This week we touch on Darker Magics

Lilith

Title

• Goddess of sexuality, childbirth, equality, and knowledge

Description

• Often a scantily clad beautiful woman, with dark hair, sometimes with a snake wrapped around her

Duties

•  Teaching women to empower themselves, watch over childbirth, watch over those who follow her

Lineage

• Lilith was created from the clay of the earth and so has no mother or father

Stories

• Adam demanded Lilith submit to him and she refused preferring to leave the garden of Eden rather than be treated as less than equal

Interesting Facts

• Lilith has been seen as either giving birth to the first vampire or being the first vampire herself

Symbols

• Dragons, apples, her sigil, crossroads, mirrors, owls, stars, and snakes

Superstition

The wishbone

I’m sure most of us have made a wish upon a “wishbone” at some point or other in our lives. I know I have.

Usually turkey or chicken bones are used for this practice, the bone that is used is known as the Furcula. It is located right above the sternum of the chosen bird. 

Some History

Bird oracles were often used for divination of the future which may have begun around 700B.C.E. with Etruscans. The furcula was dried in the sun and then they would gently stroke the bone making a wish. This is where the term wishbone was first derived from. 

It seems that the Romans continued with this belief, however, there was a shortage of fowl so in order to have enough bones to go around they began to crack them in half.

Skip forward a bit to the British who got the practice from the Romans, then brought the tradition over to Plymouth (in the Americas). This land had an over abundance of fowl and now used the wishbone for luck. 

Wishbone Rules

There are MANY different versions of the possible ways to create your wish. It began with two people using their pinky fingers on either side of the bone, making a wish and then pulling. In 17th century Britain a more complicated version was used. The wishbone would be placed on their noses (balancing it), make their wish and then shake it off. After that they would pull it apart (I’m not sure I understand this method). Yet another version depicts the broken pieces being placed into the fists of one person and the other person would choose one of the fists. Whoever got the longer piece was considered to have gotten the lucky piece, therefore theirs was the wish that would come to fruition. [source: Meikle].

Wishbones have been worn or carried much like the lucky rabbit’s foot or the four leaf clover. The final note here is that only a broken wishbone would grant the wish, an unbroken one would offer good luck. The term “lucky break” may stem from this superstition. 

Black Magic and the Left Hand Path

I am not encouraging people to follow the practices of black magic or the Left Hand Path. I am simply providing information and to get people to think about what they’ve been told vs. what actually is.

We’ve all heard of black magic, but what is it really? It usually denotes magical or supernatural means used for “evil” and or selfish reasons. It is also associated with demons and sometimes called the Left Hand Path. Unfortunately at this point people can call any magic they don’t like black magic and so the term has lost some of it’s meaning. 

Jinxes, hexes and curses fall under the umbrella of black magic. A jinx is calling on bad luck to befall someone, a hex is somewhat more powerful, and a curse is a full blown magic ritual to harm someone. 

Madame Blavatsky came up with the term Left Hand Path after being exposed to tantra from India in the 1800’s. She translated the word Vamachara which literally means “the left-hand way”. Vamachara or Vamamarga is a tantric practice that emphasizes the breaking of taboos of Indian society. 

Aleister Crowley and the writer Dennis Wheatley further popularized the use of the term LHP. Dennis Wheatley went so far as to equate it to black magic and Satanism. Just for clarity Dennis Wheatley was a popular thriller writer in Britain.

The Left Hand Path is about self deification and the flouting of taboos, or called antinomianism. Where the RHP is about following the rules and becoming one with the divine, or the collective, the LHP seeks to go one step farther becoming the divine in their own plane of existence and also coming up with their own personal rules, the individual. This can show itself as ignoring social convention and using symbols and practices considered evil. But the practitioner of the LHP is worried less about what society calls evil and decides to find out for him or herself what is good and what is bad. The RHP looks to destroy or transform that which is dark and/or considered evil within one’s being while the LHP uses those parts of us to learn and grow. Wicca and Christianity are examples of the RHP whereas Satanism is an example of the LHP. 

Satanism has been sensationalized and demonized for years, but what is it really about? Satanism is all about personal power and taking responsibility for yourself. It emphasizes the here and now, flesh and bone, over the future and spirit. It is also about respecting personal autonomy. LeVeyan Satanism goes by eleven rules and The Satanic Temple has seven tenets it goes by, so Satanism is not without its rules. But their practitioners happily disregard taboos and social norms to get their points across as with the Satanic Temple when they fight for religious and abortion rights. 

Mojo

Mojo bags, Vudou and hoodoo Oh my! - Fire

African American (possibly Creole) culture used the term ‘mojo’ to refer to a magical charm bag aka “prayer bag”, usually used in Voodoo or Hoodoo. Other words that can be used are a jinx or hex bag. 

Today the word mojo means to get things done using a charm or magic. According to some sources the word mojo, originally “moco’o” meaning “medicine man or shaman” first came to use in the 1920’s. But there are connections to this that go back to early Islamic traditions. At that point it was known as a gris-gris or conjure bag and was worn to ward off evil spirits. But the origin actually goes back to Africa and made its way to the Americas during the slave trading times. It took hold in Louisiana under the practices of Voodoo and Hoodoo. It is also connected to Haiti and is called Vodou.

Central Africa influenced the mojo bag in African-American culture. There are containers that hold ‘minkisi or nkishi plural for minkisi’ (which are a type of spirit or object that are held within) that bind the spirit’s power to the vessel. The vessels are made by hand by what is known as a ‘root doctor’ aka conjure doctors or Hoodoo doctors. These bags are called spirit bundles and conjure bags in Hoodoo.

Made of better stuff

Receptacles for this could be made out of bags using leather or cloth and today flannel; gourds, shells etc...are also used. Items to be placed in the bag consist of a number of things: roots, herbs, animal parts (in some cases human bones), feathers, coins, and  crystals to name a few. What goes into the bag really depends on the intent much like the magic we do today in pagan practices. Prayers must be done on the bag before it holds its power. The bags should be passed through incense, candles, or breathed upon to purify it and then release its intent. The bag must also be “fed” with a liquid such as water, alcohol, perfume or bodily fluids to bring it to life and to keep the spirit alive. Then prayers are made to bless the bags and may be done in either a Christian or Islamic manner. Once made it is always to be hidden on the person’s body. There are various ways to carry these bags, in the pocket might mean one thing whereas wearing it around the neck another and may differ depending on the gender of the person and type of spell. The success of the spell is dependent on doing this correctly. 

In pagan, neo-pagan and Wicca commonalities can be drawn. These bags were created much like our sachets today, used for protection, healing, spirit communication and spell crafting in general.  Like them we must purify our tools, in this case the bag, before we can use it. Then like their prayers we usually say a chant over our magic. We also require a sealing of the sachet wherein we use coffee, honey, cornmeal, salt or cornstarch to bind the magic and bring it into being (Sachet Magic Season 1 Episode 15). The placement of the sachet is very important to the magic and intent too. The material used for such work should under the best circumstances be of a natural material, like cotton. As you can see there are many threads of similarities between the cultures.

The term mojo was later popularized by various musicians such as Muddy Waters and Jim Morrison of the Doors, also in Movies, such as Austin Powers thus bringing the awareness of it to popular culture today.

My search results on Safari produced numerous places in which to purchase Mojo bags, some pre-made others just the pouch themselves! 

Again this is truly a quick synopsis on the subject. I encourage you to research it if you have further interest. Or if you like, ask us a specific question which we could answer in another podcast. I won’t be doing an activity on this today since I am not a part of this culture and I’d be doing it a disservice. However, I do feel that a sachet is a much watered down version of a Mojo bag and I will offer that as an activity.

Definition of 

Voodoo-  “A religion or  practice in parts of the Caribbean and in the southern US, combining elements of Roman catholic ritual with traditional African magical and religious rights, and characterized by sorcery and spirit possession.”

Oxford Languages

Hoodoo - “A body of practices of sympathetic magic traditionally especially among African-Americans in the southern US“

Miriam-Webster dictionary 

Hoodoo is an offshoot of Voodoo - (this is general information from varying sources)

Sachet

Ward off Negativity

A pouch that won’t let anything seep through it (cotton perhaps, flannel swatch that can be made into a pouch)

A small amount of dirt from outside of your dwelling (even a pinch will do)

Some pebbles from around your home

White sage (purifying)

Cayenne pepper (warding/ferocity) 

Lavender oil (protection and peace) sealant  

Purifying Incense (lavender, Pablo santo, or sage for example)

This can be done at any time. Put this together by passing your pouch through cleansing  incense. Place each ingredient into the bag one by one (except for the oil)  imagining a red circle of light is surrounding you. Once all is in the pouch say,

 “My heart is my home, my energy my own. It’s strength is fierce and negativity it will pierce.”

Say this as many times as you need until you feel your energy pass into the bag. Once it has, place 7 drops of oil into the bag thinking on each drop as forming a protective sphere around you. (North, East, South, West, Body, Mind and Spirit). Seal the sachet up and keep on your person for as long as you need to (until you feel it has soak its energy into your whole being and you no longer need its help). You can recharge the sachet by either putting it under the light of the full moon overnight or by adding 7 more drops of oil to it. This should be done no more than 3 times.  

Activity 2 Personal Taboo

This is going to be an intense ritual and you will be thinking about things you consider taboo. This is not a fun activity as we’re dealing with the negative, but a good and serious one to do so that you know yourself better.

You’ll need:

• Black candle ask about candle color

As always when working with fire be careful and always have a way to douse the fire if need be.

Start with a dark room, and cast your circle, calling in the quarters, and asking the God and Goddess to witness and ask to only be shown what you can handle at that time. Then light your candle. As you sit in the middle of your circle pick up the Devil card from your tarot, and just meditate on it. What are your temptations and where do you stop, where is your taboo? After you have meditated on this for a while, set down the card and begin to gaze into the flame of the candle. And say once:

“Show me my fears 

Show me my tears

Show me my desire

Stop me from burning in my fire”

Watch the flame and let it suggest things to your imagination. If you start floating away from your purpose of discovering your own taboo, just gently guide yourself back to the meditation. This is a place of safety, here in your circle. Sit there for a while and take the images and thoughts in, when you are done thank the God and Goddess, close the quarters, and close the circle. Don’t forget to journal about what you’ve seen and thought. This is not an easy thing to do, facing your own taboos, you are strong for doing it. And if you choose not to do this, you are wise for knowing your boundaries.

Tarot

The Two of Cups

Mutual respect, partnership, sharing and balance. There is more to the story than meets the eye. A grand relationship is here. There has been a sharing of emotions over a long period of time that has brought a deeper understanding to the nature of what a partnership should look like. Although the two are similar in numerous ways there is  also a delicate balance that needs to constantly be tended to as with any connection. Their bond is so strong that they can be oblivious as to what or who is going on around them. That isn’t necessarily bad, although some might see it that way.

How I see this with relation to our podcast.

Not everything is as it seems, there is more to the narrative and it is best hidden from judging eyes. Respect is earned and that can come in the form of sharing with another who can see the dark and the light of the whole picture. Unveiling one’s self to the right person can be a liberating experience for both parties. So much can come from trusting another and tuning out the negative Nancys. That which has been hidden serves a greater purpose and need not be approved by others. Only the partners know the secrets of the whole tale and that is as it should be. They balance each other out through this shared story.

Please rate us on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you’ve found us.

As always we have the references in our episode notes.

https://www.funtrivia.com

http://www.merriam-webster.com

Https://mojoland.net

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojo_(African-American_culture)

https://www.howstuffworks.com/

https://otherworldlyoracle.com/lilith-goddess/

https://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/goddess-lilith/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith

Lords of the Left Hand Path by Stephen E. Flowers Ph.D.