Tag Archives: Family

Out with the Old – In with the New

30 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by in Bayou Witchery & Spells, General Musings...., Magickal Basics

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As the year quickly draws to a close, I am reminded that it is once again the time to think about shedding oneself of any emotional baggage or regrets that bind us. We need to discard old burdens, push them out. And start to realize that the coming new year brings so many opportunities. We are essentially reborn into a much happier state of being – with new goals, new ambitions, new heights of achievement to attain, as well as the resolve to see these things through. Let go and see nothing but positive for the coming new year.

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Now, there are many traditions around the globe as we see this entrance into the new year, but I want to share one with you that my family has done for several years. It enables you to symbolically banish the old from your life and release it so it can burden you no more. It also adds a welcoming ritual to your celebration that will help ensure your luck in the new year to come.

First, gather up all the things that you would like to see happen in the new year. For example, if you wish for your business to succeed, grab a business card. If you need more income, grab a copy of the want ads, or job description you want – or gather up some coins or a dollar bill. Photos of your family are always a nice choice. Just grab whatever feels right.

On a piece of paper, write the following:

‘Out with the old,

In with the new,

May prosperity and fertility

Come to you

On this New Year

So it shall be.’

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Fold this little petition towards you three times.

You will toss these items into a plastic zip lock bag. You can also add money-drawing herbs like bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, magnetic sand if you have some. Anything that you desire in the coming new year.

Take the bag outside of your home and hide it somewhere that you will know where to find it.

A few minutes before midnight, light a candle – any color will do. Say the following:

‘As I light this candle,

I bid the the Old Year farewell,

With gratitude for milestones passed,

And memories cherished.

And I welcome the New Year in

With love and warmth and blessings.

That the quality of this new year be assured,

I now dedicate a moment to visioning

Some ways to make this year

A year of excellence,

A year of fortune.’

Pause for a moment to envision the kind of year that you want to have and the kind of person that you want to be. Enhance these visualizations by imagining your objectives charged with energy and bathed in glowing light. Then continue:

‘And thus do my wishes for the year 
take on their own life and purpose. 
So does the year itself 
take on a glowing life and power; 
A bright year, a bold year, 
a golden year, a year of magic! 
So may this year bring luck, 
and peace, and prosperity 
to one and all.’   

From By Candlelight, by Janina Renée

Allow the candle to burn continuously, or relight it every morning to reactivate the energies of your eve celebration. Whether the candle takes a few days or a few months to burn down, you can be satisfied that its flames will radiate your blessings to last the twelve months out.

The morning of January 1, go outside and bring the zip-lock baggy inside your home. Symbolically, you will be bringing all these wonderful opportunities into your new year!

snake-inspired-transformation-metamorphosis

Anything written on paper in the baggy, remove and burn. Scatter the ashes to the wind.

Stay positive and focused this year, my Witches. Like attracts like… so focus on all the best things in your life – and it shall attract more.

Blessings to each of you, from the Swamp Witch & all of us at Inexplicable Things. May the new year be more prosperous than you can imagine! 

Please be sure and visit us at http://www.inexplicablethings.com and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InXplicableThings/

Blood Moon Rising Goodies

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by in Divination, Shop

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Greetings Minions!

I was finally able to get the ‘Blood Moon’ candles all packaged, charged and blessed –

These smell absolutely amazing! The fragrance chosen is one that will inspire transformation – as well as getting in touch with the current things in your life that may be requiring change. Altar work for these candles followed a similar path.

These are available in a 6 cavity clamshell melting tart – ‘scentsy’ type.

2 oz aluminum travel tin – with lid

4 oz aluminum travel tin – with lid

The travel tins are perfect for using at home, or taking with you when you travel. They are handy to use in a hotel room, or in a guest room – to spruce up the air. Or, if you prefer to work your magick outside – they are great for that type of travel, as well.  I have had clients purchase travel tins of spell candles for workings in a parking lot, neighbors’ driveway, outside the home of their intended target…LOL  The possibilities are endless!

These items can be found in my Esty shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/InexplicableThings

Or on my website – Inexplicable Things at: http://www.inexplicablethings.com

I am proud to offer these babies with FREE (that’s right folks, FREE) Domestic Shipping!

Blood Moon Blood Moon Soy Candles Blood Moon Tarts

In addition to the ‘Blood Moon’ candles – I also have two remaining bottles of ‘Blood Moon Ghost Water’ – this water was transformed into a powerful spell or séance component when I left it over night during the Full Blood Moon in a nearby cemetery here in the bayou. Need to contact spirits or someone that has passed during the month of October – use this water to give your magick a little extra ‘oomph’ to get the job done!

The bottles are super cute and goth-y – I haven’t decorated them completely yet – for more customization. Tell me your colors and I will make it happen!

This holy grail of séance magick can be found both in my Etsy shop, as well InexplicableThings.com

More fantastical items being conjured daily, my lovelies! One more day and the greatest month of the year is upon us!!!

{insert evil cackle here}

Stay tuned . . .

Be sure to “Like” us on Facebook and Twitter!

Bayou Living

24 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by in General Musings....

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Greetings and Salutations from the bayou!

So many wonderful things have happened since last we spoke! I apologize for my absence over the last couple of months – but it will not be happening again.

As most of you know – my family and I moved not once, not twice, but three times in the last 6 or 7 months – but we are now firmly rooted (using that term loosely) in the bayou! We purchased a quaint little cottage on a little piece of land surrounded by life and trees and things that will bite you!

11295538_10204193660390898_3162972242267449427_n Front lawn

We are less than a mile from a beautiful lake that is home to the largest cypress forest in the world! It’s amazing here! I spend evenings on the porch or in the trees trying desperately to catch the millions of lightning bugs that put on quite a show each night. I feed the squirrels and vow to have one as a pet eating out of my hand by year’s end! I have a yard full of small toads and bright green lizards that invariably keep me company when I walk through the grass. I even have made friends with a small box turtle that keeps sentinel around the perimeter of the property. I love it here!

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It has taken me a few months to settle in, set up shop, get my personal working altar up and running and begin some semblance of a normalcy that I can call routine. I have chosen a picture window in the living room that looks out towards the dense woods behind our home. This will be where many things come to pass! The hubby is working on an office-type set-up for me, but for now, a recliner and TV tray will suffice.

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Things worth noting:

Inexplicable Things finally has its own website! *and the crowd cheers*

This only took about 7 years, but who’s counting?! It’s still under construction, but will most likely be a living, breathing, changing thing anyhow. I am using the site to focus on those fans of a darker nature. Those that need a little help and are afraid of who to ask for fear of being judged. We all could use some help sometimes… and sometimes that means doing whatever is necessary. There are a great many practitioners out there that focus on the good and happy – but what about when we need have that need for justice or vengeance gnawing at us? What about righting a wrong done to you? This will also be a place I can show off some of the bones and more nefarious wares that I stumble across in my travels. My cemetery photography will also be captured there.

So, for those that care to visit, please be sure to check me out at:

    www.inexplicablethings.com

I have completed my studies through Lucky Mojo’s Hoodoo / Rootwork Correspondence Course. It took me just about a year since starting, but I was able to complete it. Many of the things I learned, I already had a sense of understanding, but it also clarified a few things. I have a much better understanding of Hoodoo and Southern Folk Magic now – and I can combine that with my own brand of magic. This only makes me more powerful and able to do more for my clients.

I can say this… since combining Southern Folk magic and Hoodoo with the brand of magic I already practiced, I have seen amazing results. I am looking at close to 100% success rate, right now. I can’t wait to start helping even more! Seems like everyone has a niche, if they can just find it. I think I may have found mine – even if it does require lurking in the shadows!

So – being back down in the South and in particular, the bayou, has been a blessing. More to come!

In the meantime – please stop by InexplicableThings.com

Let me know if you are in need of any services that I haven’t gotten around to listing yet – or if you have something in particular going on in your life that you could use some help with, or just talk about. I’m always here – with an open ear.

More to come soon, my minions! Oh, how I’ve missed you!

9 Survival Uses of Wood Ash

10 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by in Homegrown Preppers

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Very interesting read!

TheSurvivalPlaceBlog

BIG ash

By Theresa Crouse – SurvivoPedia

If you’re going to be burning wood, you’re going to have a ton (maybe literally!) of ash by the end of the winter, so what on earth are you going to do with it all? Re-use it, that’s what! There are a ton of uses for wood ash, and we’re going to touch on a few of those today.

Wood ash is extremely alkaline and contains potassium (potash) and calcium, which makes it great for several different purposes around the farm. It also likely contains sulfur, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, magnesium and molybdenum, all of which are great for your plants depending upon your type of soil. That’s just the tip of the iceberg though. Let’s talk ash!

1. Tanning Hides

If you’ve ventured into the land of tanning at all, you probably know that brains are a common method for naturally…

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Which would you rather eat?

10 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by in Homegrown Preppers

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Side by side comparison….

Nom Nom!

Nom Nom!

Kelly and I are preppers, if nothing else. Now that doesn’t mean we buy into every conspiracy going, but it means we believe in being prepared. Prepared for what? Anything!

Eventually, our plan is to go completely off the grid and thrive with only those items that we can grow, cultivate, and create ourselves. In preparation for this, we are starting to play with recipes, as well as come up with our own.

Our first attempt at home made cottage cheese happened yesterday!

Kelly thought that Alton Brown’s recipe sounded pretty easy and was a good place to start. Below is the process at each stage – hope you enjoy!

The initial recipe calls for bringing a gallon of skim milk up to 120 degrees F. We opted for whole milk (I know, more fattening, but oh so good!)

Cottage Cheese 1

Once temp has reached 120 degrees (be sure and use a candy thermometer to get accurate temp), remove it from heat source and slowly add 3/4 cup vinegar. This is the process by which you will curdle the milk and create the curd.

Cottage Cheese 2

Cottage Cheese 3Keep in mind, the more you stir after adding the vinegar, the smaller your curd will be. We stirred it a bit, just until we could see curds beginning to form. This allows the curd to separate from the whey. Cover and allow to sit for about 30 minutes. While it’s cooling, prepare a colander and a tea towel or cheese cloth – you will be pouring the mixture into the cloth.

After cooling, Kelly poured the mixture into the colander and allowed it to drain for 4 or 5 minutes. Cottage Cheese 4

Cottage Cheese 5

After it has drained, wash the curds with cold water. Start gathering up the edges of the towel and twist to form a ball. Slowly work the curds in the towel and squeeze – this will help remove moisture from the curd.

Now, transfer the curd to a small bowl – and season to your liking! We added salt and a bit of pepper. If you stir the curd around, it will break it up a bit. When you are ready to serve it, you can add a little heavy cream. Kelly and I do like runny cottage cheese, so we opted for just a touch of heavy cream.cottage Cheese 6

I am an eternal skeptic… so I was a bit leary of how homemade cottage cheese would taste. I swear, I will probably never eat store bought again! This was so much better! You could actually taste the cheesiness of the curd, not additives and bizarre flavorings!

So, again, I ask you – which one would you rather eat?

Nom Nom!

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007

Background – The Gatekeepers of Inexplicable Things

29 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by in General Musings....

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Bonjour! Bienvenue, mon Cherie!

My name is Shawmarie – I was named after a Cajun song and hence before I was even born, began my love affair with all things in the bayou! I have been practicing some form of magick roughly for over 4 decades. My background is very eclectic – with a strong influence in Scottish & Celtic, with a bit of Stregheria and Hoodoo thrown in for good measure. My husband, Kelly, has a Druid background with very strong roots in Nordic culture. Together, we form our own powerful brand of magick and pull from many avenues. It never hurts to have feline influence as well – the twins: Rougarou and Voodoo came along first. About a year later, The Minion (who happens to have 26 toes) followed. That makes up our amazing household.

Kelly, bestowed the name ‘Inexplicable Things’ to my little shop several years ago. Since then, we have learned that as we grow, the name becomes more fitting.

Inexplicable Things is the culmination of many years of hand crafting candles, spell works, charms, herbal blends, gris gris bags & mojos, bone collecting, mead making, graveyard photography – among many other inexplicable things. We take our crafting very seriously and we greatly enjoy making and creating magickal works.

As the name of the shop implies, many of the items that we have created in the past are inexplicable, but isn’t that what magick’s all about? We are more than happy to do custom creations of candles for a very specific use; a hand crafted spell or spell kit to assist; an herbal blend to help with an ailment; or a hoodoo conjure for a variety of uses! Most of the items we create are bayou and Cajun influenced – Please understand, nothing here will ever be laughed at, frowned upon, or viewed as taboo.

The Etsy shop took a bit of hiatus while we relocated for work – but should be back up and running in no time. In the meantime, we have decided to begin a blog for our followers, friends and family  –  so they can stay up to date on the happenings of our household and what we are currently working on.

Intentions of starting a book about my unique philosophies is also about to begin – and that will be another topic in and of itself.

If you have any questions, concerns, comments – please feel free to leave them here or contact us on Etsy. The coffee pot is always on!

~ S ~

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