That Sexy Saints' Head is One Powerful Conjure Curio

This article piggybacks the last article I wrote called St. Expedite around the World: Road Side Altars in Réunion. In that article, I discussed the possible connection between St. Expedite and sorcery due to the prevalence of decapitated statues found at the numerous roadside shrines in Réunion.

According to local reports, St. Expedite is decapitated in order to “neutralize his power or to use the head in their own incantations” (Dalyrymple 1998). Unfortunately, this new information is not in my book, The Conjurer's Guide to St. Expedite. But, that's okay, I have another book in the works about him that will contain this additional information. I have discovered through reading numerous more articles that the reason for his decapitation is indeed due to sorcery. Apparently, the decapitated head of a St. Expedite statue is one powerful conjure curio. Sorcerers will collect the heads of this sexy saint and use them in works against enemies and  for protection. St. Expedite is perceived to be so powerful, that in order to counteract any magick performed with his assistance one must seek the ultimate solution: assistance from the spirit of a deceased sorcerer extraordinaire and mass murderer.

Now, this is getting interesting.

To folks who are unfamiliar with Southern conjure and execration magick, it may sound shocking. But, it makes total sense to me now that I have more information.

In Southern conjure, graveyard work is often a very big part of the practitioner's work, especially for the two-headed conjure doctor aka sorcerer. And, as is often the case there are more similarities than differences when it comes to examining traditions across cultures. In New Orleans Voudou, St. Expedite in syncretized with Baron Samedi who is the Voudou Spirit of Death and head of ancestral loas (Guede). Hanging out with both St. Expedite and Baron Samedi at the cemetery is not unusual for practitioners. Graveyard work is, after all, considered a powerful form of magick. Apparently it is in Réunion, too.

Enter Sitarene

A rather infamous sorcerer in Reunion was known for his collection of decapitated St. Expedite heads. He apparently used them in his powerful conjure work, which reportedly scared the crap out of locals. As one individual describes it: "We were all terrified of him: everyone believed he had very strong powers. But in the end the people kicked him out because he began to demand bribes not to cast spells on us all" (Dalyrymple 1998). In order to ensure the sorcerer would not exact revenge, they enlisted the help of the spirit of a sorceror known as Sitarane. 

Sitarene was notorious while still alive for more than just being a sorcerer. He killed three people that folks are aware of, and he did it by drugging his victims with datura and then drinking their blood. In the graveyard where he is buried, "the head of the cross on La Sitarane's gravestone had been broken off and the remaining shaft painted bright red. On the slab was piled a mountain of bizarre offerings: rice, potatoes, oranges, radishes, wine gums, milk, coconuts and incense sticks, as well as the inevitable bottles of rum and packets of Gitanes" (Dalyrymple 1998).

Now, in the conjure tradition, petitioning the help of a murderer is serious business. Sometimes this is done by gathering the grave dirt from where the murderer is buried. Other times, it involves the actual invocation of their spirit. In both cases, a pact is made between conjurer and spirit that defines the work to be done. The services of the spirit are bought and paid for, often for a mere 15 cents and a bottle of rum. 

Ironically, Sitarene was decapitated as a result of his actions, just like St. Expedite. Only his beheading was a just sentence as opposed to being murdered for being a Christian. As the story goes, just before he was executed, Sitarene made a public proclamation that he would return from the dead to avenge his death. He must have made quite the scene because his words have never been forgotten.  

They say the people of Reunion believe Sitarene still wanders the land. The offerings left at his grave point to the belief that his services can be bought and paid for and apparently he is gaining in popularity. They continue to bring him gifts and solicit his help to make their work more powerful and to exact revenge against enemies.When they need help in a hurry, however - whether a curse or a blessing -  it is St. Expedite they turn to.

References

Dalrymple, William (1998). The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters. retrieved April 16, 2016 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/721380/Reunion-Renaults-and-sacred-rites.html

Image credit: Photo of A Cabinet of Decapitated St Expedite Heads by Denise Alvarado, Copyright 2016 All rights reserved worldwide.

Find a full line of St Expedite products at Creole Moon

Hyssop of the Holy Writ

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” 

Talk to any rootworker and ask them to name the best herb to use for cleansing and uncrossings and their response is likely to be, or at least include: Hyssop. This makes sense given the heavy influence of the Bible on modern conjure, and in particular, the influence of Catholicism and the use of the Psalms - specifically Psalm 51 - in conjure work in New Orleans.

Although well-known for its association with the Bible, the hyssop we know today as Hyssopus officinalis is disputed as the plant referred to in the Bible. Biblical hyssop is often called the “unidentified plant” of the Bible. Some maintain that hyssop is actually a type of marjoram (Origanum maru), while others posit it is the caper-bush (Capperis spinosa). Despite the question of its true identity, Hyssop officinalis is the one used in both perfumery and conjure today.

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) is a decorative herbaceous plant in the mint family that is native to Southern Europe, the Middle East, and the region surrounding the Caspian Sea.(1) Hyssop is believed to have come to North America with the early European colonists as it is listed among the seeds John Winthrop, Jr. brought to the New World in 1631.(2)

Over the years, it has escaped from gardens and is now naturalized at roadsides and in waste places here and there in North America from Quebec to North Carolina. When it blooms, hyssop displays spikes of fragrant blue, pink, or white flowers. Hyssop has been used in a variety of ways since Classical Antiquity. The classical age was a time in which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great influence throughout Europe and the Middle East. During this time, hyssop was widely
used for its medicinal properties.

Historically, hyssop has been used medicinally as an antibacterial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, astringent, carminative, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, febrifuge, hypertensive, nervine, sedative, and tonic, among other things. It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of bruises, colds, cough, fatigue, fevers, flatulence, indigestion, inflammation, loss of appetite, nervous tension, sore throat, stress related conditions, and wounds. Hyssop should be avoided by those with epilepsy and those who are pregnant.

Hyssop also has culinary uses, although it is considered a bitter herb. It can be finely chopped and sprinkled on salads and game meats, and in soups and stews as an aromatic condiment. The leaves have a slightly bitter taste due to its tannins, and an intense minty aroma. Due to its intensity, it is used moderately in cooking. The herb is also used to flavor liqueur, and is part of the official formulation of Chartreuse.

Hyssop is most commonly associated with cleanliness and sacrifice from a religiomagical sense. It is known to have been used in the ritual cleansing of holy places. Bundles of the herb were dipped in sacrificial blood and water and touched upon doorways and other areas in need of cleansing. The dried herb was used in bouquets and burned to fumigate areas in an effort to ward off plagues. Beekeepers were known to rub the fragrant flowers on beehives to encourage bees to stay. In Hoodoo and Rootwork, hyssop maintains its biblical associations with cleansing, uncrossing, and getting rid of negative conditions.

Here are a couple of ways hyssop can be used to improve quality of life.

AROMATIC MEDICINAL BATH

For the treatment of rheumatism, boil several handfuls of hyssop leaves and flowers along with a handful each of thyme, marjoram, lavender, mint and rosemary in two gallons of spring water. Allow to cool until warm, then strain out the herbs and add the tea to a warm bath. Soak for fifteen minutes.

RECIPE FOR HYSSOP TEA

Infuse a quarter of an ounce of dried hyssop flowers in a pint of boiling water for ten minutes; sweeten with honey, and take a wineglassful three times a day. This tea is said to be good for rheumatism and upset stomach and can be drunk in conjunction with the above aromatic bath.

FORMULA FOR HOLY HYSSOP OIL

Holy Hyssop Oil is ideal for times when you are in need of comfort, hope, and spiritual relief. It is useful in times of grief and when you are facing despair, a sense of hopelessness and would benefit from the reassurance of Divine intervention.

Holy Hyssop Oil is made in a base of the purest Olive Oil you can get. Olive oil from Israel is ideal for this formula. Add the dried herbs of hyssop, lavender and rosemary in a pan with enough oil to cover the herbs. Simmer for thirty minutes. Allow to cool and strain into smaller bottles, adding a pinch of hyssop in each bottle. You can repeat the simmering process if you want a stronger fragrance by straining the oil and adding fresh herbs and boiling for another thirty minutes.

Note that this is my personal recipe and name for the oil; you may find others calling it simply Hyssop Oil, which for me would be simply the hyssop herb steeped in olive oil.

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyssopus_officinalis
2. Mother Earth Living, http://www.motherearthliving.com/mother-earth-living/an-herb-to-know-hyssop.aspx

Image credit: Upload by: terryb
Author website: pixabay.com
License: CC0 Public Domain
Free for any use / No attribution required

_________________________________________________________________________________
* The above article is an excerpt from Hyssop: The Holy Herb and its Uses, one of many such documents and ebooks that is received by members of my Conjure Club.

What is Religion Anyway, and Who Gets to Define it? A Follow Up on New Orleans Voudou as a Legitimate Religion

A little over a year ago, I wrote an open letter to Catherine Yronwode about her accusations of New Orleans Voodoo being a faux religion perpetrated by fakers. My letter to her was in response to an article she posted on her website about Hoodoo history, in the section called Hoodoo is Not New Orleans Voodoo. You can read the original post for the background info...I won't waste time repeating it here.

While there was a bit of a flurry as a result of my blog post, it pretty much died down, though comments have continued to be posted by folks who discover it over the months since it was written.

It recently came up again when someone discovered the link and posted it to my Facebook group. More than one person asked what Yronwode's response was to my email to her. I have stated she responded after several days of being "busy." But the topic of discussion that came up was a very good one, and one that, unfortunately, she did not deem important enough to continue. In fact, she never even looked at my response from what I can tell in my FB email, though her husband Nagasiva did.

This was her response to my open letter, which was an email to her about the discovery of that slanderous, hugely inaccurate and lacking any scholarly citations to back it up, article that remains on her website to this day. I'm only posting an excerpt of her email which brings up the topic of this post:

Catherine Anna Yronwode
Denise, I have an opinion. It is based on my experiences in New Orleans during the 1970s and 1980s and 1990s and 2000s. I have been there many times over four decades and i have seen lots of pseudo-Voodoo there, from all the sources i cited in that article, and others i did not bother to cite but will be glad to if requested...

I will continue to call New Orleans Voodoo a faux-religion until i see that it offers what what real religions offer -- homes for the elderly, care for the sick, funeral services, education for the young, houses of worship, a true congregation that meets regularly for worship services. I am strict and old time in my understanding of what a religion is. Even my small church, tiny as it is, has a vast prayer chain for our members, sets free lights for those in need, and gives out hundreds of pro bono spiritual consultations and hundreds of dollars in pro bono spiritual supplies every year.

A religion is not a festival or a work of performance art or a magazine.

The hoodoo i know is NOT "New Orleans Voodoo" or any kind of Voodoo. We practice Christian folk-magic, and i think that you, in honesty, should be PROUD AND HAPPY to say "New Orleans Voodoo is not hoodoo." Because it's not.

Finally, and i mean this most sincerely, if you can demonstrate that New Orleans Voodoo is a new religion (in the same way that responsible Pagans and Heathens have finally begun admitting that their religions are new religions, after forty years of spuriously calling upon "ancient European pagan religions" as the sources for some of their most egregiously pseudo-Hindu cosmologies) then i will call it such, gladly -- but only if it meets the criteria of being a religion.

You should not look to me to validate your confabulated blend of conjure and Voodoo. I am only interested in historical truth. This should not make us enemies, but if you feel that i oppose you so strongly as to appear unfriendly, then all you need do, as far as i am concerned, is either show me the historical continuity of true Voodoo in New Orleans, or admit openly, as a responsible person that you are willing to leave behind the grotesque impostures of the likes of Gandolfo, Glassmann, and Caulder, and that you are practicing a new religion, which draws upon certain aspects of other religions, including Voodoo, as part of its foundation myth.

Cordially yours,
cat yronwode

What follows is my response to her, in which I thought I answered her questions rather succinctly. However, it appears she never even took the time to read it. Not reading it means she never responded. So, for folks who may also subscribe to her opinions about New Orleans Voudou and rather narrow view of religion in general, here is my response in its entirety:

I only have a couple of minutes as I've got a lot going on this week but wanted to let you now I have seen your response. A couple of things. First, the tone in your response is condescending and patronizing. I don't do well with those. That tone does match the offensive nature of the article however, where you have lumped me and others, in with one person who has been proven a fraud, and Gandolfo admittedly is guilty of pushing tourism Voodoo in a way I really wish he hadn't. Tallant is guilty for feeding into the sensationalism around Voodoo in New Orleans by describing rituals that did not occur, but they sure sound salacious. That is them, not me. To lump all of us together and judge a whole religion based on a few people is hardly reliable scientific methodology, not to mention, unfair and irresponsible. But BEHIND Gandalfo, as in associated with Gandalfo's museum, is Dr. Elmer Glover; around the corner behind Brandi Kelly, Mama Lola and Sunpie, to mention just a few legitimate practitioners who serve the community, as do Priestess Miriam and Mambo Sallie Ann Glassman.

Secondly, it is not a difference of opinion that I object to. Of course you have a right to your opinion, as I have stated previously. I do have an issue with the conclusions you have drawn as a result of your opinion, that lumps good people together as if we are all one entity and then write it on your page as gospel.

Your argument is coming from a place where you have defined religion for me and the rest of the world and if we do not subscribe to your definition, then we must be faux or fakers. Again, that is hardly a reliable, scholarly platform to take. Even in the discipline of anthropology, and the much broader field of the Social Sciences, there is no consensus as to the definition of religion. In fact, that has been an issue for a long time because who has the final word? The functionalists? Ethnologists? Reductionists? Biologists? Evolutionists? Culturalists? Analysts? In fact, it is interdisciplinary - there are many points of view and many angles from which to view and interpret religion. There needs to be a clear theory to back up your stance, not just naming a few authors who have nothing to do with religion in an academic field or from any formal religious or anthropological theory, with the exception of Hurston. In any one of the anthropological subdisciplines we can find differing theories of the meaning and function of religion. In fact the formal study of religion is relatively new (1800s - present), with most theories springing from the works of Tyler, Malinowski (functionalist), Boas, Frazer (functionalist), Pritchard, Geertz (interpretive), Radcliffe-Brown (social anthropology), Levi-Strauss and many others...each of whom built their theories on the basis of predecessors by either supporting and building upon previous theories or critically examining them and branching out into a different vein. Not one of these theorists subscribe to your definition of the necessity of having "homes for the elderly, care for the sick, funeral services, education for the young, houses of worship, a true congregation that meets regularly for worship services" - a definition that is prejudicial and biased in Western cosmology. Not one of these theorists would say that a particular religion is "faux" because it doesn't subscribe to their theory. Instead, they would look at the religion from their theoretical perspective and make sense of it in that way.

My personal theoretical foundation is from a cultural and multidisciplinary perspective (cultural anthropology and cultural psychology). I find the works of Frazer useful in particular with regards to his seminal work on the categorization of magic, science and religion. He basically stated that we have to step inside the culture and understand the systems of healing and illness and their function in order to understand how religion is expressed. His work has proved useful in the studies of indigenous religious systems for this very reason. Geertz posited that religion is interpreted and expressed on a very individual level as a set of symbols that are meaningful to practitioners in any number of ways.

The whole discussion of religion requires much more than a simple reductionist view as you have presented. I am not going to write a thesis on it, but you may find this primer article useful http://www.indiana.edu/~wanthro/religion.htm

Padgett himself is highly respected.

So, that is one huge issue in the present discussion. I'm afraid until you understand that your way is not the only way, and because New Orleans Voodoo as a religion does not fit your definition and therefore must be fake, any further discussion is going to be difficult, at best.

Onwards. New Orleans Voodoo has very African and Native American roots. We can trace its origins to the first slaves that set foot in New Orleans, the Bambarans (refer to Hall, 1992). The religiomagickal system of gris gris, which became an integral part of New Orleans Voodoo and remains so today, is a strong example of religious and cultural continuity. We can trace some of our practices to the Congo, Bamboula and Calinda tribes in Africa. The name for Congo square comes from the African tribes with roots in the Congo region and is where some of the traditional dances come from. The gatherings in Congo square began in the early 1700s with the congregation of Africans, but had been considered a sacred place by the Houma Indians long before.

I think one thing that may be hindering understanding is getting stuck on the term New Orleans Voodoo. In my opinion, a better description would be Louisiana or Creole Voodoo because it would take people out of New Orleans proper and out of the French Quarter tourism that seems to be the only thing you are hanging onto in defining it. I have been slowly moving in that direction for quite some time. Even Marie Laveaux, who is considered the Mother of New Orleans Voodoo, and Jean Montenee, who is considered the father of New Orleans Voodoo, did not hold their rituals in the Frenchquarter. They were held on the bayous and in the swamps in secret locations so as not to be disturbed and to be in close communion with the spirits there. Based on these two individuals and their important role in the perpetuation, maintenance and representation of New Orleans today (from a functional perspective as well as symbolic - both valid interpretations of religion in the social sciences with theories to back it up), as well as serpent worship, we can trace New Orleans Voodoo to go as far back as the late 1700s. Marie Laveaux's and Dr. John's particular expression of Voodoo, which incorporated the worship of the African spirits, gris gris, serpent worship, and commercialization of working roots - with the add on of Catholic influence and working with the saints by Marie Laveaux - is the tradition in which I am familiar and this is how I define New Orleans Voodoo. There is one Creator being, a recognizable pantheon of spirits, a recognizable African component (spirits, dances, specific drum rhythms, gris gris, ancestor reverence) and Native American component (spirits, working with herbs and plants, ancestor reverence), and recognizable Catholic component (saints, psalms, Marionism) giving it a life much longer than the onset of "commercial hoodoo" in the 1930s or so.

In addition, there is community. It began with community but social and political circumstances highly influenced its expression from communal to individual and back to communal. The Code Noir had a lot to do with that as well as the role of Catholicism in Voodoo. You can find the code in its entirety here: http://www.crossroads-university.com/the-louisiana-black-code.html.  People were tortured and killed for practicing anything other than Catholicism, which gave rise to some very ingenious Africans and people of African descent to cloak the Voodoo religion with Catholic iconography. It changed and adapted in order to survive. The roots of Catholicism in the religion served a very specific function.

So this is a mere portion of the foundation of my "confabulated blend" of New Orleans Voodoo and conjure. There is historical evidence, both written and oral - primarily oral because most slaves and Indians were not literate from a Western standpoint. From the standpoint of their cultures, however, they were highly literate with their own means of recording history and transmitting knowledges (check out Gardner's 1983 work on the theory of Multiple Intelligences).

I can appreciate you have spent some time in New Orleans. But I grew up there. I have swamped in the swamps and I learned how to commune with the spirits from a very early age of 5 by my aunt literally along the bayou. How I learned and what I learned can never be learned from a book or a visitor. This gives me a perspective you will never have, although you could come to appreciate and benefit if you were to step outside of your current line of thinking and allow yourself to. I don't want, need or expect your validation; however, I merely offer up my life experience as another source of information, one that has contributed to my understanding of Voodoo in New Orleans.

I have always maintained that Hoodoo looks different in New Orleans based on the cultural diversity and other regional differences, than it does in other areas of the country. For me, like my Mother and Father, the Spirits of Voodoo work alongside the spirits of the Roots and the ancestors. There is not the same compartmentalization that has occurred for many outside of New Orleans. And as always, I have qualified this as my personal experience and my observations of other local practitioners. I personally had no interactions with protestant Hoodoo practitioners in New Orleans. I am sure there probably are some there, but the majority of folks are Catholic, and history explains why this is so. That doesn't mean I am going to say your form of Hoodoo doesn't exist or is faux. Of course it exists; to say other wise would be arrogant, ignorant, and irresponsible. My request is that you offer me the same consideration.

I really need to hop off the computer here as I have appointments to get to the rest of the day and tomorrow. But there is so much more to the discussion, and again, my reason for writing you in the first place was because I was offended by your description of the religion and offended that you lumped me in with a couple of unscrupulous individuals. I am sure that would be upsetting to you if the tables were turned. By principle, all academic stuff aside, it is just not right to disrespect a religion simply because you do not agree with its expression or understand it. The people believe in Voodoo, those that practice it, they believe in its healing energy, they believe in the Spirits, they believe in one common Creator being, they believe in the Power of the roots, the dances, the drum rhythms, the rituals, and first and foremost, the ancestors. And, our temples are many.

Blessings, Denise

This is the rest of that story, and I hope it helps to answer some questions about how a discussion of what constitutes religion cannot be based on one individual's perspective. Whenever we attempt to base the entire world on our personal worldviews, we will never see all there is to see.

People often refer to Yronwode as "scholarly." I disagree based on this type of attitude which informs her writings. For once, I would like to see some real academic references on those thousands of pages on the LM website. Alas, she is not an academic and so there are very few and that will likely not change. Being the child of academics does not an academic make. Given this fact, it would be refreshing to have other, real scholars' perspectives sought out and explored, such as Yvonne Chireau and Katrina Hazzard, for example. Louis Martine has some fabulous books about New Orleans Voodoo and anyone who sincerely wants to learn about the tradition, in addition to referring to my own writings are encouraged to read these books and journals:

Mojo Workin': The Old African American Hoodoo System
Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition
Dr. John Montanee: A Grimoire: The Path of a New Orleans Loa, Resurrection in Remembrance
A Priest's Head, A Drummer's Hands: New Orleans Voodoo: Order of Service
Talking to God With Food: Questioning Animal Sacrifice
Hoodoo and Conjure: New Orleans (Volume 1)
A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau
The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook
Hoodoo and Conjure New Orleans 2014
Conjure in African American Society

These are but a few books available that address in part or whole the subject of New Orleans Voodoo and conjure. Note that I do not agree with everything in each of these books, but I don't have to and that is not the point. The point is to provide alternate sources of reliable information. The above works are either scholarly works or (New Orleans Voudou) practitioner written. Meaning, they are not based simply on blues songs and King Novelty catalogs and the "literary mining" of the Hyatt volumes.

 In addition, it is noteworthy that in the above email Yronwode refers to her practice and understanding of hoodoo as "Christian folk magic."  I think it would be a great thing for folks who equate hoodoo with Christian folk magic to refer to their practice as exactly that: Christian folk magic. Once you read all of the books I have recommended above, you will see that hoodoo, conjure and rootwork does not fall so neatly into the category of Christian folk magic. And for those of you from the LM camp who will invariably want to regurgitate the same old argument that hoodoo is not hoodoo without the bible, please do not bother. Again, I refer you to the above list of books to read about New Orleans Voudou. Let's gain an understanding for what New Orleans Voudou is before branching out into tired, old perspectives that only describe a portion of conjure, and certainly does not adequately describe that conjure which is an inherent part of New Orleans Voudou.

For an alternate read on the topic of hoodoo, conjure and rootwork, check out the website ConjureDoctors.com and the article What is Hoodoo, Conjure and Rootwork? There is also a rather extensive reference section with many links to full articles about hoodoo and conjure in general for those who are sincere in their desire to learn about southern conjure traditions. Check out the page: Conjure Doctor Articles.

The website is a work in progress, but has some great information with more being added all the time.

TO FIX A LANDLORD

Here's an old time hoodoo bottle spell conjure from the ebook "Granny's Secret Conjury" (which you will receive in your email if you are a Conjure Clubber): 

Write the landlord's name nine times on a piece of paper and place in a bottle. Add some gin, whiskey, and rum. Take two teaspoons of sugar (white sugar if the landlord is white, brown sugar if the landlord is not white) and put water from three sources in the bottle: some river water, water from the faucet  and some well water. Shake well every day at twelve o'clock. Burn nine green candles—one a day for nine days—and say Psalms 1 and 18 each day. Plant the bottle with the neck down close to the front door. This is believed to ensure you stay in your home.

The 1st Annual Bayou City Conjure Community Awards: Statement of Gratitude from Denise Alvarado

Greetings folks!

I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who voted for me and several of my projects and mutual endeavors with others that resulted in winning awards for the 1st Annual Conjure Community Awards 2012 hosted by Bayou City Conjure Radio. I am so honored for the recognition as Best Visual Artist as this award not only recognizes me, but also my ancestors; specifically, my Mother and Father who both inspired and nurtured by talents from the moment I could hold a pen, paint brush and sewing needle. 

A big surprise was winning the award for Best Blog – this blog, The Art of Conjure. I am not an everyday blogger; I blog when I have time and feel I have something to give and say. This blog simply consists of my thoughts and musings as a conjure woman who likes to share personal experiences in the hopes that it inspires and informs others.

The additional awards of which I am a part include Best Home Business - Crossroads Mojo with Madrina Angelique. The success of our young business is the result of what can happen with true teamwork, a mutual vision, and support and encouragement from countless others who believe in us, our products and our devotional art. Working with Madrina Angelique has been one of the most positive and professional experiences I have had the privilege of participating in. Above all, the Best Home Business Award for Crossroads Mojo is dedicated to Papa Legba, without whom the website would never have come to be.

Finally to win Best Facebook Group - Hoodoo and Conjure Magazine is quite the irony considering our beginnings. Even with the group out of the public eye, the satisfaction I feel for winning this award is immense, to say the least. But this award would not be possible without the blood, sweat, and tears of the writers, contributors, partnerships and all my brilliant fellow conjurers and group members who routinely give to each other and treat each other with respect. You are integral in creating and maintaining the group as a true, supportive, nonjudgmental community. Thank you to Carolina Dean, Madrina Angelique, Alyne Pustanio, Winsom Winsom and all group members who so graciously contribute their time and energy to both the magazine and to keeping the group running in my absence. Even with a few bumps in the road, you never give up. I am honored and humbled by the recognition and acknowledgment of the magazine’s group and our purpose, and most of all for having such loyal friends in my life. This award belongs to all of us.

I extend my congratulations to all of the other winners. Special congratulations go to a couple of Hoodoo and Conjure Magazine contributors whose light shone bright in their own right. Dorothy Morrison as Best Author – you are an inspiration, a witch of integrity and a true friend. Thank you for your life’s work, much of which I was reading long before writing myself. Dragon Ritual Drummers as Best Music Group – thank you for the awesome drums and rhythms, providing us an expression of and connection to the heartbeat of the Spirits. Witchdoctor Utu in particular, I thank you for your support and friendship. Priestess Miriam as Best Community Figure - you and the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple represent what New Orleans Voodoo should be all about. Well done, my friends!

Finally, many thanks to Bayou City Conjure Radio for giving all of us an opportunity to acknowledge individuals and groups who contribute in a positive way to the conjure community. May 2013 be the best year ever!

Peace and love,

Denise Alvarado

Native American Conjure: Working with an Indian Medicine Bag

A few of my medicine bags

In order to understand how to work a medicine bag, we need to define medicine as it is understood in the Indian worldview. To the Native American, medicine refers to anything mysterious, magical, spiritual and supernatural. It is the roots, stones, sticks, and bones of conjure. The three most powerful forms of Indian medicine are water, tears, and laughter (Gene Thin Elk, personal communication, 1994).

A medicine bag is very much like a mojo bag. They are worn or carried on the person for any number of purposes and often the same bag is used for a multitude of purposes, i.e. protection, healing, dream enhancement, and empowerment. Medicine bags can be made for yourself or for other people, just like a mojo or gris gris bag.

Medicine bags are used somewhat differently than mojo and gris gris bags, however. For example, once a mojo bag or gris gris is made, we don't open it up and mess around with the things inside unless we are taking it apart or recharging it. With your medicine bag, you can take an object out, talk to it and ask it for guidance. Ask it for its medicine. For example, if you are feeling scared or apprehensive about something and you have a bear claw in your medicine bag, you can take the bear claw out of the bag and ask the bear for its medicine or protection, strength, and courage. When you are done, place the claw back in the bag and carry the bag with you as usual.

As you can see from the photographs, medicine bags come in all shapes and sizes. I have quite a few medicine bags, these are but a few. I have a special medicine bag that holds corn pollen and a separate one that hold my tobacco. I have several smaller medicine bags that are held inside a larger medicine bag, and those inside an even larger medicine bag. The different bags contain different medicines that I use frequently and are not to be mixed with other herbs. When I am sitting in the darkness of the sweat lodge for example, I cannot see, but I can feel which bag has my cedar when I want to sprinkle some on the hot elders (stones) inside.

Medicine bags will contain special objects of power or "tokens" given to a person as well as power objects found in the natural environment that speak to the person finding it. Unlike gris gris bags which typically do not have more than 13 items and always an odd number in them, a medicine bag can contain as many items as a person wants. Sometimes people will consciously only keep as many items as a sacred number, but that is not a hard and fast rule. Sacred numbers for Indians are 4 (for the four sacred directions - North, East, South, West) 7 (for the seven sacred directions - North, East, South, West, Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Self),  21 (seven times 3) and 28 (seven times four).

There is a lot of misinformation on the web about Native American spirituality and culture, including misinformation about the basics of a medicine bag. According to one website for example, "A Native American medicine bag doesn't necessarily contain medicine. Instead, in Native American culture, items are placed inside the small bag that holds a spiritual significance to the wearer." This statement was obviously written by someone who doesn't have a clue as to what constitutes Native American medicine. The contents inside the bag ARE the medicine. The medicine comes from the realms of animal, plant, mineral, and human and yes, they hold spiritual significance to the wearer, but they also heal and empower.

"To enhance the supernatural and spiritual abilities of the wearer, healers often use the contents to perform the ritual known as vision quest." Again, a misinformed writer. The Vision Quest ceremony has nothing to do with the contents of your medicine bag. The Vision Quest has everything to do with increasing one's own understanding of self/community/the world and one's relationship to the community and the world (meaning Mother Earth and all of her inhabitants, great and small, four-legged, two-legged, eight-legged or no legs, as well as all of her processes). The Vision Quest or hunblecha is one of the Seven Sacred Rites of the Lakota people. Traditionally, this ceremony is conducted in places considered sacred such as The Black Hills and the Badlands. Bear Butte is a traditional site for hunblecha. Often a person will discover their animal spirit guides during the ceremony, but the contents of a medicine bag are not used to perform the ceremony itself.

The Thunder Beings (Wakinyan) live in the Black Hills according to Lakota tradition. At White Horse Mountain, where I participated in my first vision quest, the ancestors still dance and they can be seen and heard in the stillness of that ceremony.

Anything that speaks to you strongly can go into your medicine bag. Some typical tokens found in medicine bags include:

Plant Kingdom 

• Sage 
• Cedar 
• Sweetgrass 
• Corn 
• Beans 
• Seeds 
• Tobacco 
• Corn pollen 
• Corn meal 
• Roots

Animal Kingdom 

• Bones 
• Teeth 
• Scales 
• Lock of hair or mane 
• Claw or nail 
• Feather 
• Shell

Mineral Kingdom 

• Stone fetish 
• Arrowhead 
• Stones 
• Crystals
• Dirts

Human Kingdom

• Coin 
• Key 
• Photo 
• Bullet

In order to find your medicine, you will have to take regular Nature Walks if you are not the outdoorsy type. Don't just pick up anything, there has to be a strong and clear connection between you and it. You will know when you hold it in your hands and see it. Talk to it and ask it what lessons it has for you. Then, write down any insights you receive in your medicine journal. 

To learn more about Native American concepts and their connection to Southern Rootwork and Hoodoo, check out the course Native American Conjure: Working with Black Hawk & Indian Spirit Guides in Southern Conjure. In addition to learning about how to work with Black Hawk and Indian Spirit guides, this course teaches about Indian medicine, herbalism and curios, provides and Indian conjure formulary, several tutorials and a variety of works. It also discusses working with other Indian Spirits such as Red Hawk, White Eagle, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and Sitting Bull. In addition, you will learn about Thunder Medicine and how to make Thunderbolt Powder and hands. I guarantee you will learn things in this course you will not find anywhere else.

*The above article is excerpted from Conjuring Black Hawk by Denise Alvarado.

*All contents of this article including text and photos are copyright 2012 Denise Alvarado, All rights reserved worldwide. Do not copy and reuse without my permission.