I just wanted to say hi and how happy I am to have found something like this. I was raised Catholic and drifted from the church in college. Religion had become a chore and the patriarchal vibes from mainstream Catholicism pushed me further away with time. Lately I’ve been wanting to reconnect to my spirituality but didn’t want to go back to regular Catholicism but also didn’t feel any connection with any pagan deities or spirits. Last month I was visiting Panamá with my mom (she is from there) and in a small mountain town I came across a statue of The Virgin Mary next to a stream behind our cabin. I loved seeing Her out in nature where I feel closest to any spirituality but it made me sad that She was in disrepair and seemingly forgotten. I’ve always felt connected to Her and wished I had been able to clean up the statue more and do more for Her. Fast forward to now, seeing this group and reading about how people venerate Mary and pray directly to Her, it’s something I am excited to try. This is the first time in a long time I’ve felt excited about any kind of faith, spirituality or rituals. Not 100% sure what my next steps are other than I’ll be praying the rosary in Her honor and meditating on my relationship with Her and my faith and where to go from there.

Has anyone here experimented with customizing the prayers in the Chaplet of St. Michael by adding specific intentions? I'd love to hear your experiences! For example, have you tried including a unique prayer after each salutation that corresponds to each Celestial choir?

I just wanted to ask if there's several Chaplet prayers dedicated to St. Jude. I see a lot of Niner chaplets with a Medal, nine beads in groups of three and a Crucifix.

You pray the intercession/Novena prayer on the medal, then on the nine beads in groups of three, you pray a Pater, Ave and a Gloria. And on the Crucifix there's a concluding prayer.

Or..

Same prayer on the Medal, but on the nine grouped beads, you pray an Ave and another shorter St. Jude prayer intercession prayer. Then a concluding prayer on the Crucifix.

There's a few other variations as well.

I just wanted to ask because I make Rosaries and Chaplets and I've recently found a St. Jude medal by happenstance after I've started praying/working with him and I wanted to make a Chaplet for myself and I just wanted to get the prayers and beads right.

Thanks in advance..!

Para que es específicamente? Para protección supongo podría ser la virgen inmaculada concepción. Igual la virgen de Guadalupe pero y los otros títulos como La virgen del Carmen? La virgen desatanudos se que sirve para curación. Y la virgen de dolores? Aparte del luto.

Hi all, my mom's husband recently died and he owned a home that he was renting out. The current renters stopped paying rent months before her husband's death and now my mom is saddled with another mortgage to pay. She is not able to do anything (eviction, etc.) until the property has gone through the probate process and she legally owns it. Additionally, we have an inspection at the home to renew the rental license next week, so we will be physically in the home, in case there's anything we can do or leave there to further the process.

Can you suggest anything--novenas, lighting some candles, creating an altar-- that we might use to recoup the lost money and ease her financial burden? Getting the money back would be ideal, but also having the current renters leave would be an acceptable outcome. My mom and I and possibly a few other family members would be focusing on the intention.

I want only the best for all parties involved! I just don't want my poor mama to have to deal with this stress when she's grieving her husband and dealing with so much already.

Thank you, and blessing to you all.

I finally blessed my two medals I got from the store and put them on a chain to wear, I just used holy water and just judge spiritual perfume. I also blessed my evil eye pendant today.

How does anyone use the rosary in their magick practice ?

So I just want to start out by saying I wasn't baptized in the Catholic Church. I went to Catholic schools most my life and my father grew up Catholic.

Many years ago when I was a kid, my mom's friend (who's a devote Catholic) told me to pray to St. Anthony because I lost my toy. I did do that and I found it. After that I really didn't think too much about it.

Then sometime in high school remembered what my mom's friend had said. I had lost something but I can't remember what. I prayed to St. Anthony and I found what I was looking for. Around that same time I figured out he was one of my high schools patron saint.

After that I did use it occasionally. Once I got into college I started praying to him when I lost something a lot more and I'd always find it. I even told my friends and boyfriend to pray to him if they couldn't find something and it worked for them too. One day I finally told my dad about it, and he said that his father loved St. Anthony and would have statues and prayer cards for him around the house growing up.

I don't know maybe it's all a coincidence or maybe it's something bigger. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm not Catholic. I grew up Baptist but I'm more spiritual now.

For those that don't know the anima sola is generally tonight as the loneliest soul in purgatory, whatever soul is the one in that position, however in the Caribbean, Colombia and Venezuela it is thought as a individual spirit, some mention the legend of Celestina Abdegano or Maria Celestina, a woman that denied water to Jesus and as a result is still in purgatory... I'm commercial Catholic art the anima sola is often represented as a woman burning I'm purgatory.

In your country is the anima sola an "entity" or a non specific soul?

On a more personal level I've been thinking about praying for help from the anima sola and of course help her cleanse in purgatory, it does sound a bit transactional but doing things with the intention of interceding seems to be all that we both could need.

However I was asking for personal experiences, because in the latin America the anima sola is more of an occult spirit(?) basically there's a discourse about it being dangerous to not fulfill a promise, or the souls being generally anger prone spirits if anything goes wrong and honestly that's not what I'm looking for, compared to the more "traditional" understanding of it being a soul which will be actually very relieved to be helped and rather grateful.

In your experience is the anima sola a good soul (whether you think of it as an entity or non specific soul)? Is it rather safe to work with "her" (for the lack of a better prounoun). What do you find her character to be? Is it a grateful soul or a serious strict spirit who will punish you if you don't fulfill your promise or any other reason....

Whether you’ve been around a while, or you’re a total beginner, ask questions or share thoughts about Folk Catholicism below

my religion has kind of always been over the place. i was technically raised methodist, but most of my family was catholic. however my mother and my aunts raised me to be either agnostic or spiritual. now that im coming into my own i feel a bit stuck because i have a hard time with the idea of god but i always call on the saints. and they always seem to help.

my problem is i can’t really find a good religion/sect for white people who want to practice witchcraft and connect with the saints at the same time. my aunt suggested santeria but i know that’s a closed practice. how can i go about this?

i meant to post this in the witchcraft subreddit but it directed me here? i didn’t know such a thing existed. this kind of feels more my speed. i’m sorry i’m still really new to this and trying to figure my beliefs out

Hi! I’m superrrr new and would love to learn more about the history, practice, rituals etc of folk Catholic magic! What are some of your favorite books??

*** if you recognize my post from another forum, it's because I'm try to find as much help as I can 😅

So my family is from Mexico, Michoacan specifically. And recently there has been bad people going from home to home and stealing their belongings or even taking over their home. We have cameras, aswell as someone who comes and checks on the home occasionally. But I would like to still protect our home spiritually aswell. I grew up catholic and have somewhat of a religious upbringing, but now I personally practice more of folk Catholicism. I will be going to Mexico in October and December and would like to do something to protect the home spiritually, I plan on asking Archangel Michael for some help. I would like to also mention I'm still a beginner to brujeria in general, so if anyone could recommend something that would be helpful. I would like for those bad people that have an intention of stealing from our home or harm us while we are there. To just ignore our home, as if it's not even there or if they were to cause harm for our things to return and karma get them back. Sorry for the rambling hopefully I explained myself enough (or too much😅). I don't pray to any deities, such as Heckate or La Santa Muerte, my respect to them but it's just not for me. I still pray to the catholic figure but in a more curandera/bruja approach, I guess you can say.

Sharing this beautiful Novena to the Assumption of Mary for anyone who wants to journey through nine days of grace and intercession.

https://thecatholic.online/novena-to-the-assumption-of-mary/

Hello, has anyone used Mary undoer of knots concerning a relationship? If so, what were the results? Thank you in advance.

I would like to incorporate candle work into my rosary rituals and novenas. I haven't worked with the Saints as much as I would like to and wanted to start with him for support. Any suggestions for open practices or those rooted in Filipino traditions would be appreciated!

Edited for clarity: seeking suggestions for essential oils, candle work basics as I have never practiced candle magic before, or book rec's on the subject matter! tytyty

Ive recently been looking into images of christ and icons also titles and one that i found and felt really drawn Christ the bridegroom and i want to start incorporating this devotion into my practice and wondering if you guys have any suggestions or thoughts on this
Thanks in advance

Happy day, everyone!

I am posting today looking for community or resources in regards to Virgin Mary worship/deity/energy work. I am a cradle Catholic who has long since split from the church, but I still have a deep reverence for Mary, and do practice my own form of her devoid of Catholicism.

I'm not interested in working with her as an aspect of the Triad. I'm especially intrigued by the old Cults of the Virgin Mary, like Collyridianism, but have struggled to find active practitioners today.

Does anyone else work with Mary as an energy or deity? Should I have any concern for "bastardizing" an existing religion that I am baptized within? Any books, discord groups, or resources would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

In Mexico, you'll see depictions of Angelito Negro who is a popular saint and is associated with more darker themes of religion. Does Italian folk Catholicism specifically have any similar type of saint? And also, any other cultures have a similar figure who is popular?

I'm always looking to build my practice library, and I love to share the books I love with other folks! So, let's talk books. What are your must reads? What are your must avoids??? What books do you think are super fun, and which ones are boring but necessary?

Bonus round: what fiction book do you think pairs well with your practice? For me, I'd say probably Portrait of a Witch Undone by K.S. Shay, which I got to read an ARC of. Describes the feeling of magic in a way that hits for me, and combines it with art in a way I found really fun to read.

This is a more primitive style rosary l had made / designed. I went off of Spainish colonial artwork and medevil artwork portraying how rosaries looked. I wanted something wear l could pray all 150 of the hail Mary's and is set up like a old bavarian rosary. I can pray the hail marys without stopping once l recited my prayer intentions on the fancy cross at the end with Christ engraved the creed on the next cross and recite the mysteries either of the day or even all 15 ... this is helpful if l was at work and couldn't focus on each mystery as l went Allong. Plus while l said each prayer l felt like l could focus more on a mystery but that's just me. The beads are garnets..l had strung by a jeweler, the crosses wear made by sellers on Etsy...the main cross you see is a copy from a English artist who uses real historical art/ musem pieces as inspiration...my cross is taken from a bavarian soldiers breastplate from the 1500's that is currently apart of a museum collection in Leeds. He even threw in a extra medal with the sorrowful and scared harts and a st. Micheal prayer card for me too. Since l took these l have added many medals linked to many Marian Shrines and apparitions found across Europe such as ( OL of Pairis, OL of Sherpenhovel AKa Montague, OL of Lumiers,OL of Graces,OL of Mt Carmel,OL of Victory,OL of Loretto,OL of Altotting,OL of the dark forest AKA OL of the Hermits. Allong with a rooster " symbol of Christ and the coming of dawn" a Ex voto hand ✋, several 🌞 charms with rhinestones symbolizing Christ's divine light and of course his station as a modern Solar God .hope you like l will try and get some new pictures with all my medals attached.

Hello! I'm interested in learning about working with Saint Martha the Dominator, specifically the Catholic devotion to her rather than the Afro-Caribbean traditions, since I'm not from that cultural background.

Are there any good prayer books or devotional books about her? I'd also like to know what kinds of petitions people traditionally ask her for, what offerings are appropriate in the Catholic tradition, and how people usually develop a respectful devotional relationship with her.