Hoodoo Vocabulary

Hi loves! Here are the most common words that are used in Hoodoo/Rootwork. More will be added as we learn together. Let’s get into it!

Anointing - rubbing oil on an individual

Blessing - spell or prayer intended to spirituality cleanse a person

Butting - cut off the tip of a candle, turn it upside down & digging a new tip out of the bottom

Cold Reading - a technique that utilizes general statements to determine details about a person

Condition Oil - used to describe oils which have been designed to address a specific issue or bring about a specific condition

Crossroads - a place where two roads connect forming forming an X, are places where magical items are often disposed of or rituals are taken place

Curse - a spell intended to bring harm to a person

Divination - ritual process of gaining information about the past, present or future

Dressing - refers to rubbing a conditioning oil on an inanimate object such as a candle, mojo bag or tailsman

Feeding - the act of dressing a mojo bag with oil

Hand - another name for a mojo bag

Honey Jar - a spell which uses sweeteners in conjunction with candles and designed to compel an individual to favor your petition in business, love or court cases

Mounting/Possession - to have your body and mind taken over by a spirit

Haint/Hant - a name for an evil spirit that chases itself victims to their death or mounts them while they sleep to ride them while they are exhausted

Plat-Eye - evil spirit that shape shifts to lure it’s victims into the woods

Haint Blue - a deep, rich sky blue color believed to repel haints because because they think it’s water

Bottle Tree - a form of protection against spirits where brightly colored bottles are hung on branches of a dead tree

Flannel - a fabric made out of cotton that is traditionally used to create a mojo bag