#black rootworker

 “Wherever there are Africans, or people of African descent, there is magic.”- Faith Mitchell

 My calling to rootwork is ancestral. However, I unfortunately I have yet to encounter elders in my life to apprentice under on this plane of existence.  Coming up, I didn’t know other people who identified themselves as rootworkers/hoodoos/conjurers etc. Being a scholar (among other identities), my entry point into hoodoo began with books, archives, and scholarly journals. As a result, I was able to garner a wealth of information as to what hoodoo is and isn’t, which recipes (old school hoodoos don’t cast ‘spells’) to use for what, to be able to engage in an intangible mentorship with the elders that came before me. All of these things have informed how I move through the world and grow stronger in my practice.

    As a result of a White spiritual hijacking of African Traditional Religions and Africana Magico-Spiritual practices (i.e. hoodoo), the vast majority of the information about hoodoo on and offline has been authored by white people, so much so that they have become the face of hoodoo (similar to white women and yoga). 

    For those of us who are looking to grow and learn from other Black practitioners, here is a working list of books. This list consists solely of non-fiction texts, however, there is a lot to learn from novels as well, perhaps I’ll create a part two some other time. 

Please hit me up if I am missing anything or if you have a personal connection with these texts, I’d love to be in conversation. 

Many of these mentioned texts can be found online for Free.99. 

Also, sorry this is a long ass post. 

My Personal Favorites:

   1. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms & Practical Rituals - Luisah Teish

 2.  Of Mules & Men- Zora Neale Hurston

3. Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing

4. Mojo Workin: The Old African American Hoodoo System- Katrina Hazzard-Donald

5. Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition- Yvonne P. Chireau

6. Secret Doctors: Ethnomedicine of African Americans by Wonda L. Fontenot ( I think this one might be out of print but much of it can be found online via Google Books) 

Honorable Mention: Tell My Horse- Zora Neale Hurston

 Ok, so this is one of my absolute favorite texts though it doesnt discuss American hoodoo. It focuses on Haitian Voodoo and Jamaican Obeah. However, there is a lot that can be learned from this text and how African magico-spiritual practices are indeed “scientific” as opposed to mere superstition. 

 Additional texts that I haven’t gotten to reading yet or are simply not in my favorites (no shade, no tea):

7. Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies - Faith Mitchell

8. 365 Days of Hoodoo: Daily Rootwork, Mojo and Conjuration- Stephanie Rose Bird

9. Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs- Stephanie Rose Bird

10. A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit - Stephanie Rose Bird

11. African American Folk Healing- Stephanie Mitchem

12. Faith, Health, and Healing in African American Life (Religion, Health, and Healing) - Stephanie Mitchem ED. 

13.  God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia - Cornelia Walker Bailey

14. Rootwork: Using the Folk Magick of Black America for Love, Money and Success- Tayannah Lee McQuillar

15. Voodoo & Hoodoo: The Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners- Jim Haskins

We are the daughters of the dust and the children of the yam. We are a people who can put the power of High John into a peach pit; a people who could strike dead a master with intention and a glare. The asé behind the working matters far more than the material thing you use to work it.

Reclamation Reads is a space where we can do the work of reclaiming our magical, religious, and healing knowledges. This reading group is for people of African descent who are seeking to read and discuss in (virtual) community books & articles that center African Magico-Spiritual Traditions (ie Hoodoo, Africana Traditional Religions, and healing knowledges.

For additional information, please fill out the Google form:

I’m tired of White conjure shops and botanicas having a monopoly on High John the Conqueror Root.

High John is a root that has always and only been a part of BLACK magico-spiritual practices, namely hoodoo/conjure/rootwork. It is a powerful source of luck and protection.

It has been incredibly hard to get a hold of since COVID. And thanks to capitalism, when it is available, the mark up has been extremely high. The fact that non-Black practitioners and resellers are the primary ones selling High John is yet another example of the colonization, appropriation and hijacking of our spiritual knowledges and tools. This is an act of spiritual disenfranchisement. The egun (ancestors) are tired of this. The days of us not owning what belongs to us are over.

So, White witches, a way to engage in allyship is to demand that these shops return High John in the hands of Black folks, particularly Black folks who are currently on the front lines of this on going struggle against White supremacy. You can also buy High John and donate it to Black rootworker activists.