My deepest thankfulness to everyone who left birthday wishes on the previous post – you are amazing! I’m sure your good energy helped my day being as wonderful as it was. I was receiving visits and presents all day and felt surrounded by love and magick. We had fun and good conversation until very late hours of the night, so today I’ll just recover with some quiet crafting and gardening to overcome the hangover LOL, but I couldn’t let the day pass without thanking you all for taking the time to leave a comment, here and on my Facebook page. I love you!!!!!!

Hubby’s Awesome Wood Carving: two more pendants – needing stains and varnish yet – and a wonderful Cthulhu style stone knife for magic, all made from pine wood. The stone is from a sacred waterfall in Croatia and was brought to me yesterday by a friend. The knife is not finished yet, and all the pieces are completely handmade, using only exacto knifes and sandpaper – no electrical tools were used! He had never carved wood before and as you can see he’s a natural! Of course I am giving a hand on the designs, to make the best of the wood’s original shapes, but I swear I haven’t touched the pieces .

Embroidered Tarot Bag: Based on a medieval astronomy etching and embroidered on hand-dyed cotton, fully lined and completely handsewn from start to finish. I love the process of dyeing and making it all by hand, even though I have a sewing machine I think it’s part of the magic to handmake the ritual items completely.

Altar Cloths: Made with hand-dyed cotton and antique laces, completely handsewn from start to finish. It is the size of a table runner so I had to fold it for the pic.The magnificent needle lace squares deserved their own shot. I think we are keeping this ones for ourselves, but I would love to make more the shop. Below, another piece done with the same materials, in a smaller size.

Tomorrow’s my birthday – 33 years old. A magickal number – and though Christ’s death age is the first thing that comes to mind, I say it because 3 is the number of Eleggua, so a double 3 is always a special year for an Eleggua’s daughter. I’ll be receiving friends at home and on the afternoon we’ll be moving to the Tea Bar for a second party, most likely until the latest hours of the night . Though I’m quite an improviser in what comes to celebrations and I haven’t prepared anything special, I’m still happy that I will have a day full of good drinks, good smokes, good laughs and good love. I’m not sure the pics will be “shareable” online LOL!

My computer was finally fixed thanks to our very dear computer wizard Fernando (not my husband) and we’re back, pics et all. I have had a lot of extra time for crafting and gardening, but both in magickal and personal situations this has been a very rough week for me. I have been fighting a curse spell done against a couple of customers from the Tarot day, and the fight even made me ill for a couple of days. Yes, that is the dark side of Witchcraft: your body also fights when your spirit fights, and sometimes until you understand the process completely, it may seems for a moment that you are losing – but Papa Legba came in my rescue and gave me the solution, as he always does. Isn’t he the best? I made this doll of him for a friend, and he was so pleased that he helped me finish the job properly.

On the personal side, the retrograde of Uranus seems to have turned everyone crazy (LOL) and I’ve had a good share of crazy people, crazy situations and crazy conversations too. But let me focus on the crafting, which is the only good thing that has happened this week LOL! After two weeks mincing and mixing herbs, my love for embroidery was calling me, so after the Papa Legba doll I made this embroidered travel bag for my sister, who is travelling to Canada to meet her husband in a few days. I’m going to miss her so much!



The fabric was a piece of vintage cotton sheet that we dyed with herbs, tea, onion peels and other ingredients. The lace is more than a hundred years old and was sent to me by (of course) my dearest Krista, Edwardian lace connoisseur and Ebay hunter . The piece was hand sewn from start to finish and I really hope the moon Goddess protects my sister while she is gone.

I also made this small copper pyramid from a soft copper sheet hubby brought from the craft store. It is only a couple of inches tall and wide, and I use this kind of pyramid for many uses, as the plate is removable and you can place any small charm on it. It also works wonders near plants! Pyramids recharge, energize and consecrate whatever you put under them, and you don’t need to be an expert in Egyptian magick to use them (I’m not).

I have also made two altar cloths with the same fabric and more lace, but pics will come soon. For now, that’s more than enough!
One last note: my birthday is on Saturday, so I will probably be off the web during the weekend, so if you’re planning making a purchase and want it shipped this week, please do it before Friday! I will be connected and serving orders as usual but hey, I’m Spanish! I know when the party starts, but I never know when it may end .

Those who have been reading this blog for a long time know that I have always been deeply involved with Tenerife’s gay and lesbian community. Today is a day for rejoice, fun, parties and rainbow costumes – but let’s not forget those who are still struggling to be who they are in countries where being homosexual is still a punished crime. Any Witches reading this, please light a candle for equality and FREEDOM!!!!

The pic below was taken by my friend Mary at the gay pride day parade yesterday in Santa Cruz. Hope she doesn’t mind I borrowed it!

Click HERE and add views so this treasury stays and spread the word about these fantastic Etsy shops!

My computer broke down and I’m using a friend’s portable pc (thanks so much Fernando!) so I will be available until my computer is fixed, probably along next week, but there won’t be much posting or picture uploading in the next few days. The shops are open and orders will be served as usual so don’t worry about purchasing your lovely witchy products from The Hoodoo Shop , or about emailing me for any questions you may have.

Since I started writing the blog, I have received many requests on writing books on Witchcraft, on my own way to do Witchcraft. Though it is very, very flattering, I really don’t think it’s possible.

My only secret recipes are the products from my shop, which of course I am not giving away. My shop and my Tarot readings are the ONLY income of a family of two humans and eight animals, so as you can imagine I am not selling that recipes for no amount of money. And, to be honest, I don’t think I’m being asked for that – the people that have asked me for books have always been absolutely respectful to me and my work.

Besides that, I have no secrets at all. I only have 20 years of experience, hundreds of books read, and a 24 -7 commitment since I was 21 years old. I have no religion, and as I said in the previous posts I have no powers at all – Eleggua, my protector and guide, has them. The only things that are mine, and do not come from the Orishas, are my knowledge and my experiences.

The knowledge I have acquired can be acquired by anyone. I don’t have any secret or hidden books – I really don’t believe in their existence. In my Witchcraft Crash Course book I gave a list of books to read, and that is truly the books that have helped me the most to develop my work, at least to the day I wrote that list. I have never belonged to any coven or group, or received knowledge from any secret line of Witches, or had any hereditary/born-with-it powers, or ever had a master who taught me.

My point is – there is no way a book can give you experience, and all that I have learnt from books (including the Internet), I’m sure anyone can find it too. The experiences that take you to be a Witch cannot be transmitted in a book, because there is nothing more true that there is a different path for every learner. Being a Witch is not a goal you reach, but a path you choose and follow forever, so you’re always a learner.

I really wish there was a way that a book could change others – but there isn’t. You have to accept the change before you read the book – and there are already many books that are absolutely enlightening. Jesus’ or Buddha’s teachings should be enough, actually. They set the example of compassion, commitment, detachment from materialism and were both powerful shamans that let the Higher powers work through themselves.

And of course, there is no way a book can give you commitment. That is something that every Witch has to choose, and that cannot be rushed. My whole time and life is dedicated to Witchcraft, and I have sacrificed many things and lived without things that everyone around me has, like regular monthly payments, mortgages and new cars. But believe me – I am not poor AT ALL. My knowledge is an endless wealth for me, and I prefer a second-hand old Toyota than selling my life force, my time and my life for another’s profit.

And how many mistakes I have made!!! All that you can imagine, and a few more . Today, I am deeply thankful for all my mistakes, but when they happened I felt frustrated, sad, angry, abandoned – just like anyone. Given enough mistakes, you can learn to cope with them and even learn from them, seeing them as the teachers they are, but you have to commit them! I think my readers want the books as a safety net – sorry, you need to make all those mistakes a) to earn knowledge about yourself and thus be able to change into what you want to be; b) to learn to be free from being judgemental when your consultants make that mistakes too, and understand them compassionately.

Though I am a bookworm and don’t believe at all in “intuitive” approaches to Witchcraft, it is life, change and love that are our teachers, and not books. A good book about local botany is a must for every Witch, but you have to experience the way to get in touch with each plant’s spirit. You have to feel the plant, talk to its soul, and wait humbly for a response. It make take a long time. Some of the plant’s spirits will work quickly with you, and others will never do it. You have to accept it – you simply can’t be friends with everyone.

And this is only one example, but it works the same for stones, incenses, gods, goddesses, fairies, ghosts and everything that involves the Supernatural world. Just going one by one, and learning like if you knew nothing every day, because we really do know nothing.

Love. Love is what we have to learn. Every day. If you love Witchcraft enough, sooner or later you’ll be a Witch, and as a lover Witchcraft will give you good and bad times, will make you have to make sacrifices and will make you stand for it. But as a lover, it will comfort you when you’re sad, care for you when you’re ill and help you when you need a hand.

Well, yesterday I did the Tarot gig and to say I am satisfied with the outcome is an understatement – it was terrific!

We arrived early (with a Virgo rising, I’m a punctuality maniac ), and set our mini booth (see two posts below) – and the first consultant arrived almost two hours after the Tea Bar opened. I was supposed to stay there only until 10:00 PM, so I could make my own Saint John’s rituals at home, but I ended up staying until 1:30 AM!

We had set a very, very low price for the readings so everyone could have a try without worrying on the money. Of course, there were some very boring readings for people that just wanted to “try”, like if getting a Tarot reading was a sideshow circus thing, but I’m used to it – I’m not there to put up a show and entertain them, so I know well to keep that readings short and to the point; and though I try to do my best, when someone is not spiritually open the energy flow of the reading is low and I can only rely on my knowledge of the theory of Tarot to construct a useful reading – which is perfectly ok, but no thrills at all.

But of course there were consultations that I can only described as ecstatic. They needed the reading, they came completely open and available for me to read on their souls – and there is nothing like that experience for me. When a consultant is sincere about himself/herself, and is willing to listen, Eleggua speaks through me and gives them exactly the kind of advice they need to push the boundaries of their beliefs and see themselves under a new light. Through the eyes of Eleggua, everyone is a shining light of Divinity – but we are nothing but human, and we constantly forget that.

And when I say Eleggua speaks through me, I’m being literal. I never remember what I say in a reading and I could only describe as something similar to a semi-trance state. I am nobody and I have no powers – it’s the Orishas who use me as a vehicle to communicate with those who really need it, the ones who see the spirits that come with the consultants, the ones that ask that question that leaves the consultant breathless for a second. I have knowledge, not powers, and when I’m not in that state I’m just a regular woman who likes crafting and fears the dentist.

Reading Tarot, or other oracles, is an amazing experience, both for the consultant and the reader. 20 years after I started reading Tarot, I still get a high dose of emotional thrill when I do readings with certain consultants. The consultants laugh, cry, and the look on their eyes when you uncover the veil of their deepest desires is simply priceless. To see a person sighing deeply, relieved that the reader understands them to their deeper core, makes all the work worth for me.

My last reading, made for a couple that I had already met on a previous reading, was specially moving – the new moon and the magickal night of bonfires and wishes really brought up a lot of “dark” issues on all the readings. Since I know this people were very tight financially, I closed the night giving away to them several products from my trunk to help them combat evil magick made against them. Giving something for free after filling my own pocket made it all feel balanced, so I decided to leave. We did not made a scandalous amount of money, but we sold a few charms and powders and everyone commented on our products, and seemed interested in coming back with friends to more readings.

Usually I do not trust people that come to the readings saying that someone is making evil magick on them – 99 out of 100 times, people have made their own luck and the bad luck they talk about is only the karma boomerang coming back to them – but this time the cards were clear and I knew this people, so I knew well they are not alarmists or people that want to blame someone else for their own trouble. 1 out of 100, yes, and they were the 1, so they went home with van-van powders, amulets, road-opening powders and protection spells to help them go back again to normal life. I couldn’t let them go knowing that they had no money to fight evil magick. It was too unfair.

I was so tired I could only crawl back home, get a long cleaning shower, make some purification rites to get away from all the energy I absorbed (attention Tarot readers, this is mandatory for your own good!), and slept ten hours. Today I’m taking the day off – I see some crafting, meditating and gardening in my day to renew my energies and start listing new stuff in the shop tomorrow. Witchville needs a good cleaning too LOL!

A handmade sigil, hand-drawn by me in color pencils on fine arts paper. The sigil was scanned and then the full page layout was made by me in Photoshop CS.

The sigil shows the God and the Goddess, depicted as the Sun and the Moon on the day of the solstice. The line in theban alphabet above them reads “In Perfect Love And Perfect Trust”, which is a salutation that is part of the Wicca rite, but that every Pagan knows and uses. I chose it because I thought it was a beautiful symbol of this marriage of the male and female energies.

Below the couple, a wreath of Ivy, red roses and rosemary symbolizes marriage too, as they are plants that are used in bridal wreaths in many world cultures. Ivy is a symbol of connection; the rose a symbol of passion and purity, and rosemary a symbol of fertility and luck.

This could be a wonderful illustration to place right before your Summer Solstice rites and spells, or could be simply printed and hung on your altar – this image can be specially beneficial to those that are looking for love.

You can purchase this downloadable file at The Hoodoo Shop.

First of all, i would like to wish all my readers a HAPPY SOLSTICE!!! May all your rituals work to perfection and all your wishes be granted . With the Sun entering Cancer today, it is time to be thankful for our family, may it be biological, adopted or found along the travel of life. Those who care for us and those who know that we care for them, deserve a special place in your solstice altar today. It is also a good ocasion to light a candle -or burn some incense, or make offerings – for those “angels” we have had along the way – those people who were kind and helpful once, and we never saw them again. It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember them; the Goddess knows very well who they are .

We won’t be doing much rituals today, as the traditional day for celebrating here in the Islands is on Tuesday 23rd, which is called Saint John’s Eve, and it is a day filled with magickal traditions and a night where jumping over a bonfire is the most repeated ritual in all the beaches of the seven islands. It is a rite of luck and purification.
On that day a special Tarot session ot the Tea Bar and we want to show some of our magickal wares. Here are the pics:

Fernando found this trunk on the garbage several months ago. We won’t have much space for display so we chose it because it’s more or less the size of a case, it’s lightweight and we can carry everything inside, so it doubles its use.

We chose witchy containers – coconut shell bowls, basket and vintage glass bowls. I still have two days, so there is a chance that a little more stuff will be added, but we’re taking it slowly and easy. I think I am learning my lesson about overworking! I refuse to keep working until the last minute, as I have done so often for my jewelry showrooms, because it makes you pay a high price – stress. I have accepted that, in the end, it will be what Eleggua wants, so I’ll try to do my best and prove my trust by working just as every day. Witchcraft work has to be done in proper times and days, and cannot be forced to fit in a gig schedule. This is not mass-production and I refuse to alter the quality of my work for having a bigger inventory. Some of the things I will be selling needs weeks and even months to be in the best condition, and if any other Witch is reading this, you’ll agree with me that the smaller the batch, the better the products; thus, I don’t make a thousand kyphi incense pills, I make 40-70 a year.