Hoodoo Roots and Herbs: What the Old Workers Used
These are the roots, herbs and minerals Hyatt’s informants reached for most, A to Z. For each one: what the old workers used it for, in their own words, with the town and informant number.
It is a working reference, not a shopping list. What a root does depends on how it is worked, what it is worked with, and who works it.
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| Root, herb or mineral | Used for | From the old workers |
|---|---|---|
| Adam and Eve root | Love, couples, keeping a partner | “De devil s-shoestring[s] an’ den it’s anothah certin sort of a root dey call Jerusalem root an’ anothah one dey call de Adam an’ Eve.” (Hyatt 732 · Wilson, N. Car. · informant 1510) |
| Asafetida | Protection: worn against conjure, poison and harm | “If anybody puttin’ things down lak dat, then yo’ kin carry asafetida” (Hyatt 1109 · Wilson, N. Car. · informant 1468) |
| Blacksnake root | Protection, luck and gambling hands | “Heard dem say yo’ go in de woods like dat an’ git yo’ some rattlesnake mars ter or blacksnake root” (Hyatt 1126 · Brunswick, Ga. · informant 1185) |
| Bluestone | Protecting the house and feet; keeping danger and the law away | “Wear powdered bluestone in both shoes; change bluestone once a week.” (Hyatt 1130 · Charleston, S. Car. · informant 502) |
| Cinnamon | Money, drawing, gambling and love | “Fo* a gamblin’ han’ yo 1 git chew some blacksnake root an’ some devil ‘s- shoestring an’ some John de Conker , an’ some cinnamon” (Hyatt 1831 · Algiers, La. · informant 1577) |
| Cloves | Drawing and house scrubs, often with cinnamon | “That kind of woman scrubs her house with oil of bergamine [bergamot] , oil of cinnamon , and oil of cloves – the three combined .” (Hyatt 2667 · Memphis, Tenn. · informant 973) |
| Devil’s shoestring | Luck, work, gambling and protection | “Then there’s a root dey calls de shoestring – devil’s shoestring .” (Hyatt 2254 · Brunswick, Ga. · informant 1203) |
| Dragon’s blood | Power, protection and drawing; burned or carried | “Then you take – begin again to burning dragon’s blood and incense , and ev’ry man come to dat door” (Hyatt 2209 · Charleston, S. Car. · informant 519) |
| Five-finger grass | Luck, favours, jobs and protection | “dat’s one of de luckiest grasses in de world – jes’ like yore han’ .” (Hyatt 797 · Savannah, Ga. · informant 542) |
| Ginger | Heat and speed in mixtures and cures | “An’ git chew two piece of ginger and ten pieces of black pepper” (Hyatt 2522 · Washington, D.C. · informant 638) |
| Guinea pepper (grains of paradise) | Chewed for luck and favour; laid down to drive or move | “chew those guinea peppahs every once in awhile.” (Hyatt 1949 · Memphis, Tenn. · informant 958) |
| High John the Conqueror | Power, mastery, luck, money and love; chewed before asking for a job | “Yo’ take a little piece an’ chew it an’ yo’ go tuh him.” (Hyatt 2331 · Memphis, Tenn. · informant 951) |
| Mullein | Healing baths and washes | “De first thing they told me to bathe with mullein – dis mullein tea” (Hyatt 980 · Mobile, Ala. · informant 663) |
| Nutmeg | Protection from fixing and poison; keeping the law away | “A nutmeg around your neck keep ’em from fixin’ you, poison you.” (Hyatt 1402 · Wilmington, N. Car. · informant 244) |
| Poke root | Killing a trick; harsh baths | “Yo’ take de poke root, de saltpeter and de sulphur and gunpowder and use it as a bath an’ fish brine an’ that will kill it.” (Hyatt 1549 · Mobile, Ala. · informant 697) |
| Rattlesnake master | Protection, cures and gambling | “git rattlesnake master , shame brier root an’ den add dirt dauber nest .” (Hyatt 2324 · Sumter, S. Car. · informant 1382) |
| Red pepper | Hot work: driving away, crossing, protection in the shoe | “de red peppah in yore shoes” (Hyatt 597 · Brunswick, Ga. · informant 1201) |
| Saltpeter | Cleansing baths, often with salt and soda | “He give me some saltpeter and some sody and salt to put in water – those three things an’ ah bathes with it an’ every morning throw it to de sunrise.” (Hyatt 974 · Mobile, Ala. · informant 703) |
| Sampson snakeroot | Overcoming conjure; strength | “Sampson snakeroot for any cunjuration – say Sampson root overcome it.” (Hyatt 1494 · Waycross, Ga. · informant 1074) |
| Sulphur | Protection, cleansing and killing tricks; burned or worn | “Yo’ have to carry sulphur ‘long wit yo’” (Hyatt 405 · St. Petersburg, Fla. · informant 1001) |
| Verbena (vervain) | Luck and drawing, in oils and holy water | “you takes essence of verbena or fast luck and you put that, mix that up in the water.” (Hyatt 2510 · New Orleans, La. · informant 834) |
Linked names have their own entry in The Hyatt Files.
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Learn the work
Hoodoo Witch Certification Course
The course teaches how each root is dressed, combined, fed and worked, and which ones go together.
Quotes from Harry Middleton Hyatt, Hoodoo – Conjuration – Witchcraft – Rootwork, 5 vols., 1970-1978, kept exactly as recorded. Numbers are Hyatt’s own item numbers.