5 Things to Know: About NOLA Tarot Reading

A Witch in New Orleans beside Houdini’s Seance Mirror

Your first time in New Orleans and you want a tarot reading? Awesome! Some of the best psychics in the country are in the French Quarter. I’m one of them. I have over 20 years of experience, have been featured in a best-selling book and on the Travel Channel; (I was also pitched for my own show to Discovery and Lifetime). Just don’t let the carnival atmosphere fool you. We’re not sideshow acts. Before your reading, keep the following in mind:

1. Divination, (reading), in Voodoo and Hoodoo is traditionally undertaken to communicate with ancestors and/or deity’s, (Loa), often for problem solving. It’s not usually about the reader telling your future, though that can be part of it. SO if you’re looking for a traditional experience, present your reader with an issue you or a loved one is dealing with. Also, ask about magical ways you might reach desired outcomes. If your reader isn’t a practitioner they can refer you to someone who is.

Approaching the reading with the expectation of having your mind read is not the best way to spend your time. Which brings us to ...

2. Most of us Aren’t Fake and None of you are Houdini. Skepticism is healthy and wise, I’m skeptical too. However, it’s a waste of your time and money to approach your reading as an attempt to debunk the reader. Are there fakes out there? Sure! But you’re not likely to filter them out in 15 minutes of stoney silence.

Our job is not to convince you. If you’re not convinced by the fact that the store we are working with has screened us, why are you buying anything from them at all, let alone an expensive reading?

3. We cannot, (generally speaking), literally read your mind! If someone appears to be doing that they ARE likely doing a carnival trick/fake. What we can do varies from reader to reader because what we are doing stems from natural ability. Like any talent, everyone is a little different.

4. Your Reader is Likely Paid Half of What You Pay We are also almost all independent contractors, which means we aren’t paid by the hour. Even if you see us working in the shop itself, may not be not paid by the hour. (Even if we were, minimum wage here is $7.00 or so. No, I’m not kidding.) So if you’re happy with your reading tip us, please.  

5. Our Work is Seasonal Locals don’t come to the Quarter routinely. Why? In part because the local economy and standard of living has, (reliably), been compared to that of Zambia; the vast majority can’t afford it. During slow times of year, readers average less hourly than waiters. So, again, if you’re happy with your reading please tip us.

Phone and FaceTime readings available by appointment. Email Elizabeth.bissette@gmail.com for more info!

Follow me on Instagram: WitchinNewOlreans/@HoodooLizzie and like my Facebook page: Witchin New Orleans

Witch 101: Cleansing Your Home/Warding

FLOOR WASHES AND OTHER TECHNIQUES

The same herbs you use in your white bath (instructions here: http://musiccitymetaphysics.blogspot.com/2018/07/witch-101-cleansing-bath-witches-bath.html)
can be used in a floor wash as well. Add the mixture to the water you use to clean the floor along with 1/2 c sal, cascarilla (eggshell powder) t and 1/3 bottle florida water. (Resin’s aren’t recommended for this).

For rugs/carpet, sprinkle herbs, cascarilla and salt on them, leave for at least 3 hours, ideally over night and vacuum.

You can also sprinkle the same on floors, leaving for the same period of time, then sweep (towards the door).

Throw everything away outside of the house if it’s not possible to toss in water running away from you, on a railroad track or to bury at a crossroads.

CASCARILLA

This is one of the strongest cleansing materials. To make your own, rinse white eggshells and put in the oven for a few minutes to dry. Crush with a mortar and pestle or put in a coffee grinder, (this works marvelously). Use in baths, floor washes and to protect yourself by making a cross with the powder on your forehead, back of neck and in a circle around your naval, (this is recommended before dark and some grey magic or when dealing with spirits).

You an also put a thin line of cascarilla in front of doorways to prevent people who intend to harm you from entering. The same can be done to doors and windows to prevent spirits with ill will from entering. The same can be done with brick dust, salt or a combination of all 3. (Protection)

An extremely effective cleansing technique is to cover a coconut in cascarilla then roll it through your house from back to front.

FLORIDA WATER/BAY RUM

Can be used routinely to eliminate negative energy’s well as before and after magical workings and spirit communication by putting some on your head and back of your neck.

Also good to add to water used to clean cabinets/furniture or put in a spray bottle for multi-purpose home or office cleansing.

INCENSE

Sage, Copal, Frankencinse, Benzoin, Palo Santo, Dragon’s Blood, Bay Leaves (burn on charcoal as an incense, also has a mild mood elevating effect/heightens focus)

CRYSTALS/OTHER

Clear Quartz, Selanite, Amber (stone or resin)

White, St. Michael or Guardian Angel candles, (you can also use a patron Saint or members of the Holy Family - but it’s ideal that the candle be white)

Ringing a bell, singing bowls (you can clear a space by playing singing bowls or other meditations as well)

Make a cross of cedar oil on doorways to protect and attract positive spirits, (protection)

Place railroad spikes in each corner of the apartment or outside at each corner of a home, (protection/luck)

Place a horse-shoe over doorways or between your mattress and box-springs, (pointing upwards), (protection/luck)

CLEANSING CRYSTALS

Leave outside or on a windowsill in salt water from morning till just before sunset. I put bread crumbs around them to attract birds so the negative energies fly away with them.

Witch 101: Cleansing Bath: White Bath

It’s a good idea to clear out negative energies routinely, (the strongest time is at the New Moon) in addition to doing so after encountering negative experiences/people/spirits and before and after undertaking magic, rituals or spirit communication.

Altars should be kept clean, (ideally clean them once a week) and can be re-arranged/decorated for magical workings and holidays, (Pagan holidays related to the altar, Saints day’s for Saints altars etc).

Clear crystals after magical workings and once a month (in the day) at the new Moon in addition to charging them in solar or lunar energy for various purposes. You can do the same with tarot decks and other divination tools.

Here is my favorite cleansing bath:

WHITE BATH

One of the most powerful cleansings around. Helps everything from clearing negative energy to ridding yourself of spirits and black magic.

1/2 c salt
1/4 c cascarilla (or one cup pressed cascarilla)
3 c milk (can substitute coconut but whole milk is best)
1 can coconut milk + 1/2 the oil (if your can has oil at the top)
1 box or bottle coconut water
Fresh white flowers or petals
1/3 bottle florida water

3 of the following:

Frankencense resin
White copal resin
Chamomile (calming)
Mullien (calming)
Queen Anne’s Lace (love)
Jasmine (love)

Or other white herbs/flowers as available and as suits the energy you’re trying to cleanse. Placing clear quartz crystals around the bathtub amplifies the effect of the bath.

INCENSE

Burn a cleansing incense in the bathroom, (Sage, Copal, Palo Santo, Benzoin, Frankencinse).

PSALMS/PRAYERS

For maximum effect, ring a bell or play a singing bowl to clear energies, (if you don’t have a bell and don’t want to use your phone around water you can also clap loudly 3x),  then read Psalm 68 over bath water.

In the bath, recite the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary and one of the Psalms listed here that apply to your situation while in the bath:   http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/Category:The_Book_of_Psalms.

Make sure you fully immerse in the water or pour it over your head at least 3x.

Stay in the water until it cools and as it goes down the drain, visualizing the situation or things you want to clear going down the drain with the water.

CANDLES

Place 2 white candles, (or St. Michael or Guardian Angel candles) alongside the bathtub, making a gateway to step through getting in and out. You can also add oils to amplify cleansing (Frankincense, Fiery Wall of Protection, Jinx Remover, Uncrossing) or to attract positive spirits, (Gardenia) to the candles.

AFTER BATH

Ideally toss the petals/herbs from the bath in water running away from you, bury them at a crossroads or throw them on a railroad track. If doing this isn’t possible, throw them away outside of your house.

EGG CLEANSING

You can follow the white bath with a simple egg cleansing by rolling the egg (always downward) from head to toe, scrubbing yourself as though it were a bar of soap. Crack the egg into a bowl of water, let sit about 5 min then flush.

Lammas/Lughnasadh

As Summer wanes and turns to Autumn, Celtic people celebrated, (and continue to celebrate), Lughnasadh, the Wake of Lugh the Sun King who begins to weaken as the Winter King grows stronger. The body of the King is represented by bread, his blood by ale. The celebration took the form of a tribal gathering around August 1 where games, contests, feasts and fairs took place. It was also a time when many marriages were formalized. Lugh is not only the Sun King but the patron of bards, magicians and of all crafts.

The word Lammas, (another name for the festival), is Old English for ‘loaf mass’. Around August 1, the first sheaves of grain were cut and the first loaves baked from them. The first loaf was traditionally broken into 4 pieces and these put in the 4 corners of the barn. As seeds turn to fields of wheat, which are then cut down and transformed to bread, which in turn sustains the lives of people, we see in this pattern life, death and re-birth as well as sacrifice. This as applies to Lughnasadh/Lammas is illustrated in the song ‘John Barleycorn’. First recorded in the 1300s but believed to be much older in origin. Echoing what was likely once human sacrifice, a Wicker Man came to be burned in representation of him.

LAMMAS MAGIC

Add blue corn kernels to mojos, candles and baths for luck. Sprinkle corn kernels (blue or otherswise) over altars to create boundaries of the sacred space.

Sleep with a sunflower under your pillow to discover the truth about a situation, (meditate on the situation before going to sleep).

Sunflower oil for candles and baths: add sunflower petals to sunflower seed oil and steep in the sun.
To bring sun energy, money, fertility, luck. You can also steep 1 c sunflower petals in 4 c water then strain for a water to add to baths and floor washes or to sprinkle on altars.

Vervain water (clears stagnent energy and directs magical energy): 1 c vervain, 4 c water. Boil, steep 15 min, strain.

Cleanse outdoor spaces with a mixture of honey and milk, (use the same combination in baths)

Lammas Powder for candles and baths: Combine vervain, calendula, rose and sunflower petals. Add sandalwood, frankencense and rose essential oils to bath or candle.

LAMMAS DECORATIONS

Sickles, scythes, baskets, grapes, vines, dried grains, seasonal fruits/vegetables

LAMMAS CRAFT IDEAS FOR YOUR ALTAR

Corn husk mojos/sachets, corn or wheat dolls, St. Brigid’s Cross, corn husk chains, (write a goal on each link and when completed take the link off & burn it), decorate wheat or other sheaves with flowers/ribbons

INCENSE

Aloe, Rose, Rosemary, Chamomile, Frankencense, Sandalwood

FOODS

Bread, corn, potatoes, berries, nuts, apples, rice, acorns, crab apples, summer squash, turnips, grains, oats

DRINK

Elderberry wine, ale, beer

Dream Enhancing Herbs and Stones

Here are some herbs and stones to facilitate lucid dreaming and to increase the vividness of dreams:

Herbs/Roots

Mugwort - enhances dreams, helps with remembering dreams, increases vividness - burn as an incense or smudge or drink in tea/smoke, (do not use daily or in large amounts).

Chamomile - helps eliminate nightmares, drink in a tea or use in a bath, can also be kept in a pillow.

Dream Herb (Calea Zacatechichi) Shamanistic herb to promote lucid dreaming, heighten vividness of dreams. Smoke or drink in a tea for maximum effect.

Valerian Can help create more vivid/intense dreams.

Ginko Biloba Can help remember dreams, increase vividness, (capsules)

Peppermint Can increase lucid dreams and dream vividness. Some people experience premonitions more easily. Drink for maximum effect but can also be used in a bath or pillow.

Passion Flower Relaxing, sedative. Drink for maximum effect.

Datura (do not consume) use under pillow for lucid/vivid dreams.

Blue Lotus Lucid dreams.

Also: Jasmine, Rose, Mullien, Lemongrass, Lavendar

Stones/Crystals

Holey Stones  Tapping into other dimensions, spirit communication.

Quartz (clear)  Intensifies dreaming.

Azurite 3rd eye, contacting spirit guides, general dream intensification.

Moldavite Lucid dreaming, dream recall

Chyrsocolla Increases premonitions in dreams

Ruby Protection from nightmares.

Opal Increases vividness.

Malachite Increases vividness.

Amethyst 3rd eye, dream interpretation.

Agate Banded agate has been used under pillows to promote varied dreams since ancient times.

Celestite Elevates awareness.

Stones, Herbs, Roots and More to Attract or Remove Ghosts

There are many things, both natural and manufactured, that have been used over centuries to attract or repel ghosts and other entities.  Here are some I have found to be effective for both purposes:

To Increase and Facilitate Spirit Communication

Roots/Herbs:
Mugwort,  Dream Herb- smoke or drink before going to sleep; induces lucid dreams. Can also be burned or kept under pillow.
Wormwood
Cedar
Dittany of Crete
Mandrake
Bay Leaves
Marigold/Calendula

Incense
Myrrh
Copal
Lavendar

Crystals/Stones
Amethyst
Angelite
Celestite
Clear Quartz
Selanite

Other
Holey Stones
Pomegranate

To Protect From and Repel Spirits

Roots/Herbs
Agrimony
Angelica
Asafoetida 
Betony
Marigold/Calendula
Cinquefoil/Five Finger Grass
Cloves
Dandilion
Dill, (fresh bunches above doors and windows)
Galangal/Low John
Hawthorn
High John
Horehound
Hyssop
Mandrake
Mugwort, (under your doormat)
Rosemary
Rue

Incense
Myrrh
Copal
Sage
Palo Santo

Crystals/Stones to Repel Spirits
Black Tourmaline
Agate 
Bloodstone 
Emerald 
Labradorite 
Black Onyx  
Hematite 
Eye Agate 
Carnelian 
Malachite 
Topaz


General Protection
Agate, (all kinds)
Amber 
Apache Tears
Aventurine 
Black Kyanite
Black Obsidian
Calcite 
Chalcedony 
Fluorite  
Jasper 
Jet 
Lapis 
Lava 
Lodestone 
Moonstone 
Petrified Wood  
Ruby 
Serpentine 
Snowflake Obsidian 
Sunstone 
Tigers Eye  

Other
Florida Water
Cascarilla
Lemon, (with cloves)
Garlic
Onion, (cut in half)
Vinegar
Camphor
Blueing
Blue Glass
Brick Dust
Salt
Sulpher
Hamsa

Mediumship Series at The Green Man Store

Featured in the best-selling ‘Everything Ghost Hunting Book’, Liz is an experienced medium, Hoodoo practitioner and reader. The series, at The Green Man Store in North Hollywood, is $23 per class, $3 discount for cash. Save $40 with our $100 discounted rate if paid in full by first class. Call 818-985-2010 to register!

Explore communication with the Spirit World with Liz in this 6 week introduction to Mediumship. In the first class we will be learning techniques for lucid dreaming and their application in mediumship. Students will start a dream journal, which we will explore throughout the series. (Bring a journal or notebook.)

From ancient times to the Spiritualist movement to the present day, we will look at the craft’s fascinating history, leading personalities, as well as the many forms it can take throughout the series. Students will learn the primary principles of Automatic Writing and Drawing, Lucid Dreaming, Trance Mediumship, Channeling and Psychometry. Protection and cleansing will also be covered, along with a look at different types of Spirits and how these have been defined, conjured, (or exorcised), through the centuries.

In a special event class on Friday, August 12, students will make their own pendulum boards and we will practice spirit communication by cauldron firelight. (Bring wine or the beverage of your choice and a light dish or desert.) Class will be held outside on the patio, 8-10 p.m.