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