What Is Folk Judeo-Christianity? ~ Filipino Conjure & Rootwork

Traditional Southern Hoodoo altar (Photo Courtesy of Hoodoo, Conjure and Rootwork Facebook Group)

Due to Christianity's medieval-thinking, fundamentalist, and conservative stance, I understand that many folks have this notion that studying or practicing folk magic would conflict with Christian teachings. I still, however, like to point out that people can freely believe in Jesus and in the Bible and at the same time practice magic just like what we, Hoodoo practitioners, are doing through folk Judeo-Christianity.

This does not mean that religions, especially Christianity and Catholicism, can be reformed, as their Scripture and doctrines are based on claimed information from an All-powerful Deity written down by people long ago. Reforming such books and writings means denouncing that religion's messiah, prophets, sages, and Church doctors and doubting or denying the sacred messages within. What can be reformed, though, are the people still accepting their label as Jews, Christians, or Judeo-Christians.

I also understand what other people say: practicing magic will never work within the Judeo-Christian faith since it is primarily an anti-magic tradition. Still, suppose you consider your faith in Jesus and the Bible to be a living 'folk tradition' (as opposed to Fundamentalist tradition), a spiritual path, not an archaic religion. In that case, you could do and believe in anything, even though the clergies say, "no, you can't!"

To be a living folk tradition, your spiritual path should be updated as your knowledge and experience grow. You could tap the inner teachings of Judeo-Christian faiths and the apparently disparate system of magic. This is because; your path is not a religion in itself but a cultural system with different forms, expressions, and ways that like-minded 'folks' harness to understand the matrix of life and commune directly with God and the spirits.

A traditional Hoodoo spell is designed to help you gain the favor of the jurors and judges, block the opposition in court and make your lawyers do well during tribunal proceedings and hearings. A powerful magical working when you are dealing with civil or criminal cases and legal paperwork, so things go in your favor. This Court Case spell called upon the presence, power, and assistance of Latin American Folk Christian Justo Juez (Just Judge).

The Ten Commandments, for instance, can be demonstrated in two ways. Fundamentalist Judeo-Christian faith only considers its exoteric (outer) meaning, while Folk Judeo-Christians and conjure workers emphasize its esoteric (inner) importance. For example, the commandment, "thou shalt have no other gods before me" to the mystics esoterically means, that putting lesser gods such as money, fame, sex, and power before God means that grace cannot be received. This doesn't mean that there are no other spirits in existence. The commandment, "thou shalt not make any graven image" esoterically implies that we may make images or paintings that represent the Divine but that they should not be set in stone as the only correct image of the Divine.

The esoteric interpretations and explanations of the Bible's passages will even sound to some people to be ridiculous to discourage weak-hearted Christians from further explorations. But upon more serious contemplation and reflection, they will contain a more coherent and ultimately more convincing view of the nature of things that can be found in conventional Judeo-Christian systems of thought. The largely esoteric and hidden biblical explanations are not meant to be dogmatic pronouncements but merely alternative ways of viewing the Divine, man, and nature. If one studies this with an open mind, they will help him to understand better and apply their magical learning to biblical studies.

The thing about Judeo-Christian why it is very contradictory is that this particular faith has its own doctrines about 'most' things regarding the Divine and the world in general. As I said, it is more conservative, making most followers more arrogant and close-minded. Now, I would like to emphasize the word 'most' in the first sentence of this paragraph. Yes, Judeo-Christian does have a particular or separate approach to life in 'most' areas, but not in all areas. The Judeo-Christians, though they claim to be living independent lives apart from mysticism and esotericism, are still very much part of the mystical and esoterical world. As such, Christians share many of the beliefs, customary practices, and practical everyday patterns of life and wisdom that are common to other people from other cultures.

The Christian holidays, for instance, such as Easter, All Souls Day, and Christmas, bear the distinct mark of ancient festivals. This example shows that cross-cultural influence or borrowing was taking place on several different levels among several people of the ancient world. Judeo-Christians too are part of the environment of cultural sharing. This is another good reason I believe one can still practice magic and be a Bible-believing person.

But in this matter of borrowing, Fundamentalist Judeo-Christianity does differ from other cultures in one area: the biblical God is a jealous Deity. For this reason, Fundamentalist people believe that dependence upon or borrowing from different cultures doesn't necessarily mean agreement. Apparently, the way I see it, they think that the borrowing wasn't a kind of acculturation or syncretism derived from the cross-fertilization of ideas but instead characteristically cast the borrowed ideas in a different mold. However, this mold resulted in disregarding and maligning the esoteric beliefs and magical practices. Since Judeo-Christians placed all thought and every aspect of their lives, wherever derived, in and under the full theistic context of Yahwistic faith.

So we see that even though the Judeo-Christian faith did embrace various practices, it still wants, mainly because of the misinterpretations, prejudiced understandings, or one-sided explanations of biblical commands, to shatter magical and other esoteric traditions. The forces and powers utilized by magic practitioners are falsely identified as Satanic and demonic. They are said to be powers that pollute people's minds, diverting them from redemption and holding them hostage to Satan. This is why I believe one can't practice magic and be a Fundamentalist Christian at the same time. You are either a Christian or a magic practitioner. You cannot be both.

Nevertheless, I must still return to what I emphasized at the beginning of this post. I believe you can still practice magic and simultaneously believe in the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the biblical God - but if and only if you're doing it 'outside' the Fundamentalist Judeo-Christian faith. With all these laws and prohibitions against magical and occult studies affecting the inner desire of everyone's heart, we should never forget that each folk also has his own peculiar manner of thinking and cultural upbringing. Not just because one believes in Jesus Christ, he must reflect primarily and fundamentally a Western Christian way of looking at things. Though the Bible in which he based his faith is a Judeo-Christian book, he may stand in distinct contrast to other orthodox Christians; one's beliefs could be different from conservative faith - in nature of his God, in the manner of worship, in ethical values and in practice, one could have unique and separate ways outside the boundaries of Fundamentalist Christianity.

St. Expedite and St. Martha The Dominator are much-beloved saints that are worked within the practice of Catholic Hoodoo and other Folk-Christian traditions.

Folk Judeo-Christianity, in other words, is a Judeo-Christian spirituality of the folks (of the 'people'), disconnected from official Church stances or religious teachings. Regarding the level of 'spirituality,' individual workers will vary in their level of spiritual progress. Folks believing in this type of Christianity do not usually perceive inconsistencies between Biblical teachings and traditional folklore.

That said, I dislike the authority and discrimination that many Fundamentalist Christians show towards other Folk Judeo-Christians, but I equally detest the authority and discrimination that many Folk Christians show towards different paths. Isn't it hypocritical to rain that same authority and discrimination down on them? Imposing one's belief on others comes abrupt, violent, or by force, and if not, then basically from one doctrine to another.

We, Hoodoo practitioners, should know better, and we should live as a follower of Christ who practices African-American folk magic. Damn all those Fundamentalist dogmas claim! Sometimes, we all need cooperation rather than competition and argument. The more we leave religious doctrines in our minds, the more we become human.

The belief in anting-anting is a Filipino folkway of expressing Christian faith but has mythological roots preceding Spanish colonization and Catholicism (Photo courtesy of Ariel Marzan).

See, What Our Path Is

Being immensely interested in African diaspora religions and Folk Catholicism, we primarily honor our ancestors, Church saints, angels, folk saints, and Afro-Caribbean spirits such as loas and orishas. If we absolutely have to put a label on ourselves, we prefer the label of “Folk Judeo-Christian” as we live according to the customs and traditions of conjure workers and root doctors from the Deep South and syncretic followers of Christ in various nations of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Our spirituality includes West African-based Caribbean-style tradition as well as Esoteric Christianity and Yoruba religion. Generally, we practice Gullah folk magic popularly known in the Deep South as Hoodoo or Lowcountry Voodoo; the ancient wisdom founded by Orunmila in Ile-Ife called Ifa, and a bit of Lihim na Karunungan (Filipino Esotericism or Philippine Mystery Tradition).

Respect, What Hoodoo Is

Despite visible evidence of Central West African, Islamic/Moorish, Native American, Judeo-Christian, European, and even a few East Indian/Hindu, Chinese, and Latino/Caribbean retentions, influences, and admixtures, this does not mean that Hoodoo is an open and unrestricted system of eclectic magic.

Conjure, and Rootwork is rooted in African-American culture and Folk Protestant Christianity. Any practitioners of Hoodoo who did not grow up within African-American culture should still have a fuller understanding and high regard for its origin.

In the beginning, the early conjure doctors were entirely Black. The students were all Black, the elders were Black, the teaching was Black, and they focused only on Blacks as their audience. But other races were accepted when they had also been brought into the Hoodoo community and learned the tradition. Even so, we should still acknowledge that Hoodoo, Conjure, or Rootwork is not ours but only belongs to the Black community. We are just believers who are grafted into their rich yet humble tradition and, by word and deed, embrace genuine African-American folk spirituality and magic. This is all we can do for all the blessings we received from God and our Black ancestors.

Hoodoo's lack of religious structure and hierarchical authority do not mean that any person or group can appropriate or redefine it. If one cannot respect Hoodoo as it is and for what it is, then please, do not play with it.

Learn, How Conjure Is Worked On

Authentic Conjure is not all about blending and selling oils and casting spells online to make money. Hoodoo has its own spiritual philosophy, theology, and a wide range of African-American folkways, customs, and practices which include, but are not limited to, veneration of the ancestors, Holy Ghost shouting, snake reverence, spirit possession, graveyard conjure, nkisi practices, Black hermeneutics, African-American church traditions, the ring shout, the Kongo cosmogram, ritual water immersions, crossroads magic, making conjure canes, animal sacrifices, Jewish scriptural magic, enemy works, Seekin' ritual, magical incorporation of bodily fluids, etc.

Unfortunately, they are currently missing in marketeered or commercial Hoodoo, as they are being removed, disregarded, or ignored by unknowing merchants who simply want to profit from an African-American spiritual tradition, thus reducing Hoodoo to just a plethora of recipes, spells, and tricks.

Tim and I are completely aware that we are not African-Americans, so we are doing our best to retain and preserve the customs and traditions of the slave ancestors to avoid unnecessary conflict with the larger Black-Belt Hoodoo community and prevent them from labeling us inauthentic outsiders and our practice as mere 'cultural misappropriation.'

Accept, Who We Are

The byproduct of eons of slave history, Black supremacists believe that only people with African or African-American blood are real Hoodoo practitioners and are often inclined to consider themselves as the elite of the Hoodoo community; a place in which they believed that Whites, Latinos, Asians or any other races who do not have Black ancestry do not belong. Black supremacists are prone to be very hostile towards both “outsiders” and those accepting of them, fearing that their promotion and acceptance would dilute or even negate the Black identity of Hoodoo.

Although we do understand why some Blacks hold this stance, since a lot of people nowadays are misappropriating many aspects of Hoodoo and teaching the spiritual path even without proper education and training (for purely monetary purposes), we would, however, want to say that not all non-Black Hoodoo practitioners are the same.

WE respect what Hoodoo is, and we never try to change it, claim it as our own, disregard its history, take unfair advantage of it, speak against the people who preserve it, and mix it with other cultures (like our own) and call it Filipino/Pinoy Hoodoo, Gypsy Hoodoo or Wiccan Hoodoo because there are no such things.