Customer Reviews

Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really love this book, and found it so helpful, it is rare that you will find a book with so much information on the usage of herbs as done in the Hoodoo Magical system. This is the first book of its kind, dealing directly with the botanical usage within African-American Folk Magic. This book is packed with about 750 useful potions, spells, baths, and powders that the reader can start to learn Wright away. The 500 herbs, roots and minerals used in this book are so helpful, even for those who practice Santeria, and Voodoo, and even the Witch or Herbalist with European background will find this very useful. No where will you find a collection of magical herbs such as this. Herbs mentioned are, Adam and Eves roots, Devil's Shoestring, Bloodroot, Devil Pod, and this book goes on and on. I was really excited about this book, and it has not let me down. My favorite sections and what really caught my eye on these books are the 6 very helpful charts that cover everything from love drawing, to protection, and conjurations. Also the 50 black and white illustrations are also really good.

This book also covers the preparation of famous Voodoo and Santeria oil dressings, bath crystals, incenses, floor washes, cleansing and spiritual baths and the preparation of mojo bags.

I have to highly commend Catherine Yronwode, for such an important book, which in my opinion is a modern classic in the usage of herbal magic. This book belongs in every rootworker, witch, santero, and shamans private collection. I highly recommend this book, and wish I could give it more stars.

An earlier reviewer seems to think Ms. Yronwode limited her researches solely to Harry Middleton Hyatt's five volumes, and therefore awarded her only three stars instead of the five she should have been given. I am pleased to say that that reviewer is profoundly mistaken.

Catherine Yronwode, the author, is a woman of frighteningly enormous intelligence. She has studied hoodoo for at least 35 years now in both its historical and current forms. She is profoundly well read in rootwork (and I should add that she's studied it at levels a very rare few magic users of any system ever achieve.)However, the important fact that that earlier reviewer is obviously ignorant of is that Ms. Yronwode has made it a lifelong habit of learning from actual practitioners of the system. She continues to be deeply fascinated by the living, changing art of rootwork and, as she runs her own spiritual supply shop, she has ample opportunity to compare notes with her rootworking clients. It is important to note that she has told me that the majority of her clients are Black, and if that isn't a recommendation then nothing is. Both she and her clients learn from each other continuously. She has an impressive collection of rootwork artifacts spanning most, if not all, of the last hundred years.

This expertise and thoroughness carry over to the book. The book is an encyclopedia of hoodoo herbs, roots, and related items such as lodestones, Florida water, black cat bones, and blueing. The herbs, roots, and animal and insects have their scientific names given so that no confusion can be made. Each entry contains a thorough description of how the item in question is used, and usually gives actual directions for magical use, very often in several different ways. Entries also have important notes (when applicable) such as whether the item is an endangered species, or is toxic or not. No sloppily researched, half invented, slapped together Llewellyn title, this.
This scholarly work is the absolutely genuine article written by an authority in the field with decades of experience. If you're serious about the study of hoodoo this book is a *must*.

I really love this book, and found it so helpful, it is rare that you will find a book with so much information on the usage of herbs as done in the Hoodoo Magical system. This is the first book of its kind, dealing directly with the botanical usage within African-American Folk Magic. This book is packed with about 750 useful potions, spells, baths, and powders that the reader can start to learn Wright away. The 500 herbs, roots and minerals used in this book are so helpful, even for those who practice Santeria, and Voodoo, and even the Witch or Herbalist with European background will find this very useful. No where will you find a collection of magical herbs such as this. Herbs mentioned are, Adam and Eves roots, Devil's Shoestring, Bloodroot, Devil Pod, and this book goes on and on. I was really excited about this book, and it has not let me down. My favorite sections and what really caught my eye on these books are the 6 very helpful charts that cover everything from love drawing, to protection, and conjurations. Also the 50 black and white illustrations are also really good.

This book also covers the preparation of famous Voodoo and Santeria oil dressings, bath crystals, incenses, floor washes, cleansing and spiritual baths and the preparation of mojo bags.

I have to highly commend Catherine Yronwode, for such an important book, which in my opinion is a modern classic in the usage of herbal magic. This book belongs in every rootworker, witch, santero, and shamans private collection. I highly recommend this book, and wish I could give it more stars.

This is a great book, but can be a pain to find what you're looking for easily. Want a love oil? You'd better be prepared to flip to each magic herb or ingredient with that property and hope it's under one of them. I had to resort to writing an index in the back cover. I now use it mainly as a secondary research book because of it's incovenience. Much of the great spells or recipes simply get lost in the book.

With the exception of rare, expensive, and out-of-print scholarly works, "Hoodoo herb and Root Magic" is the best introduction I know to herb-based African-American folk magic. It is as useful to hoodoo root-workers as Scott Cunningham's "Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs" is to Wiccan and European neo-pagan practitioners, but it is far more practical than Cunningham's book, because it gives literally hundreds of magical spells. In fact, one thing I noticed was that for the price, it presents more spells than any other book in my library.

I really love this book, and found it so helpful, it is rare that you will find a book with so much information on the usage of herbs as done in the Hoodoo Magical system. This is the first book of its kind, dealing directly with the botanical usage within African-American Folk Magic. This book is packed with about 750 useful potions, spells, baths, and powders that the reader can start to learn Wright away. The 500 herbs, roots and minerals used in this book are so helpful, even for those who practice Santeria, and Voodoo, and even the Witch or Herbalist with European background will find this very useful. No where will you find a collection of magical herbs such as this. Herbs mentioned are, Adam and Eves roots, Devil's Shoestring, Bloodroot, Devil Pod, and this book goes on and on. I was really excited about this book, and it has not let me down. My favorite sections and what really caught my eye on these books are the 6 very helpful charts that cover everything from love drawing, to protection, and conjurations. Also the 50 black and white illustrations are also really good.

This book also covers the preparation of famous Voodoo and Santeria oil dressings, bath crystals, incenses, floor washes, cleansing and spiritual baths and the preparation of mojo bags.

I have to highly commend Catherine Yronwode, for such an important book, which in my opinion is a modern classic in the usage of herbal magic. This book belongs in every rootworker, witch, santero, and shamans private collection. I highly recommend this book, and wish I could give it more stars.

This is one of the most well done and accurate books you'll find on Hoodoo/Rootwork, since most Hoodoo practices are passed orally or by example, it's difficult to find a book on the practices in the first place. It was great to see our New Years practices/meal in there too..You know what I'm talking about if you live in the South- Ham, Salat(Greens) or Cabbage, Black-Eyed Peas and Cornbread every New Years Day for Good Luck and money. It's surprising that the author lives in California, from the book you would think she had lived in the South since birth, she did live in the Ozarks for many years I believe..Excellent and Practical Book. Folk practices for Poke Root and Sumac are even listed in the book! Cole of the Crooked Cane Website

This book should be on the shelf of anyone who practices Hoodoo, Hedgewitchery or other forms of folk magick. Catherine provides backgrounds on the herbs, mixture advice and magickal uses for them from an Hoodoo context. This is no New Age hodge podge herbal book. This is the real deal for the traditional rootworker.

This is authentic new orleans style conjure. I adore this volume and have it in my library. I live in New Orleans and have practiced HooDoo for some time and much of what is written in these pages is authentic, clear and concise. If you are interested in HooDoo and are not in an area where HooDoo is widley practiced then buy this book, you will not be sorry.

Next to Hyatt's works this is the best book available for those interested in root. When I first read this work I could see the authors obvious experience and dedication to rootwork. The iinformation is some of what one would get if one were learning from another experienced rootworker. If you want to learn how to do root from a book, this is what you want to buy. The author has two versions, this paperback whic is great, but also an even lovlier hardcover cloth bound edition which makes going to the book an even better experience.