Slowly but surely LaBotanica's Mojo Market is coming together more and more. 
So proud of all the artists creating unique one of a kind juju items.
​

She is to be petitioned in times of deep depression, mental affliction and /or madness...

May her beauteous presence lift the afflicted's condition and bring rest to the soul and peace to the mind and spirit.

Nine day Novena

Offer a yellow candle, dressed in simple olive oil, { if you have it, also with black spruce oil } marked in 9 sections, light repeatedly every day for the full nine days. Also offer her any flowers that are pleasing to the eye and uplifting to the spirit.

Prayer to St Dymphna to be said every day before following petitions

Lord, our God, you graciously chose St. Dymphna as patroness of those afflicted with mental and nervous disorders. She is thus an inspiration and a symbol of charity to the thousands who ask her intercession.
Please grant, Lord, through the prayers of this pure youthful martyr, relief and consolation to all suffering such trials, and especially those for whom we pray. (Here mention those for whom you wish to pray).
We beg you, Lord, to hear the prayers of St. Dymphna on our behalf. Grant all those for whom we pray patience in their sufferings and resignation to your divine will. Please fill them with hope, and grant them the relief and cure they so much desire.
We ask this through Christ our Lord who suffered agony in the garden. Amen.

Day 1: For Faith
O God, Source of our salvation, in the midst of a pagan people, Thou didst enlighten St. Dymphna by the light of the true faith, which she professed under the guidance of her holy confessor, Gerebran, with such constance that she suffered martyrdom. Through the intercession of these two saints, we beg Thee to strengthen the faith which Thou hast given us, so that by wisely subjecting our souls to Thy Supreme Authority, and by faithfully conforming our lives according to our faith, we may honor Thee with our whole heart and soul until the hour of our death. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times

Day 2: For Hope
Almighty and infinitely good God, Thou hast promised eternal salvation to those who obey Thy commandments and make zealous use of Thy graces. Through the intercession of St. Dymphna, who fled from the danger of sin by leaving the palace of her father, and who, eager to gain eternal salvation, fled to Belgium to live in poverty, we beg Thee to grant that we also, who are striving for eternal happiness, may overcome all obstacles in the way of virtue and may attain eternal salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times

Day 3: For Charity
God of love, Thou art the most perfect Being, and Creator of all that is good and beautiful. Through the intercession of St. Dymphna, who in her youth loved Thee above all creatures and for Thy sake loved her neighbor as herself, as the image and likeness of Thee, as the price of the Blood of Jesus and as co-heir of heaven, be pleased to help us by Thy powerful grace, that we may faithfully fulfill the two great commandments of charity not only in word, but in action and in truth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times
 
Day 4: For Piety
 God, Our Creator and Supreme Master, St. Dymphna served Thee with great zeal even in her childhood, by hearing Thy word with delight, by assisting at Holy Mass with fervent reverence, and by receiving Holy Communion from the hand of St. Gerebran with tender devotion. Through her intercession we beg Thee to grant us the same virtue of piety so that, having honored Thee during this life as our Creator, we may possess Thee hereafter as our final reward. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times
 
Day 5: For Prudence
 O God, ruler of the universe, Thou didst allow St. Dymphna to discover a helpful means of avoiding the evil intentions of her father. Through the merits of Thy holy servant, be pleased to grant that we may become, according to the words of Jesus, simple as doves and wise as serpents, so that through prudent advice and sound judgment we may recognize what we must do to achieve the great work of our salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times
 
Day 6: For Justice
 O God, source of eternal justice, Thou didst inspire St. Dymphna to flee from her country and her father in order to render to Thee that which was Thine. Through her intercession we beg Thee to make us seek after justice so that we may perform our duties toward Thee as we ought. Though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times
 
Day 7: For Fortitude
O God, rewarder of those who remain firm in their good resolutions, Thou gavest St. Dymphna such a love of virtue that she had the courage to suffer privation, persecution, and even martyrdom. Through her prayers we beg Thee to grant us fortitude that we may courageously and perseveringly overcome ourselves and finally conquer the enemy of our salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times
 
Day 8: For Temperance
 O God, You made St. Dymphna resplendent in the virtue of temperance so that she mastered sensual inclinations and used temporal goods prudently. With temperance she combined the beautiful virtues of modesty, docility and humility. Let us not forget that humility is called the foundation of all virtue because it banishes from the soul pride, the obstacle to grace. Through the intercession of St. Dymphna, we beg Thee to guide and direct us, so that being preserved from evil and nervous disorders, we may obey till death the commandments and counsels Thou hast given us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times
 
Day 9: For Chastity
 O God, lover of innocent souls, Thou gavest St. Dymphna the virtue of angelic purity which made her reserved in all her actions, modest in her dress, attentive in her conversation, upright in her character, so that she even shed her blood to preserve this precious virtue. Through the intercession of St. Dymphna, we beg thee to bestow upon us the virtue of chastity that we may enjoy peace of conscience in this life and pure eternal joys of heaven hereafter. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 Pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be five times
 

Good to be back in Amsterdam with my family of students and do Misa together.
​Luz Luz Luz

The Graveyard at Castle Hill

Obviously the energies here in Nice right now are more than a little disturbed... Big big shout out to all the people that have contacted me and my family to check in that we are all ok, thank you so much for your care and concern...

People have been asking me if there is anything they can do spiritually to help and all I would say right now is miracles can happen with a simple candle and a prayer.

As for me I have been very clearly instructed from my Eggun to do absolutely nothing until Monday evening.
It was only after this guidance that I checked the date and, sure enough, it is very close to a Full Moon around  that time, the perfect moment to perform such a working.

What has happened here in Nice is horrific and there will be many lost and extremely confused souls on the other side right now, looking for assistance in their time of transition.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone that is not highly trained in this area to do any kind of shamanic work for these souls at this time. For sure pray, for sure light a candle, for sure send light, but work at your peril if you journey into this spiritually chaotic sphere right now untrained and without clear intentional focus and extremely strong Allies to help in the delicate task of transitioning souls to be with their ancestors.

The Ancestral mound of Nice is the ‘Colline du Chateau’ (Castle hill) - it is not only one of the oldest settled places in Nice with its ruins etc but there is also the crowning Graveyard up on the hill, that literally acts as a doorway to the land of the forefathers in this area. I have been working with these spirits at the graveyard there for over 3 years now and am very familiar with their heralds.

This, in my humble opinion, should be the place of focus for our light and prayers on the full moon evening of Monday the 18th August, not necessarily the Promenade des Anglais where the attack happened.
It is this guiding light and the spirits that await there, on Castle Hill that can help to transition the recently departed souls into the afterlife.

If such work is not done correctly when terrible things like this happen the place can literally become cursed, whereby the etheric stain created as this nightmarish act ripped through the ethers, can create a kind of negative vortex - a ‘Dark Bundle’, so to speak. This attracts into its sphere more accidents and bad things to occur in the future. I have seen this happen more times than I can speak of and am often called to peoples’ houses etc. to do cleansings when something extremely bad may have happened in the past, like a murder or suicide etc.

This is not enjoyable or easy work and not something to be done lightly as I have stated before, there are many, many things that can go wrong, whereby the spirit itself and the negative influences that have gathered around such a lost soul can attach themselves to the Spiritual worker and cause further havoc in their lives, instead of the intentioned task of them passing smoothly into the spiralling cycles of the afterlife.

I will be making offerings to the spirits of the Graveyard including Oya/Our lady of Candelaria, who stands at its gates all this weekend, beckoning that the spiritual doorway be open to receive the recently departed souls.

It needs to be understood very clearly that time within these astral realms is experienced completely differently to how we perceive it; a year can be experienced as a day and vice versa. For this reason many apparitions are seen enacting a certain pattern over and over again, the spirit itself not realising that many years, if not centuries, have passed. For whatever reason they are unable to let go of that which they wanted in life and in a sense are unaware that they are dead or of the length of time that has passed here on earth.  This being a large reason that negative spiritual influence can appear to hang around so long in this earthly realm and another reason it can be so difficult to clear.

At 21pm { French time } on Monday 18th July I will be performing Ceremony on my own here in Nice, journeying forth into these spiritual realms to literally create an avenue of luz/light from the Promenade des Anglais to the ancestral gateway at Castle hill. This illuminated trail will allow many of the traumatised souls to literally follow the trail of light into the Land of the Ancestors.

If anyone is at all interested supporting this work I simply ask that they either light a white candle, praying and send the light to me { Not to the scene of the attack } whereby me and my Allies can utilise this power in formulating this spiritual road, or in turn that you light a large purple candle to Oya/ Our Lady of Candelaria, asking that she open the Gates to the otherworld and welcome the lost souls home.

Once again I cannot overemphasise that these simple prayers be conducted as requested and that you DO NOT enter into the place of the attack, either imaginatively or intuitively but instead focus as requested.
                                                                                                             
​Bless

                                                                          Fiesta la Gitanas/Gitanos
                                                                      May 24th

On this night i created an alter for Santa Sara i, to venerate the Gypsy Spirits,to pray and Fiesta. 

Santa Sara, also known as Sara-la-Kali is the patron saint of the Romani people. The center of her veneration is Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a place of pilgrimage for Roma in the Camargue, in southern France. The day of the pilgrimage honouring Sarah is May 24; where her statue is ritually carried down to the sea..

Within Espiritismo 'La Comisión de los Gitanos' , the Commission of the Gypsies are a powerful tribe of spirits that many of us have as spiritual guides within our 'Cuadro Espiritual' { spiritual framework }

​Los Gitanos/Gitanas are traditionally associated with divination, protection, travel, love & good luck, etc.,

​Spiritism/Espiritismo was first introduced through the writings of Allen Kardec in 1857.  He published his first book on Spiritism, The Spirits' Book, and later went on to write The Medium's Book, The Gospel According to Spiritism, Heaven and Hell and The Genesis According to Spiritism. Collectively these books have become known as the Spiritist Codification.

The most fascinating aspect of his writings is that he himself never ‘passed‘ any messages or communicated with Spirits, instead he garnered his information from through messages passed on to him by various spiritualists other than himself. The fact that he himself never had direct contact with the ‘other world’ makes his work that much more dedicated and astounding.

​These books on mediumship and spiritual practice eventually became available in Caribbean and Latin American countries. Many of these places already having long standing traditions of ancestral worship and trance possession. Within the cross cultural synchronisation between the native peoples, African slaves and through Catholicism, this form of Spiritualism was easily absorbed and adapted into these various belief systems.  The various forms of Espiritismo that have evolved through this cross cultural blending of practices would be unrecognisable to Allen Kardec in the era he wrote his books. However, the fundamental principles and the Spiritualist’s code still stand true for most Espiritistas today.

Espiritismo and the Misa Espiritual (spiritual mass) offers a subtle and potent way of communing with the Ancestral Spirits, utilising cleansings, prayers, spirit messages etc, to help guide and elevate the Espiritista’s life.

By developing what is called their Cuadro Espiritual  (spiritual framework)  this unique network of ancestral spirits support and guide each person, enabling them to move into greater wholeness, personal power and spiritual effectiveness.

​In turn, by stabilising the influence and power of these forces, they not only develop spiritually, but also illuminate and elevate the spirits themselves, aiding their evolution in return.

Espiritismo itself has never had a single leader or centre of practice, and as such its practice varies greatly between individuals, Iles (Houses) and groups. In all cases it continues to absorb various practices from other religious practices including Curanderismo, Afro-Brazilian Macumba and Santería etc.

More recently, its evolution is entering back into the European psyche, from where it all started, and has begun to take hold. In and of itself, Espiritismo in its various forms is its own distinct practice. Yet it assimilates into the dominant cultures’ symbols, forms of praying and distinctive indigenous spirits.

​With its unique mix of Catholic symbology, latin sensibilities and African ancestral worship, Espiritismo and its various off shoots, Espiritismo Cruzado, Santerismo etc, are slowly evolving and adapting, gaining converts from the Neopaganism and new age spiritual communities, as its power to elevate peoples’ lives becomes more and more apparent.

​There is a highly folk magical element to the practice of Espiritismo, whereby various Saints, Ancestors and Spiritual Commissions (Comisiones Espirituales), are invoked to help intercede on behalf of the person needing support. People may be told to make various offerings, such as a candle, some fresh fruit, a lit cigar or cigarette etc in exchange for a particular petition to various Spirits.

​Unlike more traditional paths like Ceremonial Magic etc, these spirits and ancestral allies are never chosen, or somehow summoned into being; instead they are carefully divined at gatherings such as the Misa Blanca.
Specific Ceremonies such as an Investigación are used to determine each person’s guardian spirit and various spiritual guides, be they an actual ancestor, or one from the varied and many Comisiones i.e. Vikingos, Gitanas/Gitanos, Chinos, Indios, Arabes, Madamas etc.

These various Spirit Guides can greatly affect the Espiritista’s life in a reciprocal relationship. The guide may offer various remedies and guidance into life’s many problems, while the Espiritista in return may offer light and prayers, both helping to elevate each other to increased alignment and spiritual enlightenment.

​The basic Misa Blanca is simply constructed using a white cloth laid over any table, a Boveda (a large clear bowl of water) placed at its centre, usually but not always with a cross in it; white candles; white flowers; some spiritual colognes i.e. Florida Water; and the prayer book Collection of Selected Prayers by Alan Kardec.
If a private Misa is held in the form of a small circle of people there is no official hierarchy as such, however there is always a Presidente heading the table who begins the initial songs and prayers etc.

​As the spiritual energy rises and the various Comisiones are called upon, any of the Espiritistas present may pass messages or go into various states of trance as they 'pass a Spirit'.
Things are very different if a public Misa is held for the community, then only the Presidente and the Espiritistas 'working the table' may pass messages, do cleansings and perform healings etc.

​Various forms of cleansings are a large part of any gathering, from a simple sweeping hand movement over a person’s body, to more elaborate use of ramas (branches) to cleanse the person of negative spiritual influences. Of course, fire can be used from a simple white candle passed over the person’s body to large circles to spiritual patterns being set aflame as the person cleanses themselves. Of course, the use of such elements is only trusted in the hands of an experienced Espiritista, or a known Spirit within the person’s cuadro.

​The fluidos (waters) used in these Misas are also of prime importance, whether it is inside the Boveda or Baños (spiritual wash). It is considered a transitional element, something through which the spirits may pass from this world into the other, or help to capture and cleanse any negative spirits that may need purification and elevation.

As Espiritismo progresses and slowly, hopefully, touches more and more cultures it is sure to incorporate various traditions but at its heart is sure to stay the same, offering luz { light } and progress to whom ever it touches .

​Art is always, in its many forms, an expression of culture. These photographs were taken with the utmost integrity in honour of the various Saints and Spirits that work with Yanu at The House of Shamagika.

​Within a modern European context these images were taken with the intent to capture the spiritual/magical essence of modern Espiritismo within the 21st century. Up till now there have not been too many photoshoots done in this fashion within our tradition - much of the related imagery is from past times and various other cultures. It is truly hoped that they will express something of the beauty and devotion of the modern Espiritista…

Bless

.
​

​For a while now I have been fascinated with capturing the essence of Spirit on camera.  Recently I did a Consulta with Giovanna a very dedicated student of mine. She asked what she could wear as a form of protection from negative influences in her daily life. Her Gitana, the head of her 'Cuadro Espiritual' { spiritual framework } came through clearly and told her to first bless, then wear a  ‘wooden saints charm prayer bracelet ‘ on her wrist and to raise her hand and pray whenever she needed protection.
Giovanna laughed as I passed the message to her saying ‘ Oh that’s great, I already have one of those ‘, which was a beautiful evidencia for the message given.
A short while later she sent me this photo of her dressed in honour of her gitana wearing the bracelet with her hand raised in front of her. The image captures so perfectly the spiritual essence and beauty of both her and  her gitana.

 'La Comisión de los Gitanos' , the Commission of the Gypsies are a powerful tribe of spirits that many have as spiritual guides within their 'Cuadro Espiritual' { spiritual framework }

​Los Gitanos are traditionally associated with divination, protection, love & good luck, etc.,
They are generally very street wise, can see easily through deceit and lies and are masterful in magic and varied forms of divination.

They can receive many varied offerings including; red wine, non-filter cigarettes, coins, colourful flowers, red roses, fruits and any kind of simple meat stews etc...

Coloured Candles may vary including, Red for love, passion & protection, Green for money and also healing, White for clarity& guidance, Purple for divination etc.

Herbs; Lavender, Four leaf clover, Rosemary etc...

Opocha, opocha, ole,
​Hail blessed Saint Sara Kali.




 

​I had a dream last night,

You were in it......


You were running,

Yet going nowhere......


It was like you were suspended in time,

Racing, looking frantically behind you,

To a devil that wasn't there...


Your eyes were screaming,

Terror tore at your cheeks,

As you ran into nowhere...


I took a broken piece of cascarilla,

And drew circles in the air,

I blew cigar smoke from my lips...


Holy water dripped from my finger tips,

As I sung the sacred songs,

Until you were released, 


From this infernal snare...

Ase !