I feel fortunate having early exposure to spirituality. I grew up hearing of battles with 'hants' and other negative spirits. I observed my mother throwing pennies and burning sweetly fragrant sticks of incense to please our ancestors who would hopefully in turn bless our home. My grandmother was adept at divination particularly tea leaf reading and dreaming. Moreover, South Jersey, the home of my youth, is an area filled with its own unique mythological figures and attending folkloric stories. It was no leap for me to become involved with realms many designate as the unknown. My newly released book "Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs" shares magickal ways hoodoo herbalism can be incorporated into life passages and aspects of everyday life. This article is dedicated to that subject that we tend to avoid but the one that does not avoid us—death, offering ways to use Hoodoo to ease one of life's most difficult passages.

In many quarters of the globe, the word death seems to burn the lips, particularly here in the West. To utter death we move our lips in such a way that bitter feelings, gruesome thoughts and the pain of finality is wrenched from the depths of the soul. This dance with death begins clumsily yet with practice it can become increasingly more graceful. Those of us involved with Hoodoo deal with various realms, including the "other-side" on a daily basis. A gift of Hoodoo is that within its domain lies a plethora of jobs, tricks, rituals and incantations inspired by the wisdom of indigenous and rural people. We have a special kinship with the animistic beliefs of traditional Africa, referred to by some as African Traditional Religion or ATR's. Africans in the Americas have not only held onto some of the tenets of various ATR's but we have also learned from neighboring societies that we have lived near or within including Native American practices, especially the bands from the Southeastern United States like the Cherokee of North Carolina, the Seminole of Florida, the Creek and Chickasaw. We have also added elements of esoteric wisdom of Judeo-Christianity, some of the folklore and paganism of European immigrants, particularly those from Ireland, Germany and Hungary since we have shared urban neighborhoods. Bits and pieces of Asian culture we encountered through trade, and even a smidgen of Islam, after all much of Africa was shaped by Moslems well before we were enslaved.

The type of eclecticism inherent to Hoodoo is one of its more attractive features. People of various cultures and faiths have felt at home with the collection of practices called Hoodoo since it is inclusive. Clearly there are numerous commonalities with the earth-based spirituality found in Wicca, Witchcraft, Santeria, Lucumi, Candomble and Vodou, Ifa and numerous other paths. There are differences as well; one of the most important is that Hoodoo is a multicultural collection of folkloric beliefs, not a religion. Hoodoo lacks the specific set of rules found in the Wiccan Rede for example. Still, there are lessons to be learned by all, from the ways Hoodoo addresses spirit.

We know the undesired separation and absence caused by death often brings sadness. Malicious spirits that lurk about, what we call 'hants' who are conjured or appear specifically to threaten us is a most unwelcome occurrence. Just as we celebrate, plan and seek out creative assistance during birthing and weddings, so to should we organize and empower ourselves for the certainty of death. Addressing death, preparing for it and anticipating it may seem dark, yet it is clear that from the moment we are born we also begin to die.

Those who linger in limbo between life and death, deemed 'terminally ill' require spiritual assistance as well. Our ancestors constantly thirst for acknowledgement and inclusion, after all, without them we would not exist. Funerals bring families and old friends together. There is darkness; blackness physically manifested by our clothing and flow of tears yet there is also the light, laughter, joy and wonder of reflecting on life, memoirs and the ultimate mystery called death. Following are some of the ways Hoodoo acknowledges the spiritual realm that may be useful as you maneuver the dark passage.

Altars

These can be simple or as elaborate as desired. Altars are a collection of objects with personal, magikal or spiritual significance set up to conjure, remember, invoke or draw energy. Hoodoo remembrance altars contain photographs, symbolic charged stones or crystals, graveyard dirt, candles, incense, candy, fruit, flowers and sweet water.

Binding

Ephemera from the graveyard are used for binding and tying down the spirits or to employ their energy. One of the most popular binding tools is coffin nails. Last touched objects are considered potent and are typically buried with the deceased or placed near the burial site. People who use spirits to negative ends are also sometimes bound. I have heard of photographs being buried, placed in the freezer or sent out to sea as a banishment and containment rite.

Clearing

Chants, incantations, herbs like rosemary, sage, dragon's blood, juniper, mugwort, and cedar; salts or resins such as myrrh, frankincense; are burned ceremoniously to clear the home of hants and other troublesome spirits or negative vibrations. Special powders like gopher's dust, uncrossing and stay away powder also play an important role in clearing work.

Conjuring

In the day when smudging has become popular it can be quickly forgotten that not all entities are undesired. Hoodoos strive for balance and do not just smudge to clear but also engage in drawing spirits. Conjuring is a practice widely employed in hoodoo to attract or draw energy, entities and various spirits to aid magickal work, healing or rituals. Lodestones and magnetic sand have a great deal of drawing power as do specific herbs like Orris Root powder called Queen Elizabeth Root, pure Rose oil called Attar of Roses, Lemon Grass, Patchouli, Vetiver and Lucky Hand root.

Crossroads

The crossroads is a sacred place where not only two roads intersect but also the world of humans and spirits. Oaths are taken at the crossroads and magickal work is performed there. Invocations are made to crossroad orisha, gods and goddesses as well, like Eshu Elegba since that is his natural space. It is interesting to note further that the crossroads represent the four corners of the universe and the nexus of energy from the four directions.

Libations

the pouring of liquids with special significance on the earth, at the gravesite or on altar objects is a way of paying homage to the ancestors and spirits. Liquids include spirits such as bay rum, gin, beer and vodka. Old fashioned colognes like Florida water and Kananga water (which is a specific treatment for mourning and grief). Hydrosols, commonly called floral waters or sweet water, like lavender, rose or orange blossom water. Honey, saltwater or tears.

Rituals

include incense burning, mineral and herbal floor washes, planting of specific types of trees and other symbolic plants, spiritual baths containing herbs and sometimes minerals, metal and stones; communal gatherings for soul food, songs and personal reflection.

Signs

paying attention to the signs and signals can help divine future events including death. Typically in Hoodoo careful attention is paid to the way candles burn, movements and sounds of animals especially cats and birds, as well as the symbolism within dreams.

Death, dying, grief and its attending depression and depletion are processes without an easy solution. Using elements of Hoodoo can help you come to terms with the inevitable. Hoodoo conjuration keeps you in touch with the spirit realm affording opportunities to glimpse and interact with spirits of nature, the ancestors and the great beyond.

Other Work by Stephanie Rose Bird:

"Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo, Conjuring with Herbs," Llewellyn Worldwide, 2004.
"The Magickal Orange Plant"
"African Oils: Health and Beauty from the Motherland"
"Mother and Daughter's Natural Rituals"