PBN Blues Series: "Shut Down Turn Off " - Little River Band

Clients come and go, but some of them stay with us.  The ones that are the hardest are the ones that follow us home.  Not literally a client accompanying us to our domiciles, no.  I am referring to a case that just won't let us go on with our days without thinking back to it.  Some part of it just seems to worry at us and we cannot let it go.

Self care and the ability to shut the book on the day is a big part of what it is to be a balanced person, and a successful magical vendor/worker.  You come into contact with hundreds of people throughout the year.  Taking home spiritual contamination, and the worries of the world, will not allow you to be healthy and whole and effective.  You must draw the line, or be drawn down into an abyss of your own making. As we do in this series, let us look at a scenario that speaks to this point.

The less healthy way to process this case

Ajanay W. has come to you with a serious problem.  She began a working over a month ago, under the advice of a friend with a book.  She did not do a divination, so was completely surprised that her life has now imploded.  Not only has she lost the objective she sought to keep, but she has suffered a huge personal set back.  Your heart bleeds for her and you begin to work together on her options, and select some appropriate tools and plans.

In this particular case, she decided to go for a the job position of a coworker.  She felt she was better qualified for the position.  Ajanay W.  did a petition spell and accompanied it with lamp magic.  Unfortunately for her, she did not word it correctly.  She also did not put in a way to undo what she had done.  She has now lost her job, been offered a job for half the pay at another company, and is seen as a troublemaker at her old one. 

Ajanay W.  has come to you to try to fix her situation.  Not only did she not follow her friend's advice, you strongly suspect that she will not follow yours.  You try to make sure you explain clearly what she needs to correct and wish her well.

For the next week, you find yourself thinking about Ajanay W..  You wonder if she is using the tools she purchased correctly.  You ask yourself if you could have added anything.  You replay your conversations in your mind and second guess yourself.  Even after knowing you were correct in what you did, you still keep worrying about her and her progress.  You even think of her at home.  You cannot let it go, and decide to just let it work its way out of your thoughts naturally.

A way that may be a better for your well being

 Ajanay W. has come to you with a serious problem.  She began a working over a month ago, under the advice of a friend with a book.  She did not do a divination, so was completely surprised that her life has now imploded.  Not only has she lost the objective she sought to keep, but she has suffered a huge personal set back.  Your heart bleeds for her and you begin to work together on her options, and select some appropriate tools and plans.

 That night, you find yourself thinking a lot about Ajanay W.  You find yourself bothered by recurring thoughts of her welfare.  You recognize this is not the way you can maintain your separation from your business life.  You decide to create an affirmation that you repeat several times that ends the day for you.

Example:   And now it comes, the end of the day.  The cares of work are put away. 

Short and sweet, but it is still effective.  Yours may be a lot longer.   For people who do ongoing work for clients, it will have to be customized to suit your situation.  But the idea is the same.

You cannot pour energy from an empty cup, and in order to not leak, you must hold yours upright.  This means not letting others concerns tip you off balance.  Work time is work time.  Let the laborer rest when the work day is complete.

 

Little River band - Shut Down Turn Off

PBN Blues Series: Kelly Price - Friend Of Mine ft. Ronald Isley, R. Kelly

Today we will examine one of the encounters where the client is doing work a family, or friendship, in a crisis situation.  Special handling comes into the fray when doing this work.  Especially challenging are the times when betrayal has occurred and the client is conflicted about what they really want to happen.

As a professional, you have probably encountered the very real situation of a client breaking down into a sobbing wreck in front of your counter.  The grief and misery so pervasive in their aura spread through the atmosphere like oil atop water.  Being the stone in storm at this moment will give your client a clear sounding board that will allow them to make focused decisions in their purchases and intentions.

Tears clouding the vision

Pasha A. comes to your shop looking for a way to get over a betrayal of her wife and her best friend.  They caught completely by surprise that morning with a earth shattering set of announcements.  Firstly, that they are in love.  Secondly, that her wife, Florise A., is divorcing her.  Finally, she was then informed that since the house is in Florise A.'s name, she must be moved out within 48 hours.  If she does not comply, they will destroy all of her property and set the ruins outside while she is at work.

Pasha A. is in emotional trauma mode.  She still loves her wife, and is confused by the turbulent emotions she has toward her former friend.  She wants to make it all go away.  Anger, hurt, and panic are all swirling in her life right now.  She has come here for some emergency magickal measures.

You look at Pasha A. and tell her that if she buys a reconciliation kit that all will be well.  There is nothing else you could recommend.  You also remind her to hurry up and make her purchase, since she has to start packing.  Transaction completed, you go back to your day as she walks slowly out of your shop.  After all, not your problem, right?

Facing the storm with empathy for the client


Pasha A. comes to your shop looking for a way to get over a betrayal of her wife and her best friend.  They caught completely by surprise that morning with a earth shattering set of announcements.  Firstly, that they are in love.  Secondly, that her wife, Florise A., is divorcing her.  Finally, she was then informed that since the house is in Florise A.'s name, she must be moved out within 48 hours.  If she does not comply, they will destroy all of her property and set the ruins outside while she is at work.

Pasha A. is in emotional trauma mode.  She still loves her wife, and is confused by the turbulent emotions she has toward her former friend.  She wants to make it all go away.  Anger, hurt, and panic are all swirling in her life right now.  She has come here for some emergency magickal measures.

Pasha A. is in a compromised mental and emotional state, thus is not thinking clearly.  What you sell her now may line your till, but ethics here should come into play before you just foist any thing at hand on her without thinking.

ENGAGE THE CLIENT WITH PROFESSIONALISM TEMPERED WITH EMPATHY

You take both of her hands into yours and flood her with calming energy.  You need her to be able to focus on the here and now.  Magick is not instantaneous when it comes to major workings, and you explain this to her.  It can help, but like anything else, it can only do what it can do with time.  Something that she has very little to spare.

You begin to ask her questions regarding her situation.  Is she safe right now?  Has she contacted the police regarding her rights as a spouse?  You advise her to do this after when she leaves, because the sphere of opportunity is a major part of magick.  If she wants the spiritual to work, she has to do the mundane work as well.

You make a mojo hand for her containing High John, and other items, for her to carry during this situation to remove anything standing against her.  You also sell her some Low John to influence the police, courts, and everyone else that will be called into this matter.  A bag of magnetic sand is added to the order as well as a single dram of rose geranium oil.

Petition work is advised by you, and you also give Pasha A. some emergency numbers on a small card to call.  Having these resources on hand is a good practice.

In regard to the two women causing affliction for Pasha A., choices must be made.  They may not be made in this moment, or they might be.  How to handle them will come up in this scenario.

Depending on the morality of the client and the worker, you have some options.  She may decide to banish them from her life.  She may bind the other woman and try to reconcile the marriage.  She may decide to punish one or both of them with enemy work.   Or she may just leave it in her deity's hands.  But if it is a magickal working, you must decide if you can accommodate her desired request for resources in accord with your own practices and mores.

Pasha A. decides that dealing with her present situation is more pressing and decides to put off dealing with their punishments later.  And yes, she has decided to punish them, at least for now she has.  She leaves your shop with her purchases, instructions, phone numbers, and some breathing room.  And you have just correctly assisted your client with excellent customer service.

Aid for The People-Detroit Food Not Bombs and Food Not Class Collective needs your help

Detroit is full of hearty people. Yes, I said hearty, because we have a lot of heart. Although many in the fundraiser entitled Mutual Aid for The People-Detroit Food Not Bombs/Not Class Collective fly under your radar, they are doing the absolute loving most to help. Many Witches and Pagans not only benefit from their good works.There are some of us deeply involved in charity works as part of our Paths, so this resonates. Right now, they need a little help.

Public Facebook Photo
Detroit Food Not Bombs and Food Not Class Collective

What do they need help to accomplish? They help the poor, the needy, the in transition, and the jeopardized folks in Metro Detroit with food, hygiene, and more. Let’s hear it from them.

We are a collective who provides mutual aid for the homeless and working poor. We feed folx biweekly at the 2 main transit centers in the city, averaging 80-200 people per serve. They also receive clothing, toiletries, hygiene products, boots, winter gear, medical equipment, whatever we get we give for free. We will begin doing geurilla food drops in the neighborhoods, have work shops on self sustainability off the grid education, street medic trainings, and other free school topics. We will offer free wellness checks, free rides, free protection support when needed.
However, we are limited for a few reasons.

Public Facebook Photo shot for fundraiser by Daria Mann

Right now, the Midwestern Mitten is enduring crippling cold temperatures. Rescue missions are filled to capacity, and cities have even opened more temporary warming centers. But a single night in the warmth does not solve the issue. People need a hand up to help them survive long enough to rebound. A warm heart can heat more than just the body.

Pagans in Michigan are usually at the forefront of contributing goods, labor, and money for outreach. From helping with the Street Store, to contributing to public gardens, it is just how we are made. Well, it is my belief that there are a lot more giving hearts out here in these streets.

If you are so moved, their fundraiser is located on Facebook at Mutual Aid for The People-Detroit Food Not Bombs/Not Class Collective.

Special thanks to Chef Harriet of Sisters On A Roll for being such a warrior on the front lines of love.

The myth of the Section 8 excuse

One day, when people do research outside of Google, they might learn that Section 8 was not designed to undermine the Black family. That's an old and tired lame excuse for other factors that were imposed that did lead to the removal of the Black men from our society.

Section 8 was where people went after they were gone, caught up by the systems put in place and skewed place to add them to the prison industry complex. Maybe people need to stop repeating  what they heard others say and read for themselves.

Nothing in the Great Society programs was designed for this end. The twisting the application and guidelines by oppressive agenda pushers led to the twisted results we see now.

Stop letting popular media, and revisionist history pieces,  raise your children and feed your mind. The mythos of Black on Black crime bring a "thing" separate from crime was a single book that was patched into by perverse racist elements been in pushing a bigoted narrative. There is only crime.

The introduction of drugs into the communities in order to undermine political advocacy, enfranchisement, and societal agency was the big picture goal. The power lies in the ability to make, enforce, and elect leadership that sustains and reform laws. Without communities being to focus on generating those who can do this, due to the drug crisis, we saw the destruction of the progress made by the Black Freedom Movement (aka the Civil Rights Movement).

Make no mistake, this policy of death by little bites effective. Then add to this the actual dumbing down of content in not only the schools, and entertainment, but the also the devaluing of the tradesperson. Erasure of images of common folks living noncaricatured existences only increased as we worshipped the and electronic screen success stories.

Somewhere along the line, the goal became that everyone went to college..... But forgot that college not only is for getting a job, but for the ability to learn to think and reason. It's a party, but not the only path. There people who look down on trade school graduates are often the same ones who pat themselves in the back for getting MBAs or Computer skills, ignoring that there are also trade educations. And the division that marked Booker T. and W.E.B. continues, the irony lost that it still hasn't been resolved despite all this posturing.

Current pundent writers the Diaspora take shits at the old guard leadership without acknowledging that there is no one other than entertainers and athletes who command enough space to take their places IN GENERAL. Or they worship any leader but with a slick website, the right PC buzzwords, and enough material to fill infomercial. These cults of Personality and anti Personality are not only counterproductive, but dangerous to the fights ahead of us to preserve the actual focus on the preservation of our rights as humanity in the Western World.

I SAY ALL THIS BECAUSE FOLKS ARE MISSING THE POINT.

Stop focusing only on the losses, success comes from studying successes with the same gravity. Learn the differences between strategy and tactics. Create your own support networks and stop viewing every person of another race as your automatic enemy. There are enough real ones that it is foolish to create them from our own arrogant, and probably narrowly, informed opinions.

Working with others is how things get done, but before that can happen you have to know what you are working to achieve. The hold on Black Freedom Movement initiatives, that some of our allies have intoxicated us with in the name of false claims of intersectionality, has not helped. To be intersectional, you need to identify your sections. That means that when it's time to talk about race, we do. When it's time to talk about issues within that issue that affect certain groups, we do, but never at the expense of silencing the overall points of bettering conditions for humanity and out right to be recognized as human.

You can't do that without the ability to think, and minds need food. Read. Read and write your own thoughts out on paper or on a tablet, not in a tweet style bite. Learn to hold a thought more than for five minutes past exiting a tab.

Do not be a parrot. Think about how things may come this point from different points of view, even your enemy's.

Do not be a wage slave. Sell your labor by the hour, not become an employee in fealty to another person's dream. Remember that you have your own dreams and are the dream of your ancestors. Don't become a nightmare.

Conduct yourself with honor. Take self responsibility for your actions and ideas. Know when you are facing systemic oppression, or when you're facing the result of your own choices. There is a difference.

Ok. I'm off the soapbox. I have work to do.

Grandma

It starts with simple things. The brush of a breeze across the skin that reminds you of simpler times. The sound of a child's laugh when it sounds in a corridor. Even the smell of lipstick from an older company catching your notice.

All these are simple moments of unimportance. Each is contained in its own world of insignificance in our day. But for some of us, those of us in grief, they are like tinkling bells calling us to remember.

The strike of tonal memories and scent awareness. They resonate through us. The evocation of captured vignettes that are echoed in the current timeline of others.

I lost my grandmother on April 29, 2017. But in actuality, I lost her again that year. The second time was worse than the first.

The first time I lost her was when I was cut off as an unofficially adopted child. The cognitive dissonance, and continuous emotional damage of being caught between houses and factions in my younger years led to a custody struggle of three sides. My biological parent, my foster parents, and my grandmother.

In the war, my grandmother lost. She kept tabs on me, I believe. Communication between my foster mom and my grandmother was somewhat regular. I will never know.

Years passed and eventually through tragedy, displacement, and the total upheaval of my world, I found myself back in her presence again. I say with certainty of the soul, she was the only one in the entire world of heaven or earth that truly understood me, other than my foster father.

If I could have made a bridge between them both and sat upon it, I would have done so. A place to be seen, a place to be held, a place that we could have lived in a mutual set of worlds. But that was not to be.

She passed last year, exactly one week after my birthday at the age of 100 years. That is a lot those eyes have seen, yet the thing I remember most about them was their acceptance, kindness, and the understanding that I have never seen anywhere else in this life for me. She was my rock, my refuge, and my only advocate in life.

I have no true sense of belonging anywhere. I never have had one except in her presence. That is the only memory I have that means family to me. The moments like the ones where my foster father and grandmother were in the same room while I played with a toy house my biological mom bought me.

My foster mom was at home, or work, or somewhere else. I don't remember. But that memory is the most solid. My biological father was in jail, as always.

The second most real memory was when I was in her bed,  10 years ago. I was tired, broken, and sad. So, she let me sleep in her bed. I slept for the first time in a very long while without being sad. The room full of dolls who were like silent guardians.

Of course, she made sure to let me know I was fat. She was worried. But she also meant no harm by it, and never hurt me when she said it.

Her favorite phrase was, "I would rather make you mad than hurt your feelings".

She never made me mad. She was my grandmother. And from those days, til her last days, she always had my back.

Now, the first year since she has gone is almost done. The truth remains as full then as now. She was the only one who truly meant family to me, even more than my foster father.

So here I find myself alone. At least when she was here, I felt that there was a bit of grace and love that still tied me to something in this world that loved me wholly, not just for what I could do. Everyone needs a grandmother.

Everyone needs a grandmother.

I dedicate this to her, because though our faith was not the same, she would have liked this.

Metro Detroit Pagan Community Statement of Concern 2018 - G.L.W.C of Michigan

Metro Detroit Pagan Community Statement of Concern

2018

METRO DETROIT, APRIL 12, 2018 — Actions and circumstances have necessitated, in the view of this body, an official statement regarding our position on several matters. Over the last year, the rise of “witch hunts”, “witch wars”, and what appears on its face to be a power imbalance are of concern to us.

Multiple organizations in the region are in internal and external crisis. Leadership positions are no longer based on community visions. The previous culture of service, vision, and upliftment is now one infected with backroom negotiations and breaches of promise. Rumors and hearsay are used to destroy character, without chance for rebuttal, in the public eye. The torches are lit and we see missteps, mistakes, and ignorant actions no longer being times for education, but times for total annihilation by social media attackers and mercenary courtiers.

Michigan moved from presumption of innocence, and subsequent actions against those who commit physical harm. Now the community punishes, with great zeal and relish, any perceived infraction no matter the relevance to the person’s position. Personal slights are magnified into full on reputation assassinations. The drive to foment conflict and cause factioning is in full swing, and we fear it has not yet reached its amplitude.

Of primary concern are the following:

• The hyperbolic reactions and consolidation of personal and organizational harassment against persons during a crisis without a community sit down meeting.
• The penchant for the total destruction of leadership without thought to restorative measures considered to the community.
• The removal of persons from positions of leadership based on non-public and personal relationships and affairs.
• The insidious climate of a McCarthy type marginalization of people based on differing ideas, tenets of spiritual practice, and political views.
• The fostering of conflict in what seems to be a premeditated path to an underground purge of said persons.

We urge our peers to step back a moment and consider their actions very carefully. How you proceed in the next year will set the stage for an incoming generation. Now is the time for open and honest public conversation and transparent airings of accusations and grievances.

For at least three in our community, they are hamstrung by this shift. Their character and actions were cast aside to rot, good works be damned. That is the risk of public service, though. However, usually the public is not swayed by private agendas so easily. How many stakes will be needed to feed your witch hunt fires? If this continues, when will you take your place in one next?

“A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion.” – Grantland Rice

The G.L.W.C. of Michigan was founded in 2012 to To Facilitate Workshops, Events, Classes, Community Outreach, and a Forum for the Magickal and Magickally Interested Communities.

Media Contact:
Kenya Coviak
rzrrvn@yahoo.com
G.L.W.C. of Michigan/Great Lakes Witchs Council

PBN Blues Series: “Michigan Water Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton

We return to our series for the Pagan practitioner with another PBN Blues Series installment. Did you miss us? We missed you.

*We would also like to remind you, Flint, Michigan still does not have clean water.

There are time when the only way to break a streak of bad luck is to shake it off and seek new places and faces. Changing the mind can change the world. But if roots are being done on you locally, booking a flight or hitting the road, may be the answer, if viable. In these circumstances, clients are known to come for insight and work to prepare their route and “traveling mercies”. As a business person, you want to retain clients, but you also want to be of service to them as well. How you handle referrals is delicate and important.

Traveling on, but not without baggage
Curtis L. comes to you with his “I just quit another job” shirt on his back, pressed and fresh. A customer from your early days of business, he has stuck with you for 20 years. Traveling where the work will take him, he drifts from town, and state to state. His flashy watch matches the shine in his eyes, and you anticipate new employment status, and newer lady friends, in some place at the other end of a tank of gas. You mentally prepare to gather his usual assortment of spell components.
Curtis L. surprises you this time, though. He tells you that this is probably the last time you will see him for some years. It seems that he has a job up  in Michigan, and a plethora of opportunities. He is asking you not for his usual small kit, but simply a travel protection root bag and the name of a good shop or worker in Detroit.
Now, Curtis L. has been as dependable as the rains in fall, and the earth underfoot. His regular business has often meant the difference between being able to be in the black at the end of a month, and counting a loss. His word of mouth also keeps a steady stream of wealthy ladies finding your shop and lining your cash register drawer. Even his church friends come for blessed Seals of Moses you get from Sleeping Gryphon.  Yes, indeed, Curtis L. is a valued customer.
For this reason, you decide to sabotage his move. In your opinion, the relationship is too beneficial to both of you. You decide to fill the order, but nullify it with your own work. You then set lights for his job to fall through before he has been there a week. You will break this man for both of your sakes. In your view, no other worker can look after him like you, anyway.

You smile, and lie through your Fashion Fair coral lipstick and tell him you know not one authentic practitioner, sorry. You wish him well and watch him walk through your door, knowing he will return a broken man. But you also know you will then keep Curtis L. just healed enough to ensure your prosperity for many years to come. With this decision, you now have changed the course of your practice, but you are fine with that.

Fond Farewell, with some stories to tell
Curtis L. comes to you with his “I just quit another job” shirt on his back, pressed and fresh. A customer from your early days of business, he has stuck with you for 20 years. Traveling where the work will take him, he drifts from town, and state to state. His flashy watch matches the shine in his eyes, and you anticipate new employment status, and newer lady friends, in some place at the other end of a tank of gas. You mentally prepare to gather his usual assortment of spell components.
Curtis L. surprises you this time, though. He tells you that this is probably the last time you will see him for some years. It seems that he has a job up  in Michigan, and a plethora of opportunities. He is asking you not for his usual small kit, but simply a travel protection root bag and the name of a good shop or worker in Detroit.
Now, Curtis L. has been as dependable as the rains in fall, and the earth underfoot. His regular business has often meant the difference between being able to be in the black at the end of a month, and counting a loss. His word of mouth also keeps a steady stream of wealthy ladies finding your shop and lining your cash register drawer. Even his church friends come for blessed Seals of Moses you order from Sleeping Gryphon.  Yes, indeed, Curtis L. is a valued customer.

You will feel the loss of Curtis L. both emotionally and financially. His custom and referrals contributed to the success and popularity of your business. He sees you as a trusted fictive family member, and you are honored to be held in such esteem. You hold his trust sacred, and it is with this in mind, you prepare with care his last package.
You are a member of the Pagan Business Network, so you know the way to find the people he needs to know and how to place him in touch with them. You also know that a quick free divination will aid him to avoid any unforeseen trouble with the new employer. You give him this free of charge.
With a final goodbye, you send an email to the businesses you recommended, with his permission, with an introduction. He will never forget you, and will no doubt continue to sing your praises. Word of mouth on social media makes his continued referrals very probable for local clients.
Curtis L. sends you a chat message three months later. He is doing very well. That last parting gift of Boss Fix was just what he needed to foil a coworker’s plot to undermine him. His new local worker has a great relationship with him, and you and she often refer clients to each other for online customers. His reviews on both your sites is like honey to bees. Your choice to give a hand up instead of a pulling back, lifted you both.

Looking at Life
Your honor and business reputation are your most bankable asset. Without them, you have nothing. There is no lesson greater than this.