Mojo

A mojo is a spiritual practice of the Hoodoo tradition. The mojo is usually a small flannel bag with one or more magic items inside of it. These bags can be carried to ward of evil, protect from misfortune or disease or act as a love charm.

Creation

Every mojo is unique. Each of them is created for a specific person and a specific purpose. These cannot be reused by others or for a different effect. To create a mojo a conjurer needs to follow a specific ritual. These rituals are handed down from generation to generation. Some are more widely known, but most families follow a unique set of instructions.
An important component of the creation ritual is the chant, prayer or spell that is cast on the mojo to make it have an effect. In many cases this chant comes from ancient traditions or powerful religions such as the Christian or Islamic faith.

Materials

The materials used are important to get the best specific effect, but can be improvised to some extend. The best conjurers customize the materials to each mojo to fit its purpose and the recipient. As these materials can be rare and hard to get most conjurers will improvise by necessity and hope for the best. Especially in dire times sourcing high grade supernatural components is near impossible.
Most mojos use some kind of fabric to create the container in which to store the supernatural materials. This fabric can have significance, but is often just whatever is available. A common colour for this fabric is red as it symbolizes protection from evil and spiritual power in Hoodoo tradition.

Prayer Cloths

The prayer cloth is an alternative version of a mojo. It is made by pastors from white church cloths. The ritual involves a prayer spoken over the cloth and anointing it with holy oil. The prayer cloth is often placed under the bed or carried in a purse for protection from evil.

Effects

The effects of a mojo are disputed. A mojo is fairly weak magic and in some cases no real magic at all. And yet thousands of people believe in their effectiveness to make good things happen in their lives and prevent bad things from happening. There are mojos for protection, to find love or fortune, to pass an exam, to heal or to sleep well. Some mojos are designed to bring harm to the person it is given to. This type of mojo is much more rare as many conjurers would not support such a cause.

Type

Spiritual Practice

Tradition

Hoodoo

Alternative Names

gris-gris bag, hand, mojo hand, conjure hand, lucky hand, conjure bag, trick bag, root bag, toby, jomo

Form

Flannel bag that contains one or more magical items

Materials

Dragon Bone, Spirit Plant, Materials with Mythical Properties