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Texas-Mexico border Catholic folk-magic

To: alt.lucky.w,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic,alt.magick,alt.religion,orisha
From: catherine yronwode 
Subject: Texas-Mexico border Catholic folk-magic
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 11:54:41 -0800

AnnAlert wrote:
> 
> What an interesting website.  Sometime when I don't have two sick
> grandchildren hanging on me I will try and explore more.
> Meantime, what about Ajo Macho, Nino Fidencia, Don Pedrito, and the 
> Cops Keep Away candles, charms, etc.
> Perhaps you already have these - I just didn't find them.

I have some ajo macho (literally "masculine garlic") candles in my
collection (one from Los Angeles and the other from Guatemala) but have
not put up a web page on them yet (it takes time!). I do have (and sell)
the little Mexican package amulets with a miniature horseshoe and
rayon-thread wrapped garlic cloves plus a print of San Martin Caballero. 

Nino Fidencia and Don Pedrito seem to be local to the Texas-Mexico
border. About a year ago a friend of mine in Austin, Texas, told me had
seen a trove of Nino Fidencia material, so we arranged that i would send
him twenty dollars to buy some of those items for me -- but he just kept
the money and never sent the stuff. It was a total loss for me -- not
just of money, but also of information and artifacts. Any knowledge or
pictures of Nino Fidencia and Don Pedrito you could share would be truly
appreciated! (I am posting this to alt.lucky.w as well, in the hope that
others may respond). 

What you call "Cops Keep Away" is generally marketed in my part of the
country under the name "Law Keep Away" -- and in addition to the police
and sheriffs, it should also keep away snoopy social workers, the IRS,
the State Franchise Tax Board, health inspectors, and postal inspectors.
In the not too distant future i will be putting up a web page on the
subject of Law Keep Away -- but for now i can quickly explain that in
the African-American hoodoo tradition, these formulas usually contain a
mixture of herbal ingredients, including black mustard seed, white
mustard seed, and devil's shoestring roots. The black mustard seeds are
to cause confusion to enemies (it also appears in Infammatory Confusion
formulas), the white mustard seeds are for faith and protection, and the
devil's shoestrings are a powerful jinx-remover. There are also Law Keep
Away rituals involving crossed nails hammered in at the doorstep of a
place where illegal business is to be transacted. Like i said, a web
page on all of this should be in place sometime in 1998. In the
meantime, i personally manufacture and sell traditional herb-based
African-American hoodoo formulas for Law Keep Away Oil, Incense, Sachet
Powders, and Crystal Salts for bath and floor wash, and they can be
found in my Lucky Mojo online catalogue. 

> Oddly enough I was looking for the words Santa Lucia Catholic and your 
> site popped up.  I don't think I will ever understand this darn 
> internet! 

The name "Santa Lucia" appears in my long list of votive candles, so
that's probably why the search engine you used turned up my site. 

> BTW I am a Catholic writer and I saw some things that 
> interest me very much so I will be back.  

I would love to hear more about Catholic folk-magic from someone who has
a handle on the specifically Catholic aspects of it. If i could entice
you to post to alt.lucky.w (for folk magic discussion in general) or
alt.religion.orisha (for Santeria, hoodoo, and Voudoun discussion), i
would be very happy. 

In particular, i would like to learn more about the magical (rather than
purely religious) implications of the following Catholic entities and
symbols:

Nino Fidencia
Don Pedrito
Maximon (Hermano San Simon) *
Nino Atocha
The Cross of Caravaca *
The Infant of Prague
Saint Expedite
San Martin Caballero (Saint Martin of Tours) *
San Martin de Porres (and his broom)

I have web pages up on only those with asterisks *, and i could use much
more information on all of them.

> Wish your store was in Texas so I could visit.

Well, if you ever come through Forestville, California, do drop in!

catherine yronwode

Lucky Mojo Curio Co: http://www.luckymojo.com/luckymojocatalogue.html
The Lucky W Amulet Archive: http://www.luckymojo.com/LuckyW.html

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