First and foremost, Hoodoo is *NOT* Voodoo, Voudu, Vodun or any of the other alternative spellings for the African Diasporic faith most commonly associated with Haiti and New Orleans. In fact, according to some sources, much of "New Orleans voodoo" actually began as catholicized hoodoo. The most important difference is that hoodoo is folk magic, not religion. Thus it tends to adapt to the religious or spiritual beliefs of the practitioner. As a result of the zeitgeist (meaning "time ghost" or the spirit of a culture in a given time and place) which bore it, hoodoo is largely but not *exclusively* Protestant Christian.
Secondly, hoodoo is not exclusively African. The basic framework of hoodoo is built on the bones of African tribal traditions. Methods like foot-tracking and bone reading found in hoodoo are VERY African as are "mojo bags" "loaded" objects which derive from ancient fetish magics known as "juju" among some tribes. However, hoodoo as a whole is part of a "black culture" from the period between emancipation and WWII which included groups like the "black Irish" and "black Dutch" both pale of pigment, but quite shunned by "white" society. Other contributors include the Roma (aka "gypsy" a word equivalent to "nigger" for some) Native Americans, Scottish, Jews and mixed race people like mulattoes and melungeons. Many of these people ended up trying to scrape out a living in deep rural backwoods communities where they lived together in mutual oppression. I know because it's exactly how my grandparents and great grandparents lived and where I get my background from living in the same area under similar conditions. Most modern folk really can't understand what it's like. When honest work is scarce and what can be found won't take you or, if you are lucky, will underpay and overwork you, expecting you to happily endure their oppression, a need arises to try and level the playing field. When medical doctors are too far away and too expensive for most of you to go to, a need grows and the tendency is to take advantage of any resource you have in order to fill it. Thus was hoodoo born of the collective knowledge of many cultures which became one in hard times.
I can remember my grandmother sitting around the dining room table, sipping coffee with the old ladies and sharing recipes and talking about remedies for all sorts of ails. That is how hoodoo was transferred. It is not some secret family lineage and anyone who treats it as such is just looking to exploit an imaginary advantage. Sure, there are things you pick up in a family, tricks you can learn etc, but that is not what hoodoo is. Hoodoo draws from all kinds of sources, has always sought for greater power through expansion of knowledge and eagerly drawn from any source available. Some things would be kept intact, others would be dissected, selecting only the most useful or accessible elements and applying them in different formats. Perhaps the best modern classification of hoodoo is as a form of experimental natural magic.
Most hoodoo operations make use of plant, animal and mineral objects, to achieve its goals. These may be used in conjunction with candles, drawn or embroidered seals or sigils, and spoken words. One unique aspect of hoodoo is the use of psalms and other bible verses as magical spells. In the old days, it was preferable to speak these in Hebrew but nowadays most just use English. Because the bible would have been a common household object, sometimes the only book a household owned, this made it a convenient and accessible source of power. It is easy to see how some might think hoodoo is a form a Christian magic only, but one does not have to be a strict adherent to Christianity to own a bible. Bottom line, hoodoo is a magic of convenience, not a dogmatic system. We use what works and take advantage of what we have at hand.
There are so many books written and published about hoodoo and the tendency of our society is to consider anything that is written as being set in stone. This is simply not the case with "traditional" hoodoo. An old southern riddle comes to mind here. What is the difference in a violin and a fiddle? The answer is "soul" because, physically, they are the same instrument. While hoodoo may use some of the same "tools" of other traditions the way in which it employs them may be dramatically different. It is more about style than it is about strict adherence to formula. I have personally known of conjure doctors (as practitioners are sometimes called) who have used canola oil from the kitchen cupboard to anoint a patient when a "proper" anointing oil was not available.
The prevailing belief among practitioners is that the power ultimately comes from a higher source and that, through this power, anything can be "unlocked" or "imbued" with the ability to do what is needed. Another primary feature of hoodoo is a clear and honest rapport with spiritual powers. Ancestors, angels, saints or the God of Abraham may be among these spirits, but that does not rule out demons, devils, nephilim, or any number of "foreign" gods or spirits from other religions and traditions nor does it mean that a practitioner is "evil" for working with any such beings. In hoodoo, we do what needs to be done. There is piety for sure, but there is no real judgement of "good" or "evil" because it is understood that both mercy and severity are of God and, therefore, righteous. The judgment is reserved for the Judge of All, and that is why hoodoo work can never be considered "evil" because God would not lend the power to accomplish a goal that is not in some way justified or needed. All forms of harmful work come with the clear and certain knowledge that it can easily be returned and the risk is considered inherent in the attack. Still, what needs to be done must be done and trust is put into the hands of the Higher Power for better or worse "thy will be done" is the name of the game.
Some people work almost exclusively with herbs, roots, stones and bones. These people are perhaps more appropriately called "rootworkers" though the term is used pretty much interchangeably with conjure doctor (further confusion comes with the equally prevalent conjure worker and root doctor). An interesting facet of this is that they do not confine their work only to magical operations but also traditional herbalism. They may maintain gardens or forage in the wild for various ingredients that they will use for everything from treating the common cold to curing warts or removing curses. Container spells such as "mojo hands" which are cloth bags or bundles that contain various natural or man made objects, "spirit bottles" which are meant to house or trap various entities, or jars filed with various elements to influence people and situations are common methods used, as is the manufacture of oils, tinctures and salves. Both physical and metaphysical concerns are treated with equally serious consideration and the same no-nonsense, matter-of-fact approach. "Got a cough? drink this tea. Think you been cursed? Take a bath with this root." Another common misconception I want to address at this juncture is that rootwork is not confined to the use of only certain plants. Now that the practice has spread beyond the American South-East, people should be more open to exploring their native flora and fauna for magical use. How these things are used in hoodoo has always been based on the doctrine of signatures and native medicine. If something was not "traditionally" used in hoodoo it is because we didn't have access to it, doesn't mean it won't work.
The final element we will address here is the station of "gifted seer" which is a sort of hoodoo oracle. These people may or may not engage in any conjure or root work, but may be known for having "the sight" which may imply clairvoyance or psychometry (ability to read through touch) but equally applies to readers of various media. Tarot is a relatively modern addition, but is highly popular. However, the common "poker deck" of playing cards was more at home in the old days and some, like myself, still prefer it. Readers also use dice, animal bones, shells, pendulums, candle wax, water, glass orbs, mirrors and any number of other methods. Diagnostic methods such as reading bumps on the skull, lines on the palm, shape and color of finger nails and so on were also more common "back when" as we say. Sadly, much of the old way has been all but lost and forgotten. I should like to see more revival of these methods, and would be more than honored if this article managed to inspire a few to such revival.
And that, kinfolk, is all we have for today. I hope to have my book available for purchase soon and will be taking students for personal tutelage as long as I have the time. Be sure to look me up on facebook, Ray Hess at Doctor Hawk's Cures and Conjure and Spark of Truth Ministries as these are the best ways to reach me besides by phone, which is listed on my page. I hope I have managed to impart some useful knowledge or inspire some new students to the practice. Hoodoo, to me, is a fine piece of southern heritage that proves how people can come together, putting aside petty differences, and create something good out of the bad. It is more than a means of changing our luck, it also changes our lives, our perspectives and, if we let it, it can change our world.
Secondly, hoodoo is not exclusively African. The basic framework of hoodoo is built on the bones of African tribal traditions. Methods like foot-tracking and bone reading found in hoodoo are VERY African as are "mojo bags" "loaded" objects which derive from ancient fetish magics known as "juju" among some tribes. However, hoodoo as a whole is part of a "black culture" from the period between emancipation and WWII which included groups like the "black Irish" and "black Dutch" both pale of pigment, but quite shunned by "white" society. Other contributors include the Roma (aka "gypsy" a word equivalent to "nigger" for some) Native Americans, Scottish, Jews and mixed race people like mulattoes and melungeons. Many of these people ended up trying to scrape out a living in deep rural backwoods communities where they lived together in mutual oppression. I know because it's exactly how my grandparents and great grandparents lived and where I get my background from living in the same area under similar conditions. Most modern folk really can't understand what it's like. When honest work is scarce and what can be found won't take you or, if you are lucky, will underpay and overwork you, expecting you to happily endure their oppression, a need arises to try and level the playing field. When medical doctors are too far away and too expensive for most of you to go to, a need grows and the tendency is to take advantage of any resource you have in order to fill it. Thus was hoodoo born of the collective knowledge of many cultures which became one in hard times.
I can remember my grandmother sitting around the dining room table, sipping coffee with the old ladies and sharing recipes and talking about remedies for all sorts of ails. That is how hoodoo was transferred. It is not some secret family lineage and anyone who treats it as such is just looking to exploit an imaginary advantage. Sure, there are things you pick up in a family, tricks you can learn etc, but that is not what hoodoo is. Hoodoo draws from all kinds of sources, has always sought for greater power through expansion of knowledge and eagerly drawn from any source available. Some things would be kept intact, others would be dissected, selecting only the most useful or accessible elements and applying them in different formats. Perhaps the best modern classification of hoodoo is as a form of experimental natural magic.
Most hoodoo operations make use of plant, animal and mineral objects, to achieve its goals. These may be used in conjunction with candles, drawn or embroidered seals or sigils, and spoken words. One unique aspect of hoodoo is the use of psalms and other bible verses as magical spells. In the old days, it was preferable to speak these in Hebrew but nowadays most just use English. Because the bible would have been a common household object, sometimes the only book a household owned, this made it a convenient and accessible source of power. It is easy to see how some might think hoodoo is a form a Christian magic only, but one does not have to be a strict adherent to Christianity to own a bible. Bottom line, hoodoo is a magic of convenience, not a dogmatic system. We use what works and take advantage of what we have at hand.
There are so many books written and published about hoodoo and the tendency of our society is to consider anything that is written as being set in stone. This is simply not the case with "traditional" hoodoo. An old southern riddle comes to mind here. What is the difference in a violin and a fiddle? The answer is "soul" because, physically, they are the same instrument. While hoodoo may use some of the same "tools" of other traditions the way in which it employs them may be dramatically different. It is more about style than it is about strict adherence to formula. I have personally known of conjure doctors (as practitioners are sometimes called) who have used canola oil from the kitchen cupboard to anoint a patient when a "proper" anointing oil was not available.
The prevailing belief among practitioners is that the power ultimately comes from a higher source and that, through this power, anything can be "unlocked" or "imbued" with the ability to do what is needed. Another primary feature of hoodoo is a clear and honest rapport with spiritual powers. Ancestors, angels, saints or the God of Abraham may be among these spirits, but that does not rule out demons, devils, nephilim, or any number of "foreign" gods or spirits from other religions and traditions nor does it mean that a practitioner is "evil" for working with any such beings. In hoodoo, we do what needs to be done. There is piety for sure, but there is no real judgement of "good" or "evil" because it is understood that both mercy and severity are of God and, therefore, righteous. The judgment is reserved for the Judge of All, and that is why hoodoo work can never be considered "evil" because God would not lend the power to accomplish a goal that is not in some way justified or needed. All forms of harmful work come with the clear and certain knowledge that it can easily be returned and the risk is considered inherent in the attack. Still, what needs to be done must be done and trust is put into the hands of the Higher Power for better or worse "thy will be done" is the name of the game.
Some people work almost exclusively with herbs, roots, stones and bones. These people are perhaps more appropriately called "rootworkers" though the term is used pretty much interchangeably with conjure doctor (further confusion comes with the equally prevalent conjure worker and root doctor). An interesting facet of this is that they do not confine their work only to magical operations but also traditional herbalism. They may maintain gardens or forage in the wild for various ingredients that they will use for everything from treating the common cold to curing warts or removing curses. Container spells such as "mojo hands" which are cloth bags or bundles that contain various natural or man made objects, "spirit bottles" which are meant to house or trap various entities, or jars filed with various elements to influence people and situations are common methods used, as is the manufacture of oils, tinctures and salves. Both physical and metaphysical concerns are treated with equally serious consideration and the same no-nonsense, matter-of-fact approach. "Got a cough? drink this tea. Think you been cursed? Take a bath with this root." Another common misconception I want to address at this juncture is that rootwork is not confined to the use of only certain plants. Now that the practice has spread beyond the American South-East, people should be more open to exploring their native flora and fauna for magical use. How these things are used in hoodoo has always been based on the doctrine of signatures and native medicine. If something was not "traditionally" used in hoodoo it is because we didn't have access to it, doesn't mean it won't work.
The final element we will address here is the station of "gifted seer" which is a sort of hoodoo oracle. These people may or may not engage in any conjure or root work, but may be known for having "the sight" which may imply clairvoyance or psychometry (ability to read through touch) but equally applies to readers of various media. Tarot is a relatively modern addition, but is highly popular. However, the common "poker deck" of playing cards was more at home in the old days and some, like myself, still prefer it. Readers also use dice, animal bones, shells, pendulums, candle wax, water, glass orbs, mirrors and any number of other methods. Diagnostic methods such as reading bumps on the skull, lines on the palm, shape and color of finger nails and so on were also more common "back when" as we say. Sadly, much of the old way has been all but lost and forgotten. I should like to see more revival of these methods, and would be more than honored if this article managed to inspire a few to such revival.
And that, kinfolk, is all we have for today. I hope to have my book available for purchase soon and will be taking students for personal tutelage as long as I have the time. Be sure to look me up on facebook, Ray Hess at Doctor Hawk's Cures and Conjure and Spark of Truth Ministries as these are the best ways to reach me besides by phone, which is listed on my page. I hope I have managed to impart some useful knowledge or inspire some new students to the practice. Hoodoo, to me, is a fine piece of southern heritage that proves how people can come together, putting aside petty differences, and create something good out of the bad. It is more than a means of changing our luck, it also changes our lives, our perspectives and, if we let it, it can change our world.
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