Ritually fixing and enchanting client's gold wristwatch for his Steady Job spell. |
Africans started with materials they used to find easily in nature, such as shells, woods, bones, seeds, stones, ivories, and pearls for various magical and spiritual representations. In the pre-colonial era, some kingdoms in Congo used beaded masks and crowns to acquire psychic abilities. Further north were the Yoruba and Fon people, who used strands of beads as emblems of their spirits. Some jewelry was also created to represent ancestors and other entities, facilitating communication with the spirit world. Bamum people used jewelry made of cowrie shells like money, becoming a symbol of wealth. The Krobo tribe was one of the main Ghanaian ethnic groups that utilized glass African trade beads called Bodum beads in their culture. Old and valuable beads were often imbued with magical and medicinal powers and passed down through families as heirloom pieces. From Ewe to Aja to Akan tribes, all across West Africa, beaded jewelry had long held a sacred place in animist religions. The priesthoods of their indigenous spirituality used them in rituals, and they were often left at shrines as offerings to the spirits.
Bodum beads. (Photo courtesy of Jack DeWitt) |
As time passed, they tried making different combinations; they began using gold and silver metals, red and pink corals, amber, copal, citrine, and even diamonds. During the colonial period, beads manufactured in Europe, such as millefiore and chevron beads, were used as mediums of exchange or payment for gold, salt, and slaves. The beads were worn for prestige and ceremonial purposes and occasionally buried with the dead. Nowadays, Africans use almost every material for their jewelry. Many traditional healers in Africa these days still wear native jewelry and beadworks as amulets, which aid them in their divinatory and mediumship activities. In contrast, other people wear them as they believe they can support them in particular spiritual issues or areas of their lives. Bead colors and types are usually chosen by the healer following the person's character or specific conditions or ailments that must be addressed.
Charmed rings and earrings for rheumatism. (Photo courtesy of Newbell Niles Puckett Memorial Gift, Cleveland Public Library, Fine Arts and Special Collections Department) |
Fixing a client's necklace pendant and crystal bracelets to ensure her success and victory! |
Today, Hoodoo practitioners fix and enchant modern jewelry in several ways and for many different reasons. Often, we find that folks use such jewelry for empowerment and motivation, for protection and to ward off evil, to heal specific parts of the body or remove adverse conditions, or as a sacred marker of a rite of passage such as baptism, marriage, or the birth of a child. This particular custom originated in African tradition in which parents adorned their children with beads when circumcised or had their first menstruation as a rite of passage into manhood or womanhood.
A King Novelty Co. catalog advertising the alleged good luck ring reputed to have money-drawing power induced in it. |
Crystal bracelets and the appropriate dressing oils for them. (Photo courtesy of Marlon Molarte, The Crystal Diva) |
Accessories that can be blessed can be crafted or designed personally or purchased from jewelry or gift shops. However, heirloom pieces of jewelry, such as wedding rings, lockets, pendants, etc., are the most recommended to use by most conjure workers. Those who are into gemstones and crystals and are familiar with their magical correspondence can make bracelets or necklaces to be ritually prepared and fixed. Others even incorporate symbols and sigils that can work for whatever the practitioner or the client desires.
A charmed prosperity pendant infused with appropriate prayers for the conditions the person is intended to address. |
On a superficial level, the charmed jewelry is a colloquial adornment or accessory reminder. As people go about their daily chores, whether at work or at a casino, the jewelry anchors them to the world of magic and the Spirit.
The challenge is to make magic a part of daily reality. People see or wear jewelry regularly as a tangible reminder of the incorporeal God. Seeing God in their lives is a progression from recognizing His presence in mundane things like jewelry to the magical and spiritual realms.
Stones, minerals, and fossils that hold ancient energy and existed in nature millions of years ago are believed to possess great power. (Photo courtesy of Marlon Molarte) |
In this way, charmed jewelry has metaphysical talismanic benefits, helping to safeguard one from evil spirits, influences, or energies and making the wearer more focused on attaining his goal. The magical accessories remind us that God is always watching us and providing our necessities, and our actions should reflect that realization.
I had heard of a friend's client who was extremely lazy and willing to give up his work just to eat, sleep, and play online games for the rest of his life. Once on his bed and at the moment of his idleness, the man's charmed pendant for success 'slapped him in the face.' Yes, he was struck literally, but also psychologically—with the jewelry around his neck appearing as a witness against him, not doing his part to succeed.
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