Since the beginning of the various calendrical feasts of Saints Cyprian and Justina of Antioch, Key and I have been hard at work on our first-ever shared collection in honour of these beloved holy figures. I’ve been deeply moved by all the support my various releases in honour of the saints have received, and now, in gratitude for some of the important recent developments in our shared practices, as well as our own growing understandings and relationships with these saints, we are delighted to unfold a new collection for the two martyrs. Born through and between the crossings of the Gregorian and Julian feasts of the saints, and released now on the Miholjske Zadušnice, we present an Offering Unto the Martyrs of Nicomedia comprised of four gifts—three charms, two of which are standalones, and one oil.
A Garland for the Field of Nicomedia
The first offering is a prayer rope, born in honour of all three martyrs of Nicomedia. At its core is a yak bone skull whose eyes have been filled with obsidian and moonstone, the former having been anointed in an oil of St. Cyprian, the latter in an oil of St. Justina from our dear friend and godfather, Tata Apokan’s store The Pact. This skull’s cavity is stuffed with a complex matrix of powders, including the core powder which loaded The Sorcerer’s Goat Horn Fetish, three small amethyst chips which had been macerating in Tata Apokan’s Oil of St. Cyprian for over a year and had been ritually fed and consecrated, and a new powder born of ritual sacrifice on the saint’s Catholic feast by my hands. The aforementioned core powder of the goat horns included: dirt from three churches dedicated to Cyprian and Justina from three different countries, dirt from nine churches visited over the nine days of the Cyprians (the novena between Cyprian of Carthage and Cyprian of Antioch’s Catholic feasts), dirt from nine cemetery gates, dirt from nine priests, dirt from nine nuns, dirt from nine bishops, dirt from the grave of a dead sorcerer who worked with St. Cyprian in life, black rooster, black cat, black toad, serpent and goat materia, tears collected from their enshrined icons within an Orthodox church dedicated to them, and an entire burnt Livro de São Cipriano, in addition to many more ingredients. It was further compressed down and given new life and purpose through the new powder which eclipsed it, such that the three elements, when placed together, came to life as the teachings of Sts. Cyprian and Justina both renewed within the eyes of the skull of their witness and co-martyr, St. Theoctistus. This skull is intended to be his very severed head, his eyes filled with the light of his mentors who, despite his very brief encounter with them, became his fulfilment in ecstatic transformation, in baptismal fire, and in beheaded glory.
The rope is constructed out of alternating job’s tears, half of which are dyed purple in honour of St. Cyprian, and anointed in three oils made in his honour—one being Tata’s, one being Maestro’s, and the final being my own. Nine beads terminate in roses made of bone, anointed in three different oils of St. Justina, one being Tata’s and two being personal recipes I have received from teachers. In this way, the whole prayer rope reaches a hundred beads, with the job’s tears being enlivened for St. Cyprian, the roses for St. Justina, and the skull for their perfection in St. Theoctistus. From the skull protrudes a cross affixed via clay, marking the rope as a kind of shadow of Golgotha in the three crosses of these martyrs.
This is a one of one piece, created once and not to be replicated again. It is enchanted to bind spirits into service, clarify divinations, allow for mystical congress with the saints, and facilitate deeper learning between its wielder and their many spirits. Wear over the breast when conjuring spirits of any kind and allow it to be a mantle of their authority and wisdom. Place it over cloth and perform divinations within them, speaking your questions into the skull itself before setting it down to create a field of inquiry fine-tuned to receive their guidance for the question at hand. This is an offering entirely for the three martyrs, channelled through the contemplation of Theoctistus as student, scion, and recipient of the wisdom of both of the saints—in the fullness of both their holiness and their magic—through his witnessing of the glory of their martyrdom. This prayer rope is best suited in the hands of someone whose devotion to the saints aspires to that of learning to act in capacity as their hands, privileging neither one over the other, but synthesizing the diabolic and holy through prayer, conjuration, exorcism, healing, and binding.
A Brazen Head for Golgotha
Several years ago, I was gifted a broken statue of St. Cyprian by a client who had retired his practice with the saint. When I unwrapped the packaging and saw that the statue had in fact broken off at the head, I knew I had to save it for a future project, for it is precisely by beheading that both of our saints were martyred. Over the past two years, this head has received countless prayers, supplications, and offerings, especially on the various feasts dedicated to them on the Julian and Gregorian calendars, but also over the course of different novenas and Saturdays wherein I continued my work and deepened my relationship with the saints.
This is amulet is a unique, one of one piece that I will not be able to replicate again. It consists of this head, naturally broken off (meaning, without being intentionally removed) a statue of St. Cyprian, loaded with the same powders mentioned above in the prayer rope. The halo of the saint is filled with amethyst chips gifted to me by my Tata, which had been macerating in his Oil of St. Cyprian and had been ritually fed over the course of the last year’s worth of devotions, from one Gregorian feast to the next the following year. Affixed to the head is a set of genuine black cat tibia, affixed in a skull and crossbones position, with a small charm consisting of a two-holed hagstone (chosen to represent Cyprian and Justina both in the holes, with the stone being Theoctistus), two amethysts, and one fossilized snake vertebrae dated to roughly 25,000 years ago. Key and I put this together over the course of the Gregorian and revised Julian calendars, feeding it offerings of Orthodox St. Cyprian incense, wine, and bread, and enlivening its lips to speak with the authority of the various sorcerous students working under St. Cyprian’s tutelage. The eyes of the head were anointed with tears collected from their icons, sourced from their church in Meniko, Cyprus. Finally, we affixed a small hook to the back of the halo, so that this may be hung on a wall or from a nail if one chooses.
In addition to providing fierce protection against intrusion, psychic attack, evil eye, and witchcraft, this charm brings luck, prosperity, and sorcerous power to its owner. It is enchanted to be its own brazen head, providing oracles, insights, and communications via the various students of St. Cyprian, who animate this head as an amulet of Golgotha and speak through its lips via dreams, psychic communications, and divinatory oracles. Hang it on a wall before where you divine and offer it incense below by which it may speak to you. We performed several rituals already to ensure it may speak with clarity, having ritually “opened its mouth”—all that is needed from its owner is to perfume it with incense (preferably a blend of frankincense, myrrh, and dragon’s blood) and to conjure it, in their own words, to speak. You may recite any prayer of St. Cyprian that you prefer—what is essential is that you speak to it from the heart, asking that the saint allow you to contact his disciples through his authority to inspire your magic, provide you with protection, explain secrets and mysteries to texts you are studying, and further grant you prestige and authority in your work. Hang the amulet between two black candles anointed in a St. Cyprian or Black Cat oil of your choice and enter trance while gazing into the head in a dark room, lit only by these flames.
Whoever purchases this amulet will receive a complimentary 1oz vial of Key’s Oil of the Black Cat, also available for purchase below. This amulet will not be made again and is intended to be a unique tool for a karcist who will work it diligently as their own oracular brazen head of the saint. Let it be a companion to illuminate the darkest depths of hell and the loftiest heights of heaven.
There is an additional familiar spirit attached to this amulet in the form of a black cat, who will serve the amulet’s owner as guide and interpreter. Their name, nature, offerings, and protocols will be revealed only to whomever purchases it.
A Companion for the Wise Disciple
Each offering in this collection, it turned out, was born at least in part from a gift. The severed head of the St. Cyprian statue was a gift from a client, the amethysts which were macerated in Tata’s Oil of St. Cyprian and ritually fed on the saint’s feast were a gift from him, and the cloth which bundles up these charms were lovingly donated by the hands of a dear friend and fellow devotee of the saints. This is cloth is actually a special tweed cloth called Harris Tweed, spun by the hands of this friend’s uncle under the strictest conditions of its fulfilment. Please consider reading the Wikipedia article linked [here] which details the production process required for the creation of this fabric, from the shearing of specific sheep to their dying and cleaning. I am deeply grateful and honoured to have been able to use this fabric for these charms.
In contrast to previous charms I’ve made in honour of the saints, these cloth bundles are not just creations for the the cultivation of a relationship with these saints (although they absolutely may be used for this end!), they are batteries for favour and insight from spirits across traditions. In essence, they are literal companions for one’s journey into studying magic itself, and may be placed alongside a shrine for cultivating relationships, insights, and learning across traditions, regardless of religious or cultural origin. They are meant to be left on a shrine for three months at a time, sharing in the offerings its spirits receive, and allowed to absorb the prayers, mantras, cultivation, and effort—from every glass of water cleaned and refreshed to every candle or incense stick lit and replaced—as a witness and testimony to discipline. Through this, the enchantment within the bundle will promote clearer communication, deeper insights, more acute gleanings, and sagacious revelations, accelerating one’s ability to not only connect with and receive assistance in their training, but to excel in their progress.
The core is born of the same amethyst chips and primary Cyprian powder above, but renewed and enveloped in a new powder and blessing specifically for the cultivation of learning in the manner of the saints, not specifically only of their traditions. Even if you do not have a relationship with these saints and do not plan to cultivate one, this charm is intended to assist you in learning like them—meaning, through travel, pilgrimage, extensive apprenticeship, oral pedagogy, the acquisition of broader language skills, and via the financial, physical, and mental capacity to expand your studies. Every three months, change the shrine the bundle sits on, or place it over a different book that represents something you are actively studying or are in need of assistance retaining. You can switch between the same two topics back and forth, but the three month period is intended to assist you cultivate via the seasons and trinities of lunar revolutions, allowing for a genesis, integration, and renewal of each skill.
These are, after all, “companions”. They have been prayed over and enchanted to be as the travelling satchels of the saints, both for Cyprian alone in his numerous treks around the Mediterranean to initiate into the various mystery schools of his upbringing, as well as for him and Justina both as they journeyed to preach the Word. Carry them with you to conferences, to places of intellectual inspiration, universities and libraries, language learning centres, and botanical gardens to retain information on whatever it is you need to grow within your soul. Perfume them with incense and speak to them your needs, and let them either rest at a shrine to bring you closeness with elders, mentors, and spirits, or take them along with you to absorb that which you need and blossom it in your mind as you sleep when you return.
Only thirteen are available for purchase. These are a deeply special charm for me, reflecting on much of my work with the saints as well as my philosophy towards learning, in prioritizing relationships with people over and above the potential knowledge that may arise from studying with them. May they bless your efforts to be as a luminary in how you learn.
An Oil for the Black Cat
Key has created a traditional black cat oil formula to compliment this collection, born on the Gregorian feasts of the saints in 2025 and fully enlivened this year on the Julian. It contains a genuine black cat bone which had been macerating in the carrier oil for the full year, having been prayed over each Saturday both via St. Cyprian and the spirit of the black cat itself. In addition to ingredients traditional to American Conjure, such as clary sage, myrrh, and some form of abrasive metal (in this case, steel wool), this oil itself was ultimately born of pact and prayer, having been worked continuously for a full year, from Cyprianmas to Cyprianmas, in dual conjuration of both the saint and the spirit of the black cat with whom Key has an ongoing relationship with. Each vial is its own essence of distilled black cat, bringing luck (good and bad, depending on what you petition it for and for/against whom!), the breaking of curses and jinxes (especially the removal of stubborn hexes that have resisted other forms of exorcism and cleansing), the revival of spells that have not worked (because cats have nine lives!), and protection.
This is about as multi-purpose an oil as one can get within the tradition of conjure as Key was taught it. It is as versatile and cunning as its keeper. Anoint old spell remnants and candles that have not brought you success to revive them with newfound strength. Affix the butt of a new candle onto the stump of the old with this oil to charge old petitions with new life and remove any obstacles the first pass may have encountered. Anoint poppets and representations of others to bring them luck or to completely cross their path from fortune. Anoint it upon yourself for resilience, cunning, insight, and protection, especially the hands and wrists before you embark on a project. For hexing, mix a few drops of the oil with castor oil before using it on candles. For blessing, mix it with any other pure carrier oil, such as a mineral or neutral vegetable oil.
Thirteen 1oz bottles are available for purchase. May the black cat grant you the upper hand in all your endeavours.
May Saints Cyprian, Justina, and Theoctistus guide your hands into ever expanding agency.
