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Saints have been part of many religions since religions were part of mankind. They have been
revered and honored, and prayed to, for everything from healing to winning the lottery. In this
class, we will investigate the origins of Saints and why they have taken on such a large role in
magickal and religious practice. We will also learn how to leverage their incredible power to
accomplish those things that would make our lives better and more in line with the paths we
wish to walk.
You don’t have to be Catholic. You don’t have to be any specific religion. But you do have to
believe in their power as those who are there to lend you a hand when times are tough. Like a
good friend, or a caring grandparent, they want the best for you.
Allies in Magick
What is a Saint?
A Saint, the Catholic version, is an individual who is no longer alive, and through
divine grace, has performed “miracles” in accordance with the statutes set down by the
Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
In other religions, a saint is an individual that has given entirely of themselves to the support and
blessing of their people. In Buddhism, they can be particularly devoted monks that gave of
themselves to better their followers and are often attributed seemingly magickal acts. For our
purposes here, we will be focusing on the Catholic process as these are the most widely used
saints for spells.
When an individual has been identified as a potential candidate, the bishop of the congregation
local to the person investigates the claims attributed to them. Once sufficient evidence has been
gathered, and it points to possible miracles performed by the person, it is presented to the
Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. At this time, the application can be rejected, or
accepted if it meets the criteria. They they begin their own investigation as to the claims about
the person’s life. This can be quite a drawn out process and usually takes many years before a
determination is made. Several factors come into play. The performance of a miracle is one
major factor that must be attributed and verified. If no miracle can be found, then that stops the
whole process for Sainthood. But, if one is found to have happened, and verified by a panel of
trusted experts, in the case of healing a team of doctors must verify that the case was hopeless,
or at the very least unlikely to get better, then the process continues to the next phase. A
designation of blessed is made.
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But that’s only the beginning. For a person to be declared a Saint, a second miracle must have
taken place. Otherwise, the individual remains blessed of God and that is it. So let’s say another
miracle has been attributed to the person. This goes through the whole verification process that
the first one did. This also can take years.
As an example, the canonization of Pope John Paul the II took four years after his death. And
that was considered a bit of a fast track as Pope Francis had already declared him a Saint
without the second miracle. So they aren’t handing out sainthoods like candy at the Vatican.
They cannot even start the process until five years after the death of the individual, so it can be a
long time, depending on the investigations and how much they have to dig for corroborating
evidence.
Once the second miracle has been verified then the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints
gets out their rubber stamp and declares the person to be a Saint in the eyes of the church and
you can begin performing prayers to them.
There are also designations through this whole process, that I find interesting. Once a person is
considered for sainthood, they are proclaimed “A Servant of God”. After the Congregation has
found that they lived an heroically virtuous life, they are called “Venerable”. Once a miracle has
been declared, they then become “Blessed”, and proclaimed to have entered heaven. There is a
small difference between a “Blessed” individual and a saint in that the “Blessed” scope of
worship is usually attributed to a specific group of people, but that is just academic for our
purposes, but I include it here for completeness.
So as you can see, becoming a saint can be quite arduous and much is taken into consideration
before one can get the declaration and find their picture and statues upon the altars of the
faithful.
Where do they come from?
A saint can come from any walk of life. Most are devoted members of the
priesthood, or nuns. They can also be commoners that lived a very religiously pure life and
performed miracles such as healings. An example of this was Joan of Arc. She was a peasant
that led the French army to victory in several battles, most notably the siege of Orleans, but was
not considered for sainthood for nearly 500 years after her death. She was finally canonized by
Pope Benedict the XV in 1909.
Anyone can be considered for sainthood, but the road is long and can take many many years.
Mother Theresa, which many consider to be a modern day saint, has yet to get her designation
by the Church. Though the road to her becoming a saint is arguably the fastest in church history
and it was learned, as of this writing, that she will become a saint in 2016.
There is no barrier to birth or affiliation when it comes to being named a saint. You just have to
really work on that miracle part and then the road will be clear.
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Saints in Religion
Catholicism
The Catholics have more than 10,000 saints that they venerate. That makes for a
ton of power to choose from. But even with all of those listed, a handful are generally utilized by
the populous.
For example, St Anthony is utilized to find lost objects. The below simple chant can be used to
find most anything
St Anthony, St Anthony, look around!
Help me find what must be found!
Or a variation for a specific item
St Anthony, St Anthony, look around!
My car keys are lost, and must be found!
Very simple, but also very effective. Someone close to me pointed out this saint and I have to
confess, he surely knows how to find that which is lost.
There are saints for helping us find things, saints for healing, saints for justice, etc. But there are
also Patron/Matron Saints. These are saints attributed to certain people or situations. St Jude is
the patron saint of lost causes and policemen. You may have heard him referenced in the movie
The Untouchables. People are sometimes named after them thus aligning their life with that
particular saint. A Patron Saint defends you and can guide you since you have that bond. Later in
this dissertation, we will discuss on how one may find a Patron Saint.
Santeria
Santeria is fastly growing religion in the US and across the world. Having its roots
in African spiritual traditions, it utilizes Catholic saints in much of its working. Saints used in
Santeria each represent an African deity, or African power, but other saints are also called upon.
The roots of Santeria lay within the Yoruban culture and was transplanted with slaves brought to
the Americas. The slaves were rather violently encouraged to give up their old ways and
embrace Christianity, which many did, but others simply overlaid their old gods with the Christian
veneration of saints. If one sits with a Santero, a Santerian priest, you can see the deep African
influences. With the use of drums, rattles, and animal sacrifices, the power that the Santero
calls up can be quite amazing to behold, and the saints extremely attentive. If you feel drawn to
this practice, I highly recommend you find a Santero and ask them to take you on as an
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apprentice, or investigate via many of the great volumes that are available publicly. Later in this
class, we will discuss the Saints and Orishas, or African Powers.
Saints and Orishas
The saints are many indeed, but there is a small selection that are of particular interest to
those of the Santerian faith. They equate to the African powers that the Santero calls upon in
their rituals. They are given varied offerings, but blood is common depending on what one needs.
The underlying entities that host these venerable images are called Orishas. They are African
gods and in a time when slaves were compelled to give up their old ways, they took on the
imagery and mantles of the Catholic saints that most closely emulated their power.
Below is a list correlating the Orishas with the saints. These are the main ones used in Santeria,
but many more can be utilized in one’s practice. I list these here for reference as this is a class
on saints, and Santeria is a whole other practice.
The Orishas
Eleggua St Anthony of Padua
Oggun St Peter
Ochosi St Norbert
Osain St Sylvester/St Anthony of Abad
Orunla St Francis of Assissi
AganuSola St Christopher
Chango St Barbara
Obatala Our Lady of Mercy
Oya Our Lady of Candlemas
Yemaya Our Lady of Regla
Oshun Our Lady of La Caridad del Cobre
Ibeyi Saints Cosme and Damian
Inle Archangel Raphael
Working with the Saints
In this section, we will discuss the mechanics of working with saints. These can be as simple as
praying to the saint and lighting a candle in their honor, to full rituals with offerings and
dedications.
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Veneration
To “venerate”, is to love. This from the root Venus, we show love to the saint and
hold them in our hearts. Once one holds the saint in one’s heart, all you need to is speak your
desire. For saints are pure love and grant those things within their power out of love for their
devotees. To begin the process of veneration, simply light a candle in the saint’s honor. Do this
as a regular part of your practice. Most saints have feast days where they are revered. I keep a
calendar of these days for the saints I most often use and every feast day, I light a candle in the
saint’s honor. This practice keeps the saint in my heart and thoughts throughout the year.
A method that I particularly like is one that takes place in a graveyard. It is quite simple. Find a
grave that carries the name of the saint. Kneel at its side and locate a stone. This can be any
stone. Take it in your hand and search deeply in your heart and speak your desire upon the
stone. If your desire is heavily emotional, let your tears fall upon it. Tears are a wonderful gift to
the saints. When you have finished your petition, lay the stone gently upon the grave and quietly
walk away without looking back.
One other method of veneration is to ask the saint for something and promise them a gift in
return. Say you are petitioning St Jude to help you because you feel hopeless. You ask from your
heart and offer to build a shrine or dedicate an altar to him. Once you have obtained your desire,
you dedicate an altar to the saint, thus fulfilling your promise.
Spell Work
Working with the saints in spells can be very powerful, and one must make sure
to research what the saint likes and how they operate. How do they resonate? How do they
manifest? One wouldn’t call upon St Michael for a lover, so make sure the saint you are using is
appropriate for the spell.
A simple spell can consist of an image of the saint, a candle, the petition, and an offering. One
sets up the altar with the image of the saint in a central location with the candle to the right hand
of the saint and the offering just in front. I generally write the petition and roll it up to place it at the
foot of the saint. Then I speak it from my heart. A Novena to the saint is appropriate if you want to
extend this spell for nine days, or nine nights. This gives the spell an added punch and can be
very successful. Novenas are from the Roman Catholic faith and most saints have them. You
can usually find Novenas in books on saints, or even on the backs of cards containing the saints
image.
Below is an outline of a spell that you can do.
Spell for Safe Travel
Materials needed:
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Beeswax or White candle
St Christopher incense (obtained from
http://www.luckymojo.com
)
or any good quality church incense
Your written petition
St Christopher medal obtained from any Catholic shop
To begin, light the candle and incense saying:
You are a light in my heart St Christopher and I ask your help on
this day.
I offer you this incense as a sign of my love and devotion.
Place the rolled up petition at the foot of the image of St Christopher. As
this is a petition for safety in travel, we will use a common rhyme
associated with him for just this purpose:
Protect me, Saint Christopher, on my travels and wherever I may
roam.
Please keep me safe and guide me always safely home.
When you are ready, take up the St Christopher medal and hold it
between your palms and recite the petition with all of your heart. Carry the
medal with you whenever you travel.
And that is that. Very simple, but very powerful for the saints are here to help us and deliver us
from danger, sickness, poverty, and most anything else you can think of.
Selecting a Patron Saint
Finding a Patron or Matron Saint can be quite fun and often very revealing. It can be as
simple as locating a saint associated with the day of your birth, or one that carries your name. If
these two methods do not resonate with you, or you can’t find a saint that matches the criteria,
you can write upon several slips of paper the names of saints. Place them in a hat and allow
your hand to select a patron or matron. I know this method sounds trivial, but it does work. The
saint which you need in your life will find its way to your hand.
You can also do research by procuring a book of saints and find one that has the qualities you
wish to bring into your life and emulate. Then make offerings to this saint as part of your daily
working. Generally, you will have one patron/matron and venerate the rest when you need their
help. In the next section, we will go through daily devotions and working.
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Your Practice
To bring the power of the saints into your life, it is a good idea to include them in your
daily devotions. If you use a Spirit Offering Bowl, you can make offerings to your patron saint
each morning and night. Or, if you wish a more formal way of touching these powers, you can
perform altar work as I do.
Altar Work
An altar is a place of working wonders and the perfect location to house saints
and make offerings unto them. This can be a simple table that you have against a wall in any
room. Upon it we place candles, images of saints, incense, an offering bowl, and any other
objects which assist us in our spell work and other rituals. This is a holy place of power that is
dedicated to your gods and spirits. We do not clutter it. We keep it clean and ready to do that
which we require. A simple altar set up is as follows:
A table oriented to the North or East. Two beeswax or white candles set to the back of
the altar. Images of our gods or items associated with the spirits with which we work. An
image of the saint placed in the Eastern section, or the direction associated with the
origin of the saint themselves, such as their birthplace. The offering bowl in the center of
the altar. An incense burner set to the left of the offering bowl.
That is enough to get you started. Whenever you wish to make offerings or spell work, do so at
your altar. As you use your altar, it will become empowered and dedicated as a holy place and
whenever you sit down the spirits will know something magickal will be happening.
Times of Desperation
We all have those times when we feel our back is against the wall and we just
have no place to turn. No one understands the pain we are carrying as they are not in our shoes.
But the saints understand. Many have faced more desperate circumstances and know pain.
They can help. Just pour your heart unto them and trust that they understand and will do what is
necessary to alleviate your suffering. This is one of the most powerful saint workings as you are
coming to them in a moment of desperation, and all of your focus is upon them to help. Let your
love for the saint pour forth and also let your tears freely fall. For they are akin to an offering and
the saint will accept them and heal you.
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Conclusion
Working with the saints can be extremely rewarding. You don’t have to change your
religion for they were alive and breathing like you and so know what it is to suffer. Let them enter
your life and take your hand on this path. For we all encounter times of pain. They have the balm
to soothe all if we only let them. Choose your saint. Keep them in your heart. Make them part of
your life and family. You won’t be sorry.
Note: On pages 911 you will find a large list of saints and their usages. May their blessings and
touch fulfill and guide your life.
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