Month: May 2014

New Addition to the Household

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I don’t have house spirits. Or, rather, I didn’t. My family has owned this house now nearly a dozen years and we’ve spent a great deal of time chasing spirits out of the house but not a lot of time inviting them in, outside of specific purposes or festivals. Primarily, I don’t allow spirits to remain in the house because I don’t trust them and I don’t like the idea of being watched. When I want to be alone or privacy, I want it in its’ entirety.

However, I started to rethink my position on this. You see, the house is set at the top of a hill in what once was a swamp. There’s so much water in the area, the yard has buried drainage pipes to help keep the house from flooring. In the time we’ve owned this home, it’s flooded four times, twice majorly, and once so badly the entire basement had to be gutted and rebuilt (keep in mind I live in an apartment in the basement). Additionally it rains something like 40+ % of the time in Rhode Island, so we get a lot of water (matter of fact, it’s raining as I type this). The house is from the late 1940s and so is the majority of the plumbing for it. And pretty much every room that has water in it had issues. Some of them are due to shoddy repair work and some of it due to age.

Now, my first reaction is to put spells on ALL THE THINGS! but I don’t like to throw out majorly powerful spells on infrastructure primarily because it has long-lasting consequences and this house likely won’t be in our family in fifteen or twenty years. (Which sounds like a long time but I throw down some powerhouse spells). In addition to setting up spells to allow extra cash to come in to pay for those repairs, I did some “repair” work (which worked but didn’t magically replace faulty faucets or snake the main line. It still wasn’t enough to just replace and repair the issues – I wanted to make sure they didn’t happen again. I had started to feel that my brother and I were so busy chasing out the ghosts and spirits that lived here between the last residents and us that we missed an important step – giving the house it’s own two legs to stand on. Our defenses of this house are something akin to Fort Knox, to the point where visitors can feel it and I’ve had friends had to step into the garden to speak to their guides.

I believed that inviting a house spirit into our home, specifically a brownie, may be a solution to our predicament. (Or a being akin to a brownie. I’m not picky.)

So the first thing to do was to discuss this with members of the household. We all live different schedules and do different things. My brother deals primarily in human spirits. My mother’s an atheist and our housemate is, well I don’t know but a skeptic certainly. I tossed it at my brother who shrugged in general and groused about the potential of tripping over said brownie in the dark. My mother gave me that look parents get when they’re questioning the shit you’re into but they don’t know enough about said shit to be concerned or not. And I didn’t ask the housemate because he moves out in the summer and, with the promotion he had gotten during the time I started and enacted my plan, he wasn’t to return for long after the summer was over. Since everything was OK’d, I moved on with my plan.

I had to consider possible homes for said spirit. Typically brownies live in lesser used parts of the house. A quick mental process of elimination caused me to come up with a solution: the boiler room. We’ve a small room in the center of the basement where the water heater, boiler, and other miscellaneous house guts are placed. This room is also something of a catch-all for shit in my home, containing a chest of paint cans, fourteen sheets of drywall, a few boxes of spare wood, and several buckets of home improvement supplies. All of this, I decided, would need to be gone through before I even thought to invite a brownie into this room. Unfortunately, that’s far easier said to done. The sun and moon are not often in alignment for this sort of thing so I might have used a few persuasion spells to get it all moving. I had to cut the drywall up so it could be carried out by my brother and roommate to the garage where we keep this sort of thing, then marshal out the boxes of wood and set aside what things needed to be brought down to the city’s electronic dump. The home improvement supplies were sorted, condensed, labeled and stacked neatly. I also resealed the window in that room and swept it out. Now it was far roomier and easier to maneuver in, which was a bonus for anyone coming in to check the meters.

Then, I decided I needed to find a bowl I would use specifically for the household spirit. This was, by far, the easiest thing to do. One quick stop to the local used goods store and I had a double handled silver edged crystal medium sized glass bowl for less than three dollars.

Next was to do a general sweep of the house and fix any obvious problems. The floors swept and mopped, glass polished, and windows washed. (And, as a bonus, I earned brownie points, pun intended, with my household since I cleaned their parts of the house and not just my own flat).

Once satisfied and ready, I sat down and formally opened my house up to a spirit laying out what I was looking for and some ground rules. Namely, staying away from sleeping people, not to harass the cats, and assisting around the house in cleaning and repairs. In exchange, gifts of honey cakes, cream, and other assorted goodies would be left each night on a specific dish for it. I always have baked goods, honey, and types of milk and cream about so this wouldn’t be an issue. Additionally, I offered said interested spirits the opportunity to spook guests and some residents so long as the tricks are harmless and temporary in nature. I did this specifically because I tend to attract more mischievous spirits and I  don’t mind the mischief so long as they are cruel about it. And more importantly, this is a witch’s house. What else could you expect?

So the question you’ll be asking is: Did it work?

Yes. It took a little while but a few days after the last of the plumbing was repaired, my house was suddenly hit by a series of weird knocking, footsteps, sounds, and so forth experienced by two members of the household. Offerings left were returned diminished – a sign I take as being accepted. And a new presence creeps through the darkened rooms at night, neither friendly nor aggressive, just going about its’ business.

So welcome, spirit, make yourself at home.

Braided Rope Spell for Increasing Business, Good Luck, or Whatever Else

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Braided Rope Charm for Bringing Business, Luck, Prosperity, etc.

A simple household charm that just about anyone can do. This is more of a technique than a flat-out spell and is easily altered to your needs.

Heads up for enchanted shit in the pictures and sigils that may be in the background. I’ve included a sort of step-by-step how to below.

 

My entry way staircase with the new spell rope.

First gather your materials. Here I’ve created one to help with business so my choices were a fine mesh gauze gold ribbon and a red silk ribbon, seven bells (five gold, two silver, one blue), and a key. The gold and red ribbons stand for wealth, and the bells were enchanted for various things (example: “may the hearer of the bell always have wealth”). They key is because my business is a home business. It’s braided in to keep the business and home in wealth, protection, and prosperity. Additionally, adding an object on the end gives the rope weight and doesn’t allow it to be swung so easily. Your materials may vary of course but bells (or some type of noise-maker) is required for this particular spell.

As for length or size, that depends on preference. The above rope is a little over five feet tall, larger than I am, but that was by choice. I’ve made similar ones at smaller lengths with no reduction of spell power.

Hanging up your braid, or attaching it to a solid surface, can save a lot of trouble and keep the braid from spinning or unraveling. This is especially true with long braids. The longer the braiding materials, the more you’ll have to ensure that the bottom doesn’t get tangled. Swing the strands out with flourish to keep them tangle-free.

I used a three strand braid for this rope, although I tend to use a four strand braid normally as that gives more substance. There’s subtle details of this particular spell I won’t go into because those are private but there is a specific reason why I chose these materials, this braiding technique, and those bell colors.

I looped the top around a cup to get an even loop to attach the rope to. I have a drop ceiling so mine’s simply attached to a bent paperclip. You can probably use a smaller loop if you’re attaching it by a nail or something.

I typically chant while braiding. Don’t get all discouraged. My chants are typically blunt commands. “This will bring prosperity”. Once I get a few inches braided, I slid a bell onto the smaller red ribbon, and braided around it. When I added the bell, I would declare whatever the bell was enchanted for “All that hears the bell ring, shall have wealth and health” or whatever. Then I keep going.

Once I got to the bottom I tied the end off, added in the key, and worked a braid using the key as the third “strand”, fully incorporating my key (and thus my home) into the spell.

 

The first bell is in place and moving onto the second. Using a clasp like the one above can save the rope from unraveling and causing a headache.

 

Tied off at the bottom but before adding the key. Tying off can also allow you to incorporate new stands as needed. Ignore my ugly hand.

 

 

Use the key as the third “strand” and braid around it. At the bottom of the key tie off and you’re done.

And you’re done! I tied it off and stuck it by the door (as seen in the first image)

Because this one’s set for business, every time I make a sale, I’ll ring the bell. In the past I’ve used a household one for luck and protection that I rang before leaving the house every day.

Other ideas:

  • Add charms, beads, or whatever to the braid as you go for your intent.
  • Soak the ribbon or braiding material in enchanted oil or water to absorb more of a kick
  • Write sigils or spells on the braiding material
  • Don’t like braiding? Macrame, crocheting, or knitting work just as well!
  • Enchanting the bells to ring when there’s danger is really common and a great way to make a protection rope.

 

Vigils at the Crossroads

I don’t mention it much but I live at the intersection of several crossroads and some of those roads are corpse roads. My house sits on the corner of four streets, which may sound like a regular crossroad but isn’t.

Corpse roads are roads used to transport the dead to their final resting place. Traditionally they’re old dirt roads or paths. Sometimes these roads were only used for transporting the dead, depending on local tradition and superstition. Most of the traditional corpse roads have been lost to time but new ones are around. I live behind a funeral home and one of the streets my home is situated on is a shortcut to and from the highway.

Legends surrounding these corpse roads are numerous among a lot of different cultures. I recently read several Russian fairy tales along the same vein but it is common in cultures that transport their dead, especially for burial. Vigils next to the dead are also very common, usually so spirits won’t possess the deceased’s body.

When I say four streets I mean four SEPARATE streets

This is the best I could get of the crossroads ridiculousness I speak of. The white and brick house with the pink and green trees is my actual house so you can see how convoluted the streets are. There’s the street the house faces and the street to the right of it. The street on the right splits at my driveway into two other streets (behind my house and where the blue bin is). The funeral home is on the same side of the street the photo was taken on.

In the past I served as a medium to spirits and deities. I don’t do this much anymore for a wide variety of reasons but I still have the knowledge and capability to do so. However, I thoroughly enjoyed doing the works so I continue it privately now and my family home is perfectly situated for this.

Since I live at crossroads and corpse roads, it’s pretty spiritually active around here. There’s a lot of energy given our proximity to running water (two blocks away), the ocean (.8 miles), schools (three of them within two blocks), a main thoroughfare (top of the street), plus the funeral home (in front of my house) and a social club (end of the street). There’s a huge sewer network under my house (which is why it floods so much), plus we’re on the top of a hill. In fact, the roads are so ridiculous around my house, to back out of my driveway you need to back into an intersection.  It’s a busy road for not being a major road, both spiritually and physically. Spiritually, we get a lot of paranormal events from ghosts to non-human spirits. These beings are always transients and I guess we’re something of an inn. I tend to deal with the non-humans and my brother, the Necromancer, takes on the humans.

However, the crossroads and corpse roads are also a place for beings to linger. Lost or simply unwilling to move on, these spirits hang around and drain at the energy. Children, already more susceptible to possession and influences by spirits (however rare it may be), are especially fine targets. To protect and preserve the clarity of the energy and land, I hold vigils at the crossroads every so often.

There’s typically four or five a year on various dates (often in the spring where funerals are most common as burying the dead was not feasible in the winter in ye days of old). During the vigils I put myself into a state of being that allows for easier spiritual communication. Sometimes that’s fasting, other times it’s using entheogens, or hours of meditation. The method depends on my mood at the moment so it’s not something that’s specific. I meet with the spirits that linger and attempt to get them to move on – whether that’s to pass from this land into the next to just to go haunt some other location depends on the spirit themselves. I’m not one to force a spirit, human or otherwise, to do something they don’t want. If a human spirit understands that they are dead and they’re still not ready to move on, I’m not going to force the issue unless they start hurting people or other spirits. Then I turn into a dragon and start destroying things, so to speak. I’m protective, what can I say?

These vigils last typically twenty-four hours and can be very boring. Bound to not leave the area, I tend to amuse myself (and those I’m keeping vigil for) by singing, dancing, reading out loud, or telling stories. Most often, I listen, pour drinks of purified water and clear alcohol, and lay out offerings of coins and snacks. Divination is also incredibly common, since some spirits have difficulties in speaking through a medium.

At the end of the vigil, I “reset” the area, not exactly cleansing the area but more of dispersing negative energy clumps or untangling clogged energy to get it moving better. It makes the area feel better, safer, and more exhilarating for the spirit.

I really enjoy these vigils not only as a service to my community but also as a way of connecting to spirits around me. It’s one of the rituals I’ve developed that I intend to continue no matter where I live or what the future may hold for me.