Feeling fed up - nothing I have done seems to work.. - RealPagan- Paganism for the Real World

Things take time and patience…

2012-02-29T21:20:25.244Z

Things take time and patience, I know my own witchcraft practice has evolved over time [ and by time I mean years]. Hoodoo is still new to me and therefore I'm taking things slowly. You seem very stressed and I hope your situation resolves in your favour soon. Blessings

To Strata and Shawn - Saint M…

2012-02-27T07:21:12.677Z

To Strata and Shawn -

Saint Martha the Dominator is called on by those who need to get the upper hand in any kind of relationship in which the person finds themselves at the bottom. I read on many sites including LM that she is a great ally for all types of situations where you are the underdog and will help to defeat an enemy. She is a protector of women and she is also called upon to get better treatment from employers - household employees like kitchen staff, nannies, etc. I was not a cook. I was a student so the other people in the case pertain to my capacity as a student. I cannot get into it fully here as the other side could quite easily undertake a google search using the term "law student", etc and locate this post which I do not want.

I called upon Saint Anthony initially, not because I had lost something, but because I understand he is the Saint of miracles and lost things (and also because he is gentle). I initially petitioned him for help with the court case and to help my sister as she is ill with an autoimmune disease. There was no response, so I started to petition him again about five days ago just for help with my sister and then when I lost the memory stick (which turned up last night! I thanked him publicly online on several sites even though I was not certain if he was responsible for it turning up nearly a week after asking?).

In terms of offerings. When I set up the altars, I present the offerings on the altar at that point and replenish them regularly if they are food stuffs which can deteriorate..

I petitioned St Anthony on a Tuesday using brown and white candles. I offered water, bread, olive oil, white flowers and used St Anthony Oil (though I could not get hold of the incense in the UK). I cannot remember what I offered Saint Martha. If the petition had been successful, I would have donated money to a childrens' charity as I understand St Anthony likes children.

For the Orisha I am turning to, I am offering - coconut water, cowrie shells, pure olive oil, frankincense incense, black eyes peas, eggs, holy water and fresh rosemary.

I was scared with working with Saint Expedite because firstly, I have found no supermarket in the UK that sells poundcake (to offer if my request is granted) and I cannot bake, so trying to make that will only end up being problematic. Also I printed out some more information on Saint Expedite last night (though I have other information on him) and was reading it in bed.It said something along the lines of if you are not immediately up to speed with thanking St Expedite, he can reverse the help he has given you and even take the life of a family member as payment. I read that last night on another hoodoo website and it kind of freaked me out. Of course, I would fulfill my promise right away if St Expedite helped me, but I am concerned about several things a) I have no St Expedite oil, incense, etc - (cannot get them in the UK and takes too long to arrive from the USA) b) the poundcake issue and c) Petitions to St Expedite have to be worded in a specific way from what I have also read.Again I read that if you were , for example, to petition him to stop someone from cheating, he may respond by making the person get into a road accident where they are paralysed and can no longer.. cheat. This was the information I have been printing out and reading about recently when it comes to St Expedite.

I think the problem is there is too much contradictory information on the net - e.g Saint Martha, etc. All the information I read about her on many sites including LM, mentioned she is petitioned by women to dominate situations where you are the underdog..

Elle, to keep things simple,…

2012-02-27T01:05:04.634Z

Elle, to keep things simple, I want to concentrate on the work you have already done with saints, if you don't mind. You said that you already had an altar set up to St. Anthony. May I ask what originally provoked you to create this altar? Had you lost something previously? Also, I'm curios about why you chose to petition St. Martha for your court case? This saint is primarily associated with cooks, cooking, and kitchens. Were/are you a cook? Was your case related to this?

In both cases, with St. Martha and St. Anthony, how did you petition each? What offering did you promise? Did you provide the offering in advance? Did you provide the offering at the time of the petition?

I have only worked with Orishas within the context of The Seven African Powers with the context of the Saint correspondences :P .... both have been extremely affective... and in my experience working with them is much the same.

Elle, While I get that someti…

2012-02-27T00:49:55.749Z

Elle,

While I get that sometimes you need to change things up a little... you seem to be setting yourself up for defeat before getting into things. Also, I strongly suggest you focus on something in particular, and get good at it, rather than dabble in multiple things and hope that one of them works suddenly. There's no ritual that I know of (including any so-called crossroads ritual,) that will suddenly make you a rootworker or conjurewoman... it's work no matter what you do, and persistance.

A couple things that struck me here... what caused you to start working with St. Anthony? Had you already lost something? If not, I could see losing something as a "don't waste my time," message. And St. Martha I thought was something to do with cooking/kitchens... I don't mean to insult you by saying this, in any way.. but it seems a lot more like you are looking at last resort things, from a standpoint of desperation. St. Expidite or St. Jude might be better fits here, depending on what you're doing... The saints, to me, are similar to spirits that you make a deal with.. ie: you do this for me, and I'll do *this* for you, and then you make sure to hold up your end of the deal.

I do not personally work with the Orishas, so I can't say one way or another, but I would think your experience will be very similar there.
You very well may be better off seeking professinal assistance from another worker, one who does work on others' behalf.
Best of luck

Strata - In terms of my neigh…

2012-02-26T12:54:16.105Z

Strata - In terms of my neighbour being evicted, this was not my doing. The landlord decided to seek repossession of his property well before I ever got involved with hoodoo. Evictions, however, take time. Three to five months in my country, because the lawyers have to ensure the case is water tight. This neighbour is very violent and has mental health issues. Every week, he freaks out - this has included opening his living room window and throwing out his tv, bed, divan, tables, computer, etc. He roars, screams, bangs, shouts, etc at 2-7am in the morning and it was getting me down. When the landlord told him he was seeking possession of the property, he stopped this behaviour for about one month. Then he started it again and I was trying to do some work on him to shut up and go away.

But really the neighbour thing is the least of my problems, it is the court case which was the primary issue because if i lose the court case I will probably be made bankrupt.

In terms of the saints and getting no response. I initially petitioned St Martha as the court case has been going on for a while now. It is getting me down quite a lot. A man did something (which is too long to get into) hence the action against him and his employers. I just wanted to sow confusion around them and for them to settle out of court, but they continue to fight me (and they in fact won at the first stage of the proceedings last year but this was before I ever got involved with hoodoo). There has been no leeway by the other side after petitioning St Martha and two months have passed.I found this odd because once the matter goes to the higher courts, the adverse publicity against these people (they have a very good reputation up to now and are quite renowned) will really do them no good. But it is as if, they do not care.

I then petitioned St Anthony for 9 days and again nothing. In fact last week I also lost my memory stick which has a lot of important info on. I already have an altar set up for St Anthony, so I asked him to help me find the memory stick - and nothing. I was really sure he would help me, but, it is still lost somewhere in my apartment.

I am now working with Orishas... so I am hoping for some change.... I am trying to stay positive...

Blessings Elle, Oak, of cou…

2012-02-26T06:18:43.596Z

Blessings Elle,

Oak, of course, has this well covered, but a couple things jumped out at me that I wanted to touch on. First, you said that you felt that your work was unsuccessful with the man who was giving you problems, but then you said he was being evicted. Specifically, what did that working entail? With any practice, our results are not always what we predicted, but that doesn't mean they weren't effective. To me, if the man is being evicted, that's a success. He will no longer be able to bother you.

Also, like Oak said, conjure takes practice, for lack of a better word. And it takes trial and error. You can't just pick it up and fix all your problems. Believe me, I wish I could ;) It seems to me that you are needing more immediate results (court case), and you expected conjure to be able to provide those the first time you tried your hand at it. Now you are blaming yourself or conjure. If you were going to take up flying and needed to make a cross country trip, would you start your lessons the week before? See what I'm saying? :) Don't get discouraged!!

As Oak was fantastic enough to say to me over and over, when I began working in conjure, the vast majority of it is instinctual. If it feels right, go for it!! A "spell" tells you to do one thing, but you feel something else would be more fitting? Do that. It's worked for me over and over!

Finally, I do a lot of work with Saints. And I view them differently than some. They are entities, perhaps thoughtforms. And while I acknowledge that they are powerful, I do not view them as divinity, and I do not interact with them as one might the divine. The relationship you have with saints is more of a "working realtionship," as my husband puts it. Saints provide you with a service and you provide them with a payment. So while you may develop a sort of connection with a particular saint, it is not the type of connection typically associated with the divine, god or goddess. You say you do not get an answer or response when communicating with saints. What do you mean specifically by that? Sometimes I do *feel* the immediate presense of the saint I am working with, but sometimes I do not. Often their response is completely materialistic, or earthly. I petetion for something and I receive it and I provide my offering, and that is the extent of interaction with said saint. If you ever want to talk about saints or petetions, feel free to contact me. Also, keep in mind, that many conjurers do not work with saints at all. :)

(Oak -- Mention of the Philosophy of Fire warmed my heart! :P )

Good idea I was burning a can…

2012-02-17T17:25:28.071Z

Good idea

I was burning a candle to try and sort out the issues with the errant, mentally ill neighbour (about a week and a half ago), the candle was burning to the end, the wax had melted and there was just a tiny flame which would not go out. It was about 1 o'clock in the morning at the time. I carried on working away on my laptop and then about five minutes later turned my head around and there were huge flames. The candle flame had somehow ignited the altar cloth and everything was up in flames. I managed to get it under control and ended up with a burned carpet, burned walls - it freaked me out and I decided well, that was an epic fail!

Good idea about the bathtub or sink!!

Oakthorne said:

Think of candle-burning magic like cooking. Yes, it is possible to stop cooking something part way through and then start back up a little later. It's probably not going to be as good as you want it to be, but it is possible.

I tell my clients if they want to burn a seven-day or any candle for a long time, even if they have to be out of the house, to put it in a deep sink or bathtub (no water). This way, even if something untoward does happen, it's not going to do much other than get glass and/or wax everywhere. Shutting it up in the bathroom helps keep it out the reach of pets and things, too.

Thanks Jason for your respons…

2012-02-17T17:20:20.640Z

Thanks Jason for your response. I will look into the crossroads ritual, because even if I find I have no skill for myself, I would like to be able to eventually help my elder sister with her health problems..

Thank you Charlie.. It is so…

2012-02-17T17:17:16.719Z

Thank you Charlie..

It is so strange that you mention Catholicism. I was a witch as I stated before (stopped because my brother died in an accident, and somehow I felt I should have prevented this), then many years later I started to attend Catholic Masses (for about one year). I was going to convert and even went to Lourdes, etc. I faithfully attended Mass, but then stopped going last October because everything became about guilt and penance. I never had the opportunity to confess because I was not a Catholic and never converted in the end.

I have tried so hard to have a connection with a few of the Saints but there is just silence.. I even ask for direction and clarity to come to me in my dreams - still nothing.. I can only hope this will change..

Charlie Jackson said:

Oakthorne has given you very solid advice.

Remember, too, that conjure is never something you do alone. You are a coworker, always working with other forces; you call upon the inherent power of the roots, the psalms, and Spirit. You never work as a singular agent.

Analyze how you relate to Spirit. See what can be improved upon there -- the most basic and effective conjure consists of simple prayer, psalms, and lighting candles. These are inexpensive things anyone can do.

Make peace with your tradition. If you are a Christian, pray the 51 psalm devoutly. Whenever I feel bogged down spiritually I go to confession with a Catholic priest and then take a cleansing bath and say my penance.

If you are not Christian, look for other ways to realign yourself to the intentions of the divinity. Every religion, path, and tradition has a means of cleansing and realignment.

The important thing is that you do something to re-focus your intention.

You should have faith in the little works you do, but faith is not a feeling -- it is an act of the will. It is a decision and a choice to believe and act. Feelings are helpful, but they come and go.

You may just be in a rut right now. Continue to set lights and pray -- even if you struggle to believe in your work. Oakthorne is right on -- training and experience are key.

There is an old story about an ugly man who wore a beautiful mask his entire life, from childhood until death. When he died, his family and friends removed the mask for the first time and saw that the man's face had conformed to the mask and become beautiful.

Sometimes we just have to go through the motions, acting and pretending until faith returns. We get hit by a spiritual two-by-four eventually.

Conjure works whether or not you believe in it (belief helps), but you need training and experience So keep on keeping on.

I'll say a prayer for you!

Think of candle-burning magic…

2012-02-17T17:12:57.099Z

Think of candle-burning magic like cooking. Yes, it is possible to stop cooking something part way through and then start back up a little later. It's probably not going to be as good as you want it to be, but it is possible.

I tell my clients if they want to burn a seven-day or any candle for a long time, even if they have to be out of the house, to put it in a deep sink or bathtub (no water). This way, even if something untoward does happen, it's not going to do much other than get glass and/or wax everywhere. Shutting it up in the bathroom helps keep it out the reach of pets and things, too.