CHRISTIANITY AND HOODOO: DO THEY MIX?

A well-known former New Age occultist-turned-ardent-Christian recently asserted that Christianity is incompatible with other religions and spiritual practices outside of the Christian purview. It got me to thinking about a few things. Aside from the mountain of evidence across the world that such a claim is historically untrue, it is also a way to sanitize the Christian tradition itself, which at its start began its worship in the underground graves of Europe. The Eucharist was celebrated on top of the bones of the dead in the catacombs of Rome and elsewhere. Scholars have even found spells, written not long after Jesus’ death, where Jesus was called upon by sorcerors of the day in their magic. So, even people outside of the faith saw that this new religion had power and used it.

This is also a part of Hoodoo history in a way. Those enslaved then freed, and all the other ethnic groups who eventually practiced adjacent forms of rootwork all weaved aspects of Christianity into folk magic. Powwowers do it. Appalachian Conjure in its different forms does it. We all have. At root (pun intended) is the spiritual instinct of recognizing power wherever it is encountered and making use of it.

Sometimes, throughout American history, that has been covert and subversive, like when enslaved folks would gather quietly and pray in basins of water so the slavemasters did not hear their prayers. Other times, it would be in moments like when a conjure doctor was dragged into court for practicing medicine without a license and would chew Little John and spit it out in the courtroom to dominate the judge and everyone opposing him, murmuring a Psalm for victory in court under their breath.

Making broad, absolutist declarations without putting scholarship behind them will only convince those who do not want to think for themselves. For the rest of us, it never flies. Christianity, Judaism, and Hoodoo have always had a symbiotic relationship with each other because of how American life played itself out during and after American Slavery and all the other watershed moments of early American history that came about. Studying this history will show you a counter-vision of this country that was not as messed up as other things we know happened. It is a place where you can see some of the counter-cultural forces that conspired to come together and sustain diverse communities of practices during historical periods where our majority culture desired separation and oppression. In American history, a small but dedicated few have continuously withstood the tides of ignorance and hatred that gripped most of us. Hoodoo is a part of that history.

My introductory class is well underway and already shows the promise of a beautiful, diverse, and dynamic group of people coming together to learn and grow. If you would like to learn more about this lovely tradition that emboldened so many who came before us, I warmly invite you to join us. The link is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-roots/.

Hope to see you in class!   

AN OP-ED ON INITIATION

I was a part of an interesting online discussion last week about something called the Abramelin Rite. I am going to assume everyone reading this may not know what Abramelin is, and so will give the short-story version. Abramelin is an initiation ritual that has a six and eighteen month version of itself. The end result (or, is it the beginning?) is that you receive your Guardian Angel IN your head for the rest of your life. This rite is considered the beginning of a lifelong practice of magic as well. You connect with your Angel then go about procuring demonic familiars and a general command over chthonic spirits.

The reason I am bringing it up, though, has to do with my own general sense about people’s perceptions of in-depth initiations. In our contemporary time, we tend to have two versions of initiations. The newest comes from the New Age tradition, and to me this aspect of New Age has become an overculture that dominates the view of what an initiation is. What I mean by that is that you can go through a distance-learning process of initiation to a spirit or tradition and then practice it, usually within a day or a few hours time. I am not knocking this. It is its own spirituality, and it works for some people.

But, as I said, the beliefs around this sort of initiation process is dominating the minds of people and becoming the gold standard through which other initiation processes are considered. So much so that they are bringing that perspective into ages-old processes that are more indigenous. Thus, there is an uptick in folks asking if there are shortcuts and ways to procure something like an Abramelin Guardian Angel or Orisha without going through the hassle of an in-depth process.

Yes, indigenous initiations are a hassle, and that hassle is precisely why it is not for everyone. I think even some of us indigenous practitioners know this is how our ways are perceived, and sometimes we too will capitulate toward these New Agey notions. I actually saw someone advertising a virtual initiation and revelation of secrets of the Congo spiritual tradition. Based on me knowledge of Congo spirituality, that is not even possible from a distance. But I know people will jump on it, and then end up coming to someone like me to fix what breaks when they do. Lordt!

To these ends, I am going to speak to the process of becoming a Santero. Not the secret stuff, but what it takes. It is public knowledge that a person who chooses to become a priest in any Orisha tradition goes through a seven-day rite, then spends a year in white with a LOT of restrictions on their personal life. But, it is far more than that! The process takes years to complete.

The first step is you enter into an Orisha house. For that to even happen, the Godparent-to-be must bring you before their Head Orisha, and they divine to see if that Orisha even wants you in their house. If they say no, it’s a no. The no could be for different reasons. One could be that Orisha is not your life path. This bucks a lot of our egos. Most of us want what we want. But this is the beginning of an important reality check: you are not in control of your process in the Orisha world. The no could also be that you are not a fit for that house, or vice versa. If you get this sort of no, take it seriously. It is acceptable to also ask why if you’re not told why.

If you make it past that step, then you soon after arrange for receiving your elekes. These are the pretty beads you see Orisha devotees wear. As you are preparing for that entry-level initiation, your godparent will start to teach you espiritismo. I have written extensively on espiritismo already. But espiritismo in the Derived African traditions is how we compensate for losing the connection to our Egungun ancestor reverence due to American slavery and European colonialism. The ancestors are foundational in Orisha traditions, so much so that you will not progress if you do not develop your mediumship with them.

I have had people come to me with spiritual problems from houses that fixate on Orisha and almost ignore eggun/ancestors. 90% of the problems these people bring is because there are unaddressed problems with their ancestors. In some cases, their ancestors were never consulted to see if they even gave blessings for them to engage the Orisha tradition. They then have to fix what is wrong with their eggun to be able to progress spiritually. I have seen this so much as a diviner that I know it is a problem.

This first part alone can take a few years. In addition to these issues, you will be working on yourself from the moment you step into an Orisha house. The self-work never ends and actually INTENSIFIES the further you go into the tradition. Each initiatory step also means more is expected of your behavior.

Also, and this part I have written about a bit too, this whole time from beginning to priesthood, you will be at a lot of ceremonies working your ass off. A Kariocha ceremony to make someone a priest takes the entire community. You will be tired and exhausted from ceremonies that last 12+ hours, well into the night. Then you come back a few hours later and have worship, which can last another half day. That whole time you will be working and doing whatever a priest asks you to do. And none of that changes when you are a priest.            

The next step is to receive your Warriors. This step means you now have Orishas you have to bond with and take care of. Here is where you learn what it means to have Orisha in your life. You also start learning the sacred songs, the chief sacred prayer, and also how to divine with them. This period of time you are receiving a lot of information that takes time and study to achieve proficiency.

The final step (for most) is making Ocha, becoming a priest. There are other steps prior to this, and a few after, depending on your personal destiny. But the time between receiving Warriors and becoming a Santero will take a few years. There is a ton of learning to do, on top of the fact that you need to put in the time of working ceremonies. You work ceremonies because they are where you learn the tradition. When you sit around plucking chickens with priests, they talk about some of the secrets. Who Orishas are. How they do what they do. And when you go to a worship session, the Orishas will also come down and tell you that they see your heart and faith for the tradition.

The entire process toward the crowning of an Orisha on your head takes five years minimum. I believe my process toward priesthood was more like 7 or 8 years. Other indigenous traditions are much the same. I heard that Candomble is even longer, and that you don’t even get to take your Orishas into your house until your godparent says you’re ready to!

Finally, the other thing often not said is that priesthood is not meant for everyone. Not everyone needs to become a priest to fulfill their destiny. Many do not progress beyond the step of initiation into the tradition because that is all they need.

All of this is why Santeros and Santeras do an eye roll when people say they have an Orisha fully in their life. Yes, they can be with you spiritually. But being with a person spiritually does not equate to having them the way an initiated Santero has them. No one “has” them unless they go through the initiations. The steps are in place for a reason. Your soul has to be aligned with the energies for it all to even work. The Crown must sit properly on the Head, and it is a heavy Crown! There is no shortcut or workaround.

It is not wise to try to shortcut an initiation to a Head Spirit. The same danger exists in Abramelin. You are building the power and authority to be able to command the demonic host, including the big demons like Satan and Astaroth. Why in the world would you want to shortcut that and not receive the medicines fully? Resist the urge of New Age processes dictating how we all should practice. They have a truth, but it is not the whole truth, nor is it universal. The medicine of initiation is there for us so we can achieve our destiny. Don’t let anyone take that from you. 

INSPIRATION & TEACHING HOODOO

Every time I start a new cohort, I am reminded of why I embarked on this journey of teaching Hoodoo. There is something about teaching the basics of something that always feels enduring, and is the thing you tend to return to, no matter how far and deep you go into a practice. But more than that, I am driven by the desire to create a safe space for people to learn and grow together, a space where they feel welcomed and valued.

I have said this in posts in the past, but I have taken other people’s Hoodoo and Rootwork courses. Many I found informative, meaning they were full of good information about the practice and its techniques. One such course, in particular, equips you with a year’s worth of invaluable information. But none of them I took from others spent time teaching how to form yourself into a rootworker, let alone a professional one. Even less focused on how a person’s identity and origin story is a tremendous point of power. What I termed social location (to borrow a fancy term from academia). I had not taken a course anywhere that weaved technique and information with how to form a new identity and also how where we are from can significantly aid in shaping who we become as workers. I didn’t find that, so I decided to make it myself.

This brings me back to a bible study I did many years ago on the Book of Revelation from the Bible. In seminary, I thought that book was so crazy that I took courses and did independent studies to gain a deeper understanding. I quickly saw that Revelation had a lot to teach us and speak to in our current day and age. But the crowds I tended to traffic with were liberal Christians who tend to have a great distaste for the Bible. I remember the first class too (almost thirty years ago now)! People came tense and a little defensive. I copied an article from my favorite New Testament professor, who said that scripture is the Word of God when God’s people gather and study it. And by learning, I meant arguing, debating, and even sometimes rejecting it.

Long story short, those groups of bible study participants had a lot of religious trauma. They wanted to know if I was picking the craziest book of the Bible to bludgeon them more or if I was creating a safe space where nothing was out of bounds. Once they saw that I meant it when I said it was the latter, I couldn’t stop them! They grew together to see how those words were relevant for them, in their lives, with all of what was happening in the world then.

I am deeply passionate about Hoodoo. I teach it because I see too many strands and threads out there that need to be pulled together. I want people to have that safe space to learn and grow together. I am driven by the desire to keep the fires of the tradition burning so that I might someday pass it down to my posterity.

This is my vision, and it inspires everything I do as a Hoodoo teacher. I would love to have you join us on Monday so you can experience this yourself!

The link to the course is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-roots/. See you in class!  

WHY I TEACH HOODOO

A few years back, I reconnected with my college academic advisor. When we got around to talking about the state of the school and the trends he saw in education. Generally, he started to really lament how much things had changed with the quality and character of students since my class graduated. A little context is important here: if you know much about liberal arts curricula pedagogy, its core prerequisite is intense critical thinking and writing skills. He said shortly after we graduated, he could tell that the educational philosophy and approach shifted in grade school. Kids were being educated to pass tests, not really to write anymore. When he went to his class, he said many needed help stringing a coherent sentence or paragraph together to articulate their thoughts or informed opinions about the work.

Given his students' lack of developed critical thinking muscles, he was prompted to go back to the drawing board and reconfigure how he taught. He said, and I agree, that writing and rhetorical skills are pivotal to academic excellence and critical thinking. But he painted a grim picture of the future of American education.

That conversation stayed with me for years, especially when I got to the point in my development where I considered becoming a public instructor. Before I made that choice, however, I took several courses over time. Partly because I like to learn and partly because I wanted to see how others taught what they taught. Many people teach the material well, like how to go to Barnes and Noble and find excellent introductory books on Wiccanism. The material was solid and, if absorbed well, would give a person knowledge.

However, gaining knowledge and manipulating data is one thing. Learning to practice art, thinking beyond correspondence lists, and adapting art to less ideal situations are teaching talents only some have. They don’t. I know this because in some classes I took, when I would ask a question, going deeper with the material and maybe thinking beyond the confines of the class data, some teachers struggled. Very few admitted that what was being asked by myself or someone else was something they didn’t know. Teaching is not easy, but teaching how to think critically is even more challenging!

I was in a work training this week, and the presenter was talking about how, in short, we must all protect the Protected Health Information in our grasp, or we could get fired. This conversation concerned a new documentation system being implemented in the next couple of years. He noted an issue with the new system where searching for patients brings up every single patient with that name or similar name in the system. If we in any way click on the wrong name and stay in that chart for over a few seconds, we could lose our jobs.

Naturally, I raised my hand and asked, “So, if you know the new system is going to have a vulnerability where a large number of employees who have never used it can easily open the wrong patient file, wouldn’t it stand to reason that you would engage the vendor and insist they correct that?”

He responded that he was not the person who deals with quality issues. LOL!

Not thinking critically or not having the learning space to figure out how to do it can be disastrous. It can also set us up for failure before we even begin to learn a tradition such as Hoodoo. My classroom cohorts are not like this. I not only encourage but also empower any and all questions, including challenges. My skin in the game is to create and nurture virtual learning communities where nothing is out of bounds; people walk away with an understanding of the tradition AND how that tradition, by its nature, thrives and evolves on innovation. Yes, you learn the correspondences, but you also know all of those lists for whatever are means to an end and not the end itself. Hoodoo was built to uphold underrepresented communities through the worst of times so people, their families, and their communities would emerge as intact as possible when it became the best of times.

If this challenge excites you at the possibilities, I warmly invite you to join me in the next cohort of “Working the Roots.” You’ll be glad you did!

The link to the newest cohort is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-roots/.   

INITIATIONS AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT: SOME THOUGHTS

Over the past several months, I have noticed a massive uptick in the number of divination clients who come for advice or guidance, who also happened to get burned by an initiatory community. Unfortunately, it is not a unique or isolated experience. In ADRs/ATRs (African Derived or Traditional Religions), the problems being burned can run the gamut from shoddy initiations to being scammed out of thousands of dollars to people paying exorbitant amounts of money for indigenous medicine and never receiving it. I have heard them all, I think, and it is making my heart break for the religious abuse I can see with my own eyes.

When I encounter a client or stranger like this, I remember not long ago that I had my own experiences of such burnings. I have talked with practitioners across traditions in and outside of my own, and most of us agree that the KEY to an initiation is the initiator themselves. Most of the focus in ADRs is on the godkid and everything the godkid is expected to do to progress in any tradition, as it should be.

However, this is a BIG. However, everyone needs to bear the same commitment to their work themselves. It is a huge red flag in any initiatory tradition if the elders do not periodically self-reflect out loud with their charges. It is a huge red flag if they speak harshly and do not apologize. It is also a huge red flag if the elder gives you just enough information to start to resolve a problem you bring to them, but they always require you to come to them to fix your life, and you never learn how to do it for yourself. I could keep going!

Some of us have a destiny to be initiated in a tradition. We can feel it in our bones. The first public worship may cause something to click. The first time we go for a divination session, something may click. If this is you, then by all means pursue it.

But remember this: in the Orisha tradition, Ori is “king.” Your Ori is, for all intents and purposes, your spirit. The image of God in you, to use Christian language. If an elder cannot respect the power of Ori and force issues to suit their agenda, take a hard look at that dynamic. Ori is so significant that, in some ways, it is more powerful and holy than the Orishas themselves.

Like an abusive relationship, rarely is it that the abuse appeared out of nowhere. When we look back, we can see that elements of abuse were probably going on from day one. But when love and other emotions get involved, we overlook what is not working. Let your Ori guide you to what’s right for you.

This brings me to my main point: initiation is only for some. For many, it’s likely not even necessary. In Palo Mayombe, most people do not advance beyond the first initiation. It is similar to the Orisha tradition. There are also other modalities one can study, learn, and practice that WILL give a sense of fulfillment to a person’s life. One reason I teach my hoodoo brand is to introduce a tradition that does not require any formal initiation whatsoever. If someone initiated you into Hoodoo today, they likely made it up. There may have been initiations in the fledgling years of the practice, but I have not heard of any modern rendition.

I am not knocking anyone for creating an initiatory system out of the Hoodoo tradition. Doing so strikes me as unnecessarily making things way more complicated than they need to be. As I understand it, the whole history and character of Hoodoo conspires against that because it was, first and foremost, evolved and created to sustain the family and the community. It was not a practice for the select few who had specialized access. Again, that may have existed in some families back in the day. But the modern iterations of Hoodoo put this power in the hands of those who feel called to it.

This is the spirit behind my Hoodoo classes. I celebrate who my students are, understanding that their identity and social location will power their work. Students will receive what they seek from my classes and learn how everything weaves together and where to innovate their unique personalized practice.

If this interests you, my “Working the Roots” course is still open for registration. I would be honored to be a part of your spiritual journey! I hope you’ll join me, and I look forward to seeing you in class.       

ETHICS: DOING THE RIGHT THING IN ROOTWORK

One of the other bedrock threads tying together my classes on Hoodoo, especially my “Working the Roots” class, is how important it is to be a worker with an ethical foundation. Before diving into that, though, I want to talk a bit about what I believe ethics are.

The essence of ethics can be summed up as the personal decision to do what's right, even when no one is watching. This definition implies that the individual making this choice has a clear understanding of right and wrong. In our complex world, filled with identity politics and other complexities, this can be a challenging task.

Or is it? Is it that hard to do the right thing, especially when no one is watching? Sometimes it can be. I often see this in the hospice healthcare world of which I am a part. Sometimes, an End-of-life choice an adult child has to make for a parent comes down to risks versus benefits. But even more deeply than that is the ethics of the choice. In that situation, the ethic is for the child to decide based on what their parent told them they did or did not want in their end-of-life care. Or, the child has to reflect on earlier life conversations with their parent. This doesn’t make certain choices less complicated, but it prevents most people from having any crisis of conscience because even if it is a choice I would not make for myself, I am honoring what the person told me.

Ethics in Hoodoo is much the same. You use the classroom laboratory to work out your ethics. The result of this is if you decide to be a professional worker, then when people bring dubious cases to you, you have your own compass to follow. That compass will give you the boundaries and, in some cases, barriers you will or will not cross. As an example, a no-no for me is working on or against children for baneful magic. Even if a child is horrible to another child, they are still children, undeveloped, and with a whole life ahead of them to reflect on their destructive behaviors.

In teaching about ethics in Hoodoo, I don’t tell people what’s right or wrong. I realize context is a significant determinant in shaping moral and ethical situations. What I do is present material, discuss the moral or ethical dimensions of it, and invite the cohort into a conversation with myself and each other to determine what kind of rootworker each person wants to be. I will exercise examples of how I feel or believe in ethical issues so people can see what living by certain moral principles can look like. I think this is authentic, allowing each student to shape themselves with the support of the virtual learning community.    

If this sounds interesting or would benefit your practice, please join us. You will be glad you did!

HOODOO & SOCIAL LOCATION: WHY I START HERE

There are big, ten-cent words and phrases from academia that often are unnecessary to convey a concept. But now and then, throughout my academic studies, something was taught to me that I had carried forward all these years later. One of them is this idea of social location. The basic premise is this: all of us come from a place, no matter who we are. We are born from two parents in a specific place, time, family, etc. All of that shapes and forms who we are and how we see things, good or bad.

Applying the concept of social location to occultism, it becomes clear that our origins and experiences are significant sources of our power. Even if our backgrounds are challenging or toxic, the fact that we have endured and thrived is a testament to our personal resilience. This resilience is a key connection to the sources of our spiritual practices, such as rootwork in the case of Hoodoo.

Let me give a personal case in point: I grew up in projects in upstate New York. It is no secret that most affordable housing projects in America have become multigenerational dwellings. Many living in them do not even know the history that affordable housing was NEVER intended to be permanent. It was transitional living designed to give low-income, working-class people enough economic relief to one day afford a home. But the combination of socioeconomic trends, federal and state politics, and things like environmental racism made sure that the “separate but equal” social politic continued in this insidious form.

The first 12-13 years of my life was spent there. My parents divorced, and my Mom moved there to restart her life with me. During the twelve years we lived there, my Mom told me repeatedly, like a mantra, that this place was just where we needed to be until she saved up enough money to get us a home and get out of the projects. For over a decade, I watched her scrape by and save every penny she could until she had enough for a down payment. And when I was about 12, she bought a home. She did all that without help from any man, husband, or family member. She did it with the grit of her mind and the strength of her hand.

This seminal moment marked me deeply. I saw that, even in poverty, there are ways to rise, even when everyone around you says otherwise. I saw the value of saving and having a vision of something that still needs to come. And I saw one of the most influential women in my life do what many would not have considered possible on a guidance counselor’s salary.

This part of my social location strongly colors my basic approach to Hoodoo. I know that the tools of my people have the ability to alleviate suffering and restore dreams. I know we do not need to resign ourselves to fate but instead use our tools to “change our stars,” as they said in A Knight’s Tale. Indigenous African spiritualities generally do not put a lot of stock in fate. Destiny, yes; fate, not so much. Sacrifice, ritual, and being in the right community are the bread and butter of navigating life. It is also the lifeblood of Hoodoo.

We all have unique starting points in life. This is just a glimpse into my journey. I'm eager to hear about yours. In my “Working the Roots” class, we delve deeper into these personal narratives. If this resonates with you, I look forward to seeing you in class on the 22nd!        

A PLEASANT SURPRISE: WORKING THE ROOTS IS ON AND POPPIN!

I was delighted yesterday when I met with Blackthorne School Director Calahn, who informed me that several potential students were eager to enroll in my “Working the Roots” class! We had initially planned to launch another class in the coming weeks. However, upon hearing this, we both agreed that it was a unique opportunity to restart Roots and guide individuals on their Hoodoo journey.

Even before I became an instructor, I talked to many people and asked them what they found was the best material to teach or turn into a book. Almost without exception, people tell me that introductory subjects are the way to go. Even if someone like me has advanced knowledge of a topic like Hoodoo, beginner material carries the most sustained interest across categories. Until hearing and seeing this with my own eyes, I had always assumed that people would eventually tire of the same beginner subject matter and yearn for deeper dives. And to an extent, they do.

But then I think about my years of experience as a martial artist. At my current dojo, there is a phrase under a picture of belts from white to black. The caption reads, “A black belt is simply a white belt who did not give up.” I also remember that when I received my black belt, my then-sensei put the belt around me, stood back, and declared, “Now you’re ready to learn!”

When he said that way back then, it really struck me. The first mastery in most systems of life is mastery over the basic principles that uphold the entire enterprise. This principle holds true for Hoodoo as well. You can use herbs in countless ways, from candle work to making a healing tea for a bad cold. But regardless of the method, understanding correspondences, substitutions, etc., is crucial. The knowledge of these fundamentals about herbs is the foundation for a world of possibilities.

Anyone taking my intro courses WILL get a firm foundation in the art and practice of Hoodoo, a foundation you can carry into just about any other modality of occult practice and make it work for you. You can go as far and wide as you want, but what you learn from me will keep roots under your feet (pun intended!), so your practice begins with a depth seldom found elsewhere. This is my commitment to my students and their development.

The next cohort of rootworkers-in-training begins on April 22. If you haven’t studied Hoodoo but would like to or know a little bit about it but would like to learn more, I warmly invite you to join us. You’ll be glad you did!   

SHADOW WORK: SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

Watch the stars spark the sky makes me wonder

Who’s looking down

There don’t seem to be any angels

Only devils hanging around

I close my eyes and try to find the courage to

Move in the dark

I know that I’ll find my way

‘Cause Music is never too far

“Zachary Ross and Desolation Angels”

I know shadow work is one of those phrases that gets bandied around carelessly, often without any indication of where it came from. Without going into that too much, I will say that much of the concept has its roots in Jungian Psychology. Jung took seriously the spiritual nature of humanity as part of the human psychology and what can lead to mental illness.

Today I am going to teach by telling a story. It is about an earlier time of my life, over twenty years ago. It was a difficult time. A series of misfortunes happened that caused triggered an intense blow to my mental health. As fate (or God?) would have it, I was driving into the parking garage for work and this parking attendant I befriended stopped me. He took a long, concerned look and asked me if I was okay. I told him I wasn’t. He nodded sagely, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a CD. He told me that the man on the cover was his cousin, and that something told him I needed to hear the music. I was puzzled, but something made me accept his gift. Of course, it took several things to dig myself out of that dark place. But I listened to that CD every day, sometimes several times a day, for that entire year.

Shadow work is important. Facing the bottom-of-the-barrel aspects of who we are and why we do messed up stuff is important. But I have always felt that the negativity of what we go through in life is most damaging because those things cause us more than anything to doubt ourselves on a deep level. That doubt can take on a life of its own and twist us to become very unkind and judgmental on ourselves. It is then only natural that this shadow-response become externalized. Externalizing it lessens some of the pain. But we don’t find any healing that way. We get in a psycho-spiritual rut.

Coretta Scott King, fearless social justice advocate and wife of the late Dr. King, was asked before her death what she felt was most missing in our world. She responded that the thing she saw most missing at the end of her life was compassion.

Compassion, for me, is rooted in my ability to see myself in others. To see someone’s struggle and remember my own. And in that remembering, to recall all the people in my life who were merciful, loving and most importantly did not give up on me when I thought I might give up on myself and life itself. I can look back on that fateful day over twenty years ago and look upon my younger self with kindness and, as Dr. Howard Thurman always said, “with quiet eyes.”

If I could talk with my twenty-something self going through that dark time, I would say

I know you’re suffering.

I know you don’t see any hope or light,

And that God feels so far away,

But hold on

Listen to Dad; he loves you so much!

I am you, and you are me

There’s no judgment, only Love;

Love is with you in so many people around you

Even though you can’t see it.

I am many things, and life turns out pretty good for us

But we cannot be like this if you give up.

I love you, and you’re gonna be okay, someday.

I end with the refrain from “No Worries”:

When I see the smiles on your shining faces

Something tells me we all gonna be fine

We aint got no worries child

No worries, no worries…

May it be so. May your shadow work teach you kindness to yourself.

ON DISCOURAGEMENT

Everybody is prone to getting discouraged at some point. Failure and disappointment are experiences in life, and I don’t think it matters who you are or what you do. I was reminded of this this past weekend when I went to and participated in a martial arts tournament. I agree with my Sensei that such events are not about beating anyone as much as the literal event seems to be. They are about proving something to ourselves, those who choose to participate.

Even then, though, things can still not go in our favor. It did not for me. Not only did I not place, but I also got a nice injury! Discouragement set in for a night as I returned home and nursed two wounds: the literal one and the one to my ego. I can cite many reasons I didn’t do well or as I had hoped. But they don’t really matter.

What matters is my plan moving forward. How I am going to dust myself off and get back at it.

I have someone close to me who talked about her days horse-riding. She told me she was thrown from her horse a few times during her training. She said it was scary as hell, and it also fucks with you on a deep level with the fear it leaves you. But she knew that the ONLY option for both her and the horse was for her to get right back up there as soon as possible. Doing anything else would leave an impression within herself of fear and make a mark on the animal’s psyche and ability to bond.

I think of her words often as I walk through my own life. I have been thinking of them even in this American political climate that vacillates between utter despair and the stubborn rise of new forms of evil. It is easy to get discouraged when you look at how broken America feels.

Honestly, My only antidote to this is my study of history. And I do not mean just what I was taught in school. Like most Americans, how American history is taught is pitiful and leaves out the most inspiring parts of who we have been. Let me give just three examples of what I mean:

First up is John Brown. He is a white man who is mentioned in most American history classes when students review American slavery and the Civil War. Most times, he is a footnote, but he is mentioned. He was a white man who not only rejected slavery but put his money where his mouth was and fought against it with his own life. He and Harriett Tubman were very close to collaborating on their attacks against the South, in fact. He is one of a few fascinating characters of history!

Second is Captain Newton (Newt) Knight. He is the man the movie “Free State of Jones” was inspired by. I won’t retell the story, but the short version is he turned against the Confederacy in the middle of the Civil War and led an insurrection that brought together enslaved, freedmen, and white Confederate soldiers, annexing portions of the South and weakening the Confederacy’s efforts to create a separate America. He also eventually married an African American woman, which was still pretty unheard of and controversial then (major understatement there!). He is a walking example of a white man, the most privileged of us, saying no to tyranny and doing something about it.

White women were no less forceful in their representation either. I would be remiss if I did not mention Lydia Marie Childs. She was the writer and songstress of the children’s song “Over the River and Through the Woods.” But she was far more. She was all at the same time an Abolitionist, Women’s Right Advocate (especially voting rights) and pro-Native American. She never stopped being outspoken about any of these causes. She continued even after the white American establishment blacklisted her in the publishing world, so her literary work never saw the light of day in a book.

The key to injustice, then and now, is for everyone to choose to pay the price for justice together. It is not enough for those oppressed to do it. The system will not change. It takes the consciousness shift that every single one of us is damaged by oppression if one of us is. Dr. King said this as a core teaching when he asserted, “All I'm saying is simply this: that all mankind is tied together; all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of identity. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

How do we combat discouragement? We start by learning our shared history. Learning it gives us something we seldom have, as Americans: the wisdom of context. Most of what we see in our country is part of a pattern of cycles that has gone on since America was founded as a country. These patterns are consistent, even if this current manifestation of it is unsettling and unpleasant to live through. I have given just three examples of people who stood against this tide. There are more. Our mission is to remember this, should we choose to accept it.   

THE BLACK MAN: WHO HE IS?

As the title of this post suggests, I am dipping my toes into the broad and deep cultural matrix of African American spiritual culture and expression. This post also honors Black History Month as it nears its end for this year.

I have recently had conversations about the elusive and mysterious figure known as the Black Man of the Crossroads. His origins are shrouded in lots of unknowns, different folk American traditions, and, I think, various groupings of us around the country. I also want to be upfront and honest that I know little about his origin. I don’t think anyone does at this point. Much more was probably known from elders who have long passed. And maybe some Hoodoo families have carried on traditions they keep within their family. That’s always possible when we are talking about Hoodoo in America.

I can see, though, that because it is so unclear, some people need clarification about how to work with him if he is or aligns with other Crossroads spirits (like Voodoo/Vodun Lwa Papa Legba). In some cases, if there is any danger in working with a spirit we know so little about.

I feel all of that! I had to work through all that to sort out how I would approach him myself, let alone introduce him in my flagship and one-off classes. I teach him based on my own gnosis, spiritual work with him, and as much scholarly and general study as I could find. I have also written extensively on who I think the Black Man is, so I will not belabor that and recommend folks read back on my previous posts.

It is acceptable for people to equate the Black Man with other spirits like Papa Legba, who DOES have spiritual ways of working with him. By spiritual, I mean that working with him does not require initiation into an indigenous tradition. New Orleans Voodoo is an example of this. I believe this to be okay because, from all my years in Lucumi, Espiritismo, Palo, and a few other things, I know that the Crossroads Spirit of these traditions has an energy that is in ANY spiritual tradition that recognizes the crossroads as a locus of power. And no, I am not saying the Black Man, Legba, and Hekate are the same spirit. Not at all. What they are is universal because the crossroads are everywhere on our planet.

My most extensive advice on this issue is if you feel a draw to him, and there’s this sort of uncertainty around how you should approach, then get a reading with someone you trust and ask. I know some teachers discount the role of divination, but I go to people I trust when I need clarity or answers, and they are seldom wrong. The person does not necessarily have to understand what Hoodoo is, but they need to have sight. They need to have a developed enough third eye to perceive a spirit like the Black Man and hear what he has to say about them beginning a devotion to him.

Others of you may take a class like mine where we work with the Black Man and have another spirit come through instead. This has happened a few times in my courses. When it does happen, it makes sense. Either the person is a practitioner of another system, and a similar spirit from that tradition shows up, or the Black Man himself will point to another spirit on that person’s behalf that fits more with that person’s makeup. In both cases, the Black Man is doing precisely what his nature is. He guides and directs a person’s development and ensures they move in the right direction. In all the traditions, I know I have a crossroads spirit that spirit guides. They ease communication. They give clarity, especially if you have a good heart.

Part of the issue we are having generally is that we have become accustomed to neat systems of spirit work that tie everything together nicely. But Hoodoo is anything but neat! Not only that, but a REAL spirit system should teach those who do it that books and even an instructor will only carry you so far. At some point in your development, if you have been diligent in your work and taught well enough to establish a real relationship with Spirit, you will have a spirit-ally who will start teaching you magic only you will know. I have experienced this time and again with my spirits, so much so that by the time I got to teaching about a spirit like the Black Man, I knew that something similar would happen with him. And it has! Students have come to me well after a cohort ends and told me of their forays with the Black Man. Lessons learned. Guidance given. New possibilities to their magic.

You will know the power and depth of a spirit like the Black Man by the fruits he produces in your life. So, take a bite if you choose, and see where the spirit of Hoodoo leads you!

LETTING GO: A HEALING STAGE OF GRIEF

It is normal to feel strong attachments to the physical things someone we love left behind. Those things can quickly become something that we never really put much thought into, toward something that is more precious than gold. But the place to get to with grief is to realize that the one we lost is not in that thing, even for as much as it contains their energy and some part of their essence.

I was painfully reminded of this recently. But first, the back-story: not long after my father died, I went to his wife’s house. I told her that I wanted to go into my dad’s office and take a couple of mementos to have. Instead of her being open to myself OR my siblings, she proceeded to hover over me and question every choice I wanted to make. It was uncomfortable for both of us and brought up a lot of what was toxic in my years-long relationship with her. I eventually put my foot down with her and reminded her that she was not the only one who lost him. That she needed to not be so controlling and allow my father’s children to be able to take a piece of him, to help us deal with the loss.

I only took a couple of my father’s spiritual tools that I know he used because he told me. I took a miniature labyrinth, one of his shirts he was wearing when he died and  a set of meditation balls. The shirt I got made into a Memory Bear. There are people you can send items of your loved one to for them to make into a teddy bear. I cannot tell you how pivotal that bear was to my grief!

Well, a few days ago, I was going through some clothes and putting them away. The items I have from my dad are all on the top of my dresser. It has been a comfort in the years since my father’s death to be able to go to sleep at night and see those things up there. As fate would have it, the dresser was moved away from the wall because of a recent touch up of paint in my apartment.

It was moved away just enough that as I got into putting things away, I suddenly heard two large crashes behind the dresser. I looked down and saw that my father’s meditation balls were on the floor, shattered.

My heart sank. A combination of anger and grief came raging to the fore. I felt like my day went from bad to worst in that moment.

So I sat on my bedside. And I took several deep breaths. And I went inside myself. I connected to my own spirit (which Lucumi and Ifa people call the Ori) and soothed the pain. I started to say to myself that, as sad as this moment was, that my father is not in any of those things. That they are representations of a love that continues beyond the grave. A love deep within me.

The sentences I just wrote don’t do the moment justice. I was sitting there for a minute. A good, long minute. Sometimes you have to. Part of letting go, sometimes, is allowing yourself to feel. To REALLY feel things we tend to avoid, because as I said in my last post, our whole American over-culture is death avoidant. Even the process toward burial has been sanitized and we have been largely removed from interacting with the deceased person’s body until the wake (if we even have one).

There’s no way around grief, except through it. Letting go is a significant part of that. I hope all of us find our way, and remember, through the pain, that the heart of life is still good.

GOOD GRIEF: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE BEREAVEMENT PROCESS

I have been in professional ministry for over 20 years, and more than half of that has been spent serving patients and their families and caregivers in End of Life care. When they learn that that’s my day job, many people immediately say, “Wow…that’s pretty amazing! I could never do that!” This usually makes me chuckle because there are just as many jobs in the world I could never do. But I guess that’s just how it is.

One of the most challenging grief moments I experienced, one that showed me how deep death avoidance can go in a family, was during the last time my father was hospitalized before his death. We all knew he was not doing well by then. But we were not in the same place as a family about handling it. A big chunk of the family was Pentecostal, and their answer to EVERYTHING was to pray, pray, and then give my dad Holy Communion every day (whether he wanted it or not). His pastor never darkened the hospital doorstep, so I became my father's de facto pastor and chaplain.

I did this very reluctantly. My heart was not in doing any spiritual work whatsoever because my heart was breaking at losing one of the most important figures of my life. I remember, most days, it took willpower to keep going to the hospital, wondering if that day would be the last. It eventually came to a head with my family because I was also feeling a lot of emotional distress from being in two significant roles when all I wanted to do was be a son.

So I did what I knew to do. I called a family meeting and declared that I was no longer playing pastor for my dad or family. That if they wanted him to get that sort of spiritual care, they needed to call his pastor and verbally kick that pastor’s ass to get to the hospital and visit his parishioner. That it was unfair to ask me to do it. And that I did not fully agree with the level of anxiety playing itself out with weaponized prayer and overusing the sacrament. I say weaponized prayer because the doctors were telling us his condition was grave. The over-fixation on prayer created familial avoidance where no one was talking about what we were told, let alone beginning to prepare ourselves for losing our family Patriarch.

These are all reasonably typical grief dynamics for a family struggling to accept the loss or impending loss. A lot of people don’t know what to do with their grief. I have heard this and stories similar to my own so much that it made me start to see that, in American culture generally, we are death-avoidant. The epitome of that for me is when I meet a new family that asserts— very strongly—that my hospice colleagues and I are not to tell the patient we work for hospice or that the patient is on hospice themselves. Then I walk into the patient’s room, and the FIRST thing they say is, “So, I know I’m dying. Can we talk about that?”

Like in my family, there is a disconnect. Often, it is well-meaning, too. The adult kids are just being protective of their dying parent’s feelings. They may hold cultural fears that talking about death automatically BRINGS Death faster. Honestly, though, what tends to bring death faster is when everyone in a family is avoiding the talk with their dying loved one, and that loved one knows they are dying. It will make a person start to feel crazy. And sometimes, even when they have lost the ability to communicate verbally, we will see a sudden onset of agitation or restlessness with no medical origin.

This moment can be tricky to move through. It takes finesse. It takes timing and waiting for an opportunity, an opening, by the patient or the family. The chief question on the table is, is the desire to keep the person’s demise that they are already aware of about them, or you? Ironically, most of the dying process can become about the people left behind. To a later point, this makes sense, but in the earlier moments, it must first be about the person dying. Getting there, however, is where hospice clinicians come in.  

All of these issues and more than I can fit in a post are why I made a one-off on this issue. Yes, it is a piece of occult “tech,” but the course shows one way to move through the avoidance toward an approach that honors the person's life. It is the sort of thing, quite honestly, that I wish I had when I was losing people, like the story I told about my dad. It would not have made everything better or spared me my grief. It would have given me proverbial bread and food for the journey, a net to catch the broken pieces of my heart. I, therefore, commend this course to you and encourage you to take it for a whirl if you have this need in your life or expertise. The class can be found here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/good-grief-a-hoodoo-inspired-way-to-move-forward-after-death-comes/.

In the unfortunate losses of your life, may you grieve well.

A REVIEW OF BLUE TIGER’S EYE TAROT

Hey Folx!

I have known Kelly Morris for a few years as we traffic in some of the same spiritual circles. I wanted to write this review of her work and business based on my direct experience with her.

So, I came to Kelly with a particular issue. It was something that, knowing some of her spirituality and practice, I knew she would be helpful with. But as can often be the case with us readers, people come with whatever they come with, but because we work with spirits, they run the show! This was the case with my reading, where even though my questions were eventually answered, Kelly had to focus on other more pressing issues my spirits and hers brought up. What this means is I got the REAL GUIDANCE I needed to get. And it was precisely that. She pointed to more critical pieces of my development with my ancestors and spirit guides that required more attention. That kind of 411 is mission-critical for someone like me because my ancestors and spirit guides are the foundation of my practice and faith. If something needs to be fixed with them, my spiritual house gets wonky. So, I am beyond grateful that she identified those issues.

The other impressive thing about her reading style that I much enjoyed was how deeply she was able to go. Kelly could see the issues and struggles I have had for a long time. She could see them and identify how they connect to what I am trying to do as a worker and priest across my traditions. She could see the web of connections and ensure I got everything necessary there. I have had readings from a few different people over time, and most could not do this. Most readers I have gone to are general in their insights. They can only touch the surface. But Kelly was able to go deep, and I appreciate that.

Finally, and perhaps most important for people to know, is the fact that I believe Kelly can help people gain insight and find what they need to heal deeper ancestral wounds. This is work even less people are capable of identifying. Readers must be able to see on a deep level, not only me and my practice but also how it connects to what someone’s ancestors have been through. Kelly was able to identify this in my family line and all the “ancestral cancers” that follow my family and me that I am primarily tasked with healing. This is not work for the faint of heart. I know it was also not easy for her to give some of the messages to me, but I admire her courage for still doing that. A million thank yous to you, my dear.

Kelly’s site is here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057202189903.

If you are feeling lost, confused, or stuck, book a reading with Blue Tiger’s Eye Tarot. You’ll be glad you did!

A REVIEW OF JACK GRAYLE’S PGM PRAXIS CLASS

Hey Everyone!

I have spoken numerous times about this class. I have taken everything Jack teaches except his more one-off-styled class. This class and Hail Hekate were game-changers for me. I tried other teacher’s methods and did not connect to them. Nothing was wrong with the others, but the methods were less grounded in tradition. Or they were not as ritual-based as PGM Praxis was.

One of many things I love about PGM Praxis, perhaps more than most other classes I have taken, is its endless utility. The utility is not a “use it all at once” one. It is the kind where you study intensely with Jack for a year, then find yourself days, weeks, months, even a few years after coming back to the material as life presents its vicissitudes to you. I have used this class’s material for everything from putting a child molester behind bars to healing emotional wounds to procuring spirit allies who help me do the PGM work even more effectively.

This class is where you can learn its tech and build an entire practice around it just by doing PGM work. We are practitioners across several modalities, but some prefer a deep focus. With this class, you can decipher the spells in the PGM. With it, you can take care of many of life’s challenges and what I call as a rootworker crossed conditions. The way you are taught by Jack, even if something is NOT explicitly accounted for in the PGM, you will learn to jailbreak the ancient spells to craft exactly what you need. That is, after all, what those first Late Antiquity PGM Sorcerors did themselves.

So do yourself a huge favor to your craft and hop on into PGM Praxis. The spirits of Late Antiquity are ready for your call!

THE CHAIN OF MANIFESTATION: A SPIRITIST PHENOMENON

Espiritismo is a part of my practice that I have been at for many years. My mom took me to an actual séance many years before I knew this. It was at a Spiritualist Church that met in an upper room. I do not remember all the details of that night super well. But the one thing I remember like yesterday was when they split the people up. I had to sit with someone other than my mom. The facilitator then took us through a spiritual exercise to open our minds and spirits as we sat with a stranger. Then, we had to close our eyes and try to describe the person’s home.

I did that, down to the kind of carpet the guy had. He looked at me, part speechless, part scared to death! I remember the facilitator saying something to him about the power and purity of kids. I didn’t understand most of what was talked about, but I knew I had some ability to see. That was my very first experience of any of this.

When you enter certain Derived African Traditions, Spiritism is the primary way many spiritual houses help those in the house develop relationships with people’s ancestors and ancestral guides. Every single espiritista develops and grows differently and at different paces. It should never be a game or competition because we all (should) understand that we have different gifts and abilities with our spirits that are as unique in how they work as our fingerprints!

There’s this thing you start to experience, though, and that’s what my post is about today. When you are in misas (basically our equivalent of a séance), you begin to notice that one person will receive a message or see something, and then another person seems to pick up that message and see or hear more. This can go on for several minutes with one issue, where the mediums in the room all start to see with increasing clarity whatever the subject is for someone in the room. I call that the “chain of manifestation.” The chain sounds heavy and binding, but I do not intend that. I use chain because, since I have experienced it myself, it always feels like a swift, energetic connection to the initial person having the vision that grows like a rapidly blossoming flower.

What is also cool about it is those less developed mediums (usually because they are new) will begin to ride these same waves. The ability to ride the wave or receive nothing has very much to do with the degree to which you trust yourself. If you have a lot of self-doubt, if too many people along your path have made you feel like you’re worthless, it will be harder for you. More challenging but NOT impossible.

You see, the beauty of Spiritism in any form is that it is our birthright. Every human being has ancestors and ancestral guides, every one of us. We are born with them. We chose them before we came here from wherever we were. So even the oppressive words of others cannot snuff that divine light. My road toward development in this part of my practice was complex and challenging. I had toxic elders. I had people who flat-out taught me wrong stuff. I even had people tell me to throw certain ones of my spirits away.

But not one of them succeeded in stopping my development. They failed because my spirits were several steps ahead of all that drama. And I am not unique. I have heard this same thing from others. But it can take time to recognize the master plan that our spirits have. Sometimes, we will only know why they do something well after the fact. As I have often said, so many of us are eager to learn about fancy, exotic spirits from cultures we don’t even know when we have some of the most potent spirits we could ever imagine in our blood and bones. We are the ancestor altar.

I’m writing about this lesser-known part of espiritismo because it has also come my way that American Spiritualism (a related but different branch of Spiritism) is on the wane. Like other organized religious groups in America, it has struggled to remain relevant to the newer and younger generations. Sure, people like Theresa Caputo can sometimes get people’s attention. Still, some spiritualist friends have told me there is a rigidity in how the Old Guard holds to the tradition that makes it unattractive to the newer folx.

I find that ironic. It’s ironic to me because if you study the life and teachings of Allan Kardec, you can see that there was an experimental, pioneering aspect to what the Good Spirits did through him and those first spiritists. They received the message alright, but it is entirely different than translating that message into an easily reproduced practice. The very nature of Spiritism is to have a pioneering spirit and seek to convey the message of it for the present age. Spiritual phenomena like the “chain of manifestation” drive home this point to me and continually remind me that, as a medium, I am not in control. I am doing my best to open myself to Spirit so what needs to be said and done gets said and done. It is the spirits of the people gathered with me making that chain to come forth and guide us. I can see, however, that there is a tension between this movement of Spirit and pray that the tension becomes a creative one, propelling espiritismo in all its forms into the future while it honors its pioneering past.

A REVIEW OF AZARIEL FLAME’S “The Art Of Sigil Craft: Sigils, Servitors, And Hypersigils Master Class”

It is not very often that I have time to take another occultist’s classes, just because life gets hectic as a business owner and teacher. But I made the acquaintance of Mr. Flame and, after looking through his online shop, became quite curious about his class on chaos magic. I do not consider myself a strong chaos magician, mainly because I have not found a book or method that makes the practice work well for me.

That was until I took Azariel’s class! I was impressed by two things he does. One is that he packs much information in a little over three hours. And when I say large, I mean LARGE. As the namesake title suggests, we went over sigils, servitors, and hypersigils and the general conditions to use them. Unlike other things I read or studied, Azariel makes such your sigil crafting is deeply grounded. He does not give one way to do this (then it wouldn’t be chaos magic!). He instead offers examples and invites you to piece together what works for you. Perhaps the most novel is his teaching that a novena—usually a tool of Catholic devotional piety—can “power” a sigil or servitor. By making this distinction (something I have never seen anyone else do), he shows a clear path toward apprehending the power of sigils so they work for you without forcing you into a box you would rather not be in.

The second of many gifts the class gives is around how what he teaches about sigilcraft in chaos magic is something that can be its self-contained practice. In other words, you don’t have to be or study anything else. The practice he lays out is something a person can use to improve their life with the tools of chaos magic alone. I like this level of utility because not everyone is called to or feels comfortable practicing multiple traditions. Some people are also very focused, meaning they resonate with a specific way of working and stick to it, often with excellent results. I teach in this fashion, presenting Hoodoo systems as their own self-contained thing so people do not feel pressure to become something they don’t want to be.

This is a course where you cannot go wrong. Even if you have no interest in doing chaos magic, I encourage taking the course to learn a clear method of how it can be done. I think it’s always best to understand how different people do the same thing so that you can appreciate your personalized way even more. In the end, this is something Azariel accomplished.

So, if you are looking for a different purpose or perhaps a new direction, you can’t go wrong taking this course! I am still determining when Azariel will teach it next, but you can find the website to sign up here: https://mysticflame.myecomshop.com/product/sigils-servitors-and-hypersigils-class/.

Enjoy!  

REMINDER: WORKING THE SPIRIT 2 IS STILL ON AND POPPIN!

Hi Everyone!

I have been writing much more than usual, and wanted to lift up one more time my current flagship course, “Working the Spirit 2,” which is been going on for roughly a couple of weeks now.

I have spoken about this class a few times, but there has been a particular issue that’s come up that I wanted to address today. Many have reached out interested, but assumed they could not take Spirit 2 because it is an advanced class. None times out of ten, when I chat with people about their background, I find out that Hoodoo is not their first or only practice. That they have other things they have been doing for years.

This is a good thing as regards taking this class! The only reason I placed a prerequisite on it is because if a person has NO other practice, diving into advanced Hoodoo will be overwhelming. I myself felt that way a few times when I started doing Hoodoo years ago and tried to learn more advanced stuff from teachers who did not organize or teach well. People who DO have prior practices tend to have an easier time with the advanced material because the concepts of it more or less are parallel across traditions. There are rarely things so foreign from one practice to another that a person can’t get it.

Continuing along these lines, if you have some prior experience, you will be able not only take this class, but also absorb the material of the other two courses in this three-part series. I designed them so that they did not need to go in a specific order. The intro course is an intro simply because I wanted people to have the information in that course up front, especially if they are new to Hoodoo or magic period. Working the Roots gives that foundation that makes it easy to spring into other areas and focuses after.

So please, do not let the fact that you haven’t studied Hoodoo in depth keep you from learning it, or even starting your journey into it with Working the Spirit! You also have me as the instructor, and I will always do my best to alleviate confusion and cultivate and sustain a nurturing learning environment for us all.

There is still time to join the class, if you haven’t before. I would love to have you!

The link to the class is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/working-the-spirit-the-advanced-art-of-rootwork-part-2/.

THURSDAY’S NEW CLASS ALERT: OUT OF THIN AIR

Hi Folx!

This course came about after I created my “Portable Wonders” class, where I began toying with connecting Hoodoo to the Elements. This class continues those thoughts, focusing exclusively on one element. We again return to the spirits of the 6/7 Books of Moses, which contain Aerial Spirits with specific abilities and ways in which they help the one who calls on them.

Also, like before, we begin by acquainting ourselves with them and learning how to conjure them. We always start such work by establishing a sorcerous relationship and pact, so they will come when called and assist us and others as needed. Yes, you heard right—you can connect with these spirits and broker assistance for people other than yourselves. That is some serious “replay value” right there!

Unlike some of my other spirit-based classes, I also discuss how to maintain the relationship with the spirits. Many people teaching spirit work do not give those keys to people, and the lack of that knowledge can make the difference between consistent results and repeated failures.

These spirits and this class work a lot with the Mind. People often reach out to me and ask how they can push someone to do something. Many do not understand that any coercion work is engaging in a war of your Mind with your target’s Mind. This magic is difficult, even with the spirits' assistance. So, it is best to have a strong practice behind what you do; this class goes a long way toward that. While the class does not go deep into this aspect, this Hoodoo Air Magic could be jailbroken to alleviate negative conditions or strengthen positive ones, such as creating a mojo hand for mental peace and strength, conjuring one of the Aerial Spirits to oversee this energy into someone’s life.

May this class be a breath of fresh air to your practice and give you more fantastic tools to influence the Mind! The link to the class is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/out-of-thin-air/.

WEDNESDAY’S NEW CLASS ALERT: HOODOO CONGO FOOT TRACK MAGIC

Hi Beloveds!

Happy Hump Day! This new one-off course focuses on what some people call “dirt sorcery,” although the sorcery of it is in the specific context of Hoodoo. Whenever I think of Foot Track magic, I know this is one of the most substantial remnants of Congo African spirituality, which is still a part of Hoodoo. This is a place in the practice, both in Hoodoo and related ATRs, where dirt is understood to be a substantial energetic container for the energy or spirit of a place.

Dirts also serve myriad purposes! They can be a battery for working. They can be a way to deploy an aggressive boneyard spirit against an enemy. But as I teach here, they can ALSO be used to bring healing, light, and positivity to a negative situation. I have seen no one suggest this last possibility until now, and it is overdue. There is a focus on baneful workings from teachers and books sometimes that needs to be more balanced. Those who teach must show other ways of thinking, even if they deviate from the norm. In this class, you can taste the fruits of one way of doing this!

Finally, and I say this as a point for deeper reflection related to Congo spiritualities, dirt is generally symbolic of the universe itself. The dirt and other materia used to create items of power are understood to be a microcosm of how the universe functions. So, when doing this work, you are tapping into that power, too.

I hope this class strengthens your arsenal of tools to defend and fight for yourself and those around you who need the help. The link to the class is here: https://www.theblackthorneschool.com/courses/hoodoocongo/.