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

Dust Devils! Whirlwinds! Vortexes! These natural phenomena are considered powerful magic by hoodoo tradition. A minor whirlwind is created when local winds start to spin on the ground. This causes a funnel to form. The funnel moves over the ground, pushed by the winds that first formed it. The funnel picks up materials such as dust as it moves over the ground, thus becoming visible. Terms for such minor whirlwinds are usually a "devil" (dust devil, water devil, fire devil, etc.). They've been called by this name since the 19th century. Whether from the association from the name, or whether the name came because of an already established folklore, the connection is nevertheless that these phenomena are the product of a supernatural being. Consequently, the dirt that's been sucked up in one of these powerful vortexes is believed to have a special power. Acquiring some of the dust is a feat for a practitioner, but not impossible -- it requires seeing one on advance and p...

In the British Museum, there is a fascinating object -- a magical offering bowl dating back to dark ages. These kinds of bowls are often referred to as “incantation bowls” or “magic bowls,” and they were especially prevalent in regions like Mesopotamia, Persia, and parts of the Levant. Their use was surprisingly widespread, with similar artifacts turning up in ancient Egypt, as well as across North Africa and the Middle East. This suggests that such bowls may have once been a common medium for magical working and spirit communication throughout these regions. They were typically buried under thresholds, in homes, or near the foundations of buildings as a form of protective magic, intended to ward off evil forces and hostile spiritual influences. The particular bowl in the British Museum is inscribed in Aramaic, a language that was once the lingua franca of the Near East and remains a subject of fascination for scholars due to its connection to various ancient religious traditions. The ...