Since Spartans were very much of the mentality that a group is only as strong as its weakest link, this practice was believed to prevent any weak links in their society, ensuring only the strongest and genetically best humans would live to become Spartan citizens.Unsurprisingly, though, this practice also led to a huge population disparity between free Spartans and the people they enslaved.Sparta’s devotion to warrior culture also made it unique in its spiritual outlook.Though one side may come out victorious in war, sometimes the effort is not worth the cost, and both sides end up losing in the long run.More so, however, his spiritual psychology is believed to have played just as big of a role, and this magical way of seeing the world was imbued in him by both his parents.

Rome had a lot of commonalities with Greece in terms of spirituality and culture.The biggest difference, though, was how much respect, honor, and admiration Romans had for warfare and brute strength compared to that of most Greeks.To most Greeks, Ares was abhorred as a brute and regarded as someone not to be admired due to his lust for carnage and enjoyment of being in the mêlée of battle.Conversely, the Roman Mars was elevated to a position of utmost respect.No longer was he simply a deity of battle, he was now the ideal male, a symbol of masculine virility who used his great strength to both conquer and protect.With Rome now a mythologized idea, it became almost a form of worship to fight for her, to make her stronger, to make her richer, to make her more influential.You might not think it, but this was absolutely revolutionary for the times.You see, before a general named Gaius Marius reformed the Roman army to include men from all economic backgrounds, only the wealthy upper classes could become soldiers.After all, if fighting for Rome on the battlefield was an honored sacred duty, then prevailing thought was that only the best of society could be allowed to participate in such martial worship.Furthermore, they thought that only the wealthy could be loyal soldiers since poor people would have less of an incentive fighting for a state that kept them systemically oppressed and impoverished.

Look like a great idea

Alexander the Great and the generals of ancient Rome knew their strategy well.Rather, their troops persevered through the terrors of war because they believed in their leaders to be powerful people with a vision to change the world and the capability to bring about that change.Conversely, that’s also the same spark that ignites infernos of horror such as hate crimes, genocides, and mass killings.After all, being charismatic and influential is only a good thing if the charismatic influencer is a good person.So, your takeaway challenge here is twofold.First, develop an image of power that others can recognize.Even if that power is being seen as that reliable person who always get the job done, that is enough.It doesn’t have to be something grand, but it does have to be recognized by others because that is how you influence your allies and the next generation of warriors for the cause.Remember, you don’t have to be strong, but you need to appear strong because I guarantee you that someone, somewhere, is looking up to you whether you know it or not.

Among the ancient Greeks, Alexander was reviled for his enjoyment of combat and for giving over to passion and emotions amid the throes of battle as opposed to staying detached, calm, and collected like Athena.However, among those who do respect and worship him, it is his protective nature and defense of the weak that made them devotees.Because Rome was politically and economically reliant upon constant conquering, Mars held high prominence among the rulers, the people, and especially the military.He was an existing deity since the dawn of the Kingdom of Rome, but it wasn’t until the waning years of Imperial Rome that he became really influential after Emperor Aurelian promoted him to the ranks of a major deity.This, however, was a strategic political move more so than divine inspiration or personal devotion.Moreover, by tactically aligning himself heavily with Sol Invictus in speech and art, Aurelian hoped that this overt push for unified devotion to one supreme deity would also covertly get everyone to support him as their one supreme ruler.His story has since been made into the landmark Stanley Kubrick and Kirk Douglas film Spartacus, and though the documented accounts of his leadership of the slave resistance are contradictory, almost all reliable sources agree that he was a great martial leader.The more reliable accounts say that Spartacus was originally a mercenary from Greece who was hired by the Roman military, but after his desertion, he was captured and sold into slavery as a gladiator in southern Italy.There, he led a prison break and managed to escape with about seventy other enslaved gladiators and much of the compound’s armor and weapons.Word got around about his victories over mighty Rome and inspired other enslaved people to also revolt and join up with him, swelling Spartacus’s ranks to about seventy thousand.

Spartacus treated his followers well, making sure to equally split any spoils of war and treat everyone humanely.He also began actively attacking towns and estates throughout southern Italy in order to free more enslaved people and garner supplies to feed and arm his followers.After three years of Spartacus running havoc among the southern Italian upper class, the wealthiest man in Republican Rome, Marcus Licinius Crassus, took total control of the Roman military and personally led an unprecedentedly large force to stifle the resistance.Knowing that Crassus’s army far outnumbered his own and was composed of much better fighters, Spartacus negotiated with some pirates to transport his people off the Italian peninsula and away from Roman reach, but the pirates betrayed him by taking the money and not providing the ships.Crassus made an example of the enslaved rebels by crucifying six thousand of them along the road between their original gladiatorial prison and the gates of Rome.Nevertheless, Spartacus’s slave rebellion fundamentally changed Rome’s internal politics and became a major impetus for the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.

I’m a practicing Witch, and a sister Fellow of Sojourner Truth Leadership Circle, sponsored by Auburn Seminary.As such there is much at my disposal to help me cope during these trying times.Yet I too am not immune to the suffering and conflict.But even in these dark times, I can call upon the strength of ten thousand women.In my daily practice I call upon the Archangels for protection, through the ritual of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.I acknowledge the directions of East, South, West, and North, every day.I give thanks and gratitude every day.And these rituals, which have become my daily spiritual and magickal practice, help me get through the tough times, as well as celebrate the good times.

Since your feet carry powerful intent of your will with them, some spells, such as this one, reinforce the power of your feet.Gun powder incorporates yet another category of magick, Sympathetic Magick.If your feet become as strong and powerful as guns, you will be very hard to stop.This potent combination obviously will help you step over malicious things put in your path.With Protect Me Powder, you can go about your day, step high, and be empowered.

We all need a good body guard from time to time.Any practicing Hoodoo would agree protection is a necessary, if not essential, part of the Hoodoo practice.Here is a traditional protective body guard, in the form of a mojo bag that draws on the melding of potent High John the Conqueror Root, chamber lye, silver, and Hoyt’s Cologne.Try to create this when the moon is full.Add the silver dime and High John the Conqueror Root to this jar.The next morning, remove the dime and root and pat them dry with a paper towel or rag.Pull the drawstring tightly and fix with knotted purple ribbon.

Tie this mojo around your waist.Now feel safer under the confluence of alchemical elements from which your body guard has been made.These are unprecedented times.To say these times have been stressful would be an understatement.Daily, people are faced with restrictions, which include social distancing, and wearing masks, and there are protests happening in the United States and across the world to battle police brutality and racism.So how does a Black woman, an African American woman, such as myself cope?How do I use my magickal spirituality and training to get through these hard times?Easy does it and one day at a time.