Conjure Using Skulls and Bones

             What is it that you think of when you hear the word SKULL? What type of images or scenery pop into your head when you hear the word? Skulls and bones have a lot of meanings and uses in the world of Witchcraft and Conjure. They are truly versatile items can have been used in Healing rites, as well as for crossing and even to bring death to individuals. They are used on Ancestral altars and shrines to invoke the spirits and entice the Ancestors to play as well as being a symbol of the Ghede Loa Family. So let’s get down and dirty in the world of Skulls and Bones, and how they are used in Witchcraft and Conjure.

            Skulls and Bones have a long history of being used in Witchcraft and Conjure. Skulls have this eerie energy about them. Most closely associated with death and the grave, it’s no shock they are used a lot in Necromantic practices. Keep in mind you don’t have to use real skulls, you can use glass, crystal, or even plastic ones, but if you can always choose real over fake. I DO NOT by any means want you to go dig up any graves and steal skulls or bones because this is of course illegal and is very disrespectful and may even get you followed by that Spirit, however sometimes you can find dead animals along the road, or in the woods and there is nothing wrong with taking the bones or skull, ALWAYS PRACTICE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS such as wearing gloves and a hospital mask wouldn’t hurt either. ALWAYS WASH AND SANTIZE YOUR HANDS AFTERWARDS!!! Also always wash and sanitize any animal part you find. REMEMBER SAFETY FIRST!!! Usually what I do is bury them in my yard for 4-5 months and then dig them up and clean them. This allows for the natural cleaning process to take place and gets rid of any leftover animal parts that may still be on or around the Skulls and Bones. You could also use the bones from food you cook or eat, such as chicken or turkey. Clean them good just like any other bones.

            Skulls and bones are with us from the time we are born til they decompose into the earth or are destroyed by other means. This means they are touched by blood, and other body fluids. This fills them with Ashe. This is why Skulls and Bones are good tools to have in your practices. Depending on the life of the creature from whence the skull or bones came can also add power and energy to them. For example, a bone taken from a Familiar that has protected and guarded you or from someone such as a cop or military individual will have some extra Protection Ashe connected with it. I also have on my Ancestral Altar glass skulls filled with some ash from my grandmother and a picture as well as some dirt from the grave her ashes were buried in. This is a practice I picked up from my grandmother and still continue to use. On my altar at my Fet Ghede I have a Deer Skull with the Ghede Veve drawn upon it. I give offerings to it and use it to connect with the Ghede and Ancestors. The most common practice using bones is a Protection Talisman call the Cross Bones Charm. It’s believed that by wearing this charm all evil and negativity is absorbed into the bones and when its filled up it will break. I will be telling you how to make these Talismans later on. It’s important that you feed your bones so they keep their energies at peak performance. This is another ritual I will be sharing with you later on, but it’s very important for you to do.

            As you can see there are so many uses for Skulls and Bones, and so many ways to employ them. Following this you will find several workings and Conjure involving the use of Skulls and Bones. I hope this has been helpful for you and use the workings and Conjure here to enhance your own practices and workings!! Happy Conjuring my Witches and Conjurors!!

 

Cross Bone Charm

            This charm is used for protection of the person wearing it. It must been worn under your clothes and no one else may touch it once it is crafted and sealed. This is so no one else’s energies get attached to it. If someone else in fact touches your talisman it should be destroyed and a new one made. This unlike most Bone workings and conjure doesn’t need to be feed. The energy that is sealed into it gives it all the food and energy it will need until its purpose it served.

·         2 Slender Bones

·         Red Yarn or String

·         1 Red Candle

·         Protection Oil and Powder

·         Sharp Pin

Begin by carving your name and birthday into the candle. Anoint the candle with oil and roll in the powder. Light the candle and say: “Candle of brightest red, burning bright with a flaming end. I call upon your energies and power, this right and ready hour. Bring to this working your protection and strength.” Place one bone over the other and begin to bind the bones together using the red string and repeat as you bind them together: “Protection from all evil is what you’ll do, negativity and sorcery too. When you are filled and can’t hold on to more, break from these bindings and let the Ashe soar.” Using the pin, prick the ring finger on your left hand and place a few drops of blood onto the talisman. Pick up the candle and pour some wax drippings onto the talisman and say: “I seal this talisman and bind it to me, with the candle wax I seal the wanga in thee”. Allow the talisman to sit next to the candle until it burns out and then put the Cross Bone Charm on.

When the charm breaks take it to a crossroad and bury it there. Never dig it up again or look back on it or you will undo the working. Make yourself a new and repeat as needed. This is a very simple yet powerful conjure and I am never without one. Also try adding a alligator foot to the charm for some extra Protection energy.

 

Ancestral Altar Skulls

            On my altar as previously stated I have several glass skull jars with remains from my Ancestors. I use these to connect with my ancestors as well as giving them offerings connected with my ancestors. For example I have a pack of cigarettes next to a skull filled with my grandmothers ashes because she was never without her smokes. I often will burn a green candle, green being her favorite color, and a white candle, used in Honouring, on the skull to feed my grandmother and keep her well energized. This is done for a number of reasons, but I do it because I often go to my Ancestors for guidance and help and I want them to be as strong as they can so they can properly help and guide me.

·         Skull jar or Container

·         Some Ancestral remains or Grave Dirt

·         Red Candle

·         Sharp Pin

Begin by pricking the ring finger of the left hand. Anoint the candle with the blood. Fill the container with the dirt and adhere the candle to the top of it. Light the candle and say: “(Name of Ancestor) come to me, I wish to Honour thee, Come Ancestor, dearly departed (Relative). With this skull filled with your energies and Ashe, I represent you. All that happens to it will happen to you. This vessel represents you and connected solely to you”. Allow the candle to burn out completely. Once this is done the Conjure is sealed.

To add a little extra something to the working bury it or sit it on the grave site of the relative over night during a Full Moon. Never allow anyone to disrespect or abuse the vessel. Give it offerings and treat it like it’s your Ancestor because it is.

Skull Candle Healing Spell

            Skulls have been used for healing as well as protection. This could be because the skull holds the brain which is what causes your body to be able to fight off and heal injuries done to it. This is a spell my grandmother taught me that I have used ever since because it works.

·         1 white skull candle

·         Healing oil and powder

·         Writing tool

·         Picture of Person needing healing

·         Optional: Hair or Nail clippings

 

Begin this spell by anointing the candle with oil. Write the name of the person and their birthday on the back of the picture. Sit the candle on top of the picture and make a ring around them using the powder. Place the hair or nails on top of the powder forming a circle. Light the candle and say: “By the flame burning bright, melting away the wax out of sight. Disease, illness, sickness and pain, melt away with this candles flame”. Allow the candle to burn out and then take the remaining wax, picture, and powder to a running stream and throw it into the water and say: “Water flow and take with you all sickness, illness, and disease”.

 

            Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope I have been able to help you out. Use these working as an outline or use them as they are.

                                     

                                                                                                                   Phoenyx

                                                                                                                   Copyright 2014

Mirror Reversal Spell

This spell is used to reverse harmful magick back to the sender. It’s pretty easy and the items can be easily attained from a craft store. This spell utilizes small mirror to reflect, Smudge to cleanse and purify, and Cascarilla Powder to Protect. So with this spell you not only reverse the magick, but you also cleanse and reinforce the protection around your house so the evil can’t get back in. This is best done on a night between the New and Full Moon.

·       At least 4 small mirrors

·       Cascarilla powder

·       Smudge and Shell

·       Feather

·       Enough Tea lights for each room of your house

·       Tobacco

 

Begin by placing a tea light in each room of your house including basements and attics if you have one. Negativity and evil loves dark and dampy places, anywhere there is clutter. Make sure you open the back door or windows, I usually open up a window in each room, this is done so the negative can be pushed out of the house. Now light the smudge and begin at your back door and walk counter clockwise around your house. As you enter each room light the candle and say: “I invite the Light of the Great Spirit in this room and House, may nothing unwanted remain here.” Walk counter clockwise around the room three times and then continue to the next. When each room is done and you return to the back door walk outside with the mirrors and powder. Dig a shallow hole eat the four quarter of your property. Hold up a mirror facing away from you and say: “Evil magick I now reflect, away from me and my property, return to your sender and stay away.” Put a pinch of tobacco in the hole as an offering to the Sacred Direction along with the mirror and the Cascarilla Powder and cover the hole. Do this for each corner and when you’re finished return inside. Allow the candles to burn themselves out but always keep an eye on them and use safety precautions. When the candles are done put them in a bag and dispose of them off your property. Ever Full Moon take a pinch of Protection Powder and sprinkle it at the spot where the mirrors are to keep the spell going.

                                                     Brandon Roberts (Phoenyx)

                                                                                  Copyright 2014

 

New Orleans Voodoo Versus Conjure(Hoodoo)

          Good Afternoon Everyone! I was asked to write an article to explain the difference between New Orleans Voodoo, commonly abbreviated as N.O.V, and Conjure, more commonly called Hoodoo. Being a practitioner of both N.O.V and Conjure, I have come across this question a lot, and while the answer is simple, it’s also very complicated. So I hope I am able to fully explain it.

 

New Orleans Voodoo

            New Orleans Voodoo is a religion that pulls its beliefs from a few of the major culture backgrounds that call New Orleans home. Its core practices are mainly that of Native American and African spirituality with Catholicism blended in. When slaves were forced to leave their homelands with nothing but the clothes on their backs, one of the only things they had was their religion and spiritual practices. However the owners were usually strict Catholic or Christians and forbid the practice of their religions out of fear, so they adapted Catholic overtones to hide their real practices. This of course carried over to N.O.V and is still practiced today. For example I use an image of St Peter to represent Papa Legba on my shrine. While it is clearly a photo of St. Peter when I see it, I see Papa Legba and address it as such. Now I will never use this particular image to represent anyone else, I even have a different picture of St. Peter to represent him, but this is an example of how this is still used today.

            Most hear Voodoo and get very scared and put off by it, some due to misinformation, some due to the fact that a lot about N.O.V is still kept pretty well guarded and secret amongst its practitioners. Until recent years N.O.V and Conjure was kept amongst families and passed down from parents to children. It’s how it was able to stay alive. Voodoo is considered to be a Living Religion, its changes and grows as the people who practice it do. There is a very important practice of Ancestor Honoring in N.O.V, all Native American Spiritual practices and a lot of African Religion and Spiritual practices as well, put importance on Honoring and Worshiping of the Ancestors. These were the teachers and wise people of tribes and villages and now have knowledge of the other side, which makes them even more knowledgeable. Since they are usually family they are more than willing to guide and protect us as compared to other spirits on whom we are just getting to know.

            From what I was taught in N.O.V there is one Creator whether it be a God, a Goddess, or as I call it The Great Spirit, there is only one. However the Creator is constantly expanding the Universe and doesn’t really concern themselves with us, so these other Spirits were put here to help us with our daily concerns, prayers, and other needs. Each one was gifted with powerful abilities to help us, but there were special ways to call upon their help that must be observed before they are able to come and help. From what I understand this is also a common belief in Haitian Vodou as well. Each Spirit has its own symbols, colors, special food, and other offerings that are used to attract the Spirit and entice them to help. Along with prayer and songs, as well as dance, we are able to call upon these Spirits to aid us, and if they approve of our request they will help, if not then there is a reason for them not to help. The main thing to remember is N.O.V is a religion not a magickal practice.

 

Conjure a.k.a Hoodoo

            Conjure simple put is Magick. It comes from a lot of different backgrounds and Folk Traditions and blends them so beautifully together that they work in harmony with each other.  “Voodoo Dolls” or Poppets, as they are originally called, come from European Witches. They were used for healing, and giving blessings, as well as giving certain magickal gifts. Hollywood is what turned them into what people call “Voodoo Dolls” today. Praying to the Saints comes from Catholicism and Voodoo, lighting candles and petitioning the Saints is a common practice amongst Catholic Conjure Men and Women, while using roots, bones, and stones, as well as herbs and other curios is common amongst Native American tribes. Some who may come from a more Hispanic background may find it reassuring that a lot of Orisha, from Santeria practices, are called on for aid in Conjure as well. Conjure can be so versatile and you can enhance any Spiritual Practice or Religion with it. This is why I feel Conjure is a truly unique and beautiful way of life really, at least for me it is, and why I feel it is Alive and growing, because it’s so easily adapted into your life.

            Words of Warning, there are a lot of people out there who will make outrageous claims and state that everyone besides them are liars and tricksters. A good Warning sign of a fraud is some who tells you that everyone is lying and can’t really prove it other than them saying. Recently a lot of this has been happening and it truly saddens me because these people often have others who are learning from them and the information they are “teaching” is either very false or stolen from others and claimed as their own. Conjure is complex and certain rules must be followed or it won’t work and you may even disrespect the Spirit you are trying to Honor and that is not good. So seek out sources with high reputations and books that have great reviews. Really research before you trusts a source. I would even research everything you read in this article and cross reference it.

 So in conclusion to this article I want to point out a few things.

1.     New Orleans Voodoo is a religion, not a magickal practice.

2.     Conjure is a magickal blend of Folk Magick Traditions

3.     RESEARCH!!!! RESEARCH!!! RESEARH!!!!

Hope this article has taught you a thing or two and feel free to leave comments!!

                                                                            Brandon Roberts (Phoenyx)

                                                                                                      Copyright 2014

Spirit Dolls

                Good Afternoon Everyone! So I have seen a lot of questions about Spirit Dolls lately and people wanting to know how to properly use them. Each one must be prepared and activated ritually before it will be ready for use. With this post I hope to educate and help you understand what a Spirit Doll is and how to properly prepare and activate your Spirit Doll. I was taught a by a primary Native conjure Woman so my practices and beliefs reflect it. However you can alter this to fit your own beliefs and Spiritual Practice.

 

Spirit Dolls

          Okay so first things first, Spirit Dolls. There are two types of Spirit Dolls, ones to represent the Spirit of a Deity and Guides such as, Ancestors, Saints, Loa or Lwa, Orisha, and any other Deity Spirit, or Guardians. The second type of Doll Conjure is used to “trap” spirits or bind them to the doll. I would never advise anyone to attempt to bind any spirit to a doll and from what I was taught this isn’t possible to do, but still something I feel needs to be mentioned to fully educate on the subject. So there will not be any rituals or spells in this blog about such. Spirit Dolls can be made out of just about anything including sticks, cloth, clay, or even string, and are adorn with symbols, trinkets, and charms that represent the spirit that you wish to work with, for example I have a Spirit Doll made from taking Willow Tree Branches and tying them together with blue and white string to form a figure. I made a white clay face for it and glued it on to the string figure. I took white cloth and made a head wrap. I then made a dress from blue and white fabric and made a snake from clay and wrapped it around the doll. I use this doll to represent Marie Leveau on Altar. Spirit Dolls can be as elaborate or as simple as you would like as long as it represent the spirit they are meant to be. Spirit Dolls represent active and “alive” spirits, I used the word alive to mean that the spirits are not actually living but to mean the spirit is able to interact with us as if they were here and alive. After making the doll is must be cleansed and made ready to be used as a physical representation of the Spirit it is intended to be.

 

          One night my grandmother was crafting a Spirit Doll it was quite elaborate from what I remember because she was still making it early the next morning when I was accidently woken up by her. I asked her “ if she was up all night making that doll” and she replied “ Spirit Dolls are best made at night because they aren’t alive yet and if light touches them before they are alive it will blind them and they will not be able to work properly, so I stay up all night to make them so I can finish before the sun comes up.” So this is how I have always prepared them.

 

On the night of a New Moon gather all the items you need to make your Spirit Doll, whether it is clay, string, cloth, or string. Begin to craft your doll from your chosen item into the desired form. Take your time and be creative if you want, just keep in mind the Spirit you wish to represent. When you are finished crafting your doll wrap it in a dark cloth until you are ready to prepare it. The Preparation and Cleansing Ritual can be done anytime between the Full Moon and the New Moon after the Doll is created.

 

Preparation And Cleansing Ritual

·       1 White Candle

·       Smudge and Shell

·       Dish of Pure Water

·       White Cloth

 

Begin by light the white candle and saying:

 

“I call upon the divine cleansing light of the Great Spirit, Creator of all things and Giver of Life. I ask for the ability to cleanse and make ready this doll so it can be a proper vessel for it Deity Spirit.”

 

Pass the doll through the smoke of the smudge as it rises form the shell and say:

 

“By the four sacred direction and the elemental energies of the four quarters, I purify and cleanse this doll of any and all negative energies that ma reside within and make this ready for my Deity Spirit.”

 

Splash the doll with the water and say:

 

“With the waters of Mother Earth I wash away all physical attachments to this doll, so only my Deity Spirit may reside within.”

 

Wrap the doll in the white cloth and put it away so no one else can see or touch it. No one should ever touch your Spirit Dolls besides you; if it happens bury it away from your property at a cross road, or throw into running water away from your property.

 

 

Spirit Doll Awaken Ritual

·       1 red candle

·       Feather

·       Matches

·       Quartz Cluster

·       Smudge and Shell

·       Spirit Doll

·       White Cloth

·       Corn Meal or Nuts

·       Anointing Oil

·       White Devotional Candle

 

Begin by light the red candle and smudge. Put some of the Dragons Blood resin on the charcoal in the censer. Light the white candle. Hold up the doll over the altar and say:

 “Oh Great Spirit, Giver of Life and Creator of the Universe and all Creation. I pray that you bestow on me the powers to charge and activate this Spirit Doll to represent, (Name of Spirit), so I may use it to pay honor and give offering to you.”

          Place the doll upon the Quartz cluster and envision a white light coming from the ground into your legs and out through your hands into the doll and say:

          “By the energies of Mother Earth I charge and activate this Spirit Doll to represent, (Name of Spirit), so I may use it to pay honor and give offering to you.”

          Take three deep breathes in through our nose and exhale through your mouth onto the doll. Take the feather and waft air onto the doll and say:

          “With the breath of life I activate the Spirit of this Doll, (Name of Spirit), I pray that you come and bless this doll with your energies and essences, so I may honor you. Hear my prayer dear spirit, I wish to use this doll to pay honor to and give offerings to you.”

          Anoint the doll with oil and say:

          “With this oil I seal the energies into this doll, no longer a mundane object by a physical manifestation of (Name of Spirit). As I honor this representation, I am actually honoring (Name of Spirit).”

          Place some cornmeal in the center of the cloth along with the spirit doll, this will feed the spirit for the next few days, and wrap them in the cloth. My grandmother told me this is like wrapping the doll into the womb of Mother Earth. Put out the candles and place the doll in a dark place for three days. On the fourth morning take the doll outside at sunrise and unwrap the doll. Hold the doll up to the rising sun and say:

          “Oh Great Spirit, as I reveal the light of life to this doll, I charge it with all the energies and powers of (Name of Spirit).”

Now the doll is ready. Keep it wrapped up when not in use and never let anyone else touch your Spirit Dolls besides you.

 

          I hope this article has answered all the questions that I have been asked and helps with creating your own Spirit Dolls. Remember these aren’t the same as Poppets or “Voodoo Dolls” and aren’t used for magickal workings of any sort. They are vessels used to represent Deity or other Spirits you wish to honor and give offerings too. Happy Conjuring!!

BrandonRoberts (Phoenyx)

copyright 2014