first sacred roots/herb

( pictured : Sweet Gum Tree Balls)

Passa - rattlesnake root ( for purification )

Miccoweanochaw - red root

Sowatchko (  - wild fennel ( for purification )

Eschalapootche - little tobacco


for more info check out my page on Mvskokvlke Medicinal Plants

Peeking From Under The Veil - The 5th World

Just coming back from the medicinelands and noticing that if you have not gotten out of bed yet then, TIME is running out for you to be on time to work. Feeling gratitude for ancestors and spirit guides in this moment. Medicine birds are singing and they are wanting us to hear them. Listen :)

KNOWING YOUR BLOOD IS YOUR ANCESTRAL POWER

- - Petition of William H. Gilpin / Fugitive Slave Petition Book - -

When I find delicious tibits of info like this I wish I had a button and I just send this directly to these folks' descendants. I don't care what kind of family you come from, if you know them or if you don't , without our ancestors and their guidance we really can't be doing justice to our lives. Genealogy isn't just about finding them, it's finding yourself as well. THIS IS WHERE ANCESTOR VENERATION MUST BEGIN. Get you a subscription to Ancestry or HeritageQuest or even go to GenWeb (free ), find somebody to help you do the work and HEAL your lineage. It is possible. Why you think the LDS Churchfolk doing it?

1860 Census, Cecil County, Maryland for Henry Hawkins b. 1830

1870 Census, Cecil County, Maryland for Jno. Henry Hawkins b. 1830

The Medicines : THEMES OF 2020

Photographed : Boneset ( Eupatorium perfoliatum ) Bitter, aromatic herb, used all over the South for influenza & Pneumonia. Boneset stimulate white blood cell action. Choctaw and Chickasaw relatives call it SOMETHING THAT SCARES SPIRITS AWAY )

If you didn't get the BIG messages of 2020 let me repeat it here for you :

• PLANT RELATIVES are medicine
• DANCE is medicine
• SONG is medicine
• WORDS are medicine
• NATURE is medicine
• the STARS are medicine
• WE are medicine OR poison to each other.
• YOU ARE THE MEDICINE

The New Earth is upon us and we must learn to live here together.

Food is Medicine

Slash Pine

Sisterkin Speak : Manifesting Goddess

You never know how and why you connect to folks til you get comfortable with the knowing that the universe is unpredictable yet precise. A homeschooling mama, wife & maker, Manifesting Goddess is an example of what black motherhood can look like when it is free from the constraints of society and culture. Touche my sister witch!
If you find yourself wandering around the Crescent City you need to visit her shop Under The Waning Moon on Belleville for the good company and the wares.

 Craft name: Manifesting Goddess

1. Where were you born?
Detroit, Michigan

2. Did you grow up in a religious setting? Or how does your family background affect your relationship to the craft?

I grew up Catholic – not that my family truly practiced the religion in our daily lives. But we went to church almost every Sunday. I stopped going to church when I was about 16yrs old. As far as I know, none of my immediate family works within the metaphysical realm. With that said, I also don’t experience any ill speech or alienation because of my work.

3. At what age did you start to feel pull to be informed of esoteric things? What was your response to that?

AS far back as I can remember, 4 or 5yrs old. I used to lay in the dark and whisper “I know you’re there. Let me help you! Just show me who you are. I know I can help you make it home.” I never “saw” anything but I truly think I would have been scared shitless. Lol. It came back to me around 4yrs ago. I asked for a sign on what to do with my girlfriend (now wife) and I had an out of body experience that night. It was so surreal.

4. What was the first book about Magic you ever read.

I actually have not read many books on magic. I used to have a bunch of spell books in my teenage years. I’ve recently started reading a book on healing & conjure in African heritage.
 
5. Did you ever play with a Ouija Board?

I have never used a Ouija board, although I would LOVE to.

6. Did you have friends/family that shared your interest?

Almost all of my friends are curious or have come to me for one service or another.

7. What's your favorite divination tool?

My labradorite pendulum.

8. What's your favorite magical accessory?

I have a necklace that holds my mothers 1st wedding ring (she is still living), a ruby ring given to me by my grandmother when I finally met her (I was 19yrs old – she has passed away), and a pendant w/a prayer on it gifted to me by my wife after my uncle was killed. Whenever I wear it I am deeply grounded and safe.

9. How did you learn your craft?

Intuition and lots of practice. If I had to describe what I practice I would call it Hoodoo. It is a combination of learned rituals along with my own discoveries in magic and direct intentions.

10. What is your advice to seekers of this path?

You are not crazy. Trust your intuition and first mind. Allow yourself to be open and guided.

11. What are you currently reading?

Conjure in African American Society by Jeffery E. Anderson

12. Which deities or goddess powers do you align with?

Eshu. He is an Orisha god. A messenger for the Orishas (between the other Orishas and between the Orishas and man). Kind of neutral in the realm good and bad.

13. If you could harness the power of one force of nature, what would it be? And why?

Earth. There is a beautiful power in the fluidity of the earth. Earth can be moved and altered by water but can crumble from beneath your feet at any moment. She is deep and tolerant.

Sisterkin Speak : Priestess Diamyn

Oh, me & this the sweetest of sweet, honey melon daughter of Ochun have so much in common, bloodline and all. We saw each other from afar and the vibes were instantaneous and mutual. It's my pleasure to share space ( even if just from the interwebs ) with this Queen. 
After you read the interview, go check out my sisterkin Priestess Diamyn and her new blog Bruja On A Budget

Craftname: Priestess Diamyñ

1. Where were you born?

I was born in Hawaiian Gardens, CA and raised in Long beach, CA.

2. Did you grow up in a religious setting? Or how does your family background affect your relationship to the craft? 

I grew up surrounded by alot of Catholic influences. My maternal grandmother was always worshipping the Santos. My paternal grandmother was also heavy into los Santos, she had an altar for Virgen de la Divina Providencia. With cups of water and flowers. The whole old school espiritismo.

3. At what age did you start to feel pull to be informed of esoteric things? What was your response to that?

From a very young age, like 5, I can remember me and some friends that lived on my block building a teepee made out of towels and sticks. In the teepee we created a club. I would collect rocks and sticks and we would pretend to make magic. Lol I was always more interested in nature, rocks and flowers than Barbie dolls. I knew I was supposed to be on this path. 

4. What was the first book about Magic you ever read.   

The first book I ever read was pretty recent in 2009 after I had my first son, it's called Sea El Santisimo by Mario Dos Ventos. I wanted to stay true to my roots and stick with espiritismo literature.
5. Did you ever play with a Ouija Board?

No, my maternal grandmother always told me to never play that. It wasn't created by us for us. If we wanted to connect with the dead we had our own ways and to stay true to it.

6. Did you have friends/family that shared your interest?

I had many family members who were practicing not too many friends though. So far all the witches besides family I've met are through the internet. It's hard to find a genuine Bruja of color. 

7. What's your favorite divination tool?
 

My favorite would be los cocos, it's a flat circle that we carve from a fresh coconut. Their only used for to consult with ones ancestors, or  Papa Legba, Eleguá  for example. Their used to make sure that their happy and that our offerings are accepted. Etc. I like the fact that we make them and they are not bought , it feels more connected. I received my first set from my padrinos. They are not used for clientele readings.

8. What's your favorite magical accessory?

 I love my selenite, and use anise alot when I work. Anise is one my favorite plants.

9. How did you learn your craft?

 As I grew older I just started acquiring more information. I started asking my grandmother to teach me her ways and asked about our family history. When I found out that my great grandmother was a curandera/shaman, and she passed on gifts to my maternal grandmother and aunts. It just inspired me to learn. Then I learned more In 2015 when I started practicing under my madrina and padrino of los sance. And I'm still learning. 

10. What is your advice to seekers of this path?

My advice would be to look within, start connecting to your roots whatever that is. Because I've found that if you have a inkling of itch for this path that you have a ancestor guiding you. You had someone in your family who practiced and is reaching out to you.  

11. What are you currently reading?

I'm actually creating my own book. Lol. I'm collecting all the knowledge I've obtained and making the ultimate book of shadows.  I plan on releasing it once finished. 

12. Which deities or goddess powers do you align with?

My paternal grandmother always said my color was yellow. I look best in yellow etc. I feel aligned with Mi Bella Yalorde ( Ochun )

13. If you could harness the power of one force of nature, what would it be? And why?

I would harness the power of the dark matter in the universe. Because it's infinite and so vast and has so many mysteries. I could probably build me a black hole. 

Sisterkin Speak : Mystical Mandrake Root

We gonna speak with my beloved sister circle and hear what they have to say about living life on the PATH. Join me here the first Wednesday of the month to talk the talk with my sister witches.
This blessed sisterkin I instantly vibed with and hope one day to meet up in New Orleans and have a serious ball. In the meantime, astral projection and dream jumping is what we talk about as of late.

Craftname: Mystical Mandrake Root

1. Where were you born? Bronx, NY

2. Did you grow up in a religious setting? Or how does your family background affect your relationship to the craft?  

Sort of. My family, as far as tracing my US lineage goes, comes from Louisiana (Creole) and a tiny town in GA called Lizzela. So the Georgia part of the family is very religious. I never really knew the Creole part due to my almost non-existent father. The household growing up was pretty free, my mom, being the eccentric being she was, went through phases of being a Baptist and not believing anything at all. Despite what side she was on at any given time she was always spiritual and aware. We also grew up in a haunted building and and apartment, so there you go! Growing up she would stir herbs in pots, I was teased alot as a kid and one of my earliest memories of her magic wash she wrote something on paper and told me to wear it, then to put this other thing in the girls locker. That girl never bothered me again! My mom was the first magic woman of my life, so at 14 when i became a Witch officially she was open and didn't question me. She even asked me to cleanse the house of bad spirits from my teens up until last year when she passed. She would call me and say, " come over, there is some weird thing in the living room...it's gotta go," I'm grateful I was in such an open environment, to the rest of my family I was weird, and as a brown skin girl dressed in black with a love for metal some even thought I needed saving. On top of that being a goth witch in the South Bronx projects! But it never mattered, my mom and siblings let me be me. I'm sure the Creole blood in my veins helped with my path as a witch :)

3. At what age did you start to feel pull to be informed of esoteric things? What was your response to that?

I was always aware, but everything became official in Jr High. I didn't resonate with anything around me, and I was definitely not Baptist. I was in the local library and walked around. As I passed one shelf this book fell over and I picked it up, it was about teen witches. I finished it in a day, I knew there was a name for what I was. I finally found the path, officially! Tarot reading, Astrology and Crystals came very soon after that. They were are natural to me, I know I'm just doing them again as I did in other lives. 

4. What was the first book about Magic you ever read.

I wish I could remember the name of that book!!!! I can tell you that I didn't read another Witch book until freshman year of college when my best friend gave me her much loved first magic book. I read that at least 20 times in college, that book has a very special place in my heart. The book is: Wiccan Mysteries by Raven Grimassi.

5. Did you ever play with a Ouija Board?

Yes...I wish I could say no, those should be kept boarded up! I did out of curiosity and shortly after had to use my magic skills to banish a troublesome spirit. So there, I never touched one again and never will.

6. Did you have friends/family that shared your interest?

I do, most of my friends are witches. My mom was a natural witch, like most of the woman in my family.

7. What's your favorite divination tool?

Athame :)

8. What's your favorite magical accessory?

My robe I made from this lovely lilac colored fabric.

9. How did you learn your craft?

Self taught from books, intuition and pulling up the knowledge from my past lives. I've also always been solitary despite having witch friends.

10. What is your advice to seekers of this path?

Yes, trust your gut, sharpen your intuition, build strong psychic protection, do your research and make your own way. Just because a book says to do a spell on a Tuesday at 9pm doesn't mean you have too. There are always options! Also, remember there is always free will.

11. What are you currently reading? 

Currently I'm obsessed with Spells, Ceremonies and Magic by Migene Gonzalez-Wippler. 

12. Which deities or goddess powers do you align with?

Many of them at different times in my life. My kindred spirits however are Kali, Bast, Erzulie, Pan and Aphrodite. I also have an intense ( and long lasting from lifetimes) connection to Papa Samedi, I'm still learning my way with him, and learning to see what he has to show me.

13. If you could harness the power of one force of nature, what would it be? And why?

Water. Have you seen what water can do???? Yes, that's why. :) 

Street Magic

de Los Muertos

gratitude

thanks to everyone who came to the workshop! what a wonderful experience . we are looking forward to doing a ritual workshop soon!

an old deck

is a good deck.

Our Workshops in Lisjan Ohlone Territory

Dream Juju: Making your dreams work 

By creating talisman individuals can empower themselves with the tools manifest goals and dreams. 

Participants will learn the art of making juju,gris-gris or talisman for specific use. Mojo, gris-gris & juju are all terms that identify a type of magic that is created for a specific intent whether it be to attract love, wealth or protection our way. Most are created by using herbs,roots,minerals and zoological artifacts. From ritual to gathering materials, by the workshop's end each person will have made a dream juju. Each participant will receive a list of items to bring to the workshop upon registration.

Check out -

TIX

for further info

time

McDonald Educational Chart

almost done

street magic

the sea is calling

my latest obsession : cup of destiny

juju in the new year

if I owe you juju for the new year, please pardon the wait. should have some up and ready by the end of the month.

thanks, the D

All for one and rhum for all

 "Bottles of Barbancourt are routinely incorporated into the Mange loa, or "feeding the gods," the most frequently performed ritual in vodou. Food and drink offerings are placed on an altar, to nourish and fortify these divine spirits, the vodouin equivalent of saints. The Mange loa is performed to allow a devotee to make contact with a particular loa. Each of these beings has favorite foods and totems, but all are partial to Barbancourt, which is poured three times on the ground for the loa's delectation. "

courtesy of Cornelia (nakedauthors blog) "Well I've Never Been to Haiti, But I Kinda Like the Voodoo"

Please take time out of you holiday season to toast to the Lwa. Ogun, Baron Samedi, Maman Brigitte, Ezili Freda, whoever. What would you like to happen in the new year?

the southland

                     outside marietta, georgia.

Them

On this start of a new year, I salute my ancestors and kinfolk. All those farmers,washerwomen,teachers,preachers,medicine men, sailors, doctors, nurse, midwives, cooks, laborers, hunters & soldiers paved the way for us. They made me.

Ezili Danto - Seven stabs

As a new mother, I pay tribute to Vodoun Petwo Lwa, Eruzilie Dantor the Protector of Mothers and Children.

Bad Mout*

*bad mout = a form of spell or curse, bad mouth

People wonder WHY we have this thing called "Black English" without realizing that Africa is a continent with many countries and more than 2,000 languages spoken ( Nigeria alone has over 250 dialects spoken). Bring eight to ten groups of slaves from different parts to this country, set them up on plantations, house them all together and imagine what kind of communication skills get developed.
Let's be serious here, black people learned english from white people so... [please insert inference here] White people from specifically England,Scotland,Ireland. Some of them spoke fancy... most did not, i reckon. [here too]
They didn't come to the New World speaking the language, we know THAT.
The gullah language is a good example of a mixture of tongues. Black folk just creative like that. We took the g's off ing words, omitted apostrophies and had no use for the verb IS cause there is no such verb ( i.e. no equivalent ) in most African languages. What you get is a pidgin spoken, just like in the Caribbean, Central and South America and Hawaii.

I think it's ingenious.

YOU TUBE it:

Origins of Africa-American English

Uprooted - A documentary of the Gullah Geechee culture of the Carolina Sea Islands

Hush arbors ... sound like stomp grounds to me

                                                                           photo credit: Luis Modesti

Not many folks know about the Hush Arbors of back in the day. There was once a hush arbor that my family used back in the day here near Blue Hole Springs in Marianna, Florida as well as Pine Arbor Town. So much of the information about these kinds of gatherings are attached to revival movements and country churches ( i.e serpent handlers ) when you search the internet but, it is important to look deeper into the picture. I know for a fact that, these places of worship were very, very closely linked to the busk or green corn dance, one of the two major ceremonies of (Mvskoke) Creek people. We forget the ties that Native and African people formed in the South and the busk is a obvious example of how the Creeks infused African aspects into the fold. It is well documented that many Africans ( African-born and New World-born ) were a part of these ceremonies/celebrations and the presence of the medicine bundle in Mvskoke ritual is absolutely African. That cannot be denied. It is even stated that after the Second Seminole War, this non-Creek feature in the busk originated in Florida.
( check out: The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol 56, No. 3, Jan 1978 )


Even the IDEA of a (Tvla) town associated with a medicine bundle (collection of magical objects associated with a medicine man) READ, juju,mojo,gris-gris is so African it should stop being overlooked. (in the eyes of historians) I'm tired of this things being misrepresented to the greater public. In a world where Christianity and Islam take people indoors, it is much needed that my folk get back to the forest, get back to nature. We are too removed from that energy.  

"...slaves would steal away into the woods and congregate in what they called hush arbors or brush arbors, which were sanctuaries constructed of tree branches or in secluded cabins.... "  William E. Montgomery

Varieties of African American religious experience by Anthony B. Pinn

once upon a time

once upon a time, a very long time
monkey chew tobacco
and spit white lime...
                old bahamian sayin'



calypso, mami wata, lasirene, aycayia, yemaya, what ever dey call she... be first in the hearts and minds of all that sail the seas. at time, she rough and hard and other time, she smooth and soft. she known for love and revenge. keep she close by and want for no more. you safe that way.