Welcome

A collection of ConjureMan Ali's thoughts about magic, the occult, and spirituality.



Thursday, July 22, 2010

Spell to get a lover to call

Reconciliation spells and spells aimed at getting wandering lovers to return home are part of the territory of being a rootworker. In reconciliation work of any type communication is huge--in fact many would say that without contact the chances of reconciliation are slim to none. In hoodoo this step is often approached in a variety of ways, including using tricked letters to establish contact first to spells aimed at compelling your target to call you.

There are times when one or the other are called for in love or reconciliation work. Sometimes you have to initiate contact and there are spells aimed at helping to keep your target interested and to get them to respond to your attempts. Then there are spells aimed at getting a lover to contact you first. The topic of this post is going to be the latter.

If there was a spat between you and your lover it is usually best to work with sweeter, more healing types of reconciliation that aim at bringing forgiveness to both parties. However, if your lover is being reticent, this spell can be worked to give them a nudge to contact you.

Here's what you'll need:
1 purple 7-day candle or vigil candle
1 pink 7-day candle or vigil candle
1 red 7-day candle or vigil candle
1 brown 7-day candle or vigil candle
1 love me type of oils (I generally make my own or use a reputable and authentic manufacturer like LuckyMojo. Oils that would work well are Love Me, Come to Me, Reconciliation, Return to Me).
1 command me type of oil (Command Oil, Control Oil, Compelling Oil etc).
Tobacco
Rose Petals
Calamus
Cinnamon
A picture of your target and if you have a piece of hair, great.

Take the photo of your target and on their forehead write the command "Call __" in the blank put your name. Now dab each of the oils in the four corners of the picture and the center. This is called 5-spotting the photo. Fold the photo towards you, as do call out that person's name and command them to call you. Rotate it clockwise 90 degress and fold it towards you again while calling out your command. Do this a total of 3 times until you have a folded up squre. If you have some of your target's hair fold it up with the photo. Set this paper aside.

Now take all of your candles and wipe them down with a cleansing product. I like using Florida Water or similar washes. This act really helps to clean off residue that the candle may have picked up from being handled. On the top of each glass-encased candle poke 3 or 4 holes. This can be done with a skewer, screwdriver or something similar.

Take up your pink candle and drip a little bit of love oil into each of the holes. Make sure not to use too much lest you drown out the wick. Toss in the Rose petals into the holes as well and hold the candle in your hands as you pray ferverently that your target's heart becomes sweet and gentle towards you and that they are inclined to call you.

Now take up the purple candle and add a few drops of your commanding oil and Calamus while you pray that your target is compelled to call you.

Then take up your red candle and dress it with the love oil again, but add Cinnamon to this candle while praying that the fires of love be stroked in your lover's heart and that they are drawn back towards you and quickly.

Finally take up your brown candle and dress it with both oils and sprinkle some Tobacco in the candle. Pray over this candle that your target feels the urge to call you, that the fires of their love are rekindled, and that they cannot resist calling you.

Set up the red, pink, and purple candles in an upright triangle with the purple and pink forming the base of the triangle and the red forming the top. In the center place your brown candle and place your folded up photo under this brown candle. Light them in a clockwise fashion with the brown candle being last. As you light each one call out your lover's name.

Let these candles burn as you pray over them from time to time and call out that your lover returns to you. When the candles have all burned down you can examine the glass for any divinatory signs. Bury any wax remains by your front door and recycle the glass. If your lover hasn't contacted you by the time the candles burned out then take the photo that was placed underneath the brown candle and pin it upside down to the back of the headboard of your bed with a pin in each corner. This last act will cause your lover to dream about you and feel restless until they call you.

Enjoy the spell!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Basics of Hoodoo pt. 1-Petition Papers

This series is going to go over some of the basics of working with hoodoo. I'm going to cover things like how to write out petition papers, how to dress candles, how to dress tricks, and how to put it all together in a conjure aimed towards helping you acheive what you want. This will probably be interspered with other random posts, but I hope to continue the basics of conjure posts for my clients and those who might need some insight on where to start when it comes to the technique of conjure.

One of the very first things that people should learn how to make are petition papers. A petition paper, sometimes called a name-paper is a paper where the rootworker has written who or what they want to attract, influence, repel, or control. Petition papers act as the desires of the rootworker written out for the spell to act on. It can be taken as the map of the entire spellwork. As you write out your petition you are giving specific directions either through symbols or literal commands on what you want the spirits and powers you put into play to do. This makes the petition paper more than merely a piece of paper with some names on it, but literally makes it a magical object--a talisman of sorts.

If we think of petitions in terms of a magical object, or a talisman that is used to direct the spell then you find that the writing out of a petition paper becomes something more than a mechanical act. The act becomes magical in of itself. This theory that petition papers are meant to act like talismanic objects is supported by various traditional conjures and spells that use only a petition paper alone.

So how do you write one out? Well there are literally dozens of traditional ways, but I'll demonstrate a few of the methods that work well for certain situations.

If you are working any type of conjure aimed to giving you the upper hand, or giving you control over a person then you can use the following:
1. Write the name of your target a number of times (usually 3, 7, or 9 times).
2. Then turn the paper 90 degrees clockwise and write your own name or the name of the person you want to give the upper hand to over the name of the target. Write your names the same number of times.

If you want to tie someone to you by giving yourself the upper hand, but also get them to do what you want then use the following:
1. Create a name paper just like the one above where your name crosses and covers the name of your target.
2. In a circle around the names write your command in short, pithy phrases that convey what you want, but write it in an unbroken circle without lifting your pen. An example of this would be that if I wanted my boss to give me a raise, I'd write my name over his; crossing and covering his name, then in a circle around our names I'd write "favor me, give me a raise."

If you want a petition paper where you command someone to do something, or influence them to act a certain way then use the following:
1. Write out the name of the target a number of times (3, 7, 9)
2. Turn the paper 90 degrees either clockwise or counterclockwise depending on whether you wish to draw something or decrease its influence. I.e. if you want to have someone gain courage then clockwise to draw the courage, if you want to send this person away then counterclockwise.
3. Now cross and cover their name with your command written the same number of times as their name.

If you want to write out a name paper aimed at drawing something to you then use the following:
1. Write out what you desire to draw or control a number of times. You can write out wealth, money, love, luck etc.
2. Turn the paper 90 degress clockwise and cross it with your name written the same number of times.

If you have a long request then you can write out what you want in paragraph form, but then cross it with your name in order to cover the paragraph.

Once you have the paper written out you can draw symbolic elements on it to help personalize it a bit. For example in a love name paper try drawing out little hearts in each corner, for a money one try drawing out dollar signs. After you've finished all the written elements of the petition paper it is time to dress it. Take the spiritual oil that matches your desire and dab it in each corner of the paper and in the center. This is called five-spotting the paper. Some people prefer dressing the paper with powders instead, but try each one and see which you like.

Once you've done this you are ready to go. This petition paper can be folded a number of times (towards you to draw, away from you to repel) and placed in container spells, in your pocket or shoe, under candles. As this series progresses we'll put together the basics in an overall conjure.

Each act in the creation of a name paper and petition paper should be meaningful and significant to you. Don't let any of the actions become mechanic and dead. When you are writing out your desire, write it with feeling, when you are turning the paper towards you do it with feeling that you are drawing that very thing to you and so on and so forth. By making each action meaningful you are transforming the act of writing on a simple piece of paper into a magical act that can then become part of a spiritual process that helps you attain what you desire.

These are the basics forms name papers take, but there are more examples which will be given later.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Hoodoo and Karma

Whenever I come across a person from the Neopagan community, especially those who hold the Western and New Age interpretations of Karma, I often get into discussions about the role of ethics in hoodoo and conjure. When I explain to such people that hoodoo does not have a concept similar to the Three-fold Law they often tend to become rather superior and look at anything I say afterwards askance.

To some people the very idea that the Universe, or Deity is not going to slap you on the hand the second you put something out there that does not fit the criteria of rainbows and butterflies is simply appalling if not down-right unethical. To these people hoodoo, which holds to the paradigm that conjurers and rootworkers are mature enough to figure things out on their own without an infintile system of reward and punishment, is nothing more than flat-out dark magick. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I am not going to touch on the history of hoodoo, nor its religious influences (for more on the topic of hoodoo's history check out catherine yronwode's online book). Instead, I am going to point out one salient fact that the critics who decry conjure's lack of concept of karma are missing: hoodoo is magick. That's right, it is a system of *magick,* not religion. Not just any magick, but one that is ultimately pragmatic.

Pragmatism is a strong part of many magical traditions and hoodoo exemplifies this. What purpose is there for magick if not to help right wrongs, to help find a person happiness, to bring about a nurturing relationship, or financial success? The rootworkers is a deeply spiritual person, but a person who's not so far up in the clouds that they forget where their feet are.

Now does that mean that hoodoo is a "do whatever you want" type of a system? Absolutely not. People fail to realize the hoodoo has an inherent doctrine of ethics that should not be overlooked. A conjurer or root doctor works with divination methods in order to see all the facets of a situation and the implications and consequences of any magick that they decide to throw into the mix. This is done with a clear understanding that they are answerable to higher power, be it the Universe, God, or their Higher Self. The idea is clear; if you cannot justify your actions objectively then you have no right doing what you plan on doing. It is for this reason that conjurers turn to divination.

Hoodoo and conjure accept that spiritual and magical power is not only able to, but should be used in order to help things like justice, love, fortune, and success along. It is after all the right of man to be happy and prosperous. That doesn't mean you start using magick to steal from your neighbors, but it does mean that if your neighbor is a rapist you send his or her butt straight to jail.