Pray for Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Cuba, the islands, Florida and South Carolina

Let's turn the Hurricane back! Hurricane Matthew is currently a level 3 storm, with mass flooding, around 300 people have died so far, and the next 3 days are critical. In the past level 4 hurricanes have wiped out 100% of banana crops and almost all sugar production.

I have under advisement they will be sending UN troops into Haiti this weekend and I fear for Haiti's development and population given the history.

Please set lights, as in candles, and pray to protect the children and people. The cholera epidemics after have been known to wipe out 10% of certain island populations in the past.

One of my Lwa is Cachita Tumbo, who shares many similarities with Oshun, she is a river spirit, but also responsible for floods, and Juracan (hurricanes) are her messanger. If you are in the region stay safe, and help each other. Try to get some of the rain water and put it in the freezer, very powerful qualities to it.

She may be an amalgamation of older Taino indigenous spirits, cemi, and is a Chieftess.
Her saint image is the yellow Virgen caridad de cobre, Our Lady of Charity. I use a fountain.

I will be lighting her candles, and she likes pompeya perfume and fresh water. I pray that she will help, as she came through last week for the floods in Iowa.

Whatever work you can manage with your spirits please add your energy to the combin.
You may want to use psalm 46, as such was used with hurricane Sandy. And psalm 91 for protection for these regions. Speak from the heart. I plan to start tonight for at least 3 nights and until this blows over.

Here is another prayer

God of our life, whose presence sustains us in every circumstance,

in the unfolding aftermath of storm and distress, we welcome the restoring power of your love and compassion. We open our hearts in sorrow, gratitude, and hope: that those who have been spared nature’s fury as well as those whose lives are changed forever by ravages of wind and water may find solace, sustenance, and strength in days of recovery and reflection that come.

We are thankful for the generous grace of days of preparation that helped many to be prepared; for the wise counsel of experts and the generous collaboration of so many communities, that in the face of the storm kept many out of harm’s way, and lessened the effects of wind and water on others. 

At the same time, we open ourselves to the stories of those for whom Hurricane Matthew was not a near miss: communities deeply affected, whose livelihood, homes and stability have been destroyed.  We pray in grief, remembering the lives that have been lost in the Caribbean, and for communities damaged, especially those already rendered fragile by the earthquake in 2010 and Superstorm Sandy. We lift our voices in sorrow and compassion for families who have lost loved ones, homes, or livelihood. We ask for sustaining courage for those who are suffering; wisdom and diligence among agencies and individuals assessing damage and directing relief efforts; and for generosity to flow as powerfully as rivers and streams, as we, your people, respond to the deep human needs beginning to emerge in the wake of the storm.

In these days of relief, assessment and response, open our eyes, our hearts, and our hands to the needs of your children and the movements of your Spirit, who flows in us like the river whose streams makes glad the city of God, and the hearts of all who dwell in it, and in You. Amen.

taken from http://pda.pcusa.org/pda/resource/prayer-hurricane-matthew/

Many people are already working to turn this back, God willing.

Add your light, to be the lighthouse for those in the storm

Sancista Siete Encruzhiladas

September 29th Date of the Archangels, Oct 2 for Guardian Angels known or unknown head spirit

This is an important feast date for healing and protection, as well as honoring these Lwa.
Beli Belcan is the Lwa who uses the saint image of St Michael. September 29 is Michaelmas. He chains up bad spirits and is a warrior.
He has a sword and has the power of fiery lightening and of God.

Tindjo Alawe is the head of the Indio division of Lwa, and has domain of cleansing, healing and the water of rivers. We use the image of St Raphael who has a sometimes has a gourd staff and rod with fishes. He wears robes of green of the indian spirits, sometimes blue of the river, and pink as the colors other lineages use together.

If you do not know if you have these Lwa or have not received them, you can still work with the angels, in particular St Michael as revocations can be done to remove negativity and bad spirits from us, and for justice.

Resguardos, like mojo bags can be prepared under him for protection, and prayers can be given with a novena saint candle, or a red candle. Do your prayers to God and St Michael over the bag each day.
The recipe from my godfather for St Michael resguardo:
enough red candles for 9 days or enought novenas, set one red candle 
beside a clear water glass and st michael image or prayer card if not using novena
small red bag, tie with green or red string or ribbon when assembled
cleanse items with rum, florida water and tobacco smoke
cross charm or sword of cross
4 clove garlic
st michael medallion
seed of quita maledicion or stop evil
piece of paper with persons name

optional from others variations:
anoint with st michael or protection oil
thunderstone (pied de rayo) and stones of protection
3 peony seed against evil eye
dried bay laurel leaf, angelica root or vencedor leaf (lilac) for success and higher spirits.

Also from the book Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic comes this old-time conjuration of Saint Michael Archangel for protection from evil:

Home Protection Packets: 
sew small cloth packets filled with grains of paradise seeds and 
glue or crochet a holy card of Michael the Archangel to 
them. Sold in pairs, one to be placed at the 
front door and one at the back door, for the protection of the home.

San Miguel Vencio! San Miguel Vencio! San Miguel Vencio su enemigo con el poder de Dios!
(St Michael vanquishes with the power of God)


For the uninitiated you will not know your met tet until it is confirmed in your baptism and crowning or possibly at kanzo. You may have an idea who this is but it cannot be confirmed until then.
However you can begin to strengthen this connection by using the image of the 4 archangels, but many also will use the image of the guardian angel to represent them as is in our lineage. September 29 is the day of all the archangels. The words guardian angel describes our met tet, the Lwa who rules our head, and is not a spirit guide. This is not the holy guardian angel or hga, the higher self.

You can either find a candle with this image, or print it off in color and tape it to a white novena, glass chimney candle you can find at the dollar store. Blow cigar smoke over it or frankincense and myrrh, and anoint it with olive oil, or some kind of protection oil bottom up.
You can also get a guardian angel saint card, and use white candles.
It is said that everyone has a tutelary met tet, a Lwa or Orisha at birth. I do not know if this is true, however one can step forwards for you and claim you. Following the directions below to perform a novena with or without the headwashing can help you on your spiritual journey into these traditions, along with starting ancestral veneration as the foundation.

It is fortuitous that September 29 2016 is on a Thursday, the day of the Rada Lwa, however Saturdays are also used for most Lwa. In the Catholic dates they use October 2.
If you missed September 29th to start, this can be done whenever you wish, and the headwash is usually done once a month to every two months, called a rogacion. The rogacion you will perform is not the same as receiving it from a priest or priestess of Lucumi, whose energy or ashe is in direct attunement. The recipe is similar to what I posted on ancestral connection bath.

Do your prayers everyday until the candle has burn out, but if you can use several candles for 7 days. As 7 is the celestial number and of the number of chiefs and families of Lwa in Sanse. There are also 7 archangels, 1 for each day.
Although a novena is traditionally done for 9 days.
Speak from the heart, of prayers of protection, and what you need guidance with. Feel free to substitute the word God with the name of God of your understanding such as in Vodou as Papa Bonnye (Bon-yay), Bondye (Bon-dye), Or Papa Bon Dios, as we are a monotheist spirituality. Or use Odudumare (Oh-du-du, mar-eh) if you feel your path is more of the Orisha faiths such as Ifa or Lucumi. Or you can use the phrase Great Spirit.


Here are some sample prayers for you to use, which you can find from several Catholic sites online:
You may also want to use psalm 91. 

         1
Angel of God,
my guardian dear,To whom God's lovecommits me here,Ever this day,be at my side,To light and guard,Rule and guide.

Amen.

     2

Guardian Angel from heaven so bright, Watching beside me to lead me aright, Fold thy wings round me, and guard me with love, Softly sing songs to me of heaven above.

    

       3

O angel of God,
appointed by divine mercy to be my guardian,
enlighten and protect,
direct and govern me this day.
Amen

                 4

 GOOD NIGHT, my Guardian Angel, 

The day has sped away; 
Well spent or ill, its story 
Is written down for aye. 
And now, of God's kind Providence, 
Thou image pure and bright, 
Watch o'er me while I'm sleeping----- 
My Angel dear, good night!

             5

Novena Prayer

O most faithful companion,
appointed by God to be my guardian,
and who never leaves my side,
how shall I thank you for your faithfulness and love
and for the benefits which you have obtained for me!

You watch over me when I sleep;
you comfort me when I am sad;
you avert the dangers that threaten me
and warn me of those to come;
you withdraw me from sin
and inspire me to good;
you exhort me to penance when I fall
and reconcile me to God.

I beg you not to leave me.
Comfort me in adversity,
restrain me in prosperity,
defend me in danger,
and assist me in temptations,
lest at any time I fall beneath them.

Offer up in the sight of the Divine Majesty
my prayers and petitions,
and all my works of piety,
and help me to persevere in grace
until I come to everlasting life.

Amen. 

         Novena to Guardian Angel

O holy angels, whom God,
by the effect of His goodness and His tender regard for my welfare,
has charged with the care of my conduct,
and who assists me in all my wants
and comforts me in all my afflictions,
who supports me when I am discouraged
and continually obtains for me new favors,
I return thee profound thanks,
and I earnestly beseech thee,
O most amiable protector,
to continue thy charitable care and defense of me
against the malignant attacks of all my enemies.
Keep me away from all occasions of sin.
Obtain for me the grace of listening attentively
to thy holy inspirations
and of faithfully putting them into practice.
In particular, I implore thee to obtain for me
the favor which I ask for by this novena.

[Here mention your need(s).]

Protect me in all the temptations and trials of this life,
but more especially at the hour of my death,
and do not leave me until thou hast conducted me
into the presence of my Creator
in the mansions of everlasting happiness.

Amen.

The head wash recipe is as follows. 
Break open a coconut and use the water into a white basin, you cannot use coconut milk or water from a carton. You can mark the coconut white all over with cascarilla first on the outside if you desire. You can also take a second coconut marked in this way and roll it around on top of your head and behind your neck. This one should be kicked down the street or put in a grocery bag and disposed away from the home, off the property line.

You will also need into the white basin:

cool tap water or fresh river water
Add cascarilla chalk or crushed white eggshells
small amount shaved cocoa butter
These items are traditionally put on a white plate and placed on the head first along with the whole coconut.

Mix and mash these items with your hands, putting your energy and intentions into it as you repeat your prayers and call with your thoughts, as well as speak from the heart aloud to your guardian angel. Pray over this mixture the first night of the novena and perform this.
Take the mixture into the bathroom into the shower area, and bend forwards, pouring the mixture over your head. Do not rinse. This can also be done with a clear or white cup over the basin in front of your altar.

After you will need to wrap your head in white, wear white clean clothing and sleep like this. 

With the remains of the mixture, you can place your novena candle into the center of the bowl before your altar, or at your bedside if you have not constructed one yet. After your head is wrapped you can also mark your body with cascarilla for extra protection in x's or +'s on the back of the neck, belly, top of feet and on wrists. This can all be rinsed off with a regular shower in the morning.

For 24 hours no sex, drugs, alcohol, swearing or bad behavior to get you in proper alignment and for clarity to strengthen the mind. It will help your faculties, and focus on goals, destiny, spiritual progress and path, as well as guidance, cooling, for peace, and calming the head. It is cleansing, away from bad influences, thoughts, illness and misfortune. It feeds your internal knowing, called Ori by the Yorubans.

Be Blessed,
Sancista 7

Voudou arte & crafts

These are some pictures of items I made

Protection door hanger with 7 chief ribbons colors of the main Sanse Lwa.
The main Lwa are Papa Legba, Beli Belcan, Gran Solier, Metresili, Candelo, Tindjo Alawe and Ghede Limbo in our lineage.
We would use 9 for the number of the dead.
atizay and atizana are the Haitian creole words for arts and crafts related to the Mama Mambo Lwa Ayizan.

Protection over the door under Lwa Beli Belcan

Guede voudou offering and libation bottle, my first made:

Horseshoe from a winning race shoe under Ogun with Haiti & St George flags colors

Candle novena made for illuminayson ritual for a virgin altagracia patron of Dominican Republic 

I am going to be making another bottle and flags, drapeau in the future.

Voodoo Ceremony by Andre Normil

Azabache jet protection collares necklace

This is a prepared and charged necklace I made for a friend overseas in Europe, included in a folk spiritist care package with his prepared spirit guide doll, as it is hard to buy botanica items there. Sometimes this kind of jewelry is made for the new initiate for protection, and also worn in more fancy commercial versions as jewelry with gold and coral for protection instead of peony. New born babies in Puerto Rico are often adorned with it for protection and against the evil eye: mal de ojo. This is made of red and black peony seeds which look like a evil eye symbol as they are red with a black dot. 

When assembled a jet pendant is attached which comes in different symbols: hand of protection which is most common, heart, cross, or saint medals etc. The type of charm selected can reflect the person's main spirit guide. It is called and known as azabache in spanish and at botanicas. The evil eye is negative energy that people who are completely unaware of the occult can still put on a person with giving dirty looks, judgment, jealousy etc. The spiritual necklace is not worn in the bathroom or during sexual activity.

They can be charged with spirits and are washed in certain indgredients such as herbs, fruits, spiritual colognes, cascarilla eggshell or chalk or waters solution. This preparation can be any number of ingredients, but following certain principles, what spirits are used, spiritism, prayer, songs, and divination of the medium. They can be helpful in connecting to the protection of the main spirit guide: the centinela, while protecting against malevolent dead. The main ingredients I used for this time was japanese incense, a mandarin, spiritual help cologne, cascarilla, water, and holy water, smells amazing!

We do not use too many semi-precious crystals in the folk and african diasporic traditions, mostly regular stones like river rocks, or for prosperity or an add on. However Jet is really an ancient plant with mystical properties going back to europe. It is a type of fossilized coal from trees millions of years old which combined with water. Fossils such as ammonite are used for spirits of the dead and time passed as bone, so it is no wonder it is popular in folk spiritism.

They supposedly used jet during the inquisition to diagnose witchcraft. In the Victorian area it was used as funerary, mourning jewelry or rosaries. This was the time when spiritism became popular of the seances. Most jet comes from Britain and Turkey when sourced by the romans, and has been found as pre roman artifacts. A example of Roman-era jet jewelry on the British Isles was discovered in 1901 in the grave of a high-class mixed-race woman who lived in 4th century York.  This is the so-called “Ivory Bangle Lady” is named for the bracelet made of elephant ivory (probably North African) and Whitby jet (from the North of Yorkshire) found in her grave.  This woman embodies the mixing of cultures and traditions through empire and expansion that have taken place for centuries and millennia. Amber and Jet necklaces are worn by the high priest class in British traditional witchcraft.

Jet becomes magnetized with static when rubbed with silk like amber. It has many properties, the primary one being protection. it can absorb negative energies, and should be cleansed periodically with smudging and sunlight. Like all spiritual jewelry, if it breaks you should leave it where it falls if outside the home or outside. If it falls inside quickly scoop it into the garbage, dispose of this away from the home if possible after washing your hands. If you find african tradition seed bead necklaces such as some of the priests wear, chip crystal necklaces, evil eye, crosses, jewelry etc in a place, such as on a lawn, do not touch it, because it has broken some negative condition.

Protection, particularly against sickness and violence is an attribute of jet. It is also used for clairvoyance, and for the psychic, as it purifies the vibration of the information coming in. Jet is used to remove energetic attachments, particularly those from other people, and it sloughs away negative energies. This makes it a particularly good choice for assisting in clearing. Jet is a stone kind to people in difficulty and fear and has a very calming effect. Jet also eases anxiety and depression, calming anxious or fearful thinking.

Most jet is imitation, as it is becoming a rare stone. I was showed a trick from my Tata, that if you rub it on a piece of paper it should leave a black smudge if genuine.  This pendant is soft jet made with fresh water. Water is very important in the african traditions, and is of blessing of drinkable “sweet waters” such as of the river, slightly different than the hard jet with the removing bitterness of salt water.

Jet is related to saturn as it is black and related to earth, making this a grounding stone.

Peony is related to the moon, protects against magic, and spirits as well as positive aspects. It is an agent of exorcism, spiritual protection, stops misfortune, uncrosses and healing, and a success herb. The seed represents potential and has slightly different properties than flower or root.

These two planetary realms of the moon and saturn/earth are the closest to earth and what gives form and filters into manifestation, and therefore can protect against the earthbound, astral spirits and malevolent dead.

Stay safe and do your spiritual cleansings often!

Until next time,

Sancista Siete Encruzhiladas