Celebrating 30 Days of Hoodoo Heritage: Remembering, Rootworking, and Reclaiming Our Magic

Hoodoo is more than a practice — it’s a lineage, a living inheritance, and a spiritual technology born from resilience and brilliance. Rooted in the traditions of West and Central African spirituality, Hoodoo emerged on Southern soil as enslaved Africans braided their ancestral wisdom with the land, herbs, prayers, and conditions of the new world. It is a distinctly Black American spiritual tradition, forged in resistance and sustained through memory, family, and faith.

Unlike organized religion, Hoodoo isn’t bound by temples or scripture. It’s woven into the everyday — a pot simmering on the stove, a broom sweeping from back to front, a glass of water on the mantle, a whisper of a prayer at the crossroads. It’s the unseen thread connecting us to those who came before and guiding us toward those who will come after.

We celebrate Hoodoo Heritage Month to honor that lineage — the rootworkers, midwives, herbalists, and conjurers who carried the light forward even in the darkest of times. Their work wasn’t just spiritual; it was survival. And their legacy lives on every time we light a candle, speak an ancestor’s name, or stir intention into a jar.

At the heart of Hoodoo is ancestor reverence — the understanding that we are never alone, that the blood and brilliance of those before us still walk with us. Ancestors are not distant figures; they are living guides, protectors, and teachers. They are the ones who endured, prayed, and dreamed so we could exist.

Venerating ancestors means building relationship. It begins simply — speaking their names aloud, telling their stories, cooking their recipes, or visiting the places they once stood. It can be as intimate as a daily prayer or as elaborate as an altar.

A Hoodoo altar is a sacred space for this connection. Often placed on a shelf, table, or mantle, it may include a glass of water (to refresh the spirits), a white candle (to illuminate their way), photographs, heirlooms, offerings of food, or even items they loved in life. Florida Water or homemade colognes can be used to cleanse and refresh the space. Most importantly, altars are tended with care and intention — because relationship requires consistency.

Figures like Aunt Caroline Dye, one of the most renowned rootworkers of the early 20th century, remind us of the power of ancestral wisdom. Known as the “Oracle of the South,” Aunt Caroline used her gifts to guide countless people, offering spiritual counsel that shaped lives and communities. Zora Neale Hurston, anthropologist, writer, and Hoodoo initiate, preserved invaluable records of Hoodoo rituals and rootworkers, ensuring that their practices — and their power — would not be lost.

When we honor our ancestors, we honor ourselves. Hoodoo teaches us that we are the altar — living extensions of all who came before.

Before we can invite in blessings, we must first clear the space. In Hoodoo, cleansing and protection are not optional — they are essential. These practices remove stagnant energy, dissolve spiritual debris, and create a fortified environment where magic can flourish.

Cleansing is both physical and spiritual. Sweeping a floor from back to front, throwing the dust out the door, and speaking words of release is a spell. Washing thresholds with Florida Water, herbal infusions, or homemade floor washes is a prayer. Burning cleansing herbs like hyssop, rosemary, or sage clears a space not just of dust, but of heaviness.

Protection follows cleansing, sealing what we’ve cleared and keeping harm at bay. Red brick dust scattered across thresholds, black salt around windowsills, or a protective charm hung above a door are all time-honored ways to create spiritual boundaries. A simple spoken prayer — calling on ancestors, angels, or spirit guides to stand watch — is just as powerful.

These tools aren’t superstition; they are technologies of safety and sovereignty. They remind us that our homes and bodies are sacred spaces — and we have the power to guard them.

If ancestor work is the foundation and cleansing is the preparation, conjure is the action — the doing. Hoodoo is a working tradition, deeply practical and results-focused. Conjure is about shaping reality through intention, spirit, and the natural world.

Sweetening jars, for example, are crafted to attract love, opportunities, or harmony. Mojo bags — small bundles of roots, herbs, charms, and prayers — are carried close to the body as living talismans. Crossroads work invites transformation, letting us lay burdens down and choose new paths. High John the Conqueror root is carried for strength and success, while poppets (doll-like figures) are crafted for healing, justice, or protection.

Conjure is where ancestral wisdom meets creativity. Every ingredient has purpose. Every step carries power. And every working is a conversation with spirit.

Our foremothers and forefathers — rootworkers, healers, and conjurers — built lives, communities, and revolutions through these practices. They remind us that Hoodoo is not just about what we believe — it’s about what we do.

Hoodoo is not a relic of the past. It is a living, breathing practice that continues to shape how we move through the world today. It teaches us to listen deeply, speak with intention, and act with purpose. It reminds us that liberation begins at the root — and that our spiritual work is also social, communal, and deeply human.

Toni Morrison embodied this truth. Through her writing, she conjured worlds where memory, magic, and ancestral wisdom were not metaphor — they were power. She once wrote, “Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” That is Hoodoo in action: not only breaking chains, but walking boldly into our birthright as creators, healers, and inheritors of sacred knowledge.

To walk in power today is to live as if the ancestors are watching — because they are. It is to rest when needed, to speak when called, to protect what’s sacred, and to use our magic in service of liberation — for ourselves and our people.

At The Elemental Shop, we honor this tradition not only in word, but in work. Our shelves are filled with the same tools that have shaped Hoodoo for generations — tools to help you build and deepen your practice:

Each item is chosen with intention — honoring tradition, amplifying your work, and supporting your spiritual journey.

Our 30-day celebration culminates on Ancestor Day, aligned with Día de los Muertos and All Saints Day. On this sacred day, we gather to honor those who came before us — wearing white, writing letters, lighting candles, drumming, and celebrating their lives.

It is a reminder that Hoodoo is not just a practice — it is a relationship. A lineage. A living flame passed down through hands and hearts.

This Hoodoo Heritage Month, we invite you to join us for 30 Days of Hoodoo Heritage — a journey of remembrance, reclamation, and reconnection. Your magic is not new; it is ancestral. And this October, we’re bringing it all the way home.

The Elemental Shop

312 Elm Ave., Long Beach, CA

Tues–Thurs | 11 AM – 6 PM

Sunday | 11 AM – 4