Quadrivium Oils by Quadrivium Supplies

January 29, 2013 at 9:39 am (Magic/Spell/etc. Kits, Pagan Products, Ritual Tools)

Quadrivium Oils
Quadrivium Supplies
Assorted blends

Reviewed by Skyllaros

About a month ago I received a sampler pack of oils from Quadrivium Supplies http://www.quadrivium-supplies.com/). I wanted to take a good amount of time to thoroughly review them both for their quality as an oil, and have a chance to use them magically as well.

For those not familiar with Quadrivium, these oils are made for ritual magicians. Most people are familiar with Hoodoo oils, and these follow the same concept but seem to be made for practitioners of ritual magic in mind. Many of the oils are made based on the timing of astrological elections, lunar calendars, and planetary hours. They are made with natural ingredients.

First off let’s talk about the oils themselves. They came in little amber glass bottles, and let me tell you they smelled wonderful! They do not skimp on the ingredients! Each of them smelled sublime and very strong. One dab worn was almost too much. Eventually I started dabbing them on my pocket piece (High John the Conqueror root) in the morning instead of putting them on my person, which seemed a perfect comprimise. However each of the ones I tested smelled good enough to be used as a personal scent for magical means if that’s your preference. I think delicious is the word I would use. Also, they simply feel magical, a far cry from some of the inert feeling oils I have used in the past. One can simply tell upon opening that they were crafted by someone who knows what they are doing and puts the utmost of themselves into their creation.

I received bottles of Cut and Clear, Red Fast Luck, Road Opener, Crown of Success, and Fortune and Favor. Many of these fit with workings I had planned anyway so it was the perfect time to test them. I was able to test 4 of them fully. First off I used Fortune and Favor. This was by far my personal favorite. I first used it to anoint a candle in a Favor of Kings ritual I did in the day and hour of the sun to kick off the enchantment. After that I wore a dab of both Fortune and Favor and Crown of Success on my person daily, as well as putting in in strategic places on my desk and work place. I noticed a profound difference almost immediately. Not only did I notice people treating me with greater respect and reverence throughout the day, but the effect worked on myself as well as I felt as if I was radiating confidence at a visceral level. Thus I considered the rite a resounding success, and I continue to use them today.

Next I used Cut and Clear. I had an unfortunate situation with a co-worker that required I did my first binding in years. I used the oil, again anointed on the candle I used for the working and the co-worker has all but ceased bothering me or interacting with me negatively in any fashion. It worked quickly and completely, as I noticed to be the case with the previous oils.

I also had the opportunity to use Red Fast Luck on one occasion when quick luck was required. Lets just say my Will was done and all went according to plan that day. Would it of anyway? It’s hard to say, but the oil did appear to help matters go very smoothly in the best way possible.

I would recommend using these oils wholeheartedly. If I had to summarize one thing about my time working with these oils it would be that in all cases of my use they worked quickly and effectively.

Five pawprints out of five.

Want to buy these oils?

1 Comment

Wicca For Lovers – Jennifer Hunter

October 9, 2007 at 1:56 pm (Love spells!, Magic/Spell/etc. Kits, Sex Magic, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Wicca for Lovers – Spells and Rituals for Romance & Seduction
Jennifer Hunter
Viking Studio, 2001
96 pages plus feather, candle, oil, crystal

Generally speaking, I hate love spells.

Generally speaking, I also hate boxed sets.

I guess the two hatreds must have cancelled each other out rather than making the hate grow exponentially.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the author is quite talented. I loved both her Rites of Pleasure and Twenty-First Century Wicca. So it actually didn’t surprise me when I discovered that this set bucks the system when it comes to luuuuuv spells and Wicca-inna-box.

Hunter’s writing is, once again, quite grounded. Rather than simply throwing a bunch of spells at the reader, she explains where sacred sexuality in general weaves in with Wiccan spirituality. And the material isn’t just about what you want in a partner–it also covers the very important point that to love yourself is even more important. There’s also a chapter on sex magic, to include the traditional (as opposed to symbolic) Great Rite. For a 96-page book, there’s a lot of good information in here.

Lest you complain that “Wicca isn’t about love spells!”, I assure you that Wicca For Lovers doesn’t purport to be the do-all and end-all of (eclectic) Wicca. And, as mentioned, Hunter ties love magic in with the sacred sexuality inherent in Wicca, and in pagan religions in general. Finally, look at Christian publishing–there are all sorts of niche books in that genre. Maybe not all Wiccans are interested in using magic to augment their search for that special someone (or someones–the book is poly-friendly). But just as with Christian dating manuals, so this work helps to tie in the methods we have at our disposal for finding partners to spirituality.

No, this isn’t a complete treatise on love magic, sex magic, or related topics. However, given that there are people out there who have no knowledge of magic in general who may pick up something on love spells on a lark, it’s good to know that this set exists (though currently is unavailable brand new–unopened packages may still be found through used book dealers). If I were going to offer anything to the curious, it’d be this set–the book contains a good basic grounding of magical theory, covered well before the spells even begin. However, even those who are more seasoned in magic may find this to be a fun things to play with, a light-hearted gift to give to a friend, or even to give to a couple for a bit of magical “bonding”.

While this isn’t Hunter’s best work (Rites of Pleasure is a much more thorough and “serious” book), all things considered it’s well above other love magic/love spell compendiums I’ve seen. It’s playful, fun, but with an undercurrent of magic and spirituality that give it depth that all too often missing from this sort of thing.

Four pawprints out of five.

Want to buy this book/set?

2 Comments

Chinese Power Animal Stamps – Wu Xing

January 5, 2007 at 8:31 pm (Animal Magic, Artwork, Chinese Zodiac, Magic/Spell/etc. Kits)

Chinese Power Animal Stamps
Wu Xing
Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002
48 pages, 12 stamps, stamp holder, ink pad

Okay, now this is a kit I can get into!

This is a perfect example of why less is more. In the last kit I reviewed, my biggest complaint was that the overall quality was bad because there was just too much “stuff” in there. This kit, on the other hand, solves the problem by offering fewer “extras”, but making them a much better quality.

The kit includes a 48 page booklet and supplies for creating and using stamps of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. I’ll start with the stamps themselves, since they were my favorite part. When you open the box, you’ll find a sheet with all twelve rubber stamps on it. Each one has a sticky backing to it so you can mount it on a small rectangle of faux-wood resin. One you’ve done that you can slide the entire thing into a stamp holder/handle shaped like the Emperor in the story of the twelve animals, sitting on a pedestal. This is also made of a nice quality resin, about the best you can do with mass marketing.

I tried out one of the stamps; the design came up really nicely, especially with the red ink pad that was included. And the nice thing is since the stamps can be easily taken out of the holder, and because they’re backed on resin instead of wood, they’re incredibly easy to clean. So the stamps get five pawprints.

The booklet, on the other hand, left plenty to be desired. It’s very, very basic information on the Chinese Zodiac; relatively accurate, at least as it pertains to my Horse and my husband’s Dragon years of birth, but it’s still pretty shallow. I think they could have made a longer, more in-depth book to go along with this and still been able to sell it.

I also think using the term “Power Animal” is a misleading marketing ploy. Your power animal is not your zodiac sign in any astrological system. It is an individual animal spirit and/or aspect of a totem animal that is very personal and isn’t limited to twelve animals. I docked this a few points because of the title.

But I absolutely love the stamps, and the great thing about this is that it makes an awesome gift for just about anyone–artists, scrapbookers, children (over the ages of 3–you don’t want them swallowing the stamps or eating the ink pad), pagans, etc. It’s a bit pricier than most kits, but it’s well worth it. And because the author didn’t try to add in all sorts of little extras, most of the initial cost was put towards nice stamps and a book that, although short, is printed on nice paper.

So I’m going to give it a 3 3/4 pawprints out of five.

Want to buy this book?

4 Comments

Animal Powers Meditation Kit – Farber and Zerner

January 5, 2007 at 3:24 pm (Animal Magic, Books I Didn't Care Much For, Magic/Spell/etc. Kits, Meditation)

Animal Powers Meditation Kit: Spiritual Guidance from Your Totem Teachers
Monte Farber and Amy Zerner
Zerner/Farber Editions, Ltd., 2006

43 pages, 12 cards, 1 CD, 12 pendants

I have found the totemic answer to the “Teen Witch Kit”.

There has been a recent fad ever since Silver Ravenwolf came out with her kit in 2004. A number of authors have come up with similar prefabricated spell kits, meditation kits, and similar “everything you need in one box!” kits since the TWK came out (despite the fact that the reviews on it were largely negative).

Farber and Zerner have found their own niche in this fad with the Animal Powers Meditation Kit. It includes a small booklet, a number of cards with pictures of the animals on them, a CD to go along with your meditations, and twelve pendants, one for each animal covered, with a cord to hang them on.

At first I thought “Hey, this is a great idea!” The authors don’t claim that this is the do-all and end-all of totemic work; it’s their own system that they created, based on their own meditations. It’s obvious that they put a lot of thought into it, and that it’s very personal to them. They also avoided the bulk of cultural appropriation that so many totemic authors fall into.

The artwork is absolutely beautiful; woodcuts by Zerner’s mother, and Zerner’s own collages, illustrate the kit with vibrant colors and vivid representations of the animals. And the idea of the kit it self isn;t so bad; a book to help you learn meditations while focusing on the card that represents a particular animal whose qualities you want to emulate, listening to a CD with music and affirmations associated with that animal, and wearing the pendant of the animal to help remind you that you do have those qualities.

Unfortunately, the actual execution wasn’t all that great. The booklet is only 43 pages long, and while the material is good, I was lefting wanting to know more. How did they develop this system? Do they have any anecdotes as to how it has helped them or other people? Has the kit been “road-tested” by other people?

Additionally, because of the structure of the kit, it’s limited to only 12 animals, and most of these are some of the more “popular” ones–bison, horse, cat (cougar), etc. Only one insect, butterfly, and dolphin represented all aquatic life. While there’s variety compared to, say, the books that try to be more Indian than thou, it’s still pretty limited. Their writings on those animals are decent, but I think they could have gotten away with about 30 animals in this format. If making the pendants was an issue, they could have done 15 double-sided ones.

And that leads me to the “extras”. The CD, while well-intentioned, wasn’t all that great. I was enjoying the music–until the people (I’m assuming the authors) started talking. Gods love them, I’m sure they put a lot of effort into writing just the right affirmations, but the only thing I could think of was “New Age Animal Totem Spoken Word”. I don’t know if it was just the way they recited them, but it just did not work for me at all.

The cards that you contemplate during meditation are quite lovely, and I like the concept. Part of the cardboard packaging is designed to stand up and display an individual card, which is a nice way to keep from wasting even more cardboard and plastic (these kits tend to require a lot more packaging than you’d think). The pendants had nice little designs based on the woodcuts, but the plastic used was incredibly cheap. They’d look a lot less tacky if good quality resin had been used.

This is why mass-manufactured “kits” aren’t really my favorite thing in the world. I like handmade spell kits made by individual pagans and shops; because the items inside are of a good quality and often given blessings by the creator. This, and all manufactured kits, falls far short of that level of quality.

All in all, as I said, the idea was a good one, but the execution really wasn’t all that great.

Two pawprints out of five.

Want to buy this kit?

Leave a Comment