Sassafras Bark Of Root

 

sassafras officinale, sassafras albidum 

The aromatic Sassafras bark and root were once the main ingredient in old-fashioned traditional root beers. In Hoodoo, it is primarily used to draw good fortune in money matters, mainly through business success and the steady increase of wealth.

Sassafras is an important plant to many Native Americans of the Southeastern United States and was used for many purposes, including culinary and medicinal purposes. Choctaw people call it "kvfi" while Timucua people call it "pauane."

Some Native American tribes used sassafras' leaves, roots, and bark to treat wounds and acne by rubbing the plant matter directly into the wounds or pimples. They also used it to cure urinary disorders and high fevers. Both cut sassafras bark and powdered sassafras root were also mixed into various ointments and pastes. Native folks applied it to knees, ankles, wrists, sore muscles, and other areas to aid with relief from discomfort and swelling.

Some folks in the olden days consumed it to improve blood circulation, promote healthy digestion, and more. In modern times, sassafras is primarily used in topical application for external skincare and sore muscle preparations. In this manner, the bark or root can be steeped in oil and used in rub-downs or massages, especially when doing work related to money and finances.

Some sassafras available in herbal shops are the whole, unprocessed form, which contains safrole - healthcare practitioners consider this unsafe as a food.

Sassafras was the first discovery and exported raw material from North America back to the Old World at a time when wood and wooden objects were central to everyday life. In the 1600s, several ships called 'sassafras carriers' made of sassafras wood brought their logs and roots to Europe. Because of the ships' durability, strength and beauty, sassafras quickly developed a reputation for being a 'lucky wood.'

Soon after, since its wood was directly related to trading, exporting, and its status as a highly sought commercial commodity, folks used its barks and roots to make their money go farther and last longer. Some rootworkers began sprinkling a pinch of the root in their wallet or purse where it would come into contact with their cash.

A strong Money-Holding mojo hand utilizes sassafras root chips by sprinkling them to an alligator foot holding a Mercury dime coin, and putting them in a green flannel bag.

To make someone pay what they owe you and protect yourself from unpaid debts, loans and receivables, mix sassafras root, comfrey leaves, bayberry root, calamus root, and clove pods, then get two things from the person borrowing money from you: a hair strand from their head and their complete name written on a piece of paper in their own handwriting. You don't need to explain why you need those things because if they are desperate enough to have the money, they will do as you say. Once you get hold of the paper, write your name across their name on the paper to control them. Around the crossed names, write this phrase in a circle using cursive penmanship: "Being faithful to a trust brings its own reward." Write it in one continuous flow of script letters, without spaces and pen lifting. Do not cross t's or dot i's yet; just write the words in one run and the phrase a few times until you join up the end of the last word with the beginning of the first word, so the circle is complete. After that, you can cross the t's and dot the i's. Place the hair and herbs at the center of the paper and fold the paper towards you until it is small, making a packet. Tie a small ribbon around the packet using jute strings or any threads. Carry the packet on you or place it on your Prosperity or Money altar. Dress it occasionally with Money Stay With Me, Money Drawing, or Pay Me oils to keep it working for you until they pay you.

Another simple Money Stay With Me trick I learned from my teacher is to have a box where you can place bills and coins of all denominations. As you sprinkle sassafras root chips, mint leaves, comfrey leaves, Irish moss, cinnamon powder, clove pods, and magnetic sand on them, pray for the protection of your investments and finance. Cover the box and light a green candle on the first day. Keep your money box for seven days on your altar, vault, cabinet, drawer, or anywhere where you usually hide your cash. After a week, deposit the bills and coins in the bank or spend them wisely and replace it with another stack of bills and coins. Light another green candle and pray. You can do this every month.

Hoyt’s Cologne

Originally called Hoyt's German Cologne, it was developed in 1868 by apothecary apprentice Eli Waite Hoyt. The name German was intentionally included just to give a definite title to the product. There was no intention that the cologne came from Germany or bore any resemblance to German colognes and perfumes. The name was only changed to Hoyt's Eau de Cologne during World War II as an attempt to detach the product from its perceived German connection since, during that moment, anything with a German reference was considered to be indecent in America.

Usually described as floral in scent and very strong - its production and distribution became so successful that Hoyt sold his apothecary shop to two current employees, Crowell and Harrison, so that he could devote his full time and energy to producing and selling his cologne.

Around 1871, the company developed the concept of soaking trade cards with cologne and freely distributing the cards both as advertising materials and samples. During the history of Hoyt's cologne, over 50 unique cards were designed and printed. 

A fine original example of perfumed trade cards and 19th-century American advertising art. 

This marketing strategy was later proven effective as the cologne became all-consuming. Due to this accomplishment, in the 1900s, conjure workers adopted this idea as they advised their clients who resorted to them asking for some tricks in increasing their odds and winning potential in gambling to soak or sprinkle their playing cards, lottery tickets, and bingo cards with Hoyt's cologne before playing to enhance their abilities to draw luck.

Some people, too, had confused Hoyt's Cologne with Hoyle's Playing Cards and the famous card game rule book by Edmund Hoyle. This might be because of the brand names that sound almost similar and the earlier typographic style of Hoyle's Playing Cards, which bore a resemblance to the cologne's name.

Since then, Hoyt's Cologne came to be lucky for gamblers, and people's faith in it extends well beyond gambling as this humble brand of perfume started gaining a reputation for being efficacious in feeding mojo hands, bringing luck in love spells and, even in cleansing. Traditional pharmacies and spiritual supplies shops began carrying Hoyt's Cologne because of this, and it became notable for being a best-seller on the nights when the gambling dens were busy. 

I am aware that most conjure workers nowadays have always associated Hoyt's cologne with good luck and gambling, but it was once used as a cleansing cologne. As for everyone's information: Florida Water and other cologne waters were never used in Hoodoo until the heavy immigration and proliferation of Afro-Caribbean practitioners of Santeria and other African traditional religions in the United States. Hoyt's Cologne was the conjure worker's cologne of choice. Though it was never used for cleansing space, it was used to remove jinxes and harmful energies from people and attract good fortune.

Today, folks usually incorporate it in their workings by making a lovely spray, splash, or rub by mixing some roots and herbs into Hoyt's cologne, infusing them with its refreshing citrus and floral scents.

Gamblers are known to rub Hoyt's Cologne on their hands right before they try their luck at the tables! Other people add the cologne to their bathwater before leaving their homes.  Some users would even go so far as to pour an entire bottle of Hoyt's Cologne over their heads to gain the motivation and empowerment they need.

It can also be worn like a classic cologne or perfume. It can be used to empower your tools and amulets such as rabbit's foot, wishbone, alligator's tooth, alligator's claw, High John the Conqueror root, nutmeg, buckeye nut, lodestone, and raccoon penis bone. 

Sweetening Spells: Honey, Sugar, And Other Sweeteners

Suppose you have genuinely made an effort to deliver your best on your work, but your boss continues to treat you disrespectfully and unfairly and gives inconsiderately, then Boss Fix. The Honey Jar spell might help sweeten your supervisor or manager and favor you above all others!

Sweetening spells are employed in Hoodoo when you want someone to be sweet to you, that is:

- To favor you. 

- To like you. 

- To love you. 

- To marry you. 

- To stay with you. 

- To return to you. 

- To reconcile with you. 

- To hire you. 

- To give you a raise. 

- To promote you at work. 

- To influence your boss. 

- To influence your colleagues. 

- To speak kindly to you. 

- To treat you kindly in public. 

- To stop talking behind your back. 

- To cease anger, jealousy, and hatred against you. 

- To influence your in-laws. 

- To attract money.

The sweeteners used in these spells vary by period or era, country region, commercial or homemade availability, family traditions, cultural customs, and spiritual guidance. I have known many practitioners from around the globe who use different kinds of sugary products! Here are some sweet samplings:

- Honey 

- White sugar 

- Washed sugar

- Brown sugar

- Muscovado 

- Molasses 

- Sorghum syrup 

- Sweetened water 

- Crystal syrup 

- Maple syrup 

- Pancake syrup 

- Corn syrup 

- Jams and jellies 

- Chocolate syrup 

- Chocolate bars 

- Candies 

- Sweet chewing gum 

- Marshmallows

- Bakers' and sugar confections

- Ice creams 

- Soda or soft drinks 

- Fruit juices and nectars 

- Sugar alcohols 

- Dextrose powder 

- Liquid dextrose

- Stevia 

- Artificial flavorings 

A spell for the return of lost love, friendship, and family bond. This magical work is believed to end the apathy, sorrow, and hostility which sometimes keeps family members, friends, and lovers apart. Sweets such as honey, sugar, chocolates, and candies, along with herbs and spices such as Queen Elizabeth root, damiana, catnip, and Balm of Gilead buds, are often used as part of this emotional healing ritual.

Sweetening spells are commonly worked inside containers such as bottles, jars, and boxes. Still, some are also often worked out loose with or without the additional use of candles, with or without added herbs or minerals, and with or without added powders or oils.

The use of honey and other sweeteners in Hoodoo magic can be traced back to different cultures and religions, specifically, West African, European, and Judeo-Christian, which we know by now, contributed to a lot of different beliefs and practices in Conjure and Rootwork. The myths and folklore of several ancient civilizations indicate that honey is one of the most favorable offerings to some deities and spirits who rule over love, beauty, sex, happiness, and wealth, like Aphrodite in Greek mythology and Oshun from the Yoruba pantheon.

Honey is considered one of the most seductive foods on Earth, as tasting or eating honey is as much a sensual experience as it is a satisfaction. Roman God of desire and erotic love, Cupid is said to have dipped his enamored arrows in honey before wounding a mortal with passion and romance. It is also noted that the Greek physician Hippocrates prescribed it for sexual vigor, advocating that taking milk and honey would induce love and ecstasy. The Orisha of beauty and intimacy, Oshun, used honey and her sensuous dance to bring Ogun back from the forest to the city of Ile-Ife. In the Bible, honey most often symbolizes love, care, abundance, and prosperity. Psalm 81:17 (16) promises God's providence for his people: "They would be fed with the finest wheat, and I would satisfy you with honey from the rocks."

The age-old Hoodoo custom to use honey and eventually other natural and artificial sweeteners convey the spiritual workers' prayer that "may God grant them or their clients their gentle and sweet desires." Why both 'gentle' and 'sweet'? Isn't that redundant?

My teacher said that 'gentle' per se can remain on a lofty spiritual level, so we add the adjective 'sweet' - we should merit to enjoy tangible gentleness and goodness, as natural as the physical honey and sugar that we taste in our food. As humans, we generally place a lot of importance on the tangible aspects of life; we like to see, feel, touch, hear, and 'taste' things to become fulfilled. Our senses are genuinely demanding, and we need those senses served and stimulated. Another conjure man also explained this on a Kabbalistic level: "Tova" (good) refers to the esoteric spiritual attribute of kindness, while "mesukah" (sweet) transforms and sweetens the exalted 'power.' Sweet also means dear, precious, inviting, enjoyable, satisfying, delightful, gratifying, and something most pleasing. Well, that about sums up our hopes and prayers when we perform love, attraction, influence, or money spells. Therefore, sweeteners and other sugary products serve as our representatives in expressing these fervent hopes and prayers.

Teacup that our client's husband has been using for his morning tea has been ritually fixed employing red candle and honey. 

The oldest form of sweetening spells is traditionally performed using a plain teacup saucer or coffee mug (owned by the person whom you are working) and a candle being burned at the center of the cup and on the person's name, dressed with oils and surrounded by a poured-out ring of honey, molasses or maple syrup. Many Hoodoo practitioners assumed it is the most ancient member of the sweetening spell family as it resembles West African rites. Devotees, practitioners, priests, and priestesses from some African ethnic tribes such as Yoruba, Fon, Aja, and Ewe usually present their offerings and libations to their ancestors, local spirits, or deities by pouring honey or molasses along with red palm oil into their pots, stones, power figures, and other representations while asking for the favor they seek. 

Honey and red palm oil are poured into a river stone representing Orisha Oshun. 

 

Other simpler methods just involve writing the target's name on a piece of paper with their intentions, rolling it up, and sticking or burying it in a sugar or sugar dispenser bowl. While for those folks who would like to conceal their spell as hidden as possible, they were often told by some conjure doctors to keep a strand of their hair or the hair of their target in a can of sweet biscuits, candies, chewing gums, and other confectioneries, pray over it and put the lid or cover back on. This is a pretty unnoticeable and subtle kind of sweetening spell. 

Sugar-box spell to sweeten and win over the client’s lover's heart and at the same time protect him from malicious and round-heeled women.  

Another early version of these sweetening spells that made rounds among conjure workers, probably in the mid-19th century, employs a hollowed-out red apple or red onion to hold honey, jam, or sugar, plus the name-paper of the person. After praying, it can be placed in the bottom of a flowerpot, with a plant grown on top of it to hide the spell. The plant, therefore, serves the purpose of the candle.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as packaged sugar, honey, syrup, and other sweeteners became available from grocery stores, another variant of this spell was developed that employed a box of sugar. This spell is customarily done by cutting off the top of the box, putting the name paper in, sticking a candle in the sugar, and burning it. After the candle is finished, the remnant wax from the sugar is removed and buried in the house's front yard or back yard. Folks who perform this spell should ensure they use that sugar when cooking or baking or see to it that the person is feeding himself that 'fixed' sugar every time he sweetens his coffee.

Another old-fashioned spell I learned from a conjure worker from Georgia requires you to recite Psalms all night, fervently praying for your sweet desires to come true and concluding the recital of Psalms with an apple and piece of bread dipped in honey.

To bless a child with pleasing speech and eloquence, my mentor also taught me their family tradition in which they place a little honey on the letters of the alphabet and then the Bible, which the child then licks happily, so the child learns to associate his words with delight and good taste.

One more trick that necessitates tasting is the widespread love conjure method that involves a finger food or small fruit like cherry or strawberry that should be stuck inside the vagina or dressed with menstrual blood and then dipped and covered with chocolate coating, honey, or any sweet syrups before feeding it to her male lover to make him stay with her and keep him from wandering. 

Tasting sweet foods in Hoodoo originates from West African traditions and has the function of counter-balancing the bitterness that can make life rough and burdensome. African folklore and folk medicine are evident that sweetness has a much-needed place in daily life as a source of joy, inspiration, abundance, wealth, good health, longevity, and fruitfulness.  

Choosing the Sweetener 

Among those aforementioned sweeteners, honey is still my best choice. This is not to say that those other products are not potent ingredients for spells. I just personally prefer honey due to its unique qualities.

Honey both absorbs and preserves its contents. Kabbalistically, the gratifying property of honey helps channel the infinite spiritual energies, so they will be 'preserved' and can descend to the lower spheres (as opposed to vanishing on a lofty plane). This concept is known as 'power within gentleness or kindness.' We thus pray that the power (or "ashe" in Yoruba) be transformed to good as the spell influences the minds and hearts of other people. I also prefer using raw honeycomb, as the Hebrew word for raw is "chai," which is also translated as 'life,' and our prayer is to enliven ourselves and our clients. 

But in the olden days, when skin complexion was a lot more important to people than it is now, it was recommended that the color of the sweetener match the skin color of the person you are working on. Thus, for a white man, you might use crystal syrup, and for a mulatto you might use light brown sugar or light-colored honey or syrup, and for a dark-skinned person, you might use molasses or muscovado. 

Molasses, melon fruit, sweet potato, and seashells were used in this work to invoke sweetness and delight in the home and family. 

 
During this time, though, specifying a person's skin color was not as significant as it once was, and today many folks prefer to use honey and sugar for the spell, no matter what the target's complexion is.

Court Case - Sweetening Jar Spell

Spells concerning legal matters, court cases, and keeping off the law can use some sweetening - that is, a change of attitude on the part of the judge, jury members, other judicial personnel, witnesses, and even your opponents so that they come to view you as a kind and gentle person and to wish you well and favor your case.

The best way to sweeten people in a court case is with a honey jar spell made out in their names.

Materials Needed:

- A sweetener 

- An empty jar 

- A piece of brown grocery bag paper 

- A red ballpoint pen 

- Photo of the judge 

- Piece of red fabric, preferably silk

- Dirt from the courthouse 

- Little John to Chew root 

- Tobacco 

- Calendula flowers 

- Deer's tongue leaves 

- Dill seeds 

- Guinea peppers

- Brown or Orange candle 

- Justo Juez glass-encased candle 

- Court Case oil 

- Influence oil

Ritual Procedure:

Once you have ready your paper, write the judge's name three times on it in red ink, one name under the other, and then write your intention. Before folding the paper, sprinkle it with dill seeds and wrap it in red silk.

Now prepare the photo of the judge, and open the empty jar. Place some dirt or soil from the courthouse where your hearing is being held inside the jar and place the photo on the soil.

Take hold of your tobacco, light it and blow some smoke on the photo as you call on the spirit of the judge to hear your commands. Next, pour a small amount of Court Case oil and Influence oil into the photo. Then put your petition paper covered in silk just above the image, and pour little amounts of conjure oils again.

Get your Chewing John root and chew on it as if chewing on gum while you envision the judge's face. Spit a bit of the cud in the jar as you pray loudly and rub some between your hands. 

After that, take some calendula flowers, which are reputed to help people win court cases, and deer's tongue to make your words convincing and compelling. Add them into the jar, covering the photo and petition paper completely.

Grab your honey or syrup and pour it to the top while commanding the judge to favor you. You can do this once or thrice, as you wish, speaking your command aloud each time. Then close up the lid.

Dress your brown or orange candles with Court Case oil and use Justo Juez (Just Judge) glass-encased candles or candles of any saints or spirits that you think could help you with your petition. 

Stand the colored candle on the lid of the closed-up jar and light it. Also, light your glass-encased candle, then pray to Justo Juez passionately as you chew on seven pieces of guinea peppers. Hold them in your mouth as you recite Psalms 35, 38, and 39 to empower your spell and spit them on the jar. You can melt the candle to the lid with hot wax if necessary. Let the candle burn all the way out. Do this every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, for as long as it takes. Add each new candle on top of the remains of the last one. 

This particular honey jar spell you see below continued for so long and required so many candles that I could not see the jar under all the dripped-on wax.

Court Case Honey Jar Spell - designed to help my client gain the favor of the jurors and judges, block the opposition in court, and make her lawyers do well during tribunal proceedings and hearings. One of the successful court cases we performed. This spell called upon Latin American Brujeria's Justo Juez (Just Judge) presence, power, and assistance.

Angelica Root

angelica archangelica, angelica atropipurea, angelica heterocarpa, angelica officinalis, angelica sinensis, angelica sylvestris

Angelica root is a powerful guardian and healer, said to enhance female power, protect children, especially babies, ward off evil, and improve health and family. 

During the Great Plague of London, the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England, it was used to ward off the plague and evil. This employment was derived from a monk's dream in which St. Michael, the Archangel, appeared to him, telling him what herb to use to help the victims. When it was discovered that this herb helped protect and heal those with the disease, almost everyone in Europe kept a piece of angelica root in their mouth throughout the day to preserve themselves from the plague. According to the old calendar, it usually came into bloom around May 8, the feast day of the Archangel Michael, and is so named in his honor. 

Many species of angelica plant have long been used in ancient traditional medicine systems, especially in the Far East, such as Chinese Angelica or Dong Quai, which has a history of more than 4000 years of use and is referred to as the 'female ginseng,' as women may find the most benefits from it after having a baby; during and after menstruation; and for issues like premenstrual syndrome, menopause, and cramps. Many herbal preparations of this plant are still sold over-the-counter at traditional Oriental pharmacies. Still, it is strongly advised that it should not be used by pregnant women as it encourages activity in the pelvic region and may cause miscarriage.  

Due to its connection with soothing and curing female-related ailments, root doctors believed it may help to strengthen feminine power. Troubled women also use Angelica because of a former relationship with hurtful, reckless, or violent men. They are told to carry a whole angelica root, sulfur, and black salt in a cloth bag dressed with Fiery Wall of Protection oil to protect them from their hostility and prevent those endless litigations, custody battles, and unnecessary dramas from occurring over and over again. Women also used this to control their male partners by mixing equal parts of angelica and ginseng roots with a pair of Adam and Eve roots, compounding them all into powder, mixing with an equal amount of white flour or cornstarch, scorching this in a pan on the stove and finally using it to dust the house for nine days.   

Because of its association with the angelic dream and its alleged medicinal use against plagues, the plant became linked in the spiritual and religious mind with some angelic beliefs and patronage. To bless the children or babies using the power and assistance of their guardian angels, rootworkers usually place a whole angelica root, althea root chips or leaves, a pinch of flax seeds, motherwort leaves, safety pin, blue knotted string, evil eye, or Hamsa charm, and some rosebuds in a white flannel bag. Some take the babies' umbilical cord, placenta, hair particles (taken during the first haircut), or nail clippings and bury them with angelica root and flowers in the front yard or backyard or under a myrtle tree to bless and protect the babies or toddlers. 

The root can be added to baths and oils and designed to remove crossed conditions, curses, or evil spells, or they can be burned as incense to banish evil in an area. The Iroquoi people are known to brew angelica root into a tea and sprinkle it about their homes to make the poltergeists benign and quiet. A similar technique can be used in exorcism rites to conquer any kind of evil spirits. To prevent troublemakers or people with malicious intentions from entering the home, rootworkers instruct their clients to tie nine equal-length pieces of devil's shoestrings all around to a whole angelica root and neatly wrap them with white thread, knotting it 9 times before placing it at the top of the main door frame to guard the house.

Its tea is also helpful in providing relief from several stomach issues, including gas, colic, and bloating. As an added bonus, the root can also be used to help with occasional heartburn, nausea, and ulcers, and it can even relieve menstrual cramps. It is a good general tonic that strengthens the liver, supports bronchial and respiratory health, and improves general well-being, mental focus, and clarity. It is also suitable for chronic headaches, fevers, and fatigue, improving blood circulation and increasing energy.

How To Interpret Omens?

An omen (also called portent or presage) is an occurrence or incident that foreshadows a favorable or unfavorable issue in a certain state of affairs. The belief in wonders and signs is closely connected with divination and magic. For some people, interpreting omens requires neither higher inspiration nor special knowledge. I, on the other hand, believe it still needs divine or spiritual guidance to be able to understand the complete message behind it. The principal characteristic of the omen is the happenstance of the phenomenon or the event, which, most of the time, carries no significant value or apparent causal connection.

The belief in omens in Hoodoo came from various influences; Central West African, Native American, Judeo-Christian, European, Caribbean, and Asian. In the more accurate acceptance of the term, interpreting omens is the most primitive stage of divination and soothsaying or the most straightforward and direct means of discerning the future. Studying the signs of the heavens (astrology) and predicting from the flight of birds (augury) or other circumstances were practiced by most, if not all, Hoodoo practitioners in the Black-belt period and even at present.

Most of my teachers in Conjure place far greater value on omens. Reflecting on the wonders that occur almost every day, they explain that the purpose of the omens is to demonstrate the spiritual world's total mastery over the physical world. From the omens, we appreciate the spirit's direction over the world, specifically over what happens to us.

The omens instilled within the conjure workers and even mundane individuals a deep belief in the spiritual world and God as a result of their experience of everyday miracles. The centrality of the omens is so great that it establishes our fundamental faith in our spiritual community. The effect of an incident, however powerful it might be, fades over time. To continually strengthen our faith, many customs, which are now considered superstitious beliefs, hearken back to antiquity, recalling the great signs and reinvigorating our faith in God and the spirit world.

Practices of Signs and Omens

A client of mine was found to have a tumor behind her eye, which had to be removed surgically. Although the tumor was benign, the needed operation was complicated due to the tumor's proximity to the brain, requiring two surgeries. In addition to the risk of brain damage, permanent blindness was also possible.

She was terrified by what awaited her and found herself emotionally paralyzed and unable to concentrate on her work and studies. Upon seeing her terror, I told her to go to nature and talk to her spirit guides. She did what I advised her - she went to a seashore, talked to nature, and found herself asking this:

"If I'm going to survive the surgery without any complications and adverse effects, then please show me a bright star (except the sun) in the daytime sky."

Then a message of reassurance was received by her when she borrowed her nephew's laptop computer one morning and was surprised to see her wallpaper - a bright star! It was precisely what she needed to see and hear. She started to cry as the gentle image of hope and faith swept over her. What she saw gave her the strength to face her two operations and the lengthy recuperation after. She felt God and her spirit guides were with her, sending Their love in the messages from the computer.

We all want a connection with our spiritual community when we are troubled and having difficulty finding answers to complex questions. Conjure workers before us advised us that the best way to hear God is by exploring and studying nature.

Throughout the slavery period and up until recent times, nature tells the conjure men and women that God and the spirits speak to them anywhere and anytime in a simple, straightforward way, spelled out how we human beings could forge a relationship with Them, how we received Their answers, and how we could have our prayers answered.

The spiritual voices from nature have never ceased. It resonates today, and the easiest way to tune into it is by learning about the natural world and being attuned to it. Everything has its characteristics that can communicate different messages and qualities to every one of us.

Responses from the spirits don't necessarily occur in the spoken language. Images, emotions, impressions, symbols, and signs are the more subtle and emphatic forms of communication. However, we often don't notice omens or choose to ignore them, believing it's a product of our imagination or just a chance or coincidence to occur.

I always use omens to know the answer to seemingly unanswerable or inexplicable questions I have, like, "did my spellwork accomplish its purpose?" A genuine recognition of Divine, universal, and natural forces around us allied with a higher state of consciousness, will enable me to hear the answer to that question.

By passing a logical and rational mind that creates walls between things beyond physical reality and embracing the unreasonable as mere cogs in the wheels of reality, I become attuned to the universe, giving me the wisdom to understand the language of omens.

Enslaved ancestors generally agreed with originating and preserving signs and omens, which occupied a real place in their lives. Here are some of the most prevalent omens believed by rural Black people:

• If your right-hand itches, you will receive money. If your left-hand itches, you're going to pay out money.
• If a child cries continuously, a close relative will die soon.
• If you break a mirror, you will have seven years of bad luck. If the mirror breaks itself, a close relative will die.
• If the right side of your nose itches, a strange woman comes to the house. If the left side of your nose itches, a strange man comes to the house.
• If the spoon drops while you are eating, expect someone hungry is coming.
• If something sharp drops and sticks to the floor, it signifies good luck.
• If a swarm of buzzards flies into your house, it's a sign of death or something in your life is ending.
• If you hear an owl on the right side of the road, good luck; on the left side, bad luck.
• To see a flock of sheep, good luck, while hogs, bad luck.
• If you see a star run, make a wish, and your wish will come true.
• To hear a dove mourning is a sign of death in the neighborhood.
• To see white butterflies means good news is coming your way.
• If a pregnant woman is upset about seeing someone with a physical or mental handicap, her child will be born with the same handicap.
  
• Getting a knife as a wedding gift means the relationship will be severed.
• Finding a spider on your wedding dress is the best omen a bride can get.
• When walking with someone else, never allow the plane between you to be broken by a pole or post. It will bring bad luck and potentially ruin your relationship with that person.
• Stepping in dog poop with your left foot is a sign of good luck, while your right foot is bad luck.
• A bird poop that lands on you or something that belongs to you will bring you wealth.
• If you open an umbrella before heading outside, bad luck will rain on you.
• If you spill some salt, throw some over your left shoulder to prevent bad luck.
• If you walk or jump over a person, this brings a curse to them.
• When it rains and thunders on the day of the moon's disappearance, the crops will prosper, and the market will be steady.
• To see a black cat crossing your path means good luck and protection.

Other omens include natural phenomena, for example, an eclipse, the appearance of stars and planets in heaven, abnormal births of animals and humans, unusual growth of plants and trees, and behavior of the sacrificial animal on its way to the slaughter. The interpretation would be based on the practitioner's intuition.

One of my mentors, though, places a limited value on omens, signs, and wonders. First, he told me that one should only pay attention to omens after carefully scrutinizing the person witnessing or interpreting them. Only after ensuring that he is a profoundly God-fearing person or a genuine spiritual worker who is scrupulous in his interactions and balanced in his ways can the omens he sees be considered proof of spiritual messages. Even after all this, proof from omens remains inconclusive.

So should we believe in these superstitious omens?

I regard such omens as reminders from the spiritual world. They serve as warnings and confirmations if we are heading in the wrong or right direction. Omens are part of the natural order of the cosmos, so our decisions must always be bound by nature and aligned with the spirit and God's will as we rise above the physical cause-and-effect order of things. 

What Is The Current State Of Hoodoo?

King Novelty Curio Catalogs advertised some assortments of African-American cosmetics and spiritual supplies in the Black-owned and nationally-distributed Chicago Defender newspaper.

You will often hear practitioners of different spiritual paths or religions manufacturing and selling conjure oils, powders, herb baths, mojo bags, and other spiritual supplies for particular situations or conditions nowadays, and I hope you long think about what Hoodoo is and isn't before buying such spiritual and magical items. 

Enslaved African-American ancestors were amazing people who struggled to preserve their culture in the face of slavery and oppression. They would not condone practices that bastardize the field of their own folk magic. If Hoodoo, Conjure, or Rootwork is just about commercially making and distributing magical and spiritual items, Black ancestors would have advocated this practice way before any modern or urban pseudo-practitioners would.

In the past, if people had a problem, they would go to a spiritual worker if there was nobody in their family that could help them. The workers would fix up something for them to use. In contrast, today, 'commercial Hoodoo' is superseding and almost destroying the need for a spiritual worker. It is convenient and agreeable that Hoodoo products became available for general public use. The problem is that the marketed versions of Hoodoo have little to do with the original old African-American practices that slaves and their descendants engaged in. Subsequently, our community is currently dominated by marketers and manufacturers who use a legitimate spiritual path and a magical system for commercialization. People have appropriated much of it for their monetary benefit, taking as much from African-Americans as possible, further removing the practice from any authentic spiritual working. This condemnable practice is also one that has shown the most eclecticism, as non-Christians and non-Hoodoo practitioners have attempted to claim the practice for their own, disregarding the long history of Hoodoo and Folk Christianity, and have incorporated several foreign spiritual elements into the tradition.

A genuine practitioner of Hoodoo will teach the tradition to their clients. Marketers, on the other hand, would just label their products with popular Hoodoo formula names such as Van Van, Lucky Mojo, Fast Luck, Has No Hanna, or Essence of Bend-Over and would include short, vague instructions but they would not give detailed information, simply because they lack heritage, and also proper education and training for non-Black practitioners.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against marketing. Tim and I market our products too, but if you sell Hoodoo spiritual supplies, then make sure you actually understand and practice this path and respect what it is, or else, you are already crossing the line. Most marketers won't even be able to tell you the fundamental components and elements of the Hoodoo tradition or some other old-time recipes and procedures that conjure men and women used for healing or luck-drawing and how they were developed because they pursue it purely as a business and not because they have respect for slave history and culture.

There are indeed a lot of cultural, traditional, religious, and spiritual admixtures to Hoodoo, but it is still important to return to the core of the tradition. In other words, just because this African-American system of folk magic contains visible evidence of Esoteric Christian, Jewish, Native American, Afro-Caribbean, New Age, and even a few Asian admixtures does not mean that it is an outstretched system of eclectic magic where 'anything goes.'

Hoodoo is African-American folk magic, primarily the folk magic of African-American Protestant Christians, with some inclusion of African-American Catholics, Spiritualists, Muslims, etc. - and is well documented. Its standard cultural repertoire of tools, formulae, recipes, ritual procedures, techniques, and beliefs are utilized to consistently perform a known kind and quality of magic for specific conditions. And within that standard cultural repertoire, conjure men and women make their own choices of how to do their spells or blend their products - but they remain within the cultural repertoire as their practices will produce the magic that is close to identical in appearance, manifestation, and efficiency every time it is performed, no matter who follows the tradition and what tools or methods they used. 

Hoodoo spells incorporate traditional tools, supplies, and procedures. 

We genuinely hope the introduction of Hoodoo and some other concepts and practices we shared from our previous articles in this blog give you an idea of how Hoodoo is made up of various elements and influences and how rich its history is.

Is Cursing Evil? Will I Go To Hell If I Perform Enemy Works?

Human skulls and other human remains are used in crossing and enemy works (Photo courtesy of Ariel Marzan). 

First of all, both Tim and I are not lady-hearted workers. The term 'lady-hearted' describes those conjure doctors who choose not to engage in any hurtful enemy work such as crossing, hexing, jinxing, and cursing. It is important to note here that this is not a derogatory term. It is merely a way for them to declare where they draw their lines ethically and morally.

As I said, we perform aggressive rootwork against our clients' enemies and are willing to hit hard with powerful curses if the divination says so. Yet we are also competent at removing curses, uncrossing clients, and restoring blessings after being magically or spiritually assaulted.

Curses, hexes, crossings, and other dark concepts are often and erroneously considered 'evil' because of a lack of understanding. While it is easy to mindlessly dismiss as unbecoming behavior of an average practitioner, I think it's worth remembering that certain things deserve such treatment like:

- Cursing an unhealthy habit or addiction. - Hexing a debilitating and recurring illness. - Or destroying a bad attitude.

All of this is, of course, ignoring that some people deserve to be crossed. We have no problem with it because God has no problem with it. 

In the Bible, God has the power to both bless and curse human beings and even other creations. These powers were demonstrated throughout the Scriptures. Humans who are made in God's likeness can also curse individuals and whole classes of people. 

Curses can be absolute or conditional. An absolute curse is meant to have an immediate effect. A conditional curse only becomes efficacious when certain conditions are met, or some terms are violated.

So what is a curse? 

A curse is a verbal or demonstrative invocation pronounced or performed to bring detriment or destruction to another. More than a threat or an ill wish, a curse is assumed to have the power to make the desired destruction a reality. Two elements make up the logic of cursing: a magical or symbolic view of condition which conjure workers can facilitate through crossing or enemy works; and 'formalism' - the concept that a speech act has power, regardless of intention, justification, or authority. While some assume that the power of the individual strengthens the efficacy of the curse, even curses uttered unintentionally by ordinary people were believed to have the potential to be harmful.

Crossing and hexing in Hoodoo tradition is NOT inherently 'evil,' irresponsible or unethical, or whatever, so we don't believe that we would go to hell if we tried to cross someone or something that deserved to be crossed. Cursing is magic just like any other - yes, it can be performed with pure egoistic, aggressive, malevolent, and hostile energies as the reason behind it. Still, it can also be beneficial and protective. It's not just used much because most people incorrectly thought its purpose is mainly for harming or mischief.

The exact mechanism of crossing varies from one practitioner to another. As noted above, a curse can manifest simply because of an utterance. Crossing, however, generally requires more effort. Hoodoo, aping Central West African magical practices with Judeo-Christian and Native American influences, requires ritualistic gestures and specific procedures, materials, and prayers. Timing and astrological correspondences can also increase or mitigate the power of a curse.

The practice of cursing is still with us, obviously. In the African-American tradition, some Christian pastors are known to curse individuals they and their congregation loathe or abhor. In a much-publicized event during World War II,  celebrated African-American preacher and gospel singer Rev. J. M. Gates put a curse on Adolf Hitler. The curse is chanted in a Baptist sermon cadence, a capella, call and response style. Gates is accompanied by two parishioners, an alto woman, and a bassman; their responses are timed together but independent.

Though I agree that cursing is destructive magic, sometimes destructive energy must be used to help resolve a situation or move someone to a better place or position. It can be used to destroy something and recycle it so that it can grow again. Sometimes, that's the only way to stop them from harming you. And sometimes, it's the only way to make them see the light of a difficult situation so they can change their views.

This form of magic, though, is like hot burning coal. You can see a lump of hot coal; you know it can be harmful and can do damage, but that does not mean you can't use it for something beneficial or productive. Yes, you can never hope to hold it in your bare hands and feel comfortable with it, but you can use some tools to pick it up and use it. The same is true when it comes to hexes and curses. 

That being said, crossing still shouldn't be taken lightly and certainly not for inexperienced, mentally/emotionally imbalanced beginners and children. It's vitally important to understand both the power of humans in creating vibrations and the nature of the spirits one is working with. Many people will call in destructive energy, yet if they don't know how to protect themselves through appropriate prayers or other procedures or if they don't realize that when energy is summoned, it must be instructed to depart when it's no longer required, or they can find themselves in very uncomfortable circumstances.

Now, before I end this article, I would like to take this chance to tell everyone reading our blog that Tim and I have not put any curse or hex on our personal detractors, adversaries, business competitors, and people who slander our families or us for a very long time (6 plus years ago was the last). We are too busy making spiritual supplies and casting spells for our clients and too oblivious about your affairs and insecurities, so DO NOT blame us for your life failures and misfortunes.

Some people claim to be magic practitioners or psychics but also claim that malefic magic based on their imagination has power over them. Because they have let their mind run wild, they attribute every inconvenience to every person to this false curse. Let me put this bluntly: What happened to your intelligence? There is no curse - never has been one - simply because we have no time for these bullshits! Stop believing in falsehoods and lies. And stop trying to remedy problems by making up your visions, readings, and self-diagnosis. Tim and I have already been accused of hexing other people and businesses. Shame on you, people who spread lies. Accepting it tells the world that you believe in your own delusion, and all of you, in the process, curse yourselves.

Lemongrass Leaves

andropogon schaenanthus, andropogon citratus, cymbopogon citratus

Lemongrass is a tall perennial grass native to the tropical and sub-tropical climates of Asia, Australia, and Africa, which has been used by rootworkers to ward off evil and bring good luck in love affairs. These two particular magical properties are based on their household and agricultural uses. Their oil is often used as a natural pest repellent in gardens to ward off insects but is also an attractant for honeybees due to the pheromones of the oil. 

It can also be used in herbal skin care preparations; the vivid, uplifting scent is ideal for herbal potpourris. Rootworkers sometimes mix other herbs that promote love and beauty to make balms, salves, and other herb blends more powerful. 

It is a significant ingredient for several spiritual supplies such as Van Van oil, Hindu Grass oil, Cut and Clear oil, Protection herb mixture, and Chinese Wash.

Some folks are known to make lemongrass and bay leaves into tea and add it to their regular cleaning solution or floor wash to get rid of jinxes and enemy tricks laid down on their threshold. Others dip their broom into boiling lemongrass tea with salt and use it to sweep out evil messes, then discard the broom at a crossroad when finished. Other people pluck straws from an old broom and make it into tea with lemongrass leaves, then add the tea water to their scrub water to wash down any malefic energies.

To enhance romance and sexual pleasure, the lower stalk of the lemongrass is widely used as they include it to flavor their lover's food. It's usually best to bruise and bend the stem several times to help release the flavor and its magic.

Lemongrass leaves and stalks are also thought to relieve pain and swelling and reduce fever. Add some leaves to medicinal teas to improve the taste or make a refreshingly healthy iced tea. It blends well with other citrusy herbs such as lemon balm and lemon verbena, ginger, turmeric, hibiscus, and sweet orange peel.

Do You Cast Love Spells?

I am making this blog post since, for some reason, there's a sudden influx of messages in my inbox coming from people asking me to weave potent love spells for them to get the individuals they want. I would like to make a general statement here regarding my opinion about it and why we don't do such manipulative spellwork if the divination says no. 

Love spells to make individuals you don't know personally fall in love with you is a very dangerous, deceitful, and manipulative magic. When you cast a spell on strangers or perform some trick against their will (as the initial psychic reading reveals) to manipulate, control, or deceive them, you are doing the same as if you took the regular mundane route to manipulate, abuse, and control another person. It doesn't matter if you think it's 'purer' because you have no intentions of physically or sexually harming the person; it is the same thing. 

And when you manipulate someone, if you make them think or feel something they haven't perceived naturally, or they disagree with within their heart, they would eventually find out that there is no foundation for that affection or thought. It is just nothing but an infatuation, not real love - which usually occurs when the effect of magic is starting to wane, vanish or disappear. 

When that happens, they would become mentally imbalanced and/or emotionally unstable, become someone they aren't because they don't know how to include and combine the past and present selves to come up with the way they are now (which is impossible because of that unnatural additional thought and fake emotion to their mind). Or they would find out what you have done, and everything you have built before, during, or after that has anything to deal with that person would implode.

Don't get me wrong, the Hoodoo tradition condones and even promotes some form of manipulative and coercive magic, but everything needs spiritual consent through divination first. Asking for and obtaining permission from the spirit world shows respect for everyone involved - you, your target, and your spirit guides. It eliminates one's authority and entitlement that he might feel over other people. From there, seeking guidance from the Divine or spirit means continuing to be impartial with your selfish desires. 

Magic isn't a candy machine or a toy; it's not a tool to only get what you selfishly desire regardless of what the Divine and spirits have told us during readings and the feelings or thoughts of anyone else.

To cast on someone like this is just rude, cruel, and harmful - again, even if you feel like it's the right thing at this point, and you're not going to maltreat, abuse, or dominate the person you're controlling. 

If you want to make someone fall in love with you, then communication is the KEY! My mentor taught me that love spells are much more likely to succeed if people talk to one another. Otherwise, there is little chance for you to come together and build a romantic relationship. 

So what kind of love spells do you cast? 

We cast love spells on targets whom the client knows 'personally' and that they wish to have him or her drawn to them. Sometimes, the client will have no specific person in mind, simply a desire for new love, so we also perform love attraction spells on their behalf. 

We do workings, too, that are designed to fire up one's sex or romantic life, spells to make oneself appear more attractive and desirable, rituals for tying and untying someone's nature, and spells for reconciliation.

The execution of the spell, of course, would depend entirely on what the divination tells us. 

Love Me - Nation Sack Spell performed to make a man fall in love with a woman and a special conjure bag fashioned in a traditional Memphis-style filled with particular tokens and powerful curios for women who want to make their men dedicated to them and make them generous in money matters. 

Traditional American And Chinese Pharmacy

From the beginning, many Hoodoo shops have been associated with traditional pharmacies and apothecaries. In addition to functioning as spiritual shops, they have provided their customers with a wide range of topical herbal treatments, dietary supplements, pain-relieving analgesics, cosmetics, hair care products, perfumes, and patent medicines.   

Traditional pharmacies were introduced and eventually included in Hoodoo as many of its practitioners also perform some form of 'chiropractic' manipulation and/or massage therapy known as rub-down rites for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal ailments, as well as spiritual afflictions; and merge folkloric therapies with mainstream medicine, incorporating allopathic treatment modalities and prescription of pharmaceuticals into their practice. Usually, this is a specialization, but in the Southern areas, many of the root doctors are familiar with using these modalities. However, most practitioners do not have formal training in mainstream or contemporary medicines. Others are naturally gifted in this healing art, while others achieve their skills through an indigenous hand-me-down education. 

Numerous techniques exist, varying by region and folkloric esoterica. Common in the practice of rub-down in the rural areas is the practitioners' attribution of the healing effect to God, and other spiritual entities, that it is through Their presence, power, and assistance that they can manipulate the spiritual and energy channels in the body's meridians (and chakras), hoping to expel evil spirits or negative energies that may have invaded the patient's etheric space and may have caused the physical ailments. Some traditional rub-down techniques utilize symbolic patterns of the cross, crown, rosary, and angel wings. A few practitioners achieve expertise in this healing modality, incorporating it with elements of 'science' (reflexology, basic anatomy, and physiology), gaining knowledge through self-study, membership in a local group with shared interests, or some workshops. These modalities are performed with medicated topical preparations and even some pharmaceutical drugs.

Nowadays, while most Black families would prefer an immediate consultation with a licensed physician, many African-American and Hoodoo homes still carry so-called homestyle remedies - oils, creams, liniments, and an assortment of other products that all purport to treat discomforts mild to profound. 

Whether these over-the-counter remedies for aches and pains heal is often tertiary to the fact that people believe they do, so conjure practitioners and their patients can think of them as actual medicine. Many of them have been around for years, even decades, so one has to wonder - if they don't work, why are they still around?

Here are some good old-fashioned American and Latino, as well as traditional Chinese and South-East Asian remedies for life's minor aches, pains, and needs:

Oil of Gladness or Oriental Balm and Old Indian Rubbing Oil, hand-blended with traditional herbs and essential oils. 

Liniments are generally described as alcohol-based liquid topical pain relievers or analgesics designed to be rubbed on sore or strained muscles. Most liniments are quite strong-smelling because turpentine, camphor, or capsicum are the often leading ingredients in their formulation. McLean's Volcanic Liniment for Aches and Pains is one of the most old-fashioned remedies still available in the U.S., an authentic 19th-century turpentine-based liniment, good for both man and beast. Five Photo First Aid Antiseptic Liniment is an unusual liniment that contains extracts and tinctures of several herbs long revered in traditional Chinese medicines in a base of 70% alcohol. It is known to relieve minor aches and pains of muscles and joints due to simple backache, arthritis, strains, bruises, and sprains.

Balms, salves, and ointments are also used as analgesics and counter-irritant in Hoodoo alternative medicine. Bag Balm Ointment has long been used as a skin salve for humans to treat cuts, abrasions, and stubborn skin irritations. Some root doctors recommend this strongly-scented, lanolin-rich ointment for use as-is and also suggest it as a base in compounding spiritually protective balms if one wants to make his condition ointment. Black and White Ointment is another skin rub used in cleansing and healing works as it is scented with lemongrass essential oil. Tiger Balm, named after Aw Boon Haw, which translates to 'gentle tiger', is still marketed as a miracle cure for various aches and pains. It is made of natural camphor, mint oil, cajuput oil, menthol, and clove oil. The original Tiger Balm now comes in two varieties: red for muscle aches and white for colds and flu. Practitioners with Latino, predominantly Mexican, and Filipino ancestry used one of the world's most popular over-the-counter home remedies, Vicks Vaporub - a mentholated ointment that helps relieve coughing due to minor throat irritation and also colds. It can temporarily ease insect bites, headaches and joints, and muscle fatigue. Originally called Vicks Coup and Pneumonia Salve, it was invented by a pharmacist in 1890. Its active ingredients are camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol.

Time-honored over-the-counter Chinese traditional medicine, pain relievers, and topical analgesics sold in Chinese herbal pharmacies in Asia and America. 

Conversely, massage and rubbing oils are popularly used to relieve tiredness and body discomfort, as these products often promise instant relaxation. These oils can be applied topically on the temples and wrists, massaged directly on the ailing parts of the body, or inhaling it straight from the bottle. Indian Rubbing Oil for Aches and Pains is a massage oil for aches and muscle pain and can help blood circulation. It can also be used in rub-downs, both medicinal and spiritual. White Flower Analgesic Balm (Oil) alleviates everything from headaches, dizziness, muscle pain, and motion sickness. Its ingredients include menthol, eucalyptus, wintergreen, camphor, lavender, and peppermint. 

Chewing gums and candies flavored with natural herbs take on the spiritual and magical qualities of those herbs and may be administered as a form of subtle medicinal magic.  As mentioned above, pharmaceuticals, often as antibiotics and analgesics - are empirically utilized by some root doctors and added to the management of complicated maladies, prescribed indiscriminately and sometimes dispensed without the usual warnings and precautions regarding adverse reactions and side effects. With laws governing drug usage, prescription-type medicines advised or written by root doctors with hardly a modicum of knowledge of pharmacology have been decreasing.

An example is a story from a man cured by a famous root doctor called Guinea Sam Nightingale. This is an excerpt from a journal in History of the Present, written by Andrew Zimmerman: Sam once treated a man who had been tricked by taking him to a local pharmacy and swallowing an entire box of pills. Nightingale then informed the patient that the pills were laxatives and recommended that he hurry home, "for your bowels sure going to move," and also encouraged him to drink his own urine. "Course I never drank my water," the man later explained, "but he cured me, he sure did."

Some old-time recipes for balms, salves, and ointments:

I do not want to boast, but I rarely succumb to the bugs that go around the time of the year, but whenever I get the flu, I usually make myself this soothing balm my mentor from the West Coast has taught me. Although it's best to harvest or wildcraft your herbs, I usually used dried leaves and flowers for this recipe as they are easier to work with:

- Ginger root - Chrysanthemum flowers - Codonopsis root - Elderberries - Elderflowers - Meadowsweet flowers - Mullein leaves - Slippery Elm bark - Mint essential oil - Eucalyptus essential oil

In my experience, a mixture of all herbs and essential oils produces a full result. 

To use: Heat the 4 oz of Sweet Almond oil and 2 oz of Beeswax together in a double boiler. When they are liquid, add all of the herbs to the mixture. Keep on low heat for one hour, then set in a cool place, tightly covered, for one week. Reheat and strain the plant matter, then pour into containers and add three drops of each essential oil. 

This ointment is health-enhancing, especially for soothing lungs and sinuses, but it also effectively protects against unnatural illness, enemy works, nightmares, crossed conditions, and evil tongues. There are no known contraindications or drug interactions for the above herbs. Properties of these herbs, in combination: support immune function; are gently anti-microbial (anti-viral, antibiotic); anti-inflammatory; analgesic; a decongestant, and soothe; and support the lungs, throat, and sinuses. 

Another basic formula I learned from a root doctor is what she called her own Analgesic Salve. I find it particularly effective for the relief of headaches and minor muscle pain, as well as soothing for cold and flu-related aches. It can also be used for motivation, igniting passion, and inspiration. 

To have on hand, mix:

- Meadowsweet flowers - Passionflower leaves - Chamomile essential oil

To use, heat two cans of Black and White Ointment and two tablespoons of Olive Oil in a double boiler. When all is melted, stir in equal parts of the herbs, as much as the mixture can hold. Make sure not to let the oil get hot enough to 'fry' the herbs.

Keep it warm for an hour, then let it stand tightly covered in a cool place for one week. Warm it, strain the plant matter, add three drops of essential oil, then pour it back into the original tin. 

As cautionary measures for those who would try to make and use this: passionflower may potentiate medications such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and sleeping pills.

A useful ointment from the book, Dr. Chase's Old-Time Home Remedies, can be made too as a counter-irritant and to reverse bad luck into good.

This book includes traditional advice for illness and injuries, nursing and midwifery, meals and desserts, household maintenance, beekeeping, and much more!

To do this, you will need the following:

- 8 oz. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly - 2 tablespoons dried, powdered ginger root - 2 tablespoons dried, powdered clove pods - 2 tablespoons dried, powdered cinnamon bark - 2 tablespoons dried, powdered black pepper - 2 tablespoons dried, powdered red pepper

Melt the Vaseline in a double boiler and stir in the powdered spices. To make it even more robust, when stirring in the other herbs. 

Keep warm on the stove for one hour, then strain the herbs. Pour into small wide-mouth containers.

This ointment is a traditional skin irritant. If you spread it on too thickly and leave it on, it may cause blistering of the skin. 

Lastly, a salve for itchiness and money drawing. It is believed in Hoodoo and even in Filipino custom that an itchy palm is a predictor of financial gain or loss soon. A good practice when your palm is itchy is to avoid scratching it but instead rub it with this salve or any money-related condition oils. 

If using fresh herbs, gently spray clean and let it dry overnight in a dark place.

- 1 handful of chickweed - 1/2 handful of chamomile heads - 1/2 handful of calendula heads - 2 tablespoons of thyme - 2 tablespoons of comfrey root - 2 tablespoons of Althea root

To use: Cover with Jojoba oil, and infuse over low heat for 3 hours. Strain and add 1-2 oz. of lard, unsalted butter, or cocoa butter, and 1-2 oz. Beeswax, heat until melted. Just drop a little on a plate and see if it hardens enough. If not, add more Beeswax, only a little at a time, and re-test. Once the texture is good, pour it into containers.

The standard advice from most doctors: using any medicinal herbs, supplements, etc., during pregnancy should only be done with the advice of a personal health care provider. I wouldn't recommend the use of these balms or ointments during pregnancy.

As you can see from the recipes above, for a base of balms, salves, or ointments, you can use any of the following neutral, solid fatty substances:

- Beeswax - Petroleum Jelly - Lard, tallow, or mutton - Unsalted Butter - Vegetable Fats like Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter

Melting Beeswax and adding virgin coconut oil for our premium balms. 

If you prefer to work with an already-started fatty base that has a good texture and a natural herbal scent, you can do as many workers have and make good use of either or both of these two commercial ointments:

- Black and White Ointment - Bag Balm

Ointments and salve from old-fashioned recipes: Strong Ointment for protection, breaking adverse effects of magic that has affected the skin or muscles and driving off enemies; Golden Flower Ointment for cheering, health-enhancing, and money drawing; and Protective Salve for protection of home and family against diseases.

Liniments that contain rubbing alcohol, either isopropyl alcohol or ethanol-based liquids, are well received by clients, especially during hot weather, due to the evaporation of the alcohol, which cools the skin. Most liniments provide fast and lasting relief from various body pains. Their main ingredients aside from alcohol could include menthol, camphor, ammonia, turpentine, methyl salicylate, and oils such as Olive oil, Sweet Almond oil, or Virgin Coconut oil. Like many other similar products, they work by just rubbing it onto the affected area of the body. They are beneficial in soothing and easing tension, fatigue, and aching muscles. They also have an anti-itching effect that relieves itching, thus preventing infection from insect bites and scratches.

Compound Camphorated Liniment

- 30 oz. Rubbing Alcohol

- 5 oz. Camphor resin, crushed

- 5 oz. Ammonia

- 1/4 oz. Lavender essential oil

Dissolve the Camphor and lavender Oil in the alcohol, then gradually pour in the ammonia, careful not to breathe the fumes. Stir well and bottle tightly.

Another recipe I took from the book Dr. Chase's Old-Time Home Remedies is Dr. A.B. Mason's Liniment:

- 2 oz. Rubbing alcohol

- 2 oz. Sweet Almond oil

- 1 oz. Camphor, crumbled

- ½ oz. Ammonia

- ½ oz. Turpentine - ½ oz. Oregano essential oil

-½  oz. Spikenard essential oil

Dissolve the camphor, sweet almond oil, and essential oils in the alcohol, then gradually pour in the ammonia and turpentine, being careful not to breathe the fumes. Stir well and cork tightly.

Rubbing oils are used primarily to help expel abdominal discomfort due to gas or colic, otherwise known in the Philippines as "kabag." They are also suitable for massaging a client's head or giving rub-down to arms and legs. They could be mixed with condition oils for use on the body. Some rubbing oils are specially formulated for babies and toddlers, as they are mild on children's skin and have a mild scent.

Here's a recipe of camphorated or mentholated oil that I learned from my two teachers, which I combined for more effective use: 

- 4 oz. Olive or Mineral oil

- ½ oz. Camphor, crumbled

- ½ oz. Menthol, crumbled

Heat the oil in a double boiler. Dissolve the camphor and menthol in the heated oil, then remove them from the heat. After it cools, a few drops of essential oil of lavender, mint, wintergreen, chamomile, or eucalyptus may be added if desired for fragrance and to align the oil with a specific set of healing or medicinal properties and magical attributes.

Some additional information for all the recipes I shared: Add a small amount of Vitamin E and grapefruit seed oil - about 1/8 teaspoon per 8 oz. oil - at the end of the process (once everything's cooked and strained before pouring into their respective containers). Grapefruit seed oil is an excellent natural preservative and adds an anti-microbial property to rubbing oil, liniment, or salve, while Vitamin E oil moisturizes and nourishes the skin.