Spiritual Bathing Rite

Spiritual bath staples include commercial Lavender herbal soap, Rose Water, Florida Water, Bath oils, African Black Soap, Bay Rum, Florida Water Soap, and some flower buds and petals.

Spiritual baths are an essential Hoodoo way to cleanse the mind, spirit, and body and change one's luck from bad to good. Spiritual or ritual baths are as old as humanity and have been featured in many cultures and religions worldwide. We can assume that, as far as Hoodoo is concerned, spiritual baths come from two primary sources: Judeo-Christian ritual bathing or immersion and West Central African spiritual baths.

In Yoruba religion, spiritual washes or baths are done to remove spiritual pollution from one's head or "ori" (the locus of personal destiny) through the utilization of sacred herbs called "ewe" and other organic ingredients. According to my mentor and soon-to-be godparent in Ifa, cleansing one's ori is called "Ori Owun Aweda" (Cleansing the Head). It is a straightforward but powerful ritual that can be done to connect with one's ori while ritually cleansing and feeding it. To perform this, often the head or ori is washed in a specially prepared "omiero" with ingredients specifically divined by a "babalawo." Omiero comes from two Yoruba words: "omi" which means water, and "ero" which means antidote. There are various ways of making omiero. It depends on the purpose, which "Orisha" the omiero is for, and your level of initiation.

For non-initiates, though, simple ingredients are needed to make an omiero for their Ori Owun Aweda. But when omiero and Ori Owun Aweda are created and performed by a babalawo or iyanifa, they often become more elaborate and involved. My partner and I have done this on ourselves several times already, and the effect is still profound. It never fails us to get back closer to our ori. We sometimes become too preoccupied and confounded by issues and pressures; we forget our relationship with our ori, and our head becomes cluttered, hot, and heavy. Ori Owun Aweda helps us have a more transparent and cooler head, which is essential for better planning on improving the situations and conditions around us.

Tearing leaves while singing praise songs to Osanyin (Orisha of plants and herbs). 

In ancient Kongo beliefs, spiritual healing was traditionally operated through purification by water and also employing herbal and mineral ingredients. Spiritual cleansing was usually performed when people were experiencing one of the three kinds of diseases, namely:

• "Bela neka" - typical diseases or medical conditions.
• "Kimbevo kia nza" - non-natural diseases which may cause by unfortunate events, curses and hexes from witches, imbalances between the ancestral or spiritual realm and physical world, and violation of social and ritual taboos
• "Kimbevi kia nzambi" - supernatural maladies or diseases caused by God's will.

For early Kongo people, water or bodies of water were believed to be a living Spirit that purifies the diseased and casts out evil spiritual entities. Water is also synonymous with kaolin clay, "mpemba," in the Kongo language. Court people also used Kaolin clay; they applied it on one's forehead to signify being clean, pure, truthful, and enlightened when one won a trial in a court of law. Hence, both the kaolin and the water symbolize cleanliness and purity.

On the other hand, herbs and minerals were believed to be agents of spirits. Kongo people with spiritual maladies usually turn to traditional healers known as "banganga" for a solution. Upon confirming the diagnosis of the case, the healer would take various herbs from his backyard, bring them up to a boil and allow them to begin releasing their aromas. Once done, he would let it cool and pour the water with herbs over the head of the sick person while standing. According to the Kongo holistic worldview, the superficial contact of the water and herbs that led to the cure was believed to be caused by the spirits inhabiting the water and the herbs.

When our African ancestors were brought to the New World, their methods of ritual spiritual healing involving water, herbs, and minerals through the agency of divine and ancestral spirits were retained. 

Hoodoo Spiritual Baths

As this type of bathing is a ritual, it can be made more effective by giving a meaningful structure. In Hoodoo, three ingredients or, in some cases, three-times-three (nine) ingredients are traditionally added to the bathwater. These add to the sensate experience, but their magical and spiritual properties are also often absorbed through the skin and have specific physical effects such as blood flow and inner bodily heat. Entirely what these additives or ingredients are will depend on the spiritual work.

Epsom salt, Lemongrass soap, and Hyssop leave on a white sheet. Materials to be used in the Purification bath.

There are so many different spiritual bath combinations passed down in African-American families. Still, the basic bath principles below give just a few suggestions of common options for root doctors. The more you learn about minerals, liquids, and herbs used in the Hoodoo tradition, the more you will be able to experiment for specific effects.

Spiritual Bath Principles

1. Minerals 

• Salt (table salt, sea salt, blessed salt, kosher salt, rock salt, Himalayan salt, black salt)
• Epsom salt
• Bath crystals (Salt and Epsom salt mixed together and counted as one ingredient)
• Saltpeter
• Baking soda or washing soda
• Laundry blueing

2. Liquids

• Ammonia solution
• Vinegar
• Essential oils
• Spiritual colognes and toilet waters such as Florida Water, Hoyt's Cologne, Kananga Water, Rose Water, etc.
• Turpentine
• Alcohol such as Ethyl Alcohol
• Liquor and spirits such as Whiskey and Rhum
• Honey
• Scented bath oils
• Milk
• Natural waters include rainwater, spring water, seawater, and Church water.

3. Herbs - almost any magical herbs, flowers, and roots can be used in a bath according to their purpose, but the most common bath herbs are:

• Agrimony - for reversing jinxes
• Boneset - for attracting new opportunities
• Chamomile - to increase luck 
• Cinnamon -  to draw money and luck
• Damiana - to attract new love
• Eucalyptus - to break jinxes and drive off evil entities
• Hyssop - to cleanse a person from sin
• Jasmine - to draw unconditional love
• Lavender - for love drawing
• Lemon Grass - for spiritual cleansing
• Mint - for clarity and tranquility
• Okra - for breaking curses and jinxes
• Parsley - for purification and overall well-being
• Pine needles - to remove mental negativity
• Raspberry leaves - to increase women's attractiveness
• Rue - for protection
• Rosemary - for mental clarity, happiness, and peace
• Rose petals - for love drawing
• Sage - for purification
• Sassafras - for money drawing and for health
• Sugar -  to draw in luck
• Thyme - for money drawing and courage
• Wahoo root bark - for uncrossing and jinx-removal
• Ylang-ylang - for lust and sensual love 

For head washing, we prepare fresh herbs and spices (parsley, lemon fruit, rose petals, cinnamon barks, and cooked rice). 

Preparing dried herbs for a ritual bath.

In the olden days, the whole process of spiritual bath required a lot of time, so the client had to be in the root doctor's home for a full day. Some patients were even asked to stay overnight, while other forms of spiritual bathing could last 3-13 days when the client would live with the root doctor in his house. If the doctor was male and his client was a woman, a family member should accompany her. Bath rites were also usually performed early in the morning, near sunrise.

The ritual procedures in a spiritual bath normally start by brewing the herbs into tea. Any herbs used are probably best contained in a little net bag, muslin cotton bag, or cloth bag. This will allow their properties to flow into the bath and make cleaning up easier when the bath is finished. When water is at a gentle boil, remove heat (drain the liquid, if necessary), then pour the tea into the bathwater while praying. Add any ingredients and combinations you think would be helpful and work for the client.

Block Buster herb tea bag, placed in warm water.

Set two candles on the floor at the sides of the bathroom door. This work style comes from the Spiritual Church Movement and relates to 19th-century African-American customs. It symbolizes walking through a gateway of transformation. Some workers like to burn incense; if you wish to do so, prepare a censer. Another nice touch can be playing relaxing meditation-style music or any spiritual songs. Now, if there is a tub, plug it to catch some water, or if one will use a dipper and a pail, place a large basin. Then ask the client to disrobe and take an ordinary bath first with his own regular soap and shampoo (or traditional spiritual soaps and hair-care products). Before his last rinse, ask him to recite appropriate Psalms as he stands over or inside the basin, then pour the bathwater over his head if the ritual bath is for cleansing and expelling unnatural illness. Instruct him to cross his arms, right over left, and brush down across his body with both hands, starting from his head down to his torso and uncross his hands as he crosses his waist while praying. However, if the bath is for drawing luck, pour the bathwater onto the feet with upward strokes while praying for what is desired.

Let the client relax using a breathing exercise after pouring the water. Tell your client to consciously relax his facial muscles and let the tension dissipate from his shoulders. Release all the stress from the body; down to his arm and through his fingers, down through his chest, his stomach, sex organ, down through his leg, and out from his feet. Again, if the bathing rite is for drawing, ask your client to feel the energy of the water flowing upward through his feet and then circulating throughout his body. Repeat this every time he pours water until a beautiful sense of relaxation comes upon him. This rite will make your client's focus sharper and his will more effective. After that, instruct your client to wrap up himself in a white sheet or white towel (some root doctors ask their clients to cover their hair with a white cloth too).

When finished, tell the client to step out of the bathroom, stand between the candles and step backward three times, saying "In the name of Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit," and say an affirmation like "I am healed," "I am wealthy," "I am cleansed," etc. Do not dry your client with a towel; just let the bathwater dry on him in the air as the candles burn. If your client is dry, spray a cleansing mist or Florida Water all over his body. Other root doctors, though, anoint their client's entire body or portions of it with a condition oil or dust with an appropriate sachet powder instead of spraying a cleansing mist. This is entirely up to you and what you prefer. This act is performed with the same upward or downward gestures you used in the bath, depending on whether the bath was for drawing or for, cleansing, or repelling. Once done, dress your client in fresh, new clothes.

Using a glass bottle or jar, take some captured or used bathwater that now has your client's essence outdoors, dispose of it then walk away without looking back. Hoodoo bath rites, however; since practitioners believe that nothing used in spiritual or magical work is considered waste, incorporate specific methods of disposing of bathwater:

• Throwing bathwater toward a tree, the Sun, or into the crossroads is being done when taking off crossed conditions, removing diseases and spiritual maladies, and killing jinxes.
• Throwing bathwater to the West is traditionally performed if one captures an enemy's bathwater.
• Throwing bathwater into footsteps is being done for domination or when taking off evil tricks caused by foot track magic. 
• Throwing bathwater into the backyard is being done for fidelity and family-related concerns. 

Some root doctors remind their clients to avoid physical contact (except if the bath is a love drawing rite) for at least 24 hours.

In the old times, people were modest, and there were root doctors who bathed their clients and patients hands-on or were just present during the bathing rite giving instructions to the client. Nowadays, root doctors do not attend to their clients when bathing, so it is vital to instruct the clients beforehand, guiding them about the directionality of bathing, pantomiming the necessary gestures, and giving the Psalms to be recited. The recital of Psalms has been covered at length here in this article: Psalms and Jewish Scriptual Magic. You can use them in your bathing rites. In some cases, though the root doctor needs to perform hands-on bathing, the client generally remains clothed in tight white clothing. Shoes and socks are removed. The doctor washes the client's head, arms, hands, and feet only, or sometimes washes or rubs the prepared bathwater onto most of the torso and limbs through the clothing.

Rootworkers also perform spiritual baths for themselves before (money, love, luck drawing) or after  (uncrossing, cleansing, enemy works). Any magical work is carried out using a variety of ingredients. If you are new to Conjure and Rootwork, try any traditional recipe or combination, and make sure to record the ingredients you have used and their effects on you. 

Here are some of the oldest three-ingredient recipes for spiritual bath and wash:

New Orleans Protection Bath

- Blessed salt
- Ammonia
- Vinegar

South East Coast Uncrossing Bath

- Salt
- Vinegar
- Turpentine

3-Herb Cleansing Bath

- Hyssop leaves
- Rue leaves
- Agrimony leaves

3-Mineral Cleansing Bath

- Kosher salt or sea salt
- Epsom salt
- Saltpeter

Love Attraction Bath

- Damiana leaves
- Raspberry leaves
- Honey

Money-Drawing Bath

- Cinnamon chips
- Chamomile flowers
- Florida Water

Blue Cleansing Bath

- Bath salt or Crystal salts (a mixture of table salt and Epsom salt)

- Laundry blueing 

- Florida Water

Blue Cleansing Bath preparation.

Simple Blessing Bath

- Basil
- Hyssop
- Holy water or Church water

Gambler's Lucky Hand Wash and Bath

- Bath crystals

- Mixed sugar and cinnamon powder

- Hoyt's cologne

Madame Collin's Remedy to Restore Male's Nature

- Saltpeter

- Arm and Hammer Baking Soda

- Yellow Mustard powder

Since the 20th century, bath crystals and herbal blends or mixtures have been manufactured in convenient forms for use in spiritual bath rites. Bath crystals are a mixture of mineral salts, namely Epsom salts, and table salt, scented with essential oils and compounded herbs, roots, and flowers. Herb mixtures, on the other hand, are pretty self-explanatory. They are generally sold under names like 7-Herb Bath, 9-Herb Bath, and 13-Herb Bath to draw good luck in love and money, increase power and mastery and remove curses and jinxes, respectively.

Bath crystals with cleansing herbs such as black pepper, hyssop, boldo, and bay leaves. 

Soaps and Hair-Care products may also be utilized in a spiritual bath rite. Not only are spiritual soaps used in Hoodoo cleansing, but they are also popular in Mexican espiritismo, Brujeria, curanderismo, and even some Afro-Caribbean traditions such as Santeria and Candomble. The four major types of spiritual soaps and hair-care products are:

• Commercial soaps with spiritual reputations, such as Florida Water Soap for attracting good fortune, Pacholi Scented Soap for love drawing, African Black soaps for cleansing, Pagoda Special Soap for uncrossing and protection, Black and White Skin Soap for cleansing, C.Y. Gabriel Bleaching Beauty Soap for beauty and attraction, Fan Medicated Soap for uncrossing, Mysore Sandal Soap for serenity and peace, Dr. Kaufmann Medicated Sulfur Soap for cleansing and protection, etc. 
• Spiritual soaps with the name-brand formula of popular condition oils such as Road Opener (Abre Camino), Fast Luck (Suerte Rapido), Go Away Evil (Quita Maldicion), etc., and also soaps bearing names of some Catholic Church and folk saints like San Martin Caballero Soap, San Lazaro Soap, etc. 
• Herbal soaps 
• Traditional hair care for good luck and grooming, such as Lucky Tiger Magic Shampoo for beauty and women attraction, Special Dice Oil for gambling and money-drawing, Three Flowers (Tres Flores) Brilliantine for good luck and happiness, etc.

Tim + Neal Curio Co. Spiritual Cleansing Soap.