DESPITE ALL THE INFORMATION out there on Conjure, no one to my knowledge has ever written about its foundation. You see plenty of works, or “spells” as outsiders call the work, but there is no mention of the foundation of this work. Is it because folks don't think it's important? Is it because they really don't know? Or is it something else? It really is food for thought. It is one of the first lessons I learned as a young worker and one of the most important.
I have found in today's conjure world that it isn't enough for folks to know the work; they want to “own” the knowledge. They seem to want to claim it when it isn't theirs to claim. This work is borrowed, because it belongs to someone else. Are you wondering what I am talking about? Like my elder Mr. Robert used to say, “Let me break it down for you.”
Are you thinking that the foundation of the work is the ingredients that go into the work? If so, you're wrong. The foundation of this work is the ancestors who brought the work over on the slave ships! Conjure didn't exist over here until the slaves were transported here. That's one of the reasons Conjure is part of the South. The ships docked in the South, and all the Southern states were “slave” states! The ancestors' beliefs became part of the Southern culture.
The only thing the kidnapped ancestors had was their knowledge. They didn't have a backpack filled with roots, herbs, and remedies; all that information was in their heads. They only had the clothes that were on their backs. They suffered untold miseries in the bottom of slave ships being taken halfway around the world to an unknown place. Then they were off the ship and on the slave block being sold like animals, but they still had their knowledge and their pride. Can you imagine how much willpower it took to stand docile while in chains and having folks poke and prod you? Or how about never being able to lift your head in pride or to be able to look a white person in the face?
This work—Conjure—came out of their misery and suffering; it came from their blood being spilled. It came from their deaths. The work was done and passed on to help protect the family. The law stay away work was done to keep the slave patrols from finding the runaways. Dollies were made to bind or influence the slave master or overseer. Justice work was done to try and bring justice to an unjust situation. These works came alive from the need to survive.
The blood, suffering, and deaths of the ancestors ensure that this work belongs to them. They should be honored and remembered for their great gift. They are truly the foundation of Conjure, and we must all remember without them there would be no Conjure, Hoodoo, or Rootwork, or whatever name you wish to call the work.
Honoring the ancestors of this work will empower your work. I know this topic makes folks uncomfortable, but it must be discussed in order to give the ancestors their due, which is so sorely lacking. Some folks might not like what I am saying, but that is not my problem. It is theirs.
The ancestors of this work deserve to be honored and uplifted for all that they gave. With more folks getting DNA testing done and finding out family histories, questions can arise. Here are some questions that I have been asked over the years by some of my students.
Q. Do you have to be of African descent to practice Conjure?
A. No, but you must honor and acknowledge the ancestors of this work.
Q. I did an ancestry search and I found out generations back my folks were slavers; can I still be a conjure worker?
A. Yes. What better way to right a wrong than to uplift and honor the ancestors of this work?
Q. My family is racist; do I have the right to do conjure work?
A. Respect and honor go hand in hand. We are not responsible for what others do. We are only responsible for our own actions. If something within you is calling you to this work, then I would say as long as you uplift the ancestors of this work and honor them, then there is no reason why you can't.
Q. What do you mean when you say to honor and uplift the ancestors of Conjure?
A. We are all guests in this work; it doesn't belong to any of us. When I say “honor,” I mean for you to maintain a small space for these ancestors, a place where you can offer a cool drink or say a prayer for them. By doing this you are not only showing them respect, but you are feeding their spirits and uplifting them.
I have been asked these four questions many times by new students. The important thing is to understand that we don't have the right to just take this work without giving the ancestors their due. Set up a small altar and dedicate it to the ancestors of Conjure. I have a large altar in my home and the whole family burns lights on it when the need arises, but I am the keeper of the altar. See the photo below.
There are many layers to my ancestor altar; we'll talk more about it in the next chapter. My blood kin and the ancestors of Conjure share the same altar.
To set up the altar, you need a small area. The ideal place is facing the east where the sun rises, but you can really place the altar where you have space. You need a handkerchief to put down on top of the altar space. Place a cool glass of water, a candle, and a Bible on the altar. You can offer the ancestors prayers daily or once a week; it is up to you. I do general altar work every Monday, but you can decide how you want to tend to your altar.
Some folks have a hard time with praying or they just don't know how to pray; that is not an issue. If you are one of those folks, don't get stressed and worried about it. The solution is simple. When you are at your altar, just pick up the Bible and open it up, pray the first passage your eyes fall on. This is called bibliomancy; it is also a good way to do divination. I'll touch more on this later in the book. The point is that you don't have to know how to pray or anything else in order to honor the ancestors.
There may come a time when you want to offer the ancestors more than a candle or prayers. It is important to give them offerings that they like, so you need to know a little about the food they ate. They were given the scraps from the hogs that were butchered, chicken, and the parts of the cow the master didn't want. Somehow they made these foods taste delicious. Some of things that make good offerings are corn bread, greens, fried chicken, boiled peanuts, grits, or smoke, such as cigarettes, cigar, or incense.
I have a set of plates that belong to my mama that I use to place my offerings on, but you can use whatever you have. For those who don't know how to give an offer, I am gonna explain how I give my offerings. This isn't written in stone and you can give your offerings however you want to, as it is very personal. This information is just to help. There will also be more about offerings later.
When I give a food offering, I usually cook whatever I am offering for my family too. I grew up on this food, so for me it's wonderful and makes a good home-cooked meal. I serve the ancestors first—meaning I fix a plate for them. I arrange the food on the plate so the center of the plate is empty for the candle I place there when I offer the plate to them.
I first say my prayers. Then I make a space on my altar for the plate, and then I either use my feet, prayer stick, or clap my hands to call them. I stomp my foot three times, clap three times, or tap the prayer stick on the floor three times. The number three is very powerful as we will see as the book goes on. Hold the plate out slightly over the altar, and with each tap call on the ancestors. Then set the plate on the altar and place the candle in the center of the plate.
Speak with the ancestors and tell them you are giving them an offering, then light your candle. Say some prayers for them or just read a passage out of the Bible for them. You don't have to do a bunch of hocus pocus; just be yourself and let them see that your heart is true. You can leave the offering on the altar for twenty-four hours or for three days. If the candle hasn't burned out by that time, I remove the offering. I take the candle off the plate and place it on the altar so they can still have their light. Then I remove the plate.
Now that you have removed the offering from the altar, what in the world do you do with the remains? Never throw it in the trash; that would be very disrespectful. I dispose of my offering a couple of different ways. It really all depends on the offering and why it is being given. We will cover this in more detail in the offering section of this book. What we have discussed here is a general offering so that you and the ancestors can build a bond. In this case, place the remains of the offering in a brown paper bag. What will you do with this? You can either place the offering at the foot of an oak tree, take it to a park, or bring it to a crossroads. Gently empty the contents of the bag onto the ground, then throw the bag away.
There is no right or wrong way to give an offering. The most important thing is that it is done with honor and respect. Once you build a strong relationship with the ancestors of Conjure, you will see a big difference in how your work turns out. If you want to have a strong foundation in this work, then this relationship with the ancestors is the first step to becoming a great conjurer.