A Hoodoo Mental Health Session & Food For The Spirit.
When Black Trauma is on display, collectively our many of our people's nervous systems get triggered genetically. With the tragedy of Cyrus Carmack Belton's death I've noticed some of these familiar patterns are popping back up, as past traumas are reignited within the collective.
First I want to remind all of you that being Black is not hopeless, you can find justice, especially through our folk magic practices. It's one of the reasons why this practice exists.
Bibliomancy is common in Hoodoo so we're gonna go traditional today. James 2:14-17 says:
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Hoodoo is the active faith with works that has been missing from the Black church, where our people have always gone when all hope seems lost and justice was nowhere to be found
Hoodoo is not a passive faith but an active system of " spiritual works" for our survival, protection, healing, and obtaining our justice, especially in situations of injustice. Our tradition's core is rooted in doing through rituals like rootwork and conjure to effect real-world change. This inherent action-oriented nature is the foundation of Hoodoo's "faith with works" identity.
Hoodoo is the hope, when all hope is lost. I don't place my faith in the system designed to work against us, I place my faith in the source and Hoodoo every time.
Hoodoo, will always offer us tangible tools not to bypass grief or anger, but to metabolize them into protected healing, strengthened resilience, and sustained community care. It empowers us as individuals to take spiritual and psychological actions that affirms our agency in the face of systemic injustice.
Here's some Hoodoo Mental Health Tips:
**Disclaimer: These tips are not intended to be used in replacement of professional advice such as medical, legal, psychological, or business.
Spiritual Cleansing & Nervous System Reset (Individual & Collective)
After a traumatic event, the body holds the stress. Hoodoo provides specific cleansing rituals to wash away despair, fear, and spiritual heaviness.
Rue (Ruta graveolens) & High John Spiritual Bath – Rue is a powerful protector against the evil eye (injustice, racism, bad outcomes). High John is known for strengthening resilience, washing away negative energy, while bringing courage and luck. Enchant these items to create a protective spiritual cleansing bath to reset your nervous system. Let it air dry. Do this path for a week.
Hyssop & Salt Bath – Hyssop is traditionally used for removing “sin” (but also can be enchanted to remove systemic pollution or moral injury resetting your nervous system). Add sea salt and hyssop to bathwater while praying Psalm 51:7 (“Purge me with hyssop…”). This resets your spiritual skin. This goes great with a banishing candle and then follow up with anointing yourself with some protection oil and praying psalms 91.
Community Floor Wash – For a shared space (e.g., a Black community centers, your home, or even a virtual gathering’s entryway), wash the floor or steps with pine oil, ammonia, and a bit of Florida Water. This clears residual fear and prepares the family or group to act from clarity, not reactivity. I also like to burn lavender essential or anoint the space with peace oil in all four corners, to create an atmosphere of peace and ward away stress and negativity.
2. Ancestral First Aid: Calling on Those Who Survived Injustice
The Black collective nervous system is not just yours; it contains our ancestors’ memories of lynchings, wrongful convictions, and no-justice verdicts. Hoodoo reconnects us to those ancestors as allies, not just sources of pain. If you know how to properly connect with your ancestors and have done healing work on them, after properly activating them , then here are some great tips for your ancestral altar.
Ancestor Altar for the Outraged – Grief relief oil, dressed with king Solomon root, lavender and chamomile in a blue, purple or black candle (do divination to ask your ancestors their color preference) is a great way to soothe enraged ancestors and heal their nervous systems.
Blue Altar Cloths- Blue is an inherently healing energy and when I'm doing ancestral healing work, it's a wonderful energy to work with. Do divination to see what their ancestral preferences are.
Collective Libation Ceremonies – Gather (in person or virtually) with a bowl of water and a bottle of dark rum or black coffee. Each person pours a drop while naming an ancestor who fought against racist “justice.” End by pouring water for Cyrus Carmack Belton, not as a victim but as a spirit now owed accountability.
Justice Spells- Some ancestors have scores to settle and regularly burning justice spells on your ancestor altar can help right many wrongs.
3. Personal Protective Wards, Amulets & Jewelry for Hypervigilance
When the justice system fails, the black body is triggered and sent into a state of hypervigilance, keeping us in a heightened state energetically causing a state of mental, spiritual and physical guard that is exhausting and creates heightened unhealthy cortisol levels, damaging our nervous system and our brains. Hoodoo offers us portable tools to manage this hyper reflex created by intergenerational trauma and allows us space for protected healing. Protected healing is important because without it, we can have wounds reopened, that sets us back, defeating our progress.
Red or Black Flannel Protection Bundle – Take a small square of red flannel (red for quick action and survival - this is offensive Martian energy, so this is something you take with you when you go outside - Black for restriction, defense and setting energetic boundaries). Fill it with: a pinch of salt (to absorb negativity), a piece of iron (for offensive strength and protection) High John (to overcome adversity, bring victory, overcome obstacles, bring protection from injustice and racism) three whole black peppercorns (to “push back” harm offensively), a piece of asafoetida (devil’s dung, repels systemic evil), and a small paper with Psalm 91 written on it. Sew or tie it shut, and keep it in your purse or your pocket. You can activate it by smoking it with Tabacco or a little bit of alcohol. I like to add a little bit of evil eye protection oil to the mixture sometimes.
Salt, Camphor and Mercury Silver Dime Ward in the Corner – Bless some salt and water and pour it in a jar. Place a whole camphor block in a bowl of water in the northwest corner of a room (traditionally for removing fear). The Mercury Dime brings good luck and fortune. When the camphor dissolves, and the salt has crystalized, the fear and stagnant or bad energy has been “eaten.” Replace as needed or once a year. Bury the dime to reset it for next year. You can also use a regular dime if you can't find a Mercury dime, just make sure you charge it and set your intention with it. This Ward can also be set using bluing water instead of normal water for added protection, cleansing and the ability to bring luck.
Iron, Black Tourmaline, Amethyst - Iron is great for offensive protective magic, as is Black Tourmaline which grounds your spirit and can be set to absorb or restrict negative energy from penetrating your auric field. Amethyst might be a big shocker for everyone but it's a great assistant since it purifies and repels negative energy, while also bring you mental clarity and peace. These items should be cleansed once a week and reset. These can be necklaces, rings, bracelets or more.
4. Community Action as Spiritual Work (Faith with Works)
Remember the core of Hoodoo: faith without works is dead. Mental health is not restored by ritual alone, it is restored when ritual leads to tangible community support and access to mental health resources.
Sustained Vigil with a Purpose – Instead of a one-time protest that may retraumatize, organize a “10-day hoodoo vigil.” Each day, a small group meets to: light a blue or purple candle for justice and truth, pour a libation, and then spend 30 minutes doing a concrete action: phone banking for legal reform, making care packages for the family of Cyrus Belton and others, writing letters to the DA’s office or other forms of community aid. The ritual anchors the action.
Healing Prayer Circles with Rootwork – I always remembered my mom and grandma up in the morning at 4am hosting a community prayer circle on the phone. We can work the same way, someone could host a morning prayer circle where each person works a specific small root (dandelion, burdock, ginger, high john). Together, we wash, bless and feed each individual roots during this time in prayer. This “Root of Remembrance” is kept in a jar and worked for a specific purpose that the community space needs. Whenever you feel triggered, you can hold your individual jar, symbolizing that the our community is holding the weight together.
Go to therapy, take the meds, talk to a psychiatrist - Hoodoo and mental health go hand in hand together. There's nothing wrong with seeing a psychiatrist, taking medication or going to see a therapist. Take care of your mental health and make sure you encourage others to do the same, if you see someone struggling. It's too often in our community that we ignore mental health issues, due to a lack of empathy or even religious bias thinking it can be prayed away, let's be the change needed in this generation.
5. Emotional First Aid Spells for Acute Triggering
When a verdict, shootings or trauma porn triggers a panic attack, rage spiral, or dissociative episode, in addition to psychiatric resources you can also use these immediate Hoodoo-inspired tools. This is not intended to be a substitute for any mental health crisis, please see your doctor.
Salt or a piece of sour candy under the tongue – Place a single grain of sea salt under your tongue. Salt grounds electrical energy and in Hoodoo draws a boundary. Spiritually, sour candy acts as a grounding anchor, a sensory shock used to snap the mind out of racing thoughts, dissociation, or anxiety spirals. The intense flavor jolts your nervous system, immediately shifting your spiritual focus away from mental clutter and back into to your physical body
Lavender and Motherwort Tea - Heating a nice hot cup of Lavender and Motherwort tea is a potent herbal blend designed to calm the nervous system, soothe the physical heart, and release emotional tension. Spiritually, it fosters boundaries, courage, and tranquility. Scientifically, compounds like linalool in lavender and leonurine in motherwort actively reduce anxiety, work as nervine agent to soothe away your stress and regulate heart palpitations. Only drink one cup a day please. You can also enchant these herbs, steeping them to further assist you spiritually.
6. Long-term Collective Nervous System Regulation
Hoodoo is not just crisis intervention. To break the cycle of retriggering, build regular practice:
Weekly “Unburdening Jar” – Keep a glass jar with a tight lid in a communal spot. Each time the Belton verdict or another injustice is in the news, people write the emotion (rage, helplessness, grief) on a slip of paper and drop it in. On Monday (day of release), burn the contents in a fire-safe container with frankincense. This can help assist you with externalizing and releasing your collective trauma in a healthier manner.
Rootwork & Rest – Many activists burn out because they deny rest. Hoodoo honors rest as a form of resistance. Schedule yourself a “Hoodoo Sabbath” a day of no screens, no news, only grounding work: making herbal oils, gardening, sleeping, relaxing or whatever helps you reconnect with rest in your body. Resting our nervous system is a radical act because the system wants to keep us dysregulated and unstable.
Meditation & Stretching - Weekly or daily meditation practices are scientifically proven to assist with regulating your nervous system and stress levels. I truly believe we need a weekly group meditation group for black people, so people can check in rest and ground, while connecting with themselves and their community within a safe space. Staying mobile, through stretching is also a great way to daily reconnect with your body before you start your day or before you go to bed. It's a great way for you to pay attention your body and any stress, tension or issues you might have built up somewhere, that you need to release.
Hope this is helpful Beloved,
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