Adventures of A Mage In Miami

The double gates of the memorial reef,
All images by Elkman

Since we’ve entered the months of the dead, I thought this would be a perfect thing to write about.

I wanna be buried here…..like for real. I hate this fucking heat. Besides, I don’t want roaches eating what’s left of me in the ground. For that I prefer to sleep with the fishes. Under the tender care of Lord Poseidon.

And Lady Yemaya. I wonder if they have underwater mausoleums? 🤔 Or funeral statues!

The memorial reef which is 40 feet below the surface, believe it or not was the idea of a tv network co-president. Gary Levine from Showtime. But the actual creation of the place was due to the artist Kim Brandell. I should also tell you that chef Julia Childs is down here. Originally, it was called the Atlantis Memorial Reef. But was later name changed to Neptune memorial reef.

The city even has its own underwater roads which lead to statues and benches.

It’s has one half of an acre with expansion being planned. So more people are going to go there. The Cremated remains are mixed with cement. And form features of the Reef, and memorial plaques are added after. The Reef is a Columbarium.

Rather than a necropolis, which houses the bones of the dead, it houses cremated remains. It lies 3.25 miles (5.2 km) off the coast of Key Biscayne, Florida. It’s estimated to be able to hold 850 cremated remains. The ultimate goal is to one day hold 125,000 remains. It finally got created in 2007 after endless red tape and bureaucracy.

This baby is built to withstand the strongest storm in the last 100 years. It’s built better than most of the buildings on the surface here. They had different organizations that had to give their consent to it being built. These departments were Florida Fish and Wildlife, EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, and DERM. Shit, maybe buildings in Florida need to go through the same red tape.

Then we wouldn’t have to suffer all the disasters we go through here.

It was created not just for deep sea divers but as a home to fish. And other undersea life. No fishing allowed. Even the lobsters are left alone here. Even coral are there now.

So it’s also a coral reef.

– M

Sources :

1) Neptune Memorial Reef, Key Biscayne, Florida – Atlas Obscura

2) Coleman, Les. “Florida’s Exclusive Underwater Burial Ground”. Public News Service -FL. Retrieved February 6, 2012.

3) “Atlantis Reef Project Announces Partnership with Neptune Society”. The California Chronicle. March 9, 2007. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2009.^{[dead link]}

4) Orkin Emmanuel, Lisa (May 12, 2008). “Artificial reef near Miami is cemetery, and more”. Associated Press. Retrieved March 7, 2009.

5) Orkin Emmanuel, Lisa (May 12, 2008). “Watery graves offer a haven for divers”. The Guardian. Retrieved March 7, 2009.

6) Harrigan, Stephen. “Artificial Reefs”. National Geographic. Retrieved February 9, 2012.

7) Jump up to: ^a ^b Nolin, Robert (July 12, 2009). “Off Florida, a cemetery under the sea”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2009.

8) “The Neptune Memorial Reef”. Trident Society. Retrieved 16 January 2021.

9) Robertson, Linda (March 21, 2018). “When these people say you’ll be sleeping with the fishes, they’re not kidding”. Miami Herald. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018.

10) Neptune Memorial Reef is an underwater mausoleum for cremated remains

*Chaneques* and other spirits from Aztec lore, from
Adela H.R. and I believe the artist is named Alicia Vasquez

As I spoke of recently, these two months are the Aztec months of the dead. And this month the Buddhist Ghost Month. Which is drawing to an end. So I thought it would be nice to talk about care giving for spirits. Instead of just asking for stuff all of the time.

A while back I had written about this to an extent in my first post a while back. And then later in my post on the Faerie House. This goes a little deeper into rituals and offerings. So it can be seen as the third part of the series.

Caring for Dead animals

The following is what to do if you find a dead animal.

Ingredients :

Holy Water or holy powder of some kind. Or even holy herbs. Or holy oil etc.. something that can pass the virtues or characteristics of holiness.
Digging tools of various sizes depending on the type of animal it is. You may even need a shovel sometimes.
Gloves
Plastic bag or container that neutralizes scent
Antibacterial soap

Instructions

Keep holy water or a holy oil handy. And gloves and a gardening tools. Now if the spot where the body is, is okay, then dig there. If not you may need to carry the body of the poor animal in a bag that is big enough. Depending on how big the animal is, you should carry bags of many sizes.

This point cannot be understated.

I once found a dead kitten. And later a dead dog. And I had to help a neighbor bury their adult house cat. She had died from poison someone left for the frogs and toads. The neighbors hadn’t realized she was dead yet.

I knocked on their door to let them know and help bury her. You think that you won’t need bags of large sizes. But you don’t know what kind of deceased animal you’ll find. And you should also prepare to help living animals too. But that’s for another post.

I used to bury ducklings and adult ducks in my last place of residence all the time. I mostly bury birds, lizards, roads and frogs now. And on rare occasions mice and rats. I even bury insects like dung beetles, ants, bees and wasps, or dragonflies. For most of those, a portable tool I carry does the trick.

I also carry waste bags for my dog. Recently have been carrying liquid soap. And a mask for the smell. Some of these bodies are freaking ripe. When you have found the proper spot, dig the hole up.

Bless it with some holy water or herbs if you have them. Or even holy oil. Whatever it is you carry with you. Pray over the open grave to begin the blessing. Put the body inside.

Cover it with holy item partially (don’t waste it all). And then bury it. And anoint the top portion of the grave with the holy substance you have chosen. Then pray for the soul to separate from the body and go to whatever God or Goddess they belong to. This will allow the soul to go to the next life.

And keep it the grave and soul safe. It also prevents evil spirits from defiling the corpse. They like doing that. It’s disgusting. It’s taken me a while to make this simple little ritual.

Now I have the gardening tool. And holy oil a Palestinian Christian gave me. It’s olive oil blessed by the Catholic Church. It’s called exorcised oil. The other reason you bless a grave is due to unethical practitioners of magic.

What you would call a black witch. By sanctifying the soul, body, and grave, you put a three fold banishing, binding, and seal against evil. The dark powers and those humans who traffic in them can’t use the poor animal. Or it’s body for black magic. Even if the body were dug up and defiled later, the ritual is permanent.

The soul can’t be harmed. And the animal’s body will be booby trapped against the person or spirit trying to use it. Poisoned against them. That’s why a body should always be buried in hollowed ground. This is very important.

For all animals, not just the human animals like us. Another important point that can’t be stated enough is this. You should also always carry the holy substance for yourself. When you do anything involving the dead, including prayers or rituals, you become tainted spiritually. Your body soaks up their energy.

Which makes you impure. But it also opens you up to other beings you don’t want around you. In Greek tradition, we cleanse even when working with spirit guides or Gods from the dead. Even the Heroes who are our versions of the Saints. Because they live in the underworld.

So immediately after doing all this. After cleaning up. Wash your hands and face in holy water. Or anoint yourself with holy oil. Or use the same herbs to cleanse yourself by rubbing yourself with it.

Especially before you get home.

Caring for Dead vegetation

Christianity and many other modern religions, still have not fully acknowledged the souls of animals or so called “inanimates”. I say so called because inanimate means “without a soul”. From Latin Animus or soul. So to be inanimate is to be devoid of a spirit or animating force. But animating forces are hard to define even in the natural world.

The idea that if you can’t move or talk, you have no soul or reductionist. Try using the same argument for a disabled human who also can do neither of those things. And watch the horrified looks on peoples faces. And rightfully so. But just as humans are not “without a soul” for not moving or talking, neither are the beings that can’t move or speak devoid of soul.

So the question now becomes : how does one cross over a dead tree or plant?

The answer is grounding.

Releasing a Vegetable or other immobile being

In Hinduism, we’re taught that our bones, and lower body are one gigantic chakra. This primal chakra is called Mūlādhāra. Which means “root of existence”. We are all the children of the Earth. That’s why we go back to the Earth upon death.

So we are all sort of like tree people, with spiritual roots that go deep in the earth. We’re connected to the earth all of the time. Without even realizing it, we drain excess or negative energy into it. And draw positive or healing energy from earth to sustain our lives.

And this connection can never be severed.

I could on and on about the tree of life. Or how this all works into our DNA. And a bunch of stuff that may sound new agey but is actually really old knowledge. With more modern vocabulary. But I won’t bore you.

Suffice it to say that we are more connected to nature than you might think. That connection is what will help you release a spirit of the wood.

Offerings and Grounding Ritual

Image from the article,
“*Grounding : Planting your feet on the ground*,” by **Conscious Reminder**

Before you do anything, you need to offer to the spirits. So you’ll need an offering. Usually clean water is okay. You pour it on the tree as an offering to the spirits. Asking them for their help.

If you infuse the water with good energy that’s even better. You feed them both spiritually and physically. Now you pray to whatever God or spirit you follow. And ask for their help. You’ll know when you’re ready.

” *Spirit of the Earth* ”
by Barbara Klimova

Close your eyes and imagine the Earth beneath your feet. And ask the Earth to re-absorb the soul of the dead tree. I usually see a light. And feel a weight leave the tree when the soul goes. And it drains back into the Earth.

To later be reborn as another tree. I finish with a final offering. This one is for the guardians of the tree. Every tree and plant has a spirit guide just like we do. I knew a healer some time back.

From the Appalachian mountains. He was a Yarb Doctor. A Christian (Protestant) healer that works with yarbs (plants). Whenever he took something from a tree, he burned a regular smoking tobacco. Then he offered the smoke to the spirits as a thank you.

Since the tree or vegetation is already dead, smoke won’t hurt it. I offer it to the nature spirits who were protecting that tree or plant. And bless them to either find a new home. I keep burning it until I feel or sense a change in the nature spirit’s demeanor. Once done, I bless the dead tree with olive oil or holy water.

To protect its body from being used by someone or something else for sinister purposes. Just like I protect the animal bodies. It also empowers the spirit of the tree to “speak through its corpse” or act magically. Sort of like a spirit speaking through its mummy. The dead tree can offer advice or help other spirits.

Even if it’s no longer confined to its shell.

I would also like to add that you can also add powdered sage. The Sage used for burning on charcoal. It’s cut up into pieces. You can offer this and any other herb as an offering to the spirits. In Greek tradition we use barley seasoning to purify our altars and shrines.

So that’s a perfect herb to use as an offering. Just remember to bless it. And state whatever your intention is for the herb. So that it knows what to do.

Caring for Immortal Spirits & Spirit Care in general

A depiction of cosmic spirits, it comes from a blog site called
butterflieswhispertodeath

Most people believe that only human spirits, or at least mortal spirits need help. Mortal spirits being the ghosts of creatures that once lived. Such as trees, humans, non human animals etc..But that isn’t true. Sometimes the immortal spirits need even more help. A lot of supposedly demonic hauntings are caused not by demons, but by angry spirits of nature.

I have known people who were constantly being attacked by dark spirits. But those spirits were not demons or ghosts. They were nature spirits. Who were in pain from the treatment of the land. One person I knew, was always being attacked with her neighbors.

Because the city took their land for development of their houses. And the local construction company had dumped huge slabs of cement into the wilds. The result was that these once sweet spirits, had become so violent that they were confused with demons. You see, most spirits have both light and dark in them. Except for a few spirits that are solely made up of one element or the other.

But when a good spirit is abused, it becomes abusive in turn. Such as when a sweet little puppy gets abused all of the time. Either that puppy will grow up to be scared of his own shadow. Or he’ll grow up to be a ferocious animal. The same can happen with spirits.

Abuse of a spirit can result in nasty poltergeist style hauntings. The feeling of constantly being watched. And in the pictures she showed me, you could see strange lights in the darkness. Some even resembled eyes. And they weren’t noticed until after the pictures were taken.

Now, she could have faked the pictures. I didn’t send them to an expert. Or attempt to debunk them. But I somehow doubt it. I have seen fake pictures.

Pictures so fake they would make you cringe. This looked a little too real. But more than the look was how it felt. It was nasty. And this incredible amount of anger behind those eyes.

Of hate. If looks could kill, these images would have been grenades. But i didn’t of jump to conclusions. Instead I asked my friends the Chaneques to go speak to them. In Aztec lore, Chaneques are Dwarves that guard desolate places.

*Chaneques: Mischievous Legendary Tricksters In Mexican Folklore* via Ancient Pages

They get a bad rap. People think of them almost as exclusively evil these days. But Chaneques, are made up of good, bad, and neutral beings. Mine are neutral good. I gave mine a home with me. So they live in my Faerie house now.

Inside an idol. They help me with really nasty paranormal cases. And this was one of those times. Because they are guardians of dangerous places in nature, they’re the perfect emissaries. They’re both warriors and masters of magic.

Don’t let their tiny sizes fool you. They can fuck you up bad. I had sent them to speak on my behalf with whoever was there. I had given them offerings in the name of the Aztec Gods. And asked them to go speak to the spirits on this woman’s land.

And to ask them please to stop their aggression. By sunset, they had told me everything about why they were angry. My client had backed up everything they said. And then told me about the discarded concrete slabs. I asked them through the Chaneques to please stop their assault on the people there.

That they had no idea these spirits even existed. Instead to work with the spirit guides of the humans living there. To get them to care for the wilderness. And to protect nature. I also asked the Chaneques to find the humans responsible for this mess.

And take them to the Gods. To be dealt with. The Gods would either punish them or let them know they had done wrong. By morning, she and her skeptic husband, both said everything felt better. They hadn’t realized how scared they were all of the time.

Until they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. I taught her rituals and offerings for them to be placated. And as far as I know, she’s been fine ever since. She never asked me for help with that again. This is just one example of caring for immortal beings.

Every being is different. So do divinations and ask questions. Find out what the best way is for caring for such a being. And be respectful,

Cheers,

– M

Adventures of A Mage In Miami

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