Jack Ball ~ Filipino Conjure & Rootwork

Jack ball is a collection of magical items rolled in candle wax and wrapped in red string or thread. Enough string is often left for it to be suspended. Jack balls are also called jack bags, conjure balls, or luck balls, depending on where and how they are made and what is placed inside them. Jack balls may bring money, luck, love, a job, or protection. They can also be used in divination. Some folks believe that misused jack balls could cause different kinds of trouble.

The precursors of jack balls are Kongo charms, in which roots and branches are bound or tied with a symbolic number of knots. Its origin can be traced back to a numinous being known as Funza or Mpulu Bunzi in BaKongo mythology. This entity acted as an intermediary between humanity and the Creator God, Nzambi, and released powerful spiritual forces into the earth to aid humans in everyday affairs by distributing different charms. Funza/Mpulu Bunzi was believed to manifest in twisted roots and deformed branches. He taught the first humans the recipes to create particular medicines which could embody and control the powers of various spirits. The story varies by region or tribe, but one anecdote claims that Funza/Mpulu Bunzi spoke to a man named Mukulu in a dream and gave him the ingredients and procedures for harnessing the power of all spiritual forces so that he could pass them down to future generations for healing and law enforcement. Dr. Fu-Kiau Bunseki, one of the great scholars of the African religion and the leading authority on the Bantu-Kongo civilization, explained that: "When you see a twisted root within a charm, you know, like a tornado hidden in an egg, that this charm is very, very strong." This belief in twisted roots, branches, or any plant material concealed and wounded in a physical container such as knotted threads or fabric as sources of great power survived in Hoodoo as jack balls.

Each conjure doctor has slightly varying methods of making a jack ball, probably stemming from family traditions and regional differences. One of the old-fashioned recipes for a jack ball contains one each of the three roots known as 'John' - High John the Conqueror root, Low John (Little John to Chew) root, and Southern John (Dixie John) root, that is reputed to strengthen one's nature, give power and victory over enemies, rule and dominate friends and foes alike, and protect oneself from harm.

Jack ball and knucklebones.

My teachers from Mississippi and South Carolina told me that in making a jack ball, these roots should be wound around the hair and name paper of the person for whom the ball is made, which is written in his or her own handwriting, preferably on a piece of brown grocery bag paper. In addition to these herbal curios, the ball must also contain chips of Master root, Sampson Snake Root, and magnetic sand. Next, I was taught to melt a white or purple candle and gently press it around the roots (with personal concerns) or roll them into the melted wax to form a ball of wax that resembles the red rubber jack ball or jack stone, as found in the game of Jacks. I know some conjure workers use chewing gum instead of melted wax in making jack balls. As I do this, I pray for my intention and ensure that all the roots are covered in wax. Once done, I dress it with a condition oil and breathe into it as I recite specific prayers or Psalms.

Blessed wax ball.

Wrapping the ball, I was also taught to do this in a specific method. My mentors taught me to first wrap the ball in an 'X' fashion, crisscrossing and winding the thread around the wax ball until it was completely covered. Then I leave a 12-inch long piece of tail. After that, I thread the tail through a large needle and run it through the center of the ball. I pull the needle with the string through until it comes out the opposite end. Lastly, I knot the end of the string thrice to complete the jack ball. Dressing the jack ball with one's own urine (for females) and Whiskey (for males) is a traditional way to feed it.

Now, unlike the ordinary mojo bags, jack balls can be used for divination, and if you let someone borrow them, they could use them to divine your health condition. It is the principle of the pendulum that governs the answer one gets when using it to diagnose one's illness and determine what remedy to prescribe.

But jack balls are not limited to the use mentioned above. I know some rootworkers use their jack balls to determine the sex of an unborn child, whether a particular medicine or food is good for them and what color of dress or shirt to wear for the day. My teacher used his Wisdom jack ball to open a combination lock for his client.

To work, the question asked should be answerable by yes or no. Do not ask an abstract question. They are most valuable when asking questions of fact. Some jack balls made for love and domination can be asked emotional questions, but only a single question at a time should be asked, not complex questions.

Aside from divination, people also use their jack balls to attract or draw something or someone they want. To do this, they hold the jack ball by its tail as they swing it around and around in a clockwise direction while stating their prayers or intentions. For example, if one wishes to draw continuous cash inflow for their business, people say something like: "money comes to me, the money stays with me, money flow to me" over and over again as they swing the jack ball in circles. The uses of the jack balls are limited only by one's imagination. However, one might find that using it can be addicting, so don't overdo it.

The 1950s blues song "The Mojo" by J.B. Lenoir describes a Jack Ball. The manner of its use is given in one verse.

THE MOJO (MOJO BOOGIE)

by J.B. Lenoir

I been to New Orleans, I sure had a wonderful time
I been to New Orleans, I sure had a wonderful time
I was high, high as a Georgia pine

You know, my auntie carried me all down on Rampart Street
I seen everybody I wanted to meet
She said, J.B., son, stop and listen to me,

They got something knock you off of your feet
They got the mojo boogie
Mojo boogie
They got the mojo boogie, begin to slide on down

I thought she was talkin' about over in Algiers
I said, Auntie, please tell me, what did you say?
They got the Louisiana boogie, all them other kind of things,
They even got the thing they call the mojo hand

They got the mojo boogie
Mojo boogie
They got the mojo boogie, begin to slide on down

I got one jack, sure is crazy
My aunt forgot to teach me, just how to operate it
I went to a night club, I was squeezing it tight
I believe that's the cause of them people's start to fight

I had the mojo boogie
Mojo boogie
I had the mojo boogie, begin to slide on down

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.