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(Spellwork at the end of this article.)

On the surface, folks said Hoodoo was evil. White Christian authorities called it “devil’s work.” Later on, some of our own Black church leaders, even with good intentions, echoed that same BULLSHYT! And, that same bullshyt is on REPEAT today! They called it superstition, backwoods foolishness and whatever regurgitated lies we were fed.

But baby, let’s go a little deeper! Suppression? It wasn’t just about religion. It was a calculated strategy to control our spiritual access, disempower Black folks, break ties to African identity, and eradicate our ancestral knowledge systems.

As I see it, Hoodoo in its true form is about BLACK SOVEREIGNTY and LIBERATION!

Hoodoo (SHE) gave our ancestors healing because white doctors… LEMME GET ON MY SOAPBOX FOR A MINUTE…

During slavery, Black folks were treated like livestock. White doctors were not sent to care for the enslaved unless it benefited the enslaver’s profits. Many times, when sickness struck the quarters, it was left to the elders, midwives, rootworkers, and conjurefolk to tend to the sick because nobody else would.

And when they did send a doctor, it was often more dangerous than helpful because administering treatments without understanding African physiology, herbal tolerance, or spiritual wellness was often a death sentence for our community. SHIIIIID some of that still exists in the medical industry now…. That’s why IONT TRUST SUMMA DEY AZZEZ! I digress!

Let me get back on point…
She provided protection when the law was against us and justice when the courts didn’t see us … still true TADAY!

Also, she gave POWER without begging the PREACHERS for prayer, help or blessings. Keep in mind that many folks practiced silently in the pews and some from the pulpit like Bishop C.H. Mason. Even though the Black church has been a pillar of strength, refuge, and community for our people, it was also, at times, a place that shamed and condemned Hoodoo. Once Christianity was adopted and adapted, many leaders viewed conjure, rootwork, and ancestral practices as “backwards” or “of the devil.”

So, if you were a dreamer, a seer, a rootworker, or someone who “knew things” beyond Sunday sermons, you had to hide. You had to pray outside the building, burn candles in private, and keep your mojo hand close but unseen.

Hoodoo was then and still is today, a direct line to our ancestors where no permission is needed. One of the most sacred truths in Hoodoo is that your blood is your passport, your lineage is your authority, and your relationship to the dead is not mediated by any religion, priest, or institution.

And that kind of unregulated, spirit-led, inherited power scared the systems built to control us. Because if we as a whole would dare to truly tap into our GOD-SELVES and walk in our POWER…DANGER is what they would be in!

The powers that be weren’t just afraid of roots, drums, and candles, they were afraid of US. Because if we could be erased, then the crimes against humanity could be denied.

In an effort to hide their savagery and escape culpability, one of their primary goals was to destroy our ancestral lineage and to strip us of our birthright.

To sever our communion with the dead was to deny our identity. To rip justice from our hands was to silence our voices. To colonize and then attempt to harmonize the very soul of Black people was to dilute the essence and nature of our power. I SAID WTF I SAID!

But guess what? We are still here!

Hoodoo survived, y’all! She made it from whispered prayers and hideaways to flipping the bird in your face like, “And what?!”

She lived in cooking pots and Grandmama’s greens on Sunday. She endured through backroom baths, hideaways and porch prayers. And now she shows up at Ring Shout conventions, workshops, retreats, and public community gatherings.

She survived in the gifted hands of hairdressers and rootworkers.
She was tucked in the corners of tattered Bibles. And today, she’s alive and well on social media LIVES and virtual classes across the globe.

Today, reclaiming Hoodoo ain’t just a spiritual practice, it’s REPARATIVE JUSTICE! It’s RESISTANCE! It’s REMEMBRANCE! It’s RESTORATION! So every time you light that candle, dress that mojo hand, call your ancestors’ names, you’re part of a sacred, unbroken line of power they tried to erase.

And sweetie pookie doos, don’t let NOBODY shame you out of your roots… NOBODY!

SPELLWORK: Reclaim Your Roots, Reclaim Your Power

Purpose:
To restore ancestral connection, spiritual authority, and ignite the power of Hoodoo in your bloodline—unapologetically.

WHAT YOU NEED:

A black candle (for ancestral power and protection)
A red candle (for life-force, fire, and strength)

Dried herbs: rosemary (remembrance), mugwort (ancestral sight), and bay leaf (power)
A pinch of graveyard dirt or dirt from your family home (ancestral grounding)
Small bowl of water (reflective truth and clarity)
Bible (opened to Psalm 68:1 for ancestral calling)
Paper and pen
White cloth
Optional: Your mojo hand, or make one after this rite

STEP-BY-STEP RITUAL:

1. Prepare Your Altar or Sacred Space

Lay down the white cloth. Place the Bible open, with the candles on either side.
Set your bowl of water in the center and sprinkle your herbs and dirt around it in a circle.

2. Write Your Declaration

On a piece of paper, write:

“I reclaim my ancestral wisdom. I restore the Hoodoo power in my blood. I break the chains of fear, shame, and suppression. I am the living root of my people.”

Fold it toward you (to draw in power) and place it under the bowl of water.

3. Pray and Call In Your People

Speak this aloud (or from the heart):

“Ancestors known and unknown, rootworkers and conjurefolk, those who laid hands, made teas, worked roots, and whispered power through the veil.
I call you forth. I honor your memory. I reclaim what they tried to destroy.
Walk with me. Speak to me. Work through me.
By my blood, I have the right. By your power, I am whole.”

Read Psalm 68:1:

“Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.”

4. Light the Candles

Light the black candle first, then the red. Say:

“This flame is the light of restoration. This fire burns through suppression. This light is my liberation.”

5. Anoint Yourself

Dip your fingers in the water and touch your forehead, heart, and the soles of your feet.
Say:

“I awaken the memory. I ignite the gift. I walk in my full power.”

6. Let It Burn + Close with Gratitude

Let the candles burn down safely.
Keep the prayer paper and herbs in a white cloth or use it to create a mojo hand. Carry it on your body for 7 days.
Give thanks to your ancestors and spirits with a small offering of food or drink you know they loved.

Final Words from Mama SunFiyahh:

Sweetie pookie doo, don’t let nobody shame you outta your gifts. You carry the medicine. You are the prayer of your ancestors made flesh. Walk like it. Work like it. Burn like it.

Alright, my sweetie pookie doos and sugar pies, let me share a little with you about the sacred history of the praise house. This institution is one of the most important in the story of Black spirituality. These small, humble spaces, often hidden away in the rural parts of the South, became sacred sanctuaries for our ancestors during the darkest times. They were more than just places of worship; they were the intersection of African traditions, Christian teachings, and the magical practices we now recognize as Hoodoo. They were a symbol of survival, resistance, and divine strength.

The Roots of the Praise House

Now, let’s start with where the praise house came from. It was born during the era of slavery, when our ancestors were forced to work on plantations. They weren’t allowed to gather together freely, but they found ways to make space for themselves. These praise houses were often just small wooden cabins, barely more than shacks, yet they became a powerful symbol of freedom and faith.

At first, slave masters tried to force Christianity on our people, using it as a tool to control them. But our ancestors took that faith and reinterpreted it. They transformed the church into a space of liberation. These praise houses became places where they could read the Bible through their own lens, blending Christian teachings with the rich spiritual traditions of Africa. This was the birthplace of Hoodoo—where magic and prayer, herbs and scripture, met together to protect, heal, and empower.

Spiritual Practices in the Praise House

When you stepped into a praise house, you could feel the power in the air. The energy was palpable. You would hear singing, clapping, and stomping feet—sound familiar? It was just like the ring shouts and communal dances of West Africa. The worship in these houses wasn’t just a passive experience; it was participatory. Every person in the room had a role in the spiritual work.

The prayers spoken in praise houses were powerful, deliberate. They weren’t just words—they were incantations. Songs like “Wade in the Water” and “Steal Away to Jesus” had layers of meaning. They were more than just hymns; they were messages of resistance, coded instructions for escaping, for liberation.

And let me tell you something—Hoodoo was deeply woven into the fabric of praise house worship. The spiritual leaders in these houses—root doctors, prayer warriors, spiritual mothers—were often the ones to guide their people through healing rituals and protection spells. They would use herbs, oils, and scriptures, turning ordinary objects into powerful tools for divine intervention.

The Sacred Role of Cooks in the Praise House

Now, let’s talk about the kitchen, because it was a sacred space, too. The cook in the praise house wasn’t just there to prepare meals—they were the spiritual nurturers of the community. Often, these were older women who carried the wisdom of generations. They weren’t just feeding the body; they were feeding the soul. The herbs they used—rosemary, sage, cinnamon, garlic—were sacred, infused with healing and magical power.

The meals they prepared weren’t just nourishment—they were offerings. The cook would infuse every dish with prayer, intention, and energy, using food as a way to honor the Divine and our ancestors. Every meal was a spiritual act, a form of communion that connected the community to the divine and to each other.

And let me tell you this, my sweet honey buns: these cooks were the keepers of knowledge—keepers of recipes for healing, protection, and spiritual cleansing. They understood the power of food as medicine and magic, and they used their skills to bring peace and prosperity to their people.

Praise Houses and the Black Church

When slavery ended, those praise houses didn’t disappear. Oh no, they gave birth to the Black Church.

sources: http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/black-church/

The spirit-filled worship that our ancestors practiced in those small cabins carried on into the Black Church, where denominations like the AME Church and Baptist Church flourished.

But the Black Church wasn’t just a place for spiritual refuge; it also became a center for activism. It was from the pulpit of the Black Church that leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for justice and equality. And no matter how big the church grew, it always carried the spirit of those little praise houses that cradled the soul of the Black community.

The Legacy of Praise Houses in Hoodoo

Now, I want you to understand something, my sweet peach: the legacy of the praise house still lives in Hoodoo today. Look closely, and you’ll see it in the way we use Bible verses as spells, how we speak our

Russell Lee – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital

prayers with purpose, and how we honor our ancestors in every aspect of our spiritual practices. Just like our ancestors created sacred spaces in those praise houses, we too create places—both physical and spiritual—where we connect with the Divine and our ancestors.

The praise house is a reminder of how powerful spirituality can be, not just as a tool of survival, but as an act of resistance. It was in those small, humble spaces that our ancestors found their strength, reclaimed their humanity, and built the foundation for the freedom we stand on today.

So, sweetie pies, remember this: the praise house wasn’t just a building. It was a portal—a place where spirit moved, ancestors spoke, and liberation was imagined. We carry that legacy with us in everything we do. You have been entrusted with this wisdom, and it is your job to keep it alive in your own practices. May you walk with pride, honoring the sacred path of those who came before you.

Suppression of Hoodoo was a STRATEGIC ASSAULT on BLACK POWER!