Exotic and Mundane

Folk magic is like a cup a tea. Leaves, exotic and mundane, get mixed around. Time and pressure are involved. In the end, a satisfying infusion takes place. And like tea, it's part of everyday life.

I have been a student of Wicca. I have, as a child, called myself a Christian, too. I've tried to be a Neo Pagan and I've gotten to experience the world of Vodou. In the end I've found that magic isn't dependent or exclusive to a religion, because like tea it can be infused everywhere, in any saucer or pot. It was truly folk magic, whether Hoodoo or Stregonaria or Brujeria, that resembled the earthy, alluring, poetic style captured by the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, the magic of folklore and fairytales.

Eggs rolled over the body and cracked in a tub; Pennies and candy arranged at the four corners of a crossroads; Candles and amulets dressed in oil; Blue beads and silver worn to repel the Evil Eye-- In my mind this is all much more primal and effective than "invoking the God and Great Goddess," attributing magic solely to the word of fertility when it serves a wider, all engrossing drive.

By February 24th, Streghe Pages will be revised as The Crucibile: A Folk Magic Journal. The Crucible will serve an ecclectic brew steeped in many leaves. Hoodoo, Rootwork and Conjure will be explored as well as Stregonaria, Italian faith healing, and Gnosis based Christianity. Pagan religious structures will also be explored from an animistic perspective.

Details on the nature of this shift can be found in the previous entry or by contacting me below.

On Lilith

The devil is in the details.

Lilth has no canon.  She has no official iconography, mythology, back story or religion.  Over analyze her and the details fall apart.  Lilith has associations, scattershots of a legacy reaching as far back as the Sumerians.  She is similar to Tiamat, Nammu, Lammashtu and Bellit-Illi, local spirits of child birth, sex and murder.  She is supposedly the wind spirit Lilitu or a handmaiden of Innana.  She is also the ex-wife of Adam in Judeo-Christian mythology, the Queen of Demons.  In Islam she is related to several Djiin.  She is viewed as a goddess by Women's Liberation movements, Wicca and Neo-Paganism.  Psychologists say she is a neglected part of the Dark Feminine.  She is also known as the Queen of Witches, Sheba and the Black Madonna.  Try to unravel the sequence and you're back at zero.

In the past, I've experienced Lilith. She was the first spirit I've worked with who produced physical manifestations of her presence. It inspired a kind devotion throughout my teens and early twenties. Being open in my interest, I received many questions from Wiccans and Neo Pagans. Many of them wondered how I could work with her as the energy from the Garden of Eden and believe in spirits like Hera and Isis.  They wanted to know why I couldn't pray to Lilith as a goddess. The answer is simple: she isn't. She simply isn't a Christian, Jewish or Pagan energy. She belongs to no one.

As such, I've discovered Lilith is not the most approachable entity on a long term basis. She will not accept altars or daily devotions for very long. She needs to be free to approach you when she chooses, flitting in and out of your life when it's appropriate.

If you are working with Lilith and absolutely need an altar, I suggest keeping it in a room separate from any other saints or spirits. She accepts, in my own experience, jewelry, incense and gifts or wine, rum or whiskey. She responds to red as a candle color and her totem animals are jackals, black cats, panthers and the owl.

The Evil Eye: What It Is, What It Isn't and How to Avert It

You can not study folk magic without discussing the phenomenon the Italians call Malacchio, the Evil Eye. And while much has been said about this subversive spell online, I find it's been over generalized into a "look of envy." In my time as a student of traditional Stregheria, I've experienced this hex and tossed over a few rocks to discover Malacchio's wormy history. What I've taken away from this search is that the English, Wikipedia rehashing of the curse loses a few key notes in translation.

The Evil Eye is a harmful look of projection. It results in fatigue, dehydration, skin irritation and general misfortune. In rare cases, the Eye can result in death.  Generally speaking, the Evil Eye is believed to derive from envy, but it can also be transmitted through any feeling projected by its caster.  Often times, the person transmitting the Eye is doing so unconsciously.  It's also believed that the Eye is drawn by excessive pride.  Whether or not this is true, it is unethical to project.  It reminds me of court case defenses you hear now and then that when a woman is dressing provocatively she is somehow "asking" to be raped, or inviting that kind of behavior. In theory, a person casting the Evil Eye is doing so because they feel the overly proud person is eliciting attention.

Is the Evil Eye a result of the person casting it's sensitivity and/or insecurities? It may not honestly matter. Jealousy, insecurity and piety will always be a part of our nature in a, "Let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone," kind of way. The best thing to do is to shield yourself from the Evil Eye's nature in the traditional ways our ancestors employed.

When it comes to Italians, the following amulets were applied:

The Cornuto or corno is better known as the Italian Horn.  It is a popular charm worn by Italian Americans in coral, silver and gold.  There are a variety of reasons attributed to its presence, each rooted in tradition.  In its coral form it is used to repel the Evil Eye.  The gold and silver forms are (as usual) speculated to date back to pagan times and the veneration of the lunar spirit Luna (the horns signifying those of the moon).  In later times (if you're subscribing to that theory), it them would have been reintegrated into the adoration of Mary who is intimately linked with lunar iconagrapy.  In my experience the gold form is worn by Italian Americans along with the cross.

And then, there is the Chimaruta. What  can I say about the Chimaruta? It is a mystery.  Scholars believe it is a totemic amulet intended to ward off witchcract and it's association, the Evil Eye.  Neo Pagan author Raven Grimassi believes (with what basis I wonder?) that it represents the spirit Diana Triformis.  The name Chimaruta literally means, "Sprig of rue," and the charm itself is cast in silver.  Three branches, bearing totems, have the potential to break into smaller sub-branches.  The truth probably lies closer to the scholarly theory, as the branching charms do seem to generate an external effect.  What this effect is probably depends on the family or practicioner who wore it.  Rue is a protective plant, and is also an herb applied intimately in Italian spells and rituals.  The intended use most likely depends on the assortment of trinkets or totems mentioned earlier.   Without historical basis, furthermore, we can not assume it had anything to do with Diana Triformis. The Chimatuta most likely belongs to the realm of family secrets and folk magic, not a suppressed Pagan cult.