Graveyard Dirt Questions and Answers

[catherineyronwode]

HappinessRules --

Not really. It is the dirt from the graves of people now in spirit form. There is no real substitute for that.

How did you plan to work with Graveyard Dirt -- for money, love, legal cases, cursing, blessing -- what? Your best alternative will depend on your intentions for your work, not on making some random something become a substitute for Graveyard Dirt. Find the proper thread for your intended work, and find a different spell.

We do sell Graveyard Dirt, by the way.

MIN-GRA-DIRT
Graveyard Dirt
$5.00





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

[catherineyronwode]

Graveyard Magic
Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour 10/27/24
with co-hosts catherine yronwode and ConjureMan,
special guest JayDee, and announcer Rev. James.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGtKakv155A

Learn all about the magic of graveyard dirt with co-hosts Catherine Yronwode and ConjureMan and special guest JayDee. They discuss the proper methods for collecting and using graveyard dirt in spellwork, respectful ways to work with the spirits of deceased loved ones, and practical solutions for apartment dwellers wanting to work with graveyard magic.

Don't miss JD's detailed FREE PROTECTION SPELL using graveyard dirt from a loved one's grave to create a powerful mojo bag that connects you with protective ancestral spirits. Learn how to properly pay spirits, create petition papers, and work with roots like blood root and angelica root for maximum spiritual protection.

Plus: Listener call-ins, announcements about upcoming shows, and insights from experienced rootworkers on traditional hoodoo practices.

Have a question? Leave a comment below!

Chat log and further discussion:
Graveyard-Magic-t99397.html

The Lucky Mojo YouTube channel is here:
http://youtube.com/luckymojocurioco

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[BodyGlitz]

Hello all. I am planning on visiting a very famous woman who had ties to the underground railroad and was an abolistionist. Any advice on offerings I can leave for her? Best days to collect? I am aomewhat nervous because in 2025 alot of graves have security I don't want to cause suspicion or alert anyone especially since she is high profile. I've collect dirt before but not from anyone famous. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[JayDee]

BodyGlitz ,

I would research the person to determine what they liked, such as smokes, coffee, liquor? If you are unable to determine such items, a few items are generally safe such as flowers, water, a piece of bread or baked good, coins, even candles.

How to without being noticed? I suggest bringing flowers and tools to clean the tomb if any one questions you state your cleaning a tomb. Stick your thumb into the dirt and pull out to take a sample, drop the coins in and cover it again. Lay the flowers over the spot to conceal the work.

JayDee

[BodyGlitz]

Thank you Jaydee Blessings

[catherineyronwode]

BodyGlitz --

One thought that occurs to me is an offering of a U.S. cent with Abraham Lincoln on it, as he was an abolitionist too, or a coin with the word Liberty on it. Just make sure it is a real copper Lincoln Cent or a real silver coin, like a Walking Liberty Half Dollar, not one of those awful clad zinc coins that decay so quickly. You can find old coins on eBay. We also sell Lincoln Wheat-back cents and Indian Head Cents, for magical purposes.

[BodyGlitz]

Perfect ! Thank you

[catherineyronwode]

Have you ever tried contacting the spirit embodied in the graveyard dirt you work with?

Seriously, does that spirit have a message for you, a tip or trick, a warning or a caution?

This is one way to connect with the spirit of graveyard dirt:

Place a small offering bowl of the dirt on an altar of table. Light a white candle dressed with a blend of Spirit Guide Oil, Indian Spirit Guide Oil, Psychic Vision Oil, and Clarity Oil, and use a Ouija board or spirit board to ask questions of the spirit.

This special podcast will tell you how:



How to Use a Spirit Board
Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour 9/3/17
with co-hosts catherine yronwode and ConjureMan,
special guest Chas Bogan, and announcer Papa Newt.
https://youtu.be/zS_F2V3aPHQ

Co-hosts Miss Cat and ConjureMan, with special guest Chas Bogan and announcer Papa Newt, present a tutorial on How to Use a Spirit Board, Ouija Board, or Talking Board to contact ancestors, ghosts, guides, and other entities, after which they provide free readings, free spells, and conjure consultations, giving listeners an education in African-American folk magic.

Chat log and further discussion:
lucky-mojo-hoodoo-rootwork-hour-9-3-17- ... 90023.html

The Lucky Mojo YouTube channel is here:
http://youtube.com/luckymojocurioco

DONATE A SMALL ONE-TIME AMOUNT TO SPEED OUR VIDEO UPLOADS
https://www.luckymojo.com/youtubedonation.html

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON AND WE'LL PUT YOUR NAME IN THE VIDEOS
http://patreon.com/catherineyronwode

[BalkanDiviner]

Hi, everyone!

I've just listened to the hoodoo rootwork hour radioshow presented by Miss Cat, Conjureman and Jaydee!

It can be found here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGtKakv155A&t=1356s

What an amazing show!

However, and I sincerely apologize, English is not my first language and for some reason I cannot fully comprehend, when Miss Cat mentions the story of a woman who uses graveyard dirt from the botanica, did she mention that the woman continued to supplement her graveyard dirt by adding less than a half of local dirt? Therefore, is graveyard dirt "multiplied" similar to Holy Water in Catholic and Orthodox Christian branches?

[catherineyronwode]

Balkan Diviner --

Yes, this woman increased the graveyard dirt in the same way that Holy Water is increased by practitioners of the Catholic religion.

[catherineyronwode]

Spirit Connections Part 2 of 3: Graveyard Spirits
Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour 7/21/19
with co-hosts ConjureMan and Deacon Millett,
special guest Lara Rivera, and announcer Papa Newt
https://youtu.be/dJ47MJO5xP8

Co-hosts ConjureMan and Deacon Millett, with special guest Lara Rivera and announcer Papa Newt, present the second part of Spirit Connections, on Graveyard Spirits, followed by free psychic readings, hoodoo spells, and conjure consultations, giving listeners an education in African-American folk magic.

Further discussion about this show:
spirit-connections-2-of-3-graveyard-luc ... 92607.html

The Lucky Mojo YouTube channel is here:
http://youtube.com/luckymojocurioco

DONATE A SMALL ONE-TIME AMOUNT TO SPEED OUR VIDEO UPLOADS
https://www.luckymojo.com/youtubedonation.html

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON AND WE'LL PUT YOUR NAME IN THE VIDEOS
http://patreon.com/catherineyronwode

[kamals]

Greetings everyone. A question, traditionally before our Internet era, were the 'rules' of collecting and paying for graveyard dirt more regionally varied or flexible, or was the tradition across the board pretty much like what people discuss today.

Are there historical variations on greeting the guardian spirit, leaving offerings, finding the right grave, and so on? And are there any cases where general dirt from graveyard or cemetery, not from a specific tomb but from anywhere in the yard that's not an actual grave, have been used?

Also, traditionally what would one do if one couldn't divine the answer of whether it was okay to take dirt from a specific grave? Like if one didn't feel an answer or sign?

Thanks for an amazing forum and amazing episode !

[JayDee]

kamals,

You will notice variations across the United States coastal locations and the rules or procedures. None of them are written in stone but ways given by practitioners.

Harry Hyatt did extensive research on this topic.

Informant 1383 discussed paying for dirt with a silver dime.

Another source (undocumented) stated: Take the dirt from the seventh grave from the gates, they said, or from the third grave on the left, or from any grave. (This is counting graves).

Informant 1348- But chew gotta go to someone’s grave that chew knows well … go to the head of this grave … pay the dead man or that dead woman … three cents. And then take some of the dirt.

The point is many methods exist. Lucky Mojo has wrote a lot of information on this topic and purchasing dirt. As a personal practice I like to learn about the spirit, and offer items they liked or would like. Such as coffee, liquor, tobacco, coins, candles, water, etc. Always ask and listen for a response.

Graveyard Dirt: https://www.luckymojo.com/graveyarddirt.html
Harry Hyatt: https://www.luckymojo.com/hyatt.html
Harry Hyatt Informants: https://www.luckymojo.com/hyattinformants.html

JayDee

[kamals]

Thank you JayDee, this is really helpful and fascinating !

[catherineyronwode]

Thanks, Jaydee.

Also, Kamals ..

1. the idea of "greeting the guardian spirit," or " leaving offerings" for the cemetery guardian is not universal and should not be considered "better" or more definitive" than simply walking in and choosing or finding a grave, because the belief that there IS a "cemetery guardian" was (and is) by no means agreed upon.

The cemetery guardian belief is African because in several African tribal religions there is a specific deity who is in charge of cemeteries (e.g. Oya), but in regions of America where African-American culture is more influenced by monotheism or trinitarianism, you will see fewer polytheistic African religious remnants. In those regions, and among those families, there is no deity but the Trinity, hence no specific "cemetery guardian" to whom one would pay homage or leave offerings. And among Spiritualists, both of the Protestant and Catholic types, while there are spirits of the dead, there is no cemetery-guardian-spirit per se.

2. As you your other question ("what would one do if one couldn't divine the answer of whether it was okay to take dirt from a specific grave? Like if one didn't feel an answer or sign?), you are speaking of subjective signs (divining, feeling) but there are also...

These traditional objective signs are helpful in selecting a grave from which to get dirt, when one has no psychic sense of an "answer":

• seeing a crow, dove, blackbird, owl, or other bird seated on a headstone,
• seeing a rose or other flower blooming on a grave,
• seeing a deer, fox, coyote, or other animal on the pathway and following it to a grave,
• seeing the surname of a family member or long-dead friend on a otherwise unknown gravestone,
• seeing the first name of a family member or long-dead friend on an otherwise unknown gravestone,
• seeing a birth and/or death date that is familiar on an otherwise unknown gravestone,
• seeing a military grave from a branch of service to which one has allegiance,
• seeing the grave of a well-known personage at which visible offerings have already been left.

I hope this helps.

[kamals]

Thank you so much Catherine, that helps a lot, both your reply and JayDee's sheds a lot of light on things. But your first point really clarifies something I suspected was the case from all of the folklore reading I've done.

On the second question I guess what I had in mind were more like subjective signs. What motivated me to seek clarification is I'm starting to work a bit with dirts, mainly crossroads, banks, schools and libraries. But I've been thinking of trying to respectfully work with grave dirt as well.

The Lucky Mojo Rootworker hour episodes inspired me even more. I decided to look for more general information on what people are doing, and a lot of what I'm seeing in contemporary Youtube videos and popular books emphasizes the subjective element of feeling permission a lot. And a lot of other rules. But the picture I get from a lot of older reading and descriptions of the work of older root doctors seems quite different. Far fewer rules, and regional variations seem to pop up, I notice.

One major contemporary taboo that repeatedly pops up on TikTok and Youtube and a number of contemporary books is also avoiding taking dirt from a specific grave, unless you have a family or cultural connection to it, and instead just generally taking dirt from nearby in the graveyard. This seems to be aimed at being very respectful and non-exploitive, but it's a taboo I never saw in any literature written prior to the 20teens.

Something else that's widespread is specifically addressing certain Orishas, who aren't even part of the traditional folklore of African Americans. Which doesn't even make sense in the context of a mostly Protestant practice (though that does make sense in terms of Loa in New Orleans Voodoo, but that's a quite regional practice)

Much of what I'm seeing in a lot of recent videos and literature seems a respectful way of avoiding desecration but I'm really interested in what actual past conjure and root doctors did in the old days.

Personally I grew up in the North, in a Black family with roots in Georgia. None of my elders were root workers but were definitely familiar with them, one of my grandmothers from time to time used to solicit a root doctor in Savanah for fixed lucky products. But I grew up around lots of old people. Around elders who knew a lot of folklore, religious and cemetery customs, and so on. Not a single grandparent or great-grandparent or auntie even mentioned the idea of a cemetery guardian spirit. The first time I honestly came across the concept was in a Youtube video some time after 2019.

I am curious, traditionally in older forms of Conjure and Hoodoo. were these dirts also to be "paid for" to the place or its spirit? And if so were there variations as far as what was acceptable payment? (coin, food, burnt offering like incense, poured libation, etc.)

The collecting of cross roads and other location dirt is something I'm finding even less historical description when I look in older sources.

Thanks again

[JayDee]

kamals,

1. You will find that there are very few hard and fast rules in Hoodoo, that there are variations across regions and practitioners; however, you will find common themes among them all that indicate the cultural practice. Why so many variations? Well, that's simple, if I ask 100 people how to make pasta sauce, I will get a large variety of recipes, but at the end, they are all very much what everyone would call pasta sauce. Almost all of them would have tomato, oil, garlic, etc. Hoodoo is a unique practice in America and is primarily made up of African, European, Asian, Native, Jewish, Christian, and Penn Dutch traditions. Those practices heavily influence the practice of collecting dirt.

2. Who to collect from: Again, this varies; many believe it is important to ask for the dirt and pay for it, which is considered respectful. Does this mean all promote that? No. The spirit of the Grave empowers graveyard dirt; it is not just dirt. The dirt you collect would be based mainly on the type of spell. Love magic: It is best to collect dirt from someone who loves you, as they do and want you to be happy. Dirt from a murderer is good for revenge magic, dirt from a police officer is good for protection or catching a criminal. I would be cautious to learn about graveyard work from someone on TikTok.

3. It is important not to desecrate a grave out of respect for the spirit and also not to go to jail. If you were a spirit and a person came to you, broke your tomb, trampled the flowers, and left you nothing as a gift, how likely would you be to help that person?

20th century folklore texts of Graveyard Dirt:

Newbell Niles Puckett, Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro: pp. 101-103, graveyard and burial traditions, burying at the grave. P. 194 using a graveyard from a murderer. P.196 bury in a cemetery to make an enemy die.

Harry Middleton Hyatt, Folk-Lore from Adams County: Funeral-Cemetery and Graves 10289-10369-traditions on funerals and graves. 4120-using graveyard dirt to remove a wart. 9562- Graveyard dirt used to Hoodoo people. 10356- Graveyard dirt to be lucky. 4145- using dirt from a horse's footprint to cure a wort. 5932- to dream true.

Harry Middleton Hyatt, Hoodoo - Conjure - Witchcraft - Rootwork, Vol 4: Death and Burial And Graveyard:
Entry 1286 Payment: 1 penny Details: Take dirt from the breast of a sinner’s grave; “pay dat daid a penny.”
Entry 1287 / 1288 Payment: 1 penny Details: Dirt taken from the heart-side; penny left as payment.
Entry 1291 Payment: 2 cents Details: “Pay de graveyard-man who dead two cents”; dirt used in a hot-foot-type mixture.
Entry 1297 Payment: 1–2 cents Details: For keeping “the law off you”; pay wicked spirit “one cent or two cents” when removing dirt.
Entry 1312 Payment: 2 pennies Details: Dig a little, take dirt, put two pennies back in the hole, close it, then use dirt for enemy work.
Entry 1314 Payment: 3 pennies Details: Dig down to elbow-depth; carry three pennies; tell the dead you’ll “come back an’ pay” if not paying immediately.
Entry 1316 Payment: 3 pennies Details: Drop three pennies into the hole while praying; then remove dirt from that same hole.
Entry 1320 Payment: 3 pennies + lord’s prayer Details: Used for “letter-to-the-dead” workings; pennies given so the dead “handle it.”
Entry 1334 Payment: 4 pennies Details: Write initials or names, go to graveyard, “pay the dead fo’ pennies,” and remove dirt.
Entry 1342 Payment: 5–8 pennies Details: Drop 5 to 8 pennies into the hole at the heart-side, thank the dead, and walk away without looking back.
Entry 1347 Payment: 8 pennie Details: Bring eight pennies, dig slightly at the head, drop all eight pennies in the hole, ask the dead, and take dirt.
Entry 1351 Payment: 3 pennies Details: Put three pennies at the foot-side or head-side (varies by informant) and remove dirt while stating purpose.
Entry 1392 Payment: 3 pennies Details: Similar formula — pennies placed first, then dirt taken.
Entry 1398 Payment: A specific number of pennies (“a certain ‘mount”). Details: Informant says the dead must be paid, amount varies, but is always pennies.

21st century folklore texts of Graveyard Dirt:

Catherine Yronwode, Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: uses of graveyard dirt in Hoodoo, p. 109, includes examples for death, cursing, protection, and love spells.

Catherine Yronwode, Astrology for Rootworkers: Dark of the moon graveyard dirt collecting to make an enemy sick with a disease and bad luck, p. 62. Also found in Sneaky Tricks p. 89.

Catherine Yronwode, Hoodoo Dolls and Effigies: p. 67 graveyard dirt in doll magic.

Catherine Yronwode, The Art of Making Mojos: using graveyard dirt in mojo bags p.52.

Miss Aida, Destroying Relationships: Using graveyard dirt to break people up p. 67-68.

Miss Aida, Cursing and Crossing: graveyard dirt in crossing spells p. 77-78.

Sources:
https://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooherbmagic.html
https://luckymojo.com/astrologyforrootworkers.html
https://www.luckymojo.com/theartofmakingmojos.html
https://www.luckymojo.com/cursingandcrossing.html
https://www.luckymojo.com/destroyingrelationships.html
https://www.luckymojo.com/sneakytricks.html
https://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoodollsandeffigies.html
Graveyard Dirt: https://www.luckymojo.com/graveyarddirt.html
Love Me or Die spell using Graveyard dirt/ using Graveyard dirt for love magic: https://www.luckymojo.com/lovespells.ht ... iejackball
Folk-Lore From Adams County, Illinois Harry Hyatt.
Hoodoo–Conjuration–Witchcraft–Rootwork, Vol. 4
Folk Beliefs Of The Southern Negro, Newbell Niles Puckett, Ph.D.

JayDee

[kamals]

JayDee,

Thank you for the comprehensive message !

kamals

[catherineyronwode]

Hello, kamals --

In regard to the new 20teens tik-tok trend in gate-keeping which seeks to promote respect and sensitivity by forbidding people from working with the graveyard dirt of those to whom they are not related genetically or through familial, cultural, or familial adoption -- well, that would have IMMEDIATELY killed out all graveyard work by Black people who went North during the Great Migration, wouldn't it?

What i mean is that if this belief were culturally endemic, then root doctors with no relatives in Chicago, Detroit, New York, or Minneapolis would have believed themselves to have been barred from working with the dirt other families' graves. That is ridiculous, and obviously it did not happen. For example, Myrtle Collins, a Black spiritualist root doctor who had moved to Memphis in the 1930s from a farm, lived only a few blocks from a graveyard and worked with the graveyard dirt of O.L.Young, a person she named and recommended to the White folklorist Harry Hyatt to work with.

Back in Oakland, California, in the early 1960s i was told by a Black candle shop owner who was not born in California to work with the graveyard dirt of my "people" (meaning my deceased family members) to stop school bullies -- but when i said that my people were buried far away, he said, "Yes, that's often the case," and he recommended that i use the graveyard dirt of a family dog who would have defended me in life, because "even a little yellow-spotted dog will fight for its owner." When i said i had no dog's grave, but i did have a cat's grave, he said, "Yes, that cat will fight for you. They've got sharp claws." And then he told me about how he himself used the graveyard dirt of a local police captain who had been a war hero and a hero on the force, and was "good to the people" (meaning in this case Black people). He sprinkled that graveyard dirt across his doorway to keep off thieves, rowdies, and unfriendly cops.

Without the ability to work with graveyard dirt from someone of an appropriate occupation -- the graveyard dirt of a musician to help someone excel as a musical performer, for example -- we would be limited to only personal work, within our family and for our family.

And then there is the issue of what folk magic actually is -- and what it means to be a root doctor, a fortune-teller, a spirit medium, a diviner, a sorcerer, a shaman, a witch, or a trollcunning person. Most of us are known for inhabiting and working for our clients within socially liminal spaces and many of us perform acts on behalf of clients which invoke spirits, powers, angels, ancestors, archangels, animal spirits, saints, and even devils to aid us.

Here is where culture-ways come into play. In some cultures it is considered transgressive to be a magician, and all magicians are ipso facto transgressive. In other cultures, there are rules that govern veneration and magical curing but strictly forbid cursing magic. And now these tik-tok folks are making up their own rules for their own culture, and all i can do is shake my head at what seems to me to be their desire to protect African American folk magic by stamping out one of its most distinguishing features, the use of the graveyard dirt of strangers, of those who had specific occupations, and of celebrities.

Some folk magic traditions make sense and have always made sense, and so they continue in use. People who try to impose untested, impractical limitations on those magical traditions are not always as wise they think they are, but if they get a bunch of followers, they will create a new form of folk magic all their own. Schisms are always with us and so are reunions. Thus it has always been.

I could go on, but JayDee gave you a lot to look into and i think you get the idea.