There is a Sacred Window Rescue Project. How freakin’ cool is that?
This would look great in my main workroom.
I mean, I’d have to basically knock down and rebuild an entire wall of the house, but really, that’s no big deal!
Last Friday was the Feast of the Sacred Heart. I wrote this post on Friday but didn’t manage to actually, er, post it 🙂 Anyway, that feast is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so familiar a symbol that even non-Catholics tend to recognize it.
Usually pictured as a flaming heart crowned with thorns, and often featuring a cross and a wound and/or droplets of blood, the Sacred Heart is a symbol of Jesus’ patient and eternal love and compassion for humanity. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is often practiced to obtain grace, mercy, a peaceful home, consolation in grief, blessings, compassion, and greater depth of faith.
It is related to, but not identical with, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, usually pictured as a heart surmounted with flowers and pierced by a sword.
There’s also a whole “genre” of workings in the hoodoo rootwork tradition that operate under the aegis of the Sacred Heart, often to do with reconciliation or peace between cohabitating or married couples. But practitioners in the folk Catholic tradition have petitioned the Sacred Heart over the years for any number of things: to soften the heart of someone they want to influence, like a landlord or boss; to bless children; to return a lover; even for gambling luck.
The Sacred Heart Saint of the Month box for June will come with a short booklet containing history, prayers, spells, and recommendations for working with the Sacred Heart in the folk Catholic and Catholic conjure traditions. I do not believe there’s anything like it currently available in print.
Read more or order yours now at Seraphin Station.
Whether you’re just starting to learn about saints and spirits in the hoodoo rootwork tradition or you’ve been working with them for years, I strive to delight you with something new and covetable to add to your collection with every box.
Since I’ve been working with saints and spirits my entire life, and since I later went on to spend the better part of a decade in grad school studying medieval and early modern traditions around, and portrayals of, saints, I usually do manage to come up with something you haven’t seen before to add to your devotional practices. I have got some pretty neat stuff squirreled away (some pretty weird stuff too).
I wanted to say how much I loved the St. Expedite Saint of the Month box! I was completely wowed when I opened it and saw everything inside, especially the beautifully decorated vigil light and the lovely bag with the chaplet inside. It’s a lovely piece and clearly well-made. The booklet on St. Expedite was very helpful, especially considering I am new to working with saints now much confusing and conflicting information there is online about St. Expedite. The only thing I can’t figure out is, am I really supposed to burn this candle? It’s so pretty!
– E.S. 2022
You are supposed to burn the candle, yes! But you can use it as a vase for flower offerings or to hold other materials on your altar once the candle has burned out, if you like!
Please note that items in deluxe kits, such as jewelry, rosaries, and decorated candles, are one of a kind and hand-made upon order, so don’t expect them to ship in a day or two.
These little nicho ornaments are made with reclaimed post-consumer tinplate that’s hand-cut, hammered, and shaped to encase tiny print reproductions of antique and vintage holy cards. I embellish them from my stash of vintage, antique, and/or reclaimed fabrics, metals, beads, and trims. This particular shrine features an image from a French holy card of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and is embellished with resin rhinestones and pearls, reclaimed vintage brass rosary chain, silk ribbon, a silver-tone heart pendant, pearlized glass beads, and satin roses.
This handmade ornament is intended to evoke the Blessed Mother’s elegance and grace but without removing all the rough edges and scuff marks that are part of this icon’s history and that characterize the fabric of her devotees’ genuine lived lives.
7.25″ long including chain and pendant.
Available at Seraphin Station.
Ok, the Pinterest Pedant strikes again.
Mary has an Immaculate Heart.
This is the Immaculate Heart of Mary: sword, flames, roses. No thorns.
This is the Sacred Heart. Only Jesus has a Sacred Heart. Thorns, not roses. Pierced, but with a spear, not a sword. Flames but note the cross in the midst of them.
Occasionally the Sacred Heart will be pierced by an arrow instead. This has to do with an idea that we wound Christ with blasphemy and profaning the Sabbath. The Golden Arrow Prayer said in reparation is said to heal those wounds.
You’ll often see the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts together, but they are still two different things and not interchangeable.
You may now return to your kitten memes.
All of these images are public domain and are copied/pasted so widely that it would be an afternoon’s rabbit hole to try to source them all, sorry.
Seraphin Station 