Questions You’ve Asked Me, July 2018 Edition

Hey there, Occulties,

It's everyone's favorite kind of article (well, several of you claim so, anyhow, ha ha,) – questions you've asked me. As always with any QYAM article, I might be repeating an old question (my blog is almost 15 years old,) and these questions have often been asked by MULTIPLE READERS, so please do not assume I am singling you out if you see a question here that seems similar to anything you've asked me in the entire time you've known me. 😉 If the question is truly unique, I do ask if you mind if I present it here, so…99 times out of 100, I've heard the question frequently, and I'm not tying to put you on the spot. 😉

Q: What are the risks of not keeping my altar clean (magically/not-magically,), and how do I clean this area? 

A: I like to compare the altar to a space where you might be preparing food upon the surface…while you are not always risking bacterial infection (or not greatly risking it,) by not cleaning this area, it would quickly become apparent that the tastes of all the kinds of food you are making are not going to blend well after awhile. This is similar to spellwork. Keeping the area clean ensures that the vibrations of previous spellwork do not attach to what you are currently working on the altar. Take it from someone who has intranquil spirited herself before (yep,) and money cursed herself before (yep,) because of not diligently cleaning off her personal altar (which, I might add, I have not done for many, many, many years, thanks to learning my lesson the hard way,) between castings – you aren't just saving yourself the time and stress of fixing your mistakes, you're also saving money by not needing to work to fix the mistakes that happen when you cast a money spell for yourself after using that altar for a curse (or any other combination that causes problems.)

If you can afford the space (or even just making altar tops to place on a table,) you can actually work SIMILAR workings on the same altar with great results. I have told the story of my "evil altar" before which became so intensely strong that I could drop someone's name on a slip of paper into this altar (it was created out of an old sheetcake tin of all things which had spent 2 weeks being a small kitten's litterbox while she waited for her new home, ha,) and they would begin to experience symptoms of cursing, albeit not nearly as strongly as if I put a curse on them using this altar. This is because I allowed the curse energy to continuously build without cleaning the altar out. I can think of a few cases where 24-36 hours passed before the target had their whole life falling apart. 

BUT, most people are not going to have multiple altars – it just isn't so likely if you are the most common type of practitioner of magic, which is the casual practitioner. Do not despair – just be sure to spray down and clean any tools or surfaces you are reusing. Generally speaking, if you're feeling cheap (as several of you likely are, ha ha,) you can make your own "magical cleaner" by getting a strong ammonia based cleaner, pouring some into a spray bottle (while you can use the bottle you bought it in, it actually works better if you have a specific bottle just for the cleaner and for this use,) then holding both hands on the bottle, envision it filling with white energy and say a prayer or chant asking to have this purify your surfaces and items of all magical energy, (I like to use the 23rd Psalm after saying "I purify this liquid and call into it holy energy that it may cleanse my tools and my surfaces of all residue or undesirable energies. Let all surfaces this fluid touch become pure and free from stain, amen.")

Now, if you prefer a pre-made product, I suggest ordering Spiritual Cleansing Spray from Dara over at Hoodooroots.com – it's great, it's already made for you  by an experienced rootworker who makes everything in small batches so it's ready to be used immediately. 🙂

Q: What, in your opinion, is the most common cause of break up spell failure? Are some people just meant to be or something and it doesn't hit them?

A: Honestly, even if they were "meant to be" (which we all know I think strong compatibility is rare, but I don't really buy into relationships being of some divine mandate, like "soul mates,") I don't think that's the likely cause of spell failure. 

Keep in mind the following, as it is something many of you have probably seen at least once before – have you ever noticed that the dysfunctional couple that keeps fighting and having horrible fallouts and sometimes even cheating on each other seem to never permanently separate? I mean, from the outside looking in that relationship looks terrible…and it probably is. Now think about a couple you knew (assuming they are now apart,) where they never fought, and both were very nice and thoughtful of the other, and then they hit one little speedbump and everything fell apart. Like, someone came home an hour late, or didn't reply to a text, or they even had one little argument and POOF, everything fell apart. 

I'm no psychiatrist but I think I can explain what is going on and why that happens. If people are always arguing with each other, or if they are used to having a dysfunctional relationship, then using break up spells (which, depending on the trigger to cause the break up, might merely make the relationship more dysfunctional,) isn't nearly as effective as both sides are accustomed to their relationship being a horrible mess. So, if your crazy neighbors are having a violent altercation upstairs and you decide to end that madness once and for all by using a break up spells, you're probably only going to hear more fussing and fighting and things being broken, because making people who fight all of the time anyhow just fight more…doesn't help. :P 

Or perhaps you want your friend's cheating nasty partner to stop dating your friend – who is hearbroken any time he or she discovers another affair. Since magic takes the path of least resistance, the cheat will probably cheat, break your friend's heart AGAIN…and they will work it out.

Why? Because it's NORMAL to them. 

On the other hand, let's look at perfectly perfect couple…they are so unaccustomed to any sort of difficulty or fighting, any sort of indecency, that the smallest little problem seems like a horror. This actually is one of the reasons that formative relationships are relatively easy to break up. If these 2 haven't even farted around each other yet, imagine what happens when they both become easily irritated and fussy…because (most) dysfunctional relationships don't start out with a lot of fussing and fighting, but descend into that madness gradually.

So, as weird as it may sound, it is actually, generally speaking, far easier to break up a "happy couple," when using the most common forms of break up magic (causing arguments, anger, etc, especially, but coldness and detachment as well.)

Still, the education doesn't stop there. Keep in mind the nature of your targets. If you have someone who is wishy washy and avoids confrontation to the nth degree, and he or she is paired with someone who is holding onto a relationship for dear life (this tends to happen especially with people in their late 30's and in their 40's who have decided they will never find love again if they lose this person,) that is going to be a helluva hard struggle, magically speaking. As annoyed and cornered as the wishy washy person gets, they do not want to feel the wrath of the needy clingy person, and often avoid fighting or breaking up. Meanwhile, the clingy person gets frightened when they see their behaviors pushing ol' wishy-washy non-confronter away enough to notice, and they remedy their behaviors (even for a short time.) Even coldness and detachment (rather than a bitterness or anger,) don't work well here. Wishy washy still avoids confrontation, and "clingy" is probably convinced that nothing else is ever coming his or her way, and will merely stay, despite losing interest. This might not work "forever," for them, but it can be very irritating to a petitioner who has waited for a couple to break up.

Of course the most common reason break up spells fail are the petitioner who has lust for results. If you have someone you're working for (or if you are that someone,) and they have a death grip on finding out all about "news" about the rival and the beloved…they will get in their own way. They won't let the spells work. Hell, if they hired a hit man, they'd probably hit the hitman for not shooting fast enough, thus making him or her miss the hit on the rival. It is what it is. ;) 

But I've traveled off my original point. Break up spells rarely (if ever) fail because a couple is just meant to be. I'm really glad that people ask this question (because if you really love someone, you should want them to be happy, even if it isn't with you, and sometimes it's better to let your ex go and let them be with someone else,) BUT generally the case has more to do with how the couple interacts (the more dysfunctional they are, generally the harder it is to bust them up in my experience,) and the nature of each party of the couple. Someone who is "Stubborn," is going to be a lot easier to compel them to break up with someone, in most cases. It's a wholly different personality type that is difficult to remove. 

Q: I want my results faster, and I don't care if they won't necessarily be as lasting!!! How do I do this?

A: You can try adding "fast luck" formula to whatever spell you are using (Fast Luck Oil, for example.) That aside, allow me to share an observation…because I hear/read this a lot and it bears repeating, – you do want a lasting result in 49 out of 50 times I hear this…and the problem here is that if you continually use a fast luck type of formula or angle for the speedier result, the more tenuous (generally speaking,) result that may just fall apart, you're going to then want to recast this spell to get the same outcome. The problem you will run into is that every time something falls apart, – for example a relationship, which is the most common "speed this up and make it happen," type of request, – it becomes more and more difficult to put it back together again. So, if you create a situation in which you are reuniting with an ex and dating for a month or so, only for it to fall apart and break up again, putting the relationship together again and again becomes more and more difficult, like a plate you repeatedly shatter on the floor. 

I am not the results police, and maybe you do just need faster results for reasons other than you are impatient, but the lasting results are the better results in many cases, and you must consider that if you plan on continually speeding the results to yourself, that it might be a phyrric victory in the long term. 

Q: Can you tell me about the spirit/figure of "The Wandering Jew" in relation to hoodoo or spellwork? Is this something I can use?

A: I can definitely try. So, for starters, here's my caveat – our forebearers were not (and sometimes are still not to this current day,) exactly the least racist or prejudiced or xenophobic of peoples, and so much of this comes with a hefty dose of racist/prejudiced/xenophobic beliefs. There is a wonderful and very educational entry on the "Wandering Jew" at the Wikipedia (at least the English version,) and I highly recommend it for further reading.

That said, in brief, the idea of the Wandering Jew (which is what this being is known as in English, though he goes by different names in different languages,) is that he is this man who insulted Christ in some fashion – generally he mocked Christ on the way to the crucifixion, – and is now damned to walk the world until the end of days for said offense, and can never rest nor die.

This might actually start stirring your mind a bit about INTRANQUILITY, which is a form of spellwork which predates even Christ (and if you do not believe in Christ, it predates the "common era," so it goes back well before 2000 years ago,) wherein the target is to have no rest nor comfort until he or she capitulates and gives the petitioner what he or she desires. Just as this being can have no rest, so it would reason that it can also cause a target to have no rest nor comfort. 

I have found limited literature of calling the Wandering Jew to cause a target no rest nor sleep until he or she returns to the target and loves that person again. It's basically a type of Intranquil Spirit, as are most restless spirits, although surprisingly, I have not found literature that conforms to the prejudiced belief that Jewish people are all about money and that claim this spirit is to be used to work on a target until he or she pays their bill…this one I have only ever seen referenced as being used to return a lover. 

While I can't rightly say if there is a spirit of a tortured Jewish man (and in the stories, he is always a he,) roaming around reuniting lovers, I can say that restless spirits are useful in intranquility workings (which are not just used for love,) – however in this case, you may merely be trusting some really weird anti-Semitic folklore to have created a spirit (or recruited one,) to do your bidding. I think there are superior methods of calling a restless spirit or an intranquil spirit to accomplish the same tasks you would task the Wandering Jew with, but that is just a personal opinion. 

Q: I'm not sure if you watch much television, but I saw (name of paranormal-based show reporting to be totally true,) and this (episode/multiple episodes,) said x, y, and z happened because of a spell or use of the occult. What is your thought on this?

A: First and foremost, I am an advocate of reminding everyone that shows and movies are made to be exciting and entertaining, and that many of them are far off from the truth. Just as my father (a lawyer,) rolls his eyes at many shows about lawyers or court cases, many doctors laugh at medical dramas, and so on, so do I roll my eyes at many shows which are about the paranormal or the occult. In fact, at least if I'm watching Forensic Files, this is going to have a much stronger basis in reality compared to say…something like "Ghost Adventurers." 😉 I can't remember which one of these "ghost hunter" shows it was, but a client of mine some years ago knew 3 people in the cast quite well (one of which was presented as the leader,) who said all of it was completely made up for TV, and they presented it as real. 

So…whatever exciting paranormal account you saw presented, I will start by saying that there is a chance that it is entirely bullshit. Furthermore I can recall an episode of A Haunting from at least 10 years ago where clearly the haunting was a poltergeist (coming from a living human, – not a spirit) which the man in the story created out of fear of his mother practicing Wicca to say Wicca is evil. It seems easy enough to conclude that if people found evidence of prior residents (or transients,) practicing spells on the property that they recently purchased, that in more than one case the "haunting" had more to do with the ignorance and fear of the new residents of the property  than it did to do with an actual spirit.

I do not necessarily believe that practicing spells, using Ouija boards, or anything similar will call some crazy ass evil spirits into your home…in fact many people do these things and never have a single problem happen ever. It's like saying if you get into a car, you will get into a terrible car accident, or if you ever lit even a birthday candle your home will burn down. That's ridiculous. Of course, many actions come with a risk, but to paint this risk as being so high that it is almost guaranteed is irresponsible. It reminds me a bit of when I was in middle school and they told us that if we ever took one puff of marijuana, we'd almost instantly be selling ourselves on the street for drugs and all strung out. 😛 It was stupid BS to say that, just as it is stupid to say that any involvement or interest with the paranormal or the occult will call demonic entities into your home. 

What is true is that you might have something resident to your property, although again, this is incredibly rare that it will cause problems for you, and this being might cause problems for you if you remodel the property, if you move in with someone who seems familiar to it (suchas the case of dead children wanting to be mothered by a new mother,) or any myriad of different, not-based-in-the-occult reasons. Therefore the dangers of arousing the interest of a spirit can happen without any occult or paranormal interest, and if I'm being fair, had you any experience with the paranormal, you'd probably sense this entity or these entities and if they were harmful, presumably you would not try to incite their animosity or excite their interest in you.

What is also true is that several of these shows do portray people dabbling with spirit conjure when they have no business even attempting something like that. It's a bit like me offering to do brain surgery on you because I read a book once. Well, I don't have the experience to attempt such a thing, and me attempting a major medical operation on anyone probably would result in death. Spirit conjure is not something to be trifled with. Calling up beings or calling on spirits is not something I suggest anyone try when they are but a novice – or worse, when they found a nifty little book online. 😉 So, in many of these shows, someone raises a spirit, and "nothing happens," and then they don't even dismiss the spirit. Problem is…something happened. They open the door, something comes in, and they don't expel whatever arrived (no purification, no dismissal ritual, etc,) and they leave that proverbial door open…and madness ensues. Just lighting a pink candle for love does not open a portal and allow all sorts of whatever wants to come in into your home. Trying to call on spirits and demons for a lark, or ordering around or insulting the dead…that can cause issues.

So, yeah, if you mess with certain parts of the occult when you have no business messing with (and compare that to say, brain surgery or trying to build a skyscraper with absolutely no building experience, etc,) you might run into problems. 😉

Lastly, the shows where someone lays a curse on the victims, and all sorts and types of ugliness ensue…. I am kind of split on these. While several are obviously dramatized for entertainment purposes and contain elements which I can easily poke holes in, it is true that you can lay a mega curse on someone, generally through the use of spirits or familiars, and cause some really horrible things to happen. That aside, it is not easy to do, and having a spirit guard a property is not necessarily easy to maintain (especially if you have since died and it has been sold,) so the idea that any old person who claims they are a "witch" can suddenly send a bunch of disincarnate ghoulies after you and make your life miserable is a bold lie and that if you move into the "witch house" (generally a dilapitated home which school children claim was home to a witch at some point,) you will be bedeviled by Lord only knows what is entirely bullshit. 

I guess the short answer is most of those shows are for ENTERTAINMENT purposes, and you should not take them too seriously. Having interest in the paranormal or the occult will not call evil spirits to you or your property. Practice some level of good sense and safety and do not antagonize spirits, or try to call upon them if you are still a novice, and you should be safe. 

I hope this edition's answers have been enlightening. :) 

~Cat

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