This is a three-day service beginning the night of August 24th, the feast day of St. Bartholomew. There is some wiggle room and you can join up after the work starts as long as you see that there are still spots left and it doesn’t say “sold out.”
St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of bookbinders, butchers, tanners, and cheese makers. Some very brief and pretty confusing scriptural references mean he’s numbered among the original apostles, so we don’t know that much about him as a historical figure. But as is so often the case, rich folk traditions have filled in the gaps.
His strong association with knives and sharp things has a gruesome origin – he’s said to have been martyred by being skinned alive – but today he’s associated not just with the literal cutting of things but also with cutting *through* things more figuratively. So his devotees might call on him if they’re undergoing surgery, or if they need to “cut through” a web of lies or obfuscation to see clearly into the heart of a matter.
Folks who work in restaurants, delis, and kitchens call on him as a patron for any number of employment- and career-related petitions, from obtaining regular work to avoiding work-related injury.
You can also call on him for strength and protection when you need to resist the wiles of the devil or free yourself from negativity, evil, crossed conditions, and various kinds of temptation.
During this work, I will be creating an amulet called a St. Bartholomew’s Cross. I’ll make a few extras to offer separately later on in the shop, but if you want to guarantee you get one, you can book this service and add the amulet option, and it will go out in the mail to you when it’s finished (which you should allow at least ten business days’ for from completion of this service).
This cross comes from the Spanish Cyprianic grimoire tradition and is used for uncrossing and protection. Its power has also traditionally been invoked against lightning storms, to help women in labor, to remove the evil eye and crossed conditions, and to help clear the way, opening roads and removing obstacles. St. Bartholomew’s devotees who carry this cross and pray his prayer regularly are said to have the escort of the Virgin Mary as psychopomp at the hour of death to avoid the torment of devils and be guided to heaven.
The handmade wooden cross, which takes several consecutive days to make in a ritual setting with a very specific list of components and ingredients, will come in a hand-sewn bag with accompanying dried herbs. So this is a full-blown, handmade, artisan charm bag or mojo bag type of setup, not just a holy medal and a few grains or leaves slapped into a cheap bag or something like that.
If you join up after midnight my time on the 24th, it’s totally fine – your work won’t technically have started on St. Bartholomew’s feast day in that case, but there’s actually nothing in the old Cyprianic grimoires that says this work has to be done at a certain day/time/time of year. It just has to be done the right way. And the cross has to be made the right way. And since that takes *days,* this altar setup is going to be up and working for some time.
Read more or book your spot at Seraphin Station.