Blog of the 9 Mysteries

Love Potion #9 Day Is Almost Here! Every year, one particularly wonderful old Spellmaker recipe gets its moment in the kitchen. September 9 is almost here, which means it is almost time for Love Potion #9. Love Potion #9 is one of those old magical recipes that is part spell, part kitchen magick, part folklore, and part Spellmaker history. Traditionally, it is prepared on the ninth day of the ninth month at the ninth hour , which means 9:00 a.m. on September 9 . This year, September 9 falls on a Wednesday. And this recipe is extremely committed to its theme. There are nine ingredients. Nine pink votive candles. Nine stirs. Nine minutes of simmering. Nine breaths over the finished potion. And finally, the names of nine goddesses associated with love are spoken over it. Apparently, once our magical ancestors chose the number nine, nobody was permitted to show restraint. 😂 I have a particular fondness for this recipe because it has been around Spellmaker for many years. W...

One of the things I love about spiritual work is that there are so many different paths and traditions available to us. Not everything has to fit neatly under the heading of witchcraft, Voodoo, or Vodou. Psalm magick has a long history and a character all its own. For generations, people have turned to the Psalms for comfort, protection, blessing, prosperity, justice, guidance, peace, and spiritual strength. Of course, many people simply pray the Psalms devotionally. But there are also longstanding traditions in which particular Psalms are used for particular spiritual purposes, sometimes along with candles, sacred names, incense, prayer, and anointing oils. That is where our Holy Spirit Psalm Oil comes in. Our Holy Spirit Psalm Oil is a one-ounce spiritual oil made with nine ingredients associated with Biblical tradition, including mustard seed, frankincense, lily of the valley, olive oil, and other ingredients traditionally connected with prayer and sacred w...

 Hello spellmaker readers. No doubt many of you have heard that at the age of 80, musician, actress, and American icon Dolly Parton has passed away. As someone who serves Erzulie Freda, it is no mistake that Dolly was always someone I admired. She was known for her over the top hairstyles and wardrobe, and celebrated every thing that makes it fun (even if it can be alot of work) to be a girl. But the thing about Dolly, is that she was a global superstar who never lost her sweetness, her love of her Tennessee homeland, or her extraordinary humanity. Dolly grew up in poverty- and yet her willingness to use her fortune to help others was one of the most beautiful things about her. She donated millions of books to children, helped fund a vaccine for covid 19, and donated money to many families who lost their homes in a devastating fire. Beneath her quirky southern charm, Dolly was a bright business woman, who channeled her love of her childhood country home into the Dollywood theme par...

  The Spirits Who Found Me Before I Found Them A reflection by Sister Bridget Corfield, House of the Nine Mysteries I was seven years old the first time I saw him. I had woken from a bad dream — the kind that sits on your chest and makes you afraid to open your eyes all the way — and in that fragile space between sleep and waking, I saw a man standing at the foot of my bed. He was wearing red. He was carrying what I can only describe as a sword. He did not speak. He did not move toward me. He simply stood there, steady and certain, and looked at me with an expression I did not have words for at seven but would now call watchful. Present. Deliberate. And then he was gone. For years — many years — I filed that memory away as part of the nightmare itself. A fragment of dream that had bled into waking before I was fully conscious. It was easier that way. It made sense that way. I was a child who had grown up in a spiritual house, yes, but even children who grow up surrounded by sp...

  What Living Inside a Spiritual House Actually Feels Like A reflection by Sister Bridget Corfield, House of the Nine Mysteries I did not know our house was different for a very long time. That is the thing about growing up inside something — it simply feels like life. The candles, the altars, the quiet acknowledgment of presences that most people cannot see and many are afraid to think about — all of it was just Tuesday to me. Just home. The moment I started to understand that we were different came gradually, the way most important realizations do. I was young, and the children around me were frightened of ghosts. Really frightened — the kind of fear that made them pull covers over their heads and sleep with lights on and dare each other to say certain names three times in front of mirrors. I watched all of that with genuine curiosity, because in our house, the spirits were not something to be afraid of. They were welcomed. They were part of the family in a very real and literal ...

  Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary: The Late Summer Garden Spring gets most of the attention when folks talk about gardens. The ground is freshly turned, the seed packets are full, and everything feels possible. By late summer, the garden has settled into what it is going to be. Some plants have grown better than expected, some have struggled, and a few never did much of anything at all. The garden is still beautiful, but it is no longer asking us to dream about what might grow. It is asking us to pay attention to what did. A late summer garden needs a different kind of care. The weeds have had plenty of time to get comfortable, the soil dries quickly in the heat, and vegetables can go from almost ready to overripe before we know it. This is when we have to keep walking through the rows, checking what needs water, what is ready to be picked, and what ought to be cleared away. The excitement of planting may be long gone, but the garden still needs our company. We cannot stay conne...

 Hello spellmaker readers!! It's finally August, and harvest season, with the observation of Lughnassadh on August 1st (if youre at all pagan coded like me) has commenced. Like many of us, fall, and especially Halloween,  is my very favorite time of year. This liminal space, somewhere between the green sunny days and long warm nights of summer, and the crisp, colorful, cozy autumn always warms my heart and makes my inner witch come to attention.  The crickets have begun their familiar song, lamenting summers end, children are preparing to return to school, and all the world has a dutiful buzz about it. This is merely a preface for the next 2 harvests, of course, the Autumn Equinox, and Samhain (and our beloved fet ghede here in our house.) But to me, with the sweet always comes the bitter. I cannot help but get a little sentimental about the end of swimming for the year (here in the northeast US, anyway), the long hours of daylight, and the easy, breezy nonchalance of sum...

 Hello everyone!  Are any of you familiar with the Chinese Harvest Moon Festival?  I have always been fascinated by this festival, and especially the "love spell" characteristics that some people attribute to it. The festival will be celebrated on September 25, 2026. (Usually Sister Lucy has to remind of this coming up and I actually remembered on my own! LOL) There is a great Chinese legend (printed below for you) that is honored during the the Harvest Moon phase every year.  It is also thought that single women can find their "soulmate" by eating Chinese Moon Cakes (recipe below), honoring the moon and its light, and  asking for their love to be brought to them!  One woman's account is reprinted below, also, for you. Of course, as a Vodouisant, I always want to bring some Vodou into the mix when doing any ritual.  I could certainly see doing Erzulie's Pink Bath or some Pink Image Candles on the night of the harvest moon, then eating the moon cake...

  As Summer winds down, apple season approaches! This is a great time to review the simple and homespun magick one can use apples for :-)  Apples have long held a significant place in mythology, folklore, and magical traditions across various cultures. Known as the "fruit of wisdom" and associated with love, fertility, abundance, and even the Otherworld, apples are a powerful symbol in witchcraft and spiritual practices. From their use in divination to their association with harvest festivals, apples carry deep magical meaning. In this article, we will explore the history, symbolism, and practical applications of apple magick and how to incorporate this versatile fruit into your spiritual practice. The Symbolism of the Apple Apples have been revered for thousands of years in cultures around the world. In Celtic mythology, apples were seen as a sacred fruit of the Otherworld, with Avalon—literally meaning "Isle of Apples"—being the mystical resting place of King Art...

  Welcome, friends, old and new. If you have known Spellmaker for a long time, you already know that we have never fit very neatly into one little box. And after more than three decades of magick, ritual, teaching, spiritual exploration, and quite a few adventures along the way, I suppose there is no reason to start trying to fit in now! 😏 So, welcome to our new blog: House of the Nine Mysteries . What is House of the Nine Mysteries? This is the name of our Vodou House where we teach students who wish to further themselves in following the path of Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo. This blog will contain blogs from those students as well as senior House members. They all have a wealth of knowledge (and entertainent) to offer. We have many years of old blog posts archived from our old blog provider that went out of business. I will try to make those available as soon as I can.  Lots of good information from all those years! This will be a place where we can wander a little. Of cou...