The bible in Hoodoo or African American Conjure has a very tight history with each other. Many people ask me if they have to use the bible in order to work with Hoodoo. I know other workers out there are getting the same questions. And I will put it right out there, the questions are coming primarily from my international clients and the new age and neo pagan magicians. My response is yes, you should consider at some point to work with the bible if you are working traditional old hoodoo. Do your research, walk into any conjure shop that has been in business for 25 or more years, and you are going to see that the bible is very much a main component in Hoodoo. Maybe I am too traditional or old fashioned, but my theory is why change something that has worked fine with the elements in the tradition? Every old worker and older customer that I have spoken to has said yes they work with the bible, and yes, their mother also worked with the bible. At one point in my life I saw the bible as something that corrupted the Christian minds of the new Aeon, I saw the bible as a reminder of every thing gone wrong with the Christian tradition. It wasn't until many years of experience with magick and getting older and out of my "rebellious years", that I was able to sit down and take a different approach to viewing the bible. Do you need to be Christian to read the bible or work Hoodoo? No. But in the tradition of Hoodoo, there were and still are many eclectic Christians working spells straight from the bible with their prayer candles. Prayer candles are 7 day candles, Novena candles that contain prayers and images of Catholic Saints, and as we know a Catholic Saint is a patron of "something". The way that I view the bible is one more magickal book to use for rituals. And why not, isn't this what a prayer is? An invocation, a petition, a calling to the energies in the universe to grant our wish? I do come from a Gnostic perspective when it comes to using the bible. Just as each Saint serves a mission to present to God on our behalf, so is each prayer in the bible. Psalms in particular which are very common in Hoodoo, and among my favorite petitioning rituals, are powerful, give them a read over a few times, you will quickly see how these words hold power to invoke your desires. I think that if you have a strong sense of your own faith and path and enlightenment of who or what "God" is to you personally, you aren't going to be brainwashed, swayed, or corrupted by the bible... I have heard this comment before. O.o ... Hoodoo has become very diverse, many things out there claiming to be part of Hoodoo that aren't, many cross overs from other traditions are slowly entering into Hoodoo. If you are going to work Hoodoo, learn it's history and the original elements of Hoodoo. Stepping back into time in the old black southern culture, you are going to see what Hoodoo is and what impostering ideas of Hoodoo are. The bible has been and always will be a part of Hoodoo. It is irritating to see people try to work Hoodoo however they want and to change the elements of the tradition and dismiss that the bible exists among all the other authentic elements in Hoodoo and try to call it Hoodoo OR sell it as Hoodoo. I have heard people literally say, "I do Hoodoo except using any Psalms or the bible, I don't think it's necessary since I am not a Christian and don't agree with the bible". Lol. This cracks me up, every time someone says this. It just shows me that they cannot see any spiritual text as a unity of all spirituality and that we have unlimited resources. Further, it's funny to me that these same folks are the folks that will do a ritual that involves deities of Hindu or another culture that is not of their own ancestry. Is this a case of religious prejudices, lol? Dismissing the fact that the bible is an element and tool in Hoodoo is like the Photographer dismissing his reflectors, eventually he's gonna want to have them on hand. Ehhh. Either way, in my opinion, we are free individuals in the universe to be open and available to utilize any spiritual resource for our pursuit of happiness. :) But, this is just my opinion, not claiming it as a fact... : )
