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

From The Petit Albert: FOR MEN As it may come to pass that the woman will become disgusted by the man if he is not able-bodied in the actions of Venus, he needs to take precautions not only for the sake of her satisfaction, but moreover for those secrets that the ancient and modern researchers of the miracles of nature have put to test. He must, they say, compose a balm from the ashes of a stellion lizard, oil of St. John’s wort and of civet, and anoint the big toe of the left foot and the kidney region an hour before entering into battle; and one will be able to go forth with honor and to the satisfaction of his party. FOR WOMEN If the husband finds that his wife is of a frigid disposition, and doesn’t take pleasure in the sport, then he shall make her eat the testicles of a gander, and the womb of a hare, seasoned with good spices, and from time to time some salads which have a great deal of arugula, ragwort and celery, with red wine vinegar. 

I have felt a great affinity for the Hindu goddess Kali ever since I first laid eyes upon an image of her, in the pages of Cavendish's Man, Myth and Magic , when I was maybe 11 or 12 years old. A brief, encyclopedic article about her was alongside the picture.  At the time, there were only two commonly available books about Kali in English: Usha Harding's Kali , and Ajit Mookerjee's Kali, The Feminine Force.  I acquired both after some effort (this was before Amazon) and found Harding's book was the better of the two, being a more journalistic account of the temple in Calcutta and also brief biographies of important followers of the goddess, such as Sri Ramakrishna and Rani Rasmani  (or Rashmoni). In time I was able to acquire further literature about Ma Kali -- and wasn't much satisfied by most of the material, which tended to be so lofty it was like it was written for people who shit marble. During this same time -- my teens -- I became gradually aware...