Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure

As a student and practitioner of Hoodoo (among variety of other spiritual and esoteric disciplines and traditions), as well as student of Catherine Yronwood, I do consider this book to be a great resource on herbal lore of the Hoodoo magical tradition. While this book does contain 750 traditional spells, tricks and magical recipes and information on 500 herbs, roots, minerals and zoological curios, and in that respect I consider it to be unique and invaluable, the book serve more appropriately those who are actually practicing Hoodoo, rather than to someone with no background experience who just picks up the book. In magic in general, experienced practitioners do tend to substitute ingredients and have their own favorite recipes that will vary from those that are mentioned in this book. Magic is ultimately about experiencing your own subjective experience of reality and what smells sexy or like money to one person may not smell sexy or like money to another, and experienced practitioner may tend to adjust the recipes so that they feel just right to them. In one tradition chamomile may be associated with calming things down - in Hoodoo, on the other hand, due to the golden color of flowers, it is associated with wealth. In Wicca, mugwort tends to be associated with prophetic dreaming and psychic vision, and if you are into aromatherapy, clary sage will bring out those vivid dreams, but in Hoodoo flax seeds are added for psychic vision. If you are working with different herbal traditions and you have a variety of recipes, your personal experience will tell you what works the best for you, in which case you may adapt the recipes to what is most effective for you, rather than to what you may have read in this or any other book. And yes, psalms are popular in Hoodoo, but if they are not your cup of tea, you can create your own chants and prayers, or simply speak from your heart. The purpose of any kind of magic to help you to bring to life the subjective experience of the goal you desire to manifest, rather than to go through motions that have no meaning for you. The source of any kind of magic is within your mind and within your heart.

This book is Great for beginning to learning the HOODOO tradition, insight into herbal magical properties, and what to do with them. Great information. sorry, not a great writer myself, but love to read Highly recommend all her books I'm sad to see so many people having issue with Cat Yronwode, that somehow being Jewish, not African American, makes her life's work, and dedication to these traditions less valid or " Fake". Spiritual things are not exclusive. As I understand it at least.. Hoodoo, root work, and conjure have evolved through many peoples, and many cultures along the way. Beginning with the African traditions, Voudon brought such depth spirits, who one may call on for difficult situations. Spirits and deities were melded from different African tribes. When practiced in America, the foreign looking displays, and rituals in Voudon, were quickly stopped due to fear Hoodoo, Root work, and conjure is born of these community difficulties. Conjure and root working (to me) is about people within community, and daily needs in life. Overcoming hardships, love, luck, family, money. Sometimes revenge & malice even. Hoodoo became crafty in ways of hiding magical works. African American peoples used old rituals they had brought from Africa, many traditions, many spirits. To hide the veneration of these specific spirits, often Catholic Saints, and other fetishes would be substituted, so no trouble would come the way of the congregation. As African Americans migrated, and moved to areas of other "outcast" communities according to society. But together Hoodoo grew... More community need, more growth. the additional knowledge, of other spiritual herbs, and traditions taught by the Native American tribes brought new mingling traditions, many African Americans joined tribes, and learned from the native cultures about herbs and remedies. they exchanged knowledge, and rituals . Living, growing Together The Jewish communities, often in the same neighborhood areas, would also add to this living practice. Books of Moses, seals of Solomon....Many many more magical supplies. Also important to note that Jewish pharmacists, and community shops, often sold the spiritual supplies needed in Hoodoo and Root work, making it easier for people to access ingredients as they moved to new places. Any person who chooses to dedicate their lives to the study of spiritual traditions, should explore that, many are being called to traditions, to understand the history, culture, and the living breathing people, involved in the tradition. So Thanks Miss Cat Yronwode... Your online documentation of this rich tradition is so important. The history, the people, the products, the work. Seems to me (IMHO) Miss Cat is doing exactly what drew her spiritually. Following what her ancestors did before her.. Being involved in spiritual community, making magical ingredients for folks, so they are easily available for people, and root workers, at fair prices. Most of all Thank You Miss Cat for teaching, without you, most of this rich history would be lost..

Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic by Catherine Yronwode is a remarkable guide to the spiritual and magical use of herbs and other curios. This is a well researched translation of the history of hoodoo with precise explanations that are understandable to anyone with interest in herbs, roots, minerals, and other items used in historical times. Catherine Yronwode is a master at details. Nothing gets past this author. Catherine's work is tenacious, unsurpassed, and awe-inspiring. The treasures within Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic are too numerous to list here. The book teaches the reader about Hoodoo on many different levels. I've read it several times and learn something new every time I read it. The first treat of the book is in the Introduction where Yronwode shares with you the history of traditional hoodoo. There is also a page of old time labels that were used for pharmaceutical drug trade companies in the 19th and 20th centuries showing you the different types of designs used for the different types of items sold. Yronwode mentions that the book is a ..."practical guide to magic and not a botanical textbook," but I learned more about herbs and roots in this book than I ever have because the way it is written and understandable for the layman. There are many instructive spells in the book which are practical, easy to digest and educational. This is a book for the experienced and for the less experienced that will familiarize you with Hoodoo written by a genuine expert who wants to share her knowledge with others to help make their lives better. Susan Barnes-Bischoff

I appreciate the importance of culture and "belonging" in the transmission of a tradition. When I was growing up, my father used to say, "La cultura se mama." Culture drinks at the breast. This is how we are Mexican, not by reading "Mexicanism" out of a book. So I "get" the passion for cultural authenticity. At the same time, we have to recognize that, for all intents and purposes, the old hoodoo rootworkers are aging out, and if someone doesn't do something to save this tradition it will die out with the last old timer. In an ideal world, it would have been wonderful if the mantle of conserving traditional hoodoo methodology had fallen on a human who is genetically African-American, but when yronwode started Lucky Mojo, that wasn't yet the case. It was a nice Jewish girl from Oakland with youthful curiosity and an excellent track record in the publishing industry who saw the magical tradition of her youth withering and dying, and simply stepped forward to do what she could, out of love for the tradition and her teachers. She does NOT claim to be African-American. She does claim to have spent a critical phase of her youth in Oakland and have been immersed in the culture during her formative years. That is something. In a way, she suckled at the breast of hoodoo when she was a baby. The old timers raised her from a pup, and if they saw fit to transmit their knowledge to a white girl, I am not going to question their judgement. I am just going to be grateful that they did; otherwise, I would have very little adequate information about this wonderful tradition. This is a significant work of scholarship written by an educated and knowledgeable person who has practiced conjure for forty years. It is rare in occult book publishing to come across someone who has mastered both the academic and the practical sides of a tradition. Generally, scholars don't practice and practitioners don't research, leaving them both ignorant of important things. This is a rare jewel. Please appreciate it. Please buy it.

Catherine takes her vast knowledge and experience of Hoodoo Conjure Craft and catalogs it into an easy to follow and reference book with illustrations and traditional, accurate uses for each ingredient. The first part is an alphabetical list of herbs and curios complete with how to use them specifically in conjure. The second part of the book is a quick reference guide where ingredients are listed under the condition that you would use them for. I like how this book lists the Latin names for botanical curios along with the common name to avoid confusion, where other references can be more unclear, misname, or don't differentiate between different types of similar plants. This is the most singly comprehensive reference guide I have found so far. Whether you are a beginner to Hoodoo or an experienced practitioner, this is a good book to start off or keep around for new (old) ideas and general referencing.

This is a wonderful book for magicians, hoodoo, or other pagan systems. I first bought the paper back, and realized immediately that this is a collector item, I then bought the hard copy also. Unfortunately, the hard copy has no dust jacket, and the color of the cover is very dull, unlike the vibrant color of the paper back. But instead of returning it, I decided to keep both copies, and use the hard copy for referents, while the soft cover is put away for collection. As most reviewers already stated, this is a practical must have for magical use of herbs and minerals(mostly herbs). I love the listings of categories of what they can do magically. If you are looking for a historical point of view, or intellectual discussion about the philosophy of Hoodoo, then this is not the book for you. But if you want the folklore/magick of herbs use in Hoodoo, this book will go far, with a little knowledge of magick.

Informative.

A lot of folks wife extremely bias opinions on the author and root work. The book has nothing to do is the author’s background. The book is alphabetical order on herbs and spices used FOR ROOT WORK/Hoodoo. This was perfect for me to educate myself on its properties NOT HOODOO HISTORY. The author is genius for also having a website that sells some of the most rare items that one can order if you are NOT planning your work a head of time and need speedy delivery for what you need. Honestly this book is excellent reference on education for serious students who intend to learn. Again do not go off of others criticism on the author’s background.