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. :) 

*New* Postpartum Bath Salts

Instead of buying any postpartum remedies i found myself looking at time and time again during my pregnancy, I opted to ( even with a great batttle with fatigue the last month ) make some for myself. After this was decided, it was just natural that I make batches for my pregnant sisterfriends at the time. I was the ONLY baby shower gift I could muster up in my condition. All of the ingredients used are recommended for a speedy-soothing-harmless recovery from vaginal and cesearean births. Which, by the way, they don't tell you is long,bloody,painful and sometimes just unbearable. I can't submerge myself in water until after six weeks.... i'm dying to take a bath. these showers just don't cut it.

Look for these soon in our ETSY shop.

Feeding History

The birth of a child, especially that one which is auspicious, brings to the vessel a set of cosmic responsibilities to manage and maintain. I am living a different life these days. Many things I used to be able to do freely now take a back seat to caring for this new life. Yet, I have been able to create a couple little things for friends in my spare ( 5 mins ) time. Some sisterfriends of mine who were all due within weeks of me received postpartum baths that i had a chance to make JUST before the birth of my own child. I was so happy that i got a chance to make them as i thought i was not going to be making much of anything anytime soon.  but, as nature would have it, the act of creating is not limited to handiwork. i am amazed at the depth in which my ancestral connections come to play. i was trying to get my bub asleep, walking around the house and such. i looked down and he was wide awake, not what you wanna see at 2:30 am in morning, so i started to tell him a story. now, i was searching in my brain something cool to tell him or a funny story about how we used to go hang with our cousins and play in the orange groves behind their house but somehow i couldn't form it correctly for this moment. then, i started to just talk.
"their were these two cousins. cousins are like really close friends or blood relatives or other relations. these two cousins were playing in the forest jumping over and around fallen trees and rocks and leaves."  it started. basically these two were hanging out by the river fishing and eating when they spotted a bird on the other side. it was blabbering and doin things crows do. it was warning them of a storm coming and that they had better high tail it back home before they got caught in it. when they arrive home all their relatives were hold-up in the house for the storm. everyone was proud that they listened to their crow cousin.
this story came out of my mind and unfolded as i spoke. i find it amazing and wonder where exactly it came from. i never recalled reading or having this story read or told to me. i need to find out if there is similar one out there. i look forward to telling my son many more of these nighttime dreams.  

Sacred Wayz & Means Workhop Series

Sacred Wayz & Means is an on-going workshop series that honors,supports,values and creates a "Space for Sistahs!". 
                                        Join us tomorrow night, March 15th, 2010 for :

Sacred Woman - Dippin in Luv                                   A journey thru love, magic, media and more!

hoodoo supermarket

there's nothing like spending a day shopping for supplies. i used to spend
countless hours with my dad going to the hardware stores and junk
yards at home in florida on saturdays. man, i loved that ! at
present i cannot go into either without a purchase or an oogle of some contraption or thing i can't possibly fit in my apartment! outside of goin to the woods or herb shop, these are my favorite places to shop for accessories for hoodoo.

A Basic Everyday Jack

from "Negro Myths" ( Boston, Houghton,Mifflin & Co. , 1888, p. 125 ) Col. C.C. Jones

Dream Juju

So my friend asked me to make her juju so that she'd be able to have nightmares/dreams again. Yes, I know some people frown on having nightmares..we don't. She's been having a problem with this since a long ago break-up with a guy we refer to as " he-who-must-not-be-named". What I made her was a bedside candle altar with a metal dreamcatcher fitted to the cap. It is to be placed in a corner, lit before going to bed with the hopes that the dreams will find her.

Here's the prototype:

 Materials : Coffee, Lichen, Paper Lantern, Skull beads, Abalone

The final product: Her dream juju I named Basheva. It was named for a 21st Century Yiddish writer, Issac Bashevis Singer who believed that demons are merely mysterious creations by God, neither good nor evil.

 

Materials : Coffee, Lichen, Recycled Seedling Pot ( for votive), Skull beads, Opihi Shell Necklace,

 

The Ancient Art of Reading Coffee Cups

Your Fortune In A Cup: By Sahar Huneidi

 excerpt from Fortune In A Cup :

 Coffee Readings are psychic readings done by using a cup of coffee as though it's a crystal ball. Ground Turkish coffee is mostly used when cup readings are done. The residue is left at the bottom of the cup after the coffee is drunk, when the cup is then covered with a saucer, shaken, and turned over (up side down) into the saucer, and left to dry.

The patterns formed on the inside of the cup trigger psychic insight; and are interpreted according to what they mean to the seer. Once you allow the information to flow intuitively, and with little training you can soon be well on your way to reading your own cup. There are others who read filter coffee, and instant coffee too - much like crystal ball, or water cup scrying. (In fact, you can pretty much read anything- cloud formation, carpet patterns, or rabbit bones- as they do in Africa).

It is important to mention here, for the reading to be meaningful, or indeed accurate; you are to sip or drink the coffee while relaxing, sort of in a contemplative mode. My experience showed me that the intention or the emotional and mental condition of the drinker affects how, and what symbols the coffee grains shape- your vibes at the time.

If a coffee cup that is drunk in a hurry, without the intention of having it read, or while not in a relaxed state, it can't be read. The grains do not appear to form any meaningful patterns- merely chaotic brown dots or mud in a cup! This is probably true for any form of divination, if you focus or intention is not present, the medium used will not provide a useful insight into the future.

Interpreting Coffee Symbols

Rings: A deal completed, a proposal, and engagement.

Circles with a dot inside: Desire for children will be fulfilled.

Fire Works: Quarrels, unpleasant personal problems.

Squares: New home.

Lines: Journey, a project. If lines are clear, they will go smoothly.

Candle: A wish fulfilled, help from above. Fulfil your promise.

Mounted horseman: A new man, good news, engagement.

Cat:   Moody person (white is good, black, be weary).

Cross: Victory over an ordeal.

Ladder: Social advancement, promotion, change.

Open window: Lucky Break.

Fire: Careful of electrical wiring.

Peacock: Splendour, luxury, something you will be proud of.

Butterfly: Flirting.

Fish: Money- specific sum- depending on size of fish!

Bird: Good piece of news.

Rat: Robbery, theft. (If there is a dot inside, stolen item will be returned.)

VERY INTERESTING.