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



Thursday, September 27, 2012

Saint Cyprian's Feast Day

The month of September is always very busy for me, doubly so because at my practice we spend all month preparing for Saint Cyprian's Feast Day. Saint Cyprian is my patron who I published a text on last year. His feast is always a big occassion for me and my house. Because he is the patron of sorcerers and the occult sciences, I devote the entire month to teaching my apprentices and students. So, the month of September is always characterized with my spiritual practice bustling with students coming and going at all hours, working and teaching until the the wee hours of the night, and preparing for the the 26th which is his feast day. It is also the reason why I tend to be absent from my favorite online forums like Lucky Mojo and EvocationMagic--just too busy.

My apprentices and I spend the weeks prior to the 26th, performing spiritual cleansings for clients, setting lights, and performing charitable magical work. During this month, I take several pro bono cases and perform free cleansings, exorcisms, and uncrossings. All of this is done in honor of Saint Cyprian for the wonderful blessings he's brought into my life and the thriving practice that he has bestowed to me. It is to him that all credit is due and thanks to him that I am one of the most successful professional mages and rootworkers.

After a month of teaching and charitble magical workings we prepare by cleansing his altar, getting a new altar cloth, set up his offerings, and finally on his feast day celebrate the magic of Saint Cyprian with the praying of his orisons, the presenting of his offerings, and partaking in his mysteries.

In honor of that, here is a spell that be worked with Saint Cyprian to protect yourself and your home from witchcraft and curses.

Materials:

Purple Candle
Cup of fresh water
Image of Saint Cyprian
Bay Leaf
Pen/Pencil

Set up an altar for Saint Cyprian with his image and the purple candle to the left and in front of that image and the cup of water to the right and infront of that image. All three together should form a small triangle.

Light your candle and pray from your heart to Saint Cyprian that he protect you from the snares of the wicked and the witchcraft of the evil.

On your Bay Leaf write, "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress." You can use both sides to write this. Place this in the center of the triangle formed by the image, the candle, and the cup and just bask in the power of Saint Cyprian.

The next day replace the cup of water with a fresh cup and place the Bay Leaf under your doormat. So long as that Bay Leaf remains under the doormat, the protection of Saint Cyprian will surround your house.

To learn more about Saint Cyprian you can check out the text I wrote about him at Hadean Press or if you are in the US buy it from Lucky Mojo.

Monday, September 17, 2012

ConjureMan Ali's Tips for Increasing Psychic Abilities

In Hoodoo there are a variety of ways that an individual can increase and expand their natural latent psychic and clairvoyant abilities. This tradition gave birth to the 20th century line of hoodoo products crafted for the same purpose, an example of which would be Lucky Mojo's Psychic Vision products. I actually highly recommend these products as they really pack a punch and I've used them with great success.

Some people are looking to open up their senses, while other are trying to gain more mastery over what they already have. In either case there are ways which you can use natural herbs, roots, curios with traditional hoodoo techniques to hone those psychic abilities and develop your senses to the heights that you desire.

In light of this, I will provide my ultimate resource for anyone looking to improve these abilities.

ConjureMan Ali's Ultimate Hoodoo Guide for Psychic Development:

Herbs, Root, Minerals etc:

 1. Anise-Not to be confused with Star Anise which has a star-like shape, where as anise is fennel-like. Anise is native to the Mediterranean where it is used for digestion. In hoodoo it is fundamental for the making of Psychic Vision products. It can induce prophetic dreams, protect from the evil eye, and help to increase your clairvoyant abilities. 

2. Acacia- A sacred funerary herb among the Egyptian and the Jews, Acacia is great for ancestral work and contacting the dead via mediumship. It features prominently in the Bible and can be used in rites honoring the dead. Used as an incense it can aid in gaining visions of the dead.

3. Althaea- The use of Althaea also revolves around spirits. Where as Acacia helps with communing with the spirits of the dead, especially ancestral, Althaea draws good spirits. One can mix the two into an incense to help increase communication with one's spiritual guides and guardians. Althaea also has a soothing and healing quality and will help improve one's inner vision.

4. Laurel- Is excellent for gaining the mental clarity associated with psychic visions. Often known as Bay Laurel, its a wonderful addition to any psychic development work for it gives the mental clairty and power needed to harness your inner abilities.

5. Blueing Balls- This laundry product has replaced the traditionally used Bluestones, which is toxic and dangerous to handle. Blueing balls are often added to washes and baths aimed at improving psychic ability, especially the ability for forsee lucky numbers.

6. Camphor- This resin has a strong purifying effect. Burned with intent it can purify a home and drive out trickster spirits and other troublesome entities. However it can also be mixed with other psychic-enhancing elements to help boost your natural powers. Camphor purifies and so it will remove any chaotic influence and spirits, helping your psychic vision to be clearer.

7. Celery Seeds- Excellent for any psychic development work and can be mixed with other seeds like Star Anise, or Anise etc to create powerful oils, washes, and mojo bags. It can also be burned as an incense.

8. Copal- An essential resin used in spirit-work. Native to Central America, it was used by the indigenous religions for trance-work and to enter the underworld. Today it has been adopted in various Catholic churches across Central America as a replacement for the traditional Catholic preference of Frankincense and Myrrh. Copal burned as a resin is excellent for contacting spirits and will help you enter into trances.

9. Dandelion- Dandelion Root is great for developing your prophetic abilities. It increases your natural senses and can be the best friend of people who want to become readers. It is often brewed into a tea to be drunk, or bathed in. You can also wash your hands in it before doing a card reading.

10. Flax- This is one that I don't personally use very often, but a friend swears by it. Traditionally it has a protective quality, but it often is included in various psychic development works.

11. Frankincense- A great resin for any type of spirit-contact work and is sacred to the Middle East. It is burned as incense to carry prayers up to god, helps induce visions, and can be used to increase the power of spells, or the intensity of your consecration. If a person is having a hard time using their psychic abilities to see the future clearly, burning some Frankincense can help increase the concentration to peer through the mists of time.

12. Mugwort- An absolute must for anyone doing oracular work. A tea of Mugwort can be used to wash your reading tools like dark mirrors, crystals, pendulum etc. It can also be included in mojo bags and washes to increase prophetic dreams.

13. Star Anis- My absolute favorite, Star anis is considered a staple in any psychic development product, spell, or practice. It's star-like shape informs its usage via the Doctrine of Signatures and it is excellent to not only to develop latent abilities, but grant control over them. It is especially great for dream work and for warding off envy. Including it in a love spell can also ensure that the target dreams of you.

14. Tobacco- This plant is sacred to the Americas and is used in a variety of spirit work. While in hoodoo it has become part of the Court Case class of plants, it is also great for any type of spiritual contact, or can be used to compell someone to contact you. It is burnt as an offering to spirits, and can fortify your own spiritual guardians thus increasing your communication with them.

15. Wormwood- Is great for inducing visions and increasing your spiritual abilities. It is sacred to many spirits and often can be used to fortify your connection with your guides. It is included in mojo bags and washes to induce dreams and visions. It also has the ability to ward off evil and envy.

I would also add to this list Florida Water, Kanaga Water, Rose Water or Rose Blossom and Orange Blossom Water. Florida Water is used for cleansings and offerings to the dead in Afro-Carribean traditions along with Orange Blossom, Kanaga Water is connected to the Malay offerings to the dead, Rose Water is given to ancestors in Middle Eastern magic. Each can be used to increase communication with your ancestral spirits or other spirits of the dead.

Using a mixture of any of the above herbs, roots, curios can help increase psychic abilities, with the right combinations focusing on either dreams, clairvoyance, prediction of numbers etc.

Here are some recipes for psychic abilities that I have used and found to work wonderfully.

ConjureMan Ali's Recipes for Enhancement of Psychic Abilities:

1. Psychic Bath To Increase Abilities as a Reader:
  • Mugwort
  • Star Anise
  • Anise
  • Dandelion root
  • Laurel
  • Celery Seeds
  • Florida Water
Brew it all into a tea while praying over it. Once the tea has been brewed add a splash of Florida Water and let it cool a bit. Stand in a tub and pour the tea over yourself but wash upwards with your hands from your feet to your head. Pray that your abilities be enhanced and you be given the powers to see clearly into the future. Let yourself air dry and gather a bit of the used bath water and sprinkle it on your front door step.

2. Mojo Bag for Psychic Mastery:

  • Laurel
  • Star Anise
  • Anise
  • Master Root
  • Althaea
  • Celergy Seeds
  • Tobacco
  • Red flannel draw-string bag
  • purple candle
  • Psychic Vision Oil
  • charcoal and incense burner
  • Frankincense, Myrrh, and Copal
Light your charcoal and place it in the incense burner. Sprinkle your Frankincense, Myrrh, and Copal resin mix and let the smoke waft up. Dress your purple candle with Psychic Vision Oil from base to tip and light it.

Take the Laurel and write your name on one side and the words "Psychic Mastery" on the other, pass this through the smoke and then put it in your flannel bag. One by one pass each element of the mojo bag through the smoke of the incense while asking the herb, seed, or root to lend its power to the work. Put them in to the flannel bag one by one with focus and prayer. Once they are all in the bag, hold the bag to your mouth and pray your intent into the bag letting your breath fill the bag with life. Tie off the bag by pulling it closed and knotting it three times.

Pass the bag through the fire of the candle three times while praying, careful not to burn it, just letting it warm up. Then hold it above the incense from the string and pray as the mojo bag is brought to life. Dab some Psychic Vision Oil on it and let the candle burn down. Keep this bag on you to increase your psychic mastery and feed it once a week from Psychic Vision Oil.

3. Dream Pillow

  • Mugwort
  • Wormwood
  • Celery seed
  • Rectangular pice of cloth (white or red)
  • needle and string
  • Psychic Vision Oil
Fold the cloth and sew all the sides except the top. Stuff the pillow with Mugwort, Wormwood, and Celery Seeds. Hold this to your mouth and pray that it grant you prophetic dreams. Sew the top to make a little pillow. Put a dab of Psychic Vision oil and keep this under your pillow.

I suggest keeping a record of your dreams.

The combinations and possibilities are endless and there is a lot of room for experimentation using tradition as a guide and base for further work.

Enjoy!


 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Making Magical Chalks

I love magical chalks. They are easy to make, pack a punch, and can be used for nearly anything. They can be made for use in rituals and spells, both to add power, or as part of the central part of the rite and for those familiar with Hoodoo, or the African Diasporic Traditions they are an excellent way of deploying sneaking tricks.

Natural chalks hold a very strong charge and can be imbued with the proper mix of magical powders, prayers, and herbs to accomplish the ends of the magician. With the right mix, one could make them to add power to a magical rite like evocation, or make them for a variety of conditions like love, money, protection etc. In addition, they are quite easy to use. For example, one could make a commanding-type chalk, carry it in the pocket and when going to shake hands, rub some of the chalk on your hands then touch that person, or while sitting at the table with that person, subtly mark the underside of the table with the chalk.

The same techniques can be used for any condition, one could lay down a line with a love chalk for your intended to walk through, one could mark and X on the foot path of an enemy with a destruction chalk, or one could create a barrier around your property with a protection chalk. They can even be used for healing, marking specific points on the body to turn back an illness, remove a spirit, or seal the body from further sickness. They can also be an easy way to carry powders; forming them into a stick, one could carry any magical powder ready to use, crumble in your hand and blow the powder to deploy.

To make magical chalk you'll need:

6 Eggs
Flour
Hot water
Magical powder of choice or herbs for your intent
Colored powders, or tempera paint if you want to color your chalk. (I prefer powdered colors)



1. Crack the eggs to get their eggshells, or save the eggshells from your baking, cooking etc. Make sure to remove the collagen or inner membrane from the eggshells. The membrane is often a pinkish hue and comes off easily with some picking. Make sure your eggshells are washed and clean before using. Its best to let them dry for about 24 hours before use.

2. Once the eggshells are dry grind them up in a mortar. You'll need to grind them into a fine powder. This will take some time and patience, but make sure you grind it into as fine a powder as possible, removing any larger pieces that wont grind down any further. Pray your intent into this powder. You can make a general prayer of power and blessing, or pray for a specific intent if the chalk is made for a specific condition.



Powdered eggshell is called cascarilla and is found commonly among the practitioners of the ATRs, Latin American folk magic and other traditions. Cascarilla is used to mark the body at specific spots, for cleansings, purification, and protection. Cascarilla has made its way into modern hoodoo practices, via outside traditions. But while cascarilla may not have been used in traditional hoodoo, homemade eggshell powder and eggshell chalks were, likely a replacement for West and Central African uses for efun/pemba, they simply didn't call it cascarilla.

3. Once you've ground up the eggshells mix in 1 tsp of flour with 1 tablespoon of the powdered eggshell. You can eye it to make sure that you've got an even mixture. The flour is used as binder so make sure to mix them together thoroughly. At this point add in your powders and just a pinch of the herbs you want. Too man herbs will break up the mixture so be careful. Again mix it thoroughly. Make sure to pray over the herbs, powders, and the mixtures. It is also at this point you can add your colors. If you are making a black chalk, I also suggest adding pinch of drawing charcoal.

4. Add in a tsp of hot water and mixing it in. The mixture will begin to be sticky, but keep mixing to get all the pieces. Squish it all together to make a nice little ball.

5. Roll the ball in your hands or against wax paper to make it into a cylindrical shape or what shape you want. Wrap this in a paper towel or wax paper and tie it closed. Set this aside for at least three days.



6. Now you've got yourself magical chalk! Add it to your magical work and tricks and experiement with the different effects and combinations.