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.

Perfume, Cologne, and Its Use In Hoodoo

The original recipe for cologne was reputedly given to St. Elizabeth of Hungary by an angel -- the concoction was known as "Hungary Water" and was used primarily as a medicine, rather than just a mere fragrance. Charles Godfrey Leland remarked that it therefore was appropriate hoodoo practitioners would use such a substance for feeding their conjure bags and other talismans. The term cologne actually comes from a later preparation, Cologne Water (named for the German city.) The original Cologne Water is a spirit-citrus perfume launched in 1709 by Giovanni Maria Farina (1685–1766), an Italian perfume maker from Santa Maria Maggiore Valle Vigezzo, Italy. In 1708, Farina wrote to his brother Jean Baptiste: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain". He named his fragrance Cologne Water, in honour of his new hometown. The Original Cologne Water composed by Farina was used on...

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...

Hoodoo Magic Herb List - Hoodoo Online's Handy Guide for DIY Spells

Acacia - keep away evil Adam and Eve root - good luck, especially in love Adam root (from an Adam and Eve) - to hold a man’s love Alfalfa leaves or seeds - to make money last Allspice – for success, money drawing and for good luck Aloeswood - good fortune, spirit contact Angelica root - protection from harm Anise seed - against evil eye Asafoetida - prevents disease and keeps away police Ash leaves - for luck in love affairs Balm of Gilead buds - reconciliation, protection from jinxes Basil - against evil; for purification, for luck-bringing, and for money drawing Bay Leaves – protection from evil; victory and success Bayberry - money drawing, luck drawing Betel nut - protection and luck Bistort - for good luck Bloodroot - protection, job-getting, luck Blue flag root - money drawing Buckeye root - success in any undertaking Buckeye/Chestnut/Horse chestnut - for good luck and protection Burdock - protection Calendula - make dreams come true, prevent nightmares Cara...

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...

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