Hello from Pennsylvania!

[rosita]

Hi everyone! I thought I'd introduce myself, since I've been kind of lurking and spending a lot of time reading Ms. Cat's truly vast and amazing compendium of information on hoodoo history, theory and practice. It was all so overwhelming at first, but now that I've had about a year to slowly digest it, I feel like I'm better poised to interact without bombarding the hard-working folks at Lucky Mojo and the rootwork community at large with questions that have been answered dozens of times. I also wanted to mention that I have a copy of Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic that I ordered from Amazon quite a while ago that is my constant companion. It's now dog-eared and I almost always have it within arm's reach. I've paired it with an app that I downloaded on my phone that helps me identify plants, which has also helped me to learn a lot about my local environment. I'm spending a lot more time outdoors and getting my kids involved in my wild plant "treasure hunting", and that's always a good thing! I'm sure I'd probably get a chuckle out of a few of you if you saw my excited reaction to finding a pokeweed growing in a friend's wooded lot, or a tiny little Self-Heal plant in my own yard. Not only is it fun, but it also helps me in getting to "know" the plants that I see every day, but somehow managed to overlook for years.

I recently put in my first order for Lucky Mojo, and I'm excitedly awaiting its arrival. I appreciate all the hard work and wonderful energy that you all put into building this awesome, supportive community.

My name is Rosie, and I'm an almost 38 year-old mom of 2 kiddos (ages 8 and 10, one girl and one boy, respectively). I work for a nonprofit organization here in Southwestern PA. My hoodoo journey began a little over a year ago, and it wasn't long before LM became my go-to resource for pretty much everything hoodoo. I'm typically the type of person that throws myself full-bore into things that I'm interested in, but this time I took it very slowly. I understand that hoodoo is both simple (in that I think that some tend to overthink the minutiea) and complex, with a deep, rich history that cannot and should not be taken lightly. This is one of the primary reasons that until this point, I haven't done a single hoodoo spell. It's not that I haven't had the desire, but I didn't feel like I was ready, if that makes sense. I'm in a different place now both mentally and spiritually, and I feel like I'm in a better position to work hoodoo in my life. I want to continue to take it slowly, because I'm certain that despite all of the reading and research I've done, I have yet to even crack the surface. As I go through this process, I'm sure LM and the LM community here will be a critical part of my education and experience. Thank you again for all that you do! I'm truly grateful for all the passion and hard work that you've invested in building and maintaining this community, and I look forward to becoming increasingly involved in the forums.

[I feel like I MUST add that I listen to the Podcast and I always enjoy it. And I've become a major fangirl of Co. Meadows. *I'm blushing* ]

[catherineyronwode]

rosita --

Welcome to the forum!

Plant identification apps are a great help! I had one too. It was called "My Mother." Her algorithm was based on an app she had had, which was called "Her Mother." So i actually had My Mother 2.0! Just kidding, but i did not realize when i was young that not every kid could break a leaf and a flower bud off a plant, carry it home, and Their Mother would identify it for them, from the species and genus down to the family. I thought that's what Mothers were for. I was really surprised when i asked Someone Else's Mother for the name of a plant and she said, "I dunno. Some kind of weed, i guess. Don't eat it. It might be poisonous." I KNEW it wasn't poisonous because i already knew that it was, in My Mother's words, "innocuous, because it's in the Labiatae." (Since reclassified as the Lamiaceae, which is a much better name, because it can be sung to the tune of "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-Dee-Ay.")

Best of luck on your herbological and magical journeys

[rosita]

Thank you so much for the warm greeting! The "Mother app" gave me a chuckle. I remember my grandmother taking me for walks along the railroad tracks behind her house, which was always overgrown with weeds during the summer that had a distinctly pungent smell that I still associate with my childhood. Unfortunately that was about the limit of my "educational immersion" in the natural world. It's a lovely (but simultaneously daunting) task to re-engage with nature in a whole new way that I can feel good about passing down to my kids. I enjoy learning with them! Like when we all discover together that a particular plant is edible, so we try it and can see each others' faces at its bitter/sweet/sour taste. It's an adventure without even having to leave our small backyard.

Thank you again for all you do, Ms. cat! Even though I don't personally know you, I feel like I'm in the presence of an incomparable powerhouse.