The Magical Power of the Saints: Evocation and Candle Rituals

The book The Magical Power of the Saints: Evocation and Candle books was an interesting read. It was just what it states its about. The book focuses on Saints and candle magic and nothing else. THis book never claims to be Hoodoo or anything than working with saints which is excellent. Its a great introduction guide for working with saints and gaining spiritual knowledge from the practice of working with saints.

Before I read this book I knew about maybe two or three saints. I knew of Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Jude, and Saint Paul. This book while not providing detailed information about the saints provides information on 74 different saints that can be worked with for spiritual and practical gains in our lives. The information provided is direct and to the point.

This book contains 11 different chapters. Each of the chapters focuses on a different aspect of what the author calls "popular religiosity" or the working of religio magic or magic with the saints. The topics of the chapters are varied but provide a cohesive system for working with saints.

The book gets started right away in the first chapter by talking about working with saints and deities. The author begins by telling you a bit about how ancient pagans gave offerings to deities and spirits when asking for something. The author then goes on in to how the saints started to have the same roles and practices used with them. This is popular religiosity. From there he gives a list of saints some with images and some without with their associations, colors, and what they are patrons of. You can start formulating your work right away.

The second chapter deals with the practice of divination before doing any sort of working. Now this is not just about telling things based on as they appear with the cards or tool used. This discussion of divination includes finding out what sort of offerings to give, blocks in the way of the working, and the proper saints and spirits to work with. This chapter also discusses the importance of the diviner priest to know magic and divination.

The third chapter focuses on ancestors and the dead. The author explains how prayers to the ancestors can work with a biblical verse. The author then talks about a concept called the "Mighty dead" which is found in various traditions of witchcraft. He relates this concept to working with saints and ends the chapter with a prayer you can offer to your ancestor for working with them.

The fourth chapter is all about working the candles. Here we get our first taste of the type of work that is ahead of us. The author goes into the history of candles in magic and prayer. The majority of the chapter focuses on several different types of candles and their uses for work. The chapter ends with a "ritual of transformation"

The fifth chapter is really three chapters together. This chapter focuses on reading the signs in the candles as they burn, several different candle spells, and oils for working the candles. This is the spell and correspondence section of the book and provides different spells and rituals for basically every need.

The sixth chapter focuses on the use of the psalms in the bible. The author doesn't go into a discussion about the use of the psalms merely states that they are a historical magical use. The author then provides a list of the different psalms that can be used in spells and candle work for various needs. They are grouped by need or use in numerical order.

The seventh chapter focuses on aspects of ritual. Here the author talks about incenses, baths, and washes. These are components of different magical practices that can be obtained and add benefit to the other workings. Here the author introduces the concept and how to be ware the costs of those selling washes, baths, and the like.

The eighth chapter is all about putting the practices together. Here the author talks about working with planetary hours on the days. The author also includes arch angels and the hours and items they can be petitioned for. The author also includes ideas on how to make prayer beads and work effective magic that way.

The ninth chapter is about becoming a diviner priest or priestess. Here the author goes into the training that is required to become a diviner priest or priestess. the author also provides a simple but also diverse divination style that a diviner priest or priestess may need to be familiar with in order to complete their training.

The tenth chapter of the book is all about the church that the author is a reverend of. The author includes photo copied images of his certifications to prove he can teach what he teaches and is what and who he says he is.

The last chapter in the book is a final set of advice. Here the author gives a final bit of advice for when seeking the help of a professional root worker, witch, or what ever. Not everyone who offers these services is what they say they are.

All in all the author provided a good basis to start delving into your own work with saints and angelic spirits. While there could have been more lore provided for the various saints and more information about the herbs and incenses and oils, the book will get you started on the path of working with saints and angelic forces. When you combine this work with the recommended reading list the author provides more then enough sources and information to begin feeling comfortable in these practices.

More hoodoo than about the saints. The saints are a very brief mention which I found strange considering the title. Still has a lot of info even if you aren’t a beginner. Definitely an enjoyable read. Title is just misleading. If you are looking for a book with a wealth of knowledge on the saints and magic then keep looking- this isn’t it. If you want to brush up on your hoodoo then this is for you. It’s hoodoo without the authors constant backstory, which was honestly a nice change.

JUST GOT THIS BOOK AND SO FAR IT IS FINE FOR ME AS AN ORISHA PRIEST IF THIS BOOK IS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE BOOK SELECTED PRAYERS YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT.SO I AM AFRAID THAT I CANNOT SHARE THE VIEWS OF EVERYONE ON THE BOOK FOR ME IT WILL WORK FINE .IT IS O.K.....
BLESSINGS

i am a wiccan (no i'm not about to start spouting the 3 fold law or how evil those christian were) however this book is an indespensible part of my library right with green witchcraft and the book of druidry i have invoked both the saints and gods (not at the same time) in my work. if your a christian you have lists of saints if you pagan you have a list of hours and gods you can invoke on those hours or if your like me you can use both of them

while it has aspects that make it substandard Lewellyn fare, such as a weird emphasis on Wicca and Paganism here and there. Fortunately for the most part it sticks to the true American magico-religious traditions such as petitioning the saints through candle rituals and prayer, a worthwhile chapter on spiritism and ancestor veneration, an introduction to the Saints, tips on divination, Psalm spells, a section discussing the history and traditions of animal sacrifice (like it or not its widespread and traditional but vegetarian offerings are just fine).
Overall it's an introductory text that seems to be directed at Pagans and Rockband that want to broaden their horizons. A King James Bible would be the companion text, itself a wonderful book of mythic magic.
When I say introductory I mean that it falls into the same vein as Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft or Stephen Skinner's Techniques of High Magic in that while it isn't an in depth scholarly look into these traditions it's an introduction that can get you started with practical work right away and keep you conjuring well into the intermediate level.

This book along with Reverend Ray T. Malbrough's other two books is a great resource for those interested in Catholic-Spiritualist style Hoodoo. There is a great section on Saints at the beginning, though it could have been greatly expanded. Also included is a wonderful section on the many varieties of 7-day candles found at Botanicas and Mexican Grocery Stores. There is a great explanation of how 7-day candles burn and how to interpret the signs in the glass. Reverend Malbrough also includes a great section on sortiledge style divination.

Since most of Llewellyn's customer base are just people rebelling against xtianity, i'm not surprised this book is unpopular. It is not an all-encompassing work on the Saints but it is one of the few modern books that addresses the topic of spiritualism and magic as an acceptible part of the christian religion. If you want to DO magic, there are many older, better, books out there like the _Long Lost Friend_, the _Key of King Solomon_, Buckland's _Practical Candle-burning Rituals_, _Secret of the Psalms_, by Godfrey A. Selig, or variouss books on the kabala. This book is more a work of philosophy, explaining a magical approach to the Saints no longer popular in much of america outside New Orleans and Hispanic communities, but once prevalent in many catholic, spiritist, and even some protestant churches. Unfortunately, the author can't seem to make up his mind about whether he's writing to a christian or wiccan audience, often explaining how the practices are "okay" first to one and then the other. Since little love is lost between these groups, he'd have been better off addressing one or the other.

I found the book useful, but like another reviewer said, I wouldn't want to pay full list price for this book.

I am a Christian Witch, so the title of this book got me very interested in finding out more. Most of my practices do come from the Trinitarian Path of Wicca, but some of my practices do not. I guess I'm more of a "buffet style" Christian Witch practitioner.

Anyways, if you happen to be looking for a guide to use for calling upon the saints as your personal allies, this book will probably get you started in the right direction. This book covers 74 different saints and how you can reach them through ritual practices. The author gives you some very basic information such as name, weekday, feast day, color of candle, emblem, and areas of protection and association. The image of nearly each saint is provided (although not all of the saints/deities listed have a picture. It also gives the reader general discussions of the power of rituals and magic, and how these can assist you. But, the majority of this book provides you with candle rituals and incantations for many different situations.

Also like another reviewer said, I found that nearly each of these rituals in the book include references to the appropriate Psalms of the Holy Bible. It also provides other key steps for you to take to ensure success with the ritual. Magickal spells don't just go "poof" and things happen, you use them to assist you on the way. You have to make them work by providing as much effort and control as you possibly can, and the ritual/spell in conjunction with the saint/deity will provide the rest.

I also came across a bibliography and a very useful/helpful index.

One reviewer said "It seems like the author got started writing a book on working with the saints but either got sidetracked or ran out of information. The first part of the book has pictures of the saints with brief descriptions of them, but many of the commonly used saints are not present. The information given is brief." I would like to say that it's appropriate to just have brief information, and the reader can do further research through another book or on the internet if they feel interested or want to know more about the type of saint/deity they are considering using for a spell/ritual.

You might ask about the Bible and whether or not it condemns things like divination. The second chapter does an okay job at covering those bases.

As another reviewer stated, there are a few pages in here that don't really relate to the topic of this book, but it's not as bad as some claim it to be. It's still a book worth owning, and buy it used in decent condition if you can. If not, new copy/list price would do.

Overall, get this book. If you feel you need it, buy another and more complete book on saints. That would make the perfect companion to this book.

I would recomend this book for those begining to discover service to the saints outside the traditional roman catholic realm. Ray Malbrough is not the greatest of authors and it is true his information is somewhat lacking. This book at Charms Spells and Formulas go well with eachother. I also agree with the person who warned about Malbroughs third book Hoodoo Mysteries, that one should be avoided as its complete and utter nonsense. Anyways, enough about that, check this one out if you interested in serving the saints.

Merry Meet!...My name is Jet and I recently purchased this fine book. I must say that this book had alot of usefull information in it. I use the saints in my own practice, incorporating their names with the names of the Orishas, as was origionaly done. The One and only thing I found lacking in this work was the chapter on candles seemed a bit inconclusive, there were names of candles, but most of them Ive not been able to find. However that dosent matter as substitutions can certainly be made. No matter what type of path you follow this book could be helpfull to you, although much of the material in this book presents as catholic in nature please keep in mind that origionaly when slaves were brought here they hid the names of their Goddesses and Godes in saints so you can certainly use it without even haveing to believe in saints. I hope you all love this book, and please read his other book, Charms Spells, and Formulas....