Thursday, July 28, 2022

Jupiter Retrograde in 08° Aries

 


Jupiter Retrograde in 08° Aries 
7/28/22 1:37 PM 
Natural Chart / Whole Houses

Jupiter Retrograde

Jupiter goes retrograde about once a year and generally last anywhere from four to five months. This year, Jupiter Retrograde will take place in Pisces and Aquarius. 

Significant Dates 

  • 7/28/22     Jupiter Retrograde in 08° Aries 
  • 10/27/22   Ingress of Jupiter RX into 00° Pisces 
  • 11/23/22   Jupiter Direct in 28° Pisces 
  • 12/20/22   Ingress of Jupiter into 00° Aries 

When a planet goes retrograde it changes the meaning of that planet in our charts.  Jupiter is known as the Greater Benefic (Venus being the Lesser benefic), and it is the planet of Luck, Expansion, and Optimism.  When Jupiter goes retrograde, it isn't really bad per se, but rather this is a time when we should refrain from taking too many risks, and our optimism should be tempered with a little skepticism. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is..... 

Jupiter Retrograde in Aries 

Some keywords associated with Aries include, but are not limited to ​assertive, strong, initiative, energy, impatient, headstrong, adventure, fearless, leader, pioneer, eager, enthusiastic. 

When Jupiter retrogrades through the fiery sign of Aries, that fire shines a light on our inner selves. We feel compelled to look inward at who we are and to assess if we like what we see and; if not, to strive to improve ourselves in any wat that we can. Jupiter Retrograde in Aries provides the opportunities to grow on an internal level and we often encounter people and events that test how much we have actually grown and evolved. 

To understand how Jupiter Retrograde will affect you on a personal level, you will need to see where 08° Aries falls in your chart. 

  • If your rising sign is Aries, Aries is your 1st  House  
  • If your rising sign is Taurus, Aries is your 12th House 
  • If your rising sign is Gemini, Aries is your 11th House
  • If your rising sign is Cancer, Aries is your 10th House 
  • If your rising sign is Leo, Aries is your 9th House
  • If your rising sign is Virgo, Aries is your 8th House
  • If your rising sign is Libra, Aries is your 7th House 
  • If your rising sign is Scorpio, Aries is your 6th House 
  • If your rising sign is Sagittarius, Aries is your 5th House
  • If your rising sign is Capricorn, Aries is your 4th House 
  • If your rising sign is Aquarius, Aries is your 3rd House 
  • If your rising sign is Pisces, Aries is your 2nd House


Example 

Jupiter Retrograde in Aries and the 6th House 

With Jupiter Retrograde in Aries and the 6th house, you are now eager to find ways in which you can refine and improve your daily routine in a manner that will allow you to grow internally. The urge of the sixth house is "service to others" and so you want to re-view how being of service to others helps you be a better person. 

Aspects 

You will also want to see how Transit Jupiter is interacting with other points and positions in your natal, or birth chart. For example, transit Jupiter at 08° Aries is separating a trine to my Natal MC at 10° Leo. Under this transit, you benefit from being of service to others because other people notice your selflessness and want to reward you for your hard work and selflessness. People generally like you more and want to see you succeed in life. 

How will Jupiter Retrograde affect you?

Carolina Dean 

New Moon in 05° Leo

 


New Moon in 05° Leo 

7/28/22 10:54 AM 

Natural Chart / Whole Houses 


The New Moon in Leo
Leo aligns with the 5th house in the natural chart, this is the area which governs love, children, and creativity. When the moon is in Leo, people are more interested in having fun and less interested in work. They socialize more, date more, and spend more time with friends or at home engaging in some kind of creative hobby. People can be more dramatic and do things in a big, dramatic manner. If they have children, they could spend more time with them. However, if they don't have any children they can get back in touch with their own inner child.
When the New Moon is in Leo this can it indicate the beginning of a new romance, you could start a new hobby or revisit an old one that brings you creative satisfaction; or you could get in touch with your own inner-child.
How to Use New Moon in Leo Energy
  • practice being more confident
  • cultivate pride in one's self
  • make a list of all the things you like about yourself
  • get in touch with your inner child
  • engage in creative play
  • start a hobby or revisit an old one
  • be more affectionate with those you love and care for
  • be more dramatic (but don't over do it)
The House is Where it Happens
The Astrological House in which the New Moon occurs in your Natal Chart gives an indication of the area of life activated by the New Moon and where you can expect to see the energy of the New Moon in Leo to play out. Since the August New Moon occurs in 26° Leo, you would look at your Natal, or Birth Chart to ascertain in what House 26° Leo occurs.
  • If your rising sign is Aries, Leo is your 5th House.
  • If your rising sign is Taurus, Leo is your 4th House.
  • If your rising sign is Gemini, Leo is your 3rd House.
  • If your rising sign is Cancer, Leo is your 2nd House.
  • If your rising sign is Leo, Leo is your 1st House.
  • If your rising sign is Virgo, Leo is your 12th House.
  • If your rising sign is Libra, Leo is your 11th House.
  • If your rising sign is Scorpio, Leo is your 10th House.
  • If your rising sign is Sagittarius, Leo is your 9th House.
  • If your rising sign is Capricorn, Leo is your 8th House.
  • If your rising sign is Aquarius, Leo is your 7th House.
  • If your rising sign is Pisces, Leo is your 6th House.
The Twelve Houses of Life
  1. The self, ego, appearance, initiative, leadership, fresh starts and new beginnings.
  2. Money and material matters.  Your physical environment, income, money, and your sense of self-esteem.
  3. Communication in all its forms (thinking, writing, speaking, etc... ) as well as siblings, local travel, teachers and community events.
  4. Home, privacy, your basic sense of security, your mother, children, and your own ability to nurture others.
  5. Creative expression, drama, attention, love, and romance.
  6. Health and service to others. Your routine, diet, exercise and helpfulness to others.
  7. Marriage, partnerships, and relationships of all kinds.  Contracts, business deals, etc...
  8. Birth, death, sex, other people's money and property.
  9. Expansion, the higher mind, foreign matters (languages, cultures, travel) luck, adventure, risk, philosophy, ethics and morals.
  10. The public, fame, honors, reputation, awards, boundaries, rules, discipline, authority, the father.
  11. Groups of people such as friends and associations, networking, social justice.  Originality, sudden unexpected events, invention, surprises, and all things futuristic.
  12. Endings. Completion, tying up loose ends, old age, karma, making amends, and the afterlife. Imagination, creativity, poetry, and the subconscious mind.
Example
Let us suppose that you have Scorpio Rising, then the New Moon in Leo would occur in your 10th house which governs the public, fame, honors, reputation, awards, boundaries, discipline, and authority. With the new moon in your 10th house, your career is highlighted and there is the possibility of advancement, a change in life direction, or important business with your boss, mentor, or parents. A Raise or promotion is possible.
Aspects
We would also look at the aspect between the New Moon in 38° Leo and other planets in your chart. For example, in my own chart the New Moon at 38° Leo is separating a sextile to my natal Pluto at 3° Libra. Under this aspect, your patience for superficial people and things is at its thinnest. Deep feelings within you are stimulated now and you are more interested in why you feel the way that you feel. You may be drawn into a mystery that you simply must pursue!
- Carolina Dean


Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Book Review: Rosemary's Baby

  • Title: Rosemary’s Baby 
  • Author: Ira Levin
  • Publisher: Random House ©1967
  • Language: English


Rosemary’s Baby centers on a young woman named Rosemary and her experiences living in an old Gothic New York apartment complex with Guy, her struggling actor husband. Before moving into the Bramford, as it is called, they are warned by Hutch (a family friend) about the strange history of the building which includes a high incidence of cannibalism, murder, and witchcraft.

Despite it’s disturbing history the couple decides to move into the Bramford and are quickly befriended by their eccentric neighbors Roman and Minnie Castevet. Though Rosemary wants to have children, Guy would rather wait until he is more successful in his chosen career. Over the course of the story, Guy becomes increasingly attached to the Castevets whereas Rosemary finds their attention somewhat meddlesome and suffocating.

Guy’s career begins to take off after his rival for a small but important part in a play is struck blind and he agrees to conceive a child with Rosemary. Guy and Rosemary plan to attempt to conceive after a romantic dinner one night. However, Rosemary mysteriously passes out shortly after dinner and what follows is a surreal dream which causes Rosemary to question her reality. Shortly thereafter, Rosemary learns that she is pregnant

Several weeks go by whereupon Guy becomes increasingly distant to Rosemary, while she becomes more and more isolated in her apartment with only the Castevets for support. Several weeks pass and Hutch pays Rosemary a visit while Guy is out. Hutch is noticeably alarmed at Rosemary’s change in appearance and through his conversation with her becomes suspicious of Roman and Minnie.

Rosemary receives a warning from Hutch before he falls strangely ill and later dies. She follows the clues left behind by Hutch and confirms her suspicions that the Castevets lead a coven of satanic witches and believes that they intend to sacrifice her child to the devil. What follows is Rosemary’s attempts to protect her child and convince the world that not only do witches exist and are in league with Satan, but they are also after her unborn child.

Truth being stranger than fiction, after the birth of her child, Rosemary discovers to her horror the coven’s true reason for desiring the baby. Though the book’s plot is rather infamous now, owning to the faithful adaptation of the movie and its success, the ending presents a twist of apocalyptic proportions.

At roughly 250 pages Rosemary’s Baby is a quick read. Some characters are more fleshed out than others, with only a minimal back story. The plot is simple and quite compact, albeit somewhat slow at times. Told from Rosemary’s point of view, the plot keeps you guessing as she attempts to unravel the central mystery and the reader often wonders if she has been driven mad by her raging hormones?

Links:


 

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

MIPC: To Raise and Control the Dead

MIPC stands for Magic in Popular Culture and it is a series of posts in which I take a spell, ritual, tradition, or belief from a work of fiction such as television, a book, movies, or a comic book and analyze it against real world magical theory and practices. 

The Spell 



Conspire to obtain an object which belonged to the deceased in life. Secret the object away to a private place where you have erected an altar lit by seven candles and on which rest a large flat stone. Draw a pentagram on the flat-stone in gun powder and lay the object upon it.


When all is ready say these words:

“Spirits of darkness, spirits of pestilence and pain. Hear me now.”

Cut your palm with an athame until you draw blood and let this fall upon the object. Say:

“Hear me….Grant me a soul from the distant shores. My warm blood for the blood frozen forever in his veins. Bring him back to me from the darkness Hear me! Rise up and do my bidding! Rise up and do my bidding!”

The spell results in the physical body of the deceased being reanimated, rising out of the ground and in control of the witch that conjured the dead. 

Dark Shadows (Revival)
Episode 9 Air Date: 3/1/1991

The Analysis

The spell begins with collecting something that belonged to the target of the spell. This is a common practice in magic and is based on contagious magic, that is, that  things once associated are about to affect one another after they are separated. 

Angelique also lights seven candles, these could be associated with the seven planets in classical astrology (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) and the seven days of the week. Alternately, seven is a mystical number associated with good luck and wishes. However, it could also simply be a coincidence that the set director set up seven candles. Either way, seven is a good number. 

The pentagram has long been associated with witches and witchcraft. It is a powerful symbol. In this case, I believe it represents the body of the deceased (head, arms, and legs) similar to the Vitruvian Man. Angelique calls on primal forces to power her spell and including her blood forms a psychic link between her and the deceased. Also blood is associated with life and she wants to bring the dead back to life. However, something more is needed. What Dr. Frankfurter calls "that elusive ingredient ... that spark that is the very breath of life". And so Angelique lights the gunpower on far creating an explosion (divine spark) which is the secret to life itself. Her spell is successful! 

Does this ritual have the potential to work? I would say yes, but not in the manner in which is was depicted within the context of the tv show. Rather than the body, you might be successful in the conjuration of the spirit of the deceased. 

You can increase your chances of success by burning incense that is said to aid in the conjuration of the spirits of the dead (gum arabic resin)  and perform your spell or ritual at certain times of the day or year - such as at midnight or All Hallow's Eve (or both!) 

Finally, if you are uncomfortable with the use of the pentagram or don't feel a connection to that symbol, you can use a Holy Cross which (symbolically) can represent a human body standing straight, legs together, with arms stretched out forming a T shape. 

- Carolina Dean 

Monday, July 25, 2022

Book Review: Beneath a Mountain Moon

 

  • Author: Silver Ravenwolf 
  • Paperback: 360 pages
  • Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; (1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1567187226


Published more than twenty years ago when Silver Ravenwolf was one of Llewellyn’s most successful authors and before the backlash that her non-fiction works brought down on her, Beneath a Mountain Moon was Ravenwolf’s first foray into the genre of magickal realism. It tells the story of Elizabethya Belladonna, a fam-trad witch, who has sporadically come to the town of Whiskey Springs, Pennsylvania over the previous two years to investigate the death of her grandmother and her grandmother’s estranged sister.

As the mystery unwinds we learn that the Belladonna clan has had more than its fair share of accidents, fires, and deaths, including Elizabethya parents, which they have come to believe, are all part of a greater plan by an unknown enemy. Rising to become the head of the Belladonna Family as their matriarch, leader, and protector, Elizabethya must prove that she is worthy of the position by solving the mystery of these murders, reveal the culprit(s), and bring them to justice.

Though she has come to Whiskey Spring alone and with only her own powers to protect her, Elizabethya quickly draws those to her who can help her on her quest in the form of her Protestant Priest neighbor, Lee Becker; Mason, the owner of the local funereal home and amateur historian; and Emma, a 80 year old Pow-Wow healer with more power then even she realizes. In addition, Elizabethya has allies in the spiritual world in the form of two ghosts, the angel of death, and two Goddesses.

While Ravenwolf has been criticized for her non-ficition works, I found the inclusion of real magickal techniques in the book to be both entertaining as well as educational. Although the educational aspects of the story are presented in a realistic manner, some readers may find it somewhat preachy. Ravelwolf does an excellent job of presenting the existence of Pagan deities by having them take active parts in the plot, however I would have liked her to have shown the existence of the Christian god to his believers as well. It seems that in the universe of Beneath a Mountain Moon, the Christian god does not exists. While the book had a great number of characters, I felt that each had a necessary part in the story and that they were not superfluous in anyway. In a few instances I had to backtrack a bit to remember who was who.

Despite its few flaws, I found Beneath a Mountain Moon to be an enjoyable read and would recommend it to any lover of magical fiction, provided you read it for what is it….a fictional magical murder mystery.

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Astrological Weather July 24th to July 30th

 All Times Pacific 


Sunday 

7/24/22 9:27 PM Moon Trine Saturn-     Your feelings and emotion are in positive alignment with your sense of responsibility. There is a genuine balance between your personal life and your professional one. You get more pleasure out of doing your work and see the importance of what it is that you do. You're not so easily distracted now and anything  that you do during this aspect is likely to benefit you in the future.


Monday 

7/25/22 Not Applicable -       


Tuesday

7/26/22 7:54 AM Moon Conjunct Venus-      Under this aspect you feel more sexy, attractive, and charming (because you are). You may draw closer to your friends and lovers now and share a new level of closeness and intimacy. You may also feel more self-indulgent and have a tendency to over indulge in food, drink, or spending money.


Wednesday

7/27/22 1:58 PM Moon Trine Neptune-  Although your personal energy levels may not be at maximum strength, the urge to do good things is strong under this aspect. You are attracted to things of the spirit and spirituality. You may have a mystical experience.      


Thursday

7/28/22 10:55 AM Moon Conjunct Sun (New Moon)-     This is a good time for beginning something new. Look to the Natal House the planets occupy to give you an idea of the area of life affected by this aspect.

Friday 

7/29/22 8:38 AM Moon Square Mars -  You're feeling emotionally frustrated today and it shows. Attempts at expressing your feelings comes out wrong and ticks people off. You could say something that you regret later. Better to walk, bike, swim, or run it off.  #astrologicalaspects #astrology #twoheadedastrology #transitaspects #astrologicalweather   

Saturday 

7/30/22 Not Applicable- 

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Review: The Widows of Eastwick

 

  • Title: The Widows of Eastwick 
  • Author: John Updike
  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf (October 21, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307269604
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307269607


It’s been 30 years since the comely coven of Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie left Eastwick behind for separate lives with newly conjured husbands, Alexandra to an artist in New Mexico; Jane to a well-to-do financial consultant in New England; and Sukie to a nouveau-riche entrepreneur in Connecticut. Who’s to say if they left Eastwick for a second chance at love and happiness or was it to escape the shame and guilt of having killed one of their own? Perhaps they left to avoid the ire of their numerous enemies, who coveted their beauty, power, and sexual freedom?

Suffice it to say, gone are the days of meeting together to raise the cone of power. No more maleficia. No more orgiastic sabbats with their shared lover Daryl Van Horne. No more feasting upon fine delicacies in the grand rooms of Lenox Manor. Alexandra fills her days devoted to her husband and his craft, somehow finding the time to nurture her own. Whereas Jane somewhat enjoys the leisurely pace of the idle rich, and Sukie expresses her creativity by writing romance novels just this side of pornography.

Having settled into the routine of their lives, the women suddenly find themselves widowed with the death of their respective husbands. The witches now face the grim reality of their own death and seek to renew the friendships of the past. After having had little contact in the past thirty years, the women initially reconnect through letters and phone calls. These calls first lead to Alexandra and Jane taking a trip to Egypt together, and the following year, Sukie joins them for a trip to China.

After having to persuade Alexandra a bit, the women decide to return to the “scene of their primes” as one of the witches describes Eastwick. Interestingly, they end up renting Lenox Manor (now divided into several condos and renamed to reflect the fact) for the months of August and September. Though many years have passed, they begrudgingly look forward to their return trip to Eastwick, which they attribute to both a sense of curiosity as well as a sense of guilt for their part in the demise of Jenny Gabriel, the wife of Daryl Van Horne.

The return of the witches to Eastwick shocks its citizens, and Jane in particular gets a peculiar shock in return, or rather a series of shocks. Alexandra un-expectantly meets the wife of one of her past lovers who attributes her daughter’s inability to conceive to the coven’s black magic. Sukie meets with a former lover, eleven years her junior, only to find that fantasy has given away to reality and her former boy-toy is now an old man. Not only has his six-pack grown into a keg, but his hand has become deformed due to an accident which occurred aboard the ship on which he used to work.

About the same time Jane suffers a health scare, she realizes that Christopher Gabriel, the brother of the girl they murdered, is also in town. The women come to believe that Darryl has shared some of his power with the man they describe as his ‘disciple’ and that he is the cause of Jane’s problems. The witches decide to flex their magical muscles once again and raise the cone of power. However, this time they decide to attempt to right the wrongs of the past. Jane seeks a healing, while Alexandra prays to the Goddess to allow her old enemy’s daughter to conceive, and Sukie makes her wish for her former lover to be made whole again.

They barely raised the cone of power before the unthinkable happens. Their enemy claims his first victim from among their number and the two witches left behind must counteract his spell or be taken next.

It would be a mistake to say that I read this book, but rather I devoured it; as once I started reading it, I could not put Widows down until I had digested the whole story. I very much enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the many places the witches visited during their travels as well as their philosophical banter which was quite interesting. I found the women’s attempts to understand and actually utilize today’s technology (cell phones, hybrid cars, etc…) both amusing and realistic.

I especially liked the description of the witches’ ritual to raise the cone of power and was delighted that the author actually attempted to somewhat update their practices. The fact that the witches used terms such as chakras, athame, and Wicca hinted that at least one of them had continued her studies on some level. I would have loved to have gotten the elderly witches observations on how the craft has come to the forefront of society’s consciousness. How the practice of magic and witchcraft isn’t as hidden as it was in their day. What might these witches have thought of Buffy or The Charmed Ones?

There were a few instances where I was slightly offended such as Alexandra’s reaction when it dawned upon her that one of the men in her tour group was gay; or not so much disgusted but disturbed as when Sukie (a sixty-something year old woman, mind you) got a facial after orally pleasuring one of her lovers. However, I chalked up Alexandra’s reaction to her personal prejudice due to her age as well as having been betrayed by Daryl, who had left the women so long ago for the bed of another man.

Finally, I found the author’s attempt to explain magic in scientific terms somewhat boring as well as Chris explanation as to how he attempted to duplicate the witch’s maleficia by manipulating electrons too clinical albeit not impossible. I felt that any attempt to dissect the process of magic detracts from the mystery of the power and removes any sense of the enjoyment of reading.

I found Widows to be a fast, interesting, and delightful read, save for a few inconsistencies and aforementioned detractions. The author did an excellent job of maintaining the characterizations he created with the first novel, with just enough change to show that the women had matured, or rather had grown. I had hoped for an appearance of Daryl Van Horne, but perhaps his time has passed. At the young age of seventy-something, lets hope that this chapter in the witches lives isn’t their epilogue and that they have just enough life in them for one more story—if only we didn’t have to wait another 28 years.

- Carolina Dean 

Friday, July 22, 2022

Sun in 00° Leo

 


Sun in 00° Leo 
7/22/22 1:07 PM 
Natural Chart / Whole Houses 

Sun in Leo (General) 

When the Sun is in Leo, people are more interested in fun and less interested in work and responsibilities. They usually spend more time with their friends, socializing, going on dates, or they spend more time on their hobbies.  People can be more extroverted and high on life.  People just want more attention, in general, and they are more likely to stunt on others or be more melodramatic to get that attention. 

Where Leo falls in your natal chart is the area of life that is being activated by the Sun in Leo. 

  • If your rising sign is Aries, Leo is your 5th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Taurus, Leo is your 4th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Gemini, Leo is your 3rd House. 
  • If your rising sign is Cancer, Leo is your 2nd House. 
  • If your rising sign is Leo, Leo is your 1st House. 
  • If your rising sign is Virgo, Leo is your 12th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Libra, Leo is your 11th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Scorpio, Leo is your 10th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Sagittarius, Leo is your 9th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Capricorn, Leo is your 8th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Aquarius, Leo is your 7th House. 
  • If your rising sign is Pisces, Leo is your 6th House. 

Example 

Sun + Leo + 10th House 

I am flamboyant and dramatic in public. 

When the Sun is in Leo and the 10th house, your focus is on your career, goals, and the direction of your life. You may find yourself torn between wanting to have fun and wanting to work hard to have more accolades and notoriety. Your higher ups are definitely giving you the attention (and scrutiny) that you want so you're going to have to be careful that you present yourself as someone who is responsible and mature and who can make the right decisions. Whenever you feel like you're started to get a little over-the-top, tone it down.  It's okay to have fun, to socialize, and engage in your hobbies on your own time --- just don't let it interfere with your work. 

Aspects 

Aspects, or relationships between planets, is another dimension of astrological interpretation that could be and should be considered. Let us suppose that you have Mars in 9° Taurus, then this would mean that the Transit Sun is forming a square to your Natal Taurus. A square is a type of aspect in which the urge or energy of one planet is in conflict with the urge or energy of another planet. When the Sun forms a square to Mars you can feel restless and have either too much or too little energy. You can be more irritable and find yourself quarrelling with others. 

- Carolina Dean 


Thursday, July 21, 2022

Book Review: Casting Love Spells by Gregory Lee White

 

  • Title: Castng Love Spells: Rituals of Romance, Passion, & Attraction 
  • Author: Gregory Lee White 
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mojo Studio & Conjure Co. Publishing (January 17, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 125 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏: ‎ 1737930625


Commentary

Note: I would like to mention at the outset of this review that I actually contributed two spells to this little tome of love magic. 

Casting Love Spells is exactly what it sounds like. This grimoire is your guide to casting all types of love spells including rituals of romance, passion, and attraction. The author provides a brief history of love spells and explores their use in pop culture (a special interest of mine). 

He also goes on to provide the reader with some invaluable guidelines regarding the mechanics of casting love spells, determining love from lust, and the importance of setting time limits on your work. The following portion of the book takes you through all the tools and supplies needed to cast your love spells including herbs, roots, oils, dolls, types of candles and how to use them, etc... 

The last part of Casting Love Spells contains all the spells you will ever need for preparing yourself for love, attracting a lover, bringing back a lover, keeping him (or her) faithful, breaking up other's love affairs, sweetening someone up to you, etc.... 

Casting Love Spells is an excellent reference for the newbie as well as the seasoned spell caster. There is something here for everyone and I believe this will be an informative guide, a treasured resource, and familiar friend to assist you in all your romantic and passionate spell-casting and rootworking needs. 

- Carolina Dean 

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

MIPC: A Honey Bath and Onion Spell

 The Spell 

"Before you sleep with her again, put a tablespoon of honey in the bath and take a honey bath. After you have sex, dry yourself off with that piece of muslin cloth I gave you. Hang it up to dry. Do not wash it. Later on, wrap it around a purple onion and tie the corners with a square knot. Then all you got to do is bury the cloth where she will walk over it or pass it by."
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
John Berendt, Hardcover Ed. (c)1994, page 246

The Analysis 

Before I analyze this spell I think some background information is in order here. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is an account of real life events which occurred in Savannah, Georgia in the early 1980's. The story centers around the shooting death of Danny Hansford, a young man in the employ of a rich antiques dealer named Jim Williams. The story introduces many colorful characters, including Minerva who is described as the widow of Dr. Buzzard (a well known Rootworker, or Conjure Doctor) and a powerful "Voodoo" woman herself. 

After he is arrested and charged with the murder of Danny Hansford, Jim Williams hires Minerva to assist him in his case by working the judge, jury, and prosecutor to help ensure that he is not found guilty. Although the author has made the popular mistake of believing that Voodoo and Hoodoo are interchangeable (which they are not), he has included a few interesting spells such as the one above. 

This spell is given by Minerva over the phone to a caller whom we can infer is a young man in a sexual relationship with an older, married woman. There is an additional line in the narrative in which Minerva directs the caller to "don't depend on her to give you too much money," which may indicate that the caller is a gigolo and the woman is a client. The couple has presumably had a disagreement, likely over money, and the woman wants the young man back but she wants him to come to her begging for her to take him back. 

With that said honey, as well as other forms of sweeteners, has long been used in the practice of Hoodoo to attract love, draw favor from another, or drive customers to a business. This spell may well be designed to fulfill all three of these needs. The use of a Purple, or Sweet, onion is further proof that the spell is at the very least designed to sweeten the woman to the caller. The caller is also directed to use a piece of muslin cloth to dry himself off after having sex with the woman as this will incorporate their personal concerns into the spell as well and make it more powerful.. The onion being tied using a square not (described as "two knots make one") can be symbolic of tying the two people together into one mutually exclusive relationship. 

Finally, burying a spell where a person will walk over it or pass nearby is a very old method of deploying a spell (called laying the trick). I feel that this spell has the possibility to work as intended. However, if I were to use this spell I would probably use the smallest onion I could find and tie up additional herbs and curios for reconciliation, fidelity, and attraction. In addition, instead of burying the muslin charm I would keep it in a shoe box under my bed and anoint it regularly with a condition oil specific to my purpose such as Love Me, Come to Me, Stay with Me, etc..... 


-- Carolina Dean