This is a popular and very traditional voodoo service for a new job involving two lwa, Ogun and Erzulie Freda, the goal being to find a job that pays well and where you don’t have to work yourself to exhaustion.
Ogun finds the employment but Erzulie, the embodiment of wealth, luxury and leisure, makes it easy and well paying.
As much as we don’t like to accept it at times, we have to work for a living. Voodoo has many rituals designed to help in gaining employment. In fact, there is even a lwa dedicated work and employment-Ogun, who in New Orleans is associated with Saint James the Greater. This is a popular and very traditional service involving two lwa, Ogun and Erzulie Freda, the goal being to find a job that pays well and where you don’t have to work yourself to exhaustion. Ogun finds the employment but Erzulie, the embodiment of wealth, luxury and leisure, makes it easy and well paying.
You will need:
A picture of Saint James the Greater and the Mater Dolorosa (Easily available on the internet)
A green candle
A pink candle
A cigar
A shot glass filled with rum
Put together a makeshift altar. Putting a tablecloth on any table of flat surface will work fine.
Place the cigar, rum and candles in front of the image of St. James.
Light the candles and simply talk to both Ogun and Erzulie telling them about the kind of job you are looking for. If you have a specific place in mind, go ahead and name it.
Allow the candles to burn out on their own and dispose of the cigar and rum outside, ideally somewhere in nature. You may keep the image of St. James somewhere in your home to attract general blessings and protection. You can never have too many saints around. This service is very simple, yet I have seen results in as little as 24 hours and have used it myself on two different occasions, once to get a job as a high school Spanish teacher and another time to get a job in a publishing house. Both times it worked amazingly well!
May Day
Today is the 1st of May, or May Day, a public holiday and celebration of spring in many countries throughout the world. Growing up in the United States, where this festival is not widely observed, I have been ignorant of its traditions and spiritual roots until quite recently. May Day has its roots mostly in northern Europe as an ancient celebration of the coming of spring, rebirth and fertility. In the 20th century, May Day became widely known as International Workers’ Day, first in Socialist countries and then spreading throughout the world. Today it is a public holiday in 80 countries and is observed as a day off of work and school to celebrate the accomplishments of the working class, similar to the September observance of Labor Day in the United States and Canada.
May Day an ancient celebration of the coming of spring, rebirth and fertility.
I had heard my grandmother and great-aunt, now in their 90’s, speak about the May Day celebrations of their youth, but it was not until I was in my twenties and began to travel abroad that I learned of the widespread observance of this day and it’s spiritual roots. In the Anglosphere many May Day traditions have their origins in the ancient pre-Christian festival of Beltane once widely celebrated in Britain and Ireland. On this night, people would extinguish their hearth fires and throughout the countryside Celtic priests would light sacred bonfires from which people would relight the home fires to bring luck, fertility and prosperity into their lives. The flames, ashes and embers from these fires were considered to be sacred. Today many neo-Pagan religions have revived the tradition of the sacred fires of Beltane, although such fires nowadays are more associate with St. John’s Eve, or the Summer solstice which occurs in late June.
In Germany and Scandinavia, the similar celebration of Walpurgis Night occurs on the night of April 30th into May 1st. It is named after St. Walpurga, a 7th century missionary from the British Isles whose feast day happens to fall of the 1st of May. In the past, it was common to play pranks on people, decorate houses with spring greens and share treats, much in line with modern day Halloween practices. In the 17th and 18th century, Walpurgis Night had a reputation of being the major witches’ Sabbath, on which witches gathered in the countryside to perform communal rituals. Today Walpurgis Night is a time to gather with friends, enjoy huge bonfires, barbecue and drink massive qualities of alcohol!
Many of the traditional observances of May Day have fallen away. In some areas the custom of erecting an ornate May Pole streaming with colorful ribbons continues, no doubt a throwback to pre-Christian times when the May Pole served as a symbol of prosperity and fertility. In some locations, the day has taken on Carnival-like aspects which in which people gather to celebrate with food, music, concerts and even crown a May Queen, much like the Queen of Mardi Gras Balls in New Orleans. In the Philippines, and indeed all of the Catholic world, the entire month of May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and children pick wildflowers on their way to school and lay them on the altar of the Blessed Mother. Since the early 20th century, the 1st of May is most widely observed around the world as Labor Day, a day to relax and enjoy time with family and friends.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope you are enjoying your own May Day, if you celebrate it, and if not, I hope you are enjoying the beauty and sacredness of spring! Until next time, may peace and blessings rain down upon yo
The Feast of Saint Expedite
Peace be with you my friends! Tomorrow, April 19th, is the Feast of Saint Expedite, one of the most important saints in New Orleans Voodoo and Popular Catholicism, and one who is very close to my heart. I am making a service to St. Expedite tomorrow which will include several offerings and prayers at his altar. Tomorrow is also my late father's birthday, so I plan to offer prayers and light candles for him as well, which is important to do for our deceased loved ones to push them ever closer to eternal peace and happiness in Heaven. I just wanted to re-post the following article I've previously shared about St. Expedite. I hope you find it enjoyable and informative. Peace and blessings, my friends!
Saint Expedite is an extremely powerful and fast acting folk saint popular in New Orleans among Voodooists and mainstream Catholics alike.
Saint Expedite is an extremely powerful and fast acting folk saint popular in New Orleans among Voodooists and mainstream Catholics alike. His image is housed at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church across from Saint Louis Cemetery Number 1, both very important sites of Voodoo pilgrimage. Lately, in my consultations with clients, Saint Expedite has been showing up more and more and I have been using him in my work. So, I’ve decided to share a little about him and teach you how to invoke him properly to bring about a speedy resolution to whatever issue might be at hand.
First of all, let me say that the origins of this popular religious figure are at best obscure. In any case, there is no doubt that there is a saint in Heaven named Expedite who rushes to help those of us here below that love and venerate him. There is an urban legend regarding this saint that many New Orleanians swear by. When Louisiana was under Spanish rule, a statue of a strange and unidentifiable saint arrived at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. He was a beautiful Roman soldier dressed in red and on the shipping crate was stamped the word “Expedito,” so for lack of a name they began calling him Saint Expedite and when invoked, people were amazed at how fast their prayers were answered and they began to flock to the chapel to venerate his image. Anthropologists and folklorists alike agree that this story is most likely an urban legend, as similar stories exist in France and Sicily where Saint Expedite has a huge following, but whatever the case, there is no doubt that he answers the prayers of those who invoke him.
The Roman Catholic martyrology does make mention of a Roman centurion named Expeditus who lived in the 4th century AD and suffered martyrdom under the emperor Diocletian, a ruthless persecutor of Christians who was responsible for the martyrdom of other famous saints such as Saint Barbara and Saint Philomena. Expeditus was the commander of a Roman legion and faithfully served the empire. One day, while on the battlefield, Expeditus received a divine revelation and was compelled to convert to the Christian faith, the very same heretical sect he had sworn to eradicate. Upon hearing his profession of faith, a demon in the form of a crow appeared to him and chirped repeatedly the word “cras,” which in vulgar Latin meant “tomorrow.” Not wanting to put off his conversion another day, Expeditus squashed the bird with his foot and proclaimed “Hodie!” meaning “Today.” He immediately found a group of Christians who welcomed him into their community and baptized him into the faith. When the emperor Diocletian learned that Expeditus had defected from the army and embraced Christianity, he ordered his execution, and the saint received the crown of martyrdom on April 19th 301 in what is today Armenia. In popular iconography Expedite is often depicted stomping a crow and brandishing a cross with the word “Hodie” written across it. Due to his desire to serve Christ immediately, Expedite became known as the patron of prompt solutions.
I will say again that whatever the origins of this saint, there is no doubt that he is powerful and answers prayers quickly. If there is a favor of which you are in urgent need, making a service to Saint Expedite may help to manifest it quickly. Saint Expedite is not a typical Voodoo spirit and he is not of African origin, so his service is a bit different and less complicated. In New Orleans, Voodooists go directly to the church and invoke his intercession, but he may be invoked just as effectively from home. Saint Expedite’s day is Wednesday and a service to him is most effective if done on this day. You take an image of the saint and light a red glass encased seven day candle in front of it. Leave the candle burning until it goes out and then fill the glass with water and place a bouquet of red flowers in front of the saint as a thank you. Also, when your favor is granted, it is customary to offer Saint Expedite a piece of Sara Lee pound cake in return for his help. You can invoke his help in any matter, but he is especially helpful when it comes to money and finance. Once your favor is granted, I would advise you to thank him with a proper offering, as the luck he brings can dissipate just as quickly. His feast day is April 19th and it will bring you many blessings to offer him service on that date.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed learning about the New Orleans Miracle Worker, now try putting him to work in your life! Make a service to him and let me know how it goes, or contact me if you would like me to perform the service for you. As always, I wish you much love, happiness and peace!
Culinary Magic
Peace be with you my friends! I hope that you had a wonderful Easter season, for all those who celebrate it and that you are enjoying the onset of Spring, or Autumn to my friends in the Southern Hemisphere. As I’ve mentioned before, during this festive time of year I spent a lot of time cooking for friends and acquaintances and it dawned on me that the act of cooking, something that most people do every day, is overloaded with magical and spiritual significance.
Cooking for friends and family is also a wonderful way to transmit love and foster closeness.
Most of the ingredients and products that we buy at the grocery store have spiritual connotations: apples, cinnamon, cloves, honey, nutmeg, pumpkins, sugar are all commonly used in love magic. Rice, oatmeal, raisins, grapes, oranges can all be used in prosperity magic. Not only are the ingredients themselves magical, but the act of cooking is a type of alchemy or culinary sorcery in which you combine ingredients in a type of potion, or ritual to create something totally different and wonderful. This theme is really explored in magical circles except for in several books by Lexa Roséan, a Wiccan priestess (one of her many talents and callings) who has written expensively of how to make magical rituals with readily available natural ingredients.
Cooking for friends and family is also a wonderful way to transmit love and foster closeness. Eating together as a family or group of friends does create stronger bonds and there is psychological and sociological research to back this up. Families who prepare food and eat together tend to be more functional than those who do not. I dare to make the argument that cooking can be seen as a communal ritual that brings a group of people closer together, much like performing a spell within a Wiccan coven or a dance in Afro-Caribbean spiritual house. Only recently has this connection clicked for me and remembering back to my childhood, I used to love watching Julia Child and Jeff Smith cook on TV and read cookbooks as much as I loved watching shows and reading books about the supernatural. I went to university and studied literature, but I’ve also always wanted to go to culinary school and open a restaurant or catering service.
Well, anyway, that is my thought of the day. In the future I plan to post some recipes and share their spiritual connotations and association with any saint or spirit, as there are many recipes that are made under the patronage of saints and spirits.
Until next time I wish you success in all that you do and an abundance of blessings!
Easter Sunday
Wishing you all a happy spring! The season of new life and rebirth.
Peace be with you! I just wanted to wish a Happy Easter to all those who celebrate it and a Happy Spring, the season of new life and rebirth! Throughout Holy Week, I have been doing a lot of cooking and entertaining of friends and it has given me the idea of writing a blog entry on food magic, which I plan to post here at some point in the upcoming week. Until then, I wish you all exquisite blessings!
