Spooky Szn: Safety
Welcome to October, friends!
Depending on where you are, the temps are cooling (thank GOD), and a longline cardigan has magically appeared at your door. Your Uggs have begun sneaking out of your closet and your hoodies have mysteriously unfolded. We are gearing up for spooky season. Pumpkin patches, pumpkin spice, and Halloween are the name of the game. Spooky Szn content is ramping up and, to keep it fun, I wanted to share a little about spiritual safety. Rituals and the like can be really enticing, but I’d like you to be well informed if you opt to participate.
First things first: Just because you don’t understand the risks, doesn’t mean they do not exist. Messing with Spirits you do not know well, doesn’t mean you will be insulated from potential harm. For example, Lake Lanier. Lake Lanier is a good example of a clearly haunted place that cares not about who it takes with it. The Spirits of that space have their own agenda and ignorance will not be protective for anyone who chooses to go. Hell, I wouldn’t go to Lake Lanier without a massive amount of work beforehand and even then my Godmother would have to require it of me lmfao. If someone invites you to some sort of spooky ceremony this season, just make sure to take care. If you get invited to a cemetery for example and you don’t take regular spiritual baths? I’d highly recommend one as soon as you get back. You don’t want to bring any visitors home with you. Do not take anything from the cemetery without asking permission and even then, maybe don’t lol.
There are some very spiritual spaces that I make a rule not to go to. Not because I am afraid, but because the energy there is quite heavy. Those places are cemeteries (unless I am doing dedicated spiritual work with my ile), plantations (absolutely the fuck not), or haunted tours. These spaces all contain Spirits of unknown identity and strength. The average person could very well pick up a vengeful Spirit and not know until it is too late. My suggestion to you (and it is only that:a suggestion) is to take caution this season if you find yourself going to such places. If you opt to go, as is your right, I’d suggest keeping Florida Water on you (and spraying yourself before and after), anointing yourself with Fiery Wall of Protection Oil, not bringing those same shoes into your home, and taking a spiritual bath as soon as you get home. If you cannot do a spiritual bath, you can wash with my cleansing soap. I do not wish to terrify you;I just think it is really important for people to understand the risks inherent in entering some spiritual spaces. Without intending to, you could do real harm to yourself and I do not want any of you to get hurt!
Secondly, a note about rituals. Please be careful calling on Spirits (Orisa, Loa, etc) if you don’t know them. A key part of spiritual safety is not messing with things that are above your pay grade. A really good example can be found here on Reddit. A young white woman allegedly wanted to hex her ex-girlfriend and thought she was calling on Papa Legba. Turns out she ended up summoning a completely different Spirit and ended up drowning in her bath for her troubles. Firstly, as a white person, I don’t know why she thought calling on a diasporic spirit to do harm to her (allegedly-Black ex) was wise but, as we can see, it was a deadly mistake. I personally think hexing should be used sparingly (left-handed work is for protection and fighting back) but it is even more dangerous if you don’t have spiritual infrastructure to protect yourself (ancestral practice + protection, spiritual hygiene, and spiritual elders to guide you).
The problem with hexing people is you do not know what they got going on over there, lol. You don’t know the contracts they made with their spirits or what kind of protections they have set up. You want to hex someone for some petty bullshit and they send a nuke to your door. Unwise! Now if you are thinking, “Iya Omidele, I hear you but you cannot tell me what to do,” all I can say is that you are absolutely right, lol. Everything on this blog is simply advice and you don’t have to take it. EYE have a robust and hearty protection practice though; if you’re gonna hex people, at least have one yourself.
About workings: there are so many workings (some of which I’ll share here on the blog!) that are safe for the average person. However, there are some workings that may be out of your scope. When you see a ritual on TikTok or Instagram, question the source. Do you know this person? Do you know their ethics or their practice? There are some practitioners who purposefully post workings that can be dangerous or harmful, just for the chaos of it all. Feel free to question me too! It won’t be everything that I post that will resonate with you. Just because a person is crowned or initiated, doesn’t make their word law. Human beings are flawed and priests can do bad stuff too. So, when you see a working posted, ask yourself the following questions:
Where did this come from?
Can I vet or evaluate the source?
What is this supposed to do?
Does it feel right to me?
The last one is really important! Trusting your own intuition is an exercise that takes practice. You may see a working this month and there isn’t anything wrong with it, it just doesn’t feel right for you. That’s valid! Above all, I want you all to be informed and safe this Spooky Szn.
with much love and in the Spirit of further, faster, stronger, and spookier:
iya omidele