Just as there are deliberate attempts to avoid ghosts and haints, there are also those individuals who invite interaction with the dead. People who seek to communicate with  spirits and specters actively do so in séances, candle magic and occult entertainment, such as using a Ouija board. These individuals often open doors to the Spirit world and neglect to close them due to carelessness and/or a lack of experience. As a result, all kinds of spirits are believed to be given access to the place where the door is opened. Spirits who pass through the opened door can attach themselves to participants, follow them around and wreak havoc in their lives and in the lives of those close to them. Finally, there are those individuals who go a step further and intentionally conjure up spirits,  calling forth specific entities for very specific reasons.

SIGNS OF SPIRITS    
According to lore, if there are paths newly-made in the morning through the grass which do not show any footprints, it is a sign that a ghost has walked there in the night. In Virginia, they say that if a ghost is present, there is a feeling of heat as it approaches you. If at the same time you notice a peculiar kind of smell, it will warn you that you will be a ghost within a year (Daniels & Stevens, 1908).
 
AVOIDING GHOSTS
The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” can easily be applied to practices and traditions for avoiding ghosts, haints, specters and boo hags. For example, placing cobalt blue bottles in a tree in the front yard, much like painting a porch ceiling, door or window frame haint blue,  is believed to keep evil spirits out of the home. These bottle trees have their roots in the Congo region of Africa. The practice was brought over by slaves who hung blue bottles from trees and huts as talismans to ward off evil spirits. It is believed that the spirits become mesmerized by the colors of the bottles in the sun and unwittingly go inside the bottles. Once they enter the bottles, they can't find their way out—sort of like roach motels—and are stuck there for as long as the bottles remain intact.
    
In the past, bottle trees littered the Southern landscape with their spectacular colors and creative arrangements; however, over time, the practice has become much less common. There appears to be somewhat of a recent resurgence, however, as they can be seen cropping up in people’s yards again. For many folks, the meaning of the practice is  either unknown or of little consequence; rather, it is the beauty, color and quirkiness that gives them an aesthetic appeal that is hard to resist.
    
There are also behaviors and taboos observed that are said to ensure a life free of meddlin’ spirits. For example, one must not mention before morning whether one has seen a specter, or one will be pressed and spit blood. And, to keep off haints, fill an old sock with salt, mullein, sage, tansy, and any other spirit repelling herbs you can get, combine with a dried cow patty and bury it under the front steps as an effective ward. If that doesn’t work or as added insurance,  boiling prickly-pear roots in stump water and sprinkling the yard with the water is said to stop wandering spirits and hauntings.
 
Haints Be Gone! products are designed to assist you with restoring peace in the home when restless spirits abound. From conjure oils to room sprays, incenses and powerful witch's salt and witch bottles, Creole Moon has an array of cultural heritage items to assist those who believe in ridding their homes and lives of unwanted spiritual entities and negative energies.

The above article is excerpted from Hoodoo Almanac 2013 Gazette, "Southern Folk Beliefs about Ghosts, Specters, Haints, & Boo Hags" by Denise Alvarado, copyright 2013, All rights reserved worldwide.

JULY GARDENING TIPS July is a good time to plant pumpkins, eggplants, corn, cabbage and cilantro. Plant more basil. Thin seedlings. Dead head faded flowers unless you will be collecting seeds. Cut and dry lavender flowers and cornflower. Harvest peas, lemon balm, summer savory, hyssop, tarragon, thyme, lavender, marjoram and most other herbs. Begin gathering angelica and caraway seeds.

Find a green pea pod with exactly nine peas in it and hang it over the door of a room or entryway without letting any person know you have done so. You must then watch the door sand see who goes through it first: if it is a bachelor or an unmarried young man, you will positively be married before the current crop of peas in disposed of; if it is a woman, you will have to sigh in single blessedness another year; is a married man be careful and not allow your lover too much liberty in his attentions.

On the first night of the new moon in July, take a red rose, a white rose, a yellow flower, a blue one, a sprig of rue and rosemary, and nine blades of long grass; bind all together with a lock of your own hair; sprinkle the nosegay with rosewater and some common salt; wrap the flowers in a white handkerchief and lay it under your head on the pillow when you go to rest. Before morning you will see your fate as clear as if you had your nativity cast by the best astrologer in the world, not only in respect to love, lovers or marriage, but in the other most important affairs of your life. Storms, in this dream foretell great trouble; and graves or churchyards are fatal tokens and so is climbing steep and dangerous places.

This month is the perfect time to use those fresh herbs to make a wonderful Angel Spiritual Oil. Dry your lavender, hyssop, thyme and angelica and add some of each to olive oil.

If it rains on July 10th, it will rain for 7 weeks. If you sit between 2 fires in July you will be purified (Daniels & Stevans, 1903). If ants increase the size of their mounds at the beginning of July, they are enlarging the tunnels of their nests in expectation of an early and severe winter (Hyatt, 2002).

*The above article is excerpted from the Hoodoo Almanac 2014-2015.

​In ancient times, people tended to use the concept of resemblance in the application and practice of medicine and the law of similarity to the practice of magic. These ideas were central to the understanding and prediction of which plants, roots and herbs would be curative of specific diseases, and which would have a supernatural effect on a given condition. Using the concept of resemblance, for example, ailments of the spleen were treated with the the common fern Asplenium scolopendrium as it bears a striking resemblance to a spleen. The leaf of Hepatica acutiloba was shaped like the liver, so it was used to treat liver disorders, and the leaf of the Cyclamen persicum resembles an ear, and so it was used to treat earaches. This ideology was prevalent through the 16th century.

In the 1500s, Paracelsus von Hohenheim (1493–1541) referred to the concept of resemblance as the Doctrine of Signatures. He believed that by observing the physical properties and characteristics of plants one could tell which ones were used in healing the conditions of humankind. Characteristics such as smell, shape, color, the time of growth, and when a flower blossomed were all indicators of a specific plants’ given medicinal use. Paracelsus noticed that the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger) flowered in winter, for example, and thus concluded that it had rejuvenating powers. He then introduced it to the pharmacopoeia and recommended it for elderly people (Pearce, 2008).

In the early 1600’s Jakob Böhme (1575-1624) from Görlitz, Germany wrote "Signatura Rerum; The Signature of all Things". His book espoused a spiritual philosophy; however it soon was adopted for its medical application. The Doctrine states that, by observation, one can determine from the color of the flowers or roots, the shape of the leaves, the place of growing, or other signatures, what the plant's purpose was in God's plan. The central idea to the Doctrine of Signatures is the belief that everything was created with God the Creator’s divine signature. The Heavenly artist signed each living thing with a special mark indicating the purpose for the creation of the organism. We know the purpose by observing the visual cues and signature associations. This idea is not limited to just plants, however. It has also informed us as to the use of how animal parts and minerals have been used medicinally.

Although the Doctrine of Signatures traditionally refers to plants and their characteristics, in Southern rootwork the same train of thought is applied to animals and minerals. If the goal is for a couple to fight like cats and dogs for example, cat and dog hair is employed in workings and formulas. If help is needed with making important decisions, crossroads dirt may be used. If an improvement in finances is desired, then dirt from a bank may be used.
​

Dirt from a bank - Use to attract money, heal financial woes, fix credit, and secure a loan. Anoint a green candle with Algiers Fast Luck Oil and dust with dirt from a bank and burn during a waxing moon.

Crossroads dirt - Use for decision making and opening roads. Anoint a Red Candle with Papa Legba Conjure Oil and set in a dish of crossroads dirt and burn during a waning moon to remove obstacles. 

Dirt from a police station - Use to guard and protect your home and property or to send the law someone's way who deserves it. Sprinkle some dirt from a police station in some cactus placed by the front door to keep the law away or add to Peace Lillies indoors to maintain order inside the home.

Dirt from a court house- Use to influence or win legal cases and to achieve justice in a situation. Anoint a yellow candle with Court Case Conjure Oil and dust with dirt from a courthouse. Burn three days before going to court.

Church Dirt - Used for blessings, protection, and purification. Sprinkle a little in the four corners of the house to cleanse it of negativity. Anoint a white candle with Mama Mary Spiritual Oil and dust with some church dirt and burn at any time in the living room to foster peace and harmony in the home, and to attract blessings.

Graveyard Dirt - Graveyard dirt is employed for literally hundred of tricks and spells. Employed in aggressive love magic, curses, protection work. Dirt from the grave of a loved one can be kept on your Ancestor Altar.

Dirt from a Mudslide - Use to make sticky situations and clingy individuals slide away from you. Mix rain water, mud, and okra and put in a jar along with a photo of the person you want to stay away from you, or a written petition of the situation you wish to slide off of you. Seal it, shake it, and bury it somewhere far away from your home.

Dirt from a Rose Garden - Use to make love grow, nurture romantic relationships, and to foster love. Add to mojo bags or dust a red candle and burn during a full moon.

Dirt from a Vegetable Garden - Use to attract abundance and ensure your family will never go hungry. Keep a small amount wrapped in a paper on which you have written the 23rd Psalm.

I am happy to offer a select number of mineral and zoological specimens for use in your magickal or educational pursuits. These specimens are provided for their ethnographic value and interest only. The use and application of our mineral and zoological specimens is solely at the customer's risk.

Find a full selection of Conjure Dirts, Dusts, and Minerals at Creole Moon.