“My mother has told me this and I have done it twice. If you are trying to sell your house, then you should plant two separate Saint Joseph statues upside down, feet facing the street on both sides of your house’s front yard. You can plant one upside down, but if you want to sell your house very badly, then you should really plant two statues. I am not Catholic, and I decided to raise my kids Lutheran like their father, but my mother is very Catholic and was determined that this trick would work.”

“I gave it a try when I was trying to sell our home in Connecticut, and within three weeks of planting the statue my house was sold. I put Saint Joseph by the doors of the house, just like I was told to do. My mother had actually sent me four dolls, so I put an extra one by the back door. My mother also sent me a prayer to Saint Joseph that you are supposed to read in conjunction with placing the statues, but I did not read it. It felt too much like voodoo or something. Since then I have told all my friends and family who were selling their houses to do this as well. My mother and sister have both sold their home in the same way.”

This story is an instance of sympathetic magic, because the statues represent the power and holiness of Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph was a carpenter, which probably accounts for why he is used as a patron of houses in this ritual. This instance is particularly powerful, because even though Linda is no longer a practicing Catholic, and has changed denominations to Lutheranism, she still believes in the ritual enough to do it, and to spread word about it.