Garlic in Folklore, Myth and Magic

Garlic, it is synonymous with protection, vampires and the Evil Eye. It has had a place in folk magic and religion since Ancient Egypt. It has also been associated, historically, with currency, sexual health and courage. Like courage, it is available to everyone.

In order to highlight garlic's protective properties, let's spend some time in Italy. According to Vito Quattrocchi in his writings on magical Catholicism (specifically Benedicaria and The Sicilian Blade II), the plant is synonymous with Saint Michael . That being said, in Southern Italy and Sicily, garlic is Saint Michael--or it is invested with his energy. His book, Benedicaria (which I highly recommend for enthusiasts of folk magic, esoteric Christianity and faith healing), contains a procedure for imbuing a head with the Saint's power of on your altar. According to Sicilian folklore, garlic was placed at the foot of the cross to protect Jesus from demons in his "weakened state," as Quattrocchi puts it.

In an historical context, Pliny claimed that garlic was burned as a spirit during the taking of oaths. He named the plant several times in remediation and ancient medicine. It has been used around the world as an antiseptic, to dress wounds and fight off infection, well into the modern era.

On a magical level, garlic is probably best
know for its European uses. Here we have popular customs for repelling unwanted neighbors, spirits and the Evil Eye. Strings of garlic were usually hung by doorways and whole cloves or heads were placed on the windowsill. This is where the widespread link with vampires (psychic or otherwise) derives, in part.

Garlic can still be used in the magical or talismanic ways listed above. It can be incorporated into kitchen magic or protective work seamlessly. Garlic is readily available, always near us to lend a hand.

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.

Stregoneria and the Future of Streghe Pages

As many of you know, Stregoneria is a relatively modern term denoting Italian and Italian American folk magic.  Being a folk magic framework, it is not a religious practice, though many of its enthusiasts are Catholics or Pagans of some kind. In several ways, it is comparable to Hoodoo and Brujeria, though this is still being researched.  As is the identical case with Stregheria (and yes, I am rolling my eyes right now), it translates (more or less) to "witchcraft."  The frustrating thing about this terminology is that the later, Stregheria, is hard to separate from Neo Pagan, Gardenian influenced Wicca and the efforts of writers like Raven Gramassi.   And while there is nothing wrong with said influences or paths, I prefer to work and practice and write within a folk magic perspective.  This has always been the case, since this blog was created in 2010.

In the past I have been able to proceed, using Stregheria to denote witchcraft and folk magic with an Italian or Italian American slant. But lately, I find it's hard to write the above word without implying Diana-based or Neo Pagan Wicca.  And I've increasingly inspired these associations by using the word Stregheria.  It should also be fairly obvious that I work with Gnostic and Catholic saints, energies and terms associated with a Judeo Christian paradigm and the lwa and orisha of Vodou, Santeria and what we're calling African Diaspora.  I am, at heart, a folk magician, who enjoys animism and spirits of various paths.  I am not a Pagan or a Christian, per se, though I do have some Gnostic slants in my worldview.  And the older I become, the more traveled and cultured and experienced I become in folk systems, the more I discover that Italian American magic is not my exclusive influence, neither in writing or daily practice..

So what does this mean for Streghe Pages?

I'd like to write for a larger group of readers.  I'll always search for ways to educate others about Italian and Italian American folk magic, but I'm also very interested in Brujeria and Hoodoo, as well as Conjure and Root Work.  I'd like open other avenues, moving forward.  In the next week, I'll be reviewing this blog and revamping the name, URL and style. Streghe Pages will live on.  That is guaranteed.The entries with an inherent Italian basis will continue to be linked in the page marked The Strega Diaries at the upper right.  This will continue to educate readers on Italian folk magic and organize a resource.  All upcoming entries, of course, will be added to the main page first, but archived and collected in The Strega Diaries, if they pertain to Italian and Italian American magic, for easy reference. 

I Work With: Baron Samedi

Baron Samedi, the lwa of the dead, is always hungry. He is perhaps the most iconic of the Vodou lwa, in appearance and attitude. Renowned for obscenities, vulgarity and a lust for life, he walks a fine line between the living and the dead.

In my experience, Baron Samedi is interested in personal transformation, the protection of children and magic. He communicates using the vehicles of sleep and trance. He has expressed himself most vividly to me during shifts in consciousness. Like most well known lwa, he has certainly been known to walk a personal path with his initiates. He strikes a Shamanic balance with the world of Vodou. He is, in my mind all, an excellent teacher and mentor. His caring, sensitive side is often underplayed in public forums.

Offer Baron Samedi rum, whiskey and cigars as his favorite staples. Remember that when we are discussing spirits, we are discussing personalities. As such, the Baron is fond of music, spicy foods and sunglasses. He has tastes, likes and dislikes! Once I offered him red wine and he showed up in a dream afterward to insist I never offered it again! His totem colors are black and purple. He is known by Papa Gede in Santeria. Baron Samedi can affirm your faith in spirit, in life after death and your own intuition. He can teach us all to value life.

I Work With: Danballa and Aida Wedo

In Haitian Vodou, Danballa is credited with creating the earth or world egg. He is usually depicted as a white serpent with his wife Aida Wedo, the rainbow. The two serpentine lwa (spirits) are inseparable and never travel without each other, according to my earliest teacher. Indeed, in my experience, one is never very far behind the other.

I first encountered Danballa when I was praying to the Hebrew deity Asherah (often viewed as the estranged wife of the Judeo-Christian God in the Old Testament). While meditating, I sensed a white tower and later, the vision of a black man in a white robe appeared. Later, I discovered this man was Legba, though I never heard his name or read it at this point. Suddenly, the skeletal outline of a snake hovering through space filled my mind. In the next instant, I heard my name. It was loud enough to break my concentration, as I was sure it came from the room. What I did next surprised me. I sat on the floor and cried. That's how beautiful the voice was.

This is the only experience with Danballa I can share, though I have experienced further contact with the lwa and his wife. The nature of these incidents are far too personal to share on a blog. In person, I've been happy to share the faith affirming stories, with friends and extended family. Personal miracles and affirming faith are, in my mind, some of their specialties.

Danballa is often snynchronized with Moses or Saint Patrick. He appears, to some, as a tall old man with a light skin tone and long white hair with a long white beard. Aida Wedo is often depicted as an actual rainbow or a woman with a serpent's head. They both enjoy offerings of white food (eggs and rice, especially) and candles and, in my experience, frankincense.

I Work With: Saint Michael

 

We are all familiar with Saint Michael: Christians, Jews, ceremonial magicians and faith healers. A favorite icon of synchretic animism, he has been likened to Hermes, Mercury, and Danballa. In the Judeo-Christian context, he is the most prominent arcangel and the leader of God's armies.

Saint Michael has been credited as the patron of soldiers and faith healers. He is also petitioned by folk magicians (especially the Italian strega and the Mexican bruja).  In these systems he is called upon to break curses, protect individuals from enemy snares and help us shield ourselves during work with more dangerous saints like the Santa Morte (or Santa Muerte in Spanish).

St. Michael, as God's protector and the friend of humanity can also protect the god in you. It is best to approach St. Michael traditionally, with his established prayers and red candles. You can recite folk prayers (they exist in abundance) or a Catholic novena. Spend some time meditating on his image and properly get to know him. He is always available.

I Work With: Legba

What can I say about Legba? He approached me before I knew his name. The bulk of the story is too personal for the Internet. It was a teacher of mine, a mentor skilled in Goetia, Vodou and folk magic who confirmed the drifter's identity when I related the encounter, that of a black man wearing white who looked like a "twisted preacher," making the sign of the cross with a bottle of rum. My mentor laughed. "You just ran into one of the most popular spirits in Vodou, Papa Legba."

I'd never read a book on Vodou. I'd never known a Haitian person. But here was this spirit visiting me when I slept and when I tried to meditate on external issues. He stood behind a fence in one vision, his face hidden by a white bandana. I told my teacher. "A revelation is coming," was his answer, before my world utterly changed. Yes, Papa Legba, the ancient spirit of the crossroads, who jokes and smokes and opens the ways, synonymous with Elegua and St. Peter of the Christian faith.

What have I learned from four years of praying to him? I've learned that the spirits, the lwa, animism--all of it--is real. I learned that they do not need for us to believe in them to exist. I've learned that these are not allegories we are working with, but personalities! This is one of the ways Legba has opened the door to the spirit world for me. I've also learned that spirits have none of the borders we set for ourselves. I did not have to be initiated into Vodou for Legba to approach me. I could also believe in Jesus and Hera and St. Michael. It makes no difference, really. Spirit, as I've often said, is spirit. 

If Legba has visited you or you feel a connection to this seasoned spirit, I recommend dedicating a permanent altar to him in your home. Like Hecate, I always feel more comfortable addressing him near a door. Keep the altar minimal at first. Keep a statue, a cross, a lock and key or a white candle in his name. Because it is such a worthwhile experience, I would let Legba tell you about Legba. If you know folk magicians, rootworkers or individuals involved in any kind of Diaspora, ask them about, what he likes, how he works, et cetera. Avoid Wikipedia or over analytic, mundane sources. Forge an organic path to Legba by simply encouraging him, when you're ready.

I Work With: Bast

We live in a vast universe. The spirits of Ancient Egypt, skilled in Shamanism, are perfectly equipped to navigate it. Their anthropomorphic natures give them inherent skills and highly evolved senses human beings lack. The Egyptians, who were excellent observers of nature, witnessed these spirits in an animistic universe. The Egyptian pantheon as we call it, offered their services as protectors, farmers, embalming experts and artisans. Bast, like many a spirit named the Eye of Ra, was regarded as the avenging, offensive hand of the imperial sun. Her protection extended to Lower Egypt, as the northern counterpart of Sekhemet. She was not, as SD Cass attests in his award winning essay, a less feral, sated version of the aforementioned lioness. It was Artemis, after all, cunning,  solitary, huntress Artemis, who the Greeks associated with Bast (and by extension, the Italio-Roman witch queen Diana, I suppose).

Bast seems to me a keenly realized deity whose bright eyes are always observing me. She is clear and crisp as peppermint. Though I don't mean this in an amorous context (Bast is , after all, not a spirit of sexual or romantic love), there is a romantic side to Bast. It's in her refined, displaced nature, like the aloof desert cat or strays I met in Albuquerque. She also has the ability to change her shape as the Egyptians early on depicted her with the face of a lioness. Even after she became represented as a woman with a cat's face, she held in her hands an aegis bearing the face of an angry lioness.

It should be noted that Bast is still a mystery to us in the modern day. What little information survives from the ancient world comes from pyramid and wall texts. There are no prayers from these bygone days preserved to her. Much of her activities relate to her relationship with the pharaoh, the state and Ra. We do know that the Egyptian people prayed to her and that countless cat statues were offered to her by everyday people. She and Sekhemet were similar in prominence to Uadjet and Nekhebet, the transcendent bird /snake goddesses found in innumerable artistic scenes and the pharaoh's crown. For my part, I felt Bast's presence gradually, but when I finally acknowledged her, she produced some vivid actions in nature. In the end, only Bast can teach you about Bast.

 Bast can help us travail new Shamanic depths. If you feel endangered or that an enemy intends some sort of wrongdoing, Bast can deflect or defend you from these actions. If you feel you've been cursed, if you lack good fortune, Bast may be of help to you. She can rip away negative energy and associations. Hexes are no match for her. Bast is also a provider who can teach you how to access the universe's abundant nature. I have known Bast to attend and save her totem animals, to return them if they've wandered off from home, though she is not strictly the "Goddess of Cats." She responds favorably to chanting and drumming, like the lwa of Vodou and African Diaspora. Offer Bast fresh water, flowers, exotic incense, bars of chocolate and jewelry. She is the kind of spirit who needs communication from her followers. It is best, when you're ready, to create a shrine or space on your altar for Bast and to pray by candlelight with incense or another gift during petitions. Try not to attend this skilled spirit empty handed. Remember, as a teacher of mine once said, honor should be given simply for the sake of giving honor.

Santa Morte: Holy Death in Eurpoe

 

Growing up in an Italian-American family I saw a lot of death. Most of my aunts and uncles were geriatric so there was a funeral every six months. They died of cancer, of pneumonia, of calculated risks. When that happened everyone came. We had relatives in distance states who would fly in for the occasion. I remember the funeral home most of all, an old Italian place in a rusty part of town. Everything about it depressed me, the carpet, the lights, the eternally overcast sky. Nothing ever changed at Rossi's.

I preferred the churches and cemeteries, high ceilings and open sky, a promise of lunch afterwords. Catholic churches rarely depressed me, not even the older ones with their darker windows and stony floors. Recently I stumbled across some Italian churches built specifically for the dead. Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte is probably the most famous, carved with skull motifs and winged time pieces. Similar shrines appear elsewhere in Italy, built to house friars and corpses of the abandoned or unknown. We could say death was familiar to the people who visited and built these churches. They were used to it, considering the shear number of plague victims throughout Europe.

Consider the following images from Santa Maria Della Concezione where an order of 4,000 dead monks line the walls. Now look a little closer at the photo to the right, depicting a tall skeleton with scythe and scales. Does any of this seem familiar? Could it be an ancestress, a forerunner of Mexico's death saint Santisima Muerte, the arcane spectre we know from botanica windows and head shops?  Shortly after researching this, I began spotting references to Italian death sprites like Dea Mors and the Greek Fate Atropos.  In most stories they were linked to Europe's dark Carnivals and a more obsucre figure from European legend called Santa Morte, or Saint Death. 

　

Most of what we know about Holy Death (Santisima Muerte) comes from Brujeria (Mexican Witchcraft) and Curanderismo. She is a product of syncreticism, believed to be linked to the Aztec spirit Mictecacihuatl. According to tradition, she is the archangel of death. Like the Madonna, she arrives in a variety of forms, each petitioned for different needs. La Blanca (White) has the power to heal and existed before Genesis.  La Roja (Red) is called upon for romantic endeavors, being the form she took when Adam and Eve made love in the Garden. She is also petioned for financial needs. La Negra (Black) is the form she took once Cain killed Abel.  She is petitioned for defense, murder and protection.

More recently, I became the student of a woman raised in an Italian folkloric tradition.  She agreed to teach me her family's blend of Stregheria.  One summer afternoon she mentioned "The Lady of Silence."  As it turns out, this Lady is one and the same with Santa Morte.  My teacher even referred to her as the Angel of Death.  While she isn't featured in every form of Stregheria, we do refer to her in our own, where she sits on my altar as The Lady of Silence.  What can  I tell you about this folk saint as she's petioned by Italian witches?  Very little.  Due to traditional Stregheria's renown security, we take special measures to preserve any symbolism and structure from traditions who might adapt them and misrepresent the stories or rituals in translation.  I can tell you that The Lady entertains her own fresh symbolism and a place in our credo. 

Concerning her influence over Santisima Muerte and Latin America, consider Spain's invasion of Mexico. Could it be possible that The Lady of Silence, a relic of Europe's Carnivals, influenced Brujeria and our modern understanding of Santisima Muerte? I think it's very likely, and find myself viewing her--and my family's customs--in a fuller, brighter light. Furthermore, if anyone works with this saint or has any additional texts, I'd love to hear from you. Please contact me or leave a note below.

On Minerva

( Originally published March 9, 2012)

 

There is a special place in my heart for Minerva. The New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology calls her the least Italian of the imperial deities worshiped in Rome. Even Charles Leland had little to say of her, naming her an Etruscan Mnemosyne. I have to disagree. True contact with deities is not established in books, but in practice.

Minerva entered my life recently when I asked Jupiter's assistance in contacting the folletto, the spirits honored by my ancestors. Minerva, like Jupiter, Janus or Venus represents true animism. Her name stems from the ancient root for mind, making her a true epitome of thought and intellect. She rules craftsmanship, commerce and handy-work. She is also fond of students like myself.

Communion with Minerva is best accomplished in person. Leave a gift for her outdoors, on your altar or near your place of business or school. You will most likely experience her as a spirit independent of outside influences. Books on "Roman Mythology" make excellent reference points but tend to run in circles. Remember that the Italian spirits were experienced in oral lore and ritual long before they were recorded by poets and "fused" with the Greek pantheon. Minerva is not a footnote; she's an entity.

On Venus

(Originally published May 28, 2012)

Venus, like Morta the Roman Fate, is inevitable. Everyone experiences her. To the Italians she was a spirit of beauty and vitalization evident in nature. Every spring she returned with Flora and Feronia, blessing flowers and gorgeous plant life. Venus is beautification and regeneration. She is the eternally stimulated woman, a patron of painters, whores and emperors. Eventually she attained the stories of Aphrodite and became the patron of human love and beauty as well.

Charles Leland believed she evolved over time from the Etruscan Turan. Turan supposedly became the more popular Turanna, a faery of chance and fortune similar to Fortuna. Leland claims she divined and blessed with cards. Her totem was the Queen of Hearts.

Scholars are quick to point out Venus's lack of worship in early Rome. Unlike Jupiter and Juno she had to gain strength slowly. By the time of Julius Caesar, however, she became the Roman Genetrix or "Begetting Mother" of the imperial race. Hadrian completed a temple to her as late as 135 AD.

In modern times Venus is snyonomous with love. As a planetary spirit she is easier to recognize in nature than Aphrodite. She rules love, romance, beauty, sexuality and lust. As the mother of Cupid she rules erotic and emotional impulses. Her sacred colors are yellow and red, easily translated into candle magic and ritual. When working with her, remember you are dealing with the mother of regeneration. Venus changed her form several times to become the presence we know today. In the end, she's retained her core character.

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.

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.