A "Spiritual Lifestyle"

After 13 years, my husband got his license restored yesterday! We have worked on this since 2006, finally hiring a lawyer after we were denied in 2008. After two long years of work, working and praying to Ogun and Ochossi, Saint Jude and Anthony, we finally got it!

I made an oil especially for Ochossi with little john root, angelica, anise, calamus root, hyssop, nutmeg, and vervain. Their vigil candles have been lit for months it seems, being cleansed with water as sea salt when they finally burned away, then refilled with blue (Ochossi) and green (Ogun) wax. Over the past several months, Orisha money was offered, along with pineapple for Ogun and pears for Ochossi, rum, whiskey, cigars, stones, new tools, iron nails for Ogun's pot-all anointed with their special oils.

Elegua had a part too-he is a brother too of course. I created a small Elegua head and fed him candy and left offerings of toys as well...well my kids offered the toys-small dolls and trains;)

I also created an Abre Camino (road opener) rub under Ogun's advice to help win over our hearing officer. It consists of a fine whiskey and hydrosol mix in which 9 high john roots soaked for 38 days. This was used as an offering and hand and body rub to bring Ogun's presence along with us to cut our paths clear and lead us to success.

I am writing of this to use as an example.

Sometimes, rarely, people contact me a week after buying an item and complain that it has not worked.

And this is what I tell them. Say you set a goal for yourself (as you do with magick) to lose 15 pounds. After the first week you had only lost 2. Would you complain? Maybe, we all complain about weight, but my point is it is not reasonable to think you will reach a goal in a week, especially involving your entire life and maybe the life of someone close to you. Magick and spiritual practices are a LIFESTYLE not quick fixes or miracles in bottles. Make a goal, then work towards it, everyday, in every way for as long as it takes. Magick is about change. You may even find that along the way, all that work you are putting in, just isn't worth it-then you find what you truly want in your life and who is worth all that work. You find what you truly need not just what you thought you wanted. Spiritual practices can reveal so much to us other than getting us something we want. In fact, if you approach your spirituality with that mind set-you ain't gonna get a damned thing. Our practice teaches us to give, to serve without gain, to develop a ritual, to be self sufficient and self reliant, to love people and spirits-all of life in general. If you are not getting these things out of you practice you need to reassess what you are doing and why you are doing it.

Sometimes goals take years and years to achieve. Sometimes, 13 years;) So, did the magick help at all or was it just all the hard work and time you put in? Depends, again, how you look at it. If you work on something spiritually for several years, I guarantee you are stronger and closer in your relationships with your spirits, ancestors, and deities. I guarantee you have learned a lot along the way about yourself and about making some magick. I guarantee you have touched others and they have touched you while sharing your trials and learning new magick to combat these trials. So, isn't the over-all goal to improve yourself, your divine connection, your knowledge, your relationships, your spirituality? That IS what it's all about bebe, trust me;)

Sors Istennok; "The Destiny Goddesses"

Working with the fates is not about working with yet another deity, it is about honoring the biggest power of all- the cosmos, the universe. For me, magick is all about tempting the Fates into smiling upon you which blesses you with fortune. It is about accepting the cosmos' ebb and flow around you, seeing their is meaning in everything and that we are connected to everything-everything is magick. They teach us we must give to receive, we must be compassionate to be understood, and must see ourselves in others. Honor them and they will bestow fortune and grace upon you.

A prayer to Sors Istennok-
O holy and most praiseworthy ones, Faith, Hope and Charity, and wise mother Sophia of these glorious daughters: to you do we now hasten in heartfelt prayer, for what better representation can we have than faith, hope and charity, the three cornerstone virtues, which, bearing their names, ye embodied in fact. We entreat you to shield us, save us and keep us in every sorrow and trouble, because you are good and loveth humankind. We pray that your Mother Sophia's glory, like a sun that never setteth, be with us in our humble prayers; may the Godhead forgive our sins (mistakes) and iniquities (transgressions), and have mercy on us who are forgetful of our Being-ness. Pray indeed for us, ye holy daughters, also unto our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of Man, and the Holy Bride Magdalene, to whom we practice to be present with, together with his Father and Mother, the All-holy, and Good, and Life-creating Sophia, who are from the Everlasting. We join our energy and our consciousness to the Everlasting the combined Godhead, merging with their presence now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

A prayer to Goddess Sophia/Isis/Inanna;
Praise you, Mother Sophia;
Praise you, Great Goddess –

Hail to you Aset, Holy Virgin, Mother of God;
You who birth souls to the Infinite and Eternal,
Whose grace is the Light of the Day of Be-With-Us!

Yea though I walk in the day of your mourning,
Yet with your Forethought I behold your joy,
And with your Afterthought I gaze into your heart –
The perfection of Light and Love, Life and Liberty!

Placing lotus blossoms upon your alter, and making offerings of incense and lights;
Envisioning the offering of everything good, in the heavens and on earth,
I worship in your Light-presence and call forth your Light-power,
Send the Opener of the Way before me,
Let the Spiritual Sun shine from within me:
O Mother, give birth to your Holy Child –
Empower me to go forth in the Divine Light!

There is Light and there is Fire, and your Great Spirit passing through;
One Aeon dissolves and another arises, but all is in you as in a Holy Womb –
You, the Portal of All-Worlds; You the Life of All-Worlds: You giving birth!

I pray, Holy Mother, that you might part your veil, that I might see you in all your forms,
And perchance glimpse into the In-between to behold your True Essence;
Such is my prayer, such my inmost heart's desire,
To know you and to love you,
To be at-one with you!

Ave Sophia!

Sacred Egyptian Kyphi-week 3

Today, the golden currants which had been soaked in spiced red wine, cardamom pods, juniper berries, and cinnamon sticks were combined with their dry ingredients to form the traditional pellets of the kyphi. This is a labor of love and the most tedious part, up until now it's just a lot of waiting till the currants are just right.

The dry ingredients consists of calamus root, galangal root, spikenard root, rose petals, and juniper berries. The powdered part consists of cardamom, cinnamon, orris root, benzoin, frankincense, myrrh, coriander, gum mastic, and yellow sandalwood. Isis, Inanna, and Ma'at were invoked to bless this incense and the homes it is offered in. The currants are mixed with honey (orange blossom in this case) the course dry mixture is added, then the powdered. The pellets are formed by hand and then rolled in the powdered mixture again. These will dry over several days and will then be ready to sell at www.ConjuredCardea.etsy.com! Pictured were taken previous to the final powder bath.

The Magick of Hedge Apples (Osage Oranges)

I have been intrigued by these since I was child. My mother and I would frequently go for rides in the car in the country, it was beautiful and cheap entertainment;) We used to drive down a hilly road that had an Osage tree hanging over it. In the fall, we would stop and pick up a basket full to decorate the house with. My mother taught me that not only were they good for keeping pests out of your home but also good for keeping other nasty things away, like tricky spirits. We would set them in bowls or pin a ribbon to them, like a pomander, and suspend them around the home, particularly from the trees and by windows. They have been used in homes for centuries to keep cockroaches, boxelder bugs, spiders, and crickets away and, perhaps, other pests as well;)

Very little is known, magickally about this strange fruit, but I love finding them and having their protective energy around. They are becoming increasingly rare due to the invention of barbed wire. It was once widely planted for it's long thorns-trimmed into a hedge, this created an impenetrable fence to contain livestock.

Osage oranges possess masculine energy and are associated with the elements of Spirit, Earth, and Fire. Named after the Osage tribe of the Great Plains region who used it's very hard, rot-resistant, non-shrinking wood for their bows. It is highly desirable and suitable for magickal tools as well. These fruits are famous for their associations with astral travel, and it's ability to attract spirit guides and animal guides. The fruit also aids with achieving goals and expressing passions, bringing your true purpose and abilities to light.

the beginning of my kyphi (kapet) process...

The favorite scent of Egyptians was Kyphi. On a daily basis, the ritualized burning of incense in ancient Egypt consisted of frankincense in the morning, myrrh during the day, and Kapet (Kyphi from the Greek translation) in the evening.

According to Egyptologists, Kyphi played an important role as a sacred fragrance in many ceremonies. It was also believed Kyphi could revive the dead and was placed in tombs of kings to enjoy in the afterlife. It was highly prized, had many expensive ingredients, and required a lengthy and specialized process to create it.

This is the beginning of the process, the way it was passed down to me. I don't know if I'll document the entire process, as it is sacred to my family. I have begun by using golden currents,

a spiced red wine, cardamom, both ground and whole, cinnamon, both ground and whole, and juniper berries. 11 other ingredients will be added along the process which takes 30 days. Many recipes claim you can create this overnight...you can't. I highly enjoy this process, it is meditative and strengthens my connection to me deities. I hope you enjoy the process and the finished sacred incense that will be available for purchase at my shop www.ConjuredCardea.etsy.com

10-10-10 Coven Oya Ritual

Pokeweed, one of my favorite autumn plants

Also known as pokeberry, cancer-root, inkberry, american nightshade, false nightshade,crowberry, poke root, polk root, virginia poke, cocan, coakum.

Pokeweed is edible and medicinal, when cooked. It has a long history of use by Native Americans as a medicine for colds, a dye for leather, and used as a food source. The young shoots are boiled in two changes of water and taste similar to asparagus, berries are cooked and the resulting liquid used to color canned fruits and vegetables. The root is alterative, anodyne, antiinflammatory, cathartic, expectorant, hypnotic, narcotic and purgative. It is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, tonsillitis, mumps, glandular fever and other complaints involving swollen glands, chronic catarrh, bronchitis and diseases related to a compromised immune system it has potential as an HIV treatment drug.

Magickally, pokeweed is a masculine plant, it's element is fire, and planet is mars or mercury. It is an intense protection and hex-breaking herb. It also promotes courage and strength, and development of self and enhances magick. It even has a reputation for aiding creating hexes as well. With it's defensive qualities, it will protect and defend you while you create your working.It's berries have long been used as an ink and make a wonderful magickal ink for writing in special books or inscribing sacred items and tools.

I became enthralled with this plant when I began my 7 years of work on Hood's flower farm. It grew along the flower fields and thought it's contrasting pink stems, green leaves, and deep purple berries were beautiful. I also felt attracted to it magickally and spiritually, maybe because I'm a fire or because I'm always attracted to the toxic plants;) This native herb is one of my allies and I have gained so much from it's protection and magick. I now grow it in my garden, eve though here, it is a common nuisance weed. Make a tincture with this herb and asperge your home with it to protect it from negativity. You can do this by filling a jar with the leaves and pouring vodka over it, letting it set for a few weeks, shaking it daily. You can also dry the leaves and add them to charm bags, mojos or sprinkle around the perimeter of your property. The root takes a while to dry as it is very fleshy, you can speed this by putting it in the oven at 150 degrees for a couple of hours. It makes a very potent protection talisman.

I often cut it just to put in vases, then dry the parts after. Don't place a vase of this on a light colored, or good table cloth, the berries WILL drop and stain:/

This herb is toxic and the berries will stain.