Hoodoo Roots and Curios: What Is on the Shop Shelf and What It Is For
The roots and curios shelf is the oldest part of any hoodoo shop. The roots come from the woods and fields of the South and from the old herb trade; the curios are the bones, stones, shells and claws that a worker carries or keeps.
This is the guide to what you will find there, by its shop name, and what it is used for. For what the old workers themselves said about each root, see our Roots and Herbs table.
The Student Library · The Hyatt Files · Hyatt map · Dictionary · Roots and herbs · Free resources · Hoodoo books
In the Store: Oils · 7-day candles · Figure candles · Roots and curios | Tables: Psalms · Candle colours · Saints · Minerals and curios · Oils, powders and waters · Timing
Roots
| Root | Used for | How it is worked |
|---|---|---|
| High John the Conqueror | The king of roots: mastery, power, luck, and beating whatever stands against you. | Carried in a mojo hand, kept in oil or whiskey, and fed. |
| Little John / Chewing John (galangal) In our store | Court cases and getting your way with words. | Chewed and spat on the courtroom floor, or carried to court. |
| Lucky Hand (salep) In our store | Luck in gambling, work and money. The root looks like a little hand. | Carried in a mojo bag, often with Five Finger Grass. |
| Adam and Eve root In our store | Love and keeping a couple together. Sold in pairs, one for each person. | The pair is carried or kept together in a bag or jar. |
| Queen Elizabeth root (orris) | Drawing love, especially for women. | Powdered as a dusting or carried whole in a love mojo. |
| Jezebel root (iris) In our store | For women drawing money and favours from men. | Carried, or dressed with Jezebel oil and worked on a man’s name. |
| Devil’s Shoestring In our store | Tripping up the devil and enemies, and luck at work and gambling. | Laid across doorways, carried in the pocket, or soaked in whiskey. |
| Solomon’s Seal In our store | Wisdom, protection and making a work hold. | Carried, or added to bags and baths. |
| Angelica (Holy Ghost root) In our store | Protection, blessing, and strength for women and the home. | Carried, or added to baths and protection bags. |
| Master root (masterwort) | Mastery and power over others and situations. | Carried, or added to command and control work. |
| Five Finger Grass (cinquefoil) In our store | Whatever five fingers can do: luck, money, protection and favour. | In mojo bags and baths, and as a wash for the hands. |
| Calamus In our store | Control and domination, especially over a partner. | Powdered and sprinkled, or added to control work. |
| Licorice In our store | Commanding and compelling others. | Powdered into control work, or carried. |
| Mandrake (May apple) In our store | Power, money and love. In America, May apple stands in for the old European mandrake. | Kept and fed as a power root, or added to money and love work. |
| Sampson Snake root | Men’s power and protection, often paired with High John. | Carried in a mojo, or kept in oil. |
| Bat head root (water caltrop) In our store | Protection and keeping off evil. The seed pod is shaped like a bat’s head. | Kept in the house or carried. |
| Rue In our store | Cleansing and protection, and breaking jinxes. | In baths and floor washes, or hung in the house. |
| Hyssop In our store | Spiritual cleansing: “purge me with hyssop”, Psalm 51. | In a bath, with Psalm 51 read over it. |
| Asafoetida In our store | Driving off evil and enemies, and protection. It stinks, and that is the point. | Carried in a little bag, or burned. |
Curios, minerals and waters
| Curio | Used for | How it is worked |
|---|---|---|
| Lodestone and magnetic sand In our store | Drawing: money, luck or a lover. The sand is the stone’s “food”. | Kept in a red bag or dish, dressed with oil and fed with the sand. |
| Black cat bone In our store | Invisibility, luck and power, and one of the most famous curios in hoodoo. | Carried, or kept in a mojo hand. |
| Coffin nails In our store | Crossing, binding and nailing down an enemy. | Driven into foot tracks, figures or doll babies, or put in bottles. |
| Graveyard dirt In our store | Power from the dead: protection or harm, depending on whose grave it came from. | Added to powders, bags and bottles; bought or paid for at the grave. |
| Sulphur In our store | Crossing and driving off enemies, and protection. | In powders, foot track work and burning. |
| Black salt In our store | Driving away enemies and unwanted people. | Sprinkled behind someone who has left, or at the threshold. |
| Alligator claw In our store | Grabbing money and luck, and protection. | Carried in a gambling or money hand. |
| Cowrie shells In our store | Money and luck, and the shells of divination. | Carried, or used for casting. |
| Mojo beans (fava) In our store | Luck and wishes. | Carried in a mojo bag or the pocket. |
| Horseshoe In our store | Luck and protection for the house. | Hung over the door, ends up to keep the luck in. |
| War Water In our store | Attacking an enemy, or protecting against one. | Thrown on an enemy’s doorstep, or kept in the house against attack. |
| Florida Water In our store | Cleansing, blessing and offering to spirit. | Splashed on the body, added to baths and floor washes, set out for the dead. |
| Mojo bags (red flannel and velvet) In our store | The bag that holds a mojo hand. | Red flannel is the old standard; workers fill, name and feed it. |
For more curios with the old workers’ own words on each, see our Minerals and Curios table.
Where to buy
Everything marked “In our store” is stocked at Black Magic Witch, our own supply store. Students get 20% off: ask us for your student code.
Learn the work
Hoodoo Witch Certification Course
Roots, curios and mojo hands are taught in full in the course: what goes in, how it is named and how it is fed.