Spiritual Use of Turpentine in Hoodoo and Witchcraft

Victorian turpentine bottle for old witchcraft

I have posted in the past about the use of giving one's bedding a spiritual cleansing from time to time. I recently was laundering my pillows in the same load of laundry as some turpentine-soaked rags, with the result that the pillows emerged from the wash reeking of turpentine.

From a magical perspective, this may not be a bad thing. Turpentine is used in old-time hoodoo rituals for purposes such as uncrossing, protection and sometimes as a feed for mojo bags. Its solvent powers and strong odor do indeed suggest a powerful spiritual cleansing agent, and it is still used in some modern day cleaning products on a purely practical level for these same reasons.

Old time medicines sometimes included turpentine as a thing to drink, in small doses. A book from the 1850s, The Domestic Medicine Chest, recommends giving it to children in a dose of one teaspoon for killing tapeworm. Relatedly, in old time hoodoo cures for "live things" turpentine might be made into a tea along with other herbs and drunk down by the victim. There were also old time hoodoo "pills" made to cure conjure, such as one recipe of powdered silver and dragon's blood resin, moistened with turpentine and formed into pills which the conjured person swallowed in order to cure their ailment.

If one suspected that cursed items had been placed or buried on their property by enemies, sprinkling the grounds with a mixture of turpentine and black oak bark infusion was said to draw up the items so that they could be found. To kill the power of any conjured items, turpentine and salt mixed together could be sprinkled over them.

Turpentine is also said to chase away the power of conjure from inflicting one's body or home in the first place. Pouring a bit of turpentine into dishes in the four corners of a room (or, if one doesn't have to worry about damage to paint or carpets, poured directly onto the ground in each corner) is said to protect against conjure. One of Hyatt's informants advised rubbing turpentine directly onto one's body as a form of protection -- allegedly one's enemies "couldn’t do you nothin’ -- dey couldn’t stand you, dey wouldn’t have nothing to do with you." One supposes the strong odor alone might drive people away, but some people actually enjoy the scent of it -- Demeter Fragrances offers perfume, soap and room fragrances that smell like turpentine.

Another interesting use of turpentine is in this breakup formula, doubtless chosen because of its power to dissolve oils, varnishes, etc.: to break up a couple, one could sprinkle on their porch a mixture of grave dirt, turpentine, salt and sulfur. Many older breakup formulas contain ingredients found in uncrossing formulas, and there may be a supposition that the relationship is held together by witchcraft to begin with.

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 any other number of metaphors. I 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 with Bend Over powder. He paid me what I ...

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 ...

Weirdos and Witchcraft: Why Outcasts Love Hoodoo (and, Perhaps, Why Hoodoo Loves Them Back)

Magic is more than just spells; it’s a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of marginalized communities. It’s a reminder that even in the face of unimaginable hardship, people find ways to assert their agency and maintain their connection to the divine. At the heart of hoodoo is an embrace of the supernatural that aligns with gothic sensibilities, offering a labyrinth of shadowed corridors to explore. From the spectral imagery of crossroads magic to the haunting presence of graveyard dirt in rituals , hoodoo intersects with gothic aesthetics in fascinating ways. Its narratives of defiance and survival resonate deeply with the themes of darkness, mystery, and transformation that permeate alternative cultures. There are countless examples of practitioners turning to the dark, shadowed corners of the world for both protection and revenge . The use of herbs , roots , bones , and other seemingly mundane objects imbues them with supernatural qualities. A glass of water can become a l...

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

Search This Blog