Magic Lamps

Lamps are a relatively new trick Ive acquired, Ive been aware of them for a long time, but never really bothered with them much. Ive always used candles instead (much easier and less messier), however after a little persistence, the extra effort to make them really pays off and Ive found them to be a fantastically powerful ritual technique and an elegant addition to any spiritual altar.

(here is a simple lamp for healing a minor crossed condition, made with the help of st michael.)

You can use them in the tradition of the long term setting of lights for specific requests (unlike candles they can be kept going pretty much indefinitely if you keep them topped up with oil.), they can be used to "heat up" spirits, i.e filled up with the favourite oils and herbs associated with a particular spirit and used as an offering to whatever entity you are invoking. They can also simply be used as a focal point for your prayers and rituals.

Because the making of lamps is something I have only recently got the hang of, I feel i should credit the people and sources that have helped me develop this practice.

The first person is a vodouisant (voodoo practitioner) friend who is a devotee of the Vodou spirit Erzulie Dantor, she has used lamps successfully many times over the years in service to this spirit. I am not going to talk about the use of lamps in Haitian Vodou here, as I feel I don't know enough about the specifics of them because Haitian Vodou lamps are a complex ritual practice in their own right.
However much of the practical advice of about getting a lamp lit and keeping it going safely with a big fat juicy flame has come from her.

The second source comes from one of my favourite blogs written by an American conjure practitioner, he has some fantastic ideas surrounding ritual techniques that I've incorporated into my practice with great effect.

The third is my root worker friend and his partner who own a fantastic little old school style botanica, they often keep lamps going for their clients, they were the ones who inspired me to give lamps another go.

So, what exactly is a lamp? A lamp is just basically a flame proof container filled with oil and then a wick is placed in the oil and lit, producing a bright flame, they are safe as when done properly the oil gets warm but not hot and are much more contained than candles.

CONTAINERS FOR YOUR OIL

Almost any flame proof container can be used for an oil lamp, Ive found a small iron cauldron or an enamel breakfast cereal bowl works best, though others use all manner of container from half cut coconuts to tin cans. Try and choose a container that speaks of the work you are doing, e.g an iron pot for "hot" aggressive works such as crossing or perhaps a white ceramic bowl for "cooler" works such as blessing etc.

BASE OIL FOR YOUR LAMP

Ive found coconut oil (for cool works) and red palm oil (for hot works) works best, some folk recommend olive oil but I've never been able to get this working, olive oil always seems too heavy to be drawn up through the wicks I use, it also stinks to high heaven. Other oils I've seen recommended include sweet almond oil, vegetable oil and grape seed oil, I've never tried any of these but feel free to experiment. I found that the Anna Riva sprinkling powders (yes, yes I know everyone thinks they are crap) are useful as they stain the oil a bright colour, this is useful as you can stain the oil a nice colour related to the work you are doing, for example I once put some Anna Riva love powder in a love lamp and it stained the coconut oil a bright pink, perfect as a focus for love and romance work.

WICKS

Ive seen all manner of things being used as wicks, from gauze to specialised ghee lamp wicks from Hindu hardware stores. Ive had the most success with a wad of pure virgin cotton (don't use cotton wool!), I simple take a small ball of cotton, give it a bit of a twist to form a wick poking out of it and stick it in the oil with the wick poking above the surface (this was taught to me by my vodouisant friend), this burns with a large bright yellow flame that does not go out and saves for messing around with bits of tin foil to keep the wick afloat.

THINGS TO PUT IN YOUR OIL LAMP

You can put anything you like in your oil lamp relating to the work you are doing, herbs, conjure oils, powders, prayer cards, lodestones, seals, sigils....get creative, though try and place an odd number of items in your lamp, multiples of 3s, 5s, 7s and 13s are all auspicious and powerful.
A very sweet and clever thing I've seen is the use of baby dolls carved from wax being placed in oil lamps as part of love magic. Two baby dolls are carved from candle wax representing the targets of the spell, they are tied together in red thread and placed in the oil, as the oil warms, the wax gently melts the dolls so they become liquid, they mingle together and with the magical ingredients of the oil, they are then drawn up through the wick to be burnt in the flame.

xxxx

ST JOSEPH LAMP

Here's a very watered down version of a little work i recently did for someone, you can try it to get yourself a new job or promotion. It can also be modified slightly to make a house sale go easily. St Joseph loves helping people find work or a nice place to live.
This lamp calls on the power of st Joseph. If you are a man with a family to support (especially a foster dad or a step father to someone else's children) then St Joseph is likely to favour you, but if you are a woman or a man with no dependants, don't worry, you can still invoke him for this working as he is a kind and charitable spirit, always willing to help the needy.

Take a white ceramic cereal bowl and give it a good scrub with salt water, then dry it off and wipe it over with Florida water (this is how I cleanse most ritual objects).

Take a large dry bay leaf (bay leaves are for victory, think the Olympic games) and carefully write your intention on the leaf with dragons blood ink, something along the lines of "pass my job interview" or "find work" is fine. Drop this into the bowl along with a catholic medal of St Joseph and a liberal amount of crown of success oil.
Take a bottle of coconut oil and run it under the hot water tap until the oil becomes liquid, pour it over the items in the bowl until the bowl is about 2/3rds full, add a sprinkle of Anna Riva crown of success powder or powdered yellow chalk to the oil to colour it yellow (i.e gold, the colour of success) if you wish.

Place your oil lamp somewhere safe on a flat surface (make sure its away from anything that might catch fire, St Joseph doesn't want you to burn your house down!), add your cotton wick, light it, get on your knees and pray to whatever God you worship asking for his/her/its blessing.
Then speak openly and humbly to St Joseph, imploring his favour, tell him your problems, remember he is your friend waiting to help you (but only if you're willing to help yourself! pray till the cows come home but if you don't get off your arse and get sending your CV out, nothing is likely to happen), tell him you have made this lamp in his honour, state your request clearly and ask him to grant it.
Return daily and speak to him or just leave the lamp to burn, I personally recommend a novena (pray and speak to him everyday for 9 days) and then leave the lamp to burn as long as it takes to fulfill your request.
St Joseph is the patron of workers, the dying, housing and fathers, so if he grants your request thank him by letting his spirit do its good work through you and ensure you make a donation to a charity that deals with the homeless, orphans, the terminally ill or struggling families.

Saint Expedite

It is said that if Saint Expedite answers your prayers then you should spread his fame, since this good Saint has recently shown me his generosity and kindness then I thought it would be a good place to start this new blog.

So who exactly is St Expedite? there are a few stories going around of how this saint came to be. One of the most common stories is that a group of nuns where outfitting the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadeloupe in New Orleans, they commissioned an Italian artist in Rome for a statue of Our Lady and when the shipment arrived instead of a statue of Our Lady they received a statue of a roman soldier, somehow the shipping order had been mixed up. The nuns where puzzled by the word "epedito" printed on the side of the shipping crate (epedito=expedite, i.e expedite this shipment) and in their ignorance took it to be the name of the strange soldier saint inside the crate.
Sadly as great as this story is, it is not true, St Expedite has been venerated in Europe and the near East since the middle ages. Some say he was a legionnaire stationed in Armenia, who was beheaded for his conversion from paganism to Christianity, others say he never existed at all but was simply an advertising campaign by the early catholic church to warn pagans not to put off their conversion to Christianity lest they die without absolution from Jesus. But who cares about his true origins? What matters is that the living spirit of St Expedite is a benevolent and powerful intercessor here to help us poor sinners get through life.

St Expedite is depicted as a handsome young roman soldier, in his left hand he holds the palm leaf of martyrdom and in his right hand he holds aloft a white cross with the Latin word "hodie" (today) written on it, beneath his right foot he is crushing a crow with the word "cras" (tomorrow) coming from its beak. he is the patron of procrastinators, gamblers, shopkeepers and schoolboys among other things.
However he is most commonly invoked by people who want things fast, especially people who need money fast.

Anyways, I was recently owed a large amount of money, I had been having trouble getting the company who owed me this money to pay up. Omens started to appear in my day to day to life, strange synchronicities and signs that made me feel like God and the Spirits were pointing me towards invoking this saint.
I had never had much luck with Saint Expedite, some people say that sometimes he takes a dislike to certain people and will simply not answer their prayers, I had tried a few times in the past to invoke his aid but he never seemed to listen to me, I figured he just didn't really like me very much (it happens, some spirits you get on with, some you don't.) but I have faith in God and the spirits that guide me so I set about invoking St Expedite.
I prayed to him long and hard and low and behold.....nothing happened. Slightly frustrated i spoke to my friend who is proficient hoodoo root doctor and devotee of St Expedite, I told him exactly what I said to the saint and my friend pointed out what i was doing wrong:
Each time I had invoked the saint I had given him a specific time frame to work in, Id always said "St Expedite grant my request before..." my friend pointed out how rude it was to do this, I should have simply had faith that St Expedite would do what he did best and work incredibly fast.
Realising my mistake I set about invoking the saint again, I lit the candle on his shrine and began to pray, I was halfway through the prayer when I heard a crow caw, I jumped and turned around to see the bird fly past my window, as I turned to face the shrine again my mobile phone began to ring, it was the company who owed me money calling to tell me that the money had been payed into my bank account! Glory to you Saint Expedite!

So there you have it, if you need help in a hurry, especially financial help, don't hesitate to call upon this wonderful and beautiful Saint who is ever ready to help those with faith.

Here's what to do:

On a small table or shelf build a little shrine to him, place an upside picture of him on it, to the left of this place a glass of water, in the middle to the rear of the table place a red candle forming a triangle.
Light the candle and say this prayer followed by the our father, hail mary and glory be:



Saint Expedite, you lay in rest.

I come to you and ask that this wish be granted.

____________ (Clearly express what you want, and ask him to
find a way to get it to you.)

Expedite now what I ask of you.
Expedite now what I want of you, this very second.
Don't waste another day.
Grant me what I ask for.
I know your power, I know you because of your work.
I know you can help me.
Do this for me and I will spread your name with love and honor
so that it will be invoked again and again.
Expedite this wish with speed, love, honor, and goodness.
Glory to you, Saint Expedite!


Once he grants your request give him a gift of pound cake and a bunch of red flowers, then go and tell others about how he has helped you as I have done here. God bless you St Expedite and thank you!