Cat’s Rants: Confessions of an Occult Mastermind

Everything you ever wanted to know about Hoodoo, Rootwork, or the Occult! The internet’s longest running occult blog, established 2004

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“I’m Cat, and for a long time, Cat’s Rants, the longest running occult based blog was over at TypePad – since 2004. Sadly, TypePad shuttered permanently as of September 30th 2025. Please be patient while I export 21 years of blog posts over to my new WordPress location. With a much easier url to remember and all your favorite posts all the way back to 04, Cat’s Rants should hopefully improve over its former location.” Cat has practiced and studied the occult, tarot, and spellcasting for over 35 years, and has shared her expert teachings on how to cast your own spells, including original spells and recipes on the Cat’s Rants blog since 2004. A professional tarot reader since the 1990s, she’s also an internationally-known psychic reader and tarot expert. As a published and respected occultist for over two decades, and an expert in the fields of rootwork, hoodoo, and Catholic folk magic, she continues to serve the public by teaching authentic spell casting and offering readings and services.

  • Advice as Prep For Incoming Love-Spell…

    Hey Occulties,

    First, I'd like to thank everyone for the recent donations.  Things are still pretty spare (there's no insurance, which always makes this stuff expensive,) so as far as free stuff for all, that much I can't do….not that I ever could. 😉 BUT, I still have tons of spellcasting space at this writing, as far as readings, next week is like to be more open, so I can definitely EARN some money to cover the costs of the Month of May 2017 (which lives in infamy in this home, ugh.) 

    Also, in a shameless spot of self promotion, don't forget to buy my book Pactum (co-authored with the amazing Michael Cecchetelli,) which is a full course in LOVE SPELLS! If you want to work to get that guy or gal into (or back into) your life, you should get a copy. 🙂

    That aside, I've been so wanting to write to my lovely readers and give you something a bit more on point. :) 

    So in the last week or so, I've been getting a lot of requests where someone wants a person back in their life, but are interested in having this person completely change their nature, by which I mean is that they want this person to change an inherent aspect of their personality. If someone has shown a veritable lifetime pattern of avoiding taking responsibility for their actions, then it's not likely that we can change them to become someone who takes responsibility for their actions. If someone always has 2 girlfriends or boyfriends (depending on their preference,) then it's not likely that they will, all of the sudden, become monogamous because a spell was put on them. If someone is given to compulsive lying, then a spell will probably not turn them permanently into an honest person who can never speak a lie. 

    It's like I've said for years – just because you want to get a jerk to love you, they may love you, but they're still a jerk. Don't get me wrong – maybe you love that jerk, and you've accepted that they are a jerk. That's fine. I've loved a few asshats in my life, too, and I accepted that yep, this person is a complete asshat, and I'm willing to stay with them despite that. Hell, a few men have said "This orange haired evil-bitch monster is who I love, despite her being a bitch-monster," and stayed with me. It is what it is. 😉

    I think what it comes down to is that you have to decide if you want THIS PERSON – and are willing to accept this person IS NOT PERFECT – or if you want someone more compatible with your needs. If you feel you just can't deal with someone's dark side – GO FIND SOMEONE NEW, it's much easier done via magic (or without) than it is if you use spells to keep someone with you. 

    And realize, just because you have a long history with someone, this does not require you to stay with them. If they will always lie, or cheat, or steal, or manipulate, keeping that person with you can just mean more years wasting on someone who does those things. 

    Still, I say these things a lot, and yet know fully well that the heart wants what it wants, and you're going to try anyhow, despite my warnings. I'd chide you, but I have a stubborn streak, too, and oft when told that I can't do something, I take that as a challenge and try anyway. 😉

    Let's be practical for a moment, then. If you have to go against a person's nature – even temporarily, – to make a desired change, is THAT possible? Yep, it is. And THAT temporary alteration of this person's nature could very well make a permanent change for the better – for example, getting a person into relationship therapy, or getting someone to see a therapist, or get a job (instead of living off of you,) etc. It might not ENTIRELY FIX THE PROBLEM (see above: just because a jerk loves you, this does not mean that they are not still a jerk,) but if it alleviates some of the stress, perhaps the relationship will become more functional.

    Alright, so, this was some advice I'm putting out there because I want to post a love spell aimed at repairing a failing relationship next. 🙂 So, I will get that up for you in the next day or so, and stay tuned. 🙂

    ~Cat

  • The book is here

    If you've been waiting, come buy a copy!! :) 

  • Finally – the Book – Pactum, by myself and Frater MC

    I snagged these images off of Frater MC's facebook, but look – it's THE LONG AWAITED BOOK! 

    Book Book2

    COMING SOON (as in DAYS) to Nephilim Press. Please check back for a link so that you can purchase! :) 

     

  • Me When a Client Emails Me Way Too Much Detailed Personal Information about their Sex Life

    via GIPHY

  • Mama Cat’s Pearls of Wisdom #35 – Death Clocks

    Hey there Occulties,

    I know I've gone over the concept of what I somewhat humorously refer to as a "death clock" in here before, but I think, judging from my inbox, it's time to go over this concept again. 

    My long-time readers understand that the law of attraction is not that silly bullshit in that horrible book (a title like many others of it's kind,) called The Secret, but rather is a huge, gigantic collection of laws (much like physics). Part of this is that all thoughts and emotions have energy, and whether or not it feels or sounds nice and cheery and hopeful to you (or is one or all of those three) that this energy can be attractive or repulsive (as in to push away,) it can be stagnant (causing no change, keeping something put), or expansive (creating change, keeping something unstable) – all of this is possible. Now, I don't want to discuss the laws of attraction (not at all) but to help teach you about a death clock, I do need to touch on it as I just have.

    So, let's say you decide that if you do not have x outcome by a specific date, you shall never have whatever this is. I would bet you $20 if you were spellcasting for this thing, that you very likely will not have x outcome on that date. I recently had 3 different clients tell me they had the desired outcome for their case 2 days, 4 days, and 6 days later than expected. This was all in the last week I've heard this. Now, I'm speculating (as none of them were really filthy sick with lust for results, which is the main cause of spell failure) but I'm assuming each person was pushing for that date as meaning if x outcome didn't happen then, it likely would mean it would not happen, and the moment that day passed and they let go (rather than getting more weepy and frustrated and angry, which is the go to reaction for the lust-for-results crowd) and tried to get on with their lives, and BOOM, the desired outcome manifested. 

    But why does this happen? Well, as is my best understanding, the anxiety surrounding this specific date is part of the problem. You're pushing the desired outcome off with your attachment and emotional energy. It is a form of lust for results. Depending on your natural disposition, this might not  mean you're foaming at the mouth and freaking out every day and getting yourself even more anxious as the date approaches, but it can mean you're still building some anxiety or expectation which can push off a desired result. (Yes, definitely some people are wired and angry and working themselves into a panic as each day passes – believe me, it's a bit too common to say that is a small group or that I'm exaggerating that it happens.) However, if you're fixed on the idea that a specific date is the cut off for results to happen, even if you're cool, calm, collected – it's going to build a bit of subconscious energy to this end. This energy pushes off the desired result. 

    Also, realize those with a "death clock" are repetitively telling themselves "The spell fails on (date,)" which is basically drawing failure to them and/or their spell. 😛 So….OK, pushing off the desired result, while basically asking to have a spell fail on a particular date? That's not really going to help your manifestation. 😉 Spells certainly have a life-span (in my opinion,) but rare is it (if ever) that it's going to be exactly 21 days to the day you spoke the last word of that chant. Hell, I've known people to get results months after they did the work, often because they didn't let go of the situation and it slowed manifestation. :/

    What can you do? First, realize that ANY time frame is, generally speaking, a ballpark figure. While I can reasonable assume anyone who tells me 10 minutes after the clock changes to this ballpark figure (say 21 days to the minute or something,) that the spell has failed is filthy sick with lust for results, it's not uncommon for a neophyte spellcaster or someone new to spells to believe that the date given is an expiration date. Whatever outcome you're working towards could be even a week or two behind or ahead of schedule, and the manifestation figure given is nothing more than an estimation. The spell isn't a coach turning into a pumpkin at midnight like in Cinderella. Second, LET GO of the situation. Put it out of your mind. Get on with your life. Spells manifest much faster when you stop holding on to the situation with a death grip. You will still want whatever outcome it is even if you're not constantly worrying and thinking on the situation throughout the manifestation process. 

    Hopefully this made sense, and I've not confused some people more. 😉

    ~Cat

  • Spring Cleaning Checklist

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    Collected via facebook – not my creation, but if it’s yours and you want credit or want me to remove it, please contact me and let me know. 🙂

  • Mama Cat’s Pearls of Wisdom #34 – Silence is Golden

    Hey Occulties,

    While this issue is never that far from my inbox – someone generally suggests to me that they should do this, or they do it and then ask me why things are awful, – I suppose I should say this publicly, if I've not before. NEVER WRITE ANYTHING IN TEXT OR EMAIL THAT YOU DO NOT WANT PLASTERED ON THE EVENING NEWS. Also, remember, if you're texting a love spell target or emailing them, they can read that over and over and over and over, and it's actually proven that psychologically, people read things in the darkest tone possible, so they are probably getting more and more irked every time they read whatever you wrote, especially if it is about how they hurt you. Make silence your weapon if you have a target who's not speaking to you.

    And if you don't have that option? Your target works with you, shares children, a living space, or pets? Don't bring up the emotional past. Don't. It might feel like a relief to you in the short term, but you're setting yourself back by quite a bit if you want this person back in your life. If they associate you with being nagged, yelled at, made to feel badly about their past choices, upset, sad, angry – they don't want to return to someone they associate with those feelings. No one wants to associate with someone who's miserable, desperate, or complaining. So keep it businesslike and avoid bringing up the emotional upsets of the past until they start showing you the signals that they want to talk to you about this.

    And if you don't care and just want to write them off? Well, then maybe send that text or email, and hit block. Of course, if you're so wound up that you have to send that text or email, you do still care. Silence often keeps more options open. Thinking it's cathartic to let someone know how much they hurt you or upset you may be true, but often it is just giving away what power you have to the person who hurt you. 

    Hope this made some sense….and don't hit that send button just yet. 😉

    ~Cat

  • Obsession/Intranquility Work – a few myths dispelled

    Hey there Occulties,

    I realize it's been awhile and I didn't want you to think I'm neglecting you. 🙂 Don't have time for much but a fast discussion on obsession and intranquility work. I'm pretty behind on some business replies and I feel like I'm cheating on my clients by writing this out. 😉

    A lot of people come to me with some relatively wild myths they've Googled from the interwebs about a popular version of the Intranquil Spirit that starts with the line "O, intranquil spirit, you that are in hell and can never reach heaven, hear me, hear me" (or similar.) I've heard that a spirit from hell will come consume the user, I've heard that the love affair will be cursed and go sour, I've heard of people becoming possessed…and I've yet to see one damn incidence of any such thing happening because of the above described spell. 

    For what it's worth, I get it – it looks like a scary spell. It's related to old Greco-Roman (and I'm talking stuff from the Greek Magical Papyrii which is around 2000 years old,) spellwork, which commonly asks restless spirits or a god or goddess to punish a target until he or she returns to (or falls in love with) the petitioner. From my reading, this form of spell was not uncommon at all in those days. So when we look at a more modern version such as the above, many of use would find the historical versions far more bloodthirsty and "scary" than the modern version, but then, modern eyes expect a love spell to be soft, kind, uplifting, warm – and yet that does not always bring the desired result, a sure reason people have returned to this kind of spell time and again, having tried kinder methods to bring in their target.

    I suppose the first question is, why torture someone to come back or to be your romantic partner? The not so nice reply is that sometimes someone just feeling loving or lusty won't propel them back – there's too much damage, the target is too stubborn, the target is too afraid to reach out, – so some petitioners, deeply desirous of someone's return, will resort to making the target uncomfortable and restless until he or she does return. There are spells even darker than obsession work that suggest the target love the petitioner or begin to die  slowly until they return the petitioner's love, so certainly this is not the darkest step down the "come back to me/be mine/I own you" level of love spells that exist. 

    I'm not here to judge anyone's motives, and surely, many obsession spells are done not out of necessity, but a few hundred years ago, the loss of a partner could mean death or your children starving if a man left you for another woman, an advantageous marriage could mean a much better life for your family – but usually the petitioner has just come to a point where he or she must have the target…they're obsessed. The petitioner may be opposed to killing the target, but making the target stay up sleepless more than one night, or the target feeling shame, regret, remorse, and to be loved by the petitioner (or loved again by the petitioner) seems to them a perfectly acceptable punishment against the target who "forced" the petitioner to suffer much the same way by not returning/not returning their affections. 

    If the target is tortured by this obsessive nature, will they always be tortured? There are few schools of thought there, but in my experience with the popular version of the intranquil spirit (O, intranquil spirit, you that are in hell and can never reach heaven, etc) is no. The popular intranquil spirit spell usually gets the target to reach out and make amends, and then the influence generally fades VERY FAST. However I have seen in some instances of using obsession work on a lover rather than an ex lover having possibly caused the lover to be very possessive of the petitioner…but then, I have witnessed situations where just attempting to use straight love drawing to help a target begin to overcome his or her deep commitmentphobia made them insecure, possessive, and jealous, – without having ever used obsession work on those targets, – so the argument can be made that perhaps some targets may naturally have these tendencies when feeling romantic or sexual attraction to others. If the target shows proclivity towards being naturally jealous, possessive, or obsessive, I would caution against using this type of working just in case.

    Do the evil spirits/God/dess etc, sour the relationship? Not in my experience, no. In fact, it might be noted that the majority of people using this type of spellwork are trying to return a lover they have lost. What people say ALL OF THE TIME when wanting an ex back is that they merely want the relationship to be like new again…which is impossible. You have a history with this person. You will have to be willing to make the relationship work (not fall on old, bad habits which tore you apart,) you will have to realize they won't forget your wrongdoing (even if they forgive you,) and this alone may sour the experience. The sheer number of people who want an ex back only because they were unprepared to lose this person, who then DUMP their "so beloved" ex once they get the person to return to them  (often in less than a month) might surprise you, but it's not that uncommon.

    That said, I've also seen this kind of working repair a badly fractured relationship on more than one occasion. Someone is too prideful to return, and this type of spell creates the needed influence to have them swallow their pride and come back. When petitioner and target are reunited, the relationship lasts for years afterward.

    Is someone apt to get possessed doing this spell? I highly doubt it. I have never heard a believable recounting of someone getting possessed during this spell, though I've heard some hilariously suspect stories of such events. I personally feel that some petitioners are too suggestible to be practicing this sort of spell, or most spells for that matter. 

    Hope to add more soon, – thanks for reading! :) 

    ~Cat

  • Update on the Book

    As many of you know, myself and Mike Cecchetelli are coming out with a book…any day now. I know it's coming soon because we discussed things like end papers and whatnot like ten days or so ago…and yet I still don't have a solid release date other than "any day now." 

    However with that in mind, I'll probably have A LOT of business when this comes out, and that might be difficult. With my current work load and so many people acting ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY INSANE (clients, client's targets, just people in general) in the last few weeks, I've been considering downsizing how many people I take on as clients after January 2017. I have other obligations (a class, I want to write another book, I have a personal life – you know, the basics,) and I'd like to have the time to enjoy/engage in those obligations. So, part of that will involve me taking on less client work for awhile. I'm not totally ready to downsize my client-work-load yet, but in the next few weeks I will be. 

    So, an advisory….if you're really invested in having me work for you, read for you, or engage my services, NOW is the time to ask. When I start getting slammed with work because of the book's release, I'm going to start reducing how many people I will accept for new work. 

    As far as the book, I will definitely let ALL OF YOU KNOW the moment it is released. Mike's been hyping it, I've been hyping it – it's basically all you ever wanted to know about love and seduction spells, especially in the Hoodoo tradition. I know it will be popular. 🙂 And again, release date? Any day now. 

    Best,

    ~Cat

  • Stop Self-Sabotaging Your Love Spellwork

    Hey Occulties,

    I wanted to get a sweet jar up for you…I really did. Unfortunately in the last week (probably because the Holidays are so sucktastic sometimes,) it seems like I've become something of a therapist for everyone with love problems.

    So I'm going to start out with a harsh reality – just because you love someone, just because you would treat someone better than they treat you (or you believe you would,) that doesn't mean they will love you back, and sometimes that's regardless of what steps you take, they will not love you back no matter what you do. 

    Here's another harsh reality – the reason someone left you (the "real one" you want so much,) probably won't make you feel any better than you do now. 

    And another: Even if someone loves you back, it won't make a bad person a good person. 

    And yet one more – actions mean more than words, so someone can say one thing, but their actions should be what you use to determine their feelings by.

    Ah, and yet one more? Silence is a response (so stop pushing for a response,) and if someone gives you cues to back off, smothering them and badgering them is about the worst idea possible. 

    When it comes to spellwork, cornering your target to get a desired response (and you can verbally corner someone,) will generally make them snap at you. If you stalk someone, they will know. If you act desperate, you will chase them off. If you don't take the cue to back off when given, you might blow your whole spell. 

    All of this is very frustrating when you want something so much and it's just out of reach, but when you don't act in concert with your spellwork because you're upset and desperate and out of control, you're going to mess everything up and at the end of the day, your investment of time, money, and energy will all be thrown out because you couldn't control yourself – because YOU insisted on acting out. It IS NOT that the spell didn't work – it's that you worked against it. 

    And a lot of you don't want to have that said. It's hard enough for many of you to get how lust for results can ruin the work, and so you stalk someone, you overthink the situation, you do things like ask me if someone your ex went to high school with posting an image of a car has anything to do with you and him/her. While I can understand that many people do not understand lust for results is the main cause of spell-failure, what I do NOT understand is why so many of you think spellwork is somehow going to protect against bad behavior. So…you drive away the one you "love" so much by acting like a complete assclown.

    And everyone over the age of 21 has probably been a complete assclown at least once, so stop thinking you're alone. Everyone's done it – everyone's blown their own love life up by doing something horribly stupid. 

    Now, realize, if you want someone to change the way they act towards you, you need to change how you act towards them. They are reacting to you. Even if you feel someone is being "unfair" by not seeing what you've put in, or what you're going through, try to see things from their perspective. It might not agree with your perspective, but if you try to see yourself through their eyes, you may very well start seeing how you can behave towards them to get a better response.

    Because here's the thing – love spells aren't a guarantee against your bad behavior. Spells don't care if you made a mistake. They don't care if you panicked. They don't care if you are having a bad day. Just like a fire won't care if you didn't mean to throw water on it, – it's going to go out – so it is with spells…if you act out, if you fuck up, if you chase someone away or act desperate or wild, then you're to blame for things not working out as you'd hoped.

    Love and reconciliation work is difficult. It can demand more patience and you being far more conscientious of your own behavior than some people can withstand, but if you don't at least try (or at least stop defending your bad actions with "I can't help myself,") the person most likely to be unhappy and without the things they want in this life is yourself.

    And even if you get the one you want, you may come to find that they are unkind, unfaithful, selfish…so even sometimes when love spells work, all that happens is that a jerk loves you now. 😛

    Alrightey, back to sleeping in (because I've not had a day off in WEEKS, and have been working 16+ hours a day, uggg, so today is my sleeping in day) and writing that spell article for you. 🙂

    ~Cat 

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