SATURDAY, May 7 - SUNDAY, May 8, 2011:  

HEADS UP! HERE COME THE WORKSHOPS!   

 

Two full days of hoodoo fun, friendship, and learning, complete with potluck meals and plenty of time to meet your fellow conjure workers, sponsored by Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, and featuring teachers from around the country!  The May Hoodoo Workshops are a casual, relaxing, and sociable way to gain hands-on practice in the spiritual arts.

Here are some advance glimpses into what is on tap:

Robin Petersen will give her annual Hoodoo Foods! workshop on Conjure Cookery on Saturday, May 7, 2011. Magical Chefs are encouraged to submit recipes for publication in this year's Recipe Round-Up booklet. And if you are attending the workshops, please bring your sorcerous dishes in for sharing and taste-testing, because prizes will be awarded to the top three conjure cooks.

Dr. Kioni will perform a Palo Road-Opening Ceremony in the Congo-Cuban African diasporic tradition for the empowerment and benefit of all attendees. He will then lead an intensive workshop in Making a Consecrated Palo Protection Amulet in a seashell for you to take home and bury at your doorstep. All materials are supplied. Register early for this one!

Dr. E. will lead a hands-on workshop in Making and Catching a Spirit in a Doll-Baby for ritual use. This class covers everything from the historical perspective to hands-on work with dolls made from twigs, cloth, wax, clay, and other materials. Bring personal concerns of someone you wish to embody in your doll -- and be prepared to baptize your doll in the name of that someone special. This leads directly into the workshop on mirror boxes...

Robin Petersen will conduct a hands-on class on Making and Working With Mirror Boxes to trap spirits -- such as the one who was put in the doll-baby you just made in Dr. E.'s workshop! Your custom mirror box will be prepared in a ritual manner and the doll will be interred in it, so that all deeds, both good and evil, will reflect back to the one embodied in the doll. All materials are supplied and Robin guarantees that even craft-newbies will make and take home a beautiful hand-made mirror box.

Valentina Burton, the Dallas Psychic and Palm Reader, will lead a workshop on How to Become a Professional Reader and Root Doctor, including how to set up a business; choose the types of divination that are right for you and for your clients; how to read at psychic fairs, hotels, metaphysical shops, parties, in your own parlour, and via telephone, email, or skype; how to advertise both locally and via the internet; organizaions you can join to enhance your business; how to book and schedule readings; how to handle clients from all walks of life; and, most importantly, how to keep yourself spiritually clean and protected while dealing with people who come to you in trouble. A take-home book is included!

Mvanah Maloti has promised to come in as a special guest and teach a two-hour intensive workshop in Sangoma Bone Reading (also known as Throwing the Bones or Casting the Bones). He went to Africa to learn this ancient art from a traditional healer and teacher in Swaziland, and now he is bringing it all back home to American hoodoo practitioners. This is a rare opportunity to learn bone-reading, and it is one workshop you must not miss.

There's more -- but that's all we have space to describe this time. Stay tuned for next month's updates and additions. Make your travel plans now! If you need help selecting lodgings, check out
ANGELA'S LIST OF GOOD PLACES TO STAY.