Candle Magic Tips and Tricks, Keep the Magic Alive

This may sound familiar: "Candle magic is my favorite form of ritual work. It combines the 3 magical principles of concentration, will power and visualization to heighten your energy and bring your wishes to fruition. It continues to become an extension of your mental power and energy as it burns allowing their vibrations to fill your sacred space.

I use white candles the most in my work as white embodies all colors and I feel brings the strongest light energy and protection to the ritual. I use color candles when I am in need of triple action strength in one particular area. I bless and dress the candle for each specific use to draw in energies of love, money, protection, healing etc. " Which brings me to the purpose of this blog post. Tips and tricks to keep the magic alive in your candle.

When you purchase a ritual candle from Rita's, I have already done the work for you, however I have come to realize that a lot of clients will blow out their candles each day and re-light the next day, or at another point in time.  Sometimes this stresses me out because each time you do that you lose some of the magic intended in the ritual of the candle. BUT, yes there is help, if you bless and dress your candle each time, focusing your energy on the intent you will be able to keep the magic charged. Remember it is always best to let the candle burn straight through, but if you cannot here are some helpful magical tips and tricks.

First of all if you must put out your flame, snuff. it. out. DO NOT blow it out, blowing it out is you using your energy and intent to put out the flame, symbolically putting out the magic.  If you do not have a "candle snuffer" you can simply use a plate, place it on top of the candle and allow the candle to put itself out. The plate will get hot, so choose wisely and do not touch it right away after the candle has gone out. Now if you are not using a glass pillar candle for your ritual work, of course it's best to invest in a snuffer!

Now let's move onto redressing and blessing.  It is important to "feed" your candle to help boost it's energy drawing power.  You do this by adding a combination of magical powdered herbs or the herbs themselves that coincide with the magical intent of the candle to the top of the candle. You may also add bits of roots, crystals or charms, again anything to feed intent. After that you can bless the candle with a ritual oil that also coincides with the magical intent of the candle.

It is important to know the logistics of "how" to do this.  If you are working a candle ritual to "rid" yourself of something, to "banish" or "hex" you want to dress and bless your candle in a counterclockwise motion.  For the herbs make sure to circle the entire top of the candle making ends meet, and for the oil use 5 drops, like at the five points of a star, counterclockwise. Always dress at the top of the candle because this is where you feed the flame. Of course, as a reminder, these types of candle rituals should be done during a waning moon phase for the best results.

If you are working a candle ritual for "drawing" in something to yourself, or "wishing" or asking for "help" then you want to dress and bless your candle in a clockwise motion. Same as above, for the herbs make sure to circle the entire top of the candle making ends meet, and for the oil use 5 drops, like at the five points of a star, clockwise. Always dress at the top of the candle because this is where you feed the flame. Of course, as a reminder, these types of candle rituals should be done during a waxing moon phase (new moon to full moon).

A little trick for those of you who need to re-light your 7 day pillars, if you keep the stick from your incense after you burn it, you can light one end and it will stay lit long enough to give you the extra reach to light your wick!

Much luv.

No Maypole? No Problem. Rita's Beltane Braid Ritual

I have been doing this ritual as long as I can remember...it's truly a great substitute for those of us who don't have a maypole to dance around...or a great addition for those who do. Although I have placed the color meanings at the end of the ritual I think it's best to choose your ribbon color by instinct and read the meanings AFTER you have finished your ritual....you will be surprised that you already knew what you needed and a few things maybe you didn't realize.


For this ritual you will need different color ribbons to braid, approx 6 feet long or as tall as you are, symbolically your body represents the May Pole and the ribbons wrapped around you stand for the energies you are trying to surround yourself in. Focus on the colors you are drawn too and just pick those, you can pick more than three just try not to go over 9.

Rita’s Beltane May Pole Ribbon Ritual

Symbolically each ribbon is approximately as long as you are tall.  Be sure that your altar set up includes each of the four elements.  Each ribbon represents one aspect of your life that you'd like to draw closer to you (while realizing the constraints that doing so might imply).  

During your Beltane celebration you will braid your ribbon when you are ready to focus on the energies you would like to draw closer to you. Take your time while you braid concentrating on these properties and noticing how it sometimes becomes difficult to braid one part more than the next, this represents your obstacles to overcome….take note in your stream of consciousness. What it is you'd like to draw to you or bring to the fullness of life within your life? What benefits will accrue to you in so doing? What is the down side in each case, and how will you handle it?

Now gather all ribbons together and tie a knot at the top to hold them together…. Meditate on bringing all these things forth in your life and on how they will interact with each other to turn your life into a beautiful braid of happiness and well-being. Remember to envision yourself enmeshed in this braiding as it progresses. When you near the end, tie it off in similar fashion to your beginning knot.

You'll now need to bless each ribbon by the four elements. Take your time in doing this. Pass each one through the incense smoke (Air), over a candle flame (Fire), sprinkle each with water (Water), and pass each through a bowl of sea salt (Earth). 

You will end this by blessing the finished braid with your body. After all, your body symbolically lies at the heart of the braid. Breathe on it (Air). Gather it to your heart (Fire). Spit on it or lick it (Water). Coil it up and stand with it under your foot for a few moments (Earth).

You will wear your braid now, or carry it on your person for the rest of the day and/or night, much like you will your mojo bag.  You may carry it with you for as long as you wish or you can keep it on your altar for the coming seasons of growth and harvest….a reminder of what you have sown.
You will keep this braid for the following Beltane celebration, at this time you can revisit your colors and their meanings and see what you have been successful at drawing near and what you still need to work on.  You will then burn this braid in the fire as an offering of thanks and create a new one for the New Year to come.

As always give thanks to the powers that be.

Blessed Be!

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Color Meanings

BLUE – health, peace, calm, intuition, inspiration, spiritual, devotion, happiness, kindness, psychic ability, compassion; Jupiter, Neptune

GREEN – money, luck, prosperity, business gain, abundance, fertility, success, new beginnings, hope, creativity, health; Venus, Jupiter

YELLOW – luck, academic success, wisdom, concentration, cheerfulness, health, relieve worries, persuade others, attractive, speed up results, remove hexes & bad luck; Mercury, Sun

GOLD – prosperity, good luck, good fortune, get a job, new opportunities, money, honor, good position, business gain; Sun

ORANGE – cheerfulness, concentration, positive thoughts, optimism, hope, energy, prophetic dreams, peace of mind, safety from enemies, recover lost things; Mercury, Uranus

PINK – friendship, love, tenderness, success, harmony, pleasure, loyalty. Good fortune, spiritual awakening, leadership, clears up bad home conditions, joy, happiness; Venus, Sun

RED – love, romance, attraction, passionate affection, sex, lust, enthusiasm, energy, endurance, strength, courage, will power; Mars, Pluto

PURPLE – success, career improvement, mastery. Confidence, conquering, courage, protection, safety, overcome problems, divination, exorcism, power wisdom, dignity, strength; Jupiter, Mars, Neptune

GREY – neutrality, overcome trouble, conquering, develop the inner self, self knowledge; Moon

SILVER – victory, good, money, powerful, conquering, develop the inner self, self knowledge; Moon

BROWN – special favors, justice, stop confusion, control spiritual vibrations, thrift, studious, self discipline, practical, creative; Earth, Saturn

BLACK – remove bad vibrations and habits, retribution, conquer evil, introspection, quietness, inner strength and power, release the departed; Saturn

WHITE – Blessing, prayer, truth, purity, spiritual strength and power, protection, cleansing, hope, harmony, peace, healing, release the departed; Moon, Sun,

To Luv, Honor & Cherish YOU this Beltane....

Beltane is coming, my FAVORITE day of the year, so I thought I would share a few of my personal rituals from years past to help you prepare for yours.

This ritual was created as one particular year we celebrated seemed to bring about a lot of difficulties in our paths of luv.  While preparing for this particular Beltane I thought the most important thing that year was to honor ourselves.  I thought what a perfect day to "marry ourselves."  You may think this sounds ridiculous, but actually it ended up being one of the most emotionally charged and beautiful Beltanes to date.  So what am I talking about?

Well we have all been there, lost in luv, fallen out of luv, heartbroken, longing for luv...but in the midst of all of this we forget to luv the one person who should mean the most, ourselves. Beltane is a day of luv, and sewing seeds and promises to reach goals, similar to the vows in a marriage ceremony.  I knew I was not able to move forward in the place I was, with anything, divorced, ended bad rebound relationship etc., and those celebrating with me were in similar places, so we decided to go with it, marry ourselves.

It is a relatively easy ritual, solo or with your sisters, and you just need a few things in order to complete it. First you need a white dress, easy, since you probably already have one lined up for Beltane.  Then you will need a ring, a reminder of the promise you will make to yourself  ~ when we did this we all got thumb rings, a simple silver band that reminded us of our promise to ourselves, as well as this sacred moment we shared together. Next make yourself a nice bouquet of flowers for your space, and write your vows, it could be as simple as the traditional wedding vows of luving, honoring and cherishing yourself for better or worse or it could be directed at your personal wishes for yourself.  DO NOT include in these vows "finding luv" or "being good to others" etc., this is strictly about you and for you, a moment in time to empower yourself and plant the seeds from within...there are plenty of times to wish for someone else or want better for someone else, this time it is about you. On Beltane incorporate this ritual into your celebration, actually say the words out loud to yourself and bless your ring over the smoke of your Beltane fire before placing it on your finger, then burn the paper with the vows in your fire sending them out into the universe.

I know that once this ritual was over emotions were flying and at the same time there seemed to be a giant release of negativity and a giant breathe of new life breathed in. 

**The photo I used in this blog was taken when we were done, the amazing thing is the picture before and the picture after had absolutely no "snow" in it....all I can say is that I believe this is the release of negative energy captured, sort of like in the Green Mile...truly there was no other explanation. It will be a powerful experience for you.

Much luv ~

Season of the Witch Give-a-Way

RITA'S GIVE-A-WAY JUJU ANNOUNCEMENT for you CHICAGO WITCHES

Rita's has donated some juju to be given away THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 3rd at LATE BAR in Chicago, at the monthly SEASON of the WITCH event.

Season of the Witch is an evening of women empowering women, women supporting women, women listening to women, and women just enjoying being women. If you are looking for like minds and a wonderful group of people to get to know or hang out with once a month I suggest stopping by and checking it out. This event is hosted by the lovely Kristine, who is an amazing woman that I have walked on many stepping stones of life with, and she puts on quite an event, I promise you, you'll luv it.

Rita's will be giving away one Large Juju Basket (pictured below), Spiritual Mist Sprays and some of Rita's Signature Oils…if you live in the Chicagoland area, this is one you won't want to miss .

Check out Season of the Witch's Facebook Page here:
https://www.facebook.com/SOTWChicagohttps://www.facebook.com/SOTWChicago

Check out Late Bar's Facebook Page here;
https://www.facebook.com/latebar?ref=ts&fref=ts

Web:
http://latebarchicago.com/

Season of the Witch ~ Winter Edition
Sunday, March 3rd
7pm to midnight
LATE BAR
3534 W. Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618


Located on the 77 Belmont bus line. 1 ½ blocks from the 24-hour Belmont/Kimball stop on the Blue Line, and 1 block west of the Kennedy expressway. Taxi cabs and parking spaces are plentiful. Please park on Belmont Ave. and not the side streets; side streets are resident
parking only.

La Madama's ~ Spirit Guides

I couldn't help myself, the moment I started working with the La Madama's I was pulled in full force.  They have such a strong energy and for me a good vibration I borderline obsessed for a minute.  I think what I like most about these spirit guides is their strength, being a strong woman myself I definitely need and respect anything that can return my "alpha" so to speak.  if you have not worked with the La Madama's before here is a little information to get you started...then head over to Rita's and check out the full line of juju made in their honor and energy....if she is for you, trust me you will know...like a moth to a flame :)

La Madama's are believed to be the spirits of old house slaves, women who used to practice the art of conjure, healing, divination, midwifery and general herbalists.  They had an innate ability to know exactly what was needed to help any situation. Alive they used to aid people with their problems dead they aid people in their petitions for their problems.  The Madama's represent the driving female force of the household and are widely known to be the keeper of the wisdom within the family structure. They were considered the sage of the family and held much luv and respect.

There is one historical reference that talks about an African woman who had a spirit guide residing in her stomach. It is said she became possessed by her spirit guide and it would speak with a male voice and stated that all Africans held their spirit guides in their stomachs. This is why is you see La Madama's today their hands are always perched next to their stomachs or near their abdomens, denoting the spirit guide within.  Present day these statues are considered spirit vessels and typically filled with good juju containing offerings to the spirit guides.

Most Madama's will have a broom or brush for cleansing and clearing and have the power to rid your home of curses and crossed conditions. Along with a broom their other tools are bowl, playing cards, chalk, a knife and a wooden cross. Each item representing one of the elements; broom ~ air, bowl ~ water, cards ~ earth, knife ~ fire. 

Treat the La Madama's well and they will conquer any and all negativity in the home and around you.
 Among their many talents they can help you to make and keep money, bless your home and the people in it, command and compell people to to your will, open roads and bring you success. They have a motherly nature about them and will certainly nurture you, but they also have a strong spirit and can be very outspoken or opinionated.   

La Madama has been used in ritual to "sweep out" negativity within the home and to cleanse and clear. When given proper respect and reverence they will leave messages of advice for you when you need them and will act as a protective guardian angel over your children. The Madama's are not goddesses or divine entities, rather spirit guides and should be treated as such.  No everyone may have a Madama as their spirit guide, but if you are seeking to find yours start working with them, if there is one out there for you she will come to you and you will definitely know she is there.

For more La Madama juju stop by Rita's:

Rita's Spiritual Goods on Etsy

JUJU GIVE-A-WAY

To help me kick off new fortune telling juju and magical teas coming to Rita's Spiritual Goods I am having a

.•:*¨¨*:•.BIG Give Away.... SHARE AND WIN!!!.•:*¨¨¨¨*:•.

On Sunday March 17th at 8:26 PST I will give away this beautiful Fortune Teller's Cauldron!

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Follow these 3 STEPS to enter:

1. LIKE My Rita's Spiritual Goods PAGE (not just this post, that will not qualify you) ~ if you have already liked my page, you are all good ;)


Click Here: Facebook Contest Give-A-Way

2. SHARE the CONTEST post (it is highlighted and very clear to find, originally posted on Feb 13th, 2013, feel free to let everyone know how wonderful Rita's Juju is :)

3. COMMENT on THAT post letting me know you have completed the steps and how badly you want it…the more shares and more comments the more chances to win.

Please be sure to complete all three steps!

The Winner for Rita's Fortune Teller's Cauldron will be announced on my page so PLEASE come back on March 17th to see if the luck was with you!  Rita's Fortune Teller's Cauldron must be claimed within 7 days of the announcement or it will go to the next lucky Leprechaun.

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Rita's Fortune Teller Cauldron Includes:
A three footed metal cauldron
Antique Cup of Knowledge Fortune Tea Cup
4 oz of Rita's NEW Mystical Veil Tea
4 oz of Rita's NEW Bat's Brew Tea
4 oz of Rita's NEW Witches Brew Tea
4 oz bottle of Rita's Divinus divination hand soap
4 oz bottle of Rita's Second Sight Hoodoo Root Powder
Rita's Divination Incense Sticks
Rita's Spirit Channel Oil
Fortune Teller Playing Card
Rita's Wood Rose
Rita's Rough Quartz Point Crystal
Star Tea Strainer
Cowrie Shells

A value of over $150

Let the games begin and GOOD LUCK!

Please feel free to check out my Etsy shop for tons more good juju:

.•:*¨¨*:•.www.ritaspiritualgoods.etsy.com.•:*¨¨¨¨*:•.

Hot Foot Powder Photo Ritual Spell to Rid of Unwanted People

Hot Foot Powder is a old traditional hoodoo recipe used to get rid of your enemies by laying the powder in their shoe or footsteps so they will walk away.

In the same tradition Rita's Hot Foot Hoodoo Powder has been designed to get rid of bullies, enemies, negative energy sent by others, people you just do not want around.  You can sprinkle this powder on your door step or around your home to keep away unwanted visitors, sales people etc. Sprinkle it around your mailbox to keep bad news at bay.  You can add a bit of this to any banish and reverse candle or ritual fire. Put a pin in or under the shoe of your enemy, ex luver, to make them walk away from you for good, or use in conjunction with a photo ritual on the person you need to exit your life.

Below is a perfect ritual to use when you are not able to place a pinch of hot foot powder in your enemies shoe or in the path of their footstep.

For this ritual you will need a vial of Rita's Hot Foot Powder, a photo of the enemy, bully, ex luver or person you are wishing to rid from your life, an empty jar or bottle, wax from a black candle and vinegar.

Be sure to preform this ritual during a waning moon phase as this will give you the best results. Clear your space, and open your circle or prepare your space for work in your own ritual manner.

Take the picture and focus your intent of ridding the person from your life. Fill the empty bottle or jar with vinegar and add a few pinches of hot foot powder while reciting the following:

(Name of Person)
You have crossed the line with me, hot foot hoodoo says walk away from me.
Now I have to banish thee.

(Now insert the photo of the person into the bottle)
If you walk near, it won't be for long, you will be forced to leave, it is time to move on.

(Now close the bottle and seal it with black wax)
You have damaged me enough, you have taken your toll, hot foot hoodoo will burn through your sole.

(Pick up the jar and swirl it in a counter clockwise motion three times)
Hot foot hoodoo says heed this day, hot food hoodoo says walk away, hot foot hoodoo says the time has come for you to move right along.

When you are finished you can store this jar or bottle behind your toilet, or under the sink, repeating the words of the spell during a waning moon, swirling the water in a counter clockwise motion, as often as you need until the person has walked away. Once they are gone you can bury the jar or simply throw it out in your trash.

You can find Rita's Hot Foot Powder here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/122341776/ritas-hot-foot-hoodoo-powder-make