St. Christopher - Patron Saint of Travelers

For those of you who don't know, my husband is currently living in BC, Canada.  WAY OVER on the west coast... This Saturday my four-year-old son and I will be traveling to see him.  The trip includes seven and a half hours on planes, one way; hours and hours of traveling by car; and eventually a couple ferry rides.  I have made the trip before, but this will be my first time traveling with my son.  Therefore, I decided to have a few extra safety measures in place.  This trip I will be calling on the aid of Saint Christopher, Patron Saint of Travelers. 

Saint Christopher is generally depicted as a man, in mid-life, bearing a staff and wading across a river carrying a small child, the Christ child, on his shoulders. 

Legend has it that Saint Christopher was born Offerus(Offero), in the 3rd century, to Greek parents.  His parents having prayed and made offerings to their gods, Machmet and Apollo, on his behalf, Offerus grew tall and strong.  As he grew older he searched the heavens and Earth for a Lord who was worthy of his service.  After being continuously disappointed, he was convinced by a hermit to vow allegiance to Christ.  He was baptised and rechristened "Christopher," Christ-bearer.  Christopher would make no promises of fasting or praying, but agreed to use his great strength to safely transport others across the river.

One day, a small child came to the river asking to be carried across.  Much to Christopher's surprise, as they crossed the river the child became steadily heavier, until it was almost impossible for Christopher to carry him further.  When Christopher asked the child why he was so heavy, the child replied, "Because I carry the weight of the sins of the world."  Christopher was skeptical, so the child instructed him to place his staff in the ground by the river.  The next day it had turned into a beautiful palm which was bearing fruit.  This act enraged Decius, and Christopher was imprisoned, tortured, and beheaded.

To me, this has the smell of a Greek myth/story turned Christian conversion tool.  There is virtually no concrete evidence of Christopher's existance and it is generally agreed upon that he was added to Christian cannon sometime during the 12th century.  The Catholic church apparently came to the same conclusion and de-cannonized Christopher during the late 20th century, when many, including Brigid, were purged from the rank of the Saints. Still, Christopher retains a following among both Christians and conjurers, especially among Meixcan and Italian Catholics.  In Santeria, St. Christopher is assocaited with the orishna Aganyu, patron of travelers, walkers, drivers, aviators, and stevedorers. 

Christopher's Patronage:

• against bad dreams
• against epilepsy
• against floods
• against hailstorms
• against lightning
• against pestilence
• against storms
• against sudden death
• against toothache
• archers
• automobile drivers
• automobilists
• bachelors
• Baden, Germany
• Barga, Italy
• boatmen
• bookbinders
• Brunswick, Germany
• bus drivers
• cab drivers
• epileptics
• fruit dealers
• Fubine, Italy
• fullers
• gardeners
• Havana, Cuba
• holy death
• lorry drivers
• mariners
• market carriers
• Mecklenburg, Germany
• motorists
• porters
• Rab, Croatia
• relief from pestilence
• sailors
• Saint Christopher’s Island
• Saint Kitts
• taxi drivers
• Toses, Girona, Catalonia, Spain;
• transportation
• transportation workers
• travellers
• truck drivers
• truckers
• watermen

Simple Protection Working:

Materials

Protection Master Candle
Red Altar Candle (Red is the color of martyrs and is also the color I use for protection, in general)
Protection Oil
Small Straight Pin
St. Christopher Medal (These have become a bit difficult to find in stores, but you can find them on Ebay, fairly cheap)

Procedure

Begin by creating a protection petition candle using your Protection Master Candle and your red altar candle. First, using the small straight pin, carve Saint Christopher's name onto one side of the red candle, lengthwise.  Then, on the other side, carve your own name or the name of the person/persons you wish to protect.  Then, dress the candle with your protection oil.  Bring light to your Master Candle, charging it with an intent of general protection.  Next, transfer the light from your Master Candle to your petition candle, this time charging it with a more specific purpose, to protect you (or client) while you (they) travel.  Allow the candle to burn for a moment.  Then snuff it out and pull the melted wax up over the wick, locking the mojo inside. 

Next, you will set your petition candle in a candle holder and place you St. Christopher Medal in front of it.  I like to place the candle inside the cord/chain, that way the necklace forms a circle around it.  Light your petition candle and tell St. Christopher your petition.  This can sound much like a prayer. For this particular working, I asked that St. Christopher provide safe travel for myself and anyone traveling with me, including my son and husband.  Remember that you must promise an offering that will be given when the petition has been granted.  For this petition, I have promised to publish a public "Thank You" to the Saint, when my son and I have returned home safely.   

St. John the Baptist

Blessed Solstice Everyone!

    Midsummer corresponds with St. John the Baptist Day, June 24, being the day of his birth.  Since saints have a strong connection with conjure, I thought today would be a good day to talk about St. John and how to use him in your work. 

St. John the Baptist, cousin of Jesus of Nazareth, was born on June 24 and died, by beheading, in Jordan on August 23.  A prisoner of King Herrod, his death was a result of the venegance of a jealous woman.  His head was brought to her on a platter.  In turn, St. John can be called upon to guard against the jealousy of others. 

Traditionally, St. John is depicted carrying a tall, slender cross and often a lamb.  Sometimes the imagery is that of a decapitated head on a platter. 

St. John's Patronage:

against convulsions

against epilepsy

against hail

against hailstorms

against spasms

baptism

bird dealers

converts

convulsive children

cutters

epileptics

farriers

French Canadians

lambs

monastic life

motorways

printers

tailors

St. John and West African Spirituality:

St. John is also connected with the orishnas of Santeria.  The Yoruba people of West Africa recognized three levels of spiritual being; Olodumare, orishnas, and eggun.  Olodumare is the creating force or being; orishnas are nature spirits of messengers; and eggun are spirits of the dead, which are to be honored and revered.  Orishnas are much like Christian angels, and when years of slavery in the Americas forced the Yoruba people to practice in secret, they adopted many Catholic saints and angels. 

There are nine orishnas; Ellegua/Ellegua, Obatala/Obatalia, Yemaya/Yemalia/Yemalla, Oya, Oshun/Ochum, Chango/Shango/ Xango/Sango, Ogun/Ogum, Orula/Orunmila, and Babaluaye.  Each orishna is associated with a saint, most are associated with more than one.  St. John the Baptist falls under Ogun/Ogum, along with Saint Anthony, Saint George, and Saint Simon Peter (San Pedro).  This orishna is the Lord of metals, minerals, tools, birds, and wild beasts. 

Seven of the nine orishnas were combined into the common image of "The Seven African Powers."  The Seven African Powers are a symbol of luck, power, and and protection, and are utilized by many rootworkers.

The image portrays the crucifixion of Christ, while a rooster on a pedestal watches.  The crucifixion is surrounded by the images of seven of the orishnas.  At times the image may include the names of the orishnas and at others the names of the saints. 

This image is often found on incense, powders, baths, candles, and other conjure tools.  Often the center image, without the orishnas, can be found on candles bearing the inscription "Just Judge" or "Faithful Judge."

For more on The Seven African Powers please see THIS post on Lucky Mojo.

Working with St. John:

Along with the above mentioned correspondences, St. John is often called on to relieve chronic headaches.  Let's look at one way this could be done.  This working is of my own design.  Please feel free to use it in its entirety or as inspiration for your own creations.

Materials:

Healing Master Candle

Small White Altar Candle (this will become your petition candle)
Small Candle Holder for Petitioner Candle

St. John's Wort

Peppermint

Rosemary

Healing Oil

2 St. John the Baptist Prayer Card

A personal concern - such as hair

First, you will need to create your petition candle.  If you are not familiar with petition candles in conjure, please see THIS post. For this candle, I chose white, instead of the more common blue used for healing, because white is the color associated with St. John the Baptist.  The candle should be annointed, or dressed, in the healing oil of your choice and then rolled in rosemary, peppermint, and St. John's wort.  Rosemary and peppermint because both are excellent herbs for headache relief.  St. John's wort I chose for two reasons.  First, the herb also has along history as a pain reliever, but also, it is an herb strongly associated with St. John.  This plant's bright yellow blooms appear around the time of midsummer, or St. John's Day, and, thus, the plant was given his name. 

After the candle is dressed and rolled in herbs, you will need to light your Healing Master Candle.  If you are not familiar with such a candle please see THIS earlier blog post.  Bring the light from your HMC to your petition candle and allow it to burn for a few moments, long enough to melt enough wax to bring up over the wick.  Remember while you are doing this, you should be *setting* your petition for a specific purpose. In this case, relieving the chronic headaches of the target.  You may also wish, during this process, to carve the name of the target into the candle.  Do so before dressing the candle. 

Once your petition candle is set, and its purpose locked inside, you are ready to get started.  (Please note that petition candles can be made in advance or at the time of the working.  Additional candles can also be made if you wish to work simultaneously with another person, such as the target or another rootworker.)

First, you will take your two St. John the Baptist prayer cards, (these can be purchased on ebay, amazon, or a from a Catholic supply store,)  and place them back-to-back. In between the cards, place the hair or other personal concern.  With the cards back-to-back, place the candle holder, with the petition candle in it, on top of the cards. You can also laminate these cards with the personal concern inside.  This makes them more durable and allows you to use them in future workings for the same petitioner.

Now, light the petition candle while *praying* to St. John.  This simply means tell St. John what it is that you want, state you petition.  In return, you should promise St. John an offering when the working is complete.  Do not make the offering at this time.  Simply make the promise.  For St. John, an appropriate offering could be white flowers placed on your altar or a place of high visibility along with his image.  In addition, a public thank you, such as one placed in the newspaper or even on FB, is always an acceptable offering for a saint.  Not to long ago, a young woman, from a conjure group I belong to on yahoo, posted her thank you on the groups message board.  These "Thank You's" can be annonymous, also, if you are more comfortable with that.  A simple "Thank you St. John" placed in the local newspaper will do. 

After you have made your petition and promised your offering, allow the candle to *cook,* burning down as far as possible without going out.  Then, blow the candle out, sending the working out for its purpose.  If something arises, and you must leave before the candle is ready to be blown out, simply snuff the candle.  This will lock the working inside.  Re-light and continue when you are able to finish the work.  Bury the candle stub near your front door to bring healing in. 

And WAH-LAH!  Now you have worked with St. John the Baptist! :)

Blessed Solstice and Blessed Workings!

Rose of Jericho/ Saint Expedite Petition Ritual

Due to the personal nature of the petition being made, some details will be omitted from this account.  However, I believe that the important information is being passed along. :)

This blog will illustrate a personal petition ritual I preformed, involving a Rose of Jericho (Resurection Plant) and a Saint Expedite candle.

If you are not familiar with the Rose of Jericho they are remarkable plants.  They are considered talismans for protection, blessing, and prosperity.  When dormant they resemble tumble weeds or dead cedar boughs. Mine looked like this::

As you can see, I have placed it in a bowl containing a couple inches of water.  The plant is not dead, simply dormant.  Once placed in water, it begins to open up.  After two hours, it looked like this::

TWO HOURS:


FOUR HOURS:
 


ONE DAY:
 

SEVEN DAYS:



On the seventh day, I rested.....

No, not really.... :P  On Wednesday (I chose this day because it is the traditional day to work with Saint Expedite.), I removed the Rose of Jericho from its water.  I saved a portion of the water in a small hermetically sealed jar for use in future workings, and discarded the rest.  When the Rose of Jericho is removed from its water source it begins to slowly return to its dormant state, closing up.  The idea is to seal your petition inside the closed plant until the time that it is granted.

At this point, using a small taper candle I lit my Master Candle and allowed it to cook, while I began to construct my petition. Taking a small piece of paper, I wrote my petition out, while concentrating on it being fullfilled.  I then annointed the paper in a five-face-die pattern, one dot in each corner and one in the center.  For this work, I used Lucky Mojo's Blessing Oil.  After the annointing, I folded the paper in half once, towards my body.  Then in half again, and then once more.  Always towards my person, and always concentrating on my desired outcome.  Then, I placed the petition in the middle of the still open plant, on my altar, along with two small personal items. 

With a small taper candle I transfered the light from my Master Candle to my Saint Expedite candle, both on my altar.

(You can read HERE a little about Saint Expedite and about how I made this candle)

 

Then, I said a small prayer to Saint Expedite, asking him to lend his speed to my petition.  To keep anything from delaying it, to "expedite" it if possible, and to provent those involved from procrastinating on anything that might slow down my petition. In return, I vowed that, once the petition was granted, I would light a red candle in his honor every Wednesday for a year, and provide him with offerings of fresh flowers and sponge cake.  I allowed the candle to burn for a few hours before pinching it out, and I will continue to light it every day until it is almost gone, at which point I will blow the candle out.  Once, the petition is granted I will use the empty novena as a vase for offerings of flowers to the Saint.

When the petition is granted, I will place the Rose of Jericho back in water, where it will once again leave its dormant state and open. (They can repeat this cycle for years)  I will remove the petition and items and use the Rose for another work.  I will also begin my offereings to Saint Expedite, for a year, from that day.

Making My Saint Expedite Candle

SAINT EXPEDITE

There is a humourous story about Saint Expedite's arrival in New Orleans.  According to folklore, when the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe was being completed, the priests commissioned a staute of the Virgin from Spain.  When the crate containing the statue arrived another crate accompanied it.  On the second crate was written the word "EXPEDITE" and inside was the statue of a Roman Centurion.  The priest mistook the shipping instructions, "EXPEDITE," to be the Saint's name.  And so Saint Expedite arrived in New Orleans.

Saint Expedite is a folk saint, not formally accepted by the Catholic Church.  However, he is popular in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latin American, New Orleans, and among hoodoo.  He is typically called upon to "expedite," or speed up, workings or petitions.  He is also called upon to assist in breaking the bad habit of procrastination.  A practioner will call on Saint Expedite with the vow of an offering once the petition is granted.  Typical offering for this Saint are fresh flowers, sponge cake, and red candles.  It is important to wait until after the petition has bene fulfilled and to FOLLOW through with your vow.  You can find out more about Saint Expedite from Lucky Mojo and Saint Expedite Org.

  

Saint Expedite is usually depicted as a Roman Centurion with his right foot standing on a dead raven.  From the raven's mouth there is a word-ribbon, CRAS.  The Saint also carries a cross with the word HODIE on it.  CRAS is Latin for "tomorrow," while "HODIE" is Latin for "today."  The Saint is essentially snuffing out tomorrow in favor of today.  Don't put off until tomorrow what can be done today.

Making My Candle

Where I live it is very hard to find Saint Candles.  I can find the plain white novena's, but the colored ones are almost impossible.  Therefore, when the need arose, I was inspired to create my own.

I started with plain cardstock and created a design that symbolized, to me, Saint Expedite.  ***This is my own, original work, based on tradtional symbology.:

 

My design includes the dead raven and it's word-ribbon, CRAS, along with the Cross inscribed with HODIE.  Today instead of tomorrow.  The Cross is haloed in honor of the Saint.  Around the edge reading from  the top, clockwise, it says "Protector, Martyr, Swift One, Bless Us, Amen."  For this I used Illuminati script, simply because it is something I am fairly familiar with.  I chose red for the border and internal writing because it is the color generally associated with Saint Expedite.

Traditionally, one would use a red candle for Saint Expedite, but red novenas are not easily available to me, so I chose a white novena candle instead.  I cut the design out, as seen above. Then, using clear plastic packaging tape, I carefully attached the design to my candle, making sure to cover all the paper to protect it.




Once completed, I dressed the top of the candle with Lucky Mojo Blessing Oil. Lucky Mojo also makes a Saint Expedite Oil that would, of course, be appropriate.  I rubbed a portion clockwise around the top three times.  Then I placed my candle on my altar until the time came to use it.