Lucky Buddha Bottle with Lucky Louisiana Green Rice

Lucky Buddha is an actual deity in Chinese and Japanese folklore. In Chinese, he is referred to as Budai or "Laughing Buddha" and in Japanese he is called "Hotei." His name means "Cloth Sack" which refers to the sack of belongings he usually carries. He is typically depicted as poor but content and always happy and smiling. This Lucky Buddha is holding up a bowl filled with gold.

According to Chinese lore, Budai was an eccentric monk known for his good will and character. He is admired for his happiness, plentitude, wisdom and contentment. As these are characters humans strive for, his presence in the form of a picture, figure, charm, amulet or bottle keeps these qualities close, ever reminding us that attitude and perception are often the only things standing in the way of our ultimate success. It is popularly believed that rubbing his stomach will bring wealth, luck and prosperity.

In Japanese lore, Hotei exists as one of the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichi Fukujin) of Taoism. 

I love being a spiritual artist because it makes me happy among other things. This is one of my hand painted with 18 carat gold paint Lucky Buddha Bottles filled with hand crafted Louisiana Lucky Green rice with shredded money. The cork is peyote stitched with a lucky Chinese coin and tiny Swarovski crystal. Open them up and they smell like Algiers Fast Luck formula (which is a blend of wintergreen, cinnamon, vanilla and patchouli - yes it is a unique but very pleasant fragrance). I love these bottles and have so much fun making them...it was Mitchell Tibbs who introduced me to the Lucky Buddha beer and since I don't drink I was happy to discover it is very cheap beer, lol so I can go buy a case at a time and paint away. I've painted them in red and lavender, but I am partial to lavender. Keep one on your prosperity altar, with your money, or anywhere you want to be reminded that wealth and abundance can be yours!

To Punish a Book Thief

I'm not sure which situation is the best indicator of having "arrived" in the world of books, but I do know which one I don't appreciate, and that is the pirate.

My books have been pirated so many times, that I once calcuated on one site alone that if I had one dollar for each download of the Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook I would be a millionaire, and that was 5 years ago. Oh how different life could be without the pirate; but alas, they don't care about authors and starving artists.

There are two kinds of pirates. One is the small-minded book thief who feels that if it is on the internet, it should be free. Period. Never mind the months or years it may have taken for the author to write the book, WITHOUT PAY. And, contrary to what some of these folks believe, even after publishing we don't see a payday until any advances are paid back and then hope we sell enough books to get somewhat of a paycheck.

Then, there is the calculated, evil book thief who sets themselves up for a payday on our hard work. They upload the books to torrent sites or other pay-to-download sites where an individual can purchase the download, illegally, for much less than if purchased legitimately. And where does the money go? To the torrent site and the scum bag who uploaded it there.

One might wonder the thought process of pirates who steal the work of witches, warlocks and hoodoos. Clearly they do not believe and stealing our work is not only stealing from our livelihood, it is a mockery of our work and for many of us, a mockery of our belief systems. Ok, that's cool, you don't have to believe. Just call me Honey Badger, because I really don't care if you believe or not.

But I do care that pirates are getting paid from my hard work. And in the world of hoodoo, payback is a bitch.

So, I decided to have a little fun at the expense of the first pirate I discovered completely accidentally, when going to upload a promotional video for the book on You Tube. I mean, the book hadn't even been out 2 weeks and this guys got a promo video for it with a download link.

Xiaolu Guo, it's time to play, New Orleans style!

You have so thoughtfully left me a tail of taglocks to use, so thank you for that, I truly appreciate it. For those of you who may not know, a taglock is a term used in image magick for a personal effect that links to the person to whom it belongs. Taglocks can be physical things like hair or fingernails, signatures or photographs, or simply names. In your case Xiaolu, I have your name (whether or not it is your real name doesn't matter - you have "signed" your name digitally to your YouTube account and in the world of magick, that counts), you have linked to your blog where you are offering countless authors' books for illegal download, so I can use your website header image as another taglock, AND you have provided a link to that wretched torrent site who is also on my Voudou hit list. Download Genius has been enabling pirates for years and its time they get in the hoodoo payback game too.

It's the Voodoo Doll Spellbook in action y'all! Are we having fun yet?

Stay tuned as I take a break to go create my pirate voodoo doll using image magick concepts to link Xiaolu Guo's soul to a conjure doll...I'll be back with photos and the details and my plan for revenge on behalf of all book authors who are victims of pirates across the globe.

Laissez les bone temps rouler! 

Bottle Spell to Get Rid of a Troubling Neighbor or Ex-Lover

To Get Rid of a Troubling Neighbor or Ex-Lover

   

If you have broken up with your ex but they just won’t let you go, if they keep calling you even when to tell them to stop, if they harass you or are stalking you, then try this doll spell to get rid of them. This spells can be adapted to get rid of anyone who is meddlin' in your affairs that you want to go away. For this spell you will need:

• A wide mouth jar
• A black doll baby that can fit inside the jar.
• Personal effect of your ex
• Brown paper bag
• Dragon’s blood ink
• Black pin
• Photo
• Black Witch’s salt
• Red pepper
• Graveyard dirt
• Lost and Away Powder

Attach a personal effect from your ex to the doll with a black pin. Write down their name and date of birth on a piece of brown paper bag with Dragon’s Blood ink and attach it to the doll as well. If you have a photo of this person, attach it to the doll. Stick the doll into the jar and add some black Witch’s salt, red pepper, graveyard dirt, and add some Lost and Away powder. Seal the jar shut and throw into a running river. If it is carried away from you, you can expect the person to leave you alone within 9 days. If it sinks to the bottom or is carried towards you, then you must repeat the spell, this time burning a black candle on top of the jar for 9 days. You should inscribe the person’s name on the candle and roll the candle with Lost and Away powder before burning. After burning the candle for nine days, take it to the river again and throw it in. If you still do not have any luck getting rid of the person and the person is stalking or otherwise harassing you, take out a restraining order and repeat the spell during a waning moon.

Formula for Lost and Away Powder

• Dirt from a Graveyard
• Mistletoe
• Powdered sulfur
• Powdered Orris
• Sage

Grind the dried herbs with a mortar and pestle until a fine powder. Then mix with the graveyard dirt and powdered sulphur.

Excerpt from the Voodoo Doll Spellbook: A Compendium of Ancient and Contemporary Spells and Rituals by Denise Alvarado

Find a selection of powerful and unique Bottle Spells and Container Spells at Creole Moon.

Marie Laveaux Bottle Spell

ANNIE CHRISTMAS: A New Orleans Voudou Loa, Daughter of the Mississippi and Defender of Victims of Bullies

 

Illustrators: Leo and Diane Dillon

She emits a foreboding energy to those standing in her presence who have done wrong, and a feeling of safety and security to those for whom she has come to assist. She's a daughter of the Mississippi Delta, born in the city of New Orleans, stronger than any man and a hero to every woman.

It is said she walks with a swagger, displaying a confident knowing of who she is and where she's going. But, she walks without the arrogance of haters and bullies because she is one with righteousness. And no one doubts that every ass she woops is more than justified.

Annie Christmas is a spirit who has not gotten the kind of attention she deserves; yet, I am quite certain she could be of assistance to many people in a day and age where bullies are rampant both online and offline. So if you have not heard of this incredible woman who has been elevated to the status of loa in the New Orleans Voudou pantheon, allow me to introduce you.

Annie Christmas is the epitome of woman power, often referred to as a female Ogun because of her traits. Though she is not an Ogun, she is another of the unique Spirits of New Orleans Voudou with roots in the folklore of the city. She walks alongside Joe Fer (Iron Joe) in the New Orleans Voudou pantheon.

One of the original characters in African American folklore, Annie Christmas is said to have been a woman who worked the docks along the Mississippi River doing many activities typically saved for men during her time. Defying the norms of both a male-dominated workplace and society, Annie Christmas became a well-respected keelboat captain. A keelboat is a shallow riverboat that is poled or pulled along the river. Poling a keelboat is a job that requires a tremendous amount of strength as the boats typically carry people and heavy supplies such as bales of cotton and other items. But, Annie Christmas was a woman with superhuman power. She was stronger than any man and feared no one. She was completely self-reliant and could protect herself and others better than any man could. She was reportedly six feet eight inches tall, and weighed 250 pounds. It is said she dressed in men's clothing typical of the day while at work on the docks, but in the evenings she wore a red silk dress and wore a hat adorned with with turkey feathers. She also wore her hair in an updo into which she would stick peacock feathers. Like Marie Laveaux, she could get away with not wearing the law enforced tignon required by all women of color and if she did wear one, it was because she wanted to and not because some racist society told her she had to.

She was dark as midnight, with beautiful ebony skin and eyes sparkling with Spirit, effectively representing the Motherland. She had the reputation of being an annihilator of bullies; just let her hear or see a man act a bully and he never acted or spoke that way again. She would not only call out the bullies and haters, she would beat them down and make them sorry they ever thought ill about anyone.

Annie Christmas defied social mores by rejecting the usual plaçage arrangement popular during early nineteenth century New Orleans. Wealthy White and Creole men arranged common law households with women of color. These women were not legally recognized as wives but were known as placées, the word deriving from placer meaning "to place with." Plaçage relationships were recognized among the free people of color as left-handed marriages or mariages de la main gauche. A placee could be a girl 15 years old or even younger, placed in a "suitable" relationship after making a social debut in a very elegant ball (Miller, 2013). There were numerous financial and economic benefits from plaçage arrangements, including freedom for enslaved family members. Annie Christmas, however, rejected such an arrangement, viewing it as another male-dominated, racist social institution. Instead, she ran away to the frontier of the Mississippi River.

Annie was a three-barrel flatboat unloader. She could walk a gangplank with a barrel of flour under each arm and one on her head. Once in a fit of impatience she towed a keelboat all the way from New Orleans to Natchez, making her feat the origin of the saying in the river towns, "As strong as Annie Christmas."

Her necklace is a story in and of itself. It is said that Annie had a pearl necklace which she wore to parties. Every bead in it represented a man whose ass she whooped, an eye she'd gouged out in a fight, or an ear or a nose she had chewed off. When she died, the necklace was thirty feet long-a true momento-and it could have been longer, only some of the fights were so easy Annie didn't feel it was honorable to record them.

Annie was never married but had twelve children, all of them boys. Annie was a mean fighter and could hold her own with any man. She was known to have kicked many a bully's ass on the river. Her reputation was punctuated by the red turkey feather she wore in her hat that signified her status as a champion fighter. She even scared off the big, strong patronizing Mike Fink from the docks of the lower Mississippi. She told him in no uncertain terms that if he were to return, she would tie him to the bottom of a keel boat and send him on down the river. In fact, this is how that story went down:

Back when our country was still young, there was a woman named Annie Christmas. Annie lived in the city of New Orleans beside the Mississippi River. People say that Annie was as strong as an ox. She was at least seven feet tall. When she yelled, the ground started shaking. But she did not yell very often. No one dared to bother her, so she didn’t have much to yell about.

Annie Christmas had a boat on the Mississippi, and she worked harder than any ten men. She loaded things onto the boat and took them where they needed to go. Then she’d come back for another load. Night and day she worked, and she hardly ever stopped.

One day, a man named Mike Fink came to town. When he saw Annie Christmas, she was picking up a bale of hay to load onto the boat. Now Mike was a big strong man, but he was not very smart. He looked at Annie and laughed. “Why, Miss,” he said, “you should be home making socks and not trying to do a man’s work.” Well, the whole city went quiet, waiting to see what Annie would do.

Annie stood up slowly and looked at Mike Fink. “Mister,” she said quietly, “you seem to have a lot to say about who should do what and where.” Then she lifted that bale of hay over her head. Everyone thought she would throw it at Mike Fink, but she didn’t. She threw it into the river so hard that it caused a tidal wave ten feet high. That tidal wave picked up Mike Fink and carried him all the way to Natchez, more than 150 miles away. Annie went back to her work, and Mike Fink was never seen in New Orleans again.


Sources

Miller, B. (2013) Big River's Daughter. Holiday House.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pla%C3%A7age

Annie Christmas New Orleans Voudou Protection Ouanga Fetish

 

This New Orleans Voodoo Protection Wanga Fetish is made on the point of Annie Christmas to eliminate bullies and haters and to increase and enhance protection, defense, steadfastness, strength and productivity in your life. It combines the magickal powers of colors, herbs, stones, essential oils, and other magickal items such as a buffalo nickel for plowing over enemies and a chicken foot. It has a fabulous aroma, sporting one of my very own signature conjure oil formulas. For more information, visit my store.

Marie Laveaux's Pink Tomb: Vandalism or Devotion?

New Orleans is known as the most haunted city in America, and the body of lore attributed to Marie Laveaux contributes greatly to this reputation. It is said she takes pleasure in haunting those who disrespect her. Sometimes, she simply wants to make her presence known and reinforce the notion that her reign as Voodoo Queen of New Orleans did not die when her physical body passed through the veil. There are frequent sightings of her all around New Orleans taking the form of both human and animals. One legend, for example, tells of a Marie Laveaux who never died, but simply shapeshifted into a large black crow that can still be seen flying over the cemetery (Guiley, 2000).

However, one of the most intriguing pieces of folklore surrounding Marie Laveaux is that of the magickal properties ascribed to her final resting place. Her tomb in St. Louis Cemetery #1, one of three Roman Catholic cemeteries in New Orleans, has become a pilgrimage site for Voodooists and others interested in paying homage to the infamous Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. 

Earlier this month, the Voodoo Queen's tomb was painted a bright pink. Most of the chatter surrounding the event reflects shock and dismay. People are used to white graves, and aside from the multitudes of Xs drawn on her tomb, the only color the tomb has been painted is white. But is pink such a bad color?

While most people I have spoken to have expressed a dislike for the color and disappointment with the apparent vandalism, not everyone shares this point of view. Oskar "Doc Mojo" Yetzirah is among the first to state he rather liked the color, as it reminds him of the colorful tombs in some of the Mexican Catholic cemeteries. And, in fact, he raises some good points. According to Yetzirah: "What is the color pink in conjure work? Pink is associated with friendship, honor, love, morality, affection, spiritual awakening, unselfishness, leadership, femininity, togetherness, unity and healing. Now, this is just to name a few. I am sure you all have items you’d like to add to the grocery list. In the barrio traditions, pink is used to generate great affection. This is why you will see many tombs of grandmothers and mothers painted pink in the valley cemeteries."

Before...Photo courtesy of Jules Moon, https://www.facebook.com/luna.jewel1

After...Photo courtesy of Dorothy Morrison

What do you think? Read more at the New Orleans Voodoo Examiner.

Find an article in Hoodoo & Conjure: New Orleans all about the Wishing Tomb of Marie Laveaux.

Three Lucky Charms and a Formula for Lady Luck Conjure Oil

Searching for Luck

When I began compiling a list of charms for good luck for an ebook for Creole Moon's Conjure Club, I came across some real doozies. Some of the lucky charms are really old practices and beliefs, and I have no explanation for why they are considered good luck. But they are interesting nonetheless. I have listed three lucky charms and a formula for Lady Luck conjure oil below for you enjoyment. 

Lucky Fava Bean

Here’s an interesting lucky charm to help a friend get good luck for a particular circumstance. Walk around the person three times in a sunwise direction, then give him or her a fava bean on which you have inscribed the number 7. Tell them to make their wish on the fava bean and keep it with them until their wish is answered. Once it is answered, the person should pass it on to someone else in need of good luck by performing the same action - walking around the person in need of good luck and then passing on the fava bean. In that way, it keeps the positive energy flowing with a domino effect. 

Lucky Beef Tongue

It is lucky to carry the tip of a dried beef tongue in your mojo bag. It is said to keep folks from talking smack about you. 

Horseshoe Talisman

To make a good luck horseshoe talisman, take 9 pods of garlic, 9 sprigs of thyme and 9 sprigs of parsley and place in a small brown paper bag and wrap around the bag 9 times with red string, then tie the packet to the horseshoe and hang it over your door (adapted from Hyatt, 1978 Vol. 2).

Formula for Lady Luck Conjure Oil

The formula for Lady Luck conjure oil is as follows: Irish moss, cloves, cinnamon, orange and a lodestone in a base of almond oil. Use to anoint candles, ritual tools, your wallet, purse, anywhere you keep money, playing cards, dice and anything connected to playing games of chance; pour a few drops in your palms and rub your hands briskly together before gambling to sway luck in your favor.


Find a selection of lucky charms and talismans at Medicines and Curios.

Road Opener Conjure Clay Formula for Doll Babies

If you are partial to doll baby conjure, you may find this one interesting. One of the Conjure Club titles is Magickal Conjure Doll Clay Formulas, which is a book with all sorts of recipes for making doll babies out of a variety of magickal clays. The cool thing about this is you can mix up a batch of basic clay and store it to be fixed at a later date, so you can always have some on hand. Here is one for Road Opener Clay.

First, you will need a basic conjure clay. To the basic recipe you add the magickal ingredients. The book has 10 different recipes that you can make as a base clay including clay from sawdust, earthen based clay made from scratch, Pow wow plasters, flour based and more. Here is a basic conjure clay made from cornstarch.

BASIC CONJURE CLAY (WITH BAKING SODA)

Ingredients

• 2 cups baking soda

• 1 cup cornstarch

• 1.5 cups cold water (makes about 2 pounds – the recipe can be halved)

The combination of baking soda and cornstarch make a smooth, pliable conjure clay to which additions can be easily added. It can be easily colored with food coloring or left natural and painted once it hardens.

Place ingredients in a pan and stir until smooth. Set the pan over a medium heat and stir until boiling. Stir out any lumps and cook until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Turn out onto a plate and cover with a damp, well wrung kitchen towel - let cool. Dust a work surface with cornstarch and knead until pliable. Once it is a nice smooth consistency, you can add your herbs and other magickal additions. When you have formed your doll, leave it to air dry, turning every 12 hours or so. Be sure to store your unused clay in an airtight container.

Now that you have your basic conjure clay, we can move on to making it magickal.

ROAD OPENER CLAY

For making doll babies for opening roads, removing obstacles, and clearing the way for new

opportunities to come into your life, add the following ingredients to the basic conjure clay mix:

• 1 Tsp powdered basil

• 1 Tsp powdered Abre camino

• Oil of camphor

• Road Opener Oil

Gradually add the powdered herbs and add the oils a drop at a time when forming the doll baby. After your creation is shaped, bake in a 250 degree oven for several hours to harden. For best results, make

your road opener conjure clay during a full or waxing moon.

Say the one of the following Road Opener Psalms or a heartfelt prayer of your own while forming your doll baby:

ROAD OPENER PSALMS

Any of the following psalms can work with road opener spells but one may be more fitting than the other for your particular issue so be sure to read them all (I'm not writing out all the psalms as they can easily be looked up with a simple Google search).

16, 21, 23, 25, 119 

For more formulas like this one, check out the 39 page eBook, Magickal Conjure Doll Clay Formulas. In addition to the basic conjure clays, there are directions for making natural dyes for coloring the clays, Crossroads Clay for Decision-Making, Ancestral clay, Sugar Daddy Conjure Clay, Goofer Dust clay and more!

$7.00

To join creole Moon's Conjure Club, check out the details here.



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Article and photographs are copyright 2013 Denise Alvarado, all rights reserved worldwide.

Taking a Spiritual Bath: Step-by-Step

There are many ways to take a spiritual bath. How one is taken depends largely upon the purpose of the bath. Some are taken on certain days of the week during certain moon phases or time of day. While these specifics make for amplifying the bath’s effects, any of the baths in this book can be taken at any time if an urgent need arises.

There are two methods for taking spiritual baths. One is full immersion and the other is pouring the prepared bath over one’s head while standing. Regardless of the method used, the results are the same.

Here are some basic guidelines for taking a spiritual bath – follow these guidelines if there are no specifics given.

1. To prepare an herbal bath, place herbs into a pot of boiling water and let them steep for three to nine minutes. Strain out the herbs and add the liquid tea to your bath.

2. Baths for drawing things to you such as love, success, luck and healing, work well when taken at or before dawn. Wake up before dawn and draw your water. Fill the tub with warm water and wash your body in an upward direction. If possible and you are so inclined, you can take baths for drawing things during a waxing or full moon.

3. For uncrossing baths or getting rid of negative energies and conditions like anger or anxiety, take your bath at sunset and wash your body in a downward motion. Pour the water over your head 9 times so that the water runs down your body while you are standing. If possible and you are so inclined, you can take baths for removing negative energies and conditions during a waning moon.

4. Always bless the water before getting into the tub. You can do this through prayer or invocation of the spirits, saints, and orishas of the healing waters in a manner that is meaningful to you.  Alternately, you can use a more general type of blessing. See the water blessings in the next section for examples.

5. Spend at least fifteen minutes soaking in the healing water for a ritual bath. You may meditate, visualize a resolution of your problem, pray, sing, sit or lay in silence. Do whatever feels comforting to you unless otherwise specified for a particular condition.

6. Save all or a portion of the bathwater for proper disposal. Some common ways of disposing bathwater include tossing it towards the east during sunrise or leaving it at a crossroads.

7. Always clean your tub with saltwater afterwards. Sea salt is best, though regular salt will also do, so long as you have prayed over it. Also, be sure to clean any objects used in the tub with saltwater.

8. As part of preparing your ritual bath, you may light your favorite incense and light a candle in a fitting color to make the experience especially comforting, effective, and enjoyable.

9. Always take a soap bath prior to or after a spiritual bath. Never use soap, oils, or anything else while taking a spiritual bath unless it is specified.

10. Never stay in a spiritual bath longer than thirty minutes.

11. For optimal effect, spiritual baths are taken an odd number of days, from 1 to 13.

12. Allow your body to air dry to achieve the full effect.

13. Always dress in fresh, clean clothes and sleep on clean (preferably white) sheets after taking a spiritual bath.

*Excerpted from Crossroads Mama' 105 Spiritual Baths for Every Occasion by Denise Alvarado and Madrina Angelique, Copyright 2012 Denise Alvarado and Madrina Angelique, all rights reserved worldwide.

Lightning Struck Wood

Lightning struck wood is a powerful curio within Hoodoo and Native American traditions. It is typically hard to come by, but I am fortunate in that we live in the High Desert. When the monsoons come, the lightening is abundant and you can see it strike the trees at the top of the mountains. We have ready access to the trees that are lightning struck, and go and harvest some of the wood and offer it for sale at Creole Moon.Lightning struck wood can be added to any magick work to increase its power. It is particularly good for commanding spells, sex spells, and spells of destruction, which draw on its fire energy to destroy. Fire also has a dual nature to transform; hence, its ability to be used in positive works as well.

The temperature of lightning is around 30,000 degrees C or six times as hot as the surface of the Sun. It is believed that sap is one reason trees are common targets for lightening because sap is a better conductor of electricity than air. When lightning strikes a tree, the energy is discharged through the tree turning the sap into steam, which causes the bark to split apart.

Trees that are struck by lightning are not always burned and do not always catch on fire. When harvesting lightning struck wood, we do tend to try to get some of the wood that has been charred.

Our lightning struck wood is from juniper, cedar, and pine trees. We climb up the Granite Mountains -  which is among our locations - over the top and to the other side where we know trees that have been struck by lightning await. We then make an offering to the tree and the Thunder Beings in the Native way, gives thanks, harvest some of the wood, load up our backpacks and make the journey back over the mountain and down to the bottom. It takes several hours to accomplish, but it is well worth it, and our customers know when they order lightning struck wood that they are getting the real thing that is harvested according to appropriate ritual protocol.

These are the mountains we climb to get out lightning struck wood. It is on the other side where it is harvested.

Part of the way up looking down. 

Getting near the top.

Here is my son, ahead of me, of course.

And on the other side where the trees are located.

Different cultures have different beliefs about trees that have been struck by lightning. According to Navajo beliefs, for example, it is not wise to burn lightning struck wood as a source of wood burning fuel as it can cause illness and bad luck. Lightening struck wood is considered the property of the Spirit of Lightning and so it is avoided.

In Chinese folklore, a special divination system called lingqijing uses lightning struck wood as the material from which to make the divinatory objects. The word lingqijing consists of three characters – ling means 'magic' or 'spirit' or 'supernatural', while jing is simply 'book' or 'classic'. Traditionally, the disks are made from wood taken from a tree that has been struck by lightning, and prepared over a 60-day cycle in a rather involved ritualistic process, with the characters being inscribed with a cutting tool and then filled with red pigment. Lightning-struck wood would indeed be ideal, since lightning is powerfully yang and wood is powerfully yin, and in Chinese mysticism lightning-struck wood is regarded as good for expelling ghosts and malevolent spirits (2003-2006-2011, Yijing Dao).

To consult the Lingqijing you need 12 flat wooden disks. Four are inscribed with the Chinese character shang, meaning nothing more complicated than 'above', four with zhong, 'middle', and four with xia, 'below'. The backs are left plain. You throw the 12 disks to the ground all at once and arrange the fallen disks into a trigraph of three rows, according to their inscribed positions, of which there are 125 possible combinations. (The term 'trigraph' was brought into usage by Ralph D Sawyer, to avoid confusion with the three-line figures associated with the Yijing, the 'trigrams'.)

In Southern Hoodoo, wood from a tree that had been struck by lightning can be used in uncrossings. Find a white oak that has been struck by lightning and get 9 splinters. Follow the person suspected of laying the trick and put one splinter in each of nine of their tracks. Wish, or pray, that if this person does indeed mean to do harm the trick will turn back on them.

Lightning struck wood can be added to mojo bags and gris gris, and it can also provide a serious boost to candle magick. There are two ways it can be used with candles. One way is to take splinters of it and stick it into the candle wax, each splinter representing a specific magickal point in the candle burning. The second way is to grind some of it down to a powder to dress the candles by sprinkling the tops of glass encased candles or rolling altar and offertory candles in the powder.

Lightning struck wood can also be used to enhance sexual nature, particularly with men when combined with 2 High John the Conqueror roots and a pair of lodestones in a mojo bag.

Creole Moon's lightning struck wood comes in two sizes: a small 2x3 bag for $9.95 and a large 4x6 bag for $19.95.  I haven't gotten the curio section of the site completed yet, so if you are interested in purchasing some, email me at orders(at)creolemoon.com or leave a message on the comment section below. And as always, there is free shipping, every day at Creole Moon!

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Reference

http://www.biroco.com/yijing/lingqijing.htm

Article and photos are copyright 2013 Denise Alvarado, all rights reserved worldwide. Do not copy without asking me first.

Crossroads University: Welcome to Our New Blog!

Crossroads University: Welcome to Our New Blog!: It's long overdue, this we realize. But better late than never, or so the saying goes. Welcome to our new blog! Crossroads Univ...