MIPC: Scrooge's Number One Dime

The Number One Dime is an artifact in the fictional world occupied by Scrooge McDuck. In Of Ducks, Dimes and Destinies, it is indicated that Howard Rockerduck brought the dime to Scotland in 1877.

Howard threw some coins from his pocket to a group of girls on the dock, one of which happened to be Scrooge’s sister, who gave it to her father. Scrooge’s father gave the dime to a man instructing him to give it to his son in exchange for shining the man’s shoes. However, since he lived in Scotland and the dime was American coinage, he felt cheated and saved the dime as a reminder to never be cheated again.

When Scrooge immigrated to the United States he brought the dime with him. While many of his friends and family ascribe magical luck giving powers to the dime, Scrooge sees it only as a symbol of the rewards of hard work.

In 1961 the Italian sorceress Magica De Spell debuted in a story titled The Midas Touch. It was her belief that she could create an amulet from the coins of rich men to make herself the richest person in the world. According to Magica's belief, the number one dime isn't the source of Scrooge's wealth, but rather the dime is special because Scrooge is so wealthy--a fact that many later writers have ignored.

Commentary:

Images of money have longed been used in folk magic traditions for the purposes of increasing one’s prosperity or conferring luck to its owner. In fact, the practice of using money to draw more money is a universal concept found in cultures the world over.

In the early 20th century novelty coins or pocket pieces were a form of advertisement. These coins were often given away to customers as lucky tokens. On one side of the coin certain words or symbols may be found, such as the world luck or a four leaf clover, and on its reverse would be the name of the company which provided the coin. The purpose of the coin was to promote the store and bring in more customers and therefore more money to the business.

In America, the most often used forms of money utilized in folk magic are two-dollar bills and Mercury Dimes, and it was considered even more auspicious if they were minted during a leap year. This is owing to the coin’s rarity as leap years only occur every four years.

Today with the advent of State Quarters and other special coins (such as those which can be made at certain tourist sites), many practitioners are utilizing coins as talismans for many other purposes as well. Some examples include:


1) I have heard of women using the Sacagawea coin in workings to conceive since the coin has an engraving of a woman carrying a child.

2) Coins from the Republic of Liberia which are engraved with an elephant holding its trunk up in the air used for drawing money. In Feng Shui, an elephant with it’s trunk up facing your door is thought to draw money.

3) Indian Head coins used to keep away the law.

4) ‘Hell’ Money used as currency by the dead.

5) Coins have long been thrown in wells as offering when making wishes.

6) Wheat pennies used to draw food into the home.

In my personal practices I have a South Carolina quarter in my medicine bag representing my home and my roots. I also carry a coin from an arcade that shows a wizard throwing off his hat and kicking up his heels in joy to remind me to have a sense of humor in life.

These are just a few examples of how coins are used in folk magic for various purposes. As you can see when Magical De Spell ascribed magical luck granting powers to Scrooge’s Number One Dime, she was following a longstanding universal tradition.

Carolina Dean

Links

Church of Good Luck: Coins and Tokens

Lucky Mojo: Silver Dimes

My Love Altar

A few weeks ago I decided to erect a love altar for the specific purpose of continuing my love work to attract a potential husband. Yesterday was the first Friday after the New Moon, so I erected the altar you see in the above pic. I've never worked with Buddha before, however, I felt directed to add his image to the altar. There is a space on his lap for a candle, however, I found that my love-mojo sat there rather comfortably.

I'm not sure of Buddha's exact role in the practice of Hoodoo, but I've seen his image on more than a few money altars and I was told that he was good for love too.

In addition to Buddha you can see an old bottle of Cool Water cologne (my favorite scent) and a small rose quartz. I found the candle sticks in the thrift shop and I think that the two-tone copper and brass really compliments the colors in the statue. In addition, copper is a metal associated with Venus the planet associated with love.

The overturned saucer acts as the focal point for spells and rituals. It is under here that petitions will be placed and on top of which candles will be burned, dolls worked with, and various other workings associated with my ultimate goal. Finally, I've used a pink bandanna for an altar cloth because pink really says 'love' to me, rather than red which vibrates at the frequency of sex (in my opinion.)

My ritual began with a cleansing bath of consisting of salt, ammonia, and chili powder. I had planned on performing the egg roll (cleansing) but forgot to take the egg out beforehand to get it to room temperature. I decided to place the egg in the hot bath water with me and allow it to roll around as I poured the bath water over my head and washed down and away from my body.

When I was done, I captured some of the water in a cup, took hold of the egg and stepped backwards out of the tub from between two lit tea-lights on the edge of the tub. I then rolled the egg down and away from my body asking for to be cleansed of the hurts of the past and that all blockages be removed from my path. I then threw on a robe and took the egg and cup of water out my back door where I smashed the egg against a tree and poured the water over it.

Finally, at my new altar I performed a spell that I previously described in this blog. After the ritual was done, I felt upbeat, happy and positive about the future.

It seems to be working too. This morning I received an email from an old boyfriend whom I haven't seen in 11 years and although I know he and I aren't going to be getting back together its nice to know that the lovin' I put on that boy (he's 6 years younger than me) was good enough to have him track me down for more!

I also had a friend force me to sign up with one of those dating sites and as of this afternoon I have received three emails from potential husbands...lol.

So this is starting off to be a good weekend!

Carolina Dean

MLAAW: Getting Baked

In the early 90’s I was a college drop out working as a cashier with the local grocery store located less than a mile from my home, which was fortunate because I still didn’t have my driver’s license. I had moved into my first home and was officially an adult. Being newly independent I gathered the courage to come out to my family and dealt with the repercussions. Though my close friends knew I was gay, I will still largely private about my personal life.

As the only male cashier, I learned a few things rather quickly. Most courtesy-clerks (that’s bag boys to you lay people) are young men. Young men usually like young women, so it stands to reason that most bag boys aren’t eager to bag for male cashiers. I often found myself having to ring up and subsequently bag large orders. In some instances I even had to log off my register and take the customers groceries out to their cars. (Remember when bag boys did this without you having to ask them?)

Then Adam was hired. Adam was a new arrival to our town, the son of a preacher-man as the song goes. He was a bit younger than me, blond, and popular. But Adam wasn’t like the other boys, or so I thought. He was always eager to bag for me, & often offered to give me a ride home, which I often took him up on. I wasn't the only one who noticed that Adam was so nice to me and so I got it in my head that he liked me and my friends agreed.

I gathered up the courage to let Adam know that I liked him and that I was open to “whatever.” It turned out that Adam was…just a nice guy. The following day I got strange looks from other people at work, and then I noticed a girl kept coming through my line and acting strangely. She wouldn’t say a word to me, but just stand there and glare at me with arms cross and a permanent scowl on her face. I later learned that this girl was Adam’s girlfriend.

A few days later a big, dumb, jock (BDJ) came through my line. He was tall, muscular, and angry. BDJ was Adam’s older brother, coming to defend Adam’s good name. From what I gathered, Adam told all his friends that I came on to him and when it got back to his family, I was blamed for spreading the story that Adam was gay. BDJ wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer or he would figure that I wouldn’t be spreading a story where I was basically humiliated.

To add to my humiliation BDJ somehow thought that committing violence against me on my job in front of all my co-workers and customers would somehow make things right. Luckily the police station was right next door and BDJ was removed before he could do anything to me. However, for me no beating could have hurt me more than the public humiliation that I had suffered, now for the third time.

I went home that Tuesday night and I was angry to say the least. I absolutely hated BDJ and I wanted him to hurt, I wanted him to hurt as much as I was hurt, more so. I wanted him to hurt so bad he’d never be a threat to anyone ever again. Being a young witch, I thought I was all that and decided to enact my revenge.

I wrote BDJ’s name on a potato. I held that potato in my hands and pretending it was BDJ I said everything to him that I wish I could have said when he confronted me. I really worked myself up a cussin’ and a sass’ing him. I put all the anger into my little potato-poppet. I took a knife and I stabbed that potato like it was Janet Leigh in the shower. Then I baked the potato in the microwave and mushed it up with a fork. Finally, I tossed the potato out my back door on the other side of the stream that flowed past my house.

The following Friday night, BDJ decided to drive drunk and wrapped his car around a telephone pole. He was in a coma for a number of months. When he finally awoke he’d lost his muscle mass and most of his cognitive skills. He had to be taught to walk, talk, and take care of himself all over again.

I cannot say with any certainty that his accident was a result of my spell or his own foolish decisions. Perhaps it was a little of both. Some would say that the spell was justified, whereas others might respond that BDJ’s accident was a result of his own karma and that perhaps there was a lesson that he was needed to learn. Perhaps his accident gave him the chance to be reborn in a fashion and correct the wrongs of the past.

However, this incident had a powerful effect on me. It made me realize the awesome responsibility that we as magic-makers have with this power we wield. I learned not to use it lightly. Since this time I’ve done a lot of growing up both physically, mentally, and spiritually. Should a situation similar to this occur to me today, I would defiantly react much differently.

Carolina Dean

How to Make a Jack Ball

Jack Balls

The purpose of this blog entry is to describe for you how I make a Jack Ball. I am not going into the history and use of the jack ball. If you are interested in these topics I suggest you click on the following links.

The Arcane Archive- Luck Ball and Jack Ball

Mary Alice Owen: Hoodoo Luck Balls


To make a Jack Ball you will need:

Cord or Yarn
Scissors
Needle
Candle
Personal Items Belonging to Individual.
your chosen herbs

STEP ONE: Collect the personal items (hair, nail clippings, bits of cloth, bodily fluids, etc.) Burn these and mix the resulting ashes and dried herbs with wax from a dripping candle. Roll the wax into a ball.

STEP TWO: Wind the yarn around the wax ball. For the purposes of this blog post I'm using a wad of paper in place of a ball of wax.

STEP THREE: Rotate the ball while winding the yarn around it until it is completely covered, leaving a tail of roughly 12 inches.

STEP FOUR: Thread the tail through a large needle and run it through the center of the ball and out the opposite end.

STEP FIVE: Thread a length of yarn on the needle twice the length of the jack ball's tail.

STEP SIX: Run the needle through the ball at the base of the tail.

STEP SEVEN: You now have three tails. Braid the three tails so that they make one large tail and tie off the end.

STEP EIGHT: If you desire, tie nine knots in the tail at equidistant intervals.

Carolina Dean

MLAAW: Curse of the Green Man

Although I’ve had my differences with magical people in the past, I can’t say that I’ve ever been the victim of a curse or black magick (although I’m sure people have tried) with the exception of one instance which I am going to share with you today.

It was the early 90’s and I had just discovered a wonderful book by first time author, Silver Ravenwolf (this was before she gained widespread success and suffered a backlash in the magickal community) called To Ride a Silver Broomstick.

After reading the book several times and successfully completing all the exercises it contained I wanted to branch out in my studies. In the back of the book the author included a guide to Pagan newsletters, journals, services, etc... One of these periodicals was called The Green Man. I wrote to The Green Man and received a sample issue. In the back of this issue was an advertisement for yet another newsletter.

This newsletter, whose name I’ve long forgotten, was basically a means for gay pagan men to meet and share their knowledge and experiences. For the low, low price of $2.00 you sent a paragraph about yourself along with your payment. Four times a year you would receive this newsletter which would contain a number of introductions by gay pagan men from all walks of life.

When I received my first copy of the newsletter, I quickly skimmed through it looking for my entry to make sure they entered all my information correctly.

“GWM 20 y.o. exploring a Wiccan path, seeks friend on same or similar path to share experiences and knowledge. Respond to [address withheld]”

I then read over all the other entries and picked out three that appealed to me. I wrote a generic letter of introduction and sent it to the three men. About a week and a half later I received a very long letter from a man who also included a Polaroid photograph of himself from the knees up and the chest down…naked. The man had a huge green tattoo of Pan (the god) on his thigh that ran from his hip down past his knee and some kind of piercing through his penis.

In the man’s advertisement he claimed to be in his early 30’s, but judging from his photograph I would estimate his age to be in his later 50’s to early 60’s. He introduced himself as my ‘master’, a truck-driver who would be coming through South Carolina in a few weeks and he would be by to ‘take what was his’.

It was probably a mistake on my part, but I wrote this person back explaining that we didn’t want the same things and perhaps it would be better to seek what he needs elsewhere. I saved the Polaroid and letter in case I needed to get the police involved. A few days later I received an angry letter from him calling me a tease and telling me I was going to get what I deserved.

A few hours after receiving his letter I began to feel ill. My entire body ached and I became very tired. I went to bed and woke up a few hours later shivering and could not get warm. This turned into a high grade fever over-night. I was delirious with the fever and in my delirium I got it into my head that this man was throwing a curse on me.

Once I came to believe this illness had its origin in the magick of a man I had rejected, I began to form a plan. Somehow I gathered the strength to get out of bed and collect the letter and Polaroid I had tucked away. I burned the man’s letter and mixed the ashes with bacon grease. To this day I don’t know why I used bacon grease except that at the time in my condition it seemed like a good idea. I then dipped my finger in the mixture and grew an inverted pentagram over the man’s Polaroid, I rolled the Polaroid up into a tube and bound it with duct tape.

Finally, I walked outside and appealing to the Goddess for protection, I tossed the bound picture in the stream that ran behind my house, allowing the current to take this man and his evil away from me.

I returned indoors and collapsed back in bed. Some time in the night my fever broke and my strength returned. I never heard from the Green Man again….

Carolina Dean

My LIfe as a Witch: My Earthwalk

This is the first in what will be a series of sporadic blog posts concerning my life and adventures as a witch. To begin this series, I thought I'd delve a little deeper into my past, share a greater part of myself, and explain how my feet were pointed down the path of magic....

My Earthwalk

My earthwalk began in the summer of 1973. I was given a name chosen by my parents. However, it wasn't until many years later that I, Carolina Dean, was born or should I say awakened? But I'm jumping ahead of myself here.

After my parents divorce, I came to live with my maternal grandparents in a small town in South Carolina , who raised me as their own. I was a shy child, and mainly kept to myself. I grew up with a thirst for all things magickal, having been fascinated by television shows like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Tales from the Darkside, and Friday the 13th the Series among others. I believed that everything had magick. From the marbles I found in our backyard to the sticks I played with, everything had it's own special power. In the woods near my home, I sought out the elusive Bigfoot and the the Lizard Man (a local legend).

My first encounter with real magick, however, occurred in the summer of my sixth year. After my parents divorce, my mother didn't have a car so we had to walk everywhere. I had developed warts all over the back of my hand and my grandmother told me that it was because I let a frog pee on my hand. I don't think that she really believed that, she just told me that because a bunch of us boys were bad about scaring old ladies in the neighborhood with frogs, snakes, and lizards we'd caught.

To get rid of the warts, my mother walked me to a healer's house on one of the back roods leaving out of town. The little old lady performed a ritual to "take off" my warts that entailed her rubbing a penny over them while praying. My mother was then instructed to take me to a public place where I was to give the penny to the first stranger I saw, which we did.

Unfortunately, the magic ultimately failed and I had to have the warts painfully burned off, but having the ritual performed over me really awoke something in me and began my interest in pursuing an education in the magickal arts.

Looking back, I always knew that I was different, unfortunately my classmates knew it as well. Because I was perceived as gay, which I am, by my peers, I wasn't particularly popular in school, which only added to my low self esteem and sense of isolation. I felt betrayed by God, because I was taught by the church that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination. I felt that God had no right to punish me for something in which I had no choice. I first came to witchcraft for entirely the wrong reasons. I wanted the boys to like me and I wanted to hurt the people who hurt me. I also thought that by practicing witchcraft that I would be getting back at God for abandoning me.

In those days, there was no internet and so there was very little good information on witchcraft, at least in my small Southern hometown. What few books there were in my local library were those that put forth the misconception that witches are evil. I never went to a point in my witchcraft where I hurt anyone, except myself. However, I did not hurt myself on a physical level, but on an emotional and spiritual one. The void inside me only grew with my hate for the world and for myself.

By the time I entered college, I had developed an interest in learning to read the Tarot, which was inspired by the character of Solitaire in the James Bond motion picture Live and Let Die (1973). The library at my college had an extensive occult section that was much more balanced.

Through my interest in Tarot, I found the Craft of the Wise. After a great deal of reading, studying, practical application, and experimentation, I did learn to read the Tarot and eventually learned enough about Wicca to know that it was for me. I initiated myself into the craft in a self-initiation ceremony and adopted a new name to represent my newly chosen reality, and although I have had many magickal names in the past two decades, I am currently known as Carolina Dean. I applied the principles of Wicca to my life, and I am a much better person for having done so. The void inside me has been filled with self-acceptance, self-love, and with that has come power.

I now see myself as an empowered individual, a far cry from that introverted boy who just wanted to be accepted for who he was. I have come to a place of self-acceptance in my life and have come to know that I have the power to shape the course of my own destiny.

Blessed Be,

Carolina Dean

A Fast Money Spell

Note: This spell was inspired by something that Dr. K said in passing on one of the Lucky Mojo Radio shows. I could not recall his specific instructions and threw this spell together from memory. So far it has worked well for me, thank you Dr. Kioni.


To perform this spell you will need:

7 Nickels
Petition Paper
Fast Luck Oil
Money Drawing Oil
4 Green Candles
Powdered Cinnamon
Dried Chamomile
Drawing Powder




The Job


To begin, lay the nickels out so that they form a Holy Cross. Anoint each of the coins with a dab on both Fast Luck and Money Drawing Oil.

Write your specific wish for money luck on the piece of paper and then cross and cover this with your name three times. Anoint the four corners and center of the paper with the oils mentioned, then fold the paper towards you three times rotating it one turn clock-wise between each fold.

On two of the green candles write FAST LUCK and anoint them with fast luck oil. On the other two green candles write MONEY COME TO ME and anoint them with money drawing oil

Place the four candles on the four ‘tips’ of the Holy Cross formed by the coins. Alternate the candles so that the Fast Luck candles are across from one another and the Money Come to Me Candles are across from one another.

Place your written petition in the center of the cross. Sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon chips, chamomile and drawing powder over the whole thing. Light the candles and make your prayer or petition for money and fast luck.

When the candles are spent, gather the dried herbs, coins, petition, and any left over wax. Fold them together into a green cloth and keep this somewhere safe.

Carolina Dean

Welcome to Carolina Crossroads

....my new webstore.



Drop by and have a look. New items will be added as they become available.


Carolina Dean

Carolina Dean's Ritual of Independance

This is a ritual that I have performed every July 4th for the past several years, and would like to share with my friends here at HoodooSpace now. It is very simple to perform, and I find that the less you prepare for the ritual the more powerful it will be for you.

To begin collect one red, one white, and one blue candle of any size. These are the colors of the American Flag and which are synonymous with independence. In addition the three candles represents the three dimensions of self, that of Mind, Body, and Spirit.

Light each of the candle and say silently or aloud make your personal declaration of independence...

Today I declare Emotional Independence from depression
Today I declare Financial independence from poverty
Today I declare Physical independence from dis-ease
Today I declare Spiritual independence from negativity
Today I declare...(fill in the blank)

Continue your personal declaration until you are satisfied with what you have said. Thereafter, let the candle burn themselves out.

If you desire, you can augment this ritual by anointing the candles with oils and rolling them in herbs which you feel most empower you. In addition, you can add any symbols, written-petitions, talismans, Saint Figures, etc... to your altar or independence.

Carolina Dean

Thanks For Giving

I recently read a blog by a new member of this site describing a First Peoples ritual performed to give thanks to the great mystery power for one's blessings. His blog entry got me to thinking about these types of rituals as they pertain to the practice of Hoodoo.

As a Wiccan, I perform devotions and meditations on a daily basis to keep me spiritually centered, maintain dialogue with Spirit, and give thanks for my many blessings. Whenever I perform a spell or working (especially one in which I have called upon a specific deity or deities) I will often make an offering or sacrifice to that deity when my work has been successful.

Sometimes my offering may be something as simple as burning incense or a candle. I typically, light the candle and/or incense before a statue or image of the deity. I may say something as simple as

In honor burns this candle flame,
Iin praise of (N's) holy name;
IIn thanksgiving for, and recognition of
Iall you've done for me from love.

I often make offerings to my ancestors to keep them appeased and for thanking them for assisting in the many way that they do so. These offerings are usually very specific based on what my ancestors enjoyed in life. For example, my grandfather loved Luzianna Coffee so I will often offer him coffee; in addition he liked reading Louis Lamour western novels and I keep one on my ancestral altar for him.

At other times I may sacrifice something more personal such as a favored piece of jewelry, or even my hair. For example, the turtle is my totem. Once many years ago I was hiking at 40 Acre Rock when I found a whole, intact, turtle shell at the mouth of a bear cave. I took the shell for my altar, but had nothing to offer in return. At that time, my hair was about 6 inches past my shoulders, so I used a friend's knife to cut about an inch from my hair and left it as an offering in place of the shell.

Still at other times, my sacrifice will take the form of a charitable offering in the name of that deity. Recently I had been performing work in order to get my car repaired and at a price that I can afford. When my car was successfully prepared, I thanked God by filling a box with non-perishable food-stuffs and donating it to my local food bank.

Whenever I bake homemade biscuits, I always make one or two special ones which are set aside and used as an offering to the Fay Folk and this is set outside my back door with a small saucer of milk.

I think that as spiritual practitioners it is important to give thanks for our blessings, especially when we routinely petition spiritual powers to help us achieve our goals. These are just a few examples of how one can show gratitude for their many blessings.

Carolina Dean