An Offering Unto the Martyrs of Nicomedia

October 10, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

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

A charm of the gifts of the Sorcerer and Virgin.

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.

The Blood of the Thornless Crown

September 12, 2026 ~ B. Key ~ Leave a comment

I have told you that I am He: if therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way: Of them which thou gavest me, have I lost none.

Longtime listeners of the podcast and the Patreon-exclusive Q&As at this point have heard me reference a moment in which I created a set of vampiric vessels, all of which sold to the people they were meant to be with before I was able to make a public post about them. For the entirety of 2023, my literal blood, sweat, and tears had been poured into the brokering of pacts, the sculpting of bodies, the feasting on dreams, and the answering of calls to increasingly outlandish magical excursions in order to bring to life a group of charms embodying the Children of Judas, a grouping of vampire spirits I had come to know through my witchcraft pacts. The trusted companions who came to inherit them have since worked them for their own ends, each obtaining a moth familiar laid to rest in a coffin with a lead cross that had come to weep genuine blood into the snow as part of its consecration process. I have been asked many times to tell this story as much as I am able to, secrecy taboos being respected, especially in light of it being more than three years now that these were fully brought to life. Over the course of the Lent of this year, I began to set out to see what shape this attempt might take; be it a post, an episode, or even a chapbook of arcana itself.

What emerged instead was a renewed pact with these same spirits, this time in the form of a completely new embodiment. There are some spirits which simply demand flesh, charms which mandate form, cantrips which require utterance – this offering is all three. I was not given much of a choice in what to create, as this fetish was, in essence, also a proof of the ongoing tenure of this pact. From Theodore’s Saturday this Lent, through Holy Thursday and Friday, up unto the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Eastern Orthodox Julian calendar, I worked on the bundle at the heart of this fetish, as a witch’s answer to a witch’s riddle: how to speak about something which demands articulation but refuses voice?

By giving it justification in form.

This fetish is born of three influences that lead my hands in how I sculpt spirits into being: my enduring appreciation and love of Congolese sorcery, especially as expressed in Afro-Brazilian Quimbanda and African-American conjure and hoodoo, my encounters with Balkan and South Slavic witchcraft via Sfinga and my travels throughout the Balkans, and my lifelong flirtations and experiences with vampiric spirits, both of the human restless dead and the supernatural, non-human varieties. Throughout these periods, the core was made to witness the Passion of Christ, to experience the grief of not being able to intervene in its suffering as well as the joy of understanding its prophecy’s completion, and to birth the many spirits that arose from the tears, blood, and seed of Judas as he hung on the tree of his penance. Born of a dove given in ceremony, which itself was christened as the Logos, this fetish is made of a complex of my personal vampire powders, bones personally rendered clean, and the pieces of a crown of thorns I obtained from Jerusalem. I was greatly inspired witnessing Sfinga’s private work with her own crown of thorns and my spirits tasked me with developing my own take on this sacred object within the context of the Children of Judas: restless spirits risen from the fluids of his penance.

The bundle’s core also includes the heart of the dove, the wishbone from a hen given to an important vampire ally, and thirty pieces of silver to pay off the various beings who orbit the fetish itself and lent their blessings to its construction. Tied up in layers of blessed cloth laden with my own powders, the fetish takes its shape in black and white, with the feet, feathers, and thorns of its spirit arising outward. Four skull beads adorn the sides, watching the directions of the mournful winds whipping the hangman’s tree. A fifth skull, operating as the locus of whispers, resides within the bundle. A fed hagstone taken from a volcanic gorge sits at the apex, channeling the voices of the mournful wights subservient to this charm.

This is probably the most unique charm I’ve offered and I ask that anyone who wishes to buy it first divine with their spirits if their court would accept it. Its functions are myriad: in addition to empowering and cultivating communication with vampiric spirits, serving as a satellite for their manifestation, articulation, and binding – such that the restless dead obey your requests and bring ruin to your targets – they work along the mysteries of projection, blame, forgiveness, and penance. The skilled witch, in offering any clear alcohol which has been doctored or had something infused into it by your own hand, thereby dirtying it, can ask it to send forward a representative from among its cohort to receive requests on behalf of the entire fetish. It is essentially like a kind of radio tower to these spirits, and in time you may find that one among the Children of Judas begins to remain with you, becoming your primary intercessor with these spirits and also forming a pact via the fetish with you as familiar. Needless to say, a level of spiritual mediumship is required for this charm, as it is an advanced piece. These spirits are ambivalent at best towards humanity and make excellent companions to witches who have need of domination work and are repeatedly experiencing slander, having their reputation harmed by envy and projection, and are adept at glamours that allow them to triangulate these perceptions for their own gain. These spirits will take the pressure off your own court to do this work for you, freeing up the rest of of your familiars to tend to more important matters.

I will be in contact with whoever receives this fetish to communicate rituals and various ways of use with them that I cannot speak publicly about. Upon shipment, we will schedule a brief Zoom or phone call to discuss how to receive the charm, what to do with it in full, and how it may be integrated into your existing protections and glamours. We will also discuss the nature of their vampirism and how to harness it, as well as what kinds of vitalities these spirits may retrieve for you. These spirits are particularly adept at manipulating vital forces as well as coordinating the attention spans of others around you, and there are additional workings to be done with them to send them forth and implant them into your places of work.

As much as I am exceptionally proud of how this charm came out and has come to prove its functions, it is not something I intentionally set out to create. Despite my desires to initially reflect on the experience I teased earlier, it seems clear to me that these spirits certainly do wish to be spoken of and intimately shared, only within a select group of similar witches through the creation of additional charms and workings through their auspices. The muse of this working, as it were, made itself physical through the next iteration of its incarnation. For those for whom this calls to them, who hear what is being both said and unsaid, I invite you to contact me personally via the usual channels, especially if you have questions about how to integrate these spirits into your existing practice, or if you simply hear their call in your dreams and want to know how best to proceed.

This is a one of one charm, and once it is claimed it will not be made again. Again, I ask that you divine first before purchasing. These spirits have a tendency to grow and fester in their pacts, so unless you are already well versed in their way of working, do check with your existing court first to ensure that this practice is sustainable for you.

For those intrigued by the flavour of this witchcraft but less interested in fully submerging themselves in its depths, I’ve also created a far more manageable charm that can be used by almost anyone regardless of their magical persuasion. The Prick-Moons are small reservoirs of vampiric power born through the auspices of the moon itself. Their shape is that of a butter lamp painted black and constructed to be ever-burning with pale moonlight, channeling the rays of the devoured stars through the principles revealed by those same spirits. In addition to the same matrix of powders that went into the main fetish, here nestled in black wax under a lunar shell baptized during an eclipse, each Prick-Moon has one thorn from the original crown painted white and one piece of silver at their base. These charms are excellent for protection, turning the plans of adversaries, enemies, the envious, and those who plot against you against them – the more they fight and struggle and plot, the more it pricks them deeper. These are satellite charms that may be kept near a wall of the home such that the thorn is just gently touching it, that it may be the first force encountered by those who would trespass against you.

Each charm may be sustained through offerings of black or white candles. burnt in supplication on the nights of the full and new moons, respectively. Gazing into the moon-disk embedded in each charm in contemplative silence, while focusing on the space between heartbeats, can reveal sources of slander against you, and will just as easily reveal gaps in your own defenses against envy and the evil eye. I personally found these charms to have some affinity for the mysteries of the crows and ravens sustained by the flesh of Judas hanged, so it is appropriate to, in time, adorn them with feathers or limbs from these same beasts.

10 are available for purchase, and each will be shipped within one week of your order. With the current tariffs affecting global shipping, each will be sent via Canada Post, the USPS, or UPS depending on your location to ensure the best chance of a timely and cost-effective delivery.

I’m deeply grateful for the continued interest in this arcana as it grows and develops at the urging of my spirits, and to finally give voice to the history of this project. I anticipate more Children of Judas making themselves known, be it through unspoken word and whispered shape, or simply the hunger that, ultimately, gives them form.

Prick-Moons standing vigil over the Blood of the Thornless Crown.

Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

A Bite of Iron: St. Raymond Nonnatus’ Charms Against Gossip

September 4, 2026September 4, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

It was a true joy and pleasure to have on mi Maestro de brujería, Alex Búho, for an episode on Mexican spirituality and the duendes. The first of, in time, many future appearances, this episode delved into his writing on dealing with duendes, as well his lifelong training in Mexican brujería, hechicería, and the various folk magical traditions of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas. Maestro Alex is a true font of wisdom and knowledge and I am deeply honoured to be training under him, especially as an outsider to these traditions. Our late night talks on the fascinating similarities between the folk magical traditions we know, comparing Mexican and Serbian techniques, have been a continual source of inspiration over the past two years.

It is through his encouragement and tutelage that I share these charms, in offering of San Ramon Nonato, in the vein of some of the tapa boca style workings done with him in the RGV: A Bite of Iron. The taste of iron in both blood and metal, these are kits comprised of two parts—a padlock enchanted in the name of the saint, with five strips of ribbon attached to its handle for their owners to tie knots and petitions into, as well as a matching bolsita filled with materia associated with San Ramon, tied to his saint medal and the key that is the lock’s mate.

St. Raymond’s veneration within the Hispanophone world is especially profound. His name is derived from his peculiar birth, having been taken from the womb of his dead mother. He is especially venerated as a patron of childbirth, newborns, pregnant women, midwives, obstetricians, and caesarean sections, being a steadfast ally to parteras across Mexico. A member of the Mercedarian Order, he worked tirelessly to free Christian slaves via ransom and even surrendering himself into Moorish captivity in exchange for the freedom of captive Christians. The famous legend goes that during his capture, while he awaited his brothers to raise enough funds to free him, Raymond preached so fearlessly that the Moors bored a hole through his lips with a hot iron poker and padlocked them. His fellow prisoners fed him through the sides of his mouth while he awaited his freedom. In this way, San Ramon came to also patron the art of tapa boca workings, whether to stop idle gossip and rumours or to shut up an enemy who slanders you.

My relationship with the saint is a nascent one, guided largely through the continual conversations, pláticas, and study with both Maestro Alex and Tata Apokan (Jesse Hathaway Diaz), to whom I am both deeply grateful for their sharing of this incredible saint’s traditions. The vast majority of my veneration and workings with saints derives from the Eastern Orthodox traditions of the Balkans, through which I have a core grouping I turn to for all my needs regardless of their patronage—simply because it is they who have responded to the prayers of me and my family, and they whom we know to turn to when in need. Over the past year, San Ramon has entered this fold as a deeply cherished spirit and teacher, especially in protecting the vulnerable, the falsely accused, and the expectant mothers in my own life. While a far newer relationship, it is one I am dedicated to growing under the tutelage of mentors and through deeper enculturation and study. I am especially grateful for Mestro Alex’s encouragement and advice in making these not only for myself, but available for others who might be in need of his intercession against the lies others tell of us—and tell themselves to justify slander as truth.

A celebration of San Ramon on August 31.

The charges of these charms were consecrated on the 31st of August, being the feast of the saint. Red carnations, coconut cookies, and chocolate biscuits were offered in addition to alcohol, incense, and vintage clove chewing gum—a favourite of practitioners in the RGV to chew while supplicating the saint, later attaching onto his statues at church. This gum, along with the similar liquorice gum which is also favoured, is harder to find nowadays, but I was able to pick up an entire box in a stroke of luck and consecrate them for this use on his feast. I also anointed each of the saint medals collected for San Ramon with a Tapa Boca oil I created through Maestro Alex’s instructions, and prayed over them, along with the charm cores, to silence any unjust, slanderous speech and envious projection spoken against them, no matter how convinced their speakers are of their veracity. Additionally, I petitioned the saint with knotted prayer to empower these charms so that when wielded, even gossip spread in truth and without malice, should it be disadvantageous to the reputation of their owners, are similarly put to rest.

Each core was then wrapped in red cloth, having previously been placed around the saint to cover him as a cloak, and anointed in the same Tapa Boca oil. They were bound to the keys of their padlocks along with the medals, and further consecrated under his gaze. Their padlock mates, similarly anointed and prayed over, were tied to five red ribbons affixed with oil, candle wax, and prayer. Any petitions made via this charm may be prayed over into these ribbons, which can be individually knotted in odd numbers to anchor your desires. Write the matching petition out over the face of the person who slanders you, punching a hole through the mouth so that it may lock directly into the padlock. Up to five individuals may be knotted into the ribbons and affixed through the lock in this manner. Alternatively, write a general petition encompassing any possibilities you might be dealing with, and knot all five ribbons together for an enduring form of social protection.

Each lock and key charm will also come with one pack of vintage clove gum, which may be chewed in the mouth while your petitions are being uttered. Squeeze all the saliva out through your teeth and affix petitions and faces when you feel called to. This is not necessary to work the charm itself, but it is included as a nod to some of the traditions surrounding the saint. Let spirit guide you in this work.

Keep on a main working table locked over a general petition or a specific foe, anointing with Tapa Boca oil (see Maestro Alex’s offering here if you’d like one of your own) or any other domination oils that suit the work. Burn a red candle directly beside or on the lock when making the petition, locking and unlocking it with the key and stamping it through whatever it is you need done. In time, additional ribbons may be affixed depending on your needs and as spirit guides you. Allow the charms to become the tools of your spirits, such that the heat of this protection may be taken off them directly, and their hands freed to do what is even more important in enhancing your career, reputation, and creativity.

Fourteen charms were consecrated on San Ramon’s feast this year. All charms will be shipped within seven business days of purchase. If you are waiting on any charms from Key, these will be bundled together as we are now shipping from the same home base.

My gratitude goes out to my teachers and to all those who came to learn how to protect themselves at this beautiful saint’s hands before me.

St. Theodore Tiron’s Charms of Household Vigilance

March 22, 2026July 30, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

One of the most frequent requests I’ve received for a charm release has been that of one born for the protection of the home and its fortune. With the success of the recent more specialized charms, and Great Lent upon us, I’ve been especially inspired to create a set of charms born of this impulse, but still fully within the spirit of the folk magical traditions I hold dear. I’ve been so deeply grateful for everyone’s support and excitement around my most recent shapeshifting charm, and am excited to finally make available my latest: a charm of household vigilance made under the auspices of St. Theodore Tiron.

Patrons over on our podcast’s Discord already got to see a preview of these when they were first consecrated after the successive feasts of Todorova Subota (Theodore’s Saturday, the first Saturday of Great Lent) and the actual feast of St. Theodore Tiron on March 2nd. These wards were fully born on Todorova Subota, a day steeped in folklore surrounding the enigmatic figure of Veliki Todor as well as his todorci riders. These spirits, well-attested across Serbia and Bulgaria, are spectral riders fused with their horses, who ride forth on the first week of Great Lent, followed by their master, Veliki Todor, who appears pure white and with a lame mount. These avenging wights are said to trample with their hooves any who disobey the taboos associated with this week, leaving their bodies black and blue with the tread of their horseshoes. Worse still, they may cut down with their sickles and blades those who have betrayed, lied, stolen, and refused to make amends before this perilous and fraught time.

On this day, I baked a set of traditional horseshoe shaped buns known as todorčići, made in offering to supplicate these dark forces. While they were baking, I ritually prepared a set of used horseshoes that I washed in herbal waters drawn from plant allies associated with these spirits, and anointed them in an oil of St. Theodore of Tiron, both a key mounted saint participating in the lineage of the Thracian Horseman, as well as the saint mask and namesake of this crucial period of time. Two strands of three serpent vertebrae and one hagstone each were woven to adorn the horseshoe to be the eyes of the saint’s vigilance, and a charm bag was prepared and suspended through the center as his holy lance. The core of the bag is, as with many Balkan folk charms, the bread prepared and risen on the day to capture its “election”, being one of the horseshoe buns divided across the exemplars. To this was added a Thursday Salt born for the protection of the home, the forty-one beans that approved the recipe, and an herbal powder born of those plant allies most conducive to the stalwart protection of t he home under the auspices of the saint.

These charms were then buried by a tree consecrated in the name and image of St. Theodore Tiron on Theodore’s Saturday, and then unearthed together from their box on his very feast. They were prayed over, anointed, adorned, and fumigated in fervent supplication, such that they may embody the dual abilities of both securing the health, wealth, joy, and fertility of the home, as well as aggressively banishing and dispelling any and all threats that might approach one’s door.

The todorci are formidable and terrifying beings, and their week is one of quiet supplication, offerings made in repentance, and debts and amends forged in sincerity and urgency both. These horseshoe charms are enchanted to be hung over the inside of a front door or back door of a home, store, or office (or, if living with roommates, a bedroom) to show any spirit that functions like a todorac that the dwelling space has already been “trampled” once, and therefore should be passed over swiftly in mercy. While the horseshoe itself promotes leniency from and invisibility before vengeful denizens of the otherworld, restless dead and wandering ghosts, and disturbed land spirits, the hagstone eyes are charmed awake to ceaselessly watch for threats, make ancestors and house spirits aware of them so that they can be relayed to their keepers in vision and dream, and neutralize gossip and the Evil Eye. All the while, the burning charm held between the horns assures for prosperity, protection, and the maintenance of luck.

I’m exceptionally pleased with how these turned out. Born of my training across Serbian folk magical traditions, these are powerful wards and stalwart protectors for your dwelling space. Anoint monthly with an oil of protection of your choice (holy oil will always work in a pinch) and touch it in prayer before you leave when you need to ensure that whatever you return with across the threshold remains a resolute force.

Only ten are available for purchase. All charms will be shipped within one week. Tracking information will be updated directly into your order.

All charms have been sold as of the 25th of March, 2025. Thank you so much for your support! May they serve you and keep you well!

An Oil According to Their Deeds

March 4, 2026July 30, 2026 ~ B. Key ~ Leave a comment

Give them according to their deeds…:
In the wake of Episode 74 of the Frightful Howls, I composed this formula to meet the needs of this month’s first community ritual for invisibility from adversaries. Following the ritual, in dialogue with the spirits involved and with the spirit of the oil itself, we came to the decision to release this to the public to better facilitate the goal of granting additional forms of protection through concealment to those in need.

…And according to the wickedness of their endeavours:
The composition of the oil began with the sun and ended with the moon, each drawn down through sympathetic herbs and resins such that the eclipse of the solar powder with the lunar grants the same power of occlusion to those who wield the oil. I used fennel to “steal” any remaining fire from the solar materia, and conjured it to redirect the light and heat of attention, prying eyes, and inquisitive minds away from the bearer. A mixture of seeds was added in an uncountable sum to introduce confusion and redirection through delay, in addition to serpent sheds, that the bearer may shed away old guises and take up new ones at a moment’s notice. To further enliven and empower the quiet beast that is this oil, I constructed multiple distinct talismanic cores as “organs” to form the body of the spirit within: a written copy of Psalm 28:4 atop a petition and pact sealed with wax, specific shells and animal materia, resins collected from lucky and auspicious trees, and bundles composed of cloth and herb containing traditional formulas for law-keep-away work (including my personal law-keep-away powder) in the American folkloric context to grant distinct protective, evasive, and deceptive functions and frayed threads from old charm bags to unravel plots and magic against you like old cloth.

Give them after the work of their hands…:
Additional consecrations were completed on the oil under the dual lights of the recent eclipsed blood moon and the concurrent selenelion, at which time the now-pronounced redness of the oil was captured and augmented. I then brought the primary bottle of the oil with me to a place of conflict, a place of unjust law enforcement activity, a visible place, and a cursed place, and again tested the spirit’s ability to protect, to obfuscate, to distract, to hide, and to enact revenge. Each of the tests was passed with flying colors.

…Render to them their desert:
This oil’s functions are diverse, ranging from protection and invisibility to retributive and even vampiric functions, each use dependent on the creativity and interaction of the conjurer. As something slightly more enlivened than other oils I’ve produced, I suggest spending time contemplating the oil in various forms – on a candle, in a lamp, on petitions, on photos, on your hands, and in the environment to tease out mysteries and uses. The spirit of this oil is one responsive to need, and is hungry to right what it sees as wrongs. I suggest using the oil somewhat regularly, so that it does not get bored. It can be fed with a neutral carrier oil to extend its life, although I recommend not stretching it further if the scent of cinnamon is no longer detectable in your original bottle.

Each order includes 1 fluid ounce (30 mL) amber glass dropper bottle of the Oil According to Their Deeds. Shipping included. Please allow for up to a week from the time of your order for me to ship via the USPS.

The White She-Wolf’s Charms of Witch-Power

February 23, 2026July 30, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

What a privilege and a joy it is to work alongside my dear friend Vanessa of Sword + Scythe again, whose artistry, dedication to their craft, and genuine love of the spirit world permeates each of their incredible pieces. Vanessa has created a truly exceptional set of new silver charms, completed on the Polish feast of Gromnica, Our Lady of the Thunder Candles, and Catholic Candlemas. Also known as the Divine Mother with Wolves, this Marian form preserves key aspects of the goddess Dziewanna or Devana, whose manifestation in the Balkan context can be most acutely found in the veneration of the Great White Wolf Mother or White She-Wolf, Bela Vučica. You can read more about their offering on their website [here].

In addition to supplying the powder that is set behind each amber stone, I created my own clutch of charms over the course of the winter progression of dark to light. The core mixture that sits at the heart of each charm was first begun on Sveta Varvara, a key saint mask for the White She-Wolf. As her Christmas wheat grew, so too did the prayers, offerings of wax, blood, milk, resin, and prayer. The core bundle was born of three different stellar mixtures arising from my training in Serbian folk magic and witchcraft, white wolf fur, powdered white wolf bone, serpent vertebrae, linden, dittany of Crete, eyebright, mullein, Greek sage, the beans that approved the recipe in divination, and a mixture born of the Mother of the Moon, along with many other unnamed ingredients. Wrapped in white first, the primary colour of this powerful goddess, whose nature as divine ancestor and Thracian remembrance was petitioned through numerous offerings and libations at her sacred trees over the past two months, they are protected in the red of her blood and adorned with a wolf metatarsal bone each drilled to hang over the body of the charm.

In many ways, these are the female counterpart of our charms made several years ago with the Master of the Wolves. Where those housed fully bound spirit familiars each, these are a witch’s second skin, intended to be used by those who draw on witch-power to slip out of their bodies in the night and join the revelry and hunt directly. The primary benefit these confer is that of a fully adoptable fetch form, being that of a white wolf, to shapeshift into in works of trance, night flight, dreaming, and acts of attack and defence. Through the intercession of the White She-Wolf, each charm was imbued with the fleet-footed ability to grant their user the spirit form of a white wolf, a child of the Great Mother, and to be recognized as such in full disguise when being communed with. This fetch is bound to an internal charge within the charm, wrapped in white and red, linked to the external metatarsal bone as the feet of the charm. In several lineages of Balkan witchcraft, charms and fetishes which grant a second skin are categorized along the lines of which limb of the new form they preserve, and these charms are made in the tradition of the Feet; intended to be stepped into and worn, as opposed to autonomous spirit-forms that operate independently of their witch.

In addition to this, the charms provide protection from restless dead, curses, and hags, as well as blessings of controlled dreaming. To use, set up your usual protections and undergo whichever procedures assist you in entering trance. Then, feed the charm with your dreaming or skin-turning incense of choice (your favourite resin will do in a pinch, for the charm eats any smoke that soothes you and lulls you into trance), anoint the external bone with a small drop of spring water, and drag the wet bone down the crown of your head, forehead, lips and chin, and all the way down the body to the navel, as if tearing the body open to create a slit to birth the new form anew. Once at your navel, mark the sign of the cross over its opening, and place the charm over it as you relax into trance. The charm will then begin its work, pulling your consciousness out to assume the eyes of one of the White She-Wolf’s children, so that you may stalk the night. The skilled worker will be able to use theirs to fly, dream true, receive oracles, and solicit the help of her wolves in divination, sorcery, and healing.

Today, on the feast of St. Charalambos, himself a negotiator and pacifier of wolves, Vanessa and I are proud to release this devotional collaboration. Only ten charms are available, intended for the intermediate to advanced practitioner and witch. Your creativity, cunning, and spirit alliances will only serve to enhance your experience with these second skins. May the Great White Wolf Mother protect and nourish you.

All charms are sold out as of March 6th, 2026! Thank you so much!

All charms will be shipped within one week of purchase! For Vanessa’s charms, please see their post [here].

The Light Returns: St. Barbara’s Ceromancy Bundles

January 21, 2026July 30, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

I am delighted to present a set of empowered tools for ceromancy, or wax pouring divination, worked from the long stretch of Sveta Varvara (Saint Barbara’s day on the Julian calendar, being December 17th) to Bogojavljenje (Theophany/Epiphany, the 19th of January). One tradition still observed by several of my teachers in Serbian folk magic is the care and cultivation around divinatory omens during this time period. As the Christmas wheat sown on Barbara’s day grows, eventually overcoming the winter solstice and heralding the return of the light on Christmas itself (January 7), so too does it imbue its fecundity to our collective attempts to seek light in darkness, understanding in ignorance, and clarity in confusion. Generally, outside of passive observation and scrying of omens, I refrain from divination purely for my own sake during the days between Barbara and Christmas—though Christmas Eve on the Serbian folk calendar is of course a renowned day for the scrying of fortunes in candles, in blessed water, and even in gravy at the dinner table! Rather, it is once this holy light itself briefly returns on Christmas, and then emerges once more after the perilous Nekršteni Dani (“Unbaptized Days” between Christmas and Epiphany) that we celebrate the manifestation and revelation of the Theophany through performing this art ourselves. In my training, this is especially done with ceromancy, or wax pouring divination.

Each key and wax pouring spoon is oriented around the Christmas Wheat, under the watchful eyes of St. Petka.

When I sowed my Christmas Wheat on Sveta Varvara, I set out the dishes before my spirits and asked them to lay their hands upon the germinating seeds, and bless them that as they grow and witness the return of the light, that so too may the instruments I had prepared similarly participate in this resurrection of insight, clarity, and oracular wisdom. The bundles themselves are composed of vintage skeleton keys bound to wax pouring spoons, such that beeswax candles can be melted directly into the spoons and then poured through the holes of the keys.

Each bundle was baptized in the four elements, being buried under the roots of an oracular tree, suffumigated in a personal divinatory incense blend, lit on fire using an alcoholic wash consecrated to Veles as god of divination, and then finally washed in a juice made of the very wheat grass they witnessed the growth of. The wheat was formally harvested on Christmas, after which they were each dried and tied with a red string as a new umbilical cord, binding each set and protecting them through the Unbaptized Days as a tether to the vibrancy and potency of life.

The keys and spoons bathing in freshly harvested wheat grass.

Once their consecrations were complete, the final step took place on Theophany (the Eastern church celebrates both the visitation of the three Magi and Jesus’ baptism at the hands of John the Baptist, so both of these events are celebrated on this day), at which point I performed the first ceromancy divination of the year using my own set. While ceromancy is usually performed with the wax dripping into water, on Theophany we use milk instead, so that the first “cast” is obscured to us visually fully behind the caul, needing to be retrieved in order to be fully witnessed. The shape that formed was that of a clothes iron, providing the final blessing needed for the other bundles and confirming their completion.

To perform ceromancy, prepare a vessel of water (ideally copper, though in truth any bowl will do) and light a beeswax candle. With the tools in hand, present them to your house spirit, or alternatively the primary spirit or force that protects your home, by witnessing the flame of the candle through each “hole” in the bows that form the knot tying the key and spoon together. Offer a prayer to your spirit that you bear witness to them through the red cord of life, and that as you untie the loose knot, you dedicate these implements to the betterment of your relationship with them and your ability to further communicate with their legions in better service to the cult of hearth and home. Anoint the red thread with some of your saliva, and then untie the thread, tying it instead around any item, idol, figurine, or object that you associate with the spirit of your home. If you do not have such an object, tying it around the base of the candle holder you have lit will do. Scry the flame once more through the keyhole and exhale through its opening, inhaling afterwards and drawing the flame’s essence into your heart. When you are ready, hold the spoon so that you may drip wax from the candle into it, keeping it steady over the vessel of water. Once the spoon is full, tip it gently through the keyhole so that the was passes through in order to enter the bowl, whispering: “Come, little master, drink and consume.” You may repeat this several times until the wax has fully emptied.

Allow the wax to fully cool before removing it from the water. Scry the shape by observing its form and casting it shadow against the wall. Different traditions assign meanings to the shapes according to their lore; my own teachers taught me their attributions in the context of lead pouring divination (molybdomancy), with the same applying to wax. There are many guides and books available out there, and I encourage folks to slowly journal down their own experiences and ciphers as they explore this art as well. Above all, experiment! Keep your wax shape and incorporate it into charms. Perform this rite with your house spirit at the equinoxes and solstices, or the important turnings of the year in your tradition such as key saint days and liturgical feasts. Make your set truly your own and use it for diagnostic purposes, to draw out illnesses and dispose of water and wax alike, or confer blessings through sipping the water and incorporating the wax into other workings as a charm or ingredient. When not in use, you may keep these by your house spirit or any other primary divining force in the cloth bag in which they come, or otherwise wrapped in fabric.

If you’d like to read more about one tradition of wax pouring divination, I highly recommend checking out the The Word and Wax: A Medical Folk Ritual Among Ukrainians in Alberta by Rena Jeanne Hanchuk.

All bundles have been sold as of February 2, 2026. Thank you so much for your patronage!

All bundles will be shipped within a week of purchase. Thank you so much for your support! It is my dearest hope that these will assist you in your oracular and charming practices.

St. Nicholas’ Day 2025 Group Rite: For Luck, Joy, and Insight (Recap)

December 28, 2025July 30, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

Once again, Key and I are so incredibly grateful for your generous support of our Nikoljdan community ritual. We were once again able to raise $2000 for our Cabula through the combined efforts of our Esteemed Initiate tier on Patreon and those who contributed directly through the blog. Thank you all so very much!

Here’s a brief recap of the workings as we completed them. Key and I began by throwing a small slava for Sveti Nikola in my home, inviting friends and family to visit and participate. From the early morning, we were up and baking bread, cooking sarma, preparing the fish, and baking Dutch pepernoten cookies. We prepared a small selection of traditional slava cakes and biscuits, as well as an apple strudel, and created small plates containing servings of each dish for the ancestors, protector spirits, land spirits, and spirits of the door and threshold. Having lit the slava candle, we offered prayers, veneration, and oral charms unto St. Nicholas as wayfarer of the paths to fortune, stability, and prosperity.

Just a couple days prior, on the 17th of December, I also celebrated Sveta Varvara (St. Barbara). As per tradition, I sowed wheat seeds to grow my Christmas wheat that I will trim on January 7th, and cooked a traditional meal of grains called a varica. This year, I opted for a sweeter version, consisting of wheat, corn, barley, honey, chopped walnuts, sliced walnuts, and raisins. “Varvarica vari a Savica ladi a Nikolica kusa” (Barbara cooks, Sava cools, Nikola tastes) is a saying encompassing the practices of this trinity of days, cooking the varica on Barbara, cooling it in the fridge for a full day during Sabbas the Sanctified, and finally consuming it with your family on Nicholas’ day. Several sorcerous projects were begun on her feast, and the varica, having been blessed for fertility and prosperity, was served on Nikoljdan and enjoyed by all present.

The lamps prepared and presented. The left-handed lamp manifested the omen we were looking for: the buildup of soot along its rim.

Once our guests had returned home, we set off to do our work on behalf of all patrons and named parties. Key and I prepared two oil lamps of St. Nicholas, one for the saint in his right-handed guise, and another for him as Devil, as Veles, as Master of the Wolves.

The right-handed lamp was built in several stages: for the first stage, the vessel of the lamp itself was prepared with an herbal wash, smoked out with incense, and lit on fire with some Florida water. Next, a little bit of the oil went in along with a wooden cross that was carved and blessed for the day, as well as crumbs from the slava bread baked that day and the full petition of names. Following this, we added our base of resins, including several kinds of Orthodox incense blends as well as frankincense, myrrh, Three Kings, and more. Key then took the grave dirt of nine different bishops to confer the blessings of those spirits unto the work. He also expressed some of the orange oil, harvested directly from the oranges we prepared as daughter-lamps, through a flame in order to consecrate it as the descent of the Holy Spirit into the lamp. Key then added a gold coin into the lamp as well as much more orange peel to code it for money, and then finished the lamp with a crown of rosemary.

For the left-handed lamp, every ingredient that went into the base was covered in charcoal and ash to “blacken” it with soot. The lamp itself was built over a black Joker card, specifically one chosen because it depicted the Joker riding a horse. This image coded the work both to the lore of the black Joker as a devil in a deck of playing cards, as well as calling upon his steed, which for our purposes also includes St. Nicholas’ boat. Additionally, in much of Dutch folklore surrounding St. Nicholas, the saint is depicted as riding a horse, or at least travelling alongside one. After each ingredient was added, pieces of coal were also put into the lamp, as well as pieces of tobacco from a cigar that fumigated the lamp, myrrh, and dirt gathered from the graves of 21 soldiers. Key then shotgunned a cigar into the lamp, shaking the vessel until the smoke infused into the oil, turning it grey. Sulphur, gunpowder, vetiver, and a final gold coin completed the work, built over the volatility and explosive nature of its ingredients, and handled carefully to bust open blocks, open roads, and ignite the raw power of luck in each named party’s life.

A pinch of the materia from both lamps, along with crumbs from the slava bread, then went into eight orange lamps which which were ritually born of their parents, and distributed to different crossroads to safely burn amidst the winter snow. A final pair of orange lamps, the youngest twins of the nest, were then taken to a nearby lake and left to float along the surface, carrying out the petitions crafted into the arms of the watery spirits that accompany St. Nicholas in both Balkan and Dutch lore. We completed the rite by offering one final battery of prayers to the saint, praising him for his potency and once more requesting that he open the roads to luck, fortune, prosperity, wealth, and new opportunities and horizons for everyone named. We are so grateful to each and every one of you who contributed! All proceeds from the rite are reserved for our Cabula as part of the charity of this working.

Srećan Nikoljdan!

St. Nicholas’ Day 2025 Group Rite: For Luck, Joy, and Insight

December 15, 2025July 30, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

Dearest Karcists! It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a year since we last announced our St. Nicholas’ Day group working. We were incredibly touched by the success of last year’s St. Nicholas’ Day Candle Service, which allowed Key and I (Sfinga) to raise over $2000 USD for our Cabula as part of a winter fundraiser. This year, we’ve decided to continue in our newfound tradition of December Nikoljdan (the Serbian Orthodox feast of St. Nicholas on the 19th of December) workings and open up this opportunity again into an even more involved community rite. As the winter grows and the days approach the longest night, we intend to take up the banner of Sveti Nikola once more and build on this opportunity to instantiate a yearly tradition of workings by our hands for the community—both in magic and in proceeds.

By donating to this group rite, your name (or the name of a loved one—please contact us if you would like the name to be different from that which appears on the PayPal receipt) will be dressed in two different petitions: a ritual of fortune, levity, and joy from myself, Sfinga, and a ritual for road opening, insight, and wisdom from B. Key. The goals are closely aligned with the previous year’s rite, and they will likely keep these themes going forward throughout the years with some changes determined by divination, albeit the methodologies will vary in the spirit of St. Nicholas’ many traditions. This year, we will be working primarily with by the light of the sorcerous lamp, calling on the saint as both navigator amidst the stormy seas and devil perched on the perilous cliffs.

Key and I will once more draw on our familiarity of St. Nicholas veneration from the Serbian and Dutch folk traditions. Last year’s working was a candle service, and this year candles will only be one part of a greater whole, in which we will construct two complex oil lamps (one for the saint and one for the devil, as is tradition) with each name given directly to the herbal matter within. From these two mothers we will create many daughter-lamps which we will complete the feast with by floating them out into the lake to light the voyage for each named party’s prosperity, success, luck, and cunning insight into future possibilities in the new year. We will also prepare a feast for the saint and all the spirits that walk with him. In addition to a medley of Serbian and Dutch foods, a slava bread will also be prepared, whose crumbs, along with Thursday salt and a prosperity powder, will be added to the daughter-lamps we will float into the waters before midnight. We’re looking to double the offerings and double the effort for this year, and continue the momentum ever forward in love, honour, and gratitude to all the communities that have nourished us and whom we hope to continue nourishing in return!

This time will also mark the beginning of a series of workings on Sveta Varvara (the 17th of December on the Old Calendar for St. Barbara), linking the trinity of successive days of 17th (Varvara), 18th (Sava Osvećeni), and 19th (Nikola) for the growing of Christmas wheat and oracular power. Several charms will grow out of these workings which we will keep you updated on, including an exciting collaboration we’ll be able to speak more on in the new year.

A blog post containing pictures and our reflections on the ritual will go live in the days following the feast so that all who participated may have a record of its completion. The rite will be performed on the 19th of December.

If you would like to submit your name for this working, please use the link below. Subscribers to our Esteemed Initiate tier on Patreon are automatically entered into this rite at a discount as part of their monthly group ritual service.

All proceeds will go directly to our Cabula, as was the case last year, in the spirit of the Winter holidays. As always, we hope that this intersection of our traditions and communities serves you well in your New Year’s petitions and plans, and provides an ample boost to all you seek to grow and harvest in the coming months!

Thank you for participating in this year’s rite! A follow up post will be made available in the coming days.

Sts. George and Vitus’s Charms Against the Evil Eye

July 29, 2025July 30, 2026 ~ Sfinga ~ 1 Comment

After many months of prayer, supplication, and consecration, these charms, born of the fiery hands of Sts. George and Vitus, are at last available.

I’ve teased the mention of these for some time both on the podcast and on our official Discord server for our Patreon supporters, but the origin of these vigilant eyes began early in April of this year, when I first began to flesh out the shape of what my yearly offering to St. George would involve. While not always resulting in a public charm to share with the world, this practice has been one that has helped mark the triumph of the spring and summer seasons through the auspices of St. George, Jarilo, and all the spirits that follow under his red banner. This year, the thematic motif elected through divination was that of St. George’s lance, specifically in its capability to blot out that most difficult and tenacious foe: the consuming voyeurism of the evil eye. So when my great friend Vanessa of the illustrious Sword + Scythe informed me that she was working on a charm for St. George’s lance as well, I was absolutely over the moon.

We spent the “George season” of his Catholic to Orthodox feasts workshopping what a collaboration in honour of this mighty saint might look like. Divination revealed that my own charms would require a base of three different powders, each prepared at a different point of the season between Đurđevdan (St. George’s Day) on May 6th and Vidovdan (St. Vitus’ Day) on June 28th—a time period associated with the vanishing of the Pleiades from the night sky so that those seven sisters (or brothers) may consult with the Mothers of the Sun, Moon, and Winds respectively. The first would be a powder of St. George’s lance, born of herbs traditionally harvested on his day for vigour, stamina, potency, and protection, united under the image of his spear to seek out, identify, and neutralize the evil eye. Born, fed, and sealed on his day, this was the same powder I mailed Vanessa to include under each garnet faceted in their gorgeous sterling silver necklace charms.

Slava bread made on Vidovdan presented to my icon corner.

The second was a St. Vitus powder created and fed on Vidovdan from traditional herbs and materia under his watchful gaze, birthed to lend these charms the ability to detect, identify, and anticipate sources of malefica, Evil Eye, intrusive scrying, and magical attack. I offered and prepared a full meal to the saint including fish, projara, ajvar, olives, cheese, a slavski kolač, and many more offerings as part of this work. The kolač itself would become an integral part of the charms to come, as each charm bag includes three dried squares of this bread to represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (as well as George, Vitus, and the Mother of the Moon as a folkloric figure invoked in this work).

The third is an anti-evil eye powder to anticipate, nullify, and deflect three traditional sources of the eye: jealousy, awe/admiration, and spite. This formula was born out of several recipes and herb lists I collected across Croatia and Serbia, which were then confirmed and added to through divination. A brief list of some of the most vocal allies that went into its creation include: blackthorn, hawthorn, garlic, red pepper, fulgurite, salt, hyssop, dogwood, wheat, mica from a prominent witch mountain, yew, rosemary, valerian, fur of a black wolf, ground pearl, and much more. Additionally, powders I created with the instructions of my mentors in Balkan witchcraft for the Pleiades, the Mother of the Moon, and the Forest Mother were also included in this dust to further augment its virtues to the task at hand.

Each charm was tied up in cloth with red thread anointed in an anti-evil eye oil, and adorned with a glass nazar bead washed in seven holy waters sourced from sites of power in the Balkans, to watch for gossip, lies, threats, possessiveness (over one’s own work and spirits), and jealousy. I am immensely proud of these and have already given some out as gifts to close friends to test their abilities to great effect. The red threads are tied in a loop so that they may be hung in one’s home, facing the door or a prominent window of one’s choosing, so that their burning eye may blot out the venom of adversaries and intrusions with the might of St. George’s own spear.

The charms writhing beneath my tree of St. George.

Vanessa expertly made their own charms in the spirit of St. George’s immense ability to protect the weak and deliver decisive action in the face of danger. In addition to housing my powder, their charms include garnets that were prayed over on his Catholic feast day, washed with holy water, and placed with a St. George relic medal until they were set into the beautiful lances. I have been wearing mine faithfully in devotion to him and have already noticed its benefit as a protective amulet, especially in its precision and virility.

Vanessa’s photograph of our charms together.

I am immensely proud of our work together as the first of many other collaborations to come! Three dozen are available for sale below. Hang them above your doors and windows, or situate them to watch over where you sleep or work. These are slightly larger charm bags made to be hung in the home, in the car, or wherever the Eye’s consuming gaze watches you most. Vanessa has seven of their excellent charms available on their website available [here].