Review: Doktor Snake's Voodoo Spell Book

Spells, Curses, and Folk Magic for All Your Needs
With Lucky Mojo Doll

by Doktor Snake

* Hardcover: 128 pages
* Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (September 9, 2004)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0312265093

Doktor Snake's Voodoo Spellbook is a little grimoire that I have had my eye on since I first heard about the author in alt.lucky.w. (See Links Below) Considering the dubious nature of Doktor Snake's sources and the information given, I finally decided to purchase his book and form my own opinion.

The book itself measures roughly 8 X 8 inches and has been created in the style of a coffee-table book. Although mine came from the publisher brand new in its original packaging I was disappointed to see that it is in less than pristine condition given the burn mark (which faintly resembles a cigarette burn) on the back of the book. In addition the book comes with a Lucky Mojo Doll which can be seen here. There is no doubt in my mind that the name of the doll was either a slap in the face to the work of Cat Yronwode and an effort to capitalize on the success of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company.

Scattered throughout the book are various illustrations that lends the material given a sense of quaintness. However, I felt that they neither add nor detract from the text but merely increased the book's total number of pages.

Despite the book's misleading title, the subject of Doktor Snake's Voodoo Spellbook is not Voodoo but rather Hoodoo. The author purports to have been taught much of his knowledge by Earl Marlowe a Blues Musician from Trinidad with whom Doktor Snake played guitar in a band. According to Doktor Snake, Earle looked to be in his 60's but claimed to have been 127 years old. Earl had learned about Hoodoo in the Carribbean and the Southern United States where he had lived before coming to live in England. In addition, Doktor Snake goes on to quote other authors on the subject of Hoodoo such as Zora Neal Hurston and Roger Pinckney.

Whereas the author has been accused of outright plagiarism I myself cannot cite any specific passage that I have seen in another work in its entirety. In once instance, the author recalls a rather famous story concerning the High Sheriff J.E. McTeer (which can also be found in Pinckney's Blue Roots) going out to the home of a bedridden woman who believes herself to be cursed. The High Sheriff buries a root in her yard under cover of darkness only to return the following day and 'psychically' finds the root and destroys it thus curing the woman of her curse.

In Docktor Snake's version, the Sheriff is aided by Dr. Crow (another rootwoker). I am from South Carolina. I have lived in the city of Beaufort. I have heard many stories concerning the High Sheriff and I can say that I have never heard of the High Sheriff working with other root doctors. In fact, he often worked against them as a law enforcement officer and as a rootworker himself. While I admit that I can be wrong, I can find no source that states otherwise (other than a mention of a Dr. Crow in Blue Roots) and Doktor Snake does not cite his source for the story.

That being said I found Doktor Snake's book to be a decent general overview of the subject of Hoodoo intermixed with his personal anecdotes. I myself did not learn anything that I didn't already know from this book, however it may be useful to someone interested in following the Hoodoo Tradition. Nonetheless, I would caution anyone new to Hoodoo to avoid this book until they have read at least three books by more reputable authors.

Carolina Dean


Links:

Preview the Book
Doktor Snake's Blog
Cat Yronwode on Doktor Snake

Witch Crafting: Macaroni Sigil Magick

Tonight, I babysat a friends sons while she went Christmas shopping. They were not content to sit quietly and watch cartoons, so I was forced to be creative. Their mother being a witch, they are somewhat familiar with certain magical concepts, so I decided to teach them macaroni sigil magic. This is a fun craft that you can do with your own children, it's fun, easy. Best of all its an excuse to spend some quality time together with your child.

STEP ONE: Decide on a goal for your sigil. This is an excellent opportunity to help your child deal with a current issue or problem such as being a better student, or a fear of the dark. Since I am using the Kameas, or Magic Squares to make my sigil, I reduced my desire to a single word HUSBAND.

STEP TWO: Using the numerological chart below, find the numbers which correspond to each of the letters in your key word.

STEP THREE: Add up all the numbers corresponding to the letters in your keyword. Reduce these numbers to a single digit, called the Quintessential Number.

STEP FOUR: Choose a Magic Square that corresponds to your goal. I chose to create my husband sigil on the Square of Venus because this planet corresponds to love, romance, and pleasure. To begin drawing my sigil, I drew a square around the Quintessential Number. Since 6 (which coincidentally corresponds to The Lovers in the Tarot) is the Quintessential Number of Husband I drew a square around the number 6.

Next, draw a circle around the first number in the order of your keyword. Since Husband begins with H and that letter corresponds to 8, I drew a circle around 8. Draw a line from the circle to the next number in the sequence, and the next number, and the next number until all the numbers are connected. When you are done, draw a line as in the top of a capital T to mark the end of the sequence.

STEP FIVE: Print your sigil out on a large piece of construction paper. Then glue dried macaroni over the sigil using the print out as a guide.

STEP SIX: When the glue dries, you can embellish it to your liking. Here are a few ideas for you to try.

a) Use a color of paint that matches your goal. As in the above example, I may paint the sigil red for love, or blue to represent a male.
b) When choosing your paint, consider the color of your construction paper and try to choose a complimentary color. For example, if you created your sigil on red construction paper, you may want to paint your sigil pink.
b) You may wish to add a few drops of a condition oil which matches your goal to your glue or paint.
c) In addition, you may also want to sprinkle some magical powders into your paint or glue.

Unfortunately I don't have any paints or glitter in the house at this time, so I am presently unable to embellish my sigil.


STEP SEVEN: At this point there shouldn't have to be any focus on charging the sigil, a child's belief is very powerful and if they believe in the magic of the symbol this will suffice. Display the sigil on your refrigerator along with the child's other artwork, photos, etc... or place it in the child's room where they will see it often and where it will be a reminder of your child's goal and of the fun you had together. Let the child determine when to destroy the sigil, or put it away.

Carolina Dean

MLAAW: The Indian, the Witch, & The Poppet

About eight or nine years ago I was living in a nice apartment complex in my hometown. The complex was shaped like a U and right across from me there lived a large family who had immigrated from India. This family bought one of the convenience stores in town and ran it themselves. I often saw the matriarch of the family who I understood to be the husband's mother beat her front door with something that appeared to be a home-made broom. The other neighbors thought it was strange, but I always kept to myself and it didn't bother me.

The convenience store had a small diner area near the back where the family cooked meals for patrons and I had a friend who often went there to eat, read the paper, and buy her lottery tickets. My friend, let's call her Glenda the not-so-good, was another outsider having moved to South Carolina from Alaska. It didn't help her that she was also Wiccan and didn't do anything to hide that fact. What she did hide, however, was the fact that she simply did not adhere to the harm none rede associated with Wiccans.

Glenda's neighbors where always leaving religious tracks in her mailbox, people would approach her on the street and tell Glenda that they were praying for her. Glenda refused to change and kept right on doing what she'd always done. Then she began to get rocks through her windows late at night, and her car was vandalized. Glenda also had a lot of pets (snakes, an iguana, birds, dogs, men, cats, and a raccoon). Glenda didn't like all this attention because although she told everyone that she was a home health-care nurse, she was in fact a prostitute. She didn't go out at night to sit with her patients, she went to a certain motel in Richburg or as far away as Charlotte to meet her johns she arranged dates with on the internet.

At one point Glenda's raccoon Triqus (not his real name) went missing and she got it in her head that someone had kidnapped him. She asked me to help her put a curse on the person who kidnapped Trique and being a good friend I agreed. This wouldn't be the first time we'd cursed someone together. There was the single mother whose son had tried to build a pipe bomb in her house. I grabbed a few things that I thought we could use and headed over to her house.

In the ten minutes it took me to get to her house, Triqus had miraculously returned. Glenda noticed the black poppet I had brought and liked the workmanship so much, I gave it to her. The next time she and I traveled to one of the many prisons where we taught a Wicca 101 Course, I noticed that Glenda had hung the poppet from her rear-view mirror and that there were a few pins in it. I asked Glenda what that was for and she said that whenever someone cuts her off on the road, tailgates, or drives too slow she takes her frustration out on the doll. I saw her jab that doll with pins several time cursing drivers all over South Carolina.

One day Glenda decided to treat me to dinner and we went to the convenience store. While we were eating she mentioned that she needed to get gas before we leave and the owner offered to have his son fill up her tank while we ate. When the young man returned to give Glenda her keys he didn't say anything but went over to his father and began whispering to him. When we were the last customers in the diner area, the father struck up a conversation with Glenda and asked her what the doll was for in her car. She told him how she took out her frustrations on the road with other drivers on the doll.

The owner asked Glenda for a doll too and she told him that he'd have to ask me since she didn't sew. I agreed to make the doll for the man and asked him what he wanted in the doll. He asked for just the doll and said that mama would know what to do with it. So I made the doll for the man and a few days later when I stopped in to get gas, I noticed that the doll was hanging upside down by a length of cord tied to one of it's feet. The symbolism didn't escape me and I felt a certain level of pride in knowing that I had made the doll. Later I found out that the owner would impale the doll with a pin for every shoplifter he caught.

I have since made these special dolls for friends and family (especially those who have businesses) to hang over their doors to protect them from thieves, robbers, and intruders. I usually stuff them with dried red pepper, vandal root, black pepper, salt and devil's shoe strings.

Carolina Dean

Chinese Dispossession Spell

As in other parts of the world, the Chinese once believed that disease was caused by evil spirits, and that only by driving out the spirit could the person recover good health.

One such method to drive out evil spirits, called coining, consisted of dipping a coin in eucalyptus oil and heating it on an open flame. The coin was then dragged over the individual's body. The process was very painful, however, it was the pain that was believed to drive out the evil spirits.

This belief was not exclusive to the Chinese, in Colonial America mentally handicapped people were beaten to 'drive out the devil." Similar beliefs were hold in other parts of the world at various times.

A modern version of the rite given consist of having the individual give the worker a coin (traditionally a dime from their year of birth) from his own pocket. The coin is dressed with Blessing Oil and held in the workers hands as s'he prays over the coin for the individuals healing. When the coin is warm to the touch from the worker's prayer and energy, the coin is placed on that part of the boy that requires healing energy.

This can be repeated as necessary. When the rite is completed the individual can then carry the coin as an amulet against disease. This process can be performed in conjunction with the burning of candles, incense, egg-cleansings, etc...

Carolina Dean

LINKS

What is Coining?
How to Prepare for a Coining Treatment.
Derma-Abrasion as Healing Technique (PDF Document)
Gua-Sha (Wikipedia)

Photo Source

Wikipedia Commons

Anti-Stress and Protection Mojo Bag

Here is an anti-stress and protection mojo bag I created for a former co-worker who was under a great deal of stress as well as the victim of gossip and back biting from jealous peers. It contains...

Peony, which guards the mind, body and spirit.
Rue, which clears the mind and improves mental processes
Anise Seed which wards off the evil eye (jealousy) and negates its effects
Cloves which drives away hostile and negative forces
Sandalwood chips which promote peace
High John the Conquerer Root for personal power
Individual's Personal Concerns


These items were placed in a red flannel mojo bag in the light of a white human-figural candle loaded with a portion of the person's personal concerns and anointed with High John the Conqueror Oil. It was smoked in sandalwood incense and the 91st Psalm was prayed over the bag.

After the individual had the bag for three days she reported that she was stress-free and the gossip about her had ceased.

Carolina Dean

Love Me Tender Oil

Use to Draw a Romantic Love or Take An Existing Relationship From Casual To Serious


Grape Seed Oil (base)
Vanilla Essential Oil
Sandalwood Essential Oil
Dill Seed
Coriander Seed
Cinnamon Chips


Carolina Dean

Note: I created this oil as part of my homework for Cat Yronwode's Hoodoo Rootwork Correspondence Course.

MLAAW: Ghost Stories

Good Day, True Believers!

Today many of us are celebrating Samhain, a time when the barrier that separates the world of men and the realm of the spirits weakens. Traditionally this is a time when the dead can more easily communicate with us, divinations are performed, and spirits are put to task for good or ill.

With this in mind, I'd like to share with you a few of my own true encounters with ghosts. So draw the shades, light a candle, and come a little closer.......

THE HAUNTED CHANDELIER
In 1999, I was living in my first home and working in the cotton mill when a friend of mine from work gave me a 'haunted' chandelier. This co-worker had a reputation for telling tall tales, so I took the chandelier thinking that there was nothing to her story.

The chandelier sat in my hallway for a while and Ididn't notice anything at first. However after my boyfriend at the time installed the chandelier in my hallway (it had the highest ceiling in the house) I started noticing things would move from where I left them. For example, my glasses wouldn't be on my nightstand in the morning, or my shoes wouldn't be by my chair, etc... In other instances, I made some soup and could find only forks in my house!

One night, I was sleeping in bed when I woke up to see someone standing in my hallway. The figure was dressed in a white robe and pointed-hood that I thought looked very similar to a klansman. He turn to walk away and motioned with his head for me to follow him. I actually got out of bed and walked halfway across the room before I realized what I was doing and went back to bed. Later when telling this story at work a lay-preacher told me that the ghost was leading me to treasure. He told me that the next time I saw the ghost I should ask it "Who is the son of God?" and if the ghost had evil intentions it wouldn't be able to utter the name of Jesus.

I never actually saw the ghost again, but I did start talking to it and even gave him a name. Once I started giving him attention, he settled down and stopped pranking me. Eventually I moved out of that house and left the chandelier. I don't know what became of it.


40 ACRE ROCK
After becoming more and more open about my beliefs and practices as a Witch, people I began drawing people to me with similar interest. I met another witch at work who I'll call Samantha and who had been a student of Gavin and Yvonne Frost in the 70's. Although I had no respect for the teachings of the Frosts, I got along well with this woman and we had several adventures. Samantha, her boyfriend Darren and I made several trips to 40 Acre Rock, a nature preserve located in Lancaster South Carolina where many people hike and which is also steeped in superstition and occult lore.

It was on one of these hikes that I found a whole, in tact turtle shell, my totem, at the mouth of a bear-cave and where I left an offering of my own hair in return for the shell. 40 Acre Rock is also home to one of the many 'cry-baby' bridges steeped in legend. It is said that very late at night you can hear the cries of an infant from this bridge and see the ghost of the mother searching for her baby.

I also found a pentagram and some runic symbols spray painted on the bridge just under a tall willow tree. There was also evidence that rituals had been practiced on this bridge. Darren pointed out a tree where the body of a hanged man had been found in the mid 1980's.

The highlight of one of our excursions was a visit to the Devil's Stomping Ground, an area located on 40 acre rock similar to a crop circle about 40 feet across. Although there are plants and insects, outside the circle, there are no signs of life inside this circle of sterile soil. The name of this circle derives from the belief that on this spot is where the devil's contemplates his evil intentions. It should be noted that this is only one of several places known as the Devil's Stomping Ground in the United States.

HAUNTING AT OLD SHELDON CHURCH

Ruins of Old Sheldon Church- Located between Yemassee and Gardens Corner the historic ruins are all that remain of one of the South's most beautiful churches. Completed in 1748, the church was burned by the British in 1780 and by Sherman's army in 1865. The Episcopal Church of Prince William Parish has an annual service hold amidst the ruins on the second Sunday after Easter. ----From a Postcard in my Personal Collection

In 2004, I was living in historic Beaufort South Carolina and living with room-mates who were very interested in the scientific aspect of ghost-hunting. As a practicing witch and psychic, I often tagged along on their expeditions to various places of note in the Beaufort area. One of our favorite places to visit was the ruins of Old Sheldon Church.

The church was widely know for being haunted. One local legend I collected during my time there concerned an elderly woman who left church one night to walk home by the light of a lantern and who never made it home. Nobody knows what happened to her. On clear nights you can spot the light on her lantern on the road but no matter how fast you drive or for how long, you'll never catch up to that light on the road or find its source. It seems to me that the woman's name was Dot, but I also heard her called the Lantern Lady.

Photographs taken at the church always yielded multiple orb, shadows, and evidence of other spectral beings. After having seen the movie White Noise, the group wanted to experiment with the EVP (electronic voice phenomenon), a process by which disembodied voices are captured on tape. These voices are believed to be the spirits of the dead, who are attempting to communicate with the living.

We arrived at the church around midnight and gathered in the section of the churchyard where there are several graves. Everyone followed me as I intuitively chose a grave on which to set the recorder. I began the device and asked that if there were any spirits that were about to please make their presence known to us. The remainder of the group began taking photographs on their digital cameras as I followed keeping my senses open and directing them where to take photographs.

After about 45 minutes we returned to the unattended recorder stopped the tape and returned to the car. Inside the car, the tape was rewound and then played. We listened to the portion of the tape where I invoked the spirits to make their presence known and immediately after I finished the invocation, we could hear very heavy breathing. The breaths sounded to me like an asthmatic person trying to catch their breath. Then we could clearly hear the phrase.....GEEEET OUUUUUUTTTT! before the voice went silent again.

Happy Halloween True Believers!

Carolina Dean

LINKS

Ghosts of America
South Carolina Ghost Stories
40 Acre Rock

How to Make a Quick and Easy No-Sew Doll-Baby for Magick

Below you will learn how to make a easy no-sew doll baby in under 15 minutes. This procedure will surely be recognized as an updated version of the New Orleans Style Voodoo Doll so I'll admit that before someone else points this out. To begin you will need:

Copy/Construction Paper
Scissors
Strip of Cloth
String

In addition to the above listed items, you will also need some personal concerns of the person your doll is to represent to be incorporated into the doll as well as any herbs that correspond to your goal. For example, if your doll was to be used in a love spell, you would want love herbs; money drawing herbs for a money doll; etc..

STEP ONE: Begin with your two sheets of paper. In the example above, I am using two sheets of standard 8.5 X 11 " copy paper. Set one sheet of paper aside for now and fold the other sheet of copy paper in half lengthwise and tear it in half.

STEP TWO: Place your personal concerns in the center of one of the halved pieces of paper and then ball up the piece of paper. This ball will serve as the 'head' of your doll. The other half of the paper will be rolled up in a tight tube to make the arms for your baby doll. If you wish you can incorporate your herbs, a written petition, etc.. into the charm as well.

STEP THREE: Place the balled up piece of paper in the center of the second whole sheet of copy paper.

STEP FOUR: Hold the ball in the center of the whole sheet of paper and fold around the piece of paper to form the body of your doll baby.

STEP FIVE: Due to the shape of the paper, the bottom portion (or feet) of your doll will be uneven. Using your scissors, even off this portion of your doll. Next, measure the tube you made for the doll's arms against the length of the doll's body and cut it (if necessary) so that they are equal length.

STEP SIX: Using the sharp point of your scissors, cut a small hole through the doll baby's body just under the head. Then insert the tube through the hole to form the arms of your doll baby. To make this step easier, I have learned to drill the hole through the doll from both sides and then slide a thick BIC pen through the hole to make it a bit larger and circular. You now have your basic doll.

STEP SEVEN: Now using a long strip of cloth roughly one inch by 15 inches long, wrap up the doll as pictured. If you wish to incorporate herbs into your doll they will be secured between the doll and this strip of cloth. In the beginning this may be difficult if you are using fine powders and such, however you will get the hang of it. There have been times that I put a small layer of glue on the side of the cloth that will touch the doll and sprinkled my herbs in their dried form on the glue.

I usually begin wrapping the cloth at the left arm, wrapping the cloth across the chest, right arm, and then down the body. Finally, secure the feet, waist, and wrists with string. For the purpose of this tutorial I used black tape.

STEP EIGHT: Finally, personalize your doll by giving it facial features and hair. I accomplish this by using a hole puncher to punch out small circles from colored construction paper and gluing them to the doll. If known to me I match the color of the doll's eyes and hair to the person it is intended to represent. I don't normally give the doll a nose. Others may wish to use the googly eyes that can be found at craft and dollar type stores.

The hair depends on the person's hairstyle and I normally try to get this as close to the actual person as well. For long hair, I use one big piece of paper which I glue to the doll and then cut and pinch the hair into shape. For shorter hair, such as in our example here, I tear several small pieces of paper and glue them to to doll. I begin at the front of the head forming the hair line. I then pinch the paper into the general shape of the hair and then work backwards to the nape of the neck.

Your doll is then completed. As you can see this is a very simple process which gets easier each time you make a doll.

Carolina Dean

LINKS:

• How to Make a Voodoo Doll (Wiki How)
• How to Make a Voodoo Doll (Youtube Video)

MIPC: To Create a Pox of Redness Raw and Blisters Bubbling

Gather a smoky quartz gemstone, bowl of water, three pinches of sea salt.
Gather a silver or white candle
Gather a healing oil
Gather the healing herb of carnation, sandalwood and violet
The down feather of a live goose
Let the salt trickle through your fingers into the bowl
Add each herb into the bowl
then the feather
Carve the name of the person into the candle

Chant the invocation....

[indiscernible]

Anoint the candle with the material from the bowl. Light the candle, repeat the name which.....


Eastwick, “Fleas and Casserole”
Original Air Date: October 14th 2009

Commentary: Here we have a spell that illustrates the concept that anything that can be used to bless may also be used to curse, and the opposite is true as well. Each of the elements in this spell has traditionally been used for the purposes of healing and protection.

However, there are a number of substances which are thought to be inherently good but which have been used to curse and to hex. According to Judika Illes in The Elemental Book of 5000 Spells “Peppermint oil, a benevolent component of romantic and healing spells, is also used as a hexing agent in candle spells to bring harm and unhappiness to one's enemy." In addition, she also cites the herbs safflower and wormwood as being effective for delivering curses.

This concept extends to curios as well. Eggs have long been used for fertility, cleansing, and protection and yet they can be used to deliver curses as well. At least three curses using a Black Hen’s Egg can be found in Cat Yronwode’s Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic. Feathers from a Black Hen have been used for the purpose of protection and uncrossing, however, European witches have inserted feathers in their witch’s ladders for centuries to bring down curses upon the head of their enemies.

Even something as innocuous as water can be used to deliver a curse in the case of such recipes as War Water, Damnation Water, etc…This concept is not only true in the magical sense but in a mundane one as well. We are told that in order to maintain good health we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. However, ingest too much water and you could die from Water Intoxication.

That being said I do not believe the writers/producers of this show was aware of this concept and decided to use components in their spell which are thought to be benevolent in the case that someone did attempt to duplicate this spell. Another screen shot of the book from which this spell was lifted states….

"The legendary spells in this book are compiled from ancient folklore, various occult writings, regional superstitions, and other mystical sources. It is given as curiosa only and no claim of supernatural power are made for any ritual or materials. And no guarantee are offered or implied. Neither the author or publisher assume any responsibility for the outcome from the use of any...."

I honestly believe that this paragraph was inserted into the witch’s book of shadows as a disclaimer for the magic displayed on the show as such a statement as this would never be found in a real witch’s personal book of shadows.

With this in mind, I sincerely believe that in the hands of the right practitioner with the right intent this spell could work as stated. However, if I wish to give someone a pox of redness raw I believe that I would use a red candle rather than a white or silver one. I think I would also use a chicken feather in place of a goose feather for its associate with chicken pox. I would also anoint the candle with the bowl’s material before I lit and then chant the invocation.

Carolina Dean

Sources

The Elemental Book of 5000 Spells © 2004 Judika Illes (pages 584, 585, 586, 587, 589)
Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic © 2002, Cat Yronwode (pages 51, 52, 173) Hardcover Ed.

Mojo to Assuage Grief and Draw in Money

While on the surface this may seem like an odd combination, it was created for a friend who came home from work one day only to find that her girlfriend had packed all her belonging and left her. In addition to being upset over the loss of the relationship, this woman was also concerned about the income she lost when her partner left her and was afraid she was going to lose her home.

In addition to the items contained in the mojo bag described below, it was anointed with High John the Conqueror Root for personal power and money.

You will need:

1. Thyme for peace of mind

2. Marjoram to assuage grief

3. Bay for success & victory

4. Allspice to draw money

5. Cinnamon to draw money

6. Irish Moss to draw money

7. Drawing Powder for added power

8. Silver Dime to draw in money & confer protection

9. Second Pentacle of Jupiter to attain honor, riches, & tranquility. This was printed out on my computer and the person's name wrote on the back three times in black ink.


Note: This was my final homework assignment for the Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Correspondence Course which I graduation from in April 2009.