Hey there occulties,
Sometimes we all just need that one thing to make up for a crapity day at work to remind us why we continue on at our job. The below is mine for today. 😀
From Constantine – The Hellblazer (2015) #4.
Magic is fucking amazing. *flips world the bird*
~Cat
Hey there occulties,
Since everyone thinks the slightest tinge of black is a thing, the following is probably an 8 or so on a scale of 1-10 insofar as black burns. You’ll notice the end has been blown off where it starts burning clearer. That’s because it worked well, but the target put up one hell of a fight (but lost, mwahahahaha.)
So, if you get a bit of black around the mouth of the chimney or a tiny black spot, that’s not exactly what I’d term a black burn on a candle.
Here below, I have something that might rate a 3 (or maybe a 4 at best if I’m being hugely generous) on the “burning black 1-10 category” meaning it’s pretty mild, and could be much worse.
Notice I scraped a little black off on the mouth of that to give you an idea of how black it is…there is a clean spot, and that’s post-ritual. 😉
Now in that above picture, I’d not even have been too concerned over the quality of the burn, excluding every candle burned on that case burned with that much singe. Remember, do NOT look for signs, or you will only project them where there are none. More often than not, the problem is caused by physics, and not a sign. If you get a burn like the above second picture, just burn another seven day candle on the same problem and to the same end. Singe-y burns are often caused by too much herb or oil on the seven-day-vigil, and shouldn’t cause a slobbering panic…in fact, even if it is a legitimate black burn (meaning some obstacle is impeding the influence…if it burns clear at the bottom, you’re probably OK,) you shouldn’t ever have a slobbering panic. Do some road opening, keep working. You’ll get through.
Hope that’s helpful, everyone. 🙂
~Cat
Hey there Occulties,
Time for a Questions You’ve Asked Me article. Hope it’s not too repetitive for my long time readers! 🙂
Q: How often should I cast spells on my situation?
A: This one has come up before, but I get this a lot, so my advice is as follows…
If you’re casting for yourself: Keep the pressure constant. One spell *MIGHT* fix everything, but if you’re not getting the results you’d wanted, or noticing changes within a few weeks, cast another spell. I tell my students limit yourself to 1-3 spells a week, but try to do at least 2 per month until you reach your goal.
If someone is spellcasting for you: It depends on how the practitioners work. Some people will be working a situation for a few weeks at a time, others will do one large ritual (or a collection thereof,) and then have you wait for a result. I usually tell my own clients (and I’ll do a large collection of rituals) that if we are not seeing movement within 60 days, then something else needs to be done, or they need to reassess if it’s what they want. Many people DO have movement in their situation in the first 3-4 weeks, and can see the spellwork is working, but that doesn’t always mean one round achieves the final goal (especially in messy reconciliation cases.)
If you live in a fantasy: I’m sure one candle spell you paid $6 for will work for the rest of your life, because spellcasting and life must be that easy.* 🙂
Q: Are some spells evil?
A: The answer there is that good and evil are subjective, and that I am not the morality police. With that said, do some people use harmful spells because they are selfish, because they are shallow, or do some people use “nice” spells to the wrong end? Of course. There are spells I do not teach others on this blog for the very reason that they have a high probability of being misused, and I don’t like feeling responsible for that.
Look at it like this… is it wrong to kill another person? Just generally…is that wrong? I think most of us would agree that it is wrong to kill another person.
OK, so what if that person is trying to kill your children or your partner or your best friend? Is it OK then to kill that person – you know, in order to save your loved one? I think quite a few people would agree that there is a good chance that it is not wrong to kill that person if we are saving an innocent (or presumably innocent) life or lives.
So, what if that person is not actually holding a gun to your loved one’s head, but they keep stealing all of your food and money and possessions and you’re slowly starving and incapable of caring for yourselves. What about then? Is it morally sound to do something to stop them, even if it means harming them or killing them?
Are you starting to see how using something dark (which is to say something which might hurt another,) might actually not be so “wrong”? I’m not trying to say it’s right, but self-defense might fall into a grey area.
And that’s just one “grey area” in a sea of “grey areas.” It is not up to you and me to dictate someone not use a spell or when it’s “acceptable” to use that spell – rather, I should hope that most people would have some code of ethics and morality that tempers their actions. If they don’t, then…the best I can offer is that many people who are megalomaniacal and narcissistic enough to just throw these sorts of workings down with little care are also often the types who can’t be bothered to train and practice and train and practice to cast spells, and would, therefore, have little success with the work as is.
Therefore, while the morality police and the karma police might try to say otherwise, I do not believe a spell is evil any more than I believe a cookie is evil or a shovel is evil or bug crawling across the patio is evil. All of those things could be used maliciously (poison the cookie, hit someone in the head with a shovel, throw the bug down someone’s shirt,) but that doesn’t make them evil.
Q: If you can cast spells, why do you have normal people problems?
A: Because being able to cast spells doesn’t prevent me from encountering problems any more than being a psychiatrist prevents mental illness, or being a doctor prevents having physical illness, death, disability, and disease. Carpenters have to fix parts of their homes, too. Just knowing how to do something – no matter how well, – doesn’t make you immune to the problems of people who don’t know how to do it. Magicians are human beings. All human beings have problems.
Q: If my spell candle keeps going out (not burning out, but going out,) what should I do?
A: Try redoing the spell with a new candle. Also check to make sure that you’re not overusing ritual oil. If the candle still keeps burning out despite your using a fresh new candle, do some roadopening or blockbuster work, and use divination to see if someone is working against you, and then try again.
Q: Can I use an electric tea light instead of a candle?
A: Only if you’re using it for mood lighting, but in a ritual sense, no, it in no way replaces a candle as part of a ritual working anymore than bits of plastic shaped like sugar would replace sugar, or a rubber mold of a scrambled egg could be eaten like a scrambled egg.
Q: If I write my name paper out using my menstrual blood, will that have a stronger impact on my desired target?
A: Only if you somehow took your lover’s uterus and are now having their periods. Look, you’re using YOUR BLOOD, which means all you are doing is casting a spell on yourself. The dead lining of your uterus (period blood) is from you, right? How is your ex or current partner connected to your uterus? Did you just abort their child? I mean, in that case, some of their DNA would be mixed with that uterine lining, otherwise, no, you’re just casting a spell on yourself. Use normal ink. 🙂
Q: Are some people naturally witches, or have inherited powers?
A:Not exactly. No one is naturally anything other than born a human (presumably, since I’ve never met one of us not born as a human being.) So, let’s start there. Maybe your momma is a witch, a magician, or a singer, a dancer, a gifted cook – any of these. You came from your mother and father (and maybe your dad is an artist, and also a singer, and he can also tap dance like no one else,) and maybe, just maybe these folks teach you how to draw. That doesn’t make you gifted like them…you never achieve their abilities in art, but they still try and teach you. Maybe you are talented because they are, and maybe, just maybe you aren’t. If they both drop dead the day you’re born, you might have a proclivity towards dance, be good at it, but you might also never dance a step. See, you don’t inherit knowledge without practice, and study, and practice, and study, and practice, and study. You might inherit a talent, and you might not. Just because one parent has blue eyes, that doesn’t guarantee that you will have blue eyes…and it sure as heck doesn’t guarantee you’ll have any easier of a time learning a skill which that parent is a master at.
Anyone who tells you that they were “born a witch” was maybe born to someone who practiced spells. Maybe they learned a trick or two. They might still suck. Neither of my parents have one ounce of artistic ability. I can paint and draw. I went to college to get my bachelor’s degree in it. Does that make me NOT an artist, because my parents weren’t artists? Because neither has any artistic ability is mine not real? Nope, that would be stupid. In fact my brother is also in the arts. So apparently, some part of our ancestral DNA had some artistic abilities…
It’s like sports, or having the ability to sing, or anything else. Some people are just going to have an easier time learning it, and some people will be graced with parents who teach them from a young age…but of those being taught at a young age, they might have no skill for the occult arts, and might never be as good as a self-taught magician, who, despite “Muggle” parents just found it easier to practice spellcraft. So anyone who tells you that they are a “natural witch” or they just have powers with no study, and practice and study and practice and study and practice (hint: most “experts” have been studying and practicing at least 15 years before they get titled “expert” – many of your favorite authors are almost 2x that many years of study and practice, if not more,) then they are probably making a horse’s ass out of you. 😛
There is an old saying that the seventh son of a seventh son (so out of all the kids, the seventh boy, even if he’s the tenth child, has a seventh boy child of his own…so I guess he has 12 kids or something,) is supposedly naturally gifted with magic. I’ve never met the seventh son of a seventh son, but if people had more children these days, that would be interesting to find out.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope to have a new article up shortly! 😀
~Cat
*If you are this ignorant, please never contact me. Thanks!
Picture credit: Constantin Daniel Rosenthal, first picture
John William Waterhouse, Pandora
Charles Marion Russell, Waiting
Hey Occulties,
While this is lifted from my Love Spell Course (edited a bit to make it clearer for those not in the class,) it’s one of the easiest pickings in the course, and I figured I’d leave it here for everyone to enjoy. I won’t be posting the rest of the course, but…it’s been awhile since I gave you a spell article.
This spell is best done on a Friday in the hour of Venus during a waxing (growing) moon.
You will need:
A pink figural candle to represent your target
Sugar
Licorice root
Rose petal (pink or red)
Love Me oil
A scrap of paper with all edges torn off
A pen
Image of your target (or personal item)
A cake tin or pie plate (a fireproof container)
Sand (optional)
Make your figural candle to represent the target. Anoint this generously with Love Me oil, using an upward (base to wick) motion using seven strokes of the hand. Sprinkle the candle with licorice, rose petal, and sugar. Place this into your pie plate or cake tin. If you have sand, place the sand in first, then place this into your pie plate or cake tin (the sand is a fire-safety measure.)
Using your pen write the target’s full name seven times as so, (replacing John Smith with your target’s name)
John Smith
John Smith
John Smith
John Smith
John Smith
John Smith
John Smith
And cross this with the command “Loves and desires only (name of petitioner,) so that it forms a “grid pattern.” In other words, you will turn the names so they are running vertical, and write the command horizontally across seven times.
If you wish, you can, instead, write the full name of the target seven times, cross it with the name of the petitioner seven times, and write in a rough circle around the names “Love Me, desire me, adore me” (repeating until it makes a circle.) Place this beneath your cake tin.
Light the candle, and hold your hands on either side of it while keeping the mental image of your target being madly in love with your petitioner, and say “(Full name of target,) your heart is bursting with love and desire for (name of petitioner,) your every thought is of him/her, your dreams are of him/her, and every waking moment you long to be in in (petitioner’s name)’s arms. I enflame your heart and your mind with love for (petitioner’s name) and I enflame your (use which ever title for genitalia belonging to the target that you would use – it doesn’t have to be proper: pussy, cock, dick, vagina, penis, etc.) with desire for him/her. (Name of target) you are overwhelmed with feelings of love and longing for (petitioner,) and the more you try to resist loving (petitioner) the stronger your love for him/her becomes. As is my will, so be it!”
Allow the candle the candle to burn out. When it has done so, take the name paper and hide it by the front entrance to your home.
Hope that was enjoyable – sorry for the short post!
~Cat
This material is copyright originalninjacat and cannot be copied, pasted, distributed, or published whole or in part without my express written permission. Me so litigious! 😛
Hey occulties,
Hope this is some helpful (and not too repetitive,) insight. 🙂
1. Just because someone loves you, it does nothing to make them a better person.
I am fond of saying that just using spells to make a jerk love you means that now a jerk loves you. If they were a jerk before, don’t expect them to not be a jerk when they are yours or when they come back. Making someone feel all warm and squishy towards you does not mean that they will ever be on their best behavior, or that their best behavior will ever be any good.
2. Commitment issues are real.
Commitment issues are often less to do with YOU scaring that person, and far more to do with a past event that has scarred your intended for life. So, if you keep pushing for a commitment, you can chase someone away. I mean this – maybe they love when it’s light and when it’s fun, but the moment they feel like they need to offer you more, they feel smothered and afraid. This is not something that’s fun to work with, because it’s a serious crippling emotional issue – like depression or anxiety, – and it will rear it’s ugly head more than once, even if you use spellwork to draw this person back to you. If you love someone with commitment issues, you should know that it IS NOT just pushing them over a hump, and then they will commit – it’s a serious issue, and it will effect your relationship with this person repeatedly. Sometimes the commitmentphobia goes away after some time, other times it’s a permanent and reoccurring issue. You really need to view it like a mental health problem…for example, some people are depressed because they are grieving a loss, other people are bi-polar. One will not likely need a lifetime of treatment, where the other probably will.
There is no spell that will permanently SOLVE commitmentphobia. If anything, if you’re super duper unlucky, you can even trigger a panic in someone by using too much love-binding. While I’ve not had that happen to me personally, I’ve heard tell of it from a few readers and seen it with a few clients. What happens is, the person who can’t commit is suddenly feeling like “Hey, I really should give more of a commitment to so-and-so” just like the spellwork is telling them, and then the side of them that is phobic of such a thing starts panicking. It’s a bit like forcing someone with a fear of heights to go bungee jumping, and then wondering why they freaked the fuck out so bad. In fact, I don’t often recommend heavy love-binding on anyone to begin with, but if you’re insistent that you need this kind of working, just keep your target in mind. If they are truly and quite literally petrified of commitment, forcing them to drench themselves in that which scares them the most can have a really bad impact on their mental well being (and your relationship.)
3. Most people are as stubborn as you fear they are, because you are afraid they’re stubborn.
Ah fear…it attacts that which you fear. I should really start fearing (as in being terrified of,) really hot, rich, muscular guys who never age, and love only me…. I wonder if that would work. 😉
Humor aside, you are your own worst enemy when you fear something or have doubts. Look, maybe so and so IS stubborn, but have faith in your spellwork, and you might surprise yourself. Doubt and fear are the opposite of faith. I’ve seen some pretty impressive outcomes using spellwork on people who seemed immovable…they just crack under the pressure. Instead of feeding your worry, tell yourself “At least I’m doing something and trying, and the only way I know this will work is if I do try.” Doubting and panicking never solved anything.
4. Yes, you are acting stupid and/or like you’re gushing and crushing over that person.
Seriously and for real…you are totally showing your feelings. 😉 Don’t feel bad, I can get this way, too. I’ve definitely laughed at unfunny jokes and tripped all over myself because some guy was so cute….and I was well-past the age of girlish antics the last time it happened, heh. 😛 If you have to ask “Am I being obvious?” you’re probably being obvious. He or she knows you like them. 😉
Now ask yourself – are they acting like “uh, no thanks!” or are they acting warm and receptive. If it’s like your target is pulling back a bit, tone down the girlish/boyish crush behavior. 😉
5. Acting like a jerk isn’t encouraging anyone to come to you.
I get it. You were wronged. Someone was mean. You don’t want to be a doormat (you might also want to read #10.) I also can’t begin to tell you how acting like a defensive jerkface is just going to make someone walk away. No one likes being attacked (you sure wouldn’t,) and so why are you attacking this person? How is that helping? I don’t care if it makes you feel better RIGHT NOW – I can assure you when you miss whoever you’re being a jerk to, you’re going to regret the jerk behavior later. If you just want to tell someone “how it is” and tell them off, don’t expect them to come around your door anymore.
6. There is such a thing as scaring someone enough that they are not going to come back (at least for a long while. Even with spells.)
I always tell people the best thing you can do for yourself is to cause the least amount of damage possible when you break up with someone, even if you’re the dumped party and you got hurt. Then I tell them to stop chasing their ex. DO NOT CHASE YOUR EX. It’s actually going to make it harder for you to get that person to return.
Scary behavior can be hard to forgive…we’ve gone over this before. 
7. There are people who can be madly in love and never be faithful.
Sexual exclusivity means absolutely nothing at all to some people. I realize that boggles the minds of other people. But…if your intended is the kind of person who views sex as something to share with everyone (not just one person) love spell after love spell is not apt to change that – see #1 and #2 on this list.
8. No one who cheats to be with you is apt to take you seriously (or be faithful to be with you.)
STOP before you start…I do understand some people “leapfrog” from their last relationship into their next. If your intended leaves someone to be with you after the first time you make kissy faces at each other THAT MIGHT WORK.
However, if this person is sleeping around behind their long term partner or spouse’s back to be with you? They aren’t leaving anyone. You’re being played for a fool. Furthermore, you’re with someone who would betray someone they claim to love…so wouldn’t they do the same to you. As a word of advice, don’t take cheaters seriously, and if you’re a cheater, don’t encourage your side-ass to take you seriously. There would be a lot less broken hearts in the world if people followed that advice.
Using spells on this type often just brings you a cheating assclown who cheats on you. 😛 I don’t often see it end well for any party, and I don’t recommend trying.
9. If they really loved you, they generally always come back in some way…though it might be a long time from now.
When I was in my teens and my early 20’s, it seemed so FINAL. Once they were gone, were they not gone forever? I soon learned…well, no. In fact, usually they come back, over and over. 😉 Heck, dudes that moved THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY were pitching some sort of romance at me 3, 5, 10, even up to 15 years after we said “This isn’t working.” And the same went for friends – I thought we moved apart, and they snuggled up close again unexpectedly one day.
See, just like Corinthians says – love never fails. If you really love someone (even platonically,) and that love is truly and completely real (not just obsession) it always forgives, it doesn’t bear a grudge, it is not jealous, and it is very, very patient, and it never fails. Somewhere, somehow, they come back, even if you didn’t think they would and you both had to give up trying at some point. Now, even if I was ten years younger than I am now, I’d probably tell you that’s a load of hooey, but in my experience it’s true.
10. If you can’t admit that they were hurt, too, (or at least that you made mistakes,) then it probably will never work out…even if they come back.
When I was a younger woman, I often saw only how someone had hurt me. They were not listening, they were not seeing my pain, they were the one who upset me, etc., etc. Well, but it didn’t occur to me that I had scared that one, or I’d made this one feel his affections were unnoticed and unneeded. I’d been cold when this one wanted me to talk, and I’d been too hot and angry when that one needed space. In short, I’d hurt those guys, too. Even when I developed past that point, I still would do another incredibly stupid thing – I’d rate who was more betrayed. 😛 So, maybe I was a total cunt to that guy, and that outweighed his being a total cunt to me (because I was cuntier.) Or, maybe I was being mean and not talking, but that guy had said I looked ugly, hit on some girl, and then also drank too much and I got embarrassed by it. So I “won.” I got to be the wronged party.
Ugh.
Look, love means having to say you’re sorry all of the time, even sometimes when you don’t know why. 😛 It means trying to understand why someone else got hurt even when you were and are still hurt. It means letting someone know you have boundaries while also letting them know you aren’t getting ready to leave them just because you have boundaries. While I truly believe apologies should be said ONCE and the timing should be considered for the apology, it doesn’t mean I don’t think recognizing your own part in the break isn’t important…and sometimes recognizing your mistakes takes time.
If you need a week or two to collect yourself before reacting, TAKE THAT WEEK AWAY. Do it. You’re no good to yourself if you’re in a constant panic and upsetting your intended. I’ve needed some time to reflect on my own bad choices because I was SO HURT by someone pushing me away and I wanted them to realize my pain (so, my attempt at reconciliation would have been worse than horrible.) When I took the time to think why they might have pushed me away to begin with, I realized how I’d often been the author of that outcome. That doesn’t mean that when someone did come back, that he wasn’t going to be apologizing for his part, too, or at least recognizing he hurt me – if he didn’t, it would never work out. It’s really rare for someone top be 100% right all of the time.
So, once you can admit you’re not the only one hurting (and they seem to be realizing that too,) there’s a real chance at a lasting reconciliation. If one side has to be right and never wrong? There’s a good chance it will fall apart again.
Thanks for reading!
~Cat
IMAGE CREDIT: Gustave Moreau – Venus Rising from the Sea
Hey everyone,
Since this has been an increasing problem over the years…
I do not give substitutions for items you can’t locate (or refuse to try on your own to locate,) nor do I give substitutions for actions you can’t take. The substitution for anything you can’t find or any action you can’t take is to find a spell you have all the ingredients to and can undertake all the actions thereof.
“Quick Advice/Clarification” on an article is something to the effect of: “Can I use a votive rather than a taper candle here?” or “If I use ‘Love Me’ instead of ‘Return to Me’ oil, would that be effective on a problem where reconciling the party is unneeded?”
Spell-coaching (a paid service) is anything that would take me literally over five minutes to write a response to. So, if you’re asking me to give you special custom advice regarding your situation, or you need a lot of assistance on working a particular spell or finding a particular spell, you need to PURCHASE spell coaching.
Please note the date-stamp on the article you are asking about. Some links may be out-dated. While I don’t mind being alerted to an out-dated link, I DO NOT always have a replacement link for that product or store.
Also, if there is any header or notice that I no longer accept questions regarding a particular article (sometimes after a decade of abusive behaviors regarding one article, I have had enough discussion on the matter to last a lifetime,) please do not ask if you can be the exception to that rule. You are already being provided with 2000% more information than I EVER HAD when first using that spell – trust me. Maybe I have more practice in spellcasting than you do (I am almost sure that I do!) but you should be able to work any spell I’ve posted here with the instructions I have given. Again, quick clarification on an instruction is fine – but if you want me to customize my instructions to your needs, that is a paid service.
Hope that clears things up! 🙂
~Cat
Hey there occulties,
It’s time for the contest edition of Questions You’ve Asked me! 🙂
Grand Prize Winner (PS)
Q: You frequently have said that a personal concern could not be reused and I was wondering why this was the case? I’ve seen on ‘certain message boards’ of people claiming they have laminated personal concerns so they could reuse them indefinitely, and their ‘experts’ seem to think this is acceptable. I’m more inclined to agree with your ‘one and done’ mentality of personal concerns, but was looking for a more in-depth explanation.
A: Sometimes I think of a biological item as something similar to a DNA sample…which is to say, as being similar to other forms of forensically or physically identifying someone. So, for example, if we were using this hair or this nail clipping to identify a missing or dead person, or a criminal, we could use certain tests on the item – given it’s condition is acceptable for such testing – to identify someone using tests on the item to give us the DNA information. In this respect, if certain events happen to the biological sample, the DNA can no longer be used because the item is degraded, and we can no longer find that information. This can happen intentionally (I’ve heard bleach can remove DNA results or skew them,) or naturally (I’ve watched programs where an old sample on a cold case had degraded past the point of being usable just from being stored too long or stored improperly.) HOWEVER, I think we can all conclude, through modern science, that a DNA sample (a good one,) is a strong identifying marker for whomever it belongs to. So, in that respect, a fresh drop of blood is a stronger link to a person than a photograph is – one is more unarguably belonging to- and coming from- the desired person. In fact, better witness samples ARE fresher, they ARE a hair with the follicle still attached (rather than a piece of hair,) – so they are very similar to collecting the “best DNA sample” if we were forensic investigators. 😉
Keep this in mind, because I’m going to bring up another point before totally answering. 😉
Also, when we use a biological item in Hoodoo, – assuming it’s not being placed in a dolly, or inside of a candle, or similar, which would mean it might get destroyed or we would have to destroy the ritual item, – we often place this within a name paper. To unfold the name paper and remove the item (which should properly be folded INTO the name paper,) for reuse is actually destroying the link to the target. The item is supposed to be left in the name paper or in the ritual item as a link to the target.
However, let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that the item in question, being laminated, is not being folded into a name paper, and is not being pulled out of a ritual item. 😉 Also, as above, let’s treat the biological item as if it’s like DNA evidence – that it can be “contaminated” or degraded past being usable…
Basically, when we work on an item, each time we are “transforming” the sample. As I’d said above, if I use bleach on, say, blood evidence, I can strip the DNA information out. Similarly, while I’m not only removing the link to my target by retrieving the witness sample each time, I’m also working with a “dirty sample,” especially if I am not reusing it for EXACTLY THE SAME WORK. I’ve “contaminated” the sample, in other words.
Let’s say I want to work on a man I’m enamored of. I get a hair off of his head, and I laminate this. First I cast a spell to make him lusty. Well, he gets lusty as all hell, but he’s not lovey enough. So I reuse it and make him romantic, and that works for a few weeks but he breaks things off with me. So I then use it for obsession work. Now, each time I work on him, I’m putting my energy into his witness sample. Assuming I am not harming my own work by removal of the sample (which I am,) I’m also working on myself a bit more each time. So, both of us get obsessed on this third round, we reunite, but he’s not a nice man and he sleeps with my sister, and I break things off. I then use the hair for cursing….well, erm….How much of me is in there? I’m degrading the sample with each use, and putting my own energy in, and I’m probably effecting myself as well. Anyone who’s at a point where they feel it’s normal to laminate a hair of a target probably got this way because they are (inadvertently) working on themselves – they are making themselves fall further in love with the target, or placing themselves under obsession to the target. Further, that plastic is picking up energies from EACH AND EVERY SPELL, so presumably, even if the practitioner/petitioner is not using a witness sample of their own (ie their own hair, blood, etc.) – which if they do add that in, they are SPELLCASTING ON THEMSELVES and intensifying their own feelings for the target, – then they are possibly working on themselves and definitely affecting their past work by reusing a “contaminated” or “used” sample.
Just like your ritual surfaces need to be cleaned regularly (because they pick up energies, just like your stove top and your pots and pans need to be wiped down from getting bits of food on them,) to ensure you’re not mixing the energies up, so would this item need frequent cleaning, AND each time you’re using it, you’re altering it energetically, so at some point, it’s not only unusable (again, assuming you’re not destroying a spell for pulling it out each time,) it’s also filthy with spell energy or, perhaps, inert from being overly cleansed.
While it’s not always the best link to a target, this is why I really really love electronic photos. We can print them out as we need to, and it does NOT matter if we dispose of the item when it’s used once! 😉 Heck, I print out a contact sheet of images for each client’s problem because I can just tear a new sample off of the page as needed. 😉
Further, if someone is at a point where they want to “preserve” the biological link, a better method might be to snip just a teeny tiny bit of it away and use it in each spell, disposing of it in the proper manner with the rest of the ritual remains. There only needs to be a tiny bit of the item – not the whole hair/nail/etc (unless specified.)
Personally, I find reusing an witness sample to be similar to wiping your bum with a hand-towel, then right after, using the same towel to wipe your face. You wouldn’t do something icky like that…so why are you reusing degrading DNA witness samples, because it’s about as healthy for your spellwork as washing your face with a towel you washed your poopy butt with. 😉
Also the short answer here (because every deserves a short answer, ha!) is I was taught never to reuse a witness sample ever. 😉 I have NEVER heard an “expert” recommend it’s reuse, and I invite whichever “expert” is saying this is kosher to let me know why they feel it is so. I’d love to have an intelligently-based conversation on how 1.) plastic laminate is not being infected with spell energies as it’s reworked (as well as the laminated item,) 2.) how pulling the item out of a spell is not effecting the spell or the witness sample, and 3.) why they feel this is an acceptable method to work (by which I mean how they came to these conclusions;) as I’ve honestly never ever ever read or heard someone say that they should reuse a personal item – not ever in 25+ years of spellcasting. If it’s an item inside of a doll or a bag, then it makes sense, but you’re not pulling the item out of the doll or the bag – you’re reworking the same energies on a ritual creation in that case.
Second Prize Winner (JB)
Q: When working a target for Love purposes is it better or necessary to ritually cleanse both the target and the receiving party before you do the work so that the work will take effect? Some people are protected that is why I ask.
A: It can’t hurt to do that, though I would balk at calling it necessary.
I would say the best thing ever in that situation is to KNOW YOUR TARGET. 😉 There are a lot less protected people in this world than we’d choose to believe, and it’s also been my observation that many people often over-estimate their target’s ability to withstand magical influence. (Admittedly, some people under-estimate their target, too – it’s just weirdly a smaller percentile.) 😉
For example, many people will ask me “Cat, will (target) know I am working on him/her?” Considering a large majority of people don’t even realize there is a study of the occult in modern times (they tend to believe it’s something like there are a few kids who really like Harry Potter movies or satanic heavy metal, etc,) much less that there are those who practice spellcraft, it’s very unlikely they would even consider that as a cause.
So, steering this back to your question, let’s assume that the would-be target DOES know spells or has some form of spiritual belief that would armor them against magical influence – that they ARE NOT the average person who would not have this sort of defense. So, in this case you have to look at this like you have to get past some sort of spiritual armor. Cleansing them isn’t going to remove the armor – you have to get in…so…
If they know spells, you might want to use confusion techniques before applying love magic. By using confusion, you are making them “not notice,” what’s going on. I sometimes will use poppy seed as an ingredient in love spells if I feel the target is difficult to influence or if I feel they are of a type which is sensitive to spell energy. Poppy seed tends to make the target easier to influence and more compliant.
If they have been spellcasted upon by someone else, you might want to remove the work on them. This can be done with a spiritual cleansing.
If you’re trying to combat actual armor against spell influence, that could be more difficult. It really depends on what you’re up against. The idea is to get “under the armor” and influence them anyhow, but depending on their defenses, that could sound easier than it is. A strong cleansing, AND confusion techniques might work, but if they are protected enough (which is to say, probably smarter and better than most at spells,) you might just keep hitting a wall, or even worse, have them recognize what you’re doing. While some people might be flattered if it’s a love case, others will view it as an attack and attack back.
HOWEVER, if you’re just working on the “average bear” sort of target for love, I recommend doing some road opening work before beginning. It will clear off any obstacles to spell manifestation without negatively impacting your work or the target. MOST people will have no idea you’re using love spells on them, and this should clear away anything acting as an obstacle without having to do a thorough cleansing.
Third Prize Winner (AG)
Q: You often point out the importance of charging candles, or at least visualizing your goals while holding your ritual candle, which I whole-heartly agree with. Though I’ve read elsewhere where individuals felt ‘charging’ is a Wiccan concept that has no place in hoodoo, they claim that it is prayer that infuses the candle. Honestly, it sounds like the same thing that is simply being labeled differently: focusing energy into a candle vs focused prayer into it. My question is if there are any other concepts, rituals, practices, etc from other magical traditions/beliefs that you incorporate into your hoodoo that you feel give you better results?
I guess the short answer is that prayer and focus of will and charging are pretty similar, yes. However, the answer is much longer and more involved. 😉
While the terminology I use might be more “modern” than “ancient,” it doesn’t make it “Wiccan.” 😉 I am a bit of a traditionalist myself, but occult practices do evolve over time, and to deny that is to deny that it is a living field of study. This isn’t us studying Latin or an extinct species – this is a living corpus of knowledge, – so it can, will, and does evolve over the centuries.
Allow me to digress…one thing taught to me via Catholicism was an instruction on prayer, which basically was that without one being properly focused when in prayer, that prayer had no meaning. The idea that certain prayers, having been said with great faith and devotion over the centuries, carried more strength than others definitely was said to us, but that if we spoke to God or to the saints that without it being sincere, focused, and done with a certain mindset could mean our prayers would not be heard. So, saying an Our Father might grant some blessing as it carries so much energy, but just saying “Hey, St Joe, I could like, really use your help right now because I totes want to get out of wood shop class,” is probably not going to effect a situation either way. I’m not sincere, I’m not focused – I am not apt to get help.
Last I checked, while the Catholic church DOES believe in demons and in exorcism, they’d probably balk at their priests being called magicians (despite holy mass being a huge magic spell,) yet here they are telling their adherents how to PROPERLY FOCUS THEIR WILL like one would when spellcasting. If my brain is all over the place and I’m not focused while doing a spell candle, I’m not going to be successful. If I am focused while doing a spell candle, if my intentions are pure (in the sense that they are not contaminated with other thought, with doubt, or with fear,) then I am probably going to be successful. If I pray (just speak) words without pure intention (that is without a clear mind, thinking of other things,) my prayer will not be apt to be successful because I am merely speaking words with no power behind them, but if I pray with pure intention, I am more apt to receive that which I am seeking…so that sounds really similar there, right? Magic/prayer…very similar indeed.
If I were to “pray properly,” I would keep the image of what I wanted in mind, perhaps even “seeing it” in my mind’s eye as moving towards God/the Universe towards materialization, while I’d be speaking as sincerely as possible to God, the spirit, the saint, etc, and so in many ways this is very much the same as “sending energy.”
So, when I instruct others to “charge” the candle, rather than just “focus and pray while focusing” (which I also instruct people to focus while doing their chant,) I am actually doing this for the reason that I believe many neophytes are too nervous or unfamiliar with spellcasting and this focused energy helps give their spell more “ooomph.” For a practiced spellcaster, it certainly doesn’t hurt to imbue an item with focused energy, either. What is happening when this energy is focused and “sent into” an item (which, honestly, I equate this more with reiki than with Wicca, but maybe that’s just me,) prior to the working is that you are filling the item with intention, and this energy is working on your behalf. So both the chant/prayer and the item itself are sending out spell energy.
Considering Hoodoo also has had healers who do a “laying on of hands,” which would be a spiritual power working through them, what in the heck to these folks claiming “sending energy is Wiccan,” think those Bible-using folks were sending through their hands other than SPIRITUAL ENERGY? I mean, I’m sure they felt it was the energy of God working through them and going into the sick person, but I really doubt that people doing this work well-before Wicca was even a blink in Gerald Gardner’s eye less than 100 years ago believed they were practicing a religion that didn’t even exist yet. 😉
Furthermore, if we refer back to our ancient forbears, people who even predate modern Hoodoo, we need to consider that these people were often initiated into their job as a magician or a priest, and that certain things which I might speak to another magician in regards to instruction on a particular working are not the same thing I’d say to a stranger who I do not know their level of learning. For example, speaking to another practiced, advanced expert on lighting a seven day candle for love on a particular case I might say: “Use 3 different love oils, but only one with lust as a trigger, because it can’t be that ‘horny.’ I’d lean towards forgiveness and emotional love on the herbs. Don’t put both the petitioner and the target in there, just use the target, but make the name paper out the usual way.” I don’t need to list what I mean in regards to oils. I don’t need to list herbs. I don’t need to explain a name paper “the usual way” for love. I also don’t need to tell them what I mean by any of it. If I was speaking to a neophyte, the above will not cut it at all in regards to instruction. 😉 BUT there are plenty of grimoiric texts (the Greek Magical Papyrii for example,) in which language is abbreviated, and even certain parts of the ritual written as “the usual” because a contemporary using that text would have known without having to be instructed what to do. To say these people never used focus and will and only used “prayer” without focused will is without merit.
Sorry if that was a bit all over the place. 😉 Basically any focusing of the will and visualization is a form of sending energy. I’m really almost 100% certain that people have been doing this for over a millennium before Wicca was even a thing. That the most effective use of prayer is similar is not a coincidence, so you’re right to say that they are about the same thing.
*****
I will also be posting some “Honorable mentions” in the next day or so. 🙂
Things that didn’t qualify… As usual, I do not teach you how to raise spirits, I do not teach death curses or break up curses, and if it was answered in the QYAM category (especially more than once,) I may have replied to you personally in a few cases, but it did not qualify.
Thanks everyone for participating! I really appreciate everyone’s entries, and hopefully we can do this again next year! 😀
~Cat
1.) I am kind of mad at you right now, and want to express that to you, but I’m worried you’ll put it on the wall of shame! How do I know my communication won’t find it’s way there?
A: OK, ask yourself the following:
*Rather than you expressing a dissenting opinion – are you more reducing yourself to insults that have little or nothing to do with the article you’re commenting on?
*Is it necessary that I read something rude and abusive – for example, do you feel calling me names will make me change my article or reconsider my point?
If you answered yes to both, then you might get on the wall of shame. If you answered no to both, and you feel you expressed a very reasonable dissenting opinion which was in no way created just to act cunty towards me for the sake of being cunty, you’re probably never going to even be considered wall of shame material.
If you’re mad at me, you might say “I’m really kind of mad right now, because I feel (whatever you’re mad about) was wrong of you to (say/do/etc), and these are my reasons (add reasons.)” I’m (not surprisingly) a lot more apt to listen to your concerns if you present them as so.
2.) You’re a fucking dumb bitch! Fuck you! Fuck! Fuck you you fucking clown!
A: *sigh* Acting like a rude cunt won’t necessarily grant you a spot on my Wall of Shame either. If I think you’re doing it only to get on the wall of shame, then I’ll probably delete your bullshit with no response.
3.) I’m afraid my question is stupid, and you’ll make fun of it on the wall of shame – would you do that?
A: I get asked a ton of stupid questions, so I am probably not shocked by yours being stupid, if it is stupid. Honestly, the wall of shame is for abusive assclowns, not someone who really can’t figure out some basic elementary spell stuff because they are new to spells. If you’re not being rude, I do not feel a need to shame you.
4.) I got on the wall of shame – how do I get off of it?
A: You probably won’t. If you want to write me a nice apology, and ask nicely, I might remove it, but most people who reduce themselves to the level of trolling nastiness who would make it to the wall of shame are not going to be capable of that. Maybe you’ll surprise me though, who knows?
5.) I DEMAND YOU REMOVE MY SHIT FROM THE WALL OF SHAME! FUCK YOU!!!!!! I WILL FUCKING SEND SPIDERS INTO YOUR EYES AND SHOOT YOU AND KILL YOU AND-
A: Yeah, threatening me is illegal. So, cops, jail, etc. I’m a lawyer’s kid, so your fake legal-speak won’t scare me either. 🙂 And you’re just proving that you’re a completely psychotic cunt bag by acting how you are. I might even put your further crazy-town antics up.
6.) Can we harass or be mean to the people on the Wall-of-Shame?
A: Please do not harass, contact, annoy, fuck with, or further bother these people. I do not encourage beating up on anyone. The shame of being on the wall of shame is shame enough. Let them crawl back under whatever rock they came from and nurse their wounds without further harassment.
I TOTALLY DO NOT ENCOURAGE BOTHERING ANYONE ON MY WALL OF SHAME EVER. Leave the crazy people alone. They obviously hate themselves and their lives to even have engaged in such horrid behavior. As I said in the paragraph above – being on the wall of shame is shame enough.
Let our only abuse of them to be to sit here and laugh at them while reading the Wall of Shame. 🙂
Hey Occulties,
While writing your money spell (writing takes me a looooong time, and right now is no exception, heh) I received an email that was very very very nice, and thanked me for all of the hard work I’ve put in on my blog, and how a recent article helped them with an issue they’d been having, and better helped them overcome some spell issues they’d run into.
You know, that was really, really what I needed today.
It might surprise some of you, but I get crap from some of my peers for writing “for a n00b audience,” now and again. It might surprise some of you, but I get crap for being honest enough to say things like “You probably don’t want to wait to the 11th hour to turn to spells if you want your problem fixed” (solid advice for anything – don’t wait to do something until it’s so bad it’s horrid.) I get crap for not doing my job for free (I also get crap when I do it for free.) I get crap for not writing articles fast enough. I get crap for being insincere when I’m being sincere. I get crap for not being funny enough. I get crap for attempting to interject humor into articles. I get crap for not sucking up to everyone regardless of their treatment of me.
I get a lot of crap sometimes…because sometimes life is fulla crap. 😛
It’s amazing how one person being a shit can ruin my whole day, but it’s even more amazing how one genuinely nice bit of praise can completely reverse that and remind me why I do this job.
So thank you for the praise. I sent an even longer note of thanks to you personally, but thank you. I am happy that I’ve helped you, and it’s why I write my blog. You were totally the candle in the darkness today, a blessing, and exactly who I needed to run into. Bless you. 🙂
Alrighty, back to writing my money spell.
~Cat
Collected 2/3/15 – being the THIRD of these I received in ten years (do the math, I get a psycho like this once every three years or so, lol,) this person made me to decide to change comments to make it even harder to be anonymous. 😛
A new comment from “Anonymous” was received on the post “On Doing Money/Prosperity Work (in Prep for a Forthcoming Money Spell Post)” of the blog “Cat’s Rants – Confessions of an Occult Mastermind”.
Comment:
Hey, did you ever think that your bitchy, ungrateful attitude is causing your financial problems? You seem to constantly talk shit about your customers or potential customers; calling them stupid, or saying that they ask dumb questions, etc. Also you keep criticizing peoples desperate motives for wanting a spell cast. When you act as if you have so much business that you can be a nasty bitch to your “occulties”/ fans, you lose them and you their money. I have never invested money in you and I never will cause your shitty attitude sucks and I would rather take my business elsewhere. I just noticed the fact that you have been whining and complaining about your crap income as of late… And I’m thinking duh bitch you talk shit about your customers. I will never spend money on you and I laugh when you talk about how broke you are, lol! Bees with honey, not vinegar.
Commenter name: Anonymous
Commenter email: false email
IP address: 172.56.12.50
Authentication: None
Hi Anonymous,
Forgive me if I wax prosiac – I am unaccustomed to trolls writing me things like you do on my blog – third time EVER! – but I have dealt with people with backbones via email before (they weren’t too scared to give me a real name or way to contact them,) so I’ll pretend, for the moment, that you’re someone who’s not so terrified that they need to hide behind anonymity, OK? 🙂
I read the article you referenced, and didn’t see any bitchitude or ungratefulness. I couldn’t find where I called someone stupid nor did I see where I was saying anything about “dumb questions” in that article. I also said that maintenance work with money spells is better than hoping everything will work in the 11th hour…which, if I’m being fair, is pretty solid advice for almost anything in life. Any time I let things just fall to pieces before I did something about it, I had a lot more work ahead of me than if I kept maintaining a good situation or attempted to fix it as soon as it started to unravel rather than when it was in pieces. Perhaps your experience would teach you that everyone’s life should be totally shattered with everything having been awful, and that everyone should wait to the 11th hour to try to fix something if they want success? That’s not my experience in spell casting or in life, so I’d not pass on that bit of knowledge or advice. In fact, I asked around to magical and non-magical friends, and they agree with me – waiting to do something until the situation is desperate is a really really really bad idea, so I guess everyone I know is a “stupid bitch.”
I’m not broke…but, then, I don’t ask for a large sum for working for others. Was I confusing when I referenced wanting to “hop on the prosperity train?” Humor about paying bills was confusing to you? I’m assuming reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit, so let me explain. Basically, if you break it down, I make about $10/hr on spells. I could raise my prices, but I’m here to help people. You’re free to “invest” your money with someone who profits more off of you, because it sounds like that’s what you view as “success.” Apparently, (or from what I gather from your hate-mail,) if someone will lie to you and tell you that they work miracles, all the while telling you that you’re a very nice person (and, you’re the type of person who screams profanity at strangers for no reason other than YOU managed to cross paths with them – and they never interacted directly with you,) despite the fact that you’re clearly NOT being a very nice person (again, you scream profanity at strangers who never even directly addressed you,) you would trust them merely for them saying just what you want to hear. I don’t know if I’d trust someone like who you’re looking for, but you obviously would – and that’s what matters to someone as sensible as you. 🙂 Hey, if you think someone who preys on the desperate (when I actually advertise that I won’t accept work from desperate people,) is worth your “investment,” then…well, I guess you’re long past the point where I can give you good advice.
I do have plenty of business, though – enough so that I can turn down bad business. I suspect you’re a rejected party. I’m sorry that I honestly couldn’t turn you into a werewolf, and I had the audacity to say no. 😦
I’m really sorry you’re so cowardly that you can only anonymously freak out on a woman who gives free spell advice on the internet and has had one of the most-read occult blogs on the internet for over a decade now (and I’m someone who does not actually talk shit about a paying customer or client, either, I might add.) If you meant what you were saying (instead of it being you lashing out on me because you’re upset about your own life,) you’d have directly contacted me and we’d have dealt with the matter privately, but you’re obviously too frightened and know your behavior is wrong.
I mean, I get it. People who have horrible lives use the internet to verbally beat up on someone who they don’t expect is an actual human being on the other side of a monitor. You would be way too frightened to do what you’re doing here to the person’s face, and furthermore, you don’t want to humanize the person you are attacking. By refusing to look at me while you said those things, or acknowledge to yourself that I’m another human being, you’re able to dehumanize me, and therefore use me as a punching bag to relieve your stress without feeling guilty for the enormous social crime you just committed. If you look at yourself for a moment and realize that you just told me volumes about yourself (I pity you, honestly, because you’re spineless, bitter, angry, sick, and mentally ill enough to pick on a woman you’ve never even spoken with in chat because she wrote an article saying “it’s better to do maintenance before the problem is almost unfixable,”) then perhaps the next time you want to unleash your hateful vitriol, you’ll pause for a moment and wonder why you’re so mad at yourself and hate your life so much that you need to attack another anonymous person on the internet. See, I never contacted you – you wrote me a personal letter telling me off because I said “Spells work better when you don’t wait til everything has fallen apart,” because I offered the (quite true) observation that spells do not work well for the desperate (because of “lust for results – something more than one author has expounded on,) and that upset you enough to write me what you wrote. Think about that. I never contacted you with this information, you just voluntarily had a completely rude hissy fit – addressing it directly to me – because Google or something led you to my personal blog. This is like screaming “Fucking smelly cunt hole” at a person on the bus who you never met because they wore a hat you didn’t like. That’s basically the person you are.
Either way, sorry you think 25+ years of occult experience means anyone getting information from me is following a “dumb bitch.” I’m also sorry that you don’t understand humor – self-deprecating or otherwise. I hope the doctor refills your prescription. It’s obviously overdue. 😦 I honestly and sincerely hope you get the help you need before you have a break down and start physically attacking strangers, since you’re obviously pretty close to that. Be well, honeybee.
~C
PS- Amusingly enough when someone started calling me “bitchy” about 5-6 years ago, my business shot up to 10x what it was, so apparently you’re totally mistaken about me “losing fans” because you (they?) think I’m a “bitch,” and that’s off-putting – though coming from a cunt like you, I’m pretty sure bitch is a compliment! 🙂
1/29/15:
The above is a comment (one of three) written by Jennifer on a GoFundMe page others asked to be created to give me and my family funds after a housefire. Most of my altars, religious statuary, and quite a bit of work-related stuff was destroyed. I’ve replaced her picture with the famous “Blue Waffle” as that accurately explains my feelings about her comments. This is the nicest one of them. While I reasonably assume she’s the other person (above) by the similitude of her comments (and she’s a psycho who stalks me apparently,) my direct response is as follows:
Dear Jennifer BlueWaffle,
Lastly, why are you stalking my blog and site like a rejected lover if you hate me so much? Isn’t that (along with what you put on a fire victim’s site,) just a bit telling that you have some severe emotional issues? How do you explain that as “normal”? I can’t, so I’d love to know if you can because I prefer to avoid dealing with someone with as many emotional issues as you must have if you keep stalking me to say shitty things to me when you think I’m down on my luck. I’m just a person who writes a blog and I have nothing to do with you. If you don’t like my material, move on. Obsession is a sickness, and for you to do what you did, you became obsessed with a woman on the internet and stalked her and harassed her because you didn’t like her blog and website…think on that. I don’t write Google to let them know I hate their search and I hope they know what pieces of shit they are for having a house fire. I wouldn’t. That’s creepy, and it could get you arrested. You stalk a woman you’ve never met in person for over a year? That doesn’t strike you as deeply and profoundly mentally ill with obsession? I find it mentally ill, but as I said, enlighten me. How is that normal?
