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

The modern gris-gris is viewed similarly to a mojo -- sometimes the words are even synonymous. Generally the gris-gris one finds in the United States today are either miniature mojo hands made with herbs wrapped in cloth or leather, or else decorated balls filled similarly, meant to be hung up in a house. A popular folk-etymology is that the word means "gray-gray" because it exists in a halfway point between black and white magic; another explanation is that it refers to the color of old-style herbal mixtures. However, research indicates the similarity to the French gris (gray) seems to be coincidental -- merely an effort to transcribe a native African word according to French spelling rules, apparently having been first introduced to Europe through the works of Le Maire in 1695 . The earliest gris-gris were something rather different than the modern herb charms -- something much more specific. The 1797 Encyclopedia Britannica gives an entry on the word: Grisgris: a...

I'm not one to believe in karma, myself -- at least not the way most people perceive it. I do, however, agree that guilt or embarrassment over a past deed can cause needless unhappiness in one's life. Hoodoo folk magic doesn't traditionally possess a concept of karma, but it does acknowledge sin, which is all in all a pretty similar notion. There is a traditional hoodoo ingredient for removing sin (or karma) and that is the herb hyssop. Its use for this purpose is given in the Bible. It is most commonly used in the form of a bath. One can either boil dried or fresh hyssop herb into a strong infusion and add it to the bath to free one's self from sin and karma, or one can simply buy it as a prepared bath from a supplier. If one has been a very bad person, a formula mixture like Cast Off Evil may be used to help encourage one to give up bad habits and behaviors. You can buy this formula readymade or you can make it using the recipe in the Conjure Cookbook .  Here's ...