Gris Gris Autopsy - What a Commercial Voodoo Gris Gris is Made From

As I explain in The Hand Book, the term gris-gris technically and traditionally refers to a type of written African-Islamic charm, but in modern American practice the word has come to be used synonymously with mojo, conjure-bag, and other types of talismans. Among them are these types of semi-decorative gris-gris which are hung up in or around the home or place of business to work their influence.

I purchased the above gris gris from a commercial supplier several years ago. The instructions on their website proclaims: "This ball is used to improve your business. Hang this ball over the register or where the money is located. Every morning shake the ball and say the prayer to Saint Martin Caballero."

When purchased, some more elaborate instructions were included, along with the St. Martin prayer. It appears I have since discarded my copy, but I recall that the technique involved dressing the ball with oil and an instruction to replace the gris gris every 3 months.

I did faithfully follow the instructions for a time but ultimately I wasn't impressed by the changes I was seeing in my business. When the three months were up I decided not to purchase another. However, I liked the look of the gris gris and so I kept it around for decoration even if it wasn't "working" in a magical sense.

Recent life events mean I'm doing a big overhaul of my workspace, and the decorative gris gris won't fit with my new design. The opportunity thus has come to satisfy a long-held curiosity -- just what is inside the gris gris?

This type of gris-gris is a form of container spell, similar to the old calabash spells that are some of the oldest documented in American hoodoo, as the one described in Conjuration. Bottles, coconuts, clay vessels and other containers are also used for making these. Some modern practitioners say that they should always be made from a material which will be able to biodegrade back into the earth, although it's unclear if this was always considered a requirement in their creation.

Since this gris-gris was reasonably round and came from a commercial supplier, I expected based on its weight and feel that it was probably made from paper mache or even plastic. When I first pulled off the decorative ribbons I was surprised to find that it seemed to be a large nut or seed pod.

A hole had been drilled into the top of the pod and sealed with dark wax. When I pulled it out, I poured out the contents and found this:

This appears to be a mixture of green incense powder, green-dyed lucky rice, and a few pinches of herbs and spices (I could identify what looked like lemongrass and cinnamon pieces, as well as possibly some larger root or wood chunks.) The total quantity of this mixture amounted to perhaps a scant tablespoon.

There was still something large and heavy rattling around within, something too large to shake out through the opening. I had to crack open the rest of the pod with a hammer. A smell like coconut wafted up, revealing the likely identification of what kind of nut pod this was. Inside was a fragrant mass of what was probably the dried innards of the fruit, stained green from years of contact with the incense powder.

Dried, smoothed, whole coconuts like this are sold from a few different suppliers, sometimes labeled for use in Hindu religious practices.

I consider the deconstruction to be a success! This has been a valuable lesson in the construction of modern gri-gris balls.

Cut and Clear Purification Spell - White Witchcraft to Forget the Past

The time has come. You're over and done with that relationship. It could be a romance, a friendship, a business partnership -- any sort of connection really. But now you're done, and you want all ties severed. This spell helps clear up any lingering energies and makes people let go of past feelings. You need: 1 bottle Jinx Removing salt Lemon verbena leaves Purification oil or Cut and Clear oil Personal or representational items of the person(s) you are removing yourself from (names and photos are easy) Purification incense 4 white candles You will also need to make your own Cut and Clear bath salt. For this you'll need about 1/2 cup epsom salt to which you add 5 drops each lemongrass oil, lemon or melissa oil, and rue or rosemary oil. It's important to make this salt yourself with only oils (no herbs) because we want it to run clean down the drain with no residue left behind to be cleaned up. Many spiritual bath blends contain herbal matter and curio...

Ammonia - A Spiritual Cleansing Agent for Magick

Ammonia is a strong cleansing agent in hoodoo magick, both physically and spiritually. In Edwardian times it was advised as an old home remedy for a nerve tonic (see recipe below.) "Household ammonia" or "ammonium hydroxide" is a solution of NH3 in water. Household ammonia ranges in concentration from 5 to 10 weight percent ammonia. The Romans called the ammonium chloride deposits they collected from near the Temple of Amun (Greek Ἄμμων Ammon) in ancient Libya 'sal ammoniacus' (salt of Amun) because of proximity to the nearby temple of Amun, the chief god of ancient Thebes. Salts of ammonia have been known from very early times; thus the term Hammoniacus sal appears in the writings of Pliny, although it is not known whether the term is identical with the more modern sal-ammoniac (ammonium chloride). In the form of sal-ammoniac (nushadir) ammonia was important to the Muslim alchemists as early as the 8th century, first mentioned by the arab chemist...

Paper-in-Shoe Spells

A popular and very traditional hoodoo spell, often used for any situation where you need to control someone with magic , is the namepaper-in-shoe spell. It's very easy: you write the target's name 3, 7, or 9 times on a paper (depending on intent and who's giving instruction) then fold it up, sometimes after dressing it with oils or powders, then put it in your shoe. This "keeps the person underfoot" or "stomps out the trouble" or "puts pressure on them" or any other number of metaphors. I have had this work several times over the years. In one instance, I was working for a very unpleasant boss, on a short-term job. It was the last day, and I only had about 3 hours of work left on the project; and I wanted him to up my pay for the day since it almost wasn't worth the trip across town for the amount he was paying me, for only 3 hours. He was very reluctant. So I wrote his name 3 times on a 5-dollar bill he'd given me, and dusted it...

The Intranquil Spirit

(EDIT: Up to date information about the Intranquil Sprit can be found in my book The Intranquil Spirit , available on Amazon. This post has some incomplete information which is clarified in the book.) The Intranquility spell is, unfortunately, the first resort of many a rejected lover. In some ways it makes sense -- the more unhappy and forlorn one is about a breakup, the better this idea of making the other partner feel just as much so starts to sound. Unfortunately, this spell is often not well suited to a case. The purpose of the standard Intranquility spell is to have the person be tormented by the spirit until they make contact with you, or whomever the spell is being cast for. This means that if a person is already in good contact with their ex OR if they're one of those people who cannot restrain themselves from initiating contact, then this already is probably not the right spell for that case. If you've had an Intranquility spell cast and you make contac...

13 Herb Bath for Curse Removal

13 Herb Bath for curse removal can be made from from any 13 uncrossing and purification herbs. For example, if I needed to fix a batch of 13 herb bath right now based on what I've got in the house, I could mix bay leaves, rue, mint, rosemary, wood betony, sage, verbena, angelica root, white rose petals, lemongrass, lemon peel, agrimony and arnica, and it would suffice well. Other herbs like hyssop, pine needles, juniper leaves, boldo, eucalyptus leaves, mullein, basil, lavender, or marshmallow leaves would be good to use too. By no means complete, here is a list of just a few herbs said to remove a curse or jinx that you can use to make your own 13 Herbs bath: Agrimony Alkanet Angelica Arnica Basil Bay leaves Black Pepper Blessed Thistle Boldo Cayenne Pepper Chives Eucalyptus Garlic Hyssop John the Conqueror Juniper Lavender Lemon Lemongrass Lime Marshmallow leaves Mint Mullein Onion Pine Rosemary Rue Sage Sandalwood Verbena White Rose Petals ...

The Spellcaster's Source Hoodoo and Voodoo Witchcraft Blog of Talia Felix

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