Saint Joseph the Worker

"O Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests in desires..."

The preceding prayer has helped me immensely of late.  And it can help you.  Creating a relationship with St. Joseph, the beloved foster father of Christ, is a personal journey I undertook three months when my unemployment looked grim.  Being a transsexual has it's own set of challenges, one of which happens to be finding a job.  Little by little I lost hope and little by little San Giuseppe, the carpenter saint of my Catholic heritage appealed to me.  I began to worry for my own safety and that of my boyfriend and our pets, who depended on my finding a new source of income in the near future.

"O Saint Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you or Jesus asleep in your arms... "

   It occurred to me, as it has to so many others, that Saint Joseph shares our concern for family being a craftsman who supported Jesus and Mary.  For that reason he has been petitioned by countless Italians who integrated him into folk magic.  A relationship with Saint Joseph can help you maintain stability and homeostasis within your work and home life.  

   As Saint Joseph the Worker he is honored on May 1 and his special day is Sunday. He is often seen in the his spouse and child as the Holy Family.  He is also at home with his work bench on Catholic Holy Cards, ready to help you resume control of your life.

Jesus as Magician

(Originally published December 10, 2011)

For two thousand years Jesus has been invoked to protect the home, the family and the individual. He has been nailed to your wall and worn about your neck.  He is a living spell, a Word of Power and--according to some--a magician.

     For twenty four years I avoided him.  The trouble was everyone had an opinion I was supposed to subscribe to.  Jesus is lord, Jesus is King, Jesus runs the show, etc.  I never had room to interpret him myself.  I never made time to examine the kind eyes, the liberal agenda and the obvious metaphysics of his life. He was born of a virgin, cured the blind, raised the dead and drove off spirits.  Jesus also performs the highest goal of ceremonial magicians, unleashing his divinity.

     There were also ancient claims to Jesus's mystical life.  If we're to believe an Egyptian bowl from Alexandria (evidently conceived between the 2nd century BCE  and 1AD), the first written reference to Jesus describes a magician.  Interestingly enough, an enemy of Christianity named Celsus wrote an account between the 2nd and 3rd Centuries describing Jesus as a magician who learned his skills in Egypt, where the bowl was found.

     Modern evidence suggests that Jesus is a synchronized deity based on "god men" like Horus, Mythras and Heracles.  I couldn't agree more.  Jesus has many roles.  He can help you understand the mystic's life better than most modern magicians.  He can teach you tolerance.  He can help make you aware of spirit and acknowledge your inner-divinity.   Jesus's associations are diverse: he is associated with the sun, the color white, blood, the cross and the color 3.  In Santeria, Jesus is synchronized with Obatala, the creator of human form.

Frequently Asked Questions

(Originally published November 11, 2011)

"Are you Wiccan?  Is that how I say that?"  Many times people are surprised when I say no.  I'm also not a Pagan in the modern sense.  I'm an animist.  What's the difference?  For one, Neo-Pagans work within a pantheon of gods while animists work with spirits and energy.  As an animist I make no classifications between deities like Zeus and Catholic saints.  Spirit is spirit.  There are spirits and elemental energies presiding over your favorite plant and gemstone.  Tools and pendants can be charged as independent allies.  I'm not about to box myself in and work with only one group of energies.  I'm not the kind of girl who likes putting the universe in boxes: the Goddess, the God, etc, etc,  It doesn't work for me.  Animism feels more organic to me; it feels real.  At this point it's more of a nature than a religion as it fits into mundane life.

    "What is Stregheria?"  If you've been reading this blog at all you'll know that Stregheria is the Italian word for witchcraft.  It is not (as some people claim) the Italian version of Wicca.  But while witchcraft is not a religion it can be taught, practiced or celebrated as a tradition.

     "Is Stregheria hereditary?"  Some people will tell you they learned their craft from a grandmother or parent.  I don't doubt this is often true.  In my case, I grew up with very religious, conservative parents.  Witchcraft was always an interest whose origin I couldn't pinpoint.  As I grew older I learned to open myself to the knowledge of my ancestors, whose memories and experiences with things like herb lore, folk magic and mysticism have always been apart of me.

  "Are you Catholic?"   I enjoy Catholic imagery.  It appeals to me.  I love rosaries and religious pendants.  My working room is decked with images of saints. None of this is because I'm Catholic but because it keeps me closer to my ancestors.  My ancestors were involved with the same saints.  They pulled them from several sources.  I can't help but feel they helped instill this in me.

Lilith: The Dark Mother in Literature, Art and Faith

Lilith, the long-haired Queen of Witches in Italian folklore is the subject of my new blog, found here.  If this interests you, you might want to subscribe for weekly mythology, folktales and religious doctrine.

Sacred Jewelry

One of my greatest joys in life is thrift shopping.  I’ve come across several recycled rosaries in my journeys as well as Evil Eye charms, amulets, pendants and 2.00 rings.  The moment I get home I empty my bags and arrange them on the floor.  The second thing I usually do is a thorough scrubbing with Holy, Florida or Peace Water.  You can never be too careful.  The former wearers of your favorite second hand pieces were likely to have exposed them to all sorts of debris.  You want to strip these articles of all negative experience.

     Crosses, crucifixes and rosaries are formed with all sorts of sacred symbols.   They invoke sacred geometry, god figures and elemental associations.  Is your favorite cross silver or gold?  This could be used to attract properties ruled by the sun or moon.   The sublime shape of the crossroads is invoked in any cross, the symbol of open doors, Hecate and communication.  The Christian man-god theme makes some of us uncomfortable but it is essential to most Mystery Traditions.

     Pendants, amulets, even dangley necklaces and rings can serve a functional purpose.  Use your favorite essential oil, herb and boiling water to come up with your own pendant charging brew.  Pass them through the smoke of protective plants.  The process is remarkably simple and takes very little time.

On Hecate

When dealing with Greek Mythology, you are dealing with poetry in motion.  That is to say, the Greek world's stories were first recorded as poems.  Hecate, the most evasive spirit in the region, would have been first recounted by word of mouth and then famed by written word.  In this untapped form before dictionaries, media interpretations and art we find the primal goddess.

     In Hesiod's Theogony Hecate is said to be a descendant of the older, Titan generation.  Thus she is older than the traditional Greek gods.  Perhaps recognizing this Zeus grants her dominion over the three realms of creation: the heae, earth and underworld.  Great emphasis is placed on the fact that she deserves her dues, even from the King of Olympus.  Classical writers observed fear as her signature, fear belonging to mortals and immortals alike.  Her name is said to mean "She who has influence from far off" or "her that operates from afar."  She was associated with graveyards, dogs, torches, crossroads and magic.

     How was Hecate represented in Greece?  How did she manifest?  As a vital, dark haired grown woman, constantly in motion.  One hardly sees her pictured without an instrument or torch in hand.  Her second hallmark is the ability to exist in three bodies at once.  This is possibly an illumination of her claims over heaven, earth and hell.

     Modern religions, quick to over analyze, claim her triple function to be a side effect of the popular Triple Goddess of Neo Pagans: Maiden, Mother and Crone, fixating heavily on the role of crone.  I prefer to stray from this representation.  The Greeks knew Hecate's roles were vast, too vast to fit into one body.

     My shrine to Hecate is mounted on a wall.  She is intentionally placed near the bedroom door.  I burn mullein and incense for her inside but.I prefer to leave all consumable offerings outdoors at the crossroads.  Hecate, it should be known, is loud if you call on her but you'll never forget her words.

Stregheria

(Originally published 1/25/11)

Since moving to New Mexico, Stregheria, the tradition of Italian witches seems more relevant to me.  I find myself looking at perfumes, oils and charms in hoodoo catalogues and thinking, what's in this?  How can I make this myself?  A friend of mine once told me the best way to study Stregheria is too read up on herbs.  Your ancestors will take care of the rest.  He was right.  Every time my boyfriend and I cook I'm consiously aware of the building blocks we're using; what goes where, how should you prepare this, cut that?  When we made pasta with meat sauce from scratch, I knew we were eating the experience of our efforts.  Stregheria, as Charles Leland said, is a little more than a tradition and less than a faith.

When working with a long running structure like traditional Stregheria, there is always going to be belief involved.  Leland wrote in his Etruscan Roman Remains on the topic, "Closely allied to the belief in these old deities, is a vast mass of curious tradition, such as that there is a spirit of every element or thing created, as for instance of every plant and mineral, and a guardian or leading spirit of all animals..."  In this case, Leland was writing about animism, which is a core belief to traditional streghe.
The streghe work with several sources of energy.  Aside from Italy's famous spirits we can also tap into the Judeo-Christian saints and angels.  St. Lucy, for instance, is invoked in several spells to cure bad eyesight while St. Peter is invoked during baking and his mystical role of "Opener of the Ways".
About a week before moving my interest in jewelry and accessories grew.  Thrift store jewelry and rings have always been a favorite indulgence of mine.  Now I know why.  I'm attracted to the simple magic of them, the way they can discreetly alter your day.  I always wear at least one or two rings, a necklace or some kind of bracelet or band.  It doesn't have to be bear any witchy design.  It just has to be on you the right day, shining like a partner or tool.  What is your totem, your message on any given Monday that might be different from Tuesday or Thursday?  I never know what I'm going to wear until I'm facing the closet.  I never plan in advance.  The same can be said for clothes. A witch, especially a strega employs magnetism as part of her craft.

Meditation doesn't seem as urgent for the moment.  I seem to be capable of tuning in easier here, call it the atmosphere.  Instead I'm making use of dream bags and Tarot cards.  I've been more excited by the Tarot than ever! Oracle cards have a higher rank in my interest. The appetite I have for cards is the same as my interest in jewelry: innate, sudden, growing.  Naturally, fortune telling (particularly cartomancy) is a major tool of streghe.
I've come to realize in the course of writing this that the move was good for my spirit too.  I needed a new grove to nest in, to plant myself.  I learned about all I could from the trains, botanicas, buses and mixed neighborhoods of Minneapolis.  These realizations occurred as soon as I trusted myself here.  I have to admit, I'm growing as a strega and not just as a woman.