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

There is a tradition that says the hump of a hunchback is filled with luck. Consequently, there is a pool of believers who consider hunchbacks to be symbols of luck. In the past, in America, it was said that rubbing of one's hump was lucky -- but nowadays, even if one can find a hunchback (unlikely, as modern medicine has made the condition much more rare) such behavior is discouraged unless you know him or her pretty well. But carrying of a gobbo (hunchback) charm or figurine is a tradition that made its way over from Italy. This too, is said to bring the bearer oodles of good luck. The mystical tradition of luck and supernatural power of the hunchback go way back -- the Egyptian god Bes was often portrayed with this deformity, and hunchbacked gods or spirits are known worldwide. My own experience with hunchback spirit entities (so far) is they can help you get -- what else? -- lucky hunches [intuitions or feelings.] ORATION TO THE HUNCHBACK: I petition this power from your hump,...

The Louvre needs to be set up something more akin to Disneyland: maybe with a hotel on the premises and a week-long pass available. I think at the very least some kind of 1/3 price ticket should be available that lets you just see one section of the museum (like just the paintings, or just the Egyptian goods, or just the statues...) I think it was the first museum where I ever actually started to become frustrated at finding MORE COOL STUFF. The brain cannot take so much in one day. Hell, even my camera couldn't handle it -- it ran out of batteries taking snapshots of so many things! Some highlights: Just be sure to mind the pickpockets (you will find signs all over the building about this. Paris is actually kind of a nasty place.)

Before condition oils became the substance of preference, solid ointments were sometimes used in American hoodoo conjure magic. A favorite book of mine, Jeanne Rose's Herbal Body Book , has a recipe for making any kind of basic herbal body cream: 1 1/2 oz. solidifier and/or solid fat such as: 1 oz. lanolin and 1/2 oz. beeswax 3 - 4 oz. skin oil such as: 2 oz. Almond oil and 2 oz. Soy oil 1 oz. herb water such as: 1 oz. Rosewater 5 drops essential oil (1 drop/oz. optional) such as: 5 drops oil of Rose Melt the solidifier and/or solid fat together in the top of an enamel double boiler or in a small enamel pot. Add the oils a bit at a time, stirring continuously. Turn off the heat and slowly add the herbed water, again stirring continuously until the cream has cooled. Add the essetial oil and stir it in completely. Spoon or pour into a 6-oz. jar, labeled as to the contents. The jar should be opaque such as the old-fashioned milk glass or amber glass. You can also use ...

Okay... so a drinking game to a Disney movie is arguably not very Goth. Let's just point out that Disney hosts Bats Day and that you can drink this while sipping some suitably spooky beverage. Mulan is one of the final movies of the Disney Renaissance . It is based on an old Chinese poem about a woman who went into the military in place of her old father and little brothers. The movie is of course Disnified and has weird elements like a talking dragon voice by Eddie Murphy thrown in to be more 'hip.' Now... this is actually the best drinking game to a film I've done. It's got a small enough number of imbibe moments that one can usually remember them, and they are all for just one drink so there's no confusion about how many sips or chugs this or that requires. Here are the moments: Shan-Yu's hawk screeches (repeat the screech and drink) Characters pour or have tea (drink) Nudity (drink) Ancestor spirits on screen (drink) End of the Tung S...

(Originally from Metafilter ): Walking down Zürich's Lindenhofstrasse, you might stop in surprise by a relief depicting two men and a woman, draped in gauzy robes, each one calmly carrying their own severed head. There is no explanatory sign. Don't worry, though: Felix, Regula and Exuperantius are just the city's cephalophoric patron saints.