Confirmation concerning my grandma's involvement with Hoodoo and hoodoos came through Ma's repeated stories of "wars" with hants (ghosts) and with the neighbors in Montclair, New Jersey. "They'd throw the dust our way [toward the property boundaries], and then sure 'nough, Ma would spread some out so it would blow their way." She also sprinkled dust about to dispel the hants. "We were very afraid ofhants living in our house," Ma relayed to me.
When I pinned my rna down for specifics about the dust, I found that it was mainly sulfur (brimstone), salt, cayenne, and black pepper-homemade Gopher's Dust (also known as Goofer Dust). In the arsenal of the hoodoo, Gopher's Dust is a chief weapon. It protects property, but it may also be used to blow bad intentions toward intruders with malicious plans. Gopher's Dust, which sometimes also incorporates snakeskin or a rattlesnake rattle, brings together the elements of earth and air, the two primary elements deployed for foot track magick. See appen
dix B for suppliers.
In The Healing Wisdom of Africa, Malidoma Patrice Some asserts the belief of his people, the Dagara of West Africa. Rather than supporting the concept asserted in Greek mythology and Judeo-Christian belief systems that the orisha exist high above us in the heavens, the Dagara (like many other indigenous groups) favor an animistic vision of the world. Animism places the ancestral spirits and creator beings among us on earth. The Dagara's spiritual framework supports my con
tention that we should tread lightly on the earth. Nevertheless, we should tread on her often to receive her powerful messages, memories, and magick through the soles of our feet.
Our feet hold incredible significance. Not only do our feet serve as our chief source of transportation, they are also the two things that bring us into daily con
tact with the spirit world. The soles of our feet function as receivers of divine mes
sages and transmitters of our intentions to the spirit world.
In his landmark book From Slavery to Freedom, John Hope Franklin describes Africans as being primarily agrarian people. Land ownership was intimately con
nected to the richness and productivity of the soil. Important dignitaries were referred to as "grand priests/priestesses of the soil," "masters of the ground," and
"administrators of the soil."
Family land holds a great deal of importance because it often holds family plots and the bones of our ancestors. The ancestral spirits are not seen as being dormant and buried; they continue to live through the trees, streams, and flow
ers. The animistic beliefs of West Africa are a product of a people with close affini
ties to the earth.
The hoodoo must always walk with purpose, fully cognizant of how she touches the earth. She knows the markers, texture, and scent of her daily path. A hoodoo with evil intentions seeks to capitalize on the purposeful hoodoo's knowledge of her path. Planting obstructions of a sensual, visual, or spiritual nature in her path is a sign that war plans are afoot.
Obstructions may consist of blueberries spread on a sidewalk or threshold.
Blueberries leave a messy trace of your movements. They burst and splatter vio
lently when you step on them. The plopping sounds and sight of purple-stained pavement are distracting and serve as a visual metaphor. Blueberries on your path are designed to cause confusion and fear.
Mustard seeds serve a similar purpose. The texture of the mustard seed is gritty and movement with them underfoot is noisy and annoying. Mustard seeds, espe
cially when combined with mustard powder, is a sure-fire signal that you are under attack. The combined herbs are thought to lead you on a path to destruc
tion. Mustard powder causes anxiety, stress, and personal difficulties.
Fruit and herbs are mild indicators of war compared to Hot Foot Powder or Stay Away Powder (see page 37). These powders are designed to keep unwanted folk away from your home, land, or office. Hot Foot Powder is full of the fire ele
ment. It is red, it smells acrid enough to burn the nostrils, and if stepped on with bare feet or handled improperly, it can cause irritation. This is due in large part to its high cayenne (Capsicum frutescens or Capsicum spp.) content. Cayenne has diaphoretic, rubefacient, and stimulant qualities. Ground cayenne (the form commonly used in Hoodoo dusts) is called chili pepper and it has the ability to energize the entire system. The tonic quality and fiery heat of chilis stimulate the flow of energy. In short, it is hard to ignore contact with cayenne.
The efficacy of Hot Foot Powder-or any other powder, for that matter-is not all in the fire element, however. The delivery system for powders is the air-a tool of Oya. For this reason, wear a dust mask when making and spreading these powders.
H O T F O O T POWDER
Use Hot Foot Powder on enemies, bullies, or abusers. It also works well for solicitors, door-to-door salespeople, the jilted lover who won>t take the hint, and other everyday nuisances. Mix on a Tuesday, the day of Ogun and Mars. An evening of the waning moon is the best time for making this banishment dust.
2 cups pure cayenne (chili) powder 2 cups ground black pepper 2 cups sea salt
Drop the ingredients into a bowl as you charge them with your intentions:
Hot foot! Hot foot!
You have gotten too close for me,
[Drop in the cayenne powder]
Now is the time. I banish thee!
[Throw a pinch of the sea salt over your left shoulder:, then add the rest to the cayenne]
Step here if you'd like but it won't be for long.
[Add the pepper]
Examine your ways, it's time to move on.
[Stir the powder clockwise 3 times]
Hot foot! Hot foot!
Burns through the sole.
[Stir powder counterclockwise 3 times]
Hot foot! Hot foot!
Cause you've been doin' me wrong.
[Stir powder clockwise 3 last times]
Hot foot, hot foot, Move on! Move on!
Pour the mixture into a screw-top jar. Seal and store in a cool, dry place until ready to use.
To use on enemies, bullies, or abusers, repeat the chant listed above while spreading a generous amount of Hot Foot Powder into the wet footprints of the offender. If no wet prints are available, spread this on his or her usual path.
To fortifY your home from everyday nuisances like solicitors, spread this powder on the perimeter of your property.
Yield: 6 cups Sbelflife: 6 months