‘Juju’, Creepy Crawlies and Bad Omens:
the Realities of Feelings
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| Black Salt, Good for Banishing Spirits & Protecting a Home |
A friend and former coworker tagged me in a comment on Facebook sometime during the night. I rolled over and checked my email as I wake up, the way I do every morning. (Hey, some people drink coffee, I read my email to get my brain in gear.) He had encountered an animal on his way home from work late and it left him with a feeling of foreboding. The discussion progressed to supernatural reasons for seeing such a thing. Without something to add, I moved about my morning.
Once I’m at my office and settled in, I pulled up Facebook. Right now, my job involves a lot of hurry up and wait. So they allow me to occupy my brain, as long as I make sure the customers are taken care of. So, back to Facebook, I’m looking through my feed when I see an update from the same friend.
“So update to last night's story- I had a flat tire this morning and I'm just waiting for something bad to happen. Creepy, eh?”
I told this friend I’d be writing a blog post about our interaction because this is something I’ve seen more than once and it’s something I wanted to discuss.
Amy Blackthorn: Fuck that waiting around shit. Don't allow it into your space. Do something. Dump a McDonald’s packet of salt into a cup of water and anoint yourself. Say a prayer. Say, "Fuck off!" Light a birthday candle. Cast a circle. Cast a Square. Don't just sit and wait for bad shit to happen. Well protected is good. Just remember what they say in martial arts, "No matter how good you are, somewhere there's someone better." We have those senses for a reason. Any time I've had that sense and didn't do something about it,
BAD SHIT happened.
(Hello Tractor trailer, 27 broken bones, 72 pins and years in a wheelchair).
I’m trying to figure out where we are in our personal evolutions. Go to a gathering of Pagans or Witchy folk and you’ll likely hear a mention at some point about feelings, ‘juju’, or the like. Most people are quick to jump in with their experience, but that’s usually where it ends. People want to talk and share their experiences and occasionally they’ll ask for opinions, personal revelations or simply validation of their feelings on the subject.
I’ve noticed this outside of our little world in one place in particular, “Reality” ghost hunting television shows. People hear something go bump in the night, and the next thing you know, you’ve got a bunch of yahoos in fatigues running around your house with night vision cameras strapped to their heads. Viewers see people attempting to antagonize the dead, using dramatic pauses and fervent
“Did you hear that?” questioning. One of the issues I have with shows of this ilk is If they find something they feel is compelling evidence, they show the owner of the property, and then pack up and go home.
“Yup, it’s haunted. Bye!” Wait. What just happened?
Why do we stop there? Why acknowledge the fact that you feel something bad is going to happen, only to sit around and wait for the other shoe to drop? Magic is supposed to be a last resort, after all of the ‘real world’ things have been ruled out. That doesn’t mean we have to sit idly by and wonder at our fate. If it really is fate, that the other shoe drops, it will. However, if taking a step out of the way saves your bacon, I’d take that step. Wouldn’t you?
If we accept that we have developed these feelings for a purpose, then it stands to reason that we were meant to DO something with them. So do it. Rearrange the furniture so that energy doesn’t have a place to lie. Smudge the house. Open the windows and let the fresh air in. Get rid of your clutter. Just do Something.
