Unveiled Limited Edition Oil

Since everyone was most interested in a fragrance oil to help lower the veils, I will be making 10 Limited Edition Oils called Unveiled.  I will be consecrating them on the New Moon (April 21st) and releasing them for sale on Monday, April 23rd.  If you pre-order, I will ship your oil on Monday, April 23rd. 

This will be a unisex fragrance with notes of loamy juniper berries, fresh green grass, earthy cedar, exotic saffron and sensual absinthe.

If you would like to purchase this as a presale:

The oil is $15

Shipping costs will be:


$3 USD - US

$5 USD - Canada

$7 USD - Europe

For pre-ordering, go to Paypal and send payment and shipping to corvaxgirl@gmail.com with the subject line "Unveiled".
 
My Limited Edition Oil Man in Black has (1) left.  There are (6) Goddess of the Hearth Limited Edition Oils left.  My regular oils Lucy's Lavendar Healing Oil, Rowan's Rose Love Drawing Oil, Britana's Basil Money Drawing Oil, High John and  Aurora's Mojo Hand Oil are now labeled in a similar manner to my Special Edition Oils but I haven't had a chance to put new pictures up yet!

Everyone Wants to Be Famous, No One Wants to Do the Work.

So, I'm working on building my empire.  On crap days (which are currently more than the "good" days) I finish that sentiment a la Ani Difranco, "out of car tires and chicken wire/I'm queen of my own compost heap/ I'm getting used to the smell".  As we discussed ad nauseum, accepting this year is going to suck is one thing, living it is another.

I'm depressed.  There.  I said it.  It feels better every time I say it.  My mom says it's because I have too much going on and I think she's right.   But I also feel if I were doing this "right", I'd feel awesome and this depression is a failing on my part in some way.  Because . . .that's the kind of positive self talk I excel at frankly. 

So we've established that when trying to build an empire from scratch, depression is inevitable.  For me it's because none of my coworkers can talk yet and crafting (besides the selling) and writing aren't really known as team activities.  All your "usual" self care is probably super sucktastic right now.  You feel like you're accomplishing nothing besides possibly becoming agoraphobic.  If your mate is trying to build his/her/zir own empire too, congrats!  You can add irritating the shit out of each other too to the list.  And with Mercury in retrograde among other treats, everyone you know is likely acting like a self absorbed psycho like yourself even if they're not magical. 

What to do?

1. Subscribe to Marie Claire if you are female identified.   It's awesome.  It's the first mag in forever (since Sassy 1.0) to have interesting fashion, cheap buys, talk about relationships (including queer id'ed) in a realistic manner as well as serious women's issues and women kicking ass and taking names.  I felt really revitalized after reading it, like I could take over the world again.  At the very least like I could buy a few freaking velcro hair curlers ($4) and see what happens.  I would have never known this if Jow hadn't bought it for me on a whim.

2. Start an evening beauty regime (all genders, we all have skin and teeth).  First off, it calms your ass down.  I don't know why but it does.  Evening beauty regime should include: washing your face (I use CVS brand cucumber wipes because I'm lazy), moisturizing your face (I use moisture surge by Clinique) and eye cream (I use Murad eye cream because I have a sample of it), brushing your teeth and moisturizing your hands and feet.  It takes five minutes and I may have discovered this regime at 2a pawing through my makeup bag of samples while completely intoxicated and reading a French aspirational book but whatev.  It's worth it for the smug feeling of accomplishment alone.

3. Patronize local business.  Stay with me. You probably need goods for your empire.  I know I do. And I could buy some online or even at the grocery store, but that's not keeping my local Pagan brick and mortar in business. And if I want them to stay in business, I need to do the work.  So I buy shit from them. Not everything, but some things.  Yet another coffee house just closed by me taking the tally down from three semi-locally to two.  When I go to shop at Trader Joe's, I also get something at the local coffee shop because I like them and want them to stay in business.  Part of building your empire is keeping other tiny empires that you appreciate afloat too imo. 

4. Japa. It calms your brain down like whoa before bed and Shiva seems especially inclined to grant petty favors (pleeeeeeeeeeeease help me have a good attitude tomorrow, please help the baby take a long nap, etc).  All you need is a set of prayer beads with 108 beads and the correct pronunciation of "Om Namah Shivaya". 

5. Diversify.  I'm sort of working on two empires with some overlap at once.  My crafting business and my Pagan business.  With my crafting business, I'm keeping up an Etsy presence and also making sure I'm trying different kinds of craft friendly events to see where I'm making the most money.  My portfolio for the summer will include shows that are fiber arts only, farmer's markets, standard craft shows and indie craft shows.  This will help me see where I'm successful and will also help me figure out where my wares don't sell so I can map out my "bunny trail" for next season even better.  Next year will be year three so that's the real "make it or break it" year.  This year I'm focusing on buying my materials in bulk.  Next year I'll focus on buying machinery and more equipment to make my process faster and easier.  With my Pagan focused business, I'm focused on keeping up my blog presence as well as my presence on WitchVox and Witches & Pagans. I'm working on running my first class and making tangible goods as well.  I'm going to set up a pre-release book sale date so I am forced to sit down and write it.

6. Glad Game.  I started doing "the glad game" a la Pollyanna with my circle of friends when we were 21.  Picking out three things a day you're happy about keeps you from falling into a giant depression instead of a minor one.  I do it on my Twitter with the hashtag #gladgame.

7.  Accept Failure.  I have not been going to the gym as much as I want.  I'm keeping track of my calories though.  Sometimes you can't win at everything so figure out what you can win at.

Bon chance, darlings.  You're gonna need it.

Limited Edition Oils for Sale at My Etsy Shop

Man in Black (5 left) - $15

This oil has a complex aroma with rich sexy notes of teak, cedar, green tea, saffron and cardamom with a hint of blood orange. Each scent component was carefully chosen to bring prosperity, confidence and an air of attractiveness to the wearer.

Goddess of the Hearth (7 left) - $25

This oil has a delightfully herbaceous aroma with gorgeous floral and tea undertones. Each scent component was carefully chosen to bring prosperity, love, happiness and protection to you and your hearth. Expect notes of lavender, thyme, rose and parsley among others.

Man in Black Limited Edition Oil

 Firstly, let me apologize for being a lying lying liar.  When making oils in small batches, it's still more of an art than a science for me.  I tried math this time to make more of it but . . .if math was my strong suit I doubt I'd be a artisan.  There will only be seven five of these oils available.  Once they're gone, they're gone.  

I have consecrated this oil using traditional Hoodoo methods.  Once the oil was decanted into labeled 5 ML amber glass bottles, they have been put in my altar to "marinade".

You can use the oil for anointing candles, mojo hands, ritual use or simply as a fragrance oil.

First off, I was a little nervous about making an oil for those who are more masculine identified because I'm ridiculously girly most of the time.  But I have to be honest.  I'm wearing it right now (myself and Jow are the only animals we test on) and I'm having a hard time not licking myself.  It's awesome (and masculine) honestly.  I'm looking forward to giving the little bit I had left over to Jow for science to see how it works for him and um science because it works for me.

This oil has a complex aroma with rich sexy notes of teak, cedar, green tea, saffron and cardamom with a hint of blood orange.  Each scent component was carefully chosen to bring prosperity, confidence and an air of attractiveness to the wearer.

Monday morning I will be putting these oils up for sale through my Etsy shop with pictures of the bottles.  Each oil will cost $15 USD.

If you would like to pre-order your oil, you may do so!

Shipping costs will be:

$3 USD - US
$5 USD - Canada
$7 USD - Europe

For pre-ordering, go to Paypal and send payment and shipping to corvaxgirl@gmail.com with the subject line "Man in Black".

Goddess of the Hearth Limited Edition Oil

 Firstly, let me apologize for being a lying lying liar.  When making oils in small batches, it's still more of an art than a science for me.  There will only be seven of these oils available.  Once they're gone, they're gone.  

I made these oils on the full moon which will add fullness to your hearth.  I have consecrated this oil using traditional Hoodoo methods.  Once the oil was decanted into labeled 5 ML amber glass bottles, they have been put in my hearth with a small candle lit from my stove to "marinade".

You can use the oil for anointing candles, mojo hands, ritual use or simply as a perfume oil.

This oil has a delightfully herbaceous aroma with gorgeous floral and tea undertones.  Each scent component was carefully chosen to bring prosperity, love, happiness and protection to you and your hearth.   Expect notes of lavender, thyme, rose and parsley among others.

Monday morning I will be putting these oils up for sale through my Etsy shop with pictures of the bottles.  Because of the cost of the components and time in preparing the oil, I will need to make these oils more expensive than I had originally planned.  Each oil will cost $25 USD.

If you would like to pre-order your oil, you may do so! 

Shipping costs will be:

$3 USD - US
$5 USD - Canada
$7 USD - Europe

For pre-ordering, go to Paypal and send payment and shipping to corvaxgirl@gmail.com with the subject line "Goddess of the Hearth".

Glorious Things You Have to Look Forward to From Me!

Alright Charmers, get excited.  Since 2012 is the year to kick ass and take names, I will be producing the following for your enjoyment:

* The completion of the New Year, New You Experiment

* The continuation of the Experiment right after Valentine's Day into a free 14 week eCourse

* Limited Edition Magical Perfume Blend "Man in Black" which will be designed for those who like a more masculine blend.  It will come in a labeled 5ML amber bottle and it will be consecrated to bring you confidence, financial success and make you more attractive than you already are.  It will have some citrus notes, green tea notes, woodsy notes and warm spices.  More details will follow, but there will only be a dozen made and it will be $20 on the first day offered, $25 after that. (Launch: Next month, tentatively)

* Limited Edition Magical Perfume Blend "Goddess of the Hearth" which will be designed to promote all good things needed in a hearth - financial security, happiness in romance and friendship and protection.  This will be an essential oil/carrier oil mix that will be consecrated.  It will contain lavender notes, white thyme notes and parsley notes.  It will come in a 5ML amber bottle More details will follow, but there will only be a dozen made and it will be $20 on the first day offered, $25 after that.  (Launch: Next month, tentatively)

(My Erzulie Limited Edition Solid perfume sold out within a month and I was told not only did it smell nice from a few parties but that they were also "knee deep in penises" so there's some positive feedback)

* I'm relaunching my Goddess Dollies line.  They will have dresses that are nicer than anything I own and their bodies are made from cotton blends.  They're appropriate to keep as soft representations of your patrons but also to sleep with and cuddle with.  Their hearts are stuffed with materials that are appropriate to them.  My first three I will be launching will be Hecate, Yemaya and Kali.  I will only be launching one at a time and their clothes/hair/etc will change with each dolly I do.  So if you're in love with a particular version of a dolly, snap it up because the next one will be somewhat different.  They will be $40 each.  (Launch: Next month, tentatively)

* Short book on a practice I'm working on and basically the importance of glamour in magic.  I'm looking to launch it (tentatively) through Amazon in both paper and electronic Kindle versions.  It will be professionally edited and illustrated.  Tentatively, the paper version will be $8 and the electronic version will be $6 and will hopefully be out by end of summer.

* Post book, I will likely make the New Year, New You Experiment into a full 52 week course but we'll get there when we get there on that as it's the most distant in the future.
 

Last Sale Day at La Sirene et Le Corbeau!

Thanks to all of you Charmers for buying things at my sale so far!  Besides the terrariums, Dream Ambassadors, hand poured beeswax candles and handspun hand dyed yarn, I also offer an array of oils full of magic-y goodness:

Aurora's Mojo Hand Feeding Oil (Hand Infused Apothecary Style Oil)
Using a blend of dried herbs that include ginger and boneset this oil works to promote the prosperity, protection, attractiveness, luck and courage aspects of your mojo hand's spirit as well as working as an offering to the spirit as well with tobacco and rum. This oil is made with a high quality carrier oil and comes in a five milliliter amber glass bottle and is sealed with a cork and red beeswax. It has been made and consecrated using traditional methods.

This oil can be used on pulse points but can also be used for spiritual purposes such dressing candles, dressing mojo bags, dream pillows and poppets.

Rowan's Rose Love Drawing Oil (Hand Infused Apothecary Style Oil)
Using a blend of dried herbs that include rose and damiana to promote drawing a potential partner to you and increasing your attractiveness to prospective partners or your currrent partner(s), this oil is made with a high quality carrier oil and comes in a five milliliter amber glass bottle and is sealed with a cork and red beeswax. It has been made and consecrated using traditional methods.

This oil can be used on pulse points but can also be used for spiritual purposes such dressing candles, dressing mojo bags, dream pillows and poppets.

Britania's Basil Money Drawing Oil (Hand Infused Apothecary Style Oil)
Using a blend of dried herbs that include irish moss, honey, basil and cinnamon to promote drawing money and prosperity to you, this oil is made with a high quality carrier oil and comes in a five milliliter amber glass bottle and is sealed with a cork and red beeswax. It has been made and consecrated using traditional methods.

This oil can be used on pulse points but can also be used for spiritual purposes such dressing candles, dressing mojo bags, dream pillows and poppets.
High John the Conqueror Oil (Hand Infused Apothecary Style Oil) Using an olive oil carrier oil, this oil is infused with High John root for bringing success to your endeavors. It has been made and consecrated using traditional methods.

This oil can be used on pulse points but can also be used for spiritual purposes such dressing candles, dressing mojo bags, high john root, dream pillows and poppets.

Lucy's Lavender Healing Oil (Hand Infused Apothecary Style Oil)
Using a blend of dried herbs that include lavender and agrimony to promote healing for chronic conditions such as lupus, fibromyalgia, depression, insomnia and anxiety, this oil is made with a high quality carrier oil and comes in a five milliliter amber glass bottle and is sealed with a cork and red beeswax. It has been made and consecrated using traditional methods. I use a mortar and pestle to cold press the herbs by hand.

This oil can be used on pulse points but can also be used for spiritual purposes such dressing candles, dressing mojo bags, dream pillows and poppets.

Until 11:59p tonight, get 15% off at La Sirene et Le Corbeau with the code CYBERMONDAY.

Terrariums: Where My Crazy Is Currently Residing

Shiny!

So.  My adventures in building terrariums isn't maaaagic per se except for a few points:

a. I stained the benches that they reside on in the house with a door open and the fan going which was strictly forbodden by Jow but everyone else gets to make flying ointments and blow glass in their houses why can't I?  The cats and I enjoyed ourselves immensely for a good hour or two with that.

b. They will live in the Work Room where our magical practice will be taking place.

c. I am having an ongoing "discussion" with Jow about how these could honestly be nature spirit homes/altars.  He gets all blah blah blah you need to have corresponding herbs and other stuff which . . .is not necessarily true per se in my opinion.  1. Besides what the animal actually eats, in my experience at least there's not a huge herbal corresponding overlap. and 2. Sometimes, people need to not be lazy slags and do their own work imo.  I would see these altars as "blanks" with all the neat shiny components all set up inside them for *you* to do all that worship work.  Sometimes people need to do their own fucking spiritual work imo and not expect everything already set for them.  3. While New Jersey is not known for it's huge fairy tale mushrooms (which I sculpted) and its glittering trees, the fox seems perfectly happy to me.  Sometimes we need to use our imaginations some and allow for some artistic merit here.  4. He's never done Shaman work and freestyle breaks his delicate Hermetic brain, so . . . whatever.

Anyway.  Here are more pics of Mr. Fox's habitat as well as Madam Bird's habitat for you to enjoy.  Should you want one of your very own, email me with your little heart's desires and budget and we'll work it out.

Cussin' for College: Your Moral Compass

You're Thirteen Now!  These Margaritas Are for You, Becky! 

So, thanks to that book Mastering Witchcraft that everyone else including Jow seems to have read at a formative age but me (I was reading Spiral Dance and um Bridget Jones' Diary and here we are), everyone's talking about morals and looooooove philters which is totes exciting for me because while I have not read the book and am incredibly unlikely to, I have opinions about morality!  I've even had articles published on the subject matter! Thanks, blogosphere!  I'm socially relevant again, snowflake queens!  So, there's a story I've been meaning to tell you all that had both my Platonic Euro Husband (PEH) and Husband-to-Be laughing and telling me that I'm like the liberal parent who lets their kids drink in the house because it's better than on the streets!  Remember a while back how I foolishly agreed to teach Hoodoo 101 to the kids in the Pagan club at my alma mater?  And how I, like, promised the president that there would be absolutely no discussion on curse work whatsoever?  

About that.  So I'm droning about the history of Hoodoo and the differences between Hoodoo and Voodou and how it came to our country and frankly even boring myself as the kids all were visibly twitching to have to listen to me and not text or be boning each other out while their roommates watch rolling on E pills or whatever they're doing now but we all brighten up when I get to the practical applications that I carefully redacted to be both appropriate to college kids' needs and not discussing The Dark Arts.  We chatter about fast luck and how to do well in an interview blah de blahblah.  They get interested and ask about source books.  Of course I recommend cat yronwode's seminal work, but there's not like a redacted version of it so I say vaguely that it's not all positive work so keep that in mind and keep it moving.  Much like my lazy fat house cats they went from only vaguely aware of their surroundings to HIGH ALERT!  BUG!  BUG!  IT'S A BUG!

Them: What do you mean?
The President: (suspious side eye)
Me: Um.
Them: No, we're totes awake now and ready and willing to push back our E pill orgy and pizza dorm room party for this.
Me: The President and I spoke on this issue and it's specifically against your club's charter for me to discuss this.
The President: (approving to me, apologetic to them)
Them: You have said the words we have longed to hear!  Forbidden knowledge!  It's why we came to college!  That and getting away from our smothering parents!  (closes the door and shuts the blinds like a real sekrit society does!)
Me: (oh Lordess, I'm boned) (looks to The President)
The President: (nods)

I had a real moral quandary that I thought I had shielded myself from - do I tell them or do I let them learn about it on the streets the internet where the information will be just that - information coming from a source they've never met and has no stake in their lives or even a face to them?  They are adults but they're still young and impressionable in American society and frankly have probably hereto forth never even read a book yet that even whispers about The Dark Arts, it's most likely been mostly beginner Llewellyn stuff.

I took a deep breath and I dove in:

Okay.  This is where your moral compass that we keep talking about becomes incredibly important.  Karma doesn't work the way that most Americans think of it; it's slow, it's accumulated over lifetimes and it represents both the good and the bad.  And while the Law of Three is a nice idea that's meant to keep you from getting involved in some seriously dumb shit, it doesn't work in a way that's observable, if it works at all.  I can't tell you what the right thing to do is going to be for you.  We don't have a manual or a list of rules to follow as Pagans like a lot of religions do.  As young adult Pagans it's critical that you start figuring out what you think is right and wrong now.  What are you willing to do magically and in life?  Where is your line in the sand that goes too far?  Whenever you work magic, you're thrusting your will over something.  Do you need consent for you to do magic for another person?  You need to decide that.  You need to decide if you want to get involved with exerting your will over other people specifically.  A mentor of mine once told me that some of the worst things she's done magically have been with good intentions and some of the best things she's done have been with bad intentions.  

You also need to understand that in Hoodoo curse work is called a mess for a reason.  Do not get yourself into a mess that you can't get yourself out of because I'm sure as hell not going to rush in to help you.  Don't ever rush into curse work.  If you're angry and not being sensible, it's not a good place to do curse work, you will likely do something you regret.  Always give it at least three days to see if you want to tie yourself up further with the person you're angry with because make no mistake about it, you will be tying yourself up closer with this person.  Sometimes it will be worth it.  Sometimes it won't be.  Sometimes your magic will work in a way you won't expect it to.  Oftentimes it will in fact.  Sometimes it will work better than you wanted it to.  Love spells are all fun and games until you need to get a restraining order on someone.  You need to think about if you want someone to be with you because they feel compelled to be.  You need to make sure to do omen/divination work before you get involved with cursing.  Bottle spells can work like this.  Love spells can work like that.  Make sure you are mindful about your personal concerns.  Make sure you are mindful about others' personal concerns that may behoove you to have.  When I once asked a Witch what to do if you don't have them, she calmly remarked, 'But why wouldn't you?'  If you're not willing to do what a curse work asks, you're likely not really ready to take that step.  And that's okay.  It's okay if you never work a curse in your life.  But make sure you know if someone's been working you.

And . . .that's where I stand on the whole morality issue.  It's personal.  That's part of what's both great and terrible about being part of a group of people who don't have a list of specific rules to govern us, some of us are on board with things like love philters and some of us are appalled by it.  Some of us say, well, it depends.  But you need to know where you stand, you need to know where your conscious is and only you can really dictate that for yourself as an Occultist/Pagan.  It's thrilling, scary and uncertain for us, like Death. 

you know I live in a world full of hope
not a world full of hype
I ain't no saint
I help myself to what I need
but I help other people too
y'know I sleep soundly - Ani Difranco

Outsiders: What Like It's Hard or Something?

In ADF Druidry, there's a whole section in the beginning of the rite on Outsiders which is actually one of the more hotly contested aspects of the ADF ritual between ADF groves, the contested aspects tend to focus on 1. Who are the Outsiders? 2. What should be done with the Outsiders? Some groves think certain gods and attributes should always be Outsiders and Outsiders should be banished. Well, as I've mentioned, my grove has more in common with tent revivalists than with High Episcopagans generally, we take somewhat of a different stance than that.

Our grove generally feels who the Outsiders are depends on the ritual. If you're doing a ritual to the Furies for example, the Olympians are likely to be Outsiders. Eris' Outsiders are going to be different than Hera's Outsiders. We also don't banish as that should (theoretically) be permanent and not for nothing, living in NJ, you need your crunchy shell of cynicism, wariness and snarkiness to get through the day. But. They're not the most helpful aspects to get through a ritual that was basically started by drunk college kids in the 60's who wanted to break Berkley College's administrative brains while invoking gods from cultures that were and are pretty far from America in someone's living room in New Jersey. So we basically ask those aspect and those Gods and ghosts and whatnot who wouldn't be comfortable for the rit to go sit on the porch until the ritual is over and watch the college kids and cars go by until everyone comes and collects their Outsiders after ritual. We also make offerings to the Outsiders as well (generally with a carefully worded, Please accept our offering, not the offerer. . . the Outsiders tend to like to linger with the offerer and will often try to persuade the offerer to go on a fun adventure with them instead of sitting through boring ritual). Sometimes, people attending the rit feel like Outsiders themselves which can be for any reason from it's a pantheon they're not comfortable with, the rit itself isn't where their headspace is at or what is politely referred to as "the weather in your head" (which often is a euphemism for having High Drama with someone(s) in the grove or just life shit that you're going through that has nothing to do with anyone there but puts you in a sour mood) and I can tell you from experience, when the Outsider invocation is made and you feel like an Outsider, it's hard not to follower the offerer outside (I think at the Pagan picnic with the other grove invoking and it being so different than how we do things that when they did the Outsider offering I saw everyone from my grove visibly twitch not to follow but . . .manners).

Where I'm going with all of this is that I think it's very possible to feel like an Outsider even here on our beloved blogosphere. I've spoken in the past about being fretful about not fitting the "kitchen witch" mold closely enough and how sometimes that's hard for me. This year, while I love you all, it's been hard with the never ending High Magic Grimoire Club that has taken root in much of the blogosphere. I dutifully read and I'm happy that it works for y'all but it doesn't do a whole lot for me. As it doesn't do a whole lot for me, it's taken me out of the conversation for the better part of a year. Which is nobody's fault! I'm not casting blame or anything, it's just not where I fit. I mean, I even live with one so I harass him with a never ending stream of questions hoping that something will click at some point which inevitably essentially disintegrates into an exasperated "because that's the way it is, that's why!". We finally got to a place where I got it when he explained that you can't just date High Magic, you have to at least go steady or get engaged and get into a super srs arrangement straight from the gate. Man, I cannot commit to anyone or anything like that, I want to have an awkward first date where I can ask some questions and see you do something charming and cool and then make my decision from there. You can do that with Hoodoo, Wicca, ADF Druidry and even layperson Hinduism.

So I've been marinating a lot about where I fit. I've been thinking a lot about Gordon's post on little magics everywhere which is my jam along with radical practicality. For some reason for a long time I've hesitated to call myself a Chaos mage. Maybe because the first time around, it was this super cool 90's phenomenon that felt super alterna and punky and everyone doing it was way cooler than I was. To me it was like the first Matrix when that was impressive at the time or like Hackers or whatever else that was going on that had only a vague basis in reality but everyone was really excited about it anyway. The two girls I know locally who id as chaos mages are kind of like a modern 2011 version of that which is why I've also hesitated about the label which is super stupid because they're also close friends who I've done magic (awesomely) with and they are super down to earth and awesome with real problems. I guess I felt like I didn't fit the mold there either exactly? So besides the obv revelation that no one perfectly fits any mold, I had another revelation when talking to Jow:

Me: I don't know! I just do stuff! And people seem to relate to it even though I don't feel like I have an orderly manner in doing it and I feel like a toned down version of Penelope Trunk with my apparent pathological need to spew out all my fucked upness and flaws to the internet.

Jow (patiently): But you've been published, you have thousands of people reading your Witchvox articles and sending you emails--

Me: What? Like it's hard or something? Ohmigod! I've got it! I'm the Elle Woods of the occult world!

Jow: Hee! Actually, yes. People underestimated her a lot but she got into Harvard law school and graduated at the top of her class and she has a big heart and she sort of marches to the beat of her own drummer. Even though people at Harvard thought her clothes was crazy, she didn't care, she wore what she wanted anyway. She didn't change herself to fit in.

Me (dreamily): I love her clothes.

But it's funny, I was really thinking about it, much like Elle didn't fit in with stereotypical Harvard students, she still carved a place for herself and did it her way. I'm always going to be a fashion dork which tends to not be the norm with Pagans in my age group locally, I'm going to see and interact with the gods through clothes and music because that's what makes sense for me. I'm never going to want to do much high magic, I'm always going to want to do little magic everywhere and I'm just . . .going to be me and not worry about being whatever enough. I think that's where I struggle in writing my book, I feel like I'm not mommy enough for a kitchen witch book but not alterna enough to take more of a super srs approach. So whatever. I'm just going to write the way I write and do things the way I do things and stop worrying so much.

Bend and snap, bitches.

Etiquette Lesson: Magic Is Not for Free (Sometimes)

Maybe because we still, like it or lump it, come out of the hippie movement as Neo-Pagans, there's still this bizarre belief with some people that magic should be free and taking money for magical services is dirty and wrong. Well, that's fine, as long as you think that it's dirty and wrong to pay for doctors visits, lawyers services, handmade goods, herbs, massage, magazines, books, movies, etc. and are currently managing to live completely off the grid in a barter/trade society where you can trade for all your goods and services. All of this, obv, is my opinion.

Unless you are bffs with a srs magical worker or a magical worker yourself, why would a service be free? I mean yes, when I get some queries from WitchVox I will often suggest a small working to assist but that's because (a) I have a soft heart for sad ass stories and (b) I'm also lazy and busy and I can cross post it here and show that I do have a magical thought process when my brain is not pre-occupied with more pressing matters like Dance Moms (which, btdubs, makes Toddlers and Tiaras look like a goddamn afternoon teaparty with stuffed animals and cake) and dodging writing a book. But, small. Basically here's the distinction to me between paid magic and unpaid magic:

Unpaid magic when requested and not offered by the provider as a free service (which I certainly would do for my closest friends and family but YMMV) is like bitching to your friend instead of seeing a shrink. Or like asking your friend who is an excellent amateur baker to bring a cake to a party instead of going to a patisserie. Or you have a friend who is a volunteer EMT and s/he assesses if your cut will likely need stitches or not. Unpaid magic is like a favor, something that's not too big of a pain in the ass for the witch in question but takes some time and energy to do. Something that the witch knows off hand or has a lot of experience with and can answer without it being A Whole Thing. Generally speaking, I will offer some practical advice and offer a small spell working for you to do yourself when I am giving free advice. If you want The Whole Thing - divination, a consultation and then me constructing a whole magical working for you and performing it for you, that is not for free because that is now taking up my time and money as well as my energy and my magic. I have found (and this might sound mean and catty) that when you just lead the horse to water, there's little follow through. When someone has to put their money where their mouth is and be willing to have me shove your face into a gallon of Poland Spring that's when you really wanted this working with all of your little heart. In most (not all) cases, that's when I'm willing to get involved personally because then it's a Practical Magic scenerio:



Aunt Jet: Sally, you just stay right there. Keep working on your spells. Just keep working on your spells.

Aunt Jet: Get the bird.

Aunt Frances: Get the book.

A woman: I want him so much, I can't think about anything else. I don't sleep. He has to leave his wife. He has to leave her now.

Aunt Jet: Perhaps you might find one better suited.

A woman: I don't want anyone else. He's all I think about. Why the hell else would I come here?

Aunt Frances: Take the money, Jet.

A woman: I want him to want me so much he can't stand it.

Aunt Jet: Be careful what you wish for.

You're going to give your money to someone and if I don't have any personal ethical quandaries with what you want, then I may as well do it and take the money.

If you want The Whole Thing, ladies and gentlemen and you want to show that you're mannerly and not an oaf who expects an acquaintance or party friend (or even less of a connection) who doesn't really know anything more about you than you like the Yankees and you don't drink red wine to outline your legal defense for you over hors' d'oeuvres , or diagnosis your sore throat in the spare room at a dinner party or ask for your book to be reviewed at a con party where everyone's drinking test tube shots or expect someone to do illustrations for your album cover because you ride the A train together every day, you need to expect to pay for it. When you are expecting favors for free when it comes to any kind of service, consultation or artistic work you are implicitly (if not explicitly) saying what you do isn't worth anything of value, really. Also, super important? In most Neo-Pagan cultures? Don't haggle. It's rude and insulting to the provider. Don't get nasty with the provider about their prices, that's ridiculous. Take your business elsewhere

If you would like The Whole Thing whether it's massage therapy, book proofing, magical services, event planning, knitting or whatever and this service has not been offered free of charge to you by the provider, here are some gracious ways to see about receiving the Full Blown Service:

1. Say, "I need a love spell/an hour massage/candle work/curse work/an illustrator for my magazine/legal counsel. What is your going rate for that?"

2. Say, "I need X, but I only have X amount of money. What can you do for me for that?" and that gives your service provider a chance to decide for herself as to what she is willing to do for that.

3. Say, "I need X and I have Y and Z that I can barter for it if that's an arrangement you would find suitable, if not thank you for considering it."

If you would like to partake of my services my list can be found here

Service List

Please contact me at corvaxgirl@gmail.com for service inquires. For my philosophy on paid services, please see here. I prefer to not do phone work.

Honey Jar Spells (to attract money or "sweeten" someone towards you) to be Worked by me on my altar for one week, email consultation, burning a candle every day on it as well as my observations on it, components (7 candles, honey, herbs, petition paper, small honey jar) and then mailed to you for your use: $50 USD*

Bottle Spells (for blessings, attracting, protection, curse work) to be Worked by me on my altar for one week, email consultation, my observations on it, components (an appropriate bottle and appropriate components such as herbs) and then mailed to you for your use: $75 USD*

Setting Lights Seven Day Candle (for blessings, attracting, protection, curse work): to be Worked by me on my altar for one week, email consultation, my observations on it, to be burned continuously until it's completely burnt out and fixed with the appropriate oils and petition paper, picture of it in progress available upon request. $20 USD*

Mojo Bags: (for blessings, attracting, protection, curse work) to be Worked by me on my altar for one week, email consultation, my observations on it, components (red flannel bag hand sewn by me, herbs, minerals, etc) and then mailed to you for your use. $50 USD

Customized Poppet (for use to communicate with a particular god or for use in any kind of poppet magic) to be Worked on by me for one week and for the body to be made out of muslin cloth or felt. Can be stuffed with specific herbs and have an opening for you to add petition papers or personal concerns. Sewn completely by me. Simple six inch "gingerbread wo/man", includes optional yarn hair and optional anatomical correctness and small heart stuffed with an herb that I have in stock: $25 USD* Doll with clothing, hair, optional anatomical correctness and small heart stuffed with an herb that I have in stock $50 USD*

Four Ounces of Yarn for Your Use (binding spells, for use to create ritual dollies, jackballs, knotwork spells, etc) to be Worked on by me as I spin the yarn, dyed the color(s) of your choice and bathed in an herbal bath with herbs that are appropriate to your request and components (dye, 100% wool fiber, herbs) and shipped to you for your use: $50 USD*

Love Spellwork : Please email me with what you would like to accomplish. This is consultative work so if I accept the work, it would be an hourly rate of $50 USD and component costs. I will send you an estimate if I accept and will require a retainer to get started.

Curse Spellwork: Please email me with what you would like to accomplish. This is consultative work so if I accept the work, it would be an hourly rate of $50 USD and component costs. I will send you an estimate if I accept and will require a retainer to get started.

Prosperity Spellwork Please email me with what you would like to accomplish. This is consultative work so if I accept the work, it would be an hourly rate of $50 USD and component costs. I will send you an estimate if I accept and will require a retainer to get started.

Protection Spellwork: Please email me with what you would like to accomplish. This is consultative work so if I accept the work, it would be an hourly rate of $50 USD and component costs. I will send you an estimate if I accept and will require a retainer to get started.

Twenty Minute Tarot Card Reading: Via Instant Message online only, you ask the question and I interpret the cards. $20 USD

* all prices are approximate depending on the request. Pricing does not include shipping of any items. Exact pricing to be agreed upon before starting Work and to be paid via Paypal.

New WitchVox Article Up!

Following up on my article Finding Your Pagan Moral Compass: On Forgiveness, I wrote Finding Your Pagan Moral Compass: On Letting Go:  

Now, as we just discussed in my previous article, I don't really ascribe to needing to forgive every person in your life. If that person has crossed a boundary that is unforgivable to you and you no longer wish to have a relationship with that person and strive to have as little contact with that person as possible, congratulations! I will be more than happy to write you a note excusing you from having to forgive that person. . . Read the rest here.

New Items at La Sirene et Le Corbeau

My shop is now filled to the brim with lush smelling hand poured beeswax votives, luxuriously soft handspun yarns, posh apothecary style hand blended oils and beautifying hand felted goat's milk soaps! <3

We're all sold on the copy and the pics? Awesome. I'm tired. Today was supposed to be resting but my new camera came and everyone on my facebook went on and on about how the expensive to me camera I was looking at was barely a camera and the camera above that was the bottom of the barrel and . . . I'm not much of a photographer. I'm usually throwing the party so I'm too busy hiding/hostessing to take pics, I still haven't mastered taking pics of myself and really I just mostly need it for my etsy shop and a little bit socially. So . . .fuck it. I sold some items with my old shitty camera, surely anything would be an improvement. So I read a bunch of reviews (user and CNET) on what I thought was a reasonable amount of money to spend on camera and wound up with a Kodak Easyshare. It's pink and it came with a memory card and is dumbed down to a level that is insulting even to me as I have had to learn how to take okay pictures (really I just want a Melissa and whatever behind the scenes elves do the tedious parts of blogging for Penelope) to compensate for my five year old camera (and it wasn't a top of the line so no it didn't age awesome). The dumbed down aspect is flat out offensive and slightly aggravating but it takes good pictures within five shots, more within the third shot and it keeps registering what I want correctly (flash level, macro/landscape/portrait, etc.) so I can feel superior or I can just get it done. Then I needed to count the yards of yarn, figure out copy and upload everything onto Etsy which is tedious as hell. It took all day but now everything's in the shop which will make adding a thing here and there easy.

Feel free to critique or offer suggestions, I probably don't know where you live or have your personal concerns and besides as established I'm too tired to hex today.

My Shaman Class: If you don't ask the right question/ every answer seems wrong

As some of you may recall, I stupidly agreed to give a workshop on Totemism 101 for my local Pagan Picnic. I made sure my notes were perfect. Decided on my clothes (changed my mind about what I was wearing as I was unexpectedly engaged and would likely be running into wasband friends/other judgey people there. It's been three years since my divorce, wasband has been engaged since last year, he left me and did't want to work it out, Jow and I have been together longer and waited longer to get engaged than he and fiance #2 did, we bought a condo together, blahblahblah not that any of that stops anyone from judging with great vigor because I am not the Pagan Prom Queen. For my younger peeps: expect if you fuck where you pray for that to bite you in the ass for many fun filled decade(s) to come). So being socially anxious staring down the barrel of giving a class that would be hard for me to give *and* knowing that I would be judged by some of my peers with great enthusiasm as if I'm the Elizabeth Taylor of the local pagan comm (for the record, I was married only once before to wasband. We were together for seven years total) didn't fill *me* with great enthusiasm esp since I was going alone. I baked my bread to share like a good pony and packed my spinning.

To my surprise, it was a light turn out. I did realize to my chagrin I was definitely not a baby pagan anymore (and man do they dress differently - for us it was all gothitygothgothgoth with cloves for them they look like something out of an Urban Outfitters ad - all floral rompers, huge sunglasses, wedges and american spirit cigs). So I settled in comfortably with those of my grove who made it and dealt with my bits of Requisite Pagan Drama. I got excited when I thought no one would show up to my class, but eventually eight people trickled in. Fine. I was ready. I had my scope defined narrowly from a modern Neo-Pagan perspective as Lupa advises and was ready for some jerk to start shit with me and call me a plastic shaman.

Well. I was prepared for completely the wrong thing. Some of the people in my class were youngish so I wasn't sure what they knew.

Me: Does anyone not know anything about Shamanism?
::all hands raised::

Me: Okay! Um, no problem. Has anyone not meditated before?
::all hands raised::
Me (feels cold fear like I never have before)(thinks: Oh shit. Whatever I say is actually likely to influence these people)

I managed to conduct the class just fine, everyone came back from the meditation in one piece. I talked about grounding a lot and how acting normal after is subjective based on whatever is normal for them. They asked some good questions (Is it like normal for your totem to be mad at you when you meet them for the first time? Me (dryly and immediately): Yes.), everyone met their totems and seemed thoughtful about the experience. But there were definitely some rough patches . . .like when I was explaining how Shamans can be called through a near death experience and/or dreams of being ripped apart by animals (the poor young guy in my class looked terrified. I was like look, not everyone is a shaman by far. But you can still work with your totem in Neo-Pagan context and in fact that's what you should to to start with) and I actually lost a couple people in explaining that while we are all going internally and not externally and I would do my best to make sure everyone was okay and help after if needed but I couldn't *promise* to be able to "save" you . . .that was not well received. But seriously? I don't know you people at all, I have no idea what your inner landscape looks like or what's horribly broken in you or what will work for you to help. I just learned your names, dude!

While it went well ultimately, I have to tell you, I'll take someone trying to undermine me and get into an argument wit me any day over complete newbs. That was terrifying. *sigh* Something to look forward to for my Rutgers Pagan class on Hoodoo 101.

I also got to go to a public rit done by another ADF grove. It's amazing how we all have the same basic ritual format but how going to my grove is like going to a tent revival in the back woods - half carnival show, half sincere worship and it's what I've done all my ADF career (ten years now) but for one other public rit by another grove so it's what I'm used to. Going to their rit was like going to a Catholic Church after only having been to tent revivals. I was like, you say some of the same words and do some of the same things and you sure are dressed up fancy and give fancy offerings but this sort of makes my skin crawl, y'all. No offense! I think you'd say the same about us!

[Pagan Agony Auntie] Moar Honey Pots

As always, if you have a burning question that you want my input on, feel free to drop me a line at corvaxgirl [at] gmail [dottie] com and I will keep you anonymous and dazzle you with my insight or not. Whatev. As always, you're the captain of your own ship and feel free to disagree with me as often and loudly as you like!

A reader asked a bit ago about what a honey pot is. I need to preface this with the fact that I am not a root worker and I am a neophyte at best in hoodoo. If you would like to speak to an actual hoodoo adult, check out:
Association of Independent Readers and Root Workers

Lucky Mojo

Old Style Conjure

cat yronwode gives a lot of good background and example spell workings over at Lucky Mojo, including supplies should you wish to purchase them.

That said, we'll put it into my words here. Honey pots are used traditionally in Hoodoo to bring money to you and also to potentially sweeten someone towards you (such as an ex you're trying to win back, your boss, a new love interest, the judge in a court case). I find honey pots to be an inexpensive "slow and steady" way to keep generating income.

I started to say you don't need a strong background in hoodoo to use a honey jar, but like all magical practices that depends on what you're going to do with it. If you want to use it to draw money, that's pretty basic and can be done by just about anyone. If you're starting to get into sweetening specific people toward you (i.e. using it as an influencing tool) and potentially bending them to your will, well, you better know what you're doing, champ because I'm sure as hell not going to help you out of a mess. I am not at all opposed to using a honey jar for that purpose, but you need to really be able to assess your magical prowess accurately so that you know if you can really handle any kind of fallout that may come from your working (again, like with any other working) should it go wrong (and in some cases, should it go right!).

How to Make a Honey Jar to Attract Income

Ingredients:
A small hinged-lidded glass jar

Honey (you can use other sweetners, dare I say even sweetners like Equal or Splenda but I always use honey, preferably local)

A pinch of Irish Moss (steady flow of money)

A pinch of Chamomile (to hold onto your money)

A pinch of Cinnamon (to attract money quickly, it's a "heating" herb)

Small green taper candles

Money drawing oil

A small piece of paper bag

A pen

A pin

Matches (or a gas stove)

1. Write out your petition on your piece of paper bag. Write what you're trying to draw to you (a new job, a raise, job security, a second income stream, paid artistic gigs, etc.) but make sure your pen doesn't leave the page. Neatness doesn't count here, continuity does. Fold it up tightly towards you (to bring the money towards you).

2. Put the petition paper in the jar. Put the herbs in the jar. Pour honey over the herbs and paper until your jar is full. Seal the jar.

3. Pray over your jar. Psalms are typically recommended, if that's your bag rock out. If not figure out what is. (I usually pray/enchant/put my will into it and end it with "Please do this in the name of God Herself.")

4. Etch into your candle your intent. It can be words, symbols, runes, again, whatever's your bag. Dress your candle by putting a little bit of oil on it and rub the oil into the candle *towards* you.

5. If fire scares you, make sure your sink is cleared for this part. Put the honey jar into your cauldron or sink and light the candle. Melt a few drops onto the lid of your jar. Stick the candle onto the melted wax on top of your jar. I find it best to let it burn out in one go which is why I recommend small candles.

7. If you're on the ball, repeat steps 3-5 weekly. If you're a slag like myself, monthly has sufficed so far.

Oh Lordess, Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: White Girl Suburban Shamanism

Dear gods, why did I agree to give a class on Animal Totems for my local Pagan Picnic?

It started out innocently enough, I wanted to start publicly speaking again, I'm entertaining enough and I know enough to be glib and also enough to say "I don't know" as many times as applicable. If I ever stop fucking around and learn to juggle the chainsaw mess of nannying/freelance writing/crafting/dropping it like it's hot/social obs/religious obs/crafting/blogging and oh yeah going to the gym and writing (. . .sigh) and get published and whatnot, book touring is super necessary and having pagan workshop experience is helpful.

Well. My local pagan picnic is having a 'arry Potter theme for the obv reason so all the classes have to be themed after the Hogwarts classes. I tried in vain to get an easier one but one of the few open was Transfiguration, which I pitched as:

Transfiguration 101: Learn about what a totem spirit can bring to your life and participate in a meditation to find your own totem, hear what s/he has to say and experiment with meditational transfiguration yourself!

Of course they accepted that one. Of course.

This is what my process has looked like:

1. Ignore. That was easy until I started getting gentle notes about my bio/abstract.

2. Panic. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawd, WHAT WAS I THINKING! Why do you want to open up this old wound that's covered in exhusband cooties and remember what you figured out? That you don't know anything about anything? Remember how you decided to stop calling yourself a shaman post-divorce and you've been (as the LBGT comm kindly says) "questioning" since then? Remember how you've been working suuuuuper hard not to be a misappropriating asshole? WHY THE FUCK DID YOU PICK THE SOFTEST SQUISHEST MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF YOUR SPIRITUALITY ON DISPLAY THEN?

3. Realize there is no way out. You've agreed and need to keep your grown up commitments like a grown up.

4. Research. Look to people you trust who have written books and come from a similar background (in my case, sub/urban American and Euro mutts). Start with Lupa because you met her once at a festival and she was nice to you.

5. Spend some time retreating back to panic.

6. Ponder. Figure out where you still fit in the whole shamanic world. Resolve not to put myself out there as anyone other than me while still somehow not discrediting myself as being a trustworthy source by going too far the other way.

7. Outline. Write it all out. Send in abstract/bio. Look at outline. Feel momentarily pleased as I realize I've made it make sense in my current personal cosmos while managing to not turn it into an eclectic mess. Pleasure quickly gives way to:

8. Panic, obvs.

9. Distract self from panic by focusing on other things I can control. Reorder Uncle Ted's Animal Speak as it got lent out at some point. It's a Harry Potter theme! Luckily I'm already a HP dork so I have some stuff I wear for Arisia that can be used and summer-rized (knee length grey pleated skirt, drape-y black t shirt, time turner, green tie, legwarmers if it's not ungodly hot). Try on ensemble. Make note to self to order a Slytherin patch. Do so.

10. Blog about it.

I feel like this is going to shake up my internal antfarm even if no one comes to my class (which is always possible). I remembered that my dianic circle has always said I'm super good at *leading* meditation which is a good workshop transferable skill if not awesome for personal enlightenment.

I'm beginning to seriously co-sign on Penelope Trunk's theory on being happy or being interesting.

[Pagan Agony Auntie] On Honey Pots

As always, if you have a burning question that you want my input on, feel free to drop me a line at corvaxgirl [at] gmail [dottie] com and I will keep you anonymous and dazzle you with my insight or not. Whatev. As always, you're the captain of your own ship and feel free to disagree with me as often and loudly as you like!

Today's question:
A while back, I made myself a money-and-employment-and-contracts honey pot.

The message I put in it covered a lot of different options, some of which I no-longer want to pull on. I'm currently wanting to narrow those options a bit in order to come-hither the specific kinds of paid work that I actually want to do. My question is: How do I go about "updating" my honey pot?

Do I just cut the seal, open the jar, switch out the message, reseal it and get going? Do I need to start over completely? (If it's the latter, do I have to do anything Special in order to de-activate the current one and dispose of the contents, or can I just up-end the thing into my compost bucket?) Do I need to do something entirely different that just hasn't occurred to me yet?

I figured of all the magical folks I hang out with, you would probably know best on this one. Help?

I took a bit chewing on this because I wanted to figure out what I would do. On one hand, waste-not-want-not. As we have previously discussed here, we have reassembled/updated Jow's Mojo Hand due to an Unfortunate Incident With the Washer/Dyer. But . . .while he did update his petition paper, there was nothing in the previous petition paper that had something he *no longer wanted*. I think that's the key part there, if you've had a petition paper marinading with possibly herbs or other whatnots related to the no longer desired items, it seems really difficult to separate that out from the previous magical workings, I think the previous workings would confuse the current/future workings personally.

You mentioned that your previous working was more general and you want it to become a lot more specific which also makes me think that it may be better to start from the beginning. I know it's a drag - starting a magical working over is a pain because you have to squirrel around for supplies and you lose out on the previous workings' energy that has been accumulating, but if it's not the right focus . . .as an example all the plumbing jobs offered to you in the world won't matter if you're trying to get clients to be an accountant. And if your previous jar was wired for "plumbing jobs" and not "accounting jobs" . . .it's not going to do you much good.

The proper way to dispose of it would be to thank it for all its hard work and to release it from its work to go onto other things and leave the honey jar at a crossroads or to bury it. Would I be incredibly tempted to thank/release it and then upend it into my compost heap and recycle the jar as it's kinder to Gaia? Yes. Is that the "proper" thing to do? No. Would I likely do it anyway for this particular working? Yes.

La Luxure, One Last Time

Due to an internet kerfuffle, there's one more parfum left. Listing can be found in my Etsy shop.

Just as an FYI: La Luxure Parfum Sold Out!

I will be making future products as well including oils, goddess dollies and some more limited edition products.

If there's anything you would like (mojo hands, solid parfum, oils, candles, etc) and you would like it custom made for you, please feel free to drop me a note at corvaxgirl [at] gmail [dottie] com