) Mars and Pluto Conjunction

5) Numina Romana – Spirits in Roman Religion

6) Parentalia – Imperium Romanum

7) Appeasing the Ancestors: The Parentalia and Feralia in Ancient Rome

8) Appeasing the Ancestors: The Parentalia and Feralia

9) Parentalia – Nova Roma (New Rome) Novae Romae

10) Decoration Day (tradition) – Wikipedia

The Spirits & Monsters of Christmas

Yule Goats for Thor

Many Americans who watched that Downtown Abbey Christmas episode, where confused as hell. You see they were telling Ghost Stories at Christmas time. Many people in the US and the modern world, don’t know that for many, Winter is the time of the dead. Now I’m not talking about the Celts. The Celts didn’t celebrate Yule.

Viking Ghost” by the Artist Andrew Howat

The Norse did. Yule was added to the Wiccan calendar. Which took elements of various European traditions. And sort of merged them together. And other versions of Wicca are even more eclectic.

But Yule was the time when the Norse believed their dead returned to Midgard (Earth).

A sentiment shared by many cultures. Who also viewed winter or “the dark time of the year” as the time ruled by the dead. Or even dark nature spirits. Or dark spirits in general. Let’s take a deeper look.

The Dead on Christmas

Wraiths of the dead returned to Earth 

There was once a fascinating tradition in England. Since at least 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. 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.

Now there is a subset of the dead that we should talk about.

The Dísir

The Dísir, collective of female spirits of the Norse Pantheon. They were honored on December 25th. Which we now call Christmas Eve. But back then the Mothers were honored on that night. It’s dedicated to the Dísir.

It’s basically a word for all female spirits. Female faeries and ghosts. But also your female ancestors and Goddesses. Much even today remains unknown about the Dísir. And points of view of them vary by regions.

German scholars think they are linked to a West German Cult dedicated to female spirits. While others think they’re older. At mother’s night several sacrifices in the feast dedicated to them were performed, called dísablót. An important thing to note here is that Blót or “sacrifice” does not always mean blood sacrifices. A blot could be pouring a libation of mead to a spirit or God.

Or giving cooked food to a spirit or God. There are many types of Blót out there. Although it is believed animal sacrifices were offered during this time. But there is no right or wrong way to do this.

“The Gods and Goddesses, landwights, and honored dead have always received physical offerings of various sorts. These ranged from simple pots of food left in bogs or graves, to golden vessels and great hoards of amber, to the spectacular sacrifices of an entire defeated army along with all its animals and gear, a practice confirmed by archeological discoveries at sites such as HjortspringNydam, and Illerup (see Our Troth vol. 1, chapter 4). In the sagas, a devout worshipper of the gods is called blótmaðr mikill, ‘a great sacrifice-person.

Even after the coming of Christianity, people continued to leave offerings at holy springs and trees and fields, and in some areas continued to do so into the modern age. People also continued leaving out offerings to the spirits who guarded their homes and farms,” – Offerings for Norse Paganism | The Troth

In this respect, I see a lot in common with Norse and Celtic views on offerings. My Druid Master even told me that you could offer up swords in ponds or lakes to the Gods. Some were offerings and others were for magic. How badass would it be to offer an entire defeated army to your Gods and spirits? That’s some powerful magic right there. But back to the Dísir,

“Generally, a Dís (singular of Disir) was seen as a powerful supernatural being that took a keen interest in families and estates. Their strength could vary greatly. Sometimes, they were described as mere guardian ancestor spirits, but their power could also inflate to that of minor local gods. The Disir would usually use their power for good—they acted as guardians to families and family farms, and sometimes even lent their protection to individual people. Yet, they did not love unconditionally and were known to take revenge against families or people who had not given proper sacrifice, or had otherwise angered their respective Dís,” – The Mysterious Disir Of Norse Religion

In many ways this sounds a lot like the Agathos Daimon and the cult of the heroes in Greece. Note I am not saying that any of this is the same thing. I’m just pointing out interesting similarities. It seems at least some of the Dísir were probably Demi Goddesses, local spirits, or ancient heroines who offered protection and blessings. The national encyclopedia from Sweden makes that even more obvious.

“In Norse mythology, a dís (Old Norse: [ˈdiːs], ‘lady’, plural dísir [ˈdiːsez̠]) is a female Deity, ghost, or spirit associated with Fate who can be either benevolent or antagonistic toward mortals. Dísir may act as protective spirits of Norse clans. It is possible that their original function was that of fertility Goddesses who were the object of both private and official worship called dísablót,”

– Nationalencyklopedin (National Encyclopedia from Sweden)

But they all agree on the same thing. They were a collective of Goddesses, heroines, and regular female entities. And they were so powerful that apparently like the Nourns, they could manipulate fate. Which makes sense if you realize that this is a massive faction of spirits including Goddesses. Just with the Goddesses alone there is more than enough power to manipulate fate itself. 

Now imagine every woman who has ever existed in every race. Both human and non human alike. No wonder even the male Gods and spirits feared them. There is no defending against such power. So Mōdraniht is a very special night.

And Modranicht especially holds a special place in my heart. I have always felt a pull towards it though I don’t know why. It feels like home to me. Later I will explain how this holiday is special to me in other ways. But now I have more or less defined who the Dísir are.

The Demons of Christmas

Krampus Vs. St. Nicholas, notice Nicholas here looks like a Wizard with a magical staff. Similar to depictions of Odin

There’s actually a lot of Christian Christmas traditions where the Devil is a prominent figure. So Christians demonize Halloween and Samhain as being “devil worship”. But their own Christmas traditions feature demons like Krampus and Black Peter. Who are either servants of the Devil, or even Satan himself. And stories of how the Devil losses all his power during New Year’s Eve.

And how a Saint (usually St. Nicholas of Bari/Myra) defeats them. By binding them using some kind of Christian magic. In effect making these demons, familiar spirits controlled by the Saint. Which sounds an awful lot like Solomonic Magic. The demons are frequently seen as being in chains.

From : Atlas Obscura

Symbolizing their slavery to St. Nicholas. The the coal, contrary to popular belief, comes from Krampus, not Santa. Krampus takes children away to Hell. In a sack. Then he leaves behind coal from hell behind.

To torment the family with the knowledge that a demon has taken their child away to Hell. Never to be seen again. And in case that lovely image wasn’t yet engraved in your mind, we have here some Post Cards so you don’t forget. Remember, St. Nicholas isn’t the one who keeps track of whose bad, that’s the Demon’s job.

Looks like they were both on their way to a series of hot dates. Good thing they got modernized. I can’t imagine traveling the world by foot is comfortable or practical.
Krampus Christmas card

Now Zwarte Piet or Black Peter, is a controversial figure. Because even though he’s supposed to be a Demon, he’s shown as a Moor. A North African Muslim. The Moors were an advanced African civilization. In fact, when they ruled Spain, they took the Spaniards out of the dark ages.

Only for Queen Isabella and King Fernando to bring them right back to the assbackwards society they were before. Replacing Science and a Culturally Plural society, into a racist society. One with only one culture. And which forced Catholicism upon the people. Even going as far as creating the Spanish Inquisition.

Which forced Jewish people to convert to Christianity, or die. The Inquisition (called the Host back then) destroyed all the sciences and artistry of the Moors of Spain. And replaced it with ignorance, superstition, and prejudice. Even the medical practices of the Moors were abolished. Which means people went back to dying of diseases that could easily have been treated before.

What does this have to do with Black Peter? A lot. Moors were seen as savages. An “ignorant”, barbarian group. Who had no morals or character. The racist European tropes concerning Moors and black people in general, resulted in the creation of the “Blackamoor“.

A racist image of an African Muslim person. And usually the depiction of the Blackamoor was with a white person in black face. Which made it worse. So Black Peter was no longer black because he was a demon. Now he was literally black.

And a Muslim. The perfect demon for a racist society. So in modern times, his image was changed. Instead of a white person in black face, it was whoever was playing Black Pete. With their natural skin color.

And some dirt or soot on their face to lightly blacken it. And the name was changed to Sooty Peter instead. I have seen Black Peter’s image as a white man in nobleman’s clothing. That was years ago. The idea of his name meaning he’s actually a Black person confused me.

And while we are talking demons, we should discuss a subset of undead creature that is neither full ghost or full devil.

The Draugr

The Wild Hunt

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. And who are the Tomte? Let’s find out.

The Tomte : 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 overtime, the Yule Goat became a goat idol 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.

Santa’s helpers

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

Turoń, the Christmas Bull of Poland

Now, nobody knows for sure where he comes from. The popular theory, is that he’s a remnant of the Slavic Polytheist faith. Possibly connected to a Deity of the Sun. If this is true, it could be that he’s connected to Dažbog. The God of the sun.

And yes that’s a swastika behind his head. No, it doesn’t belong to the Nazis. The Nazis stole the swastika from Asian cultures. And Hitler renamed it the Hakenkreuz (hooked cross) in his letters. Now remember that “Asian” isn’t just people you associate with nations such as China or India, some Europeans fall under that category as well.

Russia and Eastern Europe are also a part of Asia.

So the swastika was actually a common symbol used among Asian civilizations. Even to this day. It’s used everywhere from temple of the God Ganesha in India. To the Temples of the Korean Gods in South Korea. All the way to the Norse and Slavic Gods.

Even some of the people of the United Kingdom had swastikas.

This is the National symbol of the Isle of Man, the Three Legs of Man. First used in the 14th century. Sorry but I am tired of hearing people say it’s a racist symbol when it isn’t.

It’s a variation of the Ancient Sun Wheel.

Supposedly, he was connected to Dažbog. And he was venerated as a type of folk spirit on a holiday called Turzyce. Or at least that’s what the Polish ethnographer and folklorist Oskar Kolberg. He claims a German told him this. So it’s dubious as to whether or not any of this is true.

I have found no real evidence or mention of this holiday online. I would have to talk to Slavic worshippers on this. Or consult a few books to see if this has any evidence. It should be noted though that this comes from Polish tradition. Kolberg would have known his own culture well.

But it doesn’t look like he looked too deeply into this. I couldn’t find anything on Dažbog, the God of the Sun, being connected to a bull. So I consulted the list of Slavic Deities. I was amazed at what I found. I don’t think Turoń is connected to Dažbog at all.

The Kolęda walkers alongside Turoń

I think he’s connected to Volos, also known as Veles. This God is connected to animals and nature. But also is the Lord of the Dead. And that actually makes a lot more sense. I mean look at this guy.

Is anyone really going to tell me he doesn’t look like some creepy underworld entity? Apparently Volos took on the form of several animals. And among them was the bull. Supposedly he was disguised as a bull in Christian times to continue worship of him. When the church discovered that, they began to disguise him as two Saints. First Vlasiy (Blaise).

Then Saint Nicholas. So who would have thought that we have a Slavic Santa Klaus. And in the form of Volos. And then later instead of St. Nicholas, Volos came to body Satan. Being part of the story of St. Nicholas and the Devil.

So unless someone comes to correct me, it is now my personal belief that Turoń is actually Volos or Veles himself. And that he’s got nothing to do with the sun. He doesn’t even look like an entity that would be connected to the sun. Turoń is connected to fertility. Something that Volos, as a nature God is definitely in charge of.

And Volos constantly changes shape between a bull, an ox, and a plethora of other animals. The only connection we have with Turoń being connected to the Sun God is what he is. An auroch, an extinct species of cattle. That back in the day was considered symbolic of the sun. But that’s pretty flimsy evidence to base on him being connected to Dažbog.

And as stated before, Volos was once worshipped as a Bull in Christianity. At least until the church found out. So there’s actually stronger evidence for my hypothesis than what Oskar Kolberg asserts. Which is basically second hand information from a German man. Not a Polish national.

I am not a trained member of Rodnovery, the reconstructed Slavic faith. But I don’t understand why Kolberg did such a flimsy job on explaining the genuine origins of such a beloved Christmas character. Perhaps it’s just the lazy research of non believers. Christians or secular people who aren’t passionate about these things. Because they don’t believe in it.

I think that’s enough for this year.

– M

The Last Random Links Of The Year

Offerings to the Ancestors

Welcome to this year’s last random links of the day.

Winter Pagan traditions

Time for change…

Winter’s Wisdom: The Cailleach and Solstice Insights by Judith Shaw

A caricature of Paganisms

The Basic Principles of Feng Shui by Anjie Cho

The Drowned Church of Potosi Uribante, Venezuela

The Real Winnie the Pooh & Pals

Meet Spring-Heeled Jack, the Leaping Devil That Terrorized Victorian England

How a White Lie Gave Japan KFC for Christmas

The Kallikantzaroi : The dreaded Christmas Goblins of Greece Play Devious Tricks All the Way Till January

Santa Claus House North Pole, Alaska

(A trading post in the North Pole where children send letters)

Elfin Forest Escondido, California

(This dark, quiet forest on the outskirts of San Diego is dense with rumor and lore. What’s interesting is that “escondido” in Spanish means “hidden”. I wonder why the Spaniards chose to call it that)

Solstice Comes But Once A Year Now Is Here

Towering Robots & Strange Christmas

Asteroid Collisions, Wandering Spacecraft, and Eggnog

The Real Women Behind ‘Christmas in Connecticut’

Mari Lwyd

How the Holidays Became Haunted

Tales of a Tiny Tyrant: My Silly, Suspicious, and Snuggly Curmudgeon of a Dog

Episode 237 – Yuletide Cheer! 2023

Are these Pyramids Hidden Deep in the Jungle of Central America?

Meet the Companies Profiting From Israel’s War on Gaza

Midwinter for Druids (from another amazing Druid and Writer on here!)

CREIDDYLAD – WINTER QUEEN

How to Play a Fiery Victorian Christmas Game and Not Get Burned

The Danish Christmas Porridge That Appeased a Vengeful ‘House Elf’

Holiday Nostalgia Train

Spooky Yuletide Gifts 2023!

Scientists Finally Find Mysterious Mesospheric Ghosts

Reindeer Can Sleep and Chew (Their Cud) at the Same Time

In Sweden, There Is No Christmas Without Donald Duck

The Ruins of St. Dunstan-in-the-East

Podcast: Nightwalking with Bianca Giaever

Podcast: Old City Hall Station

Podcast: A Return to Recipe Graves

Frau Perchta, Another Christmas Witch (from the white rose of Avalon herself)

A Completed Series and Christmas at the Castle

Ice Castles

⬆️ Woodstock, New Hampshire These towering spires and glowing walls are carefully crafted from hundreds of thousands of icicles

How Ginger, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg Became Winter Spices

Via dei Presepi Naples, Italy

Every day is like Christmas on this street where the traditional Neapolitan nativity scene comes to life

How the Pope Stole Christmas (Hilarious Poem about how Christmas is Actually Norse not Christian)

Midwinter Night’s Eve: Yule c. 2013

Happy Yalda Celebrations!

The Dark Half: Reflections on the Winter Solstice By Xochitl Alvizo

Solstice Night Feast: A Poem

The Monsters of Christmas

What Time Does the Winter Solstice Start?

Perchta – the winter witch of Alpine Christmas folklore and Perchtenlauf explained (video)

WINTER SOLSTICE | Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

Italy’s Christmas Snake Cake

The Monsters of Christmas

I await the new year and what it brings. And hope that may it brings positive change. Maybe not good change, but positive. So without further adieu here we go.

Embracing the Magic: Winter Solstice Celebration on #WitchyWednesday

Winter Solstice Newsletter – Paradise Lost

It Always Is Christmas Eve, in a Ghost Story: 1891

Yule & How to Celebrate it: A Pagan History of Christmas

How Did Vikings Celebrate Yule?

Ghosts in Judeo-Christian religion

The Winter Solstice (Tonight at Midnight)

The Case for a Celtic Santa Claus

The 200 year old feast of Réveillon every December in New Orleans

Meet Turoń, Poland’s Dancing Bull-Beast of Winter

⬆️ (The ancient tradition of Turoń bestowing blessings has faded but, like the creature itself, it may be resurrected)

Branwen the Goddess of Grief

The Rouse Simmons the ‘Christmas Tree Boat’ Shipwreck That Devastated 1912 Chicagoans

UK Murder Mysteries as a Holiday Tradition

#Omens&Symbols . . . Long before the advent of Christianity (by Purple Rays a most excellent WordPress blogger)

We Are Our Deeds by JOANNA VAN DER HOEVEN of Down the Forrest Path

Wheel of the Year

Winter Solstice Rituals for Witches: Honor the Darkness and Embrace the Light – Article by Patti Negri, the “Good Witch”

The Shamanic Origins of Christmas

A New Moon in Capricorn

Modhera Sun Temple in India

The Catacombs of Washington, D.C.

⬆️ (Franciscan monks created a facsimile of the Holy Land for North Americans who couldn’t afford the trip overseas).

Museum Obscurum (The Dark Museum )

⬆️ From Nykøbing Falster, Denmark :

This secret collection of the strange and occult was rediscovered in a forgotten room of an old house

Mōdraniht

Where did the idea of Santa Claus come from?

Celebrate the Winter Solstice with Sacred Foods and Feasting 

Winter Solstice: 5 Rituals and Customs for an Auspicious Year

The Holly King and the Oak King 

Personal Gods of December 

Reflections on Yule

Contemplating Darkness on the Winter Solstice

WINTER SOLSTICE DECEMBER 21, 2022

Yule/Winter Solstice : The True New Year

The Story of Yule – How Vikings Did Christmas

Witch of the Week : Rhiannon and the Winter Solstice

“Tales and Wassails” episode for the midwinter nights

New Moon in Pisces

Cuspy early PISCES New Moon w. Saturn finish of AQ (Feb 19 / 20) – Past Management: Unity & Coherence

Welcome Pisces New Moon!

The New Moon in Pisces in February 

Feralia, February’s Roman Equivalent of Irish Samhain

Folklore Fairy Queen: Goddesses and the Fairy Queen Archetype

Moon brewing… a Kombucha tale

Learning to Love Astrology: A Poem

Belief in Gods?

The Daffodil Beast

A Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek,

Wild Hunt.

Draugr

Airing Out the Mystery of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon

⬆️ (What a strange spate of “gas attacks” tells us about what was really lurking in mid-century America)

From “A Complete Guide To Attending Up Hella Aa in Shetland”

The story of Yule

Santa’s helpers

Ghost Stories in Christmas time

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

The Yule Lads

The First Gates

Ancient Yule Decorations and what they mean

Clear Astrological Skies for the Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice – 2023

Spiritual Readings for the New Year by Cherokee Billie

Mistletoe, Mythology and Folklore

Yule: Spiritual Secrets Found in Darkness

Yule Goat Magic

Making a Traditional Yule Log: Easy Steps for 2023

Krampus Legend Exposed

Decking the Halls: Yule Decorations

Yule and Winter Solstice Playlist

DIY Yule Crafts Galore: A Video Tutorial

Winter Solstice Rituals for Witches: Honor the Darkness and Embrace the Light – Article by Guest Author Shariq

Druidry and Christianity

Embracing Yule: A Pagan Celebration Rooted in Tradition

Winter Solstice 2023

Naughty or Nisse

Winter Solstice: Celebration of the Powers of Fire by Sara Wright

GODS of the Month: Frigga, her Handmaids, and the Disr

Babylonia Month: December/January

Tonight is Krampusnacht

St. Nicholas Day, sinterklaas cookies, brightest Quarter Moon!

oman Gods of the Month: December

December 2023 PAGAN CALENDAR OF OBSERVANCES

Was Horus born on December 25th?

Introducing the Bard, Ovate, and Druid paths of the Druid Tradition

The Kerry Christmas Carol | Sigerson Clifford

Winter Solstice | The Holly King vs The Oak King

Take care everyone, soon I will be preparing the New Year’s Report as every year,

– M

Stupid people should NOT be practicing Magic

Recently someone reached out to me on my blog. I said I do not do readings anymore. I’m tired of dealing with people’s BS. Especially for free. He kept harassing me a million times.

So finally I said,

“Okay so when Bush was president, phone psychics were charging $300 an hour for a reading. Counting inflation, that would be at least $600 now. So hire me for a one hour reading and we can negotiate,”

That was about a month ago if I am not mistaken. Maybe two months. As expected, the dumb ass stopped bothering me. Because I knew. I just knew he would be one of those idiots who messed around with magic.

And expected me to undo his fuck up. And I am not having it anymore……..or so I thought. Two weeks ago, I received this email from a totally different person.

“Please Mr. Magus we need your help,”

(I kind of laughed at the idea of someone calling me Mr. Magus. It made me feel like a high school librarian. No, not just any librarian. I’m Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

“My cousin is (name of the idiot) he cast a love spell on my best friend. And she and I are getting sick every single day. We went to the local pastor for help but he says he has no idea how to undo what my cousin did. His prayers have more or less worked. But not the way we need.

It always comes back after a few days. And my friend is losing her mind too. And to make it worse, my cousin used some of her hair that was mixed with my hair (🤦‍♂️) and I feel my own life draining away. I need help. She needs help.

We don’t have $600 or even $100 to pay for your services. But I can send you $50 after a few weeks please help us,”

Mother Fucker. Why do the Gods always send these people my way? Why can’t I have a rich client who thinks their cat is the reincarnation of Salvador Dali? I’ve heard of two mediums who were charging thousands of dollars. To cleanse a property every year. They are making a killing. Getting rid of the “bad luck” for their rich clients.

Meanwhile I get the lunatics binding their own COUSINS and killing people with witchcraft. And they’re broke as hell too! And to make it worse he knew how bad the situation was. He knew his own cousin and this other girl were in and out of hospitals. And he still didn’t tell me. Because he didn’t like the price I gave him.

If he had told me that someone was fucking dying, I would have focused on saving them. ASAP. And even if I hadn’t, he should have said “no price is too high to save my cuz and this girl,”. But this penny pinching prick had thought saving his money was more important than saving lives. I’m not surprised that someone capable of binding a human being would do this.

Binding people to be with you is the spiritual version of rape. Love spells that take away someone else’s free will are rape. Plain and simple. It’s magical roofies. So of course a disgusting abomination like that, wouldn’t care that his spell was killing someone else.

Even if one of those people was his own flesh and blood. I asked myself if it was possible that I was being played. Just because someone randomly emails you and says something doesn’t make it true. Maybe I was being played so I could help them without pay. Or at least a lower price.

But before I could even finish that sentence in my mind, one of my spirit guides spoke. It was true. I emailed her back and said,

“I will not directly get involved in this mess. But I can help you uncast it yourself,”

Religious War

So I taught her how to create a special Judeo-Christian talisman. In fact it also had some Islamic influences as well. It’s based on some of the Western Magic. As well as some mystical Muslim enchantments from the Middle Ages. Essentially it was a “soul box” I helped her make.

It contained the essence and energies of all three people. Then I told her they all needed to make a bonfire. She wasn’t happy. She then explained to me that they didn’t tell their parents. That the Pastor was told someone else was casting the spell.

And wanted to keep it a secret from their parents.

“How old are you people?”

Ages both girls 18 and the idiot is 19 was the reply.

” Time to act like adults and fess up,”

To say shit did not go well is an understatement. For the first week, their parents didn’t even want them to talk to me. And they went to church every single day to grovel to God for help. Didn’t work any better than before. Finally, the cousin put down her foot and told them it was either me or death.

They didn’t approve of me. And made snide comments every time I was on the phone. But they (almost) didn’t interfere anymore. We had already wasted a shit ton of time. So back to the bonfire.

The Fire of Bones

Samhain bonfire

A traditional bonfire is made of bones of sacrificed animals. Sacred woods indigenous to the land. And any holy herbs in your land. I had to consult my Hoodoo and Native herbal indexes to see which would be best suited to a bonfire. Also, anything that they might have that is holy, but falling apart.

Broken cross on the leaves by Tim Harper

Like an old wooden cross that is broken. Or Bible pages that fell out. Something that can add holiness to the fire. They didn’t have anything like that because it never occurred to them to save holy objects for spiritual work. Since she doesn’t come from Florida, I had to check with each First Nation in her state.

Then see what was sacred to them. And even then I had to use my indexes and spirits to choose the correct herbs. No they aren’t Native American, they are white but this whole continent is Native Land. Last Friday night it finally showed up. So then I told them to make the bonfire.

Fire by friction

I asked them to try their best to make a friction fire. Where they have to use the friction between two sticks or two stones to start the fire. They couldn’t do shit. So instead I told them to make a few clicks with the lighter to start up the fire with at least that as friction. It’s weak, but at least it’s something.

After the fire was finally set at sunset, I had them toss the ingredients into the fire. The animal bodies they found after picking up road kill. One of them was complaining about the stench to which I stated,

“It’s either the rotting corpse on the road, or your body rotting like it’s a corpse. Choose,”

Shut her up fast. They used old brown sacks to harvest the bodies. From raccoons to dead lizards. And even a rat and a garden snake. I told them they had to place the bodies in the shed and set up a shrine to the Earth Goddess to pray for them.

The families said out of the question. That’s Paganism, and necromancy, and animal worship Blah blah blah blah. So I told them to appeal to the Christian Holy Spirit. The feminine side of God. Parents got angry that I was insinuating the Holy Spirit is female like a Goddess.

To which I corrected them the Holy Spirit is actually two Goddesses : God the Mother and God the daughter. I told them about how Judaism was originally a Polytheistic religion from Canaan. And that the Canaanite religion actually comes from Sumerian Polytheistic religion. I had to tell them what Polytheist means. Which made them angry when they realized it meant Pagan.

I told them,

” You can waste time while your girls are dying because your bastard son and nephew was busy using black magic to spiritually rape one of the girls. I would think that would be more important than all this squabble over religion,”

They tried to scream at me until my ear drum nearly burst. From a loud yell over all of them that suddenly made them quiet. At first I hadn’t recognized her.

“ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT YOUR FUCKING RELIGION! THIS ISN’T ABOUT YOU OR YOUR STUPID BELIEFS, IT’S ABOUT MY LIFE AND (friend’s name) LIFE NOW EITHER STAY AND HELP OR BE QUIET AND LEAVE NOW!!!!!”

I have to say……it was surprisingly cathartic. Listening to this 18 year child scream at a bunch of 40 and 50 year old people. Like they were spoiled children in Kmart 😆. I had the largest shit eating grin on my face you could imagine.

” How long do we pray to the Holy Spirit? “

I could hear someone breathing deeply and tensely. I think it was her.

“Until you’re ready to make the bonfire,”

They had an old cast iron pot in the shed. And I told them to place the bodies in there. And to seal it shut to prevent predators from getting at the dead meat. Food offerings and candles were left near the pot. The food offerings were fruit placed in a large plastic zip lock bag.

I had them do a Mass in honor of the Holy Spirit. They prayed to the Hebrew Goddesses to give light to the animal spirits to move on. They asked for the animal spirits to aid them in the work ahead. The mass lasted a week. And by the time it had ended, the animals turned their bodies into talismans.

Using dead animals as talismans is nothing new. With their bodies added last to the fire, they had now become a true bone fire or bonfire. The last part was for them to pass the soul box between themselves. Each time, placing both their hands on the box and saying,

” Souls intwined now unbind, energies merged no longer converge, be now returned to the flame of life, the flame burns filth away, but it’s light restores my force of life,”

They each felt a “tug” when they uttered the final word. That was a good sign. It meant their energies were preparing to return to each of them. They were re-tethering to their collective souls. We also used the power of the full moon to increase the ritual’s effectiveness.

We waited.

Totems

I waited until I could hear the voices of the dead animals. I waited till I saw them in my minds eye inside the fires. They were ready.

” All of you place your hands on the box. One hand each, the dominant hand. And toss it into the fire, “

They threw the box into the bonfire. And the herbs and other things inside caught fire slowly. I expected it to go up like kindle wood. But it took its slow ass time to catch fire and finally burn. They had varied reactions. One of the girls said she felt nauseous.

The second girl (the cousin) said she felt goosebumps and hot sweat. And the idiot himself was so dizzy that he had to sit down. Their relatives, tried to say that none of this was real. And that this was a kind of hysteria. All in their heads.

They began to interrupt and tell them to stop pretending. While their kids were visibly sick in front of them. And one of them (some random guy) accused me of hurting them. I cut them short over the phone. And told them politely to be quiet.

Because their church couldn’t do Jack shit. And I was their only option because no other spiritual person will sign up for this level of crazy. So it was in their best interest to let me do my work. Unless they wanted some random demon to come to them from their son’s binding. Bullshit, there was no “demon” or any spirit involved in the binding.

It was just random, uncontrolled, energy shooting in all directions. But the idea of a “devil” coming to haunt them if I didn’t finish made them quiet. Sometimes you have to talk to children in a language they’ll understand. After about a half hour the reactions stopped. They said they felt half way back to normal.

And I advised them to continue praying for all bad energy to be burned in the holy fire. I warned the families that the bonfire may take a while to finish. But curiously, the bonfire didn’t finish all of the way. I began asking what the hell was going on and the spirits said that they couldn’t take out all of what had to be removed. So it hit me.

“Hey (dumbass) how exactly did you do that spell?”

The idiot not only put some of his DNA into coffee she drank. No that wasn’t enough. He ingested her DNA too (don’t ask because you don’t want to know). As a way to affix the binding. I don’t know where he learned this shit from.

But only an idiot casts a binding spell on themselves. I wanted to scream. Suddenly I needed more catharsis. Maybe I just need to travel there and beat him silly I thought.

“Well, now you need to eat (secret ingredient) from a restaurant,”

“What?!”

Both women were not happy. It looks like they were scared of this particular animal. Lucky that now a days people eat them in restaurants. Well the legs anyways. But the Romani healing spell I know, says that animal’s legs have to be swallowed like a pill.

And downed with a bottle of beer. Then they have to recite a spell. Calling on the spirit of the animal to “fight” inside the stomach of the bewitched person. Normally this is done also for diseases of the stomach. I have had success with this particular spell in the past.

These animal spirits have forced things out of peoples stomachs you wouldn’t believe. One client I had actually crapped a ball of black hair once. Others have vomited other strange things. Including blood that (I suspect) wasn’t their own. But I digress.

I gave them the English translation of the words in Calo. There was no way they (or I) were going to be able to pronounce that. The three of them ate the animal’s legs. But curiously only the guy and the cousin’s friend were effected. The cousin seemed to be immune.

Probably because even though she was bound to them, that part of the magic only effected the two people who drank the spell. It was the young girl first. Her womb started to hurt. Which shouldn’t have happened. Again, this is an animal that is eaten in restaurants.

And they told me Saturday that this one was cooked to a crisp. To make it as much like chicken as possible. They all had bad gag reflexes except the guy. So they had to chew the meat. But the animal spirits said that was fine so I didn’t say shit.

But the point is there was nothing in that meat that should have hurt her womb. And if something was wrong with that meat, it should only have effected her stomach. Not her womb. But then I remembered. Love spells are a perversion of fertility spells.

The idiot meanwhile complained that his insides were on fire. They had to leave the phone. After about an hour and a half I was called back. Moron was still in the bathroom. Shitting himself dry.

But the girl’s cramps stopped. She said it felt as if the biggest period of her life was going to start. But that didn’t happen. I sensed a lot of negativity in her. And it was going to take some time to heal the after effects.

Grandfather Tobacco

Not an actual image of this totem spirit. But I use it because often in speaking to him he feels like he looks like this.

I told her to work with the spirit of Abuelo Tabaco (Grandfather Tobacco).

I told her to get a red pouch with long red string. One long enough to wear around her waist. And place tobacco leaves inside of it. And pray to the Totem Spirit of Tobacco. The tobacco leaves will soak up the negative energy.

And heal her over time. It’s a practice I learned from Wiccans in Peru. Who merged their religion with traditional indigenous religion. After a while, the bag will fall off on it’s own. And when that happens, she needs to make a campfire.

Which will be a lot simpler. And burn it. To send the bad energy and disease away into the spirit world. All while praying to Grandfather Tobacco’s spirit. I asked the cousin to do the same just in case.

He would heal them both.

It would probably be a good time for them to work together. To pray together for the rest of it to go. The dumbass on the other hand I did not want to help. If he received spiritual damage or not was not my concern I said. He’s a wanna be rapist.

And I hoped the side effects end his pathetic existence. Are you offended by that? I don’t care. This world has too many people like him in it. People that have no remorse. That don’t care about the people they victimize.

Let him deal with the fallout by himself, I said. Eventually the bad energy will dissipate. But then I had to stop that line of thinking. Not because I care or want to be a better person. Simply because I soon realized that if the remnants of that love spell stay on him, he could accidentally infect another woman.

And that person would be harmed due to something he did. Not her. Too many witches don’t think about the consequences of not getting involved. Or not doing anything. Even if the person deserves what they get.

It might unintentionally cause pain to a greater circle of people down the line. And you could have stopped it. Apathy was not the way to go. So instead I helped him. Sort of 😉.

I told him to bathe in apple juice. And pray to the Goddess Nemesis.

Goddess of Divine Justice, Right hand of Lord Zeus, Bringer of pain to Assholes

My wonderful Goddess, Nemesis. Ah what can I say about her? I love this Goddess so much. I have called upon her to exorcise demons. To break curses. And to go after enemies.

She is my sweet Goddess. I love her very much. Most people are scared shitless of her. But I pray to her all of the time. My Sweet Goddess and Queen.

Now “technically” I did help him out. The acidity in foods like apples have in them the power to burn away curses. Apples just also happen to be the sacred food of Nemesis. I also told him to tell Nemesis EVERYTHING he did when he cast the spell. And the reasons for it.

Because he needs to be specific to remove the curse. And to expect a lot of bad karma and bad luck when he does this. This is the curse dying away.

And that he also needs to make amends to his victims. Oh! And that the bad luck will be directly proportional to whatever he has done. So yeah, the curse will be removed. Slowly. And painfully.

What? I did give him a simple curse remover. I just decided that he needed some help to stay on the straight and narrow path Christians are always talking about. And boy is that ever going to be his case. The cleansing bath was a ritual dedication to Nemesis. That from now on, whenever he engages in evil, she will be the one to punish him.

That he must do what is good in her eyes. Jesus loves you. But Nemesis takes no shit.

The original Time’s Up

That was Saturday. Today the girls have said they are both feeling better everyday. But she asked me if I hexed her cousin. I told her no (did I lie? No). But she says that her cousin has had a streak of bad luck getting worse since Saturday night when he did the cleansing with the Apple juice.

And other things. I asked her what the “other things” were. But she wouldn’t tell me. I explained to her the curse on his end was dying. And that it was going to be a long journey for him. But that he needed to do some soul searching.

And understand the full magnitude of what he was doing. That he needs to truly, from the bottom of his soul repent. Haven’t heard back from her. And that’s okay. I did my job well.

And while I am not going to be paid (the family forbade them from paying an Agent of “satan”) I am alright with that. Two lives saved. And one rapist wanna be offered up to my Lady. To ensure he never does something like that again. It was a win, win in the end.

Unfortunately I don’t know if I will be able to make rent this coming month. I’m $200 short. The $50 wouldn’t have made a difference. At most it would have been mere pocket change. But at least it would have been half of $100 and I would have had a $50 head start.

Oh well, the Gods will provide. Now, technically any of them could be reading this blog post right now. I honestly couldn’t give a lesser fuck than I do right now. Helping this dysfunctional fucking family was mentally and spiritually taxing. Writing this was mentally and spiritually taxing. If they want to get angry because I aired dirty laundry, or messed up their asshole nephew/son to heal away his curse, I also don’t care.

What the fuck will they do? Sue me? And if they could sue me, they would have to admit that they were using Pagan magic to undo a curse their own son/nephew cast in order to force a girl to be with him. It’s a lose lose for them. So if you are reading this, Fuck you very much. I have zero tolerance for bastards and stupid people.

– M

My Video Encyclopedia on YouTube

Recently a pen pal I talk to on Instagram talked to me about sharing my YouTube channel with her. I asked her why. And she simply said,

“Your Instagram posts, your blog posts, I’m an interested party,”

Lol, I guess my posts on IG and my blog are a little weird. I post everything from my favorite shows and movies to the images I use on my blog posts. That’s what for people interested in what my posts are like.

Lol I love my little memes. Well I finally decided to share my eclectic YouTube channel with her. Even though I don’t post videos or talk on there. I just save videos into folders. Mostly for research. But also entertainment.

Apparently she loved it. Looks like people like weird shit. So without further adieu, here’s my YouTube.

Some examples of videos I save and archive

It’s not much. And YouTube has forced many of my playlists to be private some reason. The only thing I can think of is that they are Occult. And therefore, considered bad for most people. But yeah. Enjoy everyone,

– M

The Origins of Hallowe’en, from the Celtic Samhain, to Catholic All Hallowsmas (Random Links of the Day Halloween Edition)

Stingy Jack with his Pumpkin Head

And……We’re Here! Happy Hallow-En!

Known by a bunch of different names. In different cultures. The Welsh have Nos Galan Gaef. The Manx have Hop-tu-naa. Some Catholics Venerate St. Allan.

And really all of the Saints on this evening. In Brazil there is a little creature called Saci who is similar to Rumpelstiltskin. He’s a real trickster. And this is Saci Day. He lives inside of dust storms.

Specifically dirt devils. Legend has it that he’s invisible as long as he has his red cap. And that he grants wishes to those who take it away from him. However, people who claimed to have actually done this, say that his cap smells horrible. And that no matter what, the stench has never washed off.

And of course you have to set him free afterwards.

In Latin America we have Noche De Brujas (Night of the Witches). When tradition has it, that we witches our most powerful. On November 1st, we have Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). For the adults that is. November 2nd is Dia de Los Muertos for the children.

La Santa Muerte and Dia De Los Muertos

Dia De Los Muertos is a Spanish celebration of All Saints Day in the Catholic Church. And a celebration of La Santa Muerte. The Christianized version of the Aztec Goddess of the Dead, Mictēcacihuātl. Her name means “our lady of Mictlán”. Mictlán is the land of the dead.

Her husband is Mictlāntēcutli. Later she was turned into a Saint by Folk Catholics. Who began to see a reborn version of the Goddess, as a Catholic Saint. Dressed as the Virgin Mary. But in the form of a skeleton.

The skeletons aren’t always dressed as Mary. Other times they look like women dressed as flamenco dancers. The skeleton dolls are called Katrinas. The irony of this is, Halloween is the Christianized version of Samhain. They created Hallowsmas as a way to convert Pagans.

This kind of backfired in them. The only thing this accomplished was for Pagans to learn how to hide. In plain sight. Indigenous people in Mexico started worshipping their Gods in secret on that day. And to this day the Great Goddess Mictēcacihuātl continues to be worshiped and adored.

And now even non indigenous people are praying to her.

Celtic Samhain

From Huffpost

Originally, the day was used to Christianize the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-en). Where sows or female pigs were slaughtered. And then salted and preserved for winter. In those days, winter was a grueling endeavor. Imagine months of being trapped in your house.

With no safe way out. Entire families trapped until the spring time. And homes back then were very small. Often there was a common living area that also doubled as a sleeping room and kitchen. So Samhain was the preparation of all that.

And contrary to the popular belief, it was not the Celtic festival of the dead. But rather it was a sort of harvest/preparation for winter. What the Celts did believe in however, was that Faeries ran wild during this time. And while some of the Fair Folk are good, others are evil. And some are just ambivalent about humanity in general.

And don’t particularly care to not harm us. So, like every other Celtic fire feast, they created Bonfires like this.

A depiction of the Druids and other Celtic God worshippers, dancing around a bonfire to gain its protection.

Now you think this is simple right? No, it isn’t. Building a Bonfire back then was not easy. To make a fire holy, you had to perform certain rituals. The bon in bonfire, is a Middle English word for “Bone”. Animals were sacrificed in magical rituals to ward away enemy spirits, black magic, and even the dead.

Other rituals used a need-fire or friction fire. Need-fires were more complicated. As in a huge pain in the ass. Remember those sticks you rub together to make a fire? The same principle applies. Except that there are large sticks.

Like trees practically. Using a large fire drill made of oak. The sacred tree for male Gods. Such as Thor. Even Jesus was crucified on an oak tree.

An oak drill was made to “need” or drill into the other wood. Now, because of how large these logs are, a platform had to be created to hold one up. And gallows rope would be tied to the drill. The group of men (it’s a male centric ritual even symbolically with the logs) are the ones who rub or need the wood into a friction fire.

The point is, these magical fires were used to keep away enemy spirits. By enemy, I don’t mean necessarily evil. But what is evil to us may not be for a Faerie. Faeries often kill humans by accident. So the bonfire was used on Samhain and the other fire festivals for protection.

From disease, enemy spirits, and enemy witchcraft. Bones tossed into fire is also a remedy against Ghosts. So the veil does get thin during this time. But the Celts didn’t celebrate this as a time for their dead. In fact, it’s unknown why Christians started this myth in the first place.

Perhaps the belief in spirits walking the Earth got stuck in their heads. And for some reason they assumed it would be the dead. And not nature spirits. Frankly I’m surprised they didn’t think of devils instead. But for whatever reason, they chose to Christianize Samhain as a feast of the Christian Dead.

Now, when the calendar changed, so did the date for Samhain. It’s no longer on October 31. Many (like myself) celebrate it on the evening of November the 6th. At sunset. Until sunset the 7th.

Others celebrate it on November the 11th. In my case I just decided to celebrate a Samhain week. That is at its peak the 6th and ends the 11th. For Halloween, I celebrate the feasts of the dead. Specifically the ones mentioned above.

But also the Catholic version. I’m a Christo Pagan. So for me, Christian holidays are magical too. No matter their origin. Perhaps the Christians were being attacked by angry spirits of the Celts.

Who demanded they leave their people alone. And that led to the idea this was a festival of the dead.

The Black Vespers of the Christian Dead

The Catacombs

That’s just me speculating. Now what’s really interesting is how the Catholic Church celebrates this holiday. They made their Christian version of Samhain as chthonic as possible. Originally, the day had it’s own mass. Masses in Catholicism are considered the highest form of prayer that there is.

Because it isn’t just one person praying. Or even two. But large groups of people in the hundreds or even thousands. In churches over the world, praying around the exact same times. Or the same days (at different times).

The Priest would wear a ‘penitential purple’ vest. This was the color for Vigils. Because they adopted the Celtic practice of celebrating a feast day since the Evening of the day before. This is due to the world becoming liminal between the time of the actual day, and the day before. So if you ever wondered why Hollow’s Eve and Christmas Eve are so important, there you are.

Halloween, from Hallow-en which itself comes from “All Hallows’ Eve”—the eve of All Saints’ Day. The Saints themselves are dead spiritual masters. Ascended Masters. So they fall in line with what many traditions call “The Mighty Dead”. Kings or Queens of the Dead.

Or in some cases a more powerful than usual dead person. Like the human version of an Archangel or a Faerie King/Queen. A higher level of human spirit. Note I said “like”. I am not saying that’s what the mighty dead are.

Hallows is another way of saying “holy”. So all holy eve is what Halloween means. The Eve of the Holy Ones or Saints. It comes from the Middle English halowen. From the Old English hālig for “holy”.

The night was also called All Hallow Even (evening). The Priest would dress in white for the vespers or evening of halowen. The celebration was actually a three day and three part feast : Oct 31-Nov 2nd. All Hallow’s Eve, the feast of All Saints on the first of November, and the Commemoration of All Souls on November second. Then we have the Black Vespers.

Also known as the Vespers of the Dead. Or the Black Vespers, in which the Priest would dress in black as the proper color for funerals. Originally, these prayers weren’t spoken on All Hallows. But instead were spoken after the Second Vespers on All Saints’ Day. Which was on its way to becoming All Souls Day.

The day for praying for all the dead in general. To achieve Heaven and leave Purgatory. The traditions of speaking the Vespers since All Hallow’s Eve came later. With the British. They began to say it since the evening of All Hallow’s.

The tradition of kids dressing up in costumes and trick or treating also comes from the British Catholic Church. The boys would often dress like St. Michael the Archangel. And all the kids would knock on doors asking for “soul cakes”. It helped to feed the poor. And in exchange, those children promised the families something in return.

They would pray for that family’s departed relatives. So even the act of feeding the children was chthonic. It was for them to do funeral prayers for their dead.

A boy dressed as St. Michael for All Hallows’ Eve

For those interested, here is the original book on the prayers that were used during this time. A (Pre-55) All Hallows Eve Devotional Booklet from Ancilla Press. Three pages of the original prayers for Hallow-en can be found in that link. The writer of that blog also states something. He says All Hallow’s Eve prayers can only be made official again, when they become widely practiced in the home first.

I agree.

Now for the links :

Sam, the Spirit of Halloween

All Souls Day in Ireland

What Does The Word “Halloween” Mean?

13 EASY SPELLS FOR HALLOWEEN

La Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls) Mexico City, Mexico

The Family Recipes That Live On in Cemeteries Around the world,

⬆️ recipe gravestones tell stories of love, grief, and remembrance

thousands of professionally made Pumpkins illuminating the night!

The Unsettling Legend of Maryland’s Native Cryptid, the Snallygaster

⬆️ A strange, scary farce that brought together Old World legends and racist scare tactics.

Kostel Svatého Jiří Ghost Church

⬆️ Manětín, Czechia Thirty creepy ghosts now inhabit this decaying 14th-century church.

The Monster Museum of Boulder City, Nevada

13 Places That Are Hell on Earth

The Salem Witch Trials Actually Happened in Danvers, Massachusetts

When European immigrants came to the Americas, they brought their creatures with them. One of them was Baba Yaga renamed as

Soap Sally, the Appalachian and the American South, version of Baba Yaga

Witches in the Weeds by Sara Wright (an amazing folkloric poem with feminist context, Sarah is also my favorite poet)

Halloween and Home by MARILYN ARMSTRONG

My Ancestors Altar (A beautiful post showing actual images of a Druid Ancestor Shrine)

#Halloween . . . The Veil is thinning by Purple Rays

Halloween/Samhain Eve/Oíche Shamhna

Why Is Samhain Considered The New Year? By Astrea Taylor

Samhain: Honouring Ancestors in True Witch Tradition

Movie Review: Last Voyage of the Demeter

⬆️ (The person who did this review is a great Polytheist leader of her people. So I was pleasantly surprised to see this).

Hunting the Enfield Poltergeist

Samhain Dates, Traditions, and Rituals to know

The Catacombe dei Cappuccini in Palermo, Sicily

Herbal Releasing Ritual for Samhain

Samhain and Irish Mythology

How Gremlins Went From Fairy Stories to Warplanes to Hollywood Legend

Digging Through the Archives of Scarfolk, the Internet’s Creepiest Fake Town

⬆️ From Haunted TV shows, surveillance owls, liver-based children’s toys—nothing is too weird for Scarfolk

Who Turned Dracula into a Vampire? (Thanks to Generation Exorcist for this one)

The Morris-Jumel Mansion of Manhattan, New York

Paranormal Museum of Asbury Park, New Jersey

Haunted Stays and Autumn Days in Colorado

Classes on how to read a Gravestone

The Scary Stories of our October Skies

Did the Ancient Egyptians Spice their Mummies?

Impaled Horse Heads are appearing all over Iceland

⬆️ This is an ancient curse that was once used by the Norse

Samhain 2023 Meaning, Celtic Blessings and Halloween Traditions

The Secret History of Paris’s Catacomb Mushrooms

⬆️ In the 1800s, farmers cultivated mushrooms in abandoned quarries underneath the French capital.

The Lake underneath the Paris Opera House, which inspired the lair for the Phantom of the Opera

What is All Hallow’s Eve and this Night of Trick or Treating

Area 51, Aliens, and the Truth (it’s out here)

In Ancient Egypt, Judgement of the Dead was Severe

27 Headstones that Defied Expectations

The Monks Who Spent Years Turning Themselves into Mummies—While Alive

The Abandoned Cathedral of La Posada Del Sol, Mexico City

The Amityville Horror House

Medieval Magic Spells to Control Bees

Different Versions of the Boogeyman in Every Country

Moving Stones at The Cailleach shrine in Scotland

Georgetown’s Haunted Halcyon House

How the Egyptian Pharaohs Sacrificed innocent people, to ensure eternal servitude in the Afterlife

Where Humans Think Aliens Are Most Likely to Land

10 Secure Places to Wait Out the Zombie Apocalypse

Haunted Lighthouses are worse than Haunted Houses

Trying to Explain the Unexplained Has Consequences

(👆Staff and Customers have been scared away. By flying potatoes and a whole host of other things)

Houdini’a Grave in Queen’s, New York

The Grave of Alice Flagg, the woman who died of a broken heart

The last “vampire” of New England : Mercy Brown

The Cursed Graves of Mathew and Margaret Hassal at Malew Churchyard Ballasalla, Isle of Man

(⬆️ Popular Theory among the locals is that the iron spikes and chains are there to keep the couple trapped. Because they are Vampires)

The actual grave, credit goes to Lisa’s World

There’s a good article from the blog Lisa’s World blow.

ISLE OF MAN The Hassal Grave Mysterious chains and iron stakes adorn this strange grave, with no explanation.

From : New World Witchery (Traditional American Witchcraft) blog : Tales of grey men, black dogs, and a demon cat

Borgvattnet Vicarage : One of the most Haunted Places in Sweden

5 Creepy Tales of Zombie Mushrooms and other Parasites and how they effected their victims. Including the story of the parasite that forced Bees to dig their own graves

Did you know Aleister Crowley was a Prolific Chef?

Alfred Hitchcock’s Contentious Relationship With Dinner Parties Sometimes the food was all blue

The Artist who snuck into a Castle in Hungry and left a statue of Bela Lugosi

The Fantail, the New Zealand Bird that connects the human and spirit realms

– M

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

From a video I will post below for the kids

There is a lot to unpack here for this month. Not only do we have a full moon. But a lunar eclipse! Which is the moon in its chthonic form. So the time and power of the dead is going to be magnified. It doesn’t just mean the dead are stronger though.

It means the whole world itself will be a lot more Liminal than in normal Hallowsmastide. Time to delve into that.

The World is in Between

The veil won’t just be thin. It will be practically non existent. And all spirits, such as the dead as well as the Fae, and other creatures will be able to enter our world. Even in our dreams. A lunar eclipse represents the unconscious levels of the mind.

And it’s possible for the spirits to open door ways into our minds. Sometimes to help us. Other times to play harmless pranks. Sometimes to cause harm. And sometimes even by accident.

So it’s important to take precautions in sleep for the next few days. Probably until spring too. The following is a simple charm to keep your energy protected.

Mind, Body, and Soul Protection Charm with the Sidhe and your Deity of Choice

Ingredients :

1) Three Quarters (or any other silver or partial silver coins or medallions)

2) A religious symbol or book of your choosing

3) A bag to place the coins inside, this one is optional. If the religious symbol is small enough to fit in the bag you can add it too.

Instructions :

Place the three coins under your pillow. Either by themselves or in a bag. The number three opens and closes doors. Which blocks the spirits and even other sorcerers out. And because at least part of the quarters is silver, that’s enough to ward away evil spirits.

And block magic. Silver is the metal of the Celtic Fae. Who are aligned with the Moon. Add a religious symbol of your choosing. It can be something like a Bible. A Star of David.

A Pentagram. Well the banishing pentagram that’s right side up. Not the upside down pentagram. After you placed the items under the pillow say,

“I call upon those wise and friendly spirits of the Sidhe (pronounced “she”) those who are the kin of Danu. I ask you to protect my mind, body, and soul during this eclipse. That by the number three, you close the doorways to any enemy spirits, enchanters, and their magic, so mote it be,”

The Triskelion, a symbol sacred to the Celts. They favored things in threes

This might sound wiccany, but it actually isn’t. It’s a spell I created myself. Calling on the Tuatha Dé Danann. The ancient Faerie Gods of Ireland. Tuatha is the word for nation, tribe, or even family.

A clan. And Dé Danann means “of Danu”. The tribe, nation, family, or clan of Danu. The ancient Celtic Goddess. We don’t know much about her in scholarly circles.

Except that she’s important and very powerful. The Grand Matriarch of the whole civilization.

Danu herself

She is the “Mother of the Gods”. Creator and Maker of all things. Sidhe refers to the mounds where the Faeries in Ireland live. Overtime, the word became so associated with them, that it now has a double meaning. Sidhe meaning a Fae.

Now, you take your chosen symbol of your religion. And pray to your Deity the way you normally would. Ask for protection at night and in your dreams. From anything or anyone who would try to harm you. Then place it under your pillow and that’s it.

I would probably add a protection prayer or spell to shield your mind. Here’s a good one from Lady Beltane,

And this one is also good,

Now those obviously are Wiccan spells. But who cares? Wicca is a good path too. Now these charms ward you personally. But that’s only part of the issue. You also have to take extra steps to ward your property.

Christians who use spiritual warfare, often use sealing prayers. Which are basically magical prayers, to seal the energy of a property. Create an impenetrable barrier that blocks just anything from coming in or out. Those prayers are flawed though. Imagine you you have a bad (or even good) spirit in a location.

The barrier goes up. Now that poor good spirit will be trapped inside the house. Unable to ever leave. And eventually it will become aggressive and come after you when you go to sleep. Maybe even developing insanity after a time.

That’s the best scenario. The worst scenario, is that you have a demon trapped in there with you. And maybe good spirits who would have protected you before, can’t get to you now. Because the whole place is sealed. You have no idea how many times I’ve heard accounts of a Christian exorcist accidentally driving away a good spirit.

One who was guarding a property. And then with no guardian standing in its’s way, a more powerful and evil entity shows up. And infests the property afterwards. I encourage you to study the sealing prayers yes. But make your own versions of them.

I do. In Hoodoo, we also have fiery wall of protection oil. We use the oil to anoint the four corners of the property and home. To create an invisible holy fire barrier. We also have fiery wall candles.

And fiery wall incense. For various rituals. That’s one way to ward. But that’s the main thing you need to worry about. Now for the actual forecast itself.

The Eclipse in Taurus

From Pandora Astrology :

Typical relationship shit. Re-evaluating everything Blah Blah Blah. I can basically say that about almost every astrological event. It’s all tied to human destiny in the end. The most important part is that we speak with our shadow selves.

Many of us will be exposed to our deep and dark selves. And others who know how to use the eclipse will use it to further themselves. You can also use it to recharge your amulets. As well as necromancy and darker magics. You probably don’t need to know that ” dark ” doesn’t mean evil.

Just using darker types of energy. The water trine energy helps with psychic gifts. So this is also a good time to meditate and perfect your skills. The eclipse is for empowerment. So take advantage.

According to Pandora Astrology, the lunar eclipse starts at 1:25 PM Pacific Time. In Miami, and all of the East Coast that’s’ 4:25pm. Now is the time to be honest with yourself. And shed masks we place on ourselves. Especially being submissive to others.

Time to be true to yourself.

Eclipses are also about dominance. You need to be stronger. You need to stand up for yourself. You need to be powerful. So don’t be afraid.

That’s from me, not pandora. What Pandora does say is to remain grounded. And not be overwhelmed. Taurus is a peaceful sign. Let it wash over you.

They also say it’s a good time to release stress (better said than done). Release it all into the earth. Now is also a good time for clearance rituals. It’s also good to do some uncrossing spells. That is, removing of bad luck and bindings. But they warn that do to how emotionally volition everyone will feel, you still need to mind yourself.

And your surroundings as well. Here’s a video as well.

There’s this whole yin and yang conflict between emotions and peace. So don’t be surprised if you feel a little more bipolar than usual. You might feel overly emotional one moment. The next you might be as stoic as Socrates. Or you might be loving one moment.

And plotting to choke out your partner or sibling the next. The chart and message from Pandora Astrology,

From Witchcraft and More we have Urgent Messages for all Zodiac Signs. The video can be seen here. Now for the actual Full Moon itself.

The Hunter’s Moon

Ochossi the Hunter

The Hunter’s Moon also typically brings out strange dreams. Well, October Moons in general. Hallowsmastide is a time of divination and magic. Our friend the Peculiar Brunette says,

The Hunters Moon has symbolized a time of harvest, abundance, the afterlife, spiritual transformation, and divination, “

In October, this effect is magnified.

This Moon is also a Moon for shadow work. For introspection and self reflection. The fact that its combined with an eclipse means it’s stronger. You might feel depressed, angry, and have that annoying internal voice talking to you. The one that criticizes you all the time.

Now is the time not to ignore it, but acknowledge it. Embrace the darkness within. Sit in the pain and feel it. And then work with it. Ask it why it hates you so much.

Eventually your shadow self will appear and answer your questions. And you can heal it back to a normal shadow self. In balance with the rest of your psychic energy. The final things from her amazing article (she goes into this more deeply than I of you are a beginner and need ideas) are these charts.

Moon Water of course is another option. I may update this with more stuff later. I figured I would post it now ASAP. But at the moment you should be set. Celebrate the Full Moon!

How the Lunar Eclipse effects all Zodiac Signs

Full Moon Blessings from Purple Rays

Full Moon and Partial Lunar Eclipse 5°08′ Taurus | Saturday 10/28/23 at 1:23 pm PT

The Full Hunter’s Moon experiences a partial lunar eclipse on Oct. 28. Here’s what to expect

From Lady Beltane

– M