Moon Phases in Hoodoo Magic (Revised)~~~~
[I’ve posted this once before but removed it to re-edit it
and am now re-posting it again]
“Dear Ms. Q,
Are the phases of the
moon important in doing a spell? ----
It’s cloudy where I am I can’t see the moon to know what phase it’s in?----How
do I tell what phase the moon is in?----I get confused in looking at these
websites on the moon, do you know what phase the moon is in?”
Yes Dear Readers I do get questions like that.
For the last three questions the answer really is very
simple and I’ll get to that towards the end of this post.
But let’s deal with the first question “are the phases of the moon important in doing a spell?” Well if one is just Hoodooing someone,
that is you’re going to secretly sprinkle on their path or somehow on them some
goofer dust, or you’re combining waters for a peaceful home, the moon phase it
not all that important. Even making a
poppet of someone to curse them or to protect them or yourself, the moon phase
is not that important, it does depend upon one’s own will and personal
energy. Or if you have to quickly do an
uncrossing bath, the phase of the moon is not important as it is getting it
done.
But a lot of, and I’m going to say it, in Southern or
American style conjure or Hoodoo work or even a lot of folk magic, a basic moon
phase can be important. That’s because
the moon is seen in every country, it does have an effect on us.
Some folks say that to do hoodoo or conjure magic you don't
need to know the phase of the moon and I'd say that is true for the more
advance magical practitioners, that the use of Moon Phases are a European
tradition, and I won't say No either, but I also say "If it works, then
use it."
My Daddy use to say it’s easier to swim with the tide than
against it. And in a way it’s more
practical in doing spell work by using or harnessing the Moon’s energy.
Now a lot of web sites talk about the moon and it’s phases
and throw in a lot of other stuff, such as the days and hours and well a lot of
other gobbley-gook, and that part in a way is also correct, but only if you are
doing what some people call High Magick or High Hermetic Magic as talked about
by Dr. Dee and Levi, in which you have to trace in your circle the
tetragrammaton or trace the invoking pentacle of Solomon or something
else. Which is Fine if you’re doing
High Magic or Hermetic Magic, and it doesn’t hurt to at least know about these
things.
But in Folk Magic well, as my Granny use to say “Bread is
bread, you mix your flour, yeast and water and
bake it the same way but if you don’t knead it right or allow it to rise
you get nothing” and that is what Folk Magic is. But to get that Loaf of Bread to rise, well
then it does help to pay attention to the Moon phases. Old time Farmers and Fishermen use to---I
know my Daddy did and when the Moon and tides were right we’d catch a mess of
fish and share it.
So what are the phases of the Moon?
That’s simple:
We start with the New Moon this is when you can barely see
it, think of the tiniest sliver crescent shape of the moon.
Next comes the Waxing Crescent Moon this is where the moon appears to show its
old fashion face like this ) but more so,
the word “waxing” means to grow bigger.
Then the Waxing First Quarter Moon this is where the moon is
half full. Some people call it a
Gibbous moon phase, but let’s not get complicated, the moon is half full. Some people say that in the Gibbous phase it
looks pregnant and that would be a good description.
Finally we have the Full Moon, this is the Moon at its
fullest and it stays that way for about 3 days (nights) before it starts getting smaller or to use
the correct phrase “waning” it takes
about 14 days from New Moon to Full Moon and then the process begins to reverse
itself and takes about 14 days from full to New (or Dark moon). Which is why some people get fussy about
what they refer to as 13 lunar months in a solar calendar year, which is another topic entirely.
So the next phase is the waning Gibbous moon or Waning Half
Moon, it looks pregnant but in reverse.
Next is the waning crescent Moon, this is the crescent but
again in reverse and looks like a finger nail
The final phase is back to The New Moon but some folks call
this the Dark Moon when the moon is not seen at all for about 3 days, the use
of the term Dark Moon has gained in popularity pushing the phrase New Moon to
the tiny, tiny sliver as being the New Moon.
Personally I prefer the idea or concept of when the Moon is not seen at
all as being the Dark Moon.
So then what type of magic does one do at each phase? Well really the simple way is to think in
terms of the Farmers, if you want something to grow, plant your seed on the New
Moon, to have it come up to you.
But if you want to get rid of something then do it after the
Full Moon when the moon is getting smaller so it goes away from you. Attract---Repel or New to Full----Full to New.
But I know some of you will want things to be more specific
so I’ll break it down.
NEW MOON (thin sliver crescent) to increase, expand,
attract, to bring to you something that you need. This is a time to do workings that are
constructive and positive, the beginning of new things, to bring into yourself
positive thoughts, creativity, improvements on whatever aspect you want in life
or on yourself. For many this is a good
time to do positive spell workings.
WAXING HALF MOON--- You are still in the beginning phase so
even if you didn’t start on the New Moon this is still a good period to start
things, and if you have started a spell and your candle work has burnt out
quickly, start another to build upon the work you’ve started. You are still
working to attract things to you, a job, a friend or lover, even lost objects
or looking for a new place to live. This is a perfect period of time to keep that
attraction energy going.
WAXING GIBBOUS MOON (a fatter Half moon)—By now it’s been 7
days or a little more, the candles have burnt out, but you still have to keep
that energy going, this is not a time to give up or get lazy or to get
distracted, so relight those candles, renew your positive spell work to keep it
going. In a way it’s like catching your
breath and flexing those magic muscles.
FULL MOON----- Many people will only do workings at either
the New or Full Moons considering them to be all powerful, each time the moon,
either light or dark is caught between the energies of the sun and the earth
and even more so doing a lunar eclipse.
But the Full Moon with the reflective rays of the sun, is thought to be
with its lunar energies at its highest peak, going into all levels of magic,
either positive or negative, attracting or banishing, constructive or
destructive. Many spells are thought to
be done best during the Full Moon, it is magic time at its most powerful and
should not be wasted but used to do workings in those areas of your life that
are vitally important. Some people will
use this time for bi-weekly divination to see if they are on track with
whatever it is that is important or to conduct séances to contact one’s
ancestors or departed loved ones, others will use this time, if they have
nothing major going or needs working, to meditate and re-charge their personal
internal batteries and realign their chakra’s.
But this is not the time to waste on some podunk annoyance, this is a
time to be used and used wisely.
Some of my practioner friends will use this time to make
fresh oils or incense or even to gather herbs from their garden during the Full
Moon and utilize the Full Moon energy to energize them.
Some folks I know will not go out on evenings or even days
of the full moon, except to work, because it seems that bizarre or irrational
behavior seems to be worse during the Full Moon, at least that is the
perception among police and hospital workers.
Myself having worked in a service industry can testify to
that and I always had to make sure my protections and shields were in place and
I still do.
The Full Moon will last for three days, but I’ve found that
on the 3rd day of the Full Moon, that is a good time to start
banishing rituals, and during the next 3 waning phases of the Moon use that
time to get rid of what you don’t want.
WANING MOON--- I am not going to go into the Gibbous and
Half Moon phases, because during the Waning period this is a good time for
banishing’s, clearing out any negative energy, and doing rituals for closures,
doing any of that during the Waning period is good.
Just remember this is when the moon is getting smaller, to
send away that which you don’t want, to banish any negativity out of your life,
sometimes it’s an outlook on life or an indebtedness, because just as you want
to bring money into your life to pay bills during the waxing moon phase, you
can use the waning moon phase to banish debts, it’s all in how you think upon
things and phrase it. This is also a
good time to do a bit of spiritual house cleaning, to banish any negativity
that might be hanging around, by doing that you prevent any negativity from
building up and overloading any space, either at home or work or just around
your property. Just as one is washing
dishes, it’s a good time to spiritually clean what you use in doing the “work”.
I’ve known some folks to do rituals after someone has died,
to spiritually speak to the deceased and say how sorry they are gone from them,
this helps sometimes to bring a form of closure, other folks (and I’ve done it
myself) do rituals to spiritually and
emotionally end relationships and free themselves from any emotional
entrapment. And this can be on any level
you just have to think on what it is you want out and away from your life. So if it is something more major then this
is a good time to start a major banishing.
Anytime during the Waning Moon is good to do rituals to
remove road blocks, but when you reach the half way point of the Waning Moon,
do not give up on doing any banishing work, just as when the moon is waxing we
might get lazy during the mid-points, that can also happen during the Waning
Moon so do not give up and get your 2nd breath, light a 2nd
set of candles to help you with that banishing work.
Continue this type of work all the way down to the Waning Crescent
Moon, during this phase is a great time to give one last kick out the door of
anything that has been plaguing you be it an ex or cheating boyfriend,
discovering who has not been on your side, anything that has been frustrating,
an annoyance or of concern, anything
that is not moving forward, or hopeless now is a good time to bring it to an end
in a kind and quiet way.
DARK MOON-----Folks say that it is not good to do workings
during the Dark Moon that its best to rest and re-charge one’s energies, have a
3 day spa day magically speaking. But
others have found this to be a very powerful time to do “destructive magic”. Now destructive doesn’t necessarily mean
hurting someone, or something, but this is a good time to do any hexing,
cursing and if something has come up then this is the time to do a really
powerful banishing work. This is a perfect time to get rid of addictions,
rituals to remove diseases, or banish negative unwanted entities or persons. Some people will use this time for deep
meditation to try and see if they are developing unwarranted negative emotions
that could damage their soul and spirit and will try to come to a revelation as
to why.
This is not to be used lightly it can be very powerful.
Personally I prefer to take a little spiritual vacation and
just rest and re-charge the old batteries, because doing magical work
constantly can drain one’s energy
HOW DO I KNOW WHAT PHASE THE MOON IS IN?
Well the easiest way is to look out your window or step
outside and look at the moon to see what phase it’s in, but if you’re in an
area where it’s been raining a lot, or very cloudy then the best thing is a
calendar that has the Moon Phases on it.
Years ago Folks would get calendars (free ones) from the
local grocery store since it would include the store’s name and phone number,
which was good if you wanted to call the store and have them deliver stuff to
you, those calendars would include the phases of the Moon for people who grew
their own vegetables and went fishing but the days of the corner grocery store
is gone and I have yet to find a calendar that includes moon phases.
However you can purchase an Astrological Calendar from
Llewellyn Worldwide Publications their URL is
www.llewellyn.com/ and they are currently selling their 2017
calendars and Almanac’s, another publication is The Old Farmer’s Almanac,
they’ve been in business for 225 years, so they must be doing something
right, you can go to their web site www.almanac.com/
and click the button for calendar, and
you will get an accurate moon calendar.
Now if you live outside the United States or outside of
North and South America then you’re going to want to order a calendar from
Llewellyn Publications, that way you have a quick reference guide.
Now some old timers and some of the ladies of Granny’s group
use to say, and I have to agree with them, they said that if you're doing
something right away look and see what time the clock says. Now I'll explain that.
Let's go to a quote from the book "Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil"
"Okay. Now you know how dead time works. Dead time
lasts for one hour--from an half hour before midnight to half an hour after
midnight. The half hour before midnight is for doin' good. The half hour after
midnight is for doin' evil." From Midnight
in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, Hardcover Ed. ©1994, page 247
O.K. so what does looking at the hands of a clock mean? Well the old-timers believed that the rising
or falling of the hands of a clock helped with doing conjure.
Carolina Dean of Carolina Conjure broke it down this way
along with the Moon phases and days of the week to do spell work check out his
link: http://www.carolinaconjure.com/timing-spells.html/
Dead-Time as described in the book is an idea found in the
Hoodoo Tradition of African-American Folk-Magic, but I never heard it referred
to that way, at least not by Mrs. Washington.
The Author made the mistake believing that Voodoo and Hoodoo are the
same or interchangeable (which they are not),
Cat Yronwode of Lucky Mojo writes:
"One well-known
Root Doctor from Birmingham, AL used to say that if you want to draw or attract
you should perform a spell at any time day or night, when the clock hands are
rising. Conversely, spells used to repel can be performed at any time day or
night when both clock hands are falling. Avoid times when one hand is rising
and the other is falling as this confuses the vibrations of the work."
This idea is very different from European High Magic or
Hermetic Magic in which many magickal practitioners observe the Planetary Hours
as method that assigns astrological energies to the Hours of the Day and
Night. So the High Magic practitioner
had to find the correct time to cast a spell.
Which meant you had to know your astronomy and astrology, something that
only those with expensive learning i.e. education would have had, but which the ordinary witch would not know
of except for the moon phases.
Now a witch might know of the morning star and evening star
which was the planet Venus and sometimes Mars, and also would watch for certain
constellation formations in the sky to see if it’s the right time to do
something, the most common one if the sky is clear and the sky is not “whited
out” by city lights, Now a days if you’re
lucky you might be able to see the constellation of Orion which heralds the
changes of the seasons.
But for Hoodoo or conjure work the image is clear, when both clock hands are rising, cast spells
of a positive or uplifting nature; when both clock hands are falling, cast
spells that are meant to cast off evil and keep enemies down. But you must not perform magic when one clock
hand is rising and another is falling.
For Example: if the time is 10:40
the hands are rising, if the time is 2: 15 the hands are falling, if it’s 5:45
do not do any magic because the hands are doing both.
Now this will help if you need to do a spell quickly and the
moon phase is not right for what you want.
But remember if doing an uncrossing bath or an egg cleansing spell it
does not matter what the moon phase is but you can base it on the hands of the
clock if you want.
Lara of BlackCat Root Shack on Ebay http://www.ebay.com/gds/The-Schedule-of-Timing-in-Hoodoo-/10000000012027514/g.html came up with her own timing of Hoodoo work,
unfortunately she is no longer selling on Ebay and I’ve not been able to see
what she had to offer either as products or more information. But since she is Jewish she found a way to
do it according to her experience and since Ebay may eventually eliminate her
site I’m posting her text completely here:
The Schedule of Timing
in Hoodoo
“There are three
primary timing considerations for Hoodoo.
I list them in order of my personal preference. Other rootworkers may operate under other
preferences. Feel free to choose the
preference that works best for you.
By Day of the Week
I prefer to do my
spell casting by the day of the week as per the following chart.
Sunday: Success;
Achievement; Goals; Purification
Monday: Emotional
Healing; Nurturing; Calming; Fertility
Tuesday: Protection;
Conflict; War
Wednesday:
Communications; Speed, Reversing Spells, Artistic; Creativity; Road Opener
Thursday: Healing;
Protection; Money
Friday: Love, and
Drawing (often money drawing - because Venus is associated with the color
green, and Friday was and is associated with payday)
Saturday: Crossing,
Cursing, Debauchery
Please note that as a
Jew, I often do my blessing and healing work on Friday Night after sundown as
part of my Sabbath ritual.
Time of Day
You can also time your
work based on the hands of the clock.
For drawing work, such as drawing love, money, success, luck, healing,
blessing, etc, you would do the work when the hands of the clock are rising. For removal or cursing work such as
uncrossing, hot foot, cast off evil, break up, etc, you would do the work when
the hands of the clock are falling.
Rising: Both hands are
between the 6 and the 12. Example: 6:30, 9:45, 11:55, etc
Falling: Both hands
are between the 12 and the 6. Example: 12:15, 3:25, 5:10, etc
Time of the Moon
As is traditional in
Wiccan practice and many rootwork practices you can time your work based on the
time of the moon. By the waning moon you
would schedule cursing or removal work.
By the waxing moon you would schedule drawing or attracting work.
The waning moon
lessens or removes conditions and the waxing moon increases or draws conditions
Other Considerations
There are other
considerations for time that are not as commonly used, but when combined
together can offer a powerful foundation for your work.
Astrological Timing –
When the hour of the planet is in the day of the planet, such as the Hour of
Jupiter on Thursday, the Day of Jupiter.
Best still if the time coincides with the correct rising or falling of
the hands.
Day of the Year –
Valentines Day, Spring Equinox, New Moon, Full Moon, anniversary of a marriage,
divorce or birth, on the Wiccan Sabbats, on a Christian or Jewish Holiday, etc.
There are of course
many more methods to this. I hope this
gives you an overview of when you should do your own spell casting. For my personal practice, I have tried most
variations of these, and have found that working by the day to be more then
suitable for my needs and the needs of my clients.”
O.K. have I now completely confused you? I hope not.
But let me simplify it or confuse you further.
Granny Tacket on her website “Hoodoo Hill” posted this
really easy to follow suggestions on what moon phase to do what kind of spell
or ritual and that should help you.
Here it is
Lunar Phases for Spell Workings:
Abundance: Waxing to Full Moon
Addictions (to end): Waning Moon
Acquisitions: New, Waxing and Full Moons
Artistic Creativity: Waxing to Full Moon
Bad Habits (to break): Waning to Dark Moon
Bad Luck (to send): New to Waxing Moon
Bad Luck (to reverse): Waning to Dark Moon
Banishing: Waning to Dark Moon
Beauty: Full Moon
Beginnings: Full Moon
Bindings: Waning Moons
Blessings: Full Moon
Career Moves: Waxing Moon
Communication: Full Moon
Curses: Dark, New and Waxing Moons
Curses (to break): Waning to Dark Moon
Dedications: Full Moon
Divinations: New, Waxing and Full Moons
Employment: Waxing to Full Moon
Energy Raising: Dark, New and Waxing Moons
Exorcisms: Waning to Dark Moon
Fear (overcoming): Waning Moon
Fertility Rites: Waxing and Full Moons
Forgiveness: New Moon
Freedom: Waning Moon
Friendships: Waxing Moon
Garden Planting Spells: Waxing Moon
Goals (to reach): Waxing to Full Moon
Good Luck: Waxing Moon
Growth: Waxing Moon
Harmony: Waxing Moon
Happiness: Waxing to Full Moon
Healings (improve health): Waxing Moon
Healings (remove illness): Waning Moon
Hexing: Waxing Moon
Hex breaking: Waning Moon
House Blessings: Full Moon
Initiations: Full Moon
Inspiration: Full Mon
Journey: Waxing Moon
Judgments: Waxing to Full Moon
Legal Matters (favorable): Waxing to Full Moon
Legal Matters (to remove): Waning to Dark Moon
Love Spells: Waxing to Full Moon
Love Spells (to reverse): Waning Moon
Lunar Goddess Rites: Full Moon
Money (increase): Waxing Moon
Money (debt release): Waning to Dark Moon
Negativity (remove): Waning to Dark Moon
Nightmares (remove): Dark Moon
Omens: Full Moon
Peace: Waning Moon
Power: Waxing to Full Moon
Property (to buy): Waxing Moon
Property (to sell): Waning Moon
Prophetic Dreaming: Dark, New and Full Moons
Protection: Waxing Moon
Psychic Powers (to strengthen): Dark and Full Moons
Relationships (to improve): Waxing to Full Moon
Relationships (to separate): Waning to Dark Moons
Removing: Waning to Dark Moon
Quests: New Moon
Sexuality: Waxing to Full Moon
Shapeshifting: Dark and Full Moons
Spirit Communication: Full Moon
Strength: Waxing Moon
Teaching: Waxing to Full Moon
Transformations: Dark and Full Moons
Travel: Waxing Moon
Weather Magick (to bring): New, Waxing to Full Moons
Weather Magick (to reduce/remove): Waning Moon
Weight (to gain): Waxing Moon
Weight (to lose): Waning Moon
Wisdom: New, Waxing to Full Moons
Wish Magick: Waxing to Full Moons
I think she got it from ~A Witch's Craft, Volume 2: A
Witch's Book of Correspondences
Just remember Waxing means to get bigger and to bring in
what you need, Waning means to get
smaller or banish what you don’t need.
O.K. I know you’re going to want to know how do I time my
spell workings.
Well from what I learned from my Granny and her friends it
was a combination of a lot of different things that I found over time that worked
best for me. In time as each one of you
work on your spells or “workings” you’ll find what phase of the Moon, what day
of the week, what time of the day (or night) will work best for you.
It is after all by trial and error, but remember what my
Daddy said “Swim with the Tide, go with it” so if it works, it works.
I hope this has been of some help to everyone.
Bright Blessings,
Ms. Q
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