"Hoodoo In Theory and Practice" -- Here are the Links!

[catherineyronwode]

Since 1994, i have been publishing a completely free series of tutorials on the history and foundational magic of African American hoodoo, also known as conjure, root doctoring, tricking, and rootwork. These pages contain material of a wide-ranging nature and are among my most popular writings. They are offered completely free of charge, as a gift-in-kind to the descendants of the African American root doctors who taught me my craft, and to anyone with a sincere interest in the folk magic of the black community.



This link leads you to the INDEX for the free online book and a few of the most popular pages. Each page links to many, many others, and by entering enywhere you can evenually navigate the entire site.

HOODOO IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
An Introduction to African-American Rootwork by catherine yronwode
https://luckymojo.com/hoodoo.html

HOODOO, CONJURE, and ROOTWORK: AFRICAN AMERICAN FOLK MAGIC
An introduction to the hoodoo history by catherine yronwode
https://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoohistory.html

HOODOO AT A GLANCE: HERBS, NATURAL CURIOS,and SPIRITUAL SUPPLIES
Natural Curios Grouped by Use or Purpose by catherine yronwode
https://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooataglance.html

HERBAL QUICK-LIST (180 HERBS)
An alphabetical list, with links to a page on each herbs
https://www.luckymojo.com/mojocatherbs.html

Now, people often ask, why is this made available at no charge? Because it was given to me at no charge.

As i learned early on, the payment for such teachings is patronage -- patronage at the herb shops, hoodoo drug stores, and candle shops where the information is freely shared. This Forum is also free, but, as with the old stores of my youth, there is a charge: your purchases of our hand-made goods and instructional book is the currency that supports a community-wide resource. Without your purchases from the Lucky Mojo Curio Company shop, the free web pages at "Hoodoo in Theory and Practice, "Herb Magic," "The Mystic Tea Room," "Your Wate and Fate," "The Lucky W Amulet Archive," and the Lucky Mojo Forum would all disappear.

Our community supports us -- and we give back to our community. It's as simple, and as spiritually clean, as that.

[catherineyronwode]

Lots of good information in this book as well, available in both paperback and hardcover:

BOO-GRI-HHSC
Hoodoo Herb & Root Magic, Paperback by cat yronwode
$18.00





You can order right here in the Forum by clicking on the blue Add To Cart button.

BOO-GRI-HHHC
Hoodoo Herb & Root Magic, Hardcover by cat yronwode
$42.00





You can order right here in the Forum by clicking on the blue Add To Cart button.

[Nwasoul]

This is great stuff. Thank you for the free material.

[Backfromthegrave]

Thank you for sharing

[Jennifer]

This is great - thank you!

[Liz002]

Thank you for all of the information that you give freely, and thank you for your dedication for teaching hoodoo.

[brangreenowl]

Thank you for this free information! I’m already getting started on it!

[sn_daniels]

I’m loving this website already. Thank you LuckyMojo

[CuriousChris]

Good Morning,

I have the Harry Middleton Hyatt books and i get confused on how to perform some of the old ancient techniques listed in the books.

is there a better way to learn some of the Hyatt material or some way to see some type of visuals of his work in action, because I really want to learn it? Especially some of the cool return to me and photograph spells?

And yes I have listened to the lucky mojo forum radio show.

[catherineyronwode]

Hello, CuriousChris --

First, i know you were probably using the word "ancient" in a loose way, but let me just take a moment to explain that the spells that Rev. Hyatt collected from 1,600 African American practitioners are MODERN. He started collecting in 1936, about 11 years before i was born, when my mother was in her 20s, and he was collecting spells as late as in the 1970s, when i was in my 20s! He did interview older people, and they may have been born 60, 70, or 80 years earlier than his earliest collecting year, 1936, but that means that they were born between 1856 and 1876. This in turn means that most of the people he interviewed had reached adulthood and begun practicing hoodoo after Emancipation.

There ARE older collections of hoodoo spells than Hyatt's -- still not "ancient," but older than his field trips.

Going backwards in time, we have the collections of Zora Neale Hurston, "Mules and Men" (1935, from field work in the latter part of the 1920s) and Newbell Niles Puckett, "Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro" (1926, from field work conducted in 1925). Before that we have numerous small sets of collected spells, either all from one person or grouped sets published in magazines. These reach back in time to the mid 19th century at the earliest, and that is still "modern."

If you are interested in older material on hoodoo, collected by African-American folklorists and practitioners from the 19th century, please see my free teaching web site, Southern Spirits:

https://SouthernSpirits.org

I add new pages there regularly, and the site is supported by my Patrons. You can become a Patron for as little as $2.00 per week.

Now, as to how to understand, interpret, and USE these older spells: That is what i have been specializing in -- and teaching -- for the past 25-30 years. Almost every book on hoodoo that i have published has contained spells collected by Hurston, Puckett, and Hyatt. They have been rendered into standard English and they have been given expanded commentary when necessary because i want them to be used, not examined as museum pieces.

One final comment -- referring to Hyatt's collected African-American spells as "the Hyatt material" or, as some call them, "the Hyatt spells," is something i discourage. Harry Hyatt interviewed in many places, among both professional root doctors and home practitioners. The forms of the work he collected are regional and also personal. To understand a given spell it helps greatly to know where it was collected and from whom. For this reason, i maintain and continually add to a page i call "Hyatt's Informants," which presents details on the people he interviewed. See:

https://luckymojo.com/hyattinformants.html

I am always available to help interpret a spell you may have that you cannot understand. Just post it verbatim in the appropriate situation thread in the Lucky Mojo Forum (e.g. Money, Love, Break-Ups) and i will unpack it for you.

Good luck!

[WRosario]

Thank you for this! I am rather new to the practice (just taking my first steps) and all this content is invaluable. I very much appreciate your generosity and support to us avid learners. Again, thank you.

[JayDee]

WRosario,

Welcome to the Forum, please go to the welcome page and introduce yourself!

forum-introductions-and-greetings-f15.html