Astrological Plackets

Astrological Plackets 

I first learned about plackets in the mid 1990's when I obtained a copy of Ray Buckland's Advanced Candle Magick.  

Placket comes from an Old English word meaning vagina. They are simply two squares of cloth which have been sewn on three sides forming a pocket. If you are not handy with needle and thread you ca purchase paper greeting card envelopes in various colors which you can leave as they are or further decorate with drawings, collage, stencils, or ink stamps to name a few (see below) 

They are used in spells and rituals to hold certain items such as photographs, petition-papers, name-papers, affirmative prayers, or small objects  such as charms, gemstones, or dried roots while you are working towards your goal or attempting to manifest your intentions represented by whatever you place inside the placket.  When creating your placket(s) you may wish to keep color correspondences in mind and match the color of your placket to your goal. For example 

• White- Protection, healing, cleansing, blessing, all purpose.

• Yellow- Creativity, communication, compelling.

• Pink- Romance, friendship, happiness.

• Orange- Employment, activation, stimulation.

• Red- Health, passion, lust, strength, love.

• Purple- Power, success, independence, spirits.

• Brown- Friendship, law, stability, order.

• Blue- Truth, justice, mental health, wisdom, wishes.

• Green- Abundance, physical health, luck, prosperity

• Black- Banishing, binding, protection, cursing.

In terms of Astrology, you can also make use of  astral colors 

In addition, you can further decorate your placket with astrological symbols for the 10 Planets and the 12 astrological signs. This can be done by painting the symbols on your placket, embroidering them with needed and thread or sewing the symbols on them in the manner of a patch. 

For example, let us say that you wish to attract more love and romance into your life. You might craft a red placket (for love) and embroider the symbol for Venus (the planet of love and romance) in green thread. Then you would place something in the placket symbolizing your goal. Some choices may include but are not limited to the following. 

1. a photo of a specific person you wish to love you 
2. a wish list of qualities of the type of person you wish to attract 
3. a specially chosen bible verse that you have written on paper 
4. a petition paper 
5. a sigil drawn on paper 
6. a hand-drawn Magic Square 
7. a magical seal, such as a Seal of Solomon 

Next you might five-spot the item with Venus Astrological Oil (or a condition oil such as Lavender Love, or Come to Me) place the item inside your placket alone or with something else such as small piece of rose quartz, or a Queen Elizabeth Root, etc... Place the placket on your altar between two candles. On the left you might put a green candle dressed with Venus Oil and on the right an Astral Candle dressed with the corresponding Astrological Sign Oil  

For example, let us say that the specific person you want to attract is a Taurus. The astral color for Taurus is also green, so you would etch their name on a green candle and dress this with Taurus Oil. Now let us say that you don't have any specific person in mind but that you want someone who has Leo like qualities. Then you would carve the words my lover on an orange candle and dress this with Leo Oil. 

If you don't have the time, energy, or inclination to make several plackets, you may wish to simply create two: one for attracting and blessing and another for banishing and cursing. For this purpose, I suggest using a white placket for attracting and blessing and a black one for banishing and cursing. To pull in astrological energies you can sew a black circle on the white placket representing the New Moon - this placket will be for attracting and blessing. Next, you can decorate the black placket with a white circle which will be used for banishing and cursing (see photo above) 

Carolina Dean 

The Easiest Candle Spell in the World

The Easiest Candle Spell in the World  ©

by Carolina Dean

You will need:

• A candle in an appropriate color
• An appropriate condition-oil 
• Incense 
• Pen and paper 

TIMING: If your goal is to draw something to you, do your work when the moon is Waxing (growing), or going from New to Full; if your goal is to banish or move something away from you, then do your work when the moon is Waning (shrinking), or going from Full to New. You can read more about magical timing here. 

DIRECTIONS: Begin with your candle. Burn it upright as normal is your goal is to draw something towards yourself. However, if you are trying to move something away from yourself, then butte the candle. Next, mark the candle with your name (or your target’s name) and a keyword or phrase that represents your goal. If your goal is to affect two people, such as bringing them together or driving them apart then etch one side of the candle with the first name and the other side of the candle with the second name. Dress the candle with your condition oil and set it aside. If you are using a candle-board you can roll the candle (towards yourself to draw, or away from yourself to move something away from you) through those herbs, powders, etc. that are in harmony with your goal

Using your pen and paper, write out your petition. You have several choices as to how you can write it out. They are:

• Crossing & Covering 
• As an Affirmative Prayer 
• Using a Bible Verse (“as is” or modified to suit your need)  (1) 
• Using the “Formula for Prayer” (2)

In addition, you may wish to write out your petition as a simple affirmative statement indicating your goal or wish. For example, in the case of a love spell you might write “John Doe loves Jane Doe” over and over again until you fill up the page. Write your petition out slowly and deliberately – do not type it on a computer – putting the force of your concentration into the writing as you focus on your goal.

When you are done light your incense. Read over your written petition one more time, then smoke it in the incense briefly stating your goal or intention three times. As in our example above you would say John Doe loves Jane Doe. John Doe loves Jane Doe. John Doe loves Jane Doe whole mentally focusing on your goal. Next, fold the petition (towards you to attract, or away from you to banish something) three times and then slide it under the candle.

Light the candle and state your goal or intention three times as before and then let the candle burn down. Once the candle is spent, remove the petition and place it in your Bible anywhere it says “and this shall come to pass.” (3) When your goal manifest, remove the petition from the Bible, burn it and scatter the ashes. 

Notes: 

(1)  Modifying Psalm 23:1. Example, Jesus is my [matchmaker], I shall not want [for a loving companion to share my life with forever. Amen.]

(2)  Formula for Prayer  [Higher Power] + [Mode of Magic] + [Target's Name] + [Statement of Intent] = Prayer. Example. Heavenly Father this candle spell is for Jane Does that John Doe will love her as she loves him, desire her as she desire him, wants her as she wants him. In Jesus name, Amen.  

(3) If you dont' have a Bible, you can put your petition in any book that is special to you and / or which relates to your goal. For example, a love petition may be placed in a book of love poems or a copy of the Kama Sutra. 

The Astrology of Janurary 2020

The Astrology of January 2020

All Times Pacific 

• 1/03/20     Mars in Sagittarius             1:37 am 
• 1/10/20     Full Moon in Cancer         11:21 am 
• 1/13/20     Venus in Pisces                 10:39 am
• 1/16/20     Mercury in Aquarius        10:31 am 
• 1/20/20     Sun in Aquarius                  6:55 am  
• 1/24/20     New Moon in Aquarius      1:41 pm

Best Days January 2020

The Best Days was a feature in many old almanacs and gave the optimal times for performing such tasks as weaning a baby, pulling teeth, or planting by the signs. Here I have taken this concept and applied it to the folk magic tradition of Hoodoo and given the best days for various magical endeavors. They are: 

• Love & Romance: 6-12, 15, 16, 24, 25   
• Crown of Success: 4-7, 13-14, 21-25, 31        
• Sex & Sexuality: 11, 12, 15-18         
• Cleansing: 4, 5, 8-10, 13, 14, 31                   
• Hotfooting: 1-3, 17, 18, 26-30                  
• Unblocking: 1-3, 19, 20, 29, 30                  

Carolina Dean 

Astrological Remediation: Finding Balance with Your Big Three

Astrological Remediation:

Finding Balance with your Big Three 

When astrologers speak of your "Big Three" they are speaking about three specific positions and points in your natal chart. They are

1. Your Sun Sign- the essence of who you are. 
2. Your Moon Sign- your emotional nature. 
3. Your Ascendant- the first impression you give to others. 

Let's look at an example. Below you will find the natal, or birth, chart for the famous novelist Agatha Christie who is known for creating the who-done-it genre as well as creating the characters of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. 

As you can see from the chart above, Agatha has the Sun in Virgo, Moon in Libra, and has Sagittarius Rising. From this alone we can gather that she is comes across as someone who is adventurous, intelligent, honest, plain-spoken, industrious and magnetic. Essentially she is efficient, shrewd, discriminating, has an eye for detail, and is something of a workaholic. She has high ideals, and often takes others into her faith and confidence until they prove themselves unworthy of the same. Although she has a kind and forgiving nature, she can also have a quick temper which can be often be activated by anyone who fails to keep up with her mentally. 

Balancing the Elements of the Chart 

Now, in order to find better balance we must look at the elements associated with these points and positions. Again, we will use the chart of Agatha Christie as an example. 

• Sun in Virgo = Earth 
• Moon in Libra= Air 
• Sagittarius Rising= Fire 

The element lacking here then is water. Perhaps this is why so many of her stories take place on or near water (i.e. Death on the Nile, Appointment with Death, etc...)  Now, before I go any further let me say that it will not always play out in such as way that you are missing only one element as in the case of Agatha Christie. Depending on the signs your big three occupy you could be lacking in as many as three elements. For example. I was looking at a clients chart the other day whose Rising Sign and Sun Sign were both Cancer (water) and whose Moon was in Leo (Fire) so he was lacking both earth and air. 

So in order to bring the elements into balance, we must incorporate the element, or elements, that we lack into our lives as much as possible. 

From Harm to Harmony Suggested Way to Restore Elemental Balance in Your Life 

Fire 

• burn candles in your environment; or erect a "fire altar" in your home
• decorate your home in shades of red or hang artwork that uses firey motifs or colors. 
• write your goals on paper and burn them in the flame of a candle. 
• carry a piece of lava-rock in your pocket
• visit "hot" places such as the desert or a sauna; visit bonfires when appropriate 
• wear clothing or jewelry  in shades of red
• if you can't wear red outwardly, wear red socks or underwear, or carry a red handkerchief in your pocket or purse. 
• take care of your personal power, or vital life force, by using it wisely and replenishing it on a regular basis

 Earth 

• collect rocks, gems, and stones and display them prominently in your home; erect an "earth altar" in your home
• decorate your home in shades of green; hang artwork of forest, animals, mountains, etc...  
• write your goals and wishes on paper and place them under a quartz crystal 
• write your wish on a piece of paper, use a rubber band to secure it around a crystal and carry the crystal in your pocket or purse 
• take a mud bath. 
• visit "earthy" places such as the forest, mountain, or a garden; or simply go to your back yard or a park where you can put your bare feet against the earth. 
• wear clothes in shades of green and brown. 
• if you can't wear green clothes outwardly, wear green or brown socks or underwear; carry a green handkerchief in your pocket or purse. 
• take care of your body, engage in regular exercise and other physical activity. 

Air 

• collect feathers and display them prominently in your home; erect an "air altar" in your home
• decorate your home in shades of yellow; hang artwork in your home that uses airy colors. 
• burn incense in your home on a regular basis; write your goals on paper and place them under your incense. 
• as much as possible open your window and let fresh air into your home, visit places where there is a steady wind (such as the beach). 
• "smoke" yourself with incense or sage on a regular basis. 
• wear clothes in shades of yellow
• if you can't wear yellow clothing, wear yellow socks or underwear, carry a yellow handkerchief in your pocket or purse. 
• take care of your mind by engaging in positive self-talk, mantras, affirmations, and/ or journaling. 

Water 

•  collect sea shells, sea glass, etc... and display them prominently in your home. create a "water altar" in your home. 
• decorate your home is shades of blue, hang artwork in shades of blue featuring fish, mermaids, ocean views, etc... 
• visit oceans, lakes, rivers, or ponds; practice self-care by taking a spiritual bath once or twice a week. 
• wear clothes in shades of blue; if you cannot wear blue outwardly, you can wear blue socks, underwear, or carry a blue handkerchief in your pocket or purse. 
• take care of your emotions by practicing gratitude, ridding yourself of negative emotional or psychic baggage, and learning to express them in a healthy manner. 

The key to bringing yourself more into balance is to act with intention and to be consistent in your practices. What elements are lacking in your Big Three and how will you seek to bring them in balance and harmony?

Click here to get your free natal chart. 

Carolina Dean 

Hoodoo & Your Venus Return

The Venus Return: A Review 

The Venus Return is similar to the Lunar Return and the Solar Return charts. It is calculated for the precise moment that Venus will return to it's exact Natal Position and for your location at the time of the Venus return. Venus will return to its natal position about once a year, however, since Venus occasionally goes retrograde you can have up to three. A Venus return chart is good for the time between the current Venus return and the next one.  Among other things, Venus rules over money and love and so a Venus Return is a tool used to forecast your upcoming social and romantic life and to a lesser extent financial matters. 

Hoodoo & Your Venus Return 

Your Venus Return (VR) is a good time to review the state of your love life and financial status and to take steps to nurture and or improve them.  To give you an idea how to do this, I am going to share with you how I view and observe my VR. I often print my VR Chart well beforehand and write my notes based on my interpretation of the chart on the chart itself. On the reverse side of the page, I take out my ephemeris and write down all the dates that Venus enters a new sign (and therefore a new natal house) between the VR being interpreted and the next one. When a planet changes signs, it is felt in the world and therefore in our lives. Knowing when Venus enters a new sign and natal house can give me an idea of how I can expect Venus in each house to manifest for me. 

Your VR occurs when transit Venus makes an exact conjunction to your natal Venus. I use an orb of two degrees when considering applying and separating aspects.  At the time of my birth, Venus was at 2° Scorpio. So I start feeling the effects of my VR as soon as Venus enters Scorpio.  When this occurs, I take out my VR Chart Interpretation and carry it with me the entire time that Venus transits from 0° Scorpio to 4° Scorpio.  I make notes on the back of the chart about any significant events that occur in the realm of love and money. The reason for this is because events that occur during this time often reflect what you can expect to occur. For example, on the day of my VR in 2018, I had want to the grocery store to pick up some things and while leaving the store I passed an attractive young man who looked me in the eye and said "you have a beautiful smile". That same year I garnered a lot of attention and interest from several young men. 

A Three Point Plan 

My approach to the VR can be divided into three steps associated with the aspects of Transit Venus to Natal Venus. Again, they are applying (approaching exact), exact, and separating (leaving exact). 

Applying  

The applying conjunction begins when Venus is within two degrees of your natal position. Since my Venus is at 2° Scorpio, the applying conjunction for me begins when Venus enters 0° Scorpio. Venus is all about love, comfort, security, and luxury. As soon as the applying conjunction activates, I start treating myself. When you look good, you feel good (and vice versa) so I usually get a haircut and buy myself at least one new outfit. I may also treat myself to a few special meals. It is important to remember that it is okay to spoil yourself as long as in so doing you do not create a financial hardship for yourself or overindulge in food or drink in an unhealthy manner.

The applying conjunction phase of your VR is a time of planning and preparation. Use this time to study your chart, review the state of your love life, decide what you want and how you will go about obtaining your goals in terms of money and love. One way I do this is to use the keywords for points and positions in my VR chart to write an affirmation or affirmative prayer. For example. 

• The planet describes what is happening. 
• The sign describes how it is happening 
• The natal house describes where it is happening. 
• The Ascendant in the VR chart describes the outward face you project on the world. 
• The Descendent in the VR chart describes what you are attracting. 

Using my own chart as an example. I have Venus in Scorpio and the 1st House in my Natal Chart. I have Aquarius as the ascendant in my VR Chart which makes Leo the descendent. 

Using our keyword system, we can string together the following statement:

I love (Venus) passionately and intensely (in Scorpio) myself (1st house). Other people see me as unique, loyal, loving, and imaginative (Aquarius qualities) I am attracting someone who is loving, faithful, confident, affectionate, and generous (Leo qualities). 

And this statement can be translated to an affirmation such as:

I love myself with a passion and this love is reflected in the world in the form of those around me who can sense and appreciate my magnetism and desirability. Men are drawn to all those qualities which make me the unique and special person that I am.  I now attract to myself a man who is confident, affectionate, faithful, and generous who will love me and desire me as I love and desire myself. And so it is. 

Conjunction 

When Transit-Venus is making an exact conjunction to Natal-Venus, this is the time to do your actual work. This is when you will fix a mojo bag, work a doll baby, burn a candle, etc... For example. you may write your affirmation on a piece of paper and place this under a red candle dressed with Venus Planetary Oil. The candle would then be burned as you make your prayer or petition to attract a lover. When the candle burns out you can take your prayer and press it in your Bible anywhere it says "and this shall come to pass." 

This would also be the day that you would do whatever you can to make yourself appear as attractive as possible. Wear a new flattering outfit. Spritz yourself with cologne or perfume ( I prefer Cool Water), place a violet leaf in your shoe and dress yourself with any type of love-drawing condition oil. 

Separating 

In step one (applying) you devised a plan. In step two (exact) you enacted your plan. Now in step three you simply let go. Set it and forget it. Go about your life and trust that the work that you have done will manifest. 

Carolina Dean 

Your Annual Wishing Moon

New Moon Chart 

4/5/19  1:50 AM 

Gemini Rising / Whole Chart 

What is the Wishing Moon?

Your annual wishing moon occurs when the new moon takes place in your natal 11th house. For example, today's new moon occurs in 15 degrees Aries. Therefore, if your rising sign is Gemini, then this New Moon is your annual wishing moon (see New Moon Chart above). 

You may be asking yourself why the 11th house and not some other house? The answer is simple, the 11th house in astrology is (among other things) associated with your hopes and dreams, which in and of themselves are tied to our wishes. The 11th house is naturally ruled by Uranus and corresponds to the future as well as people and groups that share common interests and goals. 

How to Use the Annual Wishing Moon 

Your wishing moon is a good time to perform any kind of  wish-craft, that is, any type of spell or ritual that centers around making a wish come true. Here are just a few examples of how you can harness the energy of your annual wishing moon to make your wishes come true. 

Since there are 13 new moons in any given year, on a piece of paper write down 13 goals that you wish to achieve or manifest in the following year. Dress the four corners and center of the paper with a condition oil. Since your wishes will presumably center around different areas of life such as love, sex, money, good health, happiness and prosperity using several different oils on your petition may be impractical. Instead, you may wish to use an all purpose type oil such as African Juju Oil, Attraction Oil, Crown of Success, Blessing Oil, or Good Luck  Oil.  If you are more astrologically inclined, you might want to dress the paper with Aquarius or Uranus Oils as they are both associated with the 11th house. 

Light the candle and some incense making your prayer or petition for all your wishes to come true. You might want to smoke your wish paper in the incense and say something along the lines of the following:

"This candle burning true and bright before me now represents my sincere hope and desire for these wishes to come to pass as quickly as possible and in a natural way. As it is written, so let it be done. In Jesus name. Amen."

Fold the paper towards yourself three times and place it under the candle holder. For added power you may wish to place a few quartz crystals near your candle to amplify your prayer and petition. Imagine your wishes have already materialized. When the candle is spent, remove the wish paper and press it in the Bible anywhere it says "and this shall come to pass". 

Each new moon, remove the paper and draw a line through any wish that has manifested or which no longer seems important. When your annual wishing moon comes around again, burn the old wish paper and replace it with a new one.

Carolina Dean 

The Astrology of February 2019

The Astrology of February 2019 

All Times Pacific 

• 2/03/19  Venus enters Capricorn at 2:29 pm 
• 2/04/19  New Moon in Aquarius at 1:03 pm 
• 2/10/19  Mercury enters Pisces at 2:51 am 
• 2/12/19  Waxing Moon in Cancer at 2:26 am 
• 2/14/19  Mars enters Taurus at 2:51 am 
• 2/18/19  Sun enter Pisces at 3:04 pm 
• 2/19/19  Full Moon in Virgo at 7:53 am 
• 2/26/19  Waning Moon in Sagittarius at 3:27 am 

Best Days February 2019 

The Best Days was a feature in many old almanacs and gave the optimal times for performing such tasks as weaning a baby, pulling teeth, or planting by the signs. Here I have taken this concept and applied it to the folk magic tradition of Hoodoo and given the best days for various magical endeavors. They are: 

• Love & Romance       3, 4, 13-18, 21, 22
• Crown of Success       1-4, 10-16, 19, 20, 27, 28 
• Sex & Sexuality         17, 18, 21, 22
• Cleansing                   10-12, 19, 20 
• Hotfooting                  5-9, 23, 24 
• Unblocking                 7-9, 25, 26

Carolina Dean 

Best Days January 2019

January 2019 Best Days

The Best Days was a feature in many old almanacs and gave the optimal times for performing such tasks as weaning a baby, pulling teeth, or planting by the signs.  Here I have taken this concept and applied it to the folk magic tradition of Hoodoo and given the best days for various magical endeavors. They are: 

• Love & Romance             6-8, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24, 25 
• Crown of Success            4-8, 14-17, 22, 23, 31 
• Sex & Sexuality               1, 20, 21, 24-28 
• Cleansing                         1, 14-15, 22, 23 
• Hotfooting                       1, 9-13, 18, 19, 26, 28 
• Unblocking                      2, 3, 12, 13, 29, 30 

Carolina Dean