Busy Saturday!

My altar

Well, it was a busy day yesterday.  I am doing a love spell for someone and I made the mistake of buying a drip-less candle, so it's taking quite a long time to burn down.

The spell called for some ingredients that I couldn't find (I mentioned these in a previous post) so I compromised.  The crystallized ginger - I didn't want to use fresh ginger because the sweetness of this spell is important, so I found some ginger jam, which is ginger and sugar. Perfect.  As for the dried lemon peel.  I could not find that and, again, I do not want to use lemon as it is sour, so I found candied citrus (lemon and orange) and I used that.  Now the candle must burn down.  We are on day three, so if it doesn't happen today, I will have to burn it for two more days.

Yesterday I also finished editing the newsletter - and then the Bard looked it over.  So now, it's on to creating the final copy which is today's job for a Monday release.  Keep tuned.

I am drying out some cilantro (coriander) root.  The supermarket had cilantro with the roots attached, so you know I could not resist this - I love cilantro and I love roots.

Ok, onto a story....A few months ago, I decided to make a doll.  I think actually I was inspired by a giveaway that I did not win.  I thought maybe I would make a couple of these dolls and give one away on this blog.  So I started digging out the stuff and got to work.  The doll seemed to make herself, and I was very happy with the results and decided to keep this one for my altar.  I felt it represented a guide that a medium told me about years ago, the one who helps with the "ju-ju" as she said.

I then tried to duplicate this doll.  I tried several times, but I couldn't get it to come out right.  Soon, I gave up and was quite happy to have one of my own, that I placed on my altar whenever I did folk magic. I have always wondered about this addition to my magical tools, but decided not to question it.

Last week I was engaging in my latest obsession - you tube videos about folk magic, and I happened upon one in which I saw a handmade doll on an altar -not a poppet, but an altar doll.  He mentioned that this was his "La Madama."  Then I happened upon this one.  It got me thinking quite a bit.  I did some research, what little I could find about "La Madama" and it kind of amazed me that I had created a similar doll without any knowledge of this. Go HERE to read the whole article. but as I have always been taught you do not pick your guides/gods - they pick you.

La Madama is the patron of playing card readers and bone readers, the latter a link to her past on the African continent. As a conjure woman, she carries the wisdom of all the old rootworkers from the past. She is the patron of root doctors, and as a spirit guide, she may be called upon by conjure doctors who seek information when faced with difficult clients or intractable jobs of spell-casting.

 Apparently people used to use old Aunt Jemima syrup bottles to represent La Madama as she is depicted as a black house slave. Today you might find a ceramic versions at Botanticas.

 My doll, as you can see,  does not look like this.  In fact I remember creating her and feeling the need to give her brightly colored clothes and fancy headdresses.  But I believe these old traditions are what they are simply because of the situations present at the time of their origin. In folk magic especially, people use what they have available and what they can afford - and what crosses their path. And as I have read about La Madama,  each one is different and so there are traditions, such as offerings that are common, but the same ones are not used by everyone as each one is unique, and each person needs to "get to know" their individual spirits.

Nothing is coincidence on this path. 

So there you have it - the update on the weekend!

One last note:  there is a very important blog post, called on "Bringing up Salamanders" entitled "Be Strong" that I think every woman should read.  

Sources: You Tube
Association of Independent Card Readers and Root Workers


© Aine O’Brien - Please do not use without permission

Black Crow Tarot Readings 

Witches' Work Newsletter