Happy Valentine's Day And Q&A - February 14, 2016

So today is Valentine's Day, the day celebrating romantic love. I always loved this holiday. As a kid I would marvel and look at awe at all the pretty foil heart and lace decorations as well as the vintage cupid ones. I really enjoyed the sweets. Chocolate is always great for today but let's not overlook all the fantastic cookies and cupcakes! lol (I'm not supposed to have any after my surgery but I'm hoping that my reader get their fill for me!)

I also found out that I have a secret admirer. I received a box in the mail yesterday with no name or return address. Inside was pretty red and pink tissue paper with red, pink and white heart confetti covering a heart-shaped box of chocolates, some Valentine's peeps candy, and a bag of organic chocolate peanut butter cups. It made my day. So, secret admirer, whoever you are, thank you! I had one of each and gave the rest away to friends and family. I guess my secret admirer wasn't aware of my surgery but it's the thought that counts and it was truly a nice gift. 

Now, on to Q&A.

Q: 

"Can you make a straight man gay?"

A:

No. However, you can seduce and have sex with a straight man. If you play your cards right you can have a sexual relationship with that man that may last for some time.

Q: (Same person) 

"If you can get a straight man to have sex with you then why can't you turn him gay?

A:

You can get a straight man to have sex with you because there is no such thing as 100% straight or 100% gay. Sexuality is a spectrum. The majority of people fall somewhere in the "bi" category, even if they are just bi-curious. And that's whether or not they decide to act on it. You see, a lot of men find certain, key word certain, other men attractive. They may chose not to act on their attraction and may think that by denying their attraction or choosing not to act on it that this means they remain straight. However, as long as that attraction is there then you can seduce them. I don't know about women, but for men, I've read that about 40% of men admit in anonymous sexuality surveys that they've experimented with other guys, usually as teens or in college. Most of these men will go on to identify as straight. Many of them who enjoyed their same-sex experimentation may continue to do so. Then there are those who are curious and who never experimented in the past but still have that desire to. All you need to do is be able to identify the body language of attraction. If you can sense that this straight man is attracted to you then he probably is. Where there's attraction there's the potential for sexual expression. Since conjure work can and is used to bring about sexual expression between folks, then it can be used in this situation. The current trend among young people is label themselves as "mostly straight" or "mostly gay". I actually met a young man not too long ago that identified as "mostly gay". He said he usually prefers men but every now and then will meet a woman that he falls hard for. So go figure. 

Q:

"I need your help with this situation. If a woman curses an evil woman and then that woman curses her back and then later dies, can the curse be removed? The woman knows the evil woman cursed her because her spirit came to her in a dream."

A: 

The traditional belief is that once a person who did the curse/jinx/crossing/hex/magical attack, whatever, is dead then either the curse can't be removed or it is extremely difficult to remove. I've encountered such scenarios with clients in the past. It's a very difficult, time-consuming and power-draining situation that usually required multiple efforts made and can be quite costly. In fact, most people who are involved in such situations really don't want to pay what is required to have it removed. They don't understand the seriousness of the situation and think that paying $30 for a candle will solve the matter or even worse, think that they have the power to take care of it themselves. Unfortunately, most of these people spend the rest of their lives being cursed. 

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Saying Goodbye to 2015 And Welcoming The New Year!

Well, my friends and readers, here we are, at the end of 2015. I don't know about you but this year has been frantic for me. I've been hit with change after change after change. Most of the ride has been wonderful. Some of it has been negative but on the whole this has been a great year. I'm almost unrecognizable in both physical appearance and mentality, as claimed by my friends and family. I've lost a great deal of weight, have furthered my career (day job), and have met many great new friends and interesting people. I feel 2015 has been blessed for me. I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store!

As we head into the new year we should all strive to identify and remove the "dead" aspects of our lives, be they mental states and attitudes, to even actual relationships and people. Every tree and rosebush needs a good pruning so that new growth can take place. We all need to be healthy and we all deserve happiness. This form of pruning is vital for our well being. While we are at it, if you only do a spiritual cleansing one time a year, then this is the time to do it. Also the time to cleanse the home as well.

New Years is a time filled with great many superstitions and omens with regard to learning or knowing of how the year will progress. The first and foremost rule of New Years that I practice is of taking a true holiday. This means no work at home. If you toil at daily chores on New Years Day then it's believed you will be breaking your back with chores the rest of the year. So take a break and vegetate the whole day. Binge watch some t.v. if you need to. If you aren't doing work at home on New Years Day then you don't have to worry about the other superstitions, such as no sweeping lest you sweep your luck away. Do avoid using scissors, knives and sharp objects lest you cut or sever your luck. Do open the windows and doors to let out the old year and let in the new. Do make noise at midnight to frighten away the devil and do make sure you get your New Year's Eve kiss so that you are ensured love throughout the new year. Finally, make sure to eat your black eyed peas on New Year's Day for luck!

Before I go, I will leave you with the following story. I was at a store and a white haired man and a younger 30 something woman were in the check out line in front of me. The two began to talk about superstitions. The man mentioned that he grew up with his grandmother and that she made him and his sibling thoroughly clean the house between after Christmas and before New Year's Day. He said she would say that if the home was thoroughly cleaned between those dates then the house would be protected from witchcraft in the coming year. I thought that was neat to over hear.

WISHING MY FRIENDS AND READERS A WONDERFUL, JOYOUS AND BLESSED NEW YEARS! HAPPY 2016 EVERYBODY!


P.S. In 4 more years we will be in the 20's again. Let's cross our fingers that it will be just as "roaring" as it was last century! I would love for flappers to make a come-back!

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Mistletoe

Mistletoe is one of the classic plants we use to decorate our homes during Christmastime. It's also one of the oldest and perhaps the most "pagan" of the lot. In fact, mistletoe is considered "too pagan" so it is either not allowed in Churches or it must be blessed before being allowed inside.

Mistletoe was sacred to both the Celts and the Germanic peoples. The Celts would gather it in complicated rituals that involved a specific moon phase and the use of pure white bulls, Druid priests dressed in white cloth, a golden sickle, and a white cloth used to catch the mistletoe before it hit the ground. After it was gathered the white bulls would be sacrificed to the gods. The Celts believed that mistletoe had the power to heal all diseases and could ward off evil.

The Germanic peoples likewise believed that Mistletoe was sacred. The plant was used to kill their god of light, Balder. According to myth, Balder had dream omens that indicated he would soon die. He went to his mother, Frigga, the Queen of the Gods, and told her about his dreams. As all good mothers do, Frigga went nuts out of fear of losing her soon. So she traveled the earth and asked every single thing in existence to swear an oath that it would not harm her son. Every rock, tree, every grain of sand, every creature, and everything in existence, swore that they would do nothing to harm Balder and thus upset Frigga, whose name means "beloved". Unfortunately, an exhausted Frigga forgot to ask one single thing, the little mistletoe, to swear the oath. She assumed it was harmless. Thus, it was used to kill her son. The Germanic people believed the white berries of the mistletoe were the tears of Frigga, who constantly mourns the death of her son and will never forgive herself for failing to ask the little mistletoe plant to swear the oath. Mistletoe was viewed as the plant of peace and it was said that if two warriors met under a tree bearing mistletoe that they were forbidden to fight and must declare peace.

The modern notion of "kissing underneath the mistletoe" likely stems from the belief that the plant could increase fertility in both man and beast. It's been said that the white, sticky berries of the parasitic plant resemble semen and so this function or belief thereof, is quite understandable. The fact that mistletoe is an evergreen, retaining it's green coloring all year round only furthered the belief in the magical abilities of this odd plant.

Additionally, mistletoe was hung in doorways to repel witches and witchcraft and to protect against lightning. Mistletoe was also an ingredient in various love potions and remedies to restore fertility and especially, the male nature. The most powerful mistletoe is that which is found to be growing on oak trees. This belief likely arose because mistletoe growing on oak trees is a rare occurrence. Mistletoe can grow on oak trees but the thick bark is often too difficult for the mistletoe to penetrate. However, recently I did stumble upon a downed oak tree while out for a nature walk. The poor tree fell during our last ice storm some weeks prior. I went up to investigate the tree and to my surprise I saw tiny mistletoe leaves sprouting from the crooks of branches. These were baby plants and mistletoe takes a long time to mature. In fact, the bough that is shown in the picture above is perhaps 5 years old, if not older. One shouldn't feel bad about harvesting mistletoe despite this. In my state, mistletoe is everywhere. In fact, and believe it or not, mistletoe is the state flower of Oklahoma.

It all started during pioneer times. A young bride of only a year or so died during mid-Winter. Without having any flowers to decorate her grave, her poor husband climbed a nearby tree and plucked as many mistletoe as he could carry and used them instead. From that time onward, Oklahoma has honored the couple by viewing mistletoe as a flower.

If you would like to incorporate mistletoe into your conjure work now is the right time to gather it. In Winter, when the trees have dropped their leaves, mistletoe becomes more identifiable. Leave an offering for the plant and then harvest a bough, preferably one containing white berries. (Mistletoe has two distinct sexes so only the female plants will bear berries.) Decorate the bough with red ribbon and perhaps some jingle bells, which are also used to ward off evil, and then hang above your doorway to protect your home from evil and lightning.

A simple healing rite can be done by placing some mistletoe in a glass of water and then praying over the glass so that your breath falls upon the water. Make the sign of the cross three times and then drink the entire glass of water. Be careful not to consume the mistletoe or it's berries as it is considered toxic. The healing power of mistletoe is currently being explored. It's already said to be effective when used to treat lung cancer.

If you want to explore the love and fertility aspects of the plant, simply grind up some mistletoe and add it to your love powders. A very old recipe for a love powder that allegedly dates from medieval times includes mistletoe, elecampane and verbena or vervain, which have been powdered. This mixture, in olden times, would have been sprinkled in the food or drink of the person one wished to make love one. However, due to the toxic nature of mistletoe is perhaps best to use such powder in the tradition conjure way, in various rites, included in mojo bags, to dress candles, etc. Whole mistletoe can also be added to mojo bags and bottles used in works directly.

Don't have mistletoe growing in your area? If you live in North America, preferable the U.S., then get a hold of a bough of mistletoe that contains berries. You can then "plant" the berries on a local tree. Simply squeeze the berries until the seed pops out. It will be covered in a mucous-like, sticky goo. Next, cram this into a crook of a tree. If the bark is too thick you can use a knife to make a slight wound that penetrates the bark and then cram the seed into the wound. The wound will heal and if you are lucky within a few months you should notice the first stages of growth. One can sometimes find European mistletoe for sale here in the states. It's important that you don't attempt this method with this plant and vice verse, don't attempt to grow North American mistletoe in Europe. Let's try to stop invasive species. The good news is that most growers know this and purposefully remove all berries from their plants for sale so that they can not grow and become a problem. Growers will often put fake berries on their mistletoe for sale to try to compensate for such loss.

If you do decide to hang a bough of mistletoe in your home for protection then it should be removed and replaced each year.

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Day Of The Dead Festival

So today I had the pleasure of attending our local Day of the Dead (Dia des Muertos) festival. It was fantastic. I was blown away. I really didn't know what to expect and for some reason I didn't think there would be as many people as there actually was. The place was packed!

The event was held in the Plaza district, one of two great arts districts in Oklahoma City. There were small booths set up all down the district. The participating businesses all had offrendas (altars for the dead). There was also a main community offrenda where anyone could go and set a light for their dead loved one. There was also a booth set up that sold marigolds, the traditional flower offered to the dead. It's believed the pungent smell is a beacon to the dead.

Mexican Folk Dancers

There were traditional Mexican folk dancers, a parade/procession, various assorted activities for children, and traditional Mexican food. It was a wonderful experience. I will definitely be attending every year. If you are in the OKC area this time next year then do check it out.

My friend setting a light for a loved one who has passed

Marigolds for the dead

A beautiful offrenda

Santa Muerte?

Christopher Lee offrenda. Notice the bread of the dead.

Offrenda for Leonard Nimoy

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Happy Indigenous People Day!

Monday, October 12, is Indigenous Peoples' Day, a.k.a. Native American Day. This is an alternative holiday that is celebrated as a substitute to Columbus Day. (Columbus didn't discover anything. The notion that a white, European man can come to a new continent where millions of people live and be promoted as it's discoverer is quite offensive. This is in addition to the horrors that Columbus unleashed upon the native population.)

Native American Day is a day for us to be reminded of the struggles of Native Americans as well as to reflect upon their proud heritage and achievements.

Several cities have already replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People Day. If you live in an area where Columbus Day is still celebrated or at least acknowledged, do your part to show support for Native Americans by informing people about the alternative holiday. If you are currently employed and will be off of work at this time, please consider asking your employer to use Indigenous People Day instead of Columbus Day in any official communications.




On a related note, if you work with various Native American spirits, Monday would be an ideal day to honor them with special attention and reflection.

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