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

Coffin nails aren’t props. They’re not there to make your spell feel scarier or cooler. They’re tools. If you need to shut something down, hold something in place, or push a bit of death and finality into your working, they’re the right tool. If you don’t need that, use something else. A coffin nail is exactly what it says it is: a nail that’s come from a coffin. That might mean one removed before burial, or after. In some cases, it just means a nail taken from a board used in a funeral or grave context. But either way, the name isn’t figurative. We’re not talking about something that “symbolizes” death. We’re talking about something involved with death. In hoodoo, that matters. There’s a long tradition of using items associated with the dead in spellwork, and coffin nails are one of the best-known — though not always best-understood — examples. They’re used in spells for cursing, revenge, protection, binding, spirit work, and yes, even the occasional healing when a curse has to be na...

The above picture shows some ancient Roman altars, on display in the Scottish National Museum. They are about the size and shape of tombstones, and usually include a circular indentation in the top wherein offerings were left. Pictures or writing indicating the intended deity are on the lower part of the altar. In the Roman religion, the altar, more often called by the Latin term ara , a word of uncertain derivation, but which many historians trace to ardeo ("burn"), is generally quadrangular in shape. Vitruvius the architect prescribed that the altar of a temple should be facing east and in a lower position than the statue of worship, so that those who pray look up towards the divinity. The height of the altar, however, varied depending on the type of deity to which it is dedicated: those of the celestial deities, such as Jupiter, were very high, while those of the terrestrial and marine deities and even of Vesta were quite low. Although in houses the function of t...

There is an interesting old article about King Novelty/Valmor Products on the blog PlanetBarbarella . Valmor aggressively promoted the idea of romantic love with its products – not only would its skin brighteners and creams help deliver the man of your dreams, but perhaps marriage and a better life. According to author Juliann Sivulka, the advertising concept helped Valmor “successfully re-package Anglo-Saxon 19th century ideals and gender roles.” New mass media wasn’t just influencing white Americans, but African-Americans as well. Valmor came out on top, its dominance of the black cosmetics industry “signaled the end of an era (that) promoted beauty as a means of racial pride and “adjustment.” There’s no written explanation why Neumann decided to do all the artwork for Valmor Products himself – probably because it was too expensive during the 1920’s and ‘30’s to contract another company or artist to do something he could do himself.  It goes without saying Neumann’s ...

Baptized candles have a tendency to display either current or to-be behaviors of their subjects. Skull candles, which are used for the purpose of magically controlling a person's thoughts, seem to "weep" with a certain frequency. Some of this is just due to the shape of the candle -- the eyes being one of the shallowest points, therefore make it likely that the liquid wax will pour out of that spot -- and one must be cautious with candle readings to comprehend what is normal burn behavior for a style of candle. Nonetheless, a weeping skull candle can indicate many things. I might suggest he subject is upset or will become upset by thing thing you're requesting, or it might indicate that he or she is already unhappy. If you get a sobby little skull candle as part of your work, consider whether your demands on the person might be too emotionally damaging to them! Swirling shapes are often used in hoodoo style magic to represent power and mastery. The famous...