Working With The Spirits Of The Dead (Necromancy)

Small human skull decor, a doll made with genuine coffin woods, graveyard dirt, genuine Dead Man's Bones, and cigar, to be used in a necromantic spellwork.

Life After Death

When discussing necromancy or working with the helpful and uncanny dead, we need to understand our concept of the afterlife. Everyone intending to work with the spirits of the dead needs to do this. Your notion about the afterlife would depend entirely on your religious path, culture, or tradition. It is up to you to seek out your Church doctrines, your family tradition, or your own spiritual discernment. Since only you can formulate the synthesis of your own beliefs, the only advice I can give is to learn more about the spirit world through your own direct experiences with the supernatural and/or to work by the rules and regulations of your own religion or Church. Suppose you belong to a Christian Church in which the concept of Heaven and Hell is institutionalized. In that case, your fellow adherents or the minister will be able to educate you about it.

In my case, I am a Folk Judeo-Christian and Afro-American tradition monotheist and henotheist who believes in the Otherworlds as a series of distinct realms outside of this physical realm or plane. This has dramatically influenced my belief on the subject. It is important to remember that this is my own belief, and it is not my intention to convert people to any religion or impose my spiritual and cosmological views on them. If my description of my concept of life after death offends anyone, I apologize in advance.

I personally believe that we are living in a vast, multiverse place. Different paths have different cosmologies, so your soul and my soul do not go through the same process when we die. I hope that everyone reading this article understands that my view does not apply to everybody and yours to me. Your personal beliefs, expectations, and even fears contribute to what will happen to you after death.

• Go into the Realm of the Dead of a particular path or tradition

I believe that somewhere in the otherworlds are the lands of the dead or ancestors of different paths' cosmologies, and that's where we go when we die. To me, the otherworlds are vast and distinct - inside the realms of the spiritual plane are hundreds of domains of the dead within the otherworlds. So somewhere in the Otherworlds is Heaven and Hell for the Christians; the Irkalla or Kur of Ancient Mesopotamians and Sumerian polytheists; the Aaru and Duat of Ancient Egyptians and Kemetics; the Elysian Fields and Tartarus for the Ancient Greeks and Hellenics; Summerlands for the Wiccans and other Neo-pagans; Guinee of Vodoos; etc.

Personally, I will likely go into Sheol or Gehinnom - the biblical land of the dead.

"Let my prayer come before you, turn your ear to my cry for help! For I am oversupplied with troubles, which have brought me to the brink of She'ol. I am counted among those going down to the pit, like a man who is beyond help, left by myself among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave -you no longer remember them; they are cut off from your care. You plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into dark places, into the depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me; your waves crashing over me keep me down. (Selah) You separated me from my close friends, made me repulsive to them; I am caged in, with no escape; my eyes grow dim from suffering. I call on you, ADONAI, every day; I spread out my hands to you. Will you perform wonders for the dead? Can the ghosts of the dead rise up and praise you? (Selah)" [Psalms 88:2-10]

If I died, my soul would pass through the gates of the netherworld, leaving articles of clothing and adornment at each entrance, which would serve as toll fees for my passage and keep me from going the wrong path. I call Sheol or Gehinnom' Otherworldly Washing Machine.' Because that's exactly how it would work for me. How my soul would be cleansed in Sheol is similar to how our clothes are taken off and washed in a machine. This is the symbolic meaning of leaving articles of clothing at the gates.

This is like putting myself in my dirty shirt's shoes, so to speak. If I were to be taken off, thrown into boiling hot water, and flung around for half an hour, I might start to feel that the person who owns me doesn't really like me. However, the fact is that it's only after going through a wash cycle that I as a shirt can be used again.

We don't put our dirty clothes in the washing machine to punish them. We put them through what seems like a rough and painful procedure only to make them clean and usable again. The water loosens the dirt, and the force of being swirled around shakes any stain or grease off completely. Far from hurting our clothes, we're doing them a favor by putting them through this process.

So too, with my soul. Every act I do in my lifetime, in my opinion, leaves an imprint on my soul. The positive ones I do brightens and elevate my soul, and every wrongdoing leaves dirt, rust, or stain that needs to be cleaned. If I leave this physical world without fixing the wrongs I've done at the end of my life, my soul will be unable to reach its place of rest on high. I must go through a cycle of deep cleansing. Again, this is not a punishment, as, in Jewish teachings, Sheol had no punishment or reward.

Of course, this whole process can be avoided. If I choose to be reincarnated and make amends with the souls I have hurt, I can leave this world with "clean clothes."

• Remain earthbound

If I die a sudden and traumatic death (accident, murder, or suicide), there's a high chance I'll remain earthbound. This is because I'm still in a state of shock. Based on countless documented stories worldwide since the beginning of man's history, spirits or souls don't automatically get catapulted to the land of the dead at once. Some are still around for a while. This is nothing new, but many people, especially conservative Christians, still have difficulty accepting it. Usually, 'earthbound' means that I'm not here in the physical plane by choice but that I can't move on for whatever reason. Either I'm not aware that I'm already dead, I still have unfinished business that won't let me move on, or I don't know where to go. This is why spirits of the departed can be seen in places where they once lived, worked, played, or were last seen.

• Choose to remain Earthbound

This would happen when I choose not to move on. Perhaps I want to stay and watch over my family; I want to wreak some havoc on the living because of revenge, vengeance, or retribution; or I'm seeking answers and justice. Sometimes being earthbound is a conscious decision, and if your will is strong enough, you can make it happen.

• Become Spirit Guides or Guardian Ancestors

African people brought to America as slaves came from many different ethnic groups with different beliefs and practices, but in almost all of Africa, there is one unifying belief, and that is death is not the end of life; instead, it is a transition that is more appropriately called 'change of life. Africans believe that the departed's soul must exist somewhere in some otherworld. Elders may also choose to remain as an Ancestral spirit. They continue watching over their descendants to ensure that they are safe and grow to be honorable. This pan-African concept is called ancestral veneration.

• Reincarnate

I do believe in reincarnation, but not as the inevitable thing that many people do. I don't think that it happens to everyone, and I don't believe that it's a set, unchangeable process, but it's definitely one of the options out there, and many souls prefer to do it.

I think it's likely that reincarnation is linked to religion and cosmology. I believe some bare souls or spirits will always reincarnate because their faith's purpose is to evolve to the point of enlightenment, perfection, evolution, or ascension. This is a characteristic of transcendental religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jewish Kabbalah. So for some people, reincarnation is a set automatic thing that will happen to them once they die. For others, it may not be a part of their afterlife.

Yoruba afterlife also consists of reincarnation, but they believe that a person can only reincarnate from his ancestors and into his descendants. This is why ancestral reverence is important in Yoruba because they think they are not just working with the spirits of the dead but actually remembering and learning from their past. That is the purpose of ancestral veneration in the Ifa religion; learning from the past to avoid committing the same mistakes again.

I believe it is just one of several options - some people do, and some don't.

Where do the souls or spirits choose their path?

One school of thought proposes that when a person dies, his soul and spirit go to another world located in the mental plane, where it is met by ancestors or spirit guides. The guides will show in detail the life he has just left, and they will know the effects his thoughts, emotions, intentions, and works have on other people. From this panoramic review of his life, he will decide whether to go to the land of the dead to learn his lessons, become a guide, helper, and guardian to others, or go back to earth as a new incarnation.

Of course, as I said at the start of this article, this is just my opinion. Therefore, you may accept or reject it.

African Roots of Working With Dead

Now, moving on to our main topic, it is undeniable that much of what we practice in this tradition closely resembles Bantu and Kongo magico-religious practices. In those two aforementioned ethnic groups and even in some other African tribes, working with the dead was rather prevalent during the period of the old kingdoms until the slave trade. It allowed people to admire the fact that some otherworldly or supernatural power may assist them with their problems, show them the right path, and help them make the right decisions.

In Kongo and other parts of Central and Western Africa, the people supported the idea of "nkisi." Ancient Kongo religion emphasized the necessity to work with the spirits of the dead, and the nkisi was one of the possible mediums to rely on. They served as the refuge to the friendly dead and prison to the uncanny deceased still attached to the physical world. Kongo people believed that any kind of exceptional human abilities or powers resulted from an interaction between the living and the dead.

With the help of the ideas and tradition offered by the enslaved Africans from the Kingdom of Kongo, the necromantic practice and the appreciation of the afterlife extended considerably in the New World and spread over the whole South Eastern United States. Nevertheless, while the Kongo cult of the dead origin can be shown to exist in Hoodoo, this does not mean that it was preserved without changing. The African-American practice of working with the dead is now a successful mix of Christianity, West African tradition, and tribal animism, which is so popular among conjure workers.

Kongo origin is not forgotten; its memory is firm in African-American Hoodoo spirit work. However, since the Kongo lineages were broken by the slave trade, Hoodoo spirit work organized itself based on oral tradition between elders and students or teachers and students rather than biological or initiatory affiliation. Thus, magico-religious rites and representations lost their ethnic basis since slaves originated from African regions other than Kongo. Later, Black creoles, mestizos, Whites, and even Asians also became practitioners of Hoodoo.

Working with a deceased person who is generally not a relative of the conjure worker is not actually a Hoodoo invention. For Kongo people, ancestral spirits were not the only spiritual entities one could commune with: they also took into account the "simbi" (wandering dead or local spirits) and, as previously mentioned, the nkisi (objects loaded with spiritual forces).

If researching the Kongo minkisi tradition and its relation to Hoodoo practice interests you, take some time to read also about Palo, Umbanda, Quimbanda, and other African Diasporic religions derived from the Congo. Remember, though, that these are initiatory religions, so studying them will not make you an adherent, and trying to practice them on your own without undergoing the initiatory rites of passage, such as the rayamiento ceremony or oath-taking, might cause danger to your spiritual and secular life.

A Mirror-Box Reversing Spell and Break-Up Spell calls the spirit of the dead to curse and haunt the oppressor of a client.

Working with spirit through spellwork, mainly contained spells, is like creating a nkisi, and this power object can be thought of as a sort of portable grave in which a spirit of the dead is present. Most nkisi required grave dirt from a dead person known for the kind of characteristics and qualities needed for that particular tool. Hence, picking the right grave was very important if they wanted to choose the right spirit for the right job. In Hoodoo, practitioners usually consider the following examples:

• Use the grave dirt of a soldier, policeman, or fireman for security and protection.
• Use the grave dirt of a priest or Church minister for spiritual protection.
• Use the grave dirt of a lawyer or judge to win a court case.
• Use the grave dirt of a police officer to catch a criminal.
• Use the grave dirt of a child to do your bidding.
• Use the grave dirt of a medical doctor to help overcome illness.
• Use the grave dirt of a conjure doctor to help overcome curses and spiritual maladies.
• Use the grave dirt of a thief for mischief.
• Use the grave dirt of a murderer for vengeance and enemy works.
• Use the grave dirt of an ancestor for love domination and family-related concerns.

The abovementioned traditional uses are so well known in the Black community that a graveyard dirt love spell for attraction was explicitly described in the blues song 'Conjured,' by Wynnonie Harris.

CONJURED

by Wynnonie Harris

You said it was love made me stutter when I talk,

But is it love that makes me stagger when I walk?

The Gypsy woman told me, "She's got you conjured, son"

Well, somebody's lyin' -- you are that Gypsy one.

You said I was jealous when I didn't go to work,

You sprinkled my shoes with graveyard dirt,

The Gypsy woman told me, "She's got you conjured, son"

Well, somebody's lyin' -- you are that Gypsy one.

The whiskey you bought me, I was afraid to unscrew it,

The Gypsy woman told me it was embalming fluid

You got a Black Cat Bone and a Buzzard Feather,

A John the Conquer Root and they're all tied together

The Gypsy woman told me, "She's got you conjured, son"

Well, somebody's lyin' -- you are that Gypsy one.

(Repeat last verse and chorus)

However, graveyard dirt is never taken without permission and payment to the dead. The following article about African-American folkways concerning the process of buying the bones and dirt of the dead, entitled Old Southern Graveyard Magic discusses the traditional ritual collection of graveyard materials.

Lover-Return Spell invoked the presence, power, and assistance of the client's deceased grandmother, utilizing her gravestones and favorite crystals she personally owned and used. 

Therefore, a Hoodoo-contained spell that involves graveyard dirt, personal belongings from the dead, or even bones is not different from a Kongo nkisi. Stylistically, though, while the Kongo minkisi had a traditional African appearance - from anthropomorphic to simple bags filled with magical items related to the spirits - the Hoodoo spells and charms are still made up following the same model: a vessel (bags, boxes, bottles, jars, pots, cauldrons) filled with herbs, stones, earth, and even animal and human bones.

Coffin Box Spell with graveyard dirt, mullein leaves, devil's dung, vandal root, sulfur powder, and other curios inside.

Some human remains used in Conjure are:

• Hand or Finger bones - for gambling luck and domination.
• Tooth - for justified revenge, and enemy works to bite your enemy on the ass.
• Skull - for gambling luck, necromancy and enemy works.
• Knee cap - for protection.
• Other bone pieces - for divination and luck. 

Bones of the dead people were and still are considered valuable and powerful curios or charms in the Hoodoo community, despite 400 years of subjugation by and assimilation into European American culture. Actually, some famous manufacturers or shops of African-American cosmetics and spiritual supplies, such as the Lucky Heart Company, sold and are still selling 'Dead Man's Bones' as they are used as an ingredient in lucky and protective mojo hands.

The relationship between the conjure workers and the spirits of the dead depends on the type of spirit he works with. The helpful and friendly spirits are treated with respect and reverence to make them work. In contrast, the uncanny and mischievous spirits deal with dominance and coercion, obliging them to act for the conjure workers. Spirits can be friendly and uncanny depending upon several factors, such as:

• The relationship to the living.
• Manner of death.
• Inherent character and temperament.
• Previous life (including occupation, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, etc.)

Finally, as you know by now, Hoodoo is not an initiatory religion, so I should emphasize that, despite these African origins, Hoodoo spirit work is still a Folk-Judeo Christian practice, especially in its prayers and liturgy. The majority of conjure workers were Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Catholics, and members of the Spiritual Church who brought the veneration of Native American spirits such as Black Hawk and Gray Eagle and other helpful dead, who, while alive, aided African slaves such as the Crown Prince or John the Conqueror, and Marie Laveau, and also some Church saints.

It's important to remember some reminders if you're planning to work with the dead:

• Protect. Always cleanse yourself after working with the spirits of the dead, meditate or pray with God and your spirit guides before doing any necromantic or mediumistic work, and use or wear any protective objects such as amulets and talismans that are empowered or blessed in the proper ritual.

• Sense. If you're trained within magical and psychic disciplines, try to 'feel' for your personal energies and the presence of any negative entity or energy within or surrounding you. The vibration of psychic leeches and astral nasties differs from the vibration of the spirits of the dead.

• Research and study. Another thing you can do is learn more about the spirit world to protect yourself from its nasty dwellers. For starters, find a mentor or teacher who can guide you so you will learn how to properly do necromantic spellwork and rituals.

• Prepare and engage. Make sure you've gathered the appropriate tools, materials, and ingredients necessary for the work to invoke the presence and assistance of the dead or to dispatch the attaching negative entity or energy if the situation calls for such. If you feel the situation is quite complex and complicated, do not attempt to perform any workings that involve the spirits of the dead. It's also not advisable to perform any spirit work if you're uncomfortable or inexperienced. 

African-American Funeral and Mourning Custom               

The customs have represented an amalgamation of different cultural traditions from African to European Christian and Native American. They are consciously or unconsciously preserved and handed down to subsequent generations.

• Cooking ceremony or "saraka" - large meals are cooked for everyone to consume. A portion is left on the veranda for the departed soul.

• Funeral procession etiquette - mourners walk or drive from the chapel or church to the cemetery in a procession but wait at the gate to ask permission from the ancestors to enter.

• Shouts - after a formal prayer meeting or service, mourners sing and dance around the graves.

• Breaking of vessels - similar to old Filipino custom, breaking dishes, glasses, bottles, or plates released the spirits within the objects and allowed them to join other spirits. 

• Passing children over or under the casket is another essential African-American custom similar to Filipino tradition. It is being done to break the chain of death and protect family members.

• Grave marking - sticks, stone slabs, and wooden markers are placed in tombs. Conchs and seashells of various species and plants like cedars and yuccas can be used too to mark or even outline gravesites.

• Grave decorating - objects related to the dead are placed on burial sites to prevent spirits from wandering in search of their personal articles or belongings.

Grave from the American South covered with domestic items, including a clock, coffee cups, goblets, and pots. (Photo courtesy of Photographic Archive, The Library of Congress.)