Who Doesn't Need A Little Love?

The number one thing that clients come to me for is Love. Their lives can be burning down and they will still tell me that they need love. A mountain of unpaid bills, the verge of unemployment, and a car that just broke down yet love is the only solution for their woes! 

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not mocking anyone. I just want to point out a disease of spirit that many people suffer from: a sense of a lack of love. Many people develop this spiritual disorder from trauma in their childhood or even sheer neglect from their parents. Lacking any real bonding they go out into their adult lives often self-sabotaging their careers and relationships all in a desperate attempt to fill that void. 

I would know, because I was the exact same way. That's why I'm not going to lecture you about self-love and how love magic is wrong. In many cases it is necessary for people that suffer from certain spiritual issues. I will say that Love Magic is best for those in existing relationships that are having a challenging or difficult time, but that doesn't mean that the rest of us can't reap it's benefits.

For this reason I want to give you something to try. I'm not promising a cure, but I instead something to give you a chance to bring some sweetness into your life. Not everyone will get the same outcome, but you should have a positive result in terms of an improved love life.

You will need:

rose oil

patchouli oil

orris oil 

cinnamon oil

vanilla oil

Add several drops of each (except for the cinnamon oil which you should use sparingly) to a bath. Light a white candle for your ancestors and guardian spirits. Recite Psalm 111 over the bath and ask to have true love brought into your life. Afterward, perform the Middle Pillar ceremony and retire for the evening. Repeat for 7 nights.

Additionally, you can add a few drops of each ingredient to Florida water or a perfume of your choice. Recite psalm 111 over the perfume and apply it each day. It can take sometime for the oils to fully blend, so make sure to agitate the perfume daily.

If you still find yourself having difficulty with love or making partners stick to you, I recommend that you try my own perfume blend or contact me for a consultation. 

The Jesus Prayer

Prayer should be a part of the daily practice of the magician. It formulates a direct line of communication between the magician and the spirits. It silences the mind and opens the heart for deeper communication and makes way for spiritual gifts. It is a fantastic supplement for magic in general and can amplify mood and ability.  Those that can easily enter into a state of ceaseless prayer have a greater focus and can direct forces as necessary when they work.

Ceaseless prayer or becoming "inflamed in prayer" can be a difficult task for most to accomplish. For some trying to pick up a mantra in Sanskrit, they can run into a problem of the mantra being nothing more than sounds and the meaning lost in repetition. Others may have issue with most Christian prayers as being archaic sounding and not always having enough of a proper rhythm to get lost in. This is why I like the Jesus Prayer.

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner"

The sheer simplicity of the words will resonate with most mindful people. It acknowledges a power greater than themselves and connects to it through their flawed nature. It opens the heart to reception of divine influence which can in turn be directed towards magic. When reciting this prayer, one should say this prayer with their heart. In other words, they should direct their mind and focus to the center of their chest and allow the words to flow from there. 

My first experience with this prayer was a couple of years ago when an Orthodox friend came by and suggested that we pray the vespers after smoking hookah and hanging out. After little over an hour of prayer I took up the prayer rope he gifted me and began to recite the prayer as instructed. I almost immediately fell into a trance and began to recite the words over and over again. Before I would reach the cross at the end of the rope, I would unconsciously reverse the direction I was counting in. Apparently I was lost in trance for over an hour and when I came too I saw a shocked expression on my friend's face. "I've only seen that happen when I pray with a monk I'm friends with!"

Needless to say, it has become a part of my practice. I recognize that this isn't for everyone, but it has become a useful tool in my toolbox. It is a beautiful practice and the saints certainly appreciate hearing it.

St Anthony The Abbot The Great Saint You Don't Know

While the craze surrounding Saint Cyprian and Saint Expedite is abound in social media and occult blogs, many terrific hardworking and reliable saints often go unnoticed. Saint Cyprian enjoys popularity amongst would be necromancers and goetic magician due to his history as pagan sorcerer that converted, as well as, a body of books written under his name. While Saint Expedite found his claim to fame from folk magicians and practitioners of Afro-Caribbean traditions. Most occultists tend to solely on these two saints and rarely get to know many more.

I want to bring to the table a saint that I have come to know as being extremely reliable and willing to do just about anything the magician would request. Not only is he known to be a reliable spirit, but he can also called upon to defend from and communicate with wrathful dead and demons. I am referring to no less than Saint Anthony the Great, also known as "Anthony the abbot" "Anthony of Egypt" "Anthony of Thebes" and "Anthony the Anchorite."

Born in 251 AD, Anthony, like many early Christians he sought to live as the Apostles lived and set out to live a monastic life of asceticism. After the death of his parents at the age of 20, he received a substantial inheritance of land. Anthony ended up selling and giving away most of his inheritance and giving the funds to the poor before beginning his life of asceticism.

Certain legends claimed that during his early years as a disciple to another monastic near his home where he worked as a swineherd, this is why some of his Roman Catholic depictions place a pig at his side. This form of monasticism was quite common for the time period where many monks would take lodging outside of cities. It is after this point in his life we see a departure from tradition that makes him very unique.

Anthony would depart for the desert at the age of 35 to live in an old Roman fort in absolute solitude. Although he would see no visitors (despite the demand), people would supply food to him by throwing it over the wall. He was known for nourishing himself on only salted bread and water while only eating in the evenings. He would fast for two days at a time for the sake of purity. 

Eventually, he would begin to take in visitors and other would be monastics who turned to him for his guidance. His teachings would become the foundation of monastic lifestyles and he gained the title "The Father of Monasticism." 

At an unspecified time in his history he took a retreat into a tomb or cave. Here he was afflicted with boredom and tempted with visions of lustful women. Further demons came and physically assaulted and tormented him leaving his body for dead. When his disciples found his body and began to morn his death he immediately rose and asked to be brought back into the tomb to confront the spirits again. This time a the demons were driven off by a bright holy light. 

I digress that there are many stories and myths surrounding the mysticism of Saint Anthony the Great, however, this article is merely to bring your awareness to his existence. My personal experiences with this Saint has generally revealed a sense of polite austerity and a sense of willingness to labor. 

Generally when doing service for him, I would have a glass of water offered to him and occasionally a small glass of liquor when I make requests. I would prepare myself with a recitation of the Jesus Prayer "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner," following with The Lords Prayer, and Hail Mary's. I also have made use of his litany when I ask him to consecrate the wanga I am working: 

Litany of Saint Antony the Great

First of all monks, your name they hail, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Charity has gained such heights for you, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Wonderworker known for favors gained, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Humbly you obeyed with strength and love, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Shield for those who came to seek your aid, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Healer of all ills and guide for souls, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Spring and treasure house of charity, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Ever shining star and lamp of light, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Table of the Law and Gospel book, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Guide of those in doubt and ignorance, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Lamp of those who walk in darkness now, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Light of Holy Mother Church, your merits shines, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Peace for those who dread the enemy, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Gladness for the sad, strength for the tried, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Faithful to your word and ever true, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Sun of monks and nuns and start for all, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

Temple arch who holds the power of God, Great St. Antony, we beg your prayers

V. Pray for us, Great Saint Antony

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us Pray:

Father Antony, you equaled Elias in his zeal and followed John the Baptist in his holy way of life. You peopled the wilderness and established the world on the firm foundation of your prayers. Intercede with Christ God that He may save our souls. Amen

As a Saint that rebukes evil spirits I have found him very helpful with rooting out troublesome spirits. He sends them off in a hurry with very little effort. For this I will recite Psalm 93 for him.

I cannot emphasize enough the reliability of this hardworking Saint. He is always there when I calling and always willing to help. I hope that you will invite him into your temple space.

Initiation: What You Should First Consider

Initiation has long been a grail of sorts in the West. This is likely because there is no demarcation in Western culture that marks our maturity from childhood to adulthood. For example: unless you were raised in a religious family such as Catholicism and went through catechism, its fair to say that there was no signal in your life that brought you into adulthood. 

This strange paradigm or lack thereof, may likely account for having a generation the laps up nostalgia from their childhood. Most certainly it is behind why many adults have difficulty processing their emotions and also make a fascination of "adulting." At no point in their life were they made aware that their childhood innocence is behind them and now they must be aware of a world of consequence. 

In African based cultures, initiation helped to bring the youth into adulthood. These various rites were put in place to not only mark the individual as a full member of the society but also to stave off the effects of puberty on psychism. More than that it helped to reveal a destiny for the individual in order to live the longest most fruitful life available to them. Beyond such rites within societies initiation brought individuals into the powers of medicine and even trade and commerce as expressed in the Lemba society. Sometimes initiation was the medicine for people with afflicted conditions to save them from misfortune and death. 

In it's simplest form, true initiation is a process of death and rebirth. The initiate is stripped of their past life and reborn into their new life. From my perspective the only meaningful initiation beyond this scope is the initiate being mounted by a spirit, thereby sealing their destiny and being gifted with the spiritual tools needed for self-improvement and mastery. What is done with the gifts after this point rests solely on the shoulders of the initiate.

Initiation is not open to all

Not every person is called to be initiated nor are all those who are called to be considered worthy of initiation. Each house, society, and elder have their own standards by which they judge the prospective initiate and few may live up to those standards. Some houses pride themselves (and rightly so) on how few people pass through their doors. 

The act of taking on an initiate is akin to adopting someone into your own family. A family with a sense of pride may not be so quick to take on someone who doesn't share their moral and ethical views. What's more, the spirits of that house may reject the candidate for any reason at all. Maybe the candidate doesn't live up to the spirit's standards or the spirit sees a flaw that humans do not. 

Take the time to get to know your future god-parents

In an age of social media, it's easy to mistake someone's online presence as representative of who they actually are. Many are in such a rush to be initiated that they don't seem to notice that their motives are never questioned by their would-be god-parents. They produce the money, which is taken with a smile, and they are rushed through initiation given not much more than a pat on the head and forgotten about. They spend the next few years attempting to juggle their spiritual practice and life with little to no supervision and have little offered to them in terms of knowledge. After sometime they will experience buyers remorse and realize that they didn't get what they were promised.

Worse yet, are those that find out their god-parent who had seemed at once hip and knowledgeable turned out to be cruel and uncaring. I have heard horror stories of people being extorted financially, berated publicly, even found themselves being worked on by their own god-parents. That is not to imply that you may not occasionally invoke the wrath of your god-parent, they are there to ensure you grow up right and you may need to be straightened out from time to time. However, you should not live in fear of your god-parent.

Watch out for those that love drama on and off social media. Those that seek too much attention in public spaces. Get to know other initiates in the house or society, talk with them and share your concerns. Do they seem happy? Do they share your values? These are very important questions that you need to have answers for.

Initiation doesn't make you all powerful

A common misunderstanding that is widely repeated is that becoming initiated will grant all sorts of serious juju on you. While it is true that you will have a spiritual connection that the average person does not have, you must still learn how to use it properly and wisely. Most are looking to get paid, get laid, and get even since life up to that point may not have seemed very just to them. Many will get themselves into all sorts of trouble trying to flex their newfound yet untamed abilities on perceived enemies. 

Even if these battles are won, the amount of time wasted is irreplaceable. A first year could have been better spent in introspection, purification, and service to the spirits. Imagine the growth that could take place if someone just slowed down in this fast paced world and focused on their own needs. 

Initiation is a healing process but not a cure-all

Many come to get initiated in hopes that their problems will be solved or that their disease will be healed. While this thinking is not wrong as the process opens doors for healings and the spirits will oftentimes produce miracles, however, some things may not initially improve. Certain problems may be crutches that you will have to bear throughout your spiritual journey and part of the journey may be learning how to cope. The spirits will supply you with the tools you need heal but you may also need to do the work yourself.

Also, not everything can be healed. While alleviation of the disease is likely, it may not provide a "cure" that is being sought. For instance: certain psychological disorders that are the result of structural issues with the brain will likely not be cured, the spirits can help you to cope with the condition.

Initiation is a commitment for life and longerin a world of instant gratification and short attention spans, people have a habit of putting things down when they seem repetitive or difficult. A person might buy a musical instrument and not be gratified with results that are not instantaneous and the instrument will spend the rest of it's time collecting dust in a closet. Unfortunately, once you are initiated there is no putting the spirit back in the box. A deep connection is forged on a spiritual level tying yourself to the ancestors of that society through the rest of your life and even through death. This is not something to take lightly!

When you pass through the gates of initiation your soul is altered and you will forever be changed on a spiritual level. The stakes in the game get considerably higher and you are no longer living a life for yourself as now there are generations of ancestors and spirits that are now with you. These beings are very patient and will seem to let you getaway with a great deal, however, it should always be remembered that eventually you will meet and answer for your behavior

In conclusion

I feel as though I have gone much broader in scope than what I initially intended, but I hope that I gave some eager people pause to assess their desires. There is no rush to get to your spiritual goals, furthermore, rushing will only slow you down in the long run. If you are considering initiation or on your way towards it, I hope you take the time for introspection and determine if it is truly the path for you. Most of the time your problems can be resolved with competent work and not necessarily initiation. A proper cleaning and pocket piece or guard can go very far.

The wisest thing a brother from another tradition told me (among many other words of wisdom) that still rings in my head, "Remember brother, initiation for us is a crutch. We need the spirits just to meet our potential, but not everyone does. We are there for those people."

How To Dress For Success

     Success in prosperity magic often hinges on several factors that are oftentimes unknown to the magician. You can have all the right oils, powders, and candles, as well as, do your spells at the right time and still not see the results you are looking for. It can be frustrating to see your magical peers soaring with a simple candle spell meanwhile you are trying everything from sigils, to charms, to candle magic with little luck. What are they doing differently?  

     Believe it or not, the solution could be some minor changes in your overall approach to sympathetic magic. You can't keep doing the same things in your lifestyle and expect different results in your magic! It's time to mix things up and try some new approaches.

Persons, Places, and Things

     Those that have been through any sort of treatment program for addiction would be well aware that some of the earliest advice in avoiding a relapse is to change your persons, places, and things. Are your friends chronically poor? If so, it's time to change who you hang out with. Find people that more than the bare necessities in life, people that want to enhance their wealth and well-being. Avoid people that speak negatively of wealth and money. If your friends believe money is the root of all evil then it is time to root them out!

     The places where you pass your time may also have a negative impact on you, and you may be completely unaware. The most obviously glaring places you should avoid are cemeteries. As serene and beautiful as they can be at times, they are also home to a hierarchy of spirits who may be annoyed by your presence and will let you know by causing bad luck in your life and playing with your money. You should also avoid loitering in the streets and abandoned buildings, lest you cross something that has ill intentions for you.

     Broken things in your home can also bring bad luck into your life, especially if those things  are what you eat from. Eating and drinking from broken tableware sends a signal to your spirits that you want broken things in your life. Sleeping on a broken mattress can also have not only an impact on the quality of your sleep but can also send a similar message. Conversely, sleeping on the the floor can signal that you are in dire straights and that you are truly in need of financial assistance from your spirits.

     Dead things have no place in your home. People love to collect bones and human skulls. More often than not there is still a conscious spirit attached to those bones, and that spirit may not want to be constantly exposed to you or your house guests. If you must have things like that, it must be kept in a separate space preferably not attached to your home, like a shed or garage. The exceptions to this rule are those that were bequeathed such a thing by a mentor and given instructions on how to care  for it properly.

     Finally, clean your home and your living space. Throw out clutter and junk. The spirits that bring wealth and success will not waste their time with you if you are disorganized and sloppy. Keep your space neat and tidy, and avoid cluttering it with useless crap. Minimalism creates a calm and serene environment, that facilitates prosperity spirits to work in your life effectively.

New Clothes, New You 

     Its true what they say, "Clothes make the man(woman)."

     I don't always buy lottery tickets but when I do I make sure to dress for the occasion. I learned this trick by observing a Haitian man I would encounter at the local gas station. On most days he was dressed rather casually, but on days when he was there to buy lotto tickets he would be dressed in his absolute best: bright red shirt, dress pants, and freshly shined shoes. I asked him why he was dressed up, to which he replied, "because I plan to win tonight, of course."

     At the time I was struggling at a sales job and (if I'm being perfectly honest) wasn't applying myself wholly to the role, but instead was going for the paycheck. I decided that I was going to update my wardrobe for work and see what happened. I got nice new shoes, three fitted shirts, and expensive looking ties. I went to the barber and started wearing a new new fragrance that is favored by Erzulie Dantor called Pompeii Lotion.

     My next paycheck reflected my efforts. Within a month I was in the top five in my district, within two months I was in the top ten in my region. Initially, I thought it was just perceptual, but I began to realize that by wearing shabby clothes I was telling my spirits that I was happy in my shabby position. I began to dress for the life I wanted and my life began to reflect that fact.

      Now, if you have clothes in your wardrobe that are ripped, worn, or torn you need to throw them out. Start buying clothes that fit, even if you need to do it one outfit at a time. If you can set aside money from each paycheck to your wardrobe in a couple months you will have an entirely new look. Avoid dressing completely in black, the heaviness of black may not jive with your intentions. Instead strive for vibrant colors and rich, but not to busy, patterns. Colors are key to working this magic properly: stick to red, yellow, and orange; some may find that royal blue and purple work well for them. Learn your wealth vibe and exploit it!

Spell Your Success

     Your most powerful tool in your magical arsenal is your mouth and tongue. They way in which you speak plays a large role in how you manifest your desires. To spell success for yourself you need to become aware of how you are using your mouth and your speech. Remember when I said you need to avoid people that believe money is the root of all evil? This is where that wisdom comes into play.

     Daily affirmations can have not long lasting affects on your overall well-being. Learning to speak your desires into reality, however, requires discipline and some foresight. You should use the present tense in all of your affirmations of success:

I am a magnet for money; success is drawn to me.

     Avoid speaking negatively about money and wealthy people. If you constantly bash the rich and successful while attempting to work money magic you will be seen as foolish by your spirits and will have underwhelming results. Always be positive even in the face of a setback: realize that your apparent misfortune is likely temporary and that you are still on the long road to success. 

     If you can change your words you can change your destiny.

Folk Wisdom 

  

• If you carry a purse never set it on the on the floor or ground.
• If you go to the beach don't bring home seashells. Leave them where you find them.
• Give to the poor even if it is just the change in your pocket.
• Never disrespect money.
• Don't leave loose change scattered through your home, keep it all in the same box or jar.
• Your wallet should only have your ID, credit cards, and money. No receipts or clutter. 

What are some of your own secrets to money magic? Please share in the comments.