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Conjure Formulas and Herbal Remedies that Work
There is more to conjure formulas than meets the eye. It is an art and science that draws from the ancient knowledge of our collective ancestors
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Did your life come with a book of formulas and instructions for using them? Formulas for dealing with any life situation, be it physical, mental or spiritual?
I know mine didn't. I mean, when I was born I wasn't given some big book of magic formulas to make my life easier. Once my grandmother died, however, I did receive a large recipe book with lots of scraps of paper with a variety of things written on them. Tips and hints for running a smooth household, home remedies and of course, wonderful recipes for delicious food.
In the past, family receipt books were commonplace. These large books were written by ordinary housewives and sometimes men or doctors who were under the assumption they knew how to run a household and advised women accordingly. These family receipt books contained everything from how to make candles, to how to cook and to how to cure livestock from diseases. They also contained home remedies for treating the family for many common illnesses of the day, because most people could not afford to go to a doctor or have a doctor visit. So, it was the Mother's place to learn these things and take care of the family. Moms were the family doctor.
During the 1800s, we see many of these receipt books published for the general public. These books became a primary way of passing down common folk knowledge to subsequent generations.
Within plantation households, slave masters often relied on the herbal curing knowledge of the slave men and women - the rootdoctors - for healing illnesses that were not considered major illnesses. In fact, many times the slave remedies were recorded in these receipt books without acknowledging the source of the knowledge.
Conjuring potions is a highly individual art that is governed by skill, creativity, intelligence, intuition, and spirituality. The first of these attributes, skill, is something that is acquired as a result of practice and redundancy. The rootworker becomes good at whatever task they are practicing because it is done time and again.
One of the oldest folk remedies is the herbal liniment. Liniments have been used for thousands of years, harnessing the natural and medicinal qualities of certain plants for the external treatment of certain conditions. An herbal liniment is a medicinal liquid formulated with herbs in a base of ordinary rubbing alcohol or Witch Hazel, or made into a salve using a light oil base. A good therapeutic liniment is effective for conditions like sore and inflamed muscles and joints, relief from arthritis and rheumatism and circulation problems, for example.
Many times, an herb or root used in a folk remedy also possesses magical properties and is ideal for use in rootwork. Solomon's Seal (polygonatum biflorum), for example, has fabulous medicinal properties and equally as fabulous magical properties. Medicinally, it works well as a liniment for tightening or loosening tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints. It is a valuable connective tissue anti-inflammatory, and is known to help moderate the symptoms of osteoarthritis and repetitive use injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. Magically, Solomon's Seal root is associated with all things success, to gain wisdom, ward off evil and contain or "seal" harmful energy. In our Folk Magic Formulary course, we focus on many such herbs with this dual medicinal/magical capacity and teach our students how to harvest, harness and use them to enhance and improve their daily lives.
In the past, family receipt books were commonplace. These large books were written by ordinary housewives and sometimes men or doctors who were under the assumption they knew how to run a household and advised women accordingly. These family receipt books contained everything from how to make candles, to how to cook and to how to cure livestock from diseases. They also contained home remedies for treating the family for many common illnesses of the day, because most people could not afford to go to a doctor or have a doctor visit. So, it was the Mother's place to learn these things and take care of the family. Moms were the family doctor.
During the 1800s, we see many of these receipt books published for the general public. These books became a primary way of passing down common folk knowledge to subsequent generations.
Within plantation households, slave masters often relied on the herbal curing knowledge of the slave men and women - the rootdoctors - for healing illnesses that were not considered major illnesses. In fact, many times the slave remedies were recorded in these receipt books without acknowledging the source of the knowledge.
Conjuring potions is a highly individual art that is governed by skill, creativity, intelligence, intuition, and spirituality. The first of these attributes, skill, is something that is acquired as a result of practice and redundancy. The rootworker becomes good at whatever task they are practicing because it is done time and again.
One of the oldest folk remedies is the herbal liniment. Liniments have been used for thousands of years, harnessing the natural and medicinal qualities of certain plants for the external treatment of certain conditions. An herbal liniment is a medicinal liquid formulated with herbs in a base of ordinary rubbing alcohol or Witch Hazel, or made into a salve using a light oil base. A good therapeutic liniment is effective for conditions like sore and inflamed muscles and joints, relief from arthritis and rheumatism and circulation problems, for example.
Many times, an herb or root used in a folk remedy also possesses magical properties and is ideal for use in rootwork. Solomon's Seal (polygonatum biflorum), for example, has fabulous medicinal properties and equally as fabulous magical properties. Medicinally, it works well as a liniment for tightening or loosening tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints. It is a valuable connective tissue anti-inflammatory, and is known to help moderate the symptoms of osteoarthritis and repetitive use injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. Magically, Solomon's Seal root is associated with all things success, to gain wisdom, ward off evil and contain or "seal" harmful energy. In our Folk Magic Formulary course, we focus on many such herbs with this dual medicinal/magical capacity and teach our students how to harvest, harness and use them to enhance and improve their daily lives.
"Practical conjure formulas that work.""I am a spiritual worker; but, I am also a skeptic. I only teach what I know works." ~ Denise M. Alvarado
I have worked with countless individuals in a number of settings for many different conditions using folk magic and folk medicine remedies. From helping people recover from drug and alcohol addictions, to empowering individuals with emotional issues and low self-esteem, to getting rid of negative people and creating abundance, I have been on the front lines of life learning and teaching about southern conjure for more than 40 years. And in this course, I pass on this knowledge to you. Information that is well beyond the basics. |
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"Are you ready to arm yourself with the dual medicinal/magickal knowledge of conjure formulas?"
The Ebers papyrus suggested treatment for asthma is a mixture of herbs heated on a brick so that the sufferer could inhale their fumes.
If history and legend serves us correctly, we have the Egyptian God Thoth to thank for the first written medical and magical formulary. To the ancients, medicine and magic were not two separate schools of thought, nor was one considered the disdain of the other. Thoth’s one hundred and ten page book called the Ebers Papyrus, dating to approximately 1552 B.C.E., contains a mixture of magic and medicine with invocations to banish disease along with a catalogue of useful plants, minerals, magic amulets and spells. Another book about herbal medicines and related medicinal substances such as aromatic oils was written between 50 and 70 AD by Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist, Pedanius Dioscorides. Entitled De Materia Medica (Regarding Medical Materials), this 5 volume book is considered the premiere historical source of information about the medicines used by the Greeks, Romans, and other cultures of antiquity and is the precursor to the modern pharmacopeia. The work documents the names and medicinal uses for approximately 600 plants, including information about the use of essential oils distilled from many of the plants.
Fast forward to slavery in the south and every plantation had someone known for practicing conjure. Their formulas were not written down and instead they relied on oral tradition to pass down knowledge. These conjurers were known for their magical as well as their curing abilities and had an intimate knowledge of the roots around them. Slave magic, like slave religion, relied on the premise that the world of the living and the world of the Spirits constantly intersect. The Spirits communed on earth with the living on a daily basis, and the people could speak to them on a personal level.
At Crossroads University, in our Folk Magic Formulary course, we teach from this dual "medicinal/magical knowledge" perspective. We teach information you can trust and use for real-life conditions and situations, whether they are spiritual, mental or physical. You will learn to write your own family receipt book and create your own formulas that can be passed down for generations to come, preserving the knowledge and wisdom you have learned and will learn throughout this course and throughout your lifetime.
Fast forward to slavery in the south and every plantation had someone known for practicing conjure. Their formulas were not written down and instead they relied on oral tradition to pass down knowledge. These conjurers were known for their magical as well as their curing abilities and had an intimate knowledge of the roots around them. Slave magic, like slave religion, relied on the premise that the world of the living and the world of the Spirits constantly intersect. The Spirits communed on earth with the living on a daily basis, and the people could speak to them on a personal level.
At Crossroads University, in our Folk Magic Formulary course, we teach from this dual "medicinal/magical knowledge" perspective. We teach information you can trust and use for real-life conditions and situations, whether they are spiritual, mental or physical. You will learn to write your own family receipt book and create your own formulas that can be passed down for generations to come, preserving the knowledge and wisdom you have learned and will learn throughout this course and throughout your lifetime.
"The Toilet of Flora,"title page of a receipt book containing formulas for beauty and health.
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Course DescriptionFolk Magic Formulary: Oils, Ointments and Liniments is a course that describes and guides students towards the mechanics and basic concepts and philosophy of making magical oils, ointments and liniments in the Southern rootwork tradition. Class assignments are both written and applied. Topics covered include: Creating a family receipt book, techniques and recipes for making anointing and dressing oils, liniments, and ointments and more. Students learn the medicinal and magickal properties of all formulas.
Course Objectives
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We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds, to read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow path and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves." Robert R. McCammon
