Ex Penna

Van Van is a formula, most often found as an oil, that is lucky in all respects while also removing all barriers to that success. It's the standard item in any good Hoodoo cupboard.

Oddly enough, though there are many successful recipes floating around, the only ingredient they have in common is Lemongrass. It would also seem that there are sellers whose Van Van oil is nothing but Lemongrass.

You can certainly create a starter version of this all-purpose formula with just Lemongrass in a carrier oil, but if you have access to the other Asian grasses found in the complete recipe, I recommend adding a generous dose of each:

Back in the "good old days" of my early twenties, when my husband and I were first married and living poor but happy, we ran with a very different crowd than we do now.  In fact, most of them were characters straight out of a comic book.

The tall, bookish guy in a trench coat with long hair and a wicked grin who had at least one hand over his face in every photograph.

The piggish grease-monkey whose limited vocabulary was full of made up words.

The all-day drunk with a good heart but terrible life choices.

And then there was the stocky scrapper who was fiercely proud of a European heritage that I'm pretty sure no one actually believed was real and had probably never done anything legal if he could help it.

He was probably the most common visitor to our house in those days and definitely a memorable part of many adventures.  This is only important to know because he figured prominently in my strongest memory of the formula I'm about to give you,  Happiness Powder.

As an open and proud spellcaster, I often had bundles of herbs drying in the kitchen, spell candles burning on an obvious altar in the living room, and various other magical items sitting in plain view around the house.  The night I made my first jar of Happiness Powder, I left it on the coffee table before putting it away.  When our guest came in and sat, he excitedly poured out a line and sniffed it because coke was the only "happiness powder" in his vocabulary.

Needless to say, I don't recommend this!  But, he was okay after that, though maybe not as happy as he had hoped.  Like I said, strange times and strange people.

The proper way to use Cunningham's powder is to sprinkle it around your environment, on people who could use cheering up, as an added ingredient in mojo bags, or use it to dust spell candles.

Continuing in the vein of my adoration for Hoodoo is this week's offering: Hot Foot powder.  If you've never heard if it before, sit yourself down and get ready.  If you have, well, watch where you walk.

Do you have shitty neighbors?  Hot Foot them. 

Does your co-worker annoy you, sabotage you, or get in your way?  Hot foot them. 

Is that ex-friend still hanging around talking smack about you to others?  Hot Foot them. 


The swifter you clear out what threatens to derail your success, the easier it is to achieve it.



Now before you go at me with a wagging finger and disapproving glare for giving unwelcome people the boot, consider how affecting they can be.  Consider the stress they cause, the ensuing arguments, misunderstandings, and undue tension just from their presence.  You're not killing anybody, merely relocating them.  That can actually be a good thing, if they choose to see it that way.

But that's not your problem.  They are your problem and the solution is to make them disappear.  So here we go.

This is another formula without exact measurements and ingredients, but there are a few herbs that must be present in the basic recipe: hot pepper, sulphur, and salt.  Everything else--including the amounts--is a matter of individual tradition and taste.  I've seen others use High John root, Black Mustard, gunpowder (to make it work even faster), wasps' nests (to make it meaner), and the toxic Bluestone.  Here is the one I use:

Hot Foot Powder

You can make a very helpful magical oil with just a few ingredients from your kitchen cupboard!  So let's get into the kitchen and get cracking!

While there are several ways to make this oil, what I offer here is the one I use: 

Flying Devil Oil

There's nothing that pleases me more than having a cupboard full of formulas.  I have a collection of about 90 kinds of powders, oils, tinctures, and incenses, and all of them--except about 3--are homemade by me.  Yes, I am bragging.

So it's no surprise that I have favorites that must be kept on hand at all times, no matter how simple or complicated their formulation.  Water of Notre Dame is one of them.

Oddly enough, it's also one that is both simple and complicated because there seems to be a greater than average number of opinions about how it should be made.  When the water was first introduced to the public as a "scrubbing essence" (many of the most wide-spread condition formulas had earlier fame for other purposes), it was made with a base of arnica tincture.  Somewhere along the line it changed into an infusion of whte rose petals.  Since then it has evolved again to call for hydrosol or essential oil.  The other ingredients seem fairly stable and only the element of white roses change.  Of course, I haven't seen a single modern recipe calling for arnica; that aspect seems gone for good.

Water of Notre Dame is the go-to wash for all happy home spells.  It promotes peace and serenity in the home, cleanses, banishes evil, uncrosses, and also summons helpful spirits to come to your aid.

The recipe of Ray Malbrough (and many others, I've discovered) is nothing more than white rose and water, but the recipe I follow is closer to the one given by Judika Illes in her "Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells."  I prefer tinctures to waters because of their longevity and potency.

This is probably my most frequently requested formula when I make spell kits privately.  That's really saying something, considering that the bulk of this witch's work for others is either love spells or curses!  But Aunt Sally's powder neither harms nor manipulates any other person; it's completely benign and beneficial, which (to my mind) makes it the perfect share so close to the holidays.

Use this classic Hoodoo formula to bring dreams that are prophetic, give winning numbers for gambling (it's original use, including the companion book "Aunt Sally's Policy Player's Dream Book"), or are of a fortunate nature.  Sprinkle this powder on your sheets before going to bed to make use of its influence on your sleep time or carry a pinch in your pockets to be lucky while you're awake!

This formula couldn't be easier or its application more fun!

Lust Honey does just as you would suppose: it increases desire and sexual awareness.  It's a great boost to other kinds of magic, as well, so give it a shot when you want someone on your side no matter what you ask.

You can use Lust Honey on yourself or another person, as you choose.  On yourself, it's a good formula for those times when your relationship is in the doldrums or you yourself just aren't feeling like the fiery sex idol you might be.  A quick spoon of Lust Honey will perk you right up!

On another person, you'll have to be a bit more sly.  I recommend adding it to baked goods or poured on top of fruits or other sweets.  It's suggested that it be stirred into tea but as I like to leave the herbs right in the honey, that will look a little suspicious to your target.  Any way you choose to administer your honey, it will inspire their interest and attraction to you as well as increasing their libido in general.

So here's the funny thing about having been a spellcaster for nearly 20 years--you lose track of things.  I never thought I'd get to the point where I couldn't quite remember if I'd read a certain book, if I have this or that herb in my collection, or in this case, where a piece of information came from that I really cherish.

Weird, huh?

But there it is, and though it didn't sound likely when I first began, I've come to the point where I simply can't recall every spell I've cast or client I've worked with.  That's one reason that I'm such a pain in the rear to readers, students, friends (and basically every caster I meet) about keeping impeccable records about everything.

So today I'm going to tell you about a formula that I use all the time, works incredibly well, and yet I'm not one-hundred percent sure whom to credit with its creation.  I'll note that at first I thought it was from Cunningham--and his "Incense, Oils and Brews" does indeed have a similar recipe--but it's not quite the same thing.  If you have any idea where this can be found in its original form, I'd love to know so that I can correct not only this post but also my own formulary at home.

But, no matter its source, here's the indispensable incense formula of my practice, Prayer Incense.

Whether you live alone, with a roommate, significant other, or (like myself) a bustling family, your home is the foundation of your world.  As such, it can easily get cluttered with stress, fears, regrets, loneliness, or any number of other unpleasant emotions we carry around with us and then drop off someplace convenient.

A little bit of this bad stuff can quickly disperse with the usual ebb and flow of the emotional tides that surround you.  Playing music, opening the windows, cleaning, performing rituals--all these things can be used to get rid of the usual accumulation of negativity.  If, however, you have a lot of such energy or it builds up faster than you can remove it (often the case in homes with teenagers or arguing couples), try this instead.  There's no faster or more pleasant method I know that will clear out negativity and calm a restless spirit!


Method for a Simple Peaceful Incense

Light a charcoal disc in a theribule.  If you don't have either, heat a cast iron pan on the stove until it is very hot. Pour onto your hot surface a large spoonful of brown sugar.  Carry the theribule or pan (use layers of hot pads) throughout your home to suffumigate every room.  When you are done, you will easily note the change.  Welcome everyone back in and let them enjoy your renewed and peaceful home.