#conjure

Note: This piece focuses largely on the folk magic with which I am most familiar with. I'm from the Southern US and have studied folk traditions within the South, Appalachia, Britain, and Europe. You'll see some overlap amongst these customs, as many Southern traditions were birthed from British practices. There is also a sprinkling of Jewish custom mentioned within this piece, as I happen to be a Jewish person. I write that which I'm familiar with, and, as a Southern of mixed race (Black and white) who happens to be Jewish, this is the world of folk magic I felt comfortable writing about. While this piece is meant as an exploration and resource, please be respectful of the sources of these magical works. If that particular work is not relevant to you based on your practice or if it belongs to a closed tradition (such as a Jewish custom or a practice found within certain schools of hoodoo), please respect that and see the alternative recommendations.

Against Spirits & Evil

Southern Folk Prayers:

In Southern folk customs, prayers and Tanakh or Bible verses are abundant in magical workings, especially when it comes to protection work. One custom calls for the recitation of prayers/verses to rid one's home of an unwanted spirit.

What you'll do:

Open all the doors and windows in your home, ensuring the spirit has plenty of options of places to leave through.

Starting at the back of the house (and from the uppermost level if you live in a multi-story home), work your way from the back of the house toward the front (do this on each level if applicable).

Whilst walking, recite a prayer or Bible verse used to ward off spirits. Where I'm from, the Our Father/the Lord's Prayer is most commonly used, and, as I recently learned after spotting it in 'Doctoring the Devil', Psalm 31:15-17 can also be used. As a Jewish practitioner of magic in the South, I've opted for Psalm 91, which has been known to be used against spirits.

Our Father/the Lord's Prayer —

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven; Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, Forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 31:15-17 —

My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

*Alternatively, one can simply chant or recite that last line — and let them be silent in the grave — whilst performing this work.

Psalm 91 —

1 He who dwells in the covert of the Most High will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I shall say that Adonai is my shelter and my fortress, my g-d in whom I trust. 3 For Adonai will save you from the snare that traps from the devastating pestilence. 4 With (his/her/their) wing (he/she/they) will cover you, and under (his/their/her) wings you will take refuge; (his/her/their) truth is a comforting shield. 5 You shall not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day; 6 Pestilence that prowls in darkness nor destruction that ravages at noon. 7 A thousand will be stationed at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not approach you. 8 You will but gaze with your eyes and see the annihilation of the wicked. 9 For when you said, 'the Lord is my refuge,' you made the Most High your dwelling. 10 No harm shall befall you, nor shall plague draw near your tent. 11 For Adonai will command angels on your behalf to guard you always. 12 On your hands they will bear you, lest your foot stumble on a stone. 13 On a lion and a cobra you will tread, trampling the lion and the serpent. 14 For he yearns for Me and I shall answer him; I shall fortify him, for he knows My name. 15 He will call Me and I shall answer him; I am with him in distress; I shall rescue him and I shall honor him. 16 With length of days I shall satiate him, and I shall show him My salvation.

Crib & Nursery Protection:

As children are, in many traditions, seen as being more susceptible to the influence of spirits, many magical traditions have special protective customs aimed specifically at the young ones. One such protective custom comes from Southern Appalachia.

What you'll need:

Iron nails

What to do:

Drive an iron nail into the bottom of the foot of a crib or into a crib post. Alternatively, iron nails can be driven into the corners of the door and window frames. This is believed to protect the child(ren) from spirits of all ilk, not only ghosts.

For those who favor plants over nails, there's an alternative method of nursery protection —

What you'll need: (any combination of the following herbs)

Chamomile

Yarrow

Basil

St. John's Wart

What you'll do:

Hang a bunch of chamomile, yarrow, and lavender from the doorpost or at the window in the nursery. Plants can be dried or fresh. All three are believed to have protective powers and to also bring peace to an area.

Basil can be used in any room (hanging from windows and doors) to keep spirits away.

Salt the Doors, Sweep the Floors:

From Southern conjure to Jewish folk magic, salt being used as a means of protection across countless traditions and magical paths.

What you'll need:

Salt

Water (optional)

What you'll do:

Where to place the salt and how to use it varies from traditions to traditions.

In Jewish custom, salt is lined at the doors of the home, a protective barrier against evil. The salt can also be kept in clothes, closets, under beds, etc. as a means of a magical protection. This practice is also found in Southern folk magic in the US, in British folk magic, and in European folk magic.

In the Southern US, salt is a common ingredient in sweeps — a method of magical cleansing that can be used to bring protection, luck, financial stability, and such. Salt, used with other ingredients (these vary depending on the purpose of one's sweep), is scattered across the floors of the home (working from the back of the house toward the front, from the top of the house toward the bottom) and then swept from the home (again, in that same pattern of back to front, top to bottom). For protection work, you'll find that salt is commonly used alongside rosemary, basil, cinnamon, cloves, and high john the conqueror.

Another custom that can also be found in some forms of European folk magic and Jewish folk practice is the use of saltwater instead of just salt. The saltwater is sprinkled at the threshold of the home, or sprayed upon the doors and windows.

Haint Blue:

'A small white house with a blue door' (via Oleksii Piekhov)

In the Southern United States, one custom of home protection comes in the form of a hue of a paint. Haint blue doors, porch floors, or porch ceilings are used to ward off spirits. The blue color is believed to confuse the spirits, who mistake it for water, as it's a common belief in the South that spirits can't cross moving water. My own door is painted a lovely haint blue and I can't praise its effectiveness enough.

Bells:

In many folk traditions, it's believed that bells warn of the presence of evil and that their ringing or chiming wards off evil spirits and entities of all kinds.

What you'll need:

Bells (these can be of any size, can be small bells tied to a cord or kept in a bag, can be bells on a wind chime, can be a single bell)

Cord, string, or twine (optional)

A small bag (optional)

What to do:

Hang bells on or near your front door. They'll ring when evil is near your home, warning you of its presence. Their singing will also work to ward off evil.

The bells can be little jingle bells on a string or in a small bag. You can tie your bells to yarn and hang the strand beside the door. I keep mine on my doorknob. You can also mount just one bell beside your door. This is a very versatile method of magical protection, so change it however you like to fit your needs and style.

Garlic Charms:

Garlic is a go-to tool for protection in many magical practices, and in Cornish cunning ways garlic can be used to protect one 'against the influence of people and spirits with vampiric and envious tendencies.' -Gemma Gary, folk-magical practitioner and author, in her work 'Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways'

What you'll need:

Whole garlic bulbs

Red ribbons

(optional) Bells

What to do:

Whole garlic bulbs should be tied with red ribbons and hung on, above, or beside doorframes and/or window frames.

Bells can also be added to this charm for extra oomph.

Hagstone Charms:

Hagstones, also called adder stones, serpent’s eggs, fairy stones, and witch stones, are stones which bear a naturally occurring hole caused by erosion or some other natural event. Hagstones have been used as protective amulets for long while in traditional folk magic of Britain. Hagstones can be used to protect from a number of things - general protection overall, as well as protection from spirits of various ilk, protection from harm on the sea, protection of livestock and farmlands, protection from nightmares, and more. Here, we'll look at how to use them to protect one's home.

What you’ll need:

Hagstone (one or more)

Thread, cord, or twine.

What to do:

Pass your thread, cord, or twine through the hole of the hagstone. You can knot the thread beforehand for added protection as a form of knot magic. Knots are believed to strengthen protective work, as they can confuse or distract spirits.

You can add as many hagstones as you like. One is plenty, but I’ve seen charms with as many as nine stones.

Hang your hagstone charm within your home or on your porch to protect the space from spirits and evil. One of mine hangs from a nail in my doorframe at the front of my home.

Against Law Enforcement

Dirt Dust:

This is a regional variation of a work used in the Southern US known throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virgina.

What you'll need:

Dirt from near a police station Use any combination of the following ingredients along with the police station dirt —

Black pepper

Black mustard seeds

Brick dust

Coal dust

Dirt from an anthill

Dirt from a church yard (can be used in any work to ward off or get rid of unwanted persons)

Dirt from a graveyard

Red pepper flakes

Salt

Seeds of caraway

Seeds of lemon

Seeds of pawpaw

What you'll do:

To help keep police away from your home, mix the dirt, black pepper, and mustard seeds together. Dust the threshold of your home with it and sprinkle it at the outer corners of your home.

Some customs call for the recitation of Bible verses (welcome to the South, y'all; there are Bible verses in basically every kind of magic down here) whilst sprinkling this mixture. If that's up your alley, here are some verses that can be used for various purposes —

-Psalm 35:1 (for protection against any law enforcement)

Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

-Psalm 35:4-6 (for protection against any law and immigration enforcement)

Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.

-Psalm 44:7 (for protection against police, immigration enforcement, and those who would bring such trouble down on your home):

But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

Sator Squares:

As featured in my piece Protection Work in Folk Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Charms for Protecting Yourself & Others, the Sator Square/Rotas Square is a versatile protective tool that can be used to many ends, including to keep unwanted people away from your home (and, yes, we're going to use it here to keep away immigration or law officers).

The Sator Square / Rotas-Sator Square is a palindromic word square used as a magical charm or amulet. It’s been around for quite some time (with the oldest known square possibly being from as early as AD 50) and has been found to have been used historically throughout Europe, Africa, Asia Minor, and the Americas. As to its origins and intended purpose, no one knows for sure, but the Sator Square has come to have a number of magical uses, including as a tool for curing ailments, aiding in childbirth, putting out fires, and, in fitting with the theme of this piece, in protection magic.

Medieval Sator Square etched into a wall; Oppède-le-Vieux, France.

There are many variations of Sator Squares / Rotas-Sator Squares, but the most common forms consist of five rows of five words, each with five letters, arranged in a 5x5 grid. The Rotas-Sator Square (in which rotas is the word listed first, pictured below on the left) was the more common in pre-medieval use, but the Sator Square (in which sator is listed first, pictured below on the right) became far more prevalently used than the Rotas-Sator variation at some point in medieval Europe.

Rotas-Sator Square (left) and Sator Square (right).

In Appalachian and some Southern folk practices within the United States, one can use a Sator Square for protection. To do so for one's home simply write the square onto a paper or cloth or carve the square into wood/etch it into clay and mount the square somewhere within the home — above the mantle, near the front door, above a window. It's said to repel unwanted company of all sorts, as well as offer various protections.

Corncob Charm:

In Kentucky and Tennessee (and perhaps other regions of the US), it's said that one can use dried corn cobs to deter police from coming onto one's property.

What you'll need:

A dried corncob

Nail (if hanging)

Yarn/string (if hanging, preferably red or black)

What to do:

One can either hand a dried corncob (usually from a string, which is sometimes braided) on their doorpost or one can bury a dried corncob at each of the four corners of their home.

Penny Charm:

Penny charms to discourage the attention or presence of law enforcement aren't at all uncommon in the South.

What you'll need:

4 or 9 pennies (some customs specify 'Indian Head Pennies') / (different customs call for different amounts; see below for more information)

What you'll do:

Some variations of this charm call for placing the pennies in a row underneath your doormat. Some call for nailing or gluing the pennies above your front door. Some call for burying the pennies at the property of your boundary or at the front gate.

As to whether one should use 4 or 9 pennies, it depends. Where I'm from, I'd always been told that 9 were used, but in some other Southern regions, the custom is 4 pennies, and in Jake Richards' 'Doctoring the Devil' it's specified that 4 pennies are used unless the house in question is home to illegal undertakings or business, in which case, 9 pennies are preferred.

There has also been a shift as to whether it's necessary to acquire Indian Head Cents or not. Traditionally, the Indian Head Cent was used (at least in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia), but I've seen this work done with regular pennies as well. Nowadays, the Indian Head Cent is harder to come by and buying them just for this work can cost quite a lot. If it's more accessible for one to use regular pennies, then know that you're not the first and won't be the last to do so.

Against Intruders

Garlic:

Yes, garlic has made a second appearance! What can I say? She's a powerful little ally.

Garlic is used for protection across countless countries and customs. This particular method of protection against intruders and unwanted company can be found in English folk traditions, various forms of folk magic in the Southern United States, Jewish folk magic, and several branches of European folk practices.

What you'll need:

Garlic strands, bulbs, or braids (dried or fresh)

What you'll do:

Hang garlic at your door. This can be outside of your home or inside and is usually done from the woodwork around the door but can also be done near the door or on a porch rail. In some English variations, the garlic is hung from the mantle or above the fireplace or near a kitchen window.

'A bunch of garlic hanging from a ceiling.' (via Orestis Christodoulou); 'A pile of dried grass.' (via Maxim Tolchinskiy)

Dust & Dirt:

In Louisiana's branch of conjure and hoodoo, it's said that one can keep intruders away from their property with simple methods and few ingredients.

What you'll need:

Goofer dust (also called gopher dust/gopher's dust/goofer's dust) *there are various ways of making goofer dust and it depends on where you source yours as to what exactly it will consist of

Alternatively, if you cannot acquire goofer dust, one can use graveyard dirt on its own or combined with any of the following ingredients —

Ash

Salt

Coal dust

Iron shavings/iron dust

Brick dust

Eggshell powder

What you'll do:

Simply spread the dust either around the boundaries of your property or (if you haven't the ingredients to spare or would like to limit how much you're putting out due to the presence of animals or wildlife you don't wish to expose to any of the ingredients) at the boundary of your gate, your doors, or your porch.

Against Witchcraft

Horseshoe Charm:

What you'll need:

A horseshoe (used)

Tinfoil (optional)

Nails

What you'll do:

Hanging a horseshoe over the front door or the main entrance to one's home is believed to both secure luck within the household and protect against malicious magic sent to the home or to any member of the household. Iron horseshoes are believed to work best, and some practices within Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia also call for wrapping or dressing the horseshoe in tinfoil before hanging it about the door.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

'Backwoods Witchcraft: Conjure & Folk Magic from Appalachia' - Richards, Jake

’Conjure/Doctors: An Exploration of a Black Discourse in America, Antebellum to 1940’ by Brown, David H.

’Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs’ -Cunningham, Scott

'Divination, Magic, & Healing: the Book of Jewish Folklor' - Isaacs, Ronald H.

'Doctoring the Devil: Notebooks of an Appalachian Conjure Man' - Richards, Jake

Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion’ - Trachtenberg, Joshua

'Lowcountry Voodoo A-to-Z' - Marsh, Carole

'the Master Book of Herbalism’- Beyerl, Paul

’On the Origin of the Rotas Sator Square’ - Fishwick, Duncan

'Silent as the Trees: Devonshire Witchcraft, Folklore, & Magic' - Gary, Gemma

'Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South' - Oberon, Aaron

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

’the Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook’ -Alvarado, Denise