Hello to everyone from Joshua

[AJoshua]

Hello my name is Joshua. I just turned 18 so I can now talk on the boards and order luckymojo products. My Mom and auntie are Wiccans. Im not a wiccan though. I like magick though but I think I like Hoodoo better. My ex is into more folk magick and got me into it more.

I like to hang out on the beach even in the winter. I think i like it better in the off months actually, but obviously not to swim. I like collecting different shells and rocks and drift wood and other things I find. I also like to walk in the woods and do the same stuff there pretty much, well except for collecting shells. I like to collect herbs and flowers and roots and seeds and berries and rain water. I try to bathe as often as I can with rain water. We collect it, me and my mom. My Dads not into it. In the summer I just go outside and shower in the rain. Its better for you than the water that goes through your pipes and stuff. My Mom taught me this. She also does it.

Recently my boyfriend broke up with me. Its been quite depressing for me but I think ill get him back, eventually. After I break them up with spellwork and get my boyfriend back on the right track in life. I was born with a developmental disorder called ASD. My mom said it actually helps me with spells tho cause I can focus my intent very strong. We meditate together ever since I was young.

Ive basically accepted that if I dont get my boyfriend back I will just be single until im dead. I know there isnt anyone else that I can love as much as I love him so it would be rather pointless and also unfair to the other person. I know this to be true.

Other things I like to do are build model rockets and launch them. Running and swimming and keeping healthy and in good shape. Playing video games and apps. I like Powdergame. Its a physics game. You design with dots of different elements and chemicals and such.

Its nice to meet everyone. Thank You.

[JayDee]

AJoshua,

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sure you have been exploring a lot on your own, but these are links to general information on Hoodoo to give you a jumping-off point:

Hoodoo History:
http://luckymojo.com/hoodoohistory.html

Mojo Hands:
http://luckymojo.com/mojo.html

Oils:
http://luckymojo.com/oils.html

Baths:
http://luckymojo.com/baths.html

Powders:
http://luckymojo.com/powders.html

Incense:
http://luckymojo.com/incense.html

Candles:
http://luckymojo.com/candlemagic.html

Herbs:
http://herb-magic.com

Conditions and how we can address them:
http://luckymojo.com/hoodooataglance.html

[catherineyronwode]

Hello, AJoshua,

Welcome to our little corner of the world. You will find quite a few ASD folks here -- myself included! In fact, i started this forum because i am socially awkward and do much better with keyboard communication.

I agree with your mom, by the way, that ASD folks often make great herbalists, mineralogists, magicians, naturalists, folklorists, sorcerers, and witches -- we often have unusual abilities to collect and organize information (and things, too) and make linkages between different fields of knowledge.

I am 75 years old and have been studying folklore and folk magic since i was a child. I have been writing about it for a long time, and got on the internet in 1994 to make sure that the new technologies of that era, including the world-wide web, would see a good representation of hoodoo. I am here to help answer any questions you may have and to direct to you to online and printed sources with more detailed information.

I am sorry that you are hurting about your love break-up, and i hope that if you can't get back together, that you perform some spells to heal the hurt and find a new and longer-lasting love. I did so, and i am now married to a wonderful mate (also on the ASD spectrum) who is just as eccentric as me -- and if we could find one another through the internet in this wide world, i believe, hope, and trust that you too will be able to. I hope one day you will look back on this forum, long after i am gone from the world, and say, "cat told me that i can find love -- and she was right!"

[Reverend Art]

Hello AJoshua!

Although we've already chatted "a bit" in a couple threads I'm happy to be able to finally, and formally, welcome you to the Forum! As you already know, it's a wonderful place to learn, grow, and collaborate with like-minded individuals. As you continue on your journey I know you'll come to find a deep connection with, appreciation of, and respect for the folk magic shared not just by your family but by all those who have come before us. And -- trust me -- every day you'll literally find something new, meaningful, and exciting either on the Forum or in the wiki at the Association of Readers and Rootworkers site.

It sounds like you have a wonderful connection with your family, and I'm thrilled that they not only support your interest in the world of magic but participate as well! You've already developed a superb practice for someone taking their first leaps into the wider magical realm. I had to smile reading your post...growing up along Lake Erie I spent many of my earlier years much the same as you, on the beaches and in the woods. Actually, I still have a lot of the shells, rocks, driftwood, bones, and other items! I used to love sitting on the beach and watching thunderstorms roll in over the Lake, occasionally seeing water-spouts form when the temperatures were just right. Living in the mountains now I'm a bit far from any major lakes or oceans but I'm still out in the woods, collecting as I go. My husband and I go out and wild harvest herbs and other plant materials as often as we can!

As Miss Cat said, I am sorry as well that you are hurting about your break-up and share her sentiments. What I would call my first "real" relationship ended when I was 19 after being together for almost 3 years...I can still remember the emotions and everything else that came with it. But here I am now (a few ex's later - but that's a whole other story, lol) married to an amazing guy, and we complement each other in almost every way. Had that breakup not occurred (and -- thankfully, lol -- the others in-between) the richness of life that I'm experiencing now may never have been. There's a fullness to life that's unfolding before you, allow yourself to be open to those experiences! First and foremost, love yourself. That's the key. Everything else will fall into place as it should.

Welcome again, and blessings!

Reverend Art

[AJoshua]

Thanks for welcoming me. Everyone seems so nice here.

Mrs Cat you remind me of my Auntie. I think some of the best people also have ASD. My Mom says its a blessing not an affliction. Your husband look really nice. He looks amazing, like a wizard. Do you guys like the Grateful Dead? Me and my Mom listen to them together. My ex likes them to. Even my Dad. Me and my mom dance together listening to them lol. My ex doesnt dance tho.

Each day I wake up and I miss my ex tremedously. Then I start getting angry about him and I think what a jerk i should just forget him. Then I even think of cursing him sometimes. Then i slowly start missing him and wanting him back again. Like a circle, a loop of feelings. Come nighttime when im going to bed im right back missing him and wanting to do the breakup spell. Its almost annoying to me. People really have never been my first priority. I feel right now that my mind and my emotions are such in a wide range about him that my spellwork wouldnt be as powerful because I keep changing so quickly as far as what I want. I even keep doubting myself as far as doing any spells on the matter cause I know my mind is all over the place. But I know this, If God said right now in my ear that I can have whatever i want in the matter, he will do it for me, I would defienetly say I want my ex back.

Reverand Art, you seem like you have a very nice life. I hope I can have a life like that someday. I have a good life now. I do enjoy it. Just this one thing is messing it all up. What age were you when you met your husband? Did you think at the time youd never meet anyone else and that youd just be single? I love being out in the woods too. Im glad you found your soulmate.

[Reverend Art]

Hello again, AJoshua!

I understand the frustration you're experiencing with the mixed emotions surrounding your ex. It's a natural - and annoying, I agree - part of the process when a relationship dissolves. I've ridden that roller-coaster of feelings myself a few times over past relationships but I can say from experience that the phrase "Time heals all wounds" is true in this regard. Processing our feelings, understanding them, accepting them, relying on our support systems, while working towards a brighter future are all important steps. As I mentioned in our other discussions on other threads, being patient with yourself and giving yourself time to heal will bring greater clarity on what to do for you, in support of building a life that includes romantic love, loving friends, and most importantly, self-love!

Thank you for your kind words! The life that we've built thus far has been extremely fulfilling, and we're still continuing to grow. We continue to explore, set new goals, and build more every day...If anyone ever tells you they've "completely built" their life and are done growing don't believe them, they're lying to themselves. Life is a constant series of changes -- some good, some not so much -- but everything we experience is a chance to learn something new. It took me a while to accept that even the "bad" things that happen in life are opportunities for us to grow stronger, better, more resilient.

My husband and I met when I was 38, and honestly at that point in my life I'd gone beyond thinking that I'd never meet someone else, I'd decided I was done with romantic relationships. I'd been single for almost 2 years when he and I met, after having broken up with someone that was extremely toxic whom I was with for almost 12 years. I still remember vowing to my friends that I was going to be single for life, lol, all of us sitting on my porch one summer night. The universe apparently heard that and said "challenge accepted" and had other plans for me, bringing us together from over 700 miles apart! Reverend James and I have now been together for 7 years, married 5.5 years and counting. Just goes to show that we never know what the future holds, what light, laughter, love, and more it will bring!

Blessings!
Reverend Art

[catherineyronwode]

AJoshua.

The Grateful Dead -- well, i am an old folkie and they were local to me -- so to me they were just hippies playing cover versions of older songs and then writing their own songs. I have the 45 rpm record of "The Golden Road" and I like "Ripple" a lot, but i am not into being stoned or large gatherings. There was a collection called "The Roots of the Grateful Dead," and that is the music i enjoy most.

I have musical obsessions, and i have learned to not get too worked up about music in front of people, so let me just say that i like ... no, if i get started i won't stop, so i will just say...

My tastes focus on melodic music with accompaniments played mostly on hand-made acoustical stringed instruments featuring complex, time-delimited, narrative, referential, or traditionally-formed rhyming lyrics sung in various regional dialects of the English language by virtuoso self-trained players of various ethnic and regional musical genres, mostly assembled into small combos, including sibling harmonists, plus virtuoso primitive instrumentals, plus early electrical guitar accompaniments, and some melodic small-combo rural music from Mexico and Italy as well.

Sample artists include, but are not restricted to: The Memphis Jug Band, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers,The Carter Family, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Willie Johnson, Memphis Minnie, Kansas Joe McCoy, Frank Stokes, WIll Batts, Uncle Dave Macon, John Fahey, Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Lefty Frizzell, Geeshie Wiley, Enrico Caruso, Jesse Fuller, Henry Thomas, The Everly Brothers, The Louvin Brothers, Tampa Red, Georgia Tom Dorsey, Flaco Jimenez, Reno and Smiley, Flatt and Scruggs, Gus Cannon and the Jug Stompers, Charlie Jordan, Elizabeth Cotton, Lead Belly, Buddy Holly, Robert Johnson, Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, Coot Grant and Kid Sox Wesley Wilson, Bo Carter and The Mississippi Sheiks, Grayson and Whitter, Jelly Roll Morton, Lonnie Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, John McCormack, Al Dexter and His Troopers, Skip James, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Los Alegres de Terán, Carl Perkins, Kitty Wells, Papa Harvey Hull and Long Cleve Reed, Blind Roosevelt Graves and Varoy Graves, Woody Guthrie, Mattie Delaney, Barbeque Bob, Lucile Bogan ... and, well, there are more, but that gives a picture of the era.