Real Voodoo Economics: Mystical Methods for Magnetizing Money
Your broker is firing blanks. The repo man is at your door. Did you ever consider voodoo to get rich quick?
The Money Voodoo Doll, a stuffed green doll with a stitched-on red heart, costs $13.95 at Enchantments witchcraft store in New York City. Insert three coins into the doll, the instructions say. Write your money wish on parchment paper and stick that in as well. Then pierce the doll with the needle wherever you carry your money. Recite the incantation in the package or make up one of your own. A store employee recommended an original spell, often addressed to a higher being, for more power.
You wouldn't be the first to try a spiritual alternative in the hopes of building wealth. Even in the brief time DailyFinance visited Enchantments, one customer came in requesting the works to get out of a monetary jam.
There were plenty of uncanny options to accrue revenue. Like other occult outlets, Enchantments offers green money candles ($6), Ouanga root and herb bags ($10), and Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner ($15.95). All can be used to bring you financial gains, store employees said, although outrageous or greedy demands are discouraged.
However, merely purchasing one of the above and going through the ritual will not get you what you desire, Enchantments co-manager Cat Cabral told DailyFinance. They provide focus to actualize what you need to do. Concentrating on a burning candle to which you might attach the properties of a bottomless ATM can kick-start your mind to formulate a plan to make money. "It's not Harry Potter," she said. "It's about work. The magic is intention plus action equals results."
Cabral did her best to demystify the wares and rites of hoodoo and voodoo. We figure the more options for the loan-shackled and profit-seeking, the better. "I always say, 'Why not?' Cabral explained. "But there are so many people entrenched in their own dogma."
DailyFinance found other unconventional methods that some say can help you attract money. Open your mind and read on.
Feng Shui
In the art of decorating your space to enhance life-force, money rings and flows. The strategic placement of wind chimes and moving water features such as a fountain can invite abundance into your home, believers say. The chimes are most effective if hanging by a rope that is 9 inches or 9 centimeters long -- any measurement that is a multiple of nine, according to the Lucky Feng Shui for Life and Love website. The chime is to be placed in a so-called "prosperity corner."
"Visualize that money energy is awakening and working for you," the site advises. If your fountain is outside, make sure it's near the main entrance. Feng shui advocates also believe in placing existing money -- it could be cash, checkbook or money order -- in a purple or gold box placed in a "wealth spot."
Prayer
If a Judeo-Christian-rooted omnipotent overseer is who you answer to for your wins and sins, maybe prayer is the answer. Russell H. Conwell, a Baptist minister and lawyer who served as Temple University's first president, wrote about a money-focused worship group in his 1923 book Effective Prayer and Praying for Money (Kissinger, $36.76).
Members of the church and the Philadelphia business community prayed for money at noon every day. The deacon, a bookbinder for his bread and butter, soon met a man who had missed his train for New York and hired him to produce books for the government. Through unusual circumstance, the deacon was then able to purchase bookbinding equipment on the cheap to expand his business. The church leader's fortune set off a shockwave of moneymaking providence among the other members. But the author pointed out that all were considered to be righteous believers who were not greedy. If the Man Upstairs holds the key to your soul, then perhaps he can help out with the purse strings as well, no?
Meditation
We've distilled this money-luring meditation exercise from women-lifestyles.com: Sit in a comfortable position, loosen obvious tension spots, and calm your mind by focusing on breathing. Then envision yourself opening an envelope with a check in it as you thank the universe for its bounty. Follow that by imagining a day in which you're flush with cash, and finish with a quick prayer of gratitude. Try three days of 10-minute twice-a-day sessions. The instructor urged followers to relinquish any attachment to the outcome in order for the meditation to work.
Skeptics are welcomed to respond, but this reporter will be busy. I bought a green money candle shaped like a cat at Enchantments, and I have a spell to cast.
