The Sunflower

Sunflowers are a sure sign of summer; the Sunflower is a strong solar herb. This robust flower turns in flowery head to face and salute the sun.

It’s properties both medicinal and magical go back to ancient times. The Aztecs adorned themselves with sunflowers to honor the their sun god, Native Americans knew the value of their medicinal properties and used them as food, for healing and as a dye.

The Sunflower is a diuretic and expectorant used to treat respiratory ailments, coughs and colds. As a food most of us had eaten, sunflower seeds and some use the petals in salads and baked treats. Even the stem of this amazing flower is used to make
paper and fabric.

Magically It is a bringer of happiness, helps depression, abundance
a good choice for fertility work ,also used in protective work, bathing in sunflower petals will bring peace an joy ,and this flower is used to bring confidence.

Sunflowers are very easy to cultivate and I once had a entire garden of these majestic flowers. I would then, after there time of life had passed, pluck of the heads and dry them for further use. We would towards the end of the season, have a Sunflower Celebration; equipped with fresh sunflowers and golden baked good, the kids loved this tradition!

Sunflowers are a great way to begin wild-craft and easily available in most places in the summer months.

Mojo Hand Gris Gris and trick bags

Mojo Hand or Gris-Gris Bag, sometimes called Trick bag Flannel traditional color is red. Originally these bags were made from the clothes of non usable long john, which were red flannel– today you can make a more modern bag and use various colors color according to intent (green: money, red: love, white: blessing, pale blue: peaceful home, etc.) Oil – appropriate to purpose Roots Herbs Petition paper Petition paper traditionally parchment paper Miscellaneous items according to purpose: coins, charms, good luck tokens, crystals, carved amulets, etc. Charm for outside of bag according to intention (optional)

Make the flannel bag with a drawstring closure. Today you can purchase various colors including red in small flannel bag with drawstring closure. The proper way to close the bag is to wrap the drawstring around the bag once, then pull the end through the wrapped drawstring, pulling the tie tight. This also makes it easy to re-open for adding more items and "feeding" it.

Keep total items to 3, 7, 9 or 13. You will want to focus your intention and breath it into the mojo while visioning the intention. This is repeated until you feel your intention has been sent into the bag. When you tie of the bag, tie 3 knots and repeat your intention as you do. Keep in mind not over fill your mojo, as you will be wearing it, contact with the skin is important.

After the bag is prepared and properly sealed, you will need to activate and feed the bag. It is also important not to let anyone see your mojo and never let another touch it., it will render the bag ‘dead’

If some sees you will need ‘feed the bag’ 1. Feed the bag by smoking it 2. Bless the bag with holy water or 100% rum. 3. Anoint with oil (in a 3 or 5 spot pattern) Be sure to wear for a week, the common place for a women to wear is inside her bra. Place under your pillow during sleep.

After the original weak you can place in your bag or purse, if someone see it reefed it, if someone touches it the bag is dead The Mojo hand must be fed weekly or when spirit guides you some traditional feeding ways are with: alcoholic beverage, spit or urine, perfume (Hoyt’s Cologne or Florida Water), or sexual fluids (for a love-drawing hand), etc.. You also simple feed it by smoking and anointing,

When making the bag for another, they should be present and have them feed the bag for the first time and have them blow intention into the bag.

Paket Kongo

Paket Kongo are magical bundles of Loa energy. They are filled with herbs, plants, minerals , animal essences, objects and materials, that draw the power and energy of the Spirit to the holder.

They dressed in satin, beads, sequins and charms,a feast for the eye, a gift to Loa . Very fragrant, powerfully blessed and energetically intentioned, each bundle is an offering to Spirit, designed to be both beautiful, as well as functional.

It is from these original Paket Kong, that perhaps the mojo bag, it's more rustic cousin was born.

Christian Witch

I am hosting a webinar style workshop on July 20 at 10:00 am (Az MST)!

The work shop is about the Wheel of the Year in blended Chrsitian-Earth Based path.

Turning The Wheel Our Way-Learn about how to successful celebrate the Wheel of The Year in a blended manner. Discussion about Pagan and Christian Celebration and how to blend the, without loosing the meaning of either.

Christian Witchcraft, Wheel of the Year, Christian Pagan, Christian Pagan Wheel of the Year.

Join us for a suggested donation of $5! LINK to current webinar.

St. Anne's Shrine Fall River

St. Anne’s Parish was founded in 1869 when there were about 500-600 French families in the city. The Church was founded in 1894. In 1900, Fall River had a population of slightly more than 100,000 people, of which nearly 40,000 were French. The surge of French Canadian immigrants at the turn of the Century came from the agricultural crisis in Quebec. They had a profound influence in the labor, language and culture. Even by the 1930′s, Fall River still kept sort of a French flavor, and even today one comes across more French and Portuguese names in its local politics, legal profession, and many of the middle class businesses.

French Canadians rose to prominence in Fall River, including Edmund P. Talbot, Fall River’s Mayor from 1923-1926 and again from 1929-1930. Ties to church and community is what kept the former mill workers (including the Portuguese and Irish) to remain in Fall River while most of the founding families split when the hard times hit. Now the French Canadians and those from the Azores are the tapestry of Fall River’s rich history. their fingerprints are all over what is left and plans for what will be. Today Fall River'/s neighborhood where St, Anne's Stands is a Portuguese in flavor area. The sights, smells, and language of the Azores and Portugal permeate this area. We have family that lives in the heart of this area, and had a wonderful visiting with them during the summer. We visited St. Anne's Shrine among other historic sites.

"Little known to tourists and passing visitors (mostly because it’s not advertised in city brochures) is the below ground level Shrine to St. Anne within the Church. One has to know where to enter: an unmarked outside door on the north side. According to Fall River “Officer Dave” whom I met at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast, the Church at one time opened up this space for the homeless. In short order there were thefts, vandalism and even a death. The space had also become a safe haven for illicit drug use. So the parishioners had to re-think that whole be-kind-to-those-less-fortunate thing when it came to free and easy 24/7 access to the Shrine of St. Anne."

The subterranean Shrine is open most all hours to the general public. It is spacious with a number of “exhibits, as I prefer to call them. The Shrine of Mother Theresa is astonishingly realistic from all angles.

My family I have family in Fall River, and we visited St. Anne's Shrine it was an amazing place, the energy was so clam and peaceful.

Summer Soltice

Midsummer Celebrations
MidSummer
Summer Soltice
Litha
Feast of John the Baptist

The Summer Solstice is also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia and others.

Midsummer is a night of magic and mystery as we celebrate the growth of the earth. Around the world and across cultures people celebrate this as the first day of Summer, generally on June 21.

"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."

The common Wiccan and Pagan holiday is often called Litha.
Christian celebrations, after the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the feast day of St. John the Baptist was set as JUN-24. It "is one of the oldest feasts, if not the oldest feast, introduced into both the Greek and Latin liturgies to honour a saint." "Just as John was the forerunner to Jesus, midsummer forecasts the eventual arrival of" the winter solstice DEC-21.
The person of John Baptist is known for his wild spirit which personifies the energy of the Summer Solstice.
In addition the Essences also celebrated this Midsummer holiday.
Essenes: This was a Jewish religious group active in Palestine during the 1st century CE. It was one of about 24 Jewish groups in the country -- the only one that used a solar calendar. Other Jewish groups at the time included the Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, followers of John, and followers of Yeshua (Jesus). Archaeologists have found that the largest room of the ruins at Qumran (location of the Dead Sea Scrolls) appears to be a sun temple. The room had been considered a dining room by earlier investigators, in spite of the presence of two altars at its eastern end. At the time of the summer solstice, the rays of the setting sun shine at 286 degrees along the building's longitudinal axis, and illuminate the eastern wall. The room is oriented at exactly the same angle as the Egyptian shrines dedicated to the sun. Two ancient authorities -- the historian Josephus and the philosopher Filon of Alexandria -- had written that the Essenes were sun worshipers. Until recently, their opinion had been rejected by modern historians.

For those who celebrate the Christian Craft it is a day of wonder and wild spirit. Bonfire are lit, and St, John the Baptist is revered. We celebrate the Summer and the life of John the Baptist.

In the Wheel of the Year (Pagan calendar) Midsummer is one of the 'lesser sabats' of the 8 major sabats and often one the most favorite for the energy of this time of the year. We are given no only what we need, but even more. Midsummer is a holiday of excess and frolic.

My Practice-

I celebrate by adorning my main altar with glorious array of summer flowers and fruits. I light a 7 day candle in honor of John the Baptist and do energy work to Bless and bring abundance.

My family and I often go the mountains where we honor nature and celebrate this day with a bonfire and feasting. The energy of this day is great for positive and love work.

One of my favorite parts of both Beltane (May 1) and Midsummer are the head wreaths. These beautiful head arrangements symbolize the female maiden energy and are lovely to wear.

Correspondence:

Litha
Summer HERBS

Lavender, Chamomile, Roses, Daisy, Lily
INCENSE

Frankincense, Lemon, Rose, Wisteria, Lavender

COLORS
Blue, Green, Yellow

DECORATIONS
Dried herbs, Potpourri, Seashells, Summer Flowers, Fruits

FOODS
Summer Fruits, Ale, Mead, Fresh Vegetables

Modern Matters

The Last American Witch Trial- Z Budapest Memoirs

Satanic Hysteria 20th century

Modern Day Witch hunts- The Rousing of America

WitchVox Witch Hunts Pages

Salem Links

Salem Links

Salem Trials

Salem Facts

Interactive Virtual History Game of Salem Trails

Salem Witch Trails Podcast Reenactment and Facts VERY GOOD

Connecticut Documentation

Connecticut Documentation

CONNECTICUT WITCH TRIALS AND POSTHUMOUS PARDON S

The Wylls Paper (See Actual Documents)

Colonial Connecticuit Records

Witchcraft Delusion of 1647

Connecticut State Library Witch Trails Resources

Genealogy 26 Tips to get you started!

#1. Talk to your parents,

A. find out where they grew up, (town, county, state)

B. birth & death dates of both their mother and father

C. Your parents marriage date and location of marriage (might see if they have a copy)

D. Ask them about where their parents or grandparents are buried (locations, cemeteries name, county, state)

E. Ask if there are any of your Aunt, Uncles or other relatives have previously done any genealogy research.

F. Find out who is their oldest living relatives (then make plans to visit them and record your conversation with them)

Ask questions about what they know about the family

Ask where relatives are buried

Ask if they know any dates for birth, death, marriage

Ask if they know any stories about the family

Ask if they know any other living relatives (visit them and do the same thing with them)

G. Search the internet for the surnames that you have found (mothers maiden name, grandmothers maiden name, etc) This will possibly find others doing research on the same lines of genealogy you are wanting.

H. Your local library should be able to point you in the right direction to research areas that you have found from your interviews and census records.

I. U.S. Government Federal records center have all census records from 1790-1920 These can be searched for grandparents and great grandparents. (Also SS records exist after 1935 that can be sent for) Also several local libraries have these microfilms.

J. Find if any of your relatives were in any wars, a lot of information is available at the Federal Government level (National Archives) to send for their records for a small charge.

K. Visit cemeteries that your relatives are buried, some good information is sometimes on the gravestones (birth, death)

L. Visit the Everton Genealogy Web page and signup for a subscription to the Genealogical Helper magazine (You can submit queries and search for others doing the same) Sometimes your local library will have copies of this book the you can look at if you can't afford to get the subscription.

M. Send for copies of Birth, death, and marriage records for those relatives you know or find (They usually have names of mother and father, etc)

N. Gather pictures of older relatives while making your visits. (If distance prevents the visit write letters or call, remember record them)

O. Visit your local LDS church, most have a library that you can send to Salt Lake and have microfilm sent back to the church for you to view. These records are extensive and probably the best available.

P. Take a course in searching your relatives from your local library or historical society (usually every state or county has one)

Q. You can hire a professional genealogist, before doing this make sure that you have good references from others that are familiar with this persons work. (I have done this when searching in an area that I am not familiar with and know that the researcher can gain access to records that I would spend many hours

looking for)

R. Join your local Genealogy or Historical Society, State Societies can also be a lot of help in your research.

S. Visit the internet GenWeb Project for your area. You can search the internet for their web sites, usually have good hints for searching in that area.

T. Visit Used books stores looking for genealogical books, you will be surprised to find some great older books that have "how to" information in them.

U. YOU need to dedicate yourself to doing this. That means spend the time do all the steps and you will start gathering information.

V. Save the information in an orderly way as to preserve the information you have gathered (future generations will appreciate it and you will to when searching for information quickly) I use plastic sheet protectors on all of my documents (keeping dirty fingers off of them)

W. Search the internet phone directories and email directories, drop these folk a note asking about your family with direct, not general questions. You will be surprised by receiving good area to search or names of others doing research.

X. Take a camera with you and take pictures of those pictures that others won't let you have. Even if you just want to run down the street to have a copy made most people will NOT let you leave with their original pictures. (Don't be uspet about this, just think if it was some stranger coming ot your door wanting to "borrow" your treasured pictures for a few minutes. Would you??)

Y. Let the other members of your family know that you are doing genealogy research on your family and ask for any old pictures they have, here again you may be stuck with taking a picture of their picture for reasons mentioned above.

Z. Be considerate of others and their privacy, record and views. You are asking for help treat them with all the respect that you would also want. You will find some have information, but are unwilling to share it with you. Try to find out why there is this feeling and do your best to set their minds at rest.

I hope that these 26 tips help you, I would be very interested if you think that these tips are of value to you. Please let me know if you make some progress in your research. Don't forget you can print a copy of all of these for future reference!

R. E. Bickham Reprinted with permission

Mary and the Egg

Mary and the Egg

It is a common theory that Easter is nothing more than a recycled Pagan tradition. Although it is true that eggs and bunnies are Pagan fertility symbols used at Spring celebrations, there is a bit more to the Easter Egg as a Christian icon. Eggs have been used at Passover feasts since Moses and it was more likely a Passover feast that Mary Magdalene immortalized the modern day Easter Egg at. Read below to find out why Mary Magdalene is often used by esoteric Christians as Christian goddess energy form and archetype symbol.

According to the ancient tradition of the East, Mary Magdalene was a wealthy woman from whom Christ expelled seven demons. During the three years of Jesus’ ministry she helped support Him and His other disciples with her money. When almost everyone else fled, she stayed with Him at the cross. On Easter morning she was the first to bear witness to His resurrection. She is called “Equal to the Apostles.” The Eastern tradition tells us that after the Ascension she journeyed to Rome where she was admitted to the court of Tuberous Caesar because of her high social standing. After describing how poorly Pilate had administered justice at Jesus’ trial, she told Caesar that Jesus had risen from the dead. To help explain His resurrection she picked up an egg from the dinner table. Caesar responded that a human being could no more rise from the dead than the egg in her hand turn red. The egg turned red immediately, which is why red eggs have been exchanged at Easter for centuries in the Byzantine East.

Mary traveled the Mediterranean preaching the resurrection. Like Peter and Paul, she died a martyr. She bears witness to the important role women once held in the Church.

This icon was commissioned for Grace Cathedral in San Francisco to commemorate the election of Barbara Harris, the first woman bishop in the Anglican communion.

The inscription at the bottom of the icon reads: “Saint Mary Magdalene.” This title is written in Syriac, a dialect of the language spoken by Jesus. The Gospel comes to us most directly, not from Rome or Greece, but from the deserts of the Middle East. We owe our faith to Semitic Christians such as Mary Magdalene.

Pagan roots of Christianity

Christo-Pagan Comparison Chart

Comparison Chart

The Traditional Christian	Common Mystic Craft Ideas	Syncretion
Father = the creator	Mother / God/dess = the creator	God/dess = the creator
Son = the manifestation of the creator and the universal energy in a temporalform	Maiden / Nature = the manifestation of the creator and the universal energy in a material form	Nature (including humans which includes Christ) = the manifestation of God in physical form
Holy Spirit = the universal energy of the soul and spiritual wisdom	Crone / Life Force = the universal energy of the soul and spiritual wisdom	Holy Spirit seen as female, and possessed by all. The energy of Spirit.
God is the Alpha & Omega, the beginning and the end. Everything and Nothing.	The God/dess is masculine & feminine, yin & yang, positive & negative. All Energy	The God/dess is dualistic in all ways, including good and evil. Everything Male/female yet genderless.
The Divine Being is separated from the world.	The Divine Being is a part of the world and the world is a part of it.	The Divine Being in the world and above worlds. In nature and above nature, We exist inside this Divine Being and this Divine Being exists inside of us. Divine is with it's own conscience.
Lesser Spiritual energies seen as helpers and guardians. Angels,Muses Saints, Ancestors Mary	Elemental sense as energies that aid and asset in spiritual work.Fairies, Gnomes, Elves,Muses, Dragons, Nature Spirits, Ancestors, etc...	Belied in unseen Spiritual begins that aid and a assist when asked. Understanding that things nein present themselves in manner acceptable. Belief that Worship and prayer are not he same. Praying is asking and seeking assistance
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy.	Everyday is Holy.	Each Day is Holy. Certain days held with more regard and celebration. Sabbats, Holidays , specific day for worship and Esabats.
The ritual can be setting up an altar, anointing with oil, water, or earth (ash), using plants (Palm Sunday), lighting candles, incense, communion through consuming wine and bread, kneeling and using body movement, dancing, & singing.	The ritual can be setting up an altar, anointing with oil, water, or earth (minerals), using plants (herbs), lighting candles, incense, grounding through consuming tea and cakes, using body movements, dancing, & singing.	Combination of any and all Ritual practices which one finds personally gratifying.
Practice your rituals and pray in private to keep humble and not boastful (according to the teachings of Christ on prayer).	Practice is a personal, sacred experience that is often done in small groups or solitary.	Daily private prayer and devotions. Sacred Rituals in private and in small groups. Occasional Festive Days with large or smaller group or family.
Faith can let you do anything; believe and it will manifest: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."	Believing that you can direct the flow of energy in the universe allows you to practice magick.	I use both magic and prayer together because Believe that they are the same thing in two different forms.
Everything is the will of God	Your current situation is cause by your own actions & karma	Know the God/dess has loosely outlined plan for personal lives. Yet, understand that your own free will can effect this plan, Use the gift of free will wisely and accept Karma as lessons.
Tenfold Rule: Whatever you do will come back to you times ten.	Threefold Rule: Whatever you do will come back to you times three.	Believe that when you send out positive energy, you receive positive energy. When you send out negative energy, you receive negative energy.
Physical, mental, or spiritual sacrifice is necessary to show devotion to God and become more aware of spirituality.	There is no sacrifice required except for that which occurs naturally as a result of decisions (if you pick one thing, you're giving up another) which is necessary to learn and grow.	Sacrifices occur naturally as a result of making decisions and essential for learning and growth, Giving up something that is physical or mental can help you become more aware of your spirituality. However, sacrifice will notbring you "closer to God." Love will.
After you die you rest in Paradise until you are resurrected and judged then go to Heaven as a reward or Hell as punishment.	After you die you rest in the Summerland and may chose to enter another body when you are ready to learn additional lessons in the school of life. You are the only one who can pass judgment, reward, and punishment on yourself.	Belief in life after death, that we may return to the mortal world through another body, that we must repeat our lessons on earth until we've learned what we've needed to learn. However this is a choice and is our own Judgement on ourselves. Heaven and Hell are a state of being. We judge ourselves according to our Spirit who is infinite in wisdom.

Origins of Italian Paganism and the Bacchanalia

Was the Bacchanalia the inspiration for the Witch's Coven?

Slavic Paganism

Learn about the Indo-European Slavic tribes.

Wheel of the Year and Christian Holidays Corraspondance

Holidays and Sabbats

Wheel of the Year and Christian Holidays

Yule
Christmas
Holly, Mistletoe, Rosemary, Oak, Pine cones Bayberry, Pine, Cedar, Rosemary, Juniper Red, Green, White, Silver, Gold Yule log (oak or pine), Mistletoe, Wreaths, Strings of dried flowers and cinnamon sticks, Apples, Oranges, Yule tree Nuts, Apples, Oranges, Caraway rolls, Mulled wine, Roast turkey

Imbolc
Candlemas
Snowdrop, Bay, Heather, First Flowers of the Year Rosemary, Cinnamon, Wisteria, Frankincense, Myrrh White, Orange, Red Lamps, Besom (witch's broom), Yellow flowers All Dairy products, Curries, Onions, Chives, Garlic, Spiced wines, Seeds, Herbal teas

Spring Equinox
Easter
Honeysuckle,Iris, Peony, Violet All spring flowers Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry Green, Yellow Colored eggs, Green and yellow jellybeans, Rabbit Decorations, Spring Flowers Seeds, Leafy Green Vegetables, Spiced or Flower Cupcakes, Fruits, Hard-boiled eggs

Beltane
May Day
Honeysuckle, St. John's wort, Hawthorn, All flowers Frankincense, Lilac, Rose Green, Soft pink, blue and yellow Maypole, Strings of beads or flowers, Ribbons, Spring flowers Dairy, Oatmeal cakes, Cherries, Strawberries, Wine punches, Green Salads

Litha
Summer & St, John the Baptist
Lavender, Chamomile, Roses, Daisy, Lily Frankincense, Lemon, Rose, Wisteria, Lavender Blue, Green, Yellow Dried herbs, Potpourri, Seashells, Summer Flowers, Fruits Summer Fruits, Ale, Mead, Fresh Vegetables

Lammas
Feast of the Bread
All grains, Grapes, Heather, Blackberries, Sunflowers Sandalwood, Rose, Aloes Yellow, Orange, Green, Brown Corn Dollies, Any Wheat weaving crafts, Shafts of Grain Breads, Cider, Blackberry Pies and jellies, Rice, Meadowsweet tea, Berries

Mabon
MichaelsMas
Hazel, Corn, Acorns, Oak, Wheat Stalks, Cypress cones, Pine cones Myrrh, Sage, Pine Orange, Dark red, Yellow, Brown Acorns, Pomegranates, Pine Cones, Baskets of fallen leaves Breads, Corn, Cornbread, Beans, Squash, Apples, Roots (carrots, potatoes, onions), Cider

Samhain
Hallows Eve & All Souls Day
Pumpkin, Apple, Nuts, Thistle, Chrysanthemum, Broom, Oak leaves, Sage Apple, Nutmeg, Sage, Mint Black, Orange Jack-o-lantern, Photos of deceased loved ones, Apples, Fall leaves, Autumn flowers, Squashes Apples, Corn, Nuts, Cider, Mulled wine, Pumpkin Dishes, Cranberry muffins, Herbal teas

Thank You

Thank you to all the wonderful open minded people who have visited the original site (on Tripod) since the year 2000.It has grown and reached thousands of magical Christian , Pagan, and Occult people over the last decade.

I am the Creatrix of this site. I created this 10 years ago, as I struggled to find people like me and began learning web design.. I have met so many wonderful people along the way, and grown so much in my womanhood, spirituality, and computer skills. I have been able to open the minds of Pagan and Christian alike and dispel many falsehoods on both sides. I have learned from all of you as you gathered information from me. After all, that was the goal of Project St. Craftwhen I embarked on in the Spring of 1999, with my pseudo name and fake email; Lest I suffer the wrath of Pagan and Christian alike.

I have journeyed so far in this last decade. I have loved and I have lost. I have experience joys , sorrows and some darker bits that the Universe has to offer. I have journeyed within and kicked a few butts without. Above all I experienced and I have sacrificed and had others who sacrificed for me, just as I have had a few who were unable of sacrifice and ran at the first sign of shaky waters; these also were some of my hardest and deepest lessons.

I experienced suffering and death of a cherished person who had always been there to save me, and now is gone from my site. I nursed the sick and brokenhearted while crushing under the weight of my own grief an betrayal , trying not to let it effect the way I love others. I have mourned and raged at injustice. I have felt the anxious realization your child is a little bit different coupled with a driving desire to give them tools they need. I invited some truly damaged and disturbed people into my life, who I have had to heal from knowing. I have been an advocate against atrocities and have done by hardest to prevail through it all .

I have also created life and raised three fabulous children (still a work in progress) alone, as a single parent. I have loved and experienced passion. I created and watched my children begin to create. I have met many people and phenomenally spiritual women along the way. I have felt sadness and pride as most exit my path as needed and marveled when the Universe has kept on my path, a few women I found priceless! I journeyed and learned from other women, everything from The Craft to Motherhood and all in-between.

I have educated myself from A-Z in all a sundry of things. I studied Cognitive Therapy to Tantra. I received certificates in teaching, marketing, small business, and Applied Behavioral Analysis . I have started and failed and started and succeed with a few businesses and projects over the last decade. I have grown into my spiritual path and experienced many different ways to the Center.

Above all- I have EXPERIENCED. Every moment , every lesson, every feeling, disappointment, joy and sorrow- they have all been mine. Mine to work through and mine to share.

I am archiving this site, it will still be available for the seeker, however I am updating with a new fresh site. One that I do not need to hide behind, or explain my beliefs, or even really give a damn who agrees or not.

I once read an article that stated ;

"Your 20's are for experiencing yourself. Your 30's are for finding yourself, Your 40's are for accepting yourself. And your 50's are for not giving a shit who likes you our not, and being your genuine self."

I am kissing the ass end of my 30's and a bit ahead of schedule I accept me and I don't care if anyone else does.

As a dear Witch I know says....

" The Crone has earned the right to spit on the sidewalk!"

Basically, most ( there is always the less evolved exception - as I have sadly encountered) women who make it to 50 , have experienced enough of life to say "Screw off I can do what I want"

I am Ankhesenaum. I am a Rootworker and Hoodoo Mama. I am a Witch an Strega I am Christian influenced and have faith in it. I am in Service of the Loa (Spirits), the Ancestors an Saints (the Blood), the Goddess (the Life) the Christ , (the Compassion) all for Bondye (the Great Good God).

I am a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover, a worthy adversary and I am here to share with the adept through my Craft. Those who want what I have to share are welcome and those who do not, can pass me bye.

As for me, I am somewhere hovering between Mother and Crone-- loving being a Mom and yet ready for the reigns of motherhood to ease up, as I confidently walk through my 40's moving forward to my spitting on the sidewalk days........

The Urban Rootworker

"I am not a Bitch, I am just intolerant of bull shit!"

"Be who you are , the people who are worthy of you will not care and those who do , you don't want as friend anyhow....."

Post

" That no one whatsoever should be denied freedom to devote himself either to the cult of the Christians or to such religion as he deems best suited to himself so that the highest divinity, to whos worship we pay allegiance with free minds, may grant us in all things his wonted favor and benevolence."

In 313 this was put into the Edict of Milan by Constantine to stop the persecution of the Christians. The Roman persecution of the Christians was pretty bad, probably as bad as the Christian's later slaughter of pagans and free thinkers.

After this was put into law, Christianity was a recognized religion. And for the next 200 years, ironically, they took it upon themselves to basically wipe out all the pagan cults.

The above is one small step for religious tolerance, one giant leap for wiping out the faiths that had lasted thousands of years.

May Dew in American Ozarks

Facewashing in May Dew:

Washing the face with May dew was yet another custom. There was a belief among the women in Great Britain and other parts of Europe those days that May Day dew has the power to restore beauty.

This why in the Ozark Mountains, a cradle of American folklore, girls used to nurture a belief that having their faces washed with the early dawn dews on the May Day would help to be married to the man of her choice.

A bit more tame than Wildpurgis, but hey dew is good!

The Green of May a historical thesis on May Day roots

http://www.midnightnotes.org/mayday/green.html

Bringing in the May

May is ahead, and very close. In honor of May and this delicious turn of the Wheel I want to spend the rest of this month featuring May and her sweet yet undiscerning energy!

May Day customs span the ages and cultures. Let's visit the New World and see how this Spring folic was or is expressed.

So, let's start with some History.

Bringing in the May

Many of the earliest references to May Day are ambiguous, but those which give any detail nearly always refer to the practice of going out into the countryside to gather flowers and greenery—‘going a-maying’ or ‘bringing in the may’. This greenery was used to decorate houses and public buildings to welcome the season, and for the early period this was the archetypal activity of the day . Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, provides one of the first written references to May Day customs by complaining, c.1240, about priests joining in ‘games which they call the bringing-in of may’ (Hutton: 226). Although this early reference is an ecclesiastical grumble, medieval May celebrations were often officially sponsored and both churchwardens' and municipal account books regularly include money paid out to support the custom. Similarly, the gatherings could include all levels of society including nobility and even royalty.

Against May, Whitsonday, or other time, all the young men and maidens, olde men and wives, run gadding overnight to the woods, groves, hils and mountains, where they spend all the night in pleasant pastimes; and in the morning, they return, bringing with them birch and branches of trees, to deck their assemblies with all … (Stubbes, 1583: 149).

Stubbes was campaigning against the May gathering, but the same custom could be used by writers on the other side as an archetypal joyous community event and a ready-made metaphor for the innocent rural idyll:

And furth goth all the Court, both most and lest
To feche the floures fressh, and braunch and blome
And namely, hawthorn brought both page and grome
With fresh garlandes, partie blewe and whyte …
(The Court of Love, first printed 1561, previously attributed to Chaucer)

The bringing in of the May remained a staple of the traditional calendar throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but voices of opposition began to be raised from reforming Protestant quarters from the time of Edward VI (1547-1553) onwards, gathering pace almost year by year. The assault on May Day took many forms, religious, moral, and legal (public order), but the focus of disapproval of the Bringing-in custom was primarily the concern about what unchaperoned young people would be doing in the woods. Stubbes’ reformist zeal may have lead him to overstate his case on the moral dangers of May Day:

I have heard it credibly reported (and that viva voce) by men of great gravitie and reputation, that of fortie, threescore, or a hundred maides going to the wood over night, there have scarecely the thirde parte of them returned home againe undefiled (Stubbes, 1583: 149).

Robert Herrick, supporter of rural sports and customs, was happy to admit the amorous possibilities involved in ‘going a-maying’:

And some have wept, and woo'd, and plighted troth
And chose their priest, ere we can cast off sloth
Many a green-gown has been given
Many a kisse, both odde and even
Many a glance too has been sent
From out the eye, loves firmament …

(‘Corinna's Going A-Maying’, Hesperides, 1648).

The ‘green gown’ was a well-known metaphor for what girls received from lying on the grass with their lovers.

Bringing in the May was banned, along with most other traditional customs, in the Commonwealth period, but returned after the Restoration and survived, in gradually dwindling form, until the early 19th century:

May-day is still observed at Great Gransden [Cambridgeshire], where the young men, farmers' servants, on their return from going a-Maying, leave a hawthorn branch at every house in the village, singing what they call the Night song. On the evenings of May-day and the 2nd of May, they go round to every house where they had left a branch and sing the May Song …(Time's Telescope for 1816 p. 130, quoted by Wright and Lones)

Although May Day was observed as a rite of spring in Europe for centuries, it became associated in the late nineteenth century as a workers' holiday. In 1889 an International Socialist Congress selected the first day of May as a world labor holiday to show support for labor activism in the United States. After the Haymarket Square Riot in early May 1886, the labor activists around the world followed the lead of American workers and began to agitate for an eight-hour work day. May Day was first celebrated in 1890, and many countries continue the tradition today, though the United States does not, and only recognizes Labor Day in September.

May Day customs span the ages and cultures. Let's visit the New World and see how this Spring folic was or is expressed.

English Folk Lore Answer . com

Its spirit lived on in the children's May garlanding customs of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Which we will visit next.

Bibliography
* Hazlitt, 1905: 397-9
* Wright and Lones, 1938: ii. 200-7, Hutton, 1996: 226-43

Urban Nature

I wanted to post some Urban hot spots in my area. Don't tell me you can't work urban magic !

Check out these awesome pics for a recent family ritual we had for Spring. It was so windy up in the mountains that are located in East Phoenix. If you think you can't hunt down nature in the urban desert, think again!

This is a great example of using what the land your in provides for you. This is one my most favorite spots in the urban desert.

Braucherei German- American PowWow Magic

Simply Magic: Braucherei

Cool link

Interesting information. Checl out this site for New World Witch Hunts information.

http://www.wtps.org/wths/imc/Pathfinders/witchcraft_in_the_old_and_new_wo.htm

Article published in 1904 NY TIMES

This racial article was written and published in the New York Times. PDF of the scan of actual newspaper.

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9500E1DF1F3AE733A25754C1A9629C946597D6CF

Hoodoo and Candle Magic A Brief Background on African-American Spellcasting Sabrina Kinckle

When African slaves were brought to America, they were stripped of their religious beliefs and familial connections. However, much of their magical practices remained. African-American rootworkers acquired herbal knowledge from Native Americans. Later, when the United States was influenced by the resurgence of Hermetic magic that spread across Europe, African-American rootworkers began studying Kabalistic traditions. The result was the mixing of folk magic with Judeo-Christian sources, such as incorporating the Book of Psalms in various spells.

Hoodoo Candle Magic

Hoodoo relies heavily on candle magic. Candles are said to manifest certain desires based on their colors. Perhaps the most influential candlemancy book to the Hoodoo tradition was Henri Gamache’s 1940s publication entitled, A Master Book of Candle Burning: How to Burn Candles for Every Purpose. Gamache was greatly influenced by spiritualist Paschal Beverly Randolph and texts from Harry Hyatt, a folklorist who documented a wealth of information on Hoodoo.

Hoodoo and Pow Wow & Judiasm

As you may have read down below earthwomyn06 and I were talking a lil bit about hoodoo and Judaism she asked me "But isn't 'Secrets of the Psalms', 'The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses', and such ... more Pow Wow than Hoodoo?".
Well ya'll know what a big trap I got so I just had to answer and here it is... I have to take a moment and say right here that great thanks goes out to that amazing font of knowledge and insight cat yronwode, without whom what lil this Ol' Devil knows would come to squat. Thank you cat.

Oh yes ya'll can also thank earthwomyn06 for pretty much keepin' this journal updated... thanks earthwomyn06 for givin me grist for my ever turnin' mill. -

As to your question, “But isn't “Secrets of the Psalms”, "The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses", and such ... more Pow Wow than Hoodoo?”

Yes, No, and Maybe.

Let me explain that:

The “Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses” and “The Secrets of the Psalms” are but two of the many Jewish Kabalistic texts that have been adopted by Pennsylvania Dutch hexmeisters –and- African-American root workers.

There has been quite a bit of cultural crossover between German, Jewish, and African sources in American folk magic. As an example, John George Hohman's “Pow-wows or the Long Lost Friend” is one of the decisive texts, not forgetting the Bible itself, in the pow-wow, hex, or speilwerk of the Pennsylvania Dutch. ‘Pow-wows’ was first published in German for Pennsylvania Dutch hexmeisters, then later in 1846 an English translation had great influence among the Anglo-Saxon folk magicians of the Appalachians, and finally it found favor with, and is still used by, many root workers and practitioners of hoodoo.

The “Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses” and “The Secrets of the Psalms” also brings us back to those chemists and pharmacists from the earlier post. These chemists and pharmacists who were manufacturing products for the African American community in the early 20th century started to branch out into the hoodoo market, as we talked about earlier, by adding magical perfumes, candles, incenses, and hoodoo curios to their storefront and mail order businesses. Now because these sorts of ‘magical’ goods sold well, theses sellers, many, if not most, of whom were of German-Jewish decent or origin, soon began introducing Jewish and German folk magic and religious goods into their sales. Very quickly the African American folk magicians, root workers, and practitioners of hoodoo began to add items like menorahs, altar candles, kosher soap, and mezuzahs into their work, and along with that many religio-magical texts already popular with German and Pennsylvania Dutch folk magicians, pow-wowists, and hexmeisters. The result being that hoodoo, like other African diaspora religions in other nations, was influenced and altered by contact with the cultures that surrounded it. In the end, where other African diaspora groups created syncretic religions out of this contact, American hoodoo doctors, conjures, and root workers augmented the body of their magical knowledge through the use of texts like “Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses" and John George Hohman's "Pow-wows or the Long Lost Friend".

So my answer is:

Yes – these texts are used and have had great influence on and in Pennsylvania Dutch pow-wow.

No – these texts aren’t really ‘more’ of pow-wow than hoodoo because they receive regular use and have been completely absorbed into hoodoo, becoming a central part of that practice.

And Maybe- my knowledge is very fragmented and limited to anecdotal personal experience. I don’t claim to be any sort of legitimate scholar; I just talk a lot. *winks*
by Charles Porterfield a.k.a. Grandpaw Coyote

Pow-wow

During the 17th and 18th centuries there was much migration from continental Europe, whole families seeking to flee the hardships, famine and poverty of their own lands, set their sights on the adventure and prosperity offered in the new lands of hope and glory in America. Many of the German settlers who colonized the interior of Pennsylvania also brought with them their Old World beliefs in Witchcraft and Magick. Due to the lands resemblances to their former lands in Europe, many of them settled in the rich rural areas of York, Dauphin, Lancaster, Schuylkill, Carbon and other surrounding counties, which over time became commonly known as the counties of the Pennsylvania Dutch (Dutch, a corruption of “Deutsch” meaning German).
The Pennsylvania Dutch were proud family orientated people, deeply religious, and who fiercely defended their own identities and traditional ways of life. They kept to themselves and were suspicious of outsiders, and even retained their German language. This however overtime and through necessity became mixed with English to form their particular Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. They also continued to practice their own form of traditional Witchcraft and magick. As much of their witchcraft and magick was centered on herbs and healing, they enlisted the aid of local Indians to learn about and find native roots and herbs for use in medicinal recipes.
Observing the Indians powwows, their meetings for ceremonial dance and conference purposes where often followed by celebration and they also discovered that like themselves, the Indians used charms and incantations for healing. Impressed with their methods of driving out evil spirits, they adopted the term “powwowing” to refer to their own magickal healings. Powwowing has survived through the advance of time and is still practiced today, and while some of the charms and incantations used, still date back to ancient times, many contain Biblical and Kabalistic elements.
Of the old pioneers to emigrate from Germany and settle in Pennsylvania, John George Hohman is of particular interest concerning powwowing. Hohman and his wife Catherine immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1802 and settled near Reading. He was a devout Roman Catholic and a great believer in faith healing, however he proved to be a mediocre practitioner and also failed at farming. Facing financial ruin he began to collect various charms and herbal remedies, as well as collating those passed down through the centuries in oral tradition, and published them in a handbook called “The Long Lost Friend”. From it Hohman achieved some modest financial success, for it quickly became one of the two “Bibles” of powwowing (the other being an anonymous book called the “Seventh Book of Moses”). Both could be found in virtually every Pennsylvania Dutch household.
In “The Long Lost Friend”, Hohman mixes magick and healing formulas gleaned from a variety of sources, including Germany, England and Egypt, some dating back to antiquity. It was not a book of “hexes” Hohman emphasizes, (a “hex” being a spell, curse or bewitchment cast by a Witch, commonly with evil intent, though it can be use for either good or bad purposes) and should be used for healing not for destroying. In it he also includes the wisdom of the Gypsies and the Kabbalah, as well as testimonials of his own successes. In his introduction he states:
“There are many in America who believe in neither hell nor heaven, but in Germany there are not so many of these persons found. I, Hohman, ask: Who can immediately banish the wheal, or mortification? I reply, and I, Hohman, say: All this is done by the Lord. Therefore, a hell and a heaven must exist, and I think very little of any who dares deny it”.
Hohman also promises his readers that:
“Whoever carries this book with him, is safe from all his enemies, visible or invisible, and whoever has this book cannot die without the holy corpse of Jesus Christ, nor drowned (sic) in any water, nor burn up in any fire, nor can any unjust sentence be passed upon him. So help me”.
In the book he offers the following charm to prevent witches from bewitching cattle, or used to stop evil spirits from tormenting people in their sleep at night. It should be written down and placed either in the stable or on the bedstead:
“Trotter Head, I forbid thee my house and premises, I forbid thee my horse and cow-stable, I forbid thee my bedstead, that thou mayest not breathe upon me, breathe into some other house, until thou hast ascended every hill, until thou hast counted every fence post, and until thou hast crossed every water. And thus dear day may come again into my house, in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen”.
The second so-called “bible” of powwowing, is the “Seventh Book of Moses”. This is a mixture of material take from the Talmud, Kabbalah and the Old Testament. It explains how to break a hex by wearing an amulet containing specially selected herbs wrapped in parchment paper inscribed with biblical verses or charms. In another method it tells how the hexed person should avoid direct sunlight, to stay in-doors when the moon is full, to cover the ears at the sound of a bell, and to never listen to the crowing of a cock. Most family households in Pennsylvania’s Dutch “hex belt” (as these areas became known) had copies of the two powwowing “bibles”, and anyone could use them. However the charms were believed more effective when prescribed or recited by a bona fide practitioner.
The most skilled of powwowing practitioners are born into it, inheriting such occult abilities as healing, clairvoyancy and precognition. According to tradition, the “seventh son of a seventh son” inherits special powers, and is thought to be the most powerful, but both men and women can be practitioners. Powwowers start there training at an early age, and are taught only by family members of the opposite sex. They use a variety of techniques to help their clients, such as the laying on of hands, incantations and signs (such as the sign of the cross). Others specialize in charms and amulets, while others may use special herbs, potions and powders. One well-reputed powwower from the turn of the century was called Charles W. Rice. He lived in York, where he specialized in curing blindness with a potion he called “sea monster tears”. This he dispensed at $2.50 a drop.
Most common of the powwower’s charms are the “Himmels-briefs” (heavens letters). These are basically a guarantee of protection written by the powwower on a piece of parchment paper in biblical verse. It is then hung up in the home or barn, or carried on the person it was written for. They can be written to protect the home, animals and people from all sorts of harm and disaster, be they natural or un-natural. Disbelievers were told, “Whosoever doubts the truth of a Himmels-briefs, may attach a copy of the brief to the neck of a dog and fire upon it, he will then be convinced of its truthfulness”. Himmels-briefs typically cost from $25.00 to hundreds of dollars depending on the power and reputation of the powwower, and the specifics of the charm. They were particularly popular with the soldiers of World War I, who carried them into battle for protection against injury and death.
Most powwowers work quietly and attract their clients by word of mouth and reputation. Some work at it as a sideline to their main business, seeing clients only in the evenings or at weekends, others work at it full-time. To many it is considered unethical to charge fees for their services, and instead accept “voluntary contributions” though they may suggest appropriate amounts for specific services. Most will also help those clients who cannot pay, trusting that grateful clients will return when funds are available.
End.
Written and compiled by George Knowles

Sources

The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft - By Rosemary Ellen Guiley
An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present - By Doreen Valiente
Plus many websites too numerous to mention.

Welcome to America

What follows is a cry out to my folks here in America and specifically all ya’ll pagan folk in the south; if that ain’t you don’t take it so big.

Welcome to America
Hoodoo you know?

Welcome to the New Age - the Age of Aquarius - the Age of Free Thought and Magic Afoot.

Welcome to the Brand New - Brave New World.

Or is it? Do you sing the throat song of the new world or are you still reaching across the waters back to lost and old homes and ages; searching for something better because it ain’t here.
The current New Age of magic seems so diverse and open, but it often appears too rooted in every place but one – America –. Yes, it’s very fashionable, and perhaps more than a little justified, to turn one’s face from the home wall and find wisdom, wit and way in –any- place but America. That being the America of the here and now and the just then; anything existing before that being perfectly acceptable for use as it is Native and Original - and the irony of that on top of what has already been claimed, destroyed, and taken is so huge as to almost be soul crushing. But before you run out and start intoning Gaelic, Latin, Etruscan, or casting circles to the proper Airt you might want to stop and consider that there is a very American magic just under the surface –all around you- not a native magic or an original magic – not a pure magic just made out of it’s own self skin – no, a quilt made up of Haint blue colors, and jinx squares all sewn up on a five spot board – a magic as American as Jazz or Chop Suey.
Hoodoo
Now before you go off and get yourself all tied up, fussing and fuming and ready to put me right in my place, - and I've probably given you plenty to be riled up about since I haven’t been oh so careful and fretful over your all’s feelings – just take a breath and hear me out. I’m not saying to you that old ways from other places or native peoples don’t have worth, aren't damn fine in fact, and I’m not forgetting all the beautiful parts that came to make up Hoodoo from amazing Africa, solemn Synagogues, humble Hexmeisters, hucksters, dreamers, slaves, freemen, bandits, rouges, revolutionaries, just plain ol’ wise mommas and papas and the roots and spirits themselves – so if your all wound and hung just take a long cool drink of shut the hell up and go, stay or do as you like because I’m going to go on.
Hoodoo
That’s right I said Hoodoo, you heard me. That ol’ time huckstery, superstitious, spookism – yup Hoodoo, Mojo Bags, Floor Washin, Black Cat Bones and all. Now a lot a folk got to look everywhere but at home for magic and truth and wisdom, cause if someone you never met and don’t know says it or does it, well then that must be right and true. But now if Gramma and Pops and Sister does it well that’s just how some folks is around here… superstitious, ignorant… backwards. Well La De Da, that’s just fine now isn't; if somebody over an ocean or 300 years back does it it’s real and valid, but if my Gramma did it it’s that old devil spookery or just plain foolishness, or that’s that ol’ evil stuff or even better, the biggest slap in the face, that something that “them” folk do and we all know what I mean by that, G-d help us.
Well it’s out there folks, all around you, in your words, in your manners, in your ways and songs and the little things you do and it’s as real and tangible as the best magic you can call up on any Sabbat Night and it’s a part of –here- our times and our air, our earth and our fires… cicada songs, gator growls, cat screams, and owl hoots all. So before ya’ll run right off to greener pastures and set all your elders on their ears, show us how we’re wrong, just stop and ask and listen – maybe around midnight down by the Crossroads or in the quiet of the Graveyard on Memorial Day or just watch what Gramma does when she drops a knife – who knows Magic might be a whole lot more damn Afoot then you ever guessed.
by Charles Porterfield a.k.a. Grandpaw Coyote