Hoodoo Prosperity Altar
Disclaimer: Anyone can reblog or share this post, but please only use it for your own practices if you are a rootworker/hoodoo practitioner of African descent.
Having been in a very unstable financial situation recently, I decided to go beyond a one-time candle or jar to bring in some cash and went all the way to an altar. I had heard of this method in hoodoo and wanted to really invest in a space that would be devoted to increasing cash flow into my home and bringing prosperity, abundance, joy, and gratitude for what we already have too.
Since it has been very successful so far, I want to share with yall some ways to get your own prosperity altar going and how you can weave your on-going money workings into it based on the research I did and the methods I tried.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
SPACE FOR THE ALTAR: Think carefully about where in your home this altar will live. I don’t recommend making a travel or pocket altar for this prosperity altar since a money draw or luck mojo could fulfill the same sort of purpose. Some places to consider placing your prosperity altar are the kitchen (a central and significant place in the home) or by your front door (inviting prosperity into your home).
PETITION / INTENTION PAPERS: In hoodoo, intention is everything. We are working with the spirits of our ancestors and nature to work towards manifesting certain goals, and so we need to communicate to those spirits and forces exactly what those goals are. Do you want a new job? A promotion in your current job? Cash to flow from a particular source? Do you need a car or a home? Think carefully on your vision for what you are building this altar for, and then put pen to paper. A petition paper is essentially a letter to your ancestors and/or spirit guides asking them to help you manifest these things in your life.
HEART OF THE ALTAR: I recommend finding a large object that will act as the primary power or center of your altar, it’s heart. This could be a very large prosperity crystal that you have, a Rose of Jericho plant (famous hoodoo and Santeria plant for its prosperity properties), a large and powerful prosperity mojo, or some other large fixture that feels right to put in the center of your altar. Ideally, it should contain a strong energy or spirit that you can work with, care for, and present offreings to. The heart of your altar brings life to the whole space in a big way.
CURIOS: When we work the roots, we use curios - objects that contain the juju that we need for our work and that draw or dispell certain forces to or from us. Here are some examples of curios you may want to include on your prosperity altar (which ones to use depends on what you intuitively are guided to and what’s available/in your budget):
Paper money, coins, and checks you’ve received
Horseshoe for drawing power and luck
Magnets for attraction/drawing
Crystals associated with wealth, luck, and prosperity
Oils and colognes for money drawing, luck, and prosperity
ADDITIONAL WORKINGS: Your prosperity altar will act like an on-going hub of energy that you add to and work with as described below. However, it’s also the perfect space to boost and add on to your one-time prosperity or money-drawing workings. For example, if you make a money drawing jar, mojo, or candle you can work any of those objects on your prosperity altar - or even leave any of them as a permanent add on. There’s flexibility and room to play around with this aspect! Your altar may grow, change, adapt, and develop over time as you see fit.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE:
Based on the setup and structure of your prosperity altar (see components and ideas above), you’ll want to go shopping for your supplies. If there isn’t a botanica near you, you can order online from Yeyeo Botanica (it’s black-owned and has reasonable prices).
Once you have all your supplies together, consider making sure that they are cleansed using whatever preferred cleansing method you usually use (smoke cleansing, cleaning it off with some Florida Water, burying them in the earth, etc.)
You may want to leave some of your curios on your ancestor altar for a day (or however long feels right to you) if you have one and place your petitions/intention papers there to ask your ancestors to bless your endeavors and grant you success.
When you’re in a good state of mind (not angry / rushed / distracted), take your time setting up the space you’ve dedicated for your prosperity altar with the supplies. Focus on the energy of each curio and what it means to you as it set it down on the altar. Especially try to connect with the spirit of whatever object you’ve selected to be the heart of your altar and make sure that it has a clean, stable spot in the center. Use your intuition when arranging your curios and petitions/intention papers to find the positionings for each one that feels right to you. Don’t forget to leave some space for any on-going prosperity workings that you may want to place on this altar (such as money/luck jars, candles, mojos, etc.)
Once you’ve finished setting up, you may want to say a closing prayer and meditate on how the altar feels in case you need to make any final adjustments. When I feel a good positive flow of energy coming from my altar, I feel confident in how I’m caring for it and how it’s arranged. You’ll be able to feel it when something is off - listen to that feeling.
Interact with your altar on a regular basis! Especially Mondays, which is the day of the week associated with money, finances, and road opening. Some ways you can engage with your altar are:
Dress yourself! If you have prosperity and money drawing oils or colognes that you bought from a botanica or made yourself, you may want to leave them on the altar and then apply it to yourself from there
Care for the heart of your altar at least once a week. For example, if it’s a large crystal, make sure you dust it off and that it’s clean. If it’s a Rose of Jericho, the waters will need to be changed.
Leave coins, checks you’ve received, or dollar bills as offerings to your prosperity altar to build up money drawing energy
Cleanse off! You can also pick up coins that you’ve left on the altar to clean yourself off with and let them absorb unwanted energies (then make sure to toss them away later)
Meditate, pray, or just spend some time reflecting on the energy and intentions you’ve created in this space - let yourself steep in all that abundance and gratitude that you’ve brought together here! If you feel comfortable, ask your ancestors for their continued support.
If you’re a black rootworker who has set up or is setting up your own prosperity / money / abundance altar, feel free to reblog and share any ideas or suggestions you’ve had! We can all learn from each other, and I know I’d love to hear stories from other folks too (:
~ About | FAQ | Tags | Resources | Ask ~
