La Madama

La Madama Doll

The Madama’s are a family of spirits found in Espiritismo, one of the spiritual practices found in South America. These particular spirits are the patrons of bone readers, playing card readers and Conjure Doctors. Many professional Root workers call on the Madama spirits for aid when dealing with clients or performing readings for the public.

They are traditionally believed to be the elevated spirits of old house slaves, the spirits of old Conjure Women who now aid the living with their issues and problems. They give advise on all areas of life and are fiercely protective of those they like.

Madama’s carry many implements for their work; all Madama’s have a broom or brush for cleansing and clearing. Madama’s have the power to brush away curses and remove crossed conditions, these spirits are fantastic at cleansing's and work to rid people and places of any negativity, so long as they are treated well!

Along with the broom Madama’s carry certain tools. As the patron of card reader the Madama’s carry playing cards to divine the outcomes of situations and to read for their clients. They carry a stick of chalk to mark out their work, to draw symbols and create magical symbols and seals. Madama’s often carry a knife to prepare ingredients and also to pin down the work they perform. It is also said that the dolls of Madama’s have a wooden cross about their person that stores their power!

As we as being excellent diviners and healers Madama’s have many other talents, they are brilliant at making and keeping money, blessing people, commanding and compelling people, opening roads and offering success. She helps readers and Root-workers improve their talents and tricks.

To work with Madama set up a shrine with a white, orange or red cloth and place a doll or statue of her on top of it. Before the statue place a glass of cold water, a vigil candle and one of their favoured offerings. The traditional offerings to the Madama’s are strong spirits, small bowls of brown sugar or molasses, black treacle, bowls of cooked rice, home-cooked meals and black coffee. The Madama’s also enjoy tobacco, so cigarettes and cigars. It is said if you ask her for a favour you should always give her nine coloured silks as payment for her work.

Remember, each Madama is different and enjoy different things. One Madama may love Marmalade on toast whilst another may love boiled eggs! As you get to know your Madama so you will come to learn what she likes, you my also be lucky enough to learn the name of the Madama you re working with. Madama’s work incredibly hard and should be rewarded for their efforts. Treat her well, little and very often and she will look out for you.           

The Madama Doll, (photograph)

This doll has been prepared in accordance with tradition. She has been dressed in secret oils and powdered with special herbs. This Madama holds a broom made of lavender stalks for cleansing and peace.

In her apron she has a stick of chalk for drawing out her secret symbols and a deck of miniature cards for performing readings. In her hand she holds a copper knife for pinning down her work, the handle of which is bound in pine pitch.

The doll is dressed in her favourite colours, orange and white and has been entirely hand stitched. Around her neck she wears a wooden cross that holds her power and this should not be removed. .   

Concerning Relics

To dissuade gossip by the arrogant and ill informed – here a quick note on relics – one of the catholic churches most interesting traditions of saintly veneration, and objects we are lucky enough to possess at the consultancy HQ.

Relics come in various degrees:

Skull of St Vitalus - 1st Degree Relic

1^st Degree – These relics are actually part of the person (or object) – such as bones, hair or teeth. These are “magically” the most potent relics and by far the most revered. They are often housed in elaborate reliquaries and found in churches, monasteries or in the possession of trusted priests. The veneration of this kind of relic has obvious parallels with ancestor worship as seen in cultures all over the world. Relics of the true cross are examples of non-human relic  that come up from time to time.

Holy card with 2nd degree relic of Saint Philomena

2^nd Degree – These are objects belonging to the saint – usually clothing, but also things that they kept about their person during their life times, such as their bible or their crucifix., 2^nd degree relics come to light far less regularly than those of the 1^st and 3^rd. An example of this kind of relic is the vestments used to dress the bones of Saint Philomena, which are periodically changed, the old ones being cut up and distributed amongst the faithful. 

3rd class relic of Saint Francis Cabrini

3^rd  Degree – These relics are objects that have been touched to either a 1^st or 2^nd degree relic and blessed by a priest.  They are the most numerous and can be found attached to commercially available saint-medals (the price paid in this case is for the medal, and the relic is given freely). They usually take the shape of tiny fragments of linen or cotton, preserved in resin or glass – though there is no reason that any object cannot become a third degree relic.

Now – it is against the code of cannon laws to accept money for ANY relic – the same goes for holy water – as such sacred objects should be given freely to any that desire them, for their spiritual well being  and to strengthen connection with the divine. As such, WE AT THE OCCULT CONSULTANCY/St MARTHA BOTANICA DO NOT CHARGE FOR RELICS WE PASS ON TO OUR CUSTOMERS. Not only does it diminish their power but also breaks the holy laws of the tradition which surrounds them. We will NEVER ask for money for relics, nor have we ever done so in past.  9 times out of 10 we will also cover the cost of postage, so that NO money changes hands whatsoever.

We are very lucky that from time to time catholic priests have bought 1^st degree relics and blessed cloth for us, we have never made a secret of this and have open offered these to anyone who asks, free of charge. The same goes for holy water and blessed salt.  We are very lucky to be in the position to offer these objects to people who truly need them, and consider it an honor to be able to do so. 

I will not have our name besmirched by those too arrogant to even come and speak to us – we have never made a secret of how we operate and will quite happily sit down with people and talk about what we do – if you’re good, you might even get a cuppa out of it. 

Thank You

Jack – The (Usually) Silent One

Five Finger Grass

One of the staple ingredients that I employ in a lot of my work is five-finger grass. Five-finger grass is said to be able to accomplish anything that the hand can! It is employed to draw luck in gambling, to bring money and love, to protect from evil, to gain favours from others and to sweep away curses. 

Here are a few tricks you can employ to use five-finger grass:

Five finger grass oil

Take 1 cup of oil and two cups of five-finger grass powder and mix them together in a jar, seal the jar and allow it to sit it a warm dry place for two weeks. Strain the oil off and add another cup of the grass powder. Allow it to steep for another week and then strain. This oil can be employed in spiritual baths, used to feed mojo’s or added to spell bottles or honey jars for an extra boost.

Lucky gamblers powder

This is a very simple mix that is dusted over the hands before playing cards. Take 5 pinches of cinnamon powder, five pinches of chamomile powder, five pinches of sugar, five pinches of arrowroot and a five finger-grass leaf. Grind these to a fine powder and dust it over your hands before you begin gambling. Clap 5 times and say “lucky 5 fingers, lucky 5 hands”

To draw money into a home or business

Dry five-finger grass and put it in a bag along with a lodestone or magnet, hang this above the front door. You can also employ an infusion made from 1 cup of the grass boiled in 4 cups of water. Boil this for five minutes and remove from the heat. The resulting tea is then strained and poured over the doorstep starting from furthest away and working in to the home.

I also employ this tea in business floor wash, pour the tea in a bucket of water along with a little cinnamon powder, a little allspice powder and a splash of eau de cologne and a splash of liquid soap. Use this water to scrub down the pavement outside your business and also to scrub your doorstep down. Traditionally whilst you do this you would recite psalm 72

An unusual charm employed by a friend is New Orleans is to have a copy of psalm 108 painted on a board or plank. Each week anoint the whole plank with five-finger grass oil and hang it behind the door.

To summon a lover

In a red cloth bag place a lodestone, the head of a dried red rose and 5 leaves of five-finger grass anointed with “come to me boy/girl oil”. Seal the bag and dress it by crossing it with “love oil”. Pray psalm 65 over it.

Bath to summon a lover

On a clean red flannel place a heap of five-finger grass, several large pinches of Orris root powder, several large pinches of gentian root and a pinch or two of rose petals, anoint the pile with a few drops of “Dixie John oil” if you a female or “High John oil” if you wish to attract a partner of the same sex use “Q perfume”.. Tie the corners up and throw the bundle into a bath of water. Soak in the tub for about half an hour, you may wish to burn a red candle anointed with five-finger grass oil on the side of the tub whilst you bath.

To gain favours from others

Place some of the crushed grass in a small handkerchief and tie the corners up dab this bundle with “helping hand oil” when you ask the favour squeeze the bag and they wont be able to deny you!

To protect from evil

Mix fiery wall powder with steel shot and five-finger grass and pour it in two matching bottles. Stopper the bottles and place one by the front door and one by the back door.

To remove jinxes

Mix together blessed salt, holy water, Five-finger Grass, Agrimony, Rue and Sage in a bottle, top the bottle up with clean spring water and a little Florida water and a dash of Eau de cologne, allow the herbs to soak in the bottle for a few hours. To a bath of warm water add a handful of bicarb and a handful of Epsom salt soak in the bath and before you exit the bath pour the bottle of water over your head in 7 parts.

Five Finger Grass Offer

If you want to try out  any of these tricks for yourself, we are currently offering 50g of Five Finger Grass for £5.00 (price includes postage) on our website. Follow this link [link] and scroll right to the bottom of the page to purchase.

They've put the Voodoo on me!

We’ve come to notice a change in trends at the Consultancy this year when it comes to curses. Clients and customers approach us on a weekly basis claiming, sometimes legitimately, that they are under a curse. For the consultancy dealing with a genuine curse is a very rare thing, in all honesty I think we see two maybe three legitimate cases a year. Yet the number of people who believe them selves to be cursed never diminishes and the cause of the belief is always the same “I had a reading”.

Now, a run of bad luck, cross up conditions or closed roads doesn’t mean that someone has cursed you. There are numerous reasons these things can happen for example stress, illness, spiritual grime from being around the wrong people or place, day to day spiritual debris or God forbid just simply old-fashioned bad luck.

What interests us the most is how these Faux-curses come into being and what the people who approach us have been told. Here is an incredibly typical case study

Anne goes for a reading with Madame X, Madame X has an impressive advert loosely stating ambiguous qualifications and qualities and Anne books a reading with her. Madame X’s reading isn’t very long and doesn’t really pin point many facts about the person’s life. Madame X says deep and meaningful things to Anne like “you have been hurt in the past” and “there is some sort of tension in your relationship”. The reading begins to fizzle and Madame X asks “you have a questions don’t you?” “Yes” says Anne “Why are things going so badly for me?” and instead of saying “you need to change your job”, or “you need to consult someone about having a cleansing” Madame X says “you have been cursed!”. Now what is interesting about this is Madame X in her infinite new age wisdom can tell poor Anne what type of curse this is “It’s Voodoo” she says. "Your partners ex, mother in law, ex best friend (delete as applicable) has paid someone to do this"

Last year the folks that came to the store all had had a reading where they were told they'd be cursed and the only difference between this year and last year was the type of curse, last year the Romany Gypsies were the culprits, this year it’s the Voodoo’s. The Voodoo community in Britain is relatively small and there are not that many priests (Houngan’s) or Priestesses (Mambo’s) commercially working. There are a small number of Hoodoo’s working commercially and the two are still very easily confused. I know a great number of workers from other traditions in this country and they have strict ethical codes and don’t perform curses on request without excellent reason. So why Voodoo? Because there are still misconceptions? because its shocking and helps Madame X secure that extra tip? Or because it’s simpler than actually looking at the roots of the problem?   

If you receive a reading and you are told you are cursed think long and hard about it, get a second opinion and if you genuinely are cursed take the necessary step to having it removed. Spiritual baths, Novena candles and cleansing rituals all work to eliminate crossed conditions.     

This week we at the consultancy have become the accused! Claims laid that we have employed Wanga (the magic of Voodoo) to curse someone we have nothing to do with. The claim is ludicrous and hilarious, firstly the Lwa are not asked for things in our house unless it’s a personal matter. Secondly we have no reason to curse said person yet because she has had a reading and knows about the religious convictions of members of the consultancy she has assumed it is us! We operate a strict ethical code at the consultancy and although we are perfectly capable of throwing curses its very rare we do.    

Uncrossing bath

To remove a curse try this, bring 13 cups of water to the boil and add to it 1 handful of the following, Agrimony, sage and hyssop and as it boils recite psalm 69 over it. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool, once cool strain the mixture into a large bowl and add a handful of rock salt to it. Stand in a bath tub and pour this mixture over your head in seven parts. Perform this bath for seven days and the jinx should be removed. You should then look at your protection to make sure this doesn’t happen again    

The House of George

Yesterday I visited the most wonderful little cottage just outside town. The owner, who we will call T has had no end of trouble since moving in. Her son has suffered from night terrors from a young age and she herself is woken numerous times through the night with oppressive feelings and anxiety. T informed me every cat they have had has run away from the property, many of the cats would stand screaming at unseen forces, with their heckles up. T has felt drained by the house and her life has suffered as a result, everything that could go wrong has! The previous occupant also suffered the same fate, shifting the house on to the property market at the first available opportunity.

From the outside the house seems perfectly normal, it has a beautiful garden with beautifully arranged ethnographic ornaments and its own mock wishing well. This house is special because you are able to walk totally around it, it had a few modern extensions but the main building is roughly 200 years old. The only unusual thing about the house is that you can see a line of newer stonework in the wall housing the chimney from outside. I’ll come to the relevance of this later.

On entering the house there is a huge feeling of oppression and a static white noise, the air also has a metallic flavour all of which could of course be but down to the fact it is an old building. We take a trip of the ground floor, Dining room, living room, bedroom and bathroom and a spirit who calls herself Anne approaches me. Anne mentions the name “George”, she blames George for the house being this way and goes on to say that “the people (she means the entities causing all the trouble) always have to have a George”. We return to the kitchen so I can ask about what I have picked up. There was indeed an Anne who previously owned the house in the early 1900’s. I ask about George, “that’s my sons name is the response”. T then produces a list of all the previous occupants. 9 “Georges” have lived in the house including T’s son. This is really intriguing with what I’ve been told.

T takes me into the living room and shows me some items on the window sill, a pile of rusty old nails, a large iron stake, a horse shoe and most intriguingly a bible with the psalms removed, this bible was found in the wall bound in thread. The removing of the psalms takes makes the bible incomplete, meaning that it's protective powers are weakened, it seems this was done on purpose by a disgruntled member of the previous household who wanted to cause trouble for the new occupants, namely her daughter in law. 

Items would have been placed inside the walls for protection. The other traditional place to hide such protective charms is the chimney. In this case the chimney seems to have been replaced, no doubt removing anything that was placed in it. On the wall facing the front door hangs a crucifix, T tells me it has always been in the house in that position. On inspection the crucifix has a reference on the back of it to Psalm 2 verse 3 “Let us asunder break their bands” or possibly to psalm 23 a traditional “all purpose” psalm. Looking around the whole house T points to where other crucifixes were hanging all pointing to the front door.   

I counted four entities that were living in the house and began to get a sense of the houses story. In a nutshell one of the Georges who own the house had previously attracted the attention of these four spirits, Anne had put measures in place to protect the house from them, this had not banished the spirits but had subdued them. On her passing her measures had been removed and the imprisoned spirits had come back with a vengeance!  

I performed a dice reading and gave an offering of hell money to my    spirits and began the work set out by the reading. Firstly the boundaries of the house needed to be marked. This was done by dressing each corner, firstly with holy water steeped with hyssop and Van Van oil, then with Exorcised salt and lastly with frankincense smoke.

Then for the inside of the house, I prepared a bowl of water with salt, 

hyssop wash, Van Van oil, holy water, frankincense oil and a few drops of the Botanica’s “Fear no evil”. The bowl was then prayed over, one Our Father, three Hail Mary’s and the Prayer to St Michael.

This mixture  was used to exorcise each room by dressing each corner, each mirror and each  doorway along with the appropriate prayers and commands.

The entities moved from room to room until finally leaving the house all together. I then went on to dress both the front door and garden gate with brick dust.

All the nails have been returned to where they were found and the horseshoe will be redressed and hung back on the front door. Anne also made a traditional request of rosemary being planted by the garden gate

I’ll be keeping a really close eye on any developments in this house.

It is   the best case of old folklore practices I have ever seen “in the
flesh"   

House Protection

So, it’s been hectic! The Occult Conference 2011 has been and gone and was according to all sources a great success! We were really honoured to host some of the greatest speakers and traders the occult world had to offer. A big thank you to all those people who made the day so special and to all of you guys that came. So now that we’ve kind of wound down I think it’s about time I updated the blog and shared some new Hoodoo tricks with you guys out there.

This entry we’ll be talking about house protection and one of the rituals I employ to keep a home nice and safe from both physical and spiritual attacks. This ritual is a big one and requires time, effort and quite a few supplies but it is well worth doing! So the first port of call with any house protection is to clear it! This makes the home spiritually pure meaning that when you magically seal the house up you’re not trapping any unwanted negativity within it. So to do this you’ll need a few things, an incense burner, some charcoal, a portion of Camphor resin, a bottle of holy water and a bottle of Florida water or preferably a bottle of Van Van cologne. You’ll also need a bunch of yellow roses, enough for each room in the house.   

Begin on the top floor at the back of the house, light the charcoal in the burner and when it’s hot put some of the camphor on it to burn. Sprinkle some of the holy water on the floor around the room and then go to each corner of the room and sprinkle a few drops of cologne. This seals the work, repeat this process all through the home working your way from back to front making sure each corner of the house is “dressed”. After each room is dressed take a single rose, kiss it and lay it down in the room. Burn the camphor in each room as needed. A trick I like to do is also dress all the door frames in the house by marking three X’s in cologne on the lintels and also being sure to blow camphor smoke on all the mirrors in the house.   

Now the house is spiritually empty so it is really important to invite positive energy in to fill the gap. Set out a vase of water in the living room; add a few drops of holy water, a few drops of cologne and three pinches of sugar to the vase. Gather the roses and place them on by one in the vase

When you have completed this process you can move on to protecting the newly cleaned home. For this you will need a bowl of salt, a packet of brick dust some iron fillings and a packet of “fiery wall powder” (http://theoccultconsultancy.com/shop/scattering-powders )
Some folks also like to burn “fiery wall” incense when they perform this next part. Return to where you started and in each room scatter a few pinches of the powder on the floors. You may wish to say a prayer as you go traditionally you would pray to saint Michael the Archangel. Next scatter a few pinches of salt in the four corners. When you have dressed the house go to the front door, mix the remaining salt and fiery wall powder with the brick dust and the steel. Over the bowl say “this powder is a barrier against all ill and evil, this powder is a guard against all that is undesirable, this powder is a wall that only good may pass” use a quarter of the bowl to lay a thick over the doorstep and repeat the process and  affirmation at the back doorstep.

The remaining powder can then be divided on two square of white fabric and tied up in to a packet. These packets are hung above the front and back door and act as a defence once the lines of powder have worn away. They should be “fed” with a little cologne once a week to keep them strong.                 

Shut up!!!!!

Gossip and slander can affect even the thickest skinned of us. I have clients who have had curses thrown at them because (I kid you not) they are beautiful! These clients have been accused of all sorts because of how they look!
Cruel rumours and nasty bits of scandal will affect all of us at some point or another and I always think it’s best to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. Workings to stop gossip called upon a much underrated herbs Ulmus Rubra, better known as slippery elm bark. This herb is freely available in health food shops as a digestive aid. In hoodoo it is used to put an end to gossip.

 

If you’re the victim of gossip you need four simple items firstly a packet of slippery elm powder! Then you’ll need some castor oil a grey candle and a pin. Scratch the word “Gossip” on the candle with the pin. Next cover the candle in the castor oil. Do this by first rubbing the oil in to your hand and then dressing the candle with a twisting motion. This action will represent your enemies choking on their words. Next on a clean surface scatter a liberal amount of the powder and roll the candle in it, always making sure to roll the candle away from you. Put this “double dressed” candle out to burn, sit back and enjoy the results.

 

If you want to go down a really traditional route I’ve never known this spell to fail! Go to the butchers and buy a whole beef tongue. Take it home and slit it from root to tip. Write down the names of the gossips on separate pieces of paper, roll them up and place them in the hole. Next cover the slit with slippery elm and sew it back up with black thread. At midnight go to the graveyard and dig a hole. Bury the tongue and pour out some water for the dead, you may also wish to leave payment; a few coins should do the trick.

 

So there you have it two great ways to shut people up! 

Road Opening

Happy new year everyone! Hope you’ve enjoyed the holiday season. With the New Year now here we thought we’d provide you with a really good Road opening bath recipe. Road opening products, also known as “Abre camino” are used in Hoodoo to remove blockage and basically get you on the right track.

To make this bath you’ll need a square of fine cloth, like cheese cloth or muslin. Failing that you can use a new white flannel. Onto this place a handful of crushed cinnamon sticks, a handful of pine needles (puts that old Christmas tree to good use) and a crumbled square of camphor. If the camphor you have doesn’t come in squares you’ll need to use about 1 tsp of camphor resin. On top of this mix place 2 small old keys. Bundle the corners together and tie the edges up with green ribbon or thread.

Set this packet out on a clean surface before a new white taper candle and say a prayer to Saint Peter.

In the Hoodoo tradition Saint Peter is the saint linked with Road Opening work. The image of Saint Peter is an old man holding the keys to heaven, he is therefore linked to the opening of doors both spiritually and physically.

After an hour or so extinguish the candle and run a hot bath. Throw the bundle into the water and allow it to stew. I like to add a drop or two of eucalyptus oil to the bath water as well. Place the candle, to burn down further, on the side of the bath and soak in the waters.

When you get out of the bath dry and dress in clean clothes. Take the candle and place it somewhere you can watch it burn down. Dispose of the candle stump and the used herb bundle at a cross roads.

Prayer to Saint Peter

Thou art the Shepherd of the sheep, the Prince of the Apostles, unto thee were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Raise us up, we beseech Thee blessed Peter so that the weaker I am, the more mightily I may be helped by the power of your intercession. Open the way for me Holy Peter, remove the stones on my road and show me the clear path on which to walk. In the name of the Lord God I beseech you.

Amen


The Saint Martha Botanica offers a range of products called "skeleton Key" these are used to unlock doors, remove blockage and clear your way. Check out the newly updated website, where Skeleton Key foot wash is on special offer this month.
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