A Brief History of St. Expedite

St. Expedite does not appear in the Catholic cannon. This isn't something I know because I'm a practicing Catholic – although I did go to Catholic school briefly as a child, and I loved the ritual, but that's a whole other story.

St. Expedite is a saint whose existence parallels America, southern rootwork, and hoodoo well. These are things you haven't heard me talk about much, if at all before. My 'kitchin within' (as I like to call it) has been something that I share only with those who need it and ask, and part of my past I never intended (at least at the outside) to bring into what I thought was going to be a strictly astrological practice.

But I digress. This is about the history of St. Expedite.

Like Jazz, St. Expedite is uniquely American. Born from a bit of luck, a bit of faith, and touch of things lost in translation. Or so the story goes:

St. Expedite came into being when some folks at a church opened a package of generic looking saint statue. The outside of the package read 'expedite' and the hapless church clerics attributed that as the name of the effigy inside.

I'm paraphrasing here from the short book Saint Expedite, written by Jaime Alexzander published by Haden Press (2011).

The statue inside must have been of a roman centurian, because as of today St. Expedite is a folk saint known for rending aid to those in need with all due haste. Said to have been a soldier set to die, he insisted on the water and bread necessary to mark his conversion to Christianity. That is why his words are "Hodie! Hodie! Hodie!" Which means: today.

St. Expedite is someone that folks appeal to for emergency aid – particularly in the form of cash. Urgent need is something St. Expedite responds to. But, he was a a Roman Centurion. A soldier for hire. So, you have to make a deal – and it's imperative that you keep your word.

He's benevolent. Happy to help. Godly, so you don't have to worry about working with nefarious beings, or anything like that.

Petitioning St. Expedite

The simplest petition to St. Expedite involved a sincere prayer consisting of something as bare bones as:

"Hodie! Hodie! Hodie! Help me St. Expedite with all due haste. I'm in need of" say the thing you need urgently and be specific (the first petition isn't necessarily the time to think long-game).

If you have nothing at all to offer him upfront, offer him sincere praise when he delivers. And then keep up your end of the bargain. Better yet – ask him for enough that you can get him a few of the things he like to be rewarded with (more on that below).

Sing His Praises!

If you ever wondered why you've seen things like this:

(and yes, it was an emergency to get to the airport on time that day. one of the most solid homie hookups your boy has ever done me, tbh.)

Or this:

And honestly, you'll see it all over the place. St. Expedite loves to have his name spread all over the place. In fact, I suspect that it's actually a strictly necessary part of the post-operation process.

Offerings

You will see these every single place you look for information on St. Expedite:

• pound cake (with him having a strong preference for Sara Lee)
• water
• red wine (watered down a little)
• red flowers (perhaps carnations specifically, or roses)
• white, red, or gold colors

I've also seen crow feathers, a bell, and a white, yellow, or red candle.

If you set up an altar for St. Expedite, it should also include an image of him. And it can include a rosary too.

Petitioning St. Expedite

As I said above, it's really quite easy.

If you do have an altar set up for him, approach it with respect. At minimum put out a clean glass of water for him before starting.

If you've chosen to offer anything else upfront (like pound cake, flowers, or wine) then place them out now. If you've chose to light a candle, and/or to employ a petition paper, do that now too.

Knock three times, or ring a a nice sounding bell three times. Then, call out to him in a commanding tone – like a commanding officer to a soldier. Call with urgency, and let the power of your need and the strength of your faith in Expedite ability to fulfill your request infuse the space.

Speak your petition, something like:

"Hodie! Hodie! Hodie! St. Expedite who intercedes and helps without delay. I call upon you blessed by your quick work, and I seek your aid once more. I'm in urgent need of <this thing> and I'll put in the work, so please help me see it done. I offer you <this upfront> and upon fulfillment of my petition I'll pay you <this offering> as well."

Some folks also like to pray one or more prayers before, during, or after their petitions to St. Expedite. Our Fathers and Hail Mary's are among those, as well as certain Psalms. You can learn more about those in the book cited previous.

Astrological Thoughts on Expedite

Based on the product sheet that came with the Sphere + Sundry St. Expedite materia from a series run a few years back, St. Expedite may naturally be keyed to Wednesdays.

That being said, I've found him to be plenty happy to get to work on a Tuesday. Whether that's because of his past life as a soldier, or because of the particulars of Mars in my chart, I'm not sure.

What I do know is that he's hot, and fast, and expansive. All qualities that sound variously like Mars, Mercury and Jupiter. And considering what St. Expedite is called upon for – to act as a soldier of fortune(s), literally – it's not surprising that those spheres would be most readily accessible to him.

Don't count him out for handy containment of planets of the opposite nature.

Need to break through stagnancy and frozen Saturnian stuckness? Call on him.
Need to harness and rein in scattered Mercurial thinking? Call on him.
Need some serious resourcing, if you're going to stay safe? Call on him! He'd love to help.

And he'll do it for nothing more than your praise. If that's all you've got to give.

Just know, he doesn't do bad faith promises; and truthfully, he's not the most inclined to forgive repeated forgetfulness either.

Be sure to only ask him for one thing at a time, and don't ask for another until you've upheld your side of the agreement.

The standard image of St. Expedite shows a Roman Centurion in uniform. Underfoot is a crow calling out 'Cras', Latin for tomorrow. In the image above, near his head, we see the word 'Hodie' meaning today. The palm is a reference to his conversion and martyrdom, and the laurel crowns are presumably the standard crowing glory victory symbol.

Final Thoughts

As you can probably imagine, I'm publishing this page – rather out of step with my brand – in order to honor St. Expedite.

After a couple years of building a relationship I've got a sense of what he's able to do for me within the bounds of what I'm able to do period. And so these days, I find myself working with him more to help me push through fear, imposter syndrome, and spinning my wheels deep in the ADHD.

The best ways to work with St. Expedite will come to you after building up a long-term relationship. Where that will lead you is hard to say.

Some folks have been known to take out an ad in the paper. Some make a webpage. Others make whole series of magical materia that add legion to his devotees:

St. Expedite I

Following on the distinguished heels of Asclepius II and Hermanubis, Saint Expedite is the patron of our third series mediated through a spirit form. It was constructed after an invocation of Expedite on December 20th, 2018 during the full Gemini Moon in the hour of Mercury, as the Messenger was con…

Sphere + SundrySphere + Sundry

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If you'd like to reach out to Bear directly you can reach him at: contact@bearryver.com

Bear Ryver is a professional astrologer helping his clients hone strategies for grounded growth and embodied empowerment by bringing them back to the BASICS. Winner of OPA’s Most Promising Astrologer in 2018, Bear has lectured at conferences like NORWAC and ISAR. He holds certifications in Hellenistic, Electional, and Horary astrology, and specializes in Intersectional Astrology. He was a teacher for the Portland School of Astrology, and has volunteered as a mentor for AFAN. When he’s not talking stars, or pulling cards, you can find him climbing rocks and playing guitar.