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

  • Hey everyone,

    With the addition of some new recipies to the blog, the following has been a more popular concern in the old inbox. πŸ˜‰

    Q: I have been experiencing some skin irritation using essential oils, and also, I like the scent of the fragrance oils better – AND the cost of several essential oils is prohibitively costly. Is there some “happy medium” here?

    A: Of course there is. πŸ™‚

    Firstly, your essential oils may be diluted when using them in an anointing oil (especially if you chose to wear it on your skin as well.) Certain essential oils, such as clove essential oil, were, in the past, used as a topical anesthetic, so its actually quite normal to have certain oils create skin reactions with the “full strength” essential. πŸ˜‰

    Also, I hear you on the “fragrance” thing. πŸ˜‰ I have a few oils of which I am incredibly fond of this or that company’s synthetic scent over the true essential scent. πŸ˜‰ Azuregreen’s Cypress, for example, is a big favorite of mine…but I also have cypress essential oil because I want the full herbal properties in ritual use. First and foremost, condition oils were not always created with the idea of being aesthetically pleasing to the nose – I’d guess a strong majority were not, because they are, for the most part, intended for RITUAL use. πŸ˜‰ When I’m stirring up a batch of Black Arts oil, I’m not usually wondering “Hmm, would people wear this as a purfume?” because I actually would hope you don’t. πŸ˜‰

    Mercury

    However, when making a Come to Me or a Follow Me Boy or a Love Me oil for someone else, I have a strong idea that the person may wish to wear this as a purfume or cologne (or as a compliment beneath their regular cologne.) Also, I have created some recipies wherein the scent itself is part of a psychological trigger (usually love oils,) in a target. For example, according to Draja Mickaharic, strawberry scent is good for drawing proposals of marriage (think of Mama Cat’s Marry Me Boy oil); according to more than one source (I can think of Mr. Mickaharic and Papa Jim and my friend’s Nana as mine,) sweeet pea scent draws love and friendships, or…vanilla is thought of as a good scent to draw men with.

    The psychological value of the scent is an important factor if you know this may be used as a purfume because many people WANT a magic/kal purfume. πŸ˜‰ Women especially (in my experience) tend to view several oils as needing to be able to work as such. Since several of the love style oils (and many luck oils,) carry a rather nice scent (IMHO,) without much – if any – effort on the creator to add in a synthetic scent aspect (for example, many love oils are already quite floral without the addition of any “smelly” oils,) this isn’t really a difficult problem. πŸ˜‰

    However, as the original concern of skin irritation and price has come up, that IS a concern. If you know someone is going to wear your anointing oil as a purfume/cologne (or can assume its likely,) you should take steps to ensure the oil can be safely handled by anyone smart enough not to eat it, and take steps to make it affordable (since rose attar was some absurd price in the hundreds for half an ounce last I checked.) πŸ˜‰

    There are a few options…

    Dilute: You can dilute an essential oil a number of ways. The most common one is to add a bit of olive oil or another carrier oil (almond oil is another favorite,) to the essential. The less scent of the carrier oil, the better. Years ago, someone gave me a half ounce of “rose” oil which was about 1 drop rose attar to a half ounce of jojoba oil…it smelled like jojoba. πŸ˜‰ I have had good results with olive, grapeseed, and almond oils as carriers – vitamin e should be added if you are using a carrier oil as well. Be sure that there is enough of the essential oil in ratio to your carrier oil to be able to still SMELL your essential in these cases.

    You can also add a few drops of the true essential to your fragrance oil to dilute it if you are fond of the scent of the fragrance oil over the essential…

    OR

    Don’t use the essential oil at all… Either put your herbs in a carrier oil base and allow to sit a few days before use, or use a synthetic fragrance oil to which you have added real herbal matter (to allow herbal vibrations to enter the oil.)

    Since I ALWAYS recommend adding real herbs to any ritual oil (regardless of your use of essentials, carriers, or fragrance oils,) to increase its power, your herbs in the oil base should be doing the work you want. πŸ˜‰ The essential oil is pure distilled herb, so its powerful…and can be too powerful for some skin types. This skin-reaction problem could be helpful if your intent with the oil is to cause harm (mwahaahahahah,) but again, if you are seeking something to double as a “ritual purfume” of sorts, you normally will want to mildly dilute the essential – plus, diluting your essential oil will make it last longer and save $$. πŸ˜‰

    Some essentials (such as lemongrass,) are CHEAP and very non-irrating to skin. If you truly feel your role in life is to dilute these, so be it. I’ve found lemongrass essential as cheap as the fragrance version, and I feel that if you don’t have to dilute (for aesthetic, financial, or skin-irritation purposes,) you are better not diluting – but that’s just IMHO.

    Well, I’ve rambled long enough. πŸ˜‰

    ~Cat

    PS- below is a banner to where I’ve been buying my essential oils and lots of bulk herbs lately… I highly recommend them to you! πŸ™‚

    Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c

  • Hey all,

    I was just visiting over at our friend, Professor Hex’s blog, and found a link to this interesting article from the Daily Mail speculating that at least 85% of us have clairvoyant powers. Cool… I love this stuff! Check it out…and again, my dear Professor Hex, thanks for the good read (and many good reads.) πŸ™‚

    ~Cat

  • Hello again, my occulties,

    Someone asked me today if I believed that true love can die… My answer is, no I do not think true love CAN die. If you truly love someone, you always will, and true love will last forever – the relationship, however, might not.

    However, if you truly love the person, it is up to you to help keep that relationship alive. If you could not be bothered to pay attention to someone, if you could not be bothered to nurture the love feelings between you two properly, if you had to smother or control your partner, then don’t be surprised when the person takes off to find someone who will be warm, receptive and compassionate towards them.

    Its not always your fault when a relationship ends, but if you contributed to its downfall, take responsibility for your own role in its demise. Until you do address your mistakes, and take steps to prevent yourself from making the same mistakes with a new love or even with an old love, you will be doomed to repeat them.

    If you want to cast a spell to bring a new love or to return an old one, part of the success in KEEPING that person with you lies within you. Without you behaving properly, and doing your best job at being the best partner, all relationships will ultimately dissolve until you do the best you can to keep the relationship alive. A spell is not a guarantee against bad behavior, nor is the depth of your feelings (shared or not,) a guarantee that your relationship will stand the test of time.

    Food for thought.

    ~Cat

  • Hi occulties,

    So, back to our topic at hand, shall we? πŸ˜‰

    Many of you are gearing up for Valentine’s Day this year and seeking to find a new love to spend the holiday with them. πŸ™‚ The following is a great bath you can use before a date, before just going out on the town, or even to help warm up a relationship with an existing lover (though I feel its best use is to attract a new love.)

    This bath is best done every day for seven days, preferably starting on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, and done in the hours before dawn. Some people will prefer to only do this bath once for convenience reasons (lol,) so if you are that person, you are best advised to do this bath on a Friday before dawn.

    You will need:

    Rose petals,
    Damiana, (gentlemen may prefer to use hibiscus in place of damiana,)
    Whole orris root (women,) OR whole High John root, medium to large size (gentlemen)
    Cardamom oil,
    Juniper oil, or Juniper berry oil (depending on the distributor, this is probably the same thing, just a preference on what they call it by name) πŸ˜‰
    A large washing tub or basin (preferably,) or a bath tub.

    Place about 1/4 cup each of rose petals and damiana into a reusable muslin tea bag, or lacking this, into an old stocking (or even a coffee filter stapled up,) and place this into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

    Put about 4-5 cups water into a pot, and if you are a lady, add in a whole orris root (sometimes called a Queen Elizabeth root,) and if you are a gent, add in a whole High John root. Bring water to a rolling boil on the stovetop, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour the water through the strainer and into the large mixing bowl with your herb packet. Allow to steep until you feel you have created a strong tea…squeeze out your “teabag” with the herbs in it, and remove from the liquid.

    Add 2 drops cardamom oil, and 2 drops juniper oil to your your liquid, and stir.

    If you are not ready to use the bath (for example, preparing it the evening beforehand,) you may leave the tea in your refrigerator overnight.

    The next part may be difficult. πŸ˜‰ If you can locate one, I want you to pour your liquid into your washing tub, and therein add in a bit of warm water to the liquid. Since I know not everyone can do this, you will at least need a bucket you can stand in or a regular bathtub. You are going to TRY to keep the bath water, because I’m going to instruct you on its proper disposal…which ain’t down the drain. πŸ˜‰

    Before stepping into the bath, place both hands over the water, and genuinely pray over the water for a lover who is perfect for you to come into your life, or to increase the romantic feelings of that specific someone – depending which you are using the bath for – you may pray to the god-head you worship, or simply call upon the power of the universe, in relation to whichever best suits your beliefs. πŸ˜‰

    Step into the bath, and start washing at your feet, and moving upwards to the head, and as you do so, pray sincerely that the best lover for you come into your life (or to strengthen existing passionate/romantic love feelings from your specific someone.) When you have washed all the way up to the top of your head, step out of the bath and, instead of towelling off, let yourself airdry (brr, I know.) When you have air-dried, dress, and walk out of your front doorstep, throwing the bathwater to the east.

    OK, since I know there will be questions, please feel free to contact me.

    Enjoy!

    ~Cat

  • Hello Occulties,

    Ah, excuse me for my emotional outbust the other day, but in a world of beings who I don’t want copy-catting me, Jason Gammon is right around the number one LAST person I’d ever want to emulate me. BUT, its not right for me to lose my cool like that. I try to keep my feelings about other practioners (even people like him who just pretend to be practioners,) to myself. Certainly, his lack of creativity and need to copy others in the hopes of, perhaps, being someday well-known and loved should be pitied, and I do feel badly for him. If I lacked so much creativity or intitiave, I would probably be suicidal. I sincerely pray he someday gets a unique idea so he can leave his tiny world without doing so by hopping on the shoulders of others and trying to piggy-back his way into the world of those with intiative, originality and vision.

    But enough about that. πŸ™‚ Onto our next article, and who gives a hell about someone so small that he has never had one thought of his own, eh?

    ~C

  • As many of you probably already know, Heath Ledger, a very talented young actor was found dead yesterday of an apparent accidental overdose of sleeping pills. I am saddened to see someone who’s acting I had admired so much have his life cut short far too early. My condolences go out to his friends, family, and loved ones.

    Heath

    The world definitely lost a great talent yesterday.

    Heath Ledger, b. April 4, 1979, d. January 22, 2008.

  • Hello Occulties,

    I’m coming down with a touch of the flu, so please forgive me if I start rambling – I have a mild fever, which, in turn, has given me a mild case of the stupids. πŸ˜‰ But I shall overcome because I am LOOONG over due on giving you an article…

    The following spell and article is for (sorry boys,) the ladies, and this is also, (sorry ladies,) for those ladies in EXISTING relationships. In all honesty, if your intended is not dating you, I do not know that this will work, and he should be dating you for some time. This spell is targeted for use by women who have suitors who are holding back on giving them the full commitment, despite there having been enough of an emotional bond established and a normal amount of time spent before someone would sensibly ask for a lady’s hand in marriage. πŸ˜‰

    Couple

    Please note, I have put a note where you need to use the essential oil, and that other oils can be “fragrance” oils or synthetic versions of the scent, and need not be the essential oils. πŸ˜‰

    Making the oil-
    You will need:
    Rose attar (REAL essential rose oil,)
    Orange blossom oil,
    Strawberry oil,
    Rosemary,
    Orris root (small pieces,)
    Catnip,
    Few drops menstrual blood or a few pieces of dried menses,
    Small jar or vial

    Place a small amount of each herb (about equal parts,) and menses into the vial or jar – you need not fill the vial or jar, just be sure there is a pinch of each herb in the bottle. Use 2 parts orange blossom oil, to 1 part rose attar, and 1 part strawberry oil, to fill the vial/bottle. Seal the vessel tightly, hold in your power hand (the hand you write with,) and envision yourself and your lover blissfully in love, and in full wedding clothing, try to send pink, white and blue energy into the oil. When you feel the oil is “full” of energy you can use it immediately, however I prefer to place my oils in a dark place for a few weeks, giving them a good shake every few days to allow the herbal vibrations to better enter the oil.

    Marry Me spell (oil can be used for other spells.)
    You will need:
    A string or cord soaked with the semen of your intended, the length of his erect penis
    A string or cord soaked with your menses, the length from the top of your pubic hair to the opening of the vaginal opening
    A blue nude male figural candle
    A blue nude female figural candle
    A pink taper candle (at least 4″ long,)
    A white taper candle (at least 4″ long,)
    A red taper candle (at least 4″ long,)
    Mama Cat’s “Marry Me, Boy” Oil
    Rosemary
    Rose
    Periwinkle Herb
    Small biological item from yourself (hair, nails, etc…your choice,)
    Small biological item from your lover (again, your choice,)
    A pin or nail,
    A heatproof container such as a cake tin (large size – if using a wood or plastic altar, use a ceramic tile beneath the tin,)
    A piece of scrap paper with all edges TORN not cut,
    A black pen,
    A red pen

    First off, don’t ask me how you are gonna measure his penis with a piece of string and then soak it in his semen. πŸ˜‰ I leave that one up to you, and plenty of ladies in the past have done this with their gentleman being none the wiser. I leave how you go about collecting his semen on that sized cord up to you. HOWEVER, try to collect semen which has not been mixed with your vaginal secretions.

    Next…. I know a lot of you ladies today shave all your pubies off. πŸ˜‰ BUT, I also know that pubies grow back and fast, so when you see the trace of the top of your bush coming on back (hehe,) measure the string from there to the actual vagina (meaning the birth canal,) the rest is not – clinically-speaking, – the vagina.

    For my gals who are not menstruating due to menopause, surgery, or nursing (or whatever medical reason,) you need to measure the string as above, but soak it in your vaginal secretions which you have gathered during masturbation, preferably around the full moon.

    Hopefully this will make it so I don’t have to discuss you or your lover’s fun parts to great length in my inbox in the future…but probably not. πŸ˜‰

    Moving on…

    Preperation:

    Mix equal parts of your herbs and crush into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle (or lacking this, a bowl and a strong spoon.) Set aside.

    Take the scrap of paper, and inscribe it with your black pen as follows:
    Write your lover’s name out 9 times like this-
    John Doe
    John Doe
    John Doe
    John Doe
    John Doe
    John Doe
    John Doe
    John Doe
    John Doe
    Then turn the paper, so the names of your lover is running vertically (up and down,) and inscribe your name in black pen over his 9 times in the same fashion as above. Since this confuses people, when you are done inscribing your name, the finished product will be like the 2 names are in a sort of “grid,” meaning his are running vertically, and yours horizontially over his. I know some of you are already confused. Please contact me if you need me to clarify this step. πŸ˜‰ Next using your red pen, write in a circle around the names the command “marry me,” written over and over until the 2 ends of the circle meet. Again, if you are really scratching your head here, contact me. Spit into the center of your paper, add a pinch of your herbal mixture to the center of the paper, and place the small biological item into the center of the paper, and then fold the paper in half TOWARDS you, saying “Marry me,” as you do. Now fold in half towards you again, saying, “Marry me,” as you do so again, and set this aside.

    Anoint your candles with your Marry Me, Boy oil using 7 strokes up (base to wick) for each candle. You are going to “charge” your candles a bit differently for each. πŸ˜‰ If you feel you cannot send energy or charge items, sit with the candle in both hands while picturing the suggested imagery (below.)

    Nude Male (“adam”) figural: Carve your lover’s initials over the heart area with your pin or nail. Hold this in your hands, and picture your intended asking for your hand in marriage, picture him as your bridegroom, dressed in traditional bridegroom wear, and try to send this image into the candle along with blue, white, and pink energy until you feel the candle is full.

    Nude Female (“eve”) figural: Carve your intials over the heart area with your pin or nail. Hold this in both or your hands while picturing yourself as a bride, and try to send this image into the candle along with blue, white, and pink energy until you feel the candle is full.

    Male and Female candle – take your strings (the semen one and the period blood one, and tie them around the couple with the couple “face to face” so as to “tie them together,” and as you tie 9 knots, with each knot, say “Marry Me.”

    Pink taper: Hold this in both hands, while thinking strongly of the romantic (as opposed to sexual or intellectual,) love between you and your lover, while trying to send pink energy into the candle.

    Red taper: Hold this in both hands, while thinking strongly of the sexual/passionate love between you and your lover, while trying to send red energy into the candle.

    White taper: Hold this in both hands while thinking strongly of the intellectual or platonic love between you and your lover, while trying to send white energy into the candle.

    Sprinkle your herbal mix on all candles.

    Altar set up
    Using your large cake tin to place all candles inside, place the female candle and male candles (now tied face to face,) and place the name paper beneath the “toes” of each of the candles so they are both “standing” on it. The female should stand to the left of the male. About 3 inches to the left of the female, place the pink taper, and 3 inches to the right of the male candle place the red taper candle. “Above” (or to the northerm direction of) the couple, place the white candle. This will sort of look like each of your tapers are forming the points of an upright candle with the “couple” in the middle.

    Spell (finally, hehe):

    Start by lighting your white candle, and say, “I strengthen the bonds of intellectual love between (lover’s full name,) and (your full name),” as you do so. Now light the red candle, saying, “I strengthen the bonds of passionate love between (lover’s full name) and (your full name,)” as you do so. Now light the pink, saying “I strengthen the bonds of romantic love between (lovers full name) and (your full name) as you do so. Now light both of the couple’s wicks, saying “By our bonds of intellectual love, passionate love, and romantic love, (lover’s full name) and (your full name) are bound to each other.” Hold your hands to either side of the altar set up and say, “(Lover’s full name,) dream of only me, (your full name,) and desire to be with only me. (Lover’s first name,) marry me, and love only me. (Lover’s first name,) you must ask for my hand in marriage, and the more you try to resist marrying me, the stronger the desire to marry me becomes.” Now drop your hands to your side, and say, “This spell shall not reverse, nor place upon me any curse – as is my will so be it!”

    Allow the candles to burn all the way out. When they have, take your spell remains (wax bits, herbs, paper) and bury these preferably by or beneath your front door. In the past, those without a front door have used a houseplant by the door as a substitution for this method of interment. πŸ˜‰

    As always, there will be questions, so contact me if you have them.

    ~Cat

    All information herein, except where noted (but including this recipie,) are copyright Cat, and my not be posted, shared, copied or used without my express permission. Should you choose to ignore this, I will prosecute you and persecute you, too. πŸ˜‰

  • Hey All,

    In spellcraft, since we often use items which are smoldering or literally on fire, its important to remember some integral rules of fire safety. πŸ˜‰ Its much better to practice fire safety than it is to have to learn it the hard way…so for your review:

    Incense: This is a smoking ember, so it can create fire issues.

    If you are using “self lighting” incense powder, it will contain salt petre which can, and does, occaisionally shoot sparks. I recommend burning this in a small bowl or ashtray with raised sides. If possible, a small brass or metal bowl with a tile placed beneath the bowl (to absorb heat) should be used.

    If using stick or cone incense, be sure to place this in a container which cannot catch fire – for example, DO NOT burn a stick or cone where the ember will have contact with wood. Your friend, Cat, had a friend in high school who burnt down his house by allowing a piece of stick incense to have contact with a wooden mantle. πŸ˜› Also, do not place paper underneath the stick to catch ash…sometimes this can ignite.

    Candles: This is an open flame on wax, people…respect it!

    Free Standing Candles – these include votives, figurals, and any candle which can stand without a candle holder or which is not encased in glass… First off, place these candles in a fireproof container (preferably of some metal, and I oft recommend a pie plate or cake tin,) and then on a ceramic tile or heatproof coaster to alleviate the heat damage to the surface on which this will be sitting. Remember, wood, cloth, even plastic tops to your altar can catch fire when the heat inside your plate becomes hot enough. They can and sometimes do cause combustion…I’ve melted an altar by not being vigilant enough with the tile underneath the plate. πŸ˜‰ Nextly, check to make sure this is comfortably distant from any wood or drywall walls, curtains, or shades. Then, place a small container of sand (you can use the same traction sand you can get in a hardwood store,) nearby the altar in case of fire accidents.

    Glass-Encased Candles – Its not so common, but these can explode. I recommend keeping the candle on a safe surface (preferably metal with a tile under the candle,) but also to have a bucket of sand nearby. If I am worried the candle might explode (some of these will be poured poorly, and the wick will be too close to the glass,) I put the candle in a 5 gallon bucket, and pour sand around it. πŸ™‚ This way, if the candle explodes, the only thing hurt is my bucket. πŸ˜‰

    Candles in Candle Holders – DO NOT USE GLASS, WOOD, or FIMO candle holders! Believe it or not, I’ve heard so many “my glass candle holder exploded” stories, I’d never even buy them. πŸ˜‰ I use brass candle holders. I did have sterling silver candleholders which would (seriously,) melt sometimes in the base, so I now do not use these for ritual. Wood, glass, fimo, and other decorative holders are just that – decorative. They are often not meant to allow a candle to burn out in them.

    Be sure your candle is SNUG and secured to the candle holder to prevent accidents where the candle might fall out of the holder.

    Be sure to place your candle in a fireproof container such as a pie plate or cake tin – if you dress your candles with herbs, they may drip or send flaming bits of herbal matter which could create a fire hazard.

    Altar – Its holding a lot of flaming items, is it not?

    Although I use altars of all different types (I need many,) I recommend a metal or ceramic/tile top altar to prevent fires from occuring when the spell item is so hot it is creating combustion below it. Also be wary of “Altar cloths” because these are often made from very flammable fabric. πŸ˜› I wouldn’t instruct you to place tissue paper under an item well over 300 degrees farenheit, nor would I encourage you to use some linen in the same manner. In the past, clients have reported using stove tops, tubs and showers with the curtain removed or pulled safely away from the area….though these may not qualify as “altars” in your mind, I think they are very safety conscious locations and work just fine.

    My favorite altar is a tile-topped plant table! πŸ˜‰ Totally heat proof and takes lots of weight. I think its a TJ Maxx find – so for 14 dollars I have a wonderful altar.

    Anyhow, this is, by no means, I complete instruction on safety, but since I hear too many “Wish I’d thought of the fire hazard” stories, I did feel it was time for a fire hazard review. Safety first, people!

    ~Cat

  • Hey everyone,

    If you feel like chatting about Hoodoo, learning Hoodoo, and helping others learn, please join the fun on the Hoodoo For Everyone message board. Recently, we’ve been discussing love spells and weight-loss spells.

    Its a very active board, and we’d love to see you there! πŸ™‚

    ~Cat

  • Hi Everyone!

    I would just like to thank all of my loyal readers and wonderful clients for your continued readership and patronage. πŸ™‚ When I started this blog, I would never have expected that so many people would be interested in anything I had to say. πŸ˜‰ I’m well known for talking and writing just to hear myself talk, and read myself write – so thank you for letting me know someone was interested! πŸ˜‰ I am now (slowly, but surely,) working on a book with all-new spells not available on my blog – hopefully this will be published within the year, and I’ll have even MORE LOYAL READERS AND FANS…and then I can take over the WHOLE WORLD! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, goodness, let me hide those horns, hehehehe. πŸ˜‰

    Blessings to you and your family!

    ~Cat