Days of Cyprian - Day Three and Four

I am behind here - sorry folks. Yesterday was Day Three of Cyprian - I met a new student and wrote fifteen emails at the behest of requests of clients for things - wow, never thought Cyprian would work THAT fast. So now if the money would just roll in, I'd be a happy mambo.

Ok, here's Day Three's prayer:

In the name of God, I invoke, pray and see with my devotion Saint Cyprian. Deliver me from all danger and the harm of those near me. Deliver me from evil, and from the rabid, venomous animal. Deliver from evil spells and malignant forces.  Lead me with complete safety and happiness in my travels, Clear the way for me, and remove all dangers and damage that may surround me. I beg my Holy Saint for his glorious intercession to God in Christ Jesus Amen.

Day Four: TODAY's prayer is this one:

O Highest God of all creation, to whom the archangels humbly respect and the Seraphim and saints render their servitude, I adore you as the center of all perfection, the author of all good and the inexhaustible font of all holiness.  I give you thanks, Lord, for the many and marked gifts of nature and grace with which you have enriched this world to you most faithful servants Saint Cyprian. We give you thanks, our protector, for the favorable signs that we have received from heaven for your powerful intercession.  I offer you, my advocate, the worship and honor that today is paid to you in all the Universe. My loving protector in Christ Jesus, help me obtain the grace that I seek from you:...if it suit my soul, so that I may enjoy your blessed company in heaven, amen.

I plan on setting a small table for Cyprian tonight with gold candles. We finally got our altar room/library put back together following Kanzo, so I have space again. This is the challenge of running a large Vodou society, with lots of godchildren who crash here. By the time I get the rooms re-set and the laundry finished, they're back in the house again. I have to make it work while I can.

I've also been looking for a statue of Cyprian that won't break the bank. So far, it looks like I'll be out $50 for a small resin one. I will get to it - right after I finishing paying for the dog's surgery bills. Meanwhile, I am gonna to work with the chromolith I have. I might even make Cyprian a boutey sculpture.

After I finish the article. Before next Fet. And right after I get all the ironing done for the temple. But at the moment, we are heading out to help a member who has been house bound for a while. Some things are more fun than others - I think dinner at the diner sounds divine, don't you?

A mambo's work is never done. Ayibobo!

The Close of Kanzo and the Days of Cyprian

We celebrated the close of the Kanzo cycle last weekend. Desounen is really supposed to happen 41 days following the Kanzo, but with the sosyete's membership spread out over the entire USA, it take s a bit to get it all down right.  We flew to Seattle for the EBC, but did a sweet service there to consecrate a new temple, celebrate a new kanzo child, and help friends get in the groove of the work. Our Kanzo is complete, and now its writing season. I am hoping my article in the new anthology of African Religious experience is out soon (that was only three years in the making.) And I just finished a second article for a another scholarly collection. I am hoping these and other writings will begin to shed new light on Vodou as a faith of depth and breadth in the religious academic arena.

In other news, our online class is percolating along just fine. If you are interested in signing up, registration is still open for the Four Circles. The class runs through the end of November, with 2-1/2 hours of protected video, a lively discussion board, and of course, the requisite weekly video of yours truly sharing insights, answering questions and keeping the class entertained (which is what I feel my real job is anyway...)

Pumpkin season is around the corner, which means - Fet Ghede is coming back soon. But before Fet Ghede, we are currently in the days of Cyprian. St. Cyprian of Antioch was the sorcerer turned martyr; his 'days' as they are called lie between September 16 and September 23rd.  I am doing a novena to Cyprian each night, and I will share my insights when I am done. Last year, I did the 9 invocations, and saw an increase in our work efforts, my writing projects and Don's health. I am hoping to repeat that with the Novena again this year.  If you would like to join me, then light 3, 6 or 9 candles in purple or gold to Cyprian.

Today is Day 2 of the Novena. The prayer is as follows:

"Saint Cyprian, I ask that you protect me from all evil spells that are made against me,that you keep away all temptation and that my enemies  may be confused and kept far away. I pray that my supplications may be attended to help obtain security and prosperity in Jesus Christ. Amen, Ashe, Ayibobo."

Cyprian has enjoyed a resurgence on the Internet, but he has always been a Catholic saint. Some of you may be uncomfortable with Christianity and Catholicism. The Church as certainly done its fair share of work to deserve enmity. If you feel uncomfortable, then please don't do this - there' s more than one way to find protection in this world. Cyprian is simply one.

Meanwhile, for those who do want to engage the sorcerer saint, then set out your candles, say the prayer and pay attention to your dreams. Just like the Lwa, the saint plays his role in dream time, and will deliver messages, advice and blessings there. Then, watch for the changes as they happen in your own life.

Some excellent books on Cyprian can be had for a pittance. The first one (which is where I got my Novena prayers) is here on Etsy: Polyphanes

Jake Stratton Kent's excellent book on Cyprian is from Scarlet Imprint

A collection of excellent prayers (for free!) can be found here: Cyprian Prayers

And finally, a friend who works regularly with Cyprian offered his prayer here: Inominandum

I am currently writing about egregores, in particular egregores in Vodou, but Cyprian is enjoying a big push in his egregore right now. I would advise engaging with this energy ray - you don't need to do anything other than read the prayers. Leave off the candles if that is not within your ability right now. But read the prayers, and see if you can't get old Cyprian to turn his wise and generous gaze upon you and your affairs. I'll bet you will find that things will change for the better.

Ashe!

And now a word from our sponsors...

I just received this from Brill Publishers this morning. 

It's the cover of an anthology on African American Religious experience. I am very honored to be included in the work. My piece is on Esoteric Writing in Haitian Vodou. I compared the art of veves to sigil writing in Western Ceremonial work. The commonalities are far to close to dismiss out of hand.

The gestures of blessing, the veves themselves and the proper way to actually draw them (as opposed to slap-dash method I see many folks doing) is a ceremony in and of itself. I was taught that to draw a veve is a dance - moving slowly and deliberating clockwise around the artwork. The houngan who showed me this was named Jean Vale. He would arrive each morning at the peristyle, a cigarette dangling precariously from his lip and a large plastic bag of cornmeal in hand. Eyeballing me and my husband, he'd gesture us over, and through creole accented English, with a voice thickened by smoke and phlegm, he gave us the finer points of writing "the words of the Lwa." The ever present cigarette never strayed from his mouth, while he spoke.

Jean particularly like Don, and spent an hour each day, showing him how to "write" the veve properly.  Bent from the waist for an hour at a time was hard on the legs, but the artwork was stunning.  Jean showed us how to use other materials - coffee grounds for instance -- to color a veve so it would have depth and vigor.  He even drizzled clarin (Haitian Moonshine) over an Ogoun veve one night, then lit it on fire. A spectacular piece of artwork, he then made all the girls present dance over and through it -- said he was heating us up for love later one. (That Jean, quite the ladies man!)

When we worked with Papa Edgard, he was very impressed by Don's artwork, nodding and complimenting him. "Hmm-hmm, tres bon" he would grunt, as Don finished the details on a rather complicated Danbala piece one night. Taking a bottle of rum, Edgard then "foulye" the drawing to enliven it (sprayed rum over it in a fine mist).

I was taken by the artwork I saw, both in person in Haiti and in older books. The floor work was spectacular - huge lacy patterns, some that filled the floor of the peristyle. You couldn't help dancing on the image - there was literally no where else to stand. The hours spent drawing these beautiful pictures was mind boggling. Bent from the waist, with nothing but cornmeal, the houngans would drizzle the cornmeal out in thin rivulets, all the while holding the image in their mind. Sometimes, we couldn't even see the whole piece from one side - it was a 360 degree artwork, meant to be seen from all sides, and enlivened throughout the night with rum, water and candles.

Today, I see Veve's all over everywhere - on artwork, on jewelry even on myself (I am tattoo'd with Legba's veve on my upper arm - the same arm I use to hold my asson.)

The humble veve has moved out of the Haitian temple and onto the world stage. I do hope the Lwa are pleased - after all, they are the ones who chose to enter the world of non-Haitians. Surely they picked the sites and places where they can best be seen and understood. I am always amazed by where the Lwa have landed - from my own simple household to the places as far away as Norway and even Japan. Some day, I hope to draw a veve for them on each land mass of the world. But for now, I am pleased to do it here at Sosyete du Marche. I know they are, too. Ayibobo.

The Vodou Garden

I have been swamped with writing and Kanzo these past four months. My apologies to everyone who follows me on this blog. But there's just so many hours in the day, and a mambo's work is never really done.

I am hosting a one day class on Vodou herbs this September 14th. (go here for details) We will walk the property here at the houmfort, look at weeds and things, then get down to business. Due to the way a distiller operates, I can only make a small amount of hydrosol in an afternoon, so we will vote on either make a mugwort or a spearmint hydrosol (it's also the most prolific on the property, as well!)

I am also working (frantically) on my herbal compendium. It won't be ready the 14th, but I thought I could wet everyone's whistle by posting the occasional tidbit now and then here on my blog. And since my favorite plant produced an abundant crop of flowers this year, I will begin with the Aristilichia Trilobata or Dutchman's Pipe, also known as Tréf  Carayib in creole.

The Dutchman's Pipe is a reference to the shape of the flowers as they bud - like a Sherlock Homes pipe, with a large bowl bottom and curved top. They open into these stellar looking purple faced creatures, with a gaping throat in green and yellow. I know the bees find them irresistible, but they can be rather off putting. They have a simple scent that the honeybees adore, and the blooms last about two days before quickly fading and dropping off. I have found the vine growing in other places in my gardens, so I think it's capable of reproducing itself easily in a sunny location. This plant needs full-on sunshine. It spends the summer here in Philly outdoors in the front yard, where the sun comes up like the star on Crematorium in the Riddick movies, and burns just about anything I put out front save geraniums, roses and now the Dutchman's Pipe.

The Dutchman is a vine, with heart shaped, lemon scented leaves that display pale green markings. A vigor vine, I don't think its hardy here in Zone 6. Friends in the south tell me that it's a nuisance vine there, growing wildly and freely over anything it encounters. My Dutchman is babied in the winter, lounging window-side in the dining room, where it climbs all over the blinds, hunting for full sunlight. The US plant data base says its a perennial, so I guess if you don't have harsh winters, you could have quite the plant in a few years outdoors.

Houngan Ray Malbrough associated this plant with the Ghede and he is right to do so. The lore surrounding this plant is that it grows spectacularly in cemeteries in Haiti. That location, combined with its lemon scented leaves and ugly purple face blooms, make it the perfect "breaking" plant for taking off attachments -- spirit or otherwise.

The plant that actually grows in Haiti is Aristolochia cordiflora mutis. A true tropical, it is not available here in the USA. This plant is known as Fey Kadav Gaté or Poison Breaker.  Also a vine, it's blooms are smaller, and far less ugly than the Trilobata. It's uses are much the same - added to bathes to remove negativity. This plant is also said to remove bad luck, reverse witchcraft and is used in certain guards.

If you can find a Trilobata, I promise you won't be disappointed by it. As a green plant, it's pretty much a weed that can't be killed. And if it does bloom, you'll have quite the conversation piece.  Easy to grow, lovely to look at and handy when needed, the Dutchman's Pipe should be the center piece of any Vodouisant garden.

The Vodou Garden Redux

Summer is coming and that brings me around to thinking about plants, herbs, alchemy and elixirs. It's not a lack of things to do - it's the rhythm of the land. The ground feels alive beneath my feet and I want to dig in, to get dirt beneath my nails, and make time with the devas. Mind you, I am not about horticulture, manicured lawns and things all neat and pretty. No, my gardens are wild, barely tamed and hardly within their perimeters. I revel in big, blowzy plants that take over the fences and trees. We lost a lot material from the winter, so I have been haunting garden centers for replacements.

The mugwort came back in a ferocious way - it's waist high in front bed.  We lost all the wormwood, so I had to plant anew. It's beginning to settle in, though I won't have much to harvest this year. The Lovage is as tall as me and twice as wide. It's dominating the cooking herb beds at the moment. And I just found my precious Dittany of Crete on online. Gonna give it another go round.

I planted my sole Calea Zachatechichi, hoping it will do it's usual habit of turning into a big tree. And the Salvia is doing fine. I finally hit on a solution to keep it happy - basically growing it hydroponically. It's big and thriving - I have never had this plant do this before.

The Dutchman's Pipe (on the left here) is outside, turning green. And even the Mapous survived their indoor stint - they flank the front door, and are beginning to groove on the weather - rain overnight followed by warm sunny days. I hope they will bloom big this year. They are easily three inches around and eight feet tall. I had to top them last year due to blight. Hoping that pruning will lead to a bigger canopy this year.

I went back over my planting plan - I didn't actually get too far last year. Here's my picks for this year:

Moon (Water): Chamomile, Poppies, Mugwort, Orris Root. This year, I need to add Chamomile.
Sun (Fire): Bay, Hops, Hibiscus. NO wonder I am so drawn to the hibiscus plants at the garden center - I need one!
Mercury (Air): Cinquefoil, Damiana, Fennel, Lavendar. Can't find cinquefoil (its wild anyway). I will find Damiana.
Venus (Air): Angelica, Feverfew, Passionflower, Pennyroyal, Vervain, Spearmint. Got them all.
Earth (Earth): Patchouli, Sage, Spikenard, Vetiver. No spikenard to be found in Pennsylvania. I think it's a zone thing.
Mars (Fire): Bloodroot, Cardamon, Coriander, Dittany of Crete, Wormwood. Covered.
Jupiter (Earth): Hyssop, Valerian. Valerian I am leery of, only because it stinks. It stinks so bad, even when you walk by it, it smells like dirty feet. The fresh root is really strong - but it's a great skunk repellent.
Saturn (Earth): Fumitory, Mandrake, Monkshood, Solomon's Seal. Would love to plant fumitory all along the fence line. Still looking.

So I am a true Mars girl - I have all of the martian plants except Bloodroot, and even then I have it dried in the apothecary cabinet. Hmmm....I better print this out and carry with me, so when I swerve into garden centers on a whim, I have a method to my madness here.

One plant that has been doing exceptionally well are my mandrakes. No, not Mayapples - real Mandrakes. They have warty, twisted thick roots that look like a human body. They'd make Harry Potter's Professor Pomfrey proud.  I have White, Finnish and European Blue. They are producing serious amounts of leaves at the moment. I believe they need to be four years old before flowers begin. But they survived indoors for the winter, and are now languishing on the screen porch, soaking up the sun and rain. I have high hopes for those bad boys.

All this is to say that come August, I expect a bumper crop of crazy plants for Vision Quest. Once we are past Kanzo, I will have time to dedicate to the plants. I am currently writing the next class on service styles for the Vodou. That one will be followed up by the Herbal book. Stay tuned ~

Medical Volunteering this August in Cap Hatien, Haiti

Honor folks,
I am currently running a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for my medical volunteer mission to Cap Hatien in August. I have worked with the VOSH folks in the past, but this year, they have asked me to be an ambassador with them to Cap Hatien, in the north of Haiti.  VOSH is Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity, and the local chapter is hosted by my dear friend, Dave McPhillips.  Dave has been doing eye work all over the world, and has turned his amazing talents to my favorite island Haiti.  I have done translation work for him, fund raising, donations and tried (failing spectacularly) to teach him creole. Well, he's medical skills are impeccable, even if his creole is not.

Dave has a large family, a big medical practice, a passion for collecting sports memorabilia that borders on fanatical and he still manages to work in Haiti four times a year. I wish I had half his stamina. So having spent many years saying I would go, this year, I am. I will be going with him to translate, carry bags and do paperwork in Milot, which is outside of Cap Hatien. Last year, Dave and company saw a staggering 1500 people in a little over five days. The need is always pressing, but those numbers can give even the most stalwart of us pause. 500 people a day - in the course of a ten hour day, that's 50 patients an hour by four doctors and eight volunteers. Staggering. Maybe I need to start drinking rum now.

VOSH numbers in general will give you pause: from their Facebook page - "Since 1997, more than 235,000 patients have been treated, over 160,000 eye glasses provided, and 16,455 sight-restoring surgeries performed."  Like I said, the need is staggering, but these folks are doing it the right way. They are training local doctors to do the eye exams and critical care, not just giving them a hand out. And its working. There are three new clinic in Milot, Cap Hatien and a small village just outside of the Citadelle.  Having gotten those practices established,  Dave is now turning his talents to my hometown of Jacmel, where the local need is just as big as it is in the north of Haiti. With the help of some of my contacts and friends there, Dave hopes to have at least one clinic up and running by next year. Ayibobo to that!

I am asking for some help to get there and back. I am running a GoFundMe campaign to help with my own costs of getting there. Anything money collected that is above and beyond my immediate expenses will be donated to VOSH for eyeglasses, contact lens, medicines and surgical supplies. I will take lots of photos, blog heavily, cry a lot and try not to be a burden to anyone, much less you all.

If you can spare me some money, I promise you will not regret sending it. My campaign page is here:
http://www.gofundme.com/8i44vs. Thank you for helping me get to Haiti, so I can participate in this very worthy cause. Ayibobo!

April is Mambo Petro

April:  Mambo G picked the Mambo Petro card:  Legba said, “This can be a sexual or physical alliance.  Sometimes it means exercise.  Sometimes it means physical konesans.  Let go of things that hold you back.”  Traditional meaning: Be willing to dive deep this month, to find the answers you seek – whether it is inside of you or somewhere outside.

This card has always given me pause.  As a Mambo I am always hyper-aware of myself and my words, actions, and gestures.  I constantly review what I am doing, how I am doing it. When I write to you either as a group or individually, I check and re-check my words – to make sure I said what I meant to say and did not imply something else. On a recent TV show, one character said “I always examine my feelings for motive.”  I feel much the same – what am I saying and why am I saying it.  Hence, my pause over this card.

The traditional meaning is one of intimate power. We see a nude woman sitting astride a bright red snake, flames extruding from its mouth.  The card exudes sexual innuendo galore – she is Babylon of the Bible, or Pomba Gira of Quimbanda, displaying her female sexuality in full command of the allegorical snake she is riding. But she is also the Queen of Wands in the traditional deck.  There she is imagined as a woman with a small black feline at her feet, a sunflower in one hand. The implication here is one of fertility, sensuality, life.

Glassman’s queen is all that and more.  The traditional little black cat has been re-imagined as a fiery red serpent and she communes with it in a green field, in the nude.  Her sunflower has been blasted into the flames that the serpent breathes out, and the entire image is one of energy and power.  This queen is stripped down, there is no need for decoration or decorum. She does not need the trappings of her office to command the serpent.  This queen is a take no prisoners kind of woman.

When this card comes forward, the meaning is one of cleansing and clearing. The Petro Mambo is a stern queen. She does not mince words, and doesn’t candy-coat the discussion. It is what it is. Her ability to speak clearly is supported by the fiery breathe of the serpent – her very konesans in physical form, writhing between her legs, lending her its strength to conquer what’s in front of her.  One way of looking at having the serpent as an ally is to acknowledge the gifts of knowledge, transformation and secrecy. It also means taking the plunge for yourself.  The Serpent in the Garden of Eden did not make Eve eat the apple - he merely implied that if she did, wondrous things would come her way. This serpent on the card is making the same statement - embrace all that I have to offer and find the truth of your divine nature.

This month, be prepared to hear the hard truth.  It won’t be easy and it won’t come with sugar to make it more palatable. It will be tough talk that will hurt - not intentionally, but for your own good.  That hard talk will bring about transformation, hot and fast. It will be a change for the better, even if it doesn’t feel like that at first.


As Betty Davis once said, hang on – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.