The Spellcaster's Source Hoodoo and Voodoo Witchcraft Blog of Talia Felix

  There is always a fascination among witchcraft practitioners with the art of timing -- the belief that performing a spell at a particular hour or day will give the spell an edge, such as the Planetary Hours and their derivative the Voodoo Hours  used to decide when a magical working will be performed. Naturally, there are also beliefs about the best days to perform spells. This listing comes from a Renaissance era grimoire, but which contains spells that date back to Greco-Roman era. (The book is for sale with the translation The Book of Oberon, though you can read the direct transcription for free via Esoteric Archives. ) This is using standard calendar dates, so 1 is the 1st of the month, 31 is the 31st of the month, etc. Good to begin all manner of things For hate and enchantment against enemies "Right naught" -- don't plan for magical work on this day To enchant and conjure wicked spirits For invisibility, and enchant against enemies For works that regard theft an...

It's one of those expressions like "familiarity breeds contempt" and "lion's share" that no one uses correctly anymore. From time to time somebody even observes: "Why would you want luck o' the Irish? Historically the Irish have pretty terrible luck." That, friends, is actually key to the saying. Correctly, when someone talks of Irish luck or luck o' the Irish , it doesn't mean luck.  As one 1838 book put it, "Irish luck -- which means anything but chance." In other words, if you say someone got something through Irish luck, it means he got it through something other than being lucky. It might mean hard work, it might mean bribery, it might mean trickery, but not luck. Anything but luck is Irish luck.  Irish author Blindboy Boatclub relates on his podcast the local explanation for the phenomenon: In Limerick we just believe that bad luck happens to us all the time. Nothing can go right for Limerick, and anytime anything go...

Hoodoo Style Magical Waters for Magic In hoodoo tradition, some of the oldest and most traditional ingredients are natural gathered waters. While cologne and perfume is sometimes classed as a water for conjure purposes, special waters are based on water, sometimes taken from a specific location. They can have additional ingredients added, but the magic is generally held to be in the water itself. They've become a little less common since the rise of commercial hoodoo, perhaps due to manufacturer's tendency to sell any old tap water as "alleged glory water" or whatever it's labeled; and also there is difficulty in shipping liquids like water that aren't inherent in somewhat thicker mixtures like soaps or oils. (For example, a bottle of oil won't evaporate if left out too long.)  Here's a list of some traditional hoodoo magical waters and how to make them: Glory Water Glory Water is a recipe I did not include in my Conjure Cookbook , as it's not ...

Color is one of the most powerful symbolic tools in magic, allowing practitioners to communicate intent and manipulate energies in a way that feels both natural and intuitive. In hoodoo, color symbolism is often utilized in spells of candle magic , mojo bags , and powders and oils . But hoodoo is far from the only tradition where color matters. Many magical systems, such as European folk magic, ceremonial magic, and even pop-culture new age witchcraft — draw on color associations to shape their workings. In old spells, colored objects were difficult to produce; recipes for making the colored cloths, candles etc. were frequently included as part of the magical instruction. Once artificial dyes became commonplace in the 19th century, the magical practice really brightened up and colors became common additions to spellwork.  Red In the oldest African-derived American hoodoo spells, the only commonly mentioned color of importance is  red ; it was used to add power to any spell, ...

This is Conjure Cookbook's recipe for Dark Arts Oil , also called Black Arts oil or Black Magic oil , used to cast wicked and harmful spells upon enemies. patchouli, black pepper, wormwood, valerian root, spanish moss Why no quantities? Because most home practitioners don't use them! Of course if you were to be selling commercial hoodoo formulas you'd want to invent a formal recipe for yourself, but magic doesn't require scientific level measurements. Add the items in whatever amounts feel right to you. This is the secret of magic! You can find more recipes for occult ritual oils in The Conjure Cookbook , which includes even these harmful recipes which many books of witchcraft deliberately leave out!  There are a few magical recipes that I know but did not include within the  Conjure Cookbook.  I wish I could say it was due to some grand scheme like wishing to prevent the careless from misusing such knowledge or trying to protect occult secrets, but frankly, i...

Concerning some secrets that one calls according to the cabbalist sages, the Apple of Love, and are performed in this manner. You go one Friday morning before sunrise into a fruit orchard, and pick from a tree the most beautiful apple that you can; then you write with your own blood on a bit of white paper your first and last name, and on another line following, the first and last name of the person by whom you would like to be loved, and you try to have three of her hairs, to which you affix three of yours which you shall use to bind the little message you have written with another one, the which is to have nothing but the word Scheva, likewise written in your blood, then you slice the apple in two, you throw away the seeds, and in their place you lay your papers bound with hair, and with two sharp skewers made from green myrtle branches, you neatly rejoin the apple’s two halves and you will put it to dry in an oven, ensuring that it grows hard and free of moisture like the dried a...

Magic is more than just spells; it’s a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of marginalized communities. It’s a reminder that even in the face of unimaginable hardship, people find ways to assert their agency and maintain their connection to the divine. At the heart of hoodoo is an embrace of the supernatural that aligns with gothic sensibilities, offering a labyrinth of shadowed corridors to explore. From the spectral imagery of crossroads magic to the haunting presence of graveyard dirt in rituals , hoodoo intersects with gothic aesthetics in fascinating ways. Its narratives of defiance and survival resonate deeply with the themes of darkness, mystery, and transformation that permeate alternative cultures. There are countless examples of practitioners turning to the dark, shadowed corners of the world for both protection and revenge . The use of herbs , roots , bones , and other seemingly mundane objects imbues them with supernatural qualities. A glass of water can become a l...