Blog Home

Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama I hate to say it but I didn't know what the hell Rootwork/Conjure/Hoodoo was until I got older.  

What I now think of as Rootwork/Conjure/Hoodoo was just something my grandmother or great grandmother had in their arsenal of knowledge.  Tummy not feeling well?  There is mint on the side of the house for that.  Got Pink Eye?  Honey is in the cabinet, add a little to a Q-tip and put it in your eye for 3 days and you will be right in no time.  

Someone stopping by that you aren't a fan of?  Salt at the door so they don't bring their negativity into your home.  Got Pneumonia?  If you have access to a cow pasture then the remedy can go in a direction that will make you gag but has been proven to make you better and the list goes on and on.   

Hoodoo/Rootwork/Conjure are uniquely African American, Southern specific and theoretically closed to those who where not born into the diasporic experience and while I know y'all love to tussle don't be ready to do it with me.  Our traditions have been openly shared by individuals who wish to erase the spirit of the people in an effort to take away their magic and clam it as their own.   born folk magic this is not up for debate although I know ya'll love to tussle.  Hoodoo was born out of the oppression of kidnapped Africans who brought their spiritual practices with them when they were forced into slavery.  So with that being said let me make it clear you cannot have Hoodoo without the African American experience.  You also cannot have Hoodoo without The Bible because it is honestly one of its foundational tools aside from the heritage of the people who practice.  Now, hoodoo is a magical practice not a religious practice so please do not merge it with Vodou/Voodoo but it is rooted in religious spiritual connections available to our people at that time.